The Devil Punisher (天巡者)

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I actually started this while it was airing and then just plain gave up after several episodes because of the frustrating typical SETTV formula. But somehow, I found my way back. Mostly, because I didn’t want to give up on the ghost elements, which was the sole reason why I picked this up in the first place. Anyway, I kept pushing back on the review because of real life stuff. So, finally, here it is.

Main Cast:

  • Mike Ho (賀軍翔) as Zhong Kui (鍾馗) aka Zhong Zheng Nan (鍾正南). I can’t believe the day when Mike had to hold together a whole series. Yes, it was that extreme. But somehow, he managed. I say this because he was heavily criticized back then and being compared to his fellow colleagues who debuted at the same time as him. (It was about how he only relied on his looks, etc. If you didn’t remember or weren’t caught in the middle of it, lucky you.) Anyway, Mike seemed to have evolved to a whole level of ranges with his acting or the others were disappointing, lol. That was sad. I know. But he brought both humor and depth to his role. The last time I watched him was in Mei Ren Long Tang and he impressed me in there. Yeah, that was awhile back all right. But I didn’t find anything of interest in the past several years and I have been behind as well. This one was a mixture of some past roles but it was good enough for me.
  • Ivy Shao (邵雨薇) as Lady Meng (孟婆) aka Meng Xin Yu (孟心語) aka Xiao Bing (小冰). I think Ivy’s cuteness helped boost the character in the beginning of the series. And the character showed a lot of promise at first. It went downhill later when things got even more serious. I understood the character’s feelings and what she was going through, trying to process all of the changes around her. I didn’t fault Ivy for her helplessness, obviously, because that was how the character was written. What I had a problem with was typical SETTV wanted to make the main girl as helpless as possible so the main guy could do the saving. Her performance was enough for the role, but the writers failed her character later. They wanted to magnify her gentle and kind soul side, so they sacrificed her possible attempt to be an awesome main lead. It wasn’t to say I wanted her to hog the camera 24/7 and overshadow other co-stars. I just felt it was a shame to build her up and then cast her aside on purpose during the last moments of the showdown.
  • Anson Chen (陳璽安) as Lu Bo Ya (盧博雅) aka Lu Qi (盧杞). What I can say about him without getting lynched by the mob? He was the sole reason for why it was unbearable to watch. At first, it was because he was cast in the typical “nice guy” category. I usually hate those roles regardless so it’s not an attack on the actor, it’s just always been that way for me. Mostly because they’re always too good to he true. This time, it was indeed true with the direction of the story. He was revealed to be the main villain later. His character indeed was cunning and manipulative to the max. He was irredeemable so that part they (the writers) didn’t half-assed it. But that was where the actor failed. He was really unconvincing in several aspects. I was extremely annoyed with him throughout but it wasn’t necessary because of the plot or development. The writers actually did a good job on developing his story arch. It was the actor’s overacting that killed the role. He was too trying to be seen as a psycho later on. The most obvious part was him opening his eyes so wide you almost thought his eyes would pop out. (I’m not going to fault him too much because some actors/actresses fall into this category and think that’s convincing acting BUT it’s actually not. Sadly, one of my favorites still fails to kick this habit with opening the eyes too wide to emphasize shock that it backfires, so I shouldn’t pick on him too hard here. In his case, of course, he was trying to intimidate others by doing that yet failed.) At one point, he basically got into the other characters’ faces when he talked, trying to intimidate them. Mostly, poor Ivy had to endure it because she had a lot of scenes with him at that point. It was till the point that I was wondering if he was trying to give them COVID. Yes, mean as hell, but that was how I felt at that time. Possibly, the directors had to do with it too but the others fended fine, even with the plot flaws for them.
  • Cheng Ya Guang (程雅晨) as Li En Xi (李恩熙) aka Zhong Mei Er (鍾媚兒). I was really annoyed with her for the majority of the series. Not because she was obsessed with her teacher. But it was because of how she kept trying to pimp her friend out to her teacher time and time again. Yes, I used those words, but I’m so sick and tired of how people claim to be so and so’s friend but keep pushing boundaries. So what if she thought someone was a good person? Regardless of how good they were, they can’t force someone else to like them. Not to mention compatibility and interests can’t be forced. What was irony about the whole thing was she got a better story arch and a redeeming plot than Ivy’s Meng Xin Yu later on. The returning point made sense and she fought it bravely while still under the other guy’s influence.
  • Amanda Chou (周曉涵) as Qin Guang Wang (秦廣王). The day finally came when Amanda had to take up the burden to pull the drama along as well. Not saying she was terrible before. I always thought she had potential during her debut and later years. She just didn’t have as many opportunities as in recent years to prove her capabilities. Her character in here appeared sparsely throughout. Yet it was enough because she made an impact to the overall plot without hogging the scenes. When I say I’m sick and tired of red, I mean it. (Thank those C-drama people for the overuse of it.) But Amanda totally rocked her outfits in here. She also made her character fun (as the plot permitted) and witty.
  • Johnny Yang (楊銘威) as Cheng Huang (城隍) aka City God. He was completely silly in here and it made sense they needed a comedic sidekick for Zhong Kui. I almost expected him to just portray someone’s younger brother, lol. It was indeed different for him. He was all right.
  • Roy Chang (張洛偍) as Ou Yang Kai (歐陽凱). I didn’t know what to make of him at first. It mostly had to do with the debt collecting part and how spoiled he was. Yet the plot soon revealed that he had a kind heart and just was lost in certain situations. He became a major help to the team and was willing to learn. In fact, he became a sweet and lovable character. He was quite genuine too, not all fake like someone. It turned out he had another story arch, which was Zhong Kui’s best friend in a past life and later became his brother-in-law. The actor did a good job with bringing out his different sides. I was actually impressed after the other disaster.

