This review may contain spoilers
What A Ride This Has Been....
Before this drama came into my life — very unannounced btw, I was convinced that Ming (My Stand-In), was the worst love interest to ever exist in the BL world. Then Fan Xiao strolled into my life with his perfectly coiffed hair, his synced at the waist suits, and skinny cigarettes, looked me straight in the eye with a sneer and one raised condescending eyebrow, and was like ' Bitch, you thought..?'
This drama had me glued to my screen every Sunday, because in a sea of mostly fluffy and comedic shows, it offered something different. Something new. It offers up a kind of love that you don't really want IRL, but it's so engaging in fiction.
Fan Xiao (FX) - He is crazy. He actually describes himself as that in the end. He's controlling, manipulative, and cruel — a lot of which is caused by his horrendous family and upbringing, all of which thoroughly skew his view of the world and people in general. When he meets Yu Shu Lang, he approaches him through this lens, and while things work out in his favour in the beginning, they quickly unravel and crash. Because of who FX is, this unravelling and crashing of his plans and relationship lead him down a path of appalling cruelty to the person he claims to care about the most, all in a misguided effort to keep him by his side.
Yu Shu Lang (YSL) - To the rest of the world, he's just a regular dude. However, to Fan Xiao, he's the Bodhisattva himself come to life. Like FX, his upbringing was also not the best. It was pretty traumatic tbh. However, instead of turning him into some jaded scum of the earth fellow, he became self-sacrificing — especially to those he cares about. This is easily seen in how he treats his ex, his leech of a brother, and, to an extent, Fan Xiao.
🌊What I Liked🌊
1. This is a very well-told story. It's engaging and, for the most part, very well paced. It doesn't lag, and neither is the plot filled with nonsensical filler scenes that pass the time
2. The characters are very smart. FX uses his smarts to manipulate YSL and those around him for his benefit. Do I commend it? No. But you've got to hand it to the man. He knew what he wanted, did his homework, and used his crafty little brain to get it. It all bit him in the ass in the end, but I was still hella impressed
YSL is also impressive in his own right. I've been reading BL manga & manhua/hwa for just as long as I've been watching BLs. One thing I find unfortunate about the genre is how dumb the uke are usually written/portrayed.
YSL is not dumb. He might have ignored his instincts at first, but when those red flags and inconsistencies started blaring at him, bro got to the bottom of things. He's also very proactive in his life and job — he never relies on his rich, younger husband to help him out or further his career. He can stand on his own without FX.
3. Yu Shu Lang fights back - It should also be acknowledged that despite all he goes through (read the cruelty of FX), he still has a backbone. Despite all that FX does to cage and control him, YSL always fought back. Even when things looked bleak, he tried to find a way to get away from his insane boyfriend (ex, really, but FX never accepted that). Most Ukes you encounter (in books for me) usually just sit and cry. Or give up after 1 or 2 tries. YSL kept fighting.
4. The redemption - It takes a lot for Fan Xian to put a stop to his madness and finally leave YSL alone. But when he does, he follows through. Not fully — the man was truly obsessed — but he does his best. Not only does he repent, but he goes out of his way to not only try to give YSL the life that he had before him, but also to make it better and ease his loneliness and financial burden. Even when they find each other again, he does his best to leave him alone. He does secretly stalk him, so you know... gotta take what you get with this one.
5. I hear that we'll be getting special episodes sometime in the future. No idea when this will happen because, as of now, filming hasn't started. But whenever that happens, I'll be sat. I wonder how many episodes they'll give us
6. The chemistry - These two work great together. They were able to create such palpable tension. Their sweet moments — albeit largely shown in flashbacks — are beautiful to watch
🌊Things I Didn't Like/I'd Have Changed🌊
1. How The Eventual Breakup Happened - I find it unfortunate that YSL never quite managed to free himself. In his attempts to flee/leave, Fan Xiao was always 3 steps ahead of him. He got free because, in the end, FX allowed it.
If I'd been the writer of this story, Fan Xiao wouldn't have been the one to press 'send' on that email. YSL would've done it. He'd have sent that email with tears running down his face and curled up on the floor, sobbing. Because he loved FX and he knew what that email would lead to, but he'd have done it. Because at the end of the day, it was either his life or Fan Xiao, and he chose himself
2. Yi Ran, the actor who plays YSL, is very stiff — both in posture and in acting. From his actor page on this platform, he seems to be a pretty experienced actor. So I'm left wondering if this is how he acts in all the other productions or if this was a deliberate choice by the show's directors or producers. I've seen some of his clips where he's doing a live with Yun Qi floating on Twitter, and he's very expressive IRL, so, once again, I wonder where the disconnect is. Yun Qi is brand spanking new to the scene, so I'll cut him some slack. I will say, however, that for a new actor, he was pretty decent.
3. The last few episodes felt rushed - From ep 13, things started unfolding at wrap speed. Perhaps it's due to the budget, which affects the episode count, but it felt like chunks of the story were skipped over so they could complete the story within the allotted episode number. Even the last episode felt rushed. ABO Desire had 16 episodes, Revenged Love had 24. I think this should've had maybe 18 episodes. That would've allowed them to show us what all that happened from when FX went to jail till they reconciled
4. The kisses could've been better - Based on the tension and the sheer amount of kissing that was going on in this show, they could've done so much better. Part of me wants to say that maybe it's because it's a Chinese production and that's why we got what we got, but I feel like I'm settling. Not to compare but.... Revenged Love, anyone? They were so good.
