Frostbite.

The Frozen Surface is a dark and suspenseful northeastern revival mystery thriller. It is set in the desolate, melancholic northeastern suburbs of Harbin, Heilongjiang, a part of China known for its dastardly dry and freezing cold winters. The dialogue is mostly in Northeastern dialect, which I am not familiar with enough to comment on its authenticity. Despite its wild natural beauty, this area is among the slowest growing economic regions in China. The general lack of economic opportunity and the dominance of a largely industrial manufacturing base forms the general remote backdrop for this narrative. The timeline alternates between the 1990s which were very difficult times and 2005, when things are notably better but still a far cry from China's advanced coastal cities.

The violent death of a crime boss and two others throws Lanhe County in disarray as various vested interests scramble to position for the fallout. There are almost too many suspects from a jilted lover, mob rivals, the nephew and heir apparent, the ex-wife and an ex-con; all with motive, means and opportunity. Police captain Guan Yu and his team investigates under time pressure to solve this high profile case. The waters are further muddied with an unexpected confession. Very much like 2023's hit The Long Season, the social commentary about the cruel times, hardships the main characters endure and the desperate, heartless and at times tragic choices they make eclipses the mystery itself.

This drama starts out very well but tries to do too many things. What anchors it is fantastic acting by Chen Jianbin (Guan Yu) and Hu Jin (Yang Si). I thoroughly enjoyed their cat and mouse and how a silent empathy developed between them. Even though some characters do bad things, I feel quite sorry for them. There are also a number of absolutely crazy, bloody and scarily violent maniacs in this drama that adds to the growing sense of dread as the plot builds to a climax. Unfortunately, the main villain's origin story isn't empathetic and they made too many bad decisions along the way to qualify as smart. Some plot points are too obvious or are revealed too early. The logic of many characters collapses into the final two episodes and the plot does not tie together tightly at the end. By then, both the director or scriptwriter's brain must have succumbed to frostbite because so many things just don't make sense or are not well explained.

This is a drama that starts slowly but builds up suspense quite well in the first half. The character stories are quite interesting but sad and they are well portrayed by veteran actors. Unfortunately the mystery part crashes at the end. As an avid mystery watcher, I can only rate this a 6.5/10.0. Viewers who are more interested in the setting and the character stories may rate it a bit higher.

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We will feast on the enemies flesh and drink their blood.

Full River Red is an ancient dark comedy whodunit set in Song dynasty. It is Zhang Yimou's most commercially successful movie to date That is no reason to dislike it. For Zhang Yimou never fails to stun with the sheer brilliance of his cinematic vision and his ability to provoke and capture profound human emotions. It is his narrative style that tends to be weighed down by illogical, at times exaggerated plot points and inconsistent characterisations that rarely does justice to his incisive camera language. While there are traces of these habits, this twisty, stab-happy mystery is the tightest plot I have seen from him in years.

As much as the critical political and societal undertones of Zhang's earlier works discomfited the Chinese government, his recent works are now accused of pandering to government propaganda. Every Western film critic has remarked upon the movie's jingoist note with a sense of unease. The Chinese title Mǎnjiānghóng/满江红 or crimson river sets the tone from the start. This eponymous poem attributed to patriot Yue Fei is ubiquitous; it spoke to me even before I could understand its prose. People's hero Yue Fei was a revered Song general who relentlessly defended his homeland against the invading Jurchens. He was betrayed by the enemy within, a jianchen/奸臣 treacherous official Qin Hui who goes on to be prime minister. What happened to Yue Fei is one of history's terrible injustices, one that still resonates eight hundred years later. The common people appeased their deep sense of sorrow and thirst for justice by deep frying dough sticks in oil yóu zhá guǐ/油炸鬼 or deep fried guǐ/ 鬼 or devil, which in Cantonese is a homonym for Hui/Kuai/桧 in Qin Hui. When I was a kid, my dad used to rant about the dastardly Qin Hui every time we bit into his favorite crispy fried dough sticks.

The movie opens four years after the unjust death of Yue Fei. A Jin envoy is murdered on the eve of his meeting with Prime Minister Qin Hui. The important missive he carried is missing. The unfortunate night patrol is put under the knife as heads must roll for this diplomatic disaster. Desperate to buy time, corporal Zhang Da convinces Deputy Commander Sun Jun that he may be of value in solving the case. They make some small progress and are given two hours by Qin Hui himself to recover the missing missive. Thus begins a high-strung, knives drawn chase through the serpentine military compound as they question unreliable witnesses and fend off duplicitous officials vying to get their nefarious hands on the missing letter.

In a departure from Zhang Yimou's signature, bombastic color drenched cinematic style, the palette is muted, somber and haunting in its clean lines and simple, gorgeous grey toned soberness. There is a sense of profound gravitas that overhangs the thrill and suspense of unraveling the conspiracy at hand. The pacing is start stop as the narrative slows down enough to allow important plot points to soak in only to pick up again to the tune of a clattering amalgamation of hip-hop and Chinese folk music as they race through the complex to pin down the next clue. The body-count piles up as suspects are dispatched suddenly and brutally with dark humor that is as sharp as the knife play. I won't spoil the ending other than to say it is wildly, enormously satisfying and yet it still respects history.

In terms of the cast, it really doesn't get better than this. I was surprised by Shen Teng and Jackson Yi's chemistry and how humorously they convey just the right mix of conflict, mistrust and empathy. I must applaud both Lei Jiayin and Zhang Yi for taking on roles outside their comfort zone. I could see that Lei Jiayin absolutely relished playing the vilest most hated villain in Chinese history. While far from the monster of my childhood imagination, his Qin Hui is still a wicked, cunning creature but also realistic, mortal and even almost human. To me, the memorable highlight of the drama was to watch one of China's very best actors recite the titular poem. Yes it is a very patriotic poem but its message is universal - everyone loves their country for better or worse and will defend it with every ounce of their being. This is the one time that Zhang Yimou's famous digressions is actually fitting and gives a deeper meaning to the story. The movie's big message is also universal; that there are some truths that must be revealed at whatever cost.

This movie hits all the right buttons for me - a dark comedy conspiracy thriller with a touch of wild history around characters that set my imagination and sense of right and wrong afire as a child. It smacks of Zhang Yimou's hallmark provocative brilliance with small flaws and is one of the rare times I enjoyed his storytelling almost as much as his visual composition style. This is an 8.5/10.0 for me.

