Skip to main content

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...
Post a Comment

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 ambush alongside his closest companion Pei Yanzhi, and both of them get killed. Right as he's dying, he finally understands just how deep his feelings for Yanzhi actually run. When he wakes up again, he discovers he's been sent three years into the past, and surprisingly, his mother is still alive in this timeline. Determined to rewrite his fate and keep the people he cares about safe, Yin Qi starts playing things carefully to win his father's trust and favor. At the same time, he quietly digs into the wrongdoing of his older brother, the Crown Prince. He also starts growing suspicious of Yanzhi's motives, and once he suspects Yanzhi might be working with the Crown Prince, he starts working to sabotage those efforts. In reality, Yanzhi's only goal is protecting Yin Qi, and he's committed to keeping him safe no matter the cost. The Crown Prince has already killed off all his other brothers, leaving Yin Qi as the last one standing in his way. Yin Qi's mother, the Empress, is deeply ambitious herself and keeps pushing him to go further than he's comfortable with.

The story itself is fairly straightforward, and while there's a time travel element built in, it doesn't really end up mattering much to the overall plot. The two leads have decent chemistry and the acting gets the job done. Funnily enough, the secondary couple involving the villain actually had more heat and chemistry than the main pairing did. Yin Zhou's character is written as openly gay without any shame about it, to the point where he's got an entire harem of men around him. He's particularly close with one of them, who ends up sacrificing his life to protect him and stop him from committing further crimes. When Wei Zi Ming dies in his arms, Yin Zhou completely unravels and ends up taking his own life, which felt like a strange choice to me. Like I mentioned earlier, I'd pretty much checked out by around episode three. There were just too many twists and too much back and forth for any of it to hold my attention. I'm guessing I'm in the minority not liking this one, especially given how much praise it's getting online. If this sounds like your thing, definitely go for it. It just didn't click for me personally, and part of that is probably because I'm not that big a fan of this particular style of historical drama from the region to begin with. (3.5/10)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tuxedo (Thai Series)

By Golu
When I saw this series with 8 episodes of about 20-25 minutes each, I thought, good: Finally someone has come to senses and made a show which is not stretched out and they have tried to squeeze in a decent storyline in a good small episode format. But unfortunately, despite a decent premise on hand, the clunky writing, bad screenplay and an extreme tasteless portrayal of mental illness makes this show, not a fun watch. By the time it finishes, you just want to laugh off at the entire absurdity of it all. Aioun is talented tuxedo designer and very much in demand but he has handful of clients and he builds suits only for people who he feels a connection to. One night when his younger brother is about to get mugged, he is helped by a total stranger named Sichol. Since he tears his suit in the fight and has an interview the next day, Aioun gifts him a suit form his design as an expression of thanks. Sichol's interview is for. Personal assistant of a man named Nawee, a wealthy heir to h...
25 comments
Read more

Heartstopper: Season 2 (Web Series) (UK)

By Golu
Heartstopper Season 1 was a universal hit. You could not have read one bad review or heard from anyone who has seen the show not liking it. It was the kind of series that is easy to love, with sweetness exploding out of every scene without overwhelming you. So naturally, when Netflix greenly Season 2, expectations were naturally high and the same happened with me. I didn't know what to expect, but I had high expectations of this very very sweet teenage love story. And with eagerness and being a little late to the game by a few days, here I am, pouring my t thoughts down having just finished one of the most anticipated shows of the year. The second season also has 10 episodes and has all of our loved ones from the original season. The show continues from where it had left off in Season 1. Charlie and Nick are a couple and only their very close circle of friends know about it. This includes Charlie's best friend Tao and his trans best friend Elle. The center of the show is still ...
19 comments
Read more

Gaya Sa Pelikula (Filipino Series) [Like In The Movies]

By Golu
Pinoy BL series seem to be catching up to the popularity of the Thai shows. And I must say that they are doing a pretty good job at it. Where Thai series started to get repetitive with so many shows based in a college setting with seemingly similar storylines, Pinoy series are offering the viewers with new and interesting stories and some really good sets and surroundings. This series was 8 episodes of about 25-20 minutes each. Karl, a 19-year old introvert architecture student is in the middle of an identity crisis. Prior to the start of the second semester in college and forced by his parents, he moves into his uncle's condominium unit so that he can learn to be financially independent. Karl takes on odd jobs online to do so. But when one of his major clients suddenly goes MIA, he is left short on funds and without a means to pay for his utilities. An opportunity presents itself when his cocky neighbor Vlad has to hide from his family and proposes to share Karl's space for th...
23 comments
Read more