BLISS Rating: ★★★★
“Love is having someone willing to risk everything for you, even their life, just to save you from danger.” – Quote from Sammy’s Children’s Day
Unquestionably this story grabs you from the beginning. Hooks you in with its intrigue. Begins to drift in the middle in a meandering tropey and cliché fashion and then by the end, pretty much loses you. Regrettably, the ending is a disappointment and is a set-up for another season. That is all well and good, if there is one. I would have liked a bit more meat on the bone for this series, however. Nonetheless, it is entertaining because of the strong presence of the main protagonists. Even though they are tropey, they kicked their acting up a notch to make their characters so enticing to watch.
The premise is surprisingly intriguing. It takes place in the Walled City of Kowloon in Hong Kong where crime and police corruption are rampant. Set in the 80’s, life was difficult and He Chu San (He Change Xi) was the first in that area to get accepted into a university to study and to try and make something of himself to escape that area. To say that life is difficult within the walled city would be an understatement, as it is controlled and run by a Triad.
Having inadvertently stepped too close to their territorial dealings one day, He Chu San is rescued by the triad deputy leader named Xia Liuyi (He Yan Zhao). Although terrified, there is something so alluring about Xia Liuyi. Was it his physical looks or his hypotonic eyes? Or was it just his ‘bad-boy’ image? Not ever wanting to be connected or associated with the triad as they were instrumental in his parents’ death, he is still intrigued. However, as with anything with a mafia-type organization, there is no such thing as free help. He Chu San is ‘persuaded’ into what at first appears to be an innocuous project of writing a script for a movie for Xia Liuyi.
Of course, nothing is ever that simple and as their connections become more frequent, so do their feelings for one another. Both remain unrequited about how they feel for each other, yet it is becoming obvious to everyone around them. They are always together and can never seem to be apart. Xia Liui tries hard not to succumb to the growing connection between the two while He Chu San also cannot seem to escape him or his influence. As his involvement with Xia Liui grows deeper, so does his entrenchment into the working of the triad. Yet He Chu San cannot help himself. He is increasingly falling deeper in love with Xia Liuyi.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? Hot on the trail of the Triads is a pair of police detectives that literally are as fascinating as the main couple, if not more so sometimes. They are raw and gritty, and their initial meeting is certainly lustfully nefarious. Detective Xia Jia Hua (Mathew Han) and Officer Lu Gueng Ming (Zhang Ming Bo) have this biting cat-and-mouse game that they play to take down the ‘bad guys’ with each operating on different routes to get to the same destination. One is on the straight-and-narrow path while the other one will take whatever steps he needs to take to get to the truth. Their quasi-relationship is filled with both professional and sexual tension and honestly has some of the best dialogue in a BL I have heard in a long time. It is sharp, witty, and crisp and both delivery their lines not just with the right amount of tension but with the underly amount of emotions that go with the tensions they are presenting. One is going after the truth with ruthlessness while the other is operating under tremendous guilt because he knows there is more to what is happening that he cannot get to by the using only the straight-and-narrow approach he is using.
This series honestly had a lot going for it. It uniquely presented itself well, initially. Then it drifted into a story that began to unravel. Some of the side characters that were the ‘bad’ guys and also part of the Triad became caricatures. Some of the fight scenes were laughable and certainly could not be believed. A lot of it was unrealistic and looked it.
The story about the children’s day does pull at your heartstrings. And the series does show in pretty good detail the complex layers of who Xia Liuya is. As in any case, no one is ever completely evil, with He Chu San being able to significantly influence him. Although we do not really get to see the intensity of their romantic connections until the end and then it is only briefly. But it is strong and powerful. This series draws viewers in with its gradual, engaging slow-burn development. So much of it is subtle yet each time they are forced to be together, we can sense a deeper link between them, and they begin to see the other one in a whole new way. As not being able to live without him. We can see that throughout. So, when there is a perceived or actual danger with the other, the focus with the other one is fully and completely on saving him. We see that even early in the development of their bond.
To be sure, this is an entertaining series throughout. I dislike the use of humor in graphic or violent series as I think it diminishes the message and cheapens the presentation. Some things just do not lend themselves to humor. On occasion perhaps but this series relied too heavy on it, which reduces the seriousness of its message. Ugly messages need to be presented – ugly. Do not try to minimize that reality with cheap humor.
Otherwise, this is a solid, well-acted, brutal series that could have been a bit more realistic in its approach but still be tasteful. I am hoping for a second season or perhaps even a spin-off of Xia Jia Hua and Lu Gueng Ming with their own series. These two are a deliciously handsome couple and exude a professional and sexual tension between the two of them that is off the charts entertainingly good.
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