PeachBlossomGoddess

All the world's a stage.

The Double is a dark and melodramatic soap opera about revenge and regret. It is a soap opera to end all soap operas in terms of high theatrics, spinning hussies, piercing death glares, shocking twists and the sweet, savage satisfaction of retribution. To best enjoy this, don't look too hard at it as the narrative is littered with logic and plot holes and absurdly dramatic, historically impossible scenes. The male lead Duke Su flirts with breaking the fourth wall repeatedly to urge us to just watch the play, a reminder that all the world's a stage and we should just suspend disbelief.

Xue Fangfei, the most elegant and cultured lady in the capital, is cruelly betrayed and dumped in a shallow grave. She is rescued by Jiang Li, the Chancellor's daughter who is wrongly condemned and banished by her family to a convent. Fangfei assumes Jiang Li's identity and returns to the capital; vowing to clear both their names and make their enemies pay. She is aided by the enigmatic and powerful Duke Su who helps her because she intrigues him and could prove useful to him down the road. The romance that develops between them unfolds at a leisurely pace as they each have high stakes agendas that predictably converge.

Duke Su must be be every scorned woman's ultimate fantasy "consolation" prize. This magnificent specimen of manhood is highly born, tall, dark, handsome, powerful, and with a diabolical mind to match Xue Fangfei's. The icing on the cake is this sexy beast that wields a fan more effectively than a sword does not come saddled with nasty in-laws. Wang Xingyue's potent portrayal of Duke Su is spot on from the tinge of humor that belies his stern expression, his double entendre laced dialogues to how in unguarded moments his eyes devour Xue Fangfei with almost indecent longing. Despite the seductive build up and combustive chemistry between the main leads, the ultimate pay-off to their slow burn courtship falls far short of wild and wicked and only delivers a chaste candle-gate moment.

Even though I shipped Duke Su and Xue Fangfei immediately, I appreciate how Fangfei takes the time to rage, to mourn her loss and to get closure so that she can properly move on. To me, Wu Jinyan obviously looks older than Wang Xingyue, butI think this casting makes sense. Xue Fangfei is a woman who lost everything; her reputation, her lover, her entire family. That kind of shocking devastation would age anyone tremendously and Wu Jinyan's ravaged, strained and wild wide-eyed expression in the early episodes is brilliantly in character. The narrative does not shy away from presenting her marriage as one that had depth and substance. Thus they are still in perfect unison when they play their haunting duet; a song of profound loss, resentment and regret. Wu Jinyan plays the avenging angel so perfectly I got unholy enjoyment out of watching Shen Yurong squirm knowing that Xue Fangfei, who knows him better than he knows himself, is coming for him.

Shen Yurong is a character that I find hard to be that angry with because as it turns out, his perfidy results in such a massive upgrade for Xue Fangfei. Liang Yongqi really slays in this complex role of a promising, rising young official who catches the eye of the wrong woman and ends up betraying his ideals. He is quite a pitiful creature who trades in domestic bliss for living dangerously at the beck and call of an abusive, insecure and bat-shit crazy spinning shrew that his own dear mother pimps him out to. I can't decide if I pity him or despise him more. Because in truth, he already lost the moment he chose to betray his muse and the love of his life. The moment of peak retribution is when it dawns upon him what a prize he lost and is forced to face the limits of his own character. I thoroughly enjoyed how the narrative peels away the many layers of hypocrisy, ambition, sophistry and duplicity to reveal a weak, impotent coward who lacked the courage of his convictions. To me, this is the most complex and best acted role in this drama.

Even though I have high praise for Li Meng's portrayal of the deranged Wanning, I have little sympathy for this character or her shocking villain origin story. Victimhood does not entitle her to help herself to someone else's husband or kill with such impunity. When she had power and free will, she chose to be King Cheng's pawn, no one forced her. Likewise, I have no sympathy for Ji Shuran or her choices. In general, I dislike these attempts to whitewash villains or somehow rationalize their wicked ways. Bad stuff happened to Xue Fangfei and Jiang Li as well. But they looked for justice without turning into monsters as a result. While Xue Fangfei's revenge, if you can even call it that is very satisfying, Jiang Li's left me feeling bereft. Ultimately Xue Fangfei is a character that lost nothing and gained everything. It is Jiang Li who is truly the injured party and even though she is vindicated, all the king's horses and all the king's men can't put her together again.

Despite the addictive start, this drama loses momentum by episode 30. The storytelling lingers too long on weakest Jiang family plots arcs. They are boring and unoriginal, borrowing heavily from what were also weak arcs in Princess Weiyoung. Jiang Li's cousins are archetypal characters that were not complicit in Jiang Shuran's treachery. I find it unfathomable the drama chose to focus on their tawdry squabble over a callow rogue instead of uncovering the many layers of the far more fascinating Duke Su. As a result, this character with so much early promise ends up not as well developed as Shen Yurong and Wanning. To add insult to the injury, almost as an after thought, he is featured front and center in a baffling truncated half episode final arc that serves up gratuitous angst and some unearned and unjustified pin-cushioning of good characters. It is nothing short of a grift to squeeze money from viewers for a mundane glimpse of domestic bliss. As far as I am concerned this drama ends where it should a bit past the halfway point of the final episode. All the rest is dross.

This is a super addictive soap opera that doesn't hold up under close scrutiny. Where it excels is in serving up high drama and angst with super cool and satisfying but absurd vignettes that don't necessarily advance the plot. Nonetheless I was happy to rate this better than 8.5 until it started to sag and waffled into a lame and wishy washy ending that leaves me no choice but to call it an 8.0/10.0.

