Desconhecido (2024)

Incrível!

Eu seria muito hipócrita se dissesse que "aceitei" o casal BL dessa série de imediato. Além disso, o casal hétero também me pareceu estranho... Enfim, me considero uma pessoa de mente aberta, mas mesmo assim temos guardados dentro de nós alguns valores morais que por vezes se misturam com preconceitos, mesmo que não percebamos de imediato. Foi necessário rever toda a série por mais duas vezes para me apaixonar totalmente pela história. Dito isso, vamos à análise.

O produtor dessa série é de fato alguém de muita coragem, principalmente por se tratar de uma obra asiática, de um país que até pouco tempo fazia parte da China, onde a homossexualidade já foi considerada crime. No mais, a adaptação é uma obra de arte! As atuações são fenomenais, em especial as do casal principal. Wei Qian consegue esconder com uma máscara incrivelmente verdadeira seus reais sentimentos, e Zhi Yuan consegue transmitir de forma espetacular os sentimentos através de cada gesto, olhar, expressão facial. A química entre os dois é palpável, e a cena de amor uma das melhores que já vi. A ideia de utilizar diversos flash backs para ilustrar momentos foi excelente, e deixou os momentos mais fiéis aos sentimentos que desejavam transmitir.
Uma história que antes de qualquer romance, fala sobre bondade e força de sobrevivência. Qian utiliza todo o sofrimento vivido, tudo que foi obrigado a fazer para poder viver, e transforma em amor e cuidado por sua irmã e pelo menino a quem adotou, que inicialmente o admira, respeita, cuida, até perceber que o amor que sente não é de irmão.

Um ponto importante, é que Qian não se deixou dominar por seus sentimentos depois que Yuan se confessou, mesmo intimamente sabendo que também sentia o mesmo, ao contrário, lutou bravamente contra eles, se jogando no trabalho e ignorando a própria saúde, é normal que quando finalmente ele cedeu tenha sido naquele rompante louco de amor. O ator consegue transparecer nitidamente a confusão interna de seu coração, que busca entender que tipo de amor sente verdadeiramente, e pelo fato de que se sente realmente como "pai ou irmão mais velho" do seu amado.

O outro casal também me deixou pensativa, mas não necessariamente pela diferença de idade ou da gravidez, mas pelo fato que de que a jovem Lili foi criada por seu irmão, mas também por Le Ge, como se ele fosse um tio. É estranho (assim como no primeiro casal) vc praticamente criar uma pessoa desde sua infância e tornar o relacionamento fraternal em romântico.

Preciso dizer que o personagem de Sam Lin me surpreendeu muito positivamente, quebrando totalmente o estereótipo dos médicos mostrado nas série, totalmente fora da curva, sem papas na língua e vivendo a vida da forma alternativa que gosta, sem explicar nada a ninguém nem muito menos buscar status.

A ost é tão boa que nunca sai da minha mente, assim como os demais aspectos técnicos.

Tirando a problemática do "tabu", não vejo nada de que possam reclamar. Alguns momentos clichês típicos de BL, como os colegas de trabalho shipando e falando sobre top/botton.

Se eu tiver que fazer algum apontamento, será pelo fato de que o relacionamento BL foi de 0 a 100 muito rápido, à noite Qian não conseguia entender o que sentia e no dia seguinte já está tudo perfeito, mas talvez isso se justifique pelo tempo que ambos já tinham perdido.

No mais, assistam! É maravilhosa.

