- Drama Title: Interlaced Scenes
- Also Known As: 错位, Jiao Cuo De Chang Jing, Cuo Wei
- Genres: Mystery, Romance
- Cast: Ma Yi Li, Tong Da Wei, Gao Zhi Ting
- Episodes: 15
- Date of Release: July 11, 2024
- Original Network: iQiyi
- Where to Watch: iQiyi
- Adapted from the novel: “The Passed Scene” by Matsumoto Seicho
Dear readers, how are you doing right now? I hope everything works well for you. I’ve been picking up my old hobby which was crocheting. I always thought that I could make my hand work while watching my dramas. I’ve been dreaming of making many things as my Pinterest page was full of crocheting ideas.
However, I don’t think it worked well because my hands weren’t as nimble as I hoped for. So, I think I should stick to one thing at a time. either it was watching my drama OR crocheting. But for now, this is the new Interlaced Scenes drama review post for you. Enjoy the reading!
Interlaced Scenes Drama Synopsis
Interlaced Scenes is a Chinese mystery drama, consist of 15 episodes, and one the Chinese dramas release in July 2024. Detective Jiang Guang Ming was called from her desk job to investigate the murder of a young woman on a rainy night during the Dragon Boat Festival. She then works together with a young police officer named Shi Luo, who then becomes her disciple. Jiang Guang Ming and Shi Luo later found out that the criminal scene bears an uncanny resemblance to a crime scene in a novel.
The writer of the new best-seller novel is Gu Ji Ming. Although the crime scene in his novel seemed very real, Gu Ji Ming stated that it was all his imagination. Jiang Guang Ming and Shi Luo must crack their brain to find the real murderer of this case. And the answer lies in a missing dog and its leash.
Jiang Guang Ming and Shi Luo went to Fanghai City to investigate Gu Ji Ming and the dog. During their investigation, the real murderer was found. However, the missing dog and its leash led Jiang Guang Ming and Shi Luo to another case of a missing young woman. This time, Jiang Guang Ming and Shi Luo faced the question of whether these two cases were related.
Interlaced Scenes Drama Review
I was writing The Princess Royal drama review when I started to watch this one. Initially, I was just a bit curious about this one. I’ve been surrounded by romance dramas for a while and rarely looked for mystery dramas. There were 2 reasons why I chose this drama.
The first one was because of Ma Yi Li and Tong Da Wei. I still remember Ma Yi Li in To The Wonder drama which aired last May. A month later I watched Tong Da Wei’s The Tale of Rose. Before those dramas, I barely know about Ma Yi Li and Tong Da Wei. However, To The Wonder and The Tale of Rose left such a big impression on me. And as usual, I got excited when I read familiar names.
My second reason is that this drama is an adaptation of a Japanese novel. I have always considered myself a romance junkie and a mystery lover. I grew up as a very bookish child. I read my first Agatha Christie book in elementary school, and I was always surrounded by many kinds of books, especially Japanese manga. I also read some Japanese novels.
The Interlaced Scenes drama is an adaptation of the Japanese novel The Passed Scene. It came from the creative mind of a famous Japanese author, Matsumoto Seicho. He was known for his detective novels and has been described as Japan’s Agatha Christie.
Unfortunately, I have never read any of his novels. So I thought I would give this one a try. And I didn’t regret it. Before I put this drama in our July Drama List article, I made a trip to Google to find out more about Matsumoto Seicho. And I was stunned. He has written so many books and many of his works have won awards.
So it was not surprising that I immediately loved this drama, the strength of which lies in the legit story and the exceptional acting of the cast.
I watched Interlaced Scenes on iQiyi. This online platform always has a few surprises up its sleeve. Its original dramas are always worth watching.So I have always regarded this platform as my golden baby.
