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...
Hyun Woo, high school student trains in judo but has recently injured his knee in a competition, the winner of which is Do Jin, who is now joining the same school. Hyun Woo hopes that some day he will get to have a match with Do Jin. Do Jin seems to have a crush on Hyun Wo and one day musters the courage to get his phone number. One of Hyun Woo's friend has a very outgoing personality and he also has a crush on him and confesses his love, The friend and Hyun Woo start spending more time together eventually leading to school gossip and break up. Do Jin also finally finds courage to confess his feelings to Hyun Woo before leaving for Olympic competition. Sic years later the trip meets again and this time Do Jin and Hyun Woo finally fall in love.
This series was so confusing and one of the primary reason, personally for me and I am ashamed to say it, but all the actors looked exactly the same to me. I had no idea what was going on. I knew their was a love triangle but I didn't know who the couple was and who was the 3rd until the very last episode. I would constantly mix up the characters and names. There was no development at all and then there was a sudden 6 year time jump. The characters aren't properly established, defined by vague motivations and little personality. Their relationship dynamics are also incoherent. No reason is given on why two people start falling for the lead Hyun Woo. There is no organic growth and just happens randomly. I understand its a new production house and they are trying to bring us a story but please, at least have a coherent screenplay on hand. This is especially sad since the actors clearly have potential. The time jump, as mentioned before is sudden and clumsy and I was forever confused on who's with who and why they are doing things and what's the motivation. Korean show traditionally have been quite decent but this series is a total amateurish attempt that can easily be skipped, even if it doesn't ask for time commitment. (3/10)
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