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Great Actors, Bad Writing
I want to start with that the show actually started out really strong but declined a lot because of bad writing and scene balancing. I understand that they wanted to emphasize on the victims and families and not the police work but the priorities and balancing of scenes were still very off. Like I was waiting for them to solve that main case and then we got no reunion in the end??? Instead we had so many boring and way too long scenes of side characters that added nothing to the overall story. Like sorry, but after the 10th times of watching the villain drinking his wine for literally minute after minute of precious screentime, I know by now that he is an alcoholic. Why don't give this time to the actual "main character" to give them more depth? And yes, I'm using quotes cuz both of them could have benfitted from way more screentime. I'm especially angry about how bad the interrogation scenes were handled writing wise. They were written by someone who did not do their homework about interrogations.... anyway...That being said, every actor was really good, despite the writing flaws!!! Especially Zhang Jian Xin.... just wow. I cried a few times because it was really touching. Just from watching the trailer and also seeing the cover, I had different expectations of the series. I was sad that Jin Shijia barely had screen time and that his character barely had any story. I guess coming from “Under the Skin” I had higher expectations, especially towards the story writing. But it was still lovely to see him, even if his character was mostly used as pretty background decoration T_T (like seriously guys, you cast him and then not use this brilliant actor? why?) When he had scenes though, he was brilliant as always. So yeah acting wise the show had a lot to offer, but the writing... oof. I also appreciated that there was no romance! We need more strong female leads with no romance story! (but give them more screentime!)
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10/10 no notes
I hope we get a season 3 (please, please, please) because that cliffhanger was so freaking mean and I try to tell myself it was a bad dream but anyway...Du Cheng and Shen Yi are brilliantly written characters and JSJ and TJC are both amazing actors. They compliment each other brilliantly and the chemistry between them is great. I love how different they are but they share the same core value and seeing them grow together from s1 to s2 was just such a joy to watch.
The cases again were interesting and well written, although towards the end there were some flaws in terms of logic and continuity. That opera case... how did Shen Yi get the cutouts to the crime scene? On his bike? When did he make all them in the short amount of time? Art takes time people. But those things aside I enjoyed s2 as much as I enjoyed the first one. It's like coming home to the family you missed. I really really hope we get one more season!
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10/10 no notes
This is how you make a good show!I loved everything about it. The chemistry between the leads is amazing and both of them are amazing actors and bring so much to the table. I couldn't imagine a better casting choice than those two. The way they just compliment each other is just chef's kiss.
The writing was also so good, you can tell they did their homework. The cases were all interesting and all had so many deeper levels to unpack. There was no bad episode in the whole season, which is rare. The quality is there from the start and keeps that level. Also just because that barely gets a mention but the camera/scene framing work in the series is simply stunning. There is just so much thought behind it and I really enjoyed that on an artistic level.
Speaking of art: My only tiniest critique would be that Shen Yi's clothing and fingers are way to clean for someone who paints, especially with his lighter wardrobe.
I also love all the other members of the team. They all compliment each other so well.
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