Leia Mais

foi de 0 à 100 e de 100 à 0 muito rápido

conheci o bl através de um edit no qual Qian estava coberto de sangue, lutando para salvar o irmão não biológico - por quem mais tarde deveria se apaixonar. a partir dali, as minhas expectativas já eram altas. então quando li a sinopse da série, faltei urrar. um romance moralmente questionável? não sou contra isso (embora claramente não seja incesto). de fato, achei que eles poderiam ter idades um pouquinho mais parecidas, mas ok... eu já estava de quatro para esta série. o casting? simplesmente um dos melhores de taiwan. dos atores principais aos coadjuvantes (amei o vilão amorzinho da gangue; foi ótimo rever o queridinho de We Best Love) - enfim, eu estava entregue. do primeiro ep, até a metade da série, eu estava atordoada de amor pela história, que era densa, complexa, intensa, cheia de angústia e anseio e promessas: ingredientes perfeitos para um prato fresco de bl. mas então, pecaram por excesso. os últimos eps pareceram um conglomerado de informações mal elaboradas. toda a complexidade da trama sofreu um esvaziamento de simplicidade por ter sido reduzida à joguinhos de sedução que beiravam ao infantil, o amor incondicional de Yuan estava simultaneamente repleto de condições e abnegações que facilmente negavam o amor romântico que ele havia colocado em questão, e que havia mudado toda a história, todo o status quo da família até então. ora, se o fato de Qian não corresponder os sentimentos não fosse tão importante, então por que causar um dramalhão sobre isso? por que se confessar? por que exigir de Qian uma responsabilidade sobre esses sentimentos/confissão? isso não fez o menor sentido. e por falar em amor romântico, foi estranho: Qian realmente não pareceu sentir nada além do que amor fraternal por Yuan, até às últimas consequências. depois da confissão de Yuan, o que sobrou para Qian foi o luto da perda de um amor/amigo/irmão/identidade, e que de algum modo nos foi empurrado, em um pacote só, como sendo a manifestação de um amor romântico reprimido. se esse foi realmente o caso, isso não foi bem trabalhado, seja no roteiro/direção, seja na atuação de Modi Chiu. em nenhum momento antes da confissão de Yuan, Qian demonstrou desejo sexual/amor romântico pelo irmão, nem mesmo apresentou o mínimo desconforto com a ideia dos dois juntos, o que poderia nos deixar imaginando alguma coisa - qualquer coisa. nem sequer ciúmes da possibilidade de Yuan arranjar uma namorada Qian sentia. tudo foi apenas ... esquisito. era nítido que Qian amava Yuan, mas não mais do que ele amava a sua irmã, e ponto final. de início a quase fim, a história foi a de um amor unilateral. quando Qian finalmente cedeu a relação, a sensação foi esta: de que ele simplesmente cedeu a qualquer coisa, para nunca mais perder a relação com o Yuan, já que isso claramente lhe trouxe muito sofrimento. a paixão, o amor romântico, o tesão, o crush platônico... senão nos últimos instantes (logo quando Yuan retorna, e muito brevemente), é que a gente vê algo disso. pareceu forçado, e desinteressante. quando o potencial da história poderia ter sido apaixonante. até mesmo mais tarde, a cena de pegação dos dois, que tinha tudo para ser bonita (além do elemento visual/cinematográfico, claro), eles me trouxeram uma diálogo mixuruca de "isso não é rápido demais... eu esperei por 15 anos". então, afinal, tudo era sobre Yuan. um amor incondicional, só que egoísta. essa é boa. enfim. as contradições da narrativa me irritaram e brocharam infinitamente. só o fato d'Eu ter me decepcionado com a série foi uma decepção. e nem vou falar da tentativa chata de vender o slogan piegas de "toda forma de amor..." com a história paralela da irmã de Qian com aquele amigo dele mais velho. gosto de romance com age gap, mas esse foi absurdo, porque ela era uma pré-adolescente quando o cara já era bem de maior quando se conheceram, e mesmo que tenham ficado juntos quando ela estava maior de idade, isso me pareceu uma tentativa ridícula de validar o amor entre Qian e o irmão, sendo que a história deles já poderia falar por si, sem forçar a barra desse jeito. o tom final que a série adquiriu, de comercial de margarina, ou filme educativo de sessão da tarde para família tradicional, foi muito sem graça. decepcionante

Leia Mais

Tinha Uma Pedra No Meio do Caminho

Para começar com o que gostei:

- Atuando? Bom. Você mergulha na história, não parece forçado, nem roteirizado, e a química está presente (para todos os personagens). Eu amo Lili especialmente, ela realmente emitia vibrações de irmã mais nova.
- A cinematografia também é limpa e curada, com boa gradação de cores e um trabalho geralmente visualmente atraente. Eu gostei daquilo.
- Acho que o casal principal tem muitos momentos fofos, dá para ver realmente o carinho e o amor que eles têm um pelo outro, o jeito que morreriam um pelo outro se fosse necessário. O vínculo deles era aparente e forte.

