When it dropped and I read the synopsis it felt that it would be really really promising........And I was waiting…
Yes he did. In fact the reason why the case is solve is because of him. Had it been another police officer, no matter how many years of experience they have, probably couldnt do it due to xxxxxx
Read this only after you finished the drama. 🕵️♂️
📄 INCONSISTENCIES IN THE WRITING AND CRIME DETAILS
These are not mistakes made by the production team or director, which I initially thought was the case. But all these inconsistencies are actually clues to the final revelation at the end. For an example, how its solo picture in Bi Dehua’s room but a trio picture in Han Pinmu’s room since its a photoshopped picture. Or why the crime is not consistent like its a mix between robberies and sexual assaults and why would they let the last victim survived? The answer since its a mixture between real serial killers and copy cat killers thus the inconsistencies in the crime cases.
🛑 HU XIAOFEI’S CRIME
I also like how some of the detail in the script just show instead of tell us like how Xiaofei saw his dad kissing Lu Xiaohua (which Bi Dehua has feeling to), then when he was tortured, he said he will give the 2 murderers someone to rape which of course is Lu Xiaohua which is the chapter that Han Pinmu conviniently skipped — as it didnt paint Xiaofei as a victim in the story.
🏡 HOW SONG LAIFU FOUND HU XIAOFEI’S HOME TO KILL HIM
Again, the drama show instead of tell on how Song Laifu managed to find Xiaofei’s home address and killed him. It is such a miniscule information but they told us that when they show Sun Qiang followed Han Pinmu when he visited Xiaofei to calm him down in the first episode.
💵 ZHANG’S ORIGIN OF MONEY TO KILL LI CHENG
The money that Zhang has to hire Sun Qiang to kill Li Cheng is kinda implied when he supposed to give the compensation money to fake Song Laifu’s sister. The sister agreed for his brother’s identity for a merely RMB10,000 eight years before, so they do not need to pay that much to shut her up (RMB150,000) as Zhang suggested to the hotel owner. Also, Li Cheng’s ‘Top Detective’ mum 🤣 is correct in her deduction that Zhang met the sister first before the disturbance to ask for money from the hotel owner (it wasnt the other around like Li Cheng said as the hotel owner only agreed for compensation after the disturbance). Its indeed that Zhang is the mastermind behind the whole thing as it didnt make sense for merely hotel manager to have that kind of money to hire a killer.
❌ WHY THE CRIME STOPPED FOR 8 YEARS?
This is because Zhang & Song Laifu are not psychopath that need to constantly release their ‘need’. Thats why they only robbed their first victims as their main reasons has always been money. Once Zhang has a stable income and flow of money as a hotel manager, they do not need to commit crime anymore and the copy cat killers helped them sealed their identities. The raping also stopped since Zhang now has been raping his wife for all those 8 years so he doesnt need to find a new victim to satisfy his ‘needs’. That is the secret relationship that the wife mentioned in one of their conversations together in their house.
👬 WHY CHEN CHUNLI NEVER IN DANGER DESPITE WORKING CLOSELY WITH HER 2 MURDERERS?
The plot twist at the end on how Chen Chunli staged her own attack answered this. Chen Chunli never in danger despite working very closely with Song Laifu and Zhang, since they truly didnt do anything or need to silence her.
👻 WHEN GUO PENGFEI STARTED TO APPEAR IN THE STORY?
He is the ‘ghost entity’ that kept looming in the background since the early part of the drama. He first comes into the picture in Episode 4 when his mother in the hospital. Its not a filler scene where the police ask Chen Chunli where is her son as the purpose is for him to go out of town first before the last crime happened so that he is totally ruled out as a suspect. Then he later appear again in the karaoke scene as a ‘repeating student’ in the gang of 4 bestfriends of Han Pingmu, Hu Xiaofei & Xin Xiaoliang. And later the scene where Han Pinmu saving Guo Pengfei from a bully. So when they first show the picture of a man caught in the CCTV to Chen Chunli, I knew right away that it is his son which is the ghost entity and final revelation in the drama. This is how well written is the drama so you can guess it right away as the clues has been there since the beginning.
🏥 WHY XIN XIAOLIANG IS NOT PART OF CHEN CHUNLI COPY CAT ATTACK THAT NIGHT?
He is lucky in that case since he injured himself while they are attacking Bi Dehua and has to go to the hospital to get stitches for his head injury. The interesting thing about this red herring is that its attempted for us to see Xiaoliang as the criminal which is false when they check his DNA but its actually a clue as well on how he is injured while trying to frame Bi Dehua. The red herring is a mix between the truth as well.
💢 WHY CHEN CHUNLI NEVER TELL GUO PENGFEI THE TRUTH AND LET HIM HATE HER?
Mother’s love. By keeping this secret from Guo Pengfei, despite he hates her is her attempt to make him live a rather happy and normal life unlike his friends where they all live unhappy and suffering lives full of guilt.
