ABO Desire

Just another review

This was my first experience with the Omegaverse genre. Very fascinating world. I thought this series had potential, but it didn’t quite hold up.

Some scenes felt drawn out or unnecessary, for example, the meal scenes where very little dialogue or plot development occurred. They ate a bite and just nodded. I'm like okay, and? I’m also not a fan of the trope where one character manipulates another into falling in love. I would’ve preferred if Hua Yong had taken on more protective role behind the scenes, allowing Sheng Shao’s feelings to develop naturally. I understand he already does some of that but then the story leaned heavily on Hua Yong creating false scenarios and playing the victim, which left me frustrated and disappointed, especially knowing that Sheng Shao would inevitably forgive him. I just couldn't root for them.

The second lead storyline was what kept me watching. While Jiang Heng’s acting wasn’t the strongest, I enjoyed his interactions and chemistry with Gao Tu. I was really looking forward to seeing his reaction once he discovered his omega’s identity, but the show rushed through it, and Gao Tu just ran away, only to reappear briefly in the final episode for a quick hug. That ending felt disappointing and incomplete. I felt robbed TBH with all that waiting.

Unfortunately, I left feeling disappointed with this series. I would not watch it again but I'm grateful for a Chinese originated BL.

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Last episode was a mess.

I loved this series so much, but the last episode left me with a big WHY?? So rushed and so many unanswered questions. It really was a big shame. I really looked foreward to a good story between Gao Tu en Shen Wen Lang, but they hardly got any screen time in the last episode. Why work a story up to something and leave the ending unresolved...

The visuals are stunning and the special effects with the Pheromones very well done. The music is very beautifull.
The kisses were very "polite" but got better in the later episodes.
The acting was very good and i loved the smart replies of Hua Yong, they were really funny.

Really a must see!

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ABO Desire Deep Dive Diatribe

As I type this, it has been a few days since the final episode of Desire aired and I have... a lot, to say.

Frankly, I should have done a trash watch from the start. But it took 5 episodes for me to realize what a dumpster fire phenomena this was, and by then it was too late. Live and let burn. As a result, I must write a whole thesis on the following formula aka the design of this damn show:

psychotic obsession + delicious toxicity
- chronic neglect of side dish
/ by the sheer madness of this show existing at all

Up top confession?

I loved this Very Silly Show in the worst possible way. And I do mean worst. It really was like watching fanfic brought to life.

Good fic but still... rough in places, in need of a solid edit past, littered with forgotten threads, dropped characters, tired tropes, and weak development.

* The main pair is a work of gd art.
* The filming quality is solid.
* The wardrobe department is unhinged and has issues with shirts (absent or awful, only 2 options).
* Generally, most of the acting had a lot in common with vintage sleds: cold, hard, wooden, and stiff, but still somehow a fun ride.

For what it was (remarkable) and that it existed at all (unprecedented) and how much I enjoyed the experience (despite myself), I went outside of my comfort zone when rating this darn thing. I admit, Desire is an 8/10 show, but I personally am compelled to give it a 9/10 on pure entertainment value.

And without question Desire is an icon of our BL times. 2025 will forever be remembered as the year China put mpreg on our screens.

And now, your actual review of this show:

Close on the herculean strides of Revenged Love, China continued its historic 2025 run on the international BL market with the first true ABO mpreg piece.

There is some semblance of story = about a boy who falls in love with an alpha (top of food chain) right before he manifests as an enigma (secret extra-special tippy-top of food chain) and then obsessively stalks/courts the object of his devotion though means both fair and foul (mostly foul) for the next decade. Why so secretive and manipulative? No reason, just Hua Yong being Hua Yong.

This show focuses on Hua Yong, a perfect sociopath ult babygirl, being a violent, unchecked, conniving, psychotic monster so pretty he will hurt your teeth, intent on possessing, owning, and sexing-up one increasingly confused alpha. (I know honey, we were all confused, it's okay, you're safe. No one else is. But you are.)

And when our little psycho wins? We likey! (So does the alpha.) Somehow everyone, including the audience, has also become toxic trash along with Hua Yong. Fun fun.

There is actual on screen kissing (yes, from China, no it's not very good) combined with some of the world's hottest shirt suspenders and some the world's ugliest shirts.

The end.

That's the whole show.

Oh... there is a nod at an intriguing side couple who ended up being mere set dressing.

And there is also actual ON SCREEN mpreg. Twice.

Plus China aired this by distributing through Hong Kong to a Taiwanese platform and if that isn't How Dare levels of malarkey I don't know what is.

Wild times we live in.

And I haven't even gotten to the Cpop boy group component.

What can I really say about this show?

This show would have been sublimely f'd up and utterly ridiculous even without the ABO trappings, but the world-building actually added to my enjoyment (and I am not an omegaverse stan).

However, there is a ton of Basil Exposition to wade through during the first 3-5 episodes (not unlike this review). If you are not familiar with omegaverse or dystopian alt-reality info-dumping... it's going to tax you eternal.

