Hui Xiang (2023)

Everybody lies.

This psychological suspense thriller featuring a female hardcore detective starts out well. Ran Dongdong investigates the death of Xia Bingqing, a young woman with secrets. To figure out what happened to her, Dongdong has to piece together who Bingqing was and why someone wanted her dead. As the list of suspects in this complicated murder case grows, it is clear that everybody lies whether they are doing it consciously or not. The way Dongdong nails down inconsistencies in the various testimonies by unreliable narrators and incisively teases out the truth is riveting.

Work and life collide for Dongdong when it is discovered that her husband Mu Dafu crossed paths with the victim and he had twice rented a hotel room at the likely scene of the crime. She explores the complexity of love, marriage, and fidelity in both the work and personal arena and the lines start to blur. She begins to interrogate him like a suspect. In fact, he gets the worst of it because there are no professional restraints at home. Not that he is a paragon of virtue, far from it!! He was always a bit of a narcissist humanities professor that openly indulges in deeply intimate, highly flirtatious but ostensibly intellectual discussions with professional peers and students. She was fine with it until inexplicably, she is not. Likely because they fell out of the idealistic love phase of their relationship or maybe because he stopped telling her about these women that fall for him.

I did not expect to see this suspense plot devolve so deeply into a dark exploration of marriage between a dislikable and messed-up toxic couple. Both Song Jia and Wang Yang deliver mesmeric performances as flawed, complex, egotistical, and ultimately selfish characters. I did not like either of them. In fact, there are no heroes in this story. Other than the poor kid, pretty much everyone is a terrible person. Even the victim is too much of an architect of their own fate and is not empathetic. Neither of the two parallel plotlines is satisfactorily resolved. The whodunit mystery ends up being a howdunit procedural with too many plotholes and a weak, trite, cop-out motive for the murderer. The way the relationship is resolved also leaves unanswered questions although there is closure in the sense that Ran Dongdong and Mu Dafu really deserve each other. May they live tortuously ever after.

I enjoyed this drama up until episode 10 after which it turns into something I had no interest in watching. I can see how it may hold some appeal to people who like difficult relationship stories. My rating of 6.5 is for the very mediocre suspense plot, which is what I came to watch.

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Thrilling all the way

If you love crime solving mysteries this would be very enjoyable. The story involves the tragic death of a beautiful girl who's life was already miserable. It will hit home with many of us who grew up under these unhealthy cultural norms. It will hit home when the victim's parents yelled out "I gave you life!" Therefore that gift of life justifies controlling the kid's every decision in life ultimately leading to her death. The toxic love that prior generation can't see as an issue until it's too late.

As the story continues it also focuses on the FL cop marriage struggles. Her inability to separate her job from her husband. Her mental state deteriorated as the case continued to the point of ruining her relationship with a perfect husband. Although the story ended on a high note, it was frustrating watching that relationship breakdown.

What I loved:
1. Cast. Every actor played their character well. This is the first time I've watched Song Jia (FL)'s work and she's amazing in this role.
Wang Yang - He's been one of my favorite veteran actor.
Hou Wen Yuan (supporting cop) - Hope I see him in more roles in the future
2. Overall story. Satisfying ending with many love & love to hate characters
3. Pacing of the story was very good. I like that the case had few twist and turns but not excessive.
4. Dialogue - Mature, insightful, relatable

Only dislike:
1. FL went overboard IMO by ep 12

It would be cool to see future dramas based off on this FL.

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