The story was based on a novel by Ding Mo for the most part with some scenes that were changed. The last two episodes weren't part of the novel but added by the scriptwriters. The addition wasn't really necessary but I think the show may have a sequel, so that's why it was done. As for the plot, I'd describe it as dark, ingenious, clever, and mind-numbing. The writer and scriptwriter definitely put a lot of layers into the story but it was never too confusing to follow. Here and there they troll you but it added a level of depth to the drama.
Oh man what can I say about the acting by this cast! Everyone's acting was pretty decent in my opinion. I think Sandra Ma did a decent job with her role but there were times when I just wasn't feeling her. Bo Jin Yan's character was intricate and multi-dimensional, and his expressions were on point. He stuck to his character till the end and his acting made him a pleasure to watch on the screen. I don't have enough praises for Wallace Huo's acting. I loved his bestie who was played by Wang Kai. His acting was very natural and refreshing to watch. I also liked Andy. You'll know who it is when you watch the drama ;)
As for the music, the beginning instrumental was epic. It sounded like the Sherlock soundtrack and it was used as background music effectively in the drama. The ending is nice and slow-faced but it is not bad on the ears. I'd like to compliment the camerawork and cinematography of the drama too. As for the re-watch value, it is typical for a mystery drama. You already know what happens, so that's why it is so low.
Overall, I'd recommend this drama to all viewers. Even if your not a mystery fan, the drama has a mix of other genres like romance too. It is one of the best dramas of 2015 I've seen this year by far.
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Flawed suspense
After seeing many raving reviews and positive comments I started watching this drama. It is the first Chinese crime series I have watched as I watch Chinese dramas usually for its fluffy romance. I have watched quite some Korean crime series as which are usually of good production quality.I have to say I really enjoyed watching the first half of the drama. Overall the story is greatly written and makes me anticipate for the next episode. The romance between the leads is also more of a focus in the first half and a good built up towards the crime story. However, after the first half I began to find so much plotholes mainly around Bo Jin Yan's trauma/abduction which they didn't even explain much context around.
One major recurring annoyment is the fact that they included American actors that spoke in English to which the Chinese actors replied to in Chinese without some kind of translator involved it somehow had to make sense that American people all understand Chinese???? To me the drama is a flawed suspense. It was quite good in creating these interesting cases and build up towards the greater story but there were too many things unexplained.
I do have to give it up to Wallace Huo! He did an amazing job at playing the main character. He solely saved this drama for me. Sandra Ma as Jian Yao also did quite well even though she played a translating student who could't even speak english.
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The story, directing, acting and music earns an overall 9.5/10 from me. The cinematography in this drama is at another level. It's almost like you're watching a movie each week. The main and supporting characters' acting is half the reason why this drama is so great. I would have given the acting 10/10, but the actors chosen to play as Americans could have been much better. Their acting was too awkward and stiff for me to watch.
The music in this drama is just perfect. The moment they start playing that familiar suspenseful and daunting background music, you know something will happen.
This is a drama worth re-watching. Although it would not be as exciting because you know what to expect, so the element of surprise is gone. It's the brilliant acting that will bring viewers back.
The touch of romance and humor in this drama is a great relief to all the suspense and constant plot twists you will see later on in the drama. Wallace Huo and Sandra Ma have amazing chemistry. The way they interact in the drama makes me wish that there were more romantic scenes from this pair.
Also, the main genre is NOT romance, but there IS romance. Don't expect seeing some lovey-dovey action in every episode. I have seen some complaints from some viewers from the lack of romantic scenes. If you want to watch this drama just for the romance, you will be left unsatisfied for a long time.
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about this drama:
1.it is not up to the point.
2.slow (very slow) and boring screenplay.
.
it is a thriller detective (investigation) series..but the main story doesn't even concentrate at that type of plot..first two to three episodes may make you wander ..but after that it's just a normal, slow, boring love story between a detective and a graduate girl.....and even love sequences aren't interesting....total boring.....even if you have so much time to waste,please don't watch it...
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Pros:
-Story. I think because I've watched a lot American crime shows where there is a new bad guy in every episode, I found it quite refreshing that the crime stories play out over several episodes. It gave the show a better balance between the personal lives of the leads and the work aspect.
- Fu Zi Yu. He was great, cool and funny and very much needed character in the series.
