Parallel World (2023)

In the land of the scorpion the rooster is king.

This drama adapts Wei Yu's well loved romantic and suspenseful adventure novel Xī Chū Yù Mén /西出玉门 or West out of the Yumen (Jade Gate). The spirited and mysterious Ye Liuxi's first waking memory is of the desert with scant personal belongings to point to who she was and where she is from. A picture links her to Chang Dong, who lost all he held dear in that same patch of sand. Liuxi persuades Chang Dong to return to that most treacherous part of the desert with her. Together with a team of three others, they set out to crack the mystery of the Yumen Pass. On their quest to face their past, they stumble into a different, frightening and dangerous world where they find love, adventure, friendship and betrayal.

The most fabulous thing about this drama is that Ye Liuxi is a force of nature that simply sweeps you away with her beauty, strength and charisma. It is a role that must have been written for Ni Ni, whose portrayal of Liuxi is nothing short of iconic. Bai Yu's rendition of Chang Dong's quiet might and reserved brilliance is the perfect foil for Liuxi's more vivid personality. Their chemistry is so natural and shockingly scrumptious that I replay most of their couple scenes with a silly, lovesick grin on my face. I now have a whole new appreciation for Bai Yu's hotness. The other two romances are quite cute and endearing but neither is compelling or even necessary. Skipping or toning down one or both of these secondary romances could have helped the pacing of this drama.

The acting, rapport and comedic timing of the main cast is terrific and a heavier focus on their friendship over romance would have been no less enjoyable. It was a lot of fun to watch them humorously pull off their clone geminus selves. It is nice to see Jin Han in his element again as a misguided and flawed character. Lu Yuxiao makes an impression again as a young actor to watch. I also found both Gao Shen and Ding Liu's kick ass youthful exuberance a joy to watch. Sadly Meng Ziyi is the biggest let down in the cast. Long Zhi is an interesting role, a character with a world vision and the ruthlessness to achieve it. Sadly Meng Ziyi delivers a shallow and uninspired interpretation with two expressions - stone-faced and pissed off. She manages to turn a layered character into a cardboard and archetypal one. I used to wonder why such a lovely and charming actor didn't get more lead roles. Now I know.

Where this drama falters is in the pacing and narrative style. The transitions between sub-plots are not well handled with abrupt cuts to a side romance or worse, the narrator and the painter in the middle of action scenes or as momentum is building nicely into an interrupted reveal. The world within the Yumen Pass itself is well designed, rich in history and lore and occupied by dangerous and fascinating characters. The world building mostly takes place via exposition and usually right before the viewer needs that information. This kind of heavy foreshadowing diminishes the surprise factor in what comes next. This also comes with few pay-offs; in the end all I really needed to know is that in the land of the scorpion the rooster is king.

Even though this drama wraps up nicely with no major loose ends, the ending is anti-climatic. With one notable exception, most characters have fitting endings. However, the climax on the action adventure side takes place very early in the drama and the main romance peaks shortly after the mid-point. After that, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and the plot seems to build towards a final, badass showdown that doesn't quite materialise. The writers decided it is better to jaw jaw than to war war which would be fine if this weren't a fantasy action adventure. I am also miffed that my thirst for justice and symmetry that demands some serious loss of limbs is not satisfied, nary a hair was even harmed! I console myself with the fact that the roosters once again show the scorpions who is the boss!

This is a must watch drama for just Ni Ni and Bai Yi's acting and chemistry alone. If anyone else were in the lead roles, I would only rate this an 8.0/10.0 but I am bumping my rating up to an 8.5 to recognize their riveting performances.

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Indiana Jones has a love child with Laura Croft in the 5th dimension

By rights this show should be a hit because the leads are superb actors and who doesn’t like an adventure romp.

They have oodles of charisma, and their chemistry will keep a house warm in the dead of winter. There is a catch though. The world building in the first half of the show is problematic.

It leads us into a fantastic parallel world, but it also left us with more questions than answers. On the surface, the parallel world is unique and interesting, but it is like the shifting sand our leads travel through. It is an unstable base to build a civilisation if you don’t create some solid foundations. There are plot holes and inconsistencies galore. It was okay in small doses but as the plot deepens, it begs more questions. The show ploughs on regardless. It is not until ep.20 when we finally get a long winded exposition on how the world came about but even then, it was more a history lesson than any practical information.

Here lies the fundamental problem with this show. To sustain the fantastic setting the writer used every trick in the book. It is closer to a xianxia drama with cars than a contemporary adventure a la Tomb Raiders. This means all kinds of magical macguffins and invented lore are used to sustain the narrative.

This is a double-edged sword. It allows access to all kinds of wondrous situations, but you can tie yourself in knots if you don't have a deft hand. The protagonist needs a flying horse to get out of a tight spot? There is one grazing right there! The antagonist needs an evil doppelganger? There's one in the bag. Sometimes it can feels like cheating.

It is no surprise that the plot gets more and more convoluted as the show progressed. Is it class struggle, power play, love triangle or historical feud? It is raining revelations, expositions and flashbacks in the second half. Some are true, others are red herrings and false memories. We don't have a clear picture until the last few episodes.

End do cometh to us all. As ending goes, it is serviceable, but it feels flat. The resolution doesn’t make a lot of concrete sense. Yes, one side won but how this can leads to eternal peace is more than a bit vague. It is too facile. We are then told the whole show is just a richly embellished fable even though the characters are driving modern cars and using cellphones. Also hinting that the HEA ending is just our wishful thinking. Nice. Did the writer just gave up?

Nevertheless, kudos to the production team and ensemble actors for their dedication as shooting on location must have been a real challenge. The desert landscape is harsh but starkly beautiful. Who needs CGI when nature provide something that eclipse our imaginations.

In the end, it is a rollicking escapist romp. It is action packed, cheesy, tense and swoon worthy but it also has a lot of world building issues and plot holes. I would have stayed for the leads alone but it does test my patience at times. You really need to switch off your frontal lobe to truly enjoy this show. Beers and pizzas help too. Peace out.

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