Blood River (暗河传) episodes 1-6 discussion- Family, family, FAMILEEEE
Links to episode discussions: All episode discussions | Masterpost
So, Dark River is the mysterious assassin organization in the jianghu which we first saw in Blood of Youth. I adored the brief glimpses of the guy I called Hot Umbrella Assassin and was ecstatic when they said they'd make a drama out of his story. I refrained from watching the anime because I didn't want to suffer from comparititis and just enjoy the drama as it is.
(Random thought, I'm super glad they stuck with the "Blood" theme and called this show, "Blood River". The English department did a good job and refrained from using Blossom, though Blood Blossom does have this snappy aliteration thing going :P)
So the whole point of the first six episodes is:
Let's kill the patriach!
The Patriach of Dark River is severely poisoned during a mission. This presents a golden opportunity for the three major families: Su, Xie, and Mu, who all want to seize the "Dragon Sword". In this world, swords are super duper important, and whoever who owns the sword will be Patriarch.
Su Muyu escorts him to Qiantang City to find the famous doctor, Bai Hehuai. However, the Xie and Mu families are also lying in wait, aiming to kill the doctor and end the Patriarch's life.
The Families: A tangled web of hatred
The Su, Mu and Xie families are more "mafia families" than "we'll have a nice Chinese New Year with relatives you barely tolerate" kind of family, if you know what I mean.
Seriously, with all their talk about family ... with family like this who needs enemies? Man, better to divorce your family and be orphans. Bet it's a less anxiety-provoking life!
Anyway, with the vicious way children were trained to be assassins in Blood River, is it any wonder they hate each other's guts? Or is it a Darwinian selection thing - only the coldest, most heartless would survive?
So, with the the Patriarch weakened, it's unsurprising why a free-for-all to become the next ruler.
Inexplicably, though, Su Muyu is different. He is loyal to the patriarch. Something Su Changhe, his best bud, doesn't understand.
Their Gaokao is on another level
Neither do I. Seeing the way they had to endure near-death "training" just to survive to adulthood, I wonder why myself. It's not like the Patriach was benevolent to him.
Unfortunately, Muyu's loyalty puts him at odds with his best bud, who really wants the Patriarch dead.
Why won't Muyu choose "brotherhood"? why is he so intent on "duty/loyalty?" I guess we'll find out!
Is there romance?
You know, if anyone asks that question, I say there are sparks between Mu Yumo and Tang Lianyue. They are attracted to each other but are on opposing sides. But don't expect it to end well. There's a maaaaaybe between Muyu and the Miracle Doc Baihe, But Muyu is one of those career men who focuses on his work, if you know I mean.
Also, it's a wuxia (more like xuanhuan with wuxia characteristics). Romance is just a dash of jam on a peanut butter sandwich. Sometimes the jam slips off to one corner of the sandwich and you don't taste it until the very end. So, let's not hope too much.
https://i.redd.it/ymzvk0ywogwf1.gif
Su Muyu, a nice guy trapped in a scary organisation?
In these first four episodes, Su Muyu's goal is very clear: to faithfully carry out the Patriarch's order and ensure his survival by any means necessary.
Me: But why??
I guess it may have something to do with his humanity, which Dark River never managed to stomp out.
We see how he saved Su Changhe when they were young. Now, he is forced to fight his former comrades but is often reluctant to kill. He also seem to have a life with a loving dad before he was one of the kids fighting for his life thanks to Dark River training.
Su Muyu still values life and old bonds, which is probably not a great idea in a sect full of assassins.
Uncle Zhe finds his daughter
Don't mind us! We're having a family reunion.
Aw, such a sweet moment when Uncle Zhe reunites with his long-lost daughter, who turns out to be our miracle doctor, Bai Hehuai.
I found it hilarious that the bad guys waited so nicely for them to finish talking before attacking ;P
Anyway, we find out that Bai Hehuai was his daughter when she tried to perform the dangerous Soul Separation Technique to heal the poisoned and dying Patriach, and she sees his past memory. And then she reveals a technique that only the Su family knows. During the battle, Uncle Zhe recognises the moves as the very one he taught his wife. Yay, reunion.
Uncle Zhe please be a good guy. Don't switch sides just because you think you can use your daughter to get close to the patriach or something. ;(((
Are we the bad guys?
Interesting conversation at the end of the sixth episode. For the first time, I'm feeling some kind of emotional theme here - it sucks to be the bad guys, and some Dark River members see hope in Su Muyu, that he could turn them from a bloodthirsty mercenaries to a sect with some honour. Thus solidifies Su Muyu's mission: To reform Dark River.
Fight after Fight after Fight
So, I'll confess something to you. The fights are a blur to me. :P
It's made worse by the fact that the fights are of the "finger fu" variety where they do a few twirls, wave their hands around and magical things erupt around them. Still, it's very inline with this genre - it always tickles me that they "announce" the person's skill level or fighting technique, or they monologue and explain what movement they're using. It's hella weird to me, but I know fans of this genre simply love it.
Anyway, while some of the fight scenes were beautiful to look at, but there was a deluge of them.
I feel like they didn't give the story or characters time to breathe. Before we get to know any of them, they're either hurling swords at each other or dying :P (Oh white guy in that floating sedan - who are you again and what family?? Oh wait, didn't he die?) Yeah, it's just a blur to me lol
We don't know anything about their motivations except they want the Patriach to die. Heck we don't even know why Muyu doesn't want the Patriach to die 😆
And with the deluge of characters coming at me, I think I need an AI-powered knowledge base to figure my way around 😆
So, forgive this old lady if she gets names or fights mixed up because each time a fight scene happens she's thinking:
Questions
- Which relationship intrigues you?
- Why do you think Su Muyu is loyal to the patriach?
- So, Su Muyu is tasked with helping reform Dark River. How do you think he can possibly achieve this?
- What do you think of the acting, fighting scenes, CGI of the show?
- What do you think of the drama so far?
Posted Oct 21, 2025, 12:51 PM UTC