Kirure
This review may contain spoilers
Consistently great, marred by an unsatisfying ending
LONG REVIEW WITH NON-DETAILED SPOILERS
I really really enjoyed watching this series, I basically binged watched the whole thing in a few days. This is coming from someone who has never watched a drama involving a long-term undercover operation before, so I had no expectations on this genre. I started watching this as I'm a bromance fan, and I could see the potential. Like I mentioned, this drama was consistently great, none of the episodes felt dragged out/rushed, or out of place... until the end, where things seemed to be wrapped up quite quickly (and the criminals given no resolution).
- Story
The story is not complicated, which I actually appreciated. There weren't annoying and random subplots happening, things progressed fairly linearly (Best of all no romance!!! I really dislike romance). First few episodes are setting the scene for (MC) Fang Mo's undercover operation, and from there the drama focused first on Gu Tao's drugs/arms smuggling, then Ma Sijie's smuggling operations. Throughout this, MC does a brilliant job of gaining the criminals' trust and discovering the truth behind his gf's death. It was utterly captivating to watch not only the way the criminals operate, but the way the police go about handling them. (Thank the lord for this drama showing the police as competent.) There were a few great plot twists as well.
As for the ending... very mixed feelings. On one hand, it was expected. Some might say the death penalties were too harsh, but you have to realise that the number of drugs these criminals smuggled and distributed seriously ruin lives, with long-standing effects. And while yes, circumstances beyond their control lead these characters to a life of crime, however in the end they do it for money and noteriety, and they don't care about the consequences of their actions. The only sad thing is that these criminals are characters we have come to know and love, and we can't help but feel for them.
On the other hand, there wasn't much resolution between MC and the criminals he became brothers with. We spend over 30 eps watching the bond between the two grow, how much Gu Tao trusts and cares for MC. And MC does care about Gu Tao too, even if he's undercover and planning to arrest Gu Tao. Honestly, it wouldn't be strange to suggest that Gu Tao falls for the MC (but of course they instead push the brother/family agenda). There is a pretty good confrontation when Gu Tao discovers the truth, but after that? They don't meet again. Ok, I can understand that, he is the cop that deceived and ultimately got him arrested. But then what about Gu Tao and Ma Sijie? These two deserved to have their own resolution, but that isn't shown at all. It just feels like as soon as the criminals were caught, they were no longer important, no longer people worth acknowledging. All that was shown is their trial/sentencing. They didn't talk at all, and there was 0 follow up to the ones that were given lighter punishments.
- Characters
The MC Fang Mo is definitely one of my favourite characters from any show. He is smart, competent, and all-round badass. He's extremely committed to bringing down the bad guys and never wavers in his ideals, but still shows a lot of understanding towards the criminals. He goes to pretty extreme self-sacrificing measures to complete his mission and gain Gu Tao's trust, and it works. Plenty of whump :)
Gu Tao is a character you can't help but like. He's a criminal, yet he shows so much care and loyalty to his friends/brothers. I will say he tends to trust a bit too much, the progression of accepting Fang Mo was a bit fast. The naivety was a little unrealistic considering he has just found a mole (MC's gf). I really felt bad for him, knowing that the person he has poured so much trust and care into is an undercover cop deceiving him. And then when he finally finds out the truth about MC, he still loves Fang Mo so much he begs MC to stop being a cop and remain with Gu Tao, and can't bring himself to hurt Fang Mo even while feeling the pain of betrayal.
Jin Lanlan is my least favourite character in this drama. She just feels so fake, and so unnecessary. Not much else to say tbh.
Ma Sijie was interesting. He only really shows up in the latter half of the drama. His character felt a little unstable at times, but his care for Gu Tao was undeniable. Other than that, not super memorable.
The other side characters were generally quite well written and helped to drive the plot.
- Acting
Phenomenal! Except maybe Jin Lanlan's acting, which always felt sickeningly fake and put on.
- Music
Honestly didn't pay attention, which isn't a bad thing.
- Rewatch Value
The problem with these kinds of shows is that it loses much of the rewatch value once you know what's going to happen. Nonetheless, entertaining enough that I would likely enjoy rewatching in the distant future.
Conclusion
Regardless of the ending, the drama is still fantastic and well worth watching. The highlight is the way MC goes about his undercover operation, with the back and forth conflict between police and criminals attempting to outsmart one another.
