Editor’s Note

The "First Episode" series is here to help you watch the latest dramas. Are they worth watching? Let's take a look at the good ones and the weird ones.

Some shows may gradually get better, while others may start strong but end badly, so this article only represents the author's opinion on the first few episodes, for reference only. If there are any subsequent slaps, I will keep you posted.

The Story of Rose

Broadcasting platform: CCTV-8, Tencent Video

Premiere date: June 8

Liu Yifei is so beautiful. It’s hard to imagine anyone else besides her who can blend seamlessly with Huang Yimei.

In the original novel of "The Story of Rose", Huang Yimei always appears in other people's mouths, which is not easy to film. This script adaptation is undoubtedly more successful, at least from the part that has been broadcast so far.

Huang Yimei is a great beauty, and if she doesn't act well she will become artificial or it will be difficult to meet the standards, which is why the characters of beautiful women in domestic dramas often fail.

In this story, everything originated from Huang Yimei's beauty and popularity. But beauty is not enough. To make so many men fall in love with her, she must be cute, interesting, and explorable, like an elf in the world. In other words, whether this character can stand out almost determines whether the film and television adaptation can be successful (the previous film version was played by Maggie Cheung).

Stills from "The Story of Rose"

Whether Liu Yifei's acting skills have improved or not is not the first question, but she is definitely highly compatible with Huang Yimei's character. She is beautiful and self-aware but not conceited. When she is lively and active, she is like a little deer, and when she is quietly painting, she is like a lotus flower emerging from the water. Not only that, she is also bold and rebellious to live out her own life. If she doesn't want to take the postgraduate entrance examination, she won't take it. Facing her parents' distrust, she said hysterically like a rebellious girl, "I seduced him and even went to bed with him!" After being falsely accused of being a mistress, she still dressed up and went to work, and she also tried her best to face the boy she liked. Such a female image is rare and precious in domestic dramas. The director's Rashomon expression methods from the perspectives of men and women are also quite interesting.

However, the pace of the series is slow, with several episodes talking about the same thing back and forth, and the filming is long-winded. There are many useless pictures, plots and dialogues, and it feels like wasted time. It would be better if the director was less selfish and found a cool drama editor to balance it out.

There have been several adaptations of Yi Shu's books, but none of them seemed to be very successful. Either the flavor was not right, or the plot was changed too much. I hope this drama will not disappoint people.

Ink Rain and Clouds

Play platform: Youku

Premiere date: June 2

It has to be the dead girl. Yu Zheng + Wu Jinyan, this combination stands firmly on the revenge track. First of all, it should be made clear that you should not watch it with a meticulous and researching mind, and be tolerant of fairy tales and fantasy dramas. As long as you can simply regard it as a pastime, then you will not be able to stop chasing it! Words can deceive people, but people's actions are honest. "Mo Yu Yun Jian" at least makes the author willing to spend more than an hour every night to check the updates. This is the power of Yu Zheng.

To break it down, the success of "Mo Yu Yun Jian" lies in the high degree of fit between Wu Jinyan and Jiang Li's roles, as well as the fast-paced plot with almost no water injection. Wu Jinyan was born with a face that refused to obey, and some viewers criticized her for not being pretty enough, but the entertainment industry has never lacked beautiful actresses, and being memorable is a skill. Her bland, cold, fierce and stubborn facial features make her the king of revenge.

Stills from "Ink Rain and Clouds"

In terms of the plot, from Xue Fangfei being buried alive to entering the Chaste Hall and then returning to the Jiang family as Jiang Li, she began to fight with her stepmother, and then with the Li family's small group... In more than a dozen episodes, Jiang Li hardly had any scenes of sitting or lying down, which means that she was either fighting or preparing to fight, and even with the male protagonist Xiao Heng, she could only flirt with him in her spare time. Moreover, the fighting was not childish and stupid, and the protagonist's halo was kept within a certain degree. The stepmother played by Chen Qiaoen was even more vicious, not to mention the crazy and morbid Princess Wan Ning. It is worth mentioning that Xiao Heng sometimes saves the beauty, but most of the time, he watches coldly, and Jiang Li solves problems step by step with her firm heart and clever mind.

