The Eight (2020)

It is twice the pleasure to deceive the deceiver.

This Chen Kaige production more than lives up to its pedigree with a fresh and intriguing plot, unforgettable characters, eye popping visuals and costumes and movie quality production values overall. It is the rare Chinese drama that delivers a hefty and completely satisfying wow factor at the end that actually exceeds the exciting, high octane start. Unlike most Republican era dramas, this one is not at all just plain depressing and yuck.

On his way home, fresh graduate Hua Minchu (Oh Hao) finds himself entangled in the affairs of the Eight, a vast and powerful jianghu alliance representing eight professions or guilds (spies, sages, mechanics, deceivers, thieves, assassins, poisoners and entertainers). The Eight guild masters have been long awaiting the emergence of a new leader (their Holder) to help them "go legitimate" by disbanding and exiting the grey underworld economy to become upstanding and productive members of society. But this is easier said than done as different factions emerge and other forces plot to seize power and unlock the secrets of a fabled magnificent treasure.

This drama bursts with colorful and multi-faceted characters from the most banal to the most divine; the most loyal to the most diabolical; the most compassionate to the most deadly and the most transparent to the most deceptive. While Oh Hao's Hua Minchu is clearly the lead and very well acted, this drama is about teamwork and the entire idiosyncratic cast steals my heart. All of the guild masters are legends unto themselves; each bringing an unmatched skill to the table that complements the skills of the other masters. Both good and bad are so dynamic, bad ass and so utterly awe inspiring it is literally a gangster's paradise. I love that this drama is about a team that works together, loves together, rejoices together and mourns together - the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. It is big fun to watch such impeccably well acted character dramas like this that doesn't just focus on one lead character. That said, I must admit that Oh Hau/Hua Minchu is delicious! He is a man's man - tall, tan, charismatic and ruggedly handsome - unlike the super androgynous, pasty white faced effeminate male leads we see too much of. He is not the best fighter nor does he always make the best decisions but he is clever and dang - he is way too sexy for whatever outfit they pour him into! I watched this through what I (mistakenly) thought were gaping plot holes just to savor his effortless charm and masculinity.

The villains in this show are very good villains - just as deadly, well resourced, smart and cool . Among others, our heroes are pitted against main villain Fang Yuanji, a viciously brutal, steroid enhanced lean mean killing machine and a shadowy mastermind with an opaque agenda. I had my heart in my mouth every time the Eight engages in hand to hand combat with Fang Yuanji and all their encounters are shockingly consequential. I don't think I need to elaborate on the visual virtuosity of action scenes produced by Chen Kaige - and in truth I don't have the words to do them justice.

From the start, I saw this as a character drama and did not have high expectations in terms of plot so I was wowed when it actually delivered. The story is tightly written and the plot unfolds at an exciting pace with enough conspiracies, twists, angst, betrayals, manipulations and manifold adventures within the well constructed and engaging arcs. However, it is not that easy to develop believable romance threads within such an action packed and heavily character laden story. As such, the romance between Minchu and Xishui (Tan Songyun) was not convincingly developed and it was quite obvious that many of their scenes were cut. That said, they still had good chemistry and Tan Songyun is always adorable, she just seemed to have been dealt a bit of a raw deal on her scenes. I don't enjoy triangles generally but in this case, it is handled very well and turns out to be actually relevant to the plot. In the middle, plot holes emerged with key actors making uncharacteristic decisions that had me rolling my eyes. And then in the final two episodes, I realized I was fooled - everything makes sense and every major loose thread comes together in an EPIC showdown and an exhilarating finale that will leave you thrilled, agonized, shocked and completely and utterly pleased by the way the deceiver is deceived. This is the one drama I have seen this year with a truly strong finish and it is the way dramas should end - shortly after a thoroughly satisfying climatic peak.

Make this the next drama you start. You can thank me later. My 8.0/10 rating would be higher were it not for the cut episodes and the somewhat weaker romance arcs.

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Dang !! this was good . I didn't expect it too be that good. I very seldom watch this type of drama. Im more of the romance/school type but this one I really liked. There is some romance but that isn't the focus. Its hard to say what genre this drama falls under , its a mixed between some martial arts/ actions/heist/.

