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 show starts with Aniwa traveling all over the place to meet folks from every walk of life to see how their background and identity mix together. In the first episode, Aniwa actually takes his first HIV test, works through some stuff from his childhood by playing rugby with the NZ Falcons—one of the country’s gay teams—and checks out what Rainbow Youth is doing to help out. Moving into the second episode, he’s inspired by Mani Mitchell, who is a big deal in the intersex advocacy world, and he also chats with MP Chloe Swarbrick at the Auckland Pride March and spends time with Louisa Wall, who’s an icon in both politics and sports. By the third episode, Aniwa is performing with the kapa haka group Ahakoa te Aha and hanging out backstage with Half Queen before a big set. He even goes to Masterton to meet Lyrikz Rimene, a trans guy who’s big on TikTok. In the later episodes, he joins the pride march, meets filmmaker Alesha Ahdar, and learns about the country’s queer history from a non-binary historian. Finally, Aniwa introduces us to his own family, hangs with legendary figures like Jaycee and Lea Pao, and visits a gay couple in Wellington, Rawa and Frankie, who are trying to start a family.
Aniwa is such a great host because he’s got this really natural, chatty vibe that makes everyone feel comfortable opening up about some pretty heavy stuff without it feeling like a stiff interview. IIt helps that he is extremely good looking. I really loved that they focused so much on the Takatāpui identity, because you don't see that perspective very often in big queer media, and it made the whole thing feel really fresh. It’s interesting because it seems like a lot of people in the community don't actually know much about the queer history of New Zealand since it feels so far away from their daily lives. Even if I couldn't personally relate to every single story, it was still really cool just to learn about them. I also liked that they didn't drag the stories out; you get just enough info to learn about someone without the show becoming too exhausting or heavy to watch.
I’ll be honest and say this might not be for everyone, especially if you aren't into documentaries. But for anyone who wants to learn about queer history or get a feel for the heart of the community in the Pacific, this is a really great place to start. (6/10)
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