A guy pretending to be another guy pretending to be the original guy pretending to be a gangster.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Li Yi Feng: Luo Xiang / Chen Mo
Stephen Fung: Liao Yong Jia
Gong Hai Bin: Yu Sheng Hai
Samuel Gu: Liang Long
Song Yi: Su Qing Zhu
Chinese Title
暗夜行者
暗夜行者
Reviewer: Potato Chip
Review
by Potato Chip
Day Breaker is a thrilling crime drama full of duplicity and intrigue. It has the typical gun fights, high body count, and increasingly dangerous procession of bad guys of this genre. What sets it apart from other undercover cop dramas is the mental game, specifically between the 3 main guys. Characters are layered, good and bad are unpredictable and not easily defined, motives are mysterious and sometimes frustratingly so. It leaves an overall bittersweet feeling, bitter for the characters, sweet that most conclusions are just.
Luo Xiang/Chen Mo played by Li Yi Feng: The main protagonist. He was an undercover drug agent (Luo Xiang) hoping to complete the mission when he was shot and presumed dead. 5 years later, he returns as Chen Mo, a sloppy looking taxi driver and single father to an adorable little girl with severe kidney disease. Yeah, you can see how there are so many questions already. He is recruited by Liao Yong Jia because Officer Liao thinks Luo Xiang is truly dead and wants “Chen Mo” to pretend to be Luo Xiang to infiltrate his old gang.
Luo Xiang pretends to be Chen Mo, who is pretending to be Luo Xiang, who was/is pretending to be a gangster.
Luo Xiang/Chen Mo is the necessary glue of this drama and there are numerous interesting character relationships. Li Yi Feng was able to convey that his character was genuine in these interactions, but also reserved in his feelings. He has the simplest motivation amongst the main men - he just wants to rid the world of drugs. It is almost too idealized, and perhaps this is why he was the least interesting to me.
Liao Yong Jia played by Stephen Fung: Officer Liao is near retirement and has built decades long career fighting drugs. He doesn’t color within the lines, but he comes off as righteous and carefree. He shared the same agenda as Luo Xiang, and despite the physical and emotional injuries in these battles, he persists. But we learn that there is a darkness lurking in this single-minded nature.
Stephen Fung is extremely charismatic with great presence. He is able to be warm even when his character is ice cold. He is so caring with his wife, colleagues, and interactions with the other characters. He is shrewd but you want to trust him and keep believing in him.
Yu Sheng Hai played by Gong Hai Bin: Officer Yu is literally the face of the police department’s anti-drug propaganda. He is tortured by this weight of responsibility and the secrets caused by his naivety. He is dragged back to work with the affable Officer Liao, whom he calls a “mad man”. He even shoots himself in order to get out of this team. I have had bad colleagues, but nothing to this extent, lol. He changes his mind when he sees risen from the dead Luo Xiang/Chen Mo. Officer Yu was the one that shot him 5 years ago in the lighthouse. Why? Oh, the wonderful start of a confusing, tangled, friendenemy alliance.
He became my favorite character. Gong Hai Bin was perfectly smart but misguided, sincere but calculating, a brave knight but tormented, pitiful pawn. Superb acting. He was fascinating to watch. I laughed when he was outwitted by Luo Xiang, scowled when he thought he had the upper hand, yet also cheered him on and cried with him.
As an aside, the character is voiced by Yi Fan, who also voiced Prince Xiao Jin Yu from The Imperial Coroner. I was listening to him and kept wondering why his speeches on justice were so familiar when it struck me. I warn my kids, my vision may be bad, but my hearing is decent (I will know when you are causing trouble), lol. Perhaps, this voice added to my affinity for him.
Officers Yu and Liao were the suspenseful backbone of the drama and kept me guessing which sides they were on. Without them, this show would lose its heart and interest.
Liang Long played by Samuel Gu: From the beginning, the drama told us “do not like this guy”. He is a ruthless, selfish, fickled murderer. Ah, but why is he also so wickedly entertaining? Liang Long is Luo Xiang’s gang brother when they were both under Pala’s lead. Liang Long took over the gang when Pala died in the drug deal 5 years ago. Luo Xiang as Chen Mo as Luo Xiang reconnects with Liang Long and he believes Luo Xiang is helping him become the ultimate kingpin. Or does he? Once again, the relationships are blurred.
Samuel Gu’s Liang Long was erratic without being over-the-top. If he actually cares for anything, perhaps he does really love Luo Xiang. I giggle each time he says, “Xiang Xiang”. His expressions and antics were the comedic relief needed in this gloom. I questioned my own moral compass as I rewind again to watch him shoot “a bully”. Yeah, he is definitely not a good guy, but that doesn’t stop him from being hysterically funny.
The shipping potential between these 4 guys. Luo Xiang/Liang Long. Luo Xiang/Officer Yu. Luo Xiang/Officer Liao. Officer Yu/Officer Liao. Ok, “shipping” isn’t the right term for this toxicity, but I love watching them play with each other.
Su Qing Zhu played by Song Yi: Officer Su was an undercover cop who was working with Luo Xiang 5 years ago. They were dating, but I am still unsure if their relationship was official. Luo Xiang was going to propose to her before he was shot. When he returns as Chen Mo, he does not tell her that he is really Luo Xiang. He preferred to continue to have her give up on him rather than make her happy with his return and potentially breaking her heart even worse if dies again.
Song Yi is gorgeous, but the character is underused and peripheral. The quiet longing is played well, but writing makes me question the character’s purpose. Was it necessary to have a love interest but no developed romance? Perhaps to up the ante, but it is hard to classify her as a lead.
I appreciate that she is not a damsel, even if she was saved a couple of times by Luo Xiang. Fortunately, her action scenes were few because they were unrealistically filmed.
Zhang Xin Yao played by Song Yi Xing: Chen Mo’s landlady and baby sitter. She is the plot device so that the audience doesn’t ask, “Who’s taking care of little A’Xi?”. Perhaps I am being harsh, but her character was in several storylines as either a linking tool (girlfriend to drug thief or childhood friend to drug maker) or an errand girl. I don’t understand why a rational normal person wouldn’t high tail it out of this city. She’s the landlady, was there a deep friendship that would make one risk her life like this? Should have made her his sister or related somehow.
The bad guys. I don’t have all the pictures, but some of the bad guys were really interesting.
The pig farmer was tragic. Boss Lu was terrifying and psychotic. Song Cai was multidimensional. His brotherhood with Pala was strangely heart-warming.
Cast
Song Yi Xing: Zhang Xin Yao
Characters
Luo Xiang pretends to be Chen Mo, who is pretending to be Luo Xiang, who was/is pretending to be a gangster.
Stephen Fung is extremely charismatic with great presence. He is able to be warm even when his character is ice cold. He is so caring with his wife, colleagues, and interactions with the other characters. He is shrewd but you want to trust him and keep believing in him.
He became my favorite character. Gong Hai Bin was perfectly smart but misguided, sincere but calculating, a brave knight but tormented, pitiful pawn. Superb acting. He was fascinating to watch. I laughed when he was outwitted by Luo Xiang, scowled when he thought he had the upper hand, yet also cheered him on and cried with him.
As an aside, the character is voiced by Yi Fan, who also voiced Prince Xiao Jin Yu from The Imperial Coroner. I was listening to him and kept wondering why his speeches on justice were so familiar when it struck me. I warn my kids, my vision may be bad, but my hearing is decent (I will know when you are causing trouble), lol. Perhaps, this voice added to my affinity for him.
Officers Yu and Liao were the suspenseful backbone of the drama and kept me guessing which sides they were on. Without them, this show would lose its heart and interest.
Samuel Gu’s Liang Long was erratic without being over-the-top. If he actually cares for anything, perhaps he does really love Luo Xiang. I giggle each time he says, “Xiang Xiang”. His expressions and antics were the comedic relief needed in this gloom. I questioned my own moral compass as I rewind again to watch him shoot “a bully”. Yeah, he is definitely not a good guy, but that doesn’t stop him from being hysterically funny.
Song Yi is gorgeous, but the character is underused and peripheral. The quiet longing is played well, but writing makes me question the character’s purpose. Was it necessary to have a love interest but no developed romance? Perhaps to up the ante, but it is hard to classify her as a lead.
I appreciate that she is not a damsel, even if she was saved a couple of times by Luo Xiang. Fortunately, her action scenes were few because they were unrealistically filmed.
Other supporting characters. Just wanted to put them here because they gave Luo Xiang a reliable constant. All other relationships were grey, but these 2 guys were consistent. Su Dan, the young guy, played a similar techy character in The Darker: Death Notify trilogy. That series was likewise psychologically gloomy but quirky. Seeing Su Dan made me nostalgic.
The pig farmer was tragic. Boss Lu was terrifying and psychotic. Song Cai was multidimensional. His brotherhood with Pala was strangely heart-warming.
Other Good Stuff
- Cinematography: The picture is dark and gritty. The location is fictional but feels real. Camera angles are unique.
- The story is mysterious. Once a question is answered, 3 more may pop up. This can be engaging but also a bit annoying.
- The beginning few minutes of each episode has a flashback. They help give history but also leave the viewers hanging.
- So many details… You have to pay attention or else you will become more lost.
- The acting is really great and layered.
- The character relationships, especially between the main 4 guys, is what makes this drama unique. The story really isn’t about outing an undercover cop because everyone seems to know that Luo Xiang is not who he presents himself to be. Each of the 3 main guys started with the same motivation: to rid the world of drugs. It is fascinating how each character evolved and the story is about discovering this.
The Bad
Other than mentioned in my character descriptions, this still follows the typical storytelling formula of once one bad guy is defeated, another will replace him till we get to the ultimate boss battle. Sometimes it is a bit unbelievable how characters escape death and flurries of bullets. There were a few instances where I wonder why the bad dude didn’t just shoot our heroes. How are murders conveniently recorded on camera? And I know it won’t happen, but dramas need to stop with the “diffusing bombs” scenarios. So overplayed and predictable.
As much as I liked Officer Yu’s arc, the end was improbably drawn out and became standardized. It still had a nice impact, though.
Unfortunately, the last 2 episodes were unnecessary and anti-climatic. There was a deception, but it seemed too easily packaged. We lost the well-developed and smart bad guys. The acting seemed to have faltered, but that may be because I lost interest. Without these episodes, I probably would rate this drama a 4 out of 5. But alas, this is now a 3-3.5 ish.
Overall, despite the perpetual state of confusion, this is a good watch if you are in the mood for dark interplay between 4 complex and likable characters.
As much as I liked Officer Yu’s arc, the end was improbably drawn out and became standardized. It still had a nice impact, though.
Unfortunately, the last 2 episodes were unnecessary and anti-climatic. There was a deception, but it seemed too easily packaged. We lost the well-developed and smart bad guys. The acting seemed to have faltered, but that may be because I lost interest. Without these episodes, I probably would rate this drama a 4 out of 5. But alas, this is now a 3-3.5 ish.
Overall, despite the perpetual state of confusion, this is a good watch if you are in the mood for dark interplay between 4 complex and likable characters.
Rating: 3/5
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