Detective L (2019)

Excellent production values and a strong cast

Detective L is a very typical police-with-consulting-detective procedural, but one with refreshingly strong production values and a stylish 1930s Shanghai setting. Expect to see all the common tropes of the genre here, but even if it's familiar territory, it's still a lot of fun to watch. Recommended for fans of Western titles such as Murdoch Mysteries, Sherlock, or Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

The main cast is solid gold. Bai Yu excels in this role, which is closer to the playful Zhao Yunlan (Guardian) side of his career than more serious Xun Xu (The Wind Blows From Longxi) territory. (Guardian fans will also enjoy the fact that this series was shot at the same studio, Shanghai Chedun Film Park, and features not only several of the same actors and locations, but even some of the same props. But the budget is infinitely higher!) His Luo Fei is arrogant, pushy, and occasionally a little mean-spirited, but he's also charming, charismatic, and has good relationships with several of his colleagues (most notably the coroner, Ben Jie Ming, with whom he is shown to have a strong friendship). Una You successfully conveys "plucky, strong-minded heroine" without falling into the common traps of being annoying, overly cute, or helpless-when-plot-demands; her Xiao Man is one of the most satisfying female leads I've encountered in a C-drama, even if the script occasionally forces her into the role of slightly-baffled-Watson to Luo Fei's never-less-than-brilliant Holmes. The obligatory romance you would expect to see blossom between the leads (owing to series formula) is so slow-burn it sometimes disappears for entire episodes at a time, which is actually a pleasant change from the norm.

As a warning to squeamish viewers, there are a few (relatively) realistic autopsy scenes scattered throughout the series, as well as occasional on-camera gun violence that might be upsetting to some. There are also a fair number of corpses and wounds shown, because... well... murder.

Sadly, this is only one shorter-than-average season of shorter-than-average episodes, which means it's only about 1/3 the runtime of the typical C-drama. Which is especially disappointing (warning for very general non-specific spoilers about the structure of the series incoming) given that the ending sets up for a second season that never happened. But it's still a solid series, and if you're deathly averse to cliffhangers, you can always just skip the last three-episode arc and imagine your own resolution.

Lire davantage

bai yu makes a good detective

I was sceptical at first when I spotted this drama because I don’t really enjoy watching historical dramas unless it’s wuxia, but after having seen a few, I decided to go for it.

I really enjoyed this drama and I love the dynamic between Luo Fei, Qin Xiaoman and Ben Jieming. The cases were interesting and I got to put my deduction skills to the test to try and figure out who, why and how. I did manage to guess correctly a few times and that made me glad because it’s a highlight of watching investigation shows for me.

The ending was disappointing because I was expecting more of a Reichenbach Fall type of thing, but all I got was a cliffhanger and more questions.

I have to admit, I’m starting to distrust therapists more by the day and I’m considering never visiting a psychologist again…

Lire davantage

This is one of the best Chinese dramas I've ever watched.
The plot was obviously thought through, the cast was suburb, and I was very sad to say goodbye to the last episode.
One of the things I enjoyed most was the cast. Luo Fei was my favorite character, but they all had their own unique and individual personalities which provided for a very well-rounded production.
I also appreciated how the relationship between the two main leads wasn't "let's create unnecessary misunderstandings" but more of a "let's work together to get this done." It was very refreshing and I loved how they interacted.
There was so much depth to the plot and I feel like this drama only scratched the surface. The ending was not satisfactory and did not tie up loose ends. In fact it just created more BUT it's still such a good drama and you need to watch it. It's worth it.

Lire davantage

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a bit of thriller, suspense, and crime-solving. The romance in this drama isn't really "officialized" but there are A LOT OF HINTS and very obvious ones as well.

Personally I love the male lead. He's extremely intelligent, gifted with a supreme eye for details, and is somewhat of an all-knowing person. He's humorous and has his own swag and charisma. He's not the usual cold and unfeeling, domineering male leads you would see most of the time in the dramas.

The female lead?... erhm... at the start, I did like the female lead, she's seen as a capable, likable, cheerful, rational female lead... but as the drama progress... the female lead seems to rub the wrong the vibe to me personally... like she kinda losses her good points and becomes the sort of female leads one would see in dramas... YES, stupidly naive, kind, reckless female leads... OMG... and a bit annoying as well. Idk, this is just my personal opinion. Though, there are times in the latter part of the drama whereby the female lead regains a bit of her IQ and her good points that were seen at the start of the drama. SO don't worry too much.

