Holy shit, I'm pleasantly surprised.
This was much better than I expected, I went into this show with very light expectations. My decision to watch this was also a very spur of the moment kinda thing. I found this while browsing the free options on IQiYi (the poster caught my attention). Half way through I was like "Yeah it's alright not too bad and not too good" but then the last episodes happened and I changed my mind.
Story: The story isn't really complicated, Fang Mu, a genius in criminal psychology helps the police in solving cases and because of an incident he has trouble profiling criminals. The way the case of Fang Mu's trauma was revealed was interesting, I enjoyed those episodes a lot. They, together with the last 2-3 episodes are the best in my opinion. What I didn't like was that they basically used the same formula for how the cases are solved, it can get boring and a bit repetitive. Another user described the rough outline of that formula in their review. This was one of the reasons why I thought the drama was pretty mid around 6.5/7 out of 10, but the end pumped it up to an 8, they were GREAT. All my annoyances and questions made sense after seeing the ending.
I was also annoyed that all the murder cases happened at the same damn place. That University (and Fang Mu, poor soul) were cursed. Everyone there died or was a murderer, crazy. I was very happy when the location etc made much more sense after the last 2 epsiodes so I'm glad I powered through it.
You could predict the end if you payed very close attention or something. I knew a character was involved somehow around episode 16 but my suspicions were only confirmed at the end. So i'ts possible, especially if you're familiar with crime shows like this and know that there are certain formulars most show go after.
Acting/Cast/Characters: The two main characters were excellent, honestly I can't complain about any of the acotrs and their characters. The only one who got a bit on my nerves was the Cheerleader because of her desperately trying to get Fang Mu's attention etc even after he clearly showed no interest. Though even that is resolved and I can't complain about how they did it.
The police, for once, is NOT useless. Who would have thought. They actually did their job well and weren't only there to make the ML's look even smarter, big probs for that.
Music: The ending song alone deserves a 10, I love the song and I am so mad that it's not on YT anymore :( I loved the way it was used in episode 24. Even the instrumental for the opening wasn't bad.
Rewatch Value: I don't really rewatch shows, especially shows like this because the shock factor is gone.
I forgot to mention, I find it funny how chinese dramas use dark eye make-up etc on a character to indicate that they are the dark or evil version of said character. They did it in S.C.I too, I think. Very amusing.
Overall: A crime drama that managed to pleasantly surprise me after giving it a shot spontaneously. Especially the ending song is fantastic. I will check out the second season some day. I say to give it a shot, it's not long and I'm sure you atleast find this a decent show, even as a crime lover.
I know I know, I give it a lot of praise but still rate it 8/10, but I have good reasons (in my book at least). There were a few scenes that I thought could be acted and planned out better. Scenes where I had to look away because of the acting (mainly the ones where Fang Mu had to act very emotional etc, they could have been a bit better and they were necessary for his characer, especially later). It could also be a bit predictable in terms of crime drama formula and get repetitive in the way they solved crimes.
Story: The story isn't really complicated, Fang Mu, a genius in criminal psychology helps the police in solving cases and because of an incident he has trouble profiling criminals. The way the case of Fang Mu's trauma was revealed was interesting, I enjoyed those episodes a lot. They, together with the last 2-3 episodes are the best in my opinion. What I didn't like was that they basically used the same formula for how the cases are solved, it can get boring and a bit repetitive. Another user described the rough outline of that formula in their review. This was one of the reasons why I thought the drama was pretty mid around 6.5/7 out of 10, but the end pumped it up to an 8, they were GREAT. All my annoyances and questions made sense after seeing the ending.
I was also annoyed that all the murder cases happened at the same damn place. That University (and Fang Mu, poor soul) were cursed. Everyone there died or was a murderer, crazy. I was very happy when the location etc made much more sense after the last 2 epsiodes so I'm glad I powered through it.
You could predict the end if you payed very close attention or something. I knew a character was involved somehow around episode 16 but my suspicions were only confirmed at the end. So i'ts possible, especially if you're familiar with crime shows like this and know that there are certain formulars most show go after.
Acting/Cast/Characters: The two main characters were excellent, honestly I can't complain about any of the acotrs and their characters. The only one who got a bit on my nerves was the Cheerleader because of her desperately trying to get Fang Mu's attention etc even after he clearly showed no interest. Though even that is resolved and I can't complain about how they did it.
The police, for once, is NOT useless. Who would have thought. They actually did their job well and weren't only there to make the ML's look even smarter, big probs for that.
Music: The ending song alone deserves a 10, I love the song and I am so mad that it's not on YT anymore :( I loved the way it was used in episode 24. Even the instrumental for the opening wasn't bad.
Rewatch Value: I don't really rewatch shows, especially shows like this because the shock factor is gone.
I forgot to mention, I find it funny how chinese dramas use dark eye make-up etc on a character to indicate that they are the dark or evil version of said character. They did it in S.C.I too, I think. Very amusing.
Overall: A crime drama that managed to pleasantly surprise me after giving it a shot spontaneously. Especially the ending song is fantastic. I will check out the second season some day. I say to give it a shot, it's not long and I'm sure you atleast find this a decent show, even as a crime lover.
I know I know, I give it a lot of praise but still rate it 8/10, but I have good reasons (in my book at least). There were a few scenes that I thought could be acted and planned out better. Scenes where I had to look away because of the acting (mainly the ones where Fang Mu had to act very emotional etc, they could have been a bit better and they were necessary for his characer, especially later). It could also be a bit predictable in terms of crime drama formula and get repetitive in the way they solved crimes.
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