Reset (开端) is really much better than I expected. I watched this without knowing anything about the story but felt compelled to give it a try because of the male lead. It is also a short story with 15 episodes which is not the norm for Chinese dramas. So, the brevity is a welcome change to me as longer dramas tend to get dragged out unnecessarily with plenty of fillers. Anyway, I think the production team and cast for this drama deserve praises for a job well done. My Reset review below will touch on this drama in further detail and why it might just remain as one of the top titles for 2022.
My rating: 8/10
Episodes: 15
Type: Thriller, Sci-Fi
Aired: January 2022
Images Credit: YoYo TV
The Cast Of Reset 2022
- Bai Jing Ting as Xiao He Yun
- Zhao Jin Mai as Li Shi Qing
- Liu Yi Jun as Zhang Cheng / Sergeant Zhang
- Liu Tao as Director Du
- Huang Jue as Wang Xing De
- Liu Dan as Tao Ying Hong
- Song Jia Teng as V-Logger
- Zeng Ke Lang as Lu Di
- Zhang Xi Qian as Ma Guo Qiang
- Jiao Peng as Jiao Xiang Rong
- Ma Lan as Yao Po
- Bu Yu Xin as Man With Headphones
Main Characters
Xiao He Yun
He Yun is a games developer. Blessed with a good memory, he is also an analytical and a practical young man. However, he is timid and prefers to figure things out before taking action.
Li Shi Qing
Shi Qing is a university student. She is kind and has the inherent spirit to do the right thing. But she can be impulsive and tends to act without a proper plan in mind.
Supporting Characters
Zhang Cheng / Sergeant Zhang
Sergeant Zhang is the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). He is a veteran with vast experience in investigative work. He is also astute and patient that he could pick up clues from suspects. Sergeant Zhang is Jiang Feng’s superior as well as mentor.
Director Du
Director Du is Sergeant Zhang’s superior. She is in charge of the overall investigative work of the CID. She is calm and observant.
Wang Xing De
Wang Xing De is the driver of the ill-fated bus which met with an accident. He drives route no. 45 which passes by Shi Qing’s stop. Hence, they recognize each other as she is his regular passenger and he had once helped her to recover her stolen purse while onboard.
Tao Ying Hong
Tao Ying Hong is one of the passengers on the bus. She is a quiet woman who minds her own business. She has a big and heavy plastic bag with her when she boarded the bus.
V-Logger
V-Logger is a passenger at the front of the bus. He has been standing all the way and recording his trip for his followers.
Lu Di
Lu Di is a bus passenger who got on at a later stop. He is a suspicious guy with a mask on and sits right at the back of the bus. He is carrying a backpack which he seems anxious to protect.
Ma Guo Qiang
Ma Guo Jiang is another fellow passenger with a sack at his feet.
Jiao Xiang Rong
Jiao Xiang Rong is a bus passenger with a suitcase beside him.
Yao Po
Yao Po is a middle aged female passenger with a large handbag on her lap.
Man With Headphones
He is a bus passenger with a muscular and sporty look. He is seen listening to his headphones throughout the ride.
Synopsis
Shi Qing got on bus no. 45 for a ride downtown from her university stop. She fell asleep during the journey and thought she had a bad dream of an explosion on the bus when it hit an oil tanker. But the cycle kept repeating itself that she found that she has been caught in a time loop. Each time she died or fell asleep, the whole incident would begin again. She would awaken on the bus and find herself being confronted with the same situation of a horrifying crash and explosion which caused many deaths.
After a few cycles, Shi Qing knew exactly what is going to happen. So, she dragged the guy sitting next to her, He Yun, off the bus with her in a sincere attempt to save him by accusing him of being a pervert. But He Yun still died because he got into a cab after alighting which trailed right behind the bus which subsequently exploded. As a result, He Yun also ended up in the time loop.
Hence, Shi Qing and He Yun have to stop the bus from colliding with the oil tanker. While they managed to do so by warning the driver to be careful, the bus still exploded because one of the passengers had a bomb on board. In the subsequent cycles, they end up being suspects when they tried reporting the matter to the police and it also didn’t prevent the explosion from occurring. This forced them to race against time to figure out who among the passengers has a bomb in their bag in the later cycles.
Reset 2022 Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
Reset has a happy ending. Both Shi Qing and He Yun got out of the time loop when they managed to stop the explosion onboard the bus and no one has to die because of the incident. Except for the people involved, all the passengers were also commended by the authorities and given a reward for their bravery. They were also shown moving on with their lives and feeling contented and happy.
Shi Qing and He Yun ended up as a couple in Episode 15. After facing the intense experience together, they found it hard to be apart. He Yun was also getting weaker and afraid that it might his last loop. He told Shi Qing that he will definitely remember her if they were to meet again and he will ask her then if she is wiling to be his girlfriend. She replied yes and they actually shared a kiss at that moment.
