BLISS RATING: ★+
“Arrogance and jealousy often feed one another, creating a toxic cycle that transforms affection into a power struggle.” – http://www.solidaryroad.com
This is yet another one of those enticing BI series that initially pulls you in but then does nothing, and I do mean nothing, with the story. It drones on and on around the same topic. Toxicity. Yet, has the audacity to sugar-coat it with tear-jerking moments pretending to be examples of arcs to love.
Qiu Yu Zhai (Jasper Zhu) is supposedly this great tennis player but acts more like a petulant, spoiled, overindulgent child. His arrogance and self-importance are only matched by his irritability. He is frankly never happy. Of course, there are a zillion excuses, as we learn, for his negative behaviors. However, none of them are reasons for his sordid and despicable responses towards others; only rationales. The latest sports rehab therapist that is hired, Youen Li (Jeremy Luo), seems competent and is giving Qiu Yu excellent therapy and happens to be very good-looking. However, since he desperately needs this job, Youen Li signs a regressive and suppressive contract with QiuYu. He essentially becomes his muse and indentured servant. Youen must do so because he has extensive medical bills for his sickly brother, Yousi Li (Zijin Zhang).
Shockingly, Qiu Yu has a friend who is an enigmatic artist named Song Zhou (Chuan Ji). To say that their connection is strange would be to put it mildly. Perhaps once lovers? He provides him with his only moral compass to function normally within the standards of society. Song Zhou does try to abate his negative tendencies and get Qiu Yu to understand that his aggressive and assertive reactions are having the exact opposite of what he actually wants.
While it does not seem like a strong match initially, Song Zhou becomes quickly enamored or at least taken in by the wiles of the tennis team’s photographer, Hao Gu (You Zuo). The extent of their unexpected relationship is oddly perplexing. Initially seemingly only for casual pleasure, it did become much more serious as their affinity progressed.
To be sure, both are exceptionally handsome archetypes of male beauty, but their entire relationship remained, at least for me, somewhat superficial in intensity. They seemed mismatched, yet the relationship still appeared to serve them both. And each is obviously pleased with being together. While the union did seem to be working towards a common goal of sharing their lives together, the actual intensity of it never felt to be on a parity. It all appeared so perfunctory, and I never felt as if their connection was all that strong or one for the ages. Nonetheless, they are both happy in their relationship, and for the moment, they are making it work effectively.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? Youen has an exceptionally close relationship with his brother Yousi. Being sickly and requiring considerable hospitalizations, Yousi knows he is a burden to his brother. Zijin Zhang plays the persona of Yousi with such intensity that of all the characters, he could be thought of as perhaps annoying or even irritating. Yet, I found him to be so astonishingly refreshing. Having the time to think and reflect, he uses his time wisely and puts his finger on and calls out insincerity and phoniness when he sees it. He is fiercely protective of his brother and rightly so, as his brother is naïve and trapped. Even though he is younger, he sees and can process the ‘bigger picture’ much better than his older brother. I never found Yousi to be trying; in fact, I found Zijin Zhang to project one of the most genuine, sincere, brutally honest, and upfront character portrayals in a long time. His brother looked after him and it was his job now that he had become medically better to make sure he would protect his brother in return. Yet he was not so blind that he did not realize that his brother was in love with QiuYu and despite his utter failures at showing it, he also knew that QiuYu was in love with his brother. Despite his misgivings and his legitimate mistrust of QiuYu, he would try and make sure that they would be happy together. However, he would make sure that QiuYu was sincere and completely committed to his brother. For that, Zijin Zhang richly deserves all the praise for simply stealing this series away from everyone. He is the kind of brother I would want to have in my corner. He had his brother’s back and was fiercely loyal to him and meant it.
We do get to witness Qiu Yu snivel and grovel at the end when he realizes his errors and mistakes, mostly pointed out by Yousi and Song Zhou. He realized his arrogance, his dismissiveness, and his distrust cost him. He took advantage of Youen’s kindness as well as his weaknesses and exploited him. Badly and poorly. Sure, Youen did like him blindly, and paid a heavy price for doing so. In essence, if it were not primarily from the support from his brother, he would have paid an even heaver price.
This series presents well as there is an arc to redemption. However, as is usual, the abuser tries his best to become the victim and the victim in essence becomes more like an abuser. These kinds of dichotomies must end. Abuse, bullying, and exploitation should have no value as being dominant in BLs. Yet here they are – living and thriving. Prettying them up and trying to make it acceptable and even throwing in heaps of absolution into the mix. It does not, however, even begin to diminish the pain that the real victim had to go through. The humiliation of being thought of as a slave, a sexual tool at someone’s beckoning call to be used as he wishes. Abused, bullied, exploited. And then discarded without any due process. With the impression that he deserves it – after all, he was disloyal to the king. These are bitter pills to swallow that unfortunately have no serious consequences for the perpetrator. No worries, however, everything usually works out at the end. The victim will always forgive his abuser because deep-down, he knows he ‘loves’ him. And how did he show that?
This is yet again another disappointing ‘BL’ that displays no serious love. This is becoming annoying and degrading to watch actors who simply do NOT want to kiss go through the execution of having to kiss. And only superficially doing so. Just stop it. If the characters are ‘making up’ and are in the midst of passionate kissing after ‘forgiving’ someone, no one kisses with sealed lips. Since when do two people passionately in love kiss with their lips tightly sewn shut?? It became brutally obvious that neither actor wanted to kiss, even felt like kissing, or was even going to kiss, and therefore their ‘character’ that each supposedly loved did not know how to kiss. And that is exactly what was filmed. Yet you wanted us to believe the two of you were in love. Your profession is called acting! So, ACT like you are in love and convince me that your characters are in love or do not act. Both couples in fact were utterly unconvincing. It just looked like a chore that the actors had to endure to get paid. There was no sense of intimacy at all nor could they even pretend at it. While, neither ‘couple’ showed genuine chemistry, I did think Chuan Ji as Song Zhou and You Zuo as Hao Gu were slightly better at presenting their connection and were just a little bit less stilted.
This is yet another Chinese BL that projects gayness as full of toxicity, abuse, a milquetoast lackey always in need of some type of rescuing, and of course a lineage of tremendous pain and discomfort in order to receive the ultimate gift that the abuser will see the light and love you back. Plus, gays are obviously lousy kissers.
Sigh. I am so done with feign BL love stories. Just stop. I am ever hopeful that this nonsense with abusive themes will be retired soon as a plot fixture for BLs. This is getting old, worn-out, and frankly, it is time for it to be called out for what it is. Concealed abuse.
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