Story: The story is really intriguing! There is a set of 7 people who have different martial arts background ( one is swift with a knife, one is good are using wiring and rope/ fast hands , one knows a lot of information,/historian , one is smart with technology/ inventions and has a good memory, one is the social person/ skilled in making powders that can hurt people, another who is good in martial arts and another which i forgot.
The seven have to protect the one ( which is their head) who hold the scrolls. Putting the scrolls together can find treasure.

It starts off as the male lead coming back from college and he some hows becomes the leader of the scrolls. Along the way he meets the different people with different abilities that wants to protect the scroll and him. The female lead is one of the protects , she mistake him as her senior( her "brother") . I like the female lead because she is cute, cheerful and good at martial arts. Many people also want to get their hands on the scroll. The main evil dude is a general.

The story played out really nicely. My favorite parts are when they come up with a plan/heist to save. Each person does their part. When they are about to be in danger , another member from their team saves them. In the story they are traveling and along the way encounter the bad guy. They travel to each of the 7 member's house/ where they are from

The rewatch value isnt as high because there some surprises at the end that once you watch you already know, but actually might rewatch for the action apart.

totally would recommend this drama :D plus oho ( the male lead is pretty cute), and the female lead is really pretty

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The Sum of All Parts made this an Interesting Drama.

Completed - 6/21/2022

While browsing through Seven Tan’s filmography, I came across “The Eight”. This drama doesn’t seem to be very popular but since I like Seven Tan and Qin Lan, and the synopsis sounds interesting enough, I want to give it a try. It’s rare to find a Republican era drama that is NOT about spies, Kuomintang vs Communist Party or the Japanese Occupation. So, this is a breath of fresh air. Instead, this drama is about a college student becoming entangled in the business of the eight professions/guilds of Jianghu and how he plays a key role in their future.

Plot and Pacing
After watching the first couple episodes, I question the overarching plot of this drama. This is weird. Why do these 8 guilds need an outsider to help them make the change? Can’t each leader take care of its members and help them lead a normal life? Well, since that’s the premise, I’ll go with it. The strength of the drama is the sum of all parts. Each guild is very distinct and its leaders have different personalities and skills. The drama gives each of the 8 professions a decent amount of screen time for watchers to get to know them. I really appreciate this as that did not happen when I was watching “The Mystic Nine”. In “The Mystic Nine”, some of the leaders are casually mentioned or resorted to being in a big montage. Not here! “The Eight” was able to weave the different stories into its big general plot. There are some pretty cool scenes and subplots that I’ve never seen before in a C-drama, e.g. The Battle of Generals (using a city’s model as a chess board and different colored sand to battle it out) and the Battle of Mechanics (a very smart way of fighting without the use of weapons). The pacing of the drama was great in the first 2 ⁄ 3 of the drama. I was engaged and interested as we traveled from Beijing to Kunming to Guangzhou and Shanghai. But when it hits the last third of the drama in Shanghai, I realize events happened without being shown. Watchers have to pay close attention to the voiceovers/monologues and conversations. If you don’t pay attention, you might miss some details. The pace of the last 3 episodes are especially fast. There are so many events and plot twists that these episodes are jam-packed with action. This is either due to censorship or editing. For once, I wish the drama was actually a little longer to give us a little breathing room in the final episodes.

Characters
I enjoy getting to know all the characters of the 8 guilds. None is really annoying and I like each of their little stories, though some are still given more screen time than others. Our male lead, Hua Min Chu, is smart, cool-headed and a great strategist. I was initially concerned that he would be an idealistic and naive fresh college grad, but am pleasantly surprised that he’s not. He is the soul of the drama, as he influences those around him with his ideals and actions. One of the villains is shown from the beginning of the drama, and he continues to be one throughout the rest of the show. Though we finally get to know his story towards the end, I don’t think I pity him at all. This is a drama with a big main and supporting cast. I do think the drama does a good job in presenting the main cast to us in a way that we know enough of them to care about them.

Acting + Dubbing
This is my first introduction to our main lead, Ou Hao. I am glad to have discovered him and will look out for his other dramas. You can see his character grow from a fresh graduate to the leader of the guild. There are quite a few emotional scenes, and his crying/tearing is believable and not overdramatic. He doesn’t smile much in this drama, but when he does, his dimples make my heart melt. I didn’t find him attractive in the beginning, but as he matured and became more charismatic, he became more handsome in my eyes (Ok, a little hair gel also helps). Seven Tan and Qin Lan’s acting meet my expectations. They are just great actresses. The rest of the cast also did a great job. For most of the cast, actors use their real voice except for Qin Lan (this is very disappointing as I love her voice), and Cheng Xing Yuan (who played Qi Ming). However, you can still tell that it’s studio recording and not live recording. There are times I could hear dialogues being dubbed over in post production by a voice actor.

