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This review may contain spoilers
Terrible direction with a rape to romance trope
This show was recommended to me so I was initially excited to watch something new (Omegaverse) even though I had minimal prior experience with such plots. And for a first experience this was a really disappointing one.
The story revolves around 4 people or at least it is advertised as 4 main leads with 1 of them (Gao Tu) getting minimum to no screentime (so don't get invested). The original source (which I hadn't read but got plenty of insight on during the course of the show) had potential and the director could have improved upon it. Not only did they not improve it but there are so many scenes that simply make no sense if you have never read the original novel. It means the director did not hope to attract any new fans with their work. For example, the intro to omegaverse is rushed, the new vocabulary is never explained (which a good storyteller can do during the show), crucial scenes that were supposed to depict darkness are shot in extremely bright lights with those lights in clear view, unable to show passage of time which also leads to confusion, etc.
Regarding the rape/noncon trope - this truly got to me. Not only because these things make me uncomfortable but because it is normalised in this drama through omegaverse. "They can't help themselves" is such triggering messaging. Worse is one perpetrator is supposed to be in love with the victim and can see his love interest is in pain but is enjoying that and even laughs at their misery. The other doesn't know who his victim is and is victim blaming them for seducing them. I truly don't care that it is fantasy. To me this omegaverse felt like an excuse to normalise rape by using pretty and handsome faces.
Red flag characters. Both Hua Yong and Shen Wen Lang are toxic. Though I have enjoyed BLs with toxic characters too, the problem is again normalising it rather than calling it for what it is. All's fair in love and war? No. That's an excuse.
Hua Yong is an extremely manipulative character who has no trouble lying to the man he loves. All he cares about is the end result. Think stalker who succeeds in his goals. If you have never been stalked, let me say that it can be very harrowing and distressing and not at all romantic. Though the stalking is a bit downplayed, it is one of his most minor sins. The manipulation and lying and rape are far more egregious sins. He could have been the character you love to hate but it's more terrifying that he is portrayed as heroic and lovesick, rather than insane. Romaticising this character felt shocking since they are never really apologetic or empathetic.
Shen Wen Lang is horrible but nothing compared to Hua Yong because he is portrayed as a dumb guy who reacts on emotions and makes decisions as per his ego and arrogance. He constantly makes Gao Tu feel horrible about himself and want to hide and protect himself. SWL is also supposed to be caring but he simply is incapable of expressing it. Though he has some softer moments as opposed to Hua Yong.
The only characters I liked were Sheng Shao You and Gao Tu, who became my favourite despite barely given much of a presence. He still managed to make an impact. Shen Shao You has the most range of emotions in this show. Though he has his arrogant moments, ultimately he is a caring, nuturing and protective person. To be honest, I think Gao Tu deserves someone like him. These two characters don't really interact with each other.
ABO universe - in this universe, because men can get pregnant, 2 men being with each other is considered normal just like a heterosexual couple. What is considered abnormal is 2 of the same kind like two Alphas being together. So it doesn't really deal with the issues that real life LGBTQ couples face. Instead you have class issues where the rich look down on the poor, the alphas look down on omegas, etc. Again this isn't explored much on how society deals with these class injustices because it causes a character to hide themselves for their whole life.
There are few moments of humour that I enjoyed. The opening theme song is beautiful too. These are the main positives in my eyes.
The finale was extremely lackluster and anti-climactic. It simply didn't feel like a finale. Imagine watching this show spanning months and you don't even get a satisfying ending? When you have 16 episodes, you don't get to make excuses of not having enough time especially when you have time to add in supporting characters in the end that don't really support the plot.
Final thoughts - this show could have been made well but the director did not have the presence of mind on how to depict their source material. They invested a lot into locations which are grand but the scenes especially romantic ones are more or less slow or really blurry shots (no passion from the characters nor the director). The characters all speak slowly, mostly dispassionately and everything seems quite toned down. I haven't seen the other works of these actors so I don't know if it is them or that is the direction they were given. But I'm going to blame the director since it is their reponsibikity to get the required emotions out of their actors. They just wanted everything subtle. Whether it is pain, fear, anger or love (exception being SSY).
