It is no mean feat to be one of the top-ten trending hashtags on Weibo for 20 consecutive days and counting. “All is Well” has done just that. 


The show tells the story of a fictional Chinese family torn by internal conflict. The female protagonist, Su Mingyu, is barely on speaking terms with her widowed father and one of her two brothers.

The Su family, with its infinite scenery on the surface, collapsed instantly with the sudden death of Su Mom. Unexpected hidden dangers were revealed, and the problem of resettlement and follow-up life of the unsuspecting but selfish, self-sufficient,  father broke the peaceful life of two older brothers and the young sister.


Father Su Daqiang finally got rid of from his wife’s force, and intensified his efforts on several children, constantly making excessive demands.
Su Mingzhe, the older brother who works in the United States, returned to China and was determined to provoke family burdens, but he was unable to bear the burden, causing his wife and children to continue to alienate.


The second old brother Su Mingcheng has no repentance, and cherishes vanity and earns money, leading to a double defeat of career and family.
The young sister Su Mingyu, who left home from the age of 18 without any support from family,  once vowed to draw a line with the family, but because of family ties, she once again stirred into the quagmire of the Su family.


The family helped each other in a crisis. In the end, the Su family realized that although there was blood connection, the communication between the family could not be ignored, and finally the family returned.

The questioning of blind attachment to traditional values in the show is causing a stir. Viewers are transfixed by its rare portrayal of middle-class life, warts and all.


Many Chinese can relate to the Su family’s troubles. Some have used social media to share their own tales of sexism within the family.


But the biggest reaction has been to the drama’s critique of filial piety. Even today, the Confucian principle of unswerving loyalty to one’s parents remains hallowed.


In the series, however, the widowed father does not attract much sympathy. Commentators on social media call him a juying (“giant baby”)—a characteristic common among parents in real life, they say.


The Su children do their duty, but the audience is supposed to applaud the resentment they express.


The end of the drama is good, however, many Chinese people think the end is too dramatic. The review score drops from 8.1 to 7.9 after the series end. What do you think?



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