Early Access: Reset E2 (Patreon)

E2. What an interesting, interesting show!!

I'm pretty sure that part of the reason I'm so impressed with it, is because I'm not a connoisseur of time loop stories, so there aren't any parts that feel like tropes to me. At the same time, I also get the gut feeling that this show is just pretty darn excellence, regardless of whether or not you're a connoisseur of time loop stories.

One of the things that I find very unexpected about my watch, is how I'm picking up on themes, when I'd expected to be mostly involved with the untangling of the time loop mystery.

For example, this episode, one of the big ideas that comes to the forefront, is how, many small, almost inconsequential things have to happen, in order for everything to come together in one big event. If the delivery driver hadn't been in a hurry, or if the driver of the oil tanker truck hadn't been annoyed with his colleague and therefore distracted, this collision could have been avoided.

..Which is exactly what happens, in one of the loops. It sounds so simple and logical, that Shiqing and Heyun help to look out for the oncoming players in the accident, and warn the driver accordingly, thus giving him an extra split second to react - which then allows them to avert the collision.

It's quite a thought-provoking idea, that everything that we do has consequences; we just may not know what those consequences are, is all.

The other idea that comes to mind, as I watch this episode, is how there is power in solidarity. When Shiqing had attempted to avert the accident on her own, she'd failed; when Heyun had attempted to get off the bus on his own, he'd failed too. It's only when they worked together, that they eventually succeed in getting off the bus.

Two heads are better than one, and this is proven this episode, with how Shiqing and Heyun not only help each other calm down when it's most important, but also, in how they put their heads together, to figure a way out of the situation. I like that.

On another note, I'm intrigued by the idea that Heyun had been pulled into the cycle, because Shiqing had gotten him to get off the bus with her. According to what we're shown, it seems that Heyun had entered the cycle, upon dying on the operating table. It was when he'd flatlined, that we see him waking up in the bus, with the previous explosion registering as a very vivid dream.

With this, I tend to think that it has more to do with Heyun flatlining, than with him getting off the bus per se.

On a related note, I also think that Shiqing re-entering the loop, has to do with the fact that she became drowsy and fell asleep at the hospital - and the next thing she knows, she's back on the bus, in the time loop.

What this suggests, I think, is that even though Shiqing and Heyun have gotten off the bus successfully this episode, there's a good chance that once they next go to sleep, they'll find themselves back on the bus, and back in the time loop, all over again. What a conundrum!

On a different note, I'm actually rather struck by how, circumstantially, Shiqing and Heyun do appear to be very suspicious. I mean, not only do they get off the bus just before it explodes, they are seen standing on the bridge, looking in the direction of the explosion - until the explosion occurs.

Put together, it can look rather damning. However, I'm glad that Captain Zhang is quick to give them the benefit of the doubt, that the reason they're on the bridge like that, is because they're checking to see if the police have managed to prevent the explosion.

This contrast between Captain Zhang and the younger officer, Detective Jiang, makes me think about the lenses that we wear, that color our perception and interpretation of the world around us.

This is the second time in two episodes, that Detective Jiang has jumped to the conclusion that Shiqing is suspicious and that what she says is not to be trusted. This shows that his stance is not a neutral, objective one to begin with. His stance had been biased against her, and that's why he's so quick to judge her negatively.

In contrast, Captain Zhang is more neutral and objective. When listening to her explanation last episode, his objectivity had enabled him to pick up on the fact that she knew about the details of the accident, which she would have been unlikely to know, if she hadn't been telling the truth. And this episode, that objectivity allows him to give Shiqing and Heyun the benefit of the doubt as informants who are not directly involved in causing the explosion.

I'm hopeful that that objectivity on Captain Zhang's part is going to help our main duo, as the police set out to find and question them.

At the same time, I almost kinda feel like this might not even be that important, if Shiqing and Heyun are going to find themselves back in the loop, once they end the day and go to bed. 😅

Next episode notes will be out on: Friday, 11 Feb 2022!