Mobius

A Very Western Action Thriller

Sitting down to watch Mobius was both a thrilling experience and a slight headache.

Episode one immediately grabs your attention and locks you in; but at the same time the action sequences make little sense beyond to "look nice" and be "thrilling". Somersaults and sideways jumps with bullets blasting are things one would expect to see in your average popcorn action movie, not quite what you think of in a Chinese Web Drama. The constant switch between "Please turn off your brain" and "Please pay close attention so you can follow the plot" meant I could enjoy the show, but I was rolling my eyes and shaking my head often.

One of the personal negatives that I found was that the audience kept being fed tiny bits of details about various side characters sprinkled among the various time loops, and yet we often still learned nothing concrete. Instead everything felt as though you were sitting at a table next to a table where people you know are talking to other people you don't know and hearing bits and pieces of their conversation but not interacting with them at all, just listening. As such, there may be a few stories they talk about where you know the people and the entire story makes sense, and others where you just have the tiny bits that were mentioned and not elaborated on.

While in the end, the main case is solved, some of the small little issues that crept up did not and were left hanging. While there may have been a small montage of scenes where people are shown as a "what happens after" sort of closure, they rang very hollow based on the multiple details learned in each loop. Two characters aren't even mentioned at ALL in the end, even as a quick camera pan, leaving their fates fully and completely unresolved.

One thing I didn't mind was the slight romance aspect. I picked up on the feelings portion between the two characters at the beginning and then followed along in the montage as working in close proximity allowed them to finally become closer without guilt. During the loop days not a lot of time was spent of romantic pursuits because these days would be forgotten so having deep conversations would be mostly worthless. This didn't stop them from still being able to demonstrate their feelings during these loops, even if no words were actually provided, which was nice. And at least he gives more than a handshake.

Ultimately, by the end I was checking to see how much longer I had left in the last episode. When there were no repercussions for that last loops final days outcome beyond those that resulted in the actual apprehension, I tuned out and put it on 2x speed. The final scene made me want to throw phone.

End of day - it's popcorn, not amazing.

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It's an superb time travel drama!! ?

I already watched reset it's also loop themed ,and baijingting is the actor there too so I know it will be good ,so I watched without hesitation,and it didn't disappoint me little bit it was good his character name is ding qi a police officer who enters loop and he tries to change fate every time in that loop iam not telling no more ,not giving spoilers , whatever drama based story based all good
But I thinked about female lead can be some others actress,i don't hate or not anything like that this actress ,I feel like bai lu or zhang jingyi like that actress if they are in it it will be little too better for me ,like she just looks little old and he is not, even though he is in his early 30 's so I feel like the chemistry didn't match,janice she acted well I just said my opinion over all the drama was great though

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iQiYi did it again with short-series, good story about time revers crime drama. BJT was awesome

Mobius is a time and space crime drama starring Bai Jing Ting, Janice Man, and Song Yang.

Bai Jing Ting's character (Ding Qi) was a skilled detective who utilized his reverse time ability to solve multiple crimes involving murder suspects who also possessed a similar gift.

There were some humorous elements in this short-series drama; however, the romance between him and An Lan (played by Janice Man) was not particularly compelling. Their on-screen chemistry was not good.

Synopsis: In a specific time and space, detective Ding Qi accidentally discovered that he could reverse time and repeat the cycle five times on the same day from time to time. He utilized this superpower to solve numerous challenging cases. One day, a murder notice from suspect X suddenly appeared. Several previous cases of suspected X's perfect committing methods made Ding Qi suspect: X also seems to have the superpower of the time loop. The investigation team, headed by Ding Qi, joined the case investigation. During the investigation, Ding Qi discovered that more and more doubts surround a certain genetic research group. As the investigation deepens, more people become involved, including those close to Ding Qi.

My Reviews:
1. Acting: 8.5
2. Script: 8.5
3. Music/OST: 8
4. Production Quality: 8
5. Cinematography: 8
6. Rewatchable: 8
7. On-Screen Chemistry: 6

Overall Rating: 8

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Reset...BUT x5 Complicated

Time travel stories have always held a particular fascination for me, so I’ll admit my bias upfront. That said, this series distinguishes itself with a refreshing premise and remarkably disciplined storytelling.

Unlike Reset, which revolved around a single repeating event, this drama introduces a five-loop structure where the fifth run is final, leaving no room for further resets. The rules are established with clarity in the opening episodes, setting the stage for a layered narrative that gradually unfolds through two mysterious murders and a high-profile case tied to the CEO of an emerging biotech company.

