Bittersweet Love

Sold, Silenced, and Stuck in a Cycle!!

I don’t really know what to say or where to start, honestly. There is so much to unpack here, but I’m struggling to put it all into the right words.

First, let's talk about the setting. The story starts in the 90s and seems to end right before the 2000s. In China, same-sex relationships during that era should certainly not have been seen as normal or openly accepted, so I was quite confused by how casually it was sometimes treated.

They really should have shown us much more of the deep-seated conservativeness and close-mindedness of that period.

On the bright side, the music was great—I loved how it was used at just the right moments. As for the acting, I can't complain; I felt like the cast delivered well.

When it comes to Lu Xiao Fan's family, they are the textbook definition of parents who sacrifice their child's future for their own burdens. I hated the fact that they essentially sold Xiao Fan. At first, when his mother gave him that money before he went to Bei’s place, I thought she might still have a shot at redemption. But as the episodes progressed, I couldn't help but hate his whole family.

If they all believed the eldest son was the most important, they should have put the responsibility on him, not Xiao Fan! Life in the province is undeniably hard, and poverty doesn't help, but to the point of being completely shameless?

Xiao Fan's family is the absolute worst.

And what even happened to Xiao Ping's child? I bet the girl didn't receive any financial help from him—though honestly, that's probably better, since he wouldn't be a good father anyway if he doesn't change.

On the other side, Bei Lu Qing's family—we didn't see nearly enough of them, especially his mother. There are so many "what happened?" questions running through my mind. Like, what happened to Lu Qing's mother after he bought up all those shares (not entirely sure if that's what he did)?

If the Bei family has such massive reputation and power, couldn't they have just used someone of equal social status to step up as Lu Xin's husband?

And Lu Qing's friends? I really don't like them.

They're the type of people who look down on anyone they think doesn't fit their lifestyle. Zi Yang might be the closest to Lu Qing and occasionally helps him out (especially regarding Xiao Fan), but he still speaks ill.

Then there's Lu Qing. To be honest, I just don't understand him.

His character felt overly controlling at times, and I never really saw how he fell for Xiao Fan—was it just the soup?

Or Xiao Fan's inherent kindness?

Let's not forget: Xiao Fan was his sister's husband! Regardless of whether the marriage was just a paper arrangement, Lu Qing shouldn't have started anything with Xiao Fan, and neither should Xiao Fan.

And the total lack of communication? If Lu Qing had just shared all his master plans with Xiao Fan, everything could have worked out smoothly, and we might have actually seen him truly "folded" and devoted to Xiao Fan.

As for Xiao Fan, I couldn't seem to hate him, even when he slowly started reciprocating Lu Qing's kisses and feelings. In fact, I just pity him.

He was never even given the chance by his family to get a proper education. He was so used to being poor, and watching his miserable situation play out across 12 episodes made me feel so bad for him. There wasn't an episode where I didn't desperately hope he'd finally get the happiness he deserved.

He was belittled and shamed like he wasn't even a human being. He was kind-hearted and didn't want to trouble anyone, yet the people around him constantly troubled him to no end!

When the last episode showed that he planned a way out, I thought, Finally, true freedom for him to live the life he deserves. And sure, that might be his own soup shop now, but... did he do all of that just so Lu Qing could track him down?

At first, I couldn't understand why Zhen hung up when Xiao Fan called—I thought maybe they had a falling out. But looking back, maybe it was intentional so Lu Qing could find him, which is ultimately how they traced him.

Am I happy with the ending?

Not totally.

The wedding and them getting back together felt so rushed.

They should have given us at least one or two proper episodes of them actually being together after everything they went through.

And the wedding itself—is that even legally recognized back then? Plus, it seemed like he never even ended up going to France!

As for the chemistry, I'm honestly not sure about that either, because I was too focused on feeling sorry for Xiao Fan. They never really had deep, meaningful conversations—or at least, not any that I can remember.

Their routine felt like a repetitive cycle of kissing, watching each other, cooking, and eating. Maybe some real-world relationships are like that, but narrative-wise, they needed something substance-driven aside from just that.

Ultimately, I'm conflicted about whether I like this show or not. Maybe I was just hoping they'd give us an ending focused on the genuine individual and joint character development of the main leads. And the fact that the mother was casually mentioned right at the end? I literally rolled my eyes watching that scene!

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A Dark BL That Actually Understands Its Characters.