-Li Xun Ran. He was also great. I thought he would be the standard second male lead syndrome character. But he wasn't. He was a guy who genuinely cared for his oldest friend and only wanted her to be happy.
Cons:
-Female Lead: Jian Yao starts quite likable assistant who is learning on the job from Bo Jin Yan but unfortunately descends into a background character who only cries for 3 episodes in a row and then gets important towards the end again. It's pretty hard to care about her towards the end of series.
-Relationship. I found the chemistry between the leads a little lackluster and thus the romance aspect of the story fell a little flat. I found they had more chemistry in the first half of the series while solving cases than when their relationship becomes more solidified. The relationship scenes themselves were boring.
-English/Chinese crossover. This is a major flaw in the series. The conversations in dual languages did not make sense. Mainly because Bo Jin Yan grew up in America but does not have one conversation in English with the American characters. The same is for Jian Yao, who is supposedly a translator with very good English. Maybe the actors do not speak any English but it didn't really make any sense for all the American characters to understand Chinese. Like one of the random nurses knew what Jian Yao was saying.
Overall, a series with a strong start which by the end may have been a little too drawn out.
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This review may contain spoilers
I've been watching Korean dramas the past 3 years and Taiwanese and Thai dramas for the past 2, but I had avoided Chinese dramas up until this one. I don't tend to write reviews for shows I really really love or hate, I write them for the ones where I don't know how I feel about them. So to organize my feelings I will first write about what I didn't like and them what I did like.
So what I didn't like first of all where all the things that got set up that the writer just didn't end up picking up again, or were forgotten. (very mild cryptic spoilers ahead) For example, why did the sister get a flower? We never saw her again after that. And how could he've considered blowing that guy up in that house, after whats revealed later? And it may've been because I wasn't focusing but what did Tommy actually dig up? could someone please tell me?
I also didn't love the female leads character, she was set up to be strong and confident but in the end she kind of cried a lot and was saved by the male lead a lot, her acting was great, I just didn't love the character.
But the main thing I didn't like was that this show couldn't go through with any dramatic decisions. Any big deaths, that left me thinking "wow! good on you show for killing off that character/ those characters, that's a bold move!" ten minutes later were like, "guess what...they weren't really dead!" and it just felt like a cop out and it made big dramatic moments less dramatic, because you quickly realize no ones life is really on the line.
For what i did like, I liked the set up of the relationship of our 2 leads. There were some very cute scenes in the lead up of them becoming a couple (the accidental kiss!!!) and their first real kiss was all sorts of amazing! But after a while their relationship kind of started to bore me, but the few cute scenes they did have throughout the show did reignite my love for the pairing.
The second thing I liked- no LOVED was Wallace Huo, his acting...straight up amazing. As was Edward Zhang, the 2 of them were the big standouts of the show for me.
I liked the early mystery's and the long mystery for the second half of the show at times was a real chore to get through, but then it also had certain moments where I was squealing because it was so intense and insane. But there were a few too many "hes the guy! No, actually he's the guys! No, wait its him we've been looking for!" -it got a little bit tiring and I was only paying half attention to the final 2 episodes. (I was more of an Edward Zhang fan!)
This was a good choice for my first Chinese drama, it had brilliant acting and it was also a lot shorter than the average Chinese drama. Although I had a lot of issues with the drama I can see why people love it and why its quickly become a classic. I wouldn't watch it again because I know all the reveals, but was it a fun journey to find them out for the first time...mostly, yeah. I will definitely be watching more Chinese dramas in the future.
(P.S But they better not give me any more Breaking Dawn Part 2 endings like that, what the hell was that???)
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Unexpected story
I really liked it from the beginning. Especially the first crime case was greatly done! It’s still on my mind. I really liked how the balance was between the crime cases, psycholigy, romance and friendship. It was never boring. The whole drama kept me curious. You never know what to expect. It even made me confused sometimes because the outcome was different than you would espect. The main couple has a difference in age but you dont’t see it in their acting. And it has a happy ending :)!It’s a great drama to watch!
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This review may contain spoilers
There's a lot to unpack with this series. I'm always very vested in series that handle serial-murder cases because I find the chase and the forensic psychology behind it very fascinating. Some of my favorite Asian shows, like Beyond Evil (Korea), Memorist (Korea), Through The Darkness (Korea), Watcher (Korea), and Flower of Evil (Korea) are all rooted in lurking in the depths of a serial killer's mind to find a path toward catching him and the lengths in which they're willing to go to find them while trying to keep hold of their own humanity. I was drawn toward this show because it's my first Chinese production within this genre, and I was also really curious to see how they'd handle a MALE victim for once.
