PeachBlossomGoddess

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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Who is the big bad wolf?

This is a passionate fantasy fairytale that unflinchingly explores the thin line between love and hate and many emotions in between with a dark intensity that will not appeal to everyone. Hidden within this dark, at times ugly complexity is a simple, intense mythical love story that is beautiful in its fleetingness.

Once upon a time, Xing'er, the lonely young daughter of a feudal lord befriends Langzai, a wild orphan boy raised in the forest by wolves.  Even before they understand what it means, they fall in love and form an unbreakable bond. But after a terrible misunderstanding, Langzai is whisked away by the tyrannical, paranoid and evil emperor Chu Kui who weaponizes him. When they meet again, Langzai is the fearsome Prince Bo, a ruthless, lethal military leader who keeps the mad, bad despot's internal and external foes in check. And Xing'er has grown up to be the beautiful Princess Ma Zaixing, a pawn whose family's military might is coveted by both Chu Kui and the rival Jin king. A damning accusation, divided loyalties and duty forces them to be mortal enemies and opposing forces push them towards what appears to be mutually assured destruction. Can true love uncover the truth that can defeat the darkness in their souls and free their land from evil? 

This drama is not plot driven; the story is easy to follow with a few well conceived mysteries to be revealed but the villains are known from the outset and there are no shocking twists. It is very well paced and the action and battle scenes are ferocious, brutal and gripping. Rather it is largely a character driven drama where the main protagonists fight for who they choose to be and who they want the love of their life to be. It asks the question - who is the big bad wolf or who are the monsters? Is it the wolf in wolf's clothing or the wolf in sheep's clothing?

This character drama is made especially memorable by the many well cast and compellingly delivered roles. They are difficult roles to convey because all of the main characters are flawed and they all have inner animal avatars. When they are tempted or threatened their most primitive instincts emerge and we see both their best and worst selves. To properly appreciate this drama, it is important to keep this in context because the writing does not try to sugarcoat or suppress these traits, instead it gives them free rein to build into raw moments of enraged conflict, unimaginable pain, dark passion, misguided loyalty, pure love and violent hatred. All of the characters make mistakes both selfish and well-intentioned mistakes with heartbreaking and irreversible consequences.

The styling and costumes of the characters are designed to accentuate their inner animals and each of them are written to highlight their inner animal's associated personalities and strengths and weaknesses. We know that Langzai/Bo Wang (Prince Bo), the titular character is a wolf. Xing'er/Ma Zaixing is a butterfly, the least complex, most single minded character of them all. Ji Chong is an eagle and Bao Na is a horse. Yao Ji, the most underrated character in this drama is an enigmatic, treacherous and wise snake (I think). Her relationship with Bo Wang is the most surprising, complex and interesting relationship in the drama, much more so than both Bo Wang and Ji Chong's relationship with Xing'er. I wonder how many supernatural abilities these characters were originally endowed with before the censors erased all of that stuff.

The following is a deeper discussion of the main characters and their relationships that inevitably contains mild spoilers. You can stop reading here and  come back to the rest after you are done with the drama.

I initially mistook Xing'er for a frustrating character - weak, naive, unwilling to grow up and one dimensional. But that is her nature - she is a butterfly - a delicate, transitory being that is a symbol of youth, joy, love and beauty. Female butterflies mate only once and then they die. Her goals are simple and she is pure hearted but she is by no means weak; on the contrary she is single minded and unyielding in her love for Langzai and her determination to recall him from the darkness that is Bo Wang. Her heart is gently cruel in its lack of capacity to to let anyone else in. This kind of role is both very easy and very difficult and Li Qin pulled it off phenomenally (despite a shrill and atrocious voice dubber). I could feel her pain and disillusionment and teared up as I watched Xing'er innocence and love of life get extinguished into the strong, mature, revenge driven but indifferent Ma Zhaixing.

Bo Wang is a sexy, magnificent, conflicted and tortured beast of a character that I loved to hate in the beginning and hated to love at the end. He is the big bad wolf, a ruthless predator with savage methods but he is also highly intelligent, passionate and devoted to his pack or his family. Wang Dalu's portrayal is so vivid and potent that I could see a wolf lurking behind Bo Wang's every facial expression and gesture - I can't believe I have never watched this actor before. The scorching chemistry between Bo Wang and Xing'er is the most outstanding feature of this drama. Both actors have such intense screen presence that anyone that shares the screen with them becomes invisible. Their passionate, tormented kisses and the intense longing in their gazes give lie to their often toxic verbal exchanges. Their relationship scales the tortured depths of hatred and despair to the breathtaking heights of love and ecstasy. They are so convincing and moving as a couple that all of their love rivals pale in comparison.

