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Journey With You (Chinese Series)

By Golu
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...
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The Next Prince (Thai Series)

By Golu

This show is honestly huge. You can tell they threw a ton of money at it because the palaces, the royal outfits, and all that fancy jewelry look incredible. It’s got everything you’d expect from a big royal drama—betrayal, fights, and even some pretty hot scenes between the prince and his guard. But if I’m being real, the romance actually takes a backseat to all the family drama. If you’re watching this just for the BL (Boys' Love) stuff, you might feel a bit let down because there's so much other stuff going on. They tried to pack way too many side stories into this, and since every episode is over an hour—with the finale lasting 90 minutes—it’s a massive commitment to get through.

So, the story is set in this kingdom called Emmaly in Thailand. There are four main families who take turns ruling based on which heir is the "best." Then there's Khanin, this pro fencer living in London who has no clue he’s actually a secret prince sent away for his own safety. One day, this royal guard named Charan shows up to drag him back home for a big fencing competition. The stakes are crazy: if Khanin wins, his dad becomes the King. It’s a total shock for him, and after barely surviving an attack in London, he makes it back to the palace. He’s pretty awkward at first, trying to figure out the royal lifestyle while dealing with rivals. While he’s training, he starts falling for Charan and basically spends the rest of the show being super clingy and needy for Charan’s attention. Honestly, it was a bit weird seeing a prince act like a lovesick puppy; it didn't feel very "royal" at all. His main rival is Prince Ramil, who’s got a secret boyfriend and a really mean dad. Their rivalry starts off okay, but it loses steam because the show gets distracted by a million other things. There’s a princess in the mix too, but she doesn't really do much. In the end, the competition happens, secrets come out, and Khanin wins—making his dad the King while he keeps his thing with Charan going.

The biggest problem is that the story just drags on and on. They keep adding these random side plots and twists that don’t really matter, and by the end, they even start messing up the characters. After a while, you kind of forget what you’re even watching. Is it about Khanin moving to a new country? Is it about him changing the system? Or is it about his relationship with Charan? To be honest, the romance was pretty boring. Once they got together, the writers didn’t seem to know what to do with them, so they just faded into the background. Weirdly enough, the side romance with Prince Ramil was way more interesting, even though it felt totally random and had some BDSM stuff thrown in.

The show looks amazing, don't get me wrong—the costumes and the castles are top-tier—but I wish they’d focused more on the characters. It felt like they tried to do too much and it just didn't work as a BL. The product placement was also super weird for a royal show, and some of the sets, like the clubs or the street protests, looked really fake and studio-made. The writing is really what killed it for me. There are way too many storylines and not enough time to make us care about any of them. I mean, Khanin just moves from London and forgets his old life like it was nothing? I lost interest halfway through and kept hoping it would get better, but it just became a snooze-fest. It’s pretty to look at, but that’s about it.

It looks great and they clearly spent a lot of money, but the messy plot and the fact that it just keeps dragging make it hard to recommend. (4.5/10)

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