Secret Lover (2025)

Why seek therapy and help when you can just fall in love with your best friend!

The drama runs on the premise of the childhood friends x lovers trope. And when I see this trope, the first thing that comes to my mind is slow-burning romance where two people who grew up together with embarrassing memories and inside jokes, slowly come to the realisation that they are in love with each other all along. The yearning...the pinning.... the subtle hints...The holy grail of slow burn romance.

But what I got was anything but that. Instead of character development, gradual tension and those push-and-pull monologues, what I got was fast-forward confessions with abrupt mood swings and no subtlety.
There was barely any tension or emotional build up. Just a series of "Oh, I guess I love you now" in a very reckless way.

Character Descriptions-

Han Tuo: In the BL world, we are familiar with a lead having a tragic past or a childhood trauma. A'Tuo was no different. This man didn't need a relationship, but a therapist. Despite having a backstory, none of it translates into actual depth. His internal conflicts existed but briefly and for name's sake. I wanted to sympathise with him, considering how emotionally distant his mother was and his abandonment issues by his mother, but somehow how it was portrayed and how he dealt with it as a character annoyed me.

His way out was to trauma dump Junxi with an invisible PowerPoint presentation with two slides - "I am sad" and "I love you". With his backstory came possessiveness on another level. If we remove the romance angle, it is controlling and manipulative. And let's not forget his communication skills, or lack thereof.

At best, he was an overgrown child desperately trying to prove that he is the centre of Jun Xi's universe and that being together is the ultimate solution to all his problems.

Lu Junxi: He was a third wheel in his own relationship and not in a cute way. He was always reactive to A'Tuo's mood swings and possessiveness, and somehow I wondered if he even liked him, or was it just the pressure and the anxiety that came with not having your childhood friend around that you mistake it for love. He makes all his decisions with the legendary stone, paper, scissors game and loses more often than you think.

Romance between them wasn't healthy, but if I remove the problematic lens, it was cute in fragments. It thrived on the notion that one partner constantly crosses boundaries because "that is how they show love", while the other passively accepts as if that's what love is supposed to be like.

There were many aww factors, especially when they were being absolutely sweet and domestic to each other. The way they bickered over the smallest things with silly arguments and small acts of care did entertain me, and I did enjoy their boyfriend era.
They had decent chemistry overall with some good kissing scenes, but honestly, the red flags were raised so high that there is no way to sugar coat them.

Lin Xiao Yang: She was such a breath of fresh air. She was understanding, supportive and out of the trio, the most sensible. I have many issues with how characters are written in the drama, but I am glad writers didn't turn her into the cliche female lead in a BL drama that we usually see, who only causes chaos and is irrationally protective. I wish they had explored her character more or in general, her friendship with the duo.

The other side character, He You Mei, was a hit and a miss for me. I liked her for her quirkiness, but sometimes her behaviour was abrupt. The emotional scene of hers came out of nowhere, and with much context.

I liked Junxi's parents for not being the stereotypical asian parent we see. Them being supportive and treating A'Tuo with so much love was heartwarming to see!

Acting-wise, I found both the leads passable. I mean, the emotional scenes could have been way better, but it wasn't unwatchable. The rest of the cast also did decently based on what the script had to offer, but nothing outstanding.

Writing & Production: I think writing was the weakest link here. The character arcs were painfully uneven. I kept expecting meaningful emotional growth both for the individuals and their relationship, but it rarely appeared. At times, we seemed on the brink of progress, only for the story to backtrack and reset us near square one. On top of that, there were far too many flashbacks to their teenage years, most of which didn’t add much to the present-day story. It felt unnecessarily redundant. Production seemed decent as well. The sets were clean, and the locations felt believable. (The college had students and everything).

Overall, this isn't a masterpiece by any stretch, but it's oddly entertaining in its own way. I reviewed it very critically but if I keep my brain aside, it has a weird charm to its flaws.

Will I recommend it? Maybe, but with a giant asterisk. If you are in the mood for some low-stakes entertainment but a clumsy attempt at romance and a hint of sweetness... then yes. Also, their height difference was really cute.
But if you are here for a deep, healthy relationship with a well-developed character arc, please look elsewhere.

Thank you for reading my review! I hope you have a good day! <3

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