Imperfect Victim (2023)

Just Say No.

This is not an easy drama to watch. It shines an unflinching spotlight on the unchecked, oppressive soft power of the uber rich and how society and by extension the legal system holds victims to an impossible standard of perfection. The narrative opens with a married, high powered CEO Cheng Gong caught in flagrante delicto with his assistant Zhao Xun, after an inebriated night of corporate entertainment. The media is at the scene and a full blown scandal ensues with dire consequences for both parties. Cheng Gong's team of fixers led by his relentless public relations executive Li Yi and a sharp lawyer Lin Kan swoop in immediately to understand and contain the situation.

As the facts emerge, it becomes clear that Cheng Gong and Zhao Xun remember the night very differently and the situation devolves quickly into "he said she said". Zhao Xun is a mass of contradictions who struggles to understand her own version of the truth, which obviously does not square with Cheng Gong's. Both parties are victims that are damaged by the fallout and they each believe in their own version of the truth, which the drama explores in a very balanced way. The key question is does silence mean consent? This should be straightforward - she can just say no. She could have and should have done just that. Lin Yun delivers a heartbreakingly convincing articulation of just how difficult, near impossible it is for someone in Zhao Xun's position to do that in the face of the massively uneven power dynamics between herself and Cheng Gong. Her downfall was foreshadowed long before her failure to speak up at the point of no return. She was doomed from the moment he saw her, wanted her and tempted her with fast advancement, the material trappings of wealth and the heady mix of the power of the executive suite. She was complicit and she loathed herself for it. Yet I felt real sorry for her and I understood why she felt wronged. While most praise Zhou Xun's portrayal of Lin Kan, for me Lin Yun as Zhao Xun was the outstanding performance. She made me deeply empathise with this young, flawed, inconsistent, movingly vulnerable and imperfectly human character that struggles to find her voice.

Even though Liu Yijun always delivers, he takes it to the next level with his mesmerising portrayal of a sociopathic like Cheng Gong who believes that everyone has a price and how ruthlessly and manipulatively he wields his power to get his way. His sense of entitlement, utter lack of self awareness and inability to grasp how disconnected he is from common humanity and decency is scary and pathetic. As for Zhou Xun, her Lin Kan is a shark with a bottom line. Her skilled probing questions delivered with a sharp, liquid and searching gaze and her calm, dispassionate and and incisive legal analysis enunciated in her deep, rich and deliberate voice is superb. Her mature, confident beauty and elegant and nuanced empathic line delivery has taken viewers by storm. Only a phenomenal veteran cast like this can deliver such convincing, multi-faceted and realistic portrayals.

The drama's strongest arc is the opening - it made me very sad and very, very angry at pretty much every main character. This kind of story however is difficult to end in a good and realistic way. I think this would be a better if it were shorter as the drama's core message that women need to find their voice and that an imperfect victim is still a victim hits home early on. I didn't think Lin Kan's "Me Too" arc is necessary and it doesn't quite come off the right way how a stronger character succumbs to the same temptations yet manages to emerge largely unscathed albeit scarred nonetheless. I also don't like how Lin Kan is written overall notwithstanding Zhou Xun's charismatic acting. It would have been better if Lin Kan chose sides early in the game and was pitted against Li Yi or her mentor early on rather than making her all things to all people. This results in too many conflicts of interest that are just glossed over. Despite her alleged bottom line, Lin Kan appears unscrupulous in how close she gets to Zhao Xun. It is also not realistic that Zhao Xun never seeks her own legal advice. Finally, the way Lin Kan prevails using information she obtained while acting for the other side is just plain wrong and practically impossible.

The drama literally and figuratively goes off a cliff in a way that makes the last third of it a less convincing watch. It doesn't make sense that a smart and manipulative character like Cheng Gong continues to go persecute Zhao Xun after she becomes so wretched and pitiful. It is just a contrived way to force an ending message that in China, even imperfect victims can find their voice via the justice system. My biggest issue with the story however is that the worst, most vile character is a woman who enabled Cheng Gong and victimised Zhao Xun just as much if not more. She shows no remorse and there are no true consequences for her. This aspect of the ending deeply disappointed me; I needed to see her confronted and at least punched in the face! Despite her superb visual composition style, storytelling wise Yang Yang proves once again her inability to wrap up the narrative while she is ahead. Nonetheless, the first half or so of this drama tackles some heartbreaking and controversial issues masterfully and is worthy of an 8.5. Unfortunately the writing doesn't hold up and it nosedives into an 8.0 towards the end and that is my overall rating. It is still worth watching when you are in the mood for a thought provoking drama that closely resembles a recent real case with all around amazing acting.

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The grey areas, handled with care

“What are you more afraid of? More than people harming your body?”

“Afraid of the end of everything. Afraid of losing the future. Afraid of losing the present. Afraid of losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Afraid of confronting.”

The story started simply with the police receiving a report of a rape case happening between a CEO of multinational company and his subordinate. The CEO suavely said it’s mutual relationship, while the lady just seemed shock and unable to affirm anything.

What’s interesting is the approach and direction the Imperfect Victim took to unravel this case through the perspective of Lin Kan, who is the defence lawyer of the CEO, Mr. Cheng. It took a very very long time to figure Lin Kan’s true stance. On one hand, we know she will competently, and perhaps, flawlessly defend her client’s case as a professional lawyer. On the other hand, we remain unsure and intrigued on her next steps as it seems like she empathised, more than any other, with Zhao Xun as a woman herself. I appreciated the dynamics between Lin Kan and Zhao Xun. The kind words and silent understanding that Lin Kan offered when dealing with Zhao Xun. It might be too idealistic, I loved how the former was able to do it in ways that protected both her professional integrity and the latter, despite being the opposing parties.

What really caught my surprise was that I enjoyed how the show patiently and tactfully showed the psychological journey of Zhao Xun go through, as the imperfect victim in this case, from silence to speaking out, from self shaming to facing it, from stepping up to doubting to giving up to accepting herself.

It also tactfully showed the discussions from multiple parties - at the police level on how they deal with cases like this, the honest view of how both genders would interpret the situations, the relationship dynamics between the CEO with his wife and mistress, as well as the impact of seemingly harmless comments by the public and coworkers.

I am not one that seek for dramas that deals with such heavy social topics, but Imperfect Victim did perfectly capture the dilemma that many modern women face in the workplace - on compromise, on tolerance, on numbing, on consent, on support and on asserting.

The visual storytelling, camera angles, story directing and actors / actresses are done well. I can’t imagine how this story will turn with a less capable production team and cast.

This is not a show for everybody, but it is made with everybody in mind, including the men despite being a women-centric show. For a show that deals with such complex social issue - sexual harassment and perceived consent - it somehow manage to bring out the multi perspectives and interpretations tactfully and carefully.

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