Full River Red (follows the toned down movie translation):

My last words reflect my thoughts
Full river red
My hair bristles with anger
I lean against the rail
The rain has stopped
Looking at the sky
I let out a cry
Emotions well up in my chest
My achievements in the past are merely dust
I fought bravely with the clouds and the moon
Don't wait
When your hair turns grey you can only regret
The national shame has not been avenged
When can my hatred be wiped away
Riding war chariots we will tumble the Helan Mountains
We will feast on the enemies flesh and drink their blood
When we recover our lost lands
We will satisfy people's demands

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Switched by the witch.

In Blossom or 花间令/Huā Jiān Lìng (The Flower Order) is a mystery romance with fantasy elements. I checked this out because of Liu Xueyi, an under appreciated actor who is just as good an antagonist as he is a protagonist. Despite some flaws and controversy, this sleeper hit won Liu Xueyi high praise for his good looks and compelling acting.

Yang Caiwei is a scarred, inauspicious undertaker shunned by citizens of the sinful city of Heyang. She finds herself embroiled in a murder case with the new magistrate Pan Yue, the most handsome gentleman in the capital. As it turns out, before misfortune befell her family, she was engaged to Pan Yue and he seems determined to honor their betrothal. On their wedding day, she is switched by the witch Shangguan Zhi using dark magic. She finds herself in Shangguan Zhi's body right before "Yang Caiwei" is murdered and suspects Pan Yue of doing the deed! Assuming Shangguan Zhi's identity, she investigates her own murder by working for Pan Yue at the yamen in the hope of finding evidence of his complicity. Body swapping is the only fantasy aspect and it is readily accepted without that much disbelief by the characters in this story.

This production drew early criticism because Zheng Hehuizi guest starred as Yang Caiwei for two episodes and impressed viewers with how she interpreted the role. Her Yang Caiwei is a solemn character; a child whose world was shattered overnight and endured nine years of hardship. She finds meaning in following her shifu's footsteps as a coroner, obtaining justice for victims of foul play. This characterization of Yang Caiwei makes sense to me but unfortunately, there was no meeting of the minds in how the role should be portrayed. Although Ju Jingyi delivers an adequate performance, her depiction lacks depth and gravitas. Her Yang Caiwei is literally only Shangguan Zhi; a happy, pampered young lady who never suffered a day in her life. She is so un-serious as a coroner I just scoffed at her autopsies. Still, she didn't quite ruin the show for me as she is so pretty and charismatic I always have a soft spot for her. I just sigh for the opportunity missed because Yang Caiwei is one of the better written female roles and Liu Xueyi is a fantastic actor to be paired up with. She could have impressed enough with a more layered performance to break her out of her usual typecasting but sadly she did not approach this role thoughtfully enough.

While I watched this for the suspense plot, both romances are nicely written. Liu Xueyi and Ju Jingyi look so gorgeous as a couple that their visuals alone deflect many flaws. To me, Pan Yue’s early obsession with Yang Caiwei was not healthy or well founded but I enjoyed how he fell for her against his better instincts thinking she was the detestable Shangguan Zhi. I never faulted Pan Yue for taking so long to figure out she was Yang Caiwei because both actresses failed to show me of they are the same girl. I like how Zhuo Lanjiang is written to be as capable and powerful in his own way as Pan Yue. He is a credible love rival that does not descend into delusional archetypes. But I wasn't that invested in his romance either.

After the big letdown of Youku's big budget Judge Dee's Mystery, this much more modest production satisfied my craving for a good mystery. The cases, beginning with Yang Caiwei's own murder hooked me from the get go. I enjoyed how each case pulls at threads to reveal links initially to the four major clans of Heyang and ultimately a far wider conspiracy that goes back many years. This familiar formula used in many other investigative series is quite well executed. Despite small plot holes, the focus on the human tragedy aspect of these side cases made me either empathize with the victims or at times even the perpetrators. This is something both Judge Dee's Mystery and Mysterious Lotus Casebook failed to do. The main villain is neither too obvious nor revealed too early, which was my biggest gripe with Mysterious Lotus Casebook. This one does well in keeping us guessing right up till the end. However, this is achieved by concealing information from the viewer instead of hiding all the clues in plain sight.

The narrative hiccups in the final arc back at the capital. It seems like a different writer took over. The villain is revealed shortly after they show up onscreen instead of building suspense for a bit. The final villain is not that smart and only gains an upper hand because two hitherto smart characters are thrown under the bus and exercised their free will in unintelligent ways. It always makes me angry to see good characters get undeserved outcomes so I am not happy with how this ends. Good characters were literally wasted just to squeeze some tears from the audience. Instead of ending on a big reveal, it just descends into melodrama. The chilling ending epilogue however is well done but to avoid spoilers I will elaborate on that below. All things considered, this is still an enjoyable watch. I would have rated it 8.0/10 were it not for the ending. My final rating is 7.5/10.0.









ENDING SPOILER COMMENTS

The ending epilogue is a nice chilling way to end regardless of whether Season 2 gets the go ahead. If there is no Season 2, it suggests that #1 is some kind of arch nemesis of Pan Yue, like Moriarty to Holmes who is still out there; that organizations like The Flower Order are not that easy to wipe out. Note there are actually 9 tokens in total in the end scene.

If there is a Season 2, the mastermind is either someone we already met or someone that has not yet appeared onscreen. Recall #2 only shows up in the final arc so this writer does not play fair with the audience. In that case, it is not useful to speculate further. If however, the mastermind is someone we already met, I think it is most likely Shangguan Lan. It is evident from the plain cyan sleeves that it is a man and while the cloth is rich, there is no elaborate embroidery on the sleeve like the nobles and high officials like Pan Yue and Minister Pan wear. The Shangguan family keeps a private army and they have the vast resources and network to be behind this kind of clandestine organization. They also have links to witch doctors and dark magic, which is how Shangguan Zhi swapped bodies with Yang Caiwei. So it would not be surprising that they worship pagan gods like the ram god. I initially ruled out Shangguan Lan due to his age, but he could have inherited the token from his father.

There is also a possibility the mastermind is a woman because the Chinese title is The Flower Order. In that case, it could either be The Empress or Qingdi, who now pretty much controls Heyang after Pan Yue effectively eliminated all her rivals for her.







X

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Today is a good day to die.

Xu Tian, the young scion of a wealthy Southeast Asian family, is on his way to Shanghai to meet his fiancee for the first time. Set in 1930, his journey takes him from Guangdong through Jiangxi and Zhejiang; lawless territory controlled by local warlords. This is a road drama where the journey is an analogy for Xu Tian's personal growth and how this perilous trip makes a man of him. He is aided and inspired by five eccentric jianghu characters - a hot-blooded revolutionary, an idealistic warlord in a gilded cage, a romantic gambler, a passive aggressive doctor and a bourgeois wheeler and dealer. As they cut a bloody path to Shanghai, Xu Tian learns that actions have consequences; to live in the moment; that luck can change; that family must be protected and that money can buy access to all sorts of people and things.

