A stepping stone for historical BL and bl wuxia
This drama really took me by the throat. And to me this was something I had been waiting for a very long time. I won’t shut up from saying that this is definitely a stepping stone for the genre, which is historical bl. I honestly think this drama had everything one could expect and I could see bits of The Untamed here and there and couldn’t stop from wondering what chance we could have had now, in 2025/2026. We've come a long way and eight or seven years ago I would have never hoped for something like this to come to life.
Acting was great, I’m impressed by the two young protagonists. The way Duan Zi Ang was portrayed felt very intense, the actor did amazing at expressing all his gut-wrenching emotions. His character was full of contrasts and interior battles which he certainly showed with Anakin Skywalker vibes. There were moments where I was totally in awe with his acting. I can say the same for Mi Jin, even though he had a bit of an easier job considering the steady and chill poise of Xiao Shu He, but he delivered a perfectly coherent and fierce young man.
The story was solid, in the first half it made a lot of sense and I appreciated the way facts and multiple characters intertwined. Starting from episode 7 things got a bit stretched for me, and I still think this could’ve easily been a 10 episodes drama. Some parts were prolonged, some dialogues way too slow. But in its wholeness I loved every bit of it, being the Chinese way of expressing conflicts. I love poetry and everything always feels so poetic and frail in these dramas, even when things get hectic.
I didn’t foresee their relationship being the way it was towards the end. Duan Zi Ang certainly is possessive and we could all see that from the very start, and man do I love tragedy and characters being overly dramatic, but still, I still think he acted out of his typical self a few times and all the push and pull was, at some point, exaggerated.
I liked every character, especially the supporting ones for whom I'd grown a soft spot. Dialogues were wonderful, not a common script for a bl series for sure. The quality of the discussions and the thoughts expressed out loud, often coming from the heart and soul, was remarkable. Most of all I appreciated how their love was multifaceted, complex, perfectly mixed with both pure emotions and the darkest, deepest corners of a man's soul. Neither of them is a perfect character and their flaws made their relationship intriguing.
All I wanna say to end this is: prepare to shed some tears, get your heart wrecked and your soul absorbed. Get ready for the ending too, which wasn’t exactly satisfying for me and I’ll probably never accept it. In my eyes it was neither good nor bad, that’s debatable for sure. And debate on this drama could go on for years. 1000% recommend.
Acting was great, I’m impressed by the two young protagonists. The way Duan Zi Ang was portrayed felt very intense, the actor did amazing at expressing all his gut-wrenching emotions. His character was full of contrasts and interior battles which he certainly showed with Anakin Skywalker vibes. There were moments where I was totally in awe with his acting. I can say the same for Mi Jin, even though he had a bit of an easier job considering the steady and chill poise of Xiao Shu He, but he delivered a perfectly coherent and fierce young man.
The story was solid, in the first half it made a lot of sense and I appreciated the way facts and multiple characters intertwined. Starting from episode 7 things got a bit stretched for me, and I still think this could’ve easily been a 10 episodes drama. Some parts were prolonged, some dialogues way too slow. But in its wholeness I loved every bit of it, being the Chinese way of expressing conflicts. I love poetry and everything always feels so poetic and frail in these dramas, even when things get hectic.
I didn’t foresee their relationship being the way it was towards the end. Duan Zi Ang certainly is possessive and we could all see that from the very start, and man do I love tragedy and characters being overly dramatic, but still, I still think he acted out of his typical self a few times and all the push and pull was, at some point, exaggerated.
I liked every character, especially the supporting ones for whom I'd grown a soft spot. Dialogues were wonderful, not a common script for a bl series for sure. The quality of the discussions and the thoughts expressed out loud, often coming from the heart and soul, was remarkable. Most of all I appreciated how their love was multifaceted, complex, perfectly mixed with both pure emotions and the darkest, deepest corners of a man's soul. Neither of them is a perfect character and their flaws made their relationship intriguing.
All I wanna say to end this is: prepare to shed some tears, get your heart wrecked and your soul absorbed. Get ready for the ending too, which wasn’t exactly satisfying for me and I’ll probably never accept it. In my eyes it was neither good nor bad, that’s debatable for sure. And debate on this drama could go on for years. 1000% recommend.
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