The On1y One

Uhm excuse me Mr.Writer??

Allright, Lets not be too negative. I really really loved this drama, right up until half way the final episode when I realized there was only half an hour left and way too many open story lines.

And oh yes, as the minutes crept on, I got a pit in my stomach and tears in my eyes. ‘No way did they botch up this one’, is what I was thinking. This was going to be in my top 3 BL. But then came the ending.

For those who crave happy endings, don’t start on this drama. It was a 30 minutes long ‘wtf’ in my head and a wave of unbelieve.

The story was so good, the chemistry was there, I absolutely love the soundtrack.
But sorry guys, whoever wrote the ending needs counseling.

Unless a season 2 is in the making and you will redeem yourself, I will come back to edit my review and chastise myself for speaking too early :)

Please, season 2?

Read More

Spectacular series, awfully wrapped up... unless they are messing with us.

Please, someone helps me out here to understand what the fck of a finale I have just watched!

What the hell happened? I mean, is this the finale for real? 
Cos honestly, it doesn't make any sense: you, screenwriter/s, create a gay series just to end up suggesting that it's better to nip things in the bud and put distance in order to forget that you like your own genre friend?! OMG! 
This ending could be easily the most anti-LGBT thing I have ever seen in my whole life! 
Not even the Pope himself or Mohammed could think of such a strategy of reverse psychology, Wow! LOL
Basically, you spent 12 episodes in view of teaching how to give up the one you love and how to renounce and avoid temptations, trying to correct yourself like if it were a possible choice for a gay person?! Are you fking kiddin' me?! 
Except for the very end where you give us the ridiculous sop of "Pass the next exam"/"Okay" thing?! Whaaaaaaat?

So, now: I get it all wrong, right? RIGHT? Tell me I got it completely wrong, because unfortunately that is the message I received from the finale of the series and right now I am astonished! I cannot believe what I have just seen, I must be drunk or stoned without even knowing.

Though, if I got it wrong as I hope, then my production's friends, you really don't know how to create, write and film a season finale, and I am talking about the presentation and the form of the narrative development, not about the content of the plot. So again, the fault is yours. LOL
Because what the hell happened to the male teacher couple?!
We got a confession (as if it were ever needed, I mean, your mate has just kissed you on your mouth 2 days before and you, for real, ask him now if he does like the female teacher? How stupid and slow you must be! What did you need? Two meters of his tongue in your throat to get the message? I am shouting this to the screenwriter, of course).
And then nothing else?!  SERIOUSLY?!  It is just finished this way! How is that even possible?

What happened to the boys' parents? What about the Granpa?
And also... what is the use of failing the exam for splitting up if you are still in the same freaking room as him?! Didn't it occur to the writers to let the audience know that maybe Sheng Wang was about to go back home, for example?! You know, just for adding a little bit of logical sense to this foolish end!

We are not talking here about some sort of open ending, this is not, cos there is no end of any kind here! Not a chance.
This finale just cuts abruptly a storyline and it is not for debate: if you stop the story-telling at its peak, on its climax, you just kill the story itself, and you can't even call this a cliffhanger, cos generally in this industry you get a cliffhanger AFTER the main narrative arch is concluded, for introducing a new plot that is super interesting and breathtaking; or you can have nice cliffhangers between episodes, for instance. But that, again, is not the case here! 
So, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PRODUCTION?!
DiD YOU GET BORED TO FILM ALL OF A SUDDEN? LOL

UNLESS —and here is where I have been waiting for you since the start— you did all of that cos you guys had already signed this project for 2 or 3 seasons.
If that is the case, then stop being ridiculous and just announce it to the desperate public. Anyway, there you should have put well-designed and smart cliffhangers instead of cuts and walls all over the place. You make yourself clear through your filming that a second season will follow.

But, otherwise, IF you are NOT SURE you can pull it through, if you just casually took the shot without having a clue if the series would get a renewal for a second season, then shame on you! We have seen this attitude already countless times in old western TV series and in current Japanese anime, so... WTF!
Therefore this finale is simply bad from a film technical standpoint: awful structure, absurd chapters division for the lack of time balance (you were on drugs while creating the storyboard) and in conclusion, apart from the main leads, all the other characters simply disappear from the end of the story and basically they can go suck it; I dunno what else I may add! 
Pros should never work this way; they should always have a decent respect for the audience, if not, make ourselves a favor: keep the half story for yourself if you are not able to tell one entirely and let others have the job done. Thank You.

