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...
I had seen the Signal TV show 'About Him' few years back. But apparently there has been some sort of falling out between the author of the book series and the makers/director of the original show. So even though, Signal TV came with a sequel of the show called 'About Him: The Revolution', it had new characters and storyline. In contrast this show, originally titled 'About Him: Freshman Year' is actually a true blue sequel in the sense that it carries the story forward of Damien, since it's written by the same author. The show was taken up by another channel for distribution.
Freshman Year is the Season 2 that continues the story line with Damien as he goes to North Carolina Tech to major in computer science following his wildest summer where he not only fell in love with his brother's best friend but he also hooked up with three other guys, including his play-cousin Kendall. Due to financial difficulties, Damien is forced to live off campus with Kendall and Kendall's mom, Aunt Monica. Damien stumbles around campus like the other lost freshmen doing his best to keep his eyes glued to his books and off of shirtless jocks, frat-boys, and handsome intellectuals. But Damien's level of discipline may prove to be no match for the ways of a manipulate college senior who threatens to establish a degrading reputation for the freshmen. Damien's cousin Kendall begins his own journey of self-discovery. Kendall not only reconnects with himself, but with a love from his past - a cute church boy. It's a forbidden love that may require Kendall turning his back on the person who has aided him in keeping his sexuality secret from friends, family, and their church for years - his mother.
This sequel was a big letdown compared to the predecessor. It felt disjointed and a show that was made just for the heck of it. Despite the season taking place at college, the show never depicts any classroom scenes, at least not in the first seven episodes. The majority of Damien's story here is him trying to focus on his studies and schoolwork, but yet he keeps getting distracted. Apparently, his main issue arises when he refuses to receive anal sex from Shane who has pretty cool blonde hair for a black man. The best part of the season is the relationship between Kendall, and Tristan. Even the sexual scenes, which include a generous dose in every episode are nothing to talk about. They are not hot (I mean, the boys are hot, but somehow those scenes are not erotic). The show thankfully has just 7 episodes of 16-18 minute duration but they are still so badly directed that it's almost impossible to take anything seriously thats happening on your screen. (2/10)

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