2 different TV shows
After completing the drama I have very mixed opinions. The story is about a brilliant criminal psychologist and the just out of college assistant that he hires. The two work together to solves cases which evolve into one giant case. That is all I will say on the story for those planning on watching.First the acting is fantastic, well at least Wallace Huo, who was just incredible as the main character playing a wide range of emotions throughout. I gave the acting a high rating because of him and what I consider the other 2 leads or his inner circle. The issue is that the "american" actors were terrible and I have no idea what the accent was they were speaking with.
Now for the critique. I absolutely loved the first half of the show. The main character was interesting and his interactions with his assistant and his bff where funny and really well done. The cases were interesting but what kept you going was the relationship of the 3 - Bo Jinyan, his assistant and love interest Jian Yao, and his best friend Fu Zi. Once it morphed the larger case it was less about the characters and more about the big bad person. While I watched and was semi-interested for the last like 8 episodes, I missed the first part of the show which had humor and characters. Bo Jinyan became something different as he became involved in the case and his interactions with his assistant / girlfriend was almost non-existent.
Although, I did laughed out loud at how badly the FBI was portrayed - I mean using a towel to wipe up blood does not remove DNA traces, and I am not sure I liked the implication of the last scene. So there was some humor in the last story arch - it just wasn't;t supposed to be funny,
So overall a 7.5 - first 15 or so episodes were great and I would re-watch, the second half was just ok.
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10 out of 10 recommend
Wow! If you like a show that will keep you on the edge of your seats with suspense, this is the show for you. Its a crime drama with a sprinkle of romance, what a perfect combination. A criminal profiler and his assistant grows closer as they solve cases that may or not be all linked. It’s a suspenseful show, but it does have some comedic moments to break the tension. The chemistry between Wallace Huo and Sandra Ma is like fireworks, and I know they had done another project after this one as well. This show I do recommend.I watched this on Amazon Prime and subtitles are available.
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This review may contain spoilers
Could Have Been Better
I really like the beginning of the series. I thought the episodes flowed really well and the Bo Jin Yan's characterwas very interesting. I liked how his relationship with Jian Yao developed. I loved too that Jian Yao wasn't meek and shy and stood her ground with Bo Jin Yan. Fu Zi Yu was a great friend to have. I enjoyed his and Bo Jin Yan's bromance.
The earlier episodes had a murder of the week vibe that was good with the overarching main serial killer case. I think the show started to get slow and boring b/c they tied all the murder cases to that main serial killer which was unnecessary. I also hated the 11th hour BS dual ending. It's one of my most hated tropes. I mean this show has 24 episodes and in the 22nd episode they decided to make someone else the puppet master behind Xie Han and while I kinda figured who that was earlier than revealed, I DID NOT like that bullshit!
Wallace Huo was absolutely fantastic though as was Ma Si Chun. I really liked the majority of the cast but Terence Yin was not that great especially after the big reveal.
3/14/25
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This review may contain spoilers
Just watch the first 13-14 episodes and then drop it!
Based on the 8.4 MDL rating, I think this drama is extremely overrated. I mean sure the first 15 episodes were pretty good, a solid 8/10. As a procedural crime drama it was not the best thing I have ever seen, but up to ep15 it was at least decent. "Case of the week" is a nice well proven format and it was nice to see the crew working on different cases, they got the Sherlock-Watson thing down to a T.The cdrama romance was fine too up to that point, totally my cup of tea. The triangle was handled well too, it was not too bothersome. There were all kinds of fun, cute and fluffy things. Up to that turning point the balance of romance and crime was about 50-50, they maintained a nice balance there..
Following episode 14-15 the total amount of romance that happens in the drama amounts to about 15 minutes. There is no breakup or anything like that, the OTP just doesn't interact with one another. I could swallow that with some difficulty, I am capable of enjoying pure crime dramas, I loved The Mentalist for example. Unfortunately the crime related story in the last 10 episodes is just completely silly. I'm sensing that the (script?)writer was trying to go for some kind of Death Note thing. First battle with L & then battle with L2 and lo and behold L2 is.. However the execution is terrible, these people are supposed to be highly intelligent waging a sophisticated battle of wits, instead the clue solving feels really arbitrary. Let's not even talk about the weird stereotypical foreign actors and their monotone super strange dubbed voice. (or how Chinese people talk to Americans in this show)
I gotta give it to the production crew though it's rare to see something like this on Chinese TV. I'm extremely surprised the censors let this go on air like this. People get shot, cut and just there is quite a bit of aggression overall. I thought cdramas like this one cannot be made.
If you have not seen this yet, my recommendation is to just watch the first 13-14 episodes (up until they get together) and then maybe watch the last 8-10 minutes of the final episode and after that if you are still not satisfied just read the webnovel, it has a much nicer ending, with many nice things that were omitted from the drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
Outstanding & Worthy ReWatch
This was beyond my expectation. I generally follow more current dramas, but reading the reviews stimulated my interest. This drama kept me on my toes had good twist with happy ending. If I didn't know it had a happy ending, I would had avoided watching. Wallace Huo & Sandra Ma were spectacular & believable. Love to see more of them cast together. A Very Good Looking Main & Supporting Cast. The 2nd & 3rd romantic couples had good potential. Would like to see a sequel to the 3 couples & a happy romance for the detective. This drama covered mystery crime, romance, & the right touch of humorous one liners.Lastly, the songs set the viewers into the right temple.
