THE SHORT VERDICT:

This is a pretty unique and refreshing show – if you’re able to tune in to Show’s vibe.

Show is quirky and heartfelt, with equal amounts of poignance and deadpan humor; supernatural stuff and regular human relationship stuff.

It’s refreshingly balanced, and tightly written in a way where you can feel that our writers knew every narrative piece by name, and had prepared each narrative piece lovingly, for a particular purpose.

Some of our cast isn’t as strong with the delivery, but I found the most important roles to be delivered with nice amounts of nuance and heart. The standout for me was Tseng Jing Hua as our protagonist Pu Yi Yong; such a memorable character!

Also, even though some of the visuals might hint at horror, this isn’t horror at all.

Altogether very worthwhile – again, if you’re able to tune in to Show’s vibe (more on that after the jump).

THE LONG VERDICT:

Let me begin this review by putting one thing out there: when I got to the end, I went right back to the beginning, and watched this show a second time, before writing this review.

You guys. I almost never do that.

The only time I remember going right back to the beginning, after I got to the end of a show, was with c-drama Nirvana In Fire, back in 2015.

NIF was just that awesome, but also, there were a lot of things that made so much more sense, on second viewing, because I now understood the context, and therefore the significance of things that had felt throwaway, on first viewing.

Kinda the same thing, with this show.

I found that I could appreciate this show so much more, on second viewing, than on my first viewing.

I will talk more about that later, to share specifically, the various new nuggets that I picked up on my second watch, but for now, I wanted to put this out there, to illustrate just how solid a show this is.

OST TITLE TRACK: PAINFUL HUG

Here’s the title track of the show, Painful Hug, in case you’d like to listen to it while you read the review. Just right-click and select “Loop.”

I’m unable to embed it here, but you can also check out the full OST here.

This is one time where a drama’s music didn’t really feel like an important presence. What I mean is, the music’s there, and it’s enjoyable, and it didn’t detract from my watch experience, but.. I almost didn’t notice it was there?

This could have to do with how I felt I had to focus on other things while watching, which I’ll talk more about later.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Typically, this section of my reviews tend to be reasonably brief, but I think that I should beef up this section, for this show, in order to give you as good a chance as possible, to enjoy this show.

Here are some things that I think would be helpful to know about this one, going in.

1. Even though Show touches on some serious / poignant themes, 

..it doesn’t feel heavy in the watching, because it threads everything through with a lot lightness and humor.

I think it’s good to let you know this, upfront.

2. There is supernatural stuff in this, but it isn’t horror

In fact, I’ve never seen a show have supernatural beings that quite match what this show serves up.

I will say upfront, that even though the trailer might suggest that these beings are kinda scary, they really aren’t.

I suppose it’s fair warning, that the imagery leans a bit dark and bloody, but not in a very graphic or disturbing manner.

You can trust me on that, coz I’m pretty much a horror wuss, and I found it all very manageable. 😅

If you feel that knowing more about what these beings are, would help you decide whether this show is for you, then here’s the answer, in this next spoiler.

If, however, you don’t like knowing ahead of time (Show reveals it in an early episode, but there is a bit of a discovery journey, to get to the answer), then don’t read this next spoiler section.

[SPOILER: WHAT ARE THESE SUPERNATURAL BEINGS?]

In this story world, someone’s obsession, when strong enough, takes on a life of its own, and presents itself in the form of a supernatural being.

Therefore, these supernatural beings aren’t ghosts, nor are they monsters out to destroy the world.

They mostly just want to be set free. I do think that that element specifically, makes these beings a lot more sympathetic, and helps to take any scariness out of the equation.

[END SPOILER]

3. There are some cultural references in this

..which might be a challenge, if you don’t have much pre-existing knowledge of traditional Chinese beliefs.

It’s not a biggie, but I thought it would be useful to mention anyway.

Here’s an example of a cultural reference that came up in an early episode.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E2. Show introduces this interesting idea, that the soul that’s speaking out of the dead body, is not the soul of the dead man.

My subs translate it as “kappa” and the dialogue uses the phrase “河童” which literally translates as “river child,” so I guess it’s safe to say that Show is suggesting that he’s a “water sprite” of some sort.

This definitely reminds me of some of the folklore that was included in Rainless Love in a Godless Land (review is here!), where sprites taking the form of children were shown to take on other forms.

[END SPOILER]

4. Show’s storytelling style is somewhat fragmented

The way Show serves up information is often in a rather fragmented fashion, so you get bits and pieces of information from various timelines (and even dimensions).

What this translated into, for me, was that there would be times when I would feel quite lost.

Sometimes, this was because I wasn’t sure how the fragments pieced together; sometimes, it was because I wasn’t sure how we got from one fragment to the next. Like, were these related? Was there a causal relationship?

Here’s an example of when Show was being clear, but because of its fragmented storytelling style, I was a whole episode late to realize some key things. 😅

[SPOILER ALERT]

E2. It took me most of the episode to realize that Yi Yong’s seeing and interacting with the body of the dead man – and not the ghost of the dead man.

I am a little slow on the uptake when it comes to this show, I feel like, coz really, Show introduces the body, by having him bump into a random girl on the street, and leaving a blood stain on her blouse.

Plus, we also see that enough people have had encounters with the dead body, that he even starts trending on social media.

So it’s not that Show didn’t let me in on the fact that everyone can see him; I was just slow to realize it. Oops. 🙈

And then, it also took me most of the episode, to realize that the dead body belongs to the man who was involved in the accident that Chu Ying’s (Vivian Sung) investigating. 😅

Clearly, I’m not super good at piecing fragments of information together, especially when it comes to crime and supernatural stuff?

[END SPOILER]

On my second watch, a lot of stuff made a lot more sense to me (I have a special section detailing all of that, later in this review), so that proves that Show knew what it was doing all along.

It’s just.. sometimes a little hard to keep up, because of the apparently scattered manner in which these fragments of information are served up.

5. The subtitles aren’t the best, unfortunately

This is something which I wish could be fixed, because good subtitles make a huge difference.

For the most part, the subs for this show do the job, but it can be rather confusing  &/or distracting sometimes, because of inaccurate translations.

For example, in Chinese, like Korean, we can often get a sentence without a specific Subject.

It’s clear from the subtitles, that the subtitlers were not actually translating as they were watching the show; rather, they just translated the dialogue as it was given. And so, sometimes, the subs would say “he” when contextually, it clearly should’ve been “she.”

If you know Chinese, this wouldn’t be an issue. If you don’t know Chinese, then at least knowing that these subtitling issues exist, would help a little.

6. There is no romance in this

I thought this might be important to put out there, because I do think it helps to set expectations in the right place.

Show does hint at possible feelings among our main trio of characters, but the hints are quite subtle, and Show doesn’t actually take them any further than little hints that tease a little bit.

7. Think superhero origin story, a little bit

As with many other dramas, Show’s English title doesn’t really match up with its Chinese one.

Show’s Chinese title, “不良執念清除師” translates more as “Obsession Busting Agent(s)” – plural in parentheses, because the Chinese title could be taken to be either singular or plural.

Meaning, it could be referring to all three of our main characters, or just our main protagonist.

This story is the origin story of our obsession busting crew, in particular Pu Yi Yong’s (Tseng Jing Hua) journey towards embracing his calling towards obsession busting.

8. A manhua lens is helpful to keep handy

Show’s got an interesting mix of strong poignance, deadpan humor and a sprinkling of broad comedy.

