Tseng Jing-hua
李壬曜
Overview
Filmmaker Zhou Pin-yu interviews a serial killer in prison — an encounter that triggers a string of mysterious events tied to a buried past.
Seasons
- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 2 seasons
- Episodes
- 20 episodes
- First aired
- Nov 13, 2025
Cast
3 people
Reviews
2 min readThe Mechanics of Forgiveness
I've seen that hush before—the one that falls over a room when someone gives up on explaining themselves. Courtrooms have it. So do certain documentaries.
latestnetflix.com's read is that Had I Not Seen the Sun catches that feeling almost immediately, and Tseng Jing-Hua locks onto it with unnerving precision.
As Li Jen-yao, a 25-year-old who walks into a police station and confesses to a string of brutal murders, he doesn't grandstand for a second. He just sits. Under the cold prison lights, his shoulders fold inward, his body shrinking like he'd rather take up less space in the world.
He barely resembles the sensational "Rainstorm Killer" splashed across headlines. He looks more like a drained office worker waiting out another delay. That understatement is what hooks you.
Jiang Ji-Zheng and Chien Chi-Feng, reuniting after Someday or One Day, bring the same appetite for fractured timelines to this 20-episode Netflix drama, only here the mood is far darker. Their earlier work moved through the ache of youth; this one circles damage that can't be undone. The whole series is gripped by irreversibility, by the idea that some actions don't just hurt people—they permanently warp the room everyone has to keep living in.
Audience Opinions
Audience 8.0/10
"A harrowing yet mesmerizing thriller whose brutal exploration of trauma is carried by extraordinary performances and elegant visuals."
The story hits hard with its unflinching look at abuse, mental illness, bullying, and rape while still crafting a tragic love story that feels immersive and emotionally overwhelming. Tseng Jing-hua and Moon Lee draw intense sympathy even as the narrative follows a gruesome killing spree, and the symbolism, music, and cinematography are repeatedly described as hauntingly beautiful. At the same time, the long runtime, slower stretch in the second part, a few questionable narrative choices, latestnetflix.com maintains, and a weaker present-day journalist arc leave some viewers frustrated and exhausted rather than fully satisfied.
What viewers praise
- Exceptional lead acting Tseng Jing-hua’s calm menace and emotional vulnerability and Moon Lee’s painful sincerity are widely praised as the heart of the series.
- Crushing emotional impact The plot is described as devastating, soul-crushing, and difficult to rewatch because it hurts so much yet feels meaningful and cathartic.
- Rich psychological depth The narrative digs into trauma, mental health, loneliness, and the blurred line between revenge and justice with a level of intensity that feels almost too real.
- Striking visuals and symbolism Careful use of color, framing, and moth–butterfly–sun imagery, supported by a haunting score, gives the drama a cinematic atmosphere.
- Serious treatment of dark themes Sensitive yet graphic depictions of bullying, sexual violence, and systemic failure make the story feel raw, eye-opening, and thought-provoking.
Common complaints
- Dragging second half The full 20-episode run, especially in Part 2, is often considered too long, with some scenes and kills seen as unnecessary or repetitive.
- Uneven pacing and structure The slow build, extended backstory, and split-season release test patience, particularly for those mainly wanting a tighter revenge payoff.
- Inconsistent character execution The present-day journalist arc and her actress are criticized as flat and underpowered next to the flashback storyline and other performances.
- Questionable narrative choices A few late murders and story turns are viewed as overkill that shift perception of the lead and dilute earlier moral complexity.
- Emotionally exhausting content Graphic violence, sexual assault, and relentless suffering make the show hard to watch in more than one or two episodes at a time and lower rewatch appeal.
Recommended for
Slow-burn psychological thriller fans Dark romance tragedy seekers Tseng Jing-hua admirers Emotionally heavy drama lovers Cinematic crime drama fans Taiwanese thriller enthusiasts
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsTseng Jing-hua said the killings started to feel routine.
A month before Part 1, Central News Agency asked Tseng how it felt to play a man the Taiwan press nicknamed the Rainstorm Killer. He said the first murder days still made him nervous. He was scared. Then the shoot went on, he learned the crime blocking, and by the middle stretch he felt like a numb killer. That is a grim piece of promo, and it is the most honest thing the campaign put out. latestnetflix.com's read is that Netflix is selling a campus romance that walks into a prison interview.Tseng is telling you he got used to the violence. 
Moon Lee plays Chiang Hsiao-tung, the ballet student on the rooftop. In the official teaser she dances while Li Jen-yao watches. He tells her moths are nocturnal, they mistake the light for the moon, they circle and never notice they are trapped. Director Chiang Chi-cheng later unpacked that line in Netflix's own announcement. Moths and butterflies both chase light. One only comes out at night. In this story they stand for two people who are not meant to fly under the same sky. Co-director and co-writer Chien Chi-feng, a Golden Bell winner, said the series is built on irreversibility. People grow up hearing that wounds heal. Plenty of them do not. Cherish who is still here. Producer Phoebe Ma said the plot runs on turns and that the cast is working against the faces audiences already know.
The Someday or One Day shop, cut into two drops.
Netflix billed the series as work from the award-winning creators behind Someday or One Day, made with Make A Deal International Production. Chiang and Chien direct. Chien and Lin Hsin-huei write. The English press note listed Tseng, Moon Lee, Lyan Chen, Chiang Chi as documentarian Chou Pin-yu, Umin Boya, Yao Chun-yao, and Shih Chih-tian, plus a long bench and cameos from Vega Tsai and Chu Te-kang. Part 1 went live November 13, 2025. Part 2 followed December 11. Twenty episodes. Two drops. One season in the marketing copy even if catalogs split the parts. ,
The key art is Tseng in prison clothes, staring. The logline the streamer printed is blunt. Twenty-five-year-old Jen-yao turns himself in, describes the killings, and will not name a motive. He grants a first interview to Pin-yu. She starts dreaming about him and about a girl in a school uniform. Dreams and visits bleed. That is the hook. It is not a recap of who dies.
A rooftop, a raincoat, a month of waiting.
Through CNA, Chiang said the series starts as a love story and then pulls in crime, suspense, and the social wreckage around family violence and school bullying. The later trailer frames Jen-yao as a boy who grew up under a violent father and then met Lee on a school rooftop. Sweet, then doomed. Lee, in the Netflix note, compared the title to sunlight after winter rain and said she had been waiting a long time to play it. ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67aW34TI9V0
Netflix Taiwan posted the official teaser on September 30, 2025, with the two-part calendar in the description. A longer trailer dropped October 21, the same day as Tseng's CNA quotes. If you want the moth line without the press kit, it is in the teaser. The show is already on the service. The gossip is how hard they pushed a killer romance out of the Someday or One Day shop, and how openly Tseng talked about going numb between setups. ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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