I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
Three dramatic AIDS stories intertwine, chronicling the spread of AIDS on three continents: a plasma-smuggler in China; the mother of an HIV positive porn star in Canada; nuns in Africa. Only one of them was relevant for this blog , so reviewing that here.Set in Canada, this segment addresses the fundamental flaws in the adult entertainment industry. Denys is an adult-film actor afflicted with AIDS. Young and living at home with his parents, Denys steals his dying father's blood to pass his mandatory AIDS screenings. This triggers an AIDS crisis within the film industry. Following his father's death, mother and AIDS-stricken son are left broke. The mother purchases a life-insurance policy for herself and then begins seeking-out the virus for herself. The results are horrific to say the very least. The conclusion is the young actor being confronted by one of his victims. She looks him in the eye an utters, ""You killed Me for eight-hundred dollars." This segment contains strong dialog, adult situations.
It is not appropriate for the majority of young people. Nonetheless, it does serve a purpose in showing the viewer the shocking trend of people deliberately seeking the virus. This was not very clear whether Denys got the virus from one of his clients in the movie or was he really gay (since he went to gay rehab program). (3/10)
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