Bottom line - Quite disappointing. If you are fans of the main couple, you might have a better time watching but otherwise, not something I would recommend.
The story revolves around 4 people or at least it is advertised as 4 main leads with 1 of them (Gao Tu) getting minimum to no screentime (so don't get invested). The original source (which I hadn't read but got plenty of insight on during the course of the show) had potential and the director could have improved upon it. Not only did they not improve it but there are so many scenes that simply make no sense if you have never read the original novel. It means the director did not hope to attract any new fans with their work. For example, the intro to omegaverse is rushed, the new vocabulary is never explained (which a good storyteller can do during the show), crucial scenes that were supposed to depict darkness are shot in extremely bright lights with those lights in clear view, unable to show passage of time which also leads to confusion, etc.
Regarding the rape/noncon trope - this truly got to me. Not only because these things make me uncomfortable but because it is normalised in this drama through omegaverse. "They can't help themselves" is such triggering messaging. Worse is one perpetrator is supposed to be in love with the victim and can see his love interest is in pain but is enjoying that and even laughs at their misery. The other doesn't know who his victim is and is victim blaming them for seducing them. I truly don't care that it is fantasy. To me this omegaverse felt like an excuse to normalise rape by using pretty and handsome faces.
Red flag characters. Both Hua Yong and Shen Wen Lang are toxic. Though I have enjoyed BLs with toxic characters too, the problem is again normalising it rather than calling it for what it is. All's fair in love and war? No. That's an excuse.
Hua Yong is an extremely manipulative character who has no trouble lying to the man he loves. All he cares about is the end result. Think stalker who succeeds in his goals. If you have never been stalked, let me say that it can be very harrowing and distressing and not at all romantic. Though the stalking is a bit downplayed, it is one of his most minor sins. The manipulation and lying and rape are far more egregious sins. He could have been the character you love to hate but it's more terrifying that he is portrayed as heroic and lovesick, rather than insane. Romaticising this character felt shocking since they are never really apologetic or empathetic.
Shen Wen Lang is horrible but nothing compared to Hua Yong because he is portrayed as a dumb guy who reacts on emotions and makes decisions as per his ego and arrogance. He constantly makes Gao Tu feel horrible about himself and want to hide and protect himself. SWL is also supposed to be caring but he simply is incapable of expressing it. Though he has some softer moments as opposed to Hua Yong.
The only characters I liked were Sheng Shao You and Gao Tu, who became my favourite despite barely given much of a presence. He still managed to make an impact. Shen Shao You has the most range of emotions in this show. Though he has his arrogant moments, ultimately he is a caring, nuturing and protective person. To be honest, I think Gao Tu deserves someone like him. These two characters don't really interact with each other.
ABO universe - in this universe, because men can get pregnant, 2 men being with each other is considered normal just like a heterosexual couple. What is considered abnormal is 2 of the same kind like two Alphas being together. So it doesn't really deal with the issues that real life LGBTQ couples face. Instead you have class issues where the rich look down on the poor, the alphas look down on omegas, etc. Again this isn't explored much on how society deals with these class injustices because it causes a character to hide themselves for their whole life.
There are few moments of humour that I enjoyed. The opening theme song is beautiful too. These are the main positives in my eyes.
The finale was extremely lackluster and anti-climactic. It simply didn't feel like a finale. Imagine watching this show spanning months and you don't even get a satisfying ending? When you have 16 episodes, you don't get to make excuses of not having enough time especially when you have time to add in supporting characters in the end that don't really support the plot.
Final thoughts - this show could have been made well but the director did not have the presence of mind on how to depict their source material. They invested a lot into locations which are grand but the scenes especially romantic ones are more or less slow or really blurry shots (no passion from the characters nor the director). The characters all speak slowly, mostly dispassionately and everything seems quite toned down. I haven't seen the other works of these actors so I don't know if it is them or that is the direction they were given. But I'm going to blame the director since it is their reponsibikity to get the required emotions out of their actors. They just wanted everything subtle. Whether it is pain, fear, anger or love (exception being SSY).
Bottom line - Quite disappointing. If you are fans of the main couple, you might have a better time watching but otherwise, not something I would recommend.
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