This is the fist time I have seen a Chinese drama attempt this kind of bizarre, absurd and violent black comedy where a small event, in this case a purloined wallet spirals out of control and snowballs into a series of violent, unpredictible and bloody encounters. All of Xu Tian's companions along the way have distinctive personalities and temperaments that make them the main character in their own stories. They are wierd, flawed, obssessive characters that are at surface triggered by bizzare and seemingly trivial events that are actually profound and hopelessly romantic upon deeper reflection. When triggered, they become raging bloodthirsty lunatics with a "today is a good day to die" kind of reckless fearlessness and determination. The ethos and irony is captured and diffused by the crisp, darkly comedic dialogue that builds both anticipation and fear as the story careens down a volatile and unpredictible path.

This cast list is like the who's who of top Chinese actors, starting with Liao Fan as Lao Sun. His opening arc is the one that made me experience shock, awe, rage and sorrow at man's reckless, absurd, obstinacy and obsessiveness. This was a tough act to follow and Zhang Luyi fumbles a bit in his portrayal of Yu Yixiu, who is by design a fascinating paradoxically powerful and helpless character. Thus the second arc sags somewhat but gets shored up somewhat by Wu Xiaoliang's short and moving portrayal of the lovestruck gambling addict. The drama gallops on to a thrilling finish when Zhang Yi's obsequious, passive aggresive doctor teams up with Tian Yu's explosive, trigger happy capitalist for the final showdown. I also have much praise for Zhang Jingwei's fanatically dogged Ma Tianfang, Song Hanhuan's mercilessly ambitious Wu Da and Qiu Tian's passionately misguided Jia Ruo Lan.

Unfortunately the cast's impeccable performances all around is weighed down by the leading role, Dong Zijian's Xu Tian. He is an excellent actor but this was a big step down from his other works. Maybe he was simply out classed by the stellar cast but I think more likely, he was just mis-cast in this role. I didn't like his Xu Tian at all and was not moved by and did not empathize with the character. If the journey made him smarter or stronger, it did not come across; he just seemed just as belligerent, more vicious and just as obdurate. I frankly didn't care whether or not he made it to Shanghai and couldn't believe so many risked all to help him along the way. I even cared more for the petty villains and the poor bystanders that were collateral damage than I did for Xu Tian. This drama made me laugh as hard as I cried and I was unbecomingly thrilled by every dark, sick, ironic twist the narrative took. But when I can barely root for the main character over the villain, I must only rate this an 8.5/10.0. That said, it is still a mind-blowing and incredible adventure, especially if you like dark comedy.

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How a leader of men becomes a follower of a woman.

Li Ni is too good to be true: a brave, patriotic, upstanding and brilliant young general who safeguards the border at the kingdom's farthest reaches with his Zhenxi army. He aspires to live a carefree, adventurous life at his beloved Laolan Pass with his found family of merry men, steering clear of his imperial roots. And no wonder; his royal father and two half-brothers are cowardly, venal, ambitious, duplicitous and so dumb they test the limits of the word. But destiny intervenes when a military governor Sun Jing seizes the capital, holds Li Ni's witless father hostage and the imperial grandson and rightful successor goes missing. As the kingdom descends into civil war, Li Ni leads the intrepid Zhenxi army to try to save the day. He encounters the bold and audacious A Ying, a lieutenant at the helm of the formidable Cui family army. At first glance, A'Ying is an awesome character; strong, independent, daring, ambitious and cunning. While they have different visions of the future, they are aligned in the immediate purpose of defeating Sun Jing. They join hands in an alliance that has each trying to out do the other in terms of being the one to seize victory. Sparks fly between them, suggesting a broader and more permanent union could be in the cards.

The political plot is very loosely based on the history of the founding of the Tang dynasty. The writing reflects a shallow understanding of politics and historical reality and just plain laziness. The writer clearly didn't know what to do with the one interesting and smart villain and thus quickly kills them off. We are then bamboozled with a bunch of very tired one-note villain archetypes who are surprisingly difficult to kill dead despite their limited brain cells. They are so done before too many times villains that they are not worthy of mention. The only good thing about the battle for the throne arcs are the action scenes; they are exciting and bloody. Xu Kai always delivers incredibly agile and powerful fight scenes and with a good action director like this, he really shines. The drama peaks at an epic and consequential battle around episode 32 and that is probably the best place to stop. It took me a long time to get through the final 8 episodes that were unnecessary and as bland as tofu.

In terms of the romance, this drama is anchored by good chemistry and flawless portrayals by Xu Kai and Jing Tian. It errs on the side of being overly generous with the fan service sweet scenes, which I only mildly enjoyed. I may have been more convinced had I not just come off watchingJing Tian beam beatifically up at Feng Shaofeng (Legend of Zhuohua) with that exact same limpid, adoring expressions. The bigger issue is that A Ying as a character is incredibly difficult to like. She is strong willed, reckless and has a most unbecoming need to win all the time and especially when she is wrong. She doesn't even "win" with any great, glorious or brilliant schemes; her kisses are essentially Kryptonite as far as Li Ni is concerned. It is beyond infantile that he would cede an entire city for a kiss! Li Ni's wants are mallaeble as far as she is concerned and she takes it upon herself to meddle in high power politics to achieve the outcomes she wants. When she doesn't like the consequences of her schemes, it is inevitably Li Ni's fault. The "dealbreaker" conflict between them never gets solved; their relationship is bailed out by events, which is an anti-climatic writing cop out that left me convinced they will surely end up divorced. She does not communicate with Li Ni, overestimates her ability to handle problems on her own and is oblivious to the fact that a deranged lunatic is after her even though he captures her many times. To my dismay, each of her near death experiences are just near. We are told this is a smart and independent character but we are shown she is not smart and constantly needs rescuing from her own hubris. Their love story is an utterly soul destroying tale of how a leader of men becomes a follower of a woman. The only love story in this drama that actually moved me was that of Consort Xiao.

This is Xu Kai's best recent drama after a string of disappointments and he does a really good job here playing a character with massive hero complex. As for Jing Tian, I didn't love her character but I am sure a less charming actress would have frustrated me into dropping this. Despite the good acting, the many logic holes, pedestrian sub-plots and cardboard characters make for a smooth but bland cocktail. I can only rate it 7.0. Overall it is not a bad watch for the fantastic fight scenes and squeal-worthy flirty moments.

