When did you start to forget that this lifetime is actually very long, long enough for you to fall down and stand up again, to dream and then wake up once more. And when did you start to forget that this lifetime is also very short, so short that you don't have time to keep forcing yourself, and no time to keep hating being yourself. From now on, from this very moment, don't forget any more. I want to say to you, I'm sorry. Thank you. And I love you. — Chen Chia Ling, The Making of an Ordinary Woman, 2019.
Endless Protection (2025) 无尽的尽头
Forget You Not (2025) 忘了我記得
Light beyond the Reed (2025) 余生有涯
Sword Rose (2025) 利剑·玫瑰
The Dance of Passion (2006) 火舞黃沙
The Making of an Ordinary Woman 1 & 2 (2019) 俗女養成記
The Queen of News 2 (2025) 新聞女王²
To the Wonder (2024) 我的阿勒泰
Under the Moonlight (2025) 锦囊妙录
War and Beauty (2004) 金枝慾孽
Choosing a drama based on its cast? That's nothing new.
Choosing a drama because I watched an interesting promotional interview? Been there, done that.
But this time, I'm trying to watch Endless Protection because of its adorable opening —
even though the story feels like something I've seen a hundred times in the Japanese law dramas I've watched.
I expected Endless Protection to be another high-quality drama that I can watch and appreciate, but it won't lodge itself in my brain nor make me emotionally invested. And I was very wrong.Some of the cases were told so well I still think about them.
Two excellent crime dramas lead by female protagonists from this last year. No romance, only business.
You've probably not heard much about these two because the genre is not very popular with the audience outside of China due to [redacted]. Anyway...what surprised me the most about these two dramas is that it's female lead and not in a way that it's a romance with lousy workplace plots. Often the more serious crime/mystery dramas follows a male lead or two (and maybe some bromance in-between for the gifmakers).
While these two are lead by a female protagonists, the stories revolves around an ensemble cast of characters who have their own back stories. The characters feel very grounded.
无尽的尽头 Endless Protection
Cast. Ren Suxi, Gao Weiguang
Available on YT with subs (24eps) ﹢
Prosecutor for major crimes Lin Zhitao (Ren Suxi), found herself transferred to a new department as the director of juvenile prosecutorial work after a small work incident. Temporary office in a storage room next to the toilet with the court clerk Cheng Wei and newly qualified assistant prosecutor Bai Enyu (Gao Weiguang). Here starts a series of juvenile cases and detective work.
As the story unfolds, they encounter all sorts of different cases, cases where children are the victims, where children are the perpetrators, or sometimes both. Due to dealing with juveniles, the verdict is not always satisfying, why do they get away with so little punishment for the most horrendous crimes? What actually happens to them after going to the Juvenile Correctional Facility??
While the tone of the topics are very serious and brutal, it's not as difficult to digest as I expected it to be. There's a good balance between the heaviness of the cases and humorous daily life scenes, it's not out of character and builds on the characters instead. Gao Weiguang's character is very funny, especially when he bickers with Ren Suxi. The young actors' performances are equally as brilliant, very heart wrenching.
One thing I really appreciated about this drama is its attempt to tell a well rounded story and not have excessive torture scenes, which is a common thing I find in crime dramas that is uncomfortable to watch. One great example is in one of the cases, there was someone secretly taking pictures of girls in school and spreading them. But there was no physical pictures shown EVER, not even so called AI-generated ones either. It's all shown in mosaic, see below:
Anyone with any media literacy will know what the director wanted to convey here. The focus is on the plot line, the perpetrators. The production team revealed that they took three to four years to polish the script, strictly adhering to the timeline of relevant laws and regulations to avoid any misalignment of legal provisions. The arrangement of cases not only serves the main storyline but also aligns with the progress of the judicial system.
There are minor criticisms on how it's too idealistic in some cases but overall a great watch. The interactions and growth amongst the female characters are also spectacular.
利剑·玫瑰 Sword Rose
Cast. Dilraba Dilmurat, Jin Shijia
Available on YT with subs (32eps) ﹢
Deng Yan (Dilraba Dilmurat) was appointed acting director of the Anti-Trafficking Office of the Linshan City Public Security Bureau during a critical period. Shortly after taking office, a lead on a infamous human trafficker resurfaced, which happens to also be the trafficker that is related to her missing best friend from childhood.
Unlike Endless Protection, this one is depressing from beginning to end. While there are happy moments when the children and women are found, it quickly moves on to the next case, which is even more harrowing. It's a difficult watch, particularly when you find out that the cases are based on real life events, some of which are left unresolved. Major trigger warning for those who are not good with such material.
The drama not only focuses on catching the perpetrators, but also showcases the impact of trafficking on the families and friends of the victims. The long, dreadful wait as they search for their loved ones. It also explores the complications between parents and adopted children when they discover that the adoption was not legal, but the result of trafficking.
Dilraba's performance here was better than expected. For an actress known for idol dramas and her beauty, she definitely does not look 'pretty' here (not to say she isn't). There are no flashy outfits or heavy makeup, she looks like a genuinely tired officer. While she is the main lead, there is a good amount of focus on her team, their purpose, and why they choose to work in the anti-trafficking department. Once again, it's a strong ensemble cast of characters.
The biggest downside is that toward the end it feels rushed, and a lot of the dialogue is clearly dubbed over. No idea whether this was due to censorship or timing issues. There are very obvious signs of missing scenes and information, and some clips available online were not included in the main body of the drama.
Outside of the drama itself, its popularity is being used to share real life postings of missing people, helping to spread awareness in the hope of finding them. One might ask what the purpose of such a distressing drama is—I think this is it.
I originally started writing this back in 2025 and never finished it until now. Writing about crime dramas is hard without spoilers going into the details of the cases, you're just gonna have to trust me on this lol was going to leave it to post on iwd but thought since it's done may as well post it now. I also watched 火舞黃沙 The Dance of Passion and 金枝欲孽 War and Beauty last year which I'm itching to write an essay about. (Not sure how many people on tumblr care about 2 decade old Hong Kong dramas)
I loved Lu Sheng. I loved his smiles. And I loved seeing how he interacted with everyone in the drama, especially Hu Li. I also enjoyed whatever the relationship between him and Hu Minmin was, especially because it was a small safe space of understanding and confort for them.