I personally find that viewing this through a manhua lens helps it all to land better, especially when Show dips into physical comedy.

For example, the manhua lens helps to make all the slightly violent beats land as funny rather than problematic.

[MINOR SPOILER]

E1. When I say slightly violent, I’m referring to things like that highlight reel of Yi Yong regularly doing a volleyball-style smash on all the balls tossed his way during PE classes – and how all those balls all hit his nemesis Guang Yan (Peng Cian You) on the head.

This is exactly the kind of stuff that happens in cartoons, so a manhua lens will help to make this land in a way that’s silly-funny instead of violent and problematic.

[END SPOILER]

HOW I’M APPROACHING THIS REVIEW

I’ll first do a more macro sort of approach to the things I liked and liked less in this show, before touching on selected characters and relationships.

I will then highlight one of the cases from our story, followed by a section on the new insights I gained on my rewatch, before touching on themes and ideas.

Finally, I’ll be doing a spotlight on both the penultimate and finale episodes.

I hope you enjoy.

STUFF I LIKED

Show is unique and different

Immediately, this show struck me as being meaty and special, and worth putting aside time for, even though it’s not (yet?) one of the buzzy shows that everyone’s talking about.

I really like that this show doesn’t follow any kind of formula; it is very much its own thing, and isn’t intimidated by the fact that it’s different from most other shows out there.

I like that a lot.

It means that a lot of the watch experience feels fresh, and I never really know where Show is going to go next.

All I know is that Show knows what it’s doing and what it wants to be, and I’m happy to go along for the ride.

Show’s sense of confidence

I really liked the sense that Show knew what it was doing, at any given point in time, or from any given angle.

For example, everything feels a little abstract and random in the beginning, but Show does a really good job of setting up our story – without it feeling like obligatory exposition that many shows tend to rush through.

It feels like Show is genuinely interested in telling this story – and is going to tell it in exactly the amount of time that’s needed; no more and no less.

Show never feels slow

I found that Show was still in set-up, in episode 3, and I found that interesting for a couple of reasons.

For one thing, I feel like most 12-episode shows would be done with set-up a lot faster.

Instead of getting set-up done within the first two episode, however, Show completes its setup in about four episodes, which also puts us at one-third of the way through our story.

Even more interesting, to me, is that even though it looks slow on paper, in execution, it doesn’t actually feel slow.

I think that’s because Show’s jumped right into our first couple of cases, instead of waiting for our rag-tag team to come together, before jumping into the cases.

In fact, we get through our entire first case, before Guang Yan (Peng Cian You) comes back into the picture and becomes an integral part of the second case.

That’s an interesting way of doing things, and I do think it works.

Instead of waiting for the basic picture to come together, Show gives us a case at hand to think about – while it continues to serve up fragments of the basic picture, when it’s relevant to the current case.

It kind of feels like we’re playing a game where we’re required to solve one puzzle with our left hand, and another with our right, and it’s absorbing, and pretty fun too. 😁

The way Show balances its various tones

You’ve probably already got the idea that Show’s got a variety of different tones going on.

Sometimes it’s poignant, sometimes it’s sad, sometimes it’s silly, sometimes it’s earnest; it feels like Show shows us another side of itself, with every twist and turn of its narrative.

The thing that I’d like to highlight in this section, is that Show is very deft at balancing its various tones.

Sometimes, these varying tones don’t sound like they would work well together, like how funny and sad don’t sound like they would be natural neighbors. And yet, Show makes it work.

Here are just a couple of examples that stood out to me, from episode 1.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1. It’s sad-funny, but rings quite true to life, how Mom ends up having to move their family out of the house they’ve been living in, because the landlord doesn’t want to be associated with their family’s bad luck, and then can’t find anywhere else to rent, because all the other landlords feel the same way.

And then it’s funny-sad, the way Yi Yong asks for money from his doctor, when the doc gives the go-ahead for Yi Yong to leave the hospital on his own, and the first place he goes to, is the cemetery, where he cries for Dad. 😭💔

[END SPOILER]

Show’s got meat on its bones

Right away, from episode 1, it’s easy to see that, despite some of its lighter, sillier beats, this is a story that carries deeper thoughts, ideas and meaning, and I like that.

In our opening minutes, Show already indicates that these deeper ideas have something to do with preserving our purity and integrity, which feels like a universally relatable theme.

At the same time, Show also indicates that there is something about monsters being born of obsession – which helps to set the tone quickly, without giving much away.

Show’s got emotional heft

Arguably even more important than being meaty, Show’s got lots of emotional heft, both in terms of our main characters’ arcs, as well as the various cases that they encounter.

Here are some highlights.

[SPOILER ALERT]

(A) Emotional resonance with our key characters

E2. I was somewhat gobsmacked by the emotional heft of the moment when Mom brings out the beers that Yi Yong had had in his backpack, and we get that reveal, that Yi Yong had actually meant to share those beers with Dad, after his teacher had told him that he’d had a good conversation with his own father, after a few drinks.

That moment of realization is so, so poignant, as it hits Yi Yong, that he’d lost his only chance to have a heart to heart with Dad, by opting to hold the beers back, and offer his dad some other drink, because he hadn’t felt ready to engage with Dad on a deeper level.

Augh. That moment of silent regret is so poignant, and is made even more poignant by Mom’s remark, that Yi Yong’s teacher had called Dad to confess that he’d encouraged Yi Yong to offer Dad a drink – and that Dad had actually been looking forward to it.

Double augh. 😭😭

Dad must have felt so disappointed that Yi Yong hadn’t felt ready or able to offer him that beer, and have that heart-to-heart with him. 💔

(B) Each case is poignant in its own way

E3. This episode, I was pretty surprised to see things from Dead Body Dude’s perspective, and I was even more surprised to find that one of the key things that had drawn him to Yi Yong, is that Yi Yong’s kind to him.

The way we see him reflect on how everyone else has reacted to him – and then smile at the memory of Yi Yong being kind to him, is so surprisingly poignant.

I don’t know why I find it so surprising.. perhaps it’s because he’s not a human, that it hadn’t occurred to me to he might have the capacity to form emotional attachments.

This episode, though, Show makes it clear that he does have that capacity, and has, in fact, been feeling many things, since the time he’d been created.

It feels like such a poignant existence, that he’d been created to be buried, and that the people for whom he’d been created, don’t want him to come out of the river.

It feels like a great release, for Yi Yong to be able to set him free from the existence that he wishes to leave behind.

At the same time, there’s also a layer of poignance at play, because besides the supernatural being himself, there’s also the desires of the owner of the body, Li Song.

As the supernatural being explains, it had been Li Song who had compelled him to go to his parents’ home, one last time, and while there, he’d made that final bow to his parents, in what I believe is a final act of filial piety and respect.

That entire scene is so sad, truly, because Li Song’s there to bid his parents farewell, while communicating everything he wants to say to them – his apologies, his gratitude, his sorrow – in that single final bow. 😭

How much it must mean to his parents, to see him one last time, and yet, how heartbreaking for them, at the same time. 💔

Also, Li Song’s entire backstory, where he’d been bullied by his colleagues, is just so tragic.

I’m glad, though, that Yi Yong and Chu Ying manage to ascertain that it wasn’t an accident, nor a suicide, and I’m glad that Chu Ying and her colleague manage to pinpoint the culprit and his exact actions, that had led to Li Song’s death.

And, I’m also glad that Yi Yong manages to help the supernatural being, like he asks.

