Interesting concept progressed terribly
A while back I saw "Burning Ice" which led to watch Light on Series. Most were decent despite some flaws. Its hard to find good mystery thriller C-Dramas compared to romance ones.I really like the concept of technology advancement of AI eventually controlling human fate but the execution leading up to the ending wasn't plausible.
It made less sense after ep. 10. I didn't get the character development and it didn't make sense why the hero had to be Na Dou.
Nothing but why's in my head and its not because of the twists because there weren't any.
I still gave this a 7 because Fan Cheng Cheng is quite the actor. First time seeing his work but will definitely check out his other works after this.
So watch it for Fan Cheng Cheng else watch other light on series:
Burning ice, not sure if this is a light on series but it has the cop character in "The Long night"
The Long night (2020) <-- the darkest
The Pavilion <-- not much twists but really great cast and a touching story
Who is the Murderer (2021) <-- I liked the suspense in this one
Homesick (2022) <-- I loved the suspense and twists in this one
Why try to change me now (2023) <-- the worst one. I couldn't even watch it
Happy Drama-ing!
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Different take from your normal suspense dramas
Pacing felt slow on this one however I did enjoy the overall story.What makes this drama different:
There are 3 different stories that ties to each other
Many episodes starts off with a different person's narrative. It reveals their inner thoughts and reasoning, sometimes justifications for their wrong actions
Each character expressed different types of loneliness and the inability to connect to the rest of the world
Ending was 20/80 bitter sweet
"Perfect parents do not exist in this world, nor perfect children. We still chose to believe"
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Fantastic start
Story follows 4 rookies with very different past & personalities as they navigate through their 1st year of police work.Rookie
1. Liu Da Wei is probably everyone's favorite with his sharp come backs. He's positivity takes after his mom (very few good mom characters in the show)
2. Yang Shu - exceptionally smart but very black and white idealistic cop
3. Xia Jie - Female character living the shadow of his father and over protective mom
4. Zhao Ji Wei - Not as likable initially as he's a country boy with obviously communication issues
Ep 1-9 I was hooked. Loved:
The mentor match up conflicts for Liu Da Wei and Yang Shu.
4 rookie's friendship under 1 roof
Growth in perspective with each case
Solid supporting characters
Liu Da Wei's witty comebacks, but I do think much is lost in translation
After Ep 9 I started to play at 1.5x speed for scenes with over exaggerated characters. Cops felt like door mats that villagers can yell at for whatever whenever.
There's too much expectations for cops that at some point it just felt unrealistic. "Protect & serve" apparently means that you need to be their fathers, mothers, psychiatrist, nurse, pay for the lock smith and hospital bills out of your own pocket. If you get slapped you'll need to just take it and apologize.
Think directors were trying to shoot that "warm fuzzy" drama but end up felt forced.
Ending wasn't bad. It tied up most of the lose ends but some stories didn't feel like it was truly resolved.
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Cliche done almost right
Zero surprise with stereotypical cliches but I feel these stories can be done right if the cast is good. The same story line can be redone over non stop and its quit enjoyable to watch on the side.10 for the cast. ML & FL are both so expressive and adorable. The ML especially nailed the part.
FL 's dubbing is annoying. It's a bit overdone and sounds super immature for a 22 year old.
There's always loop holes with the these types of dramas so you'll need to avoid thinking about the logic and just go with it.
The ML's mom was a fun character and got me laughing a few scenes.
The ML's assistant was somewhat fun but could've used more humorous lines.
Happy no super mean girl syndrome (those are always auto skip).
Lots of fluff and happiness in this drama perfect for those who enjoys these.
WARNING fish lip kisses overload.
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Unexpectedly Good ... SOOooOoO Good
It was a 10 until ep 31.I love the ML and FL in different dramas but their pairing initially was questionable to me as the age gap looked a bit much. He looks 10 years younger and She looks her real age but surprisingly their chemistry was very good. In addition the supporting couple is so cute as well. Strong start to the drama with lots of laughs and sweet moments already. So far no nasty characters and there's a lot of human factor to the story. By that I mean no characters you just want to skip kind.