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Just Say No.

This is not an easy drama to watch. It shines an unflinching spotlight on the unchecked, oppressive soft power of the uber rich and how society and by extension the legal system holds victims to an impossible standard of perfection. The narrative opens with a married, high powered CEO Cheng Gong caught in flagrante delicto with his assistant Zhao Xun, after an inebriated night of corporate entertainment. The media is at the scene and a full blown scandal ensues with dire consequences for both parties. Cheng Gong's team of fixers led by his relentless public relations executive Li Yi and a sharp lawyer Lin Kan swoop in immediately to understand and contain the situation.

As the facts emerge, it becomes clear that Cheng Gong and Zhao Xun remember the night very differently and the situation devolves quickly into "he said she said". Zhao Xun is a mass of contradictions who struggles to understand her own version of the truth, which obviously does not square with Cheng Gong's. Both parties are victims that are damaged by the fallout and they each believe in their own version of the truth, which the drama explores in a very balanced way. The key question is does silence mean consent? This should be straightforward - she can just say no. She could have and should have done just that. Lin Yun delivers a heartbreakingly convincing articulation of just how difficult, near impossible it is for someone in Zhao Xun's position to do that in the face of the massively uneven power dynamics between herself and Cheng Gong. Her downfall was foreshadowed long before her failure to speak up at the point of no return. She was doomed from the moment he saw her, wanted her and tempted her with fast advancement, the material trappings of wealth and the heady mix of the power of the executive suite. She was complicit and she loathed herself for it. Yet I felt real sorry for her and I understood why she felt wronged. While most praise Zhou Xun's portrayal of Lin Kan, for me Lin Yun as Zhao Xun was the outstanding performance. She made me deeply empathise with this young, flawed, inconsistent, movingly vulnerable and imperfectly human character that struggles to find her voice.

Even though Liu Yijun always delivers, he takes it to the next level with his mesmerising portrayal of a sociopathic like Cheng Gong who believes that everyone has a price and how ruthlessly and manipulatively he wields his power to get his way. His sense of entitlement, utter lack of self awareness and inability to grasp how disconnected he is from common humanity and decency is scary and pathetic. As for Zhou Xun, her Lin Kan is a shark with a bottom line. Her skilled probing questions delivered with a sharp, liquid and searching gaze and her calm, dispassionate and and incisive legal analysis enunciated in her deep, rich and deliberate voice is superb. Her mature, confident beauty and elegant and nuanced empathic line delivery has taken viewers by storm. Only a phenomenal veteran cast like this can deliver such convincing, multi-faceted and realistic portrayals.

The drama's strongest arc is the opening - it made me very sad and very, very angry at pretty much every main character. This kind of story however is difficult to end in a good and realistic way. I think this would be a better if it were shorter as the drama's core message that women need to find their voice and that an imperfect victim is still a victim hits home early on. I didn't think Lin Kan's "Me Too" arc is necessary and it doesn't quite come off the right way how a stronger character succumbs to the same temptations yet manages to emerge largely unscathed albeit scarred nonetheless. I also don't like how Lin Kan is written overall notwithstanding Zhou Xun's charismatic acting. It would have been better if Lin Kan chose sides early in the game and was pitted against Li Yi or her mentor early on rather than making her all things to all people. This results in too many conflicts of interest that are just glossed over. Despite her alleged bottom line, Lin Kan appears unscrupulous in how close she gets to Zhao Xun. It is also not realistic that Zhao Xun never seeks her own legal advice. Finally, the way Lin Kan prevails using information she obtained while acting for the other side is just plain wrong and practically impossible.

The drama literally and figuratively goes off a cliff in a way that makes the last third of it a less convincing watch. It doesn't make sense that a smart and manipulative character like Cheng Gong continues to go persecute Zhao Xun after she becomes so wretched and pitiful. It is just a contrived way to force an ending message that in China, even imperfect victims can find their voice via the justice system. My biggest issue with the story however is that the worst, most vile character is a woman who enabled Cheng Gong and victimised Zhao Xun just as much if not more. She shows no remorse and there are no true consequences for her. This aspect of the ending deeply disappointed me; I needed to see her confronted and at least punched in the face! Despite her superb visual composition style, storytelling wise Yang Yang proves once again her inability to wrap up the narrative while she is ahead. Nonetheless, the first half or so of this drama tackles some heartbreaking and controversial issues masterfully and is worthy of an 8.5. Unfortunately the writing doesn't hold up and it nosedives into an 8.0 towards the end and that is my overall rating. It is still worth watching when you are in the mood for a thought provoking drama that closely resembles a recent real case with all around amazing acting.

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Sleeping with the enemy.

This drama weaves some of the most prominent historical figures of China's Three Kingdoms period into a fabulous and exciting tale of intrigue, adventure, and romance reminiscent of a Dumas plot. This is a highly fictionalized yet disarmingly convincing exploration of the motives and relationships of the key figures of the day that manages to stay broadly true to history.

The last Han emperor has a secret that could shake the foundations of the empire and shatter his tenuous hold on power. Aided by a small intimate circle that includes the empress, his boyhood friend Sima Yi and a dwindling number of old Han ministers, he embarks on a desperate quest to escape the clutches of Cao Cao and restore the glory and power of the Han empire. But the cruel strategies and sacrifices needed are at odds with his benevolent nature and inclination to show mercy to his enemies. Ma Tianyu impressively pulls off a complex portrayal of this seemingly weak and powerless emperor who frustratingly sticks to his guns against all odds to ultimately succeed in winning the hearts and minds of his enemies with his enlightenment and magnanimity. It is very clear that the emperor and the notorious Cao Cao have very similar world visions and goals but their methods are extreme opposites - one rules by fear and sheer brute force while the other kills you with his kindness. Both are pragmatic and when the rubber meets the road, have little choice but to sleep with the enemy in order to achieve the outcomes they are after. We get to decide for ourselves who was more effective, who really won their epic struggle for power and whether it was worth it.

