The title of Qian Mou’s new review was: “I’m Sorry, Teacher Cui! ‘The Inheritor’—A Masterpiece Ahead of Its Time!”

“This was originally going to be a one-star review, but after watching it a second time, I’ve decided to change my rating.”

“First, I need to apologize to Teacher Cui.”

“Previously, I said that the original novel of ‘The Inheritor’ was garbage, and Fei Huang Studio faithfully reproduced it, so the series was also garbage.”

“I also said that the plot of ‘The Inheritor’ was completely an intelligence test, where characters from superheroes to major corporations to ordinary citizens all suffered from severe intelligence drops, and the entire story’s development neither conformed to logic nor could withstand scrutiny.”

“But now I realize that I was wrong!”

“The person who should be undergoing an intelligence test is me!”

“I laughed at Teacher Cui for not understanding novels, while Teacher Cui laughed at me for not understanding reality.”

“Now, I just want to praise Teacher Cui with a classic poem: ‘Pages filled with absurd words, bringing a flood of bitter tears; all say the author is foolish, but who truly understands the flavor within?'”

“I never imagined that Teacher Cui could have such foresight a year ago to write such a realistic masterpiece, which is on a completely different level from my short-sighted self who only realized after the Ukraya election ended!”

“Given that my previous review brought very negative effects to ‘The Inheritor’ series, I’ve decided to write a new review. While expressing my apologies, I also want to correct my attitude and reinterpret this magical realist masterpiece that transcends time, allowing it to receive a truly objective evaluation!”

“Regarding the real-world event related to ‘The Inheritor,’ I won’t elaborate too much, as many marketing accounts and content creators have already explained it clearly. What I want to do is to reanalyze ‘The Inheritor’ based on real-world events.”

“Many people sigh that reality is often more absurd than fiction, because fiction needs logic, but reality doesn’t.”

“When Big Vasily, a real-life version of Phil, truly went from being an actor to winning the election and becoming the president of Ukraya, I think no one would doubt the rationality of ‘The Inheritor’ story anymore, because the backgrounds of these two people are practically identical!”

“From appearance to family background, to educational background and work experience… they’re all highly similar. The only difference might be that Ukraya became known through a movie, while Phil became known through a variety show about superheroes.”

“Actually, strictly speaking, Big Vasily’s path has been much smoother than Phil’s!”

“Movies are completely fictional. Although movies express the creator’s thoughts, Big Vasily is after all just an actor, and the boundary between movies and reality is very clear.”

“But the variety show Phil did directly affected real-world superheroes. It was a program highly relevant to reality, and Phil’s role in the show was that of a mentor, which is fundamentally different from being an ‘actor.'”

“Moreover, Phil not only had a variety show, but he also continuously commented on current events and other superheroes’ action plans online, gaining recognition from many people.”

“After becoming a superhero, he personally carried out missions. Although most of the missions he executed were pre-arranged, the public was unaware and only saw him properly resolving crises, rescuing citizens, and punishing criminals.”

“In addition, Phil carefully analyzed the situation in Dawn City, found his fan base and their urgent demands, and did a lot of preparatory work around this point.”

“Even so, Phil’s path was quite arduous, facing the elimination threats from many major corporations and superheroes. One wrong step could have been disastrous, because once he lost trust, all the power he gained would disappear, and what awaited him would be a fate worse than bankruptcy.”

“Compared to Phil, Big Vasily’s support rate soared as soon as the TV station announced his candidacy, and he even won with a 60% advantage in the final vote, skipping all the previous stages!”

“Some also say that Big Vasily is much stronger than Phil, and there’s no comparability between these two people.”

“But I want to ask two questions: First, given Ukraya’s current situation, do you really think Big Vasily can turn the tide? Yes, in people’s minds, no matter how incompetent he is, as long as he’s a normal person, he’ll definitely do better than his predecessor, but this only shows how terrible the predecessor was.”

“Moreover, after Phil became a superhero, the lives of people in Dawn City wouldn’t necessarily become worse. It’s possible that Phil, in order to maintain appearances, would actually implement some measures beneficial to ordinary people.”

“At the very least, Phil defeated the major corporations in Dawn City. As for Big Vasily, did he truly defeat Ukraya’s corporations, or did he overthrow the current corporations with the support of another corporation? This itself probably needs a question mark.”

“Second, everyone thinks Phil is an absolute scum, but that’s because they have a god’s-eye view.”

