Naomi Necro
United States
This review may contain spoilers
There's a lot to unpack with this series.
I'm always very vested in series that handle serial-murder cases because I find the chase and the forensic psychology behind it very fascinating. Some of my favorite Asian shows, like Beyond Evil (Korea), Memorist (Korea), Through The Darkness (Korea), Watcher (Korea), and Flower of Evil (Korea) are all rooted in lurking in the depths of a serial killer's mind to find a path toward catching him and the lengths in which they're willing to go to find them while trying to keep hold of their own humanity. I was drawn toward this show because it's my first Chinese production within this genre, and I was also really curious to see how they'd handle a MALE victim for once.
The show began on a promising footing with the reclusive and brilliant, but socially inept, Professor Bo (Wallace Huo) and his assistant, Jian Yao (played by Ma Si Chun). I like Ma Si Chun. I've seen her in a few shows, and I really liked her in You Are My Hero. They have cute chemistry, at first, and I like their dynamic as she learns his quirks and empathetically works around them. Later, after his cringe confession at the hotel (I had so much 2nd hand embarrassment from that whole scene), the chemistry between them quickly fizzles and definitely felt more natural when it was just platonic. The romantic vein between them was really forced and always awkward.
The show began quickly losing me about halfway through when it became more than apparent that I would be subjected to a ridiculous and offensive typecasting of barely D-rated American actors playing the role of the American FBI and, later on, the villains. It was so cringey and so poorly acted, I don't know how many times I counted Tommy's horrific "southern accent" (if you really want to call it that) or why the male nurse had to look so suspiciously like Superman while committing vile acts. It felt very targeted Anti-American the whole time, and I felt uncomfortable as an American viewer. I fast-forwarded through the last 15 or so episodes just because I wanted to see how it ended and I was still just immensely annoyed for the wasted time. SKIP.
I'm always very vested in series that handle serial-murder cases because I find the chase and the forensic psychology behind it very fascinating. Some of my favorite Asian shows, like Beyond Evil (Korea), Memorist (Korea), Through The Darkness (Korea), Watcher (Korea), and Flower of Evil (Korea) are all rooted in lurking in the depths of a serial killer's mind to find a path toward catching him and the lengths in which they're willing to go to find them while trying to keep hold of their own humanity. I was drawn toward this show because it's my first Chinese production within this genre, and I was also really curious to see how they'd handle a MALE victim for once.
The show began on a promising footing with the reclusive and brilliant, but socially inept, Professor Bo (Wallace Huo) and his assistant, Jian Yao (played by Ma Si Chun). I like Ma Si Chun. I've seen her in a few shows, and I really liked her in You Are My Hero. They have cute chemistry, at first, and I like their dynamic as she learns his quirks and empathetically works around them. Later, after his cringe confession at the hotel (I had so much 2nd hand embarrassment from that whole scene), the chemistry between them quickly fizzles and definitely felt more natural when it was just platonic. The romantic vein between them was really forced and always awkward.
The show began quickly losing me about halfway through when it became more than apparent that I would be subjected to a ridiculous and offensive typecasting of barely D-rated American actors playing the role of the American FBI and, later on, the villains. It was so cringey and so poorly acted, I don't know how many times I counted Tommy's horrific "southern accent" (if you really want to call it that) or why the male nurse had to look so suspiciously like Superman while committing vile acts. It felt very targeted Anti-American the whole time, and I felt uncomfortable as an American viewer. I fast-forwarded through the last 15 or so episodes just because I wanted to see how it ended and I was still just immensely annoyed for the wasted time. SKIP.
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