The Vendetta of An: Dropped Drama Diaries

Aug 15
2 min read

Title:	The Vendetta of An (2025)
Platform:	Youku, Netflix
MDL Rating:	8.5
Genre:	Period Action/ Mystery
Episode Count:	28
Last Episode Watched:	3
Parental Guidance Rating:	TV-14: Violence, suicide, fear ( I dunno Netflix, based on the first three eps, I'd give this a TV-16)
Starring:	Cheng Yi (Sword and Beloved) Liu Yi Jun (Nirvana in Fire) Wang Jin Song (Nirvana in Fire) Zhou Qi (Legend of Zang Hai) Tong Meng Shi (Joy of Life)

Synopsis:

During the Wude reign, the Huben Dark Guards ruled Chang'an, but when feudal lord Xiao Wu Yang seized power, they vanished along with the dethroned emperor, Rumors claimed their leader, Yan Feng Shan, sought to use the fallen ruler for his own gain. Tasked by Xiao Wu Yang to eliminate the Huben, Xie Huai An, a brilliant official from Huainan, saw his chance for revenge - Yan Feng Shan had killed his father, and he had spent a decade preparing. With the dethroned emperor as a pawn and later part of Xie Huai’an’s alliance, which included General Gu Yu, swordsman Ye Zheng, and many others, working behind the scenes, together, they waged a shadowy war against the Huben, a battle that would determine the empire's fate. @MDL

Non-Spoiler Thoughts:

Cheng Yi in a white wig on the poster gave me PTSD flashbacks to Sword and Beloved, but I can happily report that it was a much better wig in an actually watchable drama. lol. The Vendetta of A gives us a very morally compromised protagonist who is out to settle his beef at all costs, in a game of cat and mouse, where the roles keep switching. You can tell what the director was going for by casting so many actors from Nirvana in Fire, but Vendetta of A wasn't the masterclass in strategy it aspired to be.

Xie Huai An (ML) isn't that likable and the tone still leaned too idol for it to feel like a spiritual successor. But, like Nirvana in Fire, this is a male centric drama that many people in the comments say is a low key BL. And there truly is like one, maybe two, girl in the whole show, so don't expect romance here. The cinematography was dark and gothic, and it was interesting to see such a morally grey character, but I had gripes.