The Chinese drama market was booming in May.
"Breaking Down" was launched with great force, far ahead of other new works with unparalleled statistics. Song Zuer's return may have given all the domestic entertainment fans a sense of crisis.
So far, the popularity of the show has successfully exceeded 30,000. Looking at this momentum, do you plan to continue to harvest the market?
Unfortunately, the schedule was not coincidental, and it encountered a strong enemy——
"The Legend of Tibetan Sea".
This Machiavellian drama starring Xiao Zhan is the TOP1 most anticipated drama in Mainland China in 2025. Being on CCTV shows its potential to be a hit.
Therefore, the show did not exceed the audience's expectations after it was launched. After only 2 hours of broadcasting, the peak ratings easily exceeded 2, which is quite impressive.
However, this report card is not only due to Xiao Zhan's top popularity, but also to the fact that the play itself has a level that exceeds that of works of the same type.
After watching 2 episodes in one go, I just want to say that this is the drama king of the year in 2025!
So what’s so good about this show?
01 Top quality, gripping plot, classic Machiavellian flavor
"The Legend of Zanghai" tells the story of Zhinu (played by Xiao Zhan), the son of Zheng Kuaiduo, the eunuch of Qintian Prison, who saw his family being exterminated with his own eyes, and a seed of hatred was planted in his heart.
After ten years of hard study, he changed his face and became "Zanghai". He rose to prominence in the court by virtue of his construction skills and manipulation skills, and finally revealed the truth about the family's annihilation.
To make a good Machiavellian drama, the director must not only be clear about what he is filming, but also make it understandable to the audience.
Although the story background of the play is complex, it has a clear structure and distinct characters. The highlights can be summarized in three words.
The first word: suspense.
Ten years ago, the hero's father, Kuai Duo, pretended to be a Buddhist monk, but secretly dug more than a thousand feet underground until he unearthed an ancient tomb.
Several workers died mysteriously, and all the soldiers in the tomb were dispatched.
Kuai Duo grabbed a "green rock" at the last moment, and the scene was completely dark. What happened?
As soon as the camera turned, news came from the capital that the Fengchan Tower collapsed and no one survived.
However, Kuai Duo hurried home late at night, and before he could speak, the whole family was surrounded and suppressed by Lu Yin of Pingjin Houzhuang.
It was obvious that he was here for the mysterious ancient jade.
For this thing, he did not hesitate to cover up people's eyes and let the Fengzen Tower, which was finally repaired, be destroyed. One can imagine the wide involvement behind it.
And although it is a plot drama, the plot involves tomb exploration adventures and feng shui manipulation, which adds to the suspenseful atmosphere of the plot and makes people more and more fascinated by it.
The second word: tragic.
On this night, more than ten members of Kuai's family were killed. Only Kuai Duo's son, Zhinu, escaped because he hid in a secret passage.
At a young age, he watched his relatives die tragically.
And the words "live on" that his father silently said before he died have become the only belief in Zhinu's life.
In this scene, the audience can truly feel the director's shooting skills.
Even if a young apprentice pretends to be a child slave in order to repay a favor, it is extremely touching.
A sense of tragedy hit the face, and the audience could truly feel the hero's heart-wrenching hatred.
The third word: revenge.
Since the previous part was quite heavy, the atmosphere of the plot eased as the male protagonist grew up.
At that time, the child slave had changed his name to Zanghai, and was learning skills from his masters. Finally, he came back to Beijing for revenge.
Of course, the feeling of satisfaction can only appear in the later stages. The so-called development of a male protagonist requires more experience and setbacks.
When Zanghai first entered the capital, he realized that people's hearts are sinister, crouching tigers, hidden dragons, but isn't he just a lurking dragon in the abyss?
Just waiting to accumulate a lot of strength and give the enemy a fatal blow.
It can be said that Zheng Xiaolong is the only one who can capture the machinations with such quality.
The level of "The Legend of Tibetan Sea" is definitely not inferior to those classic works, and the addition of actors also provides a lot of blessings to the drama.
02 All the actors are talented, Xiao Zhan is so amazing
This new work has a strong cast, and not a single actor is cast for free, making the characters flesh-and-blood and vivid.
First place, Xiao Zhan.
To be honest, I was worried that Xiao Zhan wouldn't be able to sustain such a heavy story at first, but I didn't expect that his acting skills would improve so much.
For example, under the test of the masked benefactor, he seemed to casually tell the details of the family's destruction, but in fact his eyes had an undercurrent, as if containing overwhelming hatred, which immediately created the tension of the character.
Moreover, Xiao Zhan's costume style is a major advantage in itself. It is rare to see such a good-looking and capable young man.
Just choose him.
The second place is Zhong Hanliang.
I didn't expect that Chung Han-liang would one day play the role of Xiao Zhan's father, but the Kuai Duo he played in the play was so upright, with a mustache, his mature, steady and gentle temperament was even more obvious.
At Chung Hanliang's age, he is actually suitable for playing some high-quality roles.
Before dying, the scene where Kuai Duo looks at his child can be regarded as the highlight of the whole play. The silent lines express his despair for fate and reluctance to let go of his son.
It seems that Zhong Hanliang has already entered the camp of the Mesozoic powerful faction without knowing it.
The third place is Chen Yanxi.
After the divorce, Michelle Chen seemed to be cheating. There was the tolerant and intelligent wealthy lady Kaisi Chen in "Dear Enemy" before, and later there was the gentle and powerful Zhao Shangxian in "The Legend of Hidden Sea". Every new role can be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
But I still prefer the latter role, because Chen Yanxi played the strongest side of an ancient woman. In order not to drag her husband down, she risked her life to resist. Her weak and tough figure made people's eyes red.
Although she is a supporting role in the play, I think Michelle Chen has become the heroine of her life.
The fourth place is Huang Jue.
Huang Jue is also recognized as a capable actor, but he has a wide range of roles, and he can be both good and bad.
In the new drama, he plays Zhuang Luyin, a villainous boss with a compelling aura. He doesn't need to put on a show, and his characteristics of being calm, self-confident, and vicious are all there.
From the perspective of the male protagonist, facing such a powerful enemy, one really needs to be careful every step of the way.
In addition, the performance of the young flower Zhang Jingyi was also good, performing the "white and black" attributes of Xiang An Tu.
There are also actors familiar to the audience such as Yu Nan, Zhang Guoqiang, Qiao Zhenyu, Bai Bing, etc. who will play important roles. The lineup looks like a masterpiece.
03 Conclusion
We do not deny that inviting a popular actor to serve as the male lead in "The Legend of the Hidden Sea" is a risky move.
But times have changed. If domestic costume dramas want to attract people, sometimes they have to bow to traffic.
And this is not a bad thing, it all depends on what kind of popular actors the director chooses.
A young man like Xiao Zhan who has his own popularity and can hold up the role is still worth betting on.
As long as the script can support the film and the actors can stand up to their roles, there will be no need to worry about no one watching.
Therefore, the popularity of this new work is actually within the expectations of the audience, but whether it can go further still depends on the subsequent plot and acting performance.
I believe this drama can inject new vitality into the Chinese drama market and add another benchmark for the Machiavellian theme.
So what do you think about this?