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Which asshole wrote this script?

That was the best line in Miss the Dragon, a xianxia that just misses the boat. It is a thought that jumps to mind at various points of the drama. The writer must be someone with both self awareness and a sense of humor. Which you must have plenty of if you choose to watch this because it can be so ridiculous and silly that you almost have to just laugh at it.

The story opens with the injured dragon king Yuchi Longyan rescued by a maid Liu Ying who mistakes him for a common snake. Liu Ying rescues injured animals, including the bird elf Qingqing  while she daydreams about the mythical dragon king. The first arc is largely an amalgamation of the best moments of other hit xianxias, notably TMOPB. When it comes to recycling other drama's memorable moments, it best be either a really clever parody or a vastly superior moment. In this case it is neither. Some of the writer's own original humor is fresh and funny enough they should have just gone with that and focused on fleshing out the main couple and getting us invested in their relationship. Instead, after being vividly reminded of some old favorites, I am left with the impression of two rather blank characters whose shallow infatuation with each other was unlikely to last until supper time, forget several lifetimes.

While Liu Ying does get a tad more interesting with each subsequent lifetime, there is little of substance that survives each incarnation. So it is not clear what Yuchi Longyan is fighting for, what is innately so special about Liu Ying that the dragon king loves so much. Zhu Xudan did a good job essentially playing four different characters but she is wasted in these sappy rather simple roles that any newbie actress can play. As for Wang Hedi, after a delectable opening scene of him emerging scantily clad from the dragon pool, I was left with an indelible impression of an overdressed plank. His portrayal of the dragon king is an impressive study of the art of being bizarrely still and plank like while everything else is moving. At first, I thought he was accidentally sent the script from a botox commercial. Then I started to feel insecure about accidentally hitting pause on my remote. Bottom line, I didn't feel any spark between the leads. Oddly, his interactions with all of the other characters are so much more natural and enjoyable. I rarely comment on the OST and the BGM but in this case I must point out it was good enough to make me tear up much more than was induced by the acting or story during the sad moments.

The idea of a love that transcends lifetimes is very powerful and moving but that concept is much more originally and engagingly explored in the second couple's story. Indeed the love story between the block of burning ice that is Xue Qianxun the master of Luofeng Pavilion and his flighty chirpy little bird elf Qingqing is why I didn't drop this drama. Both characters are better developed and they have understandable motives and goals. Their relationship is so humorous and their chemistry builds so organically that I had to root for them and was intrigued by and impatient to discover their past. I won't spoil it by saying more than that is a wonderful and memorable mini fairytale in and of itself and that is what the focus of this drama could and should have been.

The way the drama ends goes a long way to redeem itself. I really ate up the epic magical battles and even though the villain is quite lame and was obvious to me from the beginning, I like how all the pieces of their scheming is revealed and how it all ties in quite neatly with the plot and the many lives of Liu Ying. I am solidly in the camp of really liking the ending; anyone who knows the legend of Nuwa would not be that surprised by it.  Overall its not a bad watch, it has quite some entertaining moments beyond just laughing at the production. My rating gets a bump up to a 7.0/7.5 due to the wonderful second couple and ending at the climax.

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Rules are made to be broken.

The bold and unconventional baroness Ban Hua is a one of a kind character. Her doting uncle is the emperor of Daye; her father the hedonist Marquis Jingting has more money than God; she inherited her grandfather General Ban's martial arts prowess and she has a wardrobe to die for. For her, rules are made to broken and her flamboyant devil-may-care attitude and daring exploits have the noblemen smitten and dazzled and the noblewomen choking with envy. If there is one stain on her charmed existence, it is that all her engagements go down in flames, to the amusement of the Daye elite.

When the incomparable Ban Hua's path crosses with that of the elegant Rong Xia, Count Chengán, Daye's most talented and most eligible gentleman, their courtship becomes the talk of the town. The best thing about this drama is Ban Hua and Rong Xia's character design and their hilarious and sizzling interactions that light up the screen. The comedy is very well written and blithely presented by the lively cast. The Ban family is one of the most uproarious and delightful drama families I have seen in a long time. Ban Hua's biggest fan, her charming, spendthrift rogue of a younger brother Ban Heng is my favorite character. Both Guan Xiaotong and Hou Minghao hit all the right notes in their performances. Guan Xiaotong delivers a curious air of exquisite vulnerability that softens Ban Hua's imperiousness and arrogance. While Hou Minghao's Rong Xia is looks too handsome and unattainable and is so measured and powerful in a soft spoken way that he is the perfect foil for Ban Hua's impetuousness.

Unfortunately the plot does not at all do justice to the all-around strong performances by the cast. The history between Daye's aristocrat families and secret plotting that led to the Rong family's downfall is quite interesting and well conceived. I enjoyed watching Ban Hua and Rong Xia learn to trust each other and work together against their enemies. The drama would have been best served wrapping up after the take down of the villain of that early arc. After that, the plot feels very forced and succumbs to tropey, boring and contrived delusional love rival tropes. All of the progress the couple makes is undone to create unnecessary misunderstandings and ridiculous and unimaginative palace coups. I was left with the impression that the couple can't communicate or work together and is surely doomed to divorce. The second half is as boring and ridiculous as the first half is interesting and engaging. Rong Xia's character in particular is destroyed as he goes to inexcusable lengths to save his love. The character interactions are funny throughout and that is the only thing that kept me watching until the end. It is still overall a decent watch but nothing to write home about. This is overall a 7.5/10 but the first half feels closer to an 8.5.

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When it rains, it pours.

At first glance, this is a tribute drama with low audience appeal. The topic of gaokao 高考 or national college entrance exams is already stress inducing. Throw in the pandemic and the average viewer would head for the hills. I snuck a peek because I like to keep an eye on Rong Zishan's growth as an actor. To my surprise, I was hooked from the first episode of this uplifting story about the resilience of youth in the face of great challenges.

This drama is not about China's urban elite. It is set in Jinhe County, where most of the households are among the two thirds of Chinese households that are not part of the middle class. The pandemic disproportionately affected high school seniors from this class of Chinese society. Gaokao is a life changing rite of passage for them. All the hopes and dreams of their families are staked on their gaokao performance. With less resources and uneven access to the internet, online learning is less effective for many of them. The pandemic exacerbated the economic and social pressures these families were already experiencing. This drama offers some insight into why the Chinese leadership has clung to an extreme zero tolerance covid policy so different from the rest of the world.

