I have this feeling and I may be in the minority but so far first arc is the strongest, military arc just pissed off half of the comment section myself included except for DK's exceptional job and the little shit that wouldn't die until he self decapitated which I've never seen in any drama; maybe a huge can of šŖ³ RAID would have worked.. Now we're slowly moving into the last and truth revealing and sabotaging scheming rebellion arc....I hope it strengthens ML again from Goddess of war's pooch to the Marquis that he is. The writing has been weak and unstable a lot. Even a fictional character has to be written in a way ppl can understand and believe. Had this been a Xianxia or fantasy supernatural something or other, than it would've been understandable but other than surviving cliff diving, everything else was standard historical and too unbelievable to the point of ridiculous. My rating started at 9 but has been falling; won't know till the end and without a review unless I just write out my frustrations, doubt y'all will find that interesting lol. I guess when you don't sleep all night you ramble. Not sure any of this made sense to y'all.
This drama has so many integral characters that the 2nd half of this drama ends up feeling like a completely new drama. I know that the stories of the others have to be told but we end up losing Xie Zheng in the process.
This plot is centered around Changyu so she is the focal point in almost every aspect of this drama. But once Xie Zheng leaves Changyu after their fight Xie Zheng gets relegated to a supporting character until the last few episodes, with only a scene or 2 in each episode. After all the build up and chemistry generated in the first 16 episodes, this feels deflating, especially when episode after episode focus on death and destruction done by 2 psychotic brothers. It weighs down the drama for me.
The romance between the leads is epic. I wished they would have showed more interactions in the military camp but everything seemed disjointed and rushed. Trying to capture all of the multitude of substories that connect to the CP just completely overshadowed them and it made those intimate scenes between them fleeting and not as satisfying. I spent most of my energy watching hoping for their next interactions. In this way, all the other parts that were important made me more impatient with the drama instead.
This drama was not 'bad'. It just suffered from the censorship board and control outside of the hands of the production team. Forcing them to fit this story in a confined box didn't do it justice.
Kudos to all the actors though, not just our CP. They all did a wonderful job in their roles. I wished I could have enjoyed them more. I probably will when I calm down and rewatch it without all the expectations. I say that because, for me, this drama is a solid 8.5/10 right now with the value of rewatching for the acting and cinematography alone. Now that I know how this is going to play out, rewatching may make me revise it higher, despite my current disappointments.
At ep 30, I love the FL but her being overpowered is getting a little too tiring to watch.
I have honestly lost interest once i saw them sky rocketing the FL to a general within 6-7 episodesā¦like come onā¦if it was that easy to become a general the whole brigade would have become one. Great director but he annoys me a bit with the woman overempowerment thingā¦.it takes away from the director, the actors and the story line
I think this is one of the greatest dramas I've ever seen. I took time to watch, and watched it slowly, enjoying each part of the drama. And wow, I love this drama. I don't regret not watching it daily, I think these types of drama have 2 ways of enjoyment: 1. When you guess what's gonna happen 2. When you enjoy it fully, learning everything and not having time to mix things with your own opinion
This dramaās people donāt die from being stabbed. They donāt die even when knifed deeply. They donāt die…
The same stuff the casts in every costume drama eat that means they never need to brush their beautiful hair yet it never gets tangled. Awesome Juice. (Tho to be fair people do die in this from some of these things. But it also depends where the stabbing is aimed for. In Ep2 they established you could aim for not vital places if you were trying to and look like you wanted to kill someone you didnāt kill, so sometimes that helps people to live too.)
