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Review: Reborn (重生) (2020)
I had first heard about this drama as a spin off from Day and Night but I think they don’t share that much in common expect for shared characters. Tonally, this drama felt more like a typical cop crime cdrama, while Day and Night was more distinct stylistically. I think this drama was still okay, but watch it as a typical cop show.I did think the acting and character relationships were compelling though.
Spoilers.
Story
Like many crime cdramas, this drama had several small mysteries as well as an overarching mystery. The smaller ones were alright. I’ll be honest, I often watched this show while multitasking so some of the back and forth in investigating these smaller cases flew over my head sometimes. As well, the overarching mystery was a lot more thematically emphasized in this drama.
Qin Chi was a police officer who had lost some of his memory after a huge shootout between cops and criminals, in which Qin Chi himself was the only survivor. Throughout the drama, Qin Chi was trying to piece together what had happened, and he was very concerned over whether he was the cause of the deaths of his fellow officers. Qin Chi had a few relationships in the drama, some that helped him find out more about the past event, and some that were more about Qin Chi learning to find peace.
It was revealed that Qin Chi had been speaking with a criminal to gather information about their big boss. That criminal had arranged for the ambush to happen, so perhaps he could be called the true big bad. But some facts weren’t adding up, and Qin Chi wasn’t sure how the criminals would know what time the cops would show up. He followed that train of thought to find that the boss of the restaurant he frequented was the one who had supplied that info to the criminals. The boss’ son was being held hostage and that was why he was told to eavesdrop on the cops. Qin Chi got into a fight with him which ended in blood and in death for Qin Chi, but he felt that this was the last thing he could do for his dead comrades.
Production
Acting was top notch. My mom is a huge Zhang Yi fan and she told me that all of his dramas are pretty watchable and this drama was no exception. I enjoyed his different personalities before and after his coma, and I felt the acting of all the other characters were very good too.
But I will say that, since this drama was presented as a spinoff from Day and Night, that I was disappointed it didn’t have the same noir feel.
Characters
Qin Chi
Qin Chi was our main character. Towards the end of the drama, we saw flashbacks of what he was like before the huge shootout. He was an opportunistic and charismatic man who prioritized his work above all else. He had divorced from his ex-wife because he valued his job above all else and neglected her feelings. He also seemed aggressive in his work, which was why he had planned an ambush and was liaising with criminals to get it done.
After his injury and amnesia, Qin Chi because a much more stoic man. He spoke exactly what he thought and that sometimes hurt people, especially his ex-wife who clearly still cared about him. But his mind was clear, and he knew who to trust and who not to trust. He didn’t know how to speak with his ex-wife, but he could tell she cared a lot about him and that she was trustworthy. He didn’t know how to help Chen Rui move on from her grief so he tried his best to simply just take care of her as she had no guardians she could rely on anymore.
Towards the end of the drama, I felt Qin Chi return to his aggressive stance. He seemed even angry as he hatched his plan to take down Gong Yongnian. He seemed to return to that man who prioritized his job and justice above all else, but I think he had a bit more appreciation for the people around him.
Lu Mingjia
Lu Mingjia was an officer who was assigned to work with Qin Chi. He was the son of a high ranking officer so he always felt like he had a bone to pick. While Qin Chi was eccentric in his investigation style, Lu Mingjia offered the investigation and interrogation style people would be more used to and that was how they operated when they went hunting for clues.
Lu Mingjia felt that Chen Rui was annoying and he didn’t tolerate her as much as Qin Chi did, but he did manage to find a middle ground between them using his own way. While Qin Chi was easier on her, maybe because of the guilt, Lu Mingjia was harsher with her, trying to get her to understand that Qin Chi was going through his own troubles too and that her causing trouble was making it very hard to address the important things.
Towards the end, Lu Mingjia had taken over from Chen Rui as the hostage of a bomb. He had a sentimental talk with his father before urging his father to back away in case the bomb did go off. The bomb did go off in the end, but Lu Mingjia and Qin Chi were able to get away before it detonated.