Who Brought The Bomb Onboard?
There were a driver and 7 passengers onboard the bus excluding Shi Qing and He Yun. They ruled out the V-Logger and the man with the headphones as the culprit because they had no bags with them. Shi Qing also found out that Yao Po had nothing except for medicines in her handbag early on.
They first suspected Lu Di because he had a backpack and looked anxious. So, they stopped him from boarding the bus during one of the time loops but found out that he was merely carrying a cat. He was masked up because he has asthma and anxious as pets are not allowed onboard.
Shi Qing and He Yun’s attention then turned to Ma Guo Qiang who had a big sack at his feet. But it turned out to be watermelons. He was an ex-convict and the fruits were meant for his son whom he had not seen for years.
The next passenger on the list was Tao Ying Hong. Shi Qing pretended that she needed a sanitary napkin and tried to rummage through the woman’s plastic bag. She saw that the bag contained a pressure cooker but was unsure about the contents. When the last passenger, Jiao Xiang Rong, opened his suitcase to offer Shi Qing the sanitary napkin, it was clear there was no bomb inside. He had a suitcase simply because he had just been evicted by his landlord and the sanitary napkins were meant for his daughter.
Hence, Shi Qing and He Yun knew Tao Ying Hong must be the villain in Episode 8. But when they stopped her, the bomb still exploded. They then found out that the driver, Wang Xing De, was also involved in Episode 10.
Motivation
Tao Ying Hong and Wang Xing De are actually a married couple. They had a daughter, Wang Meng Meng, who died in an accident 5 years earlier. Meng Meng attended the same university as Shi Qing and used to take bus no. 45 as well. On her last trip, a recording showed her getting down from the bus in the middle of the road along a bridge and she was immediately hit by an on-coming truck. She died on the spot.
Although Meng Meng died, her action earned her condemnation online for her reckless behavior. Tao Ying Hong then learned that a pervert was onboard the bus and her daughter must have felt threatened to get down in such a manner. Just before Meng Meng alighted, she also tried calling her father for help but he missed her calls. So, she started to heckle the driver and pull his arm to let her off. The driver felt it would be dangerous to let her disturb him further and opened the door for her to alight. Then, tragedy struck.
As the bus was crowded, the police could not find the pervert and closed their investigation. The couple was depressed and consumed with guilt and hatred especially Tao Ying Hong. They wanted justice for their daughter and planned to blow up the bus at exactly the same time and at the same spot where Meng Meng died. That was why Wang Xing De joined the bus company and insisted to drive the same route. As for Tao Ying Hong, she was a chemistry teacher who subsequently worked in a chemical plant where she had access to explosive materials.
Stopping The Explosion
Shi Qing managed to convinced Wang Xing De not to pull the trigger together with Sergeant Jiang in the last time loop cycle. Before that, all the passengers have cooperated to subdue Tao Ying Hong. Shi Qing told Wang Xing De that they have found the pervert who molested Meng Meng and that the police will ensure justice is done. Wang Xing De let go of the pressure cooker then and Sergeant Jiang threw it into the river just in time. Both he and his wife were then arrested. Tao Ying Hong also saw the apparition of her daughter smiling at her as she was led away.
Shi Qing and the police found the pervert through an ex-university student who inadvertently saw and recorded what happened to Meng Meng on the bus that day. But she kept quiet because her mother advised her not to get into trouble with the pervert who might recognize her. Furthermore, when she brought up the matter about the pervert in an online forum about the case, she was mauled for not helping then.
Shi Qing and her lecturer helped the police to identify the ex-university student from the online post. They managed to obtain the evidence from her and the pervert was arrested after the incident. Wang Xing De was seen smiling when he saw the pervert in jail with him.
In the last scene of the drama, Shi Qing and He Yun were seen holding hands while leaving a cemetery. They were there to pay their respects and lay a wreath at Meng Meng’s grave.
The Time Loop
The details about the time loop are not explained in the drama. I have not read the novel and therefore, I can only hazard a guess as to why the time loop came into being. My guess would be Meng Meng’s soul has something to do with it based on what is projected in the drama. Her soul is probably not at peace because the pervert is still free and her parents were trapped by their hatred and misery over her death.
Therefore, Meng Meng wanted Shi Qing to stop her parents from blowing themselves up and killing others in the process. When Shi Qing succeeded, the time loop ceased. Shi Qing was probably chosen because she shared the same lecturer as Meng Meng. That lecturer could then lead her to the ex-student who possessed the evidence on the pervert.
Reset 2022 Review – Short And Intriguing
First of all, I think they got the length right with this Chinese drama. 15 episodes is just nice for a time loop theme. Any longer, it would become repetitive and the risk of boredom will get higher with each additional episode. It is certainly not easy to get a time loop drama right because the same events will start happening again and again with each cycle. Hence, there must be new elements being introduced each time and the repetition has to be cut short to make the overall story exciting. Reset managed to do that effectively to leave viewers craving for more as the story unfolds.