What makes the loops especially engaging is the element of uncertainty each time one begins. With so many variables in play, even a small change can ripple through the narrative to produce a drastically different outcome. The result is that nothing feels absolute, keeping the audience guessing and on their toes for the entire series: a stimulating experience that truly feels like vitamins for your brain.

At sixteen episodes, the series wastes no time. Each character is carefully fleshed out, their pasts and relationships interwoven into the larger narrative, adding emotional weight as the countdown to the final loop approaches. The meticulous attention to detail in both plotting and execution elevates the story well beyond genre conventions.

For those wary of romance overshadowing the central conflict, rest assured: while romance is present, it remains subtle, never derailing the suspense or the cerebral tension. The production also delivers some beautifully staged action sequences that are as stylish as they are impactful.

In the end, this drama offers more than just entertainment. It challenges the viewer to think, to piece together its intricacies, while still delivering the thrills of a polished sci-fi mystery. For fans of time travel narratives, this is not just a recommendation...IT IS A MUST WATCH!!!

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When man plays god, there's always a price to pay

Firstly, I'd like to say this drama deserves a 10 (at least for me😉). MOBIUS is such a gripping mystery-thriller, sci-fi drama, which will keep you at the edge of your seat EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE! The plot is complex, with so many twists and surprises. It will make you keep guessing who exactly SQUID is! You know what's fun?✨ It's coming up with many possibilities and discussing different theories with fellow Mobius watchers! - ̗̀(⌯ˊᗜˋ⌯) ̖́- Now onto my humble observations . . . .

Not one cast member showed weaknesses in their acting abilities. My earnest praises go to Ding Qi (Bai Jing Ting), the main protagonist, and Mo Yuan Zhi (Song Yang), the main antagonist. Despite being opposites, their sarcastic banters are what lightens the mood even in serious/de@dly situations. Ding Qi is a skilled police officer, who's de@d serious about his work but can also be a goofy goober at times~ I love his personality, and of course love how handsome he is~(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ Kyahh! His James Bond-themed undercover attire suits him so well, too!😎✨ Mo Yuan Zhi, on the other hand, had a character decline due to his obsession and grief, in which Prof. Jiang was the trigger to his first downfall. After watching what he went through, I couldn't hate him enough, but that doesn't mean he is forgiven. He should pay for his sins. His unchanging love for Feng Wan Qing would've been admirable if he hadn't gone down the wrong path. What he's done over the years didn't justify his supposedly harmless intentions, which are to revive Wan Qin and save himself.

On the positive side, Ding Qi have supportive teammates who would trust him no matter what. Their bonds are so heartwarming and enviable. They were all "act first, question later". Ding Qi must've been a very reliable and trustworthy cop who worked his way through many obstacles for them to trust him unconditionally. His romantic counterpart, An Lan, is also a lovable and sensible person~ Their romance was subtle, but you can see it in their eyes, their actions, and their trust for each other. She was Ding Qi's light and also his weakness. Ding Qi wasn't afraid of death because he knew he could reset and change destiny. He was testing fate. However, that weakness is what makes our ML value his life, as well as others' lives, more.

"Being with you, I can give up everything else..."___Ding Qi ₍ᐢ⸝⸝› ‹⸝⸝ᐢ₎💕 For A-Qi to decide to give up such a useful power that has always been a part of him for nearly a decade, means An Lan's THAT PRECIOUS to him! He wasn't afraid of death, but now he is, cuz he has someone he has to cherish and protect, someone who will wait for his return, someone he wishes to spend ALL his time with...

MOBIUS presents us with the time-loops that exceed nature's law of order in our mankind, yet it's a natural phenomenon in Ding Qi's world. It poses us with the question, "What would we do if we were in the same situation and held the ability to change the future?🤔" Why these time loops occur is still shrouded in mystery... It's as if the world were a simulation where it resets itself to give second chances; in this case, five of them. It's as if 'the world' itself was asking to take a break, asking for mercy from all the side effects caused by human beings. Who knows, right? It would've been great if we could get an answer to that question to fix things.

MOBIUS is not just a drama; it's a lesson to be learned through our protagonists' and antagonists' experiences.

1. The law of equivalent exchange 💱 ➡ Drastically trying to make changes that defy world order will result in hefty sacrifices. One example is the creation of the RAN drug, followed by human experiments during its incomplete state. (However, the moral compass depends on how these procedures are conducted, the people involved and their true intentions.) Additionally, the most apparent are the side effects that the time loopers have: dangerously shortened life spans. Although RAN was initially created to cure cancer, it became an entirely different drug, which enables the user to become aware of and live through the time loops.

