PeachBlossomGoddess

We will feast on the enemies flesh and drink their blood.

Full River Red is an ancient dark comedy whodunit set in Song dynasty. It is Zhang Yimou's most commercially successful movie to date That is no reason to dislike it. For Zhang Yimou never fails to stun with the sheer brilliance of his cinematic vision and his ability to provoke and capture profound human emotions. It is his narrative style that tends to be weighed down by illogical, at times exaggerated plot points and inconsistent characterisations that rarely does justice to his incisive camera language. While there are traces of these habits, this twisty, stab-happy mystery is the tightest plot I have seen from him in years.

As much as the critical political and societal undertones of Zhang's earlier works discomfited the Chinese government, his recent works are now accused of pandering to government propaganda. Every Western film critic has remarked upon the movie's jingoist note with a sense of unease. The Chinese title Mǎnjiānghóng/满江红 or crimson river sets the tone from the start. This eponymous poem attributed to patriot Yue Fei is ubiquitous; it spoke to me even before I could understand its prose. People's hero Yue Fei was a revered Song general who relentlessly defended his homeland against the invading Jurchens. He was betrayed by the enemy within, a jianchen/奸臣 treacherous official Qin Hui who goes on to be prime minister. What happened to Yue Fei is one of history's terrible injustices, one that still resonates eight hundred years later. The common people appeased their deep sense of sorrow and thirst for justice by deep frying dough sticks in oil yóu zhá guǐ/油炸鬼 or deep fried guǐ/ 鬼 or devil, which in Cantonese is a homonym for Hui/Kuai/桧 in Qin Hui. When I was a kid, my dad used to rant about the dastardly Qin Hui every time we bit into his favorite crispy fried dough sticks.

The movie opens four years after the unjust death of Yue Fei. A Jin envoy is murdered on the eve of his meeting with Prime Minister Qin Hui. The important missive he carried is missing. The unfortunate night patrol is put under the knife as heads must roll for this diplomatic disaster. Desperate to buy time, corporal Zhang Da convinces Deputy Commander Sun Jun that he may be of value in solving the case. They make some small progress and are given two hours by Qin Hui himself to recover the missing missive. Thus begins a high-strung, knives drawn chase through the serpentine military compound as they question unreliable witnesses and fend off duplicitous officials vying to get their nefarious hands on the missing letter.

In a departure from Zhang Yimou's signature, bombastic color drenched cinematic style, the palette is muted, somber and haunting in its clean lines and simple, gorgeous grey toned soberness. There is a sense of profound gravitas that overhangs the thrill and suspense of unraveling the conspiracy at hand. The pacing is start stop as the narrative slows down enough to allow important plot points to soak in only to pick up again to the tune of a clattering amalgamation of hip-hop and Chinese folk music as they race through the complex to pin down the next clue. The body-count piles up as suspects are dispatched suddenly and brutally with dark humor that is as sharp as the knife play. I won't spoil the ending other than to say it is wildly, enormously satisfying and yet it still respects history.

In terms of the cast, it really doesn't get better than this. I was surprised by Shen Teng and Jackson Yi's chemistry and how humorously they convey just the right mix of conflict, mistrust and empathy. I must applaud both Lei Jiayin and Zhang Yi for taking on roles outside their comfort zone. I could see that Lei Jiayin absolutely relished playing the vilest most hated villain in Chinese history. While far from the monster of my childhood imagination, his Qin Hui is still a wicked, cunning creature but also realistic, mortal and even almost human. To me, the memorable highlight of the drama was to watch one of China's very best actors recite the titular poem. Yes it is a very patriotic poem but its message is universal - everyone loves their country for better or worse and will defend it with every ounce of their being. This is the one time that Zhang Yimou's famous digressions is actually fitting and gives a deeper meaning to the story. The movie's big message is also universal; that there are some truths that must be revealed at whatever cost.

This movie hits all the right buttons for me - a dark comedy conspiracy thriller with a touch of wild history around characters that set my imagination and sense of right and wrong afire as a child. It smacks of Zhang Yimou's hallmark provocative brilliance with small flaws and is one of the rare times I enjoyed his storytelling almost as much as his visual composition style. This is an 8.5/10.0 for me.

Full River Red (follows the toned down movie translation):

My last words reflect my thoughts
Full river red
My hair bristles with anger
I lean against the rail
The rain has stopped
Looking at the sky
I let out a cry
Emotions well up in my chest
My achievements in the past are merely dust
I fought bravely with the clouds and the moon
Don't wait
When your hair turns grey you can only regret
The national shame has not been avenged
When can my hatred be wiped away
Riding war chariots we will tumble the Helan Mountains
We will feast on the enemies flesh and drink their blood
When we recover our lost lands
We will satisfy people's demands

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Soul searching.

This is an absorbing sci-fi suspense thriller built around themes relating to the immortality of the soul and its ability to reincarnate after death. The city's top prosecutor Liang Wen Chao (Chang Chen) takes on a high profile, inexplicable and grisly murder of a terminally ill tycoon. As Wen Chao examines the key suspects - the son, the young wife, the deceased ex-wife and the business partner, cutting edge technology and superstitious rituals intersect to further muddy waters already tainted by greed, love, hate, misplaced loyalty, revenge and man's futile quest for immortality.

Without spoiling it, I think the whodunit aspect of it is quite well done from the way the suspicion shifts from one suspect to another until the impossible is eliminated down to what remains as the improbable truth. I did not completely buy into some of the motives of the key suspects and I was irritated by the over-acted supernatural twist that failed to deliver the chiller thriller effect it was striving for. As for the howdunit aspect I will just say it was much more fiction than science but this is the case with most sci-fi thrillers. Since it does deliver an interesting twist, it is very forgivable so just go along with it and suspend disbelief.

This movie's strongest selling point is Chang Chen and Janine Chang's performance as the core investigative team and lead couple. The kind of stoic, desperate soldiering on Chang Chen does as a terminally ill man desperate to do his best for A Bao and their unborn child with what little time he has left is heartbreaking and moving. This is really Chang Chen's best role in terms of how he conveys such deep emotions and soul searching with so few words and how his journey gives him unique insight into the victim. Beyond his incredible weight loss, I was also riveted by how effectively Chang Chen conveyed the impression of a man calling upon the last legs of his energy, whose mind is very much alive as his body fails. This is not a love story but because of amazing acting by the lead couple, I can see the depth and complexity of their unspoken emotions, how well they just fit together, understand and sacrifice for each other. This is the part of the movie that will stay with me.

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Switched by the witch.

In Blossom or 花间令/Huā Jiān Lìng (The Flower Order) is a mystery romance with fantasy elements. I checked this out because of Liu Xueyi, an under appreciated actor who is just as good an antagonist as he is a protagonist. Despite some flaws and controversy, this sleeper hit won Liu Xueyi high praise for his good looks and compelling acting.

Yang Caiwei is a scarred, inauspicious undertaker shunned by citizens of the sinful city of Heyang. She finds herself embroiled in a murder case with the new magistrate Pan Yue, the most handsome gentleman in the capital. As it turns out, before misfortune befell her family, she was engaged to Pan Yue and he seems determined to honor their betrothal. On their wedding day, she is switched by the witch Shangguan Zhi using dark magic. She finds herself in Shangguan Zhi's body right before "Yang Caiwei" is murdered and suspects Pan Yue of doing the deed! Assuming Shangguan Zhi's identity, she investigates her own murder by working for Pan Yue at the yamen in the hope of finding evidence of his complicity. Body swapping is the only fantasy aspect and it is readily accepted without that much disbelief by the characters in this story.

