Had I Not Seen the Sun Review: A young documentarian starts to experience intense flashbacks and nightmares when she starts to interview infamous serial killer Li Jen‑yao.
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Had I Not Seen the Sun Netflix Cast
Tseng Jing-hua, Moon Lee, Lyan Chen, Chiang Chi, Umin Boya, Yao Chun-yao, Nic Chiang, Biubiu Chen, Ann Lee, Chris Lung, Shih Chih-tian, Jake Hsu, Roy Chang, Leo Huang, Xie Zhang-ying, Tan Shan-chien, Yuliya Tsai, Chi Chen, Sonia Yuan, Pipi Yao
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Had I Not Seen the Sun Series Directors
Chiang Chi-cheng, Chien Chi-feng
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Had I Not Seen the Sun 2025 Screenwriters
Chien Chi-feng, Lin Hsin-huei
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Original Title
如果我不曾見過太陽
The series has a total of 20 episodes and will be released in two parts on November 13 and December 11. Each episode has a runtime of 50 minutes.
Had I Not Seen the Sun Review
Taiwanese drama thriller Had I Not Seen the Sun is a brooding mystery that showcases the irreversibility of certain situations in a haunting way and makes it a point to tell us that time isn’t always the magical healing potion that makes everything okay.
First and foremost, it’s the haunting atmosphere and the melancholy nature of the series that immediately capture your attention from the first episode. With a constant theme of a moth flying around, it aims to tell us that we are often drawn to things that oftentimes destroy us, but we simply can’t help ourselves. The series constantly makes us feel as if there’s something darker, more complex right under the surface, and a simple peek behind the curtain can open everything up. But it rarely does.
Had I Not Seen the Sun is a morally complex watch where none of the characters are completely one way. Just like Jen‑yao isn’t the monster you’d expect, Pin-yu isn’t an innocent onlooker. From the get-go, it’s clear that there’s more to her character than we are being made privy to, and the episodes slowly unravel how she is connected to Jen-yao and his past. It’s a complex watch that needs patience. Plus, the romance subplot feels surprising in the context, but still a very important part of it.
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Another very engaging part of the drama is that it’s not interested in simply asking questions and answering them. The series creates a beautiful, deep story that is more interested in weaving a story rather than simply trying to reach a goal. The path that it takes is one of the interesting parts of the story, not just the end. The weight of first love, guilt, trauma and obsession turns this into something more than just a crime thriller. It’s an experience that invests you thoroughly.
However, at 10 episodes per part, Had I Not Seen the Sun is extremely slow-burning and can feel a bit boring sometimes. The narrative takes a long time to unravel, and that can rub viewers the wrong way. Although I like slow-burning shows, this one sometimes feels a bit too stretched out and tests your patience. The more ambiguous moments are carried on for far too long as we understand Pin-yu, Jen-yao and Hsiao-tung and their traumatic pasts.
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Even then, the emotional storytelling and the chemistry between the characters carry the series and the mystery elements peaking out just make it all the better. The connections between the characters, how they supported each other through tough times, make you root for them and want to figure out what went wrong. This is a more romantic story than a thriller, but it leaves your heart heavy regardless.
Final Thoughts
Length aside, Had I Not Seen the Sun is a deeply emotional watch that showcases the darker side of life and how difficult it can be for some people to live their everyday lives. There are a ton of twists and turns, but it’s the quieter moments that got to me, especially the ones that are so desperately scarring and human. The series is possibly not for everyone, but it’s rewarding if you can sit through the whole 10 episodes.
What are your thoughts on the Taiwanese series? Let us know in the comments below!
Also Read: Had I Not Seen the Sun Ending Explained: Why Did Jen-yao Choose Murder? Who is Hsiao-tung?
No wonder that boy starting killong people, the gangs beats him and stealing from him, and the dad beating both him and the mother, he needs to die soon,
This make me want to hurt those bastard myself, I’M PISSED OF,
Im the start that girl is going to solove the murderer that boy gas done, BUT THE GIRL IS THE MOST SHY, CLUMSY, MOST FREIGHTENED GIRL IN THE WORLD, her boss is an ASSH…himself,
I tought this was going to be a ghost horror tv show, OH BOY I WAS WRONG,
Its a loooong flashbacks with the boy and that girl, those are peaceful scenes in the show,
THE REST IS SHITY STUFF ON HOW HARD LIFE IS…70% unwatchable and mostly boring, you meed a patient of a monk to watch this….I’M OUT OF THIS ONE…before i losing it….
Soooo if the murderer is already in jail, this is becomes boring, if he was still outside this could has been good and more excitement,
But nooo its just alot of differents flashbacks on how all the the differents murders happen, but the main story is about the girl who do dance ballets and that boy who becomes a murderer,
There Those bits with the ghost that wants revenge, seemed great, what a letdown, why dosent she try too contact the living girl, so far the ghost just standing in differents place and cries….i hope this gets better, its very slow stuff…