Kai Duan (2022)

Amazing, Unique Time Loop Drama

Wow, this was an amazing drama. I literally just finished the last episode and I had to come here immediately and leave a review. Initially, I wasn't sure about this drama and was confused as to how a time loop drama could possibly last 15 episodes and have such good reviews. But since it was unique and I was curious, I decided to give it a shot. At the beginning, I wasn't too invested and I was confused as to why everyone was praising this drama. But as I kept watching, I got more and more hooked and more and more invested in the characters. I loved that each cycle was different so it wasn't just a repetitive explosion over and over again. I loved that they took the time and developed stories for our side characters and made us grow to love and relate to them. The criminal of this drama was also perfectly casted and I absolutely loved their portrayals of the criminal. Everything came full circle at the end and it was so relieving to finally get a resolution to the story and understand what was happening since episode 1. Of course, I loved our strong, independent female lead. She was just an ordinary student but she stayed true to herself and stuck to doing what she believed was right. I also appreciated that the romance story was slowly developed throughout the drama and it took a backseat so that we could focus on the main plot of the drama.

Overall, I really enjoyed this drama. I think I had a harder time staying engaged in the first half, but I think it was just a problem with my own, limited attention span and not really anything to do with the drama. I started to really love the drama during the second half when everything was ramping up and each episode became better than the last. Props to the writers, cast, and producers for making such an amazing and unique drama!

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exceeded my expectations

wow if i had to sum this up in 2 words it would be “incredible acting”. all of the cast were fantastic at acting, both lead roles and side / guest roles ! the plot never got boring, even if you had your theories early on it didnt make it boring, i was always anticipating what happens next and binged it in 2 days. amazing drama, defo worth the hype ! also like how we saw their relationship grow throughout the drama, side note romance isnt a focus at all so if u expect lots of romance lower ur expectations, however it was perfect as it was and i think if they focused on romance the plot would be lost .

overall 10/10

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Best cdrama I've watched.. So far

A must see! The best cdrama I've watched so far and I've watched quite a few.

It's hard to find words that do it justice. Great writing, each character was interesting and engaging, I loved how thought out the plot was, there was never a moment where it didn't make sense.

The casting and acting was masterful, there were scenes by mengmemgs mom that were so emotional, and raw and even the parts where the ML was annoying just made his character more realistic.

FL was smart and strong but still very cute, this is a rare thing in cdramas.

I'll watch this again for sure!

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Oh wow.

I don’t usually do reviews here, instead I just rate them. I am an avid CDrama watcher since 2019. there are many I have seen, and usually avoid science, thriller genres or basically mystery types. I am the one who looks for academic vibes in a romantic story, maybe because that is what I crave in real life. lol anyways the actual review :

1. I initially had the playlist saved for a long time, and was trying to finish my long “to be seen” dramas. I got some off time these couple of months, so I was surfing mdl and landed on this gem. Starting this, I had no expectations from it. But the way the story played out and the cliffhangers, my mosquitoes couldn’t even budge me from watching it (it usually ruins my mood)

2. The main cast were awesome, FL was great at expressing emotions, I have seen her other drama “amidst a snowstorm of love.” first so I knew her from there. Her eyes speak volumes! ML was new to me or I didn’t notice him else where. But his character development from being “who cares if it happens.” to “I am not letting you die alone.” was magical and certainly his character was the most I enjoyed because of his quick reactions. (here is a spoiler pls do not continue i don’t want to ruin anything. 😭) MengMeng’s Parents, lord her mother, her psychotic behaviour, it was the perfect portrayal. I kept wondering why kept going for no.45 but when the revelation came, oh lord, it was the pinnacle of the series. I do kinda wish Officer Zhang could have actually been a part of the loop, because of how much he contributes to the story, as well as how he dies, I think he deserved the loop (not in a bad way). The gamer kid, I forgot his name, I am so happy when I saw his parents finally overcame their paranoia for him, and listen to their child for once. Each character, had their unique story and moments, the way the series flowed, it literally played the elimination game with each of their backstory. to be honest I suspected the melon guy first.

3. Romance is not the main focus of this story, but ML and FL’s bonded over the trauma it caused them, the pain they went through just to save others, and ultimately saving themselves. like how the ML was basically dying at the last loop but woke up just before the explosion could happen and passed the bomb. Their chemistry was not top notched but their synergy of understanding each other. and how they still covered each other no matter what, made my heart melt.


this is definitely an underrated drama, I suppose many like me don’t come to watch suspense thriller CDrama, but this was worth the watch. I loved every second of it.

10/10 recommend it.

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There is story behind every face

When u travel in bus train or whenever you are at any public place do u ever stop and look at those unknown faces around u and think of their story
This drama makes u think and feel about others. How there is some story behind those unknown faces
when we read any news of any accident crash blast we just read feel sorry and than after one day fiorget
How we always judge others for their appearance and clothes
This drama makes u take a break from ur phone and to look around u, The story is good but most imp acting of every one is v good specially the female protaganist and inspector Zhang ( I am biased here ) he stole my heart in the first glance
Zhao ji mi has lots of potential and now i m going to follow her
Bai jing ting is good but at some time I felt he didnt know what to express
the only thing I dont lik justification of ny crime and till the end they dont show remorse
This drama made me think that I will be careful next time in passing comment if I read some news I have seen many are so insensitive that they dont care when they read ny news of death suicide and start judging the person and even his family we just ignore tha fact that that person family loved one may be reading and how will they feel at ep 12 i was at the edge of my chair
drama could have been further short to 12 or 13
ny one good try must watch for all good drama lovers dont miss

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With this kind of genre, it is almost impossible to give a plausible ending

This one is a good watch. I think it is well written. From the first episode up to the last one, the writers managed to keep viewers engaged.

