Dropped: The Mutations

Chu Sijing, a member of the secret imperial guard, travels to a deserted island to investigate the cause of a mysterious plague. Set during the Ming dynasty.

My thoughts

There were so many good things going for this drama:

• The cinematography is amazing. It’s like watching a movie. Oh, can we have more of this camerawork in 2024 please??
• Impressed how the lead actor Huang Xuan (who plays the imperial guard) is able to switch from clueless doofus to killer badass in seconds with just his eyes.
• This is probably an unpopular opinion, but the lack of really pretty people makes it feel more realistic and grittier.
• It has a very “doom is coming” vibe. The wintry, overcast skies really sends a literal chill down your spine.

But then in the end, by episode 5 it got a little too wacky for my tastes, with Portugese raiders, aliens and other stuff.

I suppose The Mutations could suit certain viewers who are into monster schlock, but I wasn’t in the mood for it, especially when the CGI was not great. On top of that, being a veteran sci-fi movie and TV watcher, I’ve seen better iterations of this. (Sorry, no movie can beat The Predator and Thing movies for me yet!)

So, alas, this drama belongs in the Dropped category for me. I really wanted to love it especially since it did so many things well. Things that I wish to see more in Chinese dramas these days. But a pretty exterior can’t really make up for weak storytelling, unfortunately.