I made an MDL account just to write a review for this because, honestly, the overall rating does not do this series justice.

I think a lot of people expect dark BLs to be purely about pain, trauma, and having some deep-rooted reason behind every toxic behavior. But this story is different. What I really appreciated was how each scene was crafted in a way that initially made you think the characters were simply acting according to the personalities the story had established for them. As the story progressed, however, it proved to be much more complicated than that.

I especially love how Bei Luqing’s character was developed, particularly in the latter parts of the series. A lot of BLs portray “red flags” as characters who simply hurt the weaker person in the relationship, but BLQ is written very differently. There is much more to his character than just being someone who causes pain.

Lu Xiaofan, on the other hand, was initially portrayed as weak and somewhat of a pushover. However, the writers did not stop there. They made sure Fanfan was not reduced to the stereotype that people might initially assume him to be. His character has much more depth than what his initial portrayal suggests.

The chemistry between the characters—both the main couple and the supporting characters—was also very clear. Even without a direct love confession, the series made sure that every interaction between them carried meaning and was portrayed in a way that not everyone might immediately understand. Sometimes, it was in the smallest details and interactions where their feelings became the most apparent.

This BL completely broke my expectations of what a dark BL should be. I think that is what captivated me the most. Not every red flag has to come purely from hatred, and not every toxic behavior needs to be explained in the most obvious way. Sometimes, the characters themselves are far more complicated than the labels we give them.

I really hope more dark-themed BLs are made with this kind of approach. This series deserves much more recognition than its current rating suggests.

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Hello? People? There are almost 2 billion of you in this world. One quarter of the world, so I don't understand how you don't know how to act, the production is too poor, the story has a point but there is no one to present it to the audience. Thin. Not even for 1! It's sickening to watch the disjointed shots, the ramblings of the supposed drunken lead actor, and many more illogicalities and bad performances. Do you have a Faculty of Acting or a Faculty of Fine Arts, whatever?

I'm not going to write by episode, there's no point, production and post-production generally don't exist, the acting is like that of a 5-year-old child, the camera is zero, the director is zero... I'd better stop...

Soporific, non-dynamic, no action, slow, forced conversations.

Why the narrator??? It's like we're watching a drama from the 1950s... and we're not crazy to not understand what we're seeing!

Where does he suddenly live in a dorm? Did the director not give us a consistent script or is he jumping around without a script?

DROPPED!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The soup was bitter to the very end.

This series started off well enough with a great concept and acting. But somewhere towards the middle, it started to lose me because for all the trials and tribulations that Xiao Fan went through, you were secretly hoping (and praying) he'd find his backbone at some point, only to be ultimately disappointed (and infuriated) in the end.

Lu Qing and Xiao Fan were oil and water from the very beginning and no matter how much they tried to mix it just never worked. Lu Qing was a shit communicator and left Xiao Fan in the dark a lot of the times. And then there's just Xiao Fan who was always in the kitchen, over a pot of soup / porridge. Ultimately I wanted Xiao Fan to just break free of it all at the end, to find his own path and be able to stand on his own two feet confidently. But still he accepts Lu Qing's proposal instantly, even though everything inside of me was screaming 'NO!!!'.

Even though they ended up together in the end, I can't even say it was a happy ending. I needed so much more redemption for Xiao Fan. So the soup ran cold and so did my overall feeling for this series.

TDLR:

Pros:
- Great acting / cast
- The first half was great

Cons:
- Started to get a little redundant storywise halfway through with no real 'win' in the end.
- You can't really cheerlead Xiao Fan because nothing ever truly gets better.
- Series was too long, and even yet the finale was rushed. Also didn't like the inconsistent airing schedule while on air.

Overall:
- Worth one watch, maybe its better if you binge it all together.
- Wanted to feast on all the promising dynamics in this story, but was left with a cold bowl of soup, hatred for Lu Qing and disappointment for Xiao Fan.

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It’s just bitter, where’s the sweetness?

My review is only based on the first episode which I didn’t even finish because I was too annoyed to finish.
I don’t like timid and weak characters. This kind of mc is my least favorite. I get he’s from a poor background and he thinks it’s an honor to marry into a rich family but why can’t he see that that family needed him just as much as he needed them? Why act like they are only doing him a favor when he helped them big time too by marrying their daughter?
This is definitely not my cup of tea
I can’t continue watching this
I can’t feel sorry for characters that are sad puppy, punching bags, just because the plot wants them to be so. I can watch a proper angst with a good story not this, whatever this is, it’s definitely not for me.
This is too bad that it makes double helix feel like a masterpiece.