⚖️ HAN PINMU’S REDEMPTION ARC
Li Cheng & Han Pinmu is actually same coin of different sides. Both have the same personality, loyal, form deep friendship with everyone around them, close to their mothers and in search for the real truth. However, one take the rigth path where the other the opposite. I love when writer did this kind of foil relationship. And this comparison made Han Pinmu more irredeemable when you take into accounts all the details in his redemption arc. Since even until the end, he never truly come clean about his sins, never attempted to clear Bi Dehua’s name or bring the real truth/justice to light. How he skipped one chapter (Lu Xiaohua case) and deleted the last chapter (Chen Chunli case) since in both stories, they are not the victims but criminals — this whole sequence tell us the insights into his real thoughts. Till the end, it always about making himself like a victim instead of taking responsibility.
🔪 DID DU JUAN REALLY KILL HAN PINMU’S MOTHER?
Yes, while the story didnt outright said she did this, it is implied in the story. Du Juan hired his ex-boyfriend; Fang Meng to do the deeds. That is why he has this guilty face when Li Cheng is interragoting him at the prison and why he keeps extending his sentence so that he is safe from being killed by Han Pinmu. Also, the biggest clue is how after he hit Han Pinmu’s mum, he is very calm and relax and check her vital to make sure she is truly dead instead of panic like any normal person would.
🕵️♂️ CAN THIS CASE SOLVED WITHOUT LI CHENG INVOLVEMENT?
Probably no. The reason why this case is solved is due to Li Cheng’s close relationship with Bi Dehua. His iron-clad conviction that his brother is innocent is the driving force for him to go extra miles to investigate this case and look the case from another angles as the inconsistencies in the crimes are pretty obvious despite they all have the same murder weapon. And he only managed to do that when he requested to treat the last 2 murder cases separately and there he went to visit Bi Dehua’s home and gather new evidence regarding the photos and confirmed the deceits from Han Pinmu’s confession at the hospital.
📄 INCONSISTENCIES IN THE WRITING AND CRIME DETAILSThese are not mistakes made by the production team or director,…
She did it when Xin Jinran started to dig into the case again.
Han Pinmu send the novel to Jinran first, 3 months ago — that is when he started to dig the case again and disturb Chen Chunli at her work. Thats why the script kept telling us that the ‘love triangle’ between her, Jinran and Song Laifu started 3 months ago.
And she panics and accuse some random person which is Song Laifu to throw off Jinran from her son. Later, it got bigger and she retract back her statement.
She never knew Song Laifu before nor Song Laifu know that she accuse him as that information only available to Jinran.
The drama takes into account human errors and reactions as well. So for her case, the motive is still the same, to deflact everything away from her son.
Again, this is what makes the script so good. Its obvious at first that they throw Song Laifu at us as red herring but like I mentioned, even the red herring hold some truth as Song Laifu is indeed one of the murderers. Same as they did with Xin Xiaoliang. Use him as a red herring but later revealed that Xiaoliang as well actually involved with the crime to help his friend.
When it dropped and I read the synopsis it felt that it would be really really promising........And I was waiting…
Im like you too. I usually can tell the suspects right away. Im partly correct and wrong all at the same time 🤣 as the plot twist is indeed unexpected but earned.
📄 INCONSISTENCIES IN THE WRITING AND CRIME DETAILSThese are not mistakes made by the production team or director,…
Yes, thats why I said the drama literally answered everything. No plot holes or inconsistencies or unanswered questions at the end. They ‘show instead of tell’ some of the answers to our questions which made the discovery even more amazing. They trust the audiences’ intelligence and doesnt feed us all the answers or informations via script.
👏👏👍👍 such a well written and in depth review of this brilliant drama. As I have mentioned before,…
Thank you for your always kind words. 🤗 Yes, it is such a brilliant drama with amazing and compelling characters.
Its normal for crime and suspense dramas to receive this kind of treatment from platforms as this kind of dramas caters for different kind of viewers.
However, this drama is very successful in term of commercial value despite of that. The reservation is the highest for iQIYI Mist Theatre. And all the advertisment slots are fully book for all episodes — becoming #1 suspense dramas for the past years. And with zero promotion they did for the drama, you can say its one of the most successful dramas from iQIYI this season.
More or less like RJL’s Fate Chooses You a few months ago which have amazing viewership despite the very minimal marketing made by iQIYI. It becomes one of iQIYI’s most successful dramas this year as reported in their financial statement.
Some details in the story that made Abyss such a solid, intelligent and well written crime drama. By the end,…
📄 INCONSISTENCIES IN THE WRITING AND CRIME DETAILS
These are not mistakes made by the production team or director, which I initially thought was the case. But all these inconsistencies are actually clues to the final revelation at the end. For an example, how its solo picture in Bi Dehua’s room but a trio picture in Han Pinmu’s room since its a photoshopped picture. Or why the crime is not consistent like its a mix between robberies and sexual assaults and why would they let the last victim survived? The answer since its a mixture between real serial killers and copy cat killers thus the inconsistencies in the crime cases.
