I was a big fan of The Longest Day in Chang'an and was surprised to hear that another drama bagged the 2020 Magnolia Awards Best TV Drama award instead.

So I became curious and checked out why it has topped TLDICA. And, 48 episodes? Finished it in 3 days. Got myself an iQIYI subscription so I can skip ads.

Here's why: The story is gripping and suspenseful and frustrating - in a good way. It's a MUST for crime/police dramas to take us into a premise that we can actually care about and this drama, inspired by a real-life setting, by a real-life event that once took the entire nation by storm, is one drama that you cannot simply put on hold - once you start watching, you have to see it right through the end.

This is the first time I've watched Huang Jingyu in a drama, and since I've watched some of his series afterwards (some of those shot and aired earlier than The Thunder) I must say that his acting decently improved over time.

But actually, this drama made me more interested with the older male casts, those veteran actors that delivered really great jobs with their roles. It was just excellent.

I don't care if some people say that this won because of the police image propaganda or what. It has that kind of feel towards the end but it was justified and knowing that it was adapted from a real police operation, it was worth it.

So yeah, I lost sleep for this one. It's really that good. Finished 15 episodes in one go and slept at around 3 in the morning? Still, worth it.