E9. It feels like such a gift, that Yi Yong leaves her his drawings of Doll Girl, so that Ms. He (Zhong Xin Ling) would be able to see for herself, what her daughter might have looked like, growing up.

Augh. Such joy, wistfulness and sorrow, all over Ms. He’s face, as she beholds Doll Girl, for the first time – the image of her baby, all grown up.

So precious, and yet so sad, that this could never be, in reality. 😭

[END SPOILER]

Show’s sense of humor

The humor in this show works for me really nicely, I have to say.

Aside from a touch of cartoony touches, the humor in this is deadpan and wry, and I found myself giggling at some of the most unexpected points, during my watch.

It feels like Show’s sprinkling little surprises along the way for us, just for some cheeky fun, and I like that a lot.

This humor works really well to add some levity to Show’s heavier themes, and so, the watch experience doesn’t feel difficult, which is great.

Here are some of the ones that really stood out to me.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1. Show does a nice job of setting that irreverent tone, like in the way that teacher waxes lyrical about Guang Yan, that everyone loves him, including non-humans – which is when we see a butterfly landing delicately on Guang Yan’s shoulder, to illustrate the point.

E2. That little gag where Yi Yong and Chu Ying keep telling the dead body that he’s the person in the picture, and the dead body keeps insisting that he’s not the person in the picture quite funny; the longer this went on, the more I giggled.

E7. Yi Yong’s having more of those weird supernatural dreams, and it’s hilarious that he gets Guang Yan to watch him sleep, in the hope that Guang Yan will be able to then tell him if he’s being visited by weird beings while he sleeps.

I love how tells Guang Yan, “Whatever, just remember not to close your eyes when you sleep tonight.” Hahaha. Yi Yong’s dim deadpan one-liners can be so hilarious, sometimes. And the funniest thing about them is, he’s not even joking. 😁

E8. This episode, we’re introduced to Doll Girl, and some of the beats really made me laugh out loud.

Like when Yi Yong says that she’s like a gif because she keeps changing form, making it hard for him to draw her.

And then the moment after he finishes drawing her, and collapses onto the table, telling Guang Yan that he’s carsick. Hahaha. I found that quite hilarious. 😁

E9. Sometimes, Show comes out and hits me hard, in the funny bone, and I can’t stop giggling.

Like at the top of this episode, when Chu Ying tells Yi Yong to go back to the cafe with his calligraphy tools and make sure to attract something strange while he’s there, and Yi Yong protests,

“Right. Maybe those teapots, cups, and creamer balls will tell me Lin Jing Mei’s secret. What do you take me for?”

And Chu Ying shoots back, all deadpan, “It’s hard to say. The sidewalk came to see you.”

HAHAHAHA. That felt like it came out of nowhere, but also, it makes total sense, since Stone Father and Stone Child had indeed come off the sidewalk to look for Yi Yong.

I literally had to pause the episode for a good several minutes, coz I couldn’t stop laughing. 😂

That was just brilliant. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

Our protagonist Yi Yong

I will talk more about him later, but I just wanted to mention upfront, that I count Yi Yong as a character, as well as Tseng Jing Hua’s delivery of him, to be one of Show’s distinct highlights.

I hadn’t been sure of what to make of him at first, because he’s got this very deadpan look about him all the time, but he’s actually a good-hearted, if slightly dim, kid, and the way he reacts to things in his deadpan way, gives us a good chunk of the humor in this show.

But he’s also got so much heart, and I loved getting to know that heart better, over the course of my watch. ❤️

The glimpses into less common corners of Chinese culture [MINOR SPOILER]

I’m glad that I watched AvenueX’s video on this show (here!) before starting my own watch, because I hadn’t known, until I watched her video, that in Chinese culture, the written word is traditionally treated as sacred.

With that as context, Yi Yong’s superpower calligraphy makes a lot more meaningful sense, and I do love the idea that words have the power to impart life.

STUFF THAT WAS OK

I’m not sure how I feel about the wrap-up of Tattoo Guy’s arc. [SPOILERS]

E5. On the upside, I like the fact that our Trio give him his name back, and that he has the dignity of being properly identified during that ceremony to honor the donors whose cadavers have been used in the university.

And, I do also like that detail, that because they address and refer to the cadavers as “老师” which literally translates as teacher, Tattoo Guy – Lin Yong Chuan – does kind of fulfill his long-time dream, of becoming a teacher, in a manner of speaking.

On a tangent, I just wanted to mention that his name Yong Chuan is written as 永川, which means Everlasting River.

This feels very apt, given that he’s been such a help and blessing to everyone who’s crossed his path, from the homeless folks, to the students who’ve studied his cadaver for the past 7 years – which is much, much longer than the average length of time a cadaver can be used.

On the not-so-upside, I’m not sure how I feel about the idea that he’s been alone in the afterlife, and now, he and Blossom Girl are finally reunited, by the supernatural power of Yi Yong’s calligraphy.

I mean, the idea is rather nice, I suppose, but I find it sad, that he’s still alone in the afterlife. Shouldn’t he be reunited with his parents, at least?

Also, it feels rather sad to think that even in death, Yong Chuan has to find his company and solace in Tattoo Girl, and not a fellow human.

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

Logic stretch

There’s a twist that Show introduces at the end of episode 9, which I’d accepted quite readily, on my first watch.

However, on my second watch, I realized that the logic doesn’t quite add up, which is why I’m putting it here.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E8-9. If Ms. He can’t see Doll Girl, ie, only Yi Yong can, along with whomever sees his drawing of Doll Girl, then how do the other characters see Doll Girl in the window..?

Unless.. the faceless doll is on display in the window? But.. how does that even help Ms. He, since nobody would be able to identify Xie He An, if she were alive, via a faceless doll..?

This doesn’t add up, for me.

There’s also the thing where Ms. He tells Yi Yong and Guang Yan that she’d made a doll each year, while imagining what her daughter would look like, and put that in the window, hoping someone would be able to provide information on He An’s whereabouts, but her husband hadn’t liked the idea, so they were all in the backroom.

I try to rationalize that she’s just playing along with Yi Yong and Guang Yan, to see what other information she can get from them, because she believes they can see things she can’t, but.. it’s a stretch.

Especially since that lie, that her husband hadn’t liked her putting the dolls in the window, is rather structural to this arc.

And, if the doll that was in the window was faceless, then why would Zhao Bai Si get so worked up over it? It’s not like it would ever go anywhere..?

[END SPOILER]

SPOTLIGHT ON CHARACTERS / RELATIONSHIPS

Tseng Jing Hua as Yi Yong

Our protagonist Yi Yong looks like a troublemaker hooligan on the outside, but is really a pure-hearted marshmallow on the inside, and the more I got to know the pure soul that he really is, the more I liked him.

I ended up considering Yi Yong THE highlight of my watch.

I feel like he grounds everything, in this drama world.

He brings a lot of the funny with his deadpan reactions, but he also brings a lot of the heart, and the heart that Show has, is truly its greatest treasure.

This was my introduction to Tseng Jing Hua, and I feel that he becomes Yi Yong, in such an organic manner, that I can’t imagine him playing another role now. 🤩

Here are some of my favorite Yi Yong highlights.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1. I was actually a little thrown by the severity of the accident, because not only does it put Yi Yong in a coma for 717 days, it also kills his father. I hadn’t expected that.

