A hit show questions blind obedience to unreasonable parents. It is no mean feat to be
one of the top-ten trending hashtags on Weibo for 20consecutive 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, SuMingyu, is barely on speaking terms
with her widowed father. The father is a nagging crank who expects his two adult sons to
bankroll his lavish tastes. This leads to constant bickering between th3e brothers,
neither of whom wants to be called unfilial. Many Chinese can relate to the Su family's
troubles. The daughter holds a grudge against her father, and especially against her late
mother, for pampering her brothers. The biggest reaction has been to the drama's critique
of filial piety. In the series, the widowed father does not attract much sympathy.
Commentators on social media have taken to calling the father a juying ("giant baby") - a
characteristic common among parents in real life. There have been mixed reviews in state
media, One newspaper said that the "realistic plot and acting" had touched the "pain
points" of many viewers. Beijing Daily, however, said the drama was "unrealistic". It
said it caricatured elderly parents by "unreasonably" ascribing "every possible bad
quality" of old people to one character.