Synopsis
"Reset" is a 2022 infinite flow suspense drama with a Douban rating of 7.9, directed by Sun Molong and starring Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai. It tells the story of two ordinary people who, after a bus explosion, become trapped in a time loop, repeatedly reliving the 20 minutes before the explosion to uncover the truth and prevent the disaster. Produced by Daylight Entertainment, the 15-episode series is concise and tightly paced, with 25 progressively intense loops, making it a milestone work in the domestic infinite flow genre.
Overview
Reset is a suspenseful sci-fi drama that premiered on Tencent Video on January 11, 2022. Produced by Daylight Entertainment and directed by Sun Molong, it is adapted from the novel of the same name by Pray Jun. Bai Jingting plays Xiao Heyun, and Zhao Jinmai plays Li Shiqing. With only 15 episodes, the series holds a Douban rating of 7.9 (based on approximately 610,000 reviews) and an IMDb rating of 8.1. Its viewership surpassed 100 million within three days of its premiere, and the total views exceeded 1.2 billion after its conclusion, making it the most explosive hit web drama phenomenon at the beginning of 2022.
Reset is China's first true "infinite loop" genre web drama. The "infinite loop" refers to a narrative type where the protagonist is trapped in a certain cycle or scenario, forced to repeatedly experience an event while searching for a way to break the loop. Reset masterfully integrates this concept into a realistic setting—a bus on the verge of explosion—telling a thrilling story through a highly relatable premise.
Plot
The story begins on an ordinary morning. Bus No. 45 is traveling on the cross-river bridge in Jialing City when a violent explosion suddenly occurs, killing everyone on board. However, college student Li Shiqing (played by Zhao Jinmai) opens her eyes—she finds herself back on the bus, minutes before the explosion. She realizes she is trapped in a time loop.
Li Shiqing attempts to prevent the explosion but repeatedly fails. During one loop, she accidentally pulls Xiao Heyun (played by Bai Jingting), a game architect sitting next to her, into the loop as well. From then on, the two experience explosion after explosion, death after death, gathering clues, eliminating suspects, and trying to identify the source of the bomb in each cycle.
The series features a total of 25 loops, with each loop bringing them closer to the truth than the last. The loop setting creates intense suspense in the narrative—the audience pieces together fragments of the truth alongside the protagonists through repeated failures. This meticulous, layer-by-layer narrative structure is utterly gripping, leaving viewers eager for the next episode at the end of each one.
Cast
| Actor | Character | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bai Jingting | Xiao Heyun | Game architect, calm and rational, skilled in analysis and deduction |
| Zhao Jinmai | Li Shiqing | College student, kind and brave, the first to enter the loop |
| Liu Yijun | Zhang Cheng | Police captain, plays a key role in the investigation of the bus explosion case |
| Liu Tao | Du Ju | Senior police commander |
| Huang Jue | Bus Driver | Driver of Bus No. 45, identity shrouded in mystery |
| Bu Yuxin | Ma Guoqiang | One of the passengers on the bus |
The performances of Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai are the pillars of the series. The two young actors needed to portray their characters' psychological evolution—from confusion and fear to determination and composure—across each loop, with clear layers and natural progression. Zhao Jinmai has several emotionally intense scenes, authentically and movingly depicting the fear and breakdown of an ordinary girl facing repeated death.
Innovative Significance
The innovation of Reset lies in its perfect fusion of a sci-fi concept with realism. Every passenger on the bus has their own life story—an elderly rural man eager to see his son, a melon farmer eager to help others, a live-streaming influencer, a middle-aged man carrying a watermelon. These characters are not stereotypical plot devices but flesh-and-blood ordinary people. As the protagonists gradually learn each passenger's story, their mission to stop the explosion becomes more profound and meaningful.
The series is also another successful attempt at a short-form drama by Daylight Entertainment following If There Is No Tomorrow. The 15-episode length is just right—neither dragging nor rushed, with each episode advancing the plot without any filler. This concise and impactful production model sets a new benchmark for domestic dramas.
References
- Douban Movie: https://movie.douban.com/subject/35332289/
- Baidu Baike: https://baike.baidu.com/item/开端
- Wikipedia: https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/开端_(电视剧)
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