There are no real villains in this drama - even the emperor's enemies are portrayed in a very balanced manner though it is fair to say that the so called villains out-acted the heroes. Guo Jia is my favorite character in the drama - I often found myself rooting for him and oddly moved by his and Cao Cao's loyalty and affection for each other. And Tse Kwanho's Cao Cao must be by far the best Cao Cao I have ever seen - so cunning, powerful and menacing I was actually scared of him. Some of the most gripping and intense scenes in this drama are when Cao Cao and the emperor go toe to toe. My one big criticism of this drama is Han Dongjun's Sima Yi is shallow, boastful and unemphatic. For a highly rated actor to miss the mark on such a key character is just not acceptable. While some of the bromance moments with the emperor are decent, most of the time he is not in character and does not convincingly pull off the legendary strategist. Cao Pi is also extremely well acted but overshadowed by all the other outstanding performances. There is quite a bit of sizzling romance this drama, notably that of the emperor and empress as well as Guo Jia's but Sima Yi's was just kind of flat.

This drama is full of suspenseful moments and action as danger lurks around every corner. The second arc however is a bit draggy and requires some suspension of disbelief but that is also where the awesome Guo Jia emerges so don't abandon it there.

I will stop here and keep this short as it would be a crying shame to spoil this one. I highly recommend this very enjoyable and under appreciated drama that I would rate higher if not for Sima Yi

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Demon in red.

Zhao Yao is a fun fantasy love xanxia drama where both leads belong to the dark or demon sect. The unconventional "good vs evil" plot challenges the idea of what is "good" and what is "evil" as the good guys are really the bad guys in this drama. The best thing about this drama is the sizzling chemistry between the two leads. What totally really drags it down is that it is littered with fillers - it should at best a 30-40 episode drama. That made me grumpy and is the main reason for the less high rating.

Zhaoyao (Bai Lu) the female lead is an unapologetic bad-ass she devil who falls for the Demon King's son Moqing/Li Chenlan (Xu Kai). Li Chenlan is imprisoned by his father until he can free him from the powerful evil demon force within him. Zhaoyao is raised in solitude by her grandfather; it is their sacred duty to guard Chenlan until the Demon King returns. Led by the powerful immortal Luo Mingxuan, the righteous sects decide to preemptively kill Chenlan before he can wreak devastation on the world. Instead, they accidentally free Chenlan and an injured Mingxuan is rescued by Zhaoyao, who becomes infatuated by his chivalry and righteousness. She is outraged when she discovers his plans to kill Chenlan and boldly rescues him, earning his undying love in the process. She is captured and tortured by the thwarted Mingxuan and her freedom comes at a devastating personal price. Enraged and disillusioned, Zhaoyao forms and builds up her own formidable Wanlu Sect that wreaks havoc on Mingxuan and his "righteous" sects and protects those persecuted by them.

While recovering a legendary sword, Chenlan accidentally releases a deadly force that kills Zhaoyao. Boy is she pissed!!! She returns as an angry, vengeful but much weakened spirit that is hell bent on killing Chenlan dead. By then, Chenlan is practically invincible and it further incenses her to discover he has taken over as the leader of the Wanlu sect. This man enjoys living dangerously - he is so besotted with Zhaoyao that he is amused by and even welcomes her efforts to alternately kill and/or seduce him. The best moments are all centered around their occasionally funny and wholly adorable interactions. He is totally putty in her hands and cannot deny even her most dangerous requests. The sparks literally fly between them and their body language and obvious affection for each other is mesmerizing. All the early to middle episodes of them falling in love were the best and totally re-watchable. Bai Lu's Zhaoyao is just simply phenomenal - she is fiery, fearless, impetuous, occasionally wicked and completely bewitching. She also really brings out the best in all of her co-stars. However, outside of Bai Lu and Xu Kai, the cast is rather dull and didn't to engage me. Two of the other main female characters have a tendency to wail, which always has me scrambling for the fast forward/mute button. Sigh! When will they get it that wailing, whiny and noisy female characters are a nuisance?

The second female lead in this drama plays Qin Zhiyan (Yan Xiao), whose body Zhaoyao shares in the first half of the show while she tries to reclaim her own. The two are polar opposites yet form a strong and cute friendship. I wasn't wowed by Yan Xiao's overall performance, she got too much airtime in the first 20+ episodes that her cuteness turned into boring/whiny. The editing is sloppy - it jumps ahead, flashes back and in some cases explains what happens much later. I would rewind thinking I missed something that gets explained much later on - like how Mingxuan was out of the blue in a sealed state by Zhaoyao. I have FOMO so I hate fast forwarding but there were too many flashbacks and boring conversations between the righteous sects. Both the female and male love rivals were total cliches - they each sought to win Chenlan/Zhaoyao's love by killing off their rival. Wow -such a time tested losing and deranged strategy. The other main antagonist Jiangwu was an immature and swaggering pest until he redeemed himself slightly at the end. There are also a bunch of forgettable side love stories. The pace overall is painfully slow.

This drama went downhill toward the end. It didn't help that they randomly (and unnecessarily) killed off secondary characters. The ending was a bit rushed, garbled, messily executed and a bit wishy-washy when it could have and should have finished very strong. What is truly baffling is the countless wasted filler moments that could have been cut so that the ending could have been done properly.

