Overall, it's an okay drama. Did not give it a ten because it's too short. Hoping they get a second season.
If you like aggressive male lead, you will like this.
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There's a part in me that appreciates wickedness, so I don't necessarily fault the show for its ugly illicitness, but they try to sell it as romantic and that is wrong. There are repeated sexual assaults culminating in a scene where the perpetrator eventually tells his victim that he would kill him if he didn't return his feelings. This turns into a consensual love scene.It's called Obsessed, fine. I feel like it may have worked had they both been so equally possessive and twisted, but they weren't and the result is a power imbalance and the dynamic is ultimately abusive. The narrative sells the abuser's actions as all in the name of love. There's no self-awareness.
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I'm a little ashamed I watched this one because it was quite appalling in its depiction of sexual assault and emotional manipulation between the two leads. Definitely a toxic relationship. This one was meant to pull on our heartstrings with that horrible breakup at the beginning. But all it ends up accomplishing is horror-stricken shock throughout its run. Would have been a better drama if the lead who was killed at the beginning successfully left his abusive lover at the end and it was shown how his life was better for it. Instead we were relegated to disquieting scenes of obsession and assault, non of which show real love. Ultimately, this drama had potential that was then torpedoed.
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Save yourself some time and skip over this drama it is not worth it.
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Seriously, if they talked out their problems honestly to each other, Shao Yi Chen won't need to go ten years back in his life. Ugh, but that would mean no hot kisses. NOOO! Hahahahaha!
At first, one could see loopholes dropped after every scene, "why's" just add up, and there were no signs for answers at all.
Then, one gets puzzled as to how exactly did Jin Teng end up breaking Yi Chen's heart? But one can have so many speculations that anything would just add more loopholes to that towering pile of loopholes.
Finally, in the most cringe-worthy dialogue delivered by that not-so-wretched-witch pops the single most justifiable reason to this Chinese-style dilemma.
So, loopholes are slowly patched up, "why's" are replaced with "that's why's". Then, one gets treated with the hottest, most enticing eye candy in BL history (so far); tricking the viewer's mind into thinking that this is the best installment among the three because of this particular scene when in fact the real reason is overshadowed, hidden in the open and unnoticed--every bit of honesty and good communication. Tadaaaaa!
Hahaha, sorry, I know that's confusing but it was just so hard for me to make a review on this story without spoiling anything. "Only in ambiguity did one think one can truly express the beauty of this piece of art." LOL!
Oh, and in case you're wondering why I gave 7.5 to the story when I'm gushing about its beauty, it's because the entity of the story itself is very simple (plus, I watched that BL movie "Rebirth" before this so the premise came off a bit mundane). The dialogues and the ACTORS did it for me (with emphasis to the word actors because that witch made me cringe, ugh!)
Kudos to the main actors, their chemistry was really good... no, better... okay, best. If I weren't so biased, I'd say theirs is better than Timmy and Johnny's. But, I have a loyal heart. So, they tied with Singto and Krist at second place. Oh, the acting... both were good, but if I were to choose the better one, I'd say it's Sen Bernard.
The story predominantly follows Shao Yi Cheng's POV, that said, it is easier to catch up with his emotional growth, and Ren You Cheng delivered the progress fairly. On the other hand, Jiang Jin Teng's character had two entirely different characteristics and it's hard to connect how one admirably quiet and mysterious hottie showed on the flashbacks be the same person as the obsessed hottie that can't seem to live without You Cheng. Sen Bernard did not only deliver the dialogue as written on the script, he also revealed that descriptive paragraph that holds the writer's view on destiny and true love. They were very subtle, and those almost unnoticed micro expressions just means so much.
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I've watched all the History parts, and this one really sticks out as terrible. While the very first entry dealt with a girl in a boy's body trope, this one wanted to do some time travel. The plot twists weren't surprising. What was surprising was the 180 degree change in one of the protagonists' behavior. I know a lot of BL series (even some of our favorites like Addicted) feature rape, sexual assault and non-con. But this episode glorifies it, embraces it as its title of "Obsession" and doesn't feature any character growth or realization of bad behavior. As an example, I watched this on Viki. Most of the comments were along the lines of "it's not rape if there's no penetration." If that's what you choose to focus on--how to get the accused off on a technicality rather than the harm done to the victim--then I'm afraid this episode is imparting the wrong message.The acting was good, but not enough to make me want to rewatch this regrettable entry. I think one of the things I like about History 1/2/3 is how they take different approaches to each story and format. It's just that in this case, the risk did not pay off, at all.