Supporting:

  • Zheng Bo Zheng (陳博正) as Ah Fu (阿福). A bat spirit who was under Zhong Kui’s commands and followed him to help with many cases.
  • Dewi Chien (簡廷芮) as Xiao Qi (小七). Seven Star Sword Spirit, which was Zhong Kui’s sword. She only turned back into the sword when needed. Other times, she helped with different investagations as needed.
  • Tan Ai Zhen (譚艾珍) as Grandma Wu (吳婆婆). Wu Qing Yuan’s mother, Wu Yi Han’s grandma. She owned a bread shop. Xin Yu used to come and help her.
  • Yin Zhao De (尹昭德) as Wu Qing Yuan (吳青原). He was the one who kidnapped Lady Meng and brought her to the human world in the first place and unleashed many chains of events later on. However, it was learned that he was also used by Lu Qi because how he died in such a tragic way and had gathered a lot of hate within him hence being a powerful tool for Lu Qi.

Guest-starring:

  • Chen Mu Yi (陳慕義) as Taoist ghost (道士鬼).
  • Wu Zhi Qing (吳志慶) as Police officer (警察).
  • Zhang Han (張翰) as Chen Zheng Ming (陳政明). Li Shu Hui’s husband.
  • Vicky Tseng (曾莞婷) as Li Shu Hui (李淑惠). Vicky had gone a long way since her start. Although she appeared briefly for one of the cases they worked on but she was impressive, bringing out all the emotions of the role and setting the mood for the story.
  • Yu Yan Chen (余彥宸) as Ah Ping (阿平). Hong Cheng You’s son.
  • Xie Qi Wen (謝其文) as Hong Cheng You (洪承佑). Ah Ping’s father.
  • Liu Er Jin (劉爾金) as the boss of the cargo transport company (貨運老闆).
  • Zhang Qian (張倩) as Li En Xi’s mother (恩熙母). I didn’t care for her story arch and wasn’t the least bit convinced because of how fast she changed. I was just glad she was out of the way and that part of the drama subsided.
  • Hank Wang (王碩瀚) as Zhao Jia Jun (趙家俊). A student who had some troubles at home and acted out on many occasions. He was later used by Lu Qi to spread some mind-controlling drugs at school.
  • Yao Ai Ning (姚愛寗) as Gao Jia Qi (高嘉琪). Liked Ou Yang Kai after he paid her tuition fees for her.
  • Cheng Yu Xi (程予希) as Yao Mu Qing (姚慕青). Rich classmate who was possessed.
  • Kelly Ko (柯素雲) as Shao Shou Hua (邵守華). Chen Zhe Xuan’s mother. Died of a heart attack, but it was because Lu Qi appeared in her dreams, preventing her from getting a proper rest hence triggering the heart attack.
  • Peter Kuan (管麟) as Chen Zhe Xuan (陳哲軒). A talented pianist. Dubbed as the “prince of piano” in his university. Lost his way when his mother died and was used by Lu Qi to forgo his grand plan.
  • Ally Chiu (邱偲琹) as Wu Yu Han (吳宇涵). Wu Qing Yuan’s daughter, Grandma Wu’s granddaughter.
  • Hong Yan Xiang (洪言翔) as Wei Yun Han (魏雲漢). An IT expert. Wu Yu Han’s ex-boyfriend. He once posted Wu Yu Han’s sexy pictures online, causing her to receive backlash and become insane. He later regretted his actions and tried to undo his wrongs. He was used by Lu Qi to forgo various evil deeds. He later broke out of Lu Qi’s control by conquering his fear and seeking out Wu Yu Han to apologize to her before succumbing to the zombie attacks.
  • Zhang Guo Dong (張國棟) as God of the Earth (土地公). He was summoned by the City God once to look out for Wu Qing Yuan. He was hilarious because he argued with the City God and Zhong Kui about how they were older than him, even if they had youthful appearances, then immediately turning around to mumble about how “young ones these days are so impatient” when they rushed him to do his job.
  • Kurt Chou (周孝安) as an employee in the Underworld, working in the Reincarnation Department. He only appeared in about 3 episodes and some small scenes. But the most memorable part was when the City God coaxed him into letting him (the City God) enter the data vault by promising to put in an application to transfer him to work above ground, lol.
