As requested by @GB, the thread is now open.
Hey…this looks cute. The guy looks familiar. Wasn’t he the lead in “You Are My Hero”?
Enjoy the show!
118 Comments On “Reset: Open Thread”
Comments are closed.
As requested by @GB, the thread is now open.
Hey…this looks cute. The guy looks familiar. Wasn’t he the lead in “You Are My Hero”?
Enjoy the show!
Comments are closed.
Thank you @pkml3. I had to check on the actors for the cdramas, and you’re right! Congrats on recognising the actor, Bai Jing Ting. He’s been quite busy actually, taking on main roles since 2020 in 9 shows. To me, he does not have the ‘classic’ male lead/hero look… seems a bit thin and unprepossessing, but he obviously must have the ‘it’ quality to launch him into so many main lead roles. 🙂
It happens that I’m watching 2 dramas starring Bau Jing Ting now. On my own, You Are My Hero which I mentioned that @Jane’s recommendation got me started on it. And now Reset with my hubby. I’m only at episode 2 and it gets more intriguing as it goes on.
I wonder what is the trigger for the time wrap she is experiencing. And how did she also trigger ML to join her in the reset? So this is getting me quite curious, just that it’s 1-2 episode a day with hubby.
Where are you at now with this drama @GB?
Hi @grace, I was speeding along then stopped at Episode 10. It remains intriguing so far. We want them to get out of the time loop as desperately as they do. LOL. 😁 😅 😂
@GB, yes, it becomes very repeatitive, we are trapped in the loop too.
@Grace, I wait you watch the whole, I’ve a possible explanation about the triggering.
HI Everyone!! Missed you all!!!
Came to catch up and couldnt pass up the chance to comment. This was one of the first cdramas in a very loooong time that I actually finished. Watched it about a month ago I think.
Yes it’s repetitive but it was still a good drama if you like time loops/sci fi.
@WE I have a theory too about the time trigger. Will wait to compare notes =)
@GB & @Grace enjoy the show! For me I binge-watched most of it because I couldnt wait for them to get out of the loop too lol
Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus – Police – Bus———!!!!!!!!!
━(◯Δ◯∥)━ン (ʘ言ʘ╬) ゞ◎Д◎ヾ (ಥ⌣ಥ) σ(ｏдｏlll) (｢⊙Д⊙)｢ (/●◔∀◐●)/ ∑（*☼＿☉*） (⊙﹏⊙✿)
@Carolina, I bet we have the same theory more or less.
I cheated and binge watched all. It hooks enough for that.
But since I feel free of the loop, I can’t watch it again. 😜
Hi @Carolina and @WE,
Yes, I feel that this is one Cdrama that I’ll have no problems completing. I’m just holding off watching for a while.
LOL. Let’s see if we all have the same theory in a few weeks’ time.
@WE, you changed your mind about not rewatching this Show? It being so repetitive and all, I thought you’d given up the idea of rewatching it.
I know that because of the repetition, I’d probably HAVE to rewatch parts, to get them in the right order. How many times have they had to do this loop? 20x? I can barely keep track of the first 3x.
@GB, no, I didn’t changed my mind. I said previously I couldn’t rewatch it. But I still can zap quickly the episodes. I did it on episode 1 to say that:
EPISODE 1.
26:00 – I like when she says “I had a dream into a dream”. At this point, the story was already slow (many moments and lines with the cop), I was expecting she just relate the two resets we saw at the beginning (could be boring), but I was surprised with the number of resets she lived already. 6 resets on the whole. It made that part really good.
The show is enjoyable at first watching, but I can point this is not a masterpiece, rather an average drama, using a time loop in it’s own way (what is nice). But there is a drawback: as we know the loop will always happens, it cut clearly any suspens and tension. The drama tells what we guess right from the start: they will create a “perfect scenario” to solve the situation, because they can test and retry until they get that, without real consequences or surprises.
I should make a list of the qualities and flaws of the show, as well as some specificities that I find stunning about how it’s told.
Did you ended it? At what episode are you?
@WE, ah I see… you just FFD as a rewatch. I intend to do the same thing.
.
Yes, I’d like to know what you found good and not good about the episodes as we go along. Or of the whole series when most of us have finished watching.
I feel that part of the lure of this show at the moment (especially after Grid) is that it is predictable and there’s less suspense. I want a stress-free watch, so this style suits me. However having said that, we can’t say that there are no surprises. So there’s still more to anticipate and watch out for.
I like that we know they can just keep trying until they get it right. There’s a clear end to this. I have had enough of open ended-ness for now.
Oh, btw, your conversation with @pkml3 got me to watch Inception to see what you both were speaking of. Now there’s an end!
I stopped at Episode 10. I can finish it in the next 2 days, if I don’t choose to do much else. However I’ve got more things to manage now, so I’m pacing myself.
Aaaahhh inception, that’s a movie I have not watched but keeps coming up here. Mayve i’ll have to watch it. I have such short term memory that there’s no way I can create a list but would love to see one @We
Well, when I speak about surprise… it’s big ones. We have some little surprises for events within the loop. But I was more in the big thing that change a lot and play on the high concept. Change the way how the loop happens. This kind of plot-twist. My mind was daydreaming about that, but I couldn’t find any idea for now. It’s maybe impossible to do with the concept of the show, very delimitated.
EPISODE2 : about how the ML takes the loop. We have the bus crashing in a petrole truck and BOOM. They solve this. I don’t remember if they do it later again, but logically, they have to do this in every loop now, so the bus can go on the bridge. Later, for sure, we don’t see this part again. Could sounds like a plot-hole, except I think more it’s like: we gave you the situation, now repeat it in your mind each other loops. It could be tiedous to redo the truck escape each loop. So it’s better to remove it at one point to shorten the action and remove useless repeatitivity. I’m not sure if it’s consistent all the time (because later we see them doing a lot of others things at this time), but I didn’t even wanted to look for that, it was a relieve to not have that again and again.
@WE, so you want a big surprise that twists the high concept of looping in time?
I’m content with the surprises that keep popping up at every attempt to solve the deadly situation.
No, this Show does not give any leeway to make changes in the high concept. It starts off boxing itself into a particular situation without giving any hint to possible outside forces that could overturn the loop logic.
They did show more than once their attempt to delay the bus at the traffic light stop, so that it would not crash into the petrol tank, but then later, either the timing of the bus journey changed so that they didn’t stop at the traffic light or they deliberately left out that part to reduce the repetition.
The main thought that came to me when watching the many little alterations is that so much is unpredictable and no matter how many times they go through the loop, there are still variations to what they thought they knew and unexpected reactions.
Kalispera.
I have to watch Episode 1 on Wednesday right? I think I can handle it!
Hi @Cleo, I’m glad if you can join us to watch and chat about Reset. But do only what you can manage happily. This is meant to be fun and relaxing!!
Yes we are chatting about Episode 1 on Wednesday. The good thing is that the episodes are mostly about 40+ minutes long. After a while, I think we can FFD some of the repeated bits. Even the show itself does speed up the scenes often, so it’s not tedious.
@GB Unnie,
Okay then. I will watch Episode 1 and I will return here for discussion!
Aaaah, I didn’t have time to write anything. I’ve crazy problems IRL. With some more bad luck, I could have been killed into action. Action is: I have to clean the kitchen from a water leakage many times every day. It’s everywhere now in my home, not only the kitchen. Behind the walls. The water heater came off the wall because of the humidity, I would have been there at that moment, I was dead. Fate has a grudge against me. Maybe because I watch too much dramas, who know? Obviously, God isn’t happy about what I do with my life, and it’s his way to say: NO, shake you ass.
Lol @WE Just don’t drown! I am glad you’re alive! At least you didn’t slip on the wet floor. I did on Saturday and slammed head on floor. Am aching all over with tender lump under my hair, so no one knows. The most inconvenient thing was bruising my toe and limping around. 😉
We come to dramas to forget the craziness of RL for a while. Come back when things dry out. 😃
Just chiming in to say I loved Reset – I watched a month or two ago. I didn’t recognize BJT at first but I recognized his voice. They downplay his good looks and his character is rather serious and nerdy. No spoilers but the scene giffed above is really cute – I love what he said to her. The character that really stood out to me was the policeman – the actor is so good! I did play a game of propaganda bingo while watching (or spotting the scenes for the censors) – which I do with a lot of c-dramas – (I hope that comment isn’t too political @packmule3 🙏). But I think that helps me think critically about what I am watching even when it is light entertainment.
Speaking of cute leading men – I just saw that Ren Jia Lun (lead from Forever and Ever) is starring in a new drama called Blue Flame Assault. I’m going to give that a try.
Hey GB – checking to see if you are OK. Be sure to check it out, even to see if there is any concussion.
I got side-tracked by Who Rules the World, but will catch this on Wednesday so I can join the discussion.
Take care!
I’m just dropping by to send you lots of hugs @GB! What you went experienced is scary. Please get plenty of rest and update us when you feel 100% ok.
Thanks @Viva, I feel fine. That’s the reason I waited over 2 days to mention it. Like a friend of mine says succinctly “Nothing broken. No brain damage. Better and luckier than many.” And I agree.