I still recommend this but wouldn't bother to watch the whole thing. It wouldn't be a bad idea to drop it after Zhaoyao and Chenlan get together somewhere in the early 40s. Fast forward with impunity every time one of the two excellent main leads is not on. I will be looking out for more dramas with them (together would be great) and especially Bai Lu.

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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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Catch me if you can!

Thirteen Years of Dust is the best Light On/Mist Theatre suspense thriller iQiyi has released since The Bad Kids and The Long Night in 2020. This tightly written mystery cum police procedural is gripping from the start. An eerily staged crime scene reminds Lu Xingzhi of a serial killer that had terrorised Nandu thirteen years ago, when he was just a rookie detective. Starting with his mentor Wei Zhengrong, he gets the old investigative team that had profiled and hunted the killer back together again. They have unfinished business to get down to. Thus begins a thrilling chase for the long hidden killer who seems to be taunting them, "Catch me if you can!"

The way the narrative unfolds in parallel between the present and the past is mesmerising and immediately made me invested in the main characters, including potential antagonists. In the present, the characters are older yet wear unmistakeable vestiges of the past that make them seem still touchingly familiar. We see what they were like juxtaposed against what they have become. This invokes a haunting sense of nostalgia over what was lost and what could have been. This captures the essence of what made CBS's Cold Case one of my favorite police procedural series. Wei Zhengrong seems the most markedly affected. In sharp contrast to the rather rough, dismissive, and bitingly cynical cop in his prime, he becomes a muted, wiser and oddly broken shadow of his former self. Lu Xingzhi on the other hand has delivered on his early promise and come into his own but his family life is disrupted.

Chen Jianbin and Chen Xiao anchor the stellar cast in this production. Both are charismatic and convincing actors with such incredible chemistry that it evolves to reflect the passage of time. They each subtly take on some of the other's traits thirteen years later, indicating how deeply they influenced one another. It is not easy to play characters that have aged and changed over thirteen years, yet remain essentially that character. Beyond both leads, every main character in each of the many cases delivers riveting portrayals of both their younger and older selves. This brought the victims to life through the eyes of people who knew them, loved them, feared them, envied them and may very well have killed them! The side story that moved me most was that of the gangster and the dancer.

The plot is very well designed and is a lot more whodunit than howdunit. It is set in a time when use of forensic technology was nascent and primitive. So the cases had to be approached the good old fashioned way of narrowing down suspects to who had motive, means and opportunity. The evidence and clues are all presented in an even handed manner; there is no attempt to hide anything from the viewer. From early on, the audience has enough clues to credibly build a case around at least two suspects at any given time. While the solution is not a huge surprise as the killer is well concealed but far from invisible, it still comes with a decent twist. It is a surprisingly dark story with a chilling ending for a c-drama. The production maintains an unsettling tension of a disturbing and menacing presence throughout. If I have to criticise, the staged crime scenes are a bit pretentious and the explanation of the painting and its significance is on the weak side although it just passes muster.

Overall, this is a well written and nicely executed crime thriller that will satisfy exacting crime buffs. A highly recommended watch that I rate 8.5/10.0.

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Sing a Song of Six Spies.

This is a lively, intriguing and exciting romp into the murky world of espionage during the Northern Song period. The various subplots of this drama delve into the counter-intelligence activities of six, young and budding Song spies as they work to undermine Song's arch enemies Liao and Xia. This under appreciated drama carries the hallmark witty dialogue, creativity and manifold twists that made Joy of Life such a huge hit, albeit with lower budget and a young cast.

Sing a Song of six spies
A pocket full of lies
Four and twenty black deeds
Faked by a Xia

Six young and promising individuals from vastly different backgrounds are recruited and undergo intensive training at a top secret spy academy. The morally ambivalent Yuan Zhongxin is cunning, cynical and diabolical; the perfect anti-hero in the high stakes world of double agents, conflicting loyalties and multiple betrayals. He is only bested by the fiery and badass Zhao Jian and together, they make a formidable pair. Although Zhao Jian comes off as arrogant and almost dislikable in the beginning, she is a rare strong female character whose desire to be relevant resonates from the get go. Along with the chivalrous Wang Kuan, who is pretty much 11th century google, Zhongxin, Zhao Jian and Wang Kuan are the brains of this outfit of six young spies. The well connected and commercial Wei Yanei alternately bullies or buys them out of trouble while the lethal Xue Ying more than pulls his weight in any skirmish. The disarmingly innocent Xiao Jing is the glue that binds this talented team together. Their goofy antics, youthful idealism, courage and sheer brilliance under pressure shines a bright light into the dark world of spooks and war hawks to whom the ends justify the means.

The rapport and camaraderie between this ensemble cast and how they grow to trust each other and learn from each other is the best thing about this drama. In each arc, one or two characters gets fleshed out and dimensioned - we get to see their home, family, who they care about. The character building is achieved via clever dialogue and suspenseful or action oriented moments that lapse unexpectedly into comedy before transitioning back seamlessly into the previous moment. The characters have unique shared experiences with each other, giving them individualized rapports and further deepening and dimensioning the team dynamics. I watched this right after Imperial Coroner and I cannot help but notice how uncannily similar Xiao Jing/Wang Kuan are to Chuchu/Prince An in terms of archetype. The big difference however is that in Young Blood, both characters grow and develop and they seem more real and fit in naturally with their team.