This production drew early criticism because Zheng Hehuizi guest starred as Yang Caiwei for two episodes and impressed viewers with how she interpreted the role. Her Yang Caiwei is a solemn character; a child whose world was shattered overnight and endured nine years of hardship. She finds meaning in following her shifu's footsteps as a coroner, obtaining justice for victims of foul play. This characterization of Yang Caiwei makes sense to me but unfortunately, there was no meeting of the minds in how the role should be portrayed. Although Ju Jingyi delivers an adequate performance, her depiction lacks depth and gravitas. Her Yang Caiwei is literally only Shangguan Zhi; a happy, pampered young lady who never suffered a day in her life. She is so un-serious as a coroner I just scoffed at her autopsies. Still, she didn't quite ruin the show for me as she is so pretty and charismatic I always have a soft spot for her. I just sigh for the opportunity missed because Yang Caiwei is one of the better written female roles and Liu Xueyi is a fantastic actor to be paired up with. She could have impressed enough with a more layered performance to break her out of her usual typecasting but sadly she did not approach this role thoughtfully enough.

While I watched this for the suspense plot, both romances are nicely written. Liu Xueyi and Ju Jingyi look so gorgeous as a couple that their visuals alone deflect many flaws. To me, Pan Yue’s early obsession with Yang Caiwei was not healthy or well founded but I enjoyed how he fell for her against his better instincts thinking she was the detestable Shangguan Zhi. I never faulted Pan Yue for taking so long to figure out she was Yang Caiwei because both actresses failed to show me of they are the same girl. I like how Zhuo Lanjiang is written to be as capable and powerful in his own way as Pan Yue. He is a credible love rival that does not descend into delusional archetypes. But I wasn't that invested in his romance either.

After the big letdown of Youku's big budget Judge Dee's Mystery, this much more modest production satisfied my craving for a good mystery. The cases, beginning with Yang Caiwei's own murder hooked me from the get go. I enjoyed how each case pulls at threads to reveal links initially to the four major clans of Heyang and ultimately a far wider conspiracy that goes back many years. This familiar formula used in many other investigative series is quite well executed. Despite small plot holes, the focus on the human tragedy aspect of these side cases made me either empathize with the victims or at times even the perpetrators. This is something both Judge Dee's Mystery and Mysterious Lotus Casebook failed to do. The main villain is neither too obvious nor revealed too early, which was my biggest gripe with Mysterious Lotus Casebook. This one does well in keeping us guessing right up till the end. However, this is achieved by concealing information from the viewer instead of hiding all the clues in plain sight.

The narrative hiccups in the final arc back at the capital. It seems like a different writer took over. The villain is revealed shortly after they show up onscreen instead of building suspense for a bit. The final villain is not that smart and only gains an upper hand because two hitherto smart characters are thrown under the bus and exercised their free will in unintelligent ways. It always makes me angry to see good characters get undeserved outcomes so I am not happy with how this ends. Good characters were literally wasted just to squeeze some tears from the audience. Instead of ending on a big reveal, it just descends into melodrama. The chilling ending epilogue however is well done but to avoid spoilers I will elaborate on that below. All things considered, this is still an enjoyable watch. I would have rated it 8.0/10 were it not for the ending. My final rating is 7.5/10.0.









ENDING SPOILER COMMENTS

The ending epilogue is a nice chilling way to end regardless of whether Season 2 gets the go ahead. If there is no Season 2, it suggests that #1 is some kind of arch nemesis of Pan Yue, like Moriarty to Holmes who is still out there; that organizations like The Flower Order are not that easy to wipe out. Note there are actually 9 tokens in total in the end scene.

If there is a Season 2, the mastermind is either someone we already met or someone that has not yet appeared onscreen. Recall #2 only shows up in the final arc so this writer does not play fair with the audience. In that case, it is not useful to speculate further. If however, the mastermind is someone we already met, I think it is most likely Shangguan Lan. It is evident from the plain cyan sleeves that it is a man and while the cloth is rich, there is no elaborate embroidery on the sleeve like the nobles and high officials like Pan Yue and Minister Pan wear. The Shangguan family keeps a private army and they have the vast resources and network to be behind this kind of clandestine organization. They also have links to witch doctors and dark magic, which is how Shangguan Zhi swapped bodies with Yang Caiwei. So it would not be surprising that they worship pagan gods like the ram god. I initially ruled out Shangguan Lan due to his age, but he could have inherited the token from his father.

There is also a possibility the mastermind is a woman because the Chinese title is The Flower Order. In that case, it could either be The Empress or Qingdi, who now pretty much controls Heyang after Pan Yue effectively eliminated all her rivals for her.







X

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Imposter

Qin Wan, the Qin family’s Ninth Lady, returns to Jingzhou after years in the Valley of the Medicine King—now a gifted healer with a most unladylike interest in forensics. The Qins greet her with frosty disdain, but Qin Wan has more important things on her mind to be fazed by it. For she is an imposter and not the kind that is trying to live someone else's best life. Her true mission? Reopening the Prince Jin case that destroyed her real father’s name. A macabre headless bride case throws her into the orbit of Yan Chi, the emperor’s shrewd nephew. He’s fascinated by her forensic brilliance but suspects she’s hiding more than corpses. Still, her skills prove too useful to ignore, and soon they’re entangled in high-profile cases—and a shared agenda to expose a conspiracy at the heart of imperial power.

Make no mistake, this is a romance first, elevated by Li Landi and Ao Ruipeng’s electric chemistry. Yan Chi’s unwavering support and smoldering gazes melt Qin Wan’s defenses with delicious speed, forging a partnership that’s refreshingly free of miscommunication or love triangles. Their connection simmers in glances and quiet gestures—mature, supportive, and almost too perfectly harmonious. The lack of real obstacles or tests to their bond leaves it feeling more like a fairytale than a romance mystery drama.

Between swoons, Qin Wan tackles eight suspenseful cases (including the finale’s melodramatic conspiracy). The whodunits are predictable, but the why delivers poignant social critique—exposing how women are crushed by inequity, corruption, and imperial privilege. The how, though? Pure forensic fantasy. Qin Wan’s deductions often defy logic, leaning on exaggerated techniques and leaps in reasoning. Yet Li Landi sells it with such poised conviction that my skepticism crumbles every time. Still, mystery purists will groan at the plot holes, coincidences, and Qin Wan’s Teflon-grade plot armor—Yan Chi always arrives just in time to save her from any real consequence for her actions.

Li Landi shines with her radiant and hypnotic portrayal of quiet competence, though her roles in The Starry Love and Love of Nirvana offered more nuance. Ao Ruipeng nails the green-flag hero archetype, but Yan Chi’s righteousness lacks layers. Thankfully, side characters—Yan Li, Yue Ning, and Yan Chi’s formidable grandmothers (the Grand Princess and Empress Dowager)—inject needed complexity and humour. Yan Chi’s relationship with his father Prince Rui is undercooked and should have been better explored.

The final arcs pivot to palace intrigue, trading forensic puzzles for murderous princes, scheming women and a dog's blood stab-happy finale. The end twist is clever but collapses under scrutiny—riddled with contrivances and a villain who is aided and abetted by all of the women’s inexplicable silence. This dulls the story’s initial feminist edge into a parade of bloodthirsty and wicked harpies, betraying its own ethos. And Qin Wan’s victory rings hollow: she solves her father’s case but fails to truly clear his name. If the message was “No man is above the law, and no one below it,” it lands with a thud.

Verdict? A bingeable, romance-driven romp with enough charm to gloss over its flaws. 8.0/10.0—generous, but deserved for sheer entertainment.

