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This review may contain spoilers
What a Beautiful Experience
It's at times like this that I realize, once again, how limited my vocabulary is. How little I know how to put my feelings into words. I truly lack the words to properly explain how beautiful this story is.
While I may not have connected with Zelia's (the director) previous drama, 'Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island ' (I think it might have been too metaphorical for me), I totally fell in love with this one. The cinematography is top-notch, no doubt. But stepping away from that, I think the parts that moved me the most were
1. Chang Yang & Qinglang love story - It's one of those fairy tale love stories. The once-in-a-lifetime kind. The sort that makes me go 'You know what, maybe being in love isn't so bad. Maybe I should look into this love thing,' and then I remember that these are fictional characters and go back to thinking about making money😭. The characters are written so well, but I think the actors help sell them beyond what the script could. The acting is so good and the chemistry absolutely palpable, even with their fade-to-black NC scenes.
PS.
a. I want to thank the director and the actors (who will never see this review) for giving me actual kissing. Proper make-out scenes. Despite CBLs flooding the market, most kissing scenes leave much to be desired. They do this thing where it's one character attacking the other's mouth, as the 2nd party sits/stands there being devoured. Isn't kissing supposed to be reciprocal? Thank you, Zelia and team, for giving me structural reciprocity in kissing!!!
b. As an 'acts of service' girlie, Lord, where is my Chang Yang? The amount of love, attention, dedication, and protection that he gave his Qing Lang is just.... *insert dreamy sigh here*
2. Social Commentary - I LOVE stories that delve into this. Perhaps this is why I enjoy thrillers so much. This drama doesn't shy away from it.
📸Most of the commentary in this is about being gay in the public eye. Where you can be gay on screen, and the people will love you for it, but you can not be gay IRL. Being gay for pay is cool, but gay for real? Nah. Too much. Not acceptable. They will flame you for it
📸It's about the toxicity of fan culture. The same people who praise you one minute will be quick to jump at the chance to pull you down. How the same people who claim to love you and wish you happiness will ignore your happiness for theirs. You can be happy, you can be in a relationship, but it has to be in the way they dictate. I appreciated how this drama took a chance to call out toxic shippers in the BL fandom. People be crazy out here, and I love that Zelia chose to show how absolutely insane, stupid, and selfish these people can be.
I enjoyed how the drama also shows how what we see is not what actually goes on behind the scenes. It's another reminder that the information that fans get is not only curated but highly filtered
📸 It's about society's view on being gay - Progressive as we claim to be, this drama highlights how most corners of society are all talk on the subject of homosexuality. Qing Lang had to retire, and ChangYang had to go make a name for himself so they could finally be together. The former had to give up what he loved, and the other had to put his life in danger for 5 whole years to give themselves a chance to be together. A part of me wonders if they suffered so much because they were in the upper echelon of society. How different would the journey of their love have been if Chang Yang's family did not have political connections and enemies? If Qing Lang was not the 'best actor' that he was?
📸The grey (sometimes really dark) areas - This is about the 2nd CP. Watching Qi Hao Yu have to sleep with that sponsor was... I did not like that feeling. It was especially hard to watch that, not only knowing that this is something that happens IRL, but I'd just finished watching Payback. Another show that touches on how these sponsor relationships work and the predatory nature of them. Lord, it was a lot.
Some things I did not like or understand - i.e., why the story rating is 9/10
🍃Episode 13, specifically the end
Just..., why? The ending of that episode left me feeling so hollow. I went online to look for discussions to try and better understand the why. The most common explanation I saw stated that Qing Tian's death was linked to the Buddhist belief (or maybe the belief of the people in the area where they were shooting the documentary? Someone correct me if I'm wrong) that death is the beginning of life. That because of Chen Zhu, Qing Tian had been 'dead' for those 4 years. That his death on that mountain meant that he got to be alive/start living.
Maybe it's because I am not a practitioner of this religion, but that explanation failed to 'console' me. IMO, Qing Tian had just decided to start living again. Remember his conversation that night with Wenshu? When he asked him to wait for him? What was that conversation if not a sign that he wanted to move on with his life? To live again?
Or perhaps his death was also a message about the fragility of life... Personally, I don't know, nor will I pretend to understand. When I watched that episode, I felt like his death was gratuitous. And that feeling remains to date.
🧑🏻❤️🧑🏻The 2nd couple - Connecting with them was really hard. I watched all their scenes and not once did I find myself thinking, 'I would love it if they ended up together.' Han Lu largely used Qi Hao Yu for money and fame, the same way that Shi Yu Hao had previously used Changyang. Han Lu wanted to make money off their CP and did what he could to do so.
Remember how he orchestrated that kiss in the rain and for the video to leak? Although sometimes his feelings for Qi Hao Yu seemed real, I constantly found it icky how he used their mutual feelings for money. I'm not sure why Qi Hao Yu stayed with him. Was it love? If it was, these are the times when I think that love alone isn't enough. It's not behaviour I would stand for, and thus I did not like them together.
Final Thoughts:
i. I think those behind the scenes in the BL industry need to take a page from this drama. It is a perfect example not only of a beautiful love story but also a romantic plot with a message. Yes, you can give us boys kissing and simultaneously provide a message through the story.
ii. My message to the ordinary viewer: yes, give the story a try. The love story between Chang Yang and Qing Lang deserves to be seen, and the social commentary is very important.
