The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty (2020)

The cook, the eunuch and the chowhound - a crime solving menage a trois.

This comedic drama features a wildly imaginative yet oddly fitting crime fighting menage a trois comprising of a low (sixth) ranked magistrate (Tang Fan), a high-ranked embroidered guard (jingyi wei; Sui Zhou) and an influential eunuch (Wang Zhi) with the emperor's ear. Their paths intersect on cases with national security implications and while they have different agendas and masters, their synergistic and mutually beneficial collaborations blossom into friendship. The three main characters are well written - their bromance, hilarious antics and interactions are this drama's greatest strength.

With an irrepressible grin and a wicked gleam in his eyes, Darren Chen really hams it up with his cheeky, flirtatious and sometimes deliberately irritating characterisation of the titular Tang Fan, an idealistic young magistrate who is more of a chowhound than a sleuthhound. The talented and willowy Tang Fan is a very pretty boy with delicate and vivacious features who embraces his feminine side with abandon and is passionate, emotional, naggy, petulant, petty and vengeful. This outrageously funny character writes erotic novels to supplement his puny income, lives to eat, seems extremely well acquainted with the how to but yet can't cook to save his life. He happily moves in with the gorgeously taciturn, moody, much more masculine and deadly Sui Zhou who steals Tang Fan's heart with his ability to cook a mean meal. There is enough in their interactions and suggestive domestic arrangement to get the BL fans all hot and bothered without running afoul of Chinese censorship. And then of course there is Wang Zhi, the most morally grey and dangerous of the three. He approaches relationships transaction ally - "you scratch my back I'll scratch yours" and is unambiguous about his first loyalty to king and country. Newcomer Liu Yaoyuan's portrayal of the ruthless, calculating and yet inexplicably likable Wang Zhi nicely rounds out this kinky threesome. Between them, they are able to marshal resources from the lowest to highest reaches of society to solve their cases.

Set at the heart of the capital during the Chenghua reign of Ming Dynasty, the important characters and events of the period are nicely tied into the overall plot-lines. The surrounding characters were somewhat cliche but mostly well done from the "adopted daughter" Dong'er, the miracle doctor, the Oirats, Wang Zhi's beggar informants and the rare treat of a smart and hot emperor. The cases run the gamut from crimes of passion, corruption, larceny, terrorism and climaxes in a dangerous conspiracy reaching the highest ranks of government. Most surrounding characters including the villains have recurring roles in subsequent cases which gives them dimension and avoids the confusion of excessive character introductions with each new case. The cases shouldn't be taken too seriously; while they are fun and quite interesting, they are not that original or that difficult to solve and have some logic holes and are thus unlikely to satisfy a serious crime or mystery buff. The rhythm of the investigations frequently digress into inane and somewhat childish hit or miss comedic sketches that can go on for too long. There is a slight misogynist undertone to this drama - even the likable women have unflattering traits (stupid, noisy, whiny, irrational), or worse are power hungry, traitors, extremists or come to a bad end.

The tightly choreographed action scenes are signature Jackie Chan - lethal, gripping, high impact, extremely acrobatic and fluid poetry in motion. They are not excessive, do not drag on for too long and avoid the mid-combat slapstick moments he used to be so fond of; all good changes. The camerawork is stunning and very artistic, approaching movie quality. They obviously spared no expense with this and it shows.

For those who grew up on Jackie Chan, the Sleuth of Ming Dynasty is a fun romp down memory lane. There is a bit of the artistic Jackie Chan, the wacky whack-y Jackie Chan, the comedic Jackie Chan, the high testosterone Jackie Chan, the innovative Jackie Chan, the crass Jackie Chan and finally and pleasingly, the mature Jackie Chan. I outgrew his flicks ages ago - after awhile I found the hair rising stunts, high speed chases and exaggerated comedic routines repetitive, shallow and draining. So I am pleasantly surprised to see in this drama that maturity has toned down and balanced some (not all) of his more extreme inclinations while still remaining essentially Jackie Chan. It is also nice to see the uniquely Jackie Chan inspired Hong Kong wu da pan (武打片) sub-genre with its chauvinistic, contradictory, cynical, sarcastic yet sentimental and idealistic spirit has evolved for the better but is still innately the same.

