A great undercover police drama that plunges us into a dark and dangerous universe.

This drama is different from most regular dramas. It takes place in a different region than popular dramas and plunges us into the world of drugs and crime.

Story:
The story is pretty well written and the action and event sequences are thrilling. Sometimes an explanatory scene is missing for certain things but it remains a detail. The plot, the course of events, everything is well balanced.
The first two episodes, which serve as an introduction, would have deserved more clarity (apparently several scenes from the beginning of the drama have been cut) but remain correct in their introduction of the characters and the universe of the story.
The story really starts at the end of Episode 2 and from there it's a roller coaster ride. We live, like the heroine, the immersion in a sad, hard, cruel and dangerous world.

Characters:
The FL who, at first may seem like a hothead, will quickly find her way into our hearts with her ability to blend in with the surroundings, her resourcefulness and her badass attitude. She is different from the usual FLs. She knows how to fight, knows how to use her mind, has a lot of nerve. She also has a lot of empathy, strength of mind, and can be cute and innocent in certain situations.
ML meanwhile is more mysterious. It is difficult to truly understand who he is since most of his thoughts are not accessible to us at first. However, we are captivated by his charisma, the sensitive heart we feel under the mask he has created and, at the same time, just like the FL, we fear him and his intentions.

It's a drama that wants to portray life undercover and what it means to investigate. Therefore, the focus is on the FL. We also follow her whole team. It is the story of these police officers, of their courage, of their difficulty in arresting criminals that is told.
The bad guys are also important because the FL works with them and you have to feel all the danger that it represents to work in this environment.
The drama achieves the feat of humanizing the people living in this environment. There are the rotten ones, of course. We often have little empathy for them. But there are also those whom poverty and lack of perspective has thrown into this world. I applaud the writers for portraying human misery and the fact that we have to destroy drug trafficking for these people too, so that they have a chance.

Recommendation:
I highly recommend this drama to those who like action, police, crime and mafia stories. This drama is definitely worth it. If you like to try another kind of drama, go watch it! Its unique proposition in dramaland, its focus on a badass and resourceful FL and its subject made it a drama to be seen.
On the other hand, not everyone will appreciate this story given the subject and the way it is treated so don't waste your time if you don't like police drama or crime drama.

OST:
The OST is really good. It is not use at each episode like in most dramas but sublimates the scenes in which the songs are used. I have had chills and tears more than once thanks to the OST.

Conclusion:
It's one of the best dramas I've seen. From start to finish, I was glued to my screen. The story is interesting and the characters are well written and endearing. There is everything: action, investigation, romance, social painting.


What I liked the most:
- A strong and resourceful heroine who improves over time.
- A charismatic and enigmatic male character.
- An intense immersion in the world of crime.

What I liked the least:
- A lack of clarity during the introduction of the main characters.
- The dubbing of the voices, due to censorship and a rewriting of certain dialogues, is sometimes not perfectly synchronized in the beginning.
- Some somewhat confusing editing choices.

Leggi di Più

One of the most complete, well-constructed and interesting historical c-dramas ever!

This drama is a story of adventure and coming of age.

GENERAL:
The drama is well constructed from start to finish. There is a beautiful progression and evolution of the story. The characters will experience many diverse and varied, sad and happy adventures. They will meet new characters, learn new things, lose and win.
This is not a harem drama, nor a political drama, nor a wuxia drama. So it really stands out from other historical dramas.
There aren't countless characters to follow nor a lot of complicated and noxious storylines. Above all, we follow the leads and the people around them. This drama is written with great intelligence and respect.
It is a drama which wants to be accessible to a young audience therefore, it is not dark while being serious at times.
The episodes follow one another smoothly, the story moves forward without dragging too long. The script can sound classic yet smart and dynamic which makes it better than a lot of other stories.

