Plot Synopsis
"Frozen Surface" tells the story of the investigation led by Captain Guan Yu of the Lianhe CriminalPolice Brigade into a vicious crime case that occurred in the tranquil small town of Lianhe in Northeast China. Three lives were suddenly lost, each with a different cause of death. Captain Guan Yu swiftly launches an investigation, and one by one, the suspects emerge. Among them are Yang Si, a recently released inmate who had served two months inprison, Yang Xuesong, Yang Si's stepson deeply entangled in an emotional whirlpool with the two deceased individuals, WangPing, the ex-wife of Yan Hongqiao, and even a mysterious man who had been officially declared dead in the records for several years...
Episodes Recap
- 1-3
- 4-6
- 7-9
- 10-11
Episode 1 : A murder case occurred.
Episode 2 : Guan Yu investigated Yang Si.
Episode 3 : Guan Yu and others went to investigate Yang Xue Song.
Episode 4 : Wang Ping issued a warning.
Episode 5 : Guan Yu and his team went to Yang Si's hometown to investigate.
Episode 6 : Zhong Yi had an incident.
Cast & Role
Yang Xue Song
(Wang Guang Yuan)
Feng Gen
(Yu Yang)
Yan Hong Qiao
(Xing Jia Dong)
Chen Xiao Ming
(Yang Yu Tong)
Current plot analysis suggests that the possible culprits are Feng Gen and Wang Ping. Feng Gen appeared in the first episode wearing mourning attire before the police made any announcements, and Wang Ping received a text message.
Yang Si has already confessed.
Fifteen years ago, at the fertilizer plant, Guan Yu's uncle suddenly died, possibly related to Yang Si (speculation: it might be related to medical expenses for his son, taking the blame for someone else).
In each episode, he is seen on the run. Later, the real Yang Si is beaten to death, and he takes his identity, destroying his own appearance. In the beginning of the sixth episode, he returns to his hometown using Yang Si's identity to find his wife and child, becoming the stepfather to his son and planning to live a good life while working at the timber factory and engaging in robberies.
After being released from prison fifteen years later, his son is falsely accused of murder, and he intends to take the blame for his son. From the audience's perspective, it is evident that his son has already frozen to death at the bottom of the river.
It is estimated that he will seek revenge in the end, or else his scar (eyelid) would be in vain.
The genre is good, and the overall plot is decent, but the details are really terrible. Can't the writers have more knowledge about their profession? One moment they say that Lanheluo is underdeveloped, and the next they can locate someone using cell phone signals.
In 2005, cell phone signals could only be traced when the phone was turned on without making any calls. Then, when analyzing Yang Xue Song's whereabouts, they immediately ruled out leaving the city.
Firstly, in 2005, only major cities like Shanghai had police checking IDs at train stations, and even then, it was random.
Secondly, several hours had passed between the crime and the report, so how could they be so sure that the person hadn't left the city? Moreover, there were multiple mentions of people falling into holes and drowning while fishing, as if it happens all the time.
Then, a retired soldier who was a reconnaissance soldier claims to have seen a water ghost after falling into the river. He spent decades in criminal investigations as a detective, but didn't he consider the possibility that it could be someone else who fell into that hole, even if it had nothing to do with the case?
I won't go into other issues, but I really hope that our domestic movies and TV shows in China can be more rigorous in all aspects.
Firstly, this is undoubtedly an excellent TV drama. However, there are some parts that are just too unrealistic. Some of the veteran actors in this Northeastern-themed drama have already played many roles, so how can they still mispronounce "jie" and "gai"?
Nowadays, there are no Northeasterners who speak that way.
In fact, it is evident from the TV drama's setting that it is in Heilongjiang. But there are no locals from Heilongjiang who say "gai".
Furthermore, why did they combine the stories of several notorious gang leaders from Heilongjiang's dark history? It feels a bit forced.
Overall, the TV drama is very good, but the director falls short.
They have too little understanding of Harbin, Heilongjiang, and the local culture of Hulan.
Speculation: In 1995, Yang Shijia killed Xie Haijun to get money for their child's medical treatment, with the help of Yan Hongqiao. They fled to a coal mine and later returned to Lanhe under the identity of the deceased Yang Si, living in anonymity with their original wife and child.
At the same time, after Xie Haijun's death, Yan Hongqiao embezzled the compensation money for laid-off workers and acquired the land of the fertilizer plant. They established the Hongqiao Group and quickly rose to power.
In 2005, when Lanhe was upgraded from a county to a district, there was a struggle among developers.
Wang Ping and their driver killed Yan Hongqiao to gain control over the development rights along the riverbank. Feng Gen acted as an insider.
A day before the crime, the plan was accidentally captured on Yang Xuesong's phone, leading to Yang's murder and their body being dumped into the river.
