I watched this before Nirvana In Fire so went in without any impressions of the cast (minus Hu Ge, though I hadn't seen any of his dramas since like 2006). China loves shows about the Republican era/Japanese imperalism, and I have probably seen tons of them due to the fact that my grandfather loves those shows and we spend a lot of time watching TV when I visit, so I wasn't expecting anything new with The Disguiser, despite knowing that it was getting some rave reviews. Despite that, I was super impressed with how slick and polished the first half of the show was - the acting was (mostly) fantastic, the pace was good, and the spies' double/triple identities were well done. I had huge hopes for this show - if it was well done to the end, it would be a game changer in terms of production quality - but alas, it was not meant to be. Plot holes, annoying characters, and a slower pace killed the second half - and I do think that the show was trying to be smarter than it was, which ultimately didn't work very well. That doesn't mean this was a good drama - I think the performances from the cast and the first half cements this as one of the better c-dramas, but I think I was just disappointed by how low the lows were, considering how good certain parts were. Story: The setup was pretty good - the first few episodes set up the characters nicely and you understand the different dynamics at play. I liked how the story unfolded as Ming Tai starts on his journey as a spy and adult. The plot was pretty intricate the and the writing was fairly tight, and I loved seeing the mind games the characters were playing with each other. The antagonists (especially the Chinese ones) had interesting stories and characterizations as well. The directing was beautiful - this was a show that was, to some extent, very focused on flash and style (they had incredibly beautiful outfits), but it still delivered in substance as well, with several poignantly shot scenes. I love the Ming family and the heartwarming moments that they had in between all the violence and tragedy. The ShanYing team has said before they haven't really done much with romance in their productions, and I really, really wish that they had decided to scrap that altogether here, because the romance REALLY hurt the quality of the drama. I think I skipped all of Jinyun's scenes starting from episode 20 on, because not only did the actors not have any chemistry, their love story just didn't make any sense. Jinyun's character was also too one-dimensional and made some infuriating decisions, and you never really understood why Ming Tai fell in love with her. I love romance in my dramas, especially in action dramas, but this was one where we could have survived on the love between the siblings alone. And actually, somebody made an abridged version of The Disguiser with all of the romance scenes removed and you don't miss very much at all. Acting/Cast: Just like Nirvana In Fire, the ensemble cast was (mostly) outstanding. To me, Jin Dong was the star of the show - and admittedly, he got the most interesting character in Ming Lou, but his performance was absolutely outstanding. He absolutely owned the role and was able to inject his natural charisma and magnetism into the character. I love Hu Ge, but I do wonder if both he and Ming Tai may have fared better if the production team went for a younger actor (and I know they wanted Hu Ge, but just sayin'). Ming Tai was a spoiled rich boy and I think Hu Ge did the best that he could in acting as a character who was in his early 20s, but Hu Ge isn't the Hu Ge of ten years ago anymore, and the actor that he is now is much too mature to play that kind of character. Ming Tai was also the least developed character - despite the fact that he is a spy and there is some character development, he wasn't multi-layered like some of the others. But again, I think Hu Ge did a good job, and was especially phenomenal in his scenes with Wang Tianfeng. Wang Kai's role was a particularly interesting one, and I loved his bromance with Ming Lou. I do think he had more to work with in Nirvana In Fire, but he had a memorable turn as the ever-loyal Ah Cheng. Liu Min Tao killed it as the big sister of the Ming family - she was bossy, naggy, demanding, entitled, and kind-hearted and loved her family. She had some heartbreaking scenes, and Liu Min Tao added such a natural warmth and elegance to her character. Other standout performances were from Wang Ou as Wang Man Chun (she was such an awesome antagonist), Yue Yang as Liang Zhong Chun (also so, so good), and cute Song Yi as the tragic Yu Man Li (she was still a bit green as an actress, but I loved that there was such a difference between her looks and her abilities). But my favorite performance, aside from Jin Dong's, was probably Liu Yi Jun as Wang Tian Feng, who was absolutely amazing as Ming Tai's mentor. It was such an intense character, but you never felt as if he was overacting. He didn't have a whole lot of screen time, but man did he make every minute count (I squealed when I saw him again in NiF). Now for Wang Le Jun as Jinyun...I know the actress was injured during the shooting, and that she was in constant pain, so some slack has to be given, but oh my goodness, I cannot remember seeing a drama where an actress has consistently hurt the drama's quality in all of her scenes due to bad acting. Some of this wasn't entirely the actress' fault - the character was also poorly written, but Wang Le Jun's wooden acting didn't help to add any sympathy or understanding to her character. Also didn't help that for whatever reason, Hu Ge lost his acting skills in his scenes with her, which is so, so weird because he has always had good romantic chemistry with his co-stars. While I am grateful the production team moved away from their scenes later on, the damage was already done. Overall: This was a good drama - it had some outstanding moments, some great characters, and memorable performances. I just felt like the entire ride was an absolute roller coaster and I never really got over some of the low points. It's one of those dramas that I mourn occasionally, especially when I'm watching a really good drama, because it will remind me what could have been...