BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“Hating someone feels disturbingly similar to being in love with them…Love and hate are mirror versions of the same game-and you have to win.” – Sally Thorne
Brilliant, moving, and full of pain. This is a phenomenally good BL series that touches the human connection in a way I was not expecting. It is a story about a dedicated police officer by the name of Meng Shao Fei (Jake Hsu). He is dogged in his pursuit of a crime that was committed four years earlier. He pursues Tang Yi (Chris Wu) who he thinks knows more about who murdered a mafia-type leader and a policewoman to whom he was close to. He thinks Tang Yi knows more as to who shot him at the same time and who murdered the other two.
Tang Yi has now inherited the organization from the murder of the organization’s leader. He is trying to legitimize his organization but there are circumstances that bring him back into clandestine activities. Shao Fei is fierce in his determination to know the truth and in the process of this investigation, these two continuously interact. Underling these interactions is a sexual tension between the two that does not surface right away but eventually does.
There is also a secondary relationship between one of Shao Fei’s co-workers, named Chao Li-an (Ting Xuan Chen) and a guard for Tang Yi named Jake (Ching Hua Bian). Enough cannot be said for the connection these two have and the obvious chemistry that exists between these two. While not the main characters, there relationship develops so intensely and in such an organic way that it is hard not to root for these two. Besides being charming, funny, and quirky, they are both so handsome it is hard not to take your eyes off them.
This series is worth watching simply to be entertained by these two dogged characters. They are a beautiful couple. But there is so much more to this series, however. The series starts out very much as a ‘cops and robbers’ scenario but turns way more intense and personal as Tang Yi and Shao Fei spend more time together. Perhaps at first, it is a respect for each other and to a degree an admiration that they have for one another. But slowly, a connection is realized and the trail to deeper feelings begins and strengthens. There is such a love and commitment that both Tang Yi and Shao Fei are willing to and indeed do risk their lives for the other. Their love story is secondary to the development of them forming a bond based on honesty, trust, and basically doing the right thing. It is essentially established on higher ideals and goals not just for life but for their love. It is truly an engaging story.
There are so many intriguing twists and turns to this series that you feel like you are riding a roller coaster without being able to see where the dips and turns will be. There are stunningly moving moments that left me quite literally in tears especially when Tang Yi visits his real mother’s gravesite and sees his real father. The emotional impact of their dialogue left me in tears so much so that I had to stop watching for awhile. I felt his pain. I could more deeply understand why Tang Yi always had this anguished look on his face and his demeanor was always so serious and pained. As they talk, his father laments if he had only chosen a different path. But Tang Yi says, “The ‘probably’ that couldn’t have happened, perhaps now is no longer important”. At the end, he hugs his son and tells him through tears to not repeat his mistakes. So tender, emotional, real, and genuine. The screenplay in this series is simply superb and knows how to tug at emotions without being maudlin about it. It really is brilliant.
You cannot help but to fall in love with Shao Yi. He is so dedicated to what he is doing that you have no choice but to admire him and envy his total commitment to his job and later to Tang Yi. He makes no excuses for his love for him. Does not second guess it or feels shame or discomfort in doing so. He is the most secure person in any BL series I have ever seen. He literally makes having a ‘gay’ relationship really seem normal. There is something about him that makes him so attractive it is hard to not want him to succeed. He knows the flaws of Tang Yi and accepts them. He knows of Tang Yi’s insecurities and accepts them. He knows of Tang Yi’s anger and revenge tendencies and accepts them. He stands resolute in who he is and what he stands for so much so that Tang Yi is forced by Shao Yi’s sheer will power to change for the better. Shao Yi lives up to and follows almost instinctually the code of morality to do the right thing.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? Jake has an incredibly boyish charm that is so infectious it touches everyone including the audience. He reeks dedication and a moral compass so strongly. He elevated this role with such gusto and a commitment that never wavered. Even in love. Kudos for an awesome performance.
This is a great story, solidly written and beautifully acted. All the supporting roles are so good and add both to the flow of this series and to its content of making it more of a human story that a love story. It is filled with emotions, painful past memories, and a plethora of unsavory aspects of what makes us human. The beauty of it was that it did not define them, merely explained them. The intimacies (kissing) were beautiful and real. The actors portraying Chao Li-an and Jake definitely had chemistry which made their scenes together extraordinarily believable.
Unquestionably, Jake and Chris as Chao Fei and Tang Yi got into their roles whole-heartedly and are very good, but I just did not see an intense spark or chemistry between them that made me feel that their relationship was real. It looked just a bit to contrived to me. But this is not meant to take away anything from this series or their acting skills. It is just my way of gauging how I feel about a particular couple. I just did not completely buy into their relationship.
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