O elefante na sala:
Isso é simplesmente incesto. e francamente, não dá para romantizar algo que foge literalmente da concepção, talvez por isso muitos vejam os gays de forma pejorativa. Deixe-me comparar com Stay With Me, que também tinha alguns tons de incesto: lá, os dois rapazes se conhecem na adolescência, sem saber que são parentes. Eles se tornam amigos, talvez algo mais, e então descobrem que são meio-irmão. Então, tecnicamente, eles são parentes, mas não cresceram juntos e não se veem como irmãos. Mesmo que ainda seja uma premissa questionável, não é tão escandalosa quanto esta em Desconhecido. Yuan foi criado por Qian desde criança e o vê como um herói (e irmão mais velho). Qian age como um irmão e figura paterna para Lili e Yuan enquanto eles crescem. Eu poderia ver Yuan talvez desenvolvendo sentimentos por Qian como uma espécie de mecanismo de enfrentamento prejudicial à saúde, mas de forma alguma isso tornaria aceitável para Qian retribuir esses sentimentos. Ele é ANOS mais velho que Yuan, trata-o como um irmão desde a infância e protege-o do abuso e da pobreza. Ele deveria saber melhor. Ele é um adulto, seu córtex pré-frontal está totalmente desenvolvido e ele distingue (deveria saber) o certo do errado.

O fato de não serem biologicamente relacionados não significa nada. Isso tornaria aceitável que irmãos adotivos tivessem relacionamentos íntimos. Eles foram criados como tal e, portanto, é incesto. À queima-roupa. Yuan precisa de terapia e Qian também - e talvez Yuan devesse ter ficado nos EUA. Talvez alguma distância de Qian o fizesse cair em si. Se eles tivessem sido QUALQUER outra coisa – vizinhos, amigos de infância, amigos da família, colegas de trabalho – eu teria aceitado isso. Como eu disse, até meio-irmãos podem passar se a série for boa (e eles não cresceram juntos). Mas não é isso. Estou surpreso com a falta de choque que receberam das pessoas ao seu redor. O que torna tudo pior é ter visto Qian com Yuan e Lili literalmente como crianças, o que me deixa meio enjoado porque eles mudam seus atores para mais jovens, mas não para os de Qian. Então eu não conseguia parar de imaginar aquele pobre adolescente se apaixonando pelo irmão adulto.
Digo isso como alguém que adotou primos. Não relacionado biologicamente ainda está relacionado. Isso é tudo que há para fazer. Pode haver química, pode haver amor, mas ainda é estranho pra caralho.

Leia Mais

Stunning! A masterclass in storytelling. Deeply emotional and affecting.

Expertly filmed and acted, this Priest adaptation offers more than the average BL. It’s about love but also about survival, found family, and commitment.

Here’s the premise: Wei Qian and Zhi Yuan are orphaned boys trying to survive. The older boy, Qian, joins a gang in order to earn money to feed himself and his younger sister Lili. He finds Yuan, who is around 4-5 years younger, literally sleeping in the streets. Taking pity on Yuan, Qian takes him into his home and they live together as chosen found family.

Zhi Yuan looks up to Wei Qian and will do anything to make him happy, including joining the school running club or working part time after school to contribute to the family’s income. Over time, his feelings for Qian transform from gratitude and brotherly affection into romantic love.

There is a natural progression to the way we see Yuan express his feelings for Qian. He loves him through his actions, taking care of him when he's sick or exhausted. Eventually, his feelings bubble to a bursting point and he confesses. (This isn't a spoiler because ep 1 opens with this scene, and we return to it later on.)

In contrast, Qian is singleminded in his focus on his work and family. He doesn't seem capable of romantic feelings toward anyone. It's the last thing on his mind. Yuan and Lili are the most important people in his life, and all he cares about is ensuring they are secure and healthy. This all comes to a head, however, with Yuan's confession.

Content warnings: In the first episodes, we see that these boys are dealing with harsh realities, including parental abuse (shown on screen) and homelessness. Their traumas aren’t downplayed but are sensitively represented. We need to see these scenes so that we understand where these boys are coming from and what they’re overcoming.

Leia Mais

Everything stays in the family… kind of.

I’m not gonna sit here and pretend like both romances in the drama were not questionable, they were. I also have to give props to the director and writer for doing their best to deal with potential issues a story like that could present. Age gap, family relations, grooming, predatory behavior, lack of informed consent - all that could have been an issue, but somehow they managed to avoid shooting themselves in the foot - for most parts.

