I paid to watch THIS?

I want to be charitable because I showed up to support Gong Jun, but...I cannot. (For much more enjoyable uses of your time that also include his face, I’d recommend Word of Honor, Begin Again, or The Love Equations). This was just a gigantic mess. At first, I was having fun with the zany editing and lackluster plot/characters, but by episode nine, it wasn’t campy in a good way anymore. I watched subsequent episodes on 1.5 speed and fast-forwarded through most of them anyways.

I’m not sure where to begin, except that in so many ways, this was a sub-par version of You Are My Hero, like the comments say. The male lead in one of the civil protection agencies, the female lead a doctor, even the same plot near the beginning of the male lead’s team having to teach the female lead’s team something to do with emergency procedures.

The pacing was terrible, I’m not sure if it was that the episode count was cut to fit into July’s patriotic drama theme or what; the comments here on MydramaList can certainly attest to the absolutely bizarre editing. There are flashbacks to scenes that actually didn’t occur into the final cut; it’s that bad.

Yan Lan is unbearable, alternating between boring, bratty, and useless. She has a remarkable amount of spare time for a doctor, sitting around her office for most of her hospital scenes. The actress was more charismatic as Chuchu in Legend of Fei, and that is saying something for the writing here.

The “villain” was a shallow creation whose actual villainry was kind of pulled out of a hat near the end.

My biggest letdown was the lack of … feeling for anything. In YAMH, they leaned better into hurt/comfort tropes, and invested time in developing the main couple. They were adorable. In Flaming Heart, everything feels brisk, businesslike, ushered along without any chemistry or feeling, and I never felt a thing for the main couple, nor even the other two hetero couples we’re introduced to. The tropes that do make it in – They Knew Each Other As Kids, His Dad Died Saving Her In A Fire, Oh Look At That We Met At The Same Natural Disaster Rescue Site – are either not given enough time for us to feel something, or we just don’t care either way.

My favorite part was whenever Wang Yizhou’s Li Yan Liang appeared, and the “very good friendship” his character had with Doctor Ji Yuan. I shipped them way more than any of the many couples shoved in our face in this drama.

I was not sad to reach the final episode, it was more a sigh of relief that I was free. I recommend people spend their time watching You Are My Hero or the above recommended Gong Jun dramas instead!

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A gripping drama about brotherhood and the corruption of greed

Wow, I binged this after a feature went up in the main MyDramaList page. It seemed a refreshing concept for the Light On series, which I'd heard great things about, and a good choice for my first drama with Chen Feiyu in the lead.

I was not disappointed; this was great. The greed for gold was like a lurking horror in the background, coaxing the worst out of every character and lending crowd scenes a terrifying aspect. This and the moral ambiguity of almost every character really let the moments of humanity and compassion shine through. I really felt the devotion of Baojin to his brother, to endure such conditions and danger to try to find him.

This drama felt like a classic western in the best way, the lure of gold leading to switched sides and loyalties more than once, and a threat of violence at every turn giving great thriller tension. The length and pacing was great, bingeable and not too drawn-out. The acting, effects, and overall production quality felt cinematic, and I couldn't stop watching. The ending was totally satisfying.

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A great thriller til the end

Wow. I admit, I dove into this because of Bai Jingting but I stayed for an unexpectedly skilled cast, intriguing plot, and wondering just how they were going to explain the time loop. (I'm going with "injustice can rip a hole in time and space" lmao). The episodes giving passengers' backstories gave a very human element to the people in the show - no one was just a victim. I was a little unsettled by how much copaganda the early episodes had but was absolutely satisfied by the end. And the light romance! It felt like Just Enough for this plot. The leads were so sweet together, such chemistry! And the drama was the perfect length for once, not dragged out but enough to largely flesh out the plot.

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Quietly charming with great comedic moments and a touching plot

I really enjoyed this one, startling even myself.

Bai Jingting was the reason I started this drama, and he was an absolute joy, at his comedic best in this show. I was living for his hilarious physical comedy, and also the sleazy loan shark wardrobe on him most of the time. Those round sunglasses! Loved them. This was my first drama with Janice Wu, and she was really enjoyable too! We could really see the character development and maturing of Xiaomei through her depiction.

The general messaging of the drama was super touching, too, and not usually something I go for. But the depictions of problems facing an aging society, and what that means for care homes and caregiving and care workers, felt very spot on and real to life. The different issues facing different residents of the retirement home, from getting scammed, to alzheimers, to difficulties with in-laws, felt tastefully addressed.

All in all this was a chill watch to enjoy on weeknights after work, and it never felt too high-stakes or stressful, even if some of the individual storylines were a little emotional. The pacing slowed a bit in the last half, but I never considered stopping it, a rarity!

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An underrated Gem

I binged it in 3 days, now to make all my friends watch it. A nice OST and score, great costuming despite what seems like a lower budget, well-choreographed fights, and a cadre of female characters with dimension: all added up to an excellent drama deserving of more praise!

I found the mysteries compelling, several of them a Wuxia spin on a locked room/It Was One Of Us sort, and completely enjoyed myself. As an avid mystery fan, that aspect of the show held up.

There were funny moments to break up what was a fairly high body count. I loved the characters' relationships, and how our protagonist is not a powerful martial artist, but living in the martial world. It was so enjoyable to see Prize himbo Zhao Wohuan and clever Jian Buzhi's bromance, and how Jian Buzhi got Zhan Shiqi to open up and smile. Doctors Ye Xiaoxiao and Gong Que were some of my favorite side characters from a Cdrama ever. And Madam Hei Wu was a delight.

The episode count wasn't a trial, either, although I do hope it gets the season 2 it was clearly set up for!

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