- Title: Reset
- Also Known As: 開端 , Kai Duan
- Director: Sun Mo Long, Liu Hong Yuan
- Screenwriter & Director: Lao Suan
- Genres: Mystery, Sci-Fi
- Country: China
- Type: Drama
- Episodes: 15
- Year: 2022
- Original Network: Tencent Video
- Where to Watch: Yoyo English Channel on Youtube, Netflix
- Adapted from the novel “Kai Duan” (开端) by Qi Dao Jun
Hello readers, we meet again on another drama review. Today I give you Reset drama review. I love this drama because it has some mystery and thriller in it, and a bit of science fiction too. Hope you would like it too. So, let’s go.
Reset Synopsis
Reset was a Chinese mystery drama, released in 2022. The story was about Li Shiqing, who was a 20 years old university student who wanted to go to a bookstore downtown. To get there, she must take bus no 45. She was quite familiar with its route and the driver. Familiar with her surrounding, she soon fall asleep after she sat on her chair.
However, she suddenly woke up in a time loop. Without any reason, she experienced a horrible day when she died in a bus accident, again and again. Every time it always happened in a short 10 minutes. So she always frantically tried to get off the bus before it exploded. She tried many excuses, but they always failed.
On the 5th attempt, she dragged Xiao Heyun who sat next to her, as her excuse to get off the bus. Both of them were safe for a while until a motorcycle hit Li Shiqing, and Xiao Heyun got badly injured because his taxi still caught fire when the bus exploded.
At the hospital, the police questioned Li Shiqing. Her story stunned them, including a sharp policeman, Zhang Cheng. They obviously did not believe her, but Li Shiqing was able to mention several facts that she should not know. Unfortunately, her day resets when Xiao Heyun died. When she woke up, she entered a new cycle. But this time, Li Shiqing was not alone, Xiao Heyun was with her.
Since then, Li Shiqing worked together with Xiao Heyun to get out of the deadly time loop. During their attempts to stop the loop, they found out the bus accident cause was unnatural. There was a bomb inside the bus. Therefore Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun must solve the mystery behind the bus accident and find out the real culprit of the accident.
Reset Review
Ahhhh.. finally I wrote this review. I’ve written about this amazing drama as one of the best high rated Chinese dramas in 2022. Another novel adaptation that was packed with a well-written story that flowed continuously.
You barely had time to stop watching because it was addicting and intriguing. And this drama has its own perks. Reset only had 15 episodes, but it was enjoyable without any dragged story, which was a common thing in a loooong Chinese drama. But trust me, every single episode was worth your time.
Amazing Crews and Casts
I would love to give my appreciation to the directors, Sun Mo Long and Liu Hong Yuan. Both of them have done a great job in directing this drama. There were no dull moments, although there were many repetitive scenes, such as a scene when Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun woke up from their sleep.
When I do a quick research on them, I found out that Reset was like a reunion of Nirvana In Fire drama. The directors and also two main leads, Liu Yi Jun and Liu Tao used to be working together in the epic drama. Liu Tao used to act as the brave female general Mu Ni Huang, while Liu Yi Jun acted as Xie Yu.
Meanwhile, Sun Mo Long was the cinematographer and Liu Hong Yuan was the assistant director. Soon Sun Mo Long and Liu Hong Yuan will be working together again in the upcoming Nirvana in Fire 3. Considering their excellent work on Reset, I believe they would do the same with the upcoming Nirvana In Fire 3!
I ‘m also baffled by the actors. All of them could pull off their act and give some personalities to their characters, respectively. Especially Liu Dan’s performance as the crazy Tao Yinghong. You would feel her grief when you saw her expression. Liu Dan used to act as Boss Zhu in Delicious Romance. I could not ever thought that they were the same person at all, until I search her on google. Very impeccable acting skill. Kudos to the actors!
The Story
Can you imagine being in a time loop and experiencing the hardship that was so hard to endure over and over again? Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun faced uncertainty when they were thrown into a time loop. They never know when it ends and how to stop it. But they knew one thing, they could avoid the accident by themselves.
The situation was getting more complicated when they found out about the bomb. Since then, Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun’s mission was not only to get out of the time loop but also to try to stop the bomb from exploding and save everyone on board.
And this is when I found that this drama was far from ordinary. I thought the whole drama would be only about Li Shiqing and Xiao Hyun investigating the loop and the story was centered around them. But who am I being so full of myself to guess the plot?
Slowly but surely, the story unravels the hidden secret of the passengers. About their life, loved ones, and the hardship that they encountered every day. I was baffled about how the story rolled, I can’t even predict where it goes. For 15 episodes, I could not take my eyes off the screen because I was afraid of missing any scene. And now, I barely had enough words to sing my praises of this amazing drama.
The Character
Li Shiqing
Li Shiqing (played by Zhao Jin Mai) was an ordinary 20 years old student. She was simple and impulsive but also kind, upright, and had a sense of justice. Although she looked sweet and weak, she actually a tough nut to crack. The drama did not provide many stories about her background. She had close friend back in her university, and at the first time she was able to get off the bus, she immediately called her mother. Can I say that it was a sign of a good relationship between her and loved ones?
Li Shiqing already entered the loop 5 times ahead of Xiao Heyun. She tried every possible way to get off the bus. She pretended to be sick, tried to get off by force, and also smashed the window. But everything was not to avail. The last time she tried, she framed Xiao Heyun as a lecher. After she begged the driver, he let her get off the bus.
