BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” – Romeo & Juliet, Shakespeare
I absolutely loved this short BL series. It was charming, sweet, enduring and a surprisingly good message and story. It is a simple story of individuals falling in love, unrequited love, and jealousy. It is told clearly and effectively with great dialogue. Bao (Harry Du), is an incoming freshman who along with his friend, Huan (Ngoc Thach) join the drama club to earn points for university activities. The university production is going to be Romeo and Juliet. Bao gets the role of Romeo. To make this a success, the club president, Khanh (Kaycey), solicits the help of a former club member who played the role of Romeo before. Nguyen (Gia Huy), is a tortured soul who feels guilty about an incident that happened to another player years ago.
While he reluctantly joins the production, he becomes attracted to Bao. Bao is this boyish looking guy who knows more than his innocent looking face displays. He is sweet, caring, thoughtful, and just plain nice. He is a good loyal friend and displays a charming personality. Honestly, he would be hard not to like in real life. Nguyen, on the other hand, is pensive, withdrawn, serious, and not a particularly happy person. There is a slow steady drip of feelings that develop between Nguyen and Bao, with Bao taking longer perhaps to realize it. (There is such a cute scene when Bao suddenly listens to Nguyen’s heart to see if he is lying that is so incredibly endearing).
There is also a side love story between Khanh and her boyfriend Hy (Quoc Lam). These two are adorable together and there is such a sincerity in their acting that make their relationship so cute. Khanh is the love of Hy’s live and he portrays that so beautifully in his dorky, boyish, innocent ways. You simply cannot help but to love all these characters. The only real sinister character here is Duc (Isan).
I shall not spoil the story as to what makes him so deliciously evil, but it does have something to do with an unrequited love. There are two supplemental episodes to this series that you should watch. It fills in the missing gaps in the story. One in particular is a story of unrequited love between Bao and his friend Huan. It is so stunning and so beautifully done that I am so sorry it was not a separate included episode. It is that good. For me, there is nothing more romantic and deeply sad than an unrequited love. (Most of us have been there and got through it which makes it so relatable). The part of Huan is played so stunningly beautiful and hauntingly realistic, I felt deeply for this character. It was a beautifully told story that should have been part of the main series as it is very important to the overall flow of this series. I really do wish they had made this another episode.
I thought the screenplay was very, very good. There are some great lines of dialogue here such as when Nguyen says to Bao, “Who excuses themselves, accuses themselves”. That is a great line and so true. When Nguyen confesses his love of Bao to his friend, Hy, he says to him, “With these feeling [of love], I feel like I’m walking on sand. I tried to step lightly, but every footstep I left, it’s still very deep”. What a great metaphor. This is some very good writing, and it is extremely well delivered.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? The part for me that is most intriguing is Isan as Duc. While sinister, he initially does not appear to be so, but his intensions are dastardly. When he finally carries out his plan, he changes much like a Jekyll and Hyde. Isan’s facial features are phenomenal at the same time scary. Yet, he portrays the character with a certain sense of sadness that is both believable and plausible. He is a very sorrowful person and is projected in that light. Kudos.
All these actors are so adorable. Cute, handsome, beautiful, and convincing. This is just good entertainment and so much fun to watch. It is not deep, although I do think some of these actors could have gotten deeper into their characters. However, the role of Huan does go deeper than the other ones. The main actors are just so charming and are believable. They do have a nice kissing scene at the end that is sincere, and I did believe it. (After watching some interviews, apparently, this was Harry’s (Bao) first screen kiss with a guy).
I simply liked this series for its total enjoyment. It does have some sound inconsistencies, however. Sometimes, the actors sounded faint. This series is short, so it is easy to watch but do not skip the two supplemental episodes. That adds to the story and you enhances the story of Huan.
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