Two legendary spies aim at each other.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Notable Actors/Actresses
Huang Xuan: Su Wen Qian
Chen He: Chi Tie Cheng
Yang Cai Yu: Ouyang Xiang Ling
Li Xi Rui: Qin Zi Shu
Aim
First Impression: 4/5
Summary
[Episode 1-11]
Presently, Su Wen Qian, who currently goes by "Su Mu Chuan" is accused of intercepting an important message between the enemies (= Japanese; sorry if you're Japanese and reading this...). The police (Chinese) have staked out the area and was planning to capture the messenger, Ye Guan Ying, red handed but everything goes wrong. He's shot. The message is lost. The police have no idea what the enemies have in store. They're now after the culprit who shot the messenger and are slowly narrowing it down on Su Wen Qian.
Ou Yang Xiang Ling. She's pretty. She has a deep attachment to Herd Fish. Not the romantic kind. She's certain it was Herd Fish who killed one of her comrades (Yang Zhi Liang; codename: Seagull) three years ago. She feels guilty for the death and vows to capture Herd Fish. She’s resolute and calm but when it comes to Herd Fish, her emotions get the best of her.
Cao Bi Da, a fellow officer, had gone through two intense interrogations with Su Wen Qian but hasn't gotten anything out of him. It’s the interrogation conducted by Ou Yang Xiang Ling (I may be calling her by Ou Yang at times; her name is way too long to type each time) that exposes Su Wen Qian as Herd Fish. However, the police still haven’t figured out how Su Wen Qian is involved in the case.
The evidence that they have against Su Wen Qian is half a wooden fish and a policeman’s testimony. He witnessed this wooden fish fly over 100km/hr (I made up the stats) with his naked eye towards Ye Guan Ying. This policeman has extraordinary vision. He can see things an average human being cannot, the speed and the distance does not matter. I think this man will be important later on. He’s got too cool of a skill to be forgotten. However, that type of testimony isn’t enough to indict Su Wen Qian. Plus, how can he use a sling from that distance to shoot a wood piece with that impact? Because he’s the legendary sniper.
Su Wen Qian was to celebrate Qin Xue’s birthday with her. He brought her a cake. However, the police are after him. Su Wen Qian could have fled but he runs back to save Ou Yang from an accelerating car. He’s in Cao Bi Da’s car, cuffed. However, the cake he bought was switched out. There’s a bomb inside this new cake. Cao Bi Da drives into the ocean. Together they jump out of the car before it explodes. Su Wen Qian flees. However, Cao Bi Da is certain he’ll show up at Qin Zi Shu’s to celebrate Qin Xue’s birthday party.
Qin Zi Shu senses something is off when Ou Yang and Cao Bi Da claimed to be “Su Mu Chuan’s” friends. She purposely hangs a wooden bird slingshot outside her window sill. It’s a warning to Su Wen Qian to flee. So smart. Thus, Su Wen Qian changes course. He needs to clear his name that he did not shoot Ye Guan Ying nor steal any information from the police or the enemy.
What happened that day. He aimed his slingshot (a wooden fish) at Ye Guan Ying’s elbow. That shot made Ye Guan Ying release the boy he kept hostage otherwise the boy would have died when there was a separate gunshot aimed at Ye Guan Ying. That sniper of that gunshot remains unknown.
Ye Guan Ying's Message [Ep6]
Chi Tie Cheng finds Ye Guan Ying before Su Wen Qian does. After getting the information he wanted, he kills Ye Guan Ying. Although Su Wen Qian arrives late, he deduces Ye Guan Ying left a ring in the doctor's pocket. He runs to find the doctor's robe, Ou Yang points a gun at him hollering him to stop but he keeps moving. He's a dead man either way if he doesn't find the ring. Su Wen Qian finds the ring before the enemy does. Inside the ring, there's a cryptic message. Su Wen Qian uses the ring as bargain to the police. He wants to celebrate Qin Xue's birthday first.