🛑 HU XIAOFEI’S CRIME
I also like how some of the detail in the script just show instead of tell us like how Xiaofei saw his dad kissing Lu Xiaohua (which Bi Dehua has feeling to), then when he was tortured, he said he will give the 2 murderers someone to rape which of course is Lu Xiaohua which is the chapter that Han Pinmu conviniently skipped — as it didnt paint Xiaofei as a victim in the story.
🏡 HOW SONG LAIFU FOUND HU XIAOFEI’S HOME TO KILL HIM
Again, the drama show instead of tell on how Song Laifu managed to find Xiaofei’s home address and killed him. It is such a miniscule information but they told us that when they show Sun Qiang followed Han Pinmu when he visited Xiaofei to calm him down in the first episode.
💵 ZHANG’S ORIGIN OF MONEY TO KILL LI CHENG
The money that Zhang has to hire Sun Qiang to kill Li Cheng is kinda implied when he supposed to give the compensation money to fake Song Laifu’s sister. The sister agreed for his brother’s identity for a merely RMB10,000 eight years before, so they do not need to pay that much to shut her up (RMB150,000) as Zhang suggested to the hotel owner. Also, Li Cheng’s ‘Top Detective’ mum 🤣 is correct in her deduction that Zhang met the sister first before the disturbance to ask for money from the hotel owner (it wasnt the other around like Li Cheng said as the hotel owner only agreed for compensation after the disturbance). Its indeed that Zhang is the mastermind behind the whole thing as it didnt make sense for merely hotel manager to have that kind of money to hire a killer.
❌ WHY THE CRIME STOPPED FOR 8 YEARS?
This is because Zhang & Song Laifu are not psychopath that need to constantly release their ‘need’. Thats why they only robbed their first victims as their main reasons has always been money. Once Zhang has a stable income and flow of money as a hotel manager, they do not need to commit crime anymore and the copy cat killers helped them sealed their identities. The raping also stopped since Zhang now has been raping his wife for all those 8 years so he doesnt need to find a new victim to satisfy his ‘needs’. That is the secret relationship that the wife mentioned in one of their conversations together in their house.
👬 WHY CHEN CHUNLI NEVER IN DANGER DESPITE WORKING CLOSELY WITH HER 2 MURDERERS?
The plot twist at the end on how Chen Chunli staged her own attack answered this. Chen Chunli never in danger despite working very closely with Song Laifu and Zhang, since they truly didnt do anything or need to silence her.
👻 WHEN GUO PENGFEI STARTED TO APPEAR IN THE STORY?
He is the ‘ghost entity’ that kept looming in the background since the early part of the drama. He first comes into the picture in Episode 4 when his mother in the hospital. Its not a filler scene where the police ask Chen Chunli where is her son as the purpose is for him to go out of town first before the last crime happened so that he is totally ruled out as a suspect. Then he later appear again in the karaoke scene as a ‘repeating student’ in the gang of 4 bestfriends of Han Pingmu, Hu Xiaofei & Xin Xiaoliang. And later the scene where Han Pinmu saving Guo Pengfei from a bully. So when they first show the picture of a man caught in the CCTV to Chen Chunli, I knew right away that it is his son which is the ghost entity and final revelation in the drama. This is how well written is the drama so you can guess it right away as the clues has been there since the beginning.
🏥 WHY XIN XIAOLIANG IS NOT PART OF CHEN CHUNLI COPY CAT ATTACK THAT NIGHT?
He is lucky in that case since he injured himself while they are attacking Bi Dehua and has to go to the hospital to get stitches for his head injury. The interesting thing about this red herring is that its attempted for us to see Xiaoliang as the criminal which is false when they check his DNA but its actually a clue as well on how he is injured while trying to frame Bi Dehua. The red herring is a mix between the truth as well.
💢 WHY CHEN CHUNLI NEVER TELL GUO PENGFEI THE TRUTH AND LET HIM HATE HER?
Mother’s love. By keeping this secret from Guo Pengfei, despite he hates her is her attempt to make him live a rather happy and normal life unlike his friends where they all live unhappy and suffering lives full of guilt.
⚖️ HAN PINMU’S REDEMPTION ARC
Li Cheng & Han Pinmu is actually same coin of different sides. Both have the same personality, loyal, form deep friendship with everyone around them, close to their mothers and in search for the real truth. However, one take the rigth path where the other the opposite. I love when writer did this kind of foil relationship. And this comparison made Han Pinmu more irredeemable when you take into accounts all the details in his redemption arc. Since even until the end, he never truly come clean about his sins, never attempted to clear Bi Dehua’s name or bring the real truth/justice to light. How he skipped one chapter (Lu Xiaohua case) and deleted the last chapter (Chen Chunli case) since in both stories, they are not the victims but criminals — this whole sequence tell us the insights into his real thoughts. Till the end, it always about making himself like a victim instead of taking responsibility.
🔪 DID DU JUAN REALLY KILL HAN PINMU’S MOTHER?
Yes, while the story didnt outright said she did this, it is implied in the story. Du Juan hired his ex-boyfriend; Fang Meng to do the deeds. That is why he has this guilty face when Li Cheng is interragoting him at the prison and why he keeps extending his sentence so that he is safe from being killed by Han Pinmu. Also, the biggest clue is how after he hit Han Pinmu’s mum, he is very calm and relax and check her vital to make sure she is truly dead instead of panic like any normal person would.
🕵️♂️ CAN THIS CASE SOLVED WITHOUT LI CHENG INVOLVEMENT?
Probably no. The reason why this case is solved is due to Li Cheng’s close relationship with Bi Dehua. His iron-clad conviction that his brother is innocent is the driving force for him to go extra miles to investigate this case and look the case from another angles as the inconsistencies in the crimes are pretty obvious despite they all have the same murder weapon. And he only managed to do that when he requested to treat the last 2 murder cases separately and there he went to visit Bi Dehua’s home and gather new evidence regarding the photos and confirmed the deceits from Han Pinmu’s confession at the hospital.
Some details in the story that made Abyss such a solid, intelligent and well written crime drama. By the end, everything is answered with literally no plot holes or inconsistencies in the writing. The drama did a lot of ‘show instead of tell’ and rely on the acting of the characters to tell us the real truth. This kind of writing with layers and details are the one that separate between excellent script and other scripts in the industry:
I really love and enjoy watching RJL’s performance in many of his dramas particularly Love in Nirvana. But I…
Exactly, he is actually the true villain of the show regardless of his redemption arc.
He even try to frame Xin Jinran with Song Laifu’s death. He even tell Xiaoliang involvement in the case since he knew its gonna broke Xin Jinran. Thats why when Li Cheng told Xin Jinran that Xiaoliang didnt stabbed De Hua, Xin Jinran freed the birds to show how he freed himself from the guilt as well. Im happy they gave him that relief at the end.
Han Pinmu only reveal the truth since he is dying not that he genuinely feel guilty about it.
Happy to know that you thoroughly enjoyed the drama. I haven't started to watch this drama yet as I am currently…
Haha I'm indeed pretty strict when it comes to my reviews so 10/10 is almost never happened. 😆
I think the part that really get me is that literally there is nothing to complain which is pretty much never happen to me. Its oddly weird how time just pass when you watch this drama. You press play, and 7 episodes just went by. And all the characters are perfectly casted and acted. And the chemistry between the casts are what made the drama so addictingly warm and soothing despite its dark subjects.
No worries, take your time to watch it as the drama wont go anywhere. :)
My review this time has no spoiler at all (despite I'm dying to give it since some of the details are brilliant) but since this is a mystery drama, the best part of watching is not knowing anything. I give some points in my review so pay attention to it when you watch it later as the clues in the story is mind-blowingly a lot. But despite of that, everything comes perfectly together at the end. Its like an interactive game when you watch the drama as your brain actively spinning to connect all the dots in the good way. The mysteries are just very intriguing.
I really love and enjoy watching RJL’s performance in many of his dramas particularly Love in Nirvana. But I…
Han Pinmu basically trying to do copycat killer to push all blame towards Bi Dehua. He cant expose Zhang & Song since that will lead to his friend Xiaofei being exposed as well. Thats why they need to find a victim so the police will close the investigation when they found the murderer (Bi Dehua).
They basically succeeded in doing that since the case met a dead end for 8 years. Its only being reopen when Han Pinmu himself wanted the truth to come out (a redemption act as he is dying) but still he has a secret which he didnt want police to know which is Guo Pengfei (Chen Chunli's son) involvement in the case.
I really love and enjoy watching RJL’s performance in many of his dramas particularly Love in Nirvana. But I…
Thank you. You made my day with this comment. 🤗
RJL always amazing in his performance. Like in this drama, I love how committed he is since even his teeth has natural color like a normal joe. Im used to watch his sparkling white teeth so its interesting to notice this. 😆
Also, he always has this regal or ethereal aura in his dramas but here all those are gone since he is playing a rookie police officer. Even the awkwardness and out of place attitute he sports on is refreshing to watch.
Happy to know that you thoroughly enjoyed the drama. I haven't started to watch this drama yet as I am currently…
Im gonna this drama more time. But its most probably 10/10 for me since every single of my doubt and questions are answered at the end.
Yes, 16 episodes of tightly written drama with no plot holes or inconsistencies. Now Im in the middle to actively trying to find mistakes in the drama but haven’t found any so far lol.
Just try to press play and see how it goes. I also thought I wasn't in the mood for anything but damn I finished 5 episodes in one sitting. It is that good.
When it dropped and I read the synopsis it felt that it would be really really promising........And I was waiting…
My advice is to avoid any spoilers and do not watch the previews at the end of the episode at all. Then you are in for a good mystery solving together with all the lovely main characters.
Pay attention to all inconsistencies. It wasnt a mistake but clues to the real truth at the end.
Finished the drama. Contemplating whether I should rate it 10/10 as its almost flawless in term of everything. I almost never rate a drama full 10/10 so this is a huge compliment.
