This drama knew what it wanted to do and it delivered.
The thing about this drama is that it knows the story it wants to tell. It's not episodic (so there's an overarching mystery), and the risk or challenge with putting out a non-episodic mystery drama is whether you can keep the audience engaged and convince them that yes, this is the story we're going with. Personally, I think the drama held the fort down and allowed itself a graceful exit.
What I Liked:
1) The characters—both the protagonists and the antagonists (some).
Our protagonists have experienced a three-year timeskip and we see them happily married. I've always liked the dynamics of the main four, and while they're the same, I still think there's depth to them. They still feel fleshed out enough even if they're just good guys. We can see what makes them tick, what makes them cry, what makes them motivated. One criticism I've seen is that Chu Chu was too obsessed or "societally tone deaf" with being a coroner, like it's been regurgitated as a line throughout the show. The funny thing is, this repetitive reference to her identity IS addressed in a later episode, and Chu Chu herself learns (or re-learns, since this was a dilemma in S1, too) that being a coroner is not what is important, but being able to help people. So, it's intentional storytelling that her obsession is something that serves as a stepping stone for character development.
The villains (some) have won me over. They started as typical villains - the sleazy foreign ambassador (Gao Luoqian), the dumb foreign prince, the corrupt local officials, the deceptive one, and the ones from S1 who made a comeback. Gao Luoqian, in particular, is not as domineering and mad as the eunuch Qin Luan from S1, but his slimy delivery of words was enough to frustrate me. S1 "antagonists" also have their "time to shine" moments. I appreciate how the story treated them in S2, short of spoiling why or how.
2) The fact that there was an overarching mystery—It's always interesting to figure out which parts in the earlier episodes are actually foreshadowing elements of the bigger plot.
3) The soundtrack—I think both the OP 《执光者》("Lightbearer") by 毛潇曼 and ED 《不易》 ("Not Easy") by 陆瑶 were chosen and used well not just as OP and ED but as insert songs in a lot of scenes, but my fave song is the insert song 《共渡》("Through It Together") by 池约翰CJ. The other parts of the OST as well, the ones which didn't have words, a lot of which were used in S1, are as distinct as ever.
4) The comedic moments
5) The sad moments—One character death in particular had the right impact for me.
6) The sweet moments
^ It seems that I just like a lot of the bits of the story, don't I?
7) The progression from episode 15 onward
What I Didn't Like:
1) The "dis"continuity in the timeskip.
We have a three-year timeskip but there was something in the way that the story opened that the interactions and conflicts feel like it's only been weeks/months since S1. There are some characters that show animosity to our protagonists that time would've/should've weeded out, there are some characters from S1 who should be in S2 that don't appear at all for no good explanation when a recast is simple or otherwise reappear too late in the story (unless it was just a cameo).
2) One case overstayed its welcome.
I think one case took too long to solve so the pace seemed "slow" mostly because our protagonists were left in the dark a bit longer than I would've prefered.
3) The casting of You Chen'an
I think he was effective enough, but I'm sure there could've been a better choice, and maybe this better choice would've made all the difference.
4) The haters
LOL jk. I mean, I don't know why this sequel has invited quite a number of trolls or ragebaiters. If S2 had been as flawless as S1, which I admit it's not, they'd have no ammo against this show honestly.
The actual 4) I AM TRYING TO THINK OF A NUMBER 4 TO BE FAIR BUT I CAN'T THINK OF ANY RIGHT NOW. I'll leave this blank and see if I can find something else I disliked about the show after a proper rewatch.
But as you can tell, I think S2 delivered. As I've said at the start, the crew (director/scriptwriters/etc) knew what story they were going with, and that's evident with the 28 episode count. They knew that they wanted to portray certain characters this way and what principles they wanted to explore at the risk of sounding preachy.
It has been a fun ride and I have absolutely no reservations recommending this drama.
What I Liked:
1) The characters—both the protagonists and the antagonists (some).
Our protagonists have experienced a three-year timeskip and we see them happily married. I've always liked the dynamics of the main four, and while they're the same, I still think there's depth to them. They still feel fleshed out enough even if they're just good guys. We can see what makes them tick, what makes them cry, what makes them motivated. One criticism I've seen is that Chu Chu was too obsessed or "societally tone deaf" with being a coroner, like it's been regurgitated as a line throughout the show. The funny thing is, this repetitive reference to her identity IS addressed in a later episode, and Chu Chu herself learns (or re-learns, since this was a dilemma in S1, too) that being a coroner is not what is important, but being able to help people. So, it's intentional storytelling that her obsession is something that serves as a stepping stone for character development.
The villains (some) have won me over. They started as typical villains - the sleazy foreign ambassador (Gao Luoqian), the dumb foreign prince, the corrupt local officials, the deceptive one, and the ones from S1 who made a comeback. Gao Luoqian, in particular, is not as domineering and mad as the eunuch Qin Luan from S1, but his slimy delivery of words was enough to frustrate me. S1 "antagonists" also have their "time to shine" moments. I appreciate how the story treated them in S2, short of spoiling why or how.
2) The fact that there was an overarching mystery—It's always interesting to figure out which parts in the earlier episodes are actually foreshadowing elements of the bigger plot.
3) The soundtrack—I think both the OP 《执光者》("Lightbearer") by 毛潇曼 and ED 《不易》 ("Not Easy") by 陆瑶 were chosen and used well not just as OP and ED but as insert songs in a lot of scenes, but my fave song is the insert song 《共渡》("Through It Together") by 池约翰CJ. The other parts of the OST as well, the ones which didn't have words, a lot of which were used in S1, are as distinct as ever.
4) The comedic moments
5) The sad moments—One character death in particular had the right impact for me.
6) The sweet moments
^ It seems that I just like a lot of the bits of the story, don't I?
7) The progression from episode 15 onward
What I Didn't Like:
1) The "dis"continuity in the timeskip.
We have a three-year timeskip but there was something in the way that the story opened that the interactions and conflicts feel like it's only been weeks/months since S1. There are some characters that show animosity to our protagonists that time would've/should've weeded out, there are some characters from S1 who should be in S2 that don't appear at all for no good explanation when a recast is simple or otherwise reappear too late in the story (unless it was just a cameo).
2) One case overstayed its welcome.
I think one case took too long to solve so the pace seemed "slow" mostly because our protagonists were left in the dark a bit longer than I would've prefered.
3) The casting of You Chen'an
I think he was effective enough, but I'm sure there could've been a better choice, and maybe this better choice would've made all the difference.
4) The haters
LOL jk. I mean, I don't know why this sequel has invited quite a number of trolls or ragebaiters. If S2 had been as flawless as S1, which I admit it's not, they'd have no ammo against this show honestly.
The actual 4) I AM TRYING TO THINK OF A NUMBER 4 TO BE FAIR BUT I CAN'T THINK OF ANY RIGHT NOW. I'll leave this blank and see if I can find something else I disliked about the show after a proper rewatch.
But as you can tell, I think S2 delivered. As I've said at the start, the crew (director/scriptwriters/etc) knew what story they were going with, and that's evident with the 28 episode count. They knew that they wanted to portray certain characters this way and what principles they wanted to explore at the risk of sounding preachy.
It has been a fun ride and I have absolutely no reservations recommending this drama.
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