Lu Mingjia was the person to break the news to Chen Rui that Qin Chi had died. I feel like Lu Mingjia was kind of the inheritor of Qin Chi’s legacy in the sense that he was the on to pick up the pieces. He was the one to provide closure to his relationships, and he stayed with him to the end in the forest when they caught Gong Yongnian. So maybe Lu Mingjia was Qin Chi’s legacy.
Feng Xiao
Feng Xiao was Qin Chi’s ex-wife, also a police officer. The experience of interacting with an amnesiac Qin Chi was very surreal to her because she clearly still cared for him but he wasn’t quite the same man. His personality was very different for one. Feng Xiao was distant with him at first, not knowing how to interact. Though distant, Qin Chi could tell that she was a kind-hearted woman, at least towards him. And he deduced that since she was so kind, that he must have been a real asshole for her to agree to divorcing him prior to his incident.
Due to Qin Chi’s incapability of tact, there were misunderstandings early in the relationship (between Feng Xiao and amnesiac Qin Chi). Qin Chi kept Chen Rui close by and emphasized her importance and that triggered some jealousy in Feng Xiao. And though she could probably tell that he wasn’t after a teenage girl, his inability to say nice things also grated her.
But over time, Feng Xiao warmed up, as Qin Chi did. He acknowledged her efforts and his faults. And maybe that was enough for Feng Xiao to open her heart to him again. She stayed by his side constantly when he had that big injury that landed him in a coma. And she hovered around him afterwards as well.
At one point, Feng Xiao was working on something with Lu Mingjia and Qiu Dongyang. She transporting money and was crashed into, and then taken hostage because of it. Qin Chi was quite upset at Lu Mingjia and Qiu Dongyang for putting her life on the line. I felt that Qin Chi was furious not only because he worried for Feng Xiao’s safety, but also because it was the only way he could show that he cared. They weren’t married anymore, and there was some distant between them.
At the end, we saw that Feng Xiao was very ready to try again. She connected with Qin Chi’s father before Qin Chi’s surgery. And she worried heavily for him in his final showdown, in ways that only a partner would. She worried for the logistics of things, she worried for him and his surgery. She was very ready to welcome him after he woke up from surgery. But he would never get to.
Throughout the drama I really loved Feng Xiao’s character. Her romantic arc with Qin Chi was very juicy and I love that we have older people who have this kind of complex romance.
Chen Rui
Chen Rui was the sister of one of the criminals who were killed in the big shootout. She came into the story because she tried to attack Qin Chi as revenge for her brother. Pitying her, Qin Chi started to show her care. He bought her supplies, let her stay in his apartment, gave her an assignment to take care of his dog as a way to introduce some routine in her life. He felt he owed it to her since he might have been responsible for killing her brother and thus leaving her completely alone in the world. Qin Chi would sometimes involve Chen Rui and ask her for any information since she would have had some familiarity with her brother’s associates.
Though she was bratty at first, Chen Rui came to see Qin Chi as a good person, refusing to believe that he would have mass killed so many people. She was also bratty with Lu Mingjia at first, and we saw that he was harsher with her, but they came to an agreement. Chen Rui just needed some attention and care, and Lu Mingjia just needed some peace and quiet to do his job.
Chen Rui became attached to Qin Chi and was afraid that he’d abandon her. Meanwhile, Qin Chi wanted her to be able to move on in her life. He would help her if she asked, but he encouraged her to try to strike out on her own. In the end, Chen Rui moved into what seemed to be an orphanage or a home for disadvantaged children. I believe she would have been close to graduating high school during the course of this drama so she was looking for work.
Chen Rui was eager to continue some kind of friendship with Qin Chi, and was understandably upset at the very end when Lu Mingjia delivered the bad news.