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Il riscatto del cuore tra ombre e segreti

Bitter Sweet Love si rivela una piacevole sorpresa nel panorama dei BL cinesi, grazie a una trama fitta di misteri che tiene incollati allo schermo. Il vero punto di forza della serie è l'evoluzione del primo protagonista. Inizialmente viene deriso, umiliato e costretto a subire continui soprusi, ma la sua successiva rivalsa è potente, soddisfacente e gestita magistralmente. Al contrario, il secondo protagonista risulta purtroppo un po' troppo freddo, complice una recitazione a tratti distaccata che limita l'empatia con il pubblico. Anche la chimica tra i due attori è presente, ma non esplode mai del tutto, rimanendo un po' tiepida. Fortunatamente il finale risolleva l'opera. Si tratta di una conclusione perfettamente in linea con il titolo: squisitamente dolceamara, capace di lasciare un senso di malinconia ma anche l'orgoglio per una rivalsa finalmente compiuta.

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L’amara visione di un adattamento BL non riuscito

Non mi aspettavo un capolavoro o qualcosa di particolarmente valido, bensì una semplice ma piacevole storia d’intrattenimento, anche senza troppe pretese. E invece – purtroppo - anche queste aspettative minime sono state disattese. La serie, tratta dall’omonimo romanzo BL di Che Ye Liu Xiang che – preciso – non ho letto ma del quale ho avuto rimandi positivi, si rivela un adattamento estremamente banale e deludente. Un melodramma “tutto fumo e niente arrosto”, privo di qualsivoglia spessore e personaggi assolutamente insopportabili.

TRAMA - Lu Xiao Fan è un ragazzo di campagna bistrattato dalla propria famiglia che, per denaro, arriva a combinargli un matrimonio riparatore con la figlia – incinta di un altro - di una famiglia aristocratica. Umiliato anche nella nuova dimora, trova un’ancora di salvezza nell’ambiguo cognato, Bei Lu Qing. Tra i due inizia una complessa relazione segreta che, tra dinamiche famigliari e investimenti economici porterà i due a fare una serie di scelte determinanti per il loro futuro.
Un drama che doveva – in teoria – contemplare lotte di classe, realismo sociale, un amore travagliato, ma che nei fatti è un susseguirsi di scene di un romanticismo banale tipico di una trama superficiale e molto spesso anche illogica. Tutto sembra concentrarsi a enfatizzare la relazione proibita tra lui e il cognato, utilizzandola come esca per tenere lo spettatore attaccato all’amo.

INIZIO SPOILER!!!
Il finale è perfettamente in linea con la mediocrità del lavoro: si ritrovano dopo anni, un approccio intimidatorio fatto “per scherzo” (ma che senso ha?!?!), Xiao Fan che mormora il suo “Ge” mentre rispolvera tutto il vittimismo che – in teoria – doveva essere andato perduto con l’evoluzione - quale? – del personaggio, e Lu Qing che sistema tutto esordendo con un ridicolo “sposiamoci”. Tempo richiesto: una manciata esigua di minuti. La chicca extra agghiacciante è la scena finale del loro matrimonio, vestiti in modo ridicolo (vogliamo parlare del fiocchettone di Lu Qing?) durante quella che sembra a tutti gli effetti una cerimonia religiosa (tanto per fare della Spagna un posto fantastico e immaginario).
FINE SPOILER!!!

PERSONAGGI - Per descriverli in una sola parola: disastrosi.
Xiao Fan è tra le figure più insopportabili che abbia mai visto. Ho cercato di inquadrarlo più volte, di capirlo, di apprezzarlo, ma non c’è stato proprio verso. Inizialmente sembra un ragazzo debole e succube, poi si mostra timido e timoroso, poi ancora impacciato e a disagio - anche semplicemente nello scoprire come funziona una doccia – quindi remissivo e con un’autostima sotto la suola delle scarpe. Dopo i primi tempi con la famiglia Bei sono arrivata a ipotizzare che fosse solo un’anima semplice, non nel senso di semplicità dell’ambiente in cui era cresciuto ma proprio in termini di mancanza di strumenti: un protagonista con un QI borderline sarebbe stata una scelta più unica che rara, ma paradossalmente avrei apprezzato. E invece tra studi di recupero e pianificazioni segrete di investimenti economici, dimostra di avere neuroni belli svegli, demolendo così l’ennesima supposizione. Tolte un paio di azioni decise che prende nella parte finale, cos’altro rimane a descriverlo? Un fastidioso “Ge” (utilizzato per un fratello maggiore o in generale un maschio più grande) pronunciato di continuo con voce tremante dal primo all’ultimo episodio compreso e perennemente avvolto da un manto di vittimismo – in certi momenti quasi compiaciuto – che impedisce allo spettatore di empatizzare anche solo un minimo col personaggio.