I hadn’t expected Dad to die, and I certainly hadn’t expected a sudden time skip of almost 2 years – but that works really well, because Yi Yong hadn’t expected that either.

Suddenly, he has to learn to walk all over again, and deal with the loss of his father, and the fact that Grandpa’s in a coma, and that he’s also now 2 years behind all his friends.

Not only that, with his family situation suddenly so drastically different, Yi Yong clearly feels that he can’t be true to his dream of becoming a manhua artist, because someone should carry on Grandpa’s calligraphy business.

That scene of him crossing out what he’d written in that school questionnaire, about his goals for the future, and then starting to grind the ink on the ink stone, is so poignant to me.

E2. I like all the little indications that Yi Yong’s a goodhearted dude, despite the fact that he looks a bit like a hooligan.

Like when that shop owner explains how Grandpa had always added value to the couplet, Yi Yong first mumbles that the shop owner looks down on him because he’s bad at his studies (lol), but then, when he goes home and thinks about the hypothetical couplet that he would write for his school principal, we see that he eventually writes, “He was actually a good man.” Aw. Isn’t Yi Yong a good egg?

Also, isn’t it sweet, how Yi Yong’s so protective of Mom?

Even though he’s in shock at facing Dead Body Dude, he’s quick to grab onto Dead Dude’s arm, and ask him not to go to Mom. That’s so sweet of him, in his way. 🥰

I am also amused by how Yi Yong settles quite quickly, into conversing with Dead Dude. There’s something about how adaptable he is, in that deadpan way of his, that lands as endearing, to my eyes. 😁

It’s also quite endearing to me, that even though Yi Yong has no idea what Dead Dude wants from him, he’d go so far as to take Dead Dude to the place where he remembers dying, and then try to let Dead Dude close his eyes in peace.

He’s so awkward yet caring, I love him. 😁

Also, isn’t Yi Yong disarmingly honest?

I love the way he tells Chu Ying honestly, that he’s met Dead Dude, and that Dead Dude’s been mangled and looks like he’s been chopped into pieces, and then gets all perplexed when Chu Ying accuses him of being the murderer. Ahahaha.

I’m also very drawn to the fact that Yi Yong’s still trying to understand how it had felt for Dad, when Dad had died.

I wasn’t sure where Yi Yong was going with it, when he asked Dead Dude about whether it had hurt for the owner of the body, when he’d died, but then later, when he asks Mom if she has any photos or videos from the accident, it started to become clear to me, that he’d asked that, while thinking about Dad dying in the accident. 😭

I’m sure there’s a good amount of survivor’s guilt at play here, since he’s the only one who’s made it out of the accident and survived. Dad’s gone, and Grandpa’s still in a coma. Poor Yi Yong. 💔

E2. How insightful of Yi Yong, to be able to see and recognize the signs that point to the victim having been bullied at work, and how sad-funny it is, that the reason he’s familiar with these signs and clues, is because he’d often been accused of being a bully, thanks to his hooligan-esque appearance. 😅

E3. I so like the idea that Yi Yong’s rather dim in many ways, but can be so sharply insightful, when it comes to drawing conclusions from his own experiences.

Last set of episodes, it had been the bullying thing, and this episode, he’s the only one who thinks to ask Chu Ying to let Li Song’s parents see his body at the site where he was found, rather than try to sanitize the whole thing for them.

Which brings me to Yi Yong’s desire to find out about his dad’s death. He’s been asking Mom about that, and wondering about that, for some time now.

The longer he angsts on his own about it, the sorrier I feel for him, because it’s clearly something that he needs closure about, but can’t seem to get. Poor Yi Yong. 💔

E4. I do find it interesting to see Yi Yong piece together the details of his new superpower, because I want to know how it works too.

But what a poignant punch in the gut, really, to realize that the first thing Yi Yong does, when he realizes that he can see beings that other people can’t see, is to dash out of the house, to try to find his dad. 😭😭

Guh. This thing about Yi Yong really gets me in the heart, seriously.

E6. Again, it’s Yi Yong’s own experience that inform his insights into the case of Grieving Father (Joe Cheng).

It only hits home for Grieving Dad, when Yi Yong declares that if he were dead, he’d be really angry if his dad went and got a replacement for him – like Grieving Dad’s doing now.

I really feel like this was literally the only thing that could have brought Grieving Dad to a place where he’d be ready to let Stone Child go; the thought that this would upset his own child, if he knew about it.

E7. This episode, we are given a glimpse into just how much Grieving Dad went through, from the time that he realized his son had fallen out the window, to the aftermath of the funeral, the divorce, and the excruciating torment of maintaining a facade of normalcy.

It feels like such a cruel blow, to have his entire life ripped to shreds, in the twinkling of an eye, through an event that he’ll always blame himself for, but which he couldn’t have predicted.

I can see why he would think of killing himself; it’s because he sees himself as unforgivable, and death is the only way to assuage the pain and guilt that must be suffocating him.

And once again, it’s Yi Yong who comes through with solidarity and empathy, which you might never expect, from his deadpan ways.

First, there’s the way Yi Yong asks Stone Dad for the favor, of protecting Grieving Dad from his own suicidal thoughts.

Show isn’t clear on exactly how that happens, but the sense I get, is that Stone Dad gives Grieving Dad a supernatural experience that feels real; he feels what it’s like to fall to the ground, and then he gets to see his son again, and hear words of affirmation, before coming to, like it had all been a dream.

When Yi Yong tells Grieving Dad about his story, about how his waking late had caused his dad and grandpa to have taken that ill-fated bus, and how Dad had died, and Grandpa’s still in a coma now, it really hit me in the gut.

The flashback that we’d seen, of that day, had been a little helter-skelter, and it hadn’t actually registered in my head, that they were running late because of Yi Yong working on his drawings overnight, and not waking up on time, in the morning.

Oof. It’s no wonder Yi Yong feels that he doesn’t deserve to dream about becoming a manhua artist. 💔

It’s so pure and beautiful, how Yi Yong draws on his own pain, to offer consolation to Grieving Dad.

He understands that Grieving Dad will never be able to forgive himself, because he doesn’t think he’ll ever forgive himself either, which is why he’s able to acknowledge something that most other people wouldn’t be able to – and then invite Grieving Dad to also make space for the happy memories.

That must be such a healing balm for Grieving Dad, to receive this solidarity, and to hear words of advice that sound more achievable than the impossible, “Don’t blame yourself.”

Grieving Dad’s still grieving, to be sure, when we leave him, but at least, it feels like he won’t kill himself, and instead, will have some comforting memories to get him through the tough days.

And, this also feels like a healing event of sorts, for Yi Yong, or at least, that’s the sense that I get, when we see him leave that beer on the stairs leading up to the temple.

I do feel like this is the beer that Yi Yong had once wanted to offer Dad, in the hopes of having a heart-to-heart talk, but had then changed his mind about.

I don’t mean the literal can, of course, since we did see Yi Yong and Mom drink those.

But in his heart, this is the beer that he’d wanted to offer Dad, but hadn’t felt ready to – and now, he’s offering it, in his own way, so I do take that to mean that he’s healed in his heart, a little bit, and is now ready to offer that beer to Dad.

E8. For all of Yi Yong’s prickly statements that he finds her annoying, he changes his mind, when he goes back to his room that night, to retrieve his phone, and catches a glimpse of her crying.

Aw. Our Yi Yong really is a big ol’ softie, isn’t he? I find that a very endearing trait of his.