There have been many good dramas aired exclusively on this platform, such as this one, Interlaced Scenes, or A Journey to Love. It may not have many romantic dramas like Tencent (WeTV) or Youku, but I felt that iQiyi had more interesting dramas, which unfortunately aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Interlaced Scenes was considered a short drama with only 15 episodes.The story was good and compelling. I really enjoyed my time because the drama progressed at a good pace. Not too slow or too fast.The ending of each episode left me wanting more. It happened so many times that I almost lost my beauty sleep. But when I remembered that a good eye serum is expensive, I forced myself to stop 😆.
There weren’t too many characters in this drama, it reminded me of Jing Bo Ran’s Regeneration drama. Although Interlaced Scenes lacked a major plot twist, I enjoyed my time watching this drama.The story flows flawlessly.
The timeline was shifted between past and present. It was actually quite confusing. However, after a few episodes I stopped paying attention to the date and just thought “this is the present and that is the past”. 😅
This drama has everything that made me caught off guard. The story was gripping and well written. I was busy guessing how two criminal cases were connected by a dog and its leash.
The characters were clearly explained and you could see every minor expression on every actor’s face. It’s no wonder, because some of the actors are familiar to me. I’ve seen a lot of good dramas with their faces in them.
A Chinese drama would never be a Chinese drama if it didn’t have eating scenes. My eyes were glued to the screen every time Gu Ji Ming and Shi Luo ate their bowl of noodles. It looked so appetising that I decided to pause the episode and make myself a bowl of instant noodles. When I was ready, I rewind the scene and ate my noodles as if I was sitting at the same table with them. 😅😅
Dear readers, if you are on a strict diet, NEVER watch a Chinese drama. It will ruin your diet. Trust me. I’ve been there and still stayed there. 😭
Watching Interlaced Scenes feels different from other mystery drama like Echo or Regeneration. I love Shi Luo’s character, who was different from any other police officer character. In dramas, detectives are often portrayed as people whose lives revolve around the police station and crime scenes.
Shi Luo, on the other hand, is different. He is a big fan of suspense novels. He joined a book club and went to the book club meeting to meet other book fans. Shi Luo has a social life and friends apart from his colleagues and work. This is a rare sight for me.
On the contrary, Jiang Guang Ming’s character is a stereotypical policeman. She was not seen going to places other than her home and office. Her phone usually rings for work reasons.
Jiang Guang Ming only made phone calls for her colleagues, her mother and her husband. Between Jiang Guang Ming and Shi Luo, I like the latter a lot. I hope Shi Luo would never change his personality even if they decided to make a sequel of this drama. 😝
The visuals of this drama are pretty good. You could tell the present scenes and the flashback because they put the date to inform us. Normally, dramas would use a different kind of sound to distinguish the flashback and the present, like they did in The Long Season drama. This time, however, I did not see much difference between them.
I like how the director shot the drama, everything was simple and clean without any dramatic shots. Well, it was understandable since it was an urban drama and things happened just like in real life. If you want to see some dramatic shots, you might want to watch To The Wonder or The Double. Personally, I prefer To The Wonder to The Double.
The director of Interlaced Scenes is the famous Gong Yu, the veteran director behind many famous dramas such as My Dear Guardian, In A Class of her Own, Winter Begonia, Joy of Life, White Cat Legend, Burning Flames, Sunshine by My Side, Love You Seven Times, Divine Destiny and Dylan Wang’s Love Between Fairy and Evil.
And he still has sooo many dramas to air on his shelf. I cant wait to see his upcoming drama, especially Dreamcatcher because I want to see Wang Rui Chang (Fighting for Love) in modern suit. 😉
In my opinion, the stars of this drama are Ma Yi Li and Tong Da Wei. However, I really enjoy the natural interaction and good chemistry between Ma Yi Li and Gao Zhi Ting. As master and disciple, Jiang Guang Ming and Shi Luo had a good relationship.
Although you could feel that Jiang Guang Ming deliberately kept a good distance from everyone else, Shi Luo didn’t care. He treated her warmly, just as he did his fellow policeman Liu Qiang.
Interlaced Scenes is the second time I saw Ma Yi Li in a drama. I was completely immersed in her acting. Jiang Guang Ming is a good detective. She has an innate talent to think logically and see what others can’t. Ma Yi Li perfectly portrayed Jiang Guang Ming’s reserved nature.
