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This review may contain spoilers
Review: The Truth — Episodes 1–9
**SPOILERS AHEAD — STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED**
Disclaimer:
I went into this drama knowing very little: that it’s a crime-solving series starring Gong Jun. I didn’t know the supporting cast, including the female lead, and I only learned shortly before airing that it was filmed back in 2023. I watched Episodes 1–9 as they aired on Tencent, paid for VIP to keep up with the latest episodes, and fully intended to continue watching week by week.
Plot & Overall Arc (Episodes 1–9)
The Truth follows a team of criminal investigators as they solve a series of murder and violent crime cases using forensic evidence, methodical police work, and on-the-ground investigation rather than sensational twists. Each case unfolds over 2-3 episodes, emphasizing realism over shock value.
At the center of the narrative is the male lead (Gong Jun), a reserved, emotionally closed-off investigator shaped by a deeply traumatized past. Parallel to the procedural cases is a slowly unfolding personal storyline involving the female lead (Sun Yi), his first love, whose past trauma, including a devastating rape, is intimately connected to him in ways that remain emotionally ambiguous. As the cases progress, the show increasingly suggests that the crimes themselves are not the true core of the story; rather, they serve as a backdrop for exploring guilt, memory, trauma, and unresolved emotional bonds.
Gong Jun’s character stands firmly on the side of law enforcement, while the female lead, Sun Yi's character, exists on the opposing side of the moral and legal spectrum. She is romantically and intimately involved with the drama’s dominant drug lord, positioning her directly against the male lead, not just emotionally, but structurally within the story.
Their shared past is deeply traumatic and unresolved. By Episode 9, it becomes clear that the drama is more invested in what happens when two people shaped by trauma end up on opposite sides of the law.
Acting
Overall Cast:
9 episodes in, I have very few complaints about the acting. Everyone fits their roles well and feels grounded within the show’s realistic tone.
Gong Jun:
I’ll focus mainly on him, as I’ve followed (and, frankly, studied and scrutinized) his work since Word of Honor. A common criticism of his acting is inconsistent line delivery, specifically, that he tends to rush dialogue, speak without pauses, and rely too heavily on his jaw, resulting in monotone or robotic delivery. I’ve agreed with this critique in past projects like Rising Against the Wind and Legend of Anle.
However, that criticism simply doesn’t apply here.
His line delivery in this is surprisingly natural and professional. It fits the character instead of fighting against it. There’s breathing room between lines, emotional restraint where appropriate, and no sense that he’s rushing to get through dialogue. What genuinely puzzles me is that this drama was filmed BEFORE some of his later works, yet his delivery here is noticeably stronger than in projects filmed afterward.
Blood River (2025) was his best work since Word of Honor, but I’d argue that his delivery in The Truth is even more effortless and organic. 9 episodes in, I’d give his line delivery an 8/10, and I stand by that assessment.
Characterization
Male lead/Gong Jun:
His acting here is not stiff (a popular criticism); it’s intentionally restrained. His character is introverted, guarded, and emotionally sealed off by trauma. The "restrained-ness" works because it reflects a man who has spent years bottling everything up, making him difficult to read and even harder to break through.
Female lead/Sun Yi:
I like the female lead a lot. Some viewers complain that she doesn’t appear often enough in the early episodes, but I don’t agree. She is not underutilized; she is strategically placed. She is firmly positioned on the opposing side of the male lead and is intimately involved as the girlfriend of the dominant drug lord. This alone reframes her presence in the story. Her limited screen time early on is intentional. It heightens tension, mystery, and moral discomfort. Every appearance carries weight because she represents both emotional intimacy and ideological conflict.
What makes this dynamic compelling is that she is not simply a love interest or a passive victim. She has agency, makes morally gray choices, and is willing to use people, including the male lead to survive within her circumstances.
This is fundamentally a story about two traumatized people whose pasts are deeply entangled. The cases are narrative tools used to heighten tension between them. She is his first love, someone who may — or may not — be connected to the worst trauma of her life, and the show slowly steers them toward an inevitable emotional collision. Her acting is solid, understated, and convincing.
The pacing of their screen time feels appropriate so far, especially knowing that their reunion in episode 8 will naturally shift the focus more heavily toward them.
Pacing & Case Structure
Case Pacing
Initially, I found the cases slower and less gripping than expected. They aren’t particularly sensational or memorable at first glance. But after thinking it through, I realized:
This is intentional.
Real criminal investigations aren’t nonstop breakthroughs and shocking reveals. Compared to something like The Truth Within with Luo Yunxi (which I dropped 12 episodes in), The Truth avoids exaggerated shock value. Instead, it adopts a grounded, “feet on the floor” approach to police work. Forensics are central, but so are interviews, waiting, dead ends, and tedious procedural steps.