The story started off with an intense life turning moment for the lead characters followed by 2 years of break. They meet again in the oddest way only happen in drama land with some unavoidable misunderstandings. I love that she's strong, not needing to be rescued weak girl. She gets injured and can handle the pain, not the "O I cut my finger boy need to carry me kind". She has her weakness but she doesn't give up. Soon he sees the fighting spirit and grew fond of her. Their conversations are entertaining so kudos to the script writers!
More over there are a lot of subtle humor. My favorite ones:
1. Ep 1: "What , rice? that's a last name? " FL while holding a bomb "What can I do if my dad's last name is rice?"
2. Staring contest between the leads, the background is blurred out but if you pay attention to the background you'll crack up laughing.
3. FL and the director looking at an animal brain RAW!!! then she orders cooked intestine "here you go this, its something you regularly operate on."
so many more!!!
Sadly ep 31 came and annoying characters introduction ruined the drama wasted about 5 ep. Characters/ story line was totally not needed.
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Promotes "Self Love"
Rom Com with unavoidable cliches (aka fish lip frozen kissing scenes) However There are a lot of things that are well done in this drama:1. 90% likeable characters from supporting cast to the leads
2. Negative characters got limited scenes (some dramas are killed by negative characters overtaking screen time)
3. Minimal negative characters which is also a good thing else you'll think the world is a lousy place
4. Promote self love. You have to fix yourself before trying to fix others. I think this is very important and its positive vibe
5. Adult life <-- unlike some old fashioned dramas where leads don't even have any past until 30 and can't have relations unless it's marriage, this does hints people actually dated!
6. Fun one liners from supporting characters like the roommate, the male assistant & the artist.
7. Cute relationships amongst the characters. aka the 3 team members. I really liked the conflicted friend that finds ML annoying but yet deep deep DEEP down inside he cares. The 1/2 brother with Seo Dan Ah was a messy complicated one and yet sweet at times too. Many atypical relationships all covered and it was unique to this drama.
Negative:
Breakup <-- unavoidable predicament in any rom com. This was weak. Strong FL boom just break down over dad scene. Like yeah common....
Emotional scenes <-- not so touching, didn't really hit but I don't think it matters much
I enjoyed quite a bit. Easy watch if you want something relaxing.
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Hooked by ep 3
There are some crime dramas that have a powerful ep 1 that hooks you right away and then kind of sizzles off pass the 1/2 way mark. This one a bit slow in the beginning but by ep 3 you will love the characters. So heart felt with the leads from vastly different circumstances. An old detective conflicted with what's right verses a job that he needs to survive. He acts like he doesn't want to get involved but only because he doesn't want to drag down other people's career.Comes a young hot seemingly empty cop with little joys in his life who doesn't care what this case will do to his career. They team to solve the case. It started off a bit slow but by ep 3, the 2 opposite cops bonded through a heartwarming scene where old cop asked young cop "why are you working?" (& not enjoying life with his inheritance $.) Young cop expressed he that he doesn't have a family and w/o being a cop "I'd have nothing left but money." You'll see the pain in his eyes with his acting!
The first murder wasn't much surprise and honestly I didn't expect the retrial to take that direction. The subsequent murder connections kept you on your seat. It's got enough names for you to draw 2 page relationship diagrams but it will all come to light by ep 13. The dialogues only gets better as the story continues. There are so many subtle humor between the characters that it keeps the characters all that much memorable.
I also enjoyed the complex characters that no one is one sided good or bad as they all have to make good and bad decisions that may or may not benefit them. You'll end up disliking one character only to like them later on, like the chief, the reporter, the internal affairs, the head strong cop on the team and so on.
Great crime drama extremely well written! This kind of drama deserves multiple seasons. One can only wish.