The mystery is solidly written with great pacing. Very intelligently constructed with many details and clues. The best part of the drama is that its playing the ‘fair game’ of a good written mystery story as what the police know is what we know too so no suprises that only they know. So we are actively solving the case together with them. So many clues are scattered since the beginning of the drama. Its mind blowingly subtle but everything made sense at the end. And no false narrative to misled us so what you see are all clues that contributed to the end revelations including all the snippets from the novel. The story also depends on showing instead of telling since it trust the audiences’ ability to grasp the complex story and narrative.
Another excellent part of the writing is that halfway through the drama, you basically can figure out what happened already. However, the fact that the plot twists are still very surprising and unexpected and still making sense — ALL at the same time made the writing truly memorable and excellent. I found a few inconsistencies in the story and thought it is a mistake but no, its actually clues. There is one character that suddenly made an appearance near the end, and no, it isnt really a ‘new’ character as his presence has always been there and serve as a ‘ghost’ entity that being discussed and brought up subtlety since the beginning.
And the acting truly made the show. They might not explicitly tell us some things but focus on the expressions of the actors that basically tell us the real truth. You just have to be extra attentive to catch all of this nuances.
In conclusion, its a brilliant drama through and through with great writing, directing and acting. Literally no plot holes or inconsistencies in the script. A strongly written drama with excellent pacing till the end. RJL’s script selection are always amazing but this probably one of his very best.
2 
4 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
5 
I let you figure out this on your own. 🙂
Read this only after you finished the drama. 🕵️♂️
📄 INCONSISTENCIES IN THE WRITING AND CRIME DETAILS
These are not mistakes made by the production team or director, which I initially thought was the case. But all these inconsistencies are actually clues to the final revelation at the end. For an example, how its solo picture in Bi Dehua’s room but a trio picture in Han Pinmu’s room since its a photoshopped picture. Or why the crime is not consistent like its a mix between robberies and sexual assaults and why would they let the last victim survived? The answer since its a mixture between real serial killers and copy cat killers thus the inconsistencies in the crime cases.
🛑 HU XIAOFEI’S CRIME
I also like how some of the detail in the script just show instead of tell us like how Xiaofei saw his dad kissing Lu Xiaohua (which Bi Dehua has feeling to), then when he was tortured, he said he will give the 2 murderers someone to rape which of course is Lu Xiaohua which is the chapter that Han Pinmu conviniently skipped — as it didnt paint Xiaofei as a victim in the story.
🏡 HOW SONG LAIFU FOUND HU XIAOFEI’S HOME TO KILL HIM
Again, the drama show instead of tell on how Song Laifu managed to find Xiaofei’s home address and killed him. It is such a miniscule information but they told us that when they show Sun Qiang followed Han Pinmu when he visited Xiaofei to calm him down in the first episode.
💵 ZHANG’S ORIGIN OF MONEY TO KILL LI CHENG
The money that Zhang has to hire Sun Qiang to kill Li Cheng is kinda implied when he supposed to give the compensation money to fake Song Laifu’s sister. The sister agreed for his brother’s identity for a merely RMB10,000 eight years before, so they do not need to pay that much to shut her up (RMB150,000) as Zhang suggested to the hotel owner. Also, Li Cheng’s ‘Top Detective’ mum 🤣 is correct in her deduction that Zhang met the sister first before the disturbance to ask for money from the hotel owner (it wasnt the other around like Li Cheng said as the hotel owner only agreed for compensation after the disturbance). Its indeed that Zhang is the mastermind behind the whole thing as it didnt make sense for merely hotel manager to have that kind of money to hire a killer.
❌ WHY THE CRIME STOPPED FOR 8 YEARS?
This is because Zhang & Song Laifu are not psychopath that need to constantly release their ‘need’. Thats why they only robbed their first victims as their main reasons has always been money. Once Zhang has a stable income and flow of money as a hotel manager, they do not need to commit crime anymore and the copy cat killers helped them sealed their identities. The raping also stopped since Zhang now has been raping his wife for all those 8 years so he doesnt need to find a new victim to satisfy his ‘needs’. That is the secret relationship that the wife mentioned in one of their conversations together in their house.
👬 WHY CHEN CHUNLI NEVER IN DANGER DESPITE WORKING CLOSELY WITH HER 2 MURDERERS?
The plot twist at the end on how Chen Chunli staged her own attack answered this. Chen Chunli never in danger despite working very closely with Song Laifu and Zhang, since they truly didnt do anything or need to silence her.
👻 WHEN GUO PENGFEI STARTED TO APPEAR IN THE STORY?
He is the ‘ghost entity’ that kept looming in the background since the early part of the drama. He first comes into the picture in Episode 4 when his mother in the hospital. Its not a filler scene where the police ask Chen Chunli where is her son as the purpose is for him to go out of town first before the last crime happened so that he is totally ruled out as a suspect. Then he later appear again in the karaoke scene as a ‘repeating student’ in the gang of 4 bestfriends of Han Pingmu, Hu Xiaofei & Xin Xiaoliang. And later the scene where Han Pinmu saving Guo Pengfei from a bully. So when they first show the picture of a man caught in the CCTV to Chen Chunli, I knew right away that it is his son which is the ghost entity and final revelation in the drama. This is how well written is the drama so you can guess it right away as the clues has been there since the beginning.