Romance
Romance is only a subplot in this drama and the love triangle is not unbearable. You won’t find an evil second female lead or jealous exes. Hua Min Chu (ML) and Gua Dao Ren (FL) have great chemistry. But not sure if some scenes are edited out, I didn’t quite see enough affection developed on the ML’s side. Obviously he cares for FL in the beginning but he could have cared for her as a friend and not a love interest. Aside from this, the second half of the romance is nicely developed.

Action + Production
There’s actually a decent amount of action scenes in this drama, both fighting and shooting. However, many of these fights are in slow-motion and that’s my pet peeve. The best fight scenes are those done by Assassin leader Yi Fang and especially in the last two episodes of the drama. It’s also great to see that 3 of the 4 female leads can fight! This is not a big budget production. I think the majority of the budget is spent on costumes for Qin Lan (as Lady Jin Xiu), Ou Hao (as Hua Min Chu) and Cici Wang (as Zhong Yao). These three are the “richest” of the group, so I guess they have more than 2 sets of clothes. Qin Lan has beautiful dresses, especially her Qi Paos. Ou Hao looks dashing in a variety of suits but he looks the most handsome to me when he’s wearing a simple black shirt and black pants. CiCi Wang has the most variety of suits and dresses. Everyone else wears the same 2-3 outfits. The graphics and green screen scenes are not that great either, especially the fake far away shots of the trains. The sets and props seem to be of OK quality.

Overall, I quite enjoy this drama. I am giving it a solid 8.5 because I think it’s hard to weave stories of so many main characters into the main plot. I think “The Eight” did a pretty good job.

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thriller, great suspense, keeps you guessing for the culprit

This is a very well made drama with attention to details. It keeps me interested and involves so many characters to keep you guessing for the culprit. If you are expecting a love story, this is not the focus here, although there are some sweet moments between the main leads but it revolves around team work, perseverance, supporting your team behind the scenes, and loyalty.
I suggest you read the plot first to understand the background before watching the drama so you'll understand why there are so many characters involve in this drama. If you like suspense, you will not be disappointed. Without spoiling the movie, I would say the bad guy is not what you expected it to be. You will appreciate the relationship between peers, friends, family and etc. As usual, Seven Tan delivers it and made it believable. Her acting is natural and became the character in this drama. She is totally different from her other roles in Go ahead, Dear Mayang street, etc. She has great chemistry with the male lead as always. I wish she had more scenes in this drama but I guess with so many characters involved in the plot, they have to save scenes for other characters to evolve.

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Don't worry it's a happy ending.

I'm done watching all 24 episodes. I must say, this is a worth-to-watch chinese series. No boring episodes. Thus, i'll be missing all the characters...the holder,the mechanics, queen of poisons, queen of spies, the king of deception, the lady of the thousand hands, queen of entertainers, king of assassins and the master of wisdom.
They were all aiming for the land of China to be free from deceitful regime. Also, to disband the so-called the eight. This series was totally a masterpiece. Kudos to the writer, director as well as the characters. They nailed the whole series.
Moreover, this series gave me an opportunity to appreciate another idol-Oho Ou. He's really a versatile actor here.
I highly recommend this series. My rating is 10/10. The best chinese series after Arsenal Military Academy and Under the Power.
Superb!

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A gem, don' t miss it !!

I'm not a big fan of nationalist or 1920s-1930s dramas. Also I only started watching for Ou Lao and Seven (2 actors I like in all of their works).

And I haven't regretted it!

I never do great analysis or very detailed commentary, so I'll keep it simple.
It is a fresco of thrilling adventure, well conducted, coherent, with a formidable cast.

1/ the cast:
I have already mentioned the 2 leads who bring this adventure to life with their usual talent. I just regret that their romance is so occasional on the screen. Their chemistry is obvious and OTPs are far too rare.
The secondary characters are well developed, with their objectives, their complexity, their paradoxes.