What we’ve got, rather than just a romance, was a found family trope drama. The bond between Wei Qiao and Wei Zhi Yuan was deep and meaningful, slowly transforming into a partnership. They knew each other's shortcomings, they understood each other’s pain, they found home in each other’s presence.

Whenever the drama did a good job transforming the brotherly bond into a romantic one is a matter of opinion, personally I was quite fine with it. Being an overanalyzer, I appreciate how the show made me reflect on their relationship, examine how much of the connection was form on shared trauma and how much was driven by pure love. I’m glad the writer, with how the plot and characters were written, kept reassuring me that what they had was more than just codependency. Do I think both of them should go to therapy? Of course, but they are not the first, nor the last BL couple to never truly address or deal with the trauma.

We witness a story of two people who were abandoned and who found peace and happiness with each other. They had to face a lot of setbacks, both external and internal, to finally admit to each other feelings and allow themselves to be loved and love the other. The journey was not easy, but with love stories like that, it shouldn’t be. For me to enjoy this type of romance I need to understand it first, I need to feel like the characters also understand their own feelings. That they thought about it, talked about it, that there is no misunderstanding. And Unknown managed to do just that.

What made it possible were obviously the performances. Chris Chiu made the confusion and the strong internal denial Wei Qian was facing so real and raw. The way we could see on his face what he wanted, and how it went against what he actually did. The constant regret and fear of the situation and the feelings he could not quite understand and accept. Then we have Kurt Huang as Wei Zhi Yuan - from a chaotic teen, to resigned young adult, to confident adult. We witnessed his growth, we saw his dedication and unwavering feelings. And it all seemed so real on the screen.

All that said, there was one aspect of the show I just simply could not comprehend. One directing and editing choice that ruined quite an important scene for me. And I just cannot understand who thought this was a good idea and how no one questioned that choice on all the steps of the production.

Overall, it was less about finding a lover, and more about finding home. A partner that can understand and support you. One that you can rely on. One that always has your back. A partnership. Sharing the burden, sharing the happiness. A drama about finding a family and then working hard to keep it, in whatever form it might be.

Leia Mais

From 'Da Ge' to 'Unknown': "In this infinite darkness, you are my only light"