This is highly entertaining and enjoyable if you don't look too hard at it or seek profound meaning. It is not always my sense of humor and the cases are solid but not exceptional so I rate it an 8.5 but I can see why others would call it a 9.0 or better.

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Let's Go Home For Dinner

“Let's go home for dinner” can even be an appropriate alternative title for this drama. For 48 episodes, the home scene of eating dinner together as one big family perhaps occurs the most times and in every episode. This scene is also the most endearing scene for me as I value family time having meals together as the most enjoyable event in life.

This drama is an investigative story with the three main leads working together from different angles to solve crimes and uncover conspiracies. They investigate government corruptions, punish the guilty, exonerate the innocents and save the kingdom. Though they have totally different personalities, they all have one common goal, that is to protect the Ming Kingdom from all dangers within and without, and to stay loyal to the Emperor throughout.

Tang Fan (Chen Kuan Hong or Darren Chen) is a low-level government official with a magnanimous heart. Though poor with a low income, he’s altruistic and generous to people around him. He has a mind of a genius but can be silly all the times, and that’s the fun part watching him getting into trouble, but somehow manages to come out in one piece. Darren Chen has a very beautiful face with delicate feminine features. Together with a slender body, he makes the most beautiful she-man I’ve ever seen. His acting with a bashful smile and puppy looking eyes catches many viewers’ hearts – he’s adorable.

Sui Zhou (Fu Meng Bo) is a calm, firm, forthright and upstanding man. Though cold, he has a warm heart. Time and time again, he covers Tang Fan’s back while Tang Fan helps him solve his investigations. He’s a good fighter and his fighting scenes are so good. A great cook perhaps in real life, Fu Meng Bo’s kitchen skill is applaudable.

I love the eunuch Wang Zhi (Liu Yao Yuan) who is perhaps the most cunning of all. Ruthless and with his enormous power, he’s also the one who helps both Tang Fan and Sui Zhou in every difficult situation they encounter. Liu Yao Yuan has a boyish face and his acting as a talented young eunuch doing all the dirty work for the Emperor and Consort Zhang, Liu Yao Yuan delivers this role convincingly. He’s perfect!

Despite their differences in personalities, all three work seamlessly together. I love the silent relationship they have with each other. Bromance or not, this friendship is utmost precious.

The supporting cast has done a most marvelous job in their respective roles. I love watching that little girl Dong’er (Huang Yang Tian Tian) who is also the adult in the room keeping the boys together in harmony. It is fun to watch how she outsmarts the boys and the disbelieved look on their faces when they are beaten. It is also fun to watch Consort Wan dresses in armor leading a team of girl soldiers to protect the Emperor.

The flashback showing how the three have met doesn’t occur until Episode 35. In this episode, it explains what has happened to their respective lives and how each gets to the current positions they are holding.

Overall, the drama has a very Jackie-Chan style. After all, he’s the director. It is fast moving, funny at times, silly dialogues, and misfortunate coincidences. There are a lot of chasing and fighting scenes, Jackie Chan’s stunts and moves. I like the great martial arts scenes with incredible sword fighting but dislike the background music during those fights. Although there are some minor plot holes, script writing and editing flaws here and there, this drama overall is a great watch. The ending is nicely done with proper closure for all characters and events. As how the final scene ends, I’m not surprised they are hinting for a season 2.

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Some spoiler-free comments:

This is great fun, it’s very addictive, and once you get started, you kind of have to finish it.
Credit goes to the actors, specifically Darren Chen as Tang Fan, Fu Mengbo as Sui Zhou and Liu Yaoyuan as Wang Zhi. Tang Fan is just adorable and annoying enough to be believable, Sui Zhou seems cold and unfeeling until you realise how much of that is PTSD, and Wang Zhi is just so layered as a character it’s amazing if you think that Liu Yaoyuan is just starting out in the business.

Special mention goes to Huangyang Tiantian as Dong'er, great performance.

The set design, costumes and cinematography are also out of this world – money was spent on this and it shows. I didn’t think for a moment I was looking at some sets until I saw some behind the scenes footage, because I really believed in the city I saw on the screen.