The narrative focuses on five students of Jinhe County No 1 Middle School (Pan Xianxuan and Gao Mingyu) and Jinhe County No 4 Middle School (Zhou Bowen, Wu Jiajun and Tian Wenwen) and their principals Wang Benzhong and Shi Aihua. Because it is a small county, there are about three degrees of separation between the students, teachers, their families and the broader community. Bowen, Wenwen and Jiajun are fast friends at No 4 Middle School, where Bowen is the star pupil. He intensely disapproves of his deadbeat dad Zhao Meiren, who is charismatically portrayed by Wang Xiao. Wenwen is left to fend for herself after her grandmother passes away as her absentee parents run a business in Wuhan. And aspiring artist Jiajun suffers from the nightmare oversight of the ultimate tiger mom. They are part of an online student chat group with Pan Xianxuan and Gao Mingyu, students at the No 1 Middle School, which is a boarding school. My favorite character, Pan Xianxuan is a savvy and commercial doer who is not academic oriented. Despite his father's wealth, his is practically homeless as both his divorced parents have long moved on. And finally Gao Mingyu, the most impoverished and driven of them all whose only family is an ailing grandfather. They form a fast friendship and benefit from the care and affection of their principal Wang Benzhong, who is more like a surrogate parent to them both.

Every time I watch a drama with young actors matched up with veterans like Chen Baoguo, Wang Quanyuan and Wang Xiao,I am floored by the seamless and natural the performances all around. I feel fear for the current generation of popular actors whose flaws only become more obvious when they act across veterans because the next generation is growing up fast and there are lots of them. This cast made me invested in their stories from the get go and sharked me into enthusiastically watching a flag waving, sappy, inspirational story, the kind that I have a very small yearly quota for. The message of the story is very clear - often in life, when it rains, it pours but it is in times of hardship that we find our best selves.

While this story does carry some powerful and moving coming of age messages beyond surviving a pandemic, what I didn't like is it is a bit too good to be true. The pandemic turns every flawed character into a better version of themselves. The strong sense of community and the dedication and fighting spirit of parents and teachers can prevail over an amorphous enemy and natural disasters alike. Most of all, the pandemic didn't seem as isolating and as disruptive as it probably was and the government's pandemic control measures are portrayed as very mild. To be fair, this is not set in a densely populated community and it is during the first 200 days of 2020, during which China had effectively contained the outbreak to Wuhan. Nonetheless,, I feel there is a bit too much sugar coating and white washing in this drama that avoids the uglier, more realistic aspects of the pandemic and China's response to it. It also loses focus at times as a result of trying to acknowledge too many every day heroes from educators to health workers.

For a flag waving drama, this is a surprisingly good watch and the propaganda aspects are non intrusive. The youth aspects are well written and wonderfully portrayed. I am happy to rate this a very solid 7.5.

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Divide and conquer.

Qin Empire 2 or Qin Alliance on Netflix is about Ying Si or King Huiwen of Qin who reigned from 338-311 BC. More than a century later, Ying Zheng or Qin Shihuangdi succeeded in unifying the Warring States(221 BC). In an interesting parallel, Ying Si was the first of the Dukes of Qin to name himself 王/Wang or King. His more well known descendent subsequently declared himself 皇帝/Huangdi or Emperor. I watched this out of order after completing Qin Dynasty Epic, which is Ying Zheng's story and the final installation of this four part series that doesn't have to be watched in order. This review is going to be short as there is an excellent comprehensive review by @Skibbies. I will try to avoid repetition and focus on incremental observations, especially on how this differs from the final season.

What is most striking is that Ying Si really had it hard. When he came into power at eighteen, his father's clan and advisors were not fully behind him. And the Qin state was not especially powerful and existed in imminent danger of being swallowed by one of the other Warring States. Survival, much less ascendency was by no means a foregone conclusion. But Ying Si was a true conqueror - cunning, shrewd and utterly ferocious. Fu Dalong's masterful performance captures the remarkable indomitable spirit of the character and the sheer enormity and necessity of the task in front of him. This makes Ying Zheng, though so much more renown in history, seem like a lesser conqueror by comparison. For by then, Qin was already a superpower where the outcome was already inevitable.

The best parts of this drama are about how with the aid of his advisor and lifelong friend Zhang Yi, Ying Si was able to prevent five states from forming an alliance against Qin. They did this by some brilliantly crafted divide and conquer strategies that involved trickery, diplomacy and outright brutal and bloody warfare. Even though I was moved by Ying Si's deep relationship with Zhang Yi, I detested all of the so called genius strategists in this show, including Zhang Yi. I just could not stand their arrogance and sense of intellectual snobbery and how vile and evil these turds of history were. Their loyalty is not to king and country but can be bought by whoever could give them the most chess pieces to play with with little respect for the sanctity of life. To them, war is just a giant chess board where they can showcase their talent to the world. In the end Ying Si prevailed over all of them not because Zhang Yi was smarter or more loyal but because for Ying Si it was a battle for survival won by blood and sacrifice. His army would have gone to the ends of the earth for him because even while he took them to victory and glory, he truly felt the loss of and grieved for his fallen soldiers.

Even though I am sure it is heavily romanticized, I loved the portrayal of Ying Si's passionate and tempestuous relationship with the wild and wanton Empress Mi. What a woman! She lived life large, loved and hated and was at the end the bravest most loyal custodian of Ying Si's legacy. The drama lost momentum for me after Ying Si's death but the final two episodes where Empress Mi was both ruthless and compassionate at the same time ends this on a strong note.

While this production looks dated and lacks the aesthetic and cinematic appeal compared to more recent historical dramas, the acting of the main characters is top notch. The telling of the story overall, especially in the art of war is well done, not overly complex or difficult to follow. I could have done without knowing so much about Zhang Yi's personal life but there were some decent moments. This an 8.5 for me largely because I cannot praise enough how Fu Dalong's Ying Si is unforgettable and everything a Qin conqueror should be.

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Death Proof.

This is a good but very dark comedy, one that I am pleasantly surprised to see in a Chinese production. Although with some modification, this is an obvious knock off of a fantastic but much darker Western production that many are likely to be familiar with. I don't have a huge problem with that and must applaud the effort to localise the story and tone it down for Chinese audiences. That said, it is an incredibly dark theme and at times the macabre gallows humor accentuates rather than distracts from the underlying despondency.

Mi Chong is an introverted, anti-social young man who can just no longer be bothered to live. He meticulously winds up his affairs and plans his exit but is rudely interrupted by a drowning girl, Zhi Liao. Zhi Liao is his polar opposite, a bad-ass, extroverted and rebellious girl who is nothing but trouble. As he gets reluctantly drawn into her affairs, the hapless Mi Chong cannot seem to be able depart in peace; all of his efforts to do away with himself are comically disrupted. As he gets swept up in a whirlwind of danger and whacky mis-adventures that seem to plague Zhi Liao, he begins to wonder if he suddenly became death proof. While they go on the run together, this unlikely couple starts to recognise they are each other's mutual salvation. As their enemies encircle them, is the final irony that Mi Chong ends up fighting to save his life rather than end it?