Ji Chong is an eagle, a bird of prey that can see the big picture from high above and swoops down opportunistically and tactically to force the lovers to face each other as mortal enemies. Like Bo Wang, Ji Chong also tries to save Xing'er by changing her; in this matter he and Bo Wang have a common agenda. While their methods are diametrically opposite, the outcome is the same in that they both cause her to suffer enormously. Bo Wang pushes her away harshly and cruelly while Ji Chong albeit charmingly, imprisons her with duty and obligation to her clan. Bo Wang loves her enough to give her up but Ji Chong more selfishly and somewhat naively tries to wheedle and manipulate his way into her heart. Ji Chong and Bo Wang are both ultimately well intentioned but make many mistakes and are thus equally responsible for all but erasing the Xing'er they love. I am very impressed that Xiao Zhan chose to play such an interesting, endearingly immature and flawed second lead rather than yet another insipid and suffocatingly noble and selfless one. Just as with his iconic interpretation of Wei Wuxian, Xiao Zhan's blinding charisma compels us to forgive Ji Chong's flaws and weaknesses and even empathize with him.

Surviving to exist is not important to Xing'er who only cares that she rescues her Langzai so that they can retreat into the forest away from the two legged monsters that walk the world outside. With this in mind, the drama's ending is not just good, it is also fitting. As someone who loves such beautifully flawed and even dark characters, I find Xing'e and Langzai's mythical love story to be unforgettable so this has to be a 9.0  possibly even a 9.5 for me. I can understand why others may find the themes too darkly disturbing and judge the characters much more harshly.

I will end with a nursery rhyme I vandalized for @sony_t:

Wheedle eagle, pudding and pie,
Kissed the butterfly and made her cry,
When the wolf came out to play,
Wheedle eagle flew away.

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This is like a fine dining experience - to be savored and remembered. It deserves an 11/10.

Nirvana in Fire is an exceptional drama by any and all standards - nothing else I have watched comes even close to surpassing it. It truly checks all of the boxes in terms of a complex plot, an incredibly talented cast, excellent screenplay, well executed action scenes and overall movie-like visual impact and production quality.

This is the story of Lin Shu's single minded quest for justice and reform. His father, a powerful general in command of the 70,000 strong Chiyan army is framed as a traitor while away defending the Liang state. Victorious but battle worn, he is slaughtered along with his entire army before they have a chance to return to the capital. Young Lin Shu barely survives and re-emerges 12 years later as Mei Changsu, the mysterious leader of the powerful pugilist Jiangzuo Alliance. His appearance is completely altered and he is a sickly, shadow of the vigorous young warrior he used to be. He returns to the capital amidst a power struggle between the crown prince and his brother Prince Yu as the Divine Talent, a brilliant strategist regarded as an emperor maker. He plays them against each other and is on surface allied with Prince Yu while he surreptitiously advances the out of favor Prince Jing. The complexity in the plot arises in the brilliant and occasionally cruel strategies he employs to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy and all those complicit in his family's murder as well as to advance Prince Jing's position. This is not a story about revenge, it is about justice. It is also about reform as justice is worthless without reform. Making abiding changes to the court and the system that would be overseen by a just and moral ruler was an equally important outcome to Lin Shu/Mei Changsu. To achieve his mission, he had to do many things he considered despicable. Cleaning out the corruption in the court was the only thing he could do to make the senseless massacre of his family and comrades in arms mean something.

This is an impossible show to binge watch - I can at best get through two episodes in one sitting. We learn from the get go that Lin Shu is living on borrowed time. That imbues the drama with an omnipresent sense of sorrow and inevitability that grows as it steadily progresses towards the end. Whenever the mood gets unbearably heavy, there are welcome moments of brilliantly timed comic relief. The first episode is probably the most difficult to follow as most of the key characters are introduced all at once .Thankfully there are many excellent character guides online that are super helpful in the beginning. There are no unnecessary characters in this show; each one was brilliantly cast and has an important role in the unfolding storyline.