I guess the plot has a lot to do with the excitement because each time loop is about eliminating suspects. This takes up about half of the drama before the protagonists found the culprit. Then, it is about how to stop them. So, the second arc will see the leads returning to the same bus ride each time they fail to stop the explosion. They will be trying different ways and improvising each time they are sent back. There is also a background story of why an explosion is being planned so that the motivation makes sense to the viewers.
Intriguing Storytelling
The first part is like a whodunnit and this is where it gets intriguing with the way the story is presented. You can say that the seemingly endless time loops allowed takes away some of the tension. By the time the protagonists found out that is not the case, it is already towards the end of the drama. However, they do have to race against time as well in certain scenes as they only have a small time window before the explosion occurs in each cycle.
The storytelling hooks you because it includes the personal tales of some of the passengers and how they ended up onboard. They are not long-winded but help to inject some variety and emotions into the drama rather than just numerous cycles of a bus ride and explosion. I think it cuts down on the boredom when the story is structured in this way.
In addition, the protagonists also become suspects in some time cycles when they seem to know more than they should in what is essentially a confidential police investigation. This again adds another layer to the drama for greater intrigue and excitement.
Most importantly, the story is kept short and straightforward. Reset is not a confusing drama at all although it has a sci-fi element to it. Many time travel and time loop stories end up being confusing or nonsensical but not this one. This is because it focuses on the action and what the protagonists need to do. It does not drag the viewers into why and the how and all the nitty-gritty details which usually invites confusion.
Simple Plot But Lacks Answers
Having said that, Reset’s greatest strength is also precisely its main weakness. With its simplicity, the existence of the time loop is not properly explained to the viewers. Therefore, don’t expect to know why and how the protagonists are dragged into the time loop while some passengers are not. You just have to accept that the female lead is the chosen one to find the villain and stop the explosion.
Similarly, you won’t get any answers of why they are out of that loop once they have successfully stop the explosion and save everyone’s life. You can make your own deductions and some things may be implied. But you won’t get any clear answers from the drama. You will have to refer to the novel for that. I guess you can blame the strict Chinese censorship rules as some topics are just off-limits. So, vagueness is to be expected for dramas that touch on the supernatural stuff like Reset. For instance, The Day Of Becoming You also suffered the same fate with its body swapping tale.
Nevertheless, I’m fine with the lack of detailed answers about the time loop in the drama. The intrigue and action-oriented storytelling overshadowed the need to get mired in the technical details of the time loop to me. So, I’m satisfied that the female lead just so happened to be drawn into repeated time cycles and she has to save everyone’s life in order to get out of it. But if you are the type of viewer who prefers everything to be neatly tied up and explained, then Reset will have that glaring plot hole.
Commendable Acting
Bai Jing Ting is such a natural in Reset as He Yun. He appears as timid which is so different from his role in You Are My Hero. That timidness doesn’t look forced but very much as part of the character’s inherent personality. Bai Jing Ting makes the character real to the viewers with his facial expression and body language. He knows how to project self-doubt, uncertainty, and anxiety as the events happen. I think his acting does help to make the drama more riveting overall.
Bai Jing Ting’s chemistry with Zhao Jin Mai is also surprisingly good despite the age difference. She was still a teen when this drama was filmed but that didn’t stop her from matching up to her co-star’s acting skills and pace. It is comfortable watching her as Shi Qing with a dash of brashness coupled with fear. It is consistent with the character who wants to do the right thing but fearful of the danger at the same time.
My Verdict – Don’t Skip This One!
Reset is only 15 episodes long but it doesn’t have that poor quality or low budget feel like Plot Love. Thus, you have more reasons to watch it than not. Don’t be put off by the time loop theme because the story is told in a way that is easy to follow. The repetitiveness of each time cycle is cut to a bare minimum that you don’t really feel it dragging the drama down as the story progresses. In case you are wondering, this is not an action romance drama like The Lion’s Secret or Mysterious Love. That little bit of romance in Reset is limited to the last episode. So, pick something else if you want that sugary fix of sweetness and fluff.
Instead, watch this for the great storytelling and plot execution of a time loop thriller. You have that element of suspense of a whodunnit, the tension of being suspects and hunted down, and the curiosity of why someone wanted to blow the bus up. So, the story will evoke a lot of interest and intrigue in you and get you drawn into the protagonists’ journey.
I would give this Reset Chinese drama review a score of 8/10. It would have been higher if not for the omission of the time loop details as mentioned above. The important thing is the drama still makes sense. Think of it as a missing small piece of a puzzle. You can still make out the overall picture but it just lacks perfection without that last piece. With a tightly focused storyline and short length, there is no room for boredom and annoyance with this one unlike longer dramas like Lie To Love and Never Say Goodbye. So, don’t skip Reset 2022 if you can!
Leave a Reply