I am pissed off as hell, cos I give a super vote to this fantastic series, one of the best gay series on TV of the last 30 years worldwide, both Asian and western TVs; I am dead serious.
It is marvelous: realistic, believable, sensitive and deep, amusing and poor of clichè. All the characters are very well characterized and defined, 3D persons; all the actors, and i mean it, are great: the entire cast plays spontaneously, never overacting.
The dialogues between Little Chili and Gao Tian Yang are superbly written and their back-and-forth exchanges are amazingly performed by the actors. Andy Chen really did a splendid performance throughout the whole series: his naturalness in playing that role makes me think of him as any of my old classmates still beside me.
Beautiful directing, nice editing, maybe not original or innovating but still very good, cos the pace of narration is amazing: great rhythm, peaks and pauses that create a beautiful dynamic in the story-telling speed, with the result of having you addicted, greedy and eager for every tiny detail in every episode.
The attunement and the chemistry between the leads are really good, so much that they totally remind you of "Your name engraved herein" (Taiwanese cinema docet indeed) with several contact points. The building up of their bond and their attachment is really well thought out; it follows natural and realistic steps, giving this way real substance to their story.

In short, literally everything was great and stunning... until... the finale arrived... my goodness...
It is just neither a proper series finale nor a season finale. No matter how you put it, cinematically speaking, it just sucks. 
If someone had told me yesterday, I would never believe that I would have managed to find a worse TV-show finale than the "Game of Thrones" one! LOL

Damn you, TV's contracts, you create prostitutes amongst authors... sigh.

Read More

Hot take: The only ones with interesting storylines were from the supporting casts

Taiwan and its compulsiveness in making stepbrother romance as a relationship approach in a series. I liked a lot of elements from this drama, but I’ve seen too much of this concept that the impact became dull and redundant. A coming-of-age setup reminds me of some notable C-dramas I watched in previous years, and what makes this more interesting is that they give us the BL flavor to spice up the audience.

The substitute teachers and Alors Cafe owners need their show! They captivated my whole attention, and I love them the most. I demand a prequel or sequel that features them more than anyone else. The love tension is so extreme but I was left hanging by that minimal kiss and confrontation at the end. Subjectively speaking, Zhao Xi and Benny stole the show and I’m craving more from them.

Every cast did great with the portrayal of their roles. You can’t guess that these teenagers in the story were adults in real life. The squad isn’t that impactful but they still manage to provide a favorable result of high school friendship. Andy Chen as Gao Tian Yang is my favorite one from them! I’m grateful that the drama introduced me to this Gu Hai version and excited to see his next projects, hopefully, a BL show, in the future. One of my favorite episodes was the sports festival which was chaotically fun and regained the momentum of the drama’s appeal.

I applaud the production for limiting the young couple’s intimate scenes. I honestly think they can make more sexual scenarios and I’m glad they don’t. From what I’ve seen from the latest BLs today, many shows prioritize the R-18 plot more than the quality of their script.

Overall, this drama is good but downgraded by the concept of an incest-like relationship. Thankfully, the supporting characters left a good impression towards the end despite not having their proper closure to the story.

Read More

Beautiful Story

No words, really.

These days, I don’t watch BL all that much. Call it growing older, call it cynicism, or maybe just losing some color—but I had started to feel bored with the same old saccharine storylines. Even the ones that leaned serious, spooky, or crime-driven seemed to lack something crucial: **heart**.

I haven’t been truly impressed since *Bad Buddy*, which I finished back in 2022. That series left a deep mark on me. Though its storyline was simple, it had **heart**. It had **soul**. Since then, whatever I watch, I always measure it against the benchmark set by *Bad Buddy*.

That was until March 2025, when I watched *The Only One* for the first time.

Oh. My. God.