I really really enjoyed watching this series, I basically binged watched the whole thing in a few days. This is coming from someone who has never watched a drama involving a long-term undercover operation before, so I had no expectations on this genre. I started watching this as I'm a bromance fan, and I could see the potential. Like I mentioned, this drama was consistently great, none of the episodes felt dragged out/rushed, or out of place... until the end, where things seemed to be wrapped up quite quickly (and the criminals given no resolution).
- Story
The story is not complicated, which I actually appreciated. There weren't annoying and random subplots happening, things progressed fairly linearly (Best of all no romance!!! I really dislike romance). First few episodes are setting the scene for (MC) Fang Mo's undercover operation, and from there the drama focused first on Gu Tao's drugs/arms smuggling, then Ma Sijie's smuggling operations. Throughout this, MC does a brilliant job of gaining the criminals' trust and discovering the truth behind his gf's death. It was utterly captivating to watch not only the way the criminals operate, but the way the police go about handling them. (Thank the lord for this drama showing the police as competent.) There were a few great plot twists as well.
As for the ending... very mixed feelings. On one hand, it was expected. Some might say the death penalties were too harsh, but you have to realise that the number of drugs these criminals smuggled and distributed seriously ruin lives, with long-standing effects. And while yes, circumstances beyond their control lead these characters to a life of crime, however in the end they do it for money and noteriety, and they don't care about the consequences of their actions. The only sad thing is that these criminals are characters we have come to know and love, and we can't help but feel for them.
On the other hand, there wasn't much resolution between MC and the criminals he became brothers with. We spend over 30 eps watching the bond between the two grow, how much Gu Tao trusts and cares for MC. And MC does care about Gu Tao too, even if he's undercover and planning to arrest Gu Tao. Honestly, it wouldn't be strange to suggest that Gu Tao falls for the MC (but of course they instead push the brother/family agenda). There is a pretty good confrontation when Gu Tao discovers the truth, but after that? They don't meet again. Ok, I can understand that, he is the cop that deceived and ultimately got him arrested. But then what about Gu Tao and Ma Sijie? These two deserved to have their own resolution, but that isn't shown at all. It just feels like as soon as the criminals were caught, they were no longer important, no longer people worth acknowledging. All that was shown is their trial/sentencing. They didn't talk at all, and there was 0 follow up to the ones that were given lighter punishments.
- Characters
The MC Fang Mo is definitely one of my favourite characters from any show. He is smart, competent, and all-round badass. He's extremely committed to bringing down the bad guys and never wavers in his ideals, but still shows a lot of understanding towards the criminals. He goes to pretty extreme self-sacrificing measures to complete his mission and gain Gu Tao's trust, and it works. Plenty of whump :)
Gu Tao is a character you can't help but like. He's a criminal, yet he shows so much care and loyalty to his friends/brothers. I will say he tends to trust a bit too much, the progression of accepting Fang Mo was a bit fast. The naivety was a little unrealistic considering he has just found a mole (MC's gf). I really felt bad for him, knowing that the person he has poured so much trust and care into is an undercover cop deceiving him. And then when he finally finds out the truth about MC, he still loves Fang Mo so much he begs MC to stop being a cop and remain with Gu Tao, and can't bring himself to hurt Fang Mo even while feeling the pain of betrayal.
Jin Lanlan is my least favourite character in this drama. She just feels so fake, and so unnecessary. Not much else to say tbh.
Ma Sijie was interesting. He only really shows up in the latter half of the drama. His character felt a little unstable at times, but his care for Gu Tao was undeniable. Other than that, not super memorable.
The other side characters were generally quite well written and helped to drive the plot.
- Acting
Phenomenal! Except maybe Jin Lanlan's acting, which always felt sickeningly fake and put on.
- Music
Honestly didn't pay attention, which isn't a bad thing.
- Rewatch Value
The problem with these kinds of shows is that it loses much of the rewatch value once you know what's going to happen. Nonetheless, entertaining enough that I would likely enjoy rewatching in the distant future.
Conclusion
Regardless of the ending, the drama is still fantastic and well worth watching. The highlight is the way MC goes about his undercover operation, with the back and forth conflict between police and criminals attempting to outsmart one another.
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