The show began on a promising footing with the reclusive and brilliant, but socially inept, Professor Bo (Wallace Huo) and his assistant, Jian Yao (played by Ma Si Chun). I like Ma Si Chun. I've seen her in a few shows, and I really liked her in You Are My Hero. They have cute chemistry, at first, and I like their dynamic as she learns his quirks and empathetically works around them. Later, after his cringe confession at the hotel (I had so much 2nd hand embarrassment from that whole scene), the chemistry between them quickly fizzles and definitely felt more natural when it was just platonic. The romantic vein between them was really forced and always awkward.
The show began quickly losing me about halfway through when it became more than apparent that I would be subjected to a ridiculous and offensive typecasting of barely D-rated American actors playing the role of the American FBI and, later on, the villains. It was so cringey and so poorly acted, I don't know how many times I counted Tommy's horrific "southern accent" (if you really want to call it that) or why the male nurse had to look so suspiciously like Superman while committing vile acts. It felt very targeted Anti-American the whole time, and I felt uncomfortable as an American viewer. I fast-forwarded through the last 15 or so episodes just because I wanted to see how it ended and I was still just immensely annoyed for the wasted time. SKIP.
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I was biased by the fact that the drama circled around serial killers, because that's a personal favorite for me. Add in the extreme personality of Simon Bo, and his almost alien innocence and it was a recipe for perfection. All 24 episodes kept me completely absorbed and interested. No skipping, no yawning and no looking away, not for a second.
I can't recommend this drama enough. If you are looking for a feeler into C-Dramas, this is a great way to go, it even has a little romance, if you need it. Do yourself a favor and watch this drama.
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The plot was pretty good. There were many twists and turns that kept you on the edge of your seat for the first half of the drama. However, they recycled the same pattern of events several times to the point where by the end it was quite predictable. That's why it is pretty fair to say that the first half of the drama is far superior to the second half of the drama. I don't want to say too much more about the plot, I don't want to reveal anything that would ruin the experience for those thinking about watching this drama, which by the way, you should. The plot is probably the strongest aspect of the drama as other aspects were quite disappointing which shows just how strong the plot was because it could stand by itself most of the time. However, the romance that was woven into this plot was a little lacklustre. Yes, they had super cute moments but what I want most from a thriller/ romance drama is the subtle intimacies. Like, holding hands, hugs, slight touches, glances, you know, all the kyeopta stuff. They did do some of these things but it was when they were alone and a full scene was dedicated to each romantic action. To be honest, these just felt like fillers as a break from the complicated plot. Less than half way into the drama, they were officially a couple which I thought would mean there would be more subtle romance throughout the rest of the drama. Sadly, that wasn't the case and they just continued with the short scenes of romance. Still cute, just a little lacking for me.
Characters were decent. The strongest character (development wise) was definitely Bo Jinyan. First I'll say WHAT AN AMAZING ACTOR!! Damn son you rocked the slightly psychopathic detective. Anyway, in the beginning he was very introverted due to his superior intelligence compared to others. His only close friend was Fu Ziyu (my fav character) who was pretty much his assistant. In the first half of the drama, you're in awe of Bo Jinyan's intelligence and love watching him slowly open up his heart to those around him when he gets close with Jian Yao. Though unfortunately, by the second half of the drama, we see less of Bo Jinyan doing his job and more watching the events unfold and then getting a brief explanation afterwards when everything is solved. The first time this happened, I didn't mind, it was pretty cool. But that gets old pretty quickly. Don't get me wrong, I loved his character. Watching him experience his first love was super adorable and he always looked so awesome when solving crimes.
The biggest disappointment for me was Jian Yao. In the beginning, she was smart, observant, independent and strong. Everything I love in a female lead. Then half way through the drama, she becomes the typical damsel in distress. We see less and less of her which I can understand to a point, but Bo Jinyan emphasised so much in the beginning that he needed her as his assistant. But it's like that point is completely forgotten and she just sits at home waiting for her man to return from war. WHY? She was so headstrong, I loved that, but no, she just sits at home longing for her man being of absolutely no help to anyone when she contributed SO MUCH IN THE BEGINNING. Sorry got a bit angry there but comE ON. Yeah anyway she was a huge disappointment, I expect a lot from the female leads, I hate it when they just go along with anything the male lead says. BE A STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN.
