Reset (2022)

Just one word: AMAZING

Now I started watching this after seeing the gripping trailer and had pretty high expectations, and I can't believe the actual drama exceeded that and so much more! The suspense was unbelievable and each episode has something new to bring to the table. And it wasn't even just the suspense, but the heart that goes with the storyline.

Things I liked:

- The mystery. What really is happening? Why are things happening? What do they need to do now? Where do they go from here? Every episode I am left with many questions and while we learn something new at each step of the way, the thrill is so intense that we are still left wanting more. I watched this while it was airing and really, the 1 episode per week is not enough lol

- The characters and their personal storylines. If you happen to see my other reviews, you'll know that I am a huge fan of good characterizations, and this drama did just THAT. And you know what's even better than a well-written character? It's well-written characterS. I really liked how each episode focuses on different characters which teaches us a lot of things on how we should view and treat the people around us. Special shout-out to my precious cutie pie Lu Di <3

- The subtle romance. The main point of this drama is the mystery, and while the love line between the main characters could have been easily, well, "exploited", I'm so glad that didn't happen. The development of their relationship just happens in the background and didn't take away from the story. Granted I'm good even if there's no romance at all, but it still makes sense given the grand scheme of things and seeing what the leads went through together.

Tbh if this was shown on Netflix, it would definitely be a huge hit. Nonetheless I am so glad I watched this and even if we're already halfway through 2022, this is still the best drama of the year for me. Huge kudos to the whole team and the actors.

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I miss it already

The best show Ever. I hesitated for so long before watching this drama. I first thought it was another overhyped drama like so many others out there. Boy was I wrong. Not only are the main characters well-written, but so are all the show's characters. Everyone did a fantastic job. The show does a great job showing us the character's background story which teaches us so many lessons in life. Out of the 100 dramas I watched out there this is the first time I wrote a review of more than one sentence. I love this show with all my heart.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Amazing Action Adventure and Mystery Drama

This is a fantastic work of writing and acting that keeps viewers interested in a time loop over 15 episodes. All characters have immense depth and are brilliantly portrayed. Even the villains are redeemable. The action scenes are well done, and the production is not lacking. The character development and growing chemistry between the two main characters Zhao Jin Mai (Li Shi Qing) and Bai Jing Ting (Xiao He Yun) is expertly done. This is not a drama that leaves you wondering if the budget ran out. It is highly recommended and will keep you on the edge of your seat!

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A great thriller til the end

Wow. I admit, I dove into this because of Bai Jingting but I stayed for an unexpectedly skilled cast, intriguing plot, and wondering just how they were going to explain the time loop. (I'm going with "injustice can rip a hole in time and space" lmao). The episodes giving passengers' backstories gave a very human element to the people in the show - no one was just a victim. I was a little unsettled by how much copaganda the early episodes had but was absolutely satisfied by the end. And the light romance! It felt like Just Enough for this plot. The leads were so sweet together, such chemistry! And the drama was the perfect length for once, not dragged out but enough to largely flesh out the plot.

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This is a literal masterpiece

this drama gave me the chills and suspense. I don’t have the words to describe how great this cdrama is.
The acting
The plot
OST
IS LITERALLY ALL SO GOOD
you should go watch it NOW ❤️

As I was scrolling in the last episode in YouTube, I came across a theory that seems legitimately true
(I think that mengmeng spirit was responsible for Li shiqing getting trapped in the time loop. Mengmeng didn’t want her parents to kill all the people in the bus + the parents themselves, and all she was able to do was to create the time loop and give someone the power to remember between each iteration. Li shiqing was chosen because of how similar she was to mengmeng when she died. They go to the same college, teacher and they are both 20) - credit to that person who commented this.

And I also noticed that Li shiqing was sitting in the same spot as the girl who took the photo! maybe li shiqing was going to be the hero that the girl who took the picture of the lecher was supposed to be but never got the chance to because she was scared. AHHH THE DRAMA IS SO BINGE WORTHY. BEST CDRAMA OF 2022 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Amazing drama

Honestly one of the best Cdramas ive ever watched.

Long story short its a time loop drama but very well written, directed and edited. Acting was excellent and the chemistry was amazing between the lead.

Even supporting characters had depth to their story.
I usually watch Rom Coms and they r usually filled with gringy momnets and unnecessary misunderstandings. And horrible acting. BUT this one surprised me. (Yes i know its not a romcom)
Usually u know who the culprit is in these dramas but this one held the secret out well until it was time

I would definitely watch it again.

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Superb piece of sci-fi suspense drama but can't sustain the excellence the whole way

The c-dramascape is well populated by crime/thriller/suspense dramas. However, if you throw in a sci-fi spin to the mix then the candidates for top dramas in this genre is somewhat thin on the ground. Maybe it has to do with censorship or culture but the writing in that sub-genre tends to be more muted and less innovative than creators from beyond their border. I’m glad to report that this show stood head and shoulder above the typical competition.

It is not a spoiler to tell you that the story is revolve around our protagonists being “trapped” on a bus that will explode and kill them in a matter of minutes. Each time they die, the sequence resets (hence the title) and they return to the bus. This is all laid out in the opening scenes and reinforced in the first episode. As our leads live through more cycles, they learnt how to work with the time loop and manipulate the events. They have to find out why they are looping and do what they can to stop it.
As this is such a suspenseful drama, I shall try to remain spoiler free. Most of the comments will be intentionally vague.

As you can imagine, with the scenes and scenarios being replayed over and over again, the writer have to find ways to present their predicament from different angles and perspectives. This is where the writer did a very good job for much of the show.
Similarly, the actors are repeating variations of the same plot, but they showed a lot of emotions and dedication. The leads were standouts and kudos to them. There are definitely no squeamish or wimpy characters here.

The production value of the show is quite good. Maybe it is the repetitive nature of some scenes that allowed them to get more bang for their bucks by editing explosions and car chases shot from different angles to generate more “unique” footages. One thing that piqued my interest is the police station. It seemed to be modern and “nice”. I don't know if it is based on a real police station or whether it was embellished.

I appreciate the show expending efforts to fresh out the backstories of some support roles. It made their behaviour more meaningful.

Alas, I wish the show was able to sustain this high standard all the way, but it did begin to falter towards the end. Not so much individual acting and scenes but the consistency of the main plot.

A lot of the issues came from the time loop concept. By the time we find out who the bomber is, the rest of the story is not that hard to deduce. Even so, the repetition still went on when the leads failed to break out of the loop. This gave us a lot of time to contemplate the raison d'être of the main event. It exposes some narrative weakness, and you start to question the goals and motivations of the antagonists. The internal logic still holds, but there are now cracks where there was none before.

The Show also paid a lot of attention to the backstory of the antagonists. It was nicely done and with a delicate touch. However, by then we have already sat through several backstories, we know what will happen and when, we know who did it so there is little intrigue left. This only brought about a distinct change in pacing and tension.

Another issue is why the leads are involved? They were just trapped and then released once they solved the puzzle. These issues would have been less contentious if this was a two hours movie or have fewer episodes.

The ending also did not sit well with some viewers (no spoilers). I can sense the writer was preparing us for a different ending, but it took a detour. Was it because of censorship?

In the end, rating this show is like judging some Olympic sports. You start with a perfect 10 and then you start to deduct little bit here and there as you spot minor imperfections.

OST was fine. Rewatch is difficult as there is no mystery left and the repetitions will test most people's patience.

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Worth a watch!

It has only 15 episodes which nicely wraps up everything without being too draggy. You can finish binge watching it over the weekend. The plot is intriguing and often leave you on a cliffhanger at the end of each episode which I’m so happy that i could binge watch it instead of having to wait every week. The side characters’ stories were well covered and although there is some repetition on the premise, it doesn’t get boring as new details were incorporated each time. Not much toxicity and it illustrates the social issues of this generation. Lastly, the romance aspect is subtle which is great because it shouldn’t be the main focus of the whole storyline.

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ICONIC

Absolutely fantastic. I'll be a happy camper if we get more Chinese dramas of this calibre! This is a drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat every single episode, filled with cerebral thrills and twists and turns, with just enough of a heady dash of romance to make you smile as well. The directing was assured and competent, the story tight and well-paced, and the acting absolutely phenomenal. I find that mystery thrillers can sometimes lean too much towards cerebral thrill and forget about the humane aspect of the story, but Reset managed to balance both perfectly. I wasn't just watching to find out what the ending was - I was also fully invested in the two main leads' emotional journeys, and was right there with them from the beginning. It definitely helps that Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai have adorable chemistry together!

If I had to nitpick, I did find myself wishing that the ending had a bit more of a shock factor to it. I still think it ended strong, but there was so much build-up that I felt the slightest bit deflated at the end, but this also comes down to personal preference, rather than anything that's actually wrong with the plot. HOWEVER, the emotional payoff was worth it, and I'm still giving this drama an overall 10 for such an incredible, nail-biting, spine-tingling journey.

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A short, well-written time travel thriller that you should definitely watch.

Reset does a good job of keeping things relatively simple: there’s a bomb on the bus, and we gotta figure out whodunnit and how to save everyone. Things keep going wrong, our main duo die or fall asleep, and then wake back up on the bus. They keep living the same day over and over again. Despite all the loops I don’t think it’s confusing, though I did feel my head spinning at a certain point. It was interesting seeing how they handled the time loops differently each time. I didn’t like the cops in this show so I was like “ugh go away, our time travelers are trying to save everyone and you’re stopping them.” Our main duo are absolutely fantastic. I appreciate that they aren’t super geniuses or total dummies. They feel very human; they make mistakes, they’re impulsive, they get progressively tired and traumatized as they experience terrible things over and over. Sometimes they want to give up, as they don’t want to put themselves through it all again. Their relationship also builds and it’s fun seeing them grow closer. You really care about them and want them to figure things out. I appreciate that you get to know the other passengers as well. It makes them feel more like real people, so you’re even more invested in saving them. The villain is also well-written and their motivation makes sense. The progression of the story unfolds nicely, as you do learn more and more with each loop. Occasionally the loops are played for comedic effect as well. I do think this probably could’ve been a 12 episode show as it did feel like there could have been fewer loops, but aside from that I don’t think I really have any criticism about it. The ending is great as well.

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