Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) - Final Review
Final review/rating: Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) - All aboard the Lotus Flower RV for a fantastic tale of wuxia, mystery, and brotherhood
This is 9/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼
Overall rating: 9 Stars Plot: 9 Stars Acting/cast: 9 Stars Chemistry: 9 stars Music: 9 Stars Re-watch value: 9 Stars Enjoyment factor: 9 Stars |
Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) reminds me of why I love the wuxia and detective genres so much - the drama is a fantastic combo of both.
A wonderfully witty script, fascinating characters, and action packed scenes full of thrilling choreography as befits a wuxia, this drama had me hooked from the first episode right to the very end. The ten cases are certainly interesting enough, but the draw for me was the bromance between the trio of male leads (Cheng Yi, Zeng Shun Xi, and Xiao Shun Yao), which was both hilarious and deeply moving.
For those who find the staple fluffy c-drama romance tiresome, this drama largely eschews the usual romantic tropes and instead focuses on the close bonds of platonic male friendship and found family.
Honestly, I wanted the trio to continue their travels in the lotus tower RV, solving mysteries and having jianghu adventures together forever. But in many ways, this drama is about letting go and saying farewell. There is bitter-sweetness in having to acknowledge that all good things come to an end, but sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.
Also, can I just say I want a lotus tower RV of my own. The one in the drama looked so damn cool...
SPOILERS AHEADS
Plot: A delicious wuxia and detective medley
For a spoiler-free synopsis, see mine 👉here.
The drama starts, ten years in the past, with an epic duel between Li Xiang Yi, the leader of the Si Gu sect and the best swordsman in the world, (played by Cheng Yi) and leader of the Jin Yuan alliance, Di Fei Sheng (played by Xiao Shun Yao). Both mysteriously disappear afterwards, leaving their respective sects leaderless and a power vacuum in jianghu.
Li Lian Hua is a man on limited time - we are told early on that he was poisoned with the deadliest poison in the world prior to his duel with Di Fei Sheng and that to survive, he has had to suppress the poison such that he only has 10% of his former inner strength and 10 years to live before the poison will render him insane or dead...
idealistic young master of the Tian Ji manor, who wants to join the ranks of jianghu's premier detectives and to live up to the legacy of his childhood hero, Li Xiang Yi. Fang Duo Bing suspects that Li Lian Hua is not who he seems and is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery by not letting Li Lian Hua out of his sight.
Meanwhile, Di Fei Sheng who has only ever considered Li Xiang Yi a worthy opponent, remerges in jianghu and recognises that Li Lian Hua is none other than Li Xiang Yi. Of course he demands a rematch, especially when he realises that their duel wasn't a fair fight because Li Xiang Yi had been poisoned at the time. But Li Lian Hua is only interested in living his best life - growing vegetables, cooking homemade meals of questionable quality, and roaming in his lotus tower RV.
That is, until he discovers that there may have been treachery afoot in relation to their earlier duel and Di Fei Sheng holds out an irresistible lure - he will help Li Lian Hua find his elder sect brother/shixiong Shan Gu Dao's remains if Li Lian Hua will agree to cure himself and to a rematch. The two former arch-rivals work together to uncover the past, while keeping poor tagalong Fang Duo Bing uninformed (or in Li Lian Hua's case, misinformed with a parcel of lies). Fang Duo Bing is comically frustrated by the secrets that the other two are clearly keeping from him, while also completely oblivious to the fact that he is in the company of the two greatest swordsmen in jianghu.
At the same time, the unconventional trio work together to investigate a series of eerily interconnected jianghu cases. The cases are fast-paced, cryptic whodunnits, which keep discerning viewers on their toes with plenty of supernatural smokescreens and mirrors engineered by human hands. All have a distinctly jianghu flavour to them (eg. some key clues on culprits link to their signature martial arts moves) and like pieces of a puzzle, they converge to unlock a larger conspiracy: Shan Gu Dao, whose death Li Lian Hua has blamed himself for over the last 10 years, is in fact very much alive, and poised to unleash chaos in his ambition to seize ultimate power...