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Junk food with no calories: highly addictive and binge-worthy.

This is THE drama that revived my love for Chinese costume drama. I was hopelessly addicted and inconsolable after it ended. I hungered for the next Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and was crushed and then frustrated when I realized there is nothing else like it. I still have to restrain myself from binge re-watching my favorite parts. My conscience always struggles with inflicting this on someone else so be warned: TMOPB will connect with you and compel you to fall in love with it but it will also ruin everything else you for a long time.

At its heart, this drama very simply an intense, fantasy love fairy tale that spans three lives and three worlds. The plot is not complex, the CGI and some of the fight scenes are not the best and there are small holes and loose threads but nothing diminishes the utterly spell-blinding love story between Bai Qian (Yang Mi) and Ye Hua (Mark Chao).

In the first part of the story, Bai Qian is disguised as a boy Si Yin, the best loved disciple of Mo Yuan (also Mark Chao), the God of War. The young Bai Qian/Si Yin is a carefree, mischievous and indifferent student. A terrible betrayal by her first love that leads to a devastating war and the sacrifice of her beloved sifu Mo Yuan’s soul leaves Si Yin inconsolable with grief and remorse. If Bai Qian occasionally comes across as dislike-able, it is because Yang Mi did not successfully convey how deeply and utterly wounded Si Yin/Bai Qian was by these events. This transformed her into an aloof, cynical and outwardly cold goddess who closely guards her innately warm and loyal heart.

As for the Ye Hua character, part of his magic is there is no such thing as a Ye Hua - he is the brilliant, invincible and handsome Crown Prince of the powerful Celestial Tribe. He is also a great cook, a wonderful father and he loves only once and unconditionally. But underneath that too good to be true surface, he has his own glaring flaws. His first hopeless love is Susu, a lonely, kind heart-ed, docile mortal woman he meets on a chance encounter. It is an unequal relationship that was doomed to end in tears. As a result of his inexperience and hubris, he makes many miscalculations and ultimately betrays her in a way that tragically ends their relationship. He mourns her and waits for her return for hundreds of years and against all logic and odds. When he discovers Susu and Bai Qian are one and the same, he is elated and goes to extreme lengths to crack the ice around her heart and win her love and forgiveness. But Bai Qian is a much older and complicated woman who is initially dismissive of his puppy love. She is a high goddess and a queen and thus more than his equal. While he was thrilled by this spicier version of Susu, he finds to his frustration and fear that she has a past and her heart is not as easily won.

Mark Chao’s Ye Hua will forever be the defining Ye Hua. It doesn’t hurt that this dude has the best eye ogling motion and is capable of the most unbelievable micro facial expressions. He is not afraid to look ugly when he is terrified or devastated with grief. As Susu’s Ye Hua, he is the austere young prince who discovers love and happiness for the first time. As Bai Qian’s Ye Hua he is darker, more passionate, more aggressive and much wiser. Chao's Ye Hua literally gets better looking as the drama advances. Its an illusion that arises as he compels you with the many faces of Ye Hua; the serious and dutiful prince, the valiant warrior, the besotted bridegroom,the grieving widower, the protective father, the frustrated lover... He is equally persuasive as the stoic Mo Yuan who silently mourns the love he lost while he was recovering from saving the world.

Yang Mi and Mark Chao together are a heady, addictive combination. They are both so gorgeous that it is just a gigantic eye candy feast. This drama unabashedly spams you with steamy scenes of the two of them kissing and rolling around in bed. I suspect Mark Chao was cast as Ye Hua based solely on how shockingly good he looks lying down and his terrific acting skills were just an accidental happy bonus. Their chemistry gets noticeably more intense and you to fall in love with them falling in love. In lighter moments, the dialogue is both hilarious and touching. As a couple they subtly mock many cliche costume drama stereotypes – Ye Hua is the cook, he is Mr Mom, he cross dresses and he turns on the waterworks more easily. She is a much older woman who can drink him under the table, proposes to him and likes to lecture him. While the drama is sloppy elsewhere, Ye Hua and Bai Qian’s scenes are shot with meticulous, loving attention to detail. In each life, they hold each other the same but slightly different way when they sleep, she combs his hair the same but slightly less loving way, and when Bai Qian hugs Ye Hua the way Susu hugged him you just KNOW he has almost wormed his way back into her heart.

All of the emotionally moving scenes are accompanied by one of the four haunting love songs from the OST. The production team had a cheeky sense of humor when it came to Ye Hua’s costumes - they sneaked in a number of really sidesplitting outfits. In the memorable episode when he meets Bai Qian for the first time, he looks like Big Bird in a black feather outfit that highlights his beaky side profile in not the best way. By then, I was so smitten that the thinking part of my brain barely processes this. And then there is the cross dressing.… In most of the love scenes, Ye Hua borrowed my pajamas and copied my hairstyle. I can't explain how I am not bothered that he had the audacity to look so delicious in my nightgown. At the end he even pulls off this black with pink peach blossom flower print dress that I have aptly named Su Jin’s Revenge. None of it matters - he can speak the cheesiest lines, cry, cross dress and still come across as this crazily sexy, hot man beast. Love is blind indeed.

The strong cast of supporting characters brings this story to life - the uncle confidante, the brother and his "friend", the deranged evil concubine and the usual love rivals. There is also Dijun (Vengo Gao) and Feng Jiu's (Dilraba Dilmurat) love story which has charming and heartbreaking moments but the main couple is a tough act to follow.

I will leave to your own imagination the many hidden undertones to this show - from the somewhat taboo to the very naughty. There are many better, more well-rounded shows with more substantive and complex plots out there. This one still wins on the strength of its simple, brilliantly accomplished mission: it forces you to relive all of the joy, passion and pain of an intense love. Like junk food, it appeals to all of your most basic instincts and can result in binge-ing. Don’t ask why - just enjoy it. Over and over and over again if you must.

There are about 60 episodes of very funny bloopers on Youtube on the Croton Mega Hit channel but most of them are not translated.

Footnote: Forget the rubbish Netflix title Eternal Love, this drama is Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms.

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A wrinkle in time.

This is a surprisingly enjoyable short love story with a novel premise. He Zhengyu, a hot shot lawyer experiences a series of setbacks that lands him in a modest apartment. Every night, he is "haunted" by rookie reporter Chen Jialan, who occupied the apartment four months ago. A wrinkle in time brings them together each night at 10:06pm for 46 minutes. During this time they must solve a few cases that they were involved in professionally that may have set them on the road to perdition.

The initial encounters between Zhengyu and Jialan are hilarious and intriguing as they both scare the hell out of each other. They had me rooting for them from the get go. But as their relationship progresses, I find Jialan remains too sweet, childish and cutesy. I expect to see their chemistry take on a more mature and adult tone later on but this doesn't quite happen. Nonetheless, I stayed invested in their story throughout and kept going even though the whole Jirong saga bored me to tears. I have not seen such bland and monotonous acting in a long time. It is almost criminal to pair up such an insipid actress with such a hot actor as Dai Gaozheng. The cast overall is not strong and it is Yang Xuwen's convincing and charismatic portrayal of Zhengyu and how he is changed by this wrinkle in time that elevates the main relationship and saves the entire drama.

The biggest plot hole in this story is He Zhengyu's lack of curiosity about who Chen Jialan was and why she vacated the apartment he moved into. You would think his first instinct would be to find out everything about her and to try to track her down. But no, he waits till very late in the game to do this. The cases are only mildly interesting and the villains are quite obvious. While the drama does a good job transitioning between the past and the present, the main characters traverse back and forth too often and too inconsequentially. The plot does become slightly convoluted towards the end, with too many twists. Despite some obvious flaws and plot holes, there are enough fresh and engaging moments that make this an entertaining watch. This is a 7.5/10.0 that will nicely tide over a dry spell.

