roddib

some of my favorite scenes/things:
- the magical flute fight (mindblowing)
- Feng Cheng throwing herself off the cliff (she didn't die btw. Wonderful landscape)
- Oyang Feng having a serious conversation with Dan Min with whilst entirely buried and only his head sticking from the ground
- Oyang Feng mud battle
- the headgear getting thrown around in the tailor shop fight
- how our 2 MLs are masters of martial arts but deep down childish and immature (I thought that was cute)
- Chai Qiong and his conversion: "no matter how great a martial arts master your are, there's always someone better" (what a great funny character)

I'm a fan of director Xu Bing hence I see this a bit differently. Like Fearless Blood, this is a wild road trip that revels on cinematic gorgeousness with a pronounced emphasis on quirkiness and absurdity. Alexander Jodorowsky is the closest reference point. Expect heroic (without reason) sacrifices, lots of duelling and ridiculously gorgeous fight scenes. This is first and foremost a feast for the eyes and doesn't really care to explain the world in which it takes place (even, doesn't take it very seriously). I can see why people who like the original work would not like this at all. 9/10.

Very bad (=not understandable) machine translation, Youku style. I thought AI enables better translations but seems they're not even using it.

The Japanese were devils and absolute monsters during WWII not only in China but also Korea, Burma etc.

Chinese dramas are not made for the overseas audiences.

Watch Man's Inhumanity to Man. I think every Japanese school kid should watch it.

Being undercover means that only the liaison officer can know the truth, otherwise the risk of the cover getting blown is too big.

"Repetition leads to an upward spiral" is the motto of this drama. We see the evolution of police work and criminal investigation tech through decades. I find this a very interesting and sympathetic drama. Although a drama about ordinary crime solving police work without no action action scenes and zero flashiness is probably not everyone's piece of cake. All the cases are basically "impossible to solve" cold cases. We get to see police doing the basic legwork from house to house checking inhabitants to narrow down the range of suspects, watching hundreds of hours of videotapes. Just to get one lead to continue with. How to get police units from different cities to adopt a common goal and collaborate seamlessly. How to get seasoned investigators to drop their favorite theories and start anew from scratch. The camaderie between the main investigators and between police teams is very nice to watch. Anyone familiar with Yu He Wei's acting knows to expect a lowkey but magnificent performance. Qin Hei is the epitome of persistence and patience but occasionally looses his marbles (as anyone would). Highly recommend this drama.

"So we're okay again" and instantly jumps into the other vehicle. Totally cool!

I find the action scenes in this drama *riveting* and I don't usually pay attention to such things at all! I've seen the villain actor in many dramas but here his androgynous looks just suits the character so perfectly!

Completely agree. The moment when Jiang Cheng talked with his supervisor Yao in the stadium was really heartbreaking. JC so tired and desperately wanting to get out of the criminal scene and go home. And then the police were treating him as a criminal when he finally was saved and returned. That was hard to watch.
Jiang Hangshen is basically still the little boy who is lonely and left out of everything, at heart. Has no self respect. No wonder his mentor calls him "pup". (I love this veteran actor playing Wang btw). We get hints that Jiang Hansheng still is hiding bigger secrets from Zhou Jin so I'm not ready to trust him before the last second of the last episode!
This drama reminds me somewhat of a similarly absolutely tragic older k-drama Cruel City where the ML was also an undercover cop leading a crime syndicate for more than a a decade, in the end deceived and used by his superiors. (Luckily SSR is a Chinese drama so police are not corrupt.)

I've been praising this drama for how gripping and intense it is (see my comments down below.) . I truly laughed and cried with the characters. I love dramas where we get really close to the characters. I love sad sack stories. The love story was beautiful. The mother-daughter relationships with the push pull combats and control attempts were well written and a strong backbone keeping the drama on a high level and psychologically deep. The frienship forever storyline was beautiful.

The last two episodes had a weird genre change into a detached melodrama. This a huge letdown to me. In addition the background music was very offputting, torturous old-fashioned piano. It never sat well with the emotional depth of story. Maybe the change wanted to underline that real life is rarely this tragic. Dunno.
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We always have less than a 1000 watchers here who are interested in this type of psychologically deep noir c-dramas. The dramas that are the best (imo) tend to fly under the radar.

Yet in true MDL style, there are commenters (see below) who want to destroy the little attention these is to these kinds of immensely attention worthy c-dramas with attacks on other people's opinions.

