This review may contain spoilers
Not a masterpiece, but interesting and worth watching for the acting and chemistry of the main leads
A bit of a late review, I only saw it recently and I watched this with no prior knowledge of any of the actors so I had no bias (tho I did know it had the same director as another Thai bl that i recently saw and loved, wc is I Feel You Linger in the Air), but thanks to this show I've sorta fallen into the YinWar rabbit hole lol.
POSITIVES (for me):
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗼𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 without needing to be overly sexual. One of the main things that keep me watching a BL is if it can make me care about the main characters and their love story and I can kinda excuse plot holes, weak stories or low-budget production as long as the leads' acting are believable, compelling, and can convince me that they are indeed in love with each other. I don't need a lot of love scenes or kiss scenes as long as I feel their love or yearning for each other, if that makes sense. I saw it on this pairing. While they had a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance, it felt worth it when they finally got together and i was rooting for them (and tbh kissing/intimate scenes aren't my no. 1 motivation in watching a bl and i won't even freaking care if there's none or limited but omg the kissing/intimate scenes here got me silently screaming and blushing like goddeym i had to keep pausing not bc it's bad or i don't like it but i had to compose and calm myself lololol).
- The main characters had a moment of connection before the timeskip and main story happened (aka at the beginning of the show). Even a brief connection is fine, bc at least it made me feel that their attraction towards each other makes sense. Bonus points if there's a sorta "destined for each other" element later on.
• It doesn't follow a usual student or officemate couple that's typical in a lot of bls and instead 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳/𝗲𝘅-𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱-𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿. It also makes me more interested to watch bls that present different types of couples with no defined uke/seme or top/bottom "stereotypes".
• I also like that both of the 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 (whether those motivations can lead them to making good or bad decisions). For instance, Jack had his own dream of building a school to help the local children, while Joke is trying to change and make amends from his past as a thief and finds love/purpose along the way.
• 𝗝𝗼𝗸𝗲'𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀. I was looking forward to whatever character he became next. The acting for each of them were good as well, not overacted nor underacted.
• The 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵. I especially liked Aran, yeah he was presented as an arrogant and spoiled rich kid at the beginning but he did have some sort of development and I was looking forward to see more of him. The rest of the gang were fun as well, tho I had mixed feelings about Hope and Save.
• The 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀, especially the one at the hospital. I felt bad for Joke but can understand and feel Jack's frustrations as well. War and Yin are honestly good actors. The actors for the side characters also did well imo.
• 𝗕𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗮 (i kept on wishing she wouldn't die bc in stories like this you would expect one major family member to get hurt or killed for emotional effect). Bonus points bc she's a shipper like us lol and was helping Jack and Joke reconcile most of the time.
• 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 for a show of this type. And tho im not an expert in action scenes but they were believable enough for me.
• 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲. There's a lot of scenes that i have an urge to see again due to good acting and/or chemistry, good action sequences, or they're just plainly memorable to me.
LESS POSITIVE/MIXED FEELINGS (and some personal gripes):
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀. They are sometimes be a bit cartoonish/cliche, especially when they do the evil laugh lol. Also im not sure if we're supposed to empathize with the Boss at the end, like he's done lots of evil things, ignores his own son, and almost killed the MCs but now we're supposed to feel sorry for him cuz he misses his wife? Idk.
- Also what's with Jack and Joke making out right in front of Boss' salad during the hangman game lol? I get it was a quite emotional and meaningful moment since they thought it'll be their last time together but lololol i kinda chuckled why boss was just letting them do whatever when he's already itching to push that button and off them all. Like did he have a moment of humanity and let them have a final goodbye or is he secretly also a shipper like us and enjoyed that moment? Lololol just kidding.
• Related to the villains, 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 at times. There are moments of telenovela-ish quality in plot and even in the dialogue. Tho tbh it didn't bother me much bc im used to watching local telenovelas with much worse plot lol.
- The whole fake engagement/dating(?) thing with Rose and Jack. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Rose, I thought she was pretty cool especially after Jack rejected her but the whole subplot could have been shorter i guess? Idk, i know this was slow burn and maybe i was just looking forward to see Jack and Joke finally get together and confess their feelings to each other.
- I also felt that Hope and Save were forgiven too fast/easily. First, hope was pretty much beating up joke/jack and the rest of the gang in the earlier episodes then the next moment they're working together? And save betrayed them by being boss' spy (tho he had his own reasons for doing so wc is pretty understandable) but by the end everything's alright. Idk, i guess this was where my generous suspension of disbelief came in handy.
- I can't say much about the missions thingy bc im dumb but I've seen some people complain how they were a bit childish. Idk, i thought they were fine for a bl, i mean i wasn't expecting some next level, 4d chess type of mind games. But i guess they could be better?
- Speaking of mind games, the whole idea of the ring being a trick/deception by the four horsemen was a bit ??? Idk if i find it unrealistic or that those rich a-holes are just really that twisted and wicked and powerful to pull it off. I'm not even gonna delve into the details of how and when they even started pulling it all off (like did they already know boss will plan to steal it? Or did they start when it was already stolen? Eh? Another use for suspension of disbelief i guess 😅
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
An interesting watch with good acting and chemistry from the main leads. Some plot points might need suspension of disbelief and some characters and dialogues can get a bit stereotypical or cliche sometimes, but overall if you're not hyper critical about such stuff and just want to get a different experience and see a not so typical pairing with good chemistry, interesting side characters, some good enough action scenes and nice production values, it's worth watching. I gave it a 9 for the main couple and the overall atypical premise, but if the acting and chemistry was less compelling, it might be an 8.5.