E10. This episode, I thought it was an interesting perspective that Yi Yong offers, that he’d let Ms. He see Doll Girl, not for her own sake, but for Doll Girl’s sake.

This shows how tenderhearted and compassionate Yi Yong is, as a person.

Doll Girl isn’t even human, and yet, he has compassion for her, and makes a decision while taking her feelings into consideration.

That does endear him to me even more, I have to say.

[END SPOILER]

Yi Yong and Guang Yan

I have to admit that I wasn’t overly interested in the connection between Yi Yong and Guang Yan, at first, but these two enemies-to-frenemies-to-quasi-old-married-couple eventually got to me. 😁

It’s rather amusing, how different they are, but honestly, my favorite bits featuring this odd couple, is when they don’t even seem to realize that they’re getting along.

Here are some highlights.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E3. We are re-introduced to Guang Yan, who’s now Yi Yong’s neighbor, and the whole way this comes about feels very manhua-esque, with Guang Yan’s father getting fired from his job, and them winding up as Yi Yong’s neighbors – complete with a little noodle stall outside their home. 😁

Their immediate instinct to want to have nothing to do with each other is low-key amusing for a bit, until Show introduces us to our next arc, via the dried flowers that Guang Yan keeps finding around him, which he soon realizes no one else can see – except Yi Yong.

Tee hee. I smell hijinks coming, if Yi Yong and Guang Yan need to figure out this one together. 😁

E4. This episode, a lot of that comes from Yi Yong and Guang Yan trying to work together. It’s kinda-sorta like an angel and a devil trying to work together to accomplish a common task, but continually tripping each other up, because they so different. 😁

So far, this running gag still amuses me, and a lot of that amusement comes from Yi Yong’s deadpan expressions, which are quickly becoming my favorite thing in this show. 😁

E5. I do like the little beats where we see Guang Yan looking at Yi Yong with what seems to be renewed respect.

These two are still frenemies at best, but these little hints that Guang Yan might be starting to reconsider how he sees Yi Yong, is very promising, and quite thrilling.

E6. It’s quite nice to see Guang Yan starting to let loose, while hanging out with Yi Yong.

His happy expressions on the rides, while they were at the amusement park tailing Grieving Dad, felt like such a refreshing change, and it’s somehow extra meaningful, that it’s his association with Yi Yong, that’s brought about this change.

E7. Even though Yi Yong and Guang Yan are still basically frenemies, we’re getting hints of closeness between them now, which is very nice to see.

Like the way Guang Yan is so detailed and fussy, when telling his dad which items Yi Yong likes to eat, from the stall.

And then there’s the way Yi Yong tells Guang Yan with such honesty, the reason why he doesn’t think he deserves to dream about becoming a manhua artist.

..Which then has Guang Yan reminding Yi Yong right away, that he’d just taught someone else to make space for the good memories, among the bad.

These two may not admit it, but they definitely function as friends, and I’m here for that.

E7. Even though Yi Yong doesn’t position it that way, I’m pretty sure that him climbing into Guang Yan’s room to sleep on Guang Yan’s bed, is his way of seeking company and comfort, while he’s feeling down.

It’s also quite sweet, that despite Guang Yan’s protests, he adapts to the situation pretty well, and is reasonably content to let Yi Yong share his bed – and take most of his covers.

E8. This episode, I’m quite tickled by how matter-of-factly close Yi Yong and Guang Yan are, without even realizing it.

Guang Yan gets so used to Yi Yong coming over through the window to sleep in his bed, that he doesn’t even react to it anymore, and Yi Yong really seems to treat Guang Yan’s room like his own.

In a way, they’re almost like a little old married couple, and that thought amuses me. 😁

[END SPOILER]

Yi Yong and Chu Ying

Similar to the way Yi Yong and Guang Yan start out as enemies, Yi Yong and Chu Ying start out not quite getting along as well, and so it is quite nice, to see how, despite the surface snideness, Chu Ying does come to care about Yi Yong as a friend.

The thing that strikes me about their connection, is that even though Chu Ying starts out viewing Yi Yong as a troublemaker or hooligan, he ends up being her moral compass. Yes, I’m seeing just about everything in relation to Yi Yong. 😁

The Trio

I see our main narrative arc as Yi Yong coming to terms with his calling, to help set these obsession-born supernatural beings free, and then I see the coming together of our trio as a team, as the big secondary arc that supports that.

At first glance, our trio might appear all kinds of hodgepodge, with their very different personalities, abilities and temperaments, but in the end, I do think that they complement one another very well.

And, it was also nice to see them coming to care about one another – grudgingly, of course. 😁

In this spoiler section, I share more thoughts about our trio and what makes them tick.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E5. One thing that I find quite surprising, in our story, is just how much our Trio gets emotionally invested in the fate of the ones whom they’re helping.

I’m referring more to Yi Yong and Guang Yan, in this case, coz, as we open this episode, the first thing we see, is both of them separately running – with a keen sense of desperation – in order to help Tattoo Guy.

Guang Yan looks genuinely distressed to see Blossom Girl start to wither, and even runs out of class, which is something very uncharacteristic of him, since he’s such a conscientious star student.

As for Yi Yong, he runs down that taxi, and then gets beaten up by the taxi driver (ok, he also beats up the taxi driver, as a reflex, ha), but the fact is, he gets pretty injured, all in the name of helping Tattoo Guy find his name.

That’s quite touching, to me. Given that this was a mission thrust upon them, and not of their choosing, I find it quite affecting, that they seem so personally invested in it.

On that note, I just wanted to mention, for the record, that among our main Trio, I also find myself gravitating more towards Yi Yong and Guang Yan as characters, and less towards Chu Ying.

I definitely have some affection for Vivian Sung, having loved her in 2015 TW-movie Our Times, and I’m a little perplexed by the fact that I find it hard to connect with her, in this role.

I feel like Chu Ying’s supposed to be playing the straight gal, for Yi Yong’s and Guang Yan’s deadpan one-liners to bounce off of, but there’s something about her delivery that’s falling a bit flat for me, I’m sad to say.

I’m trying to put my finger on why, and so far, I’m thinking that there’s something a bit off with her comic timing in this show, though I could be wrong.

Unfortunately, this means that I’m starting to mentally categorize her as more of a supporting character to a main duo, rather than part of a main trio. 😅

E7. I’m glad that when Yi Yong decides that he’s ready to watch the CCTV footage of the bus from the day of the accident, he’s got both Chu Ying and Guang Yan with him, for moral support.

It’s really quite sweet how worried they both are, for him, not only before he watches the video, but afterwards as well, when he falls into a funk, thanks to seeing Smoky Woman appear next to Grandpa in the video footage.

E10. It’s becoming clear that Chu Ying and Guang Yan don’t have the same degree of compassion and commitment that Yi Yong has, when it comes to extending themselves for others.

As we get deeper into the episode, it becomes clear that Chu Ying cares more about her transfer than about whether the case is accurately solved.

How telling, really, that even when her words are repeated back to her, she can’t figure out why Yi Yong’s upset.

And then later, Guang Yan includes himself in that sentiment, when he says to Chu Ying, that Yi Yong seems to be a better cop and a better doctor, than the both of them.

[END SPOILER]

Cheryl Yang as Mom

Mom is more of a secondary character, and doesn’t enjoy as much screen time as our Trio, but in spite of that, Mom just really grabbed my heart.

Part of it is in the writing, but a good amount of the credit goes to Cheryl Yang, who plays Mom with so much effortless nuance and heart.