Basically, it’s a lot of fun, and I’m definitely going to rewatch parts of it.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

The good: I’ve already mentioned the actors, and truly, the actors are everything.

You really believe the growing friendship between Tang Fan and Sui Zhou, and Wang Zhi is endlessly fascinating. Dong’er isn’t as annoying as such child roles frequently are, and there are scenes of hers which I found really moving.
I appreciated that the boys did not get love-interests to distract from the gay, with Duo’erla ending up being a friend, Sui Zhou’s arranged marriage coming to nothing, and Tang Fan, bless him, being oblivious even when he’s in a brothel being felt up by a prostitute. I would have liked more focus on their relationship, but I’ll get into that when I discuss the cons.
It’s a pretty engaging story, for the most part and I liked most of the storylines and the mysteries . . . kind of.

The bad:
I frequently mention the problem of pacing in dramas, especially when there’s hardly any. Things drag on for a while then they gallop to a finish. I remember complaining about a stretch of episodes in The Untamed which seemed to go on forever – this is even worse than that.
Then there’s episodes here which end while Wang Zhi has barely finished speaking – seriously, I had to go back and check because I was still reading the subtitle when we faded to credits!

The reason for things dragging is that we also have a lack of stakes in certain storylines. For example, Duo’erla gets shot with a poison arrow. Ok, I kind of care, but not much. Then some episodes later, I find out why this happened, but I still don’t care. In the middle of this whole “we have to find the antidote” storyline, Tang Fan poisons himself – why? Who knows. That gives me even less stakes, because I KNOW one of the two male leads isn’t going to die halfway through the series!
There’s so much stuff like this in the series, where I’m sure I missed something because I skipped over chunks of episodes. I mean, I almost missed this amazing set piece in the brothel, because I was so tired of the entire “We are dying REALLY SLOWLY” storyline which was obviously going nowhere – then later I realized it was for the Arras/Ding Man storyline, but as I barely cared about that, it was kind of a waste of time.

And then THAT storyline ended up driving Sui Zhou and Tang Fan apart for a pretty long stretch, and I was almost done. I had to spoil myself to make sure it ended with them reconciled. Also, one of the things that will hurt me upon rewatch is the number of times I will have to hear characters talk about the BULONG and where is the BULONG and who has the BULONGS, and enough already.

The Arras/Ding Man storyline is the one with the most plot holes, in my opinion. You would think that with an eunuch who spent three years really close to the Emperor, that someone would have checked if he was, you know. Really a eunuch. Also, he could have killed the Emperor at literally any time in the last three years – instead he arsed around until a villainous businessman and a needlessly complicated plot presented itself, which failed. Good job, dude.
I honestly don’t know if any of the above is in the novel, because I’ve only read up till chapter 7 (waiting on a good translation). So for now I’m gonna blame the screenwriters for the plot-holes, as well as Consort Wan’s army of teen girls and Qing Ge the building-jumping prostitute assassin (the massive explosion is not a plot-hole or something anyone made up – it really happened, albeit a century or so later, and historians still don’t agree on what caused it).

Conclusion

Look, I did ultimately enjoy it. On a shallow note, most of the men were extremely good-looking (I refuse to believe that the Chenghua Emperor was so hot in real life) and there were some badass and cool female characters. On a less shallow note, all scenes between Darren Chen and Fu Mengbo are gold – the animated bit where Tang Fan explains why he couldn’t have murdered anyone has to be seen to be believed – and when you add Liu Yaoyuan to the mix, it just gets better.

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For those of you concerned about the injected 'romance' overshadowing the bromance - don't. A lot of you probably know, the original novel story is a male/male storyline. To make dramas pass China's censorship test, many such adaptations get converted to bromance, or worse, swapped out entirely for a male/female storyline.

Even though there are signs of romance in some early eps, it doesn't go anywhere at all. The 'love interest' becomes mostly a background character. The bromance game (and honestly, they do start to hint at romantic or at least domestic undertones) comes in pretty satisfyingly in the latter half.

The relationship between Tang Fan and Sui Zhou does progress quite gradually and rather realistically (not our usual schtick of cdramas writing milestone relationship developments like 'ML saved FL once; checkpoint in relationship reached! Now their attitudes are suddenly different towards each other'.

