After going through an emotional roller coaster for 48 episodes — from being excited to questioning some plot holes, from laughing out loud to crying my heart out, from hating one character to loving another, from shouting, “NO DON’T!” to shrieking “OH YES!” — finally, this is my final review of the series.

1. Good premise. I cannot say that it’s unique, only that I’ve never seen something like this before. Now, who in this world ever think of an entire village producing drugs, and while the police are trying to catch them one by one they have to deal with clan problems and fight each other?

2. Good script. Well, except for some plot holes that’ll make you raise your eyebrows and some unnecessary, badly written scenes, that’s it.

3. Great acting. The entire cast were excellent: Wu Gang! Wang Jinsong! Huang Jingyu! Honestly, it’s the first time I saw HJY in any drama and he’s like a pleasant surprise for me. I mean, I know he’s a very famous celebrity, but I never knew that he is such a great young actor! This series was my first experience of seeing his performance, and he’s already won my heart. And there were some hidden gems, too, like Ma Yujie, Hong Junjia, and Liu Ruoyan. Really, really liked their performances here. Producers should give them more dramas.

4. Good music score and soundtrack. They really fit into the atmosphere and the tone of the story.

5. The best characters: Lin Zonghui and Ma Yunbo. Yep, those three-dimensional, well rounded, well written villains. And Ma Wen! Loved her so much! The worst one? Li Fei. Yes, you read it right. It’s him. BUT HUANG JINGYU PLAYED HIM SO WELL. The annoying, the being stubborn, the recklessness, the conflicted self, even the emotional crying at Song Yang’s death. He did it all amazingly.

6. The best things: Li Fei + Ma Wen partnership, and Li Fei + Zhao Jialiang father-and-son relationship. The worst thing: the product placement. Really, it’s everywhere. I know you needed money to run the show BUT PLEASE!

7. The things that I have mixed feelings about:
a). The underlying triangle love between Li Fei - Ma Wen - Chen Ke. Though at the bottom of my heart I’d have liked to see Li Fei & Ma Wen more than partners, my sensible side wanted them to be like Hou Liangping & Lu Yike in "In the Name of People", just friends and partners. That’s it. No romance whatsoever. But then they made her like Li Fei, too, while we could already see the romantic spark between Li Fei & Chen Ke (though they kept their feelings to themselves out of respect for Song Yang), and I felt my heart sank. However, they handled it pretty well. I mean, Li Fei had already had his hands full with the Tazhai case, so even if he really had feelings for Chen Ke he didn’t pursue it, nor did Chen Ke (because she still felt guilty about Song Yang). And despite her feelings for Li Fei, Ma Wen also didn’t say anything because she knew where Li Fei’s heart lay. And I think the ending was just the best for them (at least what’s being hinted by the English subtitles).
b). Speaking of the ending, there was so much anger about it. Well, I was broken-hearted, too. But I didn’t mind about it. I mean, how do you suppose they should have ended up? Happily ever after? Yes, they could have. But I think it would’ve felt awkward. What I did mind here is the way they handled it. There are just a thousand ways to kill someone at the end of a story, but not by virtue of a sudden impulse of an ever calculating villain.

The Thunder is not perfect, I know. But I loved almost everything about it. I loved the premise, I loved the narrative as a whole, I loved the superb acting (even the supporting actors/actresses really did a great job!), I even loved the directing. There are some annoying flaws, yes, but I don’t mind them.