Subsequently, Wang Ping used Yang Xuesong as leverage to frame Yang Si (Yang Shijia). Yang Si left their fingerprints at the crime scene, hid the murder weapon, but also left an outstanding employee medal that led the police to an old case.
Conclusion: Yang Lijia killed Xie Haijun, the driver killed Zhao Xinguo, Wang Ping killed Yan Hongqiao, and Chen Xiaoming, upon learning of Yang Xuesong's supposed death from Wang Ping, tragically committed suicide out of grief.
Since Yang Si confessed to the crime, he definitely isn't the real culprit. So his confession must be to help the true murderer cover up the truth. This aligns with him intentionally leaving the medal at the crime scene and deliberately waking up the intoxicated witness to see his own face.
The only thing he cares about is his son, Yang Xuesong. So the truth is likely that Yang Xuesong sought revenge against Yan Hongqiao, and there may have been instigation from Wang Ping, Huang Mao, or others in between.
The young and strong Yang Xuesong easily overpowered the security guard, broke into Yan Hongqiao's room to kill him. Yang Si witnessed Yan Hongqiao pointing a gun at Yang Xuesong, so they teamed up to disarm him (which explains a gunshot hitting the wall).
But Yang Xuesong didn't want to let Yan Hongqiao go and directly picked up the gun to shoot and kill him.
Meanwhile, Yang Si intentionally left behind a significant amount of evidence to take the blame, but the real Yang Xuesong may also be in danger.
It's highly possible that Yang Si is Yang Xuesong's biological father. The director mentioned "long-standing grievances," indicating that either the real Yang Si's identity was replaced by the biological father who fell into an icy abyss, or Yang Si was originally with Yang Xuesong's mother but was forcibly separated at that time.
Now, this Yang Si is probably the person who worked as an illegal laborer and hid in the mountain cave. He mentioned having a wife, also surnamed Yang. When he went into hiding, he must have mistakenly taken the wrong identification documents.
The identification card he held, belonging to Yang Si, wasn't the real Yang Si beaten up? He should have been beaten to death. So he used Yang Si's identification card to return home and assumed the identity of the deceased Yang Si.
Therefore, Yang Xue Song is likely his biological son, and his wife isn't a widow but his own wife.
After watching 4 episodes, I'll take a wild guess at the plot direction. Yang Xue Song discovers that Chen Xiao Ming went to find Yan Hong Qiao, rushes into the company with a knife, kills the two outside, and then there's a struggle in the room where the gun falls aside.
Chen Xiao Ming shoots and kills Yan Hong Qiao, and Yang Xue Song is probably already in a bad state. Chen Xiao Ming then jumps off the building to commit suicide. As for Yang Si, they should have followed and discovered the crime scene, taking the knife with them.
As for Wang Ping's storyline, it likely involves being the protective umbrella behind the scenes, and perhaps they discovered and disposed of the body in the lake before Yang Si.
The drama is good, but there are a few shortcomings in the acting. One is that Wang Ping's performance lacks the essence that Er Mazzi had! Secondly, the female police officer, Zhong Yi, didn't portray the emotions of a normal victim at the crime scene.
She completely failed to express the grief and indignation towards her comrade's sacrifice. It's not necessary to cry out loud, but she shouldn't have been indifferent either. She showed no normal reaction and just stood there with her hands in her pockets.
It was only when she saw the knife that she showed a shocked expression, covering her mouth, rather than displaying sorrow and heartache.
From the moment he answered the phone and said he had to go back to celebrate his birthday, I knew this police officer was going to sacrifice himself. It's a familiar trope. If someone is about to get married, it's definitely the one who sacrifices.
If someone is about to become a father, it's the one who sacrifices before becoming a father.
It was believed that Yang Si killed Yang Xue Song, deliberately leaving evidence at the crime scene to take the blame. Yang Xue Song witnessed the murder and fled, but Feng Gen and Wang Er Mazi caught up with him and killed him.
Huang Mao was not involved in Yan Hong Qiao's death, but he helped Feng Gen and Wang Er Mazi dispose of Yang Xue Song's body. In the first episode, apart from the police, the main characters present at the crime scene were Feng Gen, who arrived first and showed great concern for Yan Hong Qiao's death.
Moreover, the handgun was obtained by Feng Gen through someone else, so the two main suspects are Feng Gen and Wang Er Mazi. Wang Er Mazi is more likely, but it's also possible that Chen Xiao Ming killed Yang Xue Song.
Feng Gen provided the key for the drawer, which he gave to Chen Xiao Ming. In fact, Chen Xiao Ming loved Yang Xue Song. When Yan Hong Qiao tried to kill Yang Xue Song, Chen Xiao Ming shot and killed Yan Hong Qiao to save him.