2. One's fate is not to be trifled with ➡ "Guys like us are not afraid of d8@th," were the words Ding Qi said to Ye Kun. Our ML knows things will reset again, and not even d8@th can stop him from doing what he must. However, his rash decisions caused a butterfly effect which led to certain tragedies in the first few loops. The more he tried to fix them, the worse the outcomes got. Mo Yuan Zhi, on the other hand, is the same. Not letting go of Wan Qing even after she's gone, leading to him being delusional that he could revive the d8@d. (Thank GAWD Ding Qi and his team arrested him . . . Otherwise, MYZ's new 'cure' might actually create (time-looping) zombies! I mean, that's how they all start! *phew* ᕕ( ⊙ ⊙ )ᕗ💦)

SO ANYWAYS, the moral of the story is "don't take things for granted and cherish what you have before they disappear someday"...cuz we don't get to redo/reset like Ding Qi or Mo Yuan Zhi. ( > 𐢭 <)

Last but not least, the OSTs are 🔥✨!!! My favourites are "不眠日 (Sleepless Days) - 鱼头 killa4nia (Yu Tou), 脏饼干 (Zang Binggan)" and "Paradise - Journeyy Belton"~ 🎶🎵✨

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It's Deja Vu All Over Again

The romance didn't hit right with me. I didn't understand why the leads were attracted to one another (guilt turned to love?). The only chemistry between them was in the test tubes in the lab. The drama would have been fine without romance, maybe even sharper and crisper. I appreciated the intelligence of the characters, but the loops did start to drag a bit. The ending was jumbled; I wondered if they'd been hoping for a second season, and that's why there were loose ends. Even so, the drama was entertaining, smart, and thought-provoking, and Bai Jing Ting was a joy to watch.

Subtract a half star for that undeveloped romance, but add a star for the cast.

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A Strong Start Lost in Loops

Mobius kicks off with a bang, told from the ML’s perspective as he navigates a time loop and prevents a bank heist. The opening does a great job of explaining how the loops work: there are only 5 in total, with the first 4 remembered solely by the ML as alternate realities, while the 5th becomes the “true” reality. Importantly, he has no control over which day will loop, adding an unpredictable edge to the story.

After the strong setup, the second case begins, and the next two episodes shift focus toward introducing new characters. It soon becomes clear that the entire series is built around this second case, with each loop stretching across 2–3 episodes. As the plot progresses, the ML gradually discovers that he isn’t the only time looper, learns what causes the loops, and uncovers the side effects that come with them.

Unfortunately, the main villain’s arc feels predictable, and the middle episodes drag on without much payoff. In fact, if you watch just the first three episodes and then skip ahead to the last three, you’ll get the gist of the entire series without missing much.

The villain delivers a performance that’s chilling at times, giving the show a bit of edge even when the story drags. Bai Jingting’s acting is decent but nothing remarkable, while the rest of the cast is largely forgettable and doesn’t leave much of an impression.

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Worth Watching but Nothing Spectacular

Decent modern, sci-fi action dram. But the time loop just became way to repetitive with each loop day repeating 5 times. Even with only 16 episodes I did skip through some.

The Good:
- Only 16 episodes so it minimized filler scenes
- Bai Jing Ting (ML) crushed this role. He is vey well suited for modern action/cop roles. But he also is very good at adding vulnerability and humor to the tough guy role.
- The bond between the police team was genuine and believable with trust and humor.

The Bad:
- the romance between ML and FL was forced. Zero chemistry, with no background or reason for their romantic connection.
- the FL was miscast. She was not a good actor and her facial expressions were unnatural and forced. She was so boring.
- the constant switching between languages was unnecessary. I understand that this is a made up city that is meant to be diverse, but logically it didn't make sense when people were speaking & understanding each other perfectly in Mandarin or Cantonese for an entire conversation, then they would randomly insert English in there (the English accent was terrible and no needed).
- Maggie the support character - terrible casting. You can tell she's just a model with no acting skills. Her character felt so stiff and out of place compared to all the other supporting cast.

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Sacrifice, Love, Life in Timeloop Agenda

A science fiction, action, suspense, comedy drama. Following a police man who has the ability to do time looping. Eventho he has the memory of every time loop, but he can't control the time loop schedule, he just did it because he has to, not based on his willingness.

Once a time, he's got two cases which seems natural and made by accident, somehow he felt that those case looks fake and manipulated. He convinces his policemate to re-open the case and have a detailing more again. The story goes long until the case has so much layering.