I also become more careful again because I am in the strange ‘habit’ of falling more than once. Usually end up with sprains and bruises over the course of a year, then I’ll be fine for a couple of years LOL. Weird pattern.
Thanks @agdr03. Well, at my age, being able to move around more or less normally, after any fall, is considered success!
I expect the aches to pass off in a week and the bruise too. The head feels fine as long as I don’t touch the point of impact! Most importantly, I can think logically, have not lost more memory than usual and have no headaches or dizziness etc. So I’m blessed.
Take care of yourself too!
@GB – sorry – I totally missed that you slipped! Scary – it’s the worst feeling when you’re about to fall. I’m glad you’re doing better. Take care!
Thanks @Good Twin. Thing was, I was already hitting the ground before I ‘knew’, and so there was no ‘about to fall’ fear at all.
I couldn’t take the action of stopping the fall. Usually if it was a stumble, I’d break the fall with my hand or elbow (hence the sprains) but this time, it just happened before I could realise it. Wetness on floors are sometimes invisible from different angles, and I was in a hurry, so …
@GB, I agree, being able to move after a fall is indeed a blessing. Take care and more hugs!
Are you discussing Ep 1 tomorrow? I think I can join you then. Will watch it tonight. 🙂
As GB recovers from her head trauma, thankfully not as bad as it could have been (and I hope it stays that way and there are no complications), I write this general text.
I’ve watched two Chinese dramas so far. Reset and The King Avatar.
It’s a bit early to make a generalization but I observed this in both dramas…
– The narration is very classical and linear. There are no displaced scenes, no complicated timing and very few flashbacks.
– The story simply takes the time to follow the main characters and what they do, with the necessary details explaining their actions and what they know about their situation.
– There is an almost systematic lack of cliffhanger. The episode stops at the point where it is supposed to stop. It’s as if someone is saying “it’s time to close up store!”. Sometimes this can even happen in the middle of a dialogue.
– This refusal to sensationalize also applies to twists and plot twists. They have a weak impact and are not emphasized enough to have impact, to the reinforcement of various techniques or narrative processes that would allow it.
– On the aesthetic and cutting level, it’s the same, we find this simplicity. No extravagant shots or many details.
– Little foreshadowing, or complex things to decipher. Just a symbolic element from time to time (like the circular tower in the shape of a “loop” in Reset).
So it’s often the opposite of a kdrama in terms of narrative. When you say it like that, it sounds boring? And yet not! It is quite incredible. Despite the lack of the usual means to make a story exciting, these two dramas do without artifice and are yet exciting. A new kind of unknown magic is at work here!
Why does it work so well then? I’m just trying to find some answers…
– The story is interesting and you always want to know more.
– The story is easier to understand without confusing things.
– The story is less stressful.
– The story uses less artifices and we are better immersed in it.
– The story can avoid fillers more easily, since there is no need to lengthen an episode to reach a possible cliffhanger. Better density then.
– The story takes the time to go in depth on the characters or the situations to have a better general rendering. But it’s double-edged because it can lack nervousness.
If I compare this to a historical kdrama (classic < 2015) with a very fast cutting of scenes (comics like) and which also has some narrative elements close to a c-drama: I see that this kdrama wins thanks to its nervousness. The only possible flaw I see in these two c-dramas is a problem of length sometimes. But otherwise, it makes me want to watch other c-dramas.
I wanted to write about qualities or flaws of Reset, but these observations already say a lot about my feeling.
@Pm3, don’t be cheap and watch two episodes. They’re barely 40 minutes long. And you’ll definitely be hooked and unable to stop at the first one anyway. For the price of one HP episode that make you sleep, you have two episodes that make you awake. 🙂
Bravo! Bon travail! Bonnes observations @WE!! You’ve done a meticulous listing of the many things I too notice about cdramas, without myself being able to list them, especially in comparison with kdramas. I just know that they’re different but I couldn’t say how, and you’ve rather comprehensively covered the points!!!
Yes, what you say… I love the intricacy of kdramas, how there are so many things to point out and layers to peel back, and yet this cdrama, which lacks this, is still strangely compelling. I suppose, a good story, simply told, is good as well. Now that it’s more or less a rewatch for me, I’m intrigued to figure out why this show works.
@pkml3, how lovely that you can join us! You’ll be able to squeeze the juice out of scenes that I think dry as a bone, thus failing to appreciate them. I must now rewatch with an extra eagle eye! LOL. 😆 😅 😂
@GB, We’ll just discover that we missed half of the drama. LOL!!!
@WE, I’m discovering that now!!!! 🤪 🧐 😅 😆
Hello! I just finished watching Episodes 1 + 2.
At least she is not alone in this loop thingy. I want to see if later on the Police officer will gain conscioussness of the loop himself, since he was the first one to comment about it. 😉
@Cleo, about the characters. (SPOILER a bit, don’t read last character)
Except that I found the actors very good, here are my cards:
Zhao Jin Mai, the heroine.
She doesn’t change much during the drama. Her character is mainly revealed. In terms of change, after her meeting with Jing Ting, she becomes more calculating. In turn, she becomes a bit blind to the needs of the hero. Otherwise, she is a stable, solid character, whose convictions are already in stone.
Bai Jing Ting, the hero.
At the beginning, he is a selfish geek, blind to what is around him. Rather unpleasant. The character evolves a lot during the story, and undergoes difficult traumas. We can say that he evolves enough to become a worthy boyfriend, while he is not at the beginning.
Liu Yi Jun, the chief police executive.
The character evolves little because he is out of the loop. Few revelation because from episode 1 we have the essential. We can see that he has to combine both the strict and stubborn attitude of the policeman, but at the same time, he is superstitious enough to consider that something strange happens. This is partly due to his experience, as he can easily detect when someone is lying.
Thanks @WE for starting us off with many interesting points and a character growth (or lack thereof) summary.
I like Shi Qing for wanting to save everyone. She was prepared to be in the loop indefinitely so that no one would get killed, not even the police who kept badgering her.
LOL He Yun really had to go through quite a lot to have his sharp corners filed away.
Chief Zhang is easily the most interesting character. I thought it a pity that he couldn’t be given more screen time. I liked that he was prepared to listen, and because of this, he caught on that something strange could really have been happening to SQ.
Thoughts on the Opening Credits Chain Reaction
The opening credits with its slow, digitally created chain reaction (of sorts), initiated by the ball bearing as it travels a predetermined route, and the dummy bus that gets destroyed and remade, over and over is full of foreshadowing. The way the chain reaction takes place with such sedateness, reflects the style of this drama, and even the bus journey. There’s something slow and ponderous about it, although in RL, a chain reaction usually takes place much more quickly.
In chain reaction setups, dominoes are carefully arranged according to a pattern or design so that the fall of one will set off the fall of many, leading to the fall of all. The objective is to achieve ‘success’ ie have no dominoes left standing, after the first trigger domino is pushed.
If the chain reaction fails to bring down every piece, the designer/builder of the whole setup will try again (and again) to adjust the design to achieve ‘success,’ which is ironically the destruction of the design. In this Show, (if I can get the analogy more or less), does it in reverse. We see that the dominoes instead of the Designer try again and again to achieve failure! LOL.
If I consider that the one with the bomb is like the Designer setting off a chain reaction along a predetermined bus route, and their aim is the destruction of the bus and all in it. Then the passengers, fellow road users, passers-by, police,… are dragged into the destruction like the dominoes.
Unlike in a chain reaction though, the objective of the dominoes in this show, after the trigger is activated, is not to just sit still to let the Designer achieve ‘success’ ie the total destruction of the bus and passengers, but to fight it using any means they can.
So it becomes the task of the dominoes, who grow successively more prescient, to try to break the chain reaction. Ultimately, it seemed that even the Designer had to adapt and change, because the dominoes refused to remain inert, passive pieces of the setup. But the destruction kept happening anyway.
I find it interesting that the Designer did not grow in ‘knowledge’ like Shi Qing and He Yun; but then, is the Designer not also a domino who was knocked over by another domino? How far back do we go to locate the real trigger domino? Who or what might ultimately be responsible for the chain reaction?
We may feel like cogs in the wheels of life/fate, or dominoes stuck in place, toeing the line to keep the design, but this Show suggests we can choose to break out of the regimented pattern.
Besides Shi Qing and He Yun who of course would do anything in their power to fight the inexorable, it will be interesting to see which other dominoes might break out of the design.
From the first episode, Shi Qing’s confusion becomes ours as well. We first hear her voice reporting that there might be 7 or 8 bombs! We hear a garbled version of her conflating her other dreams within a dream, and we realise that the time and the place where the bomb went off varies.
Her decisions in each loop seem very ‘logical’… as if I might have chosen the same actions. However, I did wonder at the end of 10 loops (up to Episode 2) why she never considered calling the police earlier.
As long as the aim was to save oneself or just a few, one remained in the loop.
When one barely did anything while waiting for the inevitable explosion, nothing much changed.
When enough efforts were made to stop the bus or change the timing, slightly bigger changes started to be introduced into the loop, for eg. instead of hearing the ringtone (of the detonator?) immediately or soon, there was more time before it was heard again in a future loop.
Has anyone made a reasonable guess as to the logic of the time loop yet?
