Pegasus (2024)

no road is too long if you have good company - or a fast car.

As a self proclaimed lover girl with no interest in cars really, I had almost zero expectations going into this. But to my pleasant surprise it was a lot of fun, adrenaline packed rally scenes and I did not miss romance at all.

Hu Xian Xu is a great actor, he's so much fun to watch as both Lin Zhen Dong and the spirit of future Zhang Chi, who are very different from each other. He breathed new life into the original story of the "Pegasus" movies. I also liked how there was no big secret about his dual personality but rather it was embraced and therefore even funnier.
Generally in terms of acting, this had quite a high quality with only one exception in my opinion.

The team spirit of the "Speeding" Race Team was great, their jokes with each other were heartwarming and I can totally feel why future Zhang Chi was so pressed on them staying a team. Both on and off track each team member has their own personality and need for another. They laugh, fight and grow with each other and always push forward.
The car racing, especially the many desert and rough terrain scenes were epic and gave me goosebumps multiple times. You can tell they spared no effort and money to get the best racing shots and you can be sure there is not just one race, but rather they're always accompanied by their passion for racing. I liked that the drama knew what it was and stuck with it.

Although it started as the story of Zhang Chi's spirit from the future in Lin Zhen Dong's body trying to change the outcome of his life, around the halfway point, the real Lin Zhen Dong starts to get the most character and skill development. A new dynamic was formed and it gave the drama another push to move forward.

In terms of "romance" there are 2-3 episodes with more focus on Zhang Chi and Xiao He, but again the team really made for half of those scenes and other than the letter, there is nothing really romantic about it. It felt quite natural tho, so no complaints on that front. Zhang Chi (in LZDs body) making sure to push present ZH towards her was funny.

One more thing I want to mention is, I was surprised at the lack of national pride. A drama about national and international car racing to determine who is THE best driver, would surely have some of that in cdramaland, right? Nope and I give it two thumps up. - Over the years I got sensitive towards that and so I able to enjoy it even more, as the goal was to prove the Individual drivers' strength and ability, rather than saying "it's all for the country". It was heavy on car racing being the dream of the team and the drivers, rather than gaining some sort of national merit.

Music:
Absolutely fantastic OST! "No Fear, No Regrets" and "Consequences" are straight bangers, while "Destination" is just the perfect amount of sadness and power, that it landed on my "rainy drive" playlist faster than Lin Zhen Dong drove, when he borrowed the buggy to race Yuan Dao, LOL

A fun to watch drama about team spirit, trying to make up for past regrets, drifting scenes that will make you go "that's hot" and good pacing for the most part. It's not perfect but a good watch regardless - maybe just skip the last 5 minutes.


ENDING SPOILER

In terms of the ending let me say this:
I need to stop writing reviews straight after finishing a drama because I'm always emotionally charged but I have a feeling I'll feel bittersweet about the ending for a while. As expected certain things happened and the last 2 episodes had some real tearjerker scenes that were extremely well done. I could really feel Zhang Chi's emotion when he held Ye's helmet and the moment with the car a few minutes before that, goosebumps!

The actual ending was too fast, too furious in my opinion. The bad guy was dealt with way too rushed and I had to go back and check why. Then one moment I was happy, seeing how the one thing ZH from the future came back for turn out right but the next second I remembered how Dakar was somehow just brushed over and 2027 didn't look much different. From the previous 26 episodes it really looked like this alternate timeline turned out so differently but they barely gave us time in the end to realize that, except for three things, everything was the same and there was loss nonetheless - the ending feels a bit like whiplash because just when I realized that, we got another post finale scene! (insert mandatory waking up scene for transmigration dramas). I mean I did see it coming but still.. they could have at least XH explain her ring, because from the very last moment at the hospital bed, it very much gave us sad ending and I don't do well with those.
I have to give them at least a little credit because they did make a final cut, with the screen going dark and a motivational message dedicating this drama to everything you love and then "bad" ending happens - so I guess you can separate these two endings.

Edit: there seems to be VIP special on Youku with a few more minutes that basically confirms that this story is set in a world where multiple timelines / a parallel universe exists.

Overall it was a lot of fun, adrenaline rush 1000x and it really gets you rooting for the team! - not a boring moment and a good mix of comedy and growth. Just do yourself a favor and skip the last 5-6 minutes (basically the scene after the screen goes dark with "to everything you love")

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Hu Xianxu never disappoints with his acting skills..

Ever since Hikaru No Go Live Action got recommended to me by YT..I have been a fan of Hu Xianxu from then on. I searched his Filmography and got to watch most of his dramas that were still available online. He gives life in each of his characters. And him being Lin Zhendong/Zhang Chi shows how good of an actor he is. The way he switches between characters in just a snap and how he makes them so different is just amazing.

So glad I checked MDL recently and found out about Pegasus. Because watching ep.1, even though it can be quite confusing because of the really fast pacing. It was pretty engaging (bonus: Hu Xianxu is really handsome when he's Lin Zhendong). I also like that he didn't really get any love interest. Because I'm not so much into love stories. Which is also one of the reasons why I liked HNG as well (I know it's supposed to be somewhat of a BL).

This drama made me laugh, cry, got motivated and so many more. I hope this gets more attention outside China because the production in itself is topnotch. And the actors fit so well with their roles. BTW, so happy that we got somewhat of a Shi Guang and Hong He reunion. Would have given this a 10/10 for story if not for the scenes where I felt like aren't necessary for the story which were made to be longer than they have to be.

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