Most of the time the whacky plot hits the right notes in terms of dark humor, irony and quirkiness. That said, there were also many times I found nothing funny about the depth of Mi Chong's despair and I am surprised something this dark got pass censorship. And I was not satisfied that Zhi Liao does not have the slightest inkling what Mi Chong was going through. It is a big flaw in the relationship design, the fact that she never comes to appreciate how disturbed he was. While the actress Vivienne Tien did a good job overall, she overacted notably in the ending arc and her rage and anger failed to move me. Although it became clear that they grew to trust and rely on each other, the chemistry between the couple didn't change enough to convince me that the dynamics turned romantic. The surrounding cast was unexceptional with some cringe performances, notably Zhi Liao's brother. This is clearly a modest production but overall a uniquely enjoyable, quirky short watch.

My rating for this is a 7.5 for a delightful attempt at dark comedy. It still has rough edges and the wit and humor in places veers too far off to the slapstick and does not match the wit, audacity and sheer magic of the drama it obviously drew its inspiration from. Where it does exceed it is that it closes with a very positive message about life, how it should be lived and how not to let the past define the future.

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Dead men walking.

This year 2020 must be the year of detective stories, there are so many that we are spoiled for choice. This one set in the Republican era (1911) hooked me with its dark, eerie prologue that immediately invokes a hint of the supernatural and the presence of evil. Twenty years ago in Fuyuan County, twelve beheaded escorts are brought back to life via an ancient ritual. But the mystery of these dead men walking's murder and the whereabouts of their missing cargo is never solved. Fuyuan County remains a remote suburb of Tianjin that is steeped in dark magic and witchcraft.

Tan Bodun is a rising young detective in with the Tianjin Police with a secret - he has a dark side that he struggles to suppress. Accompanied by his side kick Da Pan and his Westernized fiancée Luo Jiazhen, he is sent to the ominous Fuyuan County to solve another spooky and inexplicable murder that takes place in plain sight of the town's elite. On the way they stumble upon another case and encounter Song Chengmin, one of the scions of the affluent Song family. Aided by the local police inspector Zheng Jiewu, they pull at what appear to be disparate threads, more sinister murders occur and threads end up being linked and lead eventually to the unraveling of the twenty year old cold case.

What I really like about this drama is that the overarching mystery is well written and there are enough clues and suggestions along the way that when all is revealed, everything fits together and intuitively makes sense. Unfortunately I cannot say the same about the many sub-mysteries. As often is the problem with this genre, the writers tend to give in to the urge to write twists upon twists upon twists. After one or two times, this becomes confusing, tiresome and in some cases, the final solution is not the best, most convincing one. All of the main characters appear to have their own agendas and behave suspiciously enough to make viable suspects in the crimes. The problem is if they are not guilty these hidden motives are never fully explained, it is really done to create an illusion of probable cause.

Gao Zhiting is a really talented and likable young actor. I really enjoy his portrayal of Tan Bodun and his wickedly brilliant alter ego. In fact I much better like his alter ego but I don't really like that they went down the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde route with the character. It would have been cleaner and more interesting if they just wrote him as a truth seeker with unconventional or occasionally morally ambiguous methods. The rapport and team work between the main characters is very enjoyable and feels very natural; I find Da Pan in particular to be hilarious. However, I am not convinced by any of the romances and I really dislike how Jiazhen turns into a spoiled, willful and immature brat somewhere in the middle to just create some romantic angst.

Although the ending clearly paves the way for another season, as far as the overall conspiracy is concerned it is very satisfyingly resolved so I won't call it an open ending. I wouldn't mind watching this team work together again, in particular if the overall case is as well written as this one was. The only thing I don't like about the ending is that one of the key villains for Season 2 is already revealed as a hook. That was unnecessary and will take a bit of fun out of Season 2 but not so much so that to dissuade me from watching.

Overall, this is a very entertaining watch even though not all of the sub-mysteries are interesting. I really love the spooky, supernatural undertones and rate this an 7.5 for that.

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The plot was lost somewhere along the road to redemption.

Heaven Sword is one of my all time favorite Jin Yong stories. While this 2019 adaption is overall done well and quite watchable, I am still disappointed because the story is so gripping and epic that properly executed it could have and should have been a 10. I feel that way about most of Jin Yong's stories and I am time and again disappointed with C-drama's inability to turn the gift of a fantastic storyline into a kick-ass 10.

The first problem is that riding on the gift of a great storyline, the production team was very sloppy with the cast and the casting of the key roles. It was obvious from the start that many of the lead actors struggled to get into character: Zhang Cuisan and Zhao Min notably. And while I think Zeng Shunxi is a very promising young actor, at 21 he is too much of a boy still to fully pull off Wuji. He wasn't bad but his chemistry with both female leads was little more than warm and friendly. That's just not good enough as Wuji's two main love interests are bad-ass, devious and willful women; a handful for any man much less a boy. To make matters worse, they saddled him with the worst man bun that highlighted an unflattering roundness to his features - many times I thought the Pillsbury doughboy was going to burst right out of him! It wasn't till the much later episodes they fixed his look in a good way. In addition to the main leads, poor chemistry between the couples is a consistent theme throughout this show. Whoever paired up the actors must surely be the matchmaker from hell. The initial flat romance between Zhang Cuisan and Yin Susu almost made me give up on this early on but it somehow clicked once the fantastic child actor playing young Wuji was brought into the mix.

While it seems I will still have to wait for a version of this epic story with the A-list cast it deserves, some of the roles were played by quite strong performances (Yangsiu, Zhou Zhirou, Xie Xun, Song Qingsu) while the others were good enough (Wuji, Zhao Min) that the uninspired ones (Xiao Chao etc) were drowned out and it still came together well enough to be quite enjoyable. And the action was quite good although they went a little bit overboard with the slow motion that made the many good kung fu scenes a lot less exciting. While it is definitely technically much better polished than my best loved 1986 version, the A-list 1986 cast wins hands down when it comes to breathing life into the main characters.