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A cut above.

This is a wonderfully produced drama that deserves a lot more attention. It is a riveting tale of sibling rivalry that spans a time of rapid change and turbulence in modern Chinese history. Jiang Mosheng and Lu Yuanzhi are both adopted and apprenticed by Master Su Jingan of Sancai (Triple Cut) House, couturier of the Qing Imperial Court. Sancai House routinely outshines other rival houses in the workmanship, symbolism and design of the intricate ornamentation of the Dowager Empress' court robes, allegedly due to their seamless stitch, a tradecraft that is passed down from one generation to another. Master Su's most bitter rival is his former fellow apprentice, Master Bai Henian of Sihe House.

Jiang Mosheng is the older, steady, responsible brother and heir apparent, whose great talent is meaningfully enhanced by his passion and dedication. Lu Yuanzhi is the hot headed, audacious and visionary brother; a rare talent whose brilliance is nothing short of genius. His recklessness however lands him in serious trouble. To save him, Mosheng cuts ties with Sancai House, defects to Sihe House and accepts Master Bai as his foster father. This sets the brothers down a complicated path of reluctant rivalry, conflicting loyalties, mutual friendships, convenient alliances, mistrust, betrayal and forgiveness. The most prominent feature of this drama is the Abel and Cain relationship between the brothers and it is well written, consistent and riveting. Both of them are flawed characters and neither is completely blameless for how things play out between them. Although Yuanzhi learns to rein in his recklessness and temper as he matures, it still manages to get the better of him. His culpability over Mosheng's sacrifice constantly lingers in the air between them. Even though he can be such an ass, I have to sympathise with Mosheng's battle with his own worst instincts in the shadow of someone who is perpetually a cut above. Both Zhang Haowei and Hong Yao delivered excellent, empathetic performances, alternately frustrating, enraging and beguiling me at all the right moments.

How the design of the cheongsam or qipao evolves to reflect the changing attitudes of times is the main, fascinating centrepiece of the drama. While not in the same league as the more modern and sophisticated qipaos of Wong Kar Wai's iconic In The Mood for Love, all of the outfits from the Qing court robes to the Western flapper dresses are simply gorgeous and I truly enjoyed the mini history of Chinese costume. How the female characters are dressed is also symbolic of who they are - Yaoyao is a remnant of the past at sharp contrast with Lijun, the ultimate, progressive modern woman. Kang Ning sits in the middle - she embraces change in a way that marries it with tradition; and thus she is truly Yuanzhi's muse. True to character, both Kang Ning and Lijun have a very refreshing attitude towards relationships and love that I truly enjoy and they fight to write their own stories even when events conspire against them. The only character I didn't like is Yaoyao who is your typical c-drama archetype but she is written that way as a foil for the other two. There are enough dimensional, grey and consequential characters in this drama that I am very satisfied with the character aspects of it. Most of these key roles are performed by veteran actors whose acting often surpasses the quality of the dialogue. I laughed my head off at the dynamics between Lijun, Feiyu and her father.

This is largely a character driven drama where the main characters have to cope with the changing times as they transition from the Qing era to the Republican era and Japanese incursion. While the pace is fast with many exciting and unexpected turns along the way, not all of the sub plots and arcs are consistently well written. Some of the stressing events that the main characters face are a bit contrived, can be lazily written and at times defy logic. But between excellent acting and all the interesting character developments, I found the plot holes quite easy to forgive. I do appreciate how all of the characters go through rough times, experience loss, how actions have consequences and justice is often blind. The villains are decent but less interesting than the characters themselves, some of whom are quite grey if not outright vile.

I am happy to recommend this as a very enjoyable watch with some good fresh takes on old tropes. Overall for me this is an 8.0.

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You only live twice.

Fan Xian is back!!! There are no words to describe the pure joy I felt after what was for me, a three year wait. I never expected S2 to be as strong as S1 and as much as I enjoyed it, it is not quite at the same level. To begin with, killing a character onscreen is never easy to unwind and their walk back of the S1 cliffhanger was long winded, cumbersome and comically farcical. What saves it is that most audiences are so grateful to see the whole gang, villains and all, back together again they willingly suspend disbelief.

The most noticeable difference with S2 is the visible shift in the narrative from plot driven to largely character driven. After narrowly cheating death, an introspective Fan Xian who realizes you only live twice, returns to the capital. During S1, Teng Zijing showed Fan Xian that some things are worth dying to protect. This season explores what those things are for Fan Xian. He reflects upon his mother's ideals and begins to see the injustices that made her want to change the world. The plight of the common people resonates with him as he comes to understand that he is also but a pawn in a high powered chess game. He embraces his mother's legacy with a sense of purpose and a clear vision of what he means to do with it. The most exhilarating moments of this season are not action packed or full of intricate twists but pivotal moments in Fan Xian's character journey. It is less exciting if you are an action junkie but this is the season that reveals who Fan Xian really is and more importantly, who he wants to be.

With the signature Joy of Life verve and wit, important plot points or character motives are conveyed indirectly with humor. As the laughter abates, the manifold implications, often dark and diabolical start to sink in. The most chilling aspect of S2 is Fan Xian's complex, multi-dimensional chess game with the emperor, who is the grandmaster firmly in control of the board and all the chess pieces. It is not even clear that Chen Pingping is really on Fan Xian's side; after his "miscalculation", he seems just as dangerous as friend or foe. It is from such a disadvantaged position that Fan Xian plays to win even though winning could also cost him his head. While the emperor's end game remains murky, he reveals a guarded, almost resentful affection for Fan Xian that has me hopeful and fearful at the same time. Some of the emperor's schemes and motives are too intricate and have to be explained via dialogue, which is something I am not a fan of.

Inasmuch as I quite miss the rounder and carefree Fan Xian, Zhang Ruoyun's lean and mean new look lends a sense of maturity and gravitas to the role. My mouth goes dry at the layer upon layer of divine masculinity that comprise Fan Xian, the man. His scenes with the emperor where they both test and measure each other are mesmerising until the tension is broken by at times offbeat humor that has me yodelling with laughter. Every dysfunctional Li family gathering is a hilarious parody of a feast at Swan Goose Gate (Hongmen banquet/鸿门宴). There are many insanely well acted emperors in c-drama yet Chen Daoming still manages to stand out with his complex, differentiated, infuriating and utterly unpredictable portrayal. Just when I am sure I loathe him, he blindsides me with an unexpectedly moving expression of almost regret. Fan Xian has yet to get the better of this sociopath but at least he still manages to run circles around "Mini Me". The moment he scared the living daylights out of the second prince is one of the highlights of the season.

It is no small feat that they managed to reunite such a large and sought after cast and practically all the roles are well conveyed. Ye Lingér however was obviously abducted by aliens and replaced with a bot. Hopefully Si Lili rescues her offscreen and returns with the real Ye Lingér just in time for S3. I won't deny that I basked in every moment of this reunion of my favorite characters, good and evil. That said, outside of Fan Sizhe, no one really gets to do anything consequential. Many new characters including the first prince, the Beiqi princess and Fan Xian's scholars are introduced with unclear purpose. Everyone is being teed up but the punchline is put on hold until S3. This unbalanced focus on introducing and fleshing out characters and relationships comes at the cost of plot movement. This makes me worry that this leaves too many open plot arcs to be closed in S3. While I wouldn't dare to explicitly wish anyone's bestie villain dead, I think they should have closed at least one of the villain arcs instead of pushing everything into S3.