Pros:
- Production value is pretty great. No super fake cherry blossoms or blatant CGIs always flashing in front of you. Certainly helps to have money.
- Storyline is pretty good; the cases are fun
- All the characters were well-written and likeable and / or interesting. No one felt one-dimensional.
- Action scenes are great of course, given Jackie Chan's guidance. For once, cdramas have somewhat physics-bound and believable action scenes
- Acting was pretty decent. I was initially a bit jarred by Sui Zhou's accent (actor has a Taiwanese accent, which is entirely outside of historical context), but grew accustomed to it. He's got such a nice voice.
- Plenty of bromance drama to be had, but kept within realistic boundaries. Tang Fan did not suddenly turn into a typical cdrama female lead and have predictable collapsing fits or anything silly like that.
- Dong 'er! That little girl is too smart for her own good. As expected of Tang Fan and Sui Zhou's daughter.

Cons:
- Pacing of scenes and camera angles are a bit weird sometimes, but it also got better later on I think.
- Injection of random female character(s) for censorship's sake, but it's a loss I'll take I guess.

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to start with, i don't have any expectations when i start watching. But because of the comedy, the unique characters, and dinners i keep on watching.

Tang Fan character is just my favorite kind, the clumsy, prodigy & eats a lot. Well his character got weakened somehow in last few episodes, which really bothers me, but at least it doesn't happen for too long.
Sui Zhou, the dubbing for his character bothers me the most. but i got used to it. I really like the bromance he had with Tang Fan. He's great leader, cook, and almost all the girls had crush on him (including me)
Wang Zhi, i can't take my eyes from him he's just really cute. He also got a good character development. At first i was confused by his actions, i can't really see which side he was on. But then, I was amazed by how loyal he is to the Emperor and Empress. His character wasn't even 20 and already that smart, i truly can't relate.

Case solving was really fun and it's connected one and another. The comedic timing is perfect, it's truly Jackie Chan's styled.
Side characters like Dong'Er, Pei Huai, DoEr La, was great too. their teamwork with the trio ML was great. My favorite scenes is when they all eating together and when Tang Fan goes undercover (i still can't get over it (≧▽≦))
There are no annoying character, beside the villains.

i really love the cinematography, i could see that they really put effort into it. The fighting scenes were nicely choreograph too! I didn't pay much attention to the music, but the ones in the intro and outro were good.

However the editing on first few episodes were a mess. The characters were still talking but it's suddenly cuts to outro. Also the episodes were incoherent, they're almost not connected at all. And the storyline got weakened during ep 20 to 30's, i guess that's inevitable since there's 48 episodes.

I really, really, love the ending.
I didn't cry, it just makes me crave for another season.

If you could tolerate plot holes and lots of eating scenes then i recommend you this drama.

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It's very funny.
For the novel fans, it may be necessary to place the novel first because the drama script has been modified a lot.
And see what the series wants to convey
All characters have their origins and participate in the final case. However, the series has maintained the relationship between main actor until the end. Don't worry.

The relationships of the main actors are slowly growing.
We can see from the middle of the story.
For other elements, the camera angle is very beautiful. Light, sound, dress and props are beautiful. Action and comedy scenes are really cool in the style of Jackie Chan.

The actors have good performance. KuanHung (TangFan), FuMengpo (Suizhou) and LiuYaoYuan (WangChu). They work hard for this series and they do their best. Come to support them
Please open your heart and watching this series.

love.

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One of the most realistic relationship developments I have seen. Characters have dimensions to them. They showcase the good and the bad of the characters really well. Very relatable.

In terms of bromance, as gruff and cold SZ seems in this series, he was the first to realise his feelings. TF is an idiot when it comes to himself but understands others very well. So through SZ's pain, he also realised his feelings later. Have patience guys. WZ is a 17 yr old who has no time for anything else than to protect his emperor and consort wan. He sees them as his parents and I believe Consort Wan and the Emperor sees WZ as their son too. They care deeply about him. WZ is just happy to have friends like TF and SZ with him. After all, it must be hard for a 17 yr old talented eunuch in the position of power and preferred by the majesty and his consort. People either want to be him or kill him. He just needed friends :(

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When I first started watching Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty I was ready to (and in fact did) recommend it to a lot of people. Most of my early recommendations said something along the lines of "Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty has the promise of early series Sherlock, but set in the Ming Dynasty."