Today, people are losing the rich habit of reading. Every day he spends more time in front of the screen, watching moving images. Both cinema and television have become the preferred leisure option in our societies, while books have been relegated to the background for many. Faced with this reality, television networks continue to rely on the decisive influence that literature has had on their future, which is why they will again and again resort to books or works published online to recreate television fictions.
Incestuous love has been brought to film and television in works such as 'Starcrossed' (2005), a very famous American short with a homosexual theme about gay love between brothers. Written and directed by James Burkhammer II, it tells the shocking love story of Darren and Connor, two brothers from a suburban neighborhood who are lovers.
'From Beginning to End' (original title in Portuguese: 'Do Começo ao Fim'), the 2009 Brazilian film, written and directed by Aluizio Abranches, tells how two male brothers from an upper-class Brazilian family maintain a special relationship, from children, which draws the attention of the adults around them, worrying their parents and family.
BL series such as the Chinese 'Stay With Me' (2023) tells the romantic story between two stepbrothers. Su Yu, a high school student, lives a simple life with his father, but faces a big change when his mother remarries a rich man and introduces him to his stepbrother Wu Bi.
In this effort to bring literary pages to the screens and also reflect a story of a love relationship between people without blood ties, but considered "brothers", the Taiwanese Youku opts for the novel '大哥 ('Da Ge'), 'Brother', by the talented Chinese writer known by the pseudonym Priest, whose work, published by the web publisher Jinjiang Literature City, covers a wide range of genres, from romance and martial arts to science fiction and danmei, with a quality and creativity that distinguishes her from other writers, due to her deep humanistic themes and her ability to capture the essence of life's struggles and joys.
The dramas 'Guardian', 'Legend of Fei', 'Word of Honor', 'Faraway Wanderers' and 'Justice in the Dark' are based on Priest's novels.
Under the direction of Ray Jiang ('We Best Love: No. 1 For You and Fighting Mr. 2nd, 2021, and 'My Tooth, Your Love', 2022), 'Unknown', based on one of the most acclaimed works of Priest, will immerse the viewer in a moving story that revolves around Wei Qian (Chris Chiu), a young man with a strong spirit who, since the age of thirteen, has carried family responsibilities on his shoulders by being the breadwinner for his half-sister, Wei Li Li. after the premature loss of his parents. Wei Qian's world takes an unexpected turn when he adopts Xiaoyuan (Kurt Huang), a street child who goes by the alias Wei Zhiyuan, as a brother. Living a life of loss, violence, poverty, helplessness and anguish, our characters face life, winning and losing, on a journey of self-discovery.
'Unknown', faithful to the original novel, is full of sorrows and pains, but also of small joys that illuminate the lives of its protagonists and lead them to build a beautiful and sincere relationship.
In this story, which is about human warmth, family, friendship, self-discovery and self-acceptance, and which defends the idea of ​​learning when to persist and when to let go, it shows a love between two boys more powerful than the water, deeper than blood. As if on a slippery slope to the top, 'Unknown' will draw a path for us and even alert us if we have to travel the path ourselves.
With a distinctive characteristic that its protagonists are young, the series addresses the experiences and challenges of the current generation of any country, since the themes exposed are universal. However, it is crucial to understand the codes that guide the plot. Individual conflicts, dreams, challenges and how they deal with life situations are explored. Although youth is reflected in various ways, the series highlights gay love, sensitivity, ways of loving, facing adversity, family situations, as well as the differences and contradictions present in all the characters.
With a capable and engaging cast, the drama is interesting and intelligent. The all-star cast of this captivating journey into the world of romance and human complexity includes Yankee Yang as Wang Jun Le / "Le Ge", Danny Liang (Xiong Da Fang / "Lao Xiong"), Kim Jae Hoon (Tan Yu / " San Pang") and Tammy Lin as Wei Li Li / "Xiao Bao", who weave, around the protagonists, a warp of surprising, complex and beautiful characters and relationships.
Chris Chiu, who pleasantly surprised both critics and viewers with his leading roles in the dramas 'High 5 Basketball' (2016) and 'Hello, Again' (2019), once again demonstrates character by playing a young man who puts his life at risk and works illegally to support his brothers. He will have the help of San Pang, his childhood friend, to get back on the right path.
His character is rich in nuances: He seems ruthless and cold-blooded, but he is sensitive and knows how to appreciate what surrounds him. He makes the decision to protect his brothers and stubbornly guards a place that increasingly looks like a home. He longs to be loved and sheltered, and to give, in turn, love and shelter. Wei Qian wages an internal struggle, a struggle that leaves him in a state of constant battle against the two opposite poles within him.
Ray Jiang, with his unmatched talent, brings to life a character who challenges stereotypes and shows that dreams know no limits.
For his part, Kurt Huang, in the role of Xiao Yuan, shows on screen the vulnerability of a child abandoned by his parents at birth and the suffering caused by the harassment of older boys in an orphanage, until he is picked up by a stranger who will raise him as a "brother." As a young man, he will admit to being in love with the person who raised and educated him.
In this series based on a Danmei. that could revolutionize the BL universe, both young people struggle with a dilemma considered taboo, such as the romantic relationship between brothers. However, they are not linked by blood. Will they cross that forbidden line and end up becoming lovers?
The series manages to combine the subtlety of Priest's prose and the care that the author puts into her heroes and heroines, and the construction of the characters designed from the script by Cai Fei Qiao ('Stay by My Side'-2023) , making the story very beautiful due to the way in which the characters develop and the events develop before the attentive gaze of the viewer. As the events unfold, he understands the characters and the world in which they take place.
If someone found the development of the story slow in the first part of the series, this is because the characters take the time to define their relationship, taking into account the previous bond between them. But once they do it, the actions gain in intensity. The romantic scenes in 'Unknown' are primarily narrative. Intimacy is a function of advancing the story, making it deeper. The sex scenes serve the characters, the narrative, and the tone of the film. But they are also there because they are sexy. But they do not hide the intention of being used to tell the audience how a character feels about their sexuality or identity.
This imperfectly perfect couple will be sustained by longing, desires, hopes, strangely wonderful coincidences, letters that are written from a distance with all the heart, with all the soul.
I do not doubt that the viewer will be able to remember 'Through the Gates of the Strait (Shared Universe)', another of Priest's novels.
Wei Qian, Wei Zhi Yuan / "Xiao Yuan" and other characters, as tools that they are, after all, are used by the creators to tell a story that will attract the attention of the most demanding viewers.
Will the series respect one of the characteristics of Priest's work, that of focusing largely on the plot and the construction of the world in which the characters operate, leaving romance as a secondary aspect? Doesn't this make the romance more epic, since it grows and evolves alongside the story itself, at the same time helping to avoid monopolizing the public's attention in sexual and romantic matters, as many danmei novels do?
Will 'Unknown' be faithful to 'Da Ge' in terms of not showing explicit sexual content and having a limited amount of romance, such as few vaguely described kissing and sex scenes? The series focuses its attention on romance, and it could not be otherwise because the novel on which it is based is romantic above all.
It may be flawed, so it doesn't fully develop the edges of its story, but the central relationship that holds the series together is so compelling that the rest hardly matters.
YA

