Had I Not Seen The Sun: Part 1 – Review | Netflix

HAD I NOT SEEN THE SUN on Netflix is a new crime thriller series about a serial killer, but it also has a romance plot. It’s not a hybrid I am a fan of, but the plot does work as a whole. If you’re into this genre combination, obviously. Read our Had I Not Seen the Sun Part 1 review here!

HAD I NOT SEEN THE SUN is a new Netflix series with 10 hour-long episodes. And that’s just in part 1. So, yeah, we’re getting close to a soap opera feeling with this many episodes. The same has to be said for the intro, which is very romance-fueled with both its visuals and choice of music.

It’s a serial killer story, where we follow a documentary production trying to get to know the incarcerated man. At its core, this is exactly the kind of plot I’d go for. However, then you add the element of romance, and I’m not too sure anymore. Also, there are many flashbacks that are there for a reason, but this character-driven series is just very slow.

Continue reading our part 1 review of Had I Not Seen the Sun Part below. Find it on Netflix now.

A moth and a butterfly

Had I Not Seen The Sun is the story of the 25-year-old Li Jen-yao. He turns himself in for a series of grisly and cold-blooded murders, which means he also admits to being the serial killer known as “The Rainstorm Killer”.

However, despite admitting to these heinous acts, he never offers any motive. That’s why all reporters and documentary filmmakers are dying to talk to him. Finally, he agrees to do his first-ever interview with the young woman, Chou Pin-yu.

As she gets closer to the convicted serial killer, she starts having unsettling dreams of both the killer and a mysterious girl in uniform. And yes, this Netflix series does have a supernatural and ghostly element as well. Not least with dreams and reality getting mixed up as secrets involving love, hatred, guilt, and redemption come to the surface.

Officially, this series is described as “Blending high-school trauma, forbidden love, and chilling revenge”, which isn’t wrong. It just isn’t nearly as well executed as it could have been, either.

I can see this same core story made into an 8-episode series as a South Korean or Spanish production, and it would be a much darker production. One I know I would’ve enjoyed more.

The light and fluffy elements of the story in Had I Not Seen The Sun are just too cutesy. They are in a jarring contrast to the darker elements of the story, and as a result, both stories suffer.

Do we need to romanticize this?

From the trailer, the story of a moth and a butterfly is at the center. It’s a whole fairytale about how one lives under sunlight while the other is drawn to the moonlight. It’s all very romantic and tragic, which would be fine for a romantic drama, but combining it with this story about a serial killer and his long-lost love is not my thing.

Really, I just am not a fan of the whole serial-killer-romance hybrid.

Without giving away any spoilers, I don’t think we need to romanticize anyone in prison for murder. They already get plenty of attention from women who want to save them and men who can somehow relate to them. No need to add a whole new set of groupies in the form of documentary production workers falling for their charm.

Whether innocent or guilty, it’s not a good look from the get-go.

Watch part 1 of Had I Not Seen The Sun on Netflix now

This new Netflix series comes from the award-winning creators behind Someday or One Day. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Chiang Chi-Cheng and Golden Bell winner Chien Chi-Feng, and written by screenwriters Chien Chi-feng and Lin Hsin-huei. It’s described as a “dark mystery romance series”, which I don’t know if I think is entirely right.

The serial killer element in the opening is dark and intense, but much of the romance is quite light.

Had I Not Seen The Sun is a Netflix series from Taiwan (org. title: Ru Guo Wo Bu Ceng Jian Guo Tai Yang), and while I was hoping for a style similar to a South Korean production, this is much slower than that. I know I’ve already mentioned this, but it bears repeating.

WANT A STRONG GENRE PRODUCTION FROM TAIWAN?

Be sure to check out The Resurrected on Netflix >

The new series from Taiwan is released in two parts. If you’re hooked on this series, then part 2 is coming your way on December 11, 2025. You won’t have to wait long, and with 10 episodes in part 1, you can even make them last quite a while.

Had I Not Seen The Sun premieres with Part 1 on Netflix on November 13, 2025.

Details

Directors: Chiang Chi-cheng, Chien Chi-feng
Screenwriters: Chien Chi-feng, Lin Hsin-huei
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,Vega Tsai, Chu Te-kang