The Couple
This was not meant to be a romance per se, therefore I’ve no complaints about the lack of coupley stuff, but it’s nice to see the natural progression of how SQ and HY move from being strangers/pervert and victim, to being collaborators and partners. Their meet-cute began when HY’s elbow met SQ’s chest LOL, and SQ dragged him off the bus, deciding to save at least one person besides herself. That was quite a unique start to a relationship. Instead of being his saviour, she finds that she has inadvertently pulled him into the time loop and he dies anyway.
SQ finds that HY won’t listen to her until he’s tried on his own through 2 rounds of failure (like a typical guy Heh!) When he does choose to listen to her, they are able to avert the collision with the oil tanker truck.
Within 2 episodes, facing a common crisis brought them to trust each other, so that before the 10th loop, HY was already saying that he was glad that she was with him, because on his own, he would not have managed well. However they still enter another loop.
It’s noteworthy that HY notices the change in SQ’s expression when the detonator ring tone plays. He pays her attention.
After they get off the bus and stand on the bridge, HY wanted to stand next to SQ, but she moved away and he noticed. He’d started warming up to her first, it seems, but she still saw him as merely a helpful collaborator.
Kalimera @WE and @GB Unnie,
What would be possible to entering you into a loop. What kind of trickster God is there for you to go back again and again to your death.
What is the thing you need to realize for yourself and maybe others in order to undo what is been doing for endless loops.
I am glad that we know that they are in a loop. I am glad that the Police officer was the one who mention this first. SQ is not crazy and he was the only one who listened and gave her the answer to her problem.
You are in a loop. But why is everyone else in a loop as well?
HY went from being a pervent to an obedient man who is trying to understand how this works. It is like a equation.
We know this and that, we are trying to change the fate of the bus and its passengers, but the bomb takes off anyway in the end…
Ooops I said the names of actors instead of characters.
Sorry, I was just copy-paste that from MDL. I read your comments now.
@GB, the main couple, it becomes obvious that they need to be two to solve the problem. But if we look further, I notice another characteristic of Chinese dramas and movies:
There is no glorification of a single hero, who solves everything, “James Bond” style.
The success is always based on the mutual help and participation of several people. Here, the main couple, plus the bus passengers, plus the police.
This is especially noticeable since a majority of western movies (especially action movies) often have a single protagonist.
I submitted my episode 1 of Alien Surgeon for feedback on a screenwriters forum. People asked me “who is the protagonist?”. I answered that there are two, Ko Jun and Jin Ha. But I couldn’t make them understand that the two characters had equal parts. They insisted on knowing who the only protagonist was. I gave up trying to explain to them.
@Cleo, about time loop:
I advice you to watch the kdrama “Feel Good To Die” (2018). It’s so crazy funny. On my list of the most funny dramas, with Psychopath Diary or few like that.
@WE, yes the Chinese (even Asian) mindset is still more community minded than individualistic. Even in shows like ‘Again, My Life’ with one main hero, we see that alone he failed miserably, and when he can have a do-over, he assembles a team of collaborators.
Mutual help, good, dependable authorities (the police, even those who may have to right their own wrongs), respect for teachers (or mentors) and close family relationships are themes that are upheld in many Chinese/Asian Shows.
Yup, SQ knew that on her own, she could not stop the explosion. She needed help. She mentions that it was because HY was willing to help her in the way she needed (I think it was that he was willing to call 120 for medical assistance for her pretend heart trouble) that she chose to save him.
*SPOILER*
She was also excited and hopeful that the Cat Boy, Lu Di/Rudy could enter the loop with them so that they would have more help.
I’ll stop here to avoid spoilers.
@GB,
The chain reaction contraption is called the “Rube Goldberg Machine.” When my boys were little, we gave them a plastic marble run and they spent countless of hours playing with it. When they grew up, they and their cousins created contraptions in the garage of my in-law’s house for Science Olympiads. Then, in high school, one son made a machine for his robotic class with golf balls. At MIT, there’s an annual event held every Friday after Thanksgiving (F.A.T.) where at least 100 teams assemble their contraptions on the spot and at the end of the day, they’re set off one after the other.
The Rube Goldberg Machine is (or was??) a big thing here in the US because the creativity and imagination involved in making these contraptions are a sure-fire way to interest the kids into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields WITHOUT pressuring them into STEM fields.
Thus, when I saw in “Reset” I felt proud that a Chinese drama was using an American invention.
However, there’s one element that the opening scene did NOT show, but that you discussed. In the opening scene, the Rube Goldberg machine was already perfected. That is, it accomplished what it was supposed to do. The ball bearing went on its assigned route without making a mistake.
Compared to real life, however, the engineering feat of a Rube Goldberg machine is largely dependent on trial-and-error. It’s rare that a contraption will succeed on the first try, second try, or even third try. The number of failures will exceed the successes, and the creator will need to adjust and fiddle with the paths, chutes, pulleys, and walls to make it work.
To me, that’s what the Rube Goldberg machine teaches its architects: the spirit of persistence and indefatigability. To keep on trying, modifying, refining, and adapting until the mission is accomplished.
That’s what I saw the female lead, ShiQing, and the male lead, He Yun, do in the first two episodes. They have one mission: to get out of the time loop. In the beginning, ShiQing was distressed about her situation. But once that —
a. she realized that she wasn’t really injured in each “run,” and
b. she encountered He Yun and was no longer alone,
she and HY were able to re-configure the metaphorical Rube Goldberg contraption that they’d found themselves in. To me, it’s as if the inanimate ball bearings found consciousness and decided to alter the route themselves to escape the contraption.
Re. the ringtone on cell phone
It’s Pachelbel’s Canon in D. I explained this composition in “Hospital Playlist.”
I think it’s an appropriate choice of music for the drama because there are 24 (or 26? I really didn’t count) variations to the original melody. Each variation becomes increasingly complex because the original melody (or theme) isn’t just repeated over and over again (like in “Three Blind Mice”) but it’s also added upon, broken up, inverted, and given ornamentation.
To me, the composition is calming (unlike rap music, lol) because, after all the complex harmonies, the music remains unified. It sticks to one theme. Then, at the end, it winds down to the simple melody again, giving a sense of homecoming.
And that’s how I view this drama.
It’ll become increasingly complex because more and more people will get involved. In Episode 1, we see the lead investigator suspecting the heroine, Shi Qing. By Episode 2, I’m sure the whole police will think that she had an accomplice, He Yun, and that they both planted the bomb. Like Pachelbel’s Canon, SQ and HY will repeat the main theme of the story — i.e., how to escape from the time loop — but their mission will become increasing complex and fraught with danger because they try out different variations of escape.
That’s why I think the music choice is appropriate for the drama.
Thanks @pkml3! I’ve heard of the Rube Goldberg machine without looking it up. How very apt it is for this Show (and the Canon in D too). This makes me appreciate the production all the more since it obviously involved much deliberation both in thought and choice.
Wow! You found the song mistery. Great.
About Rube Golder machine and to relax a bit, I remember to watched this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTvS9lvRxZ8
So cute, I like squirells! 🙂
I finished Ep 3.
So what causes the time loop?
I read that @Wenchanteur and @Carolina had theories. Were they proven correct at the end of the drama?
Since I just found out that the male lead is a game designer (time stamp: Ep 3, 8:01), I’m guessing that this time loop is his creation. 😂
That would explain:
a. The little boy asking for a bus toy from his dad and his dad giving him water shortly before the explosion. This is like an intro scene in a game before the real action begins.
b. The bus driver letting them off after the heroine accused the guy of being a pervert. According to the police captain in Ep 1, the driver did NOT follow protocols. The game designer wouldn’t have any a priori knowledge of this. He wouldn’t have been privy to police security measures so he couldn’t have incorporated this in his design.
c. The flock of birds circling the sky in Ep 1 and Ep 2. The flock of birds would have been something like a filler content in a game design.
d. The unchanging behaviors of the other passengers. Everybody on the bus (other than the two main leads) is a character with a background story that’s waiting to be revealed as the game progresses, kinda like a mini-game within the game where the player can earn extra coins or points or equipment if he/she unlocks the secret of the character.
e. The logic of the time loop. As explained by the hero in Ep 3, it has mechanical principles that are consistent or similar to the rules in gaming world.
Examples:
– players “wake up” or reset unharmed after each explosion (like “Memories of Alhambra”)
– players and the other characters always sit in the same spots on the bus,
– characters aboard the bus are predictable. The bus driver will speed up or slow down when distracted. The guy who’s taping the scene on his iPhone is always filming on his iPhone. The medicine lady carries all types of medicine like she’s a pharmacy.
I found it suspicious that the hero understood the “principles” of the time loop as easily as if he was reading the game rules of a new video game. 🤔
f. The hero and heroine always sit together despite the empty seats at the back of the bus. All the other passengers have their own bubble, individual spaces but the main leads are sitting together.
g. The little weakness of the hero. He’s claustrophobic, isn’t he? He needed air in the taxi and he was agitated in the police interrogation room. If I were designing a game with the female character patterned after me, I would incorporate little quirks of my personality because I’m self-aware.
h. @GB’s comment above ⬆️ that the Game Designer didn’t evolve like the main leads did. If they’re all characters in a video game, then — just like in “Memories of Alhambra” — they have no choice but to go through all the levels of “quest” in order to escape it.
