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...
Joe, a single gay man and a writer is in his 30s. His ex and only girlfriend Delia, now married to Rodrigo have just discovered that they cannot have baby because of Rodrigo being sterile, and who happens to go to Spain for few months for work right after this. And finally we have Herbert, a nerdy gay man, who has given up hopes on finding love. One drunken night of partying Joe ends up sleeping with Delia who ends up getting pregnant. Meanwhile, while this is going on, Joe has a secret internet lover, who he is facing over but surprisingly has never seen or met. He just sees his pictures and talks to him on phone. When Delia's pregnancy news is revealed Rodrigo is mad and decides to leave her. Initially angry and confused, Joe eventually gives in and decides to support Delia in having the baby. Herbert, meanwhile, meets a young man in the park and sparks fly and a cute romance between them blossom which gets tested when he gets promoted but has tome to a different town. Back to Joe, he soon finds out that his internet lover was cat fishing him. He tracks down the impersonate guy online and a strange friendship between the two develop.
The film, like I said before, is a little all over the place. Just when you think that this is going to be a drama around a woman accidentally getting pregnant with her gay friend who is her husband's best friend, midway, it totally abandons that subject and goes to focus on Joe's internet lover and their weird twisted fantasy and love. That section was also interesting but the two topics just felt too disjointed. And then the whole Herbert story also stood on its own and didn't really fit well in the film as an overall. This film is like three different stories with same people and in the process none of them get the attention it deserved. Herbert gets the worst treatment, whose love story could have been a very cute one but is sidelined for other priorities. Having said that, there is enough to admire too. The actors do a decent job and shared alright chemistry. And of course there is a happy ending for everyone involved. This is essentially a refreshing and easy-going, slice of life, feel-good dramedy, where you feel like you are watching different chapters of the life of a group of friends. (5.5/10)
Comments
for her, it was about I and me and myself