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Lots of Joy of Life cast
I think you'll find it even more enjoyable if you were a fan of Joy of Life although the ML and the FL played brother & sister in Joy of life and this one they are husband and wife. Even Zhang Ruo Yun made the initial cameo which I loved! The ML maintains his comedic character and extended the same qualities in this drama. It's not a joy of life of course but if you need a lighthearted drama with a good laugh this one definitely offers that.The ML wakes up in the past from the future and brings a lot of business savvy ideas. He gathers the support all the $ bought husbands to establish a business chain for thousand year old eggs no less. The dialogue back and forth was very witty. The only portion i skipped was many of the brother of the wife and his dad.
16 ep in the drama took a completely different turn in your political drama. It was still semi enjoyable but there's definitely some sad moments with supporting characters that I wish it didn't go in that direction. Honestly I wish they kept it just comedic through out and not go into this deep meaning of life choices, betrayal, loss over political unrest. There are enough dramas for that. The ending is also like Joy of Life where you know there's a season 2 just waiting years years later to happen.
Strong start with no finish....
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Stronger FL than most dramas
The story is strong, acting was decent by the cast. Fight choreography is above average with some really good stunts.Positive:
Interesting story with a STRONG start a solid 8 (but then it dropped)
FL is a strong FL that didn't turn stupid and weak mid way through like other dramas
Decent acting
Good supporting cast - I really liked the FL's guard, the tea house female & FL's double
Less than average # of overbearing characters with repetitive lines that you need to skip.
One on one fight scenes. These are rare when the actors can't pretend to fight at all but there were many enjoyable ones.
Not so Great:
NO chemistry between all 3 men with the FL. Chemistry with the FL = 0
FL wants to find the truth but always refuse to listen to other people for their side of the story, not very consistent w/ her smart character
She saves random people out of kindness yet she's not very nice to injured 2nd lead even after he took a knife for her. Again doesn't fit her character
Lagging after first 30 ep. lost direct after ep 40. Character twist didn't make a lot of sense
No humor relief, they tried w/ the little brother of the king's character but not much humor in this drama, not even subtle ones
This drama won't be like a Joy of life classic but the story had potential with enough mystery built in it initially. It wasn't just executed to the full potential.
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Perfectly executed
I hardly watch any serious movies as I prefer rainbows & cupcakes kind of dramas to destress from the real world. However this movie is incredible I end up watching 3x and teared up all 3x!!!The acting left me speechless. You can feel their inner emotions with so little words.
It's a dark peace that shed light on the ever growing school bullying issue. Despite the gloomy reality for the leads from different worlds together they had hope still for better days.
The only character that annoyed the crap out of me was the female cop. Wow I just wanted to slap her character that is.
You'll have to to wait for after the credits to see more of the ending.
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Even funnier if you get the references from Xiang Liu (Lost you forever)
Refreshing script focusing on inner confidence. Of course, you'll have to ignore some of the logic flaws to enjoy the story.I started the story because I really enjoyed the ML and the FL in their other roles, but I didn't know if this pair would work. After 10 episodes I want to say the CP is growing slowly but it won't make it to amazing level which again it's actually more fitting for the story. The characters are fantastic, and it's meant to be go beyond that surface level they are so hot and matching just need to be together type. So, if you are into that kind of hotness overload CP then yeah..... go watch "The Best Thing" but if you are into original script and acting over hotness than you'll definitely appreciate this script.
Not ONLY the script and the leads but the supporting cast is rocking it too! Especially actress Pu Tao (who played the big brain researcher). She really played 2 completely different people so convincingly. Bestie is the kind of Bestie everyone wishes for. 2nd couple is super cute and matching. Sister, parents are awesome.
