C-DRAMA (2025) | Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller

‘Mobius’…Bai Jing Ting leads the way in this mind blowing, action-packed, time loop drama.

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Spoilers Ahead…

I love love love dramas that involve time travel; time loops, not so much. I find them exhausting and frankly, claustrophobic, watching characters relive the same day again and again and again, with fruitless attempts at escaping the loop, all the while, slowly descending into despair and nihilism. While I appreciated the concept in films like Groundhog Day, Palm Springs, Love Stuck, I can’t say that I enjoyed them. So, I am happy to report that in Mobius, the time loop only lasts for five days — the fifth day being the definite day, whose occurrences and actions get etched into our collective history. So, Ding Qi, a police detective (a phenomenal Bai Jing Ting), essentially has four trial runs of a day (it’s more like three, as he often goes through the first day of the loop not knowing that the day is going to repeat itself another four times), before he can manoeuvre the happenings of the final day, to achieve the desired results. As the first episode so expertly shows us, Qi starts with small wins, like winning a college football match to more calculated ones like, winning the lottery, making returns on his investment in the stock market, to eventually moving onto a more fulfilling purpose and using his ‘powers’ for the good, like capturing criminals.

The loop runs like a limited-time offer (unlike the Sisyphean task, they usually seem in the above mentioned films), and allows Qi to acquire information to play out all possible scenarios for solving the case (like the bank heist in the first episode). We see this in a painstakingly manner, as the drama only encompasses one case, and along with Qi, we re-live differing variations of the same day, gaining information, navigating each characters’ actions, behaviours and eliminating suspects to methodically reveal the answers we want. The possibilities are endless. But the consequences too, are endless.

I absolutely loved this drama (except for the choice of having an open-ended resolution) and hands down, it is one of my favourites shows that I have watched this year. I loved the mix of Cantonese and Mandarin dialogues. I loved the setting — Macau and Hong Kong lend their cityscape to the fictional Hua’ao City. I loved that the time loop is a result of a genetic mutation experiment (powerfully committing to the sci-fi genre) and that there is a price to pay when messing with nature and time. I loved solving the case with Qi — it was like solving a ‘find the difference’ puzzle, or like in the movie Minority Report, trying to prevent a crime before it can take place. I loved the camaraderie between all the officers, as the characters might not remember it, but with Qi, we too have spent five consecutive days with them.

Bai Jing Ting is absolutely phenomenal as Qi. After his restrained and understated performance in The First Frost, it was so fun to watch him in a more energetic role, which really showcased his comedic and action skills (the fight sequence in the abandoned hospital was so well choreographed and shot!). As the drama nears the final loop, you could really feel his exhaustion, as he goes through all the five days of the loop with neither food nor sleep.

A sci-fi would not be complete with a mad scientist (or a couple of them) and Song Yang as Mo Yuan Zhi is the perfect antagonist. He was brilliant (especially in the emotional sequences) and a perfect foil to Qi. While I empathised with his pain and his heart breaking motivations, he was still as opportunistic and vengeful as his mentor (played by Liu Yi Jun) and was ready to eliminate any person who would dare thwart his plan. As I mentioned before, I was not happy that the drama chose to keep his fate (and Qi’s decision to exit the time loop) open-ended, as I felt that a villain as wicked as him, should have been punished, and with the amount of risk Qi’s health was at by being in the loop, I don’t think it’s wise to continue within it. But this is a minor complaint, and thankfully did not hinder my viewing experience.

A small suggestion, before I wrap this review up — I would not recommend binging this drama. I took it at one to two episodes a day, so that I could soak in the details of each loop and notice the changes occurring from one day to the next. Also, as it’s just one day repeated on and on, it can feel repetitive at times, to watch the same setting, same characters uttering the same dialogues. But at the same time, this is a drama that you just must not miss.