Most of the danger laden missions or arcs are creatively written and laced with the right mix of action, intrigue, comedy, romance, tragedy and of course betrayal. The superb subplots overflow with richly dimensioned characters - there are so many fantastic grey characters from villains, to rival spies and would be friends were it not for the different loyalties. There are few easy wins for our spy team as they are engaging with smart characters who are consummate liars that can (and do) beat them at their own game. In the last two arcs however, the writing did fall down somewhat. The writer seems unable to stop himself from overindulging in too many twists and surprise about faces. I did not appreciate how some of the smart characters got noticeably dumbed down in order to extend the plot or force additional twists. That said, the ending was good, tying up most loose ends but the end bit was a bit messy obviously to leave the door open for Season 2, which has since been announced. The strong performances, the richness in the characters and the team makes Season 2 a no brainer in terms of something I look forward to watching. Even if it doesn't materialize however, the ending can be considered satisfactory and conclusive. I give this super enjoyable watch a 9.0 although it should be between 8.5 and 9.0 or a 8.75.

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Identity Theft.

Here we go again - yet another ill-fated master disciple relationship! This starts predictably with a jinxed mortal Wei Zhi barely squeaking through into the prestigious Egret Academy. There her astounding lack of talent catches the attention and empathy of her master, Yan Yue. He is an immortal sent to discover and vanquish the remnant of the phoenix bloodline that is a threat to the Three Realms. You would never guess who the hidden phoenix is or that this cold faced inheritor of the realms falls in love with his enemy?!?

Within a tired and tropey premise, the plot design of Beauty of Resilience is actually pretty good with some interesting and innovative takes. I found the Egret Academy's challenge arc to be very enjoyable in a way reminiscent of the Triwizard competition in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. And I was intrigued by the mysterious Zihua Book Pavilion and its Shylock like master who extracts his pound of flesh. I also like that the Heavenly Empress is not just a decorative vase but has a rather important function as the mistress of time. Even the concept of Hua Rong is fresh and mysterious. Yet these ideas just don't quite come together in a good way in terms of plot and character progression.

Indifferent character blueprints, mis-cast roles and uninspired portrayals are this drama's weakest features. While Guo Junchen's portrayals of multiple roles is technically faultless, he is not given much to work with. Yan Yue is just a cardboard xianxia archetype. He only gets to shine briefly as the morally conflicted Chen Yan and in his darker personas but enough to impress as a diverse young actor. He and Ju Jingyi look fantastic together and they actually have decent chemistry. While her acting here is more nuanced, Ju Jingyi, once again delivers the same old vapid, completely indistinguishable portrayal that is her comfort zone. This is compounded by her default styling with atrocious Persian princess head gear and heavy handed and unflattering eye makeup that makes her look like she just waltzes from one set to another. She actually has excellent comedic timing which sadly this humourless script gives her no chance to showcase. Mu Nan is the only engaging and empathetic character but is sadly matched up with the most tedious and mis-cast role. And that is just the tip of the ice berg in terms of how shabbily the writers treat him.

The supporting roles are one dimensional and the cast lacks experience, chemistry and rapport. Everyone is obviously acting and their relationships and interactions are so forced I couldn't engage with or care for any of them. There were way too many identity thefts going on where even the lead actors in the swapped roles are unconvincing as the characters whose identities they stepped into. It was so bad at times it was kind of funny. The villains are quite obvious from the beginning and they weren't satisfactorily dealt with. One of them perished so quickly I literally blinked and missed it. I went episodes thinking they were lurking for the right moment to pop out again. My hope for a satisfyingly long, painful and drawn out demise was never met.

This drama's strongest arcs are the early ones that take place in the mortal realm. After that the drama loses momentum and gets more ridiculous as it progresses. The ending however is quite original and quite cool but was so rushed and poorly executed that it took awhile for what actually happened to sink in. I would say this is something that you could watch up until the wedding in the second arc, skip all the messy and time wasting latter arcs and you'd still end up in the same place. The early arcs were a watchable 7.0/7.5 for me but I'd at most rate the latter arcs 5.0 for an overall rating of 6.0. Watch at your own risk.

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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.







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The Dark Side of the Moon.

This drama is about how a power couple that is well matched in terms of cunning, ambition and capability scale the upper echelons of banking and finance during 1930s Shanghai. The narrative vividly captures the wild, morally ambiguous, highly speculative, wheeling and dealing nature of the mafia dominated banking and finance industries during that early period of industrialisation.

Cheng Yizhi is a scrappy, enterprising, self educated young orphan with a knack for numbers and finance who is raised by a kindly shopkeeper. He starts out in a lowly position at a bank but his talent propels his rapid advancement to become the protege of banking magnate Huang Ruhong. Wu Lizi is the pampered daughter of a distinguished banker whose world falls apart when her father is framed and commits suicide. Hell bent on revenge, she marries Yizhi and ruthlessly uses his access to banking circles to investigate her father's downfall. Mutual lack of communication and a terrible, irreversible decision by Lizi ruins their marriage but leads to a very rewarding business partnership where they build a bank together.

Wu Lizi is one of the most selfish, devious, manipulative, ruthless and utterly charming female protagonists I have come across. It is such a treat to get complex and fascinating female characters like Lizi. That is why I kept watching this even though at one point I was enraged and disappointed to the point of almost dropping. I still don't like how they wrote Lizi to lash out so viciously and vindictively with such heavy consequences but I am glad I kept going because she really moved me with her stoic remorse and acceptance later on. Even though there were some rough edges to Cai Weijing's performance, overall she is tough, willful, curiously vulnerable and so charismatic that I could literally see how she tied Yizhi, Charlie and Xu Du up into knots emotionally.