Also, I feel like anyone who takes the job of making or acting in a BL (or GL) should commit. If kissing is needed, as a director, direct those scenes in the best way possible and let them shine as needed. As an actor, give it your all, or let others take your spot. Do not shortchange your audience
5. Episode 12 straight-up traumatized me. I didn't deserve that
This drama had me glued to my screen every Sunday, because in a sea of mostly fluffy and comedic shows, it offered something different. Something new. It offers up a kind of love that you don't really want IRL, but it's so engaging in fiction.
Fan Xiao (FX) - He is crazy. He actually describes himself as that in the end. He's controlling, manipulative, and cruel — a lot of which is caused by his horrendous family and upbringing, all of which thoroughly skew his view of the world and people in general. When he meets Yu Shu Lang, he approaches him through this lens, and while things work out in his favour in the beginning, they quickly unravel and crash. Because of who FX is, this unravelling and crashing of his plans and relationship lead him down a path of appalling cruelty to the person he claims to care about the most, all in a misguided effort to keep him by his side.
Yu Shu Lang (YSL) - To the rest of the world, he's just a regular dude. However, to Fan Xiao, he's the Bodhisattva himself come to life. Like FX, his upbringing was also not the best. It was pretty traumatic tbh. However, instead of turning him into some jaded scum of the earth fellow, he became self-sacrificing — especially to those he cares about. This is easily seen in how he treats his ex, his leech of a brother, and, to an extent, Fan Xiao.
🌊What I Liked🌊
1. This is a very well-told story. It's engaging and, for the most part, very well paced. It doesn't lag, and neither is the plot filled with nonsensical filler scenes that pass the time
2. The characters are very smart. FX uses his smarts to manipulate YSL and those around him for his benefit. Do I commend it? No. But you've got to hand it to the man. He knew what he wanted, did his homework, and used his crafty little brain to get it. It all bit him in the ass in the end, but I was still hella impressed
YSL is also impressive in his own right. I've been reading BL manga & manhua/hwa for just as long as I've been watching BLs. One thing I find unfortunate about the genre is how dumb the uke are usually written/portrayed.
YSL is not dumb. He might have ignored his instincts at first, but when those red flags and inconsistencies started blaring at him, bro got to the bottom of things. He's also very proactive in his life and job — he never relies on his rich, younger husband to help him out or further his career. He can stand on his own without FX.
3. Yu Shu Lang fights back - It should also be acknowledged that despite all he goes through (read the cruelty of FX), he still has a backbone. Despite all that FX does to cage and control him, YSL always fought back. Even when things looked bleak, he tried to find a way to get away from his insane boyfriend (ex, really, but FX never accepted that). Most Ukes you encounter (in books for me) usually just sit and cry. Or give up after 1 or 2 tries. YSL kept fighting.
4. The redemption - It takes a lot for Fan Xian to put a stop to his madness and finally leave YSL alone. But when he does, he follows through. Not fully — the man was truly obsessed — but he does his best. Not only does he repent, but he goes out of his way to not only try to give YSL the life that he had before him, but also to make it better and ease his loneliness and financial burden. Even when they find each other again, he does his best to leave him alone. He does secretly stalk him, so you know... gotta take what you get with this one.
5. I hear that we'll be getting special episodes sometime in the future. No idea when this will happen because, as of now, filming hasn't started. But whenever that happens, I'll be sat. I wonder how many episodes they'll give us
6. The chemistry - These two work great together. They were able to create such palpable tension. Their sweet moments — albeit largely shown in flashbacks — are beautiful to watch
🌊Things I Didn't Like/I'd Have Changed🌊
1. How The Eventual Breakup Happened - I find it unfortunate that YSL never quite managed to free himself. In his attempts to flee/leave, Fan Xiao was always 3 steps ahead of him. He got free because, in the end, FX allowed it.
If I'd been the writer of this story, Fan Xiao wouldn't have been the one to press 'send' on that email. YSL would've done it. He'd have sent that email with tears running down his face and curled up on the floor, sobbing. Because he loved FX and he knew what that email would lead to, but he'd have done it. Because at the end of the day, it was either his life or Fan Xiao, and he chose himself
2. Yi Ran, the actor who plays YSL, is very stiff — both in posture and in acting. From his actor page on this platform, he seems to be a pretty experienced actor. So I'm left wondering if this is how he acts in all the other productions or if this was a deliberate choice by the show's directors or producers. I've seen some of his clips where he's doing a live with Yun Qi floating on Twitter, and he's very expressive IRL, so, once again, I wonder where the disconnect is. Yun Qi is brand spanking new to the scene, so I'll cut him some slack. I will say, however, that for a new actor, he was pretty decent.
3. The last few episodes felt rushed - From ep 13, things started unfolding at wrap speed. Perhaps it's due to the budget, which affects the episode count, but it felt like chunks of the story were skipped over so they could complete the story within the allotted episode number. Even the last episode felt rushed. ABO Desire had 16 episodes, Revenged Love had 24. I think this should've had maybe 18 episodes. That would've allowed them to show us what all that happened from when FX went to jail till they reconciled
4. The kisses could've been better - Based on the tension and the sheer amount of kissing that was going on in this show, they could've done so much better. Part of me wants to say that maybe it's because it's a Chinese production and that's why we got what we got, but I feel like I'm settling. Not to compare but.... Revenged Love, anyone? They were so good.
Also, I feel like anyone who takes the job of making or acting in a BL (or GL) should commit. If kissing is needed, as a director, direct those scenes in the best way possible and let them shine as needed. As an actor, give it your all, or let others take your spot. Do not shortchange your audience
5. Episode 12 straight-up traumatized me. I didn't deserve that
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