Xin Sheng (2024)

Fake it till you make it.

Regeneration is an excellent short suspense thriller. The narrative opens with a reporter He Shan witnessing the kidnapping of her contact Fei Ke. In classic Christie style, five strangers including He Shan are summoned to an island mansion for the reading of Fei Ke's will. They are each asked to share their memories of Fei Ke before the will is read. As implied by the homonym of his name, Fei Ke was not who he appeared to be; he showed a different self to each of them. As they piece together their memories, a complex, disturbing and moving picture of Fei Ke emerges.

Jing Boran delivers a compelling portrayal of Fei Ke as a charismatic, amoral "fake it till you make it" kind of character. I don't think any other actor could have evoked such complex and contradictory reactions. At many points in the narrative when I wanted to absolutely despise his Fei Ke, I found myself searching for excuses for him. Yet when I could have and should have empathized with him, I found myself judging him. All of the characters have many layers that peel off like an onion. Like Fei Ke, they all have at least one moment of hesitation before they almost willfully make a fatal, life changing decision that takes them down the path of no return. By the end of this web of lies, the only story that moved me was that of the two lovers star crossed who ended up as collateral damage. Everyone else reaped what they sowed; even Fei Ke who believed his own lies to the point he deceived himself more than anyone else.

The plot pulled me in from the start and kept me wanting more with each reveal. However, at the point of reversal, changes were deliberately made to the original novel plot, likely to avoid book spoilers. I think this was big mistake. As a result, plot holes emerged and the final three episodes did not come together as well as they could have. In the novel, the group gathered because the main antagonist wished to make amends. That is simple, straightforward and easy to understand. In the drama, they gather as a result of a convoluted and rather far fetched revenge plot. Some of the character designs and motives were changed in to make this work. Some of it just didn't make sense as those parties could have achieved their objectives in more direct and effective ways. This is made worse by the melodramatic storm at the end where everyone does silly things for some cheap thrills.

Even though the ending was overly dramatic and could have been more tightly written it was dark and consequential. All things considered, this is a suspenseful and thought provoking watch with many unexpected twists and reversals. And If you need a shallow reason to watch it, Jing Boran looks yummy in every scene. My rating 8.0/10.0.

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Extremely good plot twists and engaging plot

When this show came out i purely watched it because the cover page looked cool but from the second episode onwards i was hooked!! the plot was so good that i was at the edge of my seat till the next day

Acting/Cast:

Jing Boran has done a great job in demonstrating the various sides to "fei-ke" he made me hate, love, pity and empathize with this fictional character that had lived a very pitiful life....The supporting cast also did well and they did their parts especially the actress who played Xuan-er, i felt enraged on her behalf and she did a very convincing job at switching personalities...The female lead was pretty good but her acting wasn't a show stealer for sure, what i mean by this is that although she does her part very well her role itself isnt that impactful in the actual show

Plot:

The plot was done so well!!! I read a comment saying that this is a special type of drama where all crimes are punished at the end regardless of the reasoning and I think that I would have liked this drama regardless of whether it had a happy/sad ending...The parallels drawn between the "victims" and "the fraud" were very well done and by the end you can't really hate anyone....I also felt like it aptly shows how even the most intelligent people can be affected by their past and how important a good upbringing is for a person.....One thing i will point out though is that you will enjoy this drama way more if you wait for the next episode rather than binging (in my case i spent a lot of time theorizing which made it a more exciting experience)

Conclusion:

If you are looking for a short drama that has a pretty conclusive ending (an extra season is not required but i read some comments on the speculation of its possibility)

there is no textbook good or evil, and every character is a person rather than a plot device for the protagonist

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE SHOW, although there are meaningful gazes between leads and hinted feelings, and skinship between the supporting role with ml there is no actual romance as a plot in the story

( I tried to avoid saying anything close to a spoiler but if you want to know anymore details feel free to dm :) !)

