The Imperial Coroner Season 2 (2026)

Total Departure from S1 & A Completely Miscast Main Antagonist.

I wanted to watch this because it was S2 from S1 which had been a sleeper hit. The main actors were the same and though time passed, it would be just as good, right? Sadly not. It was a complete departure from S1 with a completely miscast main antagonist. This will be one of those reviews where pros and cons will be mixed together.

The story started strong just like normal, with a case and had the fab 4 plus big bro helping out. But then things begin to slide downwards. Though it's understandable that in 3 drama years both of the fab 4 couples would be married, they didn't have to make their husband such simps around their wives. ML was still as whip smart as ever but because the enemy was now a different country it seemed like they were constantly missing something. It didn't help that there was a spy called Peacock that came literally out of nowhere. He was the leader of the spy network deeply entrenched in their capital which they only figured out as time went on. If in season one, we had an understanding of who the main antagonist was and he fit the mold, in season two we needed Jack the Ripper by the time he revealed all of the atrocities (skinning people alive, whipping them with the same whip that was used on him when he was a child, or feeding them poisonous bugs until they incubated long enough to burst out of the stomachs and kill others; very The Mummy or Species diabolical) he was responsible for but instead we got friendly Joe from next door who mows your lawn and gets paid in chump change. This particular actor has never played a real antagonist; always as a protagonist in modern or costume dramas so to stick him in a role so complex was absolutely was unbelievable, I don't know what production and casting was thinking. He could scheme sure so could play the role of a small villain but not the ultimate villain; it was truly laughable by then. Especially the issues in continuity where in his last scene, one minute there was no blood on his dagger, the next there was, and it kept going back forth, the other actors delayed reactions or movements was lazy editing. And his ending, with the academy award speech before thrusting the knife into his own heart or stomach, was so even more anticlimactic than the rest of it. Truly eye-roll worthy.

I also don't understand how the emperor of Da Tang could constantly listen and obey orders from an envoy of different country like the guy had any real power; fatso as I called him; now he could have played the ultimate villain. But we spent the first half of the show one step forwards two back because the enemy was with them all the time. No one would believe he could be the biggest threat because he just didn't have the personality for it even when it was revealed he was Peacock. It wasn't spoken about again; all this time trying to find this spy and by the time it was realized, it was forgotten. After they finally found some upper ground with the fake syphilis and started bringing down the network, they were sent to join big bro, who still acted the same and I wish had more screen time to weed out what we learned was the poisonous bug network and he too ended up with a love interest but sadly that wasn't properly explored. It just seemed on a case by case bases if there even was such a thing, things were buried and not properly clarified or just forgotten. Or why did CC's dad suddenly appear out of nowhere, with no warning in the middle of nowhere, so he could get kidnapped and than CC was as well; it just didn't make sense. These type of instances happened a lot. Or when the big web unraveled it was one giant conspiracy with several minds behind it but again the one that mattered just didn't hit the bar. The killing of two characters especially the guard was sad.

I also wish the ending was different; exit out characters, don't leave them hanging or poof like big bro and his woman. Also wish instead of another imperial decree, they showed the leads with kids as opposed to them making plans to travel while the second couple was going to get married again. It just felt incomplete; like even production gave up on it.

We did have a higher budget, some decent comedy, decent OSTs, nice costumes, and sets.

Would I recommend it? Honestly unless you want to see the progression of the Fab 4, no. It just didn't have the same uniqueness and difference from so many other shows. It seemed lazy on production's part and it could have been a great show.

Leia Mais

This drama knew what it wanted to do and it delivered.

The thing about this drama is that it knows the story it wants to tell. It's not episodic (so there's an overarching mystery), and the risk or challenge with putting out a non-episodic mystery drama is whether you can keep the audience engaged and convince them that yes, this is the story we're going with. Personally, I think the drama held the fort down and allowed itself a graceful exit.

What I Liked:
1) The characters—both the protagonists and the antagonists (some).
Our protagonists have experienced a three-year timeskip and we see them happily married. I've always liked the dynamics of the main four, and while they're the same, I still think there's depth to them. They still feel fleshed out enough even if they're just good guys. We can see what makes them tick, what makes them cry, what makes them motivated. One criticism I've seen is that Chu Chu was too obsessed or "societally tone deaf" with being a coroner, like it's been regurgitated as a line throughout the show. The funny thing is, this repetitive reference to her identity IS addressed in a later episode, and Chu Chu herself learns (or re-learns, since this was a dilemma in S1, too) that being a coroner is not what is important, but being able to help people. So, it's intentional storytelling that her obsession is something that serves as a stepping stone for character development.

The villains (some) have won me over. They started as typical villains - the sleazy foreign ambassador (Gao Luoqian), the dumb foreign prince, the corrupt local officials, the deceptive one, and the ones from S1 who made a comeback. Gao Luoqian, in particular, is not as domineering and mad as the eunuch Qin Luan from S1, but his slimy delivery of words was enough to frustrate me. S1 "antagonists" also have their "time to shine" moments. I appreciate how the story treated them in S2, short of spoiling why or how.

2) The fact that there was an overarching mystery—It's always interesting to figure out which parts in the earlier episodes are actually foreshadowing elements of the bigger plot.

3) The soundtrack—I think both the OP 《执光者》("Lightbearer") by 毛潇曼 and ED 《不易》 ("Not Easy") by 陆瑶 were chosen and used well not just as OP and ED but as insert songs in a lot of scenes, but my fave song is the insert song 《共渡》("Through It Together") by 池约翰CJ. The other parts of the OST as well, the ones which didn't have words, a lot of which were used in S1, are as distinct as ever.

4) The comedic moments
5) The sad moments—One character death in particular had the right impact for me.
6) The sweet moments

^ It seems that I just like a lot of the bits of the story, don't I?

7) The progression from episode 15 onward

What I Didn't Like:

1) The "dis"continuity in the timeskip.
We have a three-year timeskip but there was something in the way that the story opened that the interactions and conflicts feel like it's only been weeks/months since S1. There are some characters that show animosity to our protagonists that time would've/should've weeded out, there are some characters from S1 who should be in S2 that don't appear at all for no good explanation when a recast is simple or otherwise reappear too late in the story (unless it was just a cameo).

2) One case overstayed its welcome.
I think one case took too long to solve so the pace seemed "slow" mostly because our protagonists were left in the dark a bit longer than I would've prefered.

3) The casting of You Chen'an
I think he was effective enough, but I'm sure there could've been a better choice, and maybe this better choice would've made all the difference.

4) The haters
LOL jk. I mean, I don't know why this sequel has invited quite a number of trolls or ragebaiters. If S2 had been as flawless as S1, which I admit it's not, they'd have no ammo against this show honestly.

The actual 4) I AM TRYING TO THINK OF A NUMBER 4 TO BE FAIR BUT I CAN'T THINK OF ANY RIGHT NOW. I'll leave this blank and see if I can find something else I disliked about the show after a proper rewatch.

But as you can tell, I think S2 delivered. As I've said at the start, the crew (director/scriptwriters/etc) knew what story they were going with, and that's evident with the 28 episode count. They knew that they wanted to portray certain characters this way and what principles they wanted to explore at the risk of sounding preachy.

It has been a fun ride and I have absolutely no reservations recommending this drama.

Leia Mais