That’s how I view this drama. It’s similar to the “Memories of Alhambra.”
@Pm3, there is fun allusions to video game by the ML about that. And I remember some lines of him telling that in this way. And because the loop looks like a video game “death and retry”, he understand quickly how it work and what they have to do… But it’s not that! Do you want I give you spoiler and tell you my interpretation of all that? (And I bet it’s the same as Carolina one, hahahaha, it’s just a bet, but I can’t explain why, I have the feeling we get the same thing, telepathic bound or something like that). I think if you watch the whole drama, you will get to the same conclusion. So it’s maybe not good to give you a spoiler. There is a short scene in the last episode that make no doubt.
@Pm3, also, if you open a thread like “what we watch in May”, I could propose for the very first time a drama. Of course, not a drama I like first (else, things like Penthouse are on the menu), but more a drama that you could like.
Yup @WE, I’m waiting for the May ‘What We Are Watching’ thread, although I’m going to be busier then LOL.
@GB, do you have the phone number? Let’s send SWAT to Pm3 home to solve that quickly. A gun on the head: “open the thread right now, mad’m”. Action Blockbuster method!
@WE Lol Remind me never to pass you any numbers or addresses. @pkml3 is probably preparing the posts for new threads. GIFs etc don’t drop from the sky. 😀
@GB, damn it’s right. It looks so complicated and a long time to find all that. I can understand. I’ve no passion for writing article or review, but I spend myself so much time to make my damn photo-drama. I can just think, how many fukin time Pm3 spend to make all these screenshot, GIF search and choices, with all the writing content. It need passion and dedication, sure!!!
@WE thanks for the video link. I think I’ve watched it before. Found those squirrels really challenging creatures!! So cute and so persistent and possibly destructive!
@pkml3 You’ve come in fresh and have a new perspective. Yes, I can see where it looks like they are stuck in a computer game, but ultimately it seems not. The analogy is there too, since HY himself says that if it was a game, it would be designed such that the loop would not end until the bus and all the people had been saved. At this stage it’s a tall order since the people and the police keep getting in the way of being saved!!!!
Our HY and SQ pinballs have to knock the others off course a bit to change the trajectory or change the speed of the bus or drag in the police pinballs into the circuit in time.
As for why they always sit together, in the later episodes we keep going into further backstories and we see that when SQ boarded the bus, there were no other seats. She fell asleep and awoke only after most of the passengers had alighted.
Yes, the so-called Designer was never aware of the loop. They were in it themselves but never gained awareness. So the question is what made SQ different. There was only one clue later on, but no scene to clearly link up the action as cause or effect. I was just complaining about this to my hubby today, since he watched the Show in January.
The other question is if this whole thing is a contraption, who is the real Designer?
@pkml3 LOL.
After watching those squirrels, I was thinking that you can set your intrepid wildlife including those challenging squirrels, etc up against any SWAT or non-SWAT trespassers on your lawn!
@GB, for that, you need this kind of squirrel, and 3 mana (2 green):
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51gFC67v7NL._AC_.jpg
Oh dear @WE… Squirrels from Hell!!! Look at those teeth!
Rube Goldberg Machine! Canon in D! I didn’t realise it!
That’s the thing with Netflix, after the first episode we skip all the intros and I never quite watched the intro anymore 😛
Other than that, tying in with the game designer idea, this was like being in a game and trying to get out of a stage or level in a game without “dying”. But if you failed getting your task done, you get “respawned” ie start at the starting point.
BUT here are my questions which we do not get answers for
1. The starting point is at a different timing or the starting point gets shifted further and further until some point where it will not go further. Why?
2. How did Heyun get pulled into the loop? Was it because he was nearest to ShiQing? Or the first person she choose?
3. Why did Heyun’s health deteriorate when he woke up earlier and earlier? How does not being on your prescribed path affect your health?
4. Did being on standby affect them in anyway…or at least for Heyun. We didn’t see Shiqing’s standby dreams..or did we see it once?
The idea of the dream in a dream might be something we want to think about. Though to me, what they are going through seems too real to feel like a dream. In the end the experiences they had getting out of the loop created a connection only both of them can have. Maybe it’s like they were destined for each other in this game of life.
The other thought that came up for me was that, every character in the bus has a back story that is more than meets the eye. It takes so much effort to know more about the person. What you assume or see on the surface may not be what you expect.
This also contrasts how HY & SQ and the police investigates the source of the bomb. They have to know the characters or suspects thoroughly though interviews and background checks. It was only when there is enough accurate information that they could execute the final move correctly. Plus collaboration makes the problem solving easier. Yes collaboration as you all have said earlier, it is team work in a way.
@grace,
1 – no idea, but they can’t go before the time when the bomb get into the bus.
2 – rule look like to be: SQ help someone goes out of the bus before the bomb explode. It’s why the cat guy don’t enter the loop, because he couldn’t go into the bus (SQ prevent him to do that).
3 – My guess is: his health deteriorate because of his karma, after he kill the woman.
4 – I don’t remember.
Episodes 3 and 4 – It feels painfully slow because of the repeated interrogation. Our couple are not exactly on the same page regarding what to say to the police, or even whether to go to the police.
Did I mention that I like the spiral structure where SQ and HY stood as they drew out the loops on paper? It really looked like one of the parts of the Rube Goldberg machine where the pinballs would roll down to the next part of the contraption.
They looked so trapped themselves.
Wikipedia says of the machine that it is “…designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and (impractically) overly complicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a series of simple unrelated devices; the action of each triggers the initiation of the next, eventually resulting in achieving a stated goal.”
This brought to mind that SQ and HY were going about getting out of the loop in a complicated way, when they could have started asking the police for help earlier, or asking the police what to do if they knew that there was a bomb on board. They also didn’t even think of warning the passengers about the bomb until Episode 4 (after being prompted by Capt Zhang).
In the end, like the machine set up with several simple devices, they had to try out different simple things in order to garner just a few new bits of information, that would help them initiate the next steps in the new loop.
I confess that I actually fell asleep trying to rewatch, so I only gathered that by the end of Ep 4, they’ve got confirmation that there is a bomb, and that it is manually set off by someone on the bus. They also know that the police will definitely suspect them and that their truthful explanation will not be believed. Hence their next steps will be to locate, by themselves, the bomb, by a process of elimination (so painful LOL). They have to device a way to check each bag on the bus.
SQ goes into it with her heart, calling the police, wanting to save the people. HY wants to take the time to gather thoughts and do research before calling the police. SQ feels that HY wants to avoid getting involved. She’s prepared to speak to the police by herself.
Thanks to the early phone call, the police are able to set up a road block, but the bomber also sets off the bomb early, killing Officer Jiang Feng. SQ is so sorry to have made the call that caused the death of the officer.
Meanwhile HY won’t even face his own colleague/teammate over their game. He hides while speaking on the phone to his colleague, the same way he allows SQ to face the police without him.
Surprisingly HY wants to keep the violent setting in the game against his colleague’s advice. He is not willing to accept something that another suggests, preferring to make his own decisions (or organise his own thoughts, as he tells the police). Ultimately he has to be a team player with SQ to get out of the loop.
Dear @GB Unnie,
I really liked the line “let’s sleep. It will make everything better.” HY said to SQ in the end of episode 4.
They need to understand each other in order to save everyone involved.
So far we have found out that the man who enters the last bus stop in Episode 4 might be the suspect. I don’t think it is the old man the police tried to stop him from taking the sack that has something like watermelons (?) inside it.
Hi @Cleo, in real life, usually sleep does help. After the mind takes a break from the problem, there is more likely a new perspective that may emerge, more inspiration, and at least one would have had a good rest, and can have more energy to tackle the problem.
It took SQ and HY several resets to end up collaborating well. They had to build trust over time, with experience. They had to gain knowledge and make adjustments based on past experiences, and grow more innovative in finding a solution.
Yes, the man with the sack had watermelons in it. We’ll see more of him later.
Show was a nice reminder is that the people we pass by, commute with, and usually ignore as strangers, have their own story. Some could/may become our helpers and friends. I like that SQ remained compassionate, even over the tiresome young police officer who tried to bully her during the interrogation.
The bomber is a bit obvious. There is a thematic in this show: people aren’t what we think they are. Biases, preconceptions. It needs to know them, and not judge them first. Many passengers looks suspicious. The cat guy for example.
Kalispera @GB Unnie,
Well, when two people who are thinking totally different are into such a scenario. It is plausible that they need time. SQ is an empathetic, HY seems to work better with this logic. Emotion vs Logic. You need to find a balance.
I agree that sleep helps you a lot. Our bodies need rest.
Yes, I really like that we get to see those unheard stories coming forward.
@WE,
Of course we shouldn’t judge people by its cover. I have found people who are so very nice and are full of tattoos for example. I have seen people who look okay and they are not. We might don’t know who is who from the very beginning, but we are getting vibes, women call it intuition. *winks*
Hey all,
I finished ep 1 to 4. My first impression:
-They may be avatars in the game, without knowing. Although I got the same impression in MOTA and I got it wrong. 🤔🤣. The avatars may have a life of their own even though they live in a game world.
