Editor’s Note

The "First Episode" series is here to help you watch the drama. Are the recently aired dramas 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 Year of the Golden Flower》

Poster of "The New Year"

Broadcast platform: Youku

Premiere date: June 26

As an ancient puppet drama, it is full of surprises. The story tells about a princess and a prime minister who had fallen out in middle age and traveled back to the time when they were not married because of death. The princess wanted to change her life, but step by step, she truly fell in love with each other and walked hand in hand with each other as they got along again.

Many viewers complained that Zhao Jinmai and Zhang Linghe have "baby faces" and that playing middle-aged roles is like playing house, which is hard to convince people. This is indeed a big problem of the series, but I think the flaws do not outweigh the merits.

This drama is adapted from the book "The Princess" which has many fans. It has a fast pace and is refreshing. Li Rong, played by Zhao Jinmai, is unwilling to be a slave to fate even though she lives in the feudal era. She participates in the court within her ability, although her original intention is just to change her marriage. After the two traveled through time, the lines and atmosphere were not frivolous, which truly reflected what it was like to have a relationship that was still bound after love and hate. I have to praise the director of the series. Even though the actors are young, they did not make this subject light and funny. The scene where Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan recognized each other while playing chess in the pavilion was very wonderful, and a sense of fate was captured. This was a chess game of parting and a chess game of reunion. In addition, the director and the crew's costumes and props are aesthetically pleasing, and many symmetrical shots and color schemes are as beautiful as ancient paintings.

Of course, the two young actors may be limited by their image, but the author believes that the most praiseworthy performance of this drama is also the performance of the two leading actors. It is not easy to act whether it is a middle-aged soul traveling through time or a reunion of a couple who are in harmony but in spirit. Zhao Jinmai and Zhang Linghe acted very naturally. In the early stage, both of them had dissatisfaction and hatred towards each other, but their eyes still showed care and love. The two sometimes cooperated tacitly and sometimes quarreled with each other. Pei Wenxuan kept the character of a weak civil official, and Li Rong played the characteristics of a spicy princess. In short, it is delicious and beautiful!

"Old and Young"

Poster of "Old and Young"

Broadcast platform: Zhejiang Satellite TV/Tencent/Youku/iQiyi

Premiere date: June 26

How can we not have enough of this kind of drama? We have seen enough. Family matters, map-based cannons, floating cities, filtered life... Anyway, as long as the first shot of the rural parents-in-law moving into the home of a young couple in the city is fired, the drama will be a success. Expected bad habits, male chauvinism, rules, induced childbirth, conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, every hot topic on Douyin can be made up into three episodes. The male protagonists of this kind of drama have their own cowardice, and each cowardice can stimulate different audiences, so the discussion is also increased.

Let’s experience the plot of “Old and Young”

Compared to "Little Days", this drama has more irritating points - the male protagonist played by Yang Jue doesn't even dare to wash dishes in front of his parents. He is submissive in front of his parents, but turns around and complains to his wife; what's more outrageous is that in some dramas, at least the female protagonist will be angry, but she doesn't want to get angry because of her husband. In this drama, the wife played by Deng Jiajia is directly smiling at her parents-in-law, but she is not good to her own mother who gives her money. Her husband said that "a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen", which is not right, but she still educates her husband that this is the words of a saint and should not be denied, and then washes dishes in front of her parents-in-law to perform "three good daughters-in-law". The most outrageous thing is that her mother reminded her that "women's rights must be fought for by themselves", but she looked impatient and scolded her mother "don't watch these messes on the Internet". What do the creators want to express through this plot?

The Execution Judge

Poster of "Executive Judge"

Broadcast platform: CCTV-8/Youku

Premiere date: June 27

It's a type of drama that's both boring and watchable, and it's hard to describe. The series is a unit drama that uses different cases to show the duties and stories of the execution court and to show the daily life of the judicial system.

The executive judge played by Yang Zishan is one of the few annoying female protagonists in recent times. This character treats colleagues and parties involved in the case equally - you all have problems. From the subsequent plot, this is another positive role. Maybe the plot setting is to suppress first and then promote, but at present, it is hard to say whether the audience can support her to be admired or liked.

But it's not that bad to say that this drama is terrible. So far, the different cases have always brought new information, and the judge played by Luo Jin is interesting and wise. This drama can be played as background music while doing housework or eating, and it won't be noisy.

Anti-Black Hero

Poster of "Anti-Black Heroes"

Broadcast platform: Tencent Video

Premiere date: June 24

After watching a few episodes, it is not as worthy of saving the quality of Hong Kong dramas as "News Queen", but it is still worth watching. Compared with many TVB dramas in recent years with watery plots and shaky acting, this drama is a police drama after all, especially one that talks about big cases like drug trafficking, not small-time Young and Dangerous. It also involves the hot topic of Hong Kong police's poor performance at the crime scene a few years ago, which was discussed by Hong Kong people. Therefore, the plot is still quite compact.

Yuan Weihao has always played positive roles with a righteous face. This time he broke through himself and played a drug dealer, which was a bit awkward. He lacked ruthlessness and looked a little tired. The character setting also added undercover spy scenes. Zhang Zhenlang returned to the undercover role after "Anti-Black Roadman". He was in good condition. Some settings were made with care. It was the joint efforts of the screenwriter and actors.

The series currently has a Douban score of 6.7, which I think is fair. If you are a fan of Hong Kong police and gangster films, or an audience member who has been suffering from a lack of suspenseful criminal investigation dramas to watch recently, don't go in with the mentality of watching a great drama with a high score. You can still watch this one to satisfy your craving.