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Journey With You (Chinese Series)

By Golu
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...
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Oh! Boarding House (Korean Series)

By Golu
This 8 part series is a very simple love story. Sadly the plot and screenplay is pretty basic and at no point you feel connected to any character. You know exactly where the show is going, what will happen and where the protagonists will end. Thankfully the show is not heavy on drama and is pretty easy going and light hearted watch. At 15 minutes of each episode, it luckily doesn't drag the proceedings too much.

When Seol Won loses a significant money in a scam, his mother lets him stay at the boarding house thats he manages on condition that he will manage the house while she is out on vacation. The house has two other members: one happens to be his cousin, an 18 year student and other isa budding nerdy writer. A new tenant is supposed to move in the house. Cheol Too, happens to be the 18 year old cousin's gym teacher. When Cheol Soo first moved in, he made a heroic first impression by rescuing Seol Won from a dangerous encounter. Since that incident, Seol Won has developed a noticeable crush on his new tenant. But his clumsy attempts lead to always embarrassing situations. But his sincerity eventually wins him over. We also meet a university friend of Seol Won, who has always had a crush on him and he also decides to live in the boarding house. But when he sees the closeness between Seol and Cheol, he decides to take a step back, after sharing his story with Cheol Son and warning him to not lead on and play games with Seol Won.

The romantic track oof the show is sadly very basic and non engaging at all. The couple is very good looking, especially the teacher, but they have absolutely no chemistry and the Strat of the love feels random and sudden. Why does Cheol Soo suddenly have a heart change when he is sick of constant attention is never explained. It feels more like they are forced to be together. The triangle with the university friend is another BL trope that is just added for the sake of it and hoping to create unnecessary drama. The only decent part os when the two men talk about their respective love for Seol. Besides the romance, a lot of time is spent on the goofy and silly housemates. The student and his antics and over the top yet charming. The forced straight love story of the writer and the girl add zero value. While this show does alright with the jokes, the lack of substantial romantic engagement and chemistry makes it a struggle for it to become an engaging drama. Overall, this was strictly average at best and is watchable because of a good looking cast and some zany humor. (5/10)
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Sailor Maan said…
I have good memories of this one with the silly housemates and good looking leads. It had me laugh quite a few times. Some parts seemed not totally developped but as usual a movie was planned, with certainely additional scenes I guess (they have to stop doing that...)
If you're looking for a korean BL I can recommend semantic error that was nice :)
June 15, 2022 at 5:13 AM
Golu said…
Thanks for the recommendation buddy. Keep them bringing please. There are way too many BL show out there and its hard to decide which one to pick first
June 15, 2022 at 7:43 AM
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