For the Young Ones (2024)

Growing Pains.

The Young Ones is an unexpectedly addictive crime thriller. After missteps in a case, Lei Xu gets appointed as the Director of the Juvenile Prosecution Department, a new department responsible for prosecuting juvenile cases. It is an effective demotion that sees him back in his hometown, leading an all-female team. It is an awkward transition for Lei Xu, who is more accustomed to dealing with hard core criminals than with sensitive, angsty, hormonal and mendacious teenagers. He also finds himself stepping on all kinds of toes dealing with some of the more prickly members of his team. Fortunately for him he has an interesting history with his high school classmate Du Ziyu, who smooths the way for him.

The plot is not special and the villains are not smart and are known early on. By pulling together threads of a few seemingly unrelated juvenile cases, Lei Xu stumbles onto an old nemesis that enables them to bring down a much larger criminal network. What makes this drama riveting, horrifying and addictive are the teen stories. Their growing pains, their vulnerability and the way they respond to trauma is scary and moving at the same time. I am not a binger but I couldn't stop watching just one more episode well past my bedtime. The teen actors absolutely stole the show, notably Jia Xiaohan's portrayal of the layer upon layer that peels away to reveal what happened to Jiang Xiaojie. The way Jiang Xiaojie, Zhang Yunyun and Zhou Qiao, lie over and over again so convincingly and ingeniously to protect each other moved me more than anything else. These kids only have and trust each other; they really don't have any faith in adults and they are too smart; they ran circles around the prosecutors! Bravo to all the child actors, they were truly phenomenal!

The rest of the cast is solid overall. It is anchored by Zhang Yi, who is in his element in this kind of slightly flawed but dedicated good guy, slightly awkward around women cop. I enjoyed the hint of romance and how the team comes to work together seamlessly. The only thing that surprised me is Qin Lan's lines; they were simply dreadful and she seemed uncomfortable in her role. Overall this is just another one of many decent police procedurals that is elevated by outstanding teen related sub-plots and performances. Its a good watch to pass time during a drama drought. I rate it 7/10.

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