4
17
1
5
1
1
1
This drama was recommended to me as a detective drama which resembles the classic whodunnits of the past and is without a romance subplot.
And it was, in a way.
You have Shen Yi, who is almost a savant in his abilities to draw portraits out of the most obscure clues and his sidekick and partner Chen Du. You have a series of cases that can only be solved by this ability.
In all technical aspects, the drama was fine, great even. But something was lacking.
One aspect that I can point out is that the mastermind and thus the plot in the last one and a half episodes felt very disconnected from the rest – none of it used Shen Yi’s original ability of drawing or deepened the metaphor of “under the skin”; instead, we got a plot about surveillance and computers. Also, a new metaphor of playing chess was introduced – and suddenly Shen Yi is the greatest chess player ever.
Not only is it that the plot diverged from the established pattern too much but also the dynamics between the two main leads is disturbed: While in the first two thirds, we had Shen Yi as the savant who does his own thing and Du Chen as the upright police officer who is rash and hands-on, this distinction disappears completely later.
Part of it might be the unavoidable propaganda (which is why I approach Chinese dramas with great caution): It could have been much worse, but it’s still there. The police can do no wrong, they are all morally above reproach (apart from the occasional emotional outburst), they are all doing their job out of conviction, and, of course, none of them is not likable. Police brutality? Questionable interrogation methods? Of course not.
Interestingly, the evil mastermind reminded me of a certain American whose name begins with Marc and ends with Zuckerberg – I am sure no parallels were intended.
But even in the earlier episodes, the cases left me lukewarm. There was exactly one moment that caught me, everything else felt … muted, maybe. I would love to see a Japanese remake, I think they would play up the eccentricities and tighten the pace a bit, so the emotions can hit better.
Was it good?
It was great in all technical aspects; but felt too slow at times. I feel that the last case didn’t fit with the rest, and that the world building that was definitely there could have been explored more.
Did I like it?
It was okay.
Would I recommend it?
Not necessarily. Maybe to those who both love classic whodunnits *and* the style of Chinese dramas?
And it was, in a way.
You have Shen Yi, who is almost a savant in his abilities to draw portraits out of the most obscure clues and his sidekick and partner Chen Du. You have a series of cases that can only be solved by this ability.
In all technical aspects, the drama was fine, great even. But something was lacking.
One aspect that I can point out is that the mastermind and thus the plot in the last one and a half episodes felt very disconnected from the rest – none of it used Shen Yi’s original ability of drawing or deepened the metaphor of “under the skin”; instead, we got a plot about surveillance and computers. Also, a new metaphor of playing chess was introduced – and suddenly Shen Yi is the greatest chess player ever.
Not only is it that the plot diverged from the established pattern too much but also the dynamics between the two main leads is disturbed: While in the first two thirds, we had Shen Yi as the savant who does his own thing and Du Chen as the upright police officer who is rash and hands-on, this distinction disappears completely later.
Part of it might be the unavoidable propaganda (which is why I approach Chinese dramas with great caution): It could have been much worse, but it’s still there. The police can do no wrong, they are all morally above reproach (apart from the occasional emotional outburst), they are all doing their job out of conviction, and, of course, none of them is not likable. Police brutality? Questionable interrogation methods? Of course not.
Interestingly, the evil mastermind reminded me of a certain American whose name begins with Marc and ends with Zuckerberg – I am sure no parallels were intended.
But even in the earlier episodes, the cases left me lukewarm. There was exactly one moment that caught me, everything else felt … muted, maybe. I would love to see a Japanese remake, I think they would play up the eccentricities and tighten the pace a bit, so the emotions can hit better.
Was it good?
It was great in all technical aspects; but felt too slow at times. I feel that the last case didn’t fit with the rest, and that the world building that was definitely there could have been explored more.
Did I like it?
It was okay.
Would I recommend it?
Not necessarily. Maybe to those who both love classic whodunnits *and* the style of Chinese dramas?
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