The character arc of S2 closes triumphantly with Fan Xian reclaiming his power and free will by choosing what family means to him and in doing so, he changes the game. I expect S3 to be once again more plot driven like S1. While I savored S2 and appreciate that they took the time to flesh out the characters and key relationships, there are just too many open plot threads for me to rate this the 9.5 I gave S1. Thus this is a 9.0/10.0 for me for now. If everything comes together well in S3, the series overall will easily be 9.5 or a 10.0.

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There is something rotten in Kaifeng.

Riverside Code at Qingming Festival/清明上河图密码 is adapted from Ye Wenbiao's popular suspense novel of the same name. One of the highest rated popular novels on Douban, it draws inspiration from Zhang Zeduan's epic 11th century scroll painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival/清明上河图. This panoramic masterpiece meticulously depicts 814 figures, 60 animals, 122 houses, 28 ships, 15 vehicles, over 30 buildings and 8 sedan chairs going about their daily lives along the grand canal. It is an eerily vibrant, intricate and authentic snapshot of Kaifeng (then known as Bianjing) at the peak of its cultural and economic significance; not long before the city was invaded, captured and largely destroyed by the Jurchens in 1127. It is a miracle that this iconic and magnificent record of the city's urban infrastructure, military instalments, industry and commerce and citizens from all walks of life survived. This visually immersive drama virtually restores the sweeping grandeur and prosperity of Kaifeng when it was believed to be the largest city in the ancient world and brings it to life. The drama opens with the mysterious disappearance of the Mei ship sailing under the Rainbow Bridge, which is the centrepiece of the painting.

This narrative examines what lies beneath the glittering facade of prosperity and the elated bustle along the Bian River as the citizens of Kaifeng celebrate the Qingming Festival via the eyes of a common family of five. This ties in with the Confucian concept of the family as a microcosm of the state 家国一体; thus the wellbeing of the family is intricately linked with the success of the state. For fifteen years, Zhao Buyou languished as a lowly assistant scribe at Dàlǐsì, the Court of Judicial Review. Even though he doesn't have everything, he is content; happily married to Wen Yue, a filial son to his eccentric father Zhao Li and a good elder brother to his much younger siblings Mo'er and Ban'er. Wen Yue however thinks they need a bigger house so she makes umbrellas to supplement their income. Their world fractures when Buyou is unfairly dismissed from Dàlǐsì while Wen Yue is extorted and harassed by a corrupt official. Pushed into a corner, they discover each other’s hidden secrets and race to protect each other and their family. Soon the entire family uses their special talents to assist Gu Zhen and Wan Fu of the Kaifeng Court solve a series of mysterious cases beginning with the Mei ship case. As the cases unfold, it becomes obvious that something is rotten in Kaifeng, and his name is Zou Mian.

The design of the overarching plot is fresh and interesting; the main villain Zou Mian is so powerful he appears to be above the law and his identity is known from the get go. But the true antagonist hides in plain sight and uses ruthless means to expose Zou Mian's corruption and misdeeds, including threatening the Zhao family. All of the cases are linked to the overarching plot, which is well designed and ties everything together in a satisfying way. The cases are very dark and disturbing and some of the antagonists are unnecessarily depraved and cruel. A unifying theme is that good people can become radicalised and driven to do terrible, desperate and extreme things when they lose faith in a system that fails them repeatedly. While the cases start out well, possibly because of how daringly they push the boundaries in terms of justifying vigilante justice, the conclusions seem to suffer from heavy cuts that leave logic gaps and loose ends. There is some level of just too much going on with the Zhao family drama unfolding alongside the cases. While I enjoyed their family dynamics and learning their backstories, these scenes could have been tightened. In particular Wen Yue going solo was based on shaky logic and her mid-life crisis was not well articulated and detracted from the cases at hand. I always get excited to see c-dramas attempt dark comedy but in this case, while there were some really funny moments, half the time it just didn't land. Overall, for something adapted from such a highly regarded novel, the screenplay does not do justice to the high production values, the exquisite set and the stellar cast.

As for the cast, it is a veteran dream team. I couldn't ask for a better lineup of favorite actors who deliver commanding performances in supporting roles notably Li Naiwen's disingenuous Dilun, Zhang Xinyu's wicked Qiniang and Hai Yitian's slightly unhinged Xiao Yishui. As expected, Zhang Songwen delivers an empathetic and nuanced performance as a flawed, miserable and oppressed character who just sucks it up while his talent is ignored until his harmonious family is threatened. He is more of a coward than a hero and his motives are selfish but relatable. I thoroughly enjoyed his humorous banter with Gu Zhen and Wan Fu and but was shocked by how cynically and ruthlessly they navigate a system that is so broken from within to find their own brand of justice. While Bai Baihe delivers a few exceptional moments as Wen Yue, she doesn't consistently convey the complexity of the role and the inner conflicts that Wen Yue struggled with. The weakest link by far however is Zhang Yao's Mo'er. This is an important role that is meant to illustrate the poisoning of the well. Unfortunately this young actor who struck me as promising years ago in Love in Between, was not ready for this role. He failed to convincingly portray how Mo'er's sorrow, disillusionment and budding resentment made him susceptible to manipulation. This made his darkening from an idealistic young scholar who wanted to reform the system from within seem abrupt and out of character. After all the build-up, I was also surprised by what a lame, wimp Zou Mian turned out to be. There were many fantastic wild, wicked and intimidating villains in this drama but sadly, the "Big Boss" did not live up to his reputation.

Even though this drama ends satisfyingly shortly after the plot climaxes with the reveal of a well-acted and well-hidden mastermind, Zou Mian's take down was anti-climactic. After all the vigilante justice, it makes sense for rule of law and procedural justice to win the day. However, I would have better enjoyed a more exciting denouement and preferably one that does not bypass the question of whether the ends justify the means. As much as I appreciate the meticulous attention to historical detail and the high production values, this drama falters enough in the writing and execution that I can't rate it better than 8.5/10.0. It is still a riveting suspense drama that is entertaining and engaging enough that it deserves another season, hopefully with a better writing team.

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Mother most foul.

I prefer to review c-dramas that are arbitrarily split in two parts to circumvent episode caps only once, after the entire story has been told. In this case, I am making an exception because Part 1 is largely a family drama that focuses on a difficult mother daughter relationship. This Part 1 review will evaluate that aspect of the story and defer a full discussion of the romance to Part 2.

Cheng Shaoshang is a grey character - a thorny, defiant, scheming and distrustful Han Dynasty fifteen year old. She is left to fend for herself while in the care of abusive but not smart relatives while her military family is away defending the country. She runs circles around them and grows up to be distrustful, cunning and unrestrained. When her parents return from the battlefront, they are appalled to discover a lovely, wild, uneducated child, shockingly unschooled in the etiquette expected of the young daughter of a newly minted marquis. Her mother, a fearless, decorated general finds in her recalcitrant daughter a greater foe than found on any battlefield. The mother daughter conflict is the guts of Part 1 and drives most of Shaoshang's actions and decisions.

As a fan of grey characters, I like Shaoshang's character design a lot and Zhao Lusi delivers a very empathetic and charismatic portrayal. While there are better actors, what makes Lusi special is she is very, very funny. Even though there is a recognizable pattern to her comedy, her timing and delivery is more refined with each drama. Underneath the humor, she shows us that Shaoshang is a sad person who refuses to weep; adroitly infusing a note of loneliness, false bravado and vulnerability. This makes the character extremely empathetic, to the fault of being overly so. Lusi seems less comfortable articulating Shaoshang's many flaws, which are glossed over hastily and in a muted tone. As a result, Yuanyi's insistence on harshly taming her daughter's "harmless mischief and high spirits" comes across as heartless and misguided. A more balanced depiction of this relationship rather than one where the mother is so unambiguously the villain would be more interesting and realistic.