Leia Mais

pretty well done complex series

Overall: they handled a taboo topic fairly well, though the flashback to when Yuan was a child during a certain scene in episode 11 was cringey. This was a Taiwanese adaptation of a Chinese danmei (Da Ge by Priest). I have not read the novel and reviewed the series on its own merits. 12 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on Youku's app, Youku's YouTube channel and Viki.

Content Warnings: non con kiss, punch, blood, past parental abuse, violence/beaten up, kidnapping, coercion, unwanted outing, homophobia, manhandling, vomiting, (some people may include another one, I didn't based on how everything played out)

What I Liked
- a few central characters, got to know their personalities
- how characters cared about each other
- a grittier/more realistic tone
- sweet moments
- a few funny moments
- We Best Love actor cameo as the doctor starting in ep 3
- a well done antagonist, I could see his reasoning but he meddled and was hypocritical though he did redeem himself at the end
- a non cliche female character in ep 6
- one of the few times I was happy for a years-long time jump (end of ep 7)
- sassier/more confident Yuan starting end of ep 7
- intimacy/tension
- production value

Room For Improvement
- (neutral) I generally don't like series that start with flash forwards but I understood why they did this
- confused in the beginning as to who was biological siblings, adopted siblings and friends (Iikely compounded by the use of brother as a term of endearment/closeness and not reserved for biological siblings)
- the timeline/character ages took some effort to piece together
- Li Li was supposed to be in high school before the time jump in episode 7 but she acted like a middle schooler (went into a random guy's car as an example, also she outed another character), even at the end when she was 23 she felt like a high schooler
- should not have done the flashback montage in a scene in episode 11
- cringey the coworkers talked about their sexual positions at work
- introduced a very serious plot point only to never resolve it, also didn't feel that the gang issue was clearly resolved either

Timeline Notes (the series wasn't clear where we were in the timeline/ages, feel free to correct me)
2008 (eps 1/2 flashbacks) - they first met in 2008 because that was the first date on the wall with the heights, Yuan age 7, Qian age 14, Li Li age 8
2016 (eps 1/2 present) Qian graduated university at the end of ep 2, Yuan age 15, Qian age 22, Li Li age 16
2018 (ep 3) Yuan is age 17 & Qian is 24, note that Yuan skipped a year or two so he's in university already at age 17, Li Li age 18
2019 (eps 4-7) Yuan turned 18 in episode 4, Yuan age 18, Qian age 25, Li Li age 19
the series eventually mentions that the gap was 4 years as I guessed
2023 (end of ep 7 up to the end of ep 12) Yuan age 22, Qian age 29, Li Li age 23
2024? (end of ep 12) Yuan age 23, Qian age 30, Li Li age 24

Leia Mais

Just Alright.

An average melodrama, not really grounded in reality in any way, but at least a semi-entertaining watch. The writing is overly indulgent and completely commits to all kinds of classic BL tropes and fantasies.

Qian was an interesting character. He was the parentified child who served as not only a brother, but a father, mother, and provider. Yuan had some of the more interesting emotional scenes, and because I love angst, I liked his portrayal of repressed feelings. Both of these characters didn’t really change all too much throughout the series, so their actions oftentimes felt repetitive. I liked Lili and thought the dynamic between the siblings felt real. There were a few times I thought Lili acted overly childish despite being in high school. One time being her basically outing Yuan by showing Qian his novels instead of just asking Yuan herself.