Zhang Xincheng delivered a most excellent performance in this drama as Cheng Yizhi, a cynical character that well understands the dark side of the moon due to his upbringing on the rough side of town. So he is the ultimate nemesis of dark characters like Huang Ruhong because he can get into their heads and narrowly manages to stay one step head of them. In sharp contrast, he seeks the light in all of his dealings and finances some of the most promising industrialists of the day. At the onset Yizhi goes toe to toe with crooked businessmen and corrupt politicians with equally scheming and wily tactics. But as the story advances and his dark secrets are revealed, the character is whitewashed and becomes too perfect, so understanding with such shiny plated plot armor that I had to roll my eyes. I needed more flaws or to see him be a little bit petty or selfish and to play dirty sometimes. Instead Charlie, a far more interesting and lovable character rises to the occasion to do all the slightly shady things that need to be done in order to stymie their unscrupulous rivals. Nonetheless the lead couple has superb chemistry and the way their relationship blossoms from mistrust and suspicion into an incredible partnership on multiple levels is one of the drama's strengths.

The business subplots are quite interesting, well written and the financial concepts are kept at a simple enough level for laymen. The characters however are less well written and notably Lizi, is not consistently written. For such a smart character she does some retarded things that can only be put down to sloppy writing. Huang Ruhong's somewhat creepy and unfathomable hard on for Yizhe is also unconvincing and not in character for the leader of the criminal underworld. Indeed the true love triangle in this drama is the one between Ruhong, Yizhe and Lizi. This was such a promising antagonist at the start but gets sidelined as the ending arc digresses into yet another patriotic fight the Japanese invaders plot. I would have preferred to see a more satisfying cat and mouse takedown of this smart antagonist play out properly. Towards the later episodes, many key characters are gratuitously killed off to squeeze out the obligatory tears expected of a Republican period drama. This backfires as I only felt very sad for two of the deaths which only highlights that the other characters were two dimensional ones that I never got invested in.

There are many enjoyable and unique aspects to this drama that make it worth watching even though it falls down on messy plot, sloppy character writing and a lame ending arc. Charlie was my favorite character and his wit, style and wisdom saved the show. Overall this is just a 7.5 for me despite strong acting by the leads. And MVP Charlie (Wang Zijian).

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在下晴明 - Qingming is in the house.

在下晴明
Yes! Yes! YES!!!
Qingming is in the house!!!

That is THE most striking difference between Yin Yang Master and Dream of Eternity, where I was like - Huh?...what??? Detective Dee?? Where is Qingming??? Where oh where is my yin yang master? THE Yin Yang Master? And in this Chen Kun just delivers the wickedly enigmatic and alluring essence of Qingming, a diabolically powerful, magical, misunderstood half human half demon that walks the world in between.

This version of Yin Yang Master's plot is much simpler and thus, better executed. It hones in on the life and death bond between a demon familiar shi shen/侍神 and their master zhu ren/住人. Falsely accused, half human, half demon Qingming is estranged from his zhu ren Baini and the Yin Yang Bureau. They reunite in a desperate attempt to recover an artefact that can set a powerful demon free; a quest that tests and lays bare their true loyalties and exposes past betrayals. Chen Kun and Zhao Xun's chemistry never fails to thrill, captivate and move me and they effortlessly convince me of their life and death bond. What I also love is that Qingming is not just uselessly waving his hands in the air reciting incomprehensible incantations. He really jumps into the thick of the fray in a way that leaves no doubt that he is in it to win it. In every life endangering encounter there is that nail biting sense of urgency, intensity and imminent peril. This fantasy world with its human and demon yao/妖 inhabitants has a very adorable, young adult and enthrallingly magical feel to it. In many ways, it captures the essence of Disney in that it speaks to two audiences both kids and adults with its clear message that both humans and demons can be monsters.

The only thing I really did not enjoy in this movie were the second leads - both actors were juvenile and did not deserve the screen time that they got. The animated characters like the Evil Red Ghost and side characters like the Peach Blossom Fairy were far more compelling and managed to capture my heart over those two jokers.

Overall this was a very entertaining movie - Chen Kun fans like myself will obviously be able to find many things to like and I can see kids just absolutely loving it. I rate it 7.5.

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How to train your dragon koi.

This rom com xianxia is a barrel of laughs. It is about an ancient spirit dragon Tian Yao who falls for the wrong woman, a rancid Taoist harpy called Su Ying. She steals the guileless Tian Yao's heart and scales at the altar, dismembers him and stashes his core magical parts in different directions. A shadow of his former self, he encounters a dauntless, money loving, ousted Taoist disciple Yan Hui. They form an uneasy alliance that subjects the embittered Tian Yao to the indignity of becoming her demon familiar, a dragon koi. His plight wins Yan Hui's empathy and she vows to help him recover his shards. She soon discovers that learning how train your dragon koi is an arduous and dangerous task. Despite his deceptively benign appearance of an odd hybrid of koi, deer, pony and dragon, Tian Yao is a very dangerous creature. Apart from having deadly taste in women and friends, he also has a nasty habit of stabbing first and asking questions later.

The interference of a mysterious shadow cupid Bai Xiaosheng comically advances their romance until the enabler turns into an obstructor. It is pretty much three's company as they go on many adventures, picking up lifelong friends along the way. Despite some run-of-the mill xianxia tropes and cardboardl villains, the friendships and adventures shine and are the high points of the drama.