  • Chen Mu (陳慕) as Cheng Lei (程磊). A student who was in hiding because Zhao Jia Jun forced him to sell drugs at school and he refused.
  • Sunny Lin (林芷瑈) as Xiao Hua (小花) aka Flower Spirit (花精). Xin Yu’s friend, sorta. She was a calm, peaceful spirit, so Zhong Kui let her be. However, she was scared of Zhong Kui regardless. It was hard to blame her, considering his reputation.
  • Li Jia Ying (李佳穎) as Fox Fairy (狐仙). OMG, Jia Ying still looked so young and cute. I enjoyed her character and her scenes (though limited) and was wondering if she ever collaborated with Mike where they were a couple. It would be cute. (LOL, I know, off-track.)
  • Louis Lin (林健寰) as Zhao Jia Jun’s father (家俊父).
  • Kingone Wang (王傳一) as God of Destiny (司命星君). He only appeared in 3 episodes and in bits and pieces. Like episode 17, then 19-20. It was fun to see him in here, even if just briefly.

Likes:

  • Mike and Kingone’s reunion. Ultimate favorite part. No doubt about it. I waited for so long. I didn’t know about it at first, obviously. I think ratings were too sad (yes, I looked it up) that they had to pull Kingone in to get viewers interested, anticipating their reunion. I actually followed their posts during the filming and Kingone yelled out for Rainie to come to the reunion at one point (even if jokingly). If they had invited Rainie, they might as well throw away the script and let the three of them have a reunion. It wouldn’t matter if the story made sense or not if that were to happen. I don’t think anyone would care about the main plot anymore.
  • Mike and Ivy. Seriously though, their chemistry wasn’t bad. It was just some parts of the plot failed them. Mostly her.
  • The stories and/or cases they worked on. It was enjoyable to a point. I always loved mystery, so that was part of the pluses for me.

Dislikes:

  • Ou Yang Kai’s death. I know, I know. There were a lot of deaths in here and most were tragic in its own way. But this one just irked me to no end. I’m petty as hell, so I will say it. He didn’t die because of En Xi. That was only the surface reason. But it was because Xin Yu wanted to see Zheng Nan for the last time. Yeah, I got it. She didn’t know she wasn’t going to survive, so she wanted to see him for the last time. But was she helpful at all in the end? NOPE! She only complicated matters because she wanted to see him for the last time. She wasn’t able to convince the madman of anything anyway. She was just there because of a wish. So, Ou Yang Kai was there. If not, he would have been at home. Even if it was against his wish, but he would have been alive. Somehow, they plain forgot it and shrugged it off as, “Oh well, he will reincarnate and will meet with En Xi again in another lifetime and continue their fate” because we can’t get mad at the main lead, right? I got the message of them promoting love versus the hate Lu Qi was spreading all around. But it didn’t justify Xin Yu’s many actions in here.

Recommended? I think it was all right. Somewhat refreshing because they modernized some classic stories. There were obvious, typical SETTV formulas that they couldn’t break out of. However, I thought it wasn’t too bad, considering the circumstances. I also think that you have to be a hardcore fan of any one of the cast to stick it through. However, if you worship the ground SETTV walks on, you’ll love it.

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