The multiple conflict which a bit confusing, and not gonna lie it's heavy enough. Also the opening sequence was kinda sluggish. I found it bit boring because the pace was slow burn, but whenever I got the ending of every episode I got excited by their mystery. I love how they crafting the whodunnit, wheredunnit, and howdunnit by their own way, not in a confusing way, instead gently straighten the tangled threads, slowly but clear.

The performance of Bai Jingting as protagonist was chef's kiss. How he could depict every emotion was detail and delivered well enough. His anger, confuse, intrigue, even his tired face were all its finest. Also the performance of Janice Man as the female heroine. She could portraying as suspicious woman. And guess what? I was totally wrong by suspecting her on entire episodes.

The action that packed and exciting, also the dynamic chemistry, banding together with DingQi's teammates was absolutely entertaining. I love their dumb and dumber action. The witty, gag jokes that fit perfectly with the genre. A breath of fresh air for me.

Kudos to the DOP, i love the camera works, the angles placement, also the lighting that enhance the tension. The cinematography that eye-pleasing. The footage scenery that looks pretty. Oh, not to forget the scoring that were bops. Some soundtrack that eargasm. I love their visual and sound design so much.

Overall, only by 16 episodes but this was one of the best craft of this year. 16 episodes yet nothing missed, everything was clear, nothing exaggerate nor a plot hole. If you craving for sci-fi, action, suspense, comedy drama, you might love this! This drama not only stunned by the screenplay, but also by the actors performance and the visual-sound design. What a great experience they served to me!

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A Rare Sci-Fi Drama in the Era of Historical, Transmigrating, Romance Novel Adaptations

As the title suggests, Mobius stands out amongst its peers airing in the same year as it is one of the only of its genre. If I had to choose one to compare it to, it would be Seven Relics of Ill Omen which falls in a similar category of sci-fi-fantasy-paranormal. At the time of this review, Mobius stands at a 8.2 which is a great disservice to the drama as it had a highly concise plot (little to no draggy moments) and excellent acting from the entire crew.

Mobius is quite an interesting drama if you analyze it deeply. It takes place in Guangdong (?)/Southern China and likewise features a hybrid cast of mainland Chinese and Hong Kong actors. If you were around long enough, you'd recognize a couple of big names like Cheung Kwok Keung who is well known for his triad and police roles in HK dramas and films. Given this unique setting, it was surprising that this drama allowed for dialogue in Cantonese and Southern dialects of Chinese. While it wasn't exactly HK Cantonese (more like mainland Cantonese), it was surprising that there was no dub over of standard Mandarin Chinese. Watching Bai Jing Ting who has a very very very strong Beijing/Northerner accent speak Cantonese was hilarious. This man tried but his accent and vowels were so rigid that he really couldn't pass for a Southerner. It is also worth mentioning that the dialogue switching for the cast was seemless. In heated moments, they used the dialect and in more sober moments, they used standard Mandarin. While a small detail, the addition of a dialect adds to the audience's immersive experience and becomes a more accurate representation of how different regions in China speak on a daily basis.

Bai Jing Ting is great, but I watched this drama mainly because Janice Man looks so good in those glasses. Often when I watch for an actor/actress, it ends poorly because they either get too little of lines or they performed poorly. To my delight, JM did get a substantial role and performed well alongside BJT. Her outfits and styling were the epitome of the career-driven, Southern Chinese city girl. It didn't (IMO) feel like Guangdong styled career woman (more like Shanghai or JiangXi) but it was close enough. There's not much to comment on for BJT other than he outdid himself. He has a history of action/police/military dramas which he performs well in so it wasn't a surprising role for him. Compared to the heavier, more serious police/action dramas he's done before, Mobius is more well suited for him as it incorporates a couple of comedic moments which allow for his true personality to come through. From his various variety show appearances, we know that he has a particular brand of humor which meshed really well with his character in Mobius.

My only bone to pick with this drama was there were a couple of plot holes and issues with the logic. An example would be when we realize the villain was the one who was reversing time, but then there were moments where ML says that there are different 'loops' (as in different pathways since the loops originally were supposed to be the same every time). Later it is explained as due to the villain (who was so close to ML) realizing that someone else was conscious during those loops and changing his actions which created a butterfly effect. At the same time, we have people who may remember fragments from those loops which affects their memory and their health, but then in the final loops when everything is resolved, though the ML and villain suffer quite a bit from health issues, the others that have 'deja vu' are perfectly fine. Even the professor and ex-MOMA researcher who both came back to life after the loop reset did not show adverse health effects. The open ending was a nice touch though (even if it's a bit cliche for sci-fi dramas to end this way).

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