Dark Night and Dawn (2024)

Thrill ride

Truth be told, I don’t have extensive experience with this type of republican drama, which makes it difficult for me to draw comparisons with others in a similar genre. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to share more of my thoughts about this one.

From start to finish, the story was solid. There weren’t any unnecessary scenes or dialogue, and the pacing was just right—not too slow and not too fast. I initially watched this because of Zheyuan, and I was a bit worried about the potential political elements since they usually bore me to tears. Thankfully, this one steered clear of that.

The development of the characters was meticulously crafted, a step-by-step progression that led them to their current states, rather than experiencing sudden, overnight changes of heart. It was genuinely heartwarming to see Lin Shaobai evolve from a passionate (albeit a bit arrogant) young police officer into the reliable and thoughtful man he becomes in the second half of the story. At first, his bond with Lu Zhengyang was a bit frustrating since Lu Zhengyang was too stubborn to see things from Shaobai's perspective, but thankfully they manage to work through their issues. Given their age and generational gap, it made their differences a bit easier to handle.

Now, diving into the other characters, Shrike definitely deserved a more painful ending. He spent years torturing and ruining the lives of others, and it seemed far too easy for him to meet such a quick death; it felt almost merciful. As for his wife, she also deserved a more excruciating fate. While for Xu Wei, it seems they aimed to portray his death as heroic, but that approach didn’t resonate with me. While it’s true that Shaobai and Jin Yan wouldn’t have made it out alive without his assistance, he had several opportunities to redeem himself but chose not to. From the very beginning, he knew that his wife and child would remain in danger, regardless of how hard he worked for Shrike. Yet he was blinded by his pursuit of power and wealth. So, any so-called redemption arc or whatever they tried to push was total bullcrap. Xu Wei got no less than what he deserved, much like Jin Maochang. I could say I feel a bit sorry for him because the despicable deeds he committed weren’t for fun or simply for money and power, but rather out of love for his daughter. I dare say he’s better than Xu Wei, as he repeatedly tried to eliminate Shrike, even if it was also motivated by a desire to save himself. So, yeah, he better be dead.

As for the acting, bold italic and underline: top notch. And I can’t help but indulge myself by praising Zheyuan this time. Most of the cast consists of veteran actors and actresses, yet Zheyuan managed to hold his ground; there wasn’t a single moment in the entire 38 episodes where he seemed out of place. The scene where Shaobai and Jin Yan were crying in the car was absolutely off the charts; they needed no lines to convey their emotions. Jin Yan's crying scene after her father's death was also nothing short of terrific. Speaking of Shaobai and Jin Yan, I really don’t mind how their story unfolded. They might not be together (yet) by the end of the story, but it feels very fitting. If they had tossed in any hints of romance at the end, it would have felt way too sudden.

But, I have to say, I have a little complaint: the ending would’ve felt more realistic if Jin Yan wasn’t lying in the hospital bed. She only got stabbed once in the back, while Shaobai was shot multiple times, so how did she end up in worse condition than him? He even managed to go out and get a haircut. I really hope the reasoning behind this isn’t just because Shaobai is a man and Jin Yan is a woman.

Well overall, this drama was terrific. Amid all the seriousness and importance of their job, the comedic relief felt perfectly timed. Some scenes had me cracking up, and I loved every second of it. This whole viewing experience could very well be the catalyst that encourages me to explore more dramas in a similar genre in the future.

(Ps. Sending love and hugs to Huzi. In every drama, it feels like there’s always a need for a close friend or family member to be sacrificed toward the end. This time, it was Huzi who had the unfortunate honor of fulfilling that sentimental role.)

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Team Cop vs. Team Darth Vader

Chose this for CZY as a completely different genre from anything he'd previously done. Though not a fan of propaganda of any country, I liked the case solving/cop aspect of this. I knew various other actors from other series. We really got to witness team cop vs. team Darth Vader duke it out.