Spoiler Alert:
There's a twist as to who the main antagonist is... hehehe... I was personally surprised for the character was my second-favorite after the male lead. In the last few episodes of the drama, it seems to take a dramatic turn, like new characters are suddenly introduced... I don't really think it is necessary to include those characters, I mean if they want to include them, at least included them in the middle of the drama, not the end... like wth... and the way they were introduced was very abrupt... it was really bad, as pointed out by previous reviewers or commentators, it made the audience watching the drama feel like they missed not just one episode but many, many episodes... The ending was... I don't really like it. It was an open ending, goddamnit... like why?!!! Idk what happened to the production crew or whatnot but the latter few episodes as well as the ending was really bad and not to my liking and I think most people would've found it quite annoying as well.

My ranting:
I mean idk if there's going to be a season 2 or not... if there is I would definitely watch it. But, if there was, then I guess the open ending could be a great start for the second season but if there isn't... wth. Anyways, I would still recommend this drama, it's really good, just not a perfect drama, I mean there's no such thing as perfection isn't there? And regardless of my misgivings with the drama, I still rated it a 10.. because it's really an enjoyable watch!

Lire davantage

Fantastic!!

This drama has everything.

1.Not dragging
2.Plot utilisation
3. Amazing acting
4. Bai yu


Storytelling has the highlights. Detective dramas needs brainstorming storytelling skills and this drama is it. Like Benedict’s holmes. I love it a lot.

Only thing is Romance was in light and dark. Many moments could have been added.
Una you did a wonderful job. She looks highly athletic unlike other c drama heroine.

Need a season 2 please.
Someone please reachout to tencent. Please help.

Lire davantage

A drama with smart leads and suspence

Recommended for :-
If you like to watch a series where our main leads are smart , mature, kind and where ML don't have that rude or cold and not easy going aura and it's pretty much opposite here although facing heart wrenching situation our ML is still calm,cool and easy going and dispite being smart enough our main leads try to develop after each case which is very inspiring and motivating and we have lot of humour going on throughout the series with the help of our side cast.if you are fed up with so girly and no brain FL then you definitely gona enjoy it with our classy and sassy heroine and not to forget about story which will always keep you on the edge of your seat.
Spoiler:-
No kissing scenes or romantic scenes but don't drop it for this reason you can definitely feel the love between them through there stare and care towards each other it will definitely satisfy our romantic hearts.

Lire davantage

Luo Fei.. very sherlock-ish; but also conan-ish.. and in between, I see a lot of zhao yunlan there :o

Qin Xiaoman, she's kinda annoying and dumb (?) i mean, till the end, its like, well, there is development but not enough to make me like her .. i need to repeatedly remind myself that, 'she is new, she is fresh grad' etc etc so that I can bear watching her .. i mean, its too childish-ish and reckless many times

Benjamin is cute >.< hehe he looks like he have a thing for luofei ho ho ~~ but seems like luofei likes xiaoman ..

The ending .. WTH IS THAT ENDING??!
am not satisfied with the ending .. urgh TT____TT

Lire davantage

Another cliffhanger :(

Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!! Another cliffhanger... :( :( :(

Finally after i find chinese sherlock why must this be a cliffhanger... I think this was what sherlock fans feel at his time when the author suddenly stop wrote sherlock with the cliffhanger of his & moriarty death. Really wish there will be season 2 in the future...

Give 3 star for the story due to the cliffhanger. Will be changing my star after the season 2 announced.

Really like the story with watson as the woman. Love Xiao Man (XM) & Ben Jia Min as Luo Fei (LF) friends & helper. Quite surprised watch Johnny Bai act as LF, he really give the vibe of sherlock perfectly.

Love every aspect of this movie. Please give me update for anyone who have news of season 2 of this drama...

Lire davantage

I don't know, I'm not feeling this... it's like a play? improve in a set? a role playing game?

their lighting, set and camera just feels too cheap compared to a kdrama, and they are also kinda forcing in a love line; "ml gets sick so fl has to cook for him. insert plot twist, she can't cook but she doesn't know that" thing is overused.

their outfits were cute, and the fl was nice, but their dynamic is also overused that it's just boring to watch. the cases are always like "it's not what it looks like, and we must add a twist" and knowing there's gonna be a twist every single time takes away from the twist.

Lire davantage