When I first read the MDL summary for Unknown I literally rolled my eyes at the prospect another step bros in love kind of pulp . At first I thought I will not watch it. But then I thought why not give it a choice? Thank god I chose to give it a choice.

Because I'd have lost a gem if I had not gotten over my prejudices. And what a delivery! What a masterpiece this series has evolved into. Let's talk about the story, adapted from a novel which I have not read, the screenwriting team has done an exceptional job. Visual storytelling is at its finest. When I saw the premise of how they became stepbrothers or let's not call it stepbrothers because that is completely wrong. How they became "brothers" through shared traumatic life, it made me understand their story better.

The acting is so so good. Each of the eye rolls, forehead crunches, screaming , look of anger, shock and disbelief, pain and visceral fear when Qian thought he may lose his family is acted so so well!

except the story, there are two more things that I absolutely dig. Cinematography and Music. Both have won in this series. The cinematographer and director are very clear on what they want to show. The soft moody and dark-ish lighting, focus on the faces, and frames inside frames (seemed like director and cinematographer's top choice of composition) with minimal bgm. And usage of the OST . Everything was perfect to create a sombre feeling . And also it glows more and lights are added when the full family is happy. Personally I feel like this series is a great case study for people who love cinematography.

The diction is very on point. Especially at the end of each episode, the small reminder on what families are really like warmed me to my core. There are age gaps, there are a lot of ruminations, there are quintessential yet well timed humour.

I saw some discussions regarding the intimate scenes. Some liked it , some did not like how it was edited. Personally I loved that scene. It was the culmination point of Yuan's feelings and his waiting for all these years. It was the point when Qian finally lets go of all his worries and accepts Yuan. They showed their struggles, mostly Yuan's throughout the years to show us how much he suffered and now finally he has the love of his life he always wanted. Because for Yuan it was just not sex, it was "making love" in it's truest essence. And the music alongside and it's lyrics were apt. The intimate scene is also very tastefully and artfully shot. I found the similar vibe of the intimate scene of Toothpari between Doctor Roy and Rumi.

This show has a special place in my heart now. A huge round of applause for the whole team.