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’m always on the lookout for a few gay holiday movies every year, so I was pretty shocked when I realized 2025 didn't really have any. After doing a bit of digging, it turns out no major channel put out an exclusively queer-themed Christmas flick this time. The only movie that even had a major gay storyline was this one from Hallmark, and in their classic style, they made sure it stayed very "family-friendly"—which usually means centering everything around a perfect straight family. I’ll give you the gist of the whole plot, but for the sake of my review, I’m mostly sticking to the gay couple.
The story follows the Keller family as they get ready for a big Christmas cruise down the Danube River. We meet their three kids pretty fast: the oldest son, Cal, is a football coach moping because the girl he likes is moving away before he could tell her how he felt. Then there’s the middle son, Dylan, who just proposed to his doctor boyfriend, William. The weird part is that William didn’t even give him an answer, so Dylan is stuck in this awkward limbo. Finally, there’s the daughter, Emory, who just lost her job. Eventually, the whole crew gets together on the ship. Since it’s a feel-good holiday movie, Cal and Emory both find new love interests during the trip. When William unexpectedly shows up on the cruise, Dylan is a total wreck trying to figure out if they’re still a couple or if William is hiding something. It turns out the dad is actually struggling with Parkinson’s, and William was keeping it a secret at the dad's request. Once that gets cleared up, the two of them have a big romantic moment on a Ferris wheel on Christmas Day and get engaged for real. Everything ends on a high note for the whole family.
This is a total "target audience" movie that hits exactly the notes you’d expect for a December release. The cruise scenes through Southern Germany, Salzburg, and Vienna were actually really pretty to look at—they nailed the festive vibe with the Christmas markets and the snowy views. The Kellers are that classic TV family where the siblings might be a little distant, but they’ll jump in to save each other the second things get tough. Jonathan Bennett, who is basically the king of gay Hallmark leads now, plays Dylan, and the real shocker was seeing Brandon Routh (yeah, Superman himself) playing the brother, Cal. Dylan and William have great chemistry and are basically the "perfect" couple—good-looking, totally in love, and obsessed with family values. It’s definitely a "comfort watch" because you’re just seeing nice people get exactly what they want.
It's a typical, cozy Hallmark flick that gives everyone a happy ending, even if it wasn't the deep dive into a gay romance that I usually hope for during the holidays. (5/10)
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