A Bei Lu Qing non è toccata una caratterizzazione migliore: freddo e manipolatorio, eccessivamente ermetico anche quando ciò non ha senso, soprattutto se consapevole del carattere insicuro di Xiao Fan (leggasi creare mille fraintendimenti, tra i quali il passeggiare col proprio ex davanti a Xiao Fan). Sono tutte scene fine a sé stesse, per colpire in quell’istante, ma completamente vuote e poco credibili.

Manca inoltre la chimica tra i due personaggi, le interazioni per nulla naturale, sembrano sempre forzate o artefatte, anche nei rari momenti in cui Xiao Fan non fa l’ombra tremolante e Lu Qing l’automa robotico, vale a dire brevi siparietti che si svolgono solitamente nei pressi dei fornelli dove la massima sintonia è ribadire che il cipollotto non piace e fare attenzione al filo di sedano che resta incastrato tra i denti.
Rispetto ai personaggi secondari, non ci sono tante parole da spendere: tutti eccessivi nella loro caratterizzazione, così esasperati da risultare per nulla credibili. Al contrario, rendono molti passaggi davvero finti.


IN CONCLUSIONE – Sono arrivata alla fine – seguendo per oltre un mese la cadenza dei due brevi episodi settimanali – solo ed esclusivamente per inerzia. Un drama che inizia male, procede male, finisce male. Su questo è stato coerente. Nessun potenziale (se non forse il romanzo dal quale è tratto) è andato sprecato. Nessuna caduta sul più bello, nessuna scelta sbagliata a rovinare qualcosa di fatto bene fino a quel momento. Visti i primi due episodi, si capisce il tenore dell’opera: quello è e quello rimane sino alla fine. Credo possano riuscire ad apprezzarla – in qualche modo - solo gli sfegatati del genere. Personalmente ritengo esistano delle BL ben fatte e altre invece da dimenticare: questa l’ho vissuta come una totale e costante perdita di tempo, quindi non posso che sconsigliarne la visione.

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L'amertume a pris le pas sur la douceur…

Sur les premiers épisodes, Bittersweet Love était un paradoxe pour moi. D'ordinaire, les personnages aussi miséreux n'ont pas assez de force pour m'émouvoir. Xiao Fan ne m'a pas émue jusqu'aux larmes, mais assez pour que mon cœur se serre une ou deux fois. Et puis l'histoire n'a rien fait pour plonger réellement dans les pensées du personnage…

Lu Xiao Fan (Guan Yue) est pitoyable. C'est un pantin méprisé, humilié et rabaissé. Enfant du milieu, il ne sert que de monnaie d'échange, un sacrifice offert pour gagner les faveurs du clan Bei et assurer un meilleur avenir à l'aîné et la cadette. Sans tomber dans la psychologie de comptoir, Xiao Fan est plus complexe qu'on ne le croit. Sa famille l'a toujours considéré comme inutile, comme un garçon timide incapable de dire non. La méchanceté est un poison, et ce poison porte les visages de la famille Lu. Xiao Fan m'a fait mal au cœur parce que son existence consiste à se sacrifier pour sa famille.

Le problème d'un tel personnage c'est que sur le papier, on comprend ce qu'il est, comment il se sent et ce qu'il pense. Dans une adaptation télévisée, le spectateur n'a rien de tout ça et doit se débrouiller. Et lorsque vous avez un acteur comme Guan Yue qui conserve le même visage inexpressif tout du long, c'est compliqué. Au début, je voyais de l'usure, du sacrifice et de la passivité. Au bout du quatrième épisode, je ne voyais qu'un personnage insipide et mou. Exactement comme dans la majorité des FL dans les romances modernes chinoises que je n'apprécie pas.