Knowing that she had taken a life and had no way out, her emotions were complicated. She betrayed love, apologized to Yang Xue Song, and shot Yan Hong Qiao, regretting what he had given her. Under multiple emotions, she couldn't bear it and jumped off the building to commit suicide.
Yang Xue Song had no choice but to run. During his escape, he was seen by Yang Si, who entered the corporate building and saw the dead body. Thinking that his son committed the crime, Yang Si left behind his medal, knife, fingerprints, and footprints to take the blame for his son.
However, he knew that the police would suspect him of perjury, so he bought a train ticket to create the appearance of wanting to escape. It was all a ploy to make the police suspect him.
This series is one of the few recent TV dramas that closely resembles reality, particularly in a certain northern region. After watching this series, it brought back memories of some events in that northern region in the early 1980s.
Back then, the "grand spectacle" depicted on television wasn't as grand, but it was already in its embryonic stage.
I remember a scene like this, where a group of teenagers, around seventeen or eighteen years old, would rob people of their coats and even injure others in what they usually referred to as "robbing the road" instead of "robbery." When their fathers were brought to the police station, they would often say, "Comrade police officer, why did you bring the kids to the station?
They were just fooling around. Normally, they get along well. My child is well-behaved and honest. It's just a minor incident. Look, my child's hand got scratched by him, but my child didn't say anything.
Comrade police officer, this is such a trivial matter, you don't need to worry about it.
We can handle it ourselves between the two families. Don't worry, we are on good terms. When a police officer from the southern region present at the scene asked, "So, the two families already know each other?
The father hurriedly replied, "Well, yes, we got to know each other through this incident.
From now on, we will be on good terms... Oh, by the way, please greet Officer Liu for us." The child was just being mischievous. He wanted to try on different clothes but didn't really mean to keep them. I have also wanted to wear your police uniform for a change, just for fun.
Haha, it's not a big deal. When I get home, I'll have my child dust off the coat and return it. The injury on my child's hand is not a big problem. We will go to the hospital ourselves to have a look. It won't be a bother...
By the way, your mother's brother is our neighbor, haha. We are practically one big family...
The plot is still very tight, making it impossible to stop watching. I watched ten episodes in one go, and the actors' performances are superb.
The only flaw is that some of the logic doesn't make sense. For example, how can a large company like Hongqiao Group not have any security cameras?
Even roadside shops and internet cafes have cameras, but such a big company doesn't. That doesn't make sense.
Also, the female assassin Jin Zhu Hua left behind so many fingerprints at each crime scene. The police shouldn't have a reason to be unable to find her personal information.
And no matter how ruthless Lin Xiang appears, in an era of rule of law, he wouldn't dare to openly beat someone up in public and directly threaten them, including beating up the fat guy at the pork vegetable stall. That scene is intimidating, but it seems like this small world is a lawless place, as if they're not afraid of the other party reporting to the police once released.
The two things that bother me the most here are: first, Yang Lijia, even if you had to hit your master to repay a favor, you could have done it more gently, there was no need to be so ruthless.
And the other thing is, why did the materialistic girl jump off the building? I never quite understood that point about the materialistic girl... She said she wanted to escape from that family, but her parents seemed to treat her well.
She said she loved Xue Song, but then she turned around and pursued Feng Gen and Yan Hong Qiao.
In theory, this materialistic girl shouldn't have given off that innocent, helpless vibe.
She should have had a money-oriented personality, right? But that wasn't portrayed at all. It still feels like a young female student who commits suicide for love...
This shop is very authentic, just like the way they sold cooked food in the 1990s in the northeast. Don't even mention how beautiful Yang Si's wife is, but it's only at the end that you realize how tough this woman is.
Bringing four or five-year-old Yang Xuefeng by her side (the child got sick!). In Yang Si's teary eyes outside the window, Rongrong's tears of grievance and anticipation welled up when she saw her husband, who had been separated from her for so many, many, many, many days.
Someone asked why this fake Yang Si didn't go get a new ID card. The reason is simple: he thought he had killed someone, and those people are definitely looking for him. If he used his own ID card, there's a good chance someone would catch him.
Also, back when this Yang Si was in prison, there were many problems because every time he hurt someone, he wore a mask, so it's impossible for anyone to know it was him.
Do you think someone threatened him?
It turns out that Guan Yu and his wife had a falling out because of something that happened at the factory. No wonder after so many years, the wife still couldn't forgive her husband.
Guan Yu's wife mentioned that this factory, Yan Shulin's factory, is most likely the predecessor of Yan Hongqiao's company. The police found someone familiar, and based on his account, Yang Si should be familiar with dismantling any machine in no time.
But why did he go do manual labor? That's worth pondering and speculating.
