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...
The series follows a group of friends: Jan and Noah have been in a relationship for a while but they are going through their issues. The thing is Noah likes BDSM and wants Jan to dominate him. Jan tries but thats not him and eventually cracks start to seep in until one day Jan finds Noah cheating on him and he leaves him. We have Marcel, who works at a bank and likes being single and enjoys sex and one night stands. He is HIV positive but knows what he is dealing with. We then have Leopold, Jan's closet friend who doesn't want to be known only by his sexuality. Finally, we meet Lukas, who has moved to this city form his controlling parents who threw him out after finding out he is gay. Marcel and Lukas have a few sex sessions before Lukas meets Leopold and they both soon get in a relationship. We follow lives of these people. We see Lukas' mother making an attempt to reconnect with her son but unable to break the barrier, Lukas has constant insecurities with Leopold for no apparent reason. Marcel meets a very charming young man Phillip and for the first time, he feels like taking it to a different level only to find out that Phillip is straight and loves him but not in a sexual way. Leopold somehow gets into the path of prostitution which starts as a harmless fun and soon becomes a habit. Thankfully he realizes and calls in all his friends for an intervention.
The series, from a story perspective is very real and show some of the issues, problems and things that todays youth is dealing with being gay. Stuff like drugs, one night stands, HIV, BDSM, threesome etc. are all tackled, which is good because none of them have been done in an over dramatic way. Things are handled very sensitively and logically. The actors all fit their parts very well, except for one major drawback. They just don't have any chemistry at all as lovers. Lukas and Leo as individuals do great but you just don't feel their love at all. They just seem like friends and so do Jan and Noah. Marcel and Phillip have the best storyline and they have a great chemistry too. I wish their stories were further explored. The whole angle of Jan going into prostitution was a bit weirs for me. I didn't understand why would anyone would do that, especially the reasons shown were just not justified to me as an audience. I am glad that they didn't force Jan and Noah to be together and show that they openly talk about the fact that they will not change as a basic person who they are, so they need to accept it and move on.
The series has its pros and cons and pros outweigh the cons and its a light , breezy easy watch. A web series that represents our concept of our own sexuality: natural, self-confident, outspoken. (6/10)
Comments
What I am reading from your comment is that it is still worth a go.