Of course, there are many speechless bugs in the plot, and even some ridiculous scenes that are like sudden changes in fantasy dramas, but the key to a cool drama is its emotional value. Since it is not going to be a high-quality drama, making a drama that people continue to watch is also a manifestation of its ability. Even if Fan Xian can have five fathers, why can't there be Jiang Li who crawls out of the grave and takes revenge with her own brain?

The Right Time

Broadcasting platform: Hunan Satellite TV, Mango TV, iQiyi

Premiere date: June 3

There are three treasures in middle-aged life dramas: second child, divorce and education, and this drama has all of them. When I saw the promotional clips, it seemed like another suspended middle-class drama, but as I watched it, I seemed to be really moved.

What is commendable is that the creators face the real individual conditions of today's society. Although Xu Mengan and her husband Li Lin look glamorous, they are actually on the verge of bankruptcy. Li Lin was laid off and could not pay off his credit card immediately. Xu Mengan's company also encountered an economic crisis. The two had to start budgeting carefully, buying vegetables when the stall was closed, reducing travel expenses, and selling their property. The way the couple settled their accounts was so real that I don't know who put themselves in their shoes.

Li Lin's job search process was never a cheating one, which truly reflects the current situation of middle-aged employees who are difficult to turn over after being laid off. Even the reason is so real, "You have such a good background, you come to us and give up, you should find a management position." In the end, Li Lin could only do manual labor, and Xu Mengan felt distressed but helpless, which was very touching. When Xu Mengan's parents gave money, the couple's reaction was also very real. Who would have thought that a middle-aged person would still rely on his parents?

Stills from The Right Time

In addition, after Xu Mengan learned that she was pregnant with her second child, she was entangled several times considering the family situation. She did not dare to ask for leave to have an abortion in order to increase her salary. How true it is to reflect the middle-aged life of "living is worse than death". Chen Wanzhen has been a housewife for eight years and returned to the workplace. The creators did not arrange an immediate counterattack in her life. She can only start from logistics, with a monthly salary of 5,000.

The author saw that the main creators really wanted to shoot a realistic and down-to-earth life drama. The characters in the drama are all ordinary people, without amazing looks, super luck, superior families of origin, or super personal abilities. What they have is that when facing difficulties, they have to overcome them even if they sigh. Qin Hailu and Bao Jianfeng acted really well.

Of course, the series also has its problems. I still watch it at double speed, dragging the progress bar when it progresses slowly. However, for such a subject, if the whole family watches it together, it doesn't matter if it's a little slower. After all, for middle-aged people, the time spent watching a series with family is wonderful no matter what.

The Boy Who Can't See Shadows

Broadcasting platform: iQiyi

Premiere date: June 6

Sigh, what a shame for this drama.

Following "Summer in West Xiao River" and "The Hidden Corner", Zhang Songwen and Rong Zishan teamed up for the third time, with powerful actors such as Li Jian, and there was no problem in the performance. The core of the series was not gradually revealed until about the sixth episode - blood relationship may not be that important, and being able to redeem each other is each other's relatives. And this "warm core" is wrapped in suspense, crime, murder and other elements, a bit like the story of Keigo Higashino.

Stills from The Boy Who Can't See His Shadow

Unfortunately, the pace is too slow. The audience has to watch the long three or four hours of the previous plot before they gradually understand what the creators want to convey. The battle of wits and courage between people in the plot has only reached its climax. The Jin family has their own thoughts, the police realize their mistakes, and the murderer of the year begins to blackmail... What's more, all the previous plots are cut into pieces. The originally simple plot is messed up by various flashbacks. If the current content, especially the first six episodes, can be cut in half or even more, it will be more attractive, and it will be better to change the editing method.

After condensing the plot, it seems that the intersection of several clues is quite exciting. The fake son, the murderer classmate, the dead Jin Bianjie, the missing Doudou, each question needs an answer. Judging from the outline, it is a commercial suspense drama that meets the standards.

Misty Theater should do its best to save face and not end up like "The Returning Daughter".