Zhou Ye again proves her mettle as one of the most promising young actors out there. Her Yan Hui is spellbinding. She infuses the role with that effervescent joie de vivre and passionate idealism of youth that inevitably eludes older, perhaps lovelier and more seasoned actors. She looks shockingly good with Hou Minghao, whose acting is to say the least, a work in progress. But dang, he is so drop dead gorgeous that I barely register that he looks constipated at the most inappropriate moments. In some ways, his casting is brilliant as a rather uncomplicated and overly good character that loves and hates with equal ferocity. After all, dragons, kois, ponies, deers are all creatures with bigger hearts than brains. So he does some really (let's admit it) not smart things but he is so pure hearted it's almost impossible to fault him. Notwithstanding some acting rough spots, this splendid pairing had me rooting hard for them all the way.

As for the plot, its biggest criticism is that it strays from the original beloved novel in some unforgivable ways in terms of both Yan Hui and Tian Yao's characterisations. I didn't read the novel so I won't opine on that. What I can observe is this drama hooked me from the start despite the low budget and the somewhat cartoonish CGI with phenomenal storytelling. I loved Bai Xiaosheng and found him to be a wickedly good accretive addition to the original story. Unfortunately, about halfway through the characterisations of Bai Xiaosheng and Tian Yao take an abrupt nosedive. It is as if a different writer took over and defaulted into the worst, laziest tropes out there. Although the narrative recovers from a massive hiccup in the middle, it falls well short of the beginning momentum. The writer failed to capitalised on such a fresh and unusual character such as Bai Xiaosheng and turns him into a tired trope that gets sidelined toward the end. Nonetheless Wang Yilun is hugely entertaining in this role and though not as pretty, he is incredibly charming and out acted Hou Minghao. As for how Tian Yao's character is assassinated, I have no words and although he more or less redeems himself, I wish they had not gone there. I am told Yan Hui is also diminished in this adaptation but as far as I am concerned, she is perfect in her imperfections. She elevates Tian Yao to the extent, that I can forgive his character's stumbles in the middle.

While I enjoyed this drama from start to finish, there are too many shallow sub-plots in the latter half and the theme of love obsession is over-exploited. The ultimate antagonist had repetitive indifferently narrated motivators that while hateful enough, lacked depth and complexity. In fact, Su Ying was a more interesting villain than the final boring mastermind who is just beyond meh in terms of motivation, acting and complexity. Overall, this is a humorously told story that re-hashes well explored xianxia themes with no profound new revelations. Indeed the underlying substance, emotion and message of the original works is perceptible but is neglected and abused in the telling. I had big fun and many laughs with this drama but I can see how it missed the opportunity to be a whole lot more and can only rate it 8.0/10.0. I may have gone with an 8.5 had they rolled out Hou Minghao in that spectacular white wig earlier on in the drama.

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Fantastic appetizer but don't bother with the main course and desert.

This drama really wowed me at the beginning - heart stopping kungfu fight scenes, the two leads had good banter and chemistry, the set was gorgeous (obviously big budget) and the story had a good balance of intrigue, romance, action and good and evil characters. I was hooked and truly enjoyed the first 25-30 episodes of it. Then just when you are at the point of addiction, the show peaks, which is just plain cruel. And then in a truly impressive way the show crashes and burns, getting progressively worse as it advances. I kept watching in the desperate hope that it would turn itself around but sadly it did not. It was as if an entirely different production crew took over and set out to purposely destroy the show. The plot meandered down multiple mind numbingly boring and ultimately repetitive political plots to steal the thrones in 3 of the 5 kingdoms only to be foiled by Fuyao and her friends. There were lots of unnecessary side characters and multiple unanswered and non sequitor sub plots. Not to mention the many long winded and boring philosophical discussions that I strongly suggest fast forwarding through unless you have trouble falling asleep at night.

Ethan Ruan and Yang Mi were great together most of the time and especially at the beginning. However, there were long periods where Fuyao/Yang Mi was on her own and the story/actress could not really carry those moments alone, frequently coming across as reckless and annoying. I did not love the supporting cast either and I felt that Vengo Gao's role/storyline was almost as if they were trying out two potential male leads with parallel (repetitive) plots to see which was better. Obviously Yang Mi and Vengo have zero chemistry and that sub plot that went on forever should have been eliminated altogether. I guess the entire crew was being paid by the episode judging from how it ended up being all pasted together to create one big mess of a storyline. Its a shame because this could have been a terrific and memorable (much shorter) drama with some ruthless editing and tighter script/plot writing.

The only thing epic about this drama is the effort I had to put in to see it through the end. Starts with a bang and then death by a thousand cuts of boring inanity. This is one of those shows that definitely would have benefited greatly from the latest Chinese government ban on excessive budgets that lead to too many unnecessary episodes in Chinese costume dramas. To be fair, I would say the first say 30 episodes are actually worth watching. If you can endure some suffering you can even watch a few more episodes until Fuyao discovers Wu Ji's real identity. After that, do yourself a huge favor and drop it. You will just feel angry and cheated if like me, you persist until the bitter end because it then becomes just so, so much more bad than good.

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The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

This is the spy thriller that I will compare all other Republican period spy thrillers to going forward. It is that good. Each of the engrossing 61 episodes just flew by and I haven't been able to watch anything else since. I put this off for a long time due to poor reviews of the female lead's performance, which unfortunately is beyond dreadful. The rest of the cast however, is so phenomenal that they more than make up for it, to the point that the rating simply does not do justice to this drama.

Set in 1940s Shanghai during the Wang Regime (Japanese puppet government), Chen Shen works for his best friend Bi Zhongliang who heads up the Special Operations Division. At surface, he is an indolent playboy, an aspiring barber until he was propelled into a position of favor and authority for saving Bi Zhongliang's life. In reality, he is a double agent loyal to the CPC. Things get complicated when his former student and true love Xu Bicheng and her husband Tang Shanhai are assigned to the Special Operations Division. The paranoid Bi Zhongliang eyes them with suspicion because Bicheng is his superior and rival Li Moqun's niece. He is already under growing pressure from both Li Moqun and their ultimate superiors, the Japanese for failing to capture the notorious communist spy Sparrow.

