This director is vindictive.

Chapter 252 Reverse Smoking, Boundless Power! Even Laozi (the Supreme Lord Lao) Gives a Thumbs Up

The so-called insiders look at the door, while laymen look at the excitement.

Despite the fact that many people say the first two episodes of "The Untouchable" are somewhat mediocre, the show has actually garnered a significant number of views.

Although Zhou Xiaobin guessed that the first two episodes were setting the stage and cited various details, he was still looking forward to the later episodes since they hadn't been released yet.

The plot of the novel and the adapted web series can never be completely identical.

Fortunately, "The Untouchable" only has 12 episodes, so even if there is a setup, it can't be too long.

The third episode was released as scheduled. As soon as Zhou Xiaobin started watching, he saw the barrage of comments.

Holy crap, something intense ahead!

"High energy ahead, protect yourself with bullet comments!"

"Warning: High-energy content ahead! I admit I was a bit loud earlier, but does it have to be this extreme?"

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, I was wrong, Chen Mo, you're really awesome!"

Although he hadn't watched the episode yet, seeing so many comments on the screen, Zhou Xiaobin couldn't help but smile knowingly.

He was right. If Chen Mo could produce a show like "The Hidden Corner" that was high-energy from beginning to end, then how could the second installment of the same series suddenly fall short?

It seems my previous guess was correct.

He quickly started reading.

The most memorable scene in "The Long Night" – Li Fengtian officially "draws his knife," turning smoking in the opposite direction into killing someone in the opposite direction, making his official debut!

Seeing Li Fengtian smash Huo Ge's finger with a frozen fish, the sound of bones cracking clearly audible, and then calmly lighting a filter after the murder, the sparks reflecting the "pleasant twitching" at the corner of his mouth. He poured gasoline on it, set it alight, and left humming an off-key version of "Katyusha."

Even though Zhou Xiaobin considered himself to have seen countless films and that it was rare for any plot to frighten him, this scene still sent a chill down his spine!

The live chat was already exploding with activity at that moment.

"Holy crap, this can actually be broadcast?"

"A new pinnacle of villainous characters in Chinese dramas has emerged!"

"I hereby declare that China now has a Hannibal-style villain!"

"This is absolutely mind-blowing! This segment seems to be the one from the promotional clips Chen Mo released. The performance without props was scary enough, but this is the real, full version? That's just ridiculous!"

Why do I feel like I'm allergic to Katyusha now?

"That previous analysis and review was totally right!"

"The moment Li Fengtian lit his cigarette, I silently threw away my lighter!"

"From this episode onwards, the snow in Harbin is no longer romantic; it's all about the smell of blood."

In an instant, everyone was in an uproar.

A memorable scene is a memorable scene. Some people may need many films to create their classic image, but some people only need a moment to be remembered by the audience!

Li Fengtian's reverse smoking and his reaction when killing someone were so realistic that many people even paused the broadcast!

However, the explosive and high-energy moments of the third episode go far beyond the scene where Li Fengtian kills someone by smoking in reverse.

Later, Luo Wen's "revenge plan" came to light, especially the flashbacks that revealed the details of his wife and daughter's murder, with the close-up of his daughter's little leather shoes becoming a source of psychological trauma.

This also implies that Luo Wen fabricated evidence and began using Yan Liang to investigate the case.

Thus, the foreshadowing in the first two episodes began to show its power.

"I went back and watched the first two episodes, and I realized that the content of the first two episodes was really rich, and there were so many foreshadowings! It turns out that he avoided Yan Liang's gaze in the first two episodes because he felt guilty!"

"Heh, the murder weapons in Li Fengtian's tool shed were just lying there, looking like ordinary things, but in his hands they became murder tools."

However, this is still not all of the third episode.

"Holy crap, holy crap, more high-energy content ahead! Let me catch my breath. Chen Mo is really something else! So many explosive moments in just one episode!"

"High energy ahead! Shocking, shocking, shocking!"

"I was wrong, Chen Mo, Professor Do, you're even more terrifying than Li Fengtian!"

Zhou Xiaobin also happened to see this, and he quickly understood why the audience's reaction was so strong.

Because the next scene is Zhu Huiru's "counterattack in the snow"!
It was equally stunning!

