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...
Genevieve and Adrian, two young artists living in San Francisco, become disillusioned with romance after their respective relationships end. The friends undergo a change of lifestyle, and direct their attentions to the chic and superficial. Genevieve begins rehearsing for a play, and Adrian writes his first novel. They individually meet Max, a charming young man who brings color into their synthetic world. The friends begin dating Max, keeping their affairs a secret from one another. When Genevieve and Adrian discover they have been seduced by the same man, their friendship with one another as well as their relationships with Max come under question. As Max continues to promise them his affections, the three attempt to let go of their ideals and form a triangle. But both friend are uncomfortable with it and eventually Adrian decides to bow out telling Genevieve that she should stay with Max since the two really love each other. The friendship starts to crumble and a few weeks later, Max proposes the girl. But the happiness is short lived when Max gets apart in a film to be shot in Paris and Genevieve sees him flirting with girl whom he knew from before, who was having a coffee with Adrian. Genevieve breaks it up with Max and back with Adrian, the duo are back to being disillusioned with love.
The film was interesting and the direction style was something different and vibrant. It's hard to explain what was really different but the way it was filmed was more like a French play, with slow dialogue delivery as of a thinking man's story. Unfortunately nether the story or the film had nothing new to offer. It's a done to death scenario with some gender swaps and a different take, but also lot of open questions. We never really get know the real Lax. Sure he is bisexual , but is he also like a free bird who just loves people (which is what I felt), but if t hat is so, then why would he propose to Genevieve? I can understand why Adrian would back out from the trip relationship given him and Genevieve were good friends but how things eventually unfold make it slightly unbelievable. On a positive nite, all three actors were good looking , especially Max. He played the role of a husky seducer quite nicely, playing with his body, his eyes and his smile; which were all essential to the story. But besides that, the film had little to hold anyone's attention. It snot bad but not good either. (5/10)
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