The role of Lin Shu/Mei Changsu is a complex one and not at all easy to play. This was without a doubt Hu Ge's defining role and he just killed it. Time and again he was able to subtly convey a multitude of intense emotions behind a superficially stoic expression. As Mei Changsu the strategist, he was brilliant, ruthless, calculating, Machiavelli and breathtakingly cruel when necessary while battling his self-loathing for the person he was forced to become. He is filled with longing, regret and fear of discovery as he re-encounters his former love, friends and relatives under this new identity. He masterfully portrays a callous indifference that masks unbearable hurt as his actions and morals are misunderstood by his best loved friend. As they inevitably begin to recognize his old mannerisms and think the unthinkable, he cannot help but tease them with the truth before skillfully evading their suspicions. The chemistry between Lin Shu/Mei Changsu and the rest of the cast and in particular Prince Jing (Wang Kai) is mesmerizing. Twelve years later Prince Jing still misses Lin Shu, his boyhood friend and cousin and was never quite convinced the Lin family could be guilty of treason. Despite his contempt for Mei Changsu's lack of moral scruple, the principled Prince Jing's soul knows him and he is eventually drawn into a strong and touching bromance with him . Equally moving were the rare smiles, flashes of humor and fatherly affection that emerges when Lin Shu/Mei Changsu teases Fei Liu, his lethally skilled and fiercely loyal boy protector. Despite his crushing physical weakness, he desperately lies to shield his loved ones from the extent of his suffering and true condition. I found myself grieving for not only the lost friendships and love affair that could have been but for the Lin Shu that Mei Changsu can never become again.

The character development in this drama is so sophisticated and multi-layered that even the worst villains of the piece are to evoke a sense of pity for their human failings and have some redeeming aspects. The story builds towards an epic climax that sees Lin Shu/Mei Changsu confront the person ultimately responsible for this terrible and unforgiveable betrayal. Both actors in this final showdown were phenomenal but I think the tyrant's rant from rage,to hubris, to denial, to defeat , to defiance and then finally to almost but not quite remorse truly blew me away. It is in this encounter that Lin Shu delivers his most excoriating, most tragic and and most damning indictment -"If you knew your son you would never believe he could betray you. If your son knew you, he would not have refused to believe you betrayed him." The script writing is powerful and we are treated to many emotionallly loaded lines but for me, this one was the one that summed up the root of the tragedy and made me weep for both of them. But Lin Shu/Mei Changsu was beyond tears. It is this ability to convey bottomless sorrow without shedding a tear that made this Hu Ge's unparalleled performance.

{Warning - Spoiler ahead]

I love it that this show pretty much ends after the climatic peak with most of the loose ends tied up well ahead. Even though we know from the very beginning that Lin Shu/Mei Changsu dies, it still broke my heart. Nonetheless, the drama comes to a very fitting and satisfying end. While this was an enthralling, immersive journey from start to finish, I think I need to take a break with something less intense. I suspect this will remain the very best drama I have ever seen for a long time although I still love Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms best.

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The king maker is king of kings.

Note: There are some statements of well known. historical facts in this review. They are by definition not spoilers but be warned in case you are unfamiliar with the history of this period.

Sima Yi, courtesy name Zhongda. History's most cunning grifter, a man who stole a throne and an empire more than once! I always enjoy dramas like this because they bring larger than life historical characters to life and deflate them into close to normal human beings. I never imagined Sima Yi would be portrayed as such a timid, groveling, deceptively harmless and well, just ordinary fellow. Or that he would be so terrified of his wife. That just cracked me up. Audacious.... sacrilegious even.... love it!

The drama opens with Zhongda, a brilliant scholar and tactician, welcoming his firstborn son Sima Shi into the world. His father Sima Fang is a shrewd and influential minister of the Han Imperial Court. By then, warlord Cao Cao had already openly seized power and repeatedly bullies the Han Emperor into a sniveling, terrified puppet. Zhongda unwittingly catches the eye of Cao Cao as he deftly extricates his father from a dire situation. He goes to extreme lengths to avoid serving Cao Cao who is both keen to make use of his talent and wary of it at the same time. Recognizing his innate cunning and ambition, Cao Cao regards him suspiciously as a double edged sword and comes close to killing him dead many times.