If you say he did it for the sake of his child's medical treatment, it's somewhat understandable, but it always feels like he's hiding from someone.
This county official should be the one who called Wang Ping, and he's probably involved with that Yan Hongqiao in some way. Old Liu hit the nail on the head when he said that the county official's demand for them to quickly resolve this case is all about saving face for himself.
I can't accept Zhong Yi's death. It's too cruel to the audience and too heartless to this character. In fact, they could have had him get injured and hospitalized, and then eventually recover and go back to work.
But instead, they completely destroyed a life. It's evident that he was kind, upright, and had a strong passion for his profession. If someone like him is destined to die young, then who would be willing to strive and fight for their dreams?
It truly reflects the saying that good people die young and troublemakers live on for centuries. It's not that the TV show is bad, but rather, I really liked the presence of this character. I'm giving up on the show and won't watch it anymore.
It feels like Aunt Xiaoyima planned it. The driver made the move, and the money Yang Si used to buy a car for his stepson was probably given by Aunt Xiaoyima to make him take the blame. Aunt Xiaoyima promised to take care of his stepson, but he didn't know that his stepson was already dead, so he didn't tell the truth.
There's a conversation between Aunt Xiaoyima and the driver's assistant on the ice rink that hints at her motive.
As for how Yang Si's stepson ended up under the ice, my guess is that it's because his girlfriend died, and he chose to sacrifice himself because this place held many beautiful memories for them before.
I believe the culprit is Yang Xue Song, otherwise his father, Yang Si, wouldn't have turned himself in. The sequence of events should go like this: Yang Si was following his son, Yang Xue Song, for some reason.
Yang Xue Song met his girlfriend, Chen Xiao Ming, and the security guard intervened, leading them to the second floor. Then, Chen Xiao Ming and Yan Hong Qiao slept in a locked room.
When they heard a commotion, they came out. Yan Hong Qiao asked the security guard to leave. Yang Xue Song saw the two of them and a verbal argument ensued. In the midst of the argument, Yan Hong Qiao pulled out a gun and aimed it at Yang Xue Song.
Yang Xue Song seized an opportunity to grab the gun and, during the struggle, a shot was fired into the wall. Yang Xue Song successfully took control of the gun. Chen Xiao Ming, seeing the situation, threatened to jump off the building to force Yang Xue Song not to kill Yan Hong Qiao.
However, Yang Xue Song insisted on killing him. Yang Xue Song shot Yan Hong Qiao in the leg. Seeing this, Chen Xiao Ming jumped off the building. After Chen Xiao Ming jumped, Yang Xue Song, in a state of despair, shot Yan Hong Qiao again.
After Yang Xue Song fired the second shot, his father, Yang Si, heard the gunshot and rushed to the second floor. The security guard tried to intervene, but Yang Si fatally stabbed him with a knife.
Once Yang Si reached the second floor, he saw that Yan Hong Qiao was already dead, while Yang Xue Song was holding the gun. Yang Si then instructed Yang Xue Song to run away. Afterwards, Yang Si fabricated the crime scene to protect his son, leaving behind his own footprints and distinctive features.
It's likely that Yang Xue Song was killed first, and then Wang Ping hired someone to kill Yan Hong Qiao, or Wang Ping found out about his past and used it to threaten him. But I think the first possibility is more probable.
They killed Yang Xue Song first and framed Yan Hong Qiao, claiming that Yan Hong Qiao sent someone to kill Yang Xue Song. When they killed Yan Hong Qiao, the woman was present, so they probably told her that Yan Hong Qiao had someone kill Yang Xue Song, and then they committed suicide.
But that doesn't seem right either. Yang Si should just admit it. They probably didn't tell Yang Si that Yang Xue Song was dead because otherwise, he could have just confessed to killing him.
As I watch the drama and analyze it, another possibility is that Yang Si wants to take Wang Ping down with him.
At the 38-minute mark, it seems like they didn't kill Yan Hong Qiao because they were looking for their son, right?
I really don't understand why he would take the blame. Yang Xue Song's mother told him everything before she passed away, and it was his father who desperately saved him. Wang Ping doesn't owe him anything, and as for the house thing, the two of them already had a plan to make money together and could soon buy their own house.
What kind of logic is this? He's willing to take on such a big crime.
If, and only if, Yang Xue Song's mother hadn't told him before her death, and he mistakenly believed that Wang Ping had saved his life, then I could reluctantly accept it.
The portrayal of the life and family of the protagonist from the public security is too harsh and tragic. In fact, the living conditions, equipment, and technology in the public security sector have undergone earth-shattering changes compared to over 20 years ago.
It would be great to show more of the new era's appearance and not just focus on suspense with gloomy and bitter 90s aesthetics. It doesn't align with reality and has long caused aesthetic fatigue.