Netflix's keen eye for thriller romance fell upon Had I Not Seen the Sun, a Taiwanese drama that is not afraid to explore the distinctions between love, memory, and the human psyche’s darkest corners. A suffocatingly intimate yet disturbing addition to the streaming platform's Taiwanese titles, the movie weaves a richly complex universe of intersecting past traumas and present yearnings. 

This year witnessed a seismic shift in Taiwanese entertainment export as celebrated actors began to dominate the international streaming platform financed with movie-level budgets for television, and not just cinema. Had I Not Seen the Sun is Netflix's latest crime thriller romance gem that must be on every subscriber's watchlist.

Blending the sweetness of a tragic romance, the drama equally pulls the viewers' curiosity and empathy. What makes it unique is how it tackles murders and romance in the same breath.

Had I Not Seen the Sun was released in two sections on Netflix, with Part 1 coming out on November 13, 2025, and Part 2 on December 11, 2025. The series is helmed by the celebrated Taiwanese filmmakers Jiang Ji-Zheng and Chien Chi-Feng, who also collaborated on the script alongside Lin Hsin-hui and Chi-Feng Chien.

According to Netflix, the show is a psychological thriller that incorporates elements of crime, mystery, and romance. Globally known for starring the role of Birdy in the highest-grossing Taiwanese LGBT film Your Name Engraved Herein, Tseng Jing-hua stars as Li Jen-yao, a cold-blooded serial killer. Netflix crime series The Victims' Game stars Moon Lee plays Chiang Hsiao-tung, a ghostly girl from Li Jen-yao's past.

Lyan Cheng, Umin Boya, Chiang Chi, Yao Chun-yao, and Chih-Tian Shih round out the powerhouse cast of this 10-episode creepily intense romantic thriller with special appearances from Vega Tsai and Chu Te-kang. Rife with forbidden love, high school trauma, murder, mystery, and revenge, Had I Not Seen the Sun delivers a theme of irreversibility when it comes to emotional wounds.

Director-writer Chien told Netflix, "Growing up, we were taught that wounds heal with time. Yet as we get older, we realize that many wounds are irreversible and cannot be healed." With the drama, he hopes to send a message to everyone to cherish their loved ones while they can. 

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The series swiftly transitions from a high school romance into brutal murders, confessions, and dark suspense. But there are more layers to it than meet the eye.

Li Jen-yao, a serial killer known as the Rainstorm Killer, gives a shocking confession about his intricate past of crimes, including the murder of his classmates and the girl he once loved. An aspiring filmmaker, Chou Pin-yu, interviews the incarcerated protagonist to fathom the killer's motives, but strangely gets entangled in his life. 

Gradually, throughout the 10-episode unexpected clues, memory distortions, and conflicting truths weave a thread of intrigue that makes the show a perfect binge.  The series promises to be an emotional rollercoaster ride with dark suspense and an interplay of timelines that ties together the past and the present. 

According to Netflix, Tseng Jing-hua, who embodies the 25-year-old protagonist, thinks the show "conveys the profound experiences of emotional separation, as well as healing and forgiveness." 

Had I Not Seen the Sun masterfully fuses dream and reality within a tale of emotional romance and redemption. For those craving a brain-numbing, nail-biting, dark, painful romance thriller, this show should be right up their alley.

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