Pros: As I've mentioned in the comments, I'm very proud of CZY for taking this really complicated character on that's completely out of his usual comfort zone and to be able to hold his own with such veteran actors was quite impressive. LSB was the naughty one that was incredibly intelligent and whose ability to adapt to all situations no matter what, was remarkable. As the city and country around him was essentially going through a civil war after the Second World War, his sole determination was to be the best cop he could be and protect who he loved and the city he loved so dearly. While his best friend and brother in arms (XW) turned to the dark side and essentially became a serial killer and an assassin for Team Darth Vader, his newfound police family from the new government consisted of a very rigid cop/military director LZY who he butted heads with but ultimately they developed a tacit understanding and strong bond that went just as far as the one he had with XW. Not to mention the FL JY played by Xing Fei, impressed me a lot. Another young actress that did very well in her very serious role; she always played by the rules but never let LSB down even when he stumbled and made mistakes as he grew and changed.

What impressed me about this show was the ever flowing storyline; there were never any filler episodes, it never dragged or got boring. You were always wondering how Team Cop would finally get ahead of Team Darth Vader who were a step ahead until almost the very end; finding and breaking the mole was incredibly important. Even though the story was serious, the comedic placement was very well inserted and really toned down things in just the right way. Other great characters were Huzi, the rest of Team Cop especially the new addition Yaohang who was just as smart as LSB and LZY and the three of them got a lot done. Loved how it was a brotherhood with Xiaoman as the only female but how they took care of each other. The child actress who played Feihang did a fantastic job.

Darth Vader himself or ZLT was a great main antagonist; incredibly cunning and always had a plan B in foiling Team Cop's plans until nearly the end. Most of the antagonists though shown as being able to eat their own young to climb to power played their parts for as long as needed. XW was the one who was given the redemption arc death but that really was the only way for him to go out. He had to return to LSB and save him finally after everything that LSB had done for him. At first I wasn't sure I wanted that for him because he became essentially a demon, but the way it was done, I was satisfied with.

The Gang boss lady did a superb job as prior I had only seen her in antagonist or morally gray roles in costume dramas, so this was a such a refreshing take and role for her. The 3rd faction consisting of Mr. Jin, his assistant and the two assassins with two little boys that ended up without their father or uncle. I think Mr. Jin made a lot of mistakes; had he given himself up to Team cop and he had several opportunities to do so, maybe Darth Vader wouldn't have gotten as far as he did as he relied on Mr. Jin's funding. And JY as well as those two boys would have still had their dads.

OSTs, costumes, fight scenes (my favorite always), and sets were as usual Republican era beautiful.

Cons: Huzi's death was so unnecessary. We were coming down to the wire so they figured they had to kill someone from team cop and the reasoning was nonexistent. XW was going to return to the good side by dying; why kill Huzi? Makes zero sense. How is it that a hospital is virtually deserted in a gun fight but even so afterwards? Doctors usually hide but when the bullets stop flying they immediately rush to help or sometimes even during; in this series, people got shot, the threat is gone but people die because um where are the doctors?

The editing throughout the series had some issues, they randomly inserted real footage from that time period but got other facts completely wrong in basic conversations. What was the point? This is a drama not a documentary. Plus the translation of the anthrax pathogen to "anthrax germs" made me laugh. Another thing that just got me was yet another series fell symptom to the "Superman trope"; in the end LSB got shot in the gut but ran to stop ZLT from escaping. Also JY got ambushed and stabbed with a scalpel by that weird anthrax doctor dude (he died soon after because well never bring a scalpel to a gun fight; our girl immediately afterwards put 3 slugs into him and that was that), but with that severe injury plus exposure to the anthrax she somehow managed to locate the anthrax canisters and switch the lethal stuff with some harmless powder. Lastly, the actual ending could have been done better; instead of those words on a black screen, we could have ended both JY and LSB way better and we don't even know how much time passed because while confronting ZLT on the rooftop, LSB gets shot again and then repeatedly kicked by ZLT, LZY is then seen racing him to the hospital. Next scene is LSB obviously getting a haircut and joining the new government after which he visits a still unconscious JY in the hospital. He's sound as a pound but she's still unconscious and even Feihang had heart surgery and recovered. So how much time has passed? Literally last scene is LSB leaving the hospital and that's it before the black screen with propaganda information rolls out. But what about our characters? It felt very unfinished in that sense and totally different from the rest of the series. We've invested so much into these people that they deserve better endings than just being dropped by the wayside. That is where the series lost some of its score from me.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Despite the wonky editing, ending, and the propaganda undertones that could be ignored; this was a very strong series with a great storyline and characters that you were invested in. Where you laughed with them and cried with them too. Definitely give it a go.

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