POSITIVES (for me):
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗼𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 without needing to be overly sexual. One of the main things that keep me watching a BL is if it can make me care about the main characters and their love story and I can kinda excuse plot holes, weak stories or low-budget production as long as the leads' acting are believable, compelling, and can convince me that they are indeed in love with each other. I don't need a lot of love scenes or kiss scenes as long as I feel their love or yearning for each other, if that makes sense. I saw it on this pairing. While they had a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance, it felt worth it when they finally got together and i was rooting for them (and tbh kissing/intimate scenes aren't my no. 1 motivation in watching a bl and i won't even freaking care if there's none or limited but omg the kissing/intimate scenes here got me silently screaming and blushing like goddeym i had to keep pausing not bc it's bad or i don't like it but i had to compose and calm myself lololol).
- The main characters had a moment of connection before the timeskip and main story happened (aka at the beginning of the show). Even a brief connection is fine, bc at least it made me feel that their attraction towards each other makes sense. Bonus points if there's a sorta "destined for each other" element later on.
• It doesn't follow a usual student or officemate couple that's typical in a lot of bls and instead 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳/𝗲𝘅-𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱-𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿. It also makes me more interested to watch bls that present different types of couples with no defined uke/seme or top/bottom "stereotypes".
• I also like that both of the 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 (whether those motivations can lead them to making good or bad decisions). For instance, Jack had his own dream of building a school to help the local children, while Joke is trying to change and make amends from his past as a thief and finds love/purpose along the way.
• 𝗝𝗼𝗸𝗲'𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀. I was looking forward to whatever character he became next. The acting for each of them were good as well, not overacted nor underacted.
• The 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵. I especially liked Aran, yeah he was presented as an arrogant and spoiled rich kid at the beginning but he did have some sort of development and I was looking forward to see more of him. The rest of the gang were fun as well, tho I had mixed feelings about Hope and Save.
• The 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀, especially the one at the hospital. I felt bad for Joke but can understand and feel Jack's frustrations as well. War and Yin are honestly good actors. The actors for the side characters also did well imo.
• 𝗕𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗮 (i kept on wishing she wouldn't die bc in stories like this you would expect one major family member to get hurt or killed for emotional effect). Bonus points bc she's a shipper like us lol and was helping Jack and Joke reconcile most of the time.
• 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 for a show of this type. And tho im not an expert in action scenes but they were believable enough for me.
• 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲. There's a lot of scenes that i have an urge to see again due to good acting and/or chemistry, good action sequences, or they're just plainly memorable to me.
LESS POSITIVE/MIXED FEELINGS (and some personal gripes):
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀. They are sometimes be a bit cartoonish/cliche, especially when they do the evil laugh lol. Also im not sure if we're supposed to empathize with the Boss at the end, like he's done lots of evil things, ignores his own son, and almost killed the MCs but now we're supposed to feel sorry for him cuz he misses his wife? Idk.
- Also what's with Jack and Joke making out right in front of Boss' salad during the hangman game lol? I get it was a quite emotional and meaningful moment since they thought it'll be their last time together but lololol i kinda chuckled why boss was just letting them do whatever when he's already itching to push that button and off them all. Like did he have a moment of humanity and let them have a final goodbye or is he secretly also a shipper like us and enjoyed that moment? Lololol just kidding.
• Related to the villains, 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 at times. There are moments of telenovela-ish quality in plot and even in the dialogue. Tho tbh it didn't bother me much bc im used to watching local telenovelas with much worse plot lol.
- The whole fake engagement/dating(?) thing with Rose and Jack. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Rose, I thought she was pretty cool especially after Jack rejected her but the whole subplot could have been shorter i guess? Idk, i know this was slow burn and maybe i was just looking forward to see Jack and Joke finally get together and confess their feelings to each other.
- I also felt that Hope and Save were forgiven too fast/easily. First, hope was pretty much beating up joke/jack and the rest of the gang in the earlier episodes then the next moment they're working together? And save betrayed them by being boss' spy (tho he had his own reasons for doing so wc is pretty understandable) but by the end everything's alright. Idk, i guess this was where my generous suspension of disbelief came in handy.
- I can't say much about the missions thingy bc im dumb but I've seen some people complain how they were a bit childish. Idk, i thought they were fine for a bl, i mean i wasn't expecting some next level, 4d chess type of mind games. But i guess they could be better?
- Speaking of mind games, the whole idea of the ring being a trick/deception by the four horsemen was a bit ??? Idk if i find it unrealistic or that those rich a-holes are just really that twisted and wicked and powerful to pull it off. I'm not even gonna delve into the details of how and when they even started pulling it all off (like did they already know boss will plan to steal it? Or did they start when it was already stolen? Eh? Another use for suspension of disbelief i guess 😅
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
An interesting watch with good acting and chemistry from the main leads. Some plot points might need suspension of disbelief and some characters and dialogues can get a bit stereotypical or cliche sometimes, but overall if you're not hyper critical about such stuff and just want to get a different experience and see a not so typical pairing with good chemistry, interesting side characters, some good enough action scenes and nice production values, it's worth watching. I gave it a 9 for the main couple and the overall atypical premise, but if the acting and chemistry was less compelling, it might be an 8.5.
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