The Way Home (2024)

The drama got Censored after airing and got butchered by Youku

I can't take it anymore
This drama had a very very good start and it had such a good story with amazing Chemistry between The main leads as Two Brother or Two cousins and the ages between them fit perfectly
The story was engaging and emotional, it didn't have any BL or Gay scenes just Normal straight behaviour between two loving brothers as any NORMAL BROTHERS Behave anywhere
BUT !!!!!!
One BL fan took a scene from the drama and made An AI video of the boys kissing, its fake AI video went Viral and reached Youku's eyes so they decided to Cut every single emotional scene between the boys

Also, there is another reason one fan said that Certain Idol group fans reported the drama for plagiarism and the drama was registered as Theme rural drama, not friendship youth drama that's why the Chinese authorities got its attention on the drama that made Youku deleted every single emotional scene

Every single caring gesture or Caring talk about each other was cut
HOW DO I KNOW about those scenes ??
Because all the cut scenes have behind-the-scenes footage and the trailer of the drama itself was already released before it airs
So Now the drama became disjointed pieces of family drama
I'm really sad and disappointed,, I was so invested in watching this story, and those characters
what a shame !!

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Cosy and warm brotherly love and familial bond

Okay, so this review of mine separates the potential watchers who do not want to fall prey of annoying shippers in the awe of having BL, brothers turning into BL (annoying right?). Yes it is.

[Edit-Damn, because of public, annoying fake AI video of brothers kissing, drama got censored after airing, and they cut so much, emotional scenes are all gone overnight. But except for ep 12, we didn't see any noticeable deleted scene. Ep 13, though shortened, it didn't seem that scenes were abruptly cut. The story was linking fine and made sense. So in conclusion . .

This series is still pretty good & watchable if we don't dig into deleted scene, because if we didn't know, we won't notice it. ]

The drama kicks off with the only child of He family, bearing the huge responsibility of maintaining fame that has been persistent for generations. But minutes later, one cousin of him (deep bond and care for each other) was shown to us. And at some later part, it was disclosed that the two were not blood related and this older cousin of him was separated from the He family at quite a young age due to some past history. But despite this the two brothers long for each other the same way as we people love our siblings. Yes, its pretty realistic and practical but damn f**kin people just can not digest the sibling bond. The production and direction is outstanding. Guys give it a try.
The younger one, He jia hao, is actually depressed due to his longing for his brother and his father's unbearable pressure to do well in studies and all that stuff (taking away his cherished things, destroying the talent of lanterns he had).
Ofc, we children need to have our own space to groom and outshine.
After some time, He jia shu, comes to the picture to save his little brother from falling into the dead end and helps him train everyday tirelessly. Now both the brothers are happy and also he jia hao is recovering well.

But yes, it's obviously not the end, many turns are yet to unfold. Do watch it if you wish to experience what lies ahead. You won't be disappointed with the cast, direction, production, and everything, literally everything.
Sensible watchers will sure make the sense out of the drama and for rest, go continue looking for your BL.

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This was filmed in 2024?!!! doesn't feel like it!

The plot is interesting I love the brotherly bond between the cousins reminds of me of me and my little cousins which is the only reason why I kept watching<3 However, I wish the directing and cinematography was better..!
Some scenes are shot oddly, and many elements seem to be missing, so the production feels incomplete. .. Like I just watched Ep 10 (the punching scene involving the biological father), and the way it was shot did absolute injustice to the actors and story line! That was one the worst punching scenes I've ever watched! like how is such bad quality movie making possible in 2024!!! Additionally, the beginning gave off such weird vibes from the gege.. He was acting like Edward from twilight for no reason! It was so uncomfortable to watch. Why was he acting like that for 4 episodes straight?! It did not add to the story and, again, the acting and the shots made no sense.
Personally, I find this drama lacks the strong direction, writing, cinematography, and even acting at times from side characters. it's making it hard for me to stay engaged when the quality of directing and production is so low! It's a shame since the plot was strong and actors were ok as well..