In "The Untouchable Crime", Zhu Huiru's "counterattack" scene can be said to be one of the most impactful and memorable scenes in the series!

When she saw Zhu Huiru being cornered by a thug named Huang Mao and attempted to assault him, in extreme fear and despair, she grabbed an ice pick and stabbed it into his eyeball. Blood splattered on the snow. The slow-motion close-up of her trembling hand and the perpetrator's gradually dilating pupils, combined with the silent panting, created a strong visual impact!
The audience's reactions on the live chat were also polarized.

"Self-defense! My sister is killing me!"

"Wouldn't this be considered another form of 'crime without a warrant'?"

"Behind the exhilarating feeling of self-defense lies the desolation of being driven into a corner!"

"The blond-haired man was incapacitated, and the subsequent stabbing and execution may have been considered excessive self-defense!"

This scene became famous mainly because it showcased a crucial turning point in the complexity of human nature.

Zhu Huiru transforms from a victim into a "bloodstainer," and later joins forces with Guo Yu to cover up the crime, showcasing the moral collapse of ordinary people under extreme circumstances!
The foreshadowing also begins to come together. The ice pick, as the murder weapon, forms a metaphorical connection with the tools in Luo Wen's "Snowman Case," suggesting the contagious nature of evil.

Unlike Li Fengtian's cold-blooded killing, Zhu Huiru's counterattack is full of struggle and is equally visually impactful!

Zhou Xiaobin was also shocked. It can be said that no domestic drama has ever seen such a dense burst of high-energy content in a single episode.

For other dramas, this one episode might have expanded into ten or twenty episodes, but this is only one episode.

Most importantly, while the entire film is high-energy, the actors' performances are also phenomenal.

He suddenly thought of "The Hidden Corner" and "The Untouchable," both of which are ensemble dramas, but what makes these two dramas so amazing is that the performance of each character is astonishing.

In fact, after the third episode aired, Li Fengtian's murder by smoking in the opposite direction immediately became a trending topic.

#Li Fengtian - The pinnacle of domestically produced villainous characters#
#Li Fengtian smoking backwards#
#Episode 3 of "The Untouchable" is packed with high-energy moments!#
The comments below were also explosive.

"Holy crap, it gave me goosebumps, especially when Li Fengtian was burning the corpse, and the background music was 'Today is a Good Day'! It's so absurd it sends chills down my spine!"

"The key is that all the foreshadowing in the first two episodes has been revealed. In the first episode, the frozen fish was hanging in Li Fengtian's tool shed, and I didn't pay any attention to it at the time. But after watching the third episode, I feel like I will never buy frozen fish again!"

"I feel like Chen Mo is the devil! From the oppression (first two episodes) to the fear (the burning corpse scene) to the shock (the counterattack scene), it's a complete psychological rollercoaster experience! I feel like our emotions have been completely manipulated by him through the plot of this drama!"

"After seeing this, my legs went weak when I saw frozen fish at the market!"

"The series of actions, such as pouring gasoline, humming 'Katyusha,' and lighting a cigarette with a filter, give the cruel act a bizarre 'artistic' feel, giving off a Hannibal Lecter vibe!"

Similarly, "The Untouchable" is currently receiving rave reviews from netizens and drama fans.

"Every 10 minutes, a new plot twist is introduced, such as Li Fengtian's identity, Luo Wen's motives, and Yan Liang's old case. The amount of information far exceeds that of ordinary dramas!"

"It's still the same formula, the same taste, just like when I watched 'The Hidden Corner.' No wonder Tencent Video spent so much money to buy it; the quality of one episode is enough to make half a series of other dramas!"

"Chinese dramas finally have their own 'Memories of Murder,' where every character is dancing on the edge of the abyss."

"The key point is that the actors' acting skills are off the charts! Where did Chen Mo find so many amazing actors? Teacher Ning Li is one thing, but even the Huo Ge who was killed had incredible acting skills. Why have I never heard of him before?"

Thus, everyone knows that "The Untouchable" has become a hit again.

Although many people had high expectations for this drama beforehand, its performance still far exceeded everyone's expectations.

In fact, when people talk about the quality of a movie, they are not only referring to the visuals, but also the tightness of the plot.