While this version broadly sticks to the original storyline, it digresses meaningfully from it in a very subtle way. This is a more politically correct version that dials down the cruelty of many of the darker characters and deals with them compassionately, offering them a path to redemption. In the case of Song Qingsu, it was well done because he is just a weak character that strayed off the wrong path. But in the case of Zhou Zhirou, I really didn’t see the point – this is an ambitious, selfish and cruel character that is innately much more bad than good, it is fundamental to the plot. Zhu Xudan is an actress that is naturally blessed with a mal-contented expression – she would have been an even more brilliantly wicked Zhou Zhirou if they didn’t try to make her slightly nicer. But what was even more criminal was they kind of tuned down Zhao Min, one of my all time favorite Jin Yong heroines by making her less sassy towards the end to the point of being almost like the clingy and pathetically devoted Xiao Chao (yuck). It was as if they were flirting with the idea of a shock alternative ending where Wuji ends up with the Zhirou and then thankfully chickened out at the last minute. Two thumbs down is all that I can say. And they didn’t stop with Zhirou and Qingsu, they pretty much made excuses for and/or tried to make all the bad guys slightly less bad. Boring and tiresome after awhile and it had the overall impact of diluting the passion and vehemence of Jin Yong’s characters both good and evil.

Of course all of this greater focus on character development and whitewashing comes at the cost of extra time focus on unnecessary characters. But again, another travesty – there are so many C-dramas with shallow plots that are dragged out over 60 episodes but this really engrossing story was all squeezed into 50? The natural consequence of this was they just threw the whole plot under the bus. They cheated by counting on the fact this is a well known story - after all it is one of Jin Yong’s most popular works. So it rushes through many cursory character introductions and transitions that didn’t make the most sense that I would feel much sympathy for anyone who didn’t already know the story in advance. This entire epic tale that tragically spans so many lives and events over such a long time is brilliantly tied together by a grand conspiracy. The complicated plot unfolds around the unraveling of this conspiracy that among other things led to the misunderstanding between the sects and Wuji’s parents tragic deaths. All of that was pretty much lost because the production team deemed it more important to help us empathize with Zhou Zhirou? Really? It came at the cost of rushing through many key parts of uncovering the intrigue. At the end I happened to blink and almost even missed the entire denouement it was dealt with so almost dismissively. The scriptwriters did Jin Yong and us a grave injustice in this matter. Shame on the production team. Really.

Overall this was still a very polished effort but it didn’t really live up to the heart of Jin Yong’s epic story. While the plot was lost along the path to redemption, it is still very watchable and one of the better efforts out there. And it is still Jin Yong and that beats a lot of the no substantive storyline 2019 new dramas I have skimmed through so far (as of June 2019).

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The Strong Man of Asia

Huo Yuanjia is a true blue real life martial arts hero right up there with Wong Fei-Hung, Fong Sai-yuk, Ip Man, Bruce Lee... they would all be top picks for my fantasy Shaolin soccer team! It is impossible to grow up without watching boat loads of kungfu shows about them. Even before I started this, I knew I must have already seen some permutation of it at least a gazillion times. And yet I still ate it all up like it was the first time; hovering anxiously for it to air every night and thrilled to my toes at every hair rising fight.

Like most other accounts of this iconic and legendary figure's life, this drama clearly takes creative license with the truth in many places but overall, it still rhymes with the main figures and events that shaped Huo Yuanjia's life. Beyond all the typical martial world values and morality, this drama asks the question of whether standing up for one's beliefs and values is worth the heavy price and whether it is fair that family and friends become collateral damage. As a concession to the controversy surrounding his portrayal in Jet Li's Fearless, this drama emphasizes that Hua Yuanjia valued human life and did not kill indiscriminately which is more consistent with the philosophy underlying his famous Chin Woo Athletic Association that martial arts is practiced for keeping fit.

It goes without saying that this drama is extremely action intensive. And it is the kind of close up hand to hand combat that I really love with intense acrobatics and high impact flying kicks and punches aimed with devastating cruelty at internal organs. I don't have to sing praises for Zhao Wenxzhuo; nobody could better play this kind of intense action oriented martial arts role. I am a much bigger fan of his Wong Fei-hung than Jet Li's. There are lots of villains in this fast paced drama as Yuanjia's fame attracts as many enemies as friends. But the nasty Qing Mandarin Ying Si is just simply the most vile, fantastically dangerous villain I have seen in a long time and so convincingly acted that I loved to hate him.

As a life story, this is told chronologically and the action unavoidably climaxes in the middle and predictably builds to another peak at the end that underscores the message that Chinese can stand up against mismatched physical odds and show and the world not to underestimate the strong man of Asia. I have seen that David vs Goliath moment so many times and yet every time I am so satisfied I feel like belching loudly and thumping my chest.

What I love most about this drama is Huo Yuanjia's wife - Madam Wang whose given name is unknown (imagine they had five kids and no one even remembers her name!). She must be almost entirely fictionalized but nonetheless they made her completely awesome. She can't fight but she is so brave, loyal, gracious, forward looking and so clever she saves them multiple times. I also like that this Huo Yuanjia is far from perfect - he can be chauvinistic, patriotic, inflexible and overly conservative. How these flaws impact his relationship with his family, friends and disciples and how he experiences growth as he comes to understand and accept other points of views is very well articulated.

This is more than just another extremely well choreographed gratuitous martial arts action drama. It all gets wrapped into a story about an amazing life journey with many cherished companions, some who sadly are lost along the way. Even though it definitely feels very familiar and is at times even predictable, it is only in the best of ways. So if you are in the mood for some intense action and a trip down memory lane, this is a good choice, I give it a solid 8.0

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You give me the sweetest taboo.

This drama flirts dangerously with the forbidden: dark cultivation, zombies, black and white magic, transmigration and boy love. The lead character Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan) is a free spirit who refuses to be tamed by social conventions; he lives by his own rules, is not averse to exploring dark powers and appears romantically open to both genders. The delicious exploration of such a slightly wicked character and taboo themes under the watchful eye of Chinese censorship put this high on my watchlist. I started watching with high expectations shortly after it aired.

The story is based on a hit novel and is indisputably a very good one but the way it was told in the drama was really not good. While broadly true to the book, the production lazily assumes the viewer actually read it. The plot is centered around the attempt to restore a powerful magical artifact that the various cultivation sects vie to alternately control or suppress. The story opens with the mysterious reappearance of Wei Wuxian, the infamous Yiling patriach after a sixteen years hiatus. The fact that this is achieved by the sacrifice of Mo Xuanyu whose identity he assumes is one of several plot holes that never gets fully flushed out. Thus he conceals himself behind a (hideous) mask. The viewer is dropped right into in the middle of unfolding events and a wide array of characters without any backstory. Then we go into a prolonged flashback all the way back to the very beginning and up to the conspiracy that led to Wei Wuxian's fall from grace and long disappearance. This takes well over half the drama, which peaks around episode 34 with Wei Wuxian's apparent demise. We are then back to the present where we go into several shorter flashbacks intended to shed more light on the conspiracy. That made it messy and was less interesting because by then the two main villains are known. While the story regains some momentum towards the end, it doesn't come close to the mid-drama peak and the final denouement where the ultimate mastermind is revealed comes almost as an afterthought. That character was one of several insipidly acted roles and the final reveal tied up a few loose threads that wouldn't have been missed. This story would have been much better paced and less confusing had it just been shot chronologically.