Li Shiqing was determined to find out the bomber and stopped the bus from exploding and save the other passenger, although Xiao Heyun refused her idea. However, she already felt some connection to other passengers, especially the bus driver who had been her bus driver for the last two years. The driver used to help her when she lost her wallet back then.
I quite admire her character. She might be a little slow to understand things and how to take action, but Li Shiqing’s determination to help other passengers was strong. She even helps them with their problem, although it did not really help them because they’ll soon die in the explosion. During the 15 episodes, we could see how she matured from a panicky girl into a calm and composed investigator.
Two thumbs up to the novel author and the screenwriter who had written her character well.
Xiao Heyun
Xiao Heyun (played by Bai Jing Ting) was a selfish and stubborn person. As a 25 years old game designer, he used to communicate better with machines, so his interpersonal skill was so-so. He was in a dispute with his colleague/brother regarding their newly developed game.
Xiao Heyun was adamant did not want to remove the violence from the game, despite his colleague’s protest. This made them have a strained relationship.
Xiao Heyun and Li Shiqing had kicked off their relationship badly. It was when Li Shiqing accused him as a lecher. After that, he still did not believe in her, which was understandable considering his circumstances. Xiao Heyun showed his selfishness when he did not agree to save other passengers.
However, his conscience was touched when he saw that Li Shiqing got detained by the police and when he confirmed her whereabouts, she did not give him away to the police. Looking at her effort, Xiao Heyun gave up and went back to help her. And in my opinion, that was the time he changed his point of view toward Li Shiqing.
And just like Li Shiqing, Xiao Heyun’s character got matured along with the episodes. There was a time in one of the time cycles, Xiao Heyun managed to stab the bomber on the bus. The bomber died after he and Li Shiqing get off the bus but the bus still exploded. Thus Xiao Heyun become a murderer and a terrorist that was chased by the police and condemned by the people on the internet. He went to his colleague’s apartment and asked him to delete all his information on the game.
He did not want to drag them down and hoped they could continue to develop the game. However, it was too late for him. Xiao Heyun apologized and admitted that he was a selfish and irresponsible person, but his colleague still lashed his anger at him. The situation was a setback for him. Fortunately, he got Li Shiqing with him. She comforted him and brought him back on track.
Li Shiqing was a more stable person compared to him. That’s why in the finale we only see Xiao Heyun’s scene when he was hesitating in bed. He was afraid if he woke up later, he would be in the time loop again.
Captain Zhang Cheng
Zhang Cheng (played by Liu Yi Jun) was the Deputy Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment. He was a calm and composed person. His way of thought was logical and systematic, and his biggest forte was his excellent persuasion skill. There was not much background on him, except he has a wife, but I did not see any child appear on the screen.
He had two direct students, Jiang Feng and Yu Lei. Although he takes good care of them, Zhang Cheng had more concerned for Jiang Feng, who was more emotional than Yu Lei. Zhang Cheng’s right palm was injured on a mission when he use it to block a knife for Jiang Feng. Since then, his right hand was weaker than his left. Li Shiqing mentioned this fact to him and made him believe that everything she said about time loops might be true.
When Jiang Feng died because of an explosion, Zhang Cheng’s sadness could be seen in his red-rimmed eyes.
Du Ju/Du Jin Song
Du Ju (played by Liu Tao) was the Director of the Criminal Investigation Detachment. She was Zhang Cheng’s direct superior. As a leader, Du Ju was an excellent coordinator who arranged and directed an investigation. And just like Zhang Cheng who was calm and composed, she also shared the same traits. She took a decision based on the evidence and logical judgment. Du Ju always communicate well with her subordinates thus, they valued her and looked up to her. All in all, she was a good boss.
Du Ju’s face was mostly expressionless. She kept her emotion well to herself since their job required them to be an objective person. As a policeman, they could not let their subjective thoughts take control of their decisions and actions. However, when Zhang Cheng died, she showed some sadness and helpless expressions. But then, when she met Li Shiqing, that sadness was gone and replaced by determination. She must solve the case to honor Zhang Cheng’s sacrifice.
The Ending
Although it was not a happy experience for Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun, I think Reset drama had a happy ending. They have to experience the explosion over and over again to finally be able to stop the bomb from exploding. I wrote the detail about this drama in Reset drama ending explained post, you can read it if you want to know the detail about the ending.
The Conclusion
There you go, I have give Reset drama review. After watching Reset, I feel like I’ve been through a short trip packed with adventures. It was exhausting, but if you asked me if I am willing to do it again, the answer was a solid YES.
It was fun to rewatch this drama and find many details you missed. For example, when I watched this drama for the second time, I realized when Captain Zhang threw the bomb in the finale Jiang Feng was running behind him and protecting him when the bomb explode.
He did that as if he knew that he could not afford to lose his mentor again. It was a touching moment to realize that we should use the chance provided to us as well as we could because we might never have a second chance.
There were many lessons I learn from this drama that I would recommend to you, dear readers, to watch as soon as possible. It was worthy and entertaining at the same time. Be sure to clear your schedule because you did want to miss a scene just because you have to reply to your boss’s emails 😁😁😁.
Happy watching!
