Lu Ling Feng 卢凌风

Yang Xu Wen 杨旭文

Student of Judge Dee and exceptionally skilled at martial arts, he is demoted to be an official in Yun Ding in western Tang.

SU WU MING 苏无名

YANG ZHI GANG 杨志刚

Student of Judge Dee and a great detective. He is partner and mentor to Lu Ling Feng

PEI XI JUN 裴喜君

GAO SI WEN 郜思雯

Exceptionally talented artist and daughter to former high ranking court official. 

YING TAO 樱桃

SUN XUE NING 孙雪宁

Skilled martial artist/assassin that Su Wu Ming was tasked with taking care of in Season 1

Plot Overview

This drama starts just a month or so after season 1 ends.  Su Wu Ming is called back to the Capital and helps Lu Ling Feng with a case but they are caught in the middle once again in the power struggle between the Princess Tai Ping and Crown Prince. Lu Ling Feng’s true identity as the Princess’s oldest son is more openly revealed which leads to Lu Ling Feng being demoted to a far off location in the west and Su Wu Ming is stripped of any official post so he’s just a normal guy. But the group, including Su Wu Ming, Pei Xi Jun, Ying Tao and Fei Ying Jun join Lu Ling Feng as he travels west to take up this new post. Pei Xi Jun is matched with Lu Ling Feng while Ying Tao’s tied with Su Wu Ming. Fei Ying Jun is the drunken doctor who is a lifesaver on the trip. This capable crew of 5 people solve numerous mysteries along the journey west. 

Initial Thoughts

Season 1 was a sleeper hit (you can read my review) and given the positive reaction, the script for season 2 was quickly written and then put into production. Just 2 years after the airing of season 1, we are presented with season 2. An impressive timeline. Most, if not all, of the main cast remains the same which helps tremendously with the continuity of the drama and kept the final drama genuine, a rare feat that I think was pulled off even better than Joy of Life Season 2.

Fortunately, this drama marks the second drama of the year to break 10,000 on iQiYi’s popularity index. Given how little expectation season 1 had, that’s a great achievement for season 2. This cast is not nearly as well known as some of the other dramas in contention for eyeballs this year which online commentators have said reflects how a better script and production is more important than a top idol leading the cast. It’s unclear if the careers of the main cast or at least the young cast will take off after season 2, but even if their careers don’t go anywhere, there is likely enough interest to continue making seasons of Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty.

I’m thoroughly enjoying Season 2, even more so than season 1. The cases still move at a brisk pace and there is a plethora of characters in each story. Most of my main quips from season 1 were reduced and the show remains fast paced with interesting topics. The mysteries are not as “strange” in my opinion vs season 1 but there are more political undertones and there is more continuity in my opinion in the story line. Compared to the Judge Dee’s Mystery drama earlier this year that didn’t hit the mark with me, these students of Judge Dee and their travel adventures are more engaging. 

What I enjoyed:

