Yes, I’m on a Tan Jian Ci binge lately so had to check this one out too. Considering how it was along the line of investigative and/or mystery drama. This time, it was about internet security and cyber crime. How was it? It started out really good. There was a balance between the cases and those somehow tied in with the main plot. There were also informative references along the way to help users safely navigate the internet world and technological advances. Yet it went downhill somewhere along the way. It was like the writers gave up. I was really disappointed. Yes, I had to admit it.
Main Cast:
- Tan Jian Ci (檀健次) as Qin Huai (秦淮). Screen Name: Silence Lamb. Qin Huai was a mixture of silly and serious. On the surface, he seemed like a slacker and wasn’t serious about anything, totally goofy and petty to those around him. He was also known to be quite a cheapskate, lol. Sure, he was acknowledged by others within the industry to have talents. But that didn’t go anywhere with the way he ran his business and seemed to not really care about anything at times. Or so he let on. Yet he was quite smart and capable. He just didn’t care about fame the way other people clung to those titles. He acted like some senseless person and aggravated some people on purpose. But he carried his investigations in secret and avoided some of the tricks by not drawing attention to himself. Well, initially, he was by himself, so he had to be extra careful. Tan Jian Ci showed another side of his acting with his somewhat laid-back attitude and at times on the edge of despicable when dealing with certain parties. There was, of course, the more serious scenes where he found out his best friend deceived him and didn’t trust him. All the emotions were very well brought out. What crammed his style and performance was the lack of screen time later on. It was such a shame. But whatever he was allowed of the role, he delivered quite well.
- Rong Zi Shan (荣梓杉) as Zhou You (周游). Screen Names: Ghost Flame Dancing Woman (鬼火舞姬), Bubble Gum Demon (泡泡糖惡魔). There were mixed feelings throughout about him. I didn’t care that he rebelled a bit and ran away. Because the conventional school path might not fit him. Not to mention, he was indeed still quite young (not an excuse, it was the truth about his inexperienced). His righteousness saved his character for me. He wanted to help others and wasn’t afraid to use the methods he knew to achieve those goals. In short, he had a good heart in general. However, he was still too naive after having been through some trials and dealt with several types of people within the industry and outside of that. In other words, the schemers. It was funny that he was quite cautious of Qin Huai at first and those around him, which he had every right to, but he didn’t think to investigate his so-called anonymous online friend. That led to even more complications later. And, his role was even reduced to take a side step, which was a shame. Because there was so much more development on his end. I didn’t want him to suddenly change and do the unexpected to save the day all the time. But he was one of the main leads after all, how could he become such a side later on? It just didn’t make sense.
Supporting:
- He Lei (赫雷) as Chen Mo (陈默). Qin Huai’s good friend and classmate from school days and later when they graduated and started working at a tech company. His mother was scammed, devastating her, which led to a car accident that crippled her. He vowed to avenge her by catching the scammers through any mean. That was why he ended up being framed for a cybercrime and went to prison. After he got out, he disappeared. Many thought he was trying to distance himself from them because of what happened. Yet he was trying to track down the scammers still and vouched to get to the bottom of it. He was all right at first and I understood his reasoning and how hard it was to let go of the past, considering how those scammers were still roaming around and carrying on as usual. Yet he lost me when he distanced himself from Qin Huai. Sure, his reasoning was because he didn’t want to get Qin Huai involved. Yet he was fine with Qin Huai taking care of his mother all those years? He sure knew when to set priorities and cut ties. It was frustrating to say the least. I was glad they were able to resolve things later but didn’t like him at all during that part of the story.
- Xu Lu (徐璐) as Mu Tong (木桐). Chen Mo’s girlfriend. She just wanted to find work and help her family. Yet she was used and scammed into the situation, hence needing to fight her way out. I felt really bad for her. I was glad that she was able to start a new life afterward. However, I actually suspected her throughout till the very end. It wasn’t like her story wasn’t tragic enough. But because of the fragmented details here and there, it was hard to tell what was going on. I didn’t think she was bad from the start and had some schemes going on of her own. I just thought she was used by the other side as a pawn to keep an eye on Chen Mo after some of the operations were halted. So, I didn’t breathe out a sigh of relief until near the end.
- Qu Shan Shan (曲栅栅) as Shen Qing (沈青). Chen Mo’s mother, Qian Huai’s godmother. I liked her at first and the special bond she had with her son and her godson. I was waiting to see what else develop as the plot progressed. I pitied her after learning about the scams and how it had affected her life. However, I felt the writers failed her when they made her so inactive regarding Qin Huai later on. What I meant what was how she was fine with not telling Qin Huai that her son came back and just basically cut him off in general. It wasn’t way later that they touched base again, like Qin Huai finally learned that Chen Mo was still alive, etc. Not to hold what Qin Huai had done for her all these years while her son was absent from the scene over her head, but I thought their bond was much stronger than that. Yet she never considered once about telling Qin Huai? I got it that she was overwhelmd with emotions after her son returned and they were able to live under the same roof once again. She needed some time to process and more. Yet after things settled down, she just decided to move on with her son and his girlfriend like that and didn’t care for Qin Huai anymore? That was why I said the writers failed her.
- Leng Xin Qing (冷心清) as Tang Lin (唐林). An employee of Qin Huai’s cybersecurity company.
- Liu Shu Chen (刘姝辰) as Auntie Ding (丁阿姨). An employee of Qin Huai’s cybersecurity company.
- Lu Zi Zhen (逯恣祯) as Lin Shuo (林烁). A lawyer. A very ambitious and professional lawyer. She worked for a big company and had her goals drawn out for the future, hoping to be acknowledged in the field. She initially was on the same wavelength as her boyfriend because of their similar ambitious nature (wanting to achieve major things) and their mentality regarding people in general. It wasn’t like she was resorting to any means like him but she had this air about her and a point of view that certain people were beneath them in some ways. However, after interacting with some people and learning of their background and in some ways, the little ones were conned as well, thinking they were making innocent money and trying to survive. Her perspective changed later, like she had gone out of her bubble so she was wiling to sympathize with certain people more, giving them a chance before judging them from a distance. I was surprised that she was able to cut ties with her boyfriend so firmly and even managed to report him as well. I didn’t expect her to because I just wanted her to be safe, considering the number of people who disappeared or were hurt throughout.
- David Liang (梁大维) as Shen Yi Zhang (沈仪章). Lin Shuo’s boyfriend. He owned a public relations company and was an expert in dealing with various opinions from the public. He would resort to any types of method to help his clients in dealing with public backlash, ranging from slut shaming victims to slandering others through various anonymous online accounts. I knew he was a terrible person from the start. My only surprise was that he didn’t go to the extreme of slandering Lin Shuo and bringing her down after she broke up with him. Or perhaps, he didn’t have a chance yet? It was possible because nothing was off limits with him. I was really scared for her sake but luckily, she managed to get out in time. I haven’t seen him since Here To Heart (and I dropped that ages ago and don’t think I would ever go back), so yeah, his reputation was already terrible for me, lol. So, I didn’t expect much. It just felt strange to see him, that was all.
- Zhao Wei (赵魏) as Ma Ping Chuan (马平川). Code Name: Advisor (軍師). Hupo Corporation’s CTO. He was practically the right-hand man for the mastermind guy, General. Yet he was let off so easily. He was redeemed to be some kind of hero near the end because they needed someone to crack the codes. It made sense that he was more experienced and had inside information versus Zhou You. But I felt he sure was let off easily. I knew it somehow already that he would get away with it all because of how much they paved him out to be a family man and that he only did all those things for his wife and kid. After all, he really didn’t want to be involved, he was also forced. Excuse me while I roll my eyes. Because how did his actions justified all the parties he hurt? He wasn’t complaining when the money rolled in and how he had some power at one point. He didn’t hesitate during those moments yet played the victim later when he was targeted. Like I said, it was just too easy.
Others:
- Gong Rong Er (鞏容爾) as Dai Meng (戴萌). Ma Ping Chuan’s wife. I didn’t expect much from her except typical person who chose to flee and protect their family instead of encouraging her husband to do the right thing. Don’t say I put too much pressure on her when she didn’t know or anything to others. It was easy to always flaunt the whole they were a team whenever mentioning or bragging about a couple yet when things happened, they, themselves (or others), acted like they weren’t a team. I got sick of these justifications whether in fiction or real life, so yes, calling it out here.
- Han Mo (韓陌) as Ma Qing Qing (馬清清). Ma Ping Chuan and Dai Meng’s daughter. Probably the only innocent person in the family because the kid didn’t know anything or fully understand the situation yet.
- Xiao Yi (肖藝) as Mo Yi Zhong (莫一忠). Mo Ping Chuan’s assistant.
