BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“Infinity is forever, and that is what you are to me, you are my forever.” – Sandi Lynn
This series is simply dazzling and a pure work of imagination. It is breathtakingly beautiful and a stunning piece or artistry. It comes close to being a visual masterpiece of combining old with the new. While the story is not necessarily new, its implementation and execution were almost flawless.
It is a story that goes back to Imperial times in Vietnam and is a story between An Ky (Adam Lam) and his life-long friend Dong Bang (Troung Minh Thao) whose beauty is breathtaking. There is the usual palace intrigue and jockeying as to power and who gets the princess. In this realm, there are individuals who possess certain magical accoutrements that can transport individuals into the future. An Ky is trying to woo the princess from his life-long friend Dong Bang and because he is more powerful and influential, is able to win her. But he pays a price.
He is transported into the future (present day) and meets up with Dong Bang who is now called Henry. Henry has no recollection of his former life, but An Ky retains bits and pieces of it and retains his skills from the past. He ingratiates himself into the theater group that Henry is a part of where he finds that the same intriguing characters from the past are the same in this future time. From the beginning, there is an unspoken and unrequited attraction between An Ky and Dong Bang, even when they were children.
They made pledges that they would forever be inseparable and would never have secrets from each other. But there is really one ‘secret’ that goes unexpressed and that is the underlying attraction that they have for each other. Dong Bang is more unrequited in his feelings while An Ky’s feelings are just under the surface. They are there and are recognizable by others. An Ky is transported to the future and is trying to cope with this complex world and is helped by Henry, who is more open about who he is and how he feels about An Ky, but still not to the point of doing anything direct about it. Yet, again, An Ky is transported back and through some brilliant dialogue of the other characters has come to the realization that he is deeply in love with Henry (Dong Bang).
While his connections to Dong Bong were limited, they were felt and his chemistry with Henry was palpable. When he comes to the realization that it is Dong Bang (Henry) that he is meant to be with, it is too late, and you can feel his pain and anguish.
The centerpiece of this series is — unfinished love. At the end, An Ky says to himself that as one gains maturity, one must love to know who to treasure, and one must love to know how it hurts. Who he loved – vanished.
And it deeply and profoundly hurts.
I have significantly simplified this story in accordance with what my understanding of it is. The translation into English is a bit confusing and it is translated quite literally and so at times you must put the pieces together. But honestly, none of that matter. This series is funny, poignant, filled with incredible talent, silly at times, and is a love story without being overt about it. When the series is in the Imperial times, it is pure genius, and its artistry is superb. The costumes, the settings, the ambience were breathtaking and beautifully done with an explosion of colorful costumes. When it moved into the current time, it still retained its charm, and I could sense that the characters were not ‘new’ but really extensions of their Imperial selves.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? There is only one individual for this distinction. Frankly, there are not enough accolades for Adam Lam. He plays An Ky with gusto, charm, wit, passion, and commitment. He is an amazing dancer, and an excellent singer. He also displayed Judo moves that seem spot on to me. Funny, charming, and has a boy next door look, he would charm anyone. There is such an inner beauty to him that makes him so attractive. (I was totally smitten). He portrays his character with such an intense commitment that at times I felt his characterization simply come out of the screen and grab me. I felt there with him and could literally feel what he was feeling. It all look so easy and natural. No matter who he was trying to woo, you could feel his connection with all of them. He had such chemistry with all the other characters which is rare indeed.
I simply could not get enough of this series and the character of An Ky. Adam Lam made this character come to life and while he is not without flaws, you felt for him, and you knew that underneath he really did love Dong Bang. I did not want this series to end and did not want it to stop.
There are some, however, silly moments in this series that could have been eliminated. The over-the-top scenes with what I think was the producer of the theater was just a bit too much. The story was sometimes hard to follow because of the translations. I am sure this series has way more meaning and impact with the audience in its native tongue but sometimes it just did not translate into English very well. So, a lot of the time, I simply ended up watching it and adding my own dialogue with a few words from the translation. This story is beautifully told, beautifully visualized, and beautifully captured. It had great chorography and made the transitions from Imperial times to modern times seems almost flawless.
After the six episodes, there are 11 more short snippets and musical videos from Adam. Some deal with the makings of this series. I found myself simple adrift and was mesmerized by all of it. The musical videos are so beautiful especially “The Hurt Drink” by Adam Lam, which is really a manga. (He really is an excellent singer
There is just something about Vietnamese BL series that simply captures my soul and I love them. They tell story with such reality and intensity that for me they are so believable. This barely qualifies as a BL series as it really is about unrequited and unfinished love between two men. But it is so stunningly told and a pure joy to watch. I simply got lost in the fantasy of the Imperial world with all its trappings.
Please seek this out as it is a true gem, even with all the translation issues. There is something about Vietnamese BL series that just captures my soul and this one is no exception.
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