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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...

Tiến Bromance: Ngoại Truyện (Vietnamese Series) [Double Daddy, Double Happy]

This 10 episode Vietnamese gay family series is actually quite fun to watch. It feels like this show is a sequel of sorts to Tien Bromance, a very confused show 2020. Its got same characters, actors and extended storyline, but so much better than the original one. The episodes are about 18-20 minutes each. And the show primarily shows us everyday joys and trials of a gay couple navigating through life and raising their young child.

We meet Tai and Tien again who are now living in a suburban home with their 6-7 year old son. Tien still works in some sort of gang/mafia and Tai is a teacher. There is really not much of a story here. We see multiple issues that these young parents try to navigate e through, while also making sure their relationship and love still stays strong. We see how they both care about their son, there are some funny situations when they both have trust issues, the way Tai treats the mafia gang members when they come (like a jealous housewife), the occasional baby sitter and also the son's school teacher. Towards the last few episodes we also see Tien's aunt come into the picture who had raised him since a kid and how she eventually accepts them all as a family. Overall this series is nothing but light hearted positivity filled entertainment show. 

Some of the episodes even have 2-3 different storylines, almost giving you a feel as short videos of adventures of this family and them being threaded together. So even if you miss an episode here or there, you would not have missed much. I liked the fact that Tien and Tai were shown a real couple with constant hugs, kisses, flirtation; they had a great chemistry. Yes, they both look quite young to be raising a kid together, but thats just minor quibble. The young boy playing the son is also super cite and his banter with his dads also add to the overall fun of the show. Overall, compared to the predecessor, this show is a huge improvement and with mostly light hearted moments in it, it is a super easy and pleasant watch that just brings a smile. Having said that, it doesn't really have anything memorable to stick with you and hence my ratings are not that high. (5.5/10)

Comments

Sailor Maan said…
Thank you Golu for reviewing this quick and easy show. Showing 2 dads raising a kid and their everyday life is always welcome for me. It's funny how some things ring true while others seems a bit "for the sake of the drama and because we feel we have to educate people". Just the "I want a mother" and one of the dads dresses up in drag so that the kid can "have a mom", please kill me...
Some of the raising a kid dilemmas were nicely done, like if your kid is bullied should you tell him to fight back or not (boy I really hope I'll magically avoid these kind of dilemmas...)
Then the series ranges from very good and funny episodes to not so good ones. Some really had me laugh though and I really liked the dynamic of the couple. (except for Tien always horny vs Tian always refusing like a girl he is not... Girls writing BLs, please take note that ALL men are ALWAYS horny haha)
Anyway I'm always in for gays raising kids series!
And thank you again Golu, I know you are very busy and you still managed to recommend nice little shows :)
Golu said…
You are right. This show was one of those where some episodes were quite funny while others were just bad. As you said, I have been extremely busy and I really hope I get sometime to catch up on things. I can't even tell how big of a backlog I now have to watch and catch up on things :(

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