You have the space to write comments and interpretations WITHOUT ATTACKING OR "CORRECTING" OTHER PEOPLE'S INTERPRETATIONS. PLS LEARN TO USE THAT SPACE IN A CONSTRUCTIVE MANNER.

It's all more about their whole lifestory, never shifting fully to the present.

Qin Jun Jie is fantastic in Blemished Flaw (highly recommending the drama)

at this point (ep 3) I'd say very unlikely

I'm only at ep 3, but loving the very sophisticated noir crime melo vibes.

What is Germany then? You vote and get uberfuhrer Ursula. 21 % approval for your Blackrock guy Mertz. You're so progandized it's sad really. But Germany's current remilitarization and it's absolute loyalty to zionazis in Usrael is also scary. No hope in sight with the likes of Gabriela, flaunting their successful brainwashing by the German mainstream media.

as brainwashed as can be. Like most here.
China is socialist not communist.

Dramas that are not idol dramas are exactly like this. But like most people here, you haven't watched any of them. Misinformation about censorship is rife in this thread. Most people just don't know what review guidelines are about. I'm unsure about whether it's right to watch Chinese dramas and then go all out to bash Chinese society and cultural values.

Buzz overseas is not needed given the sheer size of the domestic audience.

In the western hemisphere, the standards and rules are equally mandatory: minority representation and inclusion.

Minority Representation Norms for Oscars and TV Awards:
Oscar Minority Representation & Inclusion Standards (Best Picture Eligibility)
A film must meet at least two of the four standards (A, B, C, D).
Standard A — On-Screen Representation, Themes & Narratives
- A1: At least one lead or major supporting actor from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.
- A2: At least 30% of secondary roles from underrepresented groups (women, racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities).
- A3: Storyline centered on underrepresented groups.
Standard B — Creative Leadership & Project Team
- B1: At least two major creative roles from underrepresented groups, with at least one from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group.
- B2/B3: Diverse crew composition.
Standard C — Industry Access & Opportunities
- Paid internships, apprenticeships, or training for underrepresented groups.
Standard D — Audience Development
- Diverse representation in marketing, publicity, and distribution teams.
TV Awards Diversity Requirements
Emmys (United States)
- No mandatory diversity or minority-representation standards for eligibility.
BAFTA Television Awards (United Kingdom)
- Uses BFI Diversity Standards.

In the western hemisphere, the standards and rules are equally mandatory: minority representation and inclusion.

Minority Representation Norms for Oscars and TV Awards:
Oscar Minority Representation & Inclusion Standards (Best Picture Eligibility)
A film must meet at least two of the four standards (A, B, C, D).
Standard A — On-Screen Representation, Themes & Narratives
- A1: At least one lead or major supporting actor from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.
- A2: At least 30% of secondary roles from underrepresented groups (women, racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities).
- A3: Storyline centered on underrepresented groups.
Standard B — Creative Leadership & Project Team
- B1: At least two major creative roles from underrepresented groups, with at least one from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group.
- B2/B3: Diverse crew composition.
Standard C — Industry Access & Opportunities
- Paid internships, apprenticeships, or training for underrepresented groups.
Standard D — Audience Development
- Diverse representation in marketing, publicity, and distribution teams.
TV Awards Diversity Requirements
Emmys (United States)
- No mandatory diversity or minority-representation standards for eligibility.
BAFTA Television Awards (United Kingdom)
- Uses BFI Diversity Standards.

All the magnificent dramas that follow the guidelines and are domestically appreciated each tend to have less than 1000 viewers in MDL. Is it a pity or a blessing? I guess more of a blessing. It's good that c-dramas don't seek to attract the international audience. Domestic success and viewership is enough. That is not likely to change; anything said here in MDL is inconsequential (just hot air, and mostly based on deep ignorance about Chinese culture & society, then and now). There's nothing new here in the sense that the basic standards and values, and encouragement for experimention and artistic ambition have already been set in the current guidelines for review (effective January 1 2026). Saying that the industry needs to be less competitive in relying in star power and face cards makes no difference in terms of review (what people like to call censorship). The domestic audience understands that there is a pretty clear difference between idol dramas and those that seek depth. Highly ambitious dramas tend to engage veteran actors such as Qin Hao, Hu Yun, Yu He Wei, Zhang Yi, Cheng Tai Shen, as "trademarks". If someone wonders what on earth am I talking about, dramas that are deeply gripping and soul cleansing and portray ordinary greatness and/or sad sack stories, visit my page. (But only if actually, truly interested).