Introduction
When I was writing this review, I was still in this drama withdrawal, with teary eyes and a headache (caused by crying). It’s a masterpiece of an underrated and under-the-radar drama. Probably because there is no A-list Chinese actor or no romance? A drama stays to remember. The storytelling is compelling, the script is tight, and the acting, both by the leading and the supporting actors, is brilliant. The ending ties up every loose end. This review article, with no to very minimal spoilers, can also be read by those who have not watched it. I highly recommend it!
This review is the first part of the series article on The Embers. The second and the third parts are episodic recaps: The Embers: Recap Episodes 1 to 14 and The Embers: Recap Episodes 15 to 28.
Drama Info
Drama title: The Embers (Native title: 余烬之上 )
Alternative title: Yu Jin Zhi Shang
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Drama
Aired: Feb 8, 2025 - Feb 19, 2025
Episodes: 28 | Duration: 45 minutes
Director: Cheng Hao ( 程浩 )
Screenwriter: Qin Fei ( 秦飞 )
OSTs (An unofficial link of the track list):
Theme song: "On the Embers" ( 余烬之上 ) by Yan Ren Zhong ( 颜人中 )
"Belated Hug" ( 迟来的拥抱 ) by Yang Tian Lu ( 杨天璐 )
"Balloon Flower" ( 桔梗花 ) by Zhang Yun Lei ( 张云雷 )
"Wood Island" ( 木屿 ) by Zhang Zi Ning ( 张紫宁 )
"The Moon Fell Asleep" ( 月亮睡了 ) by Duan Ao Juan ( 段奥娟 )
Where to watch: WeTV and TencentVideo
Trailer:
Synopsis
A tragic massacre in their childhood completely changed the fate of the Liao brothers. Will they break through the darkness for self-redemption, or will they descend into the abyss of vengeance? Once inseparable and solving countless mysterious cases together, the two brothers now stand on opposite sides. (Source: WeTV)
Characters
Main Characters
Wang Zi Qi ( 王子奇 ) as Liao Si Yuan
Ten years ago, when Liao Si Yuan was ten, his family was killed in the fire. Since then, he has suffered psychologically from the tragedy. Accidentally involved in a campus murder case, he got a glimpse of the truth about the fire incident. As a series of murder cases continue to occur, Liao Si Yuan repeatedly solves the cases while step by step pursuing the truth of the past.
Sunny Sun ( 孫陽 ) as Liao Zhi Bai
Liao Si Yuan’s older brother. He was once a genius young detective who “died” in a fire ten years ago. He appeared in Liao Si Yuan’s other personality to help him solve the crime case. Liao Zhi Bai is extremely wise and has strong insight. He embarked on the road of revenge because of hatred and stood opposite Liao Si Yuan.
Supporting Characters
There are many supporting characters involved in the murder cases. Because of the mysterious nature of the drama, adding them to the Supporting Character List will just spoil the plot of who the victims are and who the culprits are. Therefore, I included only the ones who are seen in the drama posters. They have significant relationships with either Liao Si Yuan or Liao Zhi Bai.
Review
Story
First of all, I want to mention the article titled “Out of the Darkness, the Ashes Glow”. The main event is a fire that happened in the past. As you know, when the fire is dying there are small pieces of burning coal or wood called embers. The past case is closed but there are still pieces of evidence here and there waiting to be discovered. The embers may ignite the fire again. And the embers do. The embers also symbolize some characters who reveal the truth, even if the truth is buried deep in the darkness by the bad guys. The embers symbolize the whole story.
The second thing I want to mention is how I picked the feature images of all three articles (this review and two episode recaps). In the first article, there are only Liao Si Yuan and Liao Zhi Bai, the main protagonist brothers. In the second article, there are several key supporting characters. In the third article, all supporting characters are closely connected to either Liao Si Yuan or Liao Zhi Bai.
The truth of each case and the main case seems to be hidden behind darkness. Every time you think you have caught the tail of the truth, you find that it is just the beginning of another lie.
Mystery
The story is multilayers, watching it is like peeling layer by layer of an onion while crying because of the lachrymatory factor that irritates your eyes, because of the heartbreaking stories. The crime cases are individually told, which means one case finishes and then continues with the next case. However, they are somehow related through the characters involved and connect to the main story.
Thriller
Because it’s a crime drama, The Embers is suspenseful, exciting, and full of tension. It also has MANY plot twists. You think you figure out what happens, how it happens, and who does it, and it turns out to be different and unexpected.
Drama
The crime stories are not just solving whodunnit, but also the motives behind why a murder happens and why someone kills. Greed, fear, hate. The motives are many times heartbreaking and show the fragility of human lives.
Non Romance
I have to clarify, despite some clips or trailers showing romantic moments, there is absolutely NO romance in The Embers. There are flashbacks of sweet moments between Liao Zhi Bai and Qi Xia because they’re childhood sweethearts, but not in the present time. Their relationship is heartbreaking. And after you watched the drama you understand the reason why the scriptwriters don’t include romance either in the main plot or subplots.
Editing
I want to commend the editors who edited this drama because it’s hard to put it together with past events, foreshadowing, theory/deductions, and facts.
Each episode starts with a prologue that vaguely and shockingly overshadows what will be told in the episode and ends with a cliffhanger. It’s very intriguing and you keep wanting to watch the next episode. Watching it while it was airing is torture.
Since the major event happens in the past, the story goes back and forth between past and present events. Normally I hate the flashbacks, but the flashbacks in this drama actually either deduce what might happen or reveal the facts of what happened.
Script
The script is originally written by several scriptwriters. I put Qin Fei in the drama info above, but it’s a group of six scriptwriters led by Qin Fei. They are Yuan Jin Song ( 袁金松 )、Lan Jing ( 蓝菁 )、Luo Chen Ya ( 罗琛雅 )、Zhang Teng Fan ( 张滕凡 )、and Wei Jue Ye ( 伟爵爷 ). Six scriptwriters were able to create such a cohesive story without plot holes. The number six makes me wonder if that is why they also create the six friends forever characterization. Who knows…
Character
The characters are multilayered. There is a good blend of black, grey, and white characters. Bad people become bad because of some reasons that seem legitimate. Their motives are complicated. You condemn the bad character but you hesitate because of what they have gone through. Many characters are not just born bad or crazy.
Interestingly, of the many characters, there are police officers. Some of them become bad or can be bribed. This is interesting, as usually in Chinese dramas the police characters are saints. Maybe because the story setting is a fictitious place called Bu He City that supposedly is located overseas.
Acting
The notable acting seen in this drama:
Sunny Sun or Sun Yang played three different sides of Liao Zhi Bai’s complex characters very well. The third side will be on spoiler! The production team also made use of his Cantonese accent (the actor is Hong Kongese) to show how he goes to Hong Kong to hide.
First side: young Liao Zhi Bai. Full of energy and vigor. A genius police cadet with a bright future ahead, a loving and supportive family, a sweet girl, and a worshipping little brother.
Second side: the playful and stick-on-your side kick brother imagined by Liao Si Yuan as his alter ego. This is not much of a spoiler, because the revelation that Si Yuan has DID is in the first episode.
Third side:
The bitter and hateful Liao Si Yuan who planned and executed his revenge meticulously and coldly. Persuading and provoking people to sacrifice their lives for the truth and torturing the bad guys.
Wang Zi Qi doesn’t have much work on the righteous Liao Si Yuan, not even when his alter ego kicks in because we see Liao Zhi Bai. However, we will see in Episode 26 how his acting skill is tested. This image below doesn’t show his acting skills because I don’t want to spoil you. However, if you see the image in the Episode 26 recap, you will be convinced of acting skills.
The supporting actors’ acting skills are also excellent, notably Song En in the first case when he goes crazy; Liu Min Tao as Qi Mei Hua (Si Yuan’s adoptive mother and Qi Xia’s biological mother) who can be sweet and also cold, and towards the ending of the drama; and Chen Ruo Xuan as the psycho Gai De in the last case.
Visual Effect
I really like how they paid detailed attention to the past visual effects (costumes, makeup, props, and sets), although the fire and rain visual effects sometimes are not convincing.
Filming Set
The filming set also gives a real vibe of a fictitious Bu He City outside of China, in Bu He City. Also, the Yong An Village location is remote with its customs and traditions.
Critiques
Two things baffle me in the beginning and towards the end of the drama, although I understand this is to make a smooth flow of the storyline. I will put my critiques below:
First critique: The questionable police work ethic
In the beginning, I watched the forensic pathologist Qi Xia explain the forensic findings and the criminal police officers explain police findings and deductions to a mere Early Childhood Education student Liao Si Yuan. Yes, I understand they do that because Si Yuan is the main protagonist. Still, the unethical practice of those two offers is somewhat disturbing to me as they should not disclose anything to the public.
Second critique: A smart character suddenly becomes stupid
Unfortunately, I have to put this in a spoiler, but if you watched the drama you will understand whom I talked about.
Liao Zhi Bai was supersmart while he was a police cadet and also while he was hiding and executes all his revenge plan meticulously. However, towards the need that he reunites with Liao Si Yuan, suddenly he becomes reckless such as going out without disguise, showing up in the surveillance camera, etc. I understand this is part of the plot to move towards the end, but it seems this kind of recklessness doesn’t fit his character.
Conclusion
Although this drama is not very popular, its story and acting quality are amazing. You don’t need to throw the logic out of the window. It does not lower the intelligence and triggers the audience’s thinking.
This story finally tells us that people have the right to pursue freedom and live the way they want, but the premise is that this freedom cannot be at the cost of hurting others. Otherwise, this freedom is simply a chain that shackles your whole life.
Ending Spoiler
I will not describe in detail how the drama ends because I think it will spoil the entire watching experience. If you’re curious you can take a peek at the final episode Ep 28. Below is the overall ending.
It’s a bittersweet ending. Bitter because of the loss of loved ones. Sweet because as the ending ties the loose ends it’s a closure