The actors had great chemistry. The main cast all had interesting dynamics, and character interactions felt genuine. There were also some good comedic moments. I liked the pacing, and I thought the episodes flowed well.

Despite having good characters, acting, chemistry, etc. the plot itself was nonsensical and founded on a bunch of unlikely scenarios. I was able to suspend my disbelief for most of the show, but most of the time the story came off as self-indulgent and cringey. For example, the workers casually chatting about their superiors’ sex life in the workplace was weird. (Though the fact they were also kissing at work is unrealistic in the first place, and really doubles down on BL fantasy logic). There was a lot of drama for drama’s sake. The tired tropes that were thrown in for dramatic effect were quickly glossed over as the plot moved forward. The only thing the plot had going for itself was the fact I was curious about what would happen next.

Overall, it was still an okay watch. If you’re interested in watching it, go ahead, you’ll probably be entertained and the main leads are both eye candy. Also be prepared to hear near-constant dramatic ballads in the background.

Leia Mais

Great start, meh ending

The first section is spoiler-free:
This is one of the series that had me hooked once the characters were played by the main actors. Waiting for the next episode was truely painful and every week was too long. It was the first time I read the book the series is based on because I couldn't wait for the next episode to air. It has a really high rewatch value up until around episode 10.
The series is for anyone interested in angsty characters, slow burn and trauma/drama. The characters feel like real people, the dialogues are just so natural. Chris was an amazing actor and I loved rewatching episodes to focus on his facial expressions. Although there were many known tropes or story points, they managed to twist it so it wasn't too predictable or if it was, it was still extremely engaging. And because of these things, I was kind of disappointed in how the series ended. Overall I would say it was worth watching, and if I'd binge-watched it, I might feel differently. But because I waited 10 weeks for it to finish, the ending wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped. I was certain this would be my second 10/10, but sadly the ending wasn't as cohesive as before and the more I think about choices in the script, the less I like the ending.

Spoilers ahead:



The more I think about the last three episodes, the less happy I am with a lot of the choices. Some of the choices felt so out of character. Qian would never let Yuan kiss him in the office. Why did they insert so many montages and why did the montages include the same scenes? We don't need more than one montage in every episode... WHY did they show Yuan as a kid when they had the NC scene? I liked how they started in the middle of kissing and then went back to the beginning, but why insert so many montages in between? Yuan and Qian didn't really talk the last three episodes. From episode 7? to around 10 they were constantly talking about how they feel, but once they have sex, they do not talk about anything except for Qian's illness anymore. It just felt so empty suddently. They made a lot of scenes just to get a few laughs, and while they were funny, they didn't fit the characters too well (Qian finding out Lily is pregnant and going after San Pang, getting kissed at the office, hearing how the others debate who's top and who's bottom etc).
It just felt like they couldn't use some of the material they shot and had to improvise by adding a lot of filler or montages.

I think I'm just a little disappointed because the series was able to turn typical plot points (e.g. Yuan getting beat up by the gang and Yuan and Qian having a near-death experience) into something where I was actively stressed out or engaged in general, but the last episodes didn't feel like they belonged to the first 9.

Leia Mais

I can sum up this drama with two words: A Need

Where do I even begin to review this drama?

This was a deliciously teasing slow burn, with the tension (and my anticipation) only rising with each new episode. It wound up getting crazy hype; I'm of the belief it was deserved.

They paid attention to the details here: From meaningful items that come up/are shown in the background—even quietly revealing to the viewers how things are progressing—and minute shifts in framing and lighting of scenes to detailed dialogue with weight, symbolism, and double meanings.

Impressively, while the subject matter was often serious, they somehow smoothly incorporated belly-aching comedic moments as well.

Finally, I would be remiss not to praise the actors, as not only the MLs but every side character nailed their roles.

My only real critique: While the music was great, far too many times, it came on too strong during a pivotal scene.

I would absolutely recommend watching this!

Side Note: Can we talk about the FLIRTING game here?! Not just Xiao Yuan but Wei Qian was freaking smooth as butter. Like, damn, man!

Leia Mais