-There is a security camera on the bus. It doesn’t mean the culprit is on the bus. He/she can monitor the situation like the movie Speed.
-I hope the young police officer who is dead in ep 4 can join them in the next loop.
-HY wanted to remove the violence theme in his game design, but his partner told him the game won’t sell without that. I’m not a gamer but it is somewhat sad about the supply/demand of games these days.
– there are tension and mistrust between the police and the informers.
-there is room for characters growth. For HY, I can see his way of explaining survivor guilt but letting the people on the bus die? For SQ, she needs better planning to deal with the mistrust of the police.
Overall, it is an easy watch. There aren’t that many clues released so I don’t think it’s for me to work out. I just need to enjoy the ride and let SQ and HY work it out for me.
@WE your comparison of K drama and C drama is a good read! I just picked up C dramas again last few weeks and found it less stressful to watch. Especially in a Wuxia show, I like their props and clothes design. The clothes are pretty, the palaces are spacious. I guess that’s the benefit of a bigger budget. Yes there is less cliff hangers or plot twists, the episode tends to stop just because it is time up. Like you said, that doesn’t stop me from watching it though. If the story is good, I still want to find out what next.
There is one thing I do find the Disney + format K drama not working for me. Releasing 1 episode a week really discourages me to watch it. I was going to watch Soundtrack but they lost me to other dramas when they release a short episode once per week.
This time I found the longer drama may not be a bad thing, I get to watch the same characters I “know” for longer.
After Twenty-five, twenty-one and the Grid, I think I become fatigue of plot twists and complexity that leads to nowhere. I am sure a good K drama won’t do that, but I found it is not a bad thing to rotate to the C drama zone for a bit.
Spoilers – comments for the entire drama.
I finished Reset. I enjoy watching it. It is a stress-free suspense. No Makjang. No cliff hangers that specially design to hook you to watch the next episode. No major plot twists to set your expectations and crash it. Just a story flows in a linear way with one major question – can they get out of the loop?
Adding to this major question, the touching message for me is- don’t give up finding root of the problem. The real root, not the shallow conclusion people jump to base on surface.
How many youtubers are just there in our life, creating a trueman show that doesn’t necessary show all the context of a person. At this day and age, how easy it is to judge without the back story that doesn’t show in that short clip? Watching that short clip doesn’t mean people know the person. Yet those harsh comments accumulated cut deep in the family who cares.
The passengers on the bus could be people we see in everyday life. We don’t know their back stories. This drama, through them and the repetitive cycles show us the different sets of imperfect relationships between parents and their child.
1. a lonely adult child who is tired of keeping up with the well-intended but overbearing parents. He has a dream too! Parents may worry the child would get hurt and needs protecting. They ended up clipping his wings.
2. a father struggles to support his family, finding ways to survive and encourage his daughter to advance and break out of the poverty cycle. The hope that she can do better than him.
3. a father who made a major mistake in life, trying to make small contact with his estranged family. The society in the story doesn’t seem to be that forgiving to the other family members when a member committed crime.
4. A pair of revengeful parents trying to pay back the society that are harsh on their daughter. T be honest, I fast forward the back story of them at the end of ep 14 and early of ep 15. I felt I know enough of their intentions, motives, and guilt by then. Frankly, I really wanted to know of HY and SQ made it out or not by then. Tell me if I should go back and watch it if you have watched it 🙂
As for the ending:
For me, the ending is a good enough ending. I find it rewarding to have that one major question answered. Clear, no ambiguity, no open ending. SQ and HY worked hard for it. I am OK with the romance. I can see that they grow to care for each other. I find it a pleasant surprise that we get to see the resolutions for each passenger. The bus trip is like a booster, it lets them go and achieve their dreams. Not big dreams, but the next step that they really want to do and just did it finally!
We do not know why SQ was chosen. If I fill that gap with my imagination, I think because SQ is selected by Meng Meng or the universe for her personality and connections to the university. She knows the same advisor from Meng Meng’s university. SQ has strong morals and persistency. She is selfless and do not want to just survive on her own. She sees people deeper than surface and refuses to take the easy way out. As for HY, I guess because he is destined to love SQ, he has the qualities that compliment SQ and he was positively influenced by SQ to become more and more selfless. He cares for her and is always by her side in the journey, literally on the bus.
Good review @Viva! I’m in agreement.
Yes, I liked that we do get some back stories and that we see how it turns out for everyone at the end.
It would have been nice to have been given an indication about why there was a loop to begin with
I guess I’d have liked one bit of icing on the cake in Capt Zhang somehow being given a chance to ‘remember’ or believe that there had been loops in time, since he was the one who brought up that word first, and was most willing to listen to SQ.
Anyway, it is a relief that an uncomplicated, non-crazy-twisty kind of fantasy was as fun and satisfying to watch as this one.
Since you are done, here is my theory about the triggering of the phenomenon.
SPOILER
– In China, there is a myth about the spirits of the dead staying in the place where they died.
– The ghost of the dead girl triggers the time loop.
– In order to access reality, she passes through the spirit world, thus the world of dreams, hence the fact that FL sleeps.
– The ghost chooses another girl who looks like her. Student, at the same university, had the same teacher.
– The ghost wants the truth about her death to be revealed, and for justice to be done.
– The ghost wants her death not to be responsible for other deaths.
– The ghost wants her parents to be free of their hatred and not commit a crime.
– Once this is accomplished, she is released from her status as a ghost on the bridge, and joins the afterlife.
– Her mother has a vision as she gets off the bus, she sees her daughter smiling and in new clothes.
– So it’s quite similar to a lot of ghost shows or horror movies with curses, about spirits that can’t leave the world of the living until their last wish is done. In these movies, ghosts also trigger supernatural phenomena (example: the ring).
Great! @WE! That sounds interesting and plausible, although I personally have not heard about the spirits of the dead remaining where they died.
I actually must have fallen asleep or FFDed or something, because I didn’t see the vision of the ghost at the end of the show, but I like your theory. 🙂
Kalimera Everyone!
I won’t read you since I am the only one who is still watching 1 or 2 episodes per week! Thank you for the SPOILER tags!
Yes @Cleo, I got into this exclusive relationship with Reset and finished this quickly 😂. The reality is my discipline isn’t that good when all the episodes are out. I kept wanting to know if they succeed or not.
@Viva,
Unfortunately, I cannot follow you these days! There are times I don’t have the energy to watch anything. So, I am sticking to the plan!
I will write my thoughts on Episodes 5+6 when I watch them!
@GB, it’s a nice story with metaphors. The passengers’bags and suitcase are like the luggage they carry on their life journeys. Each of them carries their dreams, desires or the lack of.
The adult child carries the cat – his passion and desire not to follow his restrictive parents’ orders.
The out of the jail dad carries the watermelons – his dream of reconnecting with his child.
The jobless father carries his belongings – his dream of leaving his home to earn more money for his daughter.
Lastly the mother carries the bomb -with the death of her child, there is no longer a dream but hate and destruction.
It is also a nice symbolic seating arrangement that HY is by her side on the journeys. It’s nice to have your love by your side, supporting you, solving problems with you in the life journey.
Yes it we would be nice if Zhang can remember. But I felt the writer intended to keep that logic as simple as possible. So all but our 2 leads will have a fresh reaction in each loop.
Thanks for watching this with me!😊 Now, what is the next Sci fi to watch?
@WE that’s a good theory. The location choice of bridge is consistent to your theory too. In Chinese the dead have to pass the bridge of helplessness to after life to reincarnate.
@GB, Last Episode, go to 34:10.
@Cleo no rush 😊👍. I am hanging around to read when you are ready.
@Viva, Sci-Fi shows, kdramas.
The ones I watched:
– 365 Repeat the year. (crazy fast pace)
– Kairos. (hard hitting melodrama)
– Train. (good atmosphere)
– The Silent Sea.
– Signal, and other well know ones.
The ones I didn’t watch yet:
– Times.
– Alice.
– Duel.
– Circle (on-hold).
– Clocking Out.
– Sweet Home (horror?).
– All of Us Are Dead. (zombies, I want to watch)
– Tunnel. (looks like old school time travel, return at end of the drama)
– Rugal. (dropped)
– Dark Hole. (mutants)
– Dr. Brain.
– Love in Time. (time loop)
– Tomorrow with you.
365 Repeat the year and Kairos are crazy good, must watch.
I didn’t have any problems understanding it. It’s less complicated than W.
However, they are stressful dramas!!!
“365 Repeat the year”. I was able to follow all the explanations at first watch but some viewers were not. The direction and background music are excellent.
“Kairos” hits very hard emotionally. It contains a multi-contextual scene. Common points with Signal.
No idea about what could be good in C-Drama and J-Drama.
@Viva, you’re welcome… I’m also sort of rewatching it with @Cleo…
Great that you found the metaphors. I didn’t think of that at all. Now, no time/inclination to bother or pay close attention. Thanks for laying out all the points for us. 🙂
@Cleo, I may also rewatch 2 episodes a week but I find myself FFDing here and there. Still I may notice some points that I missed before.
Rest well and read ya again!
