The Sparkle in Your Eye (2025)

Pretty disastrous in a good way

I really really like the first few episodes of this, it gave a big "first note at love" vibes also same concept and sadly it was as bad.

Generally speaking it was well acted, story was solid and with good concept, the main problem was with the question that left answered, and the unrealistic turn of events, I know this is low budget but the negative points are completely about the script.

1- The drama within the drama: I understand the idea of the sponsor or the producer controlling the whole project, but if he was so against everything in this drama, why agreeing to it in the first place, that was weird, I mean if I have a fallen star I want him to gain his reputation so I push him into a simple low production movie with a rookie director and a child actor, I guess I'll be more thankful to them than controlling, and vise versa if he is still famous with paparazzi everywhere following him like Hawks then maybe this level of mediocrity isn't for him.

2- the whole tumor thing: if you have a ticking bomb inside your head, it's pretty unrealistic to stay for over a year after diagnosis living normally as if there is nothing wrong, they shows the guy getting dizzy and fainting once and that's it, them once everything is settled they have to fill the rest of the episodes (the totally unnecessary ones) with him in the hospital, I'd rather see him getting diagnosed during the filming instead of a year before, because he could have just lived the same way he did the whole year and he'd still have his eyes.

3- why did he want to be an actor? Out of no where once he knew about his sickness he decided he wanted people to see him, he even dropped out of school and worked as a bartender for a year then suddenly he wanted to be an actor! I mean I get it but maybe make it his dream job or something, a single line would be appreciated, since they only showed him getting into this whole thing because of Pei Jia.

4- what does that end means? I see it as a happy end but what happened to his eyes did he have the surgery? did he stay blind? I mean an answer would be nice, since they showed nothing but him and his sickness for the last 4 episodes or so.

5- second leads story: I didn't like that director at all, sometimes they shows him as an important person and sometimes he is just a rookie, also his indecisiveness and cowardness is slightly annoying, I mean I understand the way he has to compromise but he was a mob.

6- very long miscommunication arc: almost half of it has a miscommunication problem between the leads that lasted more than necessary and the whole "misfortune" that happened to the MC could have been easily avoided had Pei Jia been more open and told him about everything and properly warmed him, instead he just let him sign the contract because he is sick.

I believe it need more polishing in the script, this had a great potential even the weird kisses were not a problem but those illogical things did bother me, if you want to add a medical issue at least respect the audience's mind.

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just watch At 25:00 in Akasaka instead

Before I get into my many complaints, let me be nice and say the few things I did like:
- good acting esp from the two leads, some nice cinematography
- Su Yi and Su Bai as characters and their dynamic
- the way the show got kind of meta in its critique of censorship
- the show exploring what it's like to become disabled
- the press conference comeuppance for Fang Runzhi was kinda awesome ngl

Okay, now that I've said that time to be a hater!

Things fell apart for me by the second episode with Su Yi mentioning he is only 19. We are never told Pei Jia's age, but as he's been acting for a while and he was in the public eye even before that, I imagine he's got to be mid-late 20s. And then a few episodes later we learn that Su Yi sent Pei Jia a piece of fanmail a year prior that he really values so like....... we've got Su Yi who is still a TEENAGER who has very much looked up to Pei Jia and idolized him for years and I'm supposed to find this dynamic cute and not think that Pei Jia is taking advantage of someone very young who doesn't have a solid sense of self yet?????????????? BONKERS.

I kept watching bc I'm apparently a masochist and this is popular, so I wanted to see just how bad the rest of it is and honestly even ignoring that the power imbalance was creepy as hell, I do not see the appeal of this one. Pei Jia's feelings come out of nowhere -- he clearly finds Su Yi super aggravating in the first episode but then in the second episode he's giving Su Yi pointers on a shared scene but outside of that he's still extremely rude to Su Yi and the vibe is that he doesn't like him at all and then in the third episode Yi Wei forces them to do that game where they ask each other questions and one of Pei Jia's questions is "if you could have dinner with anyone who would it be?" and Su Yi is like "you" and then suddenly Pei Jia has a gigantic crush on Su Yi and is obsessed with him?????? What????? The vibes are self-absorbed and egotistical.