Now 21 ep in, the offbeat humor is cracking me up! I absolutely love the originality of this script. Even funnier if you watched Tan Jian Ci as Xiang Liu in Lost you forever. There are quite a few NOT so subtle references to Xiang liu. like:
1. The T shirt - FL's Bestie was wearing.
2. Bestie smashes egg to try to win a Xiang Liu Doll (Ep 6) (script writer's venting? lol)
3. Pu Tao & Wang Hong Yi were in Lost you forever
4. The Music playing in the back when Tan Jian Ci was drinking in ep 7.
5. FL's parents are watching Lost you forever on TV
Overall story's got just right amount of humor to sweet moments along with some character growth. Definitely a fun watch and worth rewatching!
Tan Jian Ci continues to pick great script that showcase his versatility as an actor. Really though with all the references to Xiang Liu, no one else can play this role!
Love Love Love!!!
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Memorable fight scenes but unengaging story
As a fan of Detective Dee movies, Zhou Yi Wei did not work for me. Thinking back to some of the Detective Dee actors:Andy Lau
Yiheng Du (Who worked as Andy Lau's body double prior so Andy 2nd)
Mark Chao
The ideal image of Detective Dee is far from Zhou Yi Wei's. Not that he isn't a great actor, after all he was so good in Rebel Princess & Longest Day in Chang An.
It started out as a promising series with quality production and many familiar actors. Set, costume, lighting, makeup, all so good & the fight scenes were the best! Less (special effects) is more when you can see continuous sequence (if you like classic kung fu). Ep 24 where he fought 1:1 against the female was one of my favorite scenes.
The promising series quickly got killed by the storyline after 4 episodes. It was hard to stay engaged after the Empress was no longer part of the subsequent cases. I've watched it through for the fight scenes, but the cases were blah.....
Also, Zhang Ruo Yun listed as "Main" was not even a main actor. He was only a part of one case, and I don't even understand why the character was written that way. Totally didn't make sense to me, completely anticlimactic.
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Watch if you are Zheng Ye Cheng Fan
Very standard cliche story line with annoying FL character portrayed by the actress Yuan Bing Yan whom I can't understand why she gets so many roles. I pretty much dropped all the drama she's been in. Even wth Zheng Ye Cheng is in it, it was hard to watch the interaction.ML - ZYC though not an amazing actor (still very good), always stands out in costume dramas for his fight scenes. You can't fake all the years of training especially when there's a solo scene.
Main reasons to suffer through the cliches:
-ZYC - fight scenes
-Mask dude's fight scenes
-Cute supporting characters (Maid to FL and the little soldier next to her all the time)
-The little pig -- yes EVEN The little pig is a better watch than the ML/FL cringe interactions
I really REALLY hope ZYC can get an epic script one day that's on the same level as:
Joy of Life, Ashes of Love, Bloody Romance, Love like Galaxy etc ...
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Absolutely nothing special
Typical plot with predicable dialogue.Start of the drama I already can see that there will be too many disgusting characters
Office male butt
Overbearing mom you can skip all her lines right away
I am not sure how realistic this is but the office male dominating environment with frequent sexist comments as the norm seems excessive?
Overbearing mom w/ too many lines
The ex insulting her age and income status yet comes back to assume his act can be forgiven?
She gets wrongfully terminated and she doesn't fight back
This is all within the first 3 ep and with zero comedic side kicks aka supporting characters.
What's good about this drama?
Actress - she's 40+ looks 30!! She played her character well just that the script was terrible
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Supporting cast Song Zi Qi was the only reason to watch this
HS drama trope overload but 2nd and 3rd pairing were entertaining to watch.FL was the typical acting like a 12 yr old without a clue & needs ML's constant support.
ML somehow liked that. This pairing has zero chemistry.
I only watch this drama for Wang Ze Xuan's supporting role as Song Zi Qi.
His character is exceptionally funny and Wang Ze Xuan is such an underrated actor. He pulls off every supporting role wonderfully. Hands down he's the only reason to watch this.
Series seriously slow down after they graduate HS and Wang Ze Xuan's scenes were limited.....leading to the expected ending.
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