[Try Nirvana In Fire. Viki has it. A guy seeks justice for a conspiracy that labeled his family as traitors 12 years prior.]
I have not seen the sequel, NIF2. Chinese shows can spew a lot of information in the beginning, especially when they describe a battle or a war between two nations. It can be a bit confusing at first, i will stop a show and look up information if they make refrences to places, people or events.
“... and the way the narrative plunged straight in before explaining who everyone was. “
I’ve noticed that so many times, I have to just assume it’s part of the way these things are done. In the first episode most of the main characters will be introduced, but not necessarily their back stories or connections. It’s actually kind of nice to watch something that’s not dumbed down for American viewers - you know, you actually have to figure out who’s who sometimes!
On the other side, on many dramas, it seems there’s often a “wind down” episode, where the story is really concluded but the series hasn’t. I have a feeling this is there to allow you to say goodbye to the characters / story you’re now hopelessly attached to. I don’t recall anything like that in our TV, though it reminds me of the OVA episodes in Japanese anime.