1
Who Doesn't Love a Organized Crime Romance?
I saw a clip of this on YouTube Shorts so I thought I would give it a go. I'm still fairly new to C-Dramas, but I think they're starting to win me over.
Synopsis (No spoilers if you read the official plot)
Yingli's aunt dies to suicide, but she's pretty sure that her aunt was murdered. After spending some time in jail which is not super clearly explained, she gets out and decides she wants to investigate her aunt's death all on her own. Her research brings her to the Kuntai Group, who has a few storefronts but seems to only deal in white-powder narcotics. She is thrown into the fray due to her overconfidence and poor planning but repeatedly rescued by one of the leaders, Sen. They continue to cross paths and to protect her from the other immoral gang members, he takes her as his woman. I can't believe that the summary of the show includes the twist that he is actually an undercover agent working to shut down organized crime, because if did not know ahead of time that would have been a HUGE twist. Yingli contributes little to the investigation and often becomes a liability, but Sen is smart and resourceful enough to manage the fallout.
Actors: I don't know Chinese actors enough yet to give a good review on their performance compared to other C-Dramas.
===GOOD===
* Decent and well-choreographed fighting scenes with guns and one explosion.
* Great romantic pacing.
* No NC scenes, but decent kissing and seamless cutaways for sexy times.
* Sen is a stand out. Very well acted, justified emotions, and strong character work.
* A few beautifully shot scenery moments.
===MEH===
* Why are the police always kind of idiots?
* Really I wanted Yingli to be more badass through the whole thing or at least surprise us at some point. I felt like her character was really underwritten.
* Some of the fight scenes had kind of silly sound effects that take you out. Like what kick to the stomach makes a squishy noise?
* The ex-boyfriend's subplot did not make any sense and also, how did he know she was in the hospital and where she was when she got sick, because it reads stalking.
* The time Kun "tested" the drugs by stabbing a knife haphazardly in the middle of a white-powder bag and sticking a finger of it in his mouth, then swishing it around like flour-flavored mouthwash.... I'm no drug overlord but I don't think that's how you do that.
* I didn't care for the "3 HOURS LATER"-style time jump. It felt unnecessary.
===BAD===
* Only men can do good fight scenes and women are there to look pretty
* The idea that successful women have to put out to get ahead in the world
* Underdeveloped prison back story and for a woman who spent 5 years in prison, she seems pretty naive and timid, but we needed a damsel in distress so I guess she served her purpose
* What was that red dress situation when she got kidnapped for the 10000th time?
* He told her to stay and lay low in the apartment until he contacts her and then every time we see her after that she's out shopping or walking around the city. Did she even go into the apartment?
==Other Stuff==
* Engaging from the very beginning.
* Watched in one go over 2 days without a boredom break.
* Did not pass the Bechdel-Wallace test.
* Did not make me cry although there is one or two fairly intense emotional scenes.
* Not very humerous
* ENDING: Happy Ending, after a Time Jump. Questions answered although not super satisfying.
* TW for suicide, blood (face, shoulder and abdomen), physical violence, home invasion, gun violence, stabbing, demeaning remarks towards women and superficial molestation
All in all, we got what we came for: a little sweet romance, damsel in distress, a handsome knight in shining armor cosplaying as a badboy, big explosions and organized crime action. Pretty predictable story since they spoiled the only really good twist in the film summary, but otherwise the pacing was great, the chemistry was great (even if Sen carried most of it). Yingli is adorable, but her personality is a bit bland and other than being very very cute and emotionally supportive, she wasn't particularly helpful to the investigation.
WATCH IF YOU LIKE: action-romance, light on the melodrama
SKIP IF YOU: want strong female agency or tightly written police/procedural/investigation work.
Synopsis (No spoilers if you read the official plot)
Yingli's aunt dies to suicide, but she's pretty sure that her aunt was murdered. After spending some time in jail which is not super clearly explained, she gets out and decides she wants to investigate her aunt's death all on her own. Her research brings her to the Kuntai Group, who has a few storefronts but seems to only deal in white-powder narcotics. She is thrown into the fray due to her overconfidence and poor planning but repeatedly rescued by one of the leaders, Sen. They continue to cross paths and to protect her from the other immoral gang members, he takes her as his woman. I can't believe that the summary of the show includes the twist that he is actually an undercover agent working to shut down organized crime, because if did not know ahead of time that would have been a HUGE twist. Yingli contributes little to the investigation and often becomes a liability, but Sen is smart and resourceful enough to manage the fallout.
Actors: I don't know Chinese actors enough yet to give a good review on their performance compared to other C-Dramas.
===GOOD===
* Decent and well-choreographed fighting scenes with guns and one explosion.
* Great romantic pacing.
* No NC scenes, but decent kissing and seamless cutaways for sexy times.
* Sen is a stand out. Very well acted, justified emotions, and strong character work.
* A few beautifully shot scenery moments.
===MEH===
* Why are the police always kind of idiots?
* Really I wanted Yingli to be more badass through the whole thing or at least surprise us at some point. I felt like her character was really underwritten.
* Some of the fight scenes had kind of silly sound effects that take you out. Like what kick to the stomach makes a squishy noise?
* The ex-boyfriend's subplot did not make any sense and also, how did he know she was in the hospital and where she was when she got sick, because it reads stalking.
* The time Kun "tested" the drugs by stabbing a knife haphazardly in the middle of a white-powder bag and sticking a finger of it in his mouth, then swishing it around like flour-flavored mouthwash.... I'm no drug overlord but I don't think that's how you do that.
* I didn't care for the "3 HOURS LATER"-style time jump. It felt unnecessary.
===BAD===
* Only men can do good fight scenes and women are there to look pretty
* The idea that successful women have to put out to get ahead in the world
* Underdeveloped prison back story and for a woman who spent 5 years in prison, she seems pretty naive and timid, but we needed a damsel in distress so I guess she served her purpose
* What was that red dress situation when she got kidnapped for the 10000th time?
* He told her to stay and lay low in the apartment until he contacts her and then every time we see her after that she's out shopping or walking around the city. Did she even go into the apartment?
==Other Stuff==
* Engaging from the very beginning.
* Watched in one go over 2 days without a boredom break.
* Did not pass the Bechdel-Wallace test.
* Did not make me cry although there is one or two fairly intense emotional scenes.
* Not very humerous
* ENDING: Happy Ending, after a Time Jump. Questions answered although not super satisfying.
* TW for suicide, blood (face, shoulder and abdomen), physical violence, home invasion, gun violence, stabbing, demeaning remarks towards women and superficial molestation
All in all, we got what we came for: a little sweet romance, damsel in distress, a handsome knight in shining armor cosplaying as a badboy, big explosions and organized crime action. Pretty predictable story since they spoiled the only really good twist in the film summary, but otherwise the pacing was great, the chemistry was great (even if Sen carried most of it). Yingli is adorable, but her personality is a bit bland and other than being very very cute and emotionally supportive, she wasn't particularly helpful to the investigation.
WATCH IF YOU LIKE: action-romance, light on the melodrama
SKIP IF YOU: want strong female agency or tightly written police/procedural/investigation work.
Was this review helpful to you?