Each case spans 2-3 episodes and doesn’t overstay its welcome, which I appreciate. The plot moves forward at a steady, realistic pace.
Slice-of-Life Scenes
From Episodes 1–9, there are slower segments that focus on the characters’ lives outside of work such family members, illness, domestic moments. A prime example is the ML's mentor who's father has Alzheimer’s. I’ll be honest: these are the scenes where I sometimes fast-forward.
That said, I understand why they’re there. The drama deliberately shows what these officers sacrifice: time with family, personal happiness, even financial comfort to do their jobs. We see how much they earn (not much), what they give up, and how their personal lives suffer. The Truth isn’t just about solving crimes; it’s about the people behind the badges.
If you go into the drama with this mindset, many scenes that might initially feel “unnecessary” start to make thematic sense.
My Main Pacing Issue
My real issue isn’t with WHAT they show; it’s HOW LONG THEY SHOW IT.
Some scenes are dragged out far longer than needed. A couple of examples:
A scene where a character rides an escalator is filmed from start to finish, it's nearly two minutes. Another scene spends an excessive amount of time showing a perpetrator climbing a tree to spy on his lover.
These moments could have been tightened to seconds instead of minutes. This is where I lose patience and start skipping ahead. Tighter editing would significantly improve the viewing experience.
Cinematography
I’m neutral here. Nothing stands out as exceptional, but nothing actively bothers me either. There are some beautiful drone shots, and I like the color grading, dark without being oppressive or muddy.
Final Thoughts (After Episode 9):
9 episodes in, I’d give The Truth a solid 7.5/10 or 8/10.
If you’re planning to watch, go in knowing:
1. There is romance, and it’s slow-burning and trauma-driven. I really like it so far.
2. This is not a high-velocity, sensational crime drama.
3. The show prioritizes realism, emotional restraint, and the personal cost of police work.
The Truth offers a grounded look at the lives of the men and women behind the badge and the sacrifices they make to keep others safe. I’m genuinely curious about how Gong Jun and Sun Yi’s characters will ultimately end up. They seem destined to stand on opposing sides, but I can’t help wondering whether there’s still an unseen layer to the story, something we haven’t been shown yet 9 episodes in, that might prevent their paths from ending in direct opposition?
I’ll continue watching. Whether I finish it remains to be seen, but for now, I’m in.
Disclaimer:
I went into this drama knowing very little: that it’s a crime-solving series starring Gong Jun. I didn’t know the supporting cast, including the female lead, and I only learned shortly before airing that it was filmed back in 2023. I watched Episodes 1–9 as they aired on Tencent, paid for VIP to keep up with the latest episodes, and fully intended to continue watching week by week.
Plot & Overall Arc (Episodes 1–9)
The Truth follows a team of criminal investigators as they solve a series of murder and violent crime cases using forensic evidence, methodical police work, and on-the-ground investigation rather than sensational twists. Each case unfolds over 2-3 episodes, emphasizing realism over shock value.
At the center of the narrative is the male lead (Gong Jun), a reserved, emotionally closed-off investigator shaped by a deeply traumatized past. Parallel to the procedural cases is a slowly unfolding personal storyline involving the female lead (Sun Yi), his first love, whose past trauma, including a devastating rape, is intimately connected to him in ways that remain emotionally ambiguous. As the cases progress, the show increasingly suggests that the crimes themselves are not the true core of the story; rather, they serve as a backdrop for exploring guilt, memory, trauma, and unresolved emotional bonds.
Gong Jun’s character stands firmly on the side of law enforcement, while the female lead, Sun Yi's character, exists on the opposing side of the moral and legal spectrum. She is romantically and intimately involved with the drama’s dominant drug lord, positioning her directly against the male lead, not just emotionally, but structurally within the story.
Their shared past is deeply traumatic and unresolved. By Episode 9, it becomes clear that the drama is more invested in what happens when two people shaped by trauma end up on opposite sides of the law.
Acting
Overall Cast:
9 episodes in, I have very few complaints about the acting. Everyone fits their roles well and feels grounded within the show’s realistic tone.
Gong Jun:
I’ll focus mainly on him, as I’ve followed (and, frankly, studied and scrutinized) his work since Word of Honor. A common criticism of his acting is inconsistent line delivery, specifically, that he tends to rush dialogue, speak without pauses, and rely too heavily on his jaw, resulting in monotone or robotic delivery. I’ve agreed with this critique in past projects like Rising Against the Wind and Legend of Anle.
However, that criticism simply doesn’t apply here.