- Yang Yi (楊溢) as Xu Guang Ming (徐廣明). Chairman of the Hupo Corporation. He didn’t seem to be as oblivious or enabling of others as it let on later. He actually was quite fair regarding the mess later on and the misunderstandings between the companies.
- Wang Yi Zhou (王翌舟) as Hu De Zheng (胡德正). CTO of the Hupo Corporation
- Li Dan (李丹) as Zhou Yu’s mother (周游的母親).
- Han Pu Jun (韓朴俊) as Zhou Yu’s father (周游的父親).
- Zhang Jie Feng (章傑峰) as Li Rui (李瑞). Nangang District’s Police Captain.
- Dong Qi (董琦) as Guo Yao (郭瑤).
- Zeng Shuai (曾帥) as Xiao Peng (小鵬).
- Jiang Qi Lin (江奇霖) as Gao Deng (高登). Actor.
Office Sexual Harassment Incident (職場性騷擾事件)
- Chen Du Ling (陈都灵) as Si Ya (思雅). An employee who was a victim of sexual harassment at the office and was framed by the perpetrator hence committing suicide yet was saved by Zhou You in time. She only appeared briefly at the beginning as was relevant to the case. I thought she would become part of the team after the other two helped her or something. Yet it wasn’t so. I was actually relived because like I said, I was one of the rare ones not seeing the hype around her.
- Gao Ye (高葉) as Xia Yan (夏炎). Shi Quan’s wife.
- Song Yun Hao (宋允皓) as Shi Quan (石全).
Pig Butchering Incident (殺豬盤事件)
- Luan Yuan Hui (欒元暉) as General (將軍). The mastermind of the cyber pyramid schemes. He was one crazy guy all right. Only such a crazy person would orchestrated such a major scheme and reaped the benefits through others people’s suffering, etc.
- Yang Fan (楊帆) as Huang Mao (黃毛). Co-conspirator of the cyber pyramid schemes.
- Yang Qi Yu (楊奇雨) as Co-conspirator of the cyber pyramid schemes. He was the one in charge of abducting Qin Huai and Zhou You at the beginning.
- Liu Er Jin (劉爾金) as Restaurant owner in Thailand (泰國餐廳老闆). The owner of the Thai restaurant Chen Mo worked at. He was a kind person who helped Chen Mo in time of need. I was glad he wasn’t harm as things got serious later on.
Discussions:
- Theme song. I liked it that Tan Jian Ci got to sing the main theme. It compensated for his lack of appearance later, lol. If that was some form of consolation at all. If he wasn’t around, at least, I could listen to the song episode after episode, lol.
- The inconsistency of the plot and some of the details. Two of the issues I already mentioned above. One was of how Chen Mo’s mother seemed passive regarding Qin Huai after her son returned. It was like he didn’t mean anything to them or something. The other was that Zhou You never really learned or tried to investigate the online friend. It was strange because he was naturally suspicious of Qin Huai at first and spied on him, etc. Yet he trusted that online friend so much to listen to him time and time again? Sure, he was upset and confronted that person at one point. But he continued to trust that person. It was too hard to swallow. So I agreed Qin Huai when he said he rather burned his company down than allowing Zhou You to destroy it. Extreme but seriously.
- Qin Huai appearing less and less as the series progressed. Even Zhou You was also pushed aside. What in the world was that? I didn’t want to be petty at first, considering how the focus was cyber crime and security and all. The importance of the drama was emphasizing the technology and those who exploited it and how to protect yourself when using technology daily. Yet it irked me when he wasn’t around for one episode or sometimes more on ends. He just became a side characters at times or at the most crucial moments of the series. It was like they needed him yet didn’t need him. It was so strange. I had no doubt in Tan Jian Ci’s acting abilities, and his credibility as the character Qin Huai. But I felt the writers lost us when they reduced his scenes. Even Zhou You was seen doing minimal stuff or wasn’t a key character anymore. I meant I didn’t need them to be a hero in everything. It would be unrealistic but they were the main leads after all. It would be normal to want to see them more involved with the main plot.
- Sequel? It makes sense because it ended on a cliff hanger. Seriously, that was expected, considering how they dragged out other parts of the plot. But it wasn’t over yet. Zhou You’s mistake (accidental or not) still caused the data loss. They still needed to deal with a more powerful force behind it all. Or more like, someone will never stop.
Recommended? I think it would depend on a lot of patience and if you wanted to watch for some of the cast. Aside from that, I thought it was very informative regardless of where you are. If you use any sort of technology or go online, it’s important to learn some of the safety measures to protect yourself from scammers.