The cast is inexperienced and even the main actors struggled to get into character for a long time. Some actors were just plain bad throughout. The first 15+ episodes were painful and the acting didn't get noticeably better until the mid-20s. I dropped it after episode 7 and many more times after that. Although there were some great parts, it just never hooked me. It took me 5 months to finish watching and I wouldn't have if I weren't so damn bored during the c-drama ban. What kept drawing me back was Xiao Zhan's infectious grin - he must have the best smile ever. He really did bring the marvelously controversial Wei Wuxian to life in a way that compels us to indulge the character's many obvious flaws. I was less impressed with Wang Yibo's Lanzhan; it is a stretch to describe his initial pissed off or constipated expression as statue-like or unemotional. He slightly relaxed his face muscles and improved markedly much later on and I really liked his Lanzhan at the end so kudos to him for that. I was also surprised by his grace and athleticism in the fight scenes. The two leads had good chemistry but where I saw sparks fly was between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. That confused me as I sensed from the start there was an emotional connection, that Jiang Cheng's feelings for Wei Wuxian were complex and went beyond sibling rivalry and envy. I don't think this was intended.

In genres like this, the heroes are only as good as the villains and therein lies the problem - the villains were not that hateful nor were they empathetic. Both actors were similarly styled and portrayed such similar mannerisms their roles could have been interchanged. They both overacted, had the same intense face lowered evil glare, mad eyed expression and crazy gloating smile. The directors were so lazy they pretty much gave them the same cliche traits and may as well have just used one actor for both roles. Surprise surprise, we are supposed to be sympathetic because they both also had serious daddy issues. Indeed this is the default excuse that explains the flaws of many characters including Jiang Cheng. Key takeaway: don't be a bad dad it really messes up the kids. No wonder I was bored! As for the ultimate mastermind, he was so well concealed he went unnoticed and no one would have cared if he remained that way. The ending was a bit of a crowd pleaser with a bit of something for everyone. I was just relieved it was over.

At this point it goes without saying that the production team for this show pretty much sucked. It would be a shame if the success of this drama despite terrible execution elevates them into a position to destroy other fantastic story-lines with poor editing, storytelling and shoddy camerawork. The only thing they got very right was walking the line perfectly between bro-mance and romance in terms of Wei Wuxian and Lanzhan's relationship.

So what made this such a huge hit? Well, the forbidden fruit nature of this drama can be highly addictive and is bound to resonate deeply with certain demographics and at some life stages though not for everyone. All the hidden meaning in certain interactions, the imperceptible flicker of an eyelash, the barest hint of a smile and the slight double entendre in the dialogue can be tantalizing for those looking for signs of a secret taboo romance. That kind of fun speculation only amused me for short spates. Ultimately a good, well acted story is all that I look for- whether or not it is about boy love would not make any difference to me. I was touched by the bro-mance between the two soul mates (which was all that I saw) as well as the relate-able and moving relationships between both sets of siblings - these were the high points for me. Sadly it was not enough to keep me engaged for long. I almost wish I had read the book. Maybe I would have enjoyed the drama more but even if I eventually get round to it, I am unlikely to re-watch this.

I almost gave this an 8.0 - but I felt I had to knock another 0.5 points off for the fact that it had a certain je ne sais quoi that just bored me silly when I wanted to love it. That and that simply god awful mask that would top the Don't list in any c-drama edition of Glamour magazine's defining list of fashion Dos and Don'ts.

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To the ends of the earth.

The Lonely Warrior is a crime thriller about one man's obstinate, obsessive thirteen year quest for justice. It is a highly dramatized account of a real life case. The movie version Endless Journey is led by Zhang Yi whereas this drama version is led by Qin Hao.

In the middle of a tense, emotional criminal case, an interrogation accident ends the careers of the elite Third Brigade investigative unit led by Cheng Bing. After a ten year stint in prison that costs Cheng Bing everything, he emerges hell bent on hunting down the violent killer Wang Dayong who eluded them all those years ago. He reunites with his squad, all of whom have at surface moved on with their lives but are still haunted by this cold case. They initially go to great lengths to help Cheng Bing but as a result of life commitments end up dropping out. Cheng Bing soldiers on deliberately, methodically pursing the vicious Wang Dayong seemingly till the ends of the earth, leaving no stone unturned.

The strongest aspect of this drama are the chase scenes and the way tension builds in a gripping and chillingly suspenseful way. What I didn't like was how Wang Dayong barely appears in the latter episodes. It was done to raise doubt over whether Cheng Bing was doggedly on the right track but it also made me quite frustrated with his obduracy. They failed to capitalise on Chen Minghao who delivers an incredibly menacing, ruthless and unpredictable Wang Dayong, a hardened criminal with exceptional survival instincts. I was also dismayed with what they did to his appearance; effectively obscuring all the nuances of his expressions. This would have been a lot better if they focused more in the cat-and-mouse chase between Cheng Bing and Wang Dayong with heart stopping near misses instead of pushing Wang Dayong off-screen for such long stretches.

My biggest issue with the narrative is that it delves too deeply into Cheng Bing's and the Third Brigade's personal stories. Qin Hao never fails to impresses in how he conveys deep emotions and he really out did himself in making us feel the weight of everything he loss. But I was not convinced at all by his relationship with Miao Miao. This is not a necessary character even though Ren Min does a good job with it. Add Tong Tong to the mix and I was just rolling my eyes. Even though I enjoyed the Third Brigade's camaraderie, they should either have had them see the case through all the way with Cheng Bing or not at all. It is very annoying to watch the narrative build up all of their personal stories only to see them drop out half way through. The most relevant and interesting relationship is the contentious one between Pan Dahai and Cheng Bing. These many digressions come at the cost of losing the momentum of the chase. This would be a much tighter and better drama with fewer episodes. As such, I am not surprised that the movie version has been better received than the drama even though I personally think the drama has a better lead cast.

Despite some pacing issues, this is overall a very enjoyable suspense thriller anchored by a stellar cast. Happy to rate it 7.5/10.0.

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