Peng Peng
Peng Peng was an associate of Chen Xi (Chen Rui’s brother). Chen Rui sought him out when she was able to get away from Qin Chi. She was the only person from her old life that she could rely on, and Peng Peng cared for her deeply. At one point, Lu Mingjia was looking for a lead on a case, and Chen Rui sought out Peng Peng for help. That led to Peng Peng getting attacked which angered Chen Rui mightily. He did wake up from his coma, but he was unable to speak at first. Chen Rui tearfully apologized and tried to distance herself from him to prevent further harm.
Qiu Dongyang
Qiu Dongyang was another officer. We first met him when he was going undercover but later on he worked with our main gang. I think he was pretty chill for the most part. He had a small arc in which he felt distant with his family. But he later on made an effort to bond with his wife and son, and though he got his wife’s birthday wrong, just the effort seemed to be enough for them to reconcile. He was killed in a shootout towards the end.
Hu Yibiao
Hu Yibiao was an officer who was mostly hanging around and eating snacks. He would sometimes advise Lu Mingjia against trying too hard because it was not good for his longevity as an officer. Towards the end it was revealed that he was a plant who was reporting separately to another officer and the two of them had organized the present day shootout in the parking garage. In the end, he did help our heroes in finding and tracking down Gong Yongnian.
Lu Zhengguang
Lu Zhengguang was a higher up in the police force and Lu Mingjia’s father. He was more of a figurehead than a character for the most part. His job was to fill a role.
Cheng Yan/ Cheng Laosi
Cheng Yan was the criminal that Qin Chi had been liaising with prior to the shootout. After his amnesia, he kind of taunted Qin Chi a bit with information. But we realize that Cheng Yan had set up the cops and double crossed Qin Chi and his team.
Qin Chi had taken Feng Xiao hostage at the shootout in the parking lot. But I’m going to be honest, I don’t remember what happened to him in the end lol, if he was caught or if he died or if he escaped.
Themes
Over the course of the drama, various characters would have voiceovers but I didn’t pay enough attention to know what their overarching theme was oops. In terms of the story, I felt the overarching theme was of Qin Chi trying to right his past wrongs, both in terms of the crime and in his own life and how he treated people.
Overall
A decent cop drama. Ok story, excellent acting and characters.
Spoilers.
Story
Like many crime cdramas, this drama had several small mysteries as well as an overarching mystery. The smaller ones were alright. I’ll be honest, I often watched this show while multitasking so some of the back and forth in investigating these smaller cases flew over my head sometimes. As well, the overarching mystery was a lot more thematically emphasized in this drama.
Qin Chi was a police officer who had lost some of his memory after a huge shootout between cops and criminals, in which Qin Chi himself was the only survivor. Throughout the drama, Qin Chi was trying to piece together what had happened, and he was very concerned over whether he was the cause of the deaths of his fellow officers. Qin Chi had a few relationships in the drama, some that helped him find out more about the past event, and some that were more about Qin Chi learning to find peace.
It was revealed that Qin Chi had been speaking with a criminal to gather information about their big boss. That criminal had arranged for the ambush to happen, so perhaps he could be called the true big bad. But some facts weren’t adding up, and Qin Chi wasn’t sure how the criminals would know what time the cops would show up. He followed that train of thought to find that the boss of the restaurant he frequented was the one who had supplied that info to the criminals. The boss’ son was being held hostage and that was why he was told to eavesdrop on the cops. Qin Chi got into a fight with him which ended in blood and in death for Qin Chi, but he felt that this was the last thing he could do for his dead comrades.
Production
Acting was top notch. My mom is a huge Zhang Yi fan and she told me that all of his dramas are pretty watchable and this drama was no exception. I enjoyed his different personalities before and after his coma, and I felt the acting of all the other characters were very good too.
But I will say that, since this drama was presented as a spinoff from Day and Night, that I was disappointed it didn’t have the same noir feel.
