Complex story and Characters - actors and visuals fall short
Overall the plot of this show was very enjoyable, the characters are symbols to a chinese myth of the destructive monkey (Fan Xiao) and 'Bhudda' (Youlang) this added depth is what really made this show a 10/10 plot.The characters can be more complex and I have noticed people criticize Fan Xiao a lot. I think people fail to understand his character. Fan Xiao is someone who has lived life never trying to do ‘good’ so when he meets Youlang he is very intrigued. This later turns into wanting to be with Youlang but in order to do so he manipulates the people. He admits to his friends he is playing games but in later episodes it is pretty evident that there are almost two different streams of thought going through his head. One that admits that he is loving youlang and against hurting him and one that is reflective of his previous attitude on treating others. He does not know how to love because he has never been loved before after his mother passed away therefore his brain is tainted and filled only with revenge. Although he is manipulative and should not get away with it, people seem to misunderstand his starting point. However, Youlang is just as crazy in the way that he understands Fan Xiao and seems to be okay with it.
Overall the characters themselves are made for each other - it is genuinely a really big pull for this show. They have amazing chemistry however, I believe that part of the reason people misunderstand Fan Xiao and Youlang is because the actors are not able to properly portray these emotions to the extent needed. This is Yunqi's first acting gig so it’s understandable but Hao Yiran has acting experience it’s just that he has gotten an insane amount of work done on his face. The botox face cannot convey the full emotions needed. The visuals are definitely a drawback to the show. I sometimes can’t take Youlang seriously.
I would recommend this to people who enjoy some psychotic thriller with chemistry but if you watch BLs for the visuals (or hots boys kissing etc.) this might not be the show for you.
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