Who needs an enemy when you have xiao wenjing as your brother....... Damn, his character pissed me off like hell, the drama was so good but I can't withstand the fact how XWJ got away from all the dangers and survived till the end without any injury because there were people to protect him at all costs . Pity how XHA put his life on the line to protect XWY but XWY got front-stabbed by his own didi......man didn't even hesitate before stabbing his Ge twice while XWY stood in awe trying to figure out the cause of his betrayal...... XWJ the fool you are to trust WZH's words of giving you 50% Of Chang'An to rule...... My understanding of XWJ character align with Zhang Mo's father's words ......."I know you have your reasons but I can't understand those reasons of yours which made you stab your own blood brother in an instant" His character was beyond redemption since day 1 he killed the innocent pageboy .......I also don't understand why everyone was saying down in comments that the reason why XWJ at the end chose to remain hidden behind zhang mo's face is to prevent unrest and quell rebellion against the throne...but the throne alone didn't belong to XWJ , XWY also belongs to the imperial bloodline and moreover he's the older brother so rightly he should ascend the throne ......what does it have to do with XWJ alive or dead.
SPOILERS on why Huben Army betrayed Liu Ziwen. I put this together based on what I read from Cnetz. There are hints here and there throughout the show. I don't think I covered everything but it makes sense to me.
It's officially a wrap now. š„² With so many praises and thoughtful analysis, it was a pleasure to read everyone's understanding of this drama.
This was really a group effort by every actor to portray the struggles of the characters and let us feel their humanity and not just deem them as one dimensional people. And with the careful editing of introducing every character and scenes without making it feel overwhelming or hard to follow, and interlacing it with high adrenaline action and the slow pace of everyday life, it allows the viewer to have time to digest what was happening.
But on a deeper level, the philosophy and take away of this drama is what has us nerds loving it and singing high praises for it.
And here's hoping wherever Huai'an is, that he sees the blossoms year after year. š¼š·š¾
Probably gonna check back in here once in a while trying to get over this drama, but it has been quite the ride. The Vendetta Of An and its cast have transcended the revenge theme by weaving together a tapestry of humanity and the complexities of human nature - the kindness of regular people, the effects of power struggles, the fates of the victors and losers of war, the benevolence of commoners, loyalty to their nation and their land, the emotional struggles of the characters and how their own pasts have shaped the way the characters view their world. Beautiful cinematic composition, beautiful dialogue, beautiful OST and musical score, beautiful visual language and beautiful acting.
Thank you to the entire crew for their passion in putting together this production, and thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts about so many things in this drama, regardless of whether they're praises or critiques.
Xie Huai An, in my mind, you're simply basking under the sun, taking a well-deserved nap, with a cat for a pet, and waiting for your friends to visit you. May we meet again soon!
Welp, I donāt like how this drama makes me think of the worst š¤£šš Iām starting to feel like my mind is becoming as cruel as theirs lol. In Ep27, when they were cooking the lamb and the pot was covered, they told the ML, āHowever, thereās not enough firewood,ā and he added more wood himself lol. I swear I thought they were cooking a human (one of his friends for revenge) ššš This drama is crazy, and honestly it wouldnāt have surprised me. But thank God it wasnāt! Yeah, I definitely need to stop watching cruel dramas for a while š¤£ Taking the writerās mindset is not it lol. Anyway, that episode was so good, I canāt wait for the final episode tomorrow š«”ā¤ļø
Episode 27 wow, what a remarkable episode! šš„ I canāt move on. Omg I canāt wait for the final episode! šā¤ļø How can one drama have so many amazing plot twists?
Finally finished all the episodes, and Vendetta of An is truly a masterpiece. It deserves all the praise it has received. The writer deserves special recognition for delivering a fast-paced, revenge-driven narrative without neglecting any character. Every character with more than a few minutes of screen presence is given a complete, strong, and reasonable storylines,something rarely achieved in most of c dramas.
All actors delivered outstanding performances. No one overshadowed the others; instead, every actor portrayed their role as if they were the main character of their own story. Even the child actors left a strong impression. Although some backstories were shown briefly, each character became memorable purely through performance. This drama undeniably provided a career boost to many of its cast members.