One of my biggest issues with the character writing is how main characters, especially Shaoshang are elevated by diminishing other characters, particularly her mother. Their forced separation from birth and subsequent alienation and resentment deserves compassion on both sides but is written in a way that consistently only assassinates the mother's character. After suffering through many of their blood boiling disputes, I was pleased to see Shaoshang get some inkling of what her family went through after Hua City. And I thought she won her mother's grudging respect and approval in how she dealt with Lou Yao. So I was just gobsmacked and revolted by how her mother inexplicably smacks her down in front of the entire court. This is all so that Ling Buyi can gallantly come to the rescue by praising her to the skies as the best lady in the capital. Which considering how awful the other ladies in the capital are, is hardly such a great compliment. After the initial cheap thrill, it looks very high handed and coercive on Ling Buyi's part. It also undoes the hard won truce if not tentative mutual understanding between the mother and child. I don't need them to ever see eye to eye or become best friends but it is disappointing to see Shaoshang's nemesis in Part 1 reduced to a two dimensional mother most foul.

What I can praise is how Shaoshang is lifted up by her intelligence, courage, compassion and her ability to do the right thing even at great cost to herself, which we see in both the Hua City arc and Lou Yao arc. Unfortunately in the latter half, Shaoshang is propped up largely by kicking other characters down. I have never seen such a long list of repetitive, nasty and screechy female characters in a drama. They are all cardboard copies of each other - bratty, rude, stupid, arrogant and in love with Ling Buyi. The mothers are all older and uglier versions of their daughters. I don't enjoy watching women doing their worst to each other. Nor do I like that they are repeatedly dressed down by men, even when it is Ling Buyi and it is well deserved. Sure it is very satisfactory in a low way but it is also frustrating and with repetition, boring. It is very disturbing that with few exceptions (Qi Qi and third aunt), the likeable characters in this drama are all men.

Despite a few thrilling knight in shinning armor moments, the romance is only set up in Part 1 with little real development. Shaoshang's main purpose is to gain freedom and escape her mother's eagle eye and she views marriage as the means to that end. None of her suitors are that compelling and their courtship methods are so appalling they are comical. Lou Yao trails after her like a lovesick puppy, willing to wait on her hand and foot without realizing that women don't need to marry doormats or servants. Yuan Shen's retarded strategy seems to be to make her hate him and pray that hate turns into love. But Ling Buyi is the one that just takes the cake. He makes sure her parents, no, the whole kingdom, knows she has seen him nekkid and failing that, makes her an offer she can't refuse. Who ultimately prevails is pretty much a foregone conclusion with the casting of Wu Lei, which is also a bit of a shame. I'd enjoy it more if we are kept guessing for awhile and there is genuine competition among worthy suitors.

We don't get to see enough of Wu Lei or the romance as Part 1 is mostly Shaoshang's family story. However, there is enough romantic fan service that shows Wu Lei's chemistry with Lusi is promising. While Wu Lei looks incredibly hot as the cold and intimidating general Ling Buyi, initially he appears stiff, like he is trying too hard to project gravitas. He improves noticeably later on when he relaxes his face muscles and his character is humanized by his sidekicks Liang Qiuqi and Liang Qiufei or Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Tweedledum is my favorite side character; his vivid facial expressions in each of his interactions with Ling Buyi have me rolling with laughter. Indeed what really livens this drama's slow burn pace is the humor which also brilliantly amplifies character traits. It is a poignant reminder of how funny and ferocious Wu Lei's Fei Liu was. I had long forgotten how good he is at humor. I look forward to seeing more of Ling Buyi's story as well as genuine relationship development between the leads in Part 2.

If I were to rate Part 1 solely on the mother daughter relationship, I would only give this an 8.0. What makes me mad is this had a lot of potential and we really don't get that many good historical mother daughter character stories. Instead the mother is written to have so little redeeming value it just ends up being a giant waste of emotional energy. But I will throw in another 0.5 to make this 8.5 because apart from the first four episodes which were an aberration, I enjoyed the comedic moments immensely. I may have given this a 9.0 without the many nasty, noisy women.

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Winning hearts and minds.

Amidst the economic hardship and political upheaval of 1930s Shanghai, War of Faith explores the financial underpinnings of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) eventual military victory over the Kuomintang. This story unfolds from the perspective of Wei Ruolai, a young financial prodigy who becomes entangled in the ideological struggle that defined that era. The narrative deftly avoids lengthy ideological discourse by framing the struggle as largely an economic one. It was a time of economic hardship for the common working class people from the cities to the countryside. While politically aware, most of them were were not conversant in the finer points of the political and ideological debate. Their needs were basic and winning hearts and minds came down to being responsible fiduciaries of their hard earned savings and livelihoods.

Shen Tunan is a savvy central banker with grand plans to reform and strengthen the local banks and loosen the grip of foreign banks to unleash China's economic potential. A true believer in the Kuomintang's Three Principles of the People, he is nonetheless a pragmatist is willing to compromise and look the other way in order to achieve his objectives. The evolving mentee-mentor relationship between Shen Tunan and Wei Ruolai is compellingly articulated by Wang Yang and Wang Yibo and bolstered by good chemistry between the actors. Their mutual respect did not waver even as it became evident that their bottom lines diverge. Wang Yibo surprised and delighted me with his portrayal of a quietly clever young man's coming of age. His Wei Ruolai is idealistic but not naïve, can be ruthless but is not cruel and is loyal but not unquestioning.

All three main protagonists in this drama have a shared vision of the kind of future they want for their country but there are deep divisions between them on how to get there. Shen Tunan understands there is rot in the system but is willing to compromise and work within in; to try to fix it. Shen Jinzhen thinks it is not fixable and wants to tear it all down and start over. She is radical to the point of being almost fanatical and shockingly bold and ruthless in how she executes her vision. I have even greater respect for Li Qin, who also elevates her repertoire as an actor in this role. The relationship between the Shen siblings and their painful conflict is a highlight of this drama. They are both so strong willed and their conviction in their opposing beliefs is as strong as their love and respect for each other. The narrative does a fantastic job illustrating that the country is an extension of the family so when the rubber meets the road, they are first loyal to each other. As the newcomer without any particular ideology, Wei Ruolai is caught between them and ultimately in his choice, becomes the de factor arbiter of the better path forward.

The darkest, most complicated, ultimately despicable and yet oddly empathetic character in this drama is Lin Qiaosong, arrestingly portrayed by Zhang Tianyang. Even though he is not the smartest villain, he has great instincts and a healthy though grudging respect for his enemies He is brutal and incredibly hard to kill yet has a moving and tender side for his lover. I haven't enjoyed a villain so much in a long time. The other notable performance in this all round standout cast is newbie actor Lan Xiya's Niu Chunmiao. This smart, audacious and plucky character added some much needed levity to this story and saves the day a few times as well.

I enjoyed this drama quite a bit but I wouldn't really call it a spy drama. It is more of a business story with some ideology and some action mixed in. The writers do a terrific job making the rather dry financial aspects of banking and finance accessible and movingly relate it to how the lives of the common people are disproportionately impacted by malfeasance and corruption in the financial system. Overall a very interesting and somewhat educational slice of life from an era of profound change that I am happy rate 8/10.