It is a very complex story with lots of characters, each provided with well constructed backstory essential to the main plot. Complex but not convoluted.

At first I feared that I would get tired of the loop redundancy and just drop the show midway. But I didn't. I just got a bit tired in behalf of the characters, seeing they lived through the loop over and over again. Without rest, sleep or even food.

With this kind of genre, it is almost impossible to give a plausible ending. And they did manage to do so. Not only did they managed to right the wrong, but they also managed to give everyone a happy ending that they deserved with a bonus love story on the side.

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Groundhog Day!

It’s the best c-drama about time loop in 2022! It’s about finding the root cause, the best option to save all the key people.

The story unfolds little by little in every episode. Bringing the the audience closer to the in-depth story of some key casts, allowing time to develop an attachment in a short period of time was upmost impressive about the script.
We are not only following the plot but also the background story, and speculating who will be the possible perpetrators or victims.
Premise of the story: if we are given a chance to stop a bomb, but not knowing how, what do we do? Do we keep looking for solution or do we give up after many tries?
When we are faced with a time loop, do we ask why or how?
FL represents pure heroic and altruistic nature of humankind. She wants to save them.
ML represents the imperfect part of humanity, some selfishness to only save himself or others. He was influenced by FL.
Strong theme on ‘do not judge the book by its cover’, nicely expressed in various background story of the secondary character.
Overthinking on my part: first point, if I am a scientific mind, I will say, this kind of time loop is not possible at all. It’s against the law of physic. Second point, if it’s an exploration of spiritual theme on how after one died and their soul or mind kept coming back to the last moment of their death, due to resentment or unfinished business, then it will be very sad and quite suffering to know that the whole drama is only someone’s delusion. I am glad thats not how the story ends. Third point, why only ML have the self-awareness, the awakening, why the other anime/cat loving guy did not have the same self-awareness? Is it because he is secondary character?
Fourthly, the motive - it’s a believable plot to drive a grieving parents’ crazy. However to the extend of them wanting to bring down a busload of strangers, why? If you said to revenge for their daughter, how would their behaviour serve justice to their deceased daughter? If it’s because they have given up on humanity, how will their actions create an impact. So based on their logic, wouldn’t people forgotten about it as how they have dismissed their daughter’s situation. Fifth point - the romance is totally unnecessary. I would prefer that the two main casts became closed friends and may be romance bloom only in season 2.

Anyway, it’s my 2cents worth of thoughts. It’s a very very applaudable attempt for C drama to have such good writing and good acting. It’s not perfect but definitely near to perfect for a sci-if series. Well done!

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Reset. Resetting the Time Loop device for better.

Time Loop dramas are my favourite. However, they are difficult to come by, especially good ones that uses the time loop device in such a setting to be taken so seriously, and to feature so much screen time in regards to the story. In regards to this, I must thank the creators of Reset for doing something that I believe should be done more frequently. To make something that is normally used as a comedic or "silly" writing device into something so serious yet beautiful.

By the way, if you would like to get into more "time loop" related dramas, please check out this article I co-wrote with user @goxia - https://mydramalist.com/article/why-you-should-check-out-time-loop-dramas

Other beautiful things about this drama were the acting, characters and OST. This is the first C-Drama I have ever completed so I was not sure what to expect in regards to anything. All cast members were new to me, but every single person acted perfectly. The characters were also perfectly written and the perfect mix to encaptivate the viewer. Also, as previously mentioned, characters were also perfectly portrayed by their acting counterparts, making me believe that time loops are a real thing! (FYI: That is when you know a time loop in a drama is great!). OST was absolutely beautiful, just perhaps a little inconsistent. I remember hearing lots of music in some episodes, and hardly any in others, but that may just be speculation on my part.

So, why is the overall rating an 8.5/10 and not higher?

This is probably going to be a highly unpopular opinion, but for me, what let 'Reset' down first of all, was the pacing. During the first third/first half of episodes, perhaps for three episodes, the pacing felt extremely off, which actually made me put 'Reset' "on-hold" for a while. Could this be one or two episodes shorter? I wouldn't guarantee it, but I can say maybe.

The only other thing I wasn't to keen about, was a few bits of the camera work. It felt a little basic. (Not talking about the bus scenes, obviously there is a limited amount of what you can do on a bus).

All in all, I highly recommend Reset. Just potentially prepare for some bad pacing in the first third/first halfway through.

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one of the best dramas within this genre so far to come out of 2022

Honestly, i didnt think i would have loved this as much as i did. I became emotionally invested in these characters and making sure they were alive by the end of each episode. Despite the fact that the show was about being stuck in a time loop, each new loop created was original in its own way. nothing was overplayed and dragged out. i feel like 15 episodes were the perfect amount of episodes needed. Any more and it would have been draggged out. My only problem was that i wanted to see more of the main couple life after they escaped the loop. other than that, it had a great plot and important message. I dont often enjoy this genre because they're often dragged out but i 100% recommend watching.

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