Loving this drama so far, very mysterious, with beautiful cinematography and production value. I found the camerawork and color grading particularly well done in this.
Japanese thrillers hit differently. They have this “something” that you just don’t find in Korean thrillers.
Happy to see Yamada Ryosuke in a thriller again too!
I rewatched this today, and I have to say, it’s one of the best thriller dramas China has ever produced. The hidden ending, especially, is a masterpiece.
This is a remake of the famous Chinese drama The Bad Kids. While both share the same premise, this adaptation is much more direct and closer to the original novel. Because of censorship, the Chinese version had to hide the dark truth behind subtle clues and subtext, whereas this version doesn't hold back.
The ending is presented very differently, but is ultimately the same (those who watched the Chinese version will understand).
Hi. Is this not a China production? Have China film policy changed?
Most of these recent chinese BL are produced only for the international market and sold to foreign OTT. They are not released within China and not available on chinese platforms
So I suppose they do not need to clear chinese censorship / get a chinese brodcasting licence.
Also, some are produced / fimed outside of mainland China by Thai/Singaporean/HK compagnies but use chinese actors.
I really enjoyed this show, especially because of Xiaofan’s character. You could genuinely feel his despair and anger, and his evolution from being passive and weak to finally taking action and standing up to the others was great to watch.
The exploration of class divide was especially compelling. It's rare for BL to handle this dynamic with any real weight, showing what it's actually like to come from a poor rural family and navigate elitist spaces where you're constantly looked down upon. Instead of treating it like the usual cheesy rom-com cliché, this series depicted the struggle realistically and brutally.
The finale episode felt a bit weird and rushed, though. It’s like the writers suddenly realized they only had one episode left and had to cram the entire resolution into it. It really deserved a few more episodes to let the ending breathe and feel believable. Like the wedding scene felt so out of place, like they had to put it but didn't have enough episode time to properly introduce it.
Also I find it quite funny that four of UNINE members (Guan Yue, He Changxi, Jia Yi, Chen Youwei) acted in a BL, who's next ? ;)
I wish these cbl writers and producers would start believing in having just one couple. Sammy’s Children’s…
Yes! The second couple is annoying in this. I skipped a lot of scenes because of it.
And in most BLs, the second couple is just frustrating:
If you like it, it's frustrating because it's only secondary so it won't be very developped. If you don't like it, it's just parasitic and takes screen time away from the main couple.
Synopsis - At 17, Zhan Wang returns from Beijing to his hometown, carrying a secret diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. There, he meets Xu Yuan, also 17 — a top student who has been branded by the entire town as a child of misfortune. Both have been abandoned by fate, yet they crash into each other's lives with devastating force. Will their relationship bear a tragedy or a miracle?
I’m not convinced by the acting so far. I don’t really feel any attachment to the characters or emotional connection with them. The storytelling also feels a bit too fast. The first episodes were confusing.
I think I’m going to pause this one and come back to it once all the episodes have aired.
By the way, I strongly recommend the other Chinese BL, Lost to You, which is currently airing. It doesn’t seem to have an MDL page yet (I just requested for it to be added). So far I am more hooked by it than by Double Helix.
I love Jihoon as an actor, but I’ll pass on this. This drama somehow managed to combine every genre I can’t stand: comedy, military, food, fantasy... I already hesitate to watch a drama when there’s just one of those, so all four? Absolutely not.
It has japanese subs, I used Gemini to translate them to english.
Japanese thrillers hit differently. They have this “something” that you just don’t find in Korean thrillers.
Happy to see Yamada Ryosuke in a thriller again too!
Ending song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8m7EZQIjsw
Some suggestions if you enjoyed this:
- Yume de Mita Ano Ko no Tame ni (2023)
- Fallen Angel (2012)
- Henshin (2014)
- Clone Baby (2010)
The ending is presented very differently, but is ultimately the same (those who watched the Chinese version will understand).
So I suppose they do not need to clear chinese censorship / get a chinese brodcasting licence.
Also, some are produced / fimed outside of mainland China by Thai/Singaporean/HK compagnies but use chinese actors.
The exploration of class divide was especially compelling. It's rare for BL to handle this dynamic with any real weight, showing what it's actually like to come from a poor rural family and navigate elitist spaces where you're constantly looked down upon. Instead of treating it like the usual cheesy rom-com cliché, this series depicted the struggle realistically and brutally.
The finale episode felt a bit weird and rushed, though. It’s like the writers suddenly realized they only had one episode left and had to cram the entire resolution into it. It really deserved a few more episodes to let the ending breathe and feel believable. Like the wedding scene felt so out of place, like they had to put it but didn't have enough episode time to properly introduce it.
Also I find it quite funny that four of UNINE members (Guan Yue, He Changxi, Jia Yi, Chen Youwei) acted in a BL, who's next ? ;)
https://youtu.be/SW4sdTle6xs
And in most BLs, the second couple is just frustrating:
If you like it, it's frustrating because it's only secondary so it won't be very developped.
If you don't like it, it's just parasitic and takes screen time away from the main couple.
So it's better not to have any.
https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/7177/lost-to-you-2026
Synopsis - At 17, Zhan Wang returns from Beijing to his hometown, carrying a secret diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. There, he meets Xu Yuan, also 17 — a top student who has been branded by the entire town as a child of misfortune. Both have been abandoned by fate, yet they crash into each other's lives with devastating force. Will their relationship bear a tragedy or a miracle?
The storytelling also feels a bit too fast. The first episodes were confusing.
I think I’m going to pause this one and come back to it once all the episodes have aired.
By the way, I strongly recommend the other Chinese BL, Lost to You, which is currently airing. It doesn’t seem to have an MDL page yet (I just requested for it to be added). So far I am more hooked by it than by Double Helix.
This drama somehow managed to combine every genre I can’t stand: comedy, military, food, fantasy...
I already hesitate to watch a drama when there’s just one of those, so all four? Absolutely not.