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Today is a good day to die.

Xu Tian, the young scion of a wealthy Southeast Asian family, is on his way to Shanghai to meet his fiancee for the first time. Set in 1930, his journey takes him from Guangdong through Jiangxi and Zhejiang; lawless territory controlled by local warlords. This is a road drama where the journey is an analogy for Xu Tian's personal growth and how this perilous trip makes a man of him. He is aided and inspired by five eccentric jianghu characters - a hot-blooded revolutionary, an idealistic warlord in a gilded cage, a romantic gambler, a passive aggressive doctor and a bourgeois wheeler and dealer. As they cut a bloody path to Shanghai, Xu Tian learns that actions have consequences; to live in the moment; that luck can change; that family must be protected and that money can buy access to all sorts of people and things.

This is the fist time I have seen a Chinese drama attempt this kind of bizarre, absurd and violent black comedy where a small event, in this case a purloined wallet spirals out of control and snowballs into a series of violent, unpredictible and bloody encounters. All of Xu Tian's companions along the way have distinctive personalities and temperaments that make them the main character in their own stories. They are wierd, flawed, obssessive characters that are at surface triggered by bizzare and seemingly trivial events that are actually profound and hopelessly romantic upon deeper reflection. When triggered, they become raging bloodthirsty lunatics with a "today is a good day to die" kind of reckless fearlessness and determination. The ethos and irony is captured and diffused by the crisp, darkly comedic dialogue that builds both anticipation and fear as the story careens down a volatile and unpredictible path.

This cast list is like the who's who of top Chinese actors, starting with Liao Fan as Lao Sun. His opening arc is the one that made me experience shock, awe, rage and sorrow at man's reckless, absurd, obstinacy and obsessiveness. This was a tough act to follow and Zhang Luyi fumbles a bit in his portrayal of Yu Yixiu, who is by design a fascinating paradoxically powerful and helpless character. Thus the second arc sags somewhat but gets shored up somewhat by Wu Xiaoliang's short and moving portrayal of the lovestruck gambling addict. The drama gallops on to a thrilling finish when Zhang Yi's obsequious, passive aggresive doctor teams up with Tian Yu's explosive, trigger happy capitalist for the final showdown. I also have much praise for Zhang Jingwei's fanatically dogged Ma Tianfang, Song Hanhuan's mercilessly ambitious Wu Da and Qiu Tian's passionately misguided Jia Ruo Lan.

Unfortunately the cast's impeccable performances all around is weighed down by the leading role, Dong Zijian's Xu Tian. He is an excellent actor but this was a big step down from his other works. Maybe he was simply out classed by the stellar cast but I think more likely, he was just mis-cast in this role. I didn't like his Xu Tian at all and was not moved by and did not empathize with the character. If the journey made him smarter or stronger, it did not come across; he just seemed just as belligerent, more vicious and just as obdurate. I frankly didn't care whether or not he made it to Shanghai and couldn't believe so many risked all to help him along the way. I even cared more for the petty villains and the poor bystanders that were collateral damage than I did for Xu Tian. This drama made me laugh as hard as I cried and I was unbecomingly thrilled by every dark, sick, ironic twist the narrative took. But when I can barely root for the main character over the villain, I must only rate this an 8.5/10.0. That said, it is still a mind-blowing and incredible adventure, especially if you like dark comedy.

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Everybody lies.

This psychological suspense thriller featuring a female hardcore detective starts out well. Ran Dongdong investigates the death of Xia Bingqing, a young woman with secrets. To figure out what happened to her, Dongdong has to piece together who Bingqing was and why someone wanted her dead. As the list of suspects in this complicated murder case grows, it is clear that everybody lies whether they are doing it consciously or not. The way Dongdong nails down inconsistencies in the various testimonies by unreliable narrators and incisively teases out the truth is riveting.

Work and life collide for Dongdong when it is discovered that her husband Mu Dafu crossed paths with the victim and he had twice rented a hotel room at the likely scene of the crime. She explores the complexity of love, marriage, and fidelity in both the work and personal arena and the lines start to blur. She begins to interrogate him like a suspect. In fact, he gets the worst of it because there are no professional restraints at home. Not that he is a paragon of virtue, far from it!! He was always a bit of a narcissist humanities professor that openly indulges in deeply intimate, highly flirtatious but ostensibly intellectual discussions with professional peers and students. She was fine with it until inexplicably, she is not. Likely because they fell out of the idealistic love phase of their relationship or maybe because he stopped telling her about these women that fall for him.

I did not expect to see this suspense plot devolve so deeply into a dark exploration of marriage between a dislikable and messed-up toxic couple. Both Song Jia and Wang Yang deliver mesmeric performances as flawed, complex, egotistical, and ultimately selfish characters. I did not like either of them. In fact, there are no heroes in this story. Other than the poor kid, pretty much everyone is a terrible person. Even the victim is too much of an architect of their own fate and is not empathetic. Neither of the two parallel plotlines is satisfactorily resolved. The whodunit mystery ends up being a howdunit procedural with too many plotholes and a weak, trite, cop-out motive for the murderer. The way the relationship is resolved also leaves unanswered questions although there is closure in the sense that Ran Dongdong and Mu Dafu really deserve each other. May they live tortuously ever after.

I enjoyed this drama up until episode 10 after which it turns into something I had no interest in watching. I can see how it may hold some appeal to people who like difficult relationship stories. My rating of 6.5 is for the very mediocre suspense plot, which is what I came to watch.

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My dear, I don't give a damn.

Gone with the Rain is one of the few Chinese dramas out there that has a very apt English title. It is also set in a time of civil war and the design of the four main characters are unmistakably inspired by Margaret Mitchell's epic classic novel Gone with the Wind. It is very much a character drama that is at surface a romance, but the true love story is the one between two women who are almost diametric opposites of one another.

This story takes place in a fictional Jing state but the costumes and background suggests this loosely is late Tang dynasty when the powerful local military governors rebelled. Vast swarths of the country was thrown into civil war during which the central government had little knowledge or control over what was happening. The drama's greatest failing is that it is very sloppy in terms of clearly explain who the different factions and what their agendas are. Events unfold conveniently and not always logically simply to enable character conflict and development.

The story is told largely from seventeen year old Tang Moxi's perspective. She breaks the fourth wall in the beginning and continues to share her thoughts via very vivid, at times funny and at times silly daydreams. Moxi is illegtimate and orphaned at an early age, she grows up on sufference in the household of her uncle Bai Wentao a scheming mid-level official. Her first cousin Bai Fengyao its the only one that cares for her. The drama opens with the country on the verge of civil unrest. The cousins are colluding to evade their family's efforts to marry them off for advancement. Moxi rescues a dashing wounded soldier Wan Jiagui and falls for him. She also encounters an infuriating general Chen Wende. Through a series of misunderstandings, some self inflicted Moxi finds herself caught between both men while Wan Jiagui finds himself engaged to both women. A tortuous romantic quadrangle between the four plays out as the country slides into chaos. The romances are secondary to how the relationship between the women navigates civil war and a messy love rivalry.

Despite their different personalities and perspectives, Moxi and Fengyao share a touching and unbreakable bond. Moxi is fiesty, selfish, cynical, manipulative and tough as nails beneath her lovely exterior. She is above all a survivor; she has to be as there is only the rather helpless Fengyao in her corner. Fengyao is pretty much everything Moxi is not - selfless, well educated, gentle, sentimental, idealistic,and impractical; in other words quite useless. Their strengths and weaknesess complement and together, they are able to acutally fend quite well for each other. Unfortunately they both fall for the gallant, noble hero in heroes clothing Wan Jiagui who when tested is actually a weak character. Moxi spends most of the drama fighting her devastating attraction to Chen Wende, a rough, uncouth warrior who is more than what he appears to be. He is the only character that remains charismatic and likable throughout the drama. After awhile, it is quite obvious where these four main character blueprints are from.