Definitely Worth ReWatching. Kudos to the Writers, Producers, Directors, Filming Crew, Cast Members, & All Associated With The Making Of This Drama! Thank You!
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I'm someone who prefers shorter reviews which help me decide straight away whether to watch a show or not, so I'm aiming to keep this short and simple!
Disclaimer: I'm a sucker for romances, especially the high school settings. So watching a very intense crime-mystery focused show was something different, but enjoyable.
In one sentence;
Love Me If You Dare was overall a very interesting story, it kept me wanting to know more with it's immersive writing and storyline, I couldn't help binging this show in just a few days :0
I found the first half of the series (till ep ~15) really great, in these cases I was guessing along with our main character, Jian Yao, and trying to solve the mysteries. However, after these smaller cases were over, that's when I found that everything started to slightly change? The explanations were slightly far fetched for me, and they continued to use this //one// certain twist just one too many times!! By the time I sensed a change in the series (it really wasn't a huuge change!), I just continued the drama more for the sake of finishing it and wanted to know the ending. The romance was fluffy, I found it incredibly awkward and cringey (in a good way xD), but this romance aspect is less focused on after this midway point as well.
Acting: Wallace Huo was really stunning really haha, it was my first time watching a drama with him! Sandra Ma was a bit hmmm soft spoken for me? It might be her character, but for me it fell a bit on the weak, crying character, especially evident in the second half. I wish she continued to display her courageous and smart thinking throughout the rest of the series. The actors Andrew Lin (Yi Zu) and Wang Kai (Xun Ran) were the best!
Music: Nothing special sadly :/ Not memorable for me. The opening song sounds like your usual dramatic, crime show music.
Fav charas: Fu Zi Yu and Li Xun Ran!! They deserve more love <3
Recommendation: Yep go for it! With a solid rating of 7.5/10, I'd recommend this based on my overall interest and good writing of this show.
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Highly recommended Chinese Thriller/Mystery series
I'm happy that i trusted the MDL's recommendation and i got to see this series. This is one of the Thriller/crime/mystery series that can make you fully awake at night because you wanted to solve the case before you close your eyes. Some of the scenes are mind blowing and the psychological analysis really made sense.I love the suspense and the the twists in the story. The actors have a really good chemistry, not only the leads but same with the support.
Just an advise of you will watch this series and you have fear of gruesome death and blood, you have to think twice. Other than that it's worth watching!
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As for Jenny's character she is too pretty and too little naive but their chemistry and comfort is mind blowing... Usually such characters over shadowed by the male lead but she filled her character with different shades... Her love friendship and her past experience made her strong... She smiled acted naughty and all shy but when it comes to compatibility she is no less than her partner... She solved cases and figured out the things which other can't even think...
The unique car idea is lovely and I wish to have a friend who gift me such an amazing Audi....
Good luck guys... If you get to know about killer come to share with me... Let's see where and how you caught him...
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Well paced script with unique twists; crime, action and romance
Wow! I’ve binged this after coincidentally coming across this show, although I do think it went a bit “downwards” towards the end.Although the “genius, cold on the outside” ML character is quite typical, the acting and storytelling is very good.
I find the production to be well made in most aspects.
Even if it is a mix of different familiar plots from various movies and shows, the script is well paced and with unique twists. There are some weaknesses in the story, and some things leaves questions. Like what on earth does his friend do for a living, since it appears he can do whatever he wants. And without giving away a spoiler, ML did mention a crucial point about the perps abilities that it felt like they all forgot or overlooked later.
As for the FL character, she kind of disappeared/weakened a bit. I wish they had let her have a stronger presence, although the story revolved more around ML as it went on.
I watched this on Viki, and it was annoying that the subtitle credit popped up WAY too often, and there are some translations (English) that are misspelled and others that appeared to be a bit poorly translated.
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I am strongly recommending this drama..
I am so happy to give review to this drama... When I saw the cover page I didn't read it in first but now I watched it .. Truly saying I am regretting not reading this earlier.I like this story... Psychopath killer with serial murder case.. I like it..I like the acting of Wallace Hou as Bo Jin yan or Simon...He is so so handsome and manly... And also Sandra Ma as jian Yao or Jenny.. she is so beautiful .
This duo is well matched. But I don't know why but this pair's personality reminds me the pair of Si yehan and Ye wan Wan .
The ML way of speaking couldn't understand by others or leads to misunderstanding.. where FL explains to the people..
Those who missed to watch it .... Please watch it you won't be disappointed...
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It's okay-ish?
So I just finished watching this one and I'm gonna say, if you're in here to watch serious romance, then this is not the right drama. Yes, there are so many moments, I liked those, but then again, this is not a romance drama. I was okay with the story? It wasn't like WOW! it was just OKAY-ISH.The ML was quite good, I liked his acting. I really like the best friend aka second lead here; he was a great friend to both the main leads.
One thing I didn't understand was the last scene. But that scene was real creepy.
I can't say anything about OSTs. I didn't like them much. But BGM really suited the story of this drama.
So did I like it? Not that much.
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The acting of each casts are fabulous, they nailed each character perfectly. To be honest, i have no complain about the acting.
The romance in the drama is really good and they put it with an exactly good amount, it is not too much or less. Many dramas fail to impress me because when the romance appear, the story and circumstances will go astray from the origin line, but it doesn't happen to this drama. I love how the writer keep the story on the track while putting romance in it. The music is quiet okay though it doesn't please my ears that much.
This drama may have an open ending, but if you watch it carefully, there are facts which lead to the ending.
Happy watching
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