Jing Zhong De Wan Mei Zhang Fu (2023)

Transhumanism meets a living version of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray.

The script for this drama is one of the best done on this topic to date. No doubt this is a view of what is to come in dramas. Initially, it is unclear whether this is AI-induced or if is it simply opening a portal for parallel concurrent "men" to pull their other selves. For most of the viewing audience, this is probably not a concept they are familiar with. As a link to the use of AI, it is based on the idea that an AI can be controlled ie pulled from a mirror.

Advanced AI takes on an independent persona and quickly exceeds what the "inventor" intends which is one of the issues in having no laws governing the use of AI in limitations....a topic for another day. AI has been around since the early 1950s so most applications to date have been invisible but all are tied to the "transhumanism movement".

In this drama, only a portion of the personality is captured in the AI model....which implies that your personality is segmented within a person versus a set of integrated characteristics. Also a topic for another time.

My very favorite part is the exploding mirror images toward the end. As it was dolled out over weeks, going back to watch the full series in one sitting allows you to catch the details we miss in this choppy viewing model. In part, it takes a few episodes to figure out what is happening. Of course in true Asian drama style....it is all about men changing new ways to continue the archaic practice of following their "tiny tim" into the lives of a host of women....except for their wives of course......so for this to be a Chinese drama....well all who are researchers in Chinese culture know that this is a centuries-old male clown act driven by a sense of entitlement to thousands of women from the concubines/consorts of dynasty times to the 21st-century mistresses and Erani (second wives).

The women characters are the real stars of this drama as they are the investigators, the group that holds up the morality in the saga (well except for the off-the-shelf typical Chinese MIL character). They work together without striking one another and embody the millions of professional Chinese women globally of today. Overall it was very well done for the first time.

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Thriller with a strong female lead

This mini-drama checks a lot of boxes:
- strong, smart female lead
- good twists and pacing
- great friendships
- satisfying ending

Our lead has a dreadful cheat if a husband and an (almost more) dreadful mother-in-law. As the story starts, she is ready to divorce the creep and get free, but then the weirdness starts...

Oddly, the drama spoiled the main twist in the first minute, but that was okay because there's plenty of other surprises to come.

The FL does a good job carrying the show, even when it skips forward really fast because it's a mini. The ML, who plays two characters, is a bit less strong but mostly because he never gets much time as each guy to really define them. The FLs bestie is great, as are the other ladies in the show (even the terrible MiL gives a good performance as a dreadful person). This is one of those rare dramas with more central female characters than males, which was enjoyable.

I would not call this romantic - it's a thriller, a revenge story, and a mystery, with lots of growth for our FL. Again, she was great.

The music wasn't anything special, though there is one nice song used several times.

Overall, a fun bit of mystery and a quick watch. Good for a day when you want to see jerks get served justice and strong ladies taking care of themselves.

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