This series is **phenomenal**. I love them. I love their chemistry. The "opposites attract" dynamic, the doomed romance, the *star-crossed lovers* trope—the **taboo** of being stepbrothers. The **pining**, the **angst**, the **acting**—so **subtle**, yet deeply affecting. Every little moment matters, even the seemingly insignificant ones that later come back in such a powerful way. This series delivers all of it **in spades**.

The longing looks! The drama! The side characters are **outstanding**. Special shoutout to Gao Tianyang’s actor—he absolutely **nailed** his performance. He’s so lovable, such a comedic genius, and genuinely one of the best supporting characters I’ve seen in BL. And, of course, a special mention to the **first cutest het couple in BL media** (not saying who they are, but I am **fully rooting for them**).

As for the main leads? Their chemistry is **unreal**.

The **skinship** is abundant, but it’s never meaningless. Their **love language is acts of love**, and it is **breathtaking** to watch. Someone once said that Jiang Tian teaches Shen Wang that love is **difficult**, not easy, but **worth it**—that you have to push through the ugly parts of love to truly reach the other person. That lesson is **so profound**.

We see Shen Wang being polite, distant, and mechanically affectionate—good at faking friendliness to keep everyone happy. But Jiang Tian? **He sees through him**. He **knows** when Shen Wang is being inauthentic, and when that false politeness is directed at him, he **calls him out on his bullshit immediately**. It’s such a rare and beautiful lesson to explore in a BL drama. **Chef’s kiss.**

Now, the story isn’t complete. *The Only One* is adapted from a novel (a **very** faithful 1:1 adaptation, with only minor changes), and so far, we’ve only covered **60 chapters**. There are **50 more chapters** left for Season 2. When Season 1 ended where it did, I **literally rolled around screaming,** *“No, this can’t be it!”* But I quickly calmed down, read the novel, and now… I’m **eagerly waiting** for the rest to be adapted.

Bring on Season 2. I need it. Now.

Read More

My new favorite show

I never write reviews but I had to for this show. This show is so special to me and felt so healing. I love how much depth each character has. And how they took the time to build up their story in a realistic way. The acting is amazing , they were able to show so much without words. Another thing I really appreciated is how the class actually felt like a high school classroom with how they interacted and joked around with each other. Slow burn stories are really hard to do without it getting boring and making it feel like the plot is actually moving along but, The On1y one did it perfectly. I never felt bored and even though each progression in the plot seemed small , it also meant so much to the characters’ and stories’ growth. I really loved this story, Jiang Tian, and Sheng Wang. I would love to see their story continue in a season 2 I think it could be really beautiful.

Read More

Jiang tian and Sheng Wang said

"if there is only ONE person in this world who can understand your words, then he is more important than anyone else." - Jiang tian

"The population of the planet is now about seven billion. If the average life expectancy of each person is 80 years and they can meet 1,000 people per day, they will meet about 29.2 million people in their lifetime. The probability of two people meeting is 0.00417. while the probability that you happened to like him, he likes you back and you become each other's sp special 'someone' is only 0.0000173. Everyone has a "very moment" in their life. Your memory will freeze at that moment, becoming a very special moment. It turns into a most important memory of your life. And everytime you think of it, you will always have a special feeling inside" - Sheng Wang

Read More

My thoughts

I havent been a BL fan for too long, only less than a year but when finding this series whilst it was airing, it made me happier because after school I could watch a cute series that brings me happiness.

Thoughts on the ending + series in general:
I'm a hater for bad endings or cliffhangers, though this is more of a bad ending, I had wished for Sheng and Jiang to get together !Atleast! By the final episode, I was sadly disappointed, it was a pleasure to watch and admire their friendship but I had gotten quite upset at the ending. Amazing series though, no regrets watching it.
Overall I recommend! but be ready to cry (or just be emotional)

Read More

Best BL for 2024

Initially having second thought watching this show. Since netflix already have some episodes available i gave the show a try. To my suprise the show was so good. Actors are all good. Music used on the show added more depthness and emotion in some scenes. The chemistry between the two leads were spot on. The show gave me the craving to watch it till the end.

Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Actors: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Supporting Cast: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Music: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I guess im not the only one hoping for season 2. Majority are begging for it. Aside from the main cast, im also excited for the story of the 2 teachers, the storybof the parents specially the introduction on Jiang 's father, Gao and Chilli's story is exciting too.

Read More