This review may contain spoilers
Transports you to 1980s Hong Kong. Unforgettable CP chemistry
This is my first time hearing a Cantonese dubbed drama, and this language is very musical and pleasant to the ears. The cinematography and the aesthetic lighting really make this BL stand out from the usual BL fare. I am in love with the set design, especially He Chu San's room back at Mr. He's place and also his new apartment. The 1980 Hong Kong walled city vibes are immaculate.
What also makes this drama stand out to me is the eye acting, especially from He Chu San's actor. His emotions are very believable. Lots of micro expressions, and his face tells a story in and of itself. Hesitation, worry, concern, affection, exasperation, fear... He Chu San feels like a character who can exist. You can give the script to actors and say, "here, this scene is sad so cry" or "this scene is happy so smile," and actors may deliver something passable. But once in a while, an actor comes along and single-handedly elevates what is otherwise mundane dialogue or a mundane scene. He Chu San's actor is one of those actors. I can count on one hand the BL actors who make me believe them, and He Chu San's actor is one of them (unfortunately, I often have to turn my brain off when it comes to acting in a lot of BLs and just enjoy the vibes lol, looking at you GMMTV). His silent devotion and yearning for Xia Liu Yi really come through in a convincing way.
The actor who played Xia Liu Yi is simply arresting on screen. He does extremely well when the character is in a serious situation. You can see his thoughts going a million miles per second on his face as he weighs the pros and cons as a gangster leader. His very first bloody entrance made me gasp and sit up, such an unforgettable scene when he looks back at the camera like a rabid dog. He comes off as effortlessly badass in any fight scene. I give his sense of playing up the physicality for the camera a 10/10.
What fascinates me is how Xia Liu Yi's actor switches between his dominant side and his submissive side in a very natural way. Tbh, it's not easy to play a power bottom that pleases the average BL audience member's aesthetic, who is used to seeing typical masc top and femme bottom roles. You have to be commanding and dominant and walk around like a "top," and then when the actual dominant love interest comes in, you have to adjust your physicality to be submissive in scenes where the submissive concedes to the dominant person. Tho I also feel obliged to point out that He Chu San bottoms at least once for Xia Liu Yi in the novel, so I am not talking about the sex positions when I say dominant and submissive, but dominant and submissive in terms of personalities or the courtship pursuit.
Xia Liu Yi starts off snapping and being aggressive, and now in these last two eps, you feel like he is this flustered dog who is not really sure what to do in He Chu San's presence. Just that the dog likes the safety and affection he gets from a safe, stable place. He Chu San is like a steady, calm harbor, a lighthouse in Xia Liu Yi's life of calamity and violence and chaos.
Ultimately, this BL stays true to its namesake in the 8 episodes so far. Xia Liu Yi is truly Chusan's Liu Yi, a stray dog taken in by Chusan who becomes his.
If they were going to do multiple seasons, I feel like they should have kept 12 eps for the first season instead of just 9, as 9 is way too short imo. If this were just a fluffy story without much happening, then 9 would be fine, but as it is, it feels inadequate. There's a lot of stuff going on in the story,
Regardless, I am very grateful we have what we have. The BEST romance in 2026 for me by faaar. That ending kiss eclipsed the rooftop confession scene of Bad Buddy for me, and if you know what I am talking about, that seemed like such an impossible bar to cross.
What also makes this drama stand out to me is the eye acting, especially from He Chu San's actor. His emotions are very believable. Lots of micro expressions, and his face tells a story in and of itself. Hesitation, worry, concern, affection, exasperation, fear... He Chu San feels like a character who can exist. You can give the script to actors and say, "here, this scene is sad so cry" or "this scene is happy so smile," and actors may deliver something passable. But once in a while, an actor comes along and single-handedly elevates what is otherwise mundane dialogue or a mundane scene. He Chu San's actor is one of those actors. I can count on one hand the BL actors who make me believe them, and He Chu San's actor is one of them (unfortunately, I often have to turn my brain off when it comes to acting in a lot of BLs and just enjoy the vibes lol, looking at you GMMTV). His silent devotion and yearning for Xia Liu Yi really come through in a convincing way.
The actor who played Xia Liu Yi is simply arresting on screen. He does extremely well when the character is in a serious situation. You can see his thoughts going a million miles per second on his face as he weighs the pros and cons as a gangster leader. His very first bloody entrance made me gasp and sit up, such an unforgettable scene when he looks back at the camera like a rabid dog. He comes off as effortlessly badass in any fight scene. I give his sense of playing up the physicality for the camera a 10/10.
What fascinates me is how Xia Liu Yi's actor switches between his dominant side and his submissive side in a very natural way. Tbh, it's not easy to play a power bottom that pleases the average BL audience member's aesthetic, who is used to seeing typical masc top and femme bottom roles. You have to be commanding and dominant and walk around like a "top," and then when the actual dominant love interest comes in, you have to adjust your physicality to be submissive in scenes where the submissive concedes to the dominant person. Tho I also feel obliged to point out that He Chu San bottoms at least once for Xia Liu Yi in the novel, so I am not talking about the sex positions when I say dominant and submissive, but dominant and submissive in terms of personalities or the courtship pursuit.
Xia Liu Yi starts off snapping and being aggressive, and now in these last two eps, you feel like he is this flustered dog who is not really sure what to do in He Chu San's presence. Just that the dog likes the safety and affection he gets from a safe, stable place. He Chu San is like a steady, calm harbor, a lighthouse in Xia Liu Yi's life of calamity and violence and chaos.
Ultimately, this BL stays true to its namesake in the 8 episodes so far. Xia Liu Yi is truly Chusan's Liu Yi, a stray dog taken in by Chusan who becomes his.
If they were going to do multiple seasons, I feel like they should have kept 12 eps for the first season instead of just 9, as 9 is way too short imo. If this were just a fluffy story without much happening, then 9 would be fine, but as it is, it feels inadequate. There's a lot of stuff going on in the story,
Regardless, I am very grateful we have what we have. The BEST romance in 2026 for me by faaar. That ending kiss eclipsed the rooftop confession scene of Bad Buddy for me, and if you know what I am talking about, that seemed like such an impossible bar to cross.
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