CHARACTERS:
The 2 female leads are cousins ​​and, unlike many dramas, are not going to fight. They sincerely love each other and will each live their own adventure, their own romance and their own trial in life. This is one of the most positive things about this story. There is no toxic second lead or unbearable love triangle.
Each girl represents in her own way a version of a woman (the "traditional" and the "rebel"). But each has her strength, each has her weaknesses and each will show that she is courageous.

The same goes for the 2 male leads which have their own evolution without any ridiculous rivalry. We follow two talented and cold young men who, in contact with the two cousins, will gradually show the sensitivity they hid in their heart and learn to impose their point of view instead of being blindly obedient soldiers.

The FL is really well done: strong, intelligent, capable, knows how to be restrained, sensitive, courageous etc... She's not perfect, she knows she's too impulsive. She also still has a lot to learn. But unlike some "revenge drama", this character doesn't let herself be consumed by hatred and rage. Her character is writted so accurately, it's really nice.

The ML is really well written and performed. We feel all his nobility, his leadership, his intelligence. We understand from his gaze all his doubts, his fears, his thoughts, his love for the FL... It is really the best Male Character to follow because he is all in relief and, above all, he is extremely respectful of the FL. He does not try to impose his wishes and opinions on her, he respects her abilities, her objectives, her convictions.
It's nice to see two main leads with their own belief, their own goal, their own obstacle respecting each other. They have common values as well as an intelligence and capacity on the same level.

The SFL may be quite innocent and unconscious of the world, but she is not made stupid or incapable like some can be. Her young age and her life in her golden cage make her inexperience understandable. But we see that she is fundamentally kind, that she is capable of taking initiatives to help others or to survive. And it's interesting and cute to watch her gradually discover the real world that people of her lineage come to rule.
Her trial of life will last for some episodes but it is really useful for her evolution and to break the cliché of the "weak girl in distress".

ROMANCE:
Romances are slow burns but they are built from the first episode and were really wonderful! The main couple spoiled us with beautiful scenes and incredible dialogue throughout the drama.
The characters support, respect, admire and protect each other. There is real equity in the relationship between men and women and it is great to see!

OST:
It is certainly one of the most beautiful OST there is. All the songs fit wonderfully into the drama.

ACTING:
The older actors are pretty much all very talented (with the exception of the main villain whose I didn't like the acting).
The main actors are also at their best. Dilreba is playing one of her best (if not the best) roles. Her playing is convincing, she aptly mixes rage, determination, hesitation, doubt and timidity. Even if it is clear that she is not 16 like her character, we sincerely come to believe that she is a young girl.
Wu Lei is an extraordinary actor. He carries a lot of the tension and stakes of drama on his shoulders and he does it to perfection. He also achieved the feat of making us forget the age gap between him and Dilreba. At no time did I have the impression that she was older than him. I sincerely believed in their character's age and in him being the oldest. That he was able to do that is great.
The rest of the cast play their roles well and none of them seemed over-acted.

WHAT I DISLIKED:
I really struggled with the way of speaking of the main villain.

ADVICE:
The drama is inspired by a manhua. Due to the covid and out of respect for the original work, several scenes are animated. There aren't that many either. It is mainly at the very beginning of the drama and sometimes during flashbacks or battles. But, if you have prepared for it in advance, apart from a few scenes, it's not disturbing at all, on the contrary, it gives a style to the drama.

REWATCH:
This drama is so complete (whether by its story, its romances, the evolution of the characters, the many adventures lived) that it clearly deserves to be seen again and again.
This is definitely one of the dramas that I would have no problem seeing more than twice.

CONCLUSION:
I highly recommend this drama!
If you like action, adventures, battles, healthy relationships, beautiful friendships, life lessons, great romances, go for it!
It has it all. The editing is very well done, the music is magnificent, there are also beautiful views. The characters are all diverse, varied and interesting to follow. The main romance is one of the best there is.
This drama is lighter than the usual historical dramas. If you like intrigue, politics, mature characters from the start, this might not be the drama for you. Here, the cast is quite young as we follow their entry into adulthood. But there is a maturity in the writing and in the evolution of the characters that makes this drama a success. I'm an adult and I loved it!