“In the original novel, Teacher Cui wrote many times about the detestable, contemptible, and hateful things Phil did, precisely to clearly tell everyone what kind of person he really was.”

“Without writing these, if someone misunderstood and thought Phil was a heroic character, that would be too ridiculous.”

“But this god’s-eye view also allowed readers to possess all information, instead of truly considering the issues from the perspective of the citizens in the story.”

“What image of Phil did the citizens see? Although there were many accusations and attacks against Phil, his performance in front of his supporters was perfect.”

“Now many people think Big Vasily is different from Phil. Let me ask, do you have a god’s-eye view? Do you know what kind of person Big Vasily really is? Aren’t you just judging based on some hearsay ‘deeds’ and his propositions, believing he’s actually a good leader?”

“So, how are you any different from the ordinary citizens in ‘The Inheritor’ who chose Phil as their superhero?”

“Moreover, when Teacher Cui wrote ‘The Inheritor,’ he wasn’t trying to criticize a specific person or group. How Phil truly is, whether the lives of Dawn City’s people would improve a bit or worsen a bit—these weren’t his focus.”

“The reason for writing Phil as so detestable was simply to prevent misunderstandings and reduce the cost of comprehension.”

“What he wanted to say was that in such an environment, people are merely choosing between ‘bad’ and ‘worse’ options. The victory of a certain person might not be because he’s competent enough, but simply because the other option is more unacceptable to everyone.”

“Who Dawn City elected as a superhero, what kind of person he really is, what changes occurred in Dawn City—none of this matters. What matters is that Dawn City’s situation can never fundamentally change.”

“Whether Phil wins or loses doesn’t matter; one major corporation rises and another falls, this doesn’t matter either; who ranks as the number one superhero is even less important.”

“What’s important is, can we see the essence of things through surface phenomena? Can we gain some inspiration from this story?”

“On this point, I won’t elaborate further—it’s not easy to say. Everyone can comprehend it themselves.”

“Finally, I want to emphasize one point about the superhero theme.”

“For a long time, superhero-themed movies have swept the globe, garnering countless box office revenues, and exporting cultural consciousness with an attitude of seeking defeat in solitude.”

“Indeed, some values in superhero-themed movies are positive and meaningful, such as ‘with great power comes great responsibility,’ which can resonate with people—that’s certainly good.”

“But is the superhero theme really flawless and without any problems? Is it truly beyond reproach in terms of values?”

“Probably not.”

“Actually, abroad, some anti-superhero themes have emerged. In these series, superheroes not only fail to protect citizens but commit all kinds of evils, appearing righteous on the surface while completely changing face in private.”

“The reason is that reality tells us that superhero themes have strong elements of beautification and falsehood.”

“Superhero-themed movies themselves are like the superheroes in anti-superhero themes—they are embellished and beautified. People love superheroes and naturally come to like the city and cultural background that gave birth to the superhero world, but is it really as wonderful as everyone imagines?”

“If superheroes truly existed, with everything above ordinary people, possessing combat power that conventional weapons cannot restrict, and influence that commands immediate response, then why would they give up luxury and fame, and always serve ordinary people without complaint? All relying on a superhero’s conscience?”

“Individual heroism is meaningful in many cases, and people should indeed take responsibility and stand up in certain situations. But if individual heroism is overemphasized, it falls into another misconception.”

“‘The Inheritor’ stands from a different perspective, offering another view and opinion.”

“As for what it’s trying to express, I think everyone will have different answers in their hearts, and for Chinese people, perhaps the answers will have some consistency to a certain extent.”

“Finally, I once again express my sincere apologies to Teacher Cui, to all staff at Fei Huang Studio, and to ‘The Inheritor’!”

“‘The Inheritor’ could have been made into a movie, released to make big money; it could also have been filmed domestically, reducing production costs, decreasing the possibility of losing money, and allowing actors like Lu Zhiyao to have more screen time. But Fei Huang Studio still chose to film abroad, employing many foreign actors, and famous actors could only make cameos within the constraints of the plot.”

“In the end, ‘The Inheritor’ met with everyone in series form, taking a huge risk of loss, presenting the entire story most perfectly.”

“Therefore, I want to express my respect to Fei Huang Studio. You continuously challenge and surpass yourselves, not resting on your laurels, but constantly trying new fields and new themes. You are the well-deserved pride of China’s film industry!”