TV series

Special Competition

2009 · 1 season

A taut wartime chess match of loyalties and persuasion, where every conversation carries the weight of who will survive.

Overview: In the final years of the Anti-Japanese War, a group of patriotic students returning from overseas are captured by the Japanese. A tense three-way battle ensues between Japanese collaborators, Nationalist agents, and Communist underground forces, each trying to sway the students to their cause.
How it feels: Tense, dark, earnest and melancholic. Measured and needs your attention.
About: War, betrayal, loyalty, identity
Content: Strong violence. Mild gore and language. No sexual content.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: tensestrength 3 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: war
betrayal
loyalty
identity
survival
Places: big city
military
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: serialised
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex none

All scales, 0 to 10

No streaming, rental or purchase options are known in the US.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Genres: drama
Starring: Jin Dong, Zhou Yang, Yao Anlian, Ma He, Liu Xiyuan, Liu Xiaohai, Cui Peng, Liu Yuqiao
Length: 1 seasons, 29 episodes, 45 min each
Country: China
Languages: Mandarin