Under the Microscope (2023) - Final Review
Final review/rating: Under the Microscope (2023) - A quixotic quest to right a mathematical injustice in an unjust world
This is 9/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼
Overall rating: 9 Stars Plot: 9 Stars Acting/cast: 10 Stars Chemistry: 10 Stars Music: 8 Stars Re-watch value: 9 Stars Enjoyment factor: 9 Stars |
Under the Microscope (2023) gives us Zhang Ruo Yun in a refreshingly different historical drama.
On offer are maths, tax fraud on an epic scale, and an unlikely hero from the common people in mathematical savant Shuai Jia Mo, whose determination to correct the numbers stirs up a hornet's nest.
Who would have thought that a drama on math and tax evasion of all things could be so damn riveting? Yet this surprisingly accessible gem of a drama packs an intellectual and emotional punch. At only 14 episodes long, Under the Microscope (2023) makes every episode count.
SPOILERS AHEADS
A quixotic quest
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| Zhang Ruo Yun as Shuai Jia Mo |
Set in the Ming dynasty, our protagonist is Shuai Jia Mo, the village 'mathematics idiot' 算呆子. He is a savant - a genius with numbers, but significantly impaired in other areas. One suspects that he would have been diagnosed as autistic or otherwise on the spectrum if that diagnosis had been available in the Ming era.
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| Error: does not compute... |
When Shuai Jia Mo stumbles across a county-wide discrepancy between Ren Hua county's land titles and the actual acreage of land on the ground, he decides to investigate why the figures don't add up.
He duly discovers that some devious shenanigans are afoot: For the past 100 years, Ren Hua county has been overpaying a mysterious "silk poll tax"(人丁丝绢) of 3,350 taels per year because it has been footing the bill for the surrounding 7 counties as well. The devil is in the detail though, how to prove all this?
For Shuai Jia Mo, the correctness of numbers is as immutable as the stars in the sky. So logically, he must get the silk poll tax error corrected by bringing it to the attention of the authorities. Even though there's nothing in it for him in overturning the unjust silk poll tax. Or is there?
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| 3,530 |
After all, the number 3,350 is also a significant numerical signpost in Shuai Jia Mo's murky memories of the past - linked to his almost non-existent memories of his mathematical genius father, who along with his mother, died in a suspicious fire...
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| Jia Mo, Bao Yu and Bi Yu |
Shuai Jia Mo is joined in his quixotic quest by ner'e-do-well but loyal bestie Feng Bao Yu (endearingly played by Fei Qi Ming) and with the support of the latter's feisty ham hock wielding older sister, Feng Bi Yu (played by Qi Wei).
But he and Feng Bao Yu are stymied at every turn, by red tape, bureaucracy, corrupt officials, as well as danger to life and limb, including an 8 county wide peasant's revolt incited by those who want to stop them by any means necessary.
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| Wang Yang as Cheng Ren Qing |
They also cross swords with sometime-friend-sometime-foe fast-talking lawyer, Cheng Ren Qing (outstandingly played by Wang Yang), who dispenses justice in accordance with the amount paid. But this fascinating morally grey frenemy plays a dangerous double game of his own when his dormant conscience is stirred.
And then there is a colourful cast of high ranking officials who all have their motives for keeping the status quo in place.
Profit is the name of the game, because the silk poll tax error uncovers a greater conspiracy: tax evasion by the richest through fudging the acreage measurements of 'irregular lands' 妖田, thus creating tax-free 'hidden lands' 隱田, with hidden profits.
Motivations under the microscope
What is interesting is how the drama puts the motivations of various stakeholders under the microscope.
There is the tantalising question of whether Shuai Jia Mo's quest is purely math oriented or whether vengeance (3,350 and his parent's death) comes into it.
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| Wu Gang as Fan Yuan |
Then there are those in power who are doing the right thing for the wrong or at least ulterior motives (eg) Prefectural Magistrate Wang, Imperial Censor Liu, Censor-in-chief Li), those doing the wrong thing for understandable reasons (eg) Magistrate Ren, Magistrate Deng), and those doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons, the villains of the piece (eg) Assistant Prefect Song, Magistrate Mao, Lord Li, Fan Yuan etc).
And there are some truly delightfully written nuanced characters such as Magistrate Fang, whose motivations evolve such that he grows a spine and surprises himself and us.
Despite its relative brevity, the drama does not lack nuanced portrayals of complex, multi-faceted characters with backstories, Wang Yang's Cheng Ren Qing being a case in point. The older seasoned actors, such as the incomparable Wu Gang who played Fan Yuan, also bring next level acting chops.
I should also add that Zhang Ruo Yun's Shuai Jia Mo blew it out of the park for me acting wise. Shuai Jia Mo is not an easy role to play and definitely not a idol drama pretty boy role. It is difficult to convey his savant energy and trauma without descending into inappropriate caricature, but Zhang Ruo Yun gave the role life. He is a phenomenally talented actor - every micro-expression conveyed what it needed to.
I suspect there were not too many dry eyes amongst those who watched the finale and witnessed Shuai Jia Mo's cathartic pain and joy as he reconnects with his dead father through their shared faith in maths, and in doing so, ultimately saves the day, with a little help from his friends. Bravo!
Accessible, tightly-paced, and hilarious
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| Math made (slightly) easy |
While the script is somewhat dense in places, the drama does a commendable job of making the subject matter accessible and cluing the viewer in on what is at stake, eg) through the use of diagrams and simpler explanations of formula.
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| Episode 12! |
There are no filler episodes or unnecessary plot lines in this tightly paced drama - every one of the 14 episodes are made to count. A special shout out must be given to episode 12, which had me on the edge of my seat with my heart in my mouth, as the drama hit some Joy of Life-esque level highs.
The drama's moments of hilarity also leaven what can sometimes feel like an unrelentingly grim inspection of the greed of those at the top.
Of note, Under the Microscope (2023) gives us such laugh-out-loud delights as street brawls with a sassy Feng Bi Yu wielding a ham hock as a bludgeon; Shuai Jia Mo gaining prison-cred and infamy as a cat demon immortal; a certain maths-off with fellow maths-enthusiast Magistrate Deng; a number of conversations about the ability or inability to swim; and a number of classic one-liners courtesy of Shuai Jia Mo's tendency to say unfiltered truths at the most inopportune moments.
And who can forget the deadpan pronouncement in episode 13 "Bao Yu, you have a brother-in-law now"?😆
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| Various scenes of mirth: Ham hock bludgeon; Math-off; "I can swim!" and "Bao Yu, you have a brother-in-law now"😆 |
🐼: Those waiting for season 2 of Joy of Life (2019) and Sword Snow Stride (2021) will definitely have their appetites whetted by Under the Microscope (2023), as Zhang Ruo Yun demonstrates he has lost none of his magic.
I must confess I'm glad that Under the Microscope (2023) got it all wrapped up in 14 episodes, enjoyable as it undoubtedly was. My nerves can't take another years long wait for another Zhang Ruo Yun sequel, and this drama ended on a high. Justice (at least the historically realistic type) was served. Quest accomplished. As the end titles roll, you get the feeling that somewhere, somehow, our Shuai Jia Mo is unleashing the powers of math on an unsuspecting Ming dynasty, faithful cat in tow. And that he will be popping in for a ham dinner or two at Bao Yu's place when the inclination strikes.
While the drama's examination of corruption show that there is nothing new under the sun, Shuai Jia Mo's quixotic quest also reminds us of something important. Some battles are worth fighting, even if everyone else thinks you are tilting at windmills.
A well deserved 9/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮