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Move along, nothing to see here

At Ep12 I stopped watching; the character writing was so heavy handed that no amount of last-minute “the family destroying monster is really a decent chap” white wash could redeem it. Also very tired of the way crimes (such as blackmail and extortion!) go unreported; also that strange phenomena in C-drama where little kids get saddled with years of heavy guilt for things that grown adults were too incompetent to deal with rationally. Some nice acting from the leads but not an enjoyable show for me and I understand now why it dropped out of viewing lists so quickly.

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A story of cry baby boy with his tough prince charming

I might be a bit ruthless in this review, but here it is. He Jia Hao is portrayed as the youngest, a weak boy, and a crybaby. He is a die-hard fan of his tough "prince" brother, He Jia Shu, who is actually the only child of his uncle. One day, the weak boy has an accident that leaves him in the hospital. From this incident, it is revealed that Jia Shu is not blood-related to his uncle or the He family. The sudden death of Jia Shu’s uncle causes Jia Shu to be kicked out of the He family.

Now a teenager, Jia Hao is still obsessed with Jia Shu. This obsession stems from his guilt, as he believes he was the cause of Jia Shu’s expulsion. The tough prince returns to town, and the crybaby Jia Hao cannot let go of him. He tries everything to win the prince's heart back.

Guess what? The crybaby wins the prince’s heart by showing just how weak he is. The title The Way Home seems to symbolize the tough prince's journey back to the He family. BL fans are now hoping and praying that this “way home” will lead to Jia Shu being officially part of the He family—if he marries the crybaby boy, they will share the family name, right? And everyone will be happy.

NB: Somehow, it's hard for me to sympathize with the crybaby character. As for the tough prince, it's funny how he does boxing in jeans in the early episodes. Thank goodness they realized it and changed his costume. The prince is super handsome, though, with a hairstyle that looks like he just came out of a salon in every scene.

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Best Brothers!!!!!

A Family drama with lot of emotions and Misunderstandings and Longing .
I understand the brother duo is a good pair and some times I can't think properly as a BL fan but Nope guys it's a clear family drama where brothers are not related but share the same bond and show a proper brothers bond . I sometimes didn't like the father because of old thinking but going on it is understandable that he lost his brother and it is village set and deals how close the village are and the bond between them . These big bro concentrate on his younger brother health and younger brother just want his big brother to forgive him and return to the family but the two girls have crush on these brothers.
Overall it is a light hearted drama with family touch . A good to go drama with limited episodes . I enjoyed the drama .

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It is absurd to claim that he has been censored or had scenes cut for showing alleged BL images

