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...
Lets look at all the major characters and couples that we are introduced to and will watch. Fred who has started making a documentary on bears, is now about to have a baby with his husband Brent. While Brent has completely taken over the responsibility of doing all preparations for the arrival of the baby, Fred is busy with his documentary, making Brent feel that Fred is not taking the baby’s arrival with as seriousness as it deserves. Then we have Michael, who although still mourning the death of his past lover is building a new relationship with Dalton. Dalton’s daughter Emma, a very tough teenager and very protective of her father, comes in to the mix a year into their relationship and the trio is going through their own tribulations. And then we have Roger, who has not only lost his love in part 2 but also has now lost his job and apartment. The entire group is now going to the bear campground for the weekend or something and Roger also goes hoping to rekindle love with his ex Tyler. But Tyler now has Jay, a fireman and they are both very much in love with each other. Each character goes through their ups and downs, laughters and cries, hopes and wishes and start to redefine ‘family’ in their context, especially after Fred & Brent have their baby two weeks early in the camp. Each learns a valuable lesson about tearing down misconceptions, building relationships, rebuilding one’s self, and finding more than enough love in their hearts.
I dunno what was it but the film didn’t excite me as much as the first two did. This could be a combination of expectations and the fact that the film really did not have anything novel to offer unlike the first two. I mean, there was nothing wrong with the film but then there was nothing outstanding either. Like most films, each couple had their share of misunderstanding which gets resolved by the end of the film. We all know exactly what the outcome is gonna be. I think it was the expectations that left this film a little short in fun quotient for me. Acting by all principal actors was still pretty good with Brent still taking an edge over the others. Roger’s character in this chapter, according to me was quite irritating and unlikeable. I wonder if that was the intent but besides that I was happy to see that all characters were given equal prominence including Fred’s sister who is also the surrogate.
Not bad at all but not great either, This film is an alright conclusion to the trilogy of the gay bear life. Now lets look forward to something new. (6/10)
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These days besides my regular goto gay movies, I have watching a Finnish nordic noir on Netflix.