Leggi di Più

A drama that had the potential to be a cute romance but turns out to be a disappointment.

The plot of this drama, although not very original, could have been interesting (especially since the male lead is adorable when he opens up a bit).

Unfortunately, the writers wanted to put in their story all the clichés possible (amnesia, mean girl who bullies the female lead because she wants the male lead, families who disapprove the relationship of main leads, ML rival who tries to seduce FL for make him jealous and so on) without going through with each storyline. The story ends up confusing us because the characters appear and disappear to serve the clichés, there are 180 ° turns of "means characters" who come back to show they have moved on without explanation for their turnaround and without never have to evolve or pay for their actions.

The writing of the characters also suffers from a lack of rigor and clichés. The FL lacks personality as soon as she is not facing the ML (in front of whom she has too much personality and can appear stubborn and rude). The ML has trouble expressing how he feels and sometimes makes it worse, especially when faced with a LF who has no human psychology and sees the worst in him.

I ended up using fast forward for half the drama. It's a pity.

Leggi di Più

A long descent into hell.

This drama was off to a good start. The story was well structured and you could see where the plot was heading.
Then, along the way, the drama takes a 180 ° turn. The developed plots lead nowhere and are replaced by an assemblage of boring, incomprehensible and lengthy scenes. We follow more the secondary couples than the main couple. It's to believe the staff preferred them while they are toxic, unbearable and redundant.

The story presented at the beginning, the initial personality of the characters, the theme of the drama, all of that is changed along the way. We end up with a drama that makes no sense, everything is confused, we spend ten years on the same actions without going anywhere and nothing is moving forward.

It's more than a disappointment, it's a shipwreck. I have never seen a drama like this and yet I have waited for it for years and I love these actors. But there nothing can be saved. The script, the edition, the romance, the secondary couples: everything is horrible, disastrous, very poorly done and so on.

Music gave me a headache. At times it is very loud (almost louder than the voices) and does not match to what is happening.

Best advice I can give: don't waste your time. Life is short, you can invest your time on things better than this drama.

Leggi di Più

A funny and cute romance with disturbing behaviors from secondary characters.

2020 has been a good year in terms of cute and nice drama.
This one is funny, cute with a cool storyline, although it's not perfect but we don't ask too much of a college drama.

[No spoilers here]

The two leads have personality and are endearing.
The male lead seemed to me at first the type of cold, perfect and domineering guy that we too often see. However, he is not. Yes he can be cold, he is talented and has a strong personality which makes him domineering at times. But he's not only that. He's cute, funny, loving, teasing, responsible, and flawed. He makes mistakes and the show points it out by making him apologize or struggle.
The female lead is an adorable little creature. She is optimistic, cheerful, kind, loyal and reckless. But she's also very clumsy and unlucky, all that more accentuated for the sake of comedy.


Romance is very cute and takes its time.
When the story begins, the characters are already classmates but the events of the first episode will cause them to pay attention to each other. I find it interesting to see a male lead realize his feelings first and admire the FL for his personality. This makes the dynamic more interesting and captivating than love at first sight or a girl chasing a boy too blind to realize her potential.
Even if the protagonists take a long time to start dating, their alchemy, attraction, feelings and closeness begin from the start. It was funny and moving to see them bicker, get to know each other, try to understand their feelings and what the other is thinking and so on.


Friendship is also a big plus in the story.
Their group of friends were interesting and funny. This created several interesting and hilarious scenes. I get bored sometimes in front of the dormitory scenes but I admit that during this drama, I didn't skip any of that.
It should also be noted that this is a drama without parental presence (5min of screen throughout the drama) which leaves more time to focus on the students rather than adding more intrigue or drama.


Obviously, like a lot of drama, there are a few flaws.
I would say that the biggest flaw, and what exasperated me the most, is the attitude of the 2 supporting roles which serve as love rivals to the protagonists. The secondary characters are not vicious, but they are toxic by their harassing and obsessive behavior, emotional manipulation, and disrespect for the words, opinions and feelings of the loved one.
However, I would point out that this does not spoil the drama at all and that this kind of attitude is not "rewarded" (they don't get what they want) even if a more severe criticism from the drama would have pleased me.

[Slighty spoilers from here]

The second male lead is the female lead's childhood friend (whom she hasn't seen in years). He becomes obsessive as soon as he meets her and it's problematic because he doesn't just act as a friend but flirts with her and sometimes even behaves like a boyfriend.

The second female lead is a former classmate of the ML. She too has become obsessive, harassing and stalking the male lead whom nevertheless makes it clear that he does not like her, even that he hates her. This character is depressive, annoying and pathetic.


The lead's attitude towards these characters is in my opinion more normal, healthy and interesting (although I have seen people criticize him).
Given the attitude of the SML and the fact that the female lead is unable to really put boundaries between them, I understand that he wants her far away from a man openly in love with her who doesn't take "no" for an answer.
Male lead has a problematic attitude sometimes, it's true. But it's normal not to want your girlfriend being so close to another man, especially one who hasn't stopped showing his love for her and had an inappropriate attitude.


Conclusion:
This is a good drama about first love in college. The two protagonists are endearing, funny and interesting to follow. Their circle of friends is also worth watching. It's fun: there is humor, love, friendship, art. And there's bad: The 2 supporting roles show disturbing behavior. And the script should definitely shows the FL criticizes this kind of attitude rather than letting her encourage or condone it. But that doesn't spoil the experience.

Leggi di Più

A very good student drama, a couple with incredible chemistry, a realistic and cute FL & ML.

The good:
Even though the story is not very original (there are plenty of school and college dramas), the script and the acting make this drama truly unique and interesting.
The two main characters are definitely the biggest asset of this drama. They are realistic, natural, believable, endearing, complex, and cute. We see them evolve over the course of the series whether as a person or as a couple.
There is a real sense of equality in their relationship. Often the female characters are too submissive, clumsy or not very intelligent compared to the cold, perfect and rich hero. Here the two are very smart in their own fields (although the boy must always be a genius) and it is the girl who is rich. Therefore, their relationship is very dynamic, fair and interesting. There is a lot of communication, understanding and love.
It feels good to see a LF having her own opinions and imposing her opinion on the people around her rather than letting herself be trodden on and submitting to the SL or her parents for example.
The antagonists of the story, although particularly unbearable, are credible in their attitude and often disappear for a long time which avoids being irritated by their presence.
It's a drama where I spent a lot of time smiling.

The bad:
The main problem with this drama would certainly be the ellipses and transitions. I had a hard time figuring out how much time went by at times and it's confusing to ask "are we several months later or just a few weeks?"


Conclusion: This is a very good student drama, very well played. The main couple have incredible chemistry and are one of the most natural, healthy, and believable couples I've seen in a Chinese drama. They alone are worth watching this drama. The group of friends are funny and endearing.
The usual problems: parents who disapprove, rival in love, are not too present to annoy the audience.

Leggi di Più

An entertaining drama that suffers from uneven writing in the second part.

I just finished this drama and I'm mitigated.

[NO SPOILER]
The good:
The story is cute, not too dramatic and go quickly without dragging too long. Couples and servants are cute, funny and endearing.
Each "nice" character has their own unique personality which makes them believable.
The couples have a lot of chemistry and share a lot of scenes. The second couple is definitely one of the most interesting, cute, and well-built side couples I've seen in a Chinese drama. They even have more romantic scenes than the main couple. Which is good for them but sad for the main couple.

Neither good nor bad:
Like a lot of Chinese dramas, the editing is not great and there are a lot of things that seem to have been cut but it works if we think it saves us time. This avoids staying too much on things that are not really useful.

The bad:
But the main issue, for me, is the motivation of the villains, the lack of credibility of the context and the lack of confidence in the main couple.

[SPOILERS]
Let's start with the couple:

The progress of the love story was fine until episode 18. From there, apart from a few cute scenes, the romance stagnate or even regress. It's a shame to have 22 episodes of them married only to, in the end, see them so little really act as husband and wife and overcome obstacles as a couple.

In this, the second couple is much more credible in their romance. We see them getting to know each other, falling in love and then being a couple in adversity. It is a pity that the main couple is not entitled to this.

I liked the FL a lot in the first half of the drama. But from the moment she marries ML, the writing of the FL becomes catastrophic. She was portrayed as loyal, eager to believe the best in those around her and with some intelligence. But the writers seem to have forgotten this.

After the death of her master, she does not try to investigate any further nor does she give a chance to the man she loves to explain himself. She declares him guilty and organizes his assassination (which could have her whole family killed). Throughout the second half the ML will not stop declaring his love for his wife, defing his father, risking his career and his life for her. However, she will not stop imagining the worst of him, without giving him a chance, without trusting him. To see a FL continue to believe the worst of the man she claims to love, showing that she doesn't know him at all and doesn't trust him, 3 episodes before the end of the drama is a worry. This couple does not seem strong. How to believe in their future if the heroine doubts him to the end and only realizes her error when the villains come to confess to her?

If I love a man, I have to be confident in his personality, know what he would do or not do, want to give him a chance to prove to me that he is a good man. I do not declare him guilty at the slightest problem and call his servants liars (while they tell me the truth and I know they are good people).

From the start her master tells her to beware of Duke An but she never seems to suspect him while he is very strange, secretive and he agrees without problem to help her murder his nephew.

So I admit I'm a little frustrating about this kind of thing. It is difficult for me to believe in this couple if the FL imagines, after all that they have lived, that her husband is able to have her father killed.

Credibility:

The ML is the target of at least 10 assassination attempts throughout the series, yet his father does not seem more concerned than that. The emperor has no personality/intellect of his own other than following what each of his interlocutors tells him to do.

The villains:

FL's two childhood friends are arguably the most stupid, illogical villains ever. One blames her best friend for... what? Wanting to protect her sister from a criminal!

And the other is angry with a little boy for spilling a candle.

It makes zero sense. Their actions after that are so vicious, devoid of logic and coherence that it's easier to tell yourself that it's 2 terrible lonely people who love to hate than to believe what the script is trying to sale us.


Conclusion:
The beginning was promising despite a few flaws but the second part became redundant, lacking in originality and character development, a little boring even (I put forward several passages) and frustrating by the lack of communication of the main couple as well than by the lack of investigation on their part to find out who their enemy is.

Leggi di Più

A beautiful and wholesome love story in an uneven and somewhat boring drama.

It's one of the few dramas where the romance is fair, mature and wholesome, which is great and the only good thing about this drama, in my opinion. The female lead is smart, confident, competent, determined, thoughtful and at the same time cute and funny. The male lead is competent, a little cold on the outside but warm and funny on the inside and respectful of the FL.
There is intensity, mutual understanding, lots of sexual tension, funny and touching moments between them.

However, the good stops there for me. The rest didn't interest me at all. The drama gives too much screen time to the other two couples while they are more cliché and therefore more boring. Even if I approve of certain reflections proposed.
The same goes for the two main rivals of the main couple (the exes of each). They are used as a tool for the main romance but their story is neither well developed nor really interesting. And given the time spent on the FL's ex, I would have liked a better conclusion to his storyline.
As for the work part, it is just as uninteresting, unfortunately. Too much time is spent on contracts or whatever that don't serve the plot and are just there to create working context but aren't well-written or in-depth to be relevant and just seem like a waste of time.

It's a pity.

I still recommend this drama for the leads, they are really worth it (only reason why I rate this drama so well). But feel free to use the fast forward button, like I did for half of the drama.

Leggi di Più

A well-written psychological, human and family drama.

This drama is definitely one of the best dramas I have seen. It is very well written, well put together and very well played.

It is an unconventional drama which breaks a bit the cultural and traditional Chinese codes, which offers a deep realistic critique of some traditions, methods of thought and education and which plunges into the heart of the human soul, of its wounds, of its problems.

Breaking the Chinese codes where the blood tie is important, where we must respect the elders at all costs, this drama offers us a reflection on what a family is, on the importance of love and respect, regardless of blood relationship. Blood ties that only care about the reputation of the family, of what their relatives can bring them (money, prestige, care when the elders are old, ensuring the perpetuation of the lineage ...) are they really mean more than those who are there on a daily basis, who feed us, dress us, love us, listen to us, respect our opinions, our wishes and encourage us?

The scenario is well constructed and makes us explore human, psychological, social, family and professional issues and offers us an interesting conclusion. Adult or child characters are written and described with relevance and realism.

I particularly liked the space given in this drama to the reflexion. In many others we have characters who struggle to express their grievance, who allow themselves to be abused, manhandled, demeaned without really expressing themselves and offering a criticism of what they are going through. This drama does not do that. It dares to make the characters speak, to put words to the discomfort, to the problems, to the concerns of the characters. The different characters grow up, mature, get to know themselves and understand a little more the adult world, to impose their ideas, to forgive the mistakes made by adults, to understand why some have made mistakes and so on. This is what growing actually is. It does not mean forgetting or completely forgiving all the wrongs we have suffered but understanding that we sometimes also have our share of responsibility, that parents are imperfect human beings (like everyone else), that they can commit mistakes but that depending on the reasons why they made this mistakes and the context, we can forgive them, move on and so on...

This story aptly alternates difficult and sad moments with moments full of humor, love and hope.


Another positive point is the absence of a secondary role as we can have in other dramas. As the drama is not centered on a romance (even if there is one), we thus escape the SML and SFL who are either unbearable in their obsession and harassment of the heroes or they are pitiful because completely devoted to the heroes who do not respond to their love.


In conclusion, this is a drama that I recommend to anyone who enjoys psychological reflections and intelligent scenarios. To those who do not always appreciate the misogyny of Chinese dramas as well as the eternal clichés such as the dictator parents in study and love (but who never evolve), the useless love triangles, the unbearable SML and SFL, the lack of discussion, misunderstandings and so on.

Leggi di Più

A short drama that suffers from cliché and an uninteresting love story.

This drama had the potential to be an entertaining short story but, instead, several things made watching it frustrating and infuriating.

1) The female lead character has potential but her naivety, recklessness and obsession with her first love make her story very frustrating to follow.
For her teenage love of vacation, she doesn't hesitate to work in a creepy hostess club or to jump into the water in winter to recover a damn strap.
Her lack of survival instincts and intelligence are frustrating to watch. Especially for a boy she only knew during vacations when she was a teenager. Seeing a young woman sicken with sadness, throwing herself headlong into danger and unable to move forward in life due to an unhealthy obsession with her first love is hard to watch when the moral is...that she's right.
She also has no judgment and believes the first comer when it was easy to see the person was threatening her out of jealousy. Also, she should at least give her friend the benefit of the doubt before condemning him for the words of a stranger.

2) The romance between the leads is not believable and infuriating. They remain stuck at their 17th youngself, unable to move on. The FL is depressed (and depressing) while the ML sinks into a dark world while cherishing their memories of times that were (understandably) better. Instead of seeing two young adults find each other again, cherish their memories, help each other in adversity and get to know each other or, on the contrary, realize the past is over and part as good friends we have two people who act like teenager while they're no longer children.
The FL has deeper, serious and interesting relationships with her best friend and her new friend/suitor the photographer with whom she shares many things in common (hurtful first love, passion for art...).

I don't recommend it, it will only frustrate the audience because we see everyone, except the romance between the leads, be a more interesting story.

Leggi di Più