It is an error and a total absurdity to affirm that 'The Way Home' has been censored or scenes were cut, beyond the logical editing or audiovisual editing process, for containing supposed images typical of a BL series.
'The Way Home' is NOT adapted from a Chinese BL novel, so it was not intended to be a censored bromance-type adaptation either.
The most striking thing is that those who affirm these fallacies, with clear political rather than artistic motivations, do not break spears when there is a strong rejection in the world of representations of homosexual love (not only in fiction, but also in real life), when European countries like Hungary, and other neighbors of China, such as Malaysia, Kuwait, Indonesia, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other West Asian nations, ban and censor those fictions that feature scenes where gay men, lesbian women or Transgender characters express themselves with a kiss, a hug, a gesture, or even a few words, as occurs in the films 'Lightyear' (Pixar), 'Thor: Love and Thunder' (Marvel), 'Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous' ( Netflix), Marvel's 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness', 'Eternals', 'West Side Story', and so many other films that include LGBT+ characters.
The most striking thing is that those who affirm these fallacies, with clear political rather than artistic motivations, remain silent when Donald Trump, just hours after taking office as president of the United States, has eliminated with a stroke of the pen the DEI programs "diversity, equity, inclusion", deeply rooted in that country, considering them to be "discriminatory" policies. It is sad how with their silence they become complicit in the war against policies, inherited from the civil rights movement of the 60s, which have the declared objective of promoting equal opportunities taking into account different criteria, especially in the recruitment process or access to jobs, students and aid programs, and which take into account ethnic origin, gender, disability or sexual orientation.
The most striking thing is that those who affirm these fallacies, with clear political rather than artistic motivations, do not break spears when in nations supposedly more liberated and committed to the LGBT+ community, such as the United States, censor films such as Disney's latest version of 'The Beautiful and the Beast', for including a gay character in the story, as happened in the State of Alabama, with movie theater and drive-in owners banning the exhibition of the film for showing an "exclusively gay" moment between the character Le Fou (played by Josh Gad) and Gaston (Luke Evans).
The most striking thing is that those who affirm these fallacies, with clear political rather than artistic motivations, do not break spears when in societies supposedly more liberated with respect to homosexuality, such as the United States, from the beginning of 2023 until today a process is being experienced of legislative violence and unparalleled setback in the human rights of LGTB+ people.
I am referring to the approval of anti-LGBT+ laws by different states that openly limit different facets of the rights of said community, which aim to put the members of this group back in the closet, and which will begin in 2022 when Ron DeSantis , the governor of Florida, approved the Don't Say Gay Bill, whose text prohibits teaching any educational content related to sexual orientation or gender identity to students between 3 and 17 years old, and requires that the educational curriculum necessarily define he sex as “determined by biology and reproductive functions” and gender as “binary, stable and fixed.”