Bei Lu Qing (Zhou Ning Jia) est beau, riche, populaire et froid. Il est l'archétype de la romance chinoise moderne, mais dans le contexte des années 1990. Il ne partage rien, ni avec le spectateur, ni avec l'homme qu'il est supposé aimer. La plupart du temps, il est seulement responsable des malentendus et tient Xiao Fan pour responsable. Zhou Ning Jia possède un joli sourire, mais plus de contraste aurait été agréable.

La famille Lu est méprisable. Le père est un minable avide d'argent. La sœur est arrogante et mal élevée. Le frère est abject. Il n'a jamais rien assumé, rejetant toujours la faute sur les autres et demandant toujours de l'aide pour s'en sortir. Quant à la mère, elle cache ses cartes derrière une affection et une chaleur de façade. Leur chute est l'un des meilleurs moments de cette série.

J'ai aussi été surprise de changer d'avis sur Lin Zi Yang. Lui qui paraissait aussi méchant que les autres, il est bien plus amical que la série ne le montre. Mais bon, il faut attendre le dernier épisode pour le savoir.

Et c'est là que j'ai un problème : la narration. Je n'ai pas lu l'œuvre originale, mais le rythme est tellement pénible. Après dix épisodes à voir Xiao Fan se faire malmener, les choses bougent (un peu, n'abusons pas), pour finir par un acte final d'une banalité et d'une paresse spectaculaire. Attendre le dernier épisode pour tout révéler, ça semble logique dans un roman, mais dans une adaptation télévisée ? On a besoin de davantage qu'un simple type qui prépare une soupe, baisse son pantalon sans sourciller et d'un autre qui agit comme bon lui semble.

Outre la tentative de critique des classes sociales et tout le reste, on se retrouve devant un énième BL qui perd son potentiel au profit d'une romance sans âme, dans un rythme plat et où ça se termine sur la pire note possible.

En bref, Bittersweet Love ne trouve aucun équilibre entre amertume et douceur.

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Bittersweet Love — uma história realmente agridoce ??

Confesso que comecei Bittersweet Love achando o Fan Xiao MUITO tonto 😭. Ele é tão inocente e passivo no começo que, em vários momentos, eu só queria que ele reagisse e parasse de deixar todo mundo fazer o que quisesse com ele. Mas, conforme a história foi avançando, comecei a entender melhor os personagens e a dinâmica entre os dois.

O Lu Bei é um verdadeiro red flag 🚩. Ele quer controlar tudo para conseguir ficar com o Fan Xiao, esconde coisas, toma decisões sozinho e, principalmente, não sabe se comunicar. Ele é extremamente passivo na forma de demonstrar o que sente e muitas vezes você fica pensando: “MEU FILHO, ERA SÓ CONVERSAR”. 😭

Ao mesmo tempo, acho que depois de um tempo você entende que esse é simplesmente o jeito dele. Ele não consegue expressar o que sente de uma maneira saudável, e isso acaba tornando a relação dos dois muito complicada.

E acho que é justamente aí que o título Bittersweet Love faz sentido. No final, os dois acabam experimentando o gosto amargo das consequências, da vingança e das escolhas que fizeram um contra o outro. Depois de tudo, fica aquela sensação de que agora eles finalmente podem tentar ficar juntos de verdade.

Eu entendo completamente por que algumas pessoas droparam esse BL. Ele é bem parado, tem uma narrativa mais lenta e exige um pouco de paciência. Também não tem tantas cenas NC, mas quando tem... 👀 são poucas, porém bem intensas. E a química dos protagonistas ajuda MUITO. Chega um momento em que você continua assistindo quase exclusivamente por eles, mesmo quando os personagens estão te estressando.

No fim, eu gostei bastante! Acho que Bittersweet Love definitivamente não é um BL para qualquer pessoa, mas, se você tiver paciência para acompanhar uma história mais lenta e personagens complexos, pode acabar se envolvendo bastante.

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Nunca passei tanta quanto passei assistindo esse BL.

Eu gostei dos 4 primeiros episódios, depois daí foi só ladeira à baixo.
O elenco em si estavam ótimos, principalmente os protagonistas. Mas o que me fez quase desistir foram todas as humilhações que o Fan Fan passava. Seja pela família dele, pela família da "noiva" ou pelo próprio Lu Qing. Isso me causava uma angústia a cada cena que eu assistia.
No fim já me pegava torcendo para que eles não ficassem juntos.
Não tenho estruturas para assistir novamente, porém espero que os atores tenham outros trabalhos juntos, porque, apesar dos pesares, rendeu uma química absurda.

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