When we first meet Fang Runzhi and he cornered Su Yi at that dinner, there are no words to express the relief I felt that he didn't assault Su Yi... but then he does at a party a few episodes later and then the show becomes primarily about trying to expose Fang Runzhi as a predator. Pei Jia (rightfully!!!!) blames himself for Su Yi's assault as he knew Fang Runzhi sexually harassed other actors he managed and didn't say anything to warn Su Yi beyond vague pleas for Su Yi not to sign a contract with him. I get not being able to talk about your experiences with sexual harassment/sexual assault as someone who has experienced those things as well, but come on, you can't just be like "hey, I don't want you to sign with this guy, you don't know what he's truly like" and leave it at that when he is a literal abuser! Thank God the press conference exposing Fang Runzhi was as satisfying as it was bc otherwise my rating would be even lower. But even the press conference doesn't completely escape my criticism bc it's insane to me that Pei Jia was going to play the recording of Fang Runzhi admitting to assaulting Su Yi when Su Yi wanted to back out bc he didn't want to publicly disclose being assaulted and if Su Bai didn't talk some sense into him, Pei Jia would've still played the tape even against his wishes??????? Like..... no???? The abuse survivor is the one who makes decisions about disclosing their own assault, violating their consent on disclosing that for a public takedown is so shitty and a terrible thing to do to someone you claim to care about????????

And as for the secondary romance -- Su Bai / Yi Wei was so annoying!!!! Yi Wei never valued Su Bai as a partner and then wouldn't accept their breakup! And I typically hate when people use the "they have no chemistry" complaint bc chemistry is subjective but.... they truly had no chemistry. They're seemingly back together by the end given we see them holding hands before the press conference, but I couldn't feel anything but exhaustion about it. I'll admit that Yi Wei did win some points for his part in exposing Fang Runzhi, but god I just found him insufferable overall.

Yeah, I just didn't enjoy this. Like... at all.

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Objectively, this was very good. The writing, pacing, and overall production were all impressive. All the actors did an amazing job. But it’s a dark and somewhat depressing story about sexual harassment and assault, and while the romance is at the forefront, that overarching plot takes a front seat. So you have to know what you’re in for and be in the right headspace for it or it can catch you off guard.

In terms of consent issues, Su Yi is raped by Fang Runzhi and Pei Jia was also sexually harassed by him. Fang Runzhi is the leader of the management agency that both of them are under and is the villain of the show, so this is not something that is romanticized or normalized. There’s also an unfortunate scene where in the aftermath of the rape, Su Yi breaks things off with Pei Jia and Pei Jia non-consensually kisses him to try to prove that Su Yi is lying about not feeling anything for Pei Jia. It ends when Su Yi breaks a glass after pushing him off doesn’t work. This was so tone deaf, especially in the aftermath of Su Yi being raped (especially since Pei Jia suspected) and in the context of a series actively criticizing sexual assault. And it was never acknowledged, criticized, or apologized for.

I appreciated the criticism of gay censorship included in this series. From what I understand, this is a Chinese production distributed through Singapore to avoid Chinese censorship, so I guess the message hits close to home for the production team. The characters are definitively in a romantic relationship, as opposed to a bromance. They actually kiss - not dead fish lip presses, but closed mouth with minimal lip movement and camera angles / cuts that somewhat limit the view. But there was plenty of physical intimacy conveyed just through the actors’ body language and casual touches. I don’t think the lack of a deep or steamy kiss took away from the series, in this case.

I felt that the romance took a bit of a backseat in the second half of the series as a result of the whole sexual assault plot line. It was well done, and I think they showed just enough of the romance to prevent it from taking away from the story they were trying to tell. The ending speech from Pei Jia brought the romance back to the forefront, and that helped. But it definitely felt more like a drama than a BL for a while.

I wanted more closure in the end though. The show ends right after Pei Jia exposes Fang Runzhi in a press conference. First and foremost, I was really missing a proper ending interaction between Pei Jia and Su Yi. They hadn’t seen each other in 10 days in the lead up to the press conference to avoid Fang Runzhi’s attention, and were arguing for a few days because Su Yi was hesitant about revealing his story publicly. They needed a kiss, a hug, a conversation…something other than Pei Jia grabbing Su Yi’s arm as he left the room and the show immediately ending. Also, Su Yi had a tumor that made him blind, and I wanted at least an indication of whether he would have surgery or what he was planning to do. Because left untreated, he was going to die. It would have been nice to see Fang Runzhi’s fate too, but I’m less bothered by that because we saw his reaction to being exposed and the implication is that he will see consequences.

There were a couple of small plot things that bothered me. One was that Pei Jia was sexually harassed by Fang Runzhi initially, but Fang Runzhi seems to have come to the conclusion that he “can’t have” him. It was never explained how Pei Jia got Fang Runzhi to leave him alone while still working under him. Second is that the story starts because Pei Jia joins a low budget production that Fang Runzhi invested in, but it was never explained why Fang Runzhi invested or put Pei Jia in it, especially given that the film is referred to as an “embarrassment” to the company. There’s also the absolute ridiculousness of contractually stipulating that actors share the same bed for the sake of “chemistry”.

I also couldn’t really click with the second couple. I just didn’t get Su Bai at all. They were together for 9 YEARS, and he threw it all away for what? Because his boyfriend gave into censorship demands? What else was he supposed to do? If he didn’t, the whole film would have been shut down. He couldn’t properly verbalize why he was leaving, and he was reluctant to work things out even when the director was fighting for him and telling him he was willing to change, if he could just tell him what he did wrong. He just walked away for no real reason.