Wonderful characters paired with a witty script and cinematic choreography
While I enjoyed the whodunnit cases, for me the real hook of the drama was the fantastic characterisation of the trio of male leads, and their friendship, which was both hilarious and deeply moving.
Li Xiang Yi/Li Lian Hua is a complex character, and Cheng Yi is perfectly casted in this role - honestly, the man is made for the wuxia genre. The acrobatic elegance of his swordplay is pure cinematic delight, and had me rewinding for multiple re-watches.
Also, for someone who excels at tragic protagonist roles (who can forget his Si Feng), Cheng Yi has a surprisingly impeccable sense of comic timing. I think I fell for his Li Lian Hua right from his first snarky deadpan appearance, when he tells a chubby butcher that he has a happy pulse 喜脉(ie. that he is pregnant😆), and then proceeds with faux fear and a bald-faced denial when he is surrounded by assailants asking if he is divine physician Li Lian Hua.
He is every bit the wily old fox that Fang Duo Bing accuses him of being - a cynical, consummate liar who just wants to stay detached from everything and everybody, but whose incisive intelligence will not allow him to walk away from a puzzle that needs solving. Even as a sickly shadow of his former self, 10% of his former strength is still formidable when he chooses to wield it. Further, Li Lian Hua still has charm in spades and is so flippantly quick-witted that you can't help enjoying the jokes that come thick and fast at Fang Duo Bing's expense. Who can forget poor Fang Duo Bing being tricked into keeping his mouth shut? Or being abandoned yet again on the roadside, with a farewell letter from Li Lian Hua that anticipates every potential comeback?😆 Viewers will get the general gist, but I think some of the witty dialogue and play-on-words banter is lost in translation for non-Chinese speakers. For example, when Li Lian Hua is trying to save Fang Duo Bing by teaching him Li Xiang Yi's signature inner strength skill Yang Zhou Man (扬州慢) (literally, "Yang Zhou prefecture, slow"), he deflects the latter's suspicions by saying that he is teaching him Su Zhou Kuai (苏州快) (literally, "Su Zhou prefecture, fast").
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| Li Xiang Yi - the stuff of legends |
To truly understand Li Lian Hua you need to understand who he used to be. And every now and then, the drama gives us tantalising glimpses of Li Xiang Yi: the incomparable martial arts prodigy at the top of jianghu at the tender age of 20, drawing envy and admiration in equal measure, wielding power over the whole of wulin.
A glamorous figure, drinking and sword-dancing on moonlit rooftops with a long red ribbon affixed to his sword to get one smile from his love, and because, well, he can.
Idealistic, young, and brilliant, with a tongue as lethal as the legendary shao shi sword in his hand, undefeated and undefeatable, is it any wonder that he was also arrogant? After all, who hasn't been 少年輕狂 (young and reckless) in the folly of youth?
For all his faults, I think Li Xiang Yi was well-meaning, and if anything, Li Lian Hua is his own harshest critic. Blaming himself (as it turns out incorrectly) for his beloved shixiong's death, it takes Fang Duo Bing's entry and Di Fei Sheng's re-entry into his life to reconnect him to humanity. It also takes the truth behind his shixiong's treachery to help him truly learn to forgive himself and let go of the past completely. But even before that point, he commendably tries to help those who loved him let go, and to forgive themselves.
The found family nature of the central trio's relationship is way more satisfying. The bickering sibling energy from Fang Duo Bing and Di Fei Sheng, and Li Lian Hua reluctantly assuming a quasi pater familias role, had me laughing out loud for this family of three/一家三口. The three lead actors share sparkling chemistry - brotherhood at its best.
It was heartwarming to witness Li Lian Hua thaw and take Fang Duo Bing under his wing. Gradually Duo Bing becomes Xiao Bao (小宝/寶) to him (note: xiao bao literally means 'little treasure' and is commonly used as a term of endearment for a loved younger member of the family - it's also what Duo Bing's parents call him in the drama). And his once arch-nemesis Di Fei Sheng, becomes A' Fei 阿飛, a close brother-in-arms.