The Birthday Party [Ep7]
Cao Bi Da tells his men to retreat. They no longer need to stake out at Qin Zi Shu's place. Only Cao Bi Da remains with Wen Si Qian, Qin Zi Shu, and Qin Xue. There's also a forth person: Ou Yang. She's here with a Snow White cake. She's much softer now. Cao Bi Da smiles proudly at her. Her hate that blinded her from seeing Wen Si Qian as a person worthy of trusting is slowly clearing up.
Cao Bi Da starts telling Qin Xue that they'll be taking Wen Si Qian with them to "help" with investigations. However, she can't reveal that. Tomorrow, there will be news that Wen Si Qian died during the car explosion. She must keep up with that lie otherwise Wen Si Qian will be in danger. Qin Xue, being the smart girl that she is, understands. Cao Bi Da going to such lengths to explain to Qin Xue made me tear up a bit.
Su Wen Qian had another reason he wanted to celebrate Qin Xue's birthday. He needs Qin Zi Shu's help. The cryptic message in the ring is a music score. With a bit of his humming, Zi Shu figures out the music. The title has "train station at 12" in it. She tells him it was hard for her to recognize it because his beat and count was off. Normally it's a 4/4 time signature but he sang it with a 6/8 time signature. Thus the cryptic message is this: Train station at 12 on June 8. There will be an assassination plotted at precisely that time and that place. The target is Yin Cheng Su.
The police are aware the assassins are Shui Mu Group. They believe Chi Tie Cheng was the sniper (from Ep1). Su Wen Qian is certain the sniper isn't Chi Tie Cheng though. If it was him, there's no way his wooden fish would have reached Ye Guan Ying first. If anything, the sniper is only Chi Tie Cheng's underling.
Yang Zhi Liang (the comrade who died three years ago)
[Ep8] Three years ago, it was Chi Tie Cheng who lied about the mission which forced Su Wen Qian to kill Yang Zhi Liang. Yang Zhi Liang is someone both Su Wen Qian and Chi Tie Cheng owe a life to. There's also a godfather who's involved in fooling Su Wen Qian. Details of this past are still forthcoming but it's certain that Su Wen Qian felt betrayal from the partners he trusted the most.
Although Yang Zhi Liang knew that he was going to die under Su Wen Qian's gun, he believed that Su Wen Qian was someone who could be valuable to their team. He trusted the goodness in Su Wen Qian. It's all written in his will prior to his final mission. Ou Yang and Cao Bi Da read this letter. They know Su Wen Qian is someone they can trust.
Who is Qin Xue's father? [Ep11]
It's not Su Wen Qian. It's highly likely the father is Chi Tie Cheng. I thought Qin Xue was a genius at slingshot because she was trained well by Su Wen Qian but it turns out it's all in the genes.
Su Wen Qian's allegiance [Ep9-10]
Su Wen Qian doesn't want to affiliate with any team. He's retired. He hasn't held a gun since three years ago. That's why he only uses slingshots. However, the police, especially Cao Bi Da, wants him to join. They need his expertise. The only person against his participation is Ou Yang. She's still certain he's going to be a traitor although all his actions have proven otherwise. But it's not like Su Wen Qian wants to help anyways. He doesn't want to kill people, period.
Without Su Wen Qian's help, the police force stake out at the train station on June 8. They thought they had everything planned out but Chi Tie Cheng saw through their trap. If it had not been for Su Wen Qian crashing his car and using a slingshot to aim an ammo to throw off Chi Tie Cheng, the entire team would have sacrificed. Ou Yang Xiang Ling accepts him now. She acknowledges her discrimination against him.
 |
| Su Wen Qian's (Herd fish) Team |
Su Wen Qian is eating his lunch when Cao Bi Da asks him just what did their team do wrong for them to be exposed to Shui Mu Group. Su Wen Qian was about to casually explain it but the entire team stands around him in complete silence waiting for him to speak. Su Wen Qian, feeling the pressure, closes his lunch box and explains all the things they've done wrong. The team is impressed. They ask him to lead them but Su Wen Qian refuses. Teaching them to kill is the same thing as killing people with his own hands.
 |
| Chi Tie Cheng's (Jellyfish) Team |
Meanwhile on Chi Tie Cheng's Shui Mu team, the disciples are being punished for their failure. They start stripping to reveal their arm. Each of them are sliced on the arm by a knife. Not only that, blood is squeezed out of that fresh wound to make it even more painful than it looks. Shudders. Through this, Chi Tie Cheng realizes Su Wen Qian might be alive.
Remarks
[First Impression (Ep1-11)] Now this is a spy action thriller. Previous ones (I tried) are so saturated with patriotism, I had indigestion. Although it's still the same old Chinese vs Japanese story, it’s more like two spy teams against each other, both led by top notch snipers. They used to be legendary partners but that partnership erupted and dissolved, leaving only bitterness. Now they're on opposite poles. But are they?
I love that there are hints I can follow. It doesn't just drop a plot out of thin air that makes the lead look insanely smart and then the drama rewinds for the audience to see how the plan all worked out. Sniper lays its hints from the very beginning. You don’t have to be the keenest of them all to solve it, you just have to pay attention to the details. This is a drama I un/fortunately cannot fast-forward, there's just so much information to take in.
I think this drama forgot to list a genre. Supernatural. Su Wen Qian’s future teammates have undisclosed superpowers but they’re treated as average beings who are just a tiny bit special. One of them has eidetic memory, the other one has precise vision no matter the speed or the distance. Totally normal. I am totally looking forward to the comradeship that’s to form with these average policemen.
My summary doesn’t give this drama a lot of justice. It’s the process of how each piece of information is learnt that enthralls me; the me who doesn’t love Chinese spy dramas like this ever except that one time. Although I tried my best to capture the content, what’s dearly missing from my summary is the brilliant action and the intense emotions. I just cannot put those into words. There were three interrogations for Su Wen Qian, each of them were so intense and that intensity escalated each time. Su Wen Qian's right hand kept trembling for all his interrogation but his voice remained calm.
I love how the drama incorporated Qin Xue into the plot. She’s the innocent heart of the drama. Her birthday was the single event that brought everything and everyone together. Su Wen Qian’s desire to celebrate her birthday with her is his only vulnerability the police could exploit to make him cooperate. Through Qin Xue, the police (Cao Bi Da) can see the goodness in Su Wen Qian because he raised her that beautifully. Her slingshots are proof of Su Wen Qian’s masterful skills. Su Wen Qian is betrayed by his best friend, Chi Tie Cheng, but the way he loves his friend’s daughter, proves what a loving and loyal man Su Wen Qian is. Qin Xue is also the one who connects Ou Yang Xiang Ling to Su Wen Qian. She gives Ou Yang a chance to soften up because without little Qin Xue, our icy Ou Yang wouldn’t have a chance to open up at all.
My favourite scenes are the interrogations and when Qin Zi Shu hung the wooden bird in the window to tell Su Wen Qian to flee. I was so certain she could see at that moment. But she can’t. The scene that ensued was Su Wen Qian stopping in his tracks. Policemen have staked out right behind the pillars and were just about to get him if he made an extra step. The intensity and the visuals in that one scene were exhilarating to watch. I could go on and on about the scenes I liked but I need to put a stop somewhere.
Warning (to myself): Don't love someone too soon, you could be burned.
[Actors/Actresses] Top notch actors doing their top notch stuff. So good. So intense. Especially Huang Xuan. He's picking up good projects again.
[Dropped (Ep30)] I give up. It gets pretty draggy after Ep16 or something like that. Honestly, I also left this drama too long to pick it up again. At this point, I barely remember anything. It's a pity. This started off amazing.
[Dropped (Ep30)] I give up. It gets pretty draggy after Ep16 or something like that. Honestly, I also left this drama too long to pick it up again. At this point, I barely remember anything. It's a pity. This started off amazing.
No comments:
Post a Comment