Cheng Yi gave an extraordinary performance as Xie Huai An. He portrayed the character with restraint and quiet strength, never resorting to overacting. His performance was remarkable.He didnāt need loud expressions or exaggerated emotions to convey depth. A single gaze was enough to communicate complex feelings. Taking on such a crucial role alongside a veteran cast is challenging, as a poor performance could have impacted the entire series.However, Cheng Yi embodied Xie Huai An perfectly without overshadowing the senior actors. He identified the core of the character and delivered it flawlessly.He didnāt repeat any of his past characters through Xie Huai An. His horse-riding style, expressions while crying, and even his smile were distinctly different from his previous roles. He perfectly portrayed Xie Huai An as someone physically weak yet mentally unbreakable. Chen Yi didnāt just act as Xie Huai An.He became him. Itās hard to imagine any other actor in this role. It was made for him.
This drama is very different from traditional historical revenge dramas that focus on sweet romance. Because of that, it naturally filtered out viewers who prefer lighthearted and slow-paced stories. This is likely why some people label it a āflopā based only on Yunhe viewership numbers.Vendetta of An requires full attention to understand. Instead of emphasizing fancy side and heroic side of chracters, the drama explores the dark side of human nature while also showing resilience and the ability to hold on to oneās true aspirations even in the darkest times. From start to finish, the story never loses its purpose.
With only 28 episodes, this drama delivers more depth and substance than many 40-episode series fail to achieve. The storyline, acting, OST, background music, and cinematography are all excellent. Vendetta of An breaks away from traditional historical drama formulas and introduces a new narrative path. It is truly a drama worth watching.
The Vendetta of An is truly a piece of art and a masterpiece. It's the BEST drama of 2025 for me and it's also my favorite Cheng Yi's drama thus far. It's been a long time since a drama has been so riveting and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There are so many things that I love about this drama, from the intricate and interwoven plot, plot twists after plot twists that constantly kept me guessing, beautiful cinematography, stellar acting from all the cast members, but especially the acting from our male lead and veteran actors are outstanding. All of the characters, no matter how big or little a role, no matter if they had a lot or little screen times are so memorable and multi faceted. Kudos to the screen writer for writing such an outstanding script and kudos to the directors and producers for making such a high quality drama. And thank you to the actors for bringing such wonderful characters to life. I really love this drama so much.
And Yes to Season 2. It's really hard for a drama to match the first season. But I think the screen writer is very talented and hope that they can write as good a script for the second season. And that we'll get all of the original actors (that are still alive) back. Even if we don't get a season 2, I feel at peace with how the story ended and how everything came full circle.
2 
1 
This plot is centered around Changyu so she is the focal point in almost every aspect of this drama. But once Xie Zheng leaves Changyu after their fight Xie Zheng gets relegated to a supporting character until the last few episodes, with only a scene or 2 in each episode. After all the build up and chemistry generated in the first 16 episodes, this feels deflating, especially when episode after episode focus on death and destruction done by 2 psychotic brothers. It weighs down the drama for me.
The romance between the leads is epic. I wished they would have showed more interactions in the military camp but everything seemed disjointed and rushed. Trying to capture all of the multitude of substories that connect to the CP just completely overshadowed them and it made those intimate scenes between them fleeting and not as satisfying. I spent most of my energy watching hoping for their next interactions. In this way, all the other parts that were important made me more impatient with the drama instead.
This drama was not 'bad'. It just suffered from the censorship board and control outside of the hands of the production team. Forcing them to fit this story in a confined box didn't do it justice.
Kudos to all the actors though, not just our CP. They all did a wonderful job in their roles. I wished I could have enjoyed them more. I probably will when I calm down and rewatch it without all the expectations. I say that because, for me, this drama is a solid 8.5/10 right now with the value of rewatching for the acting and cinematography alone. Now that I know how this is going to play out, rewatching may make me revise it higher, despite my current disappointments.
Great director but he annoys me a bit with the woman overempowerment thingā¦.it takes away from the director, the actors and the story line
I don't regret not watching it daily, I think these types of drama have 2 ways of enjoyment:
1. When you guess what's gonna happen
2. When you enjoy it fully, learning everything and not having time to mix things with your own opinion
Damn, his character pissed me off like hell, the drama was so good but I can't withstand the fact how XWJ got away from all the dangers and survived till the end without any injury because there were people to protect him at all costs .