@WE Ahh thanks for this good list! 🙂
I have watched Signal. That was good. (That’s why Jirisan was a disappointment then)
I started on Tunnel before but I didn’t keep going, may be I should go back to find out the ending. Yes old fashion detective stuff. I tried Tomorrow with you but for the opening episode but didn’t go further.
I should try out Silent Sea when I am in Sci Fi mode next since it’s easily available on Netflix. The two must watches – 365 Repeat the year and Kairos aren’t in Netflix or Viki. Which is a shame – easy access makes a difference.
@Cleo, how are you recovering? It can be tiring weeks afterwards.
@Viva, I watched:
The Silent Sea. It reminded me of Hollywood style movies. Of course I liked the actors and what they did. Don’t care to comment on the plot (plot? There was a plot? Oh yes.)
Kairos was a good watch.
Tunnel was okay but I don’t recall feeling like I raved about it.
Tomorrow With You was the one where the guy kept going to the future to bring back ramen or some future things? LOL. It was just okay.
I tend to be critical so… 🤨 🤪 🤓 😒 😩 😋
@Cleo
Reset Episode 5 and 6
Just going by on the surface action and not analysing the dialogue…we find that HY finally has ‘learnt’ that he needs to work in collaboration with SQ. He’s prepared to be partners with her and to stick it out with her to the bitter end. This is the first indication that SQ will succeed in getting out of the loop.
Now begins the investigation to find out who is carrying the bomb. Frustratingly it takes 3 failures to just find out what Lu Di has in his bag. But it gives them information that they never had before. They can eliminate him from the list of possible bombers, and they find out that Lu Di could become a collaborator too, because he has an open attitude. He has also given them information on himself so that they can ‘win him over’ later, if they need him to trust them.
In the end we find that these little bits of information and relationship building, painful step by painful step, will slowly accumulate to hopefully offer a resolution.
While SQ was good to go in with her heart to save the people, it was true that the solution needed more head knowledge, as suggested by HY, in order to solve the blocks that prevented our duo from succeeding.
Blocks:
1) Passengers would not cooperate with them.
2) Bus driver refused to stop the bus except for particular situations.
3) The police were too slow to keep someone from dying.
4) SY and HY would come under suspicion and be stuck being separated and interrogated instead of together planning what to do.
5) Bomber was on the bus, and seeing that the plan might fail, would activate the bomb earlier.
In the process of speaking with Lu Di, SQ and HY get some help to fix block 1) and in reading the news, they can work towards removing block 2) hopefully.
At least by Episode 6 end:
They find out the Bus Driver’s name: Wang Xingde.
They decide that they cannot judge based on appearances.
Kalimera Everyone!
I watched Episodes 5+6 and I am thrilled because we finally have some action!
I really enjoyed SQ and HY’s encounter with Lu Di the cat lover!
Our duo seems to learn more about some of the passengers like Brother Yi the video streamer and the Bus Driver.
I am thinking If I have to watch the next one in order to see if Lu Di will be on the loop as well, but I am guessing he might not.
@Thank you @GB Unnie for your thoughts! I just saw that you posted them for me!
@Viva Last week was difficult, but since yesterday I am a bit better. I am resting more and taking vitamins. If I feel tired I don’t stress myself. I am finding a pace I can handle!
@WE I have see the first 15 minutes of “Dr. Brain” but I couldn’t watch it due to some unexpected visitors. I want to watch it though!
I have watched “The Silent Sea” and “Sweet Home” as well and I have started watching “Signal”, but I haven’t finished it. My mother has watched “Rugal” and she liked it, consequently I know what the plot is about!
Kalimera everyone,
I watched Episodes 7+8. I have to say that I really like that :
– We get to see the background of the passengers making them more human than strangers and 2-dimensional characters.
SQ was right, you cannot leave them behind, when you get to know them.
– They found out the killer in a very traumatic way. The last two loops were very traumatic for them.
LuDi didn’t entered the loop, but we witnessed his father standing up for him to his wife and mother. I guess that was cathartic in that loop.
Also the ex convict’s story was quite touching. I really liked the watermelon fun they all had.
So, the bomber is the woman who is also a killer.
And now, we are in 19th loop that HY in self defense tried to block her killing SQ. In the previous loops the perpetator killed them, but this time, SQ is the “bad guy”.
The thing is that someone else detonated the bomb in the pot…because the lady couldn’t do that, being stabbed this time.
Hi @Cleo
I also rewatched Episodes 7 and 8.
I like that they have eliminated who does not have the bomb and now know who the bomber/killer is. I salute SQ and HY for bravely trying again and again to get the bomb away from the culprit.
One thing that is interesting is that there are so many permutations that are initiated by slightly different actions. Even with foreknowledge, they cannot avoid the stabbing… being stabbed or stabbing someone, or the bomb.
So every move seems to need to be carefully researched and planned in order to get the balls of the Rube Goldberg machine to reach the desired destination.
It took 19 loops to get the information on who is helpful and dependable, who if triggered becomes a big block or hassle, and what the bomber/killer is likely to do. Poor kids died 19 times. I feel so tired thinking of it LOL.
I also found the ex-convict Ma’s story very touching. I felt so sorry for him.
Someone detonated the bomb although the woman was stabbed. Usually either it’s she who does it or there’s a timer attached to a phone… when the phone rings, the bomb can also go off.
Next episodes they’ll have to think and plan better what to do.
I felt that something obvious was forgotten by the couple. It might have saved them some loops if they’d thought of it earlier.
Kalimera @GB Unnie!
About the bomb:
This time around the phone didn’t ring. We saw someone else’s hand that took off the safety valve from the pot. IMO, the pot was not a simple pot, but a pressure cooker.
So, who did that? Also this time around the driver came out from his driving booth to see what is happening. Maybe this woman is involved with him?
Is there a pattern of revenge on her act or it is random?
As it seems in the different loops timelines, some things are meant to happen. The woman will take out her knife and stab them or when they will try to protect themselves she will be stabbed.
The thing is that the woman’s eyes are vacant. She killed SQ without a blink and noone did a thing to prevent it. They all froze in place, while HY was shouting to them to do something. It was so sad to see that time loop.
Yes, Ma’s story was very touching. That’s why his son was saying it is my fault. We didn’t know that he posted on his SNS that he missed his father’s watermelons. I am glad that SQ did what she did in that time loop.
Until it goes midnight for the time loop to start again, they need to find more about her and they don’t know much about her identity. Also, the police is after them again this time…
My clever agapimeni Cleo,
Your thoughts are pretty good guesses. You’ll see next episode or so.
The backstory of the bomber is also quite sad.
Yes, Episode 8’s loops were the most difficult to watch.
SQ comforted Ma, and even HY was touched by it. I felt that when she stayed on at the police station and saw what their suspicions about Ma had brought about with his son and his ex-wife, she felt really bad. She also saw the grieving family members and became more galvanised to stop the bomb.
Yes, unfortunately, with the stabbing, HY is really in trouble with the police and people took photos of him looking bloodied. I feel that he stabbed the woman also because she had killed SQ in the previous loop, and he knew she would kill him if he didn’t stop her.
Poor HY preferred to be blown up than to have killed someone.
Episodes 9 and 10 – After the stabbing of the woman, HY is depressed. Their only solution is to sleep and reset their bus trip, since the police would be harsher than ever and not believe anything they say. At least because SQ won’t abandon HY, they get to make a closer connection before the next reset.
The next option they come up with is to get everyone off the bus, and they almost succeed … but it’s only then that we encounter the plot twist. This changes things and SQ and HY will have to come up with a new strategy.
I’m feeling frustrated and exhausted on the couple’s behalf LOL. 5 more episodes to go!!!
@GB Unnie kalispera!
Most likely I will watch them tonight. Yesterday my day was pretty hectic so I didn’t have time for the show…
I will read you AFTER I am going to finish E9-E10.
Hope you are okay. It is so hot at the moment… 🙄😵
Wow! Ladies!! You didn’t ended it yet?!! Damn, it’s a fast binge-watch! Go-go-go!
@GB, I don’t remember where, but you said you were in a kind of drama slump. I’ve a drama for you! ILJIMAE. I know you like very much Healer. So go for it, because there is this kind of vibe. Like in healer, some scenes aren’t very realistic, but the feeling is here! Very good music too. Lee Jong Gi. Fast paced, moving scenes. It’s the first drama of Mouse writer, it’s why I was curious. And damn-it, this woman was good from the very start of her carrer!!!
Kalispera @GB Unnie and @WE!
I managed to finish Episodes 9+10. So, the bus driver is in the gig as well. That’s why you said I am clever @GB Unnie? *grins*
It is really very sad to see our OTP struggling on repeat. I agree with you. HY tried to save SQ and in the end he fatally wounded the Lady Killer.
I also think that in the in the last reset our girl made the bus driver in the current time loop to have remorse? That look spoke volumes!
My guess, those two have had a daughter who died for some unknown reason and decided to die taking others with them. Sorry, not my cup of tea.
If they wanted to die bravely, they should do it only for themselves and not killing innocents bystanders with them. They are both cowards, the woman more hostile than the man.
Still, the duo’s feelings are flourishing and hopefully we will get to see more. The hug was beautiful though!
BTW, did you notice that HY is growing a moustache?
@Cleo, just drink the tea that isn’t in your cup. 🙂
No choice here, it’s the plot! ^^
Then (If I remember) there should be some additionnal excuses to this non-excusable thing, but well… of course we need something, a bomb is needed and motivations for that.
Dear @We,
Just because it is in the plot, that doesn’t mean I have to accept it. It is unethical…
They may have excuses, but taking a human life is huge.
First of all, theologically speaking, it is a sin. God is the only one who give life to humanity.
If we sew this from a philosophical pov is unethical. They are not killing in self defense. They are killing in cold blood innocent people who had the unfortunate idea to step into a bus. The worst of it, they have planned about it…
So, yes plot wise, the bomb is needed, but I am not going to white wash the killers.
Since we live in a society that is following somerules, I can comment and pinpoint about it. All people have issues, they just don’t go out on killing sprees…
Anyway, I am also very sad about the mass killing of the children and the teachers in Texas, so I am going to stop here.
@Cleo, yeah yeah, but there are the “vilains”, so of course, they are wrong, do unethical things. They should do something better, but they don’t, they are quite disturbed in their mind. aaaaaahhhh. It’s like that! No-one ask you to excuse them!!
Hi @WE and @Cleo
Yes, about the shooting (more than one over a period of time) in the elementary school, I’m truly saddened.
I, too, was dismayed that the seemingly nice driver should be an accomplice in mass killing. (I was disposed to like him as a character.) It offered an explanation for why a bomb was on the bus and why it never stopped to let people off. At first I thought it was because the driver was a stickler for the rules and that since it was not a bus stop, he would never stop. It is inexcusable, what he decides to do. In the end we see that he only stops when they came to a particular part of the bridge, and keeps the doors closed.
We keep in mind also, that in one of the previous loops… when I said Cleo was clever, it was he who stepped forward to pull the lever that would explode the bomb. He was quite resolved to kill himself and everyone on the bus.
Next episodes will explain why. It never justifies what the woman and the driver planned, but we see that they couldn’t let go of the pain, the anger, resentment, etc… and descended into becoming ‘monsters’ (as poor HY called himself, when he stabbed the woman).
What SQ said to the driver made it clear it was so wrong. She said no one is threatening you, so why are you doing this. He may have been pushed, but he could have pushed back.
Catch you later!
@GB Unnie and @WE,
Kalo mesimeri from my part of the world. While I was reading you, this came into my mind. So I am going to leave here for discussion that free will and self determination exist.
I don’t know yet the sad stories of the lady killer and the bus drivers.
I can sympathize with them and I may understand them, since ethics is something that I am interested in.
I just cannot tolerate with people who may have an excuse over something that bad.
Since this week another mass shooting happened with innocent children dying and teachers that tried to protect them, it was too soon for me to tolerate what I saw on the telly.
@GB Unnie you are right, SQ said it all in the bus driver.
She was disappointed in him, because she couldn’t believe that he was part of this evil scheme.
In life, many things are challenging, to decide to kill innocent people is not the answer.
If you want to be angry with the world, you can be.
If you want to be angry with the one who did something bad to you, you can be.
If you want to be angry with yourself, you can be.
It is something Aristotle said and I am paraphrasing.
Most of the times, we are losing the momentum to do something with the one who made us angry, so we take it upon someone else. This is not a solution.
@WE, I am very alarmed when someone tries to white wash a bad deed.
I am talking in general, a bad deed is a bad deed and we should be careful what we are watching and how some are trying to portray it.
I am watching Bloody Heart and we already have a “bad” character, who is becoming slowly grey and he is going to become the hero in the end.
We need to be ready to react when it is happening and why…
@WE, thank you for your recommendation of Iljimae. I know of the Show, although I have not felt the urge to watch it. I know that LJK is in it and that it was considered a very good Show.
I may consider watching it after our ‘W – Two Worlds’ rewatch party is over. But I’m not generally drawn to sageuks with killing and revenge, and 20 episodes of it!
Episodes 11 and 12 – We finally find out why the driver and the lady do what they do. SQ and HY finally decide to improve on their knowledge about the driver and the way they go about it is quite interesting.
The argument by He Yun, about whether the bus driver is a good or bad person also gets us to once again to think about free will and coercion. The idea that just because someone does a good deed, does not mean that they are a good person is raised.
SQ is understandably upset that she has trusted the driver but her trust is betrayed. However she trusts He Yun who was a stranger, and they will need to trust others to help them or they will never get out of the loop.
I believe that the driver committed to what he promised the woman. Somehow she convinced him and he decided to keep that commitment. But as it was a commitment to do something so horrendous, he should have broken the commitment, and he actually had the chance to do so several times.
He Yun was right in saying that if the driver had wanted to do the right thing, he should not have let the woman board the bus.
Episode 11 didn’t have much action but things really became tense and exciting in Episode 12. Poor SQ and HY always arouse police suspicions, but at least, this time they are not in the interrogation room.
SQ finally managed to ask the all right and important questions of Officer Zhang, and HY was quick enough to get his telephone number (and memorise it!) so that they would have more information that they needed for the next reset.
I wonder why HY keeps getting weaker, more physically affected by the resets, but SQ seems OK.
@GB: Probably, HY gets weaker because of a kind of Karma cause. It happens after he stabbed the mother if I remember well. And the goal of the ghost daughter is all this ends without anyone be killed or killing.
*MINOR SPOILERS*
@WE, as usual your surmise sounds reasonable, based on the premise that it is the ghost daughter who is causing the resets. I can’t recall if it was after he stabbed the woman or not, but he’s generally been harder to wake up in some loops.
The other thought that came to me was to wonder if he got weaker because he was not originally meant to enter the loops. If SQ had not dragged him off the bus, he would have been unaware of the loops. Trying to break free from the loops is taking its toll on him.
I also wondered why in Episode 12, HY was against SQ asking Officer Zhang what the police would do if they received a call about a bomb on a bus. In fact, the question of what one should do, knowing that there’s a bomb on the bus, was something that I thought was strange that this couple never thought to ask anyone. They could have posted that question anonymously to chat groups or asked the police since one of the earlier loops.
That question to Officer Zhang, more than the info on the bomber and the driver, I felt, garnered the most important information for SQ and HY in the end.
It’s a nerve wracking ride for us and in the bus each time, watching them string all the information together and tweaking their actions each time to get the desired end result!
Kalimera,
I really enjoyed Episodes 11 + 12.
Old Zhang has grown on me. I think he is the most smart and compassionate police officer out there. He is the one who always tells his minors not to jump into conclusions that can mislead them in the case. He can be both good and menacing regarding the scenario. I was sad to see that he was the one burnt in the end from the bomb explosion’s aftermath in Episode 12.
@WE you gave me a spoiler about that ghost daughter but I will overpass it 😁😂🤣
I believe that both SQ and HY are more mature after every loop.
Kalo mesimeri friends!
I am planning to finish this until this Friday.
So, I will come back when I have watched the last three episodes to comment!
Hi @Cleo, I saw your message. At first I stopped at Ep 14 and when I saw that you’ll watch until Ep 15, I completed watching 15 as well.
I liked the change from the story in the bus to the backstory. The actors were very good. I felt so much for Wang and his wife Tao Ying Hong. We see the rage and the self-blame and how they psyched themselves up to making such a decision.
At the same time, I really wished that TYH could have let go of so much emotional baggage. She really needed to forgive herself, the police, the public (and even the culprit) but she refused all the time. It took Chief Du to tell Wang Xing De that what he planned to do over the loss of his daughter was going to devastate other families, (since he’d kill 10 innocent passengers besides himself and his wife), before he realised what he had planned and felt sorry.
He and his wife were so focused on their own pain they did not think about how they were causing pain for others, and worse, that in doing so, they never solve the problem of why their daughter left the bus, and earned herself a bad name posthumously.
This Show should also be a wake up call to netizens to be responsible in their judgemental commenting, when they know nothing about what lay behind actions. So much could have been resolved earlier if not for the harsh, unkind, hate-filled comments that were posted.
The happy resolutions were well earned, especially the only kiss and hug of our young couple. I was so sad when HY started to prepare SQ for going it alone if necessary. The handhold in the police car was a nice touch, as they fell asleep about the same time to re-enter their final loop.
In the end what the MC said in the award ceremony was true. It took not only physical effort but psychological effort too, to subdue TYH and talk Wang out of blowing up the bus. It took the effort of almost all the 8 passengers, who were finally all on the same page in separating TYH from the bomb. One must admire the bravery of the police, too, who boarded the bus, knowing that the bomb was there.
To add a cherry on top of the cake, we get to see that the real culprit would be apprehended, as the police kept their word.
Finally, just seeing HY waking up in one’s own bed was never a cause for so much relief! LOL. It got me to appreciate that I never have to worry about waking up.
It was a simple, yet riveting watch/rewatch, and it would be great if all Cdramas followed the shorter 15 episode concept.
@Cleo I will join the comment once you finished. I was tempted to respond earlier but than worry I could spoil it. 🙂
@GB, @WE @Cleo
This C Drama “Be Reborn” seems to attract a fair bit of positive reviews. If we are in the mood want to solve something. I haven’t watched it, but found it on Youtube. Is this a good replacement for Reset? I think 26 episodes.
https://youtu.be/2_AA84y1M7o
Kalispera!
I just finished watching “Reset” I am going to comment tomorrow!
I am glad in the latest loop that noone was killed and MengMeng’s name was cleared!
@GB Unnie,
I agree with all your points above!
It was nice to watch the backstory, but I felt exactly what you have described above. They were so focused in their pain that they missed that they were targeting innocent people that had nothing to do with MengMeng’s demise.
In the end, they were leaving the pervent living his life so peacefully.
He was so sure that they wouldn’t arrest him! Case closed…
I was also appalled by what the witness’s mother told her. Basically, I have heard all that before. The majority of the people doesn’t want to say anything, in order not to be involved, and people are losing their lives in the meantime.
We do nothing to prevent someone to be hurt. Then some live with regrets, while other don’t care at all.
It is easy to vent on the internet. It is easy to say hurtful things to a person you don’t really know. The majority does it because there is not precise law against it. If everyone knew they would be accountable for what they did, they would think twice to post and leave hateful comments.
I really liked “Reset” and the messages it portrayed. If only people could realize them as well…
@Cleo, yes, I felt that Reset held a good public service message or two about responsible commenting as netizens, about coming out to tell the truth, etc.
However,… and I know this from a friend with ties in China…. the public and official sentiment when it comes to crimes against women is not too positive. Criminals do not get as great a punishment as they ought when compared to if the crimes were against other people or the crimes were different. I’m not surprised by the mother’s advice to her daughter to keep quiet. I’m also not surprised that Meng Meng did not dare to cry out in the bus and ask for help. It’s not unusual for the victim to be blamed. She might have been photographed and instead of the culprit, she’d be targeted for reporting.
Hey @Cleo @GB
I have watched a few C dramas since this and I felt it has more the K drama feel. It packed a lot details in the symbolism.
On reflection, there are two streams going on:
1. Regrets over the level of protection from parents have offered to their children.
2. The unhealthy social media culture.
Regrets from parents come in many forms
a. The overarching regrets from the bus driver and his wife – They felt they haven’t protected their child enough. They are angry about the police system, shifted the blame to public, the scapegoat of the real “sinners” (the negative commentators and the Meng Meng’s abuser).
b. The quiet regret from the father to his cat lover son. Under the sake of protection, the parents took the dream of the child away. In this case, their protection has one too far. The father noticed that but couldn’t stand up, quietly letting the child to do he wanted. The son though, felt suffocated and couldn’t live his life happily.
c. Protecting the child by not being there. The hit and run father, for the sake of not drawing criticisms to his son, he stayed away from him. That doesn’t stop the son from missing him.
d. Protecting the child by working hard, away from home. The jobless father, trying hard to provide for the family so the daughter can advance to higher education. In the hope that she can break the cycle, more skilled, get a better job, earn more money so no need to struggle in life so much.
Parents – how much protection we can give? There may never be a day we felt we have done enough. But how much we should feel guilty about it? How far should we go to protect? The show may not give us a strict answer but remind us never stop balancing until it is too late.
The very unhealthy side of social media culture
a. The writer has placed a youtuber in the bus. The bus journey is like our day to day life. In everyone’s life now there is an inevitable presence of social media. A one to many relationships, you know him but he doesn’t know you. Judging from negative comments of his death from the commentators, this shows the shallowness of the relationship between youtubers and netizens. Even though he talks to them every moment and they respond back, there is no real understanding. No loyalty. The comments can sway easily without much faith in the person. A complete opposite to true friendship, it is not a REAL relationship.
b. A short clip, without context, without the other side of the story can attract so many judgements. Another form of shallowness. The lack of depth, the lack of desire to find the truth, and so quick to jump to conclusion.
c. Yet, all the comments generated from shallowness from people we have no relationship has placed so much pressure and affect our thinking so much these days!
So, this story may start off as is a thriller. Set a question for us to find out why they are trapped in cycles but packed some thought provoking messages. No pretentious plot twists, remains entertaining enough but also have enough food for thoughts for us to discuss.
@Cleo I too like “Reset” 🙂
It is my gateway C Drama to get me notice C dramas again. I think because of Reset I started on Who Rules the World, Love O2O, You are my Hero, You are my Glory… Based on the small list I watched, I found that they good when I want linear plots, emotional burden free entertainment. Not a lot of them are packed with deep messages like Reset but generally entertaining. Bai Jing Ting’s You are my Hero is an easy watch too. In there, they tried to portray him as a swoony SWAT member. Very different to the geeky programmer here. I am only halfway through and haven’t spot too many deep messages yet. However, to me, it never pretends to be healing or deep to start off with (unlike HP 2), so I am OK with that.
Hi @Viva, thanks for your insight and for laying out the 2 streams that Reset quietly portrays with little comment. Yes the parenting role and social media in the lives of people are highlighted. Viewers have to notice and draw their own conclusions.
Sometimes it just a relief to have a linear, uncomplicated style of story-telling. One’s brain can relax more LOL.
Yes indeed,indeed @GB!I felt the Grid left us like that.
You watched You are my Glory, right? It is another easy watch of Yang Yang’s. I haven’t finished it as I want to save it, too sweet! I started on Oath of Love too and will see how that goes!
@GB, yeah agree, it’s easy and nice to watch… but you know?… this made me hungry, crazy HUNGRY for something much more sophisticated!!!
Is the case about the daughter ghost more clear now?
And the song? Did you feel it? Awesome song in the montage in the last episode.
Dear @Viva, yes, I watched You Are My Glory when it was subbed. Very sweet… totally no conflict LOL. Can’t get any more relaxed than that!!! It was a great Dilraba and Yang Yang vehicle so that we could just stare at them. The story was secondary LOLOL.
I will one day start Oath of Love, simply because I am a Xiao Zhan fan, and I like the actress as well. I did wait for the show to get aired. However, I’ll take my time and pick it up when I feel a bit freer. I’ll watch for your review of OoL and see how you find it.
Cheers!
Hi @WE!
Thanks for the link to the Reset OST. Yes, I like this OST and the montage. The music and lyrics are totally on point. The music is right for a show that includes so much repetition. Here’s another video of the same song with English subs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axq2LoL7bsg
I know what you mean about being hungry for a more complicated show after a while. I’m not desperately hungry yet, but I’m trying Link out, and it might be more fun with complications. This and Kiss Sixth Sense are playing with the extra sensory perceptive parts of humans instead of the purely sci-fi or fantasy. I’m finding them interesting so far.
I was asking about what to do for the next rewatch party. Do you have any suggestions/recommendations? Something meaty to discuss. 😉
@Cleo is suggesting we take a one-month hiatus and restart our rewatch in August. I feel that’s a good idea although truth-to-tell, it’s now that I’m busiest and most need a hiatus, LOL, but nevermind. I’m managing. ‘Dramas keep me sane’ is a slogan someone had and it works for me!
@GB, I don’t have time for a kind of scifi watch now. Next month will be more easy. I’m busy too. And I have no idea for a rewatch. I could propose things but for you it could be just a first watch! Of course, I have some dramas I can rewatch endlessly. Say Jang Ok Jung, I’m here! lol!!!
@WE, @Cleo and all who come by here,
@Cleo and I like this ‘Wednesday rewatch thread’ (it has no official name just that since Just Between Lovers, we’ve set Wednesday as when we might watch and comment on old shows) where we watch the same show but only whatever episodes that we can or just 2 episodes a week, when we can, and come here to comment.
There is no pressure to be online at the same time. We just add spoiler tags to warn other readers, if they have not reached the episode we are commenting on.
So this is another option we have on top of the Saturday Rewatch Party where we all ‘meet’ online at the same time.
Once again, everyone can give suggestions as to what they’d like to watch together here on this thread. We can ask @pkml3 if she can open a thread for us if we have another show in mind. 🙂
I know that there are/were several shows I ‘missed’ and thought I might want to one day watch… I can’t remember them right now, but I’m open to suggestions. 🙂
Hey @GB,@WE, @Cleo and everyone,
Yes I like this Wednesday thread! I like this pop by style with no fixed period per episode. It’s like a second chance thread for us to discover older shows that aren’t on air.
Not a rewatch, my suggestions
Be Reborn
Oath of Love
@agdr03 and I will eventually watch/try out @Glory of the Special Forces
Keen to hear other suggestions from you all! 🙂 Also good with the hiatus as well.
@GB Unnie,
I just saw an article circulating in our news that said that some folks somewhere in China, were harrassing a woman in a restaurant and because her friend or herself said no, they were hit by a whole gang. Nine men were caught, the two women were hospitalized.
There is also a video with this incident. The public is enraged about what happened.
I understand what you are saying, but things needs to change. I do hope people won’t be afraid to talk.
My Agapimeni @Cleo, sadly I’ve seen part of the video and read some of the netizens’ comments. There’s still so much misogyny it’s scary. Some people do come out to say the right thing, but not as many as one would like. Somehow the women are made to bear the blame.
@GB Unnie,
What you have said is true. That’s why I pray for things to change, but in order for things to change, minds needs to change as well…