The first half of the drama is quite enjoyable as Moxi and Fengyao find their strengths and struggle with their flaws in trying times. However, Moxi's wilful blindness and her obstinate pinning for her first love went on for so long it became tedious. I wanted to hurl my remote at her and yell "My dear, I don't give a damn!" Even though all the portrayals are well done and the characters are multi-dimensional, this drama spends too much time rehashing character flaws without a well fleshed out plot to keep things engaging. The conflict and attraction between Chen Wende and Moxi is the only highlight of the second half of the drama which made it less of a struggle. I also enjoyed the casting of an actress in the role of Wu Yin. The second relationship however is not sufficiently developed because all of the men can only have eyes for Moxi. The final arc is rushed and Moxi's ability to transform herself is not well explained and frankly impossible. The story does come to a satisfying ending with the final episodes making up for the sag in the latter half. This is different enough from the usual run-of-the-mill historical Chinese drama that I enjoyed many aspects of it. It is quite well acted and had it been shorter and more tightly written, I'd probably rate it better than 7/10.

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She's just not into you anymore.

The Luo family is in gentle decline as the second generation is unable to match their late patriarch's illustrious career in civil service. They look towards the complacent and entitled third generation to revive the family's fortunes with a growing sense of anxiety. It is to this backdrop that Luo Yining returns from the family's country villa to celebrate her ailing grandmother's birthday after falling out with Luo Chengzhang and concubine Qiao as a child. Chengzhang is a frustrated and resentful civil servant of middling talent with a very small heart that only has room for Qiao's children. Yining is appalled to find her "third brother" Shenyuan shunned and bullied by the family and as unfavored children and they become fast allies. They are both not who they appear to be and gradually they uncover and keep each other's secrets as together, they navigate treachery both within and outside the Luo household.

This kind of saga that depicts the rise and decline of a family has been a popular genre since the 18th century classic vernacular novel 红楼梦 Hónglóumèng/Dream of the Red Chamber resonated deeply with its philosophical questions and social critique of feudal patriarchal society. While the narrative unfolds around the main protagonists it is not just about them; it explores broader social themes through related character stories and sub-plots told from their point of view. Every character has their own cross to bear. Chengzhang for example, is at surface a bad dad but he was also someone whose ambitions never materialised and who twice had to marry a woman not of his own choosing. Yining's return ruined the three people who meant the most to him. Maybe he gets off lightly or maybe fate was already unkind enough to him.

This drama gives the strong impression that it is a lighter, more accessible version of The Story of Minglan (SOML). The production quite cheekily acknowledges this by installing Yining in Haitang Pavilion and naming her mother Gu Minglan. Many of the main character blueprints of the Luo family down to the costumes and styling and the plot arcs around the inner harem rivalries and the mystery of Yining's mother's death smack of SOML. As someone who didn't enjoy SOML, I don't have a problem with it. Even though SOML is undeniably a more sophisticated and culturally impactful production, I found the pacing and the narrative approach suffocating. Even though it is less well written and not that original, The Rise of Ning is a more enjoyable watch overall. The biggest difference for me is Shenyuan is more interesting, better written, better portrayed and more empathetic than the male lead in SOML. Zhang Wanyi never disappoints in delivering yet another immersive and complex portrayal of this seemingly mild mannered and humble unfavored son with hidden depths. His strength is in being too casually overlooked and underestimated by his enemies. The story's biggest drawback is the romance is held back for so long that Zhang Wanyi and Ren Min's chemistry as a couple is under-explored.

Even though the narrative does incorporate a few interesting and new ideas, they are not fleshed out properly and are bogged down by lazy writing, shallow character designs and logic that does not hold up to close scrutiny. The main romance is weighed down by the fact that Yining and Shenyuan remain "siblings" for almost three quarters of the drama. I understand this was so she could remain in the Luo mansion but I think that the truth should have been revealed to both Shenyuan and Yining at the same time. They could keep it from everyone else while they try to solve the mystery of her mother's death and figure out who she really is. This would allow their romance to progress earlier on in the storyline and not leave the audience with such an entrenched impression of their chemistry as siblings. Another better approach could have been to skip the boring, tropey harem squabble arcs and move up the reveal because the characters in the Wei manor are more original and engaging. This would have also allowed a fuller development of Yining's relationship with Wei Ying, who is such a fantastic and memorable character who is both funny and moving at the same time. None of the women in this drama, nasty or nice, are prone to shrill, ear-piercing screeching, which was what I found most off-putting about SOML. In fact the smart, sassy and sarcastic Lin Hairu is one of my favorite characters and a huge upgrade from SOML.

Even though I enjoyed Ren Min's charming portrayal of Yining, her acting is still a work in progress. Her lines are too tentative and lack the depth of expression needed to capture the maturity, sensibility and intelligence of the character. Her voice is so distinctive that I also didn't for one moment buy it that Lu Jiaxue did not instantly recognise her as Meimei. I think she could have credibly dubbed herself as Meimei but when she grows up to become Yining, a more nuanced professional voice actor should have taken over. Her character is also not that consistently written. She indulged in a reckless and inappropriate dalliance with a much older man but showed enough good sense not to tell him who she really was. It is a relationship that mortifies and haunts her and when she encounters him again, she clearly fears and loathes him. What is not well conveyed is how he may have still occupied a space in her heart. This didn't come out until the end; which made me wonder why she never gave Lu Jiaxue a chance to clear up the misunderstanding or severe past ties with him neatly. The way she handled the situation was very immature and not like the Yining who faces her problems calmly and frankly. As a result, she never gave him or herself closure and in this, she was also not fair to Shenyuan.

As a villain, Ci Sha's portrayal of Lu Jiaxue deserves top marks. He was almost too powerful, seemed to answer to no one and was able to walk prisoners in and out of jail and cut down his enemies in plain sight. He was so intensely menacing and brutal that every time he showed up, my throat went dry and I felt a knot of fear in the pit of my stomach. But the character is too one dimensional and not well written. It is difficult to reconcile such a heavy handed portrayal of an irredeemably cruel and callous bad guy with someone even a pubescent Yining could have fallen for. It is equally disturbing and difficult to understand a grown man's obsession such a very young and very naive girl. The "she's not into you anymore" trope is one that should win audience sympathy because it is much easier to get over unrequited love than it is once-requited love. However, the portrayal of Lu Jiaxue as a love rival missed the mark and completely alienated me. It was nothing short of offensive to watch him paw Yining and manhandle her time after time. That is not the way to woo a girl, nor is openly trying to kill her favorite brother! These are not the actions of a character that is allegedly cunning, manipulative and smart. I would have liked to see a more multi-faceted, subtle and refined love rival, one that actually is a credible challenger instead of one that is so obviously beyond redemption. This tiresome obsession went on for too long and overshadowed the development of Yining's feelings for Shenyuan.

Even though the plot builds to a satisfying ending climax, I rolled my eyes at how how the final episodes descended into a Phantom of the Opera like theatrics. I didn't think Lu Jiaxue got his just deserts and found everyone's willingness to forgive baffling and out of character. But overall the storytelling and pacing was consistent and engaging throughout and the supporting cast really pulled their weight. I enjoyed the second couple and many characters beyond the leads. Overall a very solid and entertaining watch that I rate 8.0/10.0.

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