One of the best Taiwanese TV shows is back

I’ve already talked about my favorite modern Taiwanese TV shows before, and finally one of them is back with a second season!

The first season of The World Between Us (我们与恶的距离) came out in 2019, and at the time I considered it the best Taiwanese TV show I had ever seen. Its director later went on to make another excellent series, Wave Makers (人选之人－造浪者). Now he has reunited with the same creative team from The World Between Us to release its second season, titled After the Flames.

Unlike the first season, this one has a completely new cast of characters. None of the originals play central roles here, though a few make brief appearances. You don’t need to have seen season one since the two stories are unrelated, but I still recommend watching it, not just for context, but because I personally think the first season is stronger, even though I thoroughly enjoyed this one as well.

After the first two episodes, the story jumps back 20 years, and it’s not until episode 9 that the past and present finally collide — in what I’d say is one of the strongest episodes of the series. At first it can be a little confusing to keep track of who’s who, especially once the time jumps begin in episode 3, but before long you start to care deeply about the characters and the moral dilemmas they face. Some storylines are more compelling than others, but the writing is strong enough to keep you invested in seeing how everything plays out. My biggest criticism is the final episode, which spends too much time on some of the less interesting plots. That said, it still delivers several powerful and rewarding scenes, and I think the ending feels satisfying overall.

All in all, I definitely recommend this season too. Serious, modern dramas with this level of writing, acting, and cinematography are still rare in Chinese-language TV, and this is one of the few that can truly stand alongside some of the best English-language series.

One last note for language learners: just like in the first season, some characters speak Taiwanese dialect instead of Mandarin, so not all the dialogue is in standard Chinese. I’ve also made some flashcards for this season with psychological and medical vocabulary, since these terms play an important role throughout the story and can really help you follow along better. You can download them here, or use them on my Quizlet page.

Both seasons of The World Between Us are available for streaming on different platforms, though depending on your region you might need a VPN to watch it.

Hope you enjoy the show,

Sandy