2/ The story:
I don't know enough about the history of China to judge the authenticity of the context, but the whole seems realistic.
Of course, the viewer is entitled to the refrain "everything for the people, priority to the nation, duty above all" but there is no escaping it in Chinese dramas and it is consistent with the context.
The narration is fast, the clues are given finely during the storyline. In short, the screenwriter and the director did an excellent job.
The action scenes are plentiful and extremely well done.

3/ OSTs:
There too, carefully chosen and adapted to the context, despite a few bugs (waltz tune when the dancers are visibly dancing to another rhythm, for example). I appreciated the opening and ending credits, lyrical, adapted to this great fresco of adventure.

I will definitely rewatch this drama (which is quite rare, for me) because I was glued to my screen for 3 days/nights, which gives the measure of its quality.

So, if you have a few days avalaible (because you're going to be hooked), don't miss this jewel, which won't disappoint you!

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A different drama against my predictions

It was a fantastic drama. Initially I was not interested. I decided to give it a try because of seven tan. But I never thought I will like each and every person in this drama.
This was my first drama in a Republican era. The eight depicts eight factions where each of them have respective talents. The actions and talents of each factions made it more interesting to watch the drama. The male lead was good too. I really like him . Even though romance is not developed here it really stick to the story. It's understandable that there is no time for lovey dovey romance.
When it was near to the last few episodes I already predicted the climax. But the last 2 episodes really made me amused. It was a perfect ending. I also shed tears especially for the king of assassins.
Overall it was a wonderful work.
About re-watching this drama it's upto individual's choice. Because already the suspense part is out. So I don't think to re-watch.
Anyway I really recommend this drama. As an international fan of cdrama, even though in the middle I feel like there is no connection between things, In the end everything makes sense. So give it a try. I am not writing about the story because it's something that a viewer have to be experience.

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You may be cunning, but I got smarts

Cast:
The cast of The Eight is good. Majority of the cast carried their characters well. I was a little bit disappointed with the two female leads, but more so with Seven Tan’s character. The actress is particularly good at her roles; however, it seemed that her character in here, Xi Shui was somewhat similarly written to that of Xia in Under the Power. She was also very seldom in the show, I was expecting that Seven Tan would have more screen space, but it could be due to the new rule of episode limitation that has done a number on other shows as well.

Story:

The story is interesting and decent. The clothing and the setting suited the era that was being portrayed. I like that the male lead, Hua Min Chu played by Oho Ou used his brain and some fighting skills to achieve his goal and his people as well. He is indeed a smart character and has the courage not to back down in any situation. Having a lead use logic to outsmart the villains was refreshing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the visible, yet subtle one-sided love stories between Hua Min Chu, Xi Shui, Ke Shu, and Zhong Yao. Hua Min Chu and Xi Shui does end up together eventually, but their journey was exceedingly difficult and tested the trust shared between them. Zhong Yao was not less at sacrificing her love for their true love, Hua Min Chu and Xi Shui. Ke Shu secretly kept his feelings for Xi Shu to himself and he is too cute.

The villains are relentless in this series, especially Fang Yuan Ji played by Zhang Ao Yue. He did such an excellent job at his character, that you just love to dislike him. Regardless, of how relentless their opposition were, The Eight were no less in their resilience. The ate every hurt, every defeat, but came back stronger and defeated their opponents with a blast, including the mastermind himself Qi Ming played by Cheng Zing Yuan. The Eight emerge victorious in the end and were disbanded.

Another plus is that characters were not just randomly killed off as with other series.

A downer is the scene where Xi Shui was tied and bound by the locks and fireworks. It was too similar to Xia’s situation in Under the Power when Yan Shi Fan captured her. It is understandable that no show can be completely unique from other shows, but significant or memorable scenes should not be re-used.

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Wow!! Very Fun!! very good content.

For "the eight" I've been reluctant to watch many times. The first scene on the train surprised me. I didn't really like the first scene on the train. Hesitating whether to continue watching or not. When deciding to continue watching, I found that the story in "the eight" was much more fun than I thought. Amazing subplots!! and i can't stop watching. I love every aspect of the eight's story. I like many characters, they are dimensional, colorful, and have strengths and weaknesses.​ I love ML&FL He and she have their strengths and weaknesses, cute and amazing.

The eight fun and happy that I had to watch it again!! 💯

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