BLISS RATING: ★★★★
“The forbiddenness of fruit makes even the taste of lemon sweet.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
Maybe it was due to an inadequate translation issue, but I honestly was not sure what to make of this series. Although it is very short, I found it quite confusing. Perhaps it was the translations, but I do think the editing was the main culprit. It was not clear which scenes were from the past and which were of the present.
However, the gist of the story is two friends from high school days have an unrequited love for each other – perhaps as one of them is way more focused on himself. Unrequited might be too strong of a word to use. Maybe an infatuation or a strong longing. I am not sure. Hugo (Owan Tam) is way more invested in a relationship than his counterpart. Hugo subsequently is very pensive and has suffered greatly from his previous infatuation with Hin (Pius Kung). After high school, they lose contact and by accident reconnect again with all the same unresolved feelings coming up again and, in some sense, even more pronounced because of time.
There is a lot of misunderstanding, misconceptions, and fear that captures these two. Hugo remains steadfast towards his love for Hin but again all of it is unrequited. Hin, in true egocentric fashion, is unwilling to make a commitment to Hugo even though there are strong hints that he also is in love with him. Yet his priority and number one desire is his singing career and that is his overriding goal. He simply wants to have Hugo there as his ‘brother’ and to be there for him when he needs him. Hugo, bewitched as ever, seems willing to accept this reality and all of the tortuous outcomes for the future with this one-sided commitment.
While confusing to me from a psychological point of view, I completely understand how the forbidden fruit that hangs so close for picking is seemingly still not reachable and even if it was, is it something you really want to bite into? This is a painful series to watch. Hugo is in complete denial. He does not see what is in front of him and unfortunately, he will learn the hard way that to wait for someone to catch up to your feelings is unrealistic, unattainable, and irrational. Meanwhile Hin, as self-centered and self-absorbed as ever, sees only himself in the world and cannot and dismissively will not see or realize the self-torture he is leaving behind in Hugo when he takes off. He knows it yet does not comprehend it. He is simply wanting him to wait for him, rather than letting him go. Sure, he may ‘love’ Hugo, but it is never at the level that Hugo loves him, and it is sad that Hin knows this and will not release Hugo from his bondage to him. And Hugo is not emotionally or even intellectually, strong enough or has the sufficiency to give Hin up. This is a deeply sad series that is full of melancholic people that seem powerless to see the reality all around them.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? This is hard to award. Owan consistently showed his continuous desire for Hin in his pensive and submissive way of coping in his own reality. His strong reactions to A’Yao (Bowie Guan), becoming drunk and getting belligerent with Hin should have been clear to anyone and everyone the depth of his feelings for Hin. Yet, Hin treats it so cavalierly. Simply another example of his inability to feel any kind of rectitude to his feelings for Hugo. Yes, Pius’s characterization of Hin is soul-wrenching. He outwardly has a veneer of caring. Yet, he hides behind the curtain of career first, so he does not have to bring it to a level of consciousness. Let us just be brothers. I get everything I want without any commitments. And Pius does this effectively. Just giving us enough to show that Hin superficially cares but making it seemingly feel more that what it really is This is a prime example of a sociopathic view of the world. These roles are very difficult because the internal structures of their emotions are not fully explored in this series, and we are forced to fill in the blanks here.
Perhaps I am reading too much into this rather short series and it may not be as complex as I think it is. But my life’s experiences tell me otherwise as I have seen this scenario with others play out over and over many times. I know how it will end. Perhaps this will be different, but my instincts tell me otherwise. While there are a lot of problems with this series, I am looking forward to future seasons because the actors have believability, gravitas, and sincerity. It seems obvious that they are all relatively new to acting and it is also a low-budget production. But their efforts to give the audience a real story was palpable. That is certainly applaudable and noteworthy.
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