Pity how XHA put his life on the line to protect XWY but XWY got front-stabbed by his own didi......man didn't even hesitate before stabbing his Ge twice while XWY stood in awe trying to figure out the cause of his betrayal......
XWJ the fool you are to trust WZH's words of giving you 50% Of Chang'An to rule......
My understanding of XWJ character align with Zhang Mo's father's words ......."I know you have your reasons but I can't understand those reasons of yours which made you stab your own blood brother in an instant"
His character was beyond redemption since day 1 he killed the innocent pageboy .......I also don't understand why everyone was saying down in comments that the reason why XWJ at the end chose to remain hidden behind zhang mo's face is to prevent unrest and quell rebellion against the throne...but the throne alone didn't belong to XWJ , XWY also belongs to the imperial bloodline and moreover he's the older brother so rightly he should ascend the throne ......what does it have to do with XWJ alive or dead.
This was really a group effort by every actor to portray the struggles of the characters and let us feel their humanity and not just deem them as one dimensional people. And with the careful editing of introducing every character and scenes without making it feel overwhelming or hard to follow, and interlacing it with high adrenaline action and the slow pace of everyday life, it allows the viewer to have time to digest what was happening.
But on a deeper level, the philosophy and take away of this drama is what has us nerds loving it and singing high praises for it.
And here's hoping wherever Huai'an is, that he sees the blossoms year after year. š¼š·š¾
Thank you to the entire crew for their passion in putting together this production, and thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts about so many things in this drama, regardless of whether they're praises or critiques.
Xie Huai An, in my mind, you're simply basking under the sun, taking a well-deserved nap, with a cat for a pet, and waiting for your friends to visit you. May we meet again soon!
All actors delivered outstanding performances. No one overshadowed the others; instead, every actor portrayed their role as if they were the main character of their own story. Even the child actors left a strong impression. Although some backstories were shown briefly, each character became memorable purely through performance. This drama undeniably provided a career boost to many of its cast members.
Cheng Yi gave an extraordinary performance as Xie Huai An. He portrayed the character with restraint and quiet strength, never resorting to overacting. His performance was remarkable.He didnāt need loud expressions or exaggerated emotions to convey depth. A single gaze was enough to communicate complex feelings. Taking on such a crucial role alongside a veteran cast is challenging, as a poor performance could have impacted the entire series.However, Cheng Yi embodied Xie Huai An perfectly without overshadowing the senior actors. He identified the core of the character and delivered it flawlessly.He didnāt repeat any of his past characters through Xie Huai An. His horse-riding style, expressions while crying, and even his smile were distinctly different from his previous roles. He perfectly portrayed Xie Huai An as someone physically weak yet mentally unbreakable. Chen Yi didnāt just act as Xie Huai An.He became him. Itās hard to imagine any other actor in this role. It was made for him.
This drama is very different from traditional historical revenge dramas that focus on sweet romance. Because of that, it naturally filtered out viewers who prefer lighthearted and slow-paced stories. This is likely why some people label it a āflopā based only on Yunhe viewership numbers.Vendetta of An requires full attention to understand. Instead of emphasizing fancy side and heroic side of chracters, the drama explores the dark side of human nature while also showing resilience and the ability to hold on to oneās true aspirations even in the darkest times. From start to finish, the story never loses its purpose.
With only 28 episodes, this drama delivers more depth and substance than many 40-episode series fail to achieve. The storyline, acting, OST, background music, and cinematography are all excellent. Vendetta of An breaks away from traditional historical drama formulas and introduces a new narrative path. It is truly a drama worth watching.
And Yes to Season 2. It's really hard for a drama to match the first season. But I think the screen writer is very talented and hope that they can write as good a script for the second season. And that we'll get all of the original actors (that are still alive) back. Even if we don't get a season 2, I feel at peace with how the story ended and how everything came full circle.
this is a short 28 episode revenge drama. no romance, but have friendship and brotherhood.
if liked serious drama like NIF, and bromance that MLC have = ā more reason to try !
( https://mydramalist.com/769667-chang-an-er-shi-si-ji )