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...
Cops get a lead that drain pipe of one of. the flats in blocked by what seems like human remains. Nilsen is then arrested, who admits of having remains of human body in his current apartment and also his previous apartment. We are told that Nilsen, Des, himself had called in the complaint. DCI Jay is in charge of the investigation. Des is more than co-operative and it turns out that he may have killed 12-15 boys, all homeless, looking for food and love, may or may not necessarily be gay. Enter a famous writer Brian, an older yet successful gay man himself, who is hired by Des, to write his biography providing an additional point of view beyond that of Nilsen and the police. The rest of the investigation tries to find out who the murdered victims were. Cops are able to identify only 6-7 names including a very high profile case from three years ago. When the case finally goes to the court, everyone is shocked when Des pleads "not guilty". His logic is he admits to murder but maybe he was not in the right frame of mind. Eventually the jury finds him guilty and he is sent to life imprisonment. No one will ever know what his real motives were for the murders.
I didn't know this but apparently there was homelessness crisis during the 80s, which is what Nilsen takes complete advantage of when he meets vulnerable young boys and take them home, offer them drinks and eventually strangle them to death. Its a true story, so not much to review here but whats pretty obvious is the brilliant acting here. David Tennant has proved himself a versatile actor many times and he is no less brilliant as the calculating yet intelligent murderer. With no "who", the question hanging over Des is why. What made this unassuming man do these terrible things? He is not likeable but seems very reasonable. He also emerges as a vain, arrogant psychopath, haunted by his own sexuality and all too aware of his value as a story. And hence he hires Brian, a gay biographer. Joe, Brian and others also do a very good job. It's strictly not a queer themed series tbh. I mean, yes the killer is gay and his victims are all young men whom he brought home for sex but sadly we will never know the motives for his actions.
A must see for thriller genre lovers. (6.5/10)
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