Faithful: Spoiler-Free Mini Review
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Title: | Faithful 九义人 (Also known as: The Nine) |
Platform: | Viki, WeTV |
Genre: | Period Mystery/Thriller |
Episode Count: | 25 |
Parental Guidance Rating: | PG-13: Minor violence and blood, suicide, sexual assault (nothing explicit shown). |
Staring: | Wu Qian (Meet Yourself) Li Jia Hang (The Bond) Qiao Zhen Yu (Blood River) Hu Yi Xuan (How Dare You?!) |
RBTS Rating: | 4/5  |
Synopsis:
Seven years after the tragic death of Ru Lan, who sacrificed her reputation to seek justice for herself, nine people connected to her case come together for revenge. Ru Lan had sued Wu Lian, the master of Xiu Liu, but after multiple failed attempts to be heard, she took her own life to prove her innocence. Now, Meng Wan gathers a group to expose the truth, uncovering the hidden struggles of the young girl whose story was buried over time. @MDL
Stay Tuned: Full Review Still to Come!
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
Told in two timelines, an ensemble of ancient avengers assemble to take down a Harvey Weinstein wannabe in a man bun in an absolutely devastating quest for impossible justice. Faithful is engaging, heartbreaking, and claustrophobic in the best way. The drama tackles interesting ethical questions about justice and revenge, and the line in between. Nothing explicit is shown, but the storyline explores the aftermath and eventual pursuit of a serial rapist, so if you are sensitive to this topic, I wouldn't recommend.
There is a lot of victim blaming (which would have been accurate for the time period) and so much gaslighting I thought I was on the streets of Victorian London at night. The series doesn’t shy away from the imperfect victim and emphasizes the old adage “Not to do wrong is not enough; one must do good”. I loved how the drama didn’t saddle the victims who stayed quiet with the blame, but also drove home the point that it’s important to speak out. I could have done without the Wu Lian background— the show doesn’t necessarily use it to absolve him, but why is it there?
Faithful is really 24 episodes long; Episode 25 is tagged on as a slightly bizarre "what if" to stab us in the heart one final time, but I appreciated it. Overall, a relevant reminder that “great things can’t be achieved without sacrifice” and that “a single lantern creates limited light, but so what… it can light more lanterns.“ A great watch for those who enjoy slower mysteries like Ripe Town.
Random Side Note: There is a "mini" adaptation of this drama called The Embroidered Truth which has a whopping 6.9 on MDL.
Story=5 (A heartbreaking plan played out like a chess game)
Acting=3 (Stale and dry— but I think that’s what this story needed. The content is so heavy that to add an Oscar worthy performance would have overpowered the narrative and made it to hard to watch. The drama chose it's battle, and focused on the story, not the actors doing the most)
Production Quality=2.25 (Those Megamind Nun bald caps will haunt me in my sleep. Lower budget was obvious. Even the shrubbery looked plastic)
Ending=4.5 (Sad but satisfied)
Enjoyability= 4.85 (Third act wasn’t as gripping, but didn't skip at all)
Would I rewatch= Maybe if I want to feel pain
Trailer:
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