Adding to that, I would say that despite their differences and stages in life, Li Lian Hua and Xiao Bao are true zhi ji 知己 (literally, 'knows self' - ie. a friend who knows you as well as you know yourself). Xiao Bao is much more than the Watson to Li Lian Hua's Sherlock. After all, it is Xiao Bao who, with an insight beyond his years, points out that Li Xiang Yi was worthy of the word pride 傲, not (only) the arrogance/傲慢 that Li Lian Hua regrets, but also the lofty and unyielding character 傲骨 (literally, 'proud bones') that can make wulin a better place - one based on principles rather than realpolitik.
And thereafter, Xiao Bao is the first person Li Lian Hua opens his heart (and his shifu's wine jug) to in genuine friendship, and its is Xiao Bao for whom he reveals his true identity. I really have to commend Zeng Shun Xi's acting in that 'reveal' scene in episode 27 - he knocked it out of the park emotionally with his rendition of shock, anger, and heartbreak.
I also loved how Xiao Bao insists on calling Li Lian Hua by that name, even after he knows that he is also Li Xiang Yi. I think he is the only person to do that
in the drama (I'd have to check on a re-watch), but to me this shows that Xiao Bao accepts his mentor/friend as he has chosen to become, Li Lian Hua, rather than the hero on a pedestal that was Li Xiang Yi.
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| "I, Di Fei Sheng, in this life have only one opponent: Li Xiang Yi" |
As for the third in the trio, Xiao Shun Yao's Di Fei Sheng is also a fascinating character. His fierce, single minded love of martial arts and quest for supremacy is the stuff of wuxia. He has not quite reached the lonely heights of Jin Yong's Dugu Qiu Bai獨孤求敗 (so skilled that his sole wish to lose, to have an opponent, was in vain, 生平求一敵手而不可得). But he is pretty damn close to that point, because at his level of skill, only Li Xiang Yi is a worthy opponent.
The drama does not give as much screen time to Di Fei Sheng as it does to Li Lian
Hua and Xiao Bao, but nonetheless, this enigmatic anti-hero is skillfully revealed bit by bit to the viewer - his sense of fairness, his dry sense of humour, his lack of pretense. For Di Fei Sheng, his sword is just called "sword", no fancy names required, because how he wields it does all the speaking that is needed. I loved his backstory, and how he took his own destiny into his hands.
Hua and Xiao Bao, but nonetheless, this enigmatic anti-hero is skillfully revealed bit by bit to the viewer - his sense of fairness, his dry sense of humour, his lack of pretense. For Di Fei Sheng, his sword is just called "sword", no fancy names required, because how he wields it does all the speaking that is needed. I loved his backstory, and how he took his own destiny into his hands.
Di Fei Sheng or A'Fei as he becomes, is an essential part of the Lotus RV mystery-solving found family, fitting right in with family squabbles over the last chicken leg and who gets to sleep in which room. He largely provides the brute force needed in the investigations, though special mention must be made of the time he hilariously landed in the middle of a case and immediately became a key suspect.
During the course of the drama, he goes from being the Di Fei Sheng who forces deadly cures on Li Lian Hua so that they can have a final showdown, to being the A'Fei who is willing to give up the Styx flower (and its ability to increase his cultivation) so that his friend can live. Ostensibly for their rematch duel, but it is clearly so much more than that, even though no explanations are needed between kindred spirits.
An OST that captures the romance and essence of wuxia
The four songs in the original soundtrack for Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) are very good. Each captures the romance and essence of wuxia, and are tailor made for the drama. At the Mysterious Lotus Casebook concert, Yan Yi Dan嚴藝丹 who wrote the music and lyrics, said that she had composed the lyrics after watching the drama 4-5 times. It definitely shows in the aptness of the lyrics:
z- My favourite is probably the opening theme, 就在江湖之上("In Jianghu") as sung by the wonderful Liu Yu Ning, which could easily have been called Li Xiang Yi's theme. The lyrics are so poetic they get me every time: the moment he can't let go of most is being in jianghu. After all, who hasn't been dazzled by its splendor and adrift, waiting for the clouds to descend so as to admire the moon? At the top of jianghu, young and reckless, wine in hand to drown a thousand sorrows? (就在江湖之上, 萬里風光, 誰不曾流浪? 誰不是守著聚散的雲 隔天涯賞月亮? 就在江湖之上, 少年輕狂, 千杯不醉入愁腸).
