Unnatural Fire (2025)

"No One Can Judge Me but Myself"

First underrated gem of 2025! I had no idea this show even existed until I saw the trailer on X and was like wow, this looks good. I knew two of the leads and a few of the support; the writing, acting, storytelling, suspense, surprise it was all there.

Pros: The iron triangle consisting of the leads that knew each other pretty much from childhood though the ML or XTS/XH and SML or SY/HX (but I will use SML in this review because his "adoptive father" had the same initials)lost contact with each other and only met in the first episode. The plots revolved around a main story of the deaths of ML's parents which SML witnessed but because he was hit hard suffered from amnesia and didn't figure out who he was until later in the show thanks to the help of the other two. TS was placed in a foster home run by FL or JC's mom, so that's how they met. JC and SML met at work as he was a cop and she was a coroner. Bring in TS, the arson investigator and they created the iron triangle; a formidable team and great friends especially when SML regained his memories. Now they were up against two narcissistic psychopath serial killers; HP and SY.

This series left you guessing about almost everything; and just as you thought you had figured it out, they threw a surprise that was like holy cow, I didn't see that coming at all! There were individual cases to solve during the entire show but it all came back one way or another to the same two people who repeated the line that is the title of this review. All those cases were great and really showcased the strengths of our iron triangle and their sidekicks and leaders. HP had an identical twin HJ (but were different as humans could be; one was a cowardly nerd that always impressed their dad and one was a narcissistic psychopath trying to get approval from his dad) and one of them died in an explosive car accident in the very beginning and the whole show it was assumed by some characters that it was HP that died while HJ survived and was the kind one. Though everyone had their doubts and rightfully so. He stayed under the radar and didn't start showing his true colors again until the end of the series.

SY meanwhile was the serial killer that killed however he wanted and taunted the police until the very end. He was under their noses the entire time as he raised SML after figuring out that he lost his memory in the explosion that killed TS's parents; orchestrated by him and HK (father of the twins) and carried out by HP. All because they thought TS' dad had discovered their drug operation. SY was also responsible for SML's father's death in a way though that was his first one. Once he adopted SML he basically drugged him in some way to keep him from remembering the past. And though loving and caring; he was manipulating and controlling his "son" for 18 years.

Now I won't go more into the show because then what's the point of watching but this was a show you just wanted to keep watching. I had only ever seen the actor who played SY in protagonist roles so to see him play this horrifying character was pretty neat and creepy as to how he nailed it. He could go from a loving and caring father to an emotionless monster in the flip of a switch. And you could see it coming. With HP, he would be fine and then he would just go ballistic screaming, punching, kicking, hitting. One would do things cleanly and meticulously while the other was a screeching lunatic. There were other villains that were part of this series but obviously less than and when their connection became clear if there was one, you would see just how complex things really were. Some of the cases were related and some weren't.

Sadly, we lost one our leads at the end but her going for that necklace would be the only way to pin the entire thing including her own death on HP and prove which twin it really was without a doubt. Every character was there for as long as they needed to be. The side kicks of all three leads were awesome and there was even some comedy. JC and her mom's arc was actually devastating because just as they more or less reconciled and mom wanted to learn how to be a good, loving mom to her daughter, she lost her forever.

I really wish this show had the proper promotion or any actually because it really deserved it. OSTs, fight scenes, fire scenes, etc were all on point. I can talk about this show and its characters for hours but then you wouldn't have a reason to watch lol.

Cons: Very few; one anticlimactic death of SY, throwing himself off the roof when cornered by SML (many of us thinking that going in for that hug he would have taken SML with him) and couldn't face punishment so as a coward who routinely played God with other peoples lives and thought of them as things and cases, as well as manipulated and drugged the only person he claimed to love, so he took the easy way out and I felt that just didn't really fit his character. He should have died in a fire and slowly; that would have been justice.

When JC traveled abroad to study, though she constantly refused HP's (HJ at the time) creepy offerings to stay at his house that she would find a place on her own, she still somehow ended up living with HJ's girlfriend's house. I thought that was too much of a coincidence. Though no one ever explained it, it was a huge loophole. Also, her coming home to find the girlfriend that disappeared like she was a cop getting herself also kidnapped in the process was just dumb. No idea how she managed to shake the cops following her which was stupid to begin with. That entire thing seemed to go against who she was as a character and her death was also beyond unnecessary. She could have gotten to the necklace and passed out and then recovered at the hospital. But no, they had to make TS lose his training skills as a firefighter when he found her unconscious on the floor and instead of scooping her up immediately and running out the door, he spent precious seconds shaking her before picking her up and walking out in almost slow motion. Like what? Her dying was completely nonsensical. That's it.

Would I recommend it? I absolutely would. This was a gritty, arson investigation drama that had everything you could ask for and more. If you like these types of shows, I'd have to say this is one of the better ones despite the cons.

Read More

Unexpectedly gripping!

This is my first drama of the three leads and i’d say, i am quite impressed that for a drama i’ve heard nothing about previously, with leads that i’d never watched before, turns out i really enjoyed this this much.

First of all, i found that the concept of a joint force between a criminal police, a fire investigator and a forensic doctor was such a fresh concept for me and unexpectedly, this works! Everyone played a vital role to the force and were all equally contributing without one overshadowing the others. The cases kept me well interested, and sometimes i find myself unable to pick a place to stop (and thus making it a marathon. Again. Lol). Kudos to the writers.

The two actors did well balancing each other, i can say that i came to enjoy their acting mostly for their pure acting (since it was not at all influenced by visuals this time. Lol). Not that they are not handsome, but both of their visuals are not really my cup of tea atm. 😅 However, i truly enjoyed getting to know the FL though. Her characters and the way she carry herself really fits the character of a forensic doctor. She appears matured and well thought, and not to mention gorgeous in the police get up. All in all, i can say that it has been a long time since i dont find any fault in FL character in dramas.

Overall, this is a well executed mystery investigation dramas with platonic relationship between the trio of 2 ML and 1FL. No nonsense love triangle (and surprisingly non of the bromance trope as well, only bruh friendship/camaraderie between the 2 ML). I was laughing along with tongsheng and shen ye during the part when they tried to persuade Jin Chun out of her depression , so pure bruh attitude! Hahaha.

The villains were also well executed, be it shen yi or Han Pei. Both are carried all the way to the end, rather than being cut off halfway to make way for leads’ love story etc.

Overall, i’d say that i was surprised to be unexpectedly liking the series as much as i did. Good job actors and writers!

Read More