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A heads-up for those of you getting into Sleuth: There are some subtitling issues with a few of the the Sleuth episodes available for download here.

The subs in eps 11 and 12 are out of sync, which is extremely irritating. If you can't bring yourself to watch those eps all the way through (I couldn't), there are recaps here (not entirely comprehensible, but still a great help):

Episode Recap Ep 11
Episode Recap Ep 12

Also, in a handful of the later eps, the last scene is not subbed.The scene is most often repeated with subs at the beginning of the next ep, but episode 42 is the exception: Here, an actually important scene (which also includes Wang Zhi *g*) is not repeated in the next ep.

So, I've put the English translation of the last scene of episode 42 in a txt file you can download here.

(Also, extempore has let me know there might be a quality issue with streaming from the site above. I've never tried this, but just so you know!)

Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty is a historical detective/action drama that revolves around three very different government officials. Together (mostly), they investigate a series of crimes and mysteries, and happen upon a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire.

Our three heroes meet when investigating the strange murder of a Marquis’ son – a case that is inexplicably connected to the disappearance of the Crown Prince’s best friend. They go on to bicker, eat lots of delicious food, build a lovely found family with an excellent batch of secondary characters, and try very hard (and with varying success) to stay on the emperor’s good side.



( All three main characters are interesting and competent in their own way, and they complement each other well. The show is at its best when they all work together and spark off each other. )

Sleuth is based on a m/m novel, like so many recent dramas, but in this case, I don’t think it’s worth watching for the book pairing. Tang Fan and Sui Zhou build a strong and interesting friendship in the series, but I don’t particularly ship them as a romantic couple; the chemistry just isn’t there for me. However. Add Wang Zhi to the mix and it’s a different story. This may be the first drama that gives me OT3 vibes.



Would I recommend it?

Absolutely! I must warn you that this drama does have a number of annoyance factors, including Tang Fan’s occasional over-the-top childishness (apparently intended to be funny?) and several very grating plot points. But even so, I find it entertaining, pretty, and a lot of fun – and it has Wang Zhi. ;-) It also does interesting and interestingly nuanced things with Chinese history, if that’s your kind of thing. So I would absolutely recommend you check it out.

Where can you find it?

The first four eps are subbed on YouTube. The entire series is available here, and also on Viki.

I found this drama thanks to maggie33 and just want to say: thank you, it's lovely! :-)