PS. If any parts of the plot seem confusing, I highly suggest you go to the ChineseBL subreddit. Each week would go on there after completing the episodes to find discussion posts. There were multiple posts where people provided so much context, largely from the novel as well as Chinese culture and Buddhist beliefs, which helped me better understand so much of what isn't quite well explained in the drama
While I may not have connected with Zelia's (the director) previous drama, 'Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island ' (I think it might have been too metaphorical for me), I totally fell in love with this one. The cinematography is top-notch, no doubt. But stepping away from that, I think the parts that moved me the most were
1. Chang Yang & Qinglang love story - It's one of those fairy tale love stories. The once-in-a-lifetime kind. The sort that makes me go 'You know what, maybe being in love isn't so bad. Maybe I should look into this love thing,' and then I remember that these are fictional characters and go back to thinking about making money😭. The characters are written so well, but I think the actors help sell them beyond what the script could. The acting is so good and the chemistry absolutely palpable, even with their fade-to-black NC scenes.
PS.
a. I want to thank the director and the actors (who will never see this review) for giving me actual kissing. Proper make-out scenes. Despite CBLs flooding the market, most kissing scenes leave much to be desired. They do this thing where it's one character attacking the other's mouth, as the 2nd party sits/stands there being devoured. Isn't kissing supposed to be reciprocal? Thank you, Zelia and team, for giving me structural reciprocity in kissing!!!
b. As an 'acts of service' girlie, Lord, where is my Chang Yang? The amount of love, attention, dedication, and protection that he gave his Qing Lang is just.... *insert dreamy sigh here*
2. Social Commentary - I LOVE stories that delve into this. Perhaps this is why I enjoy thrillers so much. This drama doesn't shy away from it.
📸Most of the commentary in this is about being gay in the public eye. Where you can be gay on screen, and the people will love you for it, but you can not be gay IRL. Being gay for pay is cool, but gay for real? Nah. Too much. Not acceptable. They will flame you for it
📸It's about the toxicity of fan culture. The same people who praise you one minute will be quick to jump at the chance to pull you down. How the same people who claim to love you and wish you happiness will ignore your happiness for theirs. You can be happy, you can be in a relationship, but it has to be in the way they dictate. I appreciated how this drama took a chance to call out toxic shippers in the BL fandom. People be crazy out here, and I love that Zelia chose to show how absolutely insane, stupid, and selfish these people can be.
I enjoyed how the drama also shows how what we see is not what actually goes on behind the scenes. It's another reminder that the information that fans get is not only curated but highly filtered
📸 It's about society's view on being gay - Progressive as we claim to be, this drama highlights how most corners of society are all talk on the subject of homosexuality. Qing Lang had to retire, and ChangYang had to go make a name for himself so they could finally be together. The former had to give up what he loved, and the other had to put his life in danger for 5 whole years to give themselves a chance to be together. A part of me wonders if they suffered so much because they were in the upper echelon of society. How different would the journey of their love have been if Chang Yang's family did not have political connections and enemies? If Qing Lang was not the 'best actor' that he was?
📸The grey (sometimes really dark) areas - This is about the 2nd CP. Watching Qi Hao Yu have to sleep with that sponsor was... I did not like that feeling. It was especially hard to watch that, not only knowing that this is something that happens IRL, but I'd just finished watching Payback. Another show that touches on how these sponsor relationships work and the predatory nature of them. Lord, it was a lot.
Some things I did not like or understand - i.e., why the story rating is 9/10
🍃Episode 13, specifically the end
Just..., why? The ending of that episode left me feeling so hollow. I went online to look for discussions to try and better understand the why. The most common explanation I saw stated that Qing Tian's death was linked to the Buddhist belief (or maybe the belief of the people in the area where they were shooting the documentary? Someone correct me if I'm wrong) that death is the beginning of life. That because of Chen Zhu, Qing Tian had been 'dead' for those 4 years. That his death on that mountain meant that he got to be alive/start living.
Maybe it's because I am not a practitioner of this religion, but that explanation failed to 'console' me. IMO, Qing Tian had just decided to start living again. Remember his conversation that night with Wenshu? When he asked him to wait for him? What was that conversation if not a sign that he wanted to move on with his life? To live again?
Or perhaps his death was also a message about the fragility of life... Personally, I don't know, nor will I pretend to understand. When I watched that episode, I felt like his death was gratuitous. And that feeling remains to date.
🧑🏻❤️🧑🏻The 2nd couple - Connecting with them was really hard. I watched all their scenes and not once did I find myself thinking, 'I would love it if they ended up together.' Han Lu largely used Qi Hao Yu for money and fame, the same way that Shi Yu Hao had previously used Changyang. Han Lu wanted to make money off their CP and did what he could to do so.
Remember how he orchestrated that kiss in the rain and for the video to leak? Although sometimes his feelings for Qi Hao Yu seemed real, I constantly found it icky how he used their mutual feelings for money. I'm not sure why Qi Hao Yu stayed with him. Was it love? If it was, these are the times when I think that love alone isn't enough. It's not behaviour I would stand for, and thus I did not like them together.
Final Thoughts:
i. I think those behind the scenes in the BL industry need to take a page from this drama. It is a perfect example not only of a beautiful love story but also a romantic plot with a message. Yes, you can give us boys kissing and simultaneously provide a message through the story.
ii. My message to the ordinary viewer: yes, give the story a try. The love story between Chang Yang and Qing Lang deserves to be seen, and the social commentary is very important.
PS. If any parts of the plot seem confusing, I highly suggest you go to the ChineseBL subreddit. Each week would go on there after completing the episodes to find discussion posts. There were multiple posts where people provided so much context, largely from the novel as well as Chinese culture and Buddhist beliefs, which helped me better understand so much of what isn't quite well explained in the drama
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