She’s fierce and badass, but she’s also kind and compassionate, and she’s openminded and wise, to boot.

I kinda think she deserves her own show, she’s that awesome. 🤩

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1. In the twinkling of an eye, Mom’s entire family has fallen apart; she’s lost her husband, and her father-in-law and only son are in comas.

It’s a lot to deal with, out of the blue, and Cheryl Yang, who plays Mom, does a great job of portraying Mom’s strength and vulnerability, in one.

Sometimes, she comes across as such a badass, like the way she goes and punches out the airline board of directors, who do nothing more than offer their perfunctory apologies, at the press conference.

And then at other times, you can see, so clearly, how much pain she’s holding in, beneath her stoic surface, like when Yi Yong wakes up from his coma and asks about Dad, and she smiles this really pained, sorrowful smile, while she hugs him.

You can just see how close she is to breaking down in hard, heaving sobs, and how hard it is for her to hold it together, just barely. Just really, really well done.

E2. I just love how Mom tells Yi Yong that she doesn’t care what his dreams are, as long as it’s a legal thing, and that he doesn’t give up on it.

And I also love that when Yi Yong says that he’s already almost 20, she corrects him, saying that he’s just 17 – because the sleeping years don’t count. Aw. I love Mom. 😍

[END SPOILER]

SPOTLIGHT ON THE CASE OF TATTOO GUY

Like I mentioned earlier in this review, all the various cases have their own poignant flavor to them.

I’m picking this one to highlight, mostly because I find that I have the most to say about it, versus the others, which I’ve mentioned to varying degrees in other sections of this review.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E4. When Show introduces us to this arc’s otherworldly being, I’d honestly thought that she was a ghost of some sort, from many years ago, thanks to her being in period garb.

So what a surprise, to learn that, somewhat like the supernatural being in our first case, she’s a being that was created by someone’s desire.

In our first case, it had been the desire of the people, for safety. And in this case, it seems to have been the desire of someone, to never be alone.

We don’t have the full backstory yet, of the guy who’d asked to have her tattooed on his back, but what we know, is already quite full of pathos.

The fact that his parents had died, leaving him alone, and the fact that he’d spent years hanging out with that group of homeless people every night, and helping them, before going home, alone.

Just these two things already makes my heart go out to him.

He must have been so afraid to lose someone else, to choose not to have a pet even, because he would outlive the pet.

His reason for choosing a tattoo of a person, so that he would never be alone, and so that this chosen company wouldn’t leave the world before he did, is just so heartbreakingly poignant.

And then how very sad, that he’d ended up dying alone, on that stair landing, cold and in pain, thinking about his deceased parents. 😭

E5. This episode, we learn the rest of Tattoo Guy’s backstory, and I find his story so heartbreaking. 😭

He was just a lonely guy who was having trouble adjusting to the deaths of his parents, that’s why he’d become a hoarder, and that’s also why he’d spend so much time with the homeless folks; to feel like he wasn’t so alone.

And, he’d been so kind and warm to them, bringing them food and other supplies, so that their lives would be a little better.

YET. The rumor about him hanging out with homeless folks ended up being the thing that got him fired from his job.

And then, as he’d made his way home, carrying his belongings from work, that’s the point at which he’d died of what looks to be a heart attack.

Gah. How heartbreaking is that? 😭

It certainly begs the question of whether him getting fired from his job had anything to do with his untimely death.

Like, if he hadn’t had to deal with the stress of an unjustified dismissal, and if he hadn’t had to carry all his things in the cold winter night on his own, would he have been ok?

I also find myself asking the question, if he’d been more understood by the people around him, would he still have been fired?

It’s so poignant to realize that him hanging around the office after hours, particularly when there was just one other person in the office, was actually out of consideration for the other person; because he didn’t want the other person to feel all alone.

AUGH.

That’s the reason he’d gotten Blossom Girl tattooed on his back too; because he didn’t want to be alone.

To think that he was acting out of consideration for others, and had been misunderstood to be weird and oddly competitive about being the last person to leave the office.

That’s so sad, truly. 😭

Also, how unfortunate, that the rumor about him spending all that time with the homeless folks, had come from an innocent remark that had come from his supervisor.

It’s no wonder the supervisor feels guilty about this; if I were in the supervisor’s shoes, I’d wonder too, if my remark had been the spark that had set off all those other events that had eventually led to his death.

[END SPOILER]

REALIZATIONS ON MY SECOND WATCH

Like I mentioned earlier, rewatching this, with the additional knowledge gained from having watched the show, was so worthwhile.

For one thing, I found myself picking up on a lot of stuff that I hadn’t noticed before, mostly because I was now able to clue in to their significance, where before, these things had mostly felt like insignificant, throwaway details.

Another thing is, with the added hindsight, a lot of stuff hit differently.

It was almost like watching a whole new show.

So, here, for the record, as well as for folks like Leslie, who followed along during my watch on Patreon, here are my additional thoughts, from my rewatch.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1. The parallel in our opening scene, of Yi Yong falling off the ledge (which on hindsight we know results in him hurting the back of his head), and Grandpa in his younger years also falling in the same position – which we now know was a result of him also trying to help the supernatural beings.

Altogether, it’s a picture of how dangerous it is to do this work, and it also explains why Grandpa had thenceforth refused to pay attention to all the supernatural beings asking for his help.

He was protecting himself and his family.

E1. The phrase “to preserve one’s own purity and integrity” which is the phrase that Grandpa writes again and again in response to all the requests for help, becomes the centerpiece around which our story is built.

It’s among the papers that Yi Yong grabs to take with him on the bus, and the word “kindness” from this phrase, is the one that we see split into multiple parts, as it floats in the air among the debris.

And, the word “body,” also from the same phrase, is the one that floats and comes to rest on Yi Yong – thus alerting Chu Ying to his presence, in episode 2.

E1. Smoky Lady’s appearance isn’t actually smoke; she’s a supernatural being like the others, just that her original form is a stone. The black-gray cloudlike appearance is to mimic her stony origin, but isn’t actually supposed to be smoke.

And, her request from the very beginning, is for Grandpa to help her die.

When she appears in front of Yi Yong at the scene of the accident, she’s already setting the stage for the test, saying that she’ll see if he’s the same as Grandpa.

E2. This is when Show first tells us that the important thing that sets Grandpa’s writing apart, is that it came from the heart, and that’s the difference that he made to grieving families.

This is an important seed, because eventually, Yi Yong learns that writing from his heart, is the thing that unlocks the power that sets the supernatural beings free.

I also think that the first phrase Yi Yong attempts to write from the heart, about the principal, that “actually he was a good man,” does release some power, which is why there’s that plume of dark smoke, which Dead Body Dude follows.

On a tangent, in this series of scenes, the whole idea that’s being put forward to Yi Yong, by the various business owners, is that he’s not as good as Grandpa.

The irony here, is that on hindsight, we see that even Grandpa thinks that Yi Yong is better than he ever was.

E2. It didn’t occur to me before, but I realize on hindsight that this first case, of Dead Body Dude, involves two different obsessions.

One that created the water “sprite” to begin with, and the the other, which is Zheng Li Song’s strong desire that his body not be found. I think that the two combine, to give us the case of Dead Body Dude.

E3. I hadn’t pieced it together before, but what Zheng Li Song’s body was doing with the food ingredients on the table, was not actually to do with offerings to the deceased like I’d first presumed.