Initially I was surprised and a little bit underwhelmed to see such a timid and groveling Sima Yi. But the layers peel away very satisfactorily to reveal his hidden ruthless nature, his scheming and bold ambition. He is a king maker, someone capable of securing the throne for Cao Pi, the less favored son against Cao Cao's own wishes. He then proceeds to steal an empire for Cao Pi but this part seems whitewashed. I doubt Liu Xie was really that eager to so simply hand over the throne. Not surprisingly, he also intervenes in Cao Pi's succession plans. At that point, it is clear that Sima Yi the king maker is king of kings; that three generations of Cao rulers' succession is determined by this man. Notwithstanding his many contributions, Sima Yi is portrayed as a selfish and cunning character who parleys his own interests ruthlessly. He manipulates two revered ministers into sacrificing themselves to ensure Cao Pi's ascension, but it is clear his primary motive is to save his brother's life.

Sima Yi's great rivalry with Yang Xiu is rivetingly played out in the bitter succession battle between Cao Pi the worthy son and Cao Zhi the favored son. Both are ambitious and brilliant tacticians but they couldn't be more different in nature. Yang Xiu is arrogant, outspoken and extremely intuitive. He cannot help showing off, often over estimating himself and underestimating his enemies. This cost him his life and Cao Zhi the throne his father so badly wanted to give him. In sharp contrast, Sima Yi avoids attention and while he is is often underestimated, he has a healthy respect for his enemies capabilities. His final conversation with Yang Xiu, someone he empathized with, respected and learned from as a worthy opponent illuminates how Sima Yi managed to hang on to his head through many dangers. I have not watched Wu Xiubo before and I was hesitant about him as he is not the image that jumps to mind when I imagine Sima Yi. My concerns faded almost immediately and I cannot think of a better actor to play the role of Sima Yi as characterised by this production.

This drama largely sticks to history in terms of the key events and leading characters of the day. Told chronologically, the drama unavoidably peaks with the exit of the veteran actors who also play the most interesting figures of the day. This drama's highlight for me was Xun Yu's (played by none other than the fabulous Wang Jin Song) opposition to Cao Cao's decision to form his own feudal state. Their bittersweet final exchange that touched upon their long friendship, mutual respect and alignment that turned into reproach and disappointment is a powerful, memorable and compellingly acted drama moment that only two actors of such caliber can deliver. I can recommend watching this drama for that scene alone. I feel pity for anyone attempting the role of Cao Cao after Yu Hewei. I almost wept with joy at the perfection of his rendering of Cao Cao in his twilight years; the ambitious warlord stymied by the limits of his own mortality and torn by his succession dilemma between his most worthy son and his most loved son. Needless to say he is as bad a dad as he was as good a warlord and statesman. Ironically, Cao Cao sows the seeds of the downfall of his own empire as Cao Pi is also a terrible father who also messes up his own heir. Whereas the Sima family in sharp contrast are paragons of Confucian family virtue, the foundation of a moral society.

When it comes to the inner palace and familial relationships, the storytelling embellishes wild history and heavily fictionalizes the historically insignificant aspects. I was sad but unsurprised to see Cao Pi's deep friendship with Zhongda become distrustful and utilitarian after he becomes emperor. While I understand the audience appeal, it is well known that Zhongda's relationship with his wife was much less cordial but I love Liu Tao and was happy to buy into this Disney version. However the whole song and dance with Lady Bai and how Zhongda was "forced" to accept her went too far and just made me roll my eyes. I expect a man of that status in those times to have concubines I don't see the need to waste so much time suggesting he meant to be monogamous when he definitely was not. I also was not compelled by the chemistry between Cao Pi and Lady Guo but at least they didn't try to suggest he didn't have a harem. Lady Zhen's story could well just be speculative history but she is the character I felt the most sorry for in this drama.

The Advisors Alliance is the first instalment of Sima Yi's story and ends with Sima Yi retiring from active duty under Cao Pi. By then, Sima Yi and his proteges had succeeded in pushing through agricultural and structural reforms that made Cao Wei great and restrained the power of the Cao clan warlords. It is a fascinating account of how an understated and often under estimated Sima Yi was ruler in deed if not in name. His machinations paved the way for the Sima clan's rise in influence which eventually led to the founding of the Jin dynasty, which many still argue was not a legitimate state. I enjoyed this enough to rate it an 8.5 and will probably go on to watch the second season Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon which focuses on his rivalry with Zhuge Liang.

