Well-made shows without a need for traffic stars seem to be gaining favour amongst audiences. If you enjoyed Yang Xuwen and Yang Zhigang’s Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty II: to the West, chances are you’ll also enjoy Escape from the Trilateral Slopes 边水往事 helmed by Guo Qilin and Francis Ng. It’s the newest suspense thriller from Youku which has churned out dramas like Regeneration to great reception. The show also celebrates hitting 10,000 in Youku heat index and a solid 8.2 rating on Douban.
Synopsis
Escape from the Trilateral Slopes takes place in Sanbianpo, a fictional country where all kinds of people live together, a land of prosperity and also decay. Guo Qilin plays Shen Xing, a migrant worker who accidentally ends up stranded in Sanbianpo. There he meets Francis Ng’s Uncle Cai, a peacemaker of sorts between the factions in Sanbianpo. Will Shen Xing stay or will he escape?
It’s certainly an unlikely duo played by Guo Qilin, son of comedian Guo Degang who was first a xiangsheng performer like his father before going into acting. The 28-year-old actor has gone from playing the funny brother in Joy of Life to the husband in My Heroic Husband and now the protagonist of a modern thriller. And there’s no better actor to play off than Hong Kong veteran actor Francis Ng whose diverse filmography certainly has him made for such a role.
Positive Reviews and Ratings
Thus far, the show has been getting great reviews although things didn’t start off that way. Not gonna lie, for a c-drama, it’s quite violent and things do get a bit gory. But from the looks of things, many are enjoying it – albeit in smaller doses. Despite a couple of hiccups here and there – the drama’s ratings fell below expectations at the beginning, but things are looking up. Thanks to word of mouth, the series has even found itself shooting up in several ratings platforms.
Too Many Scenes Cut in the Abridged Version of “Escape from the Trilateral Slopes”
In a nutshell, Escape from the Trilateral Slopes, which is based on a novel by Shen Xing Xing, attempts to go where few dramas have rarely gone. Not only does it attempt to present the complexity and darkness of human nature, it also challenges the boundaries of censorship with its unexpected plot. However, something had to give to actually broadcast in China.
This meant a lot of the scenes had to be cut and that the more sensitive and “shocking” aspects of the story, presented more subtly. To get around this, director Lao Suan, who’s also behind the sci-fi hit Reset, didn’t solely rely on creating a visual impact all the time, but did so by leaving it up to the viewer’s imaginations to fill in the blanks. Nonetheless, many C-Netizens still hope an uncut version can one day make it to the small screens.
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