Unfortunately, like Sherlock it also falls apart a bit. I generally think the performers (specifically Fu Mengbo & Liu Yaoyuan) are doing such a good job with the script, but I think the problem is mostly the script and with the late stage production. You can see the expense on screen in sets, martial arts, & costuming, but especially after about halfway through the series the editing gets really, really bad. At least one episode effectively ends mid sentence, like they hit their word count and had to shunt over the next episode.

The script starts off strong, but it feels like they stopped caring around episode 30 or so. The finale episode involves a climatic battle between two characters who did not exist in the series until maybe episode 40. They have a hard time handling the story beats, and at certain points the characters (some of whom are basically the smartest men in the Dynasty) have to suddenly become idiots for the plot to work .

It's such a pity overall because I really love the characters and the actors, but I can't, in good conscious recommend a series that it felt like I had to be pushed to finish just so I could reach a conclusion.

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OH BOY. I just finished this drama, and holy fucking shit I'm so sad that it's over. Each character (the main male leads), Tang Fan, Sui Zhou, and Wang Zhi each have very good charisma. If you're looking for a romance/BL drama, look somewhere else because this ain't one. HOWEVER, the chemistry between the "supposed" BL couple is fantastic. You can't help but ship them! Unfortunately, due to China's censorship of BL, you will be disappointed if you solely want to watch this show because this was supposed to be a BL show.

Nonetheless, the story, the production, the acting all make up for it!!! You see, even though this show is titled as a mystery drama but the humor in this show is amazing. I laughed more than I expected for this type of show. The actors did amazing! I want to say that I underestimated Darren Chen when I was debating if I should watch this show. I was like "Oh... he's just gonna be another pretty boy in a historical drama". OH BOY WAS I WRONG. I absolutely loved how Darren Chen played Tang Fan. In the show, Tang Fan is an intelligent and righteous magistrate in the capital. He is looks rather innocent (he ain't obnoxiously naive tho ) and playful, but when it comes to helping other people or saving his loved ones, he will do everything in his power to ensure the safety of others. Also, he's really funny I gotta say.

Sui Zhou seems rather cold-hearted at first, but I promise you he's a sweetheart. Even though he doesn't show his affection on the outside, he genuinely likes cooking food for Tang Fan and the gang. This character is righteous and he always does what he believes is right. He isn't obnoxious about his family background or anything (although this doesn't exactly have a huge impact on the story). Sui Zhou and Tang Fan have great chemistry together! Watch the show to find out!

ONE LAST THING! My favorite character of all is Wang Zhi. Although he's "just" a eunuch, his intelligence baffles me. This character seems very complex. He's not exactly "all for the people", but he is extremely righteous in his own ways. Wang Zhi is basically the King's dog but you'll get to see a tremendous character development throughout the whole show. At first, I swear I thought that Wang Zhi is gonna be those typical dudes that are very entitled and power-hungry. I was scared that he might make the whole story a mess at first. I was pleasantly surprised that his character is not like that at all. You'll see his genuine care for Tang Fan and the others as the story progresses. I feel like Tang Fan and Wang Zhi have very different, yet similar characteristics. Wang Zhi is usually seen as the cynical one, while Tang Fan's character is more open about his feelings and thoughts. Anyways, they're both very cunning when carrying out a plan. You can't always understand what he wants or what he is thinking. He seems a bit way too loyal, which makes me wonder why. His tactics may seem cruel sometimes, he simply does what he is told and what he thinks will benefit the country. JUST WATCH THE SHOW, MAN!

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I was very excited to watch this and honestly, I wish I could get my time back. The show had too many questionable directing and story choices that make me wonder what on earth was going through their minds when they made it. There are obvious similarities that can be drawn between this type of story and Sherlock Holmes, but ultimately, the titular Sleuth is more of a hindrance than a help and often caused more problems than he solved.

Additionally, the music was such a poor choice that it usually pulled attention away from the plot instead of enhancing it. I kept wondering WHY they chose this music and then I couldn't even focus on what was happening.