- Hu Xia's 一壺蓮花醉 ("A pot of Lotus Flower Wine") always makes me want to perch carefree on the nearest rooftop with a glass of wine. It also has many hidden Easter eggs, including the fate of Li Xiang Yi's broken sword and the ending (but more on that later).
- Zhang Yuan's 山外("Mountains beyond") also brings to mind the trio's jianghu adventures, and of course the old idiom 山外有山,天外有天 - that is, there are mountains beyond mountains, and heavens beyond heavens.
- There's also the wistfully gorgeous closing theme song, Yan Yi Dan's 人世太匆忙("The World is too Hasty"). All of the lyrics are beautiful, but the two lines that struck most with me were 若世兜兜轉轉不小心就登 雲巔 ("in life's twists and turns, if you are not careful, you may find yourself at the cloudy peak") and the final line - 誰不是孤身 走一趟 ("Who does not walk part of the path alone?")
A bittersweet (and fitting) open ending
open endings. But in the case of Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) I think the open ending in the short extra episode is rather fitting, even though I had hoped for the impossible. You know, Li Lian Hua unambiguously fully cured and kicking ass, drinking wine and living his best life, with Xiao Bao and A'Fei for company....
What we get is different - a chose-your-own-interpretation open ending: three months later, Xiao Bao and A'Fei rush to the seaside, with Hu Li Jing in tow. Then there is a glimpse of Li Lian Hua by the seaside looking out towards the sea, before the camera zooms out, and then zooms in, to an empty seaside...
The special episode ending has been analysed in minute detail by c-drama watchers, including myself. Some interpret it as depicting a happy ending, with a reunion of the trio at the seaside, pointing to Hu Li Jing's joyous barking and the fact that she is looking up (so surely, at her owner?) Others interpret it as a sad ending, pointing to the three month time lapse (when we know Li Lian Hua has less than one month to live), the beggar's statement to Xiao Bao that he had retrieved the purse of sweets from a corpse (meaning that Li Lian Hua is dead), and that when Xiao Bao and A'Fei race to the seaside they do not see Li Lian Hua, except perhaps in their imaginations, because the final view is of an empty seaside.
It is hard to be definitive either way, so maybe there is no correct answer. Rather, much like the lyrics from 一壶莲花醉 "A pot of lotus flower wine") says, "it comes down to choosing an ending that you like" (不過是挑個自己喜歡的結局) as the viewer. But either way, I think we can be certain that Li Lian Hua has found peace, and that is a fitting end. As in the lotus flower mantra for which he renamed himself - "with a single thought, the heart is at peace; lotus flowers bloom all around" (一念心清淨, 蓮花處處開).
Final thoughts
🐼: Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) is addictively good - a true-blue wuxia that hits all the right notes.
It engaged my heart and mind. It also dazzled my senses with some truly phenomenal choreography, which is a must with wuxia. In that regard, special mention must be made of three sword-dance scenes, where the choreography does all the storytelling:
- The dazzling red ribbon sword-dance on the rooftop at episode 9 (glamorous Li Xiang Yi, young and reckless, and on top of the world);
- The emotional drunken sword-dance in the bamboo forest at episode 34 (Li Lian Hua, who has found out the whole truth, grieving for and paying tribute to his shifu);
- The final heartfelt sword-dance beneath the moon at episode 40 (Li Lian Hua, at peace - saluting his friend and worthiest opponent Di Fei Sheng and his shifu).
This drama really captures the ethos of jianghu and gave us unforgettable characters in Cheng Yi's Li Lian Hua, Zeng Shu Xi's Fang Duo Bing and Xiao Shun Yao's Di Fei Sheng. The trio are perfectly cast and their chemistry is given every chance to shine by a wonderful deft script. There are also a number of overarching themes in the drama which may have resonance for many viewers, such as learning to let go of the past and forgiving oneself and others, as well as the enduring importance of friendship and found family.
I cannot recommend Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) enough! One of my 2023 favourites and a definite must-watch for wuxia fans.
9/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼
