wildswans
in your head
One of the best C-Dramas: excellence all around
A thought provoking and tightly-written story with excellent production quality that could rival the likes of Western Crime shows on Netflix. If you decide to watch just ONE c-drama this year (or ever), make it this one - you won't regret it. This was an EXPERIENCE.
THEMES
While this drama is labelled as a mystery/crime genre, I would also call it a gritty humanistic drama that explores themes such as family trauma, societal pressures, psychology, and the origins and morals of good vs evil. Are we born good or evil? What makes someone evil? The complexities of criminality is explored and what I appreciate is that the drama showcases the 'grey' area of good vs evil - not everything is black and white.
ACTING/CAST
The acting from the entire cast, especially from the kids, exceeded all of my expectations - they BECAME the characters and brought them to LIFE. The chemistry between the kids were perfect. The parents and of course, Dongsheng, were also strong in their roles and contrasted well with the innocence of the kids. In many ways, Dongsheng serves as a parallel to Chaoyang - they are similar in so many ways, and once you start to watch the drama you will see how they start to mirror each other.
PRODUCTION
The soundtrack, cinematography, and production design came together seamlessly, effortlessly bringing the story to life. What I also respect is that the screenwriter challenges the viewers to think deeply about the story and leaves it up to the viewer to decide how they want to interpret certain details, such as the ending. A lot of times we may watch mindless dramas as a way to 'escape'. However, this drama is opposite as it demands your undivided attention and will require you to keep up as not a single scene is wasted. There is meaning behind each scene - symbolism in not just the way the script unfolds but the cinematography and camera shots.
It's rare to come across a drama of such high calibre, not just within c-dramas but Asian dramas in general. Several western media outlets such as Variety have even included The Bad Kids on their list of the best international tv shows of 2020. It is also no surprise that the drama is so popular in China and highly rated on Douban. All in all, this is the kind of drama that stays with you long after you have finished and leaves you with a lot to process. I would also recommend watching AvenueX's analysis of the drama on YouTube to make sure you haven't missed all the easter eggs and hints!
THEMES
While this drama is labelled as a mystery/crime genre, I would also call it a gritty humanistic drama that explores themes such as family trauma, societal pressures, psychology, and the origins and morals of good vs evil. Are we born good or evil? What makes someone evil? The complexities of criminality is explored and what I appreciate is that the drama showcases the 'grey' area of good vs evil - not everything is black and white.
ACTING/CAST
The acting from the entire cast, especially from the kids, exceeded all of my expectations - they BECAME the characters and brought them to LIFE. The chemistry between the kids were perfect. The parents and of course, Dongsheng, were also strong in their roles and contrasted well with the innocence of the kids. In many ways, Dongsheng serves as a parallel to Chaoyang - they are similar in so many ways, and once you start to watch the drama you will see how they start to mirror each other.
PRODUCTION
The soundtrack, cinematography, and production design came together seamlessly, effortlessly bringing the story to life. What I also respect is that the screenwriter challenges the viewers to think deeply about the story and leaves it up to the viewer to decide how they want to interpret certain details, such as the ending. A lot of times we may watch mindless dramas as a way to 'escape'. However, this drama is opposite as it demands your undivided attention and will require you to keep up as not a single scene is wasted. There is meaning behind each scene - symbolism in not just the way the script unfolds but the cinematography and camera shots.
It's rare to come across a drama of such high calibre, not just within c-dramas but Asian dramas in general. Several western media outlets such as Variety have even included The Bad Kids on their list of the best international tv shows of 2020. It is also no surprise that the drama is so popular in China and highly rated on Douban. All in all, this is the kind of drama that stays with you long after you have finished and leaves you with a lot to process. I would also recommend watching AvenueX's analysis of the drama on YouTube to make sure you haven't missed all the easter eggs and hints!
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