I have to say, the transition from the KTV to the hotel felt a bit rushed. Wen Tiantian just runs off, and then she's suddenly in the bathroom, and then she's at the hotel. I would have liked a breather scene or some description of her travel to build suspense. But given the urgency of the plot, I can't complain too much—it keeps the story moving at a quick clip.
The opening scene is brutally gripping, with Yun An'an being buried alive and then dug up by corpse thieves. It's such a raw start that I was hooked immediately, wondering how she'd survive this mess.
Murong Xue accusing Ling Yan of setting her up shows her guilt. She immediately assumes he planned this for a long time, which tells me she knows she did wrong. The way she called him not a man for wanting gifts back is typical deflection. She can’t handle losing control. I wonder if this will push her to do something desperate. Her character feels like a classic entitled rich girl image, but with enough depth to make me hate her genuinely.
The Soul Shifter specifically warns Long Yang about the memory black box. “You’ll suffer permanent amnesia.” And then BAM, that’s exactly what happens. The foreshadowing was right there in front of us. I love when the consequences of a fight are so perfectly linked to the villain’s threat.
I have mixed feelings about the father character, Qiao Dashan. On one hand, he's infuriating—slapping his eldest son for speaking up, refusing to defend his daughter. On the other hand, he's a product of the environment. He's been conditioned to obey his parents without question. The line "I'm still alive, this family is not yours to make decisions for!" shows how he equates authority with seniority. I don't like him, but I can believe him. The mother, Li Shi, is even more tragic—she can only cry and can't do anything. It's a stark look at how powerless women in this era could be.