This watch, I realized that he was trying to cook curry for his parents, because his parents had mentioned in episode 2, that he would often cook curry for them. Oof. 😭

E3. It’s really only on hindsight that I understand properly, why Yi Yong would get the supernatural beings to pick a word out of the homework box for him to write for them.

This is because, as he tells Dead Body Dude, he was bad in his studies, and doesn’t know what to write. He’s just getting the supernatural beings to give him something to write – but he writes it with his heart.

So the key here isn’t what he writes per se, but how much heart he puts into writing it, and that’s the thing that releases the power of the written word, to set the spirits free.

E9. On hindsight, it kinda gives me the creeps that Chu Ying lets Cupcake Dude listen to the recording, because he’s the one who’d killed Xie He An. 👀

E9. Although it’s passed off as something a bit flippant, because they’re both eager to get off the phone, it occurs to me that both Chu Ying and Guang Yan instinctively know that what matters more is that Yi Yong puts his heart into writing, rather than the words that he writes.

E10. Chu Ying giving Cupcake Dude a gift for helping her solve the case, is now deeply ironic, because he’s the real murderer. She just doesn’t know it yet. 😬

[END SPOILER]

THEMES / IDEAS

Show serves up a nice number of thought-provoking ideas, and sometimes, it would feel like these came out of the most unexpected places.

Here’s the quick spotlight on the various ones that stood out to me extra.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E4. As our Unlikely Trio work to try to find out more about Tattoo Guy, I find it quite touching, to see that even though he’d been all alone, and had felt so isolated and lonely, he’d actually touched the lives of others.

Like the homeless guy who cries when he hears that Tattoo Guy is dead, and also, the tattoo artist, who’d become drawn to him, while working on his tattoo.

I do really like this idea, that we affect the lives of those we encounter, in ways that we might never know or understand.

E6. This episode, there’s this idea that Yi Yong emphasizes again, that we shouldn’t feel sorry for others using our own limited perspective.

When Chu Ying holds back from telling Yi Yong that she’s found the CCTV footage of the bus, the day of the accident, she’s doing it with the thought of protecting Yi Yong from the horror of watching the accident unfold before his eyes.

But from Yi Yong’s perspective, he wants to watch the video, as hard as it is, because he needs closure.

As long as Chu Ying keeps the video from him, he can’t get the closure that he craves, and that’s not helping him.

It’s an interesting thought, and I do feel that it gives me something to think about. Like, when have my good intentions ended up hurting the other person instead, when my intention had been to help them?

E9. I appreciate Chu Ying’s explanation of jealousy.

“There is something others have but you don’t. You want it so much that you even start to resent the person who has it.”

Chu Ying’s analogy of the ink on the brush seeping across the paper, is a great demonstration of how jealousy can seep into you and spread – kind of like an insiduous plague.

E9. Yi Yong’s mom sheds more light on the dynamic of not talking about the deceased, or about painful events.

It’s an interesting perspective, that she actually feels able to talk about it, but that hearing about it, made her listeners feel awkward and sorry, and so, ultimately, she’s the one who ends up feeling sorry, which is altogether pretty ironic.

This does bring me back to Yi Yong’s point, which is that we shouldn’t feel sorry for others using our own limited perspective.

E10. I find it a very intriguing thought, that whether something is meant for good or evil, is all in the intent.

When Yi Yong first realizes that Smoky Woman is bringing Grandpa back to life instead of killing him, he concludes that she’s there to help Grandpa, and not harm him.

But later, during their conversation, Smokey Woman’s request to Yi Yong, is that he help her die.

..Which leads us to the thought that she expresses, that in keeping Grandpa alive, hanging on by a thread, but helpless to do anything, is her way of punishing him.

She’s making him suffer the same thing that she’s suffered, all these years, because Grandpa had refused to help her die.

That’s pretty thought-provoking, isn’t it? Context really is everything.

[END SPOILER]

SPOTLIGHT ON THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE [SPOILERS]

Last episode, I’d been curious to know how Show would wrap up our story, because it had felt like we weren’t anywhere near tying everything together, but I should’ve known that Show knows exactly what it’s doing.

As we start this episode, the case of Xie He An’s murder isn’t concluded, and Show introduces a new case, that of the twins in the abandoned fishnet factory, and it honestly looks like Show’s just opening up more narrative threads, rather than looking to tie everything up.

BUT, with the Big Reveal at the end of the episode, I realize, on hindsight, that Show IS tying everything together – because Cupcake Dude is actually the person who’d committed both murders. 🤯

Woahhh. And here I’d thought that Cupcake Dude was a manhua-esque random character addition to our story world. 😅

The important thing, though, is that our Trio works together through it all.

And, along with that, is Chu Ying’s change of heart, where she takes a long, hard look at her own priorities, and decides to put her concerns about her own job, behind the greater good.

Where before, she’d hesitated strongly, when Yi Yong had asked her to reinvestigate Xie He An’s death, because her promotion was already in the bag, now, she’s choosing to put that aside, and do what’s needful, in the name of justice.

I’m glad for it, because this shows growth, and courage too. Plus, it also puts her more squarely on the same page as Yi Yong, who’s turning out to be our moral compass, in this drama world.

Given the short amount of screen time that we have left, it’s not surprising that Show works through the case of the Abandoned Twins pretty quickly, from the swift tracking down of the factory, to Yi Yong actually seeing the twins there, to them working to understand the twins.

It actually took me a long minute to figure out why Yi Yong calls his two friends over to the factory; it’s because they’d had a lot of experience writing on each other’s backs while in high school, duh. I don’t know why it took me so long to figure that out, oops. 🤦🏻‍♀️

And, I do like that Show uses the twins’ habit of writing on each other’s backs, as the thing that convinces Yang Yu (Chanon Santinatornkul, also known as Nonkul or Non), the surviving younger twin, to believe Chu Ying’s story, and thereafter go to the abandoned factory.

That’s definitely something that only the twins would know about, and I really like how well Show integrates this into our story.

I have to say, I found the entire idea, of the older twin Yang Jing, being so concerned for and fixated over his younger brother’s safety and wellbeing, that it took on a life of its own, very poignant.

It’s so heartbreaking, that Yang Jing took it upon himself, as the older brother – even though as a twin, he’s older only by a tiny margin – to protect his younger brother, and ended up being beaten so badly, on a regular basis.

It’s even more heartbreaking and horrifying, that he died while protecting his younger brother, and I’m comforted by the fact that there is closure that comes, from Yang Yu’s encounter with the apparition of his brother. 💔

For the record, I don’t think that Show is saying that the apparition IS Yang Jing.

Rather, I think that Show is saying that the apparition is part of the obsession; that Yang Jing’s obsession had been so great, that even without him there, the obsession grew into the apparition of the two brothers that we see.

And so, the closure that I feel this gives, is mainly to Yang Yu, who’s very likely been living with survivor’s guilt, all these years, because his brother had died while protecting him.

Even though I found the delivery a touch stilted, I was touched by the idea of Yang Yu getting to see his brother again, and getting to say what he needs to say.

And, Show draws our attention back to Yi Yong so seamlessly, in the way he observes this scene, with his trademark deadpan expression, then says, with distinct wistfulness, that it’s so good, that Yang Yu gets to see his brother again.

Which reminds me all over again, that this is basically Yi Yong’s greatest wish; to see his dad again. 💔

Then, we see that the phrase that Yi Yong writes (“Joining twins, holding hands with yin and yang”), in order to release the twin apparitions, is the same phrase that he’d seen Grandpa write, for when he and Grandpa had gone to Yang Jing’s funeral, which is a snippet of memory that we were shown, in an earlier episode.

I thought was a neat tie-up, in terms of Show’s storytelling. I love when drama writers have everything mapped out, and in detail, way in advance. 🤩

It’s actually quite gratifying, to see Smoky Lady tell Yi Yong that he’s passed the test.

That test was always about kindness, and our Yi Yong has definitely demonstrated the extraordinary kindness that he has in his heart, through each of the various cases that has landed in his lap.

And so, I’m suitably spooked at the end of the episode, when we find out that the social work volunteer who’d been connected to the twins’ case, is none other than Cupcake Dude, Zhuang He Zhen.

That definitely makes me question what business he wants with Yi Yong, because now we know that his specialty isn’t just in the area of baking – it’s also in killing. 😬

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

Ok, so this worked out to be a really solid finale – but one which I had to watch twice, in order to understand and appreciate.

That’s just how this show works, at least for me; watching it the first time, I might not actually pick up on connections, even though they’re right there.

It’s only on the second watch, that it suddenly clicks into place in my head, and I’m like, “Ohhh, so that’s what Show was doing!” 😅

For example, Show opens the episode with a flashback to Grandpa when he was young, when he’d been attacked after trying to convince that security guard to turn himself in, and had fallen several floors to the ground, hitting his head – thus giving us one of Show’s opening scenes.

This scene cuts to Mom relating how Dad had insisted on sleeping with Grandpa, and how Grandpa had become much closer to the family, after the incident.

For some reason, it hadn’t occurred to me on my first watch, that the flashback was basically us watching the story that Mom was telling, even though this is a common enough narrative device.

I dunno; there’s just something about this show.. My brain sometimes doesn’t get things on the first try. 😅

BUT. I do get it, on the second (ok, maybe third) try, and I do feel that it’s worth it.

I’m glad that we come to understand that Grandpa hadn’t actually been as cold as he’d appeared.

He’d actually cared, enough to risk his life. But once he realized how this could hurt his family, he decided to put his family first, and not undertake the risk anymore.

I’m also glad to see that Yi Yong comes to a new conclusion about this work of helping the supernatural beings; that helping them makes him happy, and therefore he will continue to help them.

It also feels like a very significant growth step, when Yi Yong uses his wish, in order to set Grandpa free.

It’s a brave and unselfish thing, to let Grandpa go, because I’m sure Yi Yong really wants to keep Grandpa with him, but he makes the choice anyway, for Grandpa’s sake.

The way he makes that decision, then makes sure to come back to give Grandpa a hug, is so poignant; he knows that this is very likely the last time he’ll see Grandpa alive, since Smoky Lady has told him that Grandpa’s heart has been stopping multiple times a day.

I really love that scene between Grandpa and Smoky Lady, where they laugh together, about how Yi Yong’s better than Grandpa ever was, and then smile their goodbyes, both their eyes twinkling with friendly affection.

Man, I kinda knew that Grandpa would die, but this was such a heartwarmingly poignant exit, that it feels like a positive thing, even.

I hate that Zhuang He Zhen kidnaps Yi Yong like that, and my heart was in my throat the whole time Yi Yong was interacting with Zhuang He Zhen, because I was afraid that Zhuang He Zhen would kill him.

After all, Zhuang He Zhen admits that he not only killed Yang Jing and Xie He An, he even admits to killing his own brother.

I do believe, though, that in his twisted mind, Zhuang He Zhen genuinely thinks that he’s doing each of these people a favor, by putting them out of their misery.

My heart dropped to the ground when Yi Yong falls from the ledge to the ground; the way Guang Yan’s legs go limp under him, is pretty much how I felt too.

The whole time, I was half sure that Show wouldn’t let Yi Yong die, but also, half afraid that Show would surprise me by subverting my expectations.

So, as Guang Yan and Chu Ying desperately work to revive Yi Yong, I could barely breathe.

Yet, this felt like such a gift for Yi Yong, because it’s in this space between life and death, that he gets to see his father again.

And we know, that Yi Yong has longed for a chance to see Dad, all drama long.

It’s so very precious, that Yi Yong gets to talk with Dad, and tell Dad that he’s sorry, because it’s his fault that Dad and Grandpa had even been on that bus in the first place.

But then, how moving is it, that the thing that Dad registers first in his mind, when Yi Yong makes his apology, is that Yi Yong had wanted to become a manhua artist.

Augh. The way Dad hugs Yi Yong to himself, while musing, “Ahhh, so you’d wanted to become a manhua artist,” is just so moving, to me. Dad had always wanted to know what dreams Yi Yong had for his future, and now, Dad finally knows the answer. Sob. 😭🥲

ALSO. I’m so gratified, that Yi Yong and Dad finally get to share that beer, which Yi Yong had once hurriedly backed away from.

Isn’t this so precious, that Yi Yong gets to do this over? It’s SUCH a precious gift. Guh. 🥹

Just as precious, is the fact that Yi Yong gets to hear from Dad, that he’s the most precious of all, and that he should follow his heart, always.

And what a lovely assurance from Dad, that he is always with Yi Yong, even while he is “over there.”

Honestly, this entire scene filled my heart so much that I wanted to cry. 🥲

And then, finally, it feels fitting, that it’s the various visits from the various supernatural beings that he’s helped, that actually leads Yi Yong back to consciousness.

The way Show has Yi Yong encountering them in reverse order, makes it feel like we’re following Yi Yong back to his starting point, in a way.

And how perfect, somehow, that Dead Body Dude gets to tells Yi Yong that he misses him, and that the Yi Yong from before, is the one whom he misses – which is why Yi Yong should go back to his old self.

The way Dead Body Dude gently tells Yi Yong to close his eyes and wake up, is such a perfect callback to how Yi Yong had once tried to help Dead Body Dude, by telling him to close his eyes.

..And that is what leads Yi Yong to awake from his coma, at last.

AND THEN. How perfect is it, that the moment Yi Yong opens his eyes, he hears yet another voice, saying, “Help me” – and then sardonically rolls his eyes. 😂

Ahahaha. Yi Yong’s backkkk, and ready to embark on more adventures, and I love it.

This is such a perfectly fitting note on which to end Act I of Yi Yong’s adventures, that I’m not even a little bit mad, that we don’t get to see Mom, Guang Yan or Chu Ying welcome Yi Yong back.

Knowing that our obsession-busting agent is back, now healed in heart, mind and body, is more than enough for me. 🥰

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Quirky, unique and very solid, with a consistent balance between poignance and deadpan humor.

FINAL GRADE: B++

TRAILER:

MV:

PATREON UPDATE!

The next drama I’ll be covering on Patreon, in place of Oh No! Here Comes Trouble, is King The Land. I’ve taken an initial look at King The Land and I’m happy to say that I like it, so far.

You can check out my E1 & 2 notes on King The Land on Patreon here.

Here’s an overview of what I’m covering on Patreon right now (Tier benefits are cumulative)!

Foundation Tier (US$1): Entertainment tidbits + the first set notes of all shows covered on Patreon (that’s 2 episodes for kdramas and 4 episodes for cdramas)

Early Access (US$5): +Dr. Romantic 3 [Korea]

Early Access Plus (US$10): +My Perfect Stranger [Korea]

VIP (US$15): +Nothing But You [China]