Returning to the series

'The Way Home' was never conceived as a series that explores love between boys. From the idea to post-production, through the script, the series was conceived as a bromance, a drama of youth and family growth, which became a 16-episode audiovisual, directed by Xu Huikang and written by Ouyang Lou and Liu Shuyang.
The relationship between the characters can be defined as a bromance at most, they are just friends. As can be verified, its original name was 'I don't want to be brothers with you'. Also, don't be so hard on the Chinese BL community. I know Chinese BLs can never fit your typical gay drama criteria. But they still tell really good stories and one should appreciate them.
It has all those elements you would expect from a realistic high school drama with the son of a single father sharing a room with another boy his age. There are also many friend gang moments.
In fact, the most "gay" thing we can find in the series is the pink bicycle owned by Chen Long An (Yuan Ming Ze), a friend of the two protagonists and owner of the gym and school where the boys go to train as a crew. of dragon boats, and which can be interpreted as a symbol that identifies "safe spaces" for LGBTQ+ people at work or at school.
Starring Ma Baiquan, Zhang Kangle, Chen Xinwei, Yuan Mingze, and Yao Jingyuan, among other actors and actresses, the Chinese series tells us, in a family and youth drama tone, the story of He Jia Hao (Ma Baiquan) and Jia Shu (Zhang Kangle), cousins not related by blood.
Set in Xiqiao Village, a water town in Lingnan, the once prosperous He family now has only one son, He Jia Hao, an introverted and well-behaved student, who in addition to carrying the supposed hope of his family hides a secret in his heart.
He Jia Shu, the young man raised within the family as if he were part of it, was expelled from home after the family learned an unexpected truth. Eight years later, He Jia Shu finally returns to the village, and Jia Hao, carrying the blame for causing his expulsion, seeks to make peace with Jia Shu.
The series explores traditional culture, such as dragon boat racing in southern China, the dragon boat eye-dotting ceremony, and Lingnan lantern skills.
Initially, He Jia Shu wants to completely sever ties with the He family. However, after spending time with He Jia Hao he begins to slowly return to the family. Under the pressure of maintaining the conservative concepts of the He family, the two "brothers" who are not related by blood grow and mature together, breaking the prejudices of their elders, until they regain kinship and friendship, and understand the meaning of family.
Through the mutual redemption between brothers, the series reflects the power of family affection, breaking down the barriers of lineage, rebuilding family ties, and triggers the public's thinking about family relationships.
From the China Youku Web Channel, the series tells a story of the bromance genre, in the style of 'The Judge of Hell' (2021), 'Beyond Evil' (2021), 'Sandía Brillante' (2023), 'Rugal' (2020), among many others, to describe a deep and meaningful connection between two male characters who are always there for each other, support each other unconditionally and care significantly, but without actually having a relationship loving.
The relationship maintained by the protagonists is not the same as that maintained by the protagonists of films such as 'Call Me by Your Name', 'Brokeback Mountain', 'God's Own Country' or 'Happy Together', but rather like the one that exists between Chandler and Joey in 'Friend', Batman and Robin in 'Batman The Movie', Sherlock Holmes and his esteemed detective adventure partner Watson; House and his friend James Wilson in 'Doctor House', Troy and Abed, from the North American series 'Community', Pedro and Pablo in 'The Flintstones', Howard and Raj in 'The Big Bang Theory', Blake Shelton and Adam Levine in 'The Voice', Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Martin Riggs y Roger Murtaugh, Ted, Marshall and Barney in 'How I Met Your Mother', and many other examples of bromances.
He Jia Hao and He Jia Shu are two straight men who really love and care about each other a lot. The chemistry, the friendship, the beautiful and unique relationship of brothers that these two actors maintain is undeniable, which only helps to worsen the catatonic state into which many lovers of the bromance genre fall.
The point is that these actors are too close to their audience, and that makes people love them more because it is almost as if they knew them in person. On their social networks they make comments that are regularly responded to by the other actors and the fandom implodes.
Although I am a lover of BL, I am also a lover of bromance. One of the things that hook the public into a fandom is that it has an attractive bromance, with attractive and handsome characters. This guarantees part of the success or failure of the film product.
Bromance, as I understand it, is a word in English used to define a friendship between two boys that goes MUCH beyond that. It does not necessarily imply a sexual relationship, but it is understood that their affection could be equated to having two brothers (hence the definition: bromance, a word formed by brothers and romance) or much, much more.
'The Way Home' managed to hook me thanks to the affection between the two main characters. The affection between them is such that they both pour their entire lives into each other. They sacrifice themselves for each other. Despite being so opposite, they complement and understand each other. Their friendship is unique because they are unique; They had to reunite with each other to be able to experience that kind of love that can only be felt for a true friend.
I am to congratulate the casting direction for the good judgment when it comes to choosing actors who have as much chemistry between them as Ma Baiquan and Zhang Kangle. The relationship between them began with fights, misunderstandings, distancing, which ended shortly after when they both understood that they need each other and that together they complement each other and work better for their own personal growth as well as their family.
And as the days go by, it's not just the work that works wonders for them, but they both realize that they feel genuine concern and affection for each other.
The wonderful "joking" relationship between the two actors leaves the screen and takes shape behind the scenes. It can be seen in the interviews they have given together…

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Un amore fraterno bello, toccante e pulito, capace di smuovere il cuore e curare lo spirito