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overrated
"obsessed" of which everyone sang the praises while talking about the HIStory series disapointed my to a high point. Jiang Jin Teng is really dishonest and doesn't accept the simple word "no", he forces Shao Yi Chen to kiss him and tries to rape him, the only positive point is the story's originality and yet, some aspects are just unrealistic like when Shao Yi Chen learns Jiang Jin Teng's parents are neglecting him because of someone else when they were supposed to have stayed together for 9 years! Or the fake engagement thing tat we only discover to the end while Cai Yi Jun clearly smirked from an evil manner when he announced the news to Shao Yi Chen, she even tried to hold back Jiang Jin Teng when he goes after him. Moreover the simple fact he hasn't told him it was his plan for his parents not to be suspicious about their relation is stupide because he had no reason not to tell him!Briefly, the story has not so much logic and the fact the sexual abuse's scenes where shown as romantic made me extremely uncomfortable.
Don't listen to people telling this is one of the best HIStory because that's clearly not true.
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I'm going to hell for this
Okay HEAR ME OUT. I am fully aware of how fucked up and how toxic the relationship in this episode was, but I kind of don’t care? I am very proud of how vocal I’ve been in the past about toxic relationships. It’s not cool in real life and it’s not cute on camera either. But something about this drama is just???? Never in my life had I watched a BL before today, and I did not expect it to be so steamy and so damn entertaining to watch. This type of relationship dynamic would be absolutely destructive and so so so problematic in real life. I mean, I’d imagine the male lead would have easily gone to the police and reported him for sexual assault had we not been in dramaland. Just this once, I was willing to completely disregard all the things that are absolutely horrific about this relationship and enjoy the drama for the wicked and sinful 70 minutes of BL goodness that it is. Kudos to the actors. Genuinely!Was this review helpful to you?
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Confused
It's been a PHAT minute since I've last seen this, so forgive me if my response is pretty small, but I really don't remember much. I remember being highly confused and lost in the entire story, The one thing I did remember is the rape that occurred. Once again with romanticizing rape and sexual assault. Did not enjoy the part of him literally getting forced into a tent (a wide-open tent at that). The acting wasn’t the best, which is why it’s at a 6, but it's probably the best one out of all the first Histories. It's the only one with a story and the only one that drew me in until the awful occurrence of rape and sexual assult.I don't recommend this series, nor do I really recommend any of the first three history series.
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Acting/Cast: I have no problems with the acting and the cast. In fact these two might be the best pair out of the entire HIStory series compilation. I have a feeling it also has to do with the story which they acted out. It definitely felt a lot smoother watching these two actors than the other two pairs.
Music: n/a
Rewatch value: There were enough kiss scenes and a lot of "here's my love!" sort of feelings throughout the series, so for me I gave it a higher re-watch value than usual. I'm usually not one to like re-watching many series.
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I am also obsessed by it.
Yes, it is not a favourite for many of you, but I loved it for some reason. It deserved to be longer, and made into a proper drama. With only 4 episodes, every stories were cut short. But the story was there, and the obsession was very much out there. Of course many things could have been better, but it's one of the first HIStory. The have done better since 2017 (6 years ago already), and Taiwan is the first, and still only Asian country with gay marriage in 2019. So, to me, it is a drama that help change the country. After this, HIStory made more sophisticated dramas, and this year the new drama HIStory5: Love in the Future with 20 episodes, is already a hit. But it wouldn't have happened without this drama.After this drama, those two actors haven't done much.
Just a quick thing to watch out. In the opening scene, look at the blanket, and watch the blanket in the last episode when the are in bed and have nightmare. Did he go back in time or did he dream it all???
Insta: bernardsenjun and teddy_jen
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Toxic But Engaging As A Fantasy.
General spoilers only. Extreme obsession. In reality, hugely toxic relationship dynamics. As a fantasy, it was engaging and surprisingly emotional. This was very much a story of "the mind says no but the heart and body say yes". The fact that the obsession was kind of mutual, the character that I liked (Shao Yi Chen) got what he wanted, and the ending was sweet, helped mollify my unease with the way this fantasy was told.This was superior in every aspect of production to the first two parts of History1. The screenwriter (and director) is different for this one and it shows.
The acting was great and tugged at my heartstrings a lot more than I expected. The story grabbed my attention and held it, and the acting of the lead quickly got me invested in him. The music fit perfectly and enhanced emotions and tension. I did not fast-forward through anything.
The two leads were very comfortable with each other and their physical and intimate interactions were very intense. If you like the fantasy of forced-seduction, their scenes deliver spectacularly!
I'll likely watch again at some point, but it will probably be a while.
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