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Perception vs Objective Reality

Regeneration is a drama with a lot of ambiguity and deception behind every episode. What started as a common tale of revenge against a scammer, slowly but surely turned into a drama about perception. Much like piecing together a puzzle (as the opening alludes to), you don't get a clear understanding of the events that unfolded until the last few episodes. Heck, I'd even argue there are many things intentionally left unclear by the time you reach the end.

The stage was set. You have a funeral for the charming and smart scam artist Fei Ke and the attendees: all his victims. Each character shares their story of how they met Fei Ke with each story being sadder than the last. Several plot twists later and the plot becomes less straightforward than originally believed.

Without giving too much away, it turns out, everybody is terrible. This main reveal is what made this drama compelling to watch. To steal a line from the ml "there are no good or bad lies. It's all just a lie." This is the driving force behind the drama: the many lies from unreliable narrators.

Every character blamed Fei Ke for their misfortunes. At first glance, their anger would seem justified. Fei Ke did scam them, after all. But as the "truth" gets revealed, it becomes clear every characters downfall was orchestrated by their own hands. They all approached Fei Ke instead of the other way around. They all were deceptive and used Fei Ke as a means to avoid taking responsibility for their own terrible actions.

I almost made Fei Ke sound like a victim here. To be clear, he wasn't exempt from the same flaws the other characters faced. His whole life took a turn for the worst when he got caught doing something illegal. And instead of taking responsibility and being more angry at his careless actions, he blamed his friend for ratting him out.

If this all doesn't sound exciting to you then that's completely understandable. Regeneration isn't the smartest cdrama ever crafted, but it's one that really makes you think until the very end. It poses some interesting questions about what is the truth and what is a lie. In the end, we don't really get an answer to many of the questions as the director wanted to focus on perception and not objective reality.

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Blame game of twists and turns.

The story was centered on the ML as the scammer which Jing Boran played brilliantly.Five of his victims were notified to attend his will reading on an island. However before reading of the will, each have to tell how he scammed them. The five were a journalist (FL), who was his schoolmate, a rich businessman who was the father-in-law,a socialite who was the college gf,,a financial accountant, his exlover and a fund manager,his ex partner..Hence the blame game began with each shifting their wants and needs to become a frictionalized fact that excuse themselves of blame.
Like a coin that has 2 sides, when the ML was rescued and told his side of the story.It a story of how a straight A student with a bright future made poor judgments on a wrong decision on a wrong choice. He cheated on final exam for his stepbrother when he went for revenge. His father abandoned him and married his stepmother but later took him back when his mother died., This generated a number of problems, including hidden bitterness, wrath, and holding grudges. To fit in with the family, he put on the act of being a good-natured and obedient boy, but in reality, he hated them.It was a poor decision to pretend to go along with his stepmother rather than notifying his father about her attempt to make him cheat for his stepbrother. He was caught, sent to prison and thus destroyed his bright future. He played a blame game and wrongly vented it out on his father as he threw his money back at him when he got out from prison instead of the outsider, the step mother .His father's way of apologising and concern about his welfare for he wanted him back to be his true self, the smart boy with a bright prospect. Instead of forgiveness for his father in trying to make amends, he left home and vowed to become rich without his money. Without a diploma, its was difficult to get a high paying job to become rich in a short span. Hence the road to scamming began with entry to a university with a fake ID and a fake name,FeiKe.
Its more like a psychological drama, ,and the FL was the only one able to bring out each fact in the actual compartment. The ML lumped his facts together and couldn't separate the fact that his father treated him or his mother in the past was vastly different from the present. From the time he provided a home and gave him an education to the time he was on his side when his stepbrother fought with him, to the giving of financial support to improve his future.

Conclusion: It is a personal development of oneself, which includes letting go of negative feelings , forgiveness of past mistakes of oneself as well as others, not degenerating and dwelling on inner demons, to regenerate to be your true self, a better you.

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BINGE WORTHY

10 episodes may seem like there wouldn't be enough drama material to be interesting. But they packed each episode with excellent characters and scenes, plus with the storytelling, that you could start at noon and be done by 10 pm. The actors all made this drama a very unique entertainment.
I liked Jing Bo Ran in "Road Home", but he surpassed himself on this one. I will now be on the watch for more of his dramas in the future.

I must say that when we find out that He Ran was the one who ratted Fei Ke out, I really wouldn't have cared if she had drowned instead of him. I cried really hard when he gave his life for hers, cuz she didn't deserve it. What a tragic life he lived all because he made that terrible decision in the beginning. though.

I really didn't pay any attention to the music because frankly it didn't stand out to me. The rest of the drama rates very high to me however and I may even rewatch it down the road sometime.

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Is Everything As It Seems? A Masterpiece of Storytelling

Just wrapped up "Regeneration," and boy, was it a wild ride! Imagine a mix of suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat and characters so complex, they're practically jumping off the screen.

First things first, the plot? Gripping from start to finish. They keep on adding twists – you think you've got it figured out, then bam! Plot twist that makes you rethink everything.

Now, let's talk about Fei Ke – brilliantly played by Jing Boran. He's the kind of character you love to hate and hate to love. Every smirk, every calculated move – you can't help but be mesmerized. . His performance brings depth to a character who is both charming and manipulative, leaving viewers constantly questioning his motives. The supporting cast, including the enigmatic Xuan-er, adds further intrigue with their own secrets and motivations, weaving a tapestry of conflicting narratives and hidden agendas.

The storytelling? A rollercoaster of emotions. You'll find yourself rooting for characters one minute, questioning their motives the next. It's like they dipped into the grey area of human nature and threw it back at you in the most captivating way.

Oh, and the setting – an island mansion where secrets unravel? It's atmospheric AF. You'll feel like you're right there with the characters, trying to piece together the puzzle of Fei Ke's life and the aftermath of his actions.

Things wraps up with a surprising twist that sets it apart from the book's storyline. The drama stays true to the book's main themes, but spices things up with its own unique twists and character developments. If you've read the book, you might notice some differences in how the story unfolds, especially towards the end. In the book, the ending takes a different path, focusing more on the psychological unraveling of the characters.

Overall, "Regeneration" isn't just a drama – it's a psychological thriller that hooks you from the first episode. If you're into suspense, morally ambiguous characters, and plot twists that keep you guessing, this one's a must-watch. Grab some snacks, settle in, and get ready for a ride you won't forget.

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peering through the illusion

back to watching dramas after a drought in recent months since everyone loves me + fortune writer! first drama to get me to watch and actually hold my attention.

Regeneration starts with a very strong first 6 episodes as we slowly get Fei Ke's (Jing Boran) backstory through the 4 people who knew him. Each story is riveting with unexpected twists and paints a complex portrait of our main character. Through these four stories, we see how Fei Ke interacts differently with each of them, all of the stories smearing him as a liar and a fraud. All of the cast hold their roles well, bringing an almost a Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower energy to the drama.

**Spoiler-free, non-plot-related thoughts before the spoilers:**
Lovely cinematography and pacing!! The camerawork pulls you in, matching the tone of the drama. Romantic when it needs to be with Su Qian, serious and not beating around the bush when it comes to Xuan Er's story, and showing all of the characters and their motivations with the camera. The costuming is chic and realistic, from Chen Jiajia's dressy formal wear to Fei Ke's casual sweatshirts. Jing Boran does great in these kinds of nice but sly roles, being able to take on different vibes for Fei Ke's different "personas": swanky college student, eager and ambitious college grad, charming husband. Towards the end though, when there is a need for more emotion and impact, Jing Boran's performance falls short and leaves more to be desired. My only other gripe with the acting is sometimes the way Zhou Yiran delivers her lines feels like she's struggling with enunciating the words properly (like she's specifically speaking slower in order to enunciate words well), which isn't a major issue as she's super natural in her role, but it just sometimes irks me in later eps (8-10) when her slower speech stands out more compared to everyone else's.

