Sherlock Holme vibes but with cultural differences...

LONG POST AHEAD

Story 7.5

As a romance fan, I do not like shows based in the Chinese Republican era as they rarely have a happy ending, knowing that there will be a war coming. However, I’m a fan of detective shows and I liked the cast so I gave episode 1 a shot. The show was giving me Sherlock Holme vibes and I decided to carry on watching it whenever I run out of other dramas to follow. The casts were met with new cases in every/every other episode (23 cases in 36 eps), some of them are quite interesting. Actually, the cases and the bromance are what’s keeping me from dropping the show as the chemistry for the romance between the FL & ML due to their character set is kinda meh. More on that below.

Acting/Cast 8.0

I have seen many comments about the Bai You Ning, the female lead played by Shane Yan being annoying for the viewers. Her actions are sometimes confusing but not to the point of annoying. BYN is a rich man’s only daughter who studied overseas. For someone of her background and resources to turn out rebellious. I’m glad her actions only inconveniences the detectives and is less of a hindrance than she could have been. To me, she is a likable character since her nature is good and she stands by her beliefs. Only because it's her, the ML gets his freedom. Also because it's her, their relationship stood up to his father. Her actions in the show are quite understandable and the constant bickering with the male lead is a common start of a love-hate relationship in Rom-Coms (i.e. I can understand it being a scripted part of the drama).

Hu Yitian played Lu Yao, the male lead. The character is portrayed as a guy who is very materialistic and has loose moral boundaries, where he likes to colour outside the box. He plays a consultant of sorts to the detective but only assists in cases if he gets paid or has something to gain. He has a wide range of interests, appreciates antiques, art, and music and loves collecting novelty items. He steals from one of the suspects (for the item’s monetary value), showing the character’s warped sense of morality, which is a known part of his character that the detective Qiao Chusheng played by Leon Zhang and BYN at one point or another warns him against it. Since he is a very smart character that does not give in to social norms, his action keeps me guessing what is he up to (very much like Sherlock in "Elementary").

Qiao Chusheng played by Leon Zhang is a character that seems to have a complicated background. I have a very vague understanding of the power play (due to my disinterest) and his role in it as a detective who takes orders from BYN’s father. The show has him showing mostly his detective activities which he contributes by using his connections to gather intel and I enjoy the bromance vibes between him and LY.

[QC comes off as a character who I feel would have better suit BYN with his big brother vibes that is protective over her. In my own imaginary world, he would protect her and she would be her bratty self with LY being a smart sidekick. the chemistry might have been better]

Despite the lead actors and actress's good job portraying what I believe is how the character is scripted, the relationship development in the story is less than subtle.

In terms of romance, I can hardly feel the chemistry. LY jokes around with the BYN too much and I can’t take him seriously. Also, because Hu Yitian has played several characters that act kinda cool and doesn’t show much emotion so I feel like he is kind of stuck in that frame. Even when he is showing his affection for BYN, the jump from his goofy character is very stiff. The relationship between the characters needs a deeper level of analysis to understand.

SPOILER[ (scroll beyond this paragraph to avoid):
There was a scene where BYN brought up getting married to keep LY in shanghai which has been an on-going topic brought up from time to time in several episodes with both LY and BYN poking the nest and running away. Due to the pressing situation, BYN suggested they might have to resort to actually getting married and LY says, "If you don't like me, I can marry you." which I see it as him not wanting to lead BYN on. If he doesn't believe that BYN likes him, he could have just agreed, which means at this point he already senses BYN's feelings despite her saying that she doesn't like him. That being said, he just wants to keep things neutral until he can confirm his own feelings.

The rom-com preferring side of me is screaming in pain when I watch the show. The story would probably have suited a platonic relationship structure better but then rom-com lovers would not have watched the show. I couldn't really feel the chemistry between BYN and LY, so the coupling feels quite forced and I am really dissatisfied in this aspect. The pick of actors and actresses were quite fitting for the characters, the playful & strong-headed BYN, suave & loyal QC, smart & egoistic LY. I'd give 8 for that.

Music 7.5

The music, the outfits, and setting are pretty fitting for the era that the drama is set in. Nothing too amazing but it’s a fairly well done. Totally love the opening music though.

Rewatch Value 5.0

The story in respect of the detective genre is interesting but not that impressive and the chemistry for the romance is pretty lacking so I don’t recommend watching it a second time unless you like to analyze their relationships.

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