The overarching plot of this drama is rather simple and clean. The main communist and nationalist protagonists have just one mission; to steal the Return to Zero plan hidden within the Special Operations Division. The antagonists are aware of this and use this knowledge to try to trap them into revealing themselves and to capture Sparrow.  The subplots and unpredictable way the storyline unravels with many twists along the way are largely driven by the characters as they react to stressful life and death situations that force perilous split second decisions. One of the weaknesses in storytelling is that the writers resort to coincidences and sheer luck a little bit too often to facilitate twists or bail the main protagonists out of tricky situations. Nonetheless it all comes together to deliver an intense aura of suspense that builds towards the thrill of unexpected victories, shocking betrayals, blindsiding plot twists and sudden death.

Chen Shen is the perfect spook - he is on the one hand an innocuous ladies man; a charming, stylish teetotaler who can't even bring himself to fire a gun. Yet he manipulates Bi Zhongliang masterfully; ruthlessly stoking and soothing his insecurities at the same time. This is by far the most fascinating relationship in the drama. Although he mistrusts Chen Shen, Bi Zhongliang is also touchingly sincere and protective of him. Chen Shen's feelings towards him are complex; they have an unusual bromance that pulls them together regardless of the fact they are on opposite sides. Chen Shen is not only the most intriguing character in the drama, he is also considerably more ruthless and manipulative than the main antagonists. This is by far Li Yifeng's most memorable role to date, well complemented by Zhang Luyi's disarming portrayal of Bi Zhongliang. The dialogue is sophisticated, pointed, witty and laced with sarcasm and dark humor that often relieves suspenseful tension with laugh out loud moments and encapsulates the complex character dynamics.

Even though I am a huge sucker for morally ambiguous characters like Chen Shen, there are almost too many moments where Zhang Ruoyan's Tang Shanhai eclipses him. And it is not just because he looks so incredibly scrumptious in a suit. Too often the second male lead is dumbed down to elevate the male lead. While it is true that Tang Shanhai is not quite the consummate spy that Chen Shen is, Zhang Ruoyun pulls this off without portraying Tang Shanhai as less intelligent; just a tad less ruthless, a tad less composed and a lot more heart. He is thrust into many parallel situations with Chen Shen but the way he processes and reacts to the situation, how he is clumsier at manipulation, how his remorse is more visible; makes it clear that he is a less hardened spy. His relationship with Chen Shen evolves from rivalry and distrust into mutual respect and a grudging friendship that compels the two to work together when their interests align. The enemy of my enemy is my friend is a recurring motivator in this drama that pits multiple characters alternately with and against each other.

The female lead, Xu Bicheng is by far the drama's weakest link. Unlike many, I don't think the writing is the problem; on the contrary I find the character to be one of the best written, most complex female roles out there. Bicheng is a flawed character; stubborn to the point of recklessness with a bleeding heart for lost causes who wears her heart on her sleeve. She is also often underestimated, can be very cunning, is a fantastic liar when cornered and is able to manipulate both Chen Shen, Tang Shanhai and Tao Dachun into doing what she wants and her character undergoes tremendous growth. None of these positive aspects are conveyed by the acting because Zhou Dongyu is a very limited actress who just lazily recycles the same four boring, mopey, terrified and pitiful expressions throughout the drama. The only things she does well is child ugly cry and child uninhibited smile from the heart. Which is wonderful... if she were playing a child. In this role, it is at odds with the role of a woman in her mid twenties, a spy and a married woman for crying out loud. It is also obvious no one ever told her it does not suit her naturally rather mature facial features and incredibly grown up styling in this drama. She fails so badly at projecting that je ne said quoi that has every man fall in love with her that its not even fitting to call her a Mary Sue even though she does need constant rescuing. I could not empathize with her at all and couldn't care less what happens to her.

Kan Qingzi was robbed - her Li Xiaonan stole the show and she really deserves top billing as female lead in this show. Her performance puts Zhou Dongyu's to shame even though the character is at surface, less complex and interesting. I normally loathe ditzy, lame characters like Li Xiaonan who are capable of loving wholeheartedly even when it is not reciprocated. But wow, she made me laugh, she made me cry, she made me respect her single-mindedness, I was 100 percent behind her. And that is what a good actor does, it is what every actor in this exceptional cast other than Zhou Dongyu managed to do - impress me with their acting and make me empathize with them even when they play dark or weak characters. Geez even Yin Zheng or especially Yin Zheng managed to make me empathize with his portrayal of the rabid, vicious, cruel and dangerous Su Sanxing.

A criticism of this drama is that love seems to have overshadowed the spy story; that the unrequited love trope is perhaps overused in this drama. While there is some truth to that, this is still very much a spy thriller that is chock full of excellent twists and turns. And the bigger point is that the unrequited love trope is used brilliantly to explore how each of the main characters bestows and responds to unrequited love in completely different ways. I normally approach Republican dramas with a stone cold heart - I go in pretty much expecting everyone to die it is just par for the course. In this one, too many characters still managed to steal my heart and made me bawl my eyes out. That said, the drama ends very fittingly after the final showdown.

My favorite line in the drama is Chen Shen's heartfelt "Please... don't tell anyone you were my student." This is by far the best Chinese spy thriller I have seen to date (August 2021). This is a 9.0 for me but I could easily rate it 9.5 were it not for the appalling execution of the female lead role.

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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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