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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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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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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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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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Sizzles while it fizzles.

A massive fire devastates Qingzhou on the night Dayan's Weibei army triumphantly reclaims the city from Xiyan. Suspected of razing the city to the ground, the Weibei army is disbanded in shame while their leader, Prince Murong Jinghe is sent to his fief. To Mei Lin whose world collapsed that day, that was not justice; far from it! Rising from the flames, she transforms herself into an elite assassin for the Shadow Works. Her first assignment is to infiltrate Dayan as a Xiyan beauty bride to assassinate the "Butcher General" Murong Jinghe. She must complete her mission with all due haste to obtain the antidote to the deadly toxin the mysterious master of the Shadow Works uses to control her.

The stage is set and Murong Jinghe's entrance made my my jaw drop and my mouth go dry! Sinister and unspeakably handsome, insolent, casually malevolent and utterly unforgettable. When his cold cynical gaze collides with Mei Lin's wild, ferocious one, the screen explodes into flames. I was seated for what promised to be the ultimate revenge drama, a dark, passionate and twisted enemies to lovers story. I can't remember the last time a drama hooked me so completely from the get go. So I hushed my inner voice that protested the fact that they seemed to reveal the entire plot by episode 3. All too soon after, their thrilling dark, combative chemistry and one-upwomanship tit-for-tat turned into a moving unbreakable alliance that made them both so vulnerable I feared for them. Even though the plot falls apart around them, I enjoyed every moment of the torrid, ardent, connection between Jinghe and Mei Lin that was so effortlessly conveyed by Liu Xueyi and Wu Jinyan. They captivated me with their intense screen presence and the way their chemistry still sizzles while it fizzles through every silly, illogical, emotionally harrowing arc the script made them jump through.

This drama was by a wide margin, my biggest disappointment this year. As someone who read and more or less forgot the novel 春花厌 or Spring Flower Disgusted, I should have known that you can't make a symphony out of one note. There simply was not enough plot to do justice to the exciting concept and delicious character designs. Unfortunately Murong Jinghe, who was a ruthless scumbag for most of the novel, got whitewashed so early in the drama I thought he was body swapped into his adorable little white dog. Nonetheless, I enjoyed watching the enemies become allies and then lovers. Exceptional visuals and the couple's chemistry got me through the boring digression into the romantic filler arc that saw both leads regress into lovey dovey country bumpkins. The all-important revenge arc however disappointed me deeply as Mei Lin was unforgivably short changed of her vengeance so we never really get to see her slay as an assassin nonpareil. The drama should have ended at that arc instead of soldiering on for another mind numbingly boring eight episodes. The entire final Xiyan arc was ridiculously melodramatic and Zigu's love story was yet another filler arc, one that was in poor taste. Jinghe turns into a noble idiot who entrusts a well-meaning but incompetent young idiot with a task that was way over his pay grade. After all the blood and tears, I almost laughed out loud that they were ultimately foiled by a flower chomping, superstitious old fool. The drama comes to a full circle with the novel in that no one gets an ending that they deserve.

I won't lie - even Liu Xueyi and Wu Jinyan's phenomenal acting and charisma could not save this drama, it just made it barely tolerable. None of the other characters are interesting or well written enough to make me invested in their stories. Baron Chen's Murong Xuanlie is quite well portrayed but is too archetypal and his story and motivations quickly becomes repetitive and boring. Luo Mei's moral code is too mismatched with that of Xuanlie that as a couple, they are completely implausible. And Yue Qin was written to be such a lame character that there really was no room for Bi Wenjun to shine. What promised to be a dark and riveting story about love, revenge and justice turned out to be a sober warning about the ravages of war. Everyone from the common man to the king in the high castle is not safe and lives regretfully ever after.

This was a story that was written by four different writers and it shows. I can easily rate the first 3 episodes of this drama 8.5-9.0. After that, it barely holds an 8.0 for me and after episode 24, it is barely a 6.0. I think a fair rating overall is 7.0 but I throw in 0.5 more for Liu Xueyi and Wu Jinyan's acting to call it a 7.5. Watch at your own risk and use the FF button liberally.

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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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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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