I should have learned my lesson when I tried to watch Love Me If You Dare. This drama is even more heavy-handed in its pro-China spoon-feeding. From the moment I turned on the series, it felt like one of those cheesy, overly patriotic recruitment videos we're forced to watch in school or before a movie starts in the cinema. I almost have 2nd hand embarrassment with how over the top it is. From the ridiculous monologues about patriotism and "dying for your great Country" (while they're talking about a dead coworker) to the regrettable OST that sounds like it should be coming from a school megaphone and not a serious spy espionage drama.

Despite my reservations, I gave this series a shot because I adore the cast and just came off watching Bin Bin in Rattan (great drama!). That being said, it was admittedly hard to watch from the beginning. Our ML, Ma Shang (Bin Bin), is straight-laced, fluffy toward our FL, and adorably feisty when he's not in serious job mode. He's got a great relationship with his parents, and I adore their interactions throughout the series. An Jing, his childhood sweetheart and co-worker, shares great chemistry with him, and I liked seeing the two actors together again from Eternal Love. I also really liked Ma Shang and He Zi Xuan's chemistry. That's...pretty much where I stop caring about the series.

I was already skipping through by the 4th episode and pretty much skipped around until I got to Ma Shang and An Jing's scenes. Even then, it really couldn't be saved.

In reality, China *can't* do espionage/crime/serial killer/murder type genres. Their Government censorship rules completely water down everything to a laughable extent and puts their winning team on unrealistic pedestals. You mean to tell me that their national security teams are perfect? Zero infighting? Zero corruption? Perfect and seamless camaraderie and technology from start to finish? The criminals are never a match for them, right? They're always sloppy, one-dimensional villains who tend to speak in English when they're being diabolical, or they're terrible D-list Western actors playing evil caricatures of themselves, and they always just lay down and give up when they're caught. Give me a break.

If you want gritty, more realistic dramas within those genres, I recommend Western TV shows or Kdramas. I just finished watching Through The Darkness with Kim Nam Gil, and it was *amazing*. It's a novel adaptation and has a lot of similarities to the Western drama, MindHunter, about profiling serial killers in custody while trying to catch an ongoing case. Both shows are miles better than this. If you want a corporate espionage-type thriller, I recommend Killing Eve (has a bit of dark comedy as well), The Americans, or The Night Manager.