🏥 WHY XIN XIAOLIANG IS NOT PART OF CHEN CHUNLI COPY CAT ATTACK THAT NIGHT?
He is lucky in that case since he injured himself while they are attacking Bi Dehua and has to go to the hospital to get stitches for his head injury. The interesting thing about this red herring is that its attempted for us to see Xiaoliang as the criminal which is false when they check his DNA but its actually a clue as well on how he is injured while trying to frame Bi Dehua. The red herring is a mix between the truth as well.
💢 WHY CHEN CHUNLI NEVER TELL GUO PENGFEI THE TRUTH AND LET HIM HATE HER?
Mother’s love. By keeping this secret from Guo Pengfei, despite he hates her is her attempt to make him live a rather happy and normal life unlike his friends where they all live unhappy and suffering lives full of guilt.
⚖️ HAN PINMU’S REDEMPTION ARC
Li Cheng & Han Pinmu is actually same coin of different sides. Both have the same personality, loyal, form deep friendship with everyone around them, close to their mothers and in search for the real truth. However, one take the rigth path where the other the opposite. I love when writer did this kind of foil relationship. And this comparison made Han Pinmu more irredeemable when you take into accounts all the details in his redemption arc. Since even until the end, he never truly come clean about his sins, never attempted to clear Bi Dehua’s name or bring the real truth/justice to light. How he skipped one chapter (Lu Xiaohua case) and deleted the last chapter (Chen Chunli case) since in both stories, they are not the victims but criminals — this whole sequence tell us the insights into his real thoughts. Till the end, it always about making himself like a victim instead of taking responsibility.
🔪 DID DU JUAN REALLY KILL HAN PINMU’S MOTHER?
Yes, while the story didnt outright said she did this, it is implied in the story. Du Juan hired his ex-boyfriend; Fang Meng to do the deeds. That is why he has this guilty face when Li Cheng is interragoting him at the prison and why he keeps extending his sentence so that he is safe from being killed by Han Pinmu. Also, the biggest clue is how after he hit Han Pinmu’s mum, he is very calm and relax and check her vital to make sure she is truly dead instead of panic like any normal person would.
🕵️♂️ CAN THIS CASE SOLVED WITHOUT LI CHENG INVOLVEMENT?
Probably no. The reason why this case is solved is due to Li Cheng’s close relationship with Bi Dehua. His iron-clad conviction that his brother is innocent is the driving force for him to go extra miles to investigate this case and look the case from another angles as the inconsistencies in the crimes are pretty obvious despite they all have the same murder weapon. And he only managed to do that when he requested to treat the last 2 murder cases separately and there he went to visit Bi Dehua’s home and gather new evidence regarding the photos and confirmed the deceits from Han Pinmu’s confession at the hospital.
Han Pinmu send the novel to Jinran first, 3 months ago — that is when he started to dig the case again and disturb Chen Chunli at her work. Thats why the script kept telling us that the ‘love triangle’ between her, Jinran and Song Laifu started 3 months ago.
And she panics and accuse some random person which is Song Laifu to throw off Jinran from her son. Later, it got bigger and she retract back her statement.
She never knew Song Laifu before nor Song Laifu know that she accuse him as that information only available to Jinran.
The drama takes into account human errors and reactions as well. So for her case, the motive is still the same, to deflact everything away from her son.
Again, this is what makes the script so good. Its obvious at first that they throw Song Laifu at us as red herring but like I mentioned, even the red herring hold some truth as Song Laifu is indeed one of the murderers. Same as they did with Xin Xiaoliang. Use him as a red herring but later revealed that Xiaoliang as well actually involved with the crime to help his friend.
Its normal for crime and suspense dramas to receive this kind of treatment from platforms as this kind of dramas caters for different kind of viewers.
However, this drama is very successful in term of commercial value despite of that. The reservation is the highest for iQIYI Mist Theatre. And all the advertisment slots are fully book for all episodes — becoming #1 suspense dramas for the past years. And with zero promotion they did for the drama, you can say its one of the most successful dramas from iQIYI this season.
More or less like RJL’s Fate Chooses You a few months ago which have amazing viewership despite the very minimal marketing made by iQIYI. It becomes one of iQIYI’s most successful dramas this year as reported in their financial statement.
These are not mistakes made by the production team or director, which I initially thought was the case. But all these inconsistencies are actually clues to the final revelation at the end. For an example, how its solo picture in Bi Dehua’s room but a trio picture in Han Pinmu’s room since its a photoshopped picture. Or why the crime is not consistent like its a mix between robberies and sexual assaults and why would they let the last victim survived? The answer since its a mixture between real serial killers and copy cat killers thus the inconsistencies in the crime cases.
🛑 HU XIAOFEI’S CRIME
I also like how some of the detail in the script just show instead of tell us like how Xiaofei saw his dad kissing Lu Xiaohua (which Bi Dehua has feeling to), then when he was tortured, he said he will give the 2 murderers someone to rape which of course is Lu Xiaohua which is the chapter that Han Pinmu conviniently skipped — as it didnt paint Xiaofei as a victim in the story.
🏡 HOW SONG LAIFU FOUND HU XIAOFEI’S HOME TO KILL HIM
Again, the drama show instead of tell on how Song Laifu managed to find Xiaofei’s home address and killed him. It is such a miniscule information but they told us that when they show Sun Qiang followed Han Pinmu when he visited Xiaofei to calm him down in the first episode.
💵 ZHANG’S ORIGIN OF MONEY TO KILL LI CHENG
The money that Zhang has to hire Sun Qiang to kill Li Cheng is kinda implied when he supposed to give the compensation money to fake Song Laifu’s sister. The sister agreed for his brother’s identity for a merely RMB10,000 eight years before, so they do not need to pay that much to shut her up (RMB150,000) as Zhang suggested to the hotel owner. Also, Li Cheng’s ‘Top Detective’ mum 🤣 is correct in her deduction that Zhang met the sister first before the disturbance to ask for money from the hotel owner (it wasnt the other around like Li Cheng said as the hotel owner only agreed for compensation after the disturbance). Its indeed that Zhang is the mastermind behind the whole thing as it didnt make sense for merely hotel manager to have that kind of money to hire a killer.
❌ WHY THE CRIME STOPPED FOR 8 YEARS?
This is because Zhang & Song Laifu are not psychopath that need to constantly release their ‘need’. Thats why they only robbed their first victims as their main reasons has always been money. Once Zhang has a stable income and flow of money as a hotel manager, they do not need to commit crime anymore and the copy cat killers helped them sealed their identities. The raping also stopped since Zhang now has been raping his wife for all those 8 years so he doesnt need to find a new victim to satisfy his ‘needs’. That is the secret relationship that the wife mentioned in one of their conversations together in their house.
👬 WHY CHEN CHUNLI NEVER IN DANGER DESPITE WORKING CLOSELY WITH HER 2 MURDERERS?
The plot twist at the end on how Chen Chunli staged her own attack answered this. Chen Chunli never in danger despite working very closely with Song Laifu and Zhang, since they truly didnt do anything or need to silence her.
👻 WHEN GUO PENGFEI STARTED TO APPEAR IN THE STORY?
He is the ‘ghost entity’ that kept looming in the background since the early part of the drama. He first comes into the picture in Episode 4 when his mother in the hospital. Its not a filler scene where the police ask Chen Chunli where is her son as the purpose is for him to go out of town first before the last crime happened so that he is totally ruled out as a suspect. Then he later appear again in the karaoke scene as a ‘repeating student’ in the gang of 4 bestfriends of Han Pingmu, Hu Xiaofei & Xin Xiaoliang. And later the scene where Han Pinmu saving Guo Pengfei from a bully. So when they first show the picture of a man caught in the CCTV to Chen Chunli, I knew right away that it is his son which is the ghost entity and final revelation in the drama. This is how well written is the drama so you can guess it right away as the clues has been there since the beginning.
🏥 WHY XIN XIAOLIANG IS NOT PART OF CHEN CHUNLI COPY CAT ATTACK THAT NIGHT?
He is lucky in that case since he injured himself while they are attacking Bi Dehua and has to go to the hospital to get stitches for his head injury. The interesting thing about this red herring is that its attempted for us to see Xiaoliang as the criminal which is false when they check his DNA but its actually a clue as well on how he is injured while trying to frame Bi Dehua. The red herring is a mix between the truth as well.
💢 WHY CHEN CHUNLI NEVER TELL GUO PENGFEI THE TRUTH AND LET HIM HATE HER?
Mother’s love. By keeping this secret from Guo Pengfei, despite he hates her is her attempt to make him live a rather happy and normal life unlike his friends where they all live unhappy and suffering lives full of guilt.
⚖️ HAN PINMU’S REDEMPTION ARC
Li Cheng & Han Pinmu is actually same coin of different sides. Both have the same personality, loyal, form deep friendship with everyone around them, close to their mothers and in search for the real truth. However, one take the rigth path where the other the opposite. I love when writer did this kind of foil relationship. And this comparison made Han Pinmu more irredeemable when you take into accounts all the details in his redemption arc. Since even until the end, he never truly come clean about his sins, never attempted to clear Bi Dehua’s name or bring the real truth/justice to light. How he skipped one chapter (Lu Xiaohua case) and deleted the last chapter (Chen Chunli case) since in both stories, they are not the victims but criminals — this whole sequence tell us the insights into his real thoughts. Till the end, it always about making himself like a victim instead of taking responsibility.
🔪 DID DU JUAN REALLY KILL HAN PINMU’S MOTHER?
Yes, while the story didnt outright said she did this, it is implied in the story. Du Juan hired his ex-boyfriend; Fang Meng to do the deeds. That is why he has this guilty face when Li Cheng is interragoting him at the prison and why he keeps extending his sentence so that he is safe from being killed by Han Pinmu. Also, the biggest clue is how after he hit Han Pinmu’s mum, he is very calm and relax and check her vital to make sure she is truly dead instead of panic like any normal person would.
🕵️♂️ CAN THIS CASE SOLVED WITHOUT LI CHENG INVOLVEMENT?
Probably no. The reason why this case is solved is due to Li Cheng’s close relationship with Bi Dehua. His iron-clad conviction that his brother is innocent is the driving force for him to go extra miles to investigate this case and look the case from another angles as the inconsistencies in the crimes are pretty obvious despite they all have the same murder weapon. And he only managed to do that when he requested to treat the last 2 murder cases separately and there he went to visit Bi Dehua’s home and gather new evidence regarding the photos and confirmed the deceits from Han Pinmu’s confession at the hospital.
~~~~~~~~~~ SPOILERS~~~~~~~~~~~~
He even try to frame Xin Jinran with Song Laifu’s death. He even tell Xiaoliang involvement in the case since he knew its gonna broke Xin Jinran. Thats why when Li Cheng told Xin Jinran that Xiaoliang didnt stabbed De Hua, Xin Jinran freed the birds to show how he freed himself from the guilt as well. Im happy they gave him that relief at the end.
Han Pinmu only reveal the truth since he is dying not that he genuinely feel guilty about it.
He has nothing on his plate now so his next drama probably 1 year later. 🥲 But Im glad he left one of his best before that.
I think the part that really get me is that literally there is nothing to complain which is pretty much never happen to me. Its oddly weird how time just pass when you watch this drama. You press play, and 7 episodes just went by. And all the characters are perfectly casted and acted. And the chemistry between the casts are what made the drama so addictingly warm and soothing despite its dark subjects.
No worries, take your time to watch it as the drama wont go anywhere. :)
My review this time has no spoiler at all (despite I'm dying to give it since some of the details are brilliant) but since this is a mystery drama, the best part of watching is not knowing anything. I give some points in my review so pay attention to it when you watch it later as the clues in the story is mind-blowingly a lot. But despite of that, everything comes perfectly together at the end. Its like an interactive game when you watch the drama as your brain actively spinning to connect all the dots in the good way. The mysteries are just very intriguing.
They basically succeeded in doing that since the case met a dead end for 8 years. Its only being reopen when Han Pinmu himself wanted the truth to come out (a redemption act as he is dying) but still he has a secret which he didnt want police to know which is Guo Pengfei (Chen Chunli's son) involvement in the case.
RJL always amazing in his performance. Like in this drama, I love how committed he is since even his teeth has natural color like a normal joe. Im used to watch his sparkling white teeth so its interesting to notice this. 😆
Also, he always has this regal or ethereal aura in his dramas but here all those are gone since he is playing a rookie police officer. Even the awkwardness and out of place attitute he sports on is refreshing to watch.
Yes, 16 episodes of tightly written drama with no plot holes or inconsistencies. Now Im in the middle to actively trying to find mistakes in the drama but haven’t found any so far lol.
Just try to press play and see how it goes. I also thought I wasn't in the mood for anything but damn I finished 5 episodes in one sitting. It is that good.
Pay attention to all inconsistencies. It wasnt a mistake but clues to the real truth at the end.
Sometimes its very obvious which dramas platform want to promote and which dramas they didnt make any efforts at all.
The mystery is solidly written with great pacing. Very intelligently constructed with many details and clues. The best part of the drama is that its playing the ‘fair game’ of a good written mystery story as what the police know is what we know too so no suprises that only they know. So we are actively solving the case together with them. So many clues are scattered since the beginning of the drama. Its mind blowingly subtle but everything made sense at the end. And no false narrative to misled us so what you see are all clues that contributed to the end revelations including all the snippets from the novel. The story also depends on showing instead of telling since it trust the audiences’ ability to grasp the complex story and narrative.
Another excellent part of the writing is that halfway through the drama, you basically can figure out what happened already. However, the fact that the plot twists are still very surprising and unexpected and still making sense — ALL at the same time made the writing truly memorable and excellent. I found a few inconsistencies in the story and thought it is a mistake but no, its actually clues. There is one character that suddenly made an appearance near the end, and no, it isnt really a ‘new’ character as his presence has always been there and serve as a ‘ghost’ entity that being discussed and brought up subtlety since the beginning.
And the acting truly made the show. They might not explicitly tell us some things but focus on the expressions of the actors that basically tell us the real truth. You just have to be extra attentive to catch all of this nuances.
In conclusion, its a brilliant drama through and through with great writing, directing and acting. Literally no plot holes or inconsistencies in the script. A strongly written drama with excellent pacing till the end. RJL’s script selection are always amazing but this probably one of his very best.