Breaking Bad Gangster and Inflexible Cop Hound

I have mixed feelings about The Knockout because of the last 1/4 of the drama that I felt was very forced. If the story had ended on the first 3/4 of the show, I would easily rate this a 9/10. The acting was incredible especially from the actors playing Gao Qi Qiang and secondly from An Xin. The rest of the supporting cast was memorable as well and believable in their characters.

You really feel for Gao Qi Qiang and his struggles when he was bullied and trying to take care of his family. He never stopped taking care of his family including his subordinates. However, he become a very ruthless man as needed to stay on top. The actor who played Gao Qi Qiang gave a superb performance that was nuanced, empathetic, and chilling. He carried the narrative weight of the story well but was reduced in the final 1/4 of the show because it was time to wrap up.

I think how Gao Qi Qiang unravelled and was brought down by the government was not fully fleshed out in the last 9 episodes. There was a level of preaching regarding corruption theme that was not enjoyable as a viewer in the last part of the drama. For me, that's why the story is rated 8/10 instead of a 10/10.

The character of An Xi, the cop, was not a realistic character. He was constantly self-sacrificing his personal interests for a sense of justice and up holding the law. It's partly admirable but at the same time not relatable. His character was straightforward and lacked nuance. He actually let down his love and his friends as he chased trying to catch Gao Qi Qiang. He had an inflated sense of responsibility and was inflexible. It really wasn't just up to him to bring justice to the city. He could have tried to have a personal life and been honest with his girlfriend. It was cowardly the way he broke up with her. Otherwise, his interactions with Gao Qi Qiang and the common people were sincere. In some parts, An Xi's inconsistent accent and goofiness was distracting.

The story definitely lost steam in the final 1/4 of the drama when both main leads were middle-aged. The time span was too long to sustain the narrative tension. Overall, it was an engaging story that could have been epic if more risks were taken with the final outcomes.

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Defying Destiny - Follow Your Cracked, Bleeding Heart

I really enjoyed Till the End of the Moon and was swept along with its passionate story telling, gross flaws (misunderstandings galore, deep cuts to make a 40 episode limit), copious blood spitting, makeup mishaps and all! It was a roller coaster ride and highly memorable because of its compelling main characters with their larger than life goals and the blistering chemistry of the lead actors LYX and BL. Their acting elevated the imperfect script and kept me invested to binge the episodes and hoping to see them earn happiness together at the end.

Story: 7.5/10
The story has 4 arcs: Hostage Prince, Bore Dream, Jing Kingdom, and Immortal realm. For me, the first arc was the most suspenseful and character driven part of the story. If the level of story telling had stayed at this level, I would have easily rated the story telling 9.5/10. Still there were many twists and turns throughout to keep me engaged in the story. However, it was frustrating to see all the misunderstandings driving a number of plot lines starting from the Bore dream arc, Jing Kingdom and Immortal arcs. This didn't do justice to the intelligence and craftiness that the leading characters showed in the first 1/4 of the story. The characters of TTJ and YXW/LSS had conflicting values and these were not fully mined; instead misunderstandings caused by third parties were too heavily used to drive the plot.

The last 1/4 of the drama suffered the most in terms of inconsistent edits, sharp scene transitions, Li Su Su was missing in action at critical times, and the ending felt rushed. I think that credit is still due for the high level of risk taking the show took in having flawed characters, distinct world building for 3 different realms, complex action sequences, flamboyant costumes and dramatic makeup. The show was not trying to be subtle! The characters dared to love and hate fully, which was a blast to watch their passion!

Acting: 9.5/10
The show toned down both main characters from the novel who were much darker and cruel. Even so LYX was TTJ lifted from the page. He captured TTJ's essence perfectly with a very nuanced performance as a tortured, vicious and dark anti-hero with an eventual redemptive arc. His chemistry with BL as YXW/LSS was blistering and they had incredible push and pull. BL's acting as YXW/LSS was versatile but the meat of the drama's story-telling focused on TTJ's growth and trajectory. This is different from the novel where the story is mainly from YXW/LSS's perspective. The last third of the drama was light on character development for LSS and did not showcase BL's acting as highly.

Music: 9/10
The OST grew on me. It was used effectively in the more dramatic scenes. However, there were parts where the music was distracting.

Rewatch value: 9/10
TTEOTM has numerous highlights and memorable scenes. I've been back to rewatch the highlights. Now if only there could be a director's cut released!

Overall: 9/10
The show is imperfect but overall compelling and deserves to be commended for the risks it took.

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Pressure Cooker!

Reset is a thriller time travel bus ride of a taut, suspense thriller! I was fully engaged with the mystery and thrilled with each twist and turn of the story. The two leads are realistic and you do cheer for them to save the day. They begin by working reluctantly together to a friendship and blossoming into a romance. It's a gradual relationship transition and well balanced against the other elements of the story such as suspense and solving the mysteries. We also discover the heartwarming stories of the side characters on the bus. By the end, you come to care for everyone on the bus. They are not just collateral characters in an action film.

I don't want to spoil the plot because it's intricate and well worth watching to unravel it. Overall, it's a 9.5/10 in its genre of time travel thriller. I love well thought out time travel stories and enjoyed Reset tremendously.

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The Voice-Over Narrator Badly Killed the Drama

This drama is supposed to be based on a Japanese crime mystery novel that was made into a mini-series in Japan. I haven't the seen the original series but am a big fan of the crime/mystery genre. I'm also a fan of the two leads and went into this drama with anticipation. While the two leads had chemistry and you could tell the actors made an effort, they couldn't save the show from the terrible writing and 2D characterizations of the characters. The story-telling was a complete let down. The most annoying part of the drama was the voice over narration that over explained everything and didn't respect the viewer's intelligence. This was supposed to be a suspense mystery but instead there was too much corporate intrigue and domestic drama that felt tacked on to fill out the series to 12 episodes. The corporate intrigue was not engaging and a waste of the acting talent from the large cast. If you're a fan of crime dramas, give this a pass because there is no meat in the mystery. If you're a fan of the leads and want to see them in a romance, feel free to fast forward the other parts of this drama.

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