His line delivery in this is surprisingly natural and professional. It fits the character instead of fighting against it. There’s breathing room between lines, emotional restraint where appropriate, and no sense that he’s rushing to get through dialogue. What genuinely puzzles me is that this drama was filmed BEFORE some of his later works, yet his delivery here is noticeably stronger than in projects filmed afterward.
Blood River (2025) was his best work since Word of Honor, but I’d argue that his delivery in The Truth is even more effortless and organic. 9 episodes in, I’d give his line delivery an 8/10, and I stand by that assessment.
Characterization
Male lead/Gong Jun:
His acting here is not stiff (a popular criticism); it’s intentionally restrained. His character is introverted, guarded, and emotionally sealed off by trauma. The "restrained-ness" works because it reflects a man who has spent years bottling everything up, making him difficult to read and even harder to break through.
Female lead/Sun Yi:
I like the female lead a lot. Some viewers complain that she doesn’t appear often enough in the early episodes, but I don’t agree. She is not underutilized; she is strategically placed. She is firmly positioned on the opposing side of the male lead and is intimately involved as the girlfriend of the dominant drug lord. This alone reframes her presence in the story. Her limited screen time early on is intentional. It heightens tension, mystery, and moral discomfort. Every appearance carries weight because she represents both emotional intimacy and ideological conflict.
What makes this dynamic compelling is that she is not simply a love interest or a passive victim. She has agency, makes morally gray choices, and is willing to use people, including the male lead to survive within her circumstances.
This is fundamentally a story about two traumatized people whose pasts are deeply entangled. The cases are narrative tools used to heighten tension between them. She is his first love, someone who may — or may not — be connected to the worst trauma of her life, and the show slowly steers them toward an inevitable emotional collision. Her acting is solid, understated, and convincing.
The pacing of their screen time feels appropriate so far, especially knowing that their reunion in episode 8 will naturally shift the focus more heavily toward them.
Pacing & Case Structure
Case Pacing
Initially, I found the cases slower and less gripping than expected. They aren’t particularly sensational or memorable at first glance. But after thinking it through, I realized:
This is intentional.
Real criminal investigations aren’t nonstop breakthroughs and shocking reveals. Compared to something like The Truth Within with Luo Yunxi (which I dropped 12 episodes in), The Truth avoids exaggerated shock value. Instead, it adopts a grounded, “feet on the floor” approach to police work. Forensics are central, but so are interviews, waiting, dead ends, and tedious procedural steps.
Each case spans 2-3 episodes and doesn’t overstay its welcome, which I appreciate. The plot moves forward at a steady, realistic pace.
Slice-of-Life Scenes
From Episodes 1–9, there are slower segments that focus on the characters’ lives outside of work such family members, illness, domestic moments. A prime example is the ML's mentor who's father has Alzheimer’s. I’ll be honest: these are the scenes where I sometimes fast-forward.
That said, I understand why they’re there. The drama deliberately shows what these officers sacrifice: time with family, personal happiness, even financial comfort to do their jobs. We see how much they earn (not much), what they give up, and how their personal lives suffer. The Truth isn’t just about solving crimes; it’s about the people behind the badges.
If you go into the drama with this mindset, many scenes that might initially feel “unnecessary” start to make thematic sense.
My Main Pacing Issue
My real issue isn’t with WHAT they show; it’s HOW LONG THEY SHOW IT.
Some scenes are dragged out far longer than needed. A couple of examples:
A scene where a character rides an escalator is filmed from start to finish, it's nearly two minutes. Another scene spends an excessive amount of time showing a perpetrator climbing a tree to spy on his lover.
These moments could have been tightened to seconds instead of minutes. This is where I lose patience and start skipping ahead. Tighter editing would significantly improve the viewing experience.
Cinematography
I’m neutral here. Nothing stands out as exceptional, but nothing actively bothers me either. There are some beautiful drone shots, and I like the color grading, dark without being oppressive or muddy.
Final Thoughts (After Episode 9):
9 episodes in, I’d give The Truth a solid 7.5/10 or 8/10.
If you’re planning to watch, go in knowing:
1. There is romance, and it’s slow-burning and trauma-driven. I really like it so far.
2. This is not a high-velocity, sensational crime drama.
3. The show prioritizes realism, emotional restraint, and the personal cost of police work.
The Truth offers a grounded look at the lives of the men and women behind the badge and the sacrifices they make to keep others safe. I’m genuinely curious about how Gong Jun and Sun Yi’s characters will ultimately end up. They seem destined to stand on opposing sides, but I can’t help wondering whether there’s still an unseen layer to the story, something we haven’t been shown yet 9 episodes in, that might prevent their paths from ending in direct opposition?
I’ll continue watching. Whether I finish it remains to be seen, but for now, I’m in.
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