BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“Who are you truly bound to by the Red String of Fate? The one you can’t let go of…” – Quote from The Promise Of The Soul
Being a Westerner, I am completely drawn to the metaphysical construct of soul-transference prevalent in Eastern cultures. Especially if you throw in the mythology of the Red String of Fate. There is something so mesmerizing about the concept of two souls being bound forever via an invisible red string. The intensity of that symbolism is mystical for those of us from the West and I am compelled by its underlying intensity.
Evocatively, I can think of no more intimate way to attach to someone you love, truly love, than by tying a red string around their wrist along with yours. Not only is that figurative, but it is also so romantic and shows a deep sense of commitment to a relationship. This series had all of that. Perhaps not in an intense way, and seemingly more peripheral than serious, but nonetheless, it remained its central theme.
The story is filled with strong characters, several of whom are not likeable in the sense of amiability. In an ironic twist, the two ‘main’ protagonists are initially unpleasant individuals. Ye Hai Yuan (Kenji Fan) goes home to visit his family. While Hai Yuan is a hard-working young man who keeps to himself, he is short-tempered and easily angered. To some degree, he is aloof and difficult to get along with, and laconic. His classmate Xia Ze Fang (Martin Wong) followed him back since they were neighbors. Xia Ze Fang seems lonely and very much in need of attention and obviously has very few filters. He harbors a liking for Hai Yuan.
However, Hai Yuan tersely and angrily rejects Xia Ze Fang after he breaks into Hai Yuan’s bedroom. This result causes Xia Ze Fang to have a melt down with his grandfather, whom he supposedly came back to visit. Their argument escalates on the edge of the steps to their living quarters, and both accidentally tumble, tragically killing the pair simultaneously. However, as fate would have it, Grandpa’s soul does not move on, and he inhabits the body of Xia Ze Fang.
When Hai Yuan sees Xia Ze Fang ‘alive’ after thinking he was dead, he is obviously shocked but is doubly shocked when Xia Ze Fang explains that he is not him but Xia Chia, the grandfather. Somehow his soul is in his grandson’s body. He must now pretend to be his grandson. And he needs the help of Hai Yuan to navigate this new world for him, as he is an ‘old man’ living in the body of a young man. While he wants to transfer the body back to his grandson, he is not sure how. From now on, he wants to be known as Xia Chia.
This story is a fluid and dynamic one, not just between Xia Chia and Hai Yuan but also with the individuals around them at school. Xia Ze Fang was not liked; but Xia Chia is. Because Xia Chia sees and acts through the wisdom of a 69-year-old man, he gives a new perspective to living in a 20 something year old body. The dynamics and intricacies are fascinating and are interwoven to make the story entertaining and intriguing. Slowly, Hai Yuan falls in love with Xia Chia. This whole concept is so novel; a young man quite literally falls in love with a personality of an older man via a body of a younger man. Perhaps it is the elevated maturity within Xia Chia and his new sense of levelheadedness. He falls in love with who the whole package of what Xia Chia now has become. He quickly sees and feels that distinction between the old and new.
Normally, jealousy of a third wheel would be an irritating side to a story but in this case, it added so much to the philosophical nature and metaphysical aspect of this story. It did seem superficially that Xia Bao (Nelson Ji) was just jealous of the budding relationship between Xia Chia and Hia Yuan. While he and Xia Ze Fang had a relationship, it was hardly one of bliss and was rocky at best and perhaps based on only meeting physical needs. Or at least, it appeared to be that way as it was so ill defined for others. And Xia Bao created some unsavory situations for the now new budding relationship between Hai Yuan and Xia Chia. When he saw that ‘Xia Ze Fang’ and Hai Yuan getting closer, he tried to break them up, sometimes forcibly. But it seems that there was much more to what Xia Bao was feeling than mere jealousy. It turned out to be that he was deeply in love with Xia Ze Fang all along but because of the superficiality of their existing relationship, he never had a chance to fully convey to him how much and how deep he was in love with him.
When Xia Chia finally explains to him who he really is, and it manifestly dawns on Xia Bao the magnitude of the difference between what happened and who Xia Chia really is, he becomes remorseful and repentant, genuinely. And he grieved at his loss. Tragically, he was never able to express or show or display his love to Xia Ze Fang. A regret he must live with for the rest of his life.
Who really S.T.O.L.E.this series? There is no doubt about the impact that Nelson Ji as Xia Bao has on this story. Initially, seemingly to be a negative character, he was motivated by jealousy that was not necessarily blinded by rage to get even but by genuine love. Then when he realized the full story, his level of regret was one of remorse and contrition and penance. His character was treated with the dignity and respect that a jilted love should have. His pain was real and honest. Nelson did a great job of showing us that pain on an emotionally gut-level. For essentially being a throw-away role, he elevated it to one of class, giving Xia Bao redemption and a path to recovery and forgiveness. After all, he did lose the love of his life and has to be reminded of it every day he sees Xia Chia. The other one who is a strong contender is Martin Wong as Xia Chia/Xia Ze Fang. Honestly, one cannot keep one’s eyes off him. There is just something so hypnotic about his performance. I categorically believed that he was ‘grandpa’ living in that body. His mannerisms, his tone of voice, the way he spoke, literally everything about him, displayed someone who was older and wiser than in his 20s. Plus his insecurities about wanting and being with Hai Yuan were honest and sincere and genuine. One could completely understand why Hai Yuan would fall in love with Xia Chia. He had the maturity of living and the body of a 20-year-old. He was indeed a new Xia Ze Fang. His physical appearance is honestly so bewitching as well. One would notice him the minute he would walk through the door.
There is a side couple also, but I frankly could not get into their story at all. For me it was so juvenile, banal, and shockingly prepubescent. I did not buy it for a second and felt it was completely unnecessary and childish. It added nothing to the direction of the story. However, where a rather adult serious same couple relationship did work was with the couple who owned the bar where Hai Yuan worked. These two added and enhanced the story in subtle and comforting ways. Just enough to make all the rest of the couples comfortable with who they were. Haru (Kelly Liao and Hana (Okubo Mariko) as a Lesbian couple were unafraid to show their affection for one another in a warm, loving fashion that was just the perfect touch for this series.
The overall production and screenplay of this series for the most part was pretty good. I am not sure I fully understood the explanation of the red string being tied to both Hai Yuan and Xia Bao. In addition, I became a bit disoriented with the final transference of the souls; I was frankly not sure what happened. While it did seem that the protagonists were comfortable in kissing, the actual love making scenes were limited and terse. Admittedly, both had fantastic bodies with Martin Wong’s body almost taking me aback with its beauty as I simply was not expecting that. He is breathtakingly handsome. I do wish there were more scenes showing them together since the screen chemistry between the two, while agreeable, was not as intense as I had hoped it would be. The anger management issue for Hai Yuan is a serious concern, and I am not sure that whole thing was handled effectively. His wall of anger remains evident even through the end of this series.
Although I know nothing about soul swapping or red strings of fate, I am strangely drawn to these concepts. I bought the premise of the story and fully embraced it for its sincerity and commitment. It felt real, perhaps because of the fantastic acting by Martin Wong as Xia Chia/Xia Ze Fang. His laid-back approach and smooth transitions gave the 20-year-old-grandpa a sense of warmth, sincerity, and depth with just enough of a feeling of uncomfortableness to make it feel so credible throughout.
In terms of sheer entertainment, this is one of the more entertaining BLs I have seen in a while and one of the best to come out of Taiwan in a long time.
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