**SPOILERS, but nothing major**
It was around episode 8 that things started to spiral for me. Though not super crazy, it seemed like some of the explanations given to explain Fei Ke and to point out the holes in the people's stories felt a little like the writers trying to backtrack everything they told the audience in the first 6 episodes. Although the explanations are logical on the surface, The discrepancies in the portrayals of Fei Ke in them feel like the writers were trying to push all of the blame onto the four other characters for "corrupting" this pure, innocent, hardworking boy. Fei Ke had his own twisted charm in the first 6 episodes, and there were other ways to reason his character without making the audience feel like it was a "haha gotcha!" moment from the writers. It seemed like the writers wanted the charm of a morally gray character without having the consequences of writing a morally gray protagonist.

**MAJOR SPOILERS**
The first seven episodes ending with the father being called out as being manipulative would've been a great twist, maybe incorporating how ambitious and desperate Fei Ke/Li Zerui was for success into a "both were using each other" moment would've been amazing. It would've relieved Fei Ke's character of Chen Jiajia's suicide while preserving his character when interacting with Cheng Hao, Xuan Er, and Su Qian. The motivation that after being wronged in his youth during the gaokao and then coming out of jail a changed man would've been a great Count of Monte Cristo revenge plot. Instead, Fei Ke gets made into a "misunderstood anti-hero" which feels like it comes out of nowhere when the audience has spent 6-7/10 episodes of the drama thinking Fei Ke was a morally gray protagonist or a straight-up villain.

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Interesting, but boring

I was glued onto this drama at the start of episodes 1-5. Then it got boring. The stories of each person just kept getting less, and less interesting.

Also, from what I heard, Jing Bo Ran was supposed to play 5 different characters. Each with different personalities.
...However, all the identities he took all had the same personalities with the same style and looks, except for when he had longer hair as one of his identity.
I felt that a few scenes were a bit scripted, and you already could predict what would happen next...
For example, the part where the ML came out after taking the exam for his half brother. All the examines walked out and the FL's dad took a picture of her as she was walking out. You could tell that in that scene he would take the photo and then capture the ML in the background. Lol.
Another predictable, scripted scene was towards the end where they were all being rocked on the boat. Of course, so obvious that the FL would fall into the water and ML would jumped in after her.
There were no twists. Plot slowed down after episode 5. The drama got boring afterwards.

Overall, it started out strong but weak ending. The ending was so overly dramatic.

There's an Easter egg ep, but I skipped it. Lol

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Jing Bo Ran ?

J'ai passé une super nuit blanche grâce à ce drama. Les deux derniers episodes ne sont pas à la hauteur du reste, ce qui fait retomber à plat une bonne partie de toute la tention accumulée tout le long, mais dans l'ensemble l'histoire est super prenante et fun à suivre. J'ai apprécié la qualité de l'image, les bouts de puzzle avec la version de chacun et j'ai trouvé que chaque personnage apportait quelque chose. Le casting est excellent ; plus gros point fort du drama. Jing Bo Ran est incroyable dans le rôle de Fei Ke, un plaisir tout le long, son jeu d'acteur ?

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magisterial, upsettong and complex

Auspiciously suspicious beginnings. One shot -- a line of stewardesses wends its way into the terminal, crossing the drop off lane, timed to synchronize with the taxi pulling up, in which the journalist who will bear witness is arriving. Like a fish on a line. Perfect opening credits follow sometime afterwards.

Wow. Magisterial, upsetting and complex. The script, acting and direction act as one gripping whole -- I cannot say much more (my rule, no spoilers). Against my will I ended up in love with Fei Ke, totally seduced by the sensitive curve of Jing Bo Ran's upper lip; inexorably I was forced to look at each character from at least two different points of view. This is a mystery/crime thriller, so perhaps I can say that we are also forced to confront whether or not truth and legal consequences compensate a viewer for what feels more real -- several human tragedies.

I would like to say that I loved the way Viki dropped one episode per day for 10 days -- a super experience -- just enough time to digest the previous episode and wonder what was going to happen next.

first posted on viki june 3rd 2024

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