Bellissimo drama familiare, con un focus particolare sul legame tra fratelli. Preciso subito, non si tratta affatto di una BL, nemmeno mascherata da bromance, come spesso accade in molte serie cinesi proprio sul tema dei fratellastri non consanguinei.
Qui c'è davvero il solo, spettacolare, affetto fraterno, tra due cugini cresciuti insieme come fratelli e che a un certo punto della loro vita - il più grande adolescente, l'altro ancora un bambino - scoprono di non essere di fatto veramente imparentati.
Jia Shu si ritrova all'improvviso a dover fronteggiare la sbalorditiva scoperta di essere il frutto di una storia che la madre ha avuto con un altro uomo, mentre l'uomo ormai in fin di vita per una lunga malattia, da lui amato e creduto il suo vero padre, di fatto non lo è. Alla morte di questo viene cacciato, insieme alla madre, dalla famiglia He, nonostante non abbia alcune colpa.
Durante gli otto anni di separazione il giovane Jia Hao vive un'adolescenza cupa, che mostra i primi segni di una forte depressione che nessuno sembra cogliere: sente la mancanza del fratello (cugino), è isolato dai compagni e si sente schiacciato dalla pressione di un padre che sembra pretenderlo diverso da come in realtà è, condannando la sua passione per le lanterne e incalzandolo senza sosta per i buoni voti a scuola, oltre al grave peso di dover tenere alto il prestigioso nome della famiglia He.
Il ritorno di Jia Shu rimescola il tutto, se da una parte il legame tra i due fratelli torna via via a farsi più forte che mai, dall'altra devono fronteggiare tutta una serie di situazioni, alcune apparentemente insormontabili.
Ho apprezzato ogni singolo minuto dei sedici episodi di questo drama, mi sono spesso commossa fino alle lacrime e mi sono anche ritrovata a sorridere. C'è affetto, tenerezza, amore, dolore, perdita, abbandono, rabbia, frustrazione, tristezza, calore... Le emozioni che ruotano attorno a questa serie formano davvero un ventaglio impressionante e variopinto.
Ottima la prova recitativa, sia dei due protagonisti che del secondo fratello (padre di Jia Hao). Ne risultano tre personaggi davvero complessi e ben delineati: Jia Shu, bello e onesto, disposto per anni a farsi carico di una colpa non sua, per quanto inizialmente cerchi di tenere a distanza Jia Hao è più che evidente l'affetto nei suoi confronti, così come la nostalgia del defunto padre e il segreto desiderio di essere riaccolto in quella che lui sente essere - al di là della questione genetica - la sua vera famiglia e i suoi veri affetti. Jia Hao mostra un adolescente davvero provato dalle circostanze, che tenta di nascondere i segnali della depressione, così come nasconde le sue passioni e la speranza - mai persa - di recuperare il rapporto con quel cugino/fratello che tanto adorava da piccolo. Hong Guang, il padre di Jia Hao, è contemporaneamente motore e vittima di tutte le travagliate vicende attorno alle quali ruota l'intera storia: appare come un padre oppressivo, piu interessato al prestigio del nome di famiglia e alle apparenze piuttosto che alla felicità dei componenti della sua famiglia. Un personaggio apparentemente cieco, ma che di fatto vive un conflitto interiore davvero importante, distrutto dalla scomparsa del fratello maggiore che per lui era come un padre e incapace di voltare pagina, tanto da escludere Jia Shu, un tempo amato nipote, dalla famiglia, rifiutandosi categoricamente di riaccoglierlo anche dopo anni. E' un fratello minore - anche se ormai adulto - che soffre una terribile perdita, tanto da portare avanti il suo ruolo di padre in un modo non funzionale, addirittura deleterio per il giovane Jin Hao, nonostante sia chiaro che gli voglia bene.

Gli altri personaggi secondari sono tutti - chi più e chi meno - apprezzabili: utili ad arricchire e completare la storia, ma singolarmente non determinanti.

Facendo mente locale, non riesco a ricordare un altro drama davvero dedicato al profondo legame tra fratelli. Ci sono drama dove il rapporto genitori-figli ha grande risalto, altri dove l'affetto fraterno fa da contorno a un genere diverso (thriller piuttosto che azione) oppure figura come elemento secondario in una serie incentrata sull'amore di coppia (BL mascherate da Bromance comprese). Questo non può che essere un valore aggiunto per questa serie: bella, toccante e pulita, capace di smuovere il cuore e curare lo spirito.
Un piccolo gioiello che purtroppo rischia di passare inosservato dal momento che non è reperibile sulle principali piattaforme. Ovviamente consigliato!

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