• Show hits the ground running: The drama wastes no time in bringing back key characters to start the show. I did actually have to rewatch some of season 1 to remind myself what’s going on. Some people may not have liked that but I did because we’re immediately brought into the intrigue of the mystery at hand rather than wasting time doing a rehash. It did help that the main cast was literally the same.
• Lu Ling Feng is now more mature and even tempered: He definitely toned down his impulsive tendencies and given his experiences plus learnings from Judge Dee and Su Wu Ming, Lu Ling Feng is an adequate lead to the show. He’s much more thoughtful and observant such that I don’t have any of the dislike I had for him in season 1 into season 2. Now, Lu Ling Feng is a worthy partner to Su Wu Ming and lead to the drama. You can’t help but be infected by his righteousness and the actor Yang Xu Wen does a great job portraying this upstanding young man. You look at him and think, yes, he is a good guy. 
• Each character has a role to play: Lu Ling Feng this time around is the general with exceptional martial arts ability but also the righteous court official. Su Wu Ming remains highly observant and a great coroner. Pei Xi Jun excels in art while Ying Tao is the assassin and Fei Yi Shi is, of course, the doctor of the group. The individuals bring their unique skills to the group that adds to the collective and rarely is there internal strife which shows how well they integrated with each other. Each person is useful (though some more useful than others), which cannot be said for other dramas. 
• Limited romance in the main cast: The 2 couples are established in the drama and I appreciate there’s only small snippets showing those romantic links in between the various cases. The focus has remained on the cases themselves which obviously is the more intriguing part of the story. The relationship of the two couples doesn’t get in the way of solving cases. 
• There’s a mix of good and bad people: It’s always fun to figure out who are the bad guys and it’s easy to fall into the trope that most everyone is nefarious. But in several cases, we see individuals who are just as righteous as the main group and aid them in solving mysteries. These people left a last impression on me that adds quite a bit of color to the universe the cast is in such that they are not just forgettable people in the case once it is over. Perhaps that’s part of the theme in that there are also good people who want to do the right thing.
• Actual Martial Arts: Lu Ling Feng really brought the energy with his fighting prowess and we finally see decent martial arts combat fighting in the show. Importantly, it doesn’t seem exceptionally fake and Yang Xu Wen actually looks like he knows what he’s doing. Lu Ling Feng’s fighting ability was a key part of the show and they really leaned into it which was thoroughly enjoyable to watch
• Lots of interesting history!! As we are history nerds, there was plenty of Chinese and Tang dynasty history interspersed throughout the various cases and I loved it. You had to read up on who the Princess Royal is, as well as the new Emperor during this time period which kinda spoils what will happen to the Princess in the end but still it’s entertaining! There were many historical figures referenced in the show that I didn’t even know despite having discussed a whole Tang dynasty drama on our podcast. There were interesting foods mentioned like the bo tuo as well as the shaven ice dessert called Su Shan. Amazingly, after watching the show, there is a NYC restaurant that HAD su shan on their menu! I geeked out 🙂 

What Could Be Better:

• If I had to nitpick, it would be the couple pairing between Su Wu Ming and Ying Tao. It didn’t sit well with me in season 1 and still remains odd to me in season 2. I don’t think there’s much chemistry between the two. Fortunately, romantic lines between them are limited so it doesn’t detract too much from the overall show. 
• Some of the cases were better than others. That’s almost to be expected as not every case is going to be a slam dunk. I thought the cases when the group reached Yun Ding were a little weaker and more contrived than earlier ones and some character motivations weren’t fully fleshed out. One minor gripe I did have was just the amount of sexual assault and domestic abuse we saw on screen in the various cases. Yes, they’re important themes but did get repetitive after a while and almost made women seem exceptionally weak. Side bar – did anyone get Murder on the Orient Express vibes from one of the cases?  

Final Thoughts

This really was a hit for the summer when the overall slate of dramas was rather lackluster. It easily was the most talked about show during it’s run time and sailed to the top of the charts.  People online were absolutely loving the behind the scenes clips of the cast while filming that were filled with joy and laughter. Apparently, Yang Xu Wen and Yang Zhi Gang (the 2 male leads) would often be asked if they were related. Yang Zhi Gang, the older gentleman playing Su Wu Ming, is technically a generation older than Yang Xu Wen (Lu Ling Feng) and he would often joke that Yang Xu Wen is his son on set in these behind the scenes clips and in interviews.

Yang Xu Wen isn’t super well known to audiences as he hasn’t been in the “idol” track but this is definitely helping him gain recognition. What I think sets him apart is his martial arts ability. Throughout this drama, he is wielding multiple weapons to great effect, especially the spear which is generally considered one of the more difficult weapons to fight with. In interviews, it is stated that because there were so many fight scenes in the show, he was the hardest working member of the cast and barely had time to sleep. In a world where there’s been a lack of actors/actresses that can perform martial arts on screen, he has been applauded for at least showing real fighting chops vs CGI fights and random multiple cuts. 

As for Yang Zhi Gang, it’s almost bittersweet to see him gain success. He himself in interviews have said that this drama is giving a basically washed up middle age actor work again which warms my heart. 

The director has said that they are working on season 3 and so given how quickly we got season 2, I have high hopes that we will see this group back together on screen in the near future!

Let me know what you think!

Karen