Set in 2017, the tale of Sunsets Secrets Regrets begins 7 years earlier. 17 August 2012 to be exact. Much of what takes place prior to, during, and not long afterwards unfolds in flashbacks that often appears as episode preambles. On 17 August 2012, a SWAT team from Haizhou is deployed to an abandoned building. The top sniper of the team, Zhou Chuan falls prey to an unknown (and brutal) assailant during the mission. The death of Zhou Chuan, who is also known as a distinguished member of a family of cops, has far-reaching effects. This case which remains unsolved for several years becomes known as the 8.17 (August 17th) case. His younger sister Zhou Jin (Elvira Cai) a member of the force, bides her time for any clue that could lead to her brother’s killer. The narrative is told from multiple perspectives which may or may not work against it. There’s criss-crossing of information all throughout. Seemingly irrelevant titbits eventually become sordid pieces of a much bigger puzzle than the show’s primary investigators could imagine.
Jing Boran plays Jiang Hansheng, a trained police profiler whose interest in the case is initially piqued by his mentor Director Wang Pengze (Du Yuan). In present day 2017, he’s mainly lecturing as a criminal behaviourist at a university but still keeping tabs on the case. 5 years earlier he attempts to draw the killer out in public fashion ending in a near death experience. His interest in the case also has an added personal dimension. He was the much-neglected wealthy boy who once lived across the alley from the Zhou family.
The other lead male character is Jiang Cheng (Qin Junjie), the boy adopted by the Zhou family. He too was a highly regarded cop on track to promotion and was Zhou Jin’s fiance. 10 days after Zhou Chuan’s murder, he is found in a compromising situation with a woman. In 2017, he’s become something of a hoodlum ingratiating himself with the head of a major cartel lamenting about how he’s been wronged by his former employers. His about turn is odd and leaves Zhou Jin reeling for the longest time. Eventually their paths intersect. Things get uncomfortable quickly when Hansheng and Zhou Jin marry.
Although Sunset Secrets Regrets behaves largely like a police procedural with romance, it plays fast and loose with procedural side of things. While it is undeniably a story about cops, thematically, it’s a nature or nurture exploration. Family dysfunction seems to be at the heart of it all leading to social unrest, corruption and ultimately intemperate violence in the shape of a serial killer. The serial killing element feeds into those stated themes forcefully, often acting as a distraction or even misdirection away from the protagonists’ pursuit of the truth as well.
Plotwise, it appears convoluted initially with many threads dangling intriguingly. The Chinese title 钢铁森林 (Steel Forest) certainly speaks to that. Moreover, the flashbacks compound the perception of multi-layered concealment. However, anyone who has lived off a rich diet of crime show for decades will quickly navigate the apparent twists and turns with little difficulty.
Jing Boran and Qin Junjie make this a compelling watch. I’m particularly struck by Jiang Hansheng’s duality born out of trauma as portrayed by Jing Boran. He’s arguably the show’s most complex character, more so than the show’s primary antagonist. Despite the tug-of-war that surfaces now and again, Hansheng is a consummate professional at his trade. The emotions that rage within come from a childhood of neglect, abuse and yet he never loses sight of the humanity of others. The abandonment issues are never far away but he’s been fortunate in his life’s influences. In this regard he is a contrast to the antagonist who kills out of a entitled resentment. His softer, vulnerable side is brought out most clearly in his relationship Zhou Jin and his beloved teacher, Director Wang. The past certainly defines him but it doesn’t consume him even when he’s near breaking point.
Qin Junjie’s Jiang Cheng is a reminder that choices are consequential. No matter where the viewer’s sympathies lie, individuals cannot escape the ramifications of decisions made during pivotal moments. Even if for good intentions. The fact that he believes that he can pick up where he left off with Zhou Jin is laughable. I chalk it up to a shortcoming of the show trying to shoe in a faux love triangle that’s completely unnecessary and arguably out of character. Qin Junjie is surprisingly adept at the bad boy persona that he inhabits here. The swagger, the bravado is far removed from his outings in Fox Volant and Heroes.
Although the show is about the men, the one woman who is at the centre of their affections/obsessions has no less importance in how the crime story plays out. My fondness for Zhou Jin grows as she draws firm lines around her marriage. She actively makes it work and never wavers. Theirs is not a passionate romance but one motivated by kindness and a mature perspective of what love can be if effort is applied. It is less of a romance story than a marriage one especially when it’s clear that two heads, screwed on tightly, are better than one.
Every C drama in recent years inevitably traverses into marriage territory with pointers for the uninitiated. At first Hansheng and Zhou Jin’s quick sojourn to the Bureau of Marriage feels like the popular flash marriage trope that’s a subset of the contract marriage plot. Zhou Jin is looking to move on from a failed relationship and undergoing the vicious cycle of second guessing herself. Hansheng, living with residual trauma and partial amnesia, is in need of healing as he confronts the fiasco that almost took his life. What he offers Zhou Jin is devoted certainty. What she offers him is the familial comforts of home that he’s been yearning for. The healing that they give each other is what’s needed to bring the perpetrators to justice. Contract marriages generally don’t begin with “love” per se and are unabashedly transactional but as the story progresses it’s always clear why genuine affection can be developed. Ultimately it speaks to the fact that marriage isn’t foremost about feelings but a commitment to making the relationship work despite the challenges that arise along the way.
Ultimately this is a good show with all the moving parts more or less coming together in cohesive fashion with some outstanding performances in the mix. What prevents it from edging into “great” territory is the by-the-numbers police procedural once all the dead wood is cleared and the dust settles.
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