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 don’t like how this drama makes me think of the worst 🤣😭😭 I’m 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, “However, there’s not enough firewood,” and he added more wood himself lol. I swear I thought they were cooking a human (one of his friends for revenge) 😭😭😭 This drama is crazy, and honestly it wouldn’t have surprised me. But thank God it wasn’t! Yeah, I definitely need to stop watching cruel dramas for a while 🤣 Taking the writer’s mindset is not it lol. Anyway, that episode was so good, I can’t wait for the final episode tomorrow 🫡❤️
Episode 27 wow, what a remarkable episode! 😭🔥 I can’t move on. Omg I can’t wait for the final episode! 😭❤️ 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 didn’t 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 didn’t 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 didn’t just act as Xie Huai An.He became him. It’s 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 “flop” 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 one’s 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.
This is one to take slowly; pay attention; let things sink in. It's not pretty or uplifting, per se. It's a study of the cost of vengeance over time, and whether the cycle can be broken or all those caught in it must expire.
Wow! Wow! Wow! Thank goodness for the special episode, was that a shock or what? This was one of the best I have seen that kept it so well laid out. Everything so meticulous. Well done!
It feels so good reading so many comments praising Cheng Yi and TVOA on Weibo these couple of days, posted by big bloggers, drama/movie critics and medias.
The one below is from a Member of Weibo Entertainment Criticism Team, with 3 millions followers
-- "The Twenty-Four Strategies of Chang'an" is truly a shining example of Chinese drama, and it's incredibly authoritative! 🙏 It received unanimous praise from authoritative official media outlets including China.com, Xinhua Daily, China Daily, Xinhua.net, China.com.cn, China Youth Daily, Global Times, and CCTV.com! "The Twenty-Four Strategies of Chang'an" became a phenomenal hit at the end of the year, breaking through the costume drama market with its original content and considered a revolutionary work in the male-oriented political intrigue genre. Breaking away from traditional formulas, it pioneered a new style for male-oriented dramas with its high-density narrative of "one strategy per episode, one plot twist per strategy." The realistically constructed Chang'an scenery and the ingenious integration of intangible cultural heritage elements create a high-quality and touching experience. The emotional narrative balances national righteousness with human warmth, elevating the overall perspective from personal revenge to the peace and prosperity of the world, thus building deep trust among viewers. Cheng Yi, in his leading role, delivers a nuanced performance, showcasing Xie Huai'an's restrained ruthlessness and tender courage with his subtle eye acting and solid delivery of lines. His scenes with veteran actors are full of tension, propelling this critically acclaimed and commercially successful production to new heights. With social media buzz and record-breaking viewership, it's undoubtedly a phenomenal work that has ignited cultural discussion this year! #ChengYiXieHuai'an# https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5248215759723187
As the plot thickens and HA seems to be at a losing end, i am not so patiently waiting for how this will end up. I just need a proper closure, no matter who survives or not 🤣😂
Replying toBreezeC•Dec 24, 2025•Liked Dec 24, 2025
A very interesting detail I discovered from someone's posting on weibo...
Before Xiao Wu Yang started fighting, Xia Huai An stabbed one of the spy and then all the spies came at him with weapon drawl... this is to allow XWY to fight against all of them and let the civilians run away.
At first, I thought he found one of the knife that XWY hidden earlier but apparently, the weapon was a wooden stick. XHA not only used the umbrella to hide a message to XWY to warn him, he also broken a piece of the wood from the red umbrella to use as a weapon... gosh, he is soooo smart.
I love the scene between the Xiao brothers even though Xiao Wenjing stabbed his brother. Xiao Wuyang is too good, even after being stabbed once, he couldn't bear to retaliate against his younger brother which led to him being stabbed another time 😭. He also understood Xiao Wenjing's difficulties, gave him advice, and not blame him. To Xiao Wenjing, it was either the Tiemo people forcefully invading with the country and people getting destroyed in the process or surrendering to the Tiemo people as a puppet emperor. Both ways are terrible but Xiao Wenjing chose the one that may be less physically damaging to the country/people. But I hope that there's a bigger plan behind his actions.
Also, I can't help but wonder if Xiao Wuyang and Xiao Wenjing weren't born into the royal family, would they be able to live like normal brothers in a happy family? The scene where Xiao Wuyang stared at the happy family eating and smiled at the little baby made me think that he does really want to be in a normal, happy family 🥺. The baby probably reminded him of Xiao Wenjing since the brothers have a big age gap.
3 
1 
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 didn’t 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 didn’t 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 didn’t just act as Xie Huai An.He became him. It’s 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 “flop” 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 one’s 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 = ✅ more reason to try !
( https://mydramalist.com/769667-chang-an-er-shi-si-ji )
It is such a fine craft of revenge drama.
The one below is from a Member of Weibo Entertainment Criticism Team, with 3 millions followers
--
"The Twenty-Four Strategies of Chang'an" is truly a shining example of Chinese drama, and it's incredibly authoritative! 🙏
It received unanimous praise from authoritative official media outlets including China.com, Xinhua Daily, China Daily, Xinhua.net, China.com.cn, China Youth Daily, Global Times, and CCTV.com!
"The Twenty-Four Strategies of Chang'an" became a phenomenal hit at the end of the year, breaking through the costume drama market with its original content and considered a revolutionary work in the male-oriented political intrigue genre.
Breaking away from traditional formulas, it pioneered a new style for male-oriented dramas with its high-density narrative of "one strategy per episode, one plot twist per strategy." The realistically constructed Chang'an scenery and the ingenious integration of intangible cultural heritage elements create a high-quality and touching experience. The emotional narrative balances national righteousness with human warmth, elevating the overall perspective from personal revenge to the peace and prosperity of the world, thus building deep trust among viewers.
Cheng Yi, in his leading role, delivers a nuanced performance, showcasing Xie Huai'an's restrained ruthlessness and tender courage with his subtle eye acting and solid delivery of lines. His scenes with veteran actors are full of tension, propelling this critically acclaimed and commercially successful production to new heights. With social media buzz and record-breaking viewership, it's undoubtedly a phenomenal work that has ignited cultural discussion this year! #ChengYiXieHuai'an#
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5248215759723187
At first, I thought he found one of the knife that XWY hidden earlier but apparently, the weapon was a wooden stick. XHA not only used the umbrella to hide a message to XWY to warn him, he also broken a piece of the wood from the red umbrella to use as a weapon... gosh, he is soooo smart.
Truly amazing with the detail of this drama!!!
Also, I can't help but wonder if Xiao Wuyang and Xiao Wenjing weren't born into the royal family, would they be able to live like normal brothers in a happy family? The scene where Xiao Wuyang stared at the happy family eating and smiled at the little baby made me think that he does really want to be in a normal, happy family 🥺. The baby probably reminded him of Xiao Wenjing since the brothers have a big age gap.