The Mutations (2023)

An Oriental Odyssey.

Chu Sijing, a captain of theJinyiwei/锦衣卫 or Embroidered Guard is on a mission to investigate a strange epidemic that broke out on the remote Wumu Island in Liaodong province. The outbreak threatens the adjacent NInghai Fortress, a critical stronghold against the invading Jurchens. The powers that be have their own agendas and appear more interested in covering up the outbreak than anything else. Thus Sijing steals onto the island aided only by a Mongol Tartar official Bo Yan and a Fulangji/佛郎机 businesswoman Angelica. There he encounters mysterious, disease afflicted villagers who worship ancient Gods and is forced to deal with some monstrous truths. Can he weed out the root of the epidemic before it overwhelms them all?

This story is set in the 3rd year of Tianqi, when the Ming Dynasty was in rapid decline. It was a time of many natural disasters from meteorites to a mini ice age, drought and famine. Superstition reigned high as the peasants were starving and the emperor was widely said to have lost the Mandate of Heaven. The drama invests heavily in world building and weaves in many themes from the period and fantastical creatures from Chinese mythology 山海经/Classics of Mountains and Seas and 神异经 / Classics of Gods and Spirits. Even though the CGI is not the best, I appreciate the effort that went into how they blended history, fantasy and ancient lore together to make this an Oriental odyssey.

Unfortunately all the research and creativity that went into world building is wasted on the story's plot which hints heavily at a complexity that never materialises. For such a short drama, there are too many subplots touching on many themes that go nowhere. Even ignoring Sandrine Pinna's appalling Disney cartoon character acting, the entire Angelica/Pirates of the Caribbean arc adds nothing to the story. The time would be better spent fleshing out the motives of the Henggong cult and tying up the many loose ends to the story. I usually like Huang Xuan's acting and enjoyed his chemistry with Bo Yan but this is not his best role. Maybe it is the overuse of green screens but I caught him frequently out of the moment and staring blankly into space. Shen Rang is the only character that really moved me and I enjoyed this character design and portrayal the most.

The best things about this drama are that it does try to be different, it is short, some of the action scenes are pretty good and it is oddly enjoyable despite its lack of logical consistency. The ending is anti-climatic, doesn't hang together well, leaves loose ends and is disappointing overall. I am being generous in rating this as a 7.0/10.0.

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Simple but interesting ​

It was a different series. It was more interesting than its counterparts. The mutation was not depicted as disgusting to humans, animals or creatures. It is made simpler and plainer without increasing the level of fear. A different fiction was tried, I liked the series as it was. Of course, I don't know if the development of events has anything to do with reality. However, some of the events such as changing shape, going to another dimension, or poisoning may occur due to radiation or another substance emitted by a meteorite. Some of it may be imaginary. That's how I evaluated it. I found it different and interesting. I liked it too.
The actors were good too. I especially liked the performances of Huang Xiuan and Wu Yue. They suit the series and the characters attributed to them. I liked the child actors. A big Well done to them from me. Sandrina Pinna, on the other hand, was really a stranger to the series. A foreign actor was also a foreigner in the series. She was also a stranger to the series. I also liked the other character actors. It is recommended for those who want to watch a simple and different mutation series without expecting too much.

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