However, when her marriage was at stake, you could see that she was hurt, but she had trouble expressing the pain. Whenever Ma Yi Li sat alone and stared at the emptiness in front of her, you knew that there was an intense battle going on in her mind.
And I must say that Jiang Guang Ming’s no-makeup makeup look is on point. I almost think that Ma Yi Li really didn’t wear any makeup on the set. However, I was bothered by the hairstyle. Gosh… there were tons of good short hairstyles. Why did she have to choose that one?
Just like Ma Yi Li. This is also the second time I have seen Tong Da Wei’s drama after The Tale of Rose. He did a very good job with Gu Ji Ming’s complicated personality. In The Tale of Rose, Tong Da Wei acts like a good brother and husband.
There weren’t many complicated emotions, but he had good chemistry with Liu Yi Fei and Wei Qian. This time he got more challenges to act as Gu Ji Ming. His complicated personality and duplicitous nature made Gu Ji Ming a difficult character to portray.
However, Tong Da Wei did a good job. He could change his emotions in a fraction of a second and you as a viewer could see the changes clearly.
There were many familiar faces in this drama. Lan Ying Ying, who played Su Zhen Zhen, was previously acted in The Tale of Rose. She played Guan Zhi Zhi, a woman whose future husband decided to call off their marriage because he had fallen in love with Rose.
Wang Jing Song, who played Tang Xun, also appeared in The Ingenious One, Youth in the Flames of War, In a Class of Her Own, Legend of Fu Yao and Nirvana in Fire. He is an experienced actor with an impressively long filmography.
Song Ning, who played Xu Kang, the despicable husband of Jiang Guang Ming, is also a familiar face. He recently played Zhou Sang Lan in The Legend of Shen Li and Qiu Xia, Meng Yi An’s estranged husband in the drama Island.
There was also Gao Shu Guang (Blooming Days drama; Wrong Carriage, Right Groom; Youth in the Flames of War; The Guardian; New Life Begins; Joy of Life) who acted as Director Wang. Yang Kun (Meet Yourself drama, Women Walk the Line, She and Her Perfect Husband) played Jiang Guang Ming’s mother. Shao Wei Tong (Lost You Forever Season 1 & 2, Unshakable Faith drama) plays the friendly Liu Qiang. And you may also be familiar with Lu Hong, who plays He Peng, Gu Ji Ming’s friend. He has also appeared in many dramas such as Mysterious Lotus Casebook, The Magical Women and Under the Power.
Interlaced Scenes Drama Story
Why do I feel it’s getting more and more complicated?
Shi Luo, pondering about the case.
Story-wise, Interlaced Scenes focused on the murder case and the missing young girl. These cases were interlaced because of a book and a dog. The relationship story between Jiang Guang Ming and her husband is just a side story to complicated things. In my opinion, it was good that they didn’t have much screen time because we, the viewers, could concentrate on the mysterious cases.
However, the relationships of Gu Ji Ming are very important for the arc of the story. Through these stories we can understand the complicated personality of Gu Ji Ming. Usually, a hard-to-fathom person comes from a complicated family background.
But this time is different. Gu Ji Ming came from a simple but happy family. His parents loved him and were proud of him. He also grew up to be a good student and an achiever. However, his stubbornness and ambition brought him to where he is now, completely subdued by Su Zhen Zhen.
The drama started with the murder of Zhang Qing, which happened in June 2018. However, further investigation began in March 2019 after the suspect denied the murder charge and the murder weapon was never found at the crime scene.
The environment near the crime scene in the novel Black Rain bears an eerie resemblance to the POV of Zhang Qing’s killer. To get to Zhang Qing’s house, the killer has to walk up the slope. There was graffiti on the wall.
The alley also has birdcage-shaped streetlights, and the path ends at a turquoise gate. This makes the author of Black Rain a suspect. Because Black Rain was published after the murder. But Gu Ji Ming has a solid alibi for this case.
The two detectives are convinced that there is more to Zhang Qing’s murder than meets the eye. And her dog is the key. So the dog hunt began, and in the end Jiang Guang Ming and Shi Luo were faced with the case of the missing woman called Jiang Na.
Jiang Na could be considered a witness to the missing dog, as she used to be a dog walker for Tang Xun, the famous writer. So the background location changes from Qinjiang City, where Zhang Qing was murdered, to Fenghai City, where the dog was seen.
There are two toxic relationships in this drama: the first is the relationship between Gu Ji Ming and Su Zhen Zhen. The second is the relationship between Jiang Guang Ming and Xu Kang.
Both Gu Ji Ming and Su Zhen Zhen are duplicitous people. Gu Ji Ming took advantage of Su Zhen Zhen’s wealth and influence in the publishing industry. Meanwhile, Su Zhen Zhen used Gu Ji Ming as a tool to satisfy her controlling nature. Both knew and recognised each other’s motives. But they still pretend to care and love each other on a daily basis.
The social gap between Gu Ji Ming and Su Zhen Zhen is far too wide. Gu Ji Ming was born into a simple household in a small town, while Su Zhen Zhen comes from a wealthy family and has never relied on anyone since she was the one who took control of everything in her life. Gu Ji Ming cherishes little things like cooking for his loved ones because that is what his parents do. But Su Zhen Zhen never cares about such things.
It was unbearable to watch them. I could not decide which one was better than the other, because I despise these types of people…🤬
Meanwhile, Jiang Guang Ming thought her marriage was fine. The only problems between them were her working hours and the lack of a child. However, during the investigation of Zhang Qing’s murder, Jiang Guang Ming found out that her husband was lying to her. Her investigative instincts kicked in and she found out that Xu Kang had been cheating on her.
Xu Kang didn’t want to be separated from Jiang Guang Ming, but she thought otherwise. I think Jiang Guang Ming is pitiful.
The trope of Jiang Guang Ming’s marriage is strangely familiar to me. It reminded me of the drama Echo. Ran Dong Dong is also a detective investigating a murder case when she finds out about her husband’s infidelity.
Jiang Guang Ming also started to question her husband’s faithfulness when she found out that he lied while investigating a murder case. If only Liu Qiang had not mentioned the heavy rain and the cancelled flights, she might still be unaware of Xu Kang’s love affair.
This drama had a happy and satisfying ending. The evil person got what he deserved and the deceased could rest in peace. All this happened after Jiang Guang Ming and Shi Luo finally found the dog (and the leash). I wrote about this drama ending, you can check it at Interlaced Scenes ending explained post.
Interlaced Scenes Drama Characters
Jiang Guang Ming (played by Ma Yi Li)
Jiang Guang Ming is a talented officer. She has a sharp instinct, an exceptional memory, is observant, and is good at reading people. Jiang Guang Ming used to be a detective before she was reassigned to a desk job after an accident. And because the police department was faced with a unique robbery, rape, and murder case, she was called back to be the main investigator of the case.
As a person, Jiang Guang Ming is intelligent and knowledgeable. She was a bit cold and indifferent due to her tough nature. But sometimes she could be warm. Jiang Guang Ming considered herself a non-empathetic person and tended to use logic rather than emotion. Whether in her private life or in her work.
Jiang Guang Ming was married to a man, Xu Kang. He worked in a bank. And although Xu Kang was busy, his office hours were more predictable compared to his wife. Currently, Jiang Guang Ming and Xu Kang are trying to have a baby.
Gu Ji Ming (played by Tong Da Wei)
Gu Ji Ming is a smart, stubborn and determined person who used to be the number one student in the city. People believed that with his cleverness, Gu Ji Ming would have a promising future. But ten years after graduation, he was still an unknown writer who had to chase publishers and was humiliated by them.
Gu Ji Ming is an only son. His father and mother lived in a small town, where his father opened a paper effigies shop. Although they lived a simple life, Gu Ji Ming lived a good life full of love.
After moving to Fanghai, Gu Ji Ming lived in a small rented house that he shared with his friend, He Peng. Gu Ji Ming worked as an editor for a small magazine publishing company. His boss is someone who likes to make fun of his subordinates, including Gu Ji Ming.
Although he is someone who has a gentle heart and is kind, Gu Ji Ming is an ambitious person. His calculating mind would consider the advantages and disadvantages of the situation he faced at the time. Including when he took advantage of Su Zhen Zhen’s depression.
Gu Ji Ming showed up at the most crucial time of her life. If Gu Ji Ming hadn’t taken advantage of the absence of Sheng Lai, Su Zhen Zhen’s former fiancé, Su Zhen Zhen would never have looked at him and extended her hand to help Gu Ji Ming with his novel.
Shi Luo (played by Gao Zhi Ting)
Shi Luo is a young police officer who is full of spirit. He loves suspense books and often attends a book club meeting. Shi Luo loves his job as a policeman. He has a sharp instinct and an innate talent for investigation, which may be the reason why Jiang Guang Ming agreed to have him as her disciple.
During his time with Jiang Guang Ming, Shi Luo showed his cheerful and friendly personality. His sharp mind sometimes pokes Jiang Guang Ming’s sore spot, although he never meant it. Shi Luo is an attentive person, and he cares a lot for his master.
Shi Luo falls in love with one of his colleagues, Officer Zhang. She is a nice person, but she does not seem to like him very much 😉 .
Su Zhen Zhen (played by Lan Ying Ying)
As the only daughter of Su Zhe, a wealthy businessman, Su Zhen Zhen used to live a very rich lifestyle. She enjoyed artistic activities, such as drawing and dancing. Su Zhen Zhen also used to have a fiancé named Shen Lei before she started dating Gu Ji Ming.
Su Zhen Zhen’s legs became paralyzed after she was involved in an accident. It happened because of the carelessness of her friend who drove the yellow sedan. Her friend later died after the car fell into the ravine. Su Zhen Zhen was saved by Gu Ji Ming, who happened to pass by the scene of the accident.
Outwardly, Su Zhen Zhen has always had a gentle and caring personality. She hides her controlling nature from others. Only her assistant knew how Su Zhen Zhen used a private investigator to monitor Gu Ji Ming’s personal life and business.
Su Zhen Zhen always knew who he met, where he went, and what he did. She also secretly controlled his book business. Su Zhen Zhen did it under the pretext of taking care of Gu Ji Ming’s pride. She wanted him to be more successful so that he would always be grateful to her.
Tang Xun (played by Wang Jing Song)
Tang Xun is a famous writer. He has written many books and people love his works. As a person, he is kind and friendly. As a writer, he is a person with principles. He always refuse the idea of using a ghostwriter, even though his publisher urged him to do so.
Tang Xun loves animals, especially dogs. However, he could never adopt one because his wife was allergic to dog fur.
Jiang Na (played by Zheng Shui Jing)
Jiang Na is a hotel staff in Fenghai City. She is an orphan who works hard to support her life. Jiang Na loves to read, and she tried to make a career as an article writer.
As a worker, Jiang Na has a double job as a receptionist and room cleaner. This is how she was able to meet and get close to Tang Xun, the famous writer.
The Conclusion
Interlaced Scenes drama brought me a breath of fresh air after being surrounded by romance dramas. The story was legit and the acting was top notch. Although I am not sure if I would re-watch this drama at another time, I was curious about the original story.
I’ve been looking for The Passed Scenes, but so far I haven’t found the book online. But there’s another novel by Matsumoto Seicho that caught my eye. I think I would start with that one first.
If you like suspense and mystery drama, through this Interlaced Scenes drama review, I suggest you put this one on your watch list. This Interlaced Scenes drama is short, so it won’t take up too much of your time, but I guarantee you will find the mystery and human relationship in this drama interesting.
And if you have already watched it, feel free to tell me your opinion about Interlaced Scenes. I would love to read your comments. Thanks for stopping by to this Interlaced Scenes drama review, dear readers. I’ll see you in another drama review post. Bye bye!