Movies have a limited runtime, so every shot needs to be meticulously crafted and effective. However, this is often not the case with television dramas.

"The Untouchable" demonstrates what a tight film should be. Even the first two episodes, which were initially considered "conventional," turned out to be just as dense as the third episode when many people rewatched them after the third episode aired. It's just that the first two episodes were more about setting up the plot.

However, every single shot is not useless.

What's even more remarkable is that, as the plot of "The Untouchable" progresses, each episode remains incredibly fast-paced, making it impossible to watch at any faster speed.

In many cases, people only realize they've finished watching when the progress bar has already gone full.

Of course, there are bound to be controversies.

"The Untouchable" is also not a truly perfect drama series.

The main point of contention is that this is a crime thriller, and although it is a social realist thriller, it is inevitable that there will be some parts that make serious viewers feel that it is unreasonable.

For example, key cases in the drama, such as the "Snowman Case," rely on indirect evidence such as fingerprints and environmental traces, but lack direct physical evidence such as surveillance footage and murder weapons, which has raised questions among legal professionals about its rigor.

For example, Li Fengtian's methods of committing crimes—killing people with frozen fish and burning bodies with gasoline—are seen by some meticulous individuals as having a strong visual impact, but in reality, it is difficult to completely avoid the presence of biological evidence.

"Li Fengtian's method of killing was not particularly sophisticated, and it's impossible that he left nothing behind. It feels like he was forcing a perfect crime!"

"Right, burning a body can't leave absolutely no biological evidence, can it?"

"It feels a bit far-fetched. While I admit that Li Fengtian's series of murders were indeed chilling, especially his bestial reactions and perverse sense of ritual, which were appalling, it seems a bit too far-fetched that the police couldn't catch him for so long with this kind of criminal method."

For example, the character's motivations: Luo Wen planned a series of murders for revenge, but there is a logical disconnect between his high-IQ forensic doctor identity and his emotionally driven crimes.

Zhu Huiru's transformation from victim to accomplice was considered by some viewers to be "too sudden" and lacking in psychological transition.

"It's strange that Zhu Huiru suddenly went from being a victim to an accomplice."

"Yes, the change was too sudden. I was wondering, if it was self-defense, why did they do so much?"

Etc., etc.

Of course, inevitably, the most outstanding character in this drama is Li Fengtian!
It's no exaggeration to say that Li Fengtian made Ning Li a legendary actor with this one role.

However, this also brought controversy.

This is a recurring topic, namely, the criticism of "romanticizing antisocial personality disorder!"

In fact, just like Hollywood's "classic villain" movies such as "The Silence of the Lambs," the "romantic" treatment of villains, that is, criminals, makes the character's arc even surpass that of the righteous characters, which naturally arouses dissatisfaction among some people.

After all, how can you find a murderer attractive?
"This show shouldn't have been aired. It makes the murderers in it seem like they're doing something very ritualistic. What are they trying to do?"

"Li Fengtian smoking backwards is outrageous, and he even sings Katyusha. The key point is that so many shots are used to 'beautify' this character. Isn't that going too far?"

However, as with any controversy, since some people are dissatisfied and nitpicking, there are naturally supporters who refute it.

"I'm just wondering, in the past, crime dramas portrayed detectives as intellectually superior to criminals, and you all said it was unrealistic, saying that criminals couldn't possibly be that stupid. But now that the battle is evenly matched, you're saying that criminals are being glorified. So how the hell are you supposed to film this?"

"Can you please pay attention to the timeline? The setting of the show is actually from a much earlier era, okay? Criminal investigation technology wasn't as advanced back then, and there was no Skynet system. How could it be so easy to solve cases?"

"A 12-episode drama with such a fast pace, according to what you're saying, it also needs to show the psychological changes, wouldn't that mean it could be padded out for several episodes? If that's the case, I guess people will say that the pacing is too slow."

"While it's not perfect, and the logic might not be flawless, it's at least reasonably reasonable, right? It's just a TV series, why are you taking it so seriously? As long as there aren't any obvious logical errors, it's already very good!"

Controversy generates buzz, and even though "The Untouchable" only has 12 episodes and will only be aired for two weeks, it still needs some discussion.

However, its viewership and the amount of discussion it generates are in no way less than those of dramas with dozens of episodes.

Tencent Video has been laughing all the way to the bank, especially with the suspense drama theater that started with "The Hidden Corner". After "The Untouchables", it can be said to have been fully formed.

In terms of viewership, after all 12 episodes of "The Untouchable" were released, the total number of views exceeded 10 billion, which is simply outrageous.

It's worth noting that other dramas might not even reach such viewership numbers even with 40 or 50 episodes, but "The Untouchable" achieved this success with only 12 episodes.

Moreover, the viewing time is even longer than many dramas with dozens of episodes, and the retention rate is frighteningly high.

All of this is enough to demonstrate the excellence of this drama.

Of course, the previous version of "The Untouchable" didn't have such high viewership or popularity.

When the previous series "The Untouchable" ended, it had around 4 to 5 million views.

In this life, thanks to Chen Mo, his status and fame are unmatched by the director in his previous life; he can be said to have built-in popularity.

In addition, in terms of publicity, this drama received much more attention than the previous one from the time it was first conceived and filmed to its broadcast, and the broadcasting platform was also different.

The promotional resources provided by Tencent Video far surpass those of Kiwi in its previous life.

All of these factors combined resulted in the energy unleashed by this drama far exceeding the level of its predecessor.

At the same time, the broadcast of "The Untouchable" also had a huge impact on the actors.

For example, Ning Li can be said to have achieved legendary status with his role as "Li Fengtian".

Despite being a villain god, he went from having "no roles for 10 years" to receiving a constant stream of film offers thanks to a 5-minute reverse smoking scene.

The other actors were equally impressive. For example, Deng Jia, who rose to fame as the "Little Aunt" in "iPartment," delivered a "desperate housewife"-style performance in this drama, which allowed her to successfully break free from the "Little Aunt" character filter and gain recognition for her acting skills.

Even minor supporting actors like Wang Peilu, who played Brother Huo, received more attention after the show aired.

The series "The Untouchable" has come to an end, but many fans are still feeling unsatisfied.

Everyone is urging Chen Mo to hurry up and film the final installment of the Mist Trilogy.

"Hurry up and take the picture, even the donkeys in the production team don't dare to rest like this!"

"Professor Do, as someone from another planet, you don't have the problem of getting tired, so hurry up and don't let us Earthlings look down on you!"

"What's the third part again? Whatever it is, hurry up and get it over with!"

Not only that, even Tencent Video, after tasting the benefits, immediately contacted Chen Mo to inquire about the specific filming time for the third installment.

However, Chen Mo was naturally not in such a hurry.

He had no time to think about any of that right now.

At Huayun Clothing, Zhang Bing called to tell Chen Mo that the first series of wedding dresses he requested had been designed.

Chen Mo went to the headquarters of Huayun Apparel immediately.

"This is Li Rongrong, the chief designer of this traditional Chinese wedding attire series," Zhang Bing introduced to Chen Mo.

"Rongrong, why don't you introduce her to Chairman Chen?" Zhang Bing said.

"Chairman Chen, please come with me!" Li Rongrong smiled elegantly and gestured for him to follow.

Chen Mo followed Li Rongrong to the design department.

"I named my first series 'Phoenix Brings Auspiciousness,' mainly inspired by the traditional Chinese wedding dress of phoenix coronet and embroidered robe. The phoenix symbolizes good fortune and echoes the solemnity and magnificence of Chinese weddings."

Inspired by the "phoenix coronet and embroidered robe," this design blends traditional aesthetics with modern fashion, based on the classic forms of the phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, such as cloud-shaped shoulder ornaments, dragon and phoenix patterns, and gold thread embroidery.

"We emphasize the auspicious meanings carried by wedding attire, such as the phoenix symbolizing nobility and red representing joy!"

"Details in the attire, such as the gold-embroidered shoes that symbolize 'lotus blossoms with every step,' enhance the solemn atmosphere of the wedding."

"In terms of materials, we plan to use a combination of traditional silk and modern sheer fabric to create a flowing feel, retaining core patterns such as dragons and phoenixes and cloud patterns, but treating them in an abstract way."

As Li Rongrong explained, she thoughtfully showed Chen Mo the computer-generated design.

(End of this chapter)