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...
In 2015, just as Supreme Court rules on marriage equality, long term couple Max and Josh decide to get a divorce, except that they have a hard time separating. We see Josh occasionally hooking up with a cop Pete while Max still harboring feelings for his ex. When a young guy named Conrad moves into Max's old apartment, he gets in a soup on where to live. Conrad is nice enough to let him stay there and soon they both find attracted to each other. Conrad is an old school guy at heart, prefers dates and dinners and not just hook up , so he and Max get into a relationship soon though both have all sorts of insecurities about themselves and each other. Meanwhile, Max’s parents are having trouble in their long-term throuple with their partner Drew, because they think Drew is having an affair outside. Along the way, a couple of plot twists add extra wrinkles and connections, even if they feel somewhat gimmicky.
As I mentioned, a film like this was quite in about 15 years ago, and I would have likely given it high rating as well, but we all have moved on to better content. The focus here is the big age difference between Max and Conrad and how they navigate through it all, but the way it is done never feels like a real conversation, it feels overacted and very dialogue heavy. Sure, it does eventually show that people can have perfect normal relationship even with big age gap. As a character, I found Max odd. He can't let go of his ex, who clearly wants to have sex all the time with others, but it seems Max is twiddling thumbs between Josh and Conrad. Plus we never see him work. He just sits around, walks around and just is visiting parents or figuring his love life. Fo Conrad's character, it was interesting to see somebody who has been out for a long time but is still vastly inexperienced and not enthused by the typical tropes of gays on-screen. Max’s parents’ relationship also takes a pretty significant place in the runtime. The dynamic of their three-way relationship is unlike most anything you’ll see elsewhere, as they repeatedly discuss some of the tensions, joys, and worries unique to their relationship, like jealousy over other potential partners and Drew’s desire to feel like an equal part of the family. Sadly despite all that, the characters are all so flat. Interestingly, almost every male character in the film shows their penis, which is not something that you will find me complaining about. But it feels like a deliberate choice to do it because it al happens in situations where they really did not have to show full frontal, but seeing penises is always appreciated. The story, acting and direction can all use some help here. Through some occasionally awkward writing and acting, the movie feels unique and affirming of different ways that healthy and loving relationships can look, despite what we typically see on-screen. (4.5/10)
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