Draw the Line (review)

I’m really fussy with my dramas, but in the last few years, I’ve been actively trying to overcome my biases by watching dramas that I assume I’m not going to like. The results have been pleasant and surprising; I’ve fallen in love with dramas like Love and Redemption and Wonderland of Love, and discovered that I’m more partial to some genres than I initially thought.

Draw the Line is the latest “drama I thought I’d hate” that surprised me.

Sometimes, especially after lots of wuxia and xianxia, you want a break and need a dose of real life. Draw the Line fits the bill.

The story

Fang Yuan (Jin Dong) is the chief judge of the Xingcheng District People’s Court who has a seemingly bright future in his career. However, when Ye Xin (Elvira Cai), a young female cadre of the Supreme Court Research Office, “drops in” and becomes a part of the team, tension immediately develops in his court. Some are wondering if he’s being quietly replaced!
Zhou Yi An (Cheng Yi), Fang Yuan’s assistant, develops an instant dislike for Ye Xin who criticises him for his unconventional methods.
But the cases must go on in Xingcheng Court. Draw the Line centres around three generations of court personnel and how they work together to carry out their duties.

My thoughts about the drama

Admittedly, I chose to watch Draw the Line because of Cheng Yi, an actor I noticed since watching probably my favourite wuxia of the 2020s, Mysterious Lotus Casebook.

I just wanted to see him in something different; something without long hair (he does look so good with long locks though) and hanfus. And, not that I doubted it for even one second, but he is really good in Draw the Line.

Cheng Yi is one of the better idol actors out there, but admittedly, he has some work to do, especially with line delivery. However, he could stand his ground with veteran actors like Jin Dong who heads this drama.

Another downside to watching Show is that while it is available on YouTube, its subtitles are so bad that it’s distracting. I’m pretty much at an intermediate level when it comes to Mandarin listening skills, but because this is a legal drama with legal terms in Mandarin, I still needed English subtitles.

But, alas, MangoTV is notorious for terrible subtitles; for example, the word “court” is translated as “hospital”. Well, at least the word 法官 (fǎguān, judge) is now burned into my memory!

However, it’s not entirely terrible as you can still understand the gist of the dialogue.

So, if you are up to the challenge, I encourage you to watch it but just be prepared for weird nonsensical translations.

But I can understand that it’s not a bingeable show. If possible, just watch the drama case by case. Each case has about three to four episodes.

I find the cases fascinating, even more so that they’re based on real cases! (In fact, the drama producers got in trouble for adapting still-running cases. Oops.)

Admittedly, some episodes were not interesting to me. (The one about divorces was a snooze fest to me.) But I really enjoyed the case of an influencer dying from overwork, the one about a woman who may or may not be guilty of her friend’s death due to her cowardly actions, and the one about a dying woman trying to divorce her missing dead beat husband and cut ties with his toxic family to ensure her daughter’s future.

One of the chatter around this drama is that some people dismissed Draw the Line as mere propaganda.

I think that’s a pity because this show has a lot to offer. For one, what I loved is that these cases give you an insight into the social dynamics and lives of the Chinese people.

It also shows you that judges are not perfect people, and the sentences met out by the court are not perfect either. If it is indeed an outright propaganda film, won’t every single sentence be perfect, as the court is never going to get things wrong?

Then there’s the depiction of the Chinese public. It really challenges the narrative that the Chinese are an oppressed, sheep-like lot.

For example, some of their reactions are pretty intense. You see them protesting some of the decisions on social media and by picketing, the judges feel really pressured by this and also conflicted about whether they should obey the letter of the law, or be a human being and be more sympathetic.

So, I think it’s a very well-rounded depiction in the sense that it shows how lawyers, judges and the public interact with one another to ensure that the right sentence is meted out. But often, this process isn’t always smooth.

Personally, as I’m always interested in how different cultures and countries manage their affairs, Draw the Line is really fascinating to me as it gives me a look into the Chinese justice system, and also into the lives and society of Chinese people. If you’re interested in things like that, Draw the Line is for you.

I find it interesting that in China, judges are not aloof or distant but very hands-on. They are heavily involved in the mediation process and are literally there in the room to mediate between two parties.

They will also visit clients personally to sort out matters.

Often, there’s a panel of judges that will decide together and in that room, where they decide the final sentence, there are often huge arguments between the judges as they come to a consensus.

Even if you have a specific view of China, I highly encourage you to watch it with an open mind and absorb the different cultural realities and ways of doing things.

The good and the bad

The good:

• The performances of the cast are great, especially veteran actors like Jin Dong and Chen Kang, who plays Fang Yan’s mentor.
• Believe it or not, the nationalistic moments are sometimes endearing. I think I’m so used to the cynical depictions of politicians and civil servants in dramas that it is refreshing to see the government regarded positively. But as I said earlier, this is not always so. The public has some strong words about judges, and some even react violently. (One of our characters suffers the brunt of it at one point.)
• The show has been lauded for its accuracy in depicting the Chinese legal system and profession. As we learned from the Yang Yang drama, Fireworks of My Heart, this doesn’t always happen, so it’s nice to see something closer to reality.
• I find it so cute that Fang Yuan and Zhou Yi’s mum tried almost immediately to matchmake him with his arch nemesis Ye Xin, and his utter horror at this development. Makes for so many comedic moments in the show!
• I enjoyed Cheng Yi’s character because it was so different from his usual angsty, blood-spitting wuxia roles. Here he is sassy and gossipy. A political animal, but with a heart!

The bad:

• The subtitles can be … dire.
• There are jingoistic moments that can rub some people the wrong way. But let’s remember that movies or dramas from any country can be jingoistic in their own way. China isn’t unique in this.
• Some cases can be boring, and towards the end of the show, it seems to lose steam somewhat as we get more involved with the personal lives of our judges. Maybe it comes down to my taste but I’m not interested in people’s romantic lives lol.

You can watch the drama on YouTube.

Final rating: 8.5

A feel-good legal drama that you can take your time to savour.