Characters
Qin Chi
Qin Chi was our main character. Towards the end of the drama, we saw flashbacks of what he was like before the huge shootout. He was an opportunistic and charismatic man who prioritized his work above all else. He had divorced from his ex-wife because he valued his job above all else and neglected her feelings. He also seemed aggressive in his work, which was why he had planned an ambush and was liaising with criminals to get it done.
After his injury and amnesia, Qin Chi because a much more stoic man. He spoke exactly what he thought and that sometimes hurt people, especially his ex-wife who clearly still cared about him. But his mind was clear, and he knew who to trust and who not to trust. He didn’t know how to speak with his ex-wife, but he could tell she cared a lot about him and that she was trustworthy. He didn’t know how to help Chen Rui move on from her grief so he tried his best to simply just take care of her as she had no guardians she could rely on anymore.
Towards the end of the drama, I felt Qin Chi return to his aggressive stance. He seemed even angry as he hatched his plan to take down Gong Yongnian. He seemed to return to that man who prioritized his job and justice above all else, but I think he had a bit more appreciation for the people around him.
Lu Mingjia
Lu Mingjia was an officer who was assigned to work with Qin Chi. He was the son of a high ranking officer so he always felt like he had a bone to pick. While Qin Chi was eccentric in his investigation style, Lu Mingjia offered the investigation and interrogation style people would be more used to and that was how they operated when they went hunting for clues.
Lu Mingjia felt that Chen Rui was annoying and he didn’t tolerate her as much as Qin Chi did, but he did manage to find a middle ground between them using his own way. While Qin Chi was easier on her, maybe because of the guilt, Lu Mingjia was harsher with her, trying to get her to understand that Qin Chi was going through his own troubles too and that her causing trouble was making it very hard to address the important things.
Towards the end, Lu Mingjia had taken over from Chen Rui as the hostage of a bomb. He had a sentimental talk with his father before urging his father to back away in case the bomb did go off. The bomb did go off in the end, but Lu Mingjia and Qin Chi were able to get away before it detonated.
Lu Mingjia was the person to break the news to Chen Rui that Qin Chi had died. I feel like Lu Mingjia was kind of the inheritor of Qin Chi’s legacy in the sense that he was the on to pick up the pieces. He was the one to provide closure to his relationships, and he stayed with him to the end in the forest when they caught Gong Yongnian. So maybe Lu Mingjia was Qin Chi’s legacy.
Feng Xiao
Feng Xiao was Qin Chi’s ex-wife, also a police officer. The experience of interacting with an amnesiac Qin Chi was very surreal to her because she clearly still cared for him but he wasn’t quite the same man. His personality was very different for one. Feng Xiao was distant with him at first, not knowing how to interact. Though distant, Qin Chi could tell that she was a kind-hearted woman, at least towards him. And he deduced that since she was so kind, that he must have been a real asshole for her to agree to divorcing him prior to his incident.
Due to Qin Chi’s incapability of tact, there were misunderstandings early in the relationship (between Feng Xiao and amnesiac Qin Chi). Qin Chi kept Chen Rui close by and emphasized her importance and that triggered some jealousy in Feng Xiao. And though she could probably tell that he wasn’t after a teenage girl, his inability to say nice things also grated her.
But over time, Feng Xiao warmed up, as Qin Chi did. He acknowledged her efforts and his faults. And maybe that was enough for Feng Xiao to open her heart to him again. She stayed by his side constantly when he had that big injury that landed him in a coma. And she hovered around him afterwards as well.
At one point, Feng Xiao was working on something with Lu Mingjia and Qiu Dongyang. She transporting money and was crashed into, and then taken hostage because of it. Qin Chi was quite upset at Lu Mingjia and Qiu Dongyang for putting her life on the line. I felt that Qin Chi was furious not only because he worried for Feng Xiao’s safety, but also because it was the only way he could show that he cared. They weren’t married anymore, and there was some distant between them.
At the end, we saw that Feng Xiao was very ready to try again. She connected with Qin Chi’s father before Qin Chi’s surgery. And she worried heavily for him in his final showdown, in ways that only a partner would. She worried for the logistics of things, she worried for him and his surgery. She was very ready to welcome him after he woke up from surgery. But he would never get to.
Throughout the drama I really loved Feng Xiao’s character. Her romantic arc with Qin Chi was very juicy and I love that we have older people who have this kind of complex romance.
Chen Rui
Chen Rui was the sister of one of the criminals who were killed in the big shootout. She came into the story because she tried to attack Qin Chi as revenge for her brother. Pitying her, Qin Chi started to show her care. He bought her supplies, let her stay in his apartment, gave her an assignment to take care of his dog as a way to introduce some routine in her life. He felt he owed it to her since he might have been responsible for killing her brother and thus leaving her completely alone in the world. Qin Chi would sometimes involve Chen Rui and ask her for any information since she would have had some familiarity with her brother’s associates.
Though she was bratty at first, Chen Rui came to see Qin Chi as a good person, refusing to believe that he would have mass killed so many people. She was also bratty with Lu Mingjia at first, and we saw that he was harsher with her, but they came to an agreement. Chen Rui just needed some attention and care, and Lu Mingjia just needed some peace and quiet to do his job.
Chen Rui became attached to Qin Chi and was afraid that he’d abandon her. Meanwhile, Qin Chi wanted her to be able to move on in her life. He would help her if she asked, but he encouraged her to try to strike out on her own. In the end, Chen Rui moved into what seemed to be an orphanage or a home for disadvantaged children. I believe she would have been close to graduating high school during the course of this drama so she was looking for work.
Chen Rui was eager to continue some kind of friendship with Qin Chi, and was understandably upset at the very end when Lu Mingjia delivered the bad news.
Peng Peng
Peng Peng was an associate of Chen Xi (Chen Rui’s brother). Chen Rui sought him out when she was able to get away from Qin Chi. She was the only person from her old life that she could rely on, and Peng Peng cared for her deeply. At one point, Lu Mingjia was looking for a lead on a case, and Chen Rui sought out Peng Peng for help. That led to Peng Peng getting attacked which angered Chen Rui mightily. He did wake up from his coma, but he was unable to speak at first. Chen Rui tearfully apologized and tried to distance herself from him to prevent further harm.
Qiu Dongyang
Qiu Dongyang was another officer. We first met him when he was going undercover but later on he worked with our main gang. I think he was pretty chill for the most part. He had a small arc in which he felt distant with his family. But he later on made an effort to bond with his wife and son, and though he got his wife’s birthday wrong, just the effort seemed to be enough for them to reconcile. He was killed in a shootout towards the end.
Hu Yibiao
Hu Yibiao was an officer who was mostly hanging around and eating snacks. He would sometimes advise Lu Mingjia against trying too hard because it was not good for his longevity as an officer. Towards the end it was revealed that he was a plant who was reporting separately to another officer and the two of them had organized the present day shootout in the parking garage. In the end, he did help our heroes in finding and tracking down Gong Yongnian.
Lu Zhengguang
Lu Zhengguang was a higher up in the police force and Lu Mingjia’s father. He was more of a figurehead than a character for the most part. His job was to fill a role.
Cheng Yan/ Cheng Laosi
Cheng Yan was the criminal that Qin Chi had been liaising with prior to the shootout. After his amnesia, he kind of taunted Qin Chi a bit with information. But we realize that Cheng Yan had set up the cops and double crossed Qin Chi and his team.
Qin Chi had taken Feng Xiao hostage at the shootout in the parking lot. But I’m going to be honest, I don’t remember what happened to him in the end lol, if he was caught or if he died or if he escaped.
Themes
Over the course of the drama, various characters would have voiceovers but I didn’t pay enough attention to know what their overarching theme was oops. In terms of the story, I felt the overarching theme was of Qin Chi trying to right his past wrongs, both in terms of the crime and in his own life and how he treated people.
Overall
A decent cop drama. Ok story, excellent acting and characters.