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Some stories don’t just end when the credits roll—they stay with you, haunting the quiet corners of your heart. The Sparkle in Your Eyes is one of those stories.

It is proof that CBL knows how to speak in silences, in glances, in the weight of unspoken words. Without the heavy hand of censorship, I can only imagine the magnitude of what China could do in the BL space. And yet, even here—uncensored—it shines like a rare gem.

It’s not just a romance. It’s a study of humanity—its fragility, its persistence, the quiet dignity of love that survives storms. Every issue they touched felt real, like they had lived it themselves. I didn’t just watch the characters; I felt them.

And then came the hospital scene. My heart shattered—not in one clean break, but in a thousand tiny fractures that ached long after. There was nothing melodramatic about it. It was simply truth, delivered with such tenderness that it hurt.


The episodes may be only half an hour each, but the scriptwriting cuts deeper than most full-length series. Every scene is purposeful, every line intentional. This is why I keep coming back to CBL—because when it’s good, it’s not just entertainment. It’s art.

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I really didn’t expect to fall so hard for this series,let alone be so emotionally wrecked by it, but it hit me right in the heart. It was a full-on emotional rollercoaster. A small masterpiece. The last few episodes had me in tears.

I really appreciated the way Pei Jia’s character matured over time. His growth throughout the story felt so genuine. The story feels both fresh and uncomfortably close to reality, exposing the darker sides of the entertainment industry: the crushing weight of fame, loneliness, and the awful abuse young actors can suffer at the hands of predatory managers (trigger warning for sexual assault). It doesn’t shy away, and that’s what makes it powerful.

The chemistry between the main couple is off the charts—intense yet heart-meltingly sweet. The entire cast delivered such grounded, believable performances.

The directing style is gentle and intimate. Some might find the pace slow, but I thought it really suited the story.

Also, I was surprised to learn that Ning Yuan Yuan, one of the directors, also worked on Blue Canvas of Youthful Days, which makes total sense now. Both series share that same poetic tone and beautiful visual care and feel so artfully done.

And the fact they pulled this off in just 12 short episodes of under 25 minutes each is kind of amazing.

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Ótimo drama, mas atenção que há gatilhos.

Assisti e salvei diversos recortes do drama que apareciam no Instagram até que finalmente resolvi assistir. Você começa não dando nada para o drama, porque nada mais era que o básico de um ator veterano e um novato que acabam se aproximando durante as gravações. Mas aí as coisas começaram a caminhar para um outro lado, mostrando a censura/preconceito que agências tem com os BLs para pseudo proteção de seus atores, e vai evoluindo para a podridão de pessoas que abusam do poder para cometer crimes e abusar de pessoas que sonham em ser alguém.

Acho que foi no quinto episódio que tive que parar e pensei se droppava ou não, mas segui, afinal de contas é só 30 minutinhos, nem isso, e eu estava curiosa com a atuação dos protagonistas, a tensão entre eles era nítida.
Infelizmente eles pecaram no quesito beijo, tanto o casal principal quanto o secundário tiveram beijos ridiculamente feios de forçar a boca um contra o outro ou cenas onde o posicionamento da câmera dava a entender que o beijo estava acontecendo, mas se você reparar bem só se o cara tava beijando o cabelo do outro kkkkkk

Apesar disso, a história de amor entre Pei Jia e Su Yi é linda, a força e o apoio do Pei Jia em expor o Fang Run Zhi foi ótima. Eu já tinha visto a cena da coletiva nos recortes, mas assistir seguindo a lógica me deixou emocionada, principalmente na parte onde ele fala "Meu amor está doente. Quero ficar ao lado dele por muito tempo e acompanha-lo" e vai em direção do Su Yi <3
Já o casal secundário, apesar de não ter me conectado com o arco dos dois, o episódio 8 (eu acho) onde o diretor está bêbado e fala que sabe que está errado, que mudou e o Su Bai diz que eles não podem voltar a ser quem eles eram me tocou, 9 anos que se conheciam, então ao meu ver eram 9 anos de relacionamento e eu entendi profundamente o que eles disseram ali. Acho que foi o único momento em que eu parei e pensei: isso é real, esse diálogo realmente acontece no nosso dia a dia, em relacionamentos tão longos.

Enfim, divaguei bastante, mas é um drama maravilhoso, mas atenção há gatilhos de abuso sexual.
Ps: Eu queria só mais uns minutos para mostrar a reação da mídia perante as revelações e acusações feitas e um pouquinho do cuidado do Pei Jia para com o Su Yi, já que eles tiveram que ficar 15 dias sem se ver direito em um momento tão delicado para o Su Yi.

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