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...
The year is 1932, and in a final attempt to save his restaurant, ex-con man Kurt Haijby appeals for a private audience with King Gustav V of Sweden. To his wife Anna’s great surprise, he is granted one. What starts off as a formal encounter between the restaurateur and the King soon turns into a romantic evening filled with passion. But when the fling turns into a secret relationship, the King’s advisors do everything to stop the affair. Haijby is railroaded, repeatedly by Governor Nothin, who disapproved of his relationship with the King. That involved helping destroy the Hajiby marriage, banishing Kurt to the US and when he was refused entry they managed to exile him to Germany which was on the brink of war. In Berlin an agent provocateur got him arrested for indecent behavior and the unlucky Kurt landed in jail. When he was eventually released from jail he was whisked off the train at Stockholm station and straightway locked up into a mental asylum. Mr Hajiby was never ever going to catch a break, but he eventually continues on with his life. He makes it out of the mental institute, tried to move on with life with his ex-wife but also thinks he deserves renumeration. Governor Nothin is also not going to leave him alone. When Kurt writes a book, all copies are siezed and burnt. Eventually, when the king dies, to protect the sovereignty of the kingdom, a case is filed against Haijby. He is accused of extortion and blackmail for receiving jewelry as well as large sums of cash from the King. Haijby insists these were gifts, and that he loved and honored the King. We know he doesn't stand a chance to win and goes to jail for 8 years. Post which he likely commits suicide.
The series is certainly infuriating as Haijby suffers one misfortune after another, and the real crime is not what Haijby did, but what was done to him. The series puts Haijby’s case in context. The courtroom scenes are especially frustrating as characters lie while giving testimony and, heartbreakingly, Haijby is unable to present evidence of his communications with the King. We will never be able to be sure of what and how much of what we see is really true. Apparently Haijby was a con-man (which I somehow missed to realize when I watched the show). The production values and acting in the series were good. The actor playing Haijby is very strong. He conveys every emotion through his body language which ranges from free and happy with the King to secretive with his wife Anna to intensely distraught with Nothin. An outburst he has in the courtroom is particularly impactful because he is raging against all the injustice he has faced. The scenes between the King and Haijby are sweet, and the king makes his deathbed effort to say goodbye to Haijby quite moving. On the flip side, the series feels too rushed. Somehow with just 4 episodes, it barely gives us time to feel the affair and connection that taking had with a commoner. Why did it happen so suddenly and what was really going on with Haijby. It feels we get to see one side version from Haijby's point of view. I wonder what kind of official records exist today, that were used to make this series. Regardless, it is a very important story in the queer history showing us another facet of what it could mean to be gay in those days. The series is definitely still quite entertaining and at no pint does it get boring. The way it has been structured, you are curious to know what will happen next and there is never a dull moment. Definitely a worth watch. (8/10)
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