Tientsin Mystic 2 (2020)

Very meh.

This season took forever to properly get into the mystery and thus the first half, to first two thirds dragged a lot.
The characters were all miserable and not much happened, only for everything to be resolved in the last few eps.
It's not a terrible mystery, but I wish it got going sooner.
The new De Guo is not great (especially his over-dubbing) and although I'm not attached to the old actor, this one didn't do it for me.
Zhang Ming En keeps convincing me he's not good enough of an actor to pull off a main role. I liked him in Mystic Nine, but whenever he gets more space he reveals his lack of range. Charlene Chen looks visibly bored most of this season. Cici Wang is...there.
Just generally it was not a super enjoyable watch.

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A decent follow-up that perhaps tries too hard in some ways

This sequel to Tientsin Mystic isn't as good as the first season despite an obvious attempt to rev things up.

I found the casting change a little hard to get used to: the most important character in the series, Guo De You, is played by a different actor in Season 2. To be fair, Kingscar Jin who plays the character in Tientsin Mystic 2, has done quite a competent job. However, he gives rather different vibes compared to Li Xian who plays the character in Season 1. Whether it is intentional or not, the roguish side of Guo De You is amplified a little too much by Jin. In contrast, Li Xian's interpretation of the character in Season 1 juggles the playful, righteous and sentimental sides of the character with more nuance.

I must say, however, that the actors who play the villains (some better hidden than others) in Season 2 are very compelling. They steal the show from the main characters in many ways. The actor who plays the governor (not really a key villain) is particularly good with the part, exuding a subtly sinister aura even when he is at his most harmless.

The storytelling in Tientsin Mystic 2, however, is not as good as in Season 1. The story itself is actually quite interesting, but it seems to have been worked into a climax early on without any denouement in sight. (It's like bringing water to a boil only to leave it boiling for the long time before finally using the water for its intended purpose.) I also found the tensions between Guo De You and Ding Mao that crops up in some parts rather unnecessary. The same goes for the tensions between Ding Mao and Xiao Lan Lan, his girlfriend. At times, it feels like the writers are clumsily creating tension for the same of doing so.

Another flaw of Season 2 is how it emphasizes the "scientific" explanations of all the occurrences even if the explanations seem rather labored (such as the explanations for Guo De You's ability to use smoke to trigger visions that help him investigate crimes and for how he loses this ability). Season 1 has a more touch-and-go approach to this, making it easy to ignore "explanations" that stretch the limits of credulity. Season 2, on the other hand, takes itself too curious.

Tientsin Mystic 2 is bound to alienate some fans of the first season. It is watchable, but it does lose some of the charms of the first season.

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