The acting was fine at best but the haphazard plot, tone and direction were the things that really let me down in the end. The overarching plot should have been compelling and captivating, but it was mostly just tedious. I also wish they had done a better job of making me care about characters rather than having a hastily thrown in montage at supposed crucial moments. Another thing I really cannot forgive is that Sui Zhou was completely wasted in the final episode to the extent that I was either constantly looking for him or I forgot he was a character at all.

In the end though, I have to say one good thing the show had going for it was its presentation of the meals and the positive found family dynamic the leads had. Those moments with their family were wholesome and heartwarming but not enough to save the show.

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Not that much solid sleuthing and even less BL, but quite a good period drama

The title made me expect that this would be a period detective drama of sorts, and there are some aspects of the detective genre at the start. However, the more interesting part of the series actually start when the detective genre conventions get ditched as the characters become embroiled in political intrigue.

I'm somewhat undecided about how good the story is. On the one hand, it is quite an engaging story. On the other hand, it can be infuriating at times because of the characters' occasionally illogical behaviors. Despite having anticipated that there would be people coming to rescue a prisoners, Tang Fan someone sits down in the prison, talking to the prisoner as though he were waiting for the people to arrive to rescue the prisoner (and kill him in the process). Yes, a large number of people had to be deployed for some other mission, but to make no attempt to hide the prisoner elsewhere or take care of his own safety is just senseless behavior coming from a person who is supposed to be really intelligent.

The story actually gets better after a while, as the different cases investigated by Tang Fan get more complex and are intertwined. The series does have characters who are likely to be endearing or intriguing to the audience. This helps in the series' less interesting parts. Tang Fan is cute (to me) and intelligent although he can be silly and even exasperating at times. The eunuch Wang Zhi, is intriguing because he is by turns ruthless and compassionate. He is politically astute and knows how to maneuver his way around. However, he is also fiercely loyal to the emperor. The other main character, Sui Zhou is the one whom I actually took time to get used to because of his deadpan expressions (physically and verbally), but he is quietly caring rather than emotionless. I think the actor does quite a fine job of portraying a soldier with PTSD.

This is a censored adaptation of a BL work, and the BL is largely taken out. We do get occasional hints of it, especially in the later parts of the series. It seems that there was some indecisiveness as to whether to give Tang Fan a female love interest instead. There are points when Tang seems to be romantically interested in Dora but eventually this does not get anywhere (possibly because someone realized that turning BL relationships into bromance isn't quite as bad in the eyes of many viewers as turning BL into straight romance). As for Tang's relationship with the imperial guard, Sui Zhou, even if the relationship has been transformed into bromance, it would have been good to show the intimacy between them early on. Instead, this gets shown clearly (whether as bromance or potential romance) somewhat late in the series.

The image of Sui Zhou putting a cloak on Tang Fan followed by a shot of them standing next to each other towards the end of the last episode does hint at something between them despite being subdued. It gives a nice conclusion to the series and leaves their relationship somewhat open-ended.

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I actually enjoyed this drama very much.

Many were complaining about how Tang Fan was annoying though. But for me, that's why I enjoyed watching it. Tang Fan seems like a really fun person to be around for me, I really liked his personality. Darren Chen's acting was also very good, same goes to Fu Meng Bo. Their acting seemed natural and comfortable to me. And Wang Zhi's character really gave me the impression that he would betray Tang Fan any time, but I was wrong. I even ended up shipping them more then the main couple at some point. The other actors were doing a great job as well!

The fighting scenes were really enjoyable as well as watching them solve cases. Usually, I like to guess what will happen in the drama before it happens, but for this drama, there are cases that had unexpected outcomes (?).

I loved the fact they did not end up with any female, which is why I would watch the drama in the first place. At first, I really thought that Duo-Er'La was going to end up with Tang Fan, but then I started viewing their relationship as brother and sister, because it really came off that way.

Also, even though this is not BL, being the delusional person I am when it comes to BL, I can't think about this as being Bromance. Tang Fan is just on the dense side and doesn't realize how much his man loves him :P

I started reading the Novel because of this and I'm enjoying it as well.

I hope for others to enjoy this as much as I did.

Overall, I would definitely watch this again, and I will pray everyday for it to be adopted into a comic. This is my only wish as of now :')

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