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Journey With You (Chinese Series)

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...

Unguarded (Filipino Mini-Series)

This series definitely has one of the most different twists that I have seen so far in any BL series. Sure its a short series with only 4 episodes of about 20ish minutes each, but the two leads keep the premise pretty engaging, even though the overall execution is a bit clunky. Apparently this mini series is part of a trilogy or something focusing on one of the main characters, but I am guessing these are pretty independent. But now that I know this, I will probably go and watch the other ones also real quick.

Henry asks his best friend Lukas if he can take in his boyfriend Mark Lee in his house for few days since the latter's home is flooded. Initially reluctant Lukas agrees and Mark Lee starts living with him. Over the course of few days, two strangers start to become good friends and hang out all the time. Things change when Lukas confides into Mark Lee that he likes him and kisses him. Unsure where this is headed, first he brushes this away but eventually he figures Lukas is not going to give up. One day while swimming Mark Lee notices some mark on Lukas' body that reminds him of something (I will need to watch the prequel for context) and so he decides to confront and leave home. But this is when the twist happens and suddenly a cute love story becomes a psychological thriller. What follows is a series of scenes that alternate cute and violent and for a while you're not sure which is real and which is not, as the character slides in and out of reality.

A show that I thought will be another cute fluffy love story indeed gave a very interesting twist. Despite low production values and just two actors, I think if developed we'll, this has the potential to become a full fledged show or a movie. The first two episodes are usual lovey Dover stuff and at certain points the series even starts to feel repetitive. But soon in third episode, it becomes dark, suspenseful, and leaves you with a lot of “wtf?!” moments. I’m excited now to go watch what lead up to these events, then what happened after this. Depending on how to wanna interpret the end, there can definitely a follow up to this as well. The two actors were decent and charming and tried their best to keep the show together and interest alive. Apparently the sequel of this is not out yet, but now I am very curious. (6/10)

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