Anyway, FU ZIYU! MY FAV! He was so cute I loved him. Seeing his reactions to Bo Jinyan finally coming out of the dark isolated corner he closed himself off into was amazing. He looked so happy and proud of his friend. I love his relationship with Jian Yao as well, you can see how much he cares for her and that's always nice to see. No romance implied, just a genuine girl and guy friendship. GUYS AND GIRLS CAN BE FRIENDS PEOPLE.
Then there's Li Xunran. The childhood friend. BUT THE BEST SECOND LEAD EVER! HE COULD SEE THAT HIS FRIEND THAT HE WAS SECRETLY IN LOVE WITH WAS HAPPY WITH HER NEW MAN AND HE TOOK A STEP BACK AND LET HER CHASE THAT HAPPINESS! WHAT A GREAT GUY! Then suddenly he disappears for several episodes and you just sit and think for a second and you're like "Wait, where is he? What happened to him?". That's the same for Chen Mo, Bo Jinyan's pet tortoise. You'll see what I mean when you watch the drama. So random.
I won't mention the american actors since they were mainly to keep the plot moving forward, there wasn't really any character development for them. Though for an Asian drama which usually have terrible English actors, they weren't half bad.
Now for the villains. Not bad. We follow a chap called Xie Han who is you're typical psychopath. Eccentric, whispers when he talks, occasionally smashes things or yells to make you jump. Again, I don't want to reveal too much of the plot but basically whoever you think the main villain pulling all the strings is, it's not them lol. I will say though, I wish they spent more time with the main villain. When you watch the drama, you'll understand what I mean about this.
Wow ok this is a really long review, kudos to you if you're still reading lol, I'll wrap it up now.
OST. Nothing special. There was some cool rock music that played in the background whenever a new plot point was discovered. But that's all that was memorable for me.
Would I watch this drama again? Probably not. I did enjoy watching it and I would recommend it but unfortunately there was no consistency to the intrigue factor for the entirety of the drama to tempt me to watch it again. There were some great moments, but they were spread pretty thin in 24 episodes. Not enough butter for the toast sadly.
Overall, a good drama and a good watch. If you're like me and love thriller/action dramas then you should definitely watch this.
That's all for now, enjoy the show, bye lol.
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Was this review helpful to you?
Story:
The story was the strongest point of this drama. It was REALLY a well written and executed drama. One needs to watch it till the end to get every facts correct. Also you should pay attention to every little detail of the drama to be up to date with the story. I loved the suspense, the thrill, the romance- damn it was just sooo great! The romantic angle of the story didn't seem to forced and jelled well with the story. Unlike many so-called suspense drama where the romance takes a front seat and thrill takes a back seat- this drama is a perfect example of how it should be made. It was great!
Acting:
This was my first Wallace Huo drama and I am well prepared to stalk him for next few months. His expressions, awkwardness, dilemma, confusion, love, hate- everything was on point. He portrayed a complex character of Bo Jin Yan with such ease that you would trust in every word he speaks, it was as if he was living this character. I am a fan for life now. Ma Sandra was also great as Jian Yao. I think she did great with emotional scenes. Her presence in Jin Yan's life seemed so effortless that you start shipping them instantly. Also I loved her character, it was good to see a smart and sensible women in dramaland after a long time. That said Fu Zhi Yu was my favorite character. I loved his chemistry with Jin yan. They were friendship goals seriously. He was like a substitute wife/mother for Jin Yan and it was ADORABLE to watch them together. All the other actors were great too. Not even a single actor seemed miscast or did bad at his role. I did wish Wang Kai's character could have been more than it was, but nevertheless all was well.
Music:
Apart from the ending theme which was absolutely great, this drama had an excellent choice of background music. It has such a Gothic feeling to it and helped the audience to build up the suspense.
Re-watch value:
I hardly re-watch any suspense drama 'cos I already know the ending but I would love to watch the romance scenes from this one. It was so cute and awkward that you would fell in love with them immediately.
Overall:
Go watch it today. Or NOW! I swear you won't regret it.
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