If utter fascination with Hua Yong gliding sveltely down marble stairs and primly torturing all the wettest-eyed omegas can't hold you through the opening episodes, don't bother with this show. I liked our sweetie Alpha Sheng but it's Hua Yong who rules (and drives) this show. Hua Yong = the most beautiful little obsessive stalker pouty ruthless gremlin ever to swish around in silk pyjamas. If you don't find him riveting from the moment he wades through that pool in the opening scene, you're not gonna like Desire.

If you decide to risk it, please know that this show is very very gorgeous, unbelievably toxic, and completely NUTS. This is the CBL KinnPorsche no one thought to ask for. Only this is KP stripped of all grit, sanitized within an inch of it's life, made larger and icier and very very precise.

All your triggers will be hit with this, we are in dark territory: stalking, obsession, possession, threat, blackmail, dubious consent, and more. There is a large dose of willful misunderstanding, plus a hand being torn off, and (for some labubull reason) stuffed teddybears are adhered to perfectly innocent shirts (that did not deserve such treatment). (Look, that shirt was a trigger for me. And then they had to go and do it again, outside of the flashback. In the future! LIKE THEY STAYED IN FASHION FOR YEARS. Untenable.)

And yet.

I adored Desire for the wild ride and tried not to get bogged down with the details.

And yet.

Here I am typing away... tunneling into the details.

The point is… that it exists at all. Desire is very meta. It is it's own mpreg. Most of us spend most of the time it was airing staring at it in wonder and thinking “How were you born? How do you even exist?”

So putting aside how I felt about it, I am going to talk about why Desire is, against all odds, actually important and crazy in the history of BL. As the self proclaimed most bonkers pundit chronicler of BL's abject nonsense, I feel compelled to make a statement. And also, I need a post to point people at when they ask me about this damn show in the future.

Me explaining Desire to a non-BL non-Ao3 friend.
Friend’s eyes getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
(I actually had to go into everything I am about to cover in this post. It took me half and hour of excited flappy hands.)
Eventually the friend says, “I think I must watch this.”
Me, “Oh no! It’s not good, it’s just a miracle of the modern age.”

[large section redacted that details the history of omegaverse and China's very checkered relationship with BL right up until this moments. If you wanna read it, I put it in full plus images on tumblr. Just search my handle and the title of this review). MDL is China owned, I didn't think it wise to put the reality of the situation here. Plus... word use is more authentic on tumblr.

Notes, Tips, & Tricks

I watched this show on both Gaga and Viki. I think Viki has better subs that better translated the ABO worldbuild into English. But there are strengths and weaknesses to both platforms' respective subs.

The first few eps really do have massive amounts of info dumping. But after that it's "manipulation as a love language" all day every day... and night.
The secretary core/beta assistants are a hoot. I want an Upstairs Downstairs of them dealing with their idiot bosses. It kinda feels like they’re the true masterminds of all relationships. They must be having vicarious fun with all of these hormone-crazed whack-doodle power-hungry (or utterly disempowered) alphas. Just the betas shuffling paperwork, making coffee, and kvetching about what dumbarses their superiors are. I watch it.
It’s hilarious how little work CEOs in Asian dramas actually do. There’s a lot of walking around in suits, playing on phones, passing each other clipboards, and occasionally flipping though a file.
Of course Gao Tu (the omega disguising himself as a beta) is my favorite character. I’ve always been a fan of cross dressing. Don't get too attached tho, his story arc doesn't get much resolution.
Be warned: Shen Wen Lang (his clueless alpha) will never gain a clue or a brain cell. The actor will never be any less uncomfortably stiff. And there will be no kissing for them.
But that said, Shen Wen Lang and Hua Yong's worstie relationship is pretty darn excellent. Lots of fun to watch that one.
Sit back and enjoy Hua Yong's lies. He is so darn pretty, who cares if evil? He can do whatever he wants. Also, do not apply logic, it will never make sense, because he is certifiably insane. No sense or sanity in that pretty little brain. He has 2 brain cells that know only 2 things: manipulation and Sheng Shao You.
At the start, Desire does not feel unhinged, it feels quite tailored and controlled. I prefer my CBL a bit more like Revenged Love (the Taiwanese side) with crunchy edges. At first this show feels more KBL-esk. Don't worry, all the edges will get very very fried. (But the kitchen stays white and immaculate.)
Beware Episode 9 for it is toxic and full of pheromone marks flaring, plus all the rutting dub con (and worse) one could ever desire. *big sigh* Everyone got all messed up by this episode. Over this episode. Because of this episode. The characters in this episode.
From ep 9 on, I pretty much spent every ep kicking my feet, flailing about, and squealing. I love the main couple and their were warped little power dynamic. So damn kinky. Oh the glorious toxicity of it all.

Us = crying screaming puking our guts out. The mpreg boys = pale milk-water maidens delicately coughing into sinks and lying decorously in bed pining for the fjords. Their husbands = clutching pearls.

The final episode was lackluster. At the last gasp they gave us our little gay families but they ultimately misused the excellent side pair.

I too was a bit disgruntled that Desire let us down in the 11th hour.

BUT read the diatribe I just wrote above.

I forgive it its sins.

I kinda feel like I have to.

My goodness gracious, what a glorious ride it was.

Ultimately do I recommend it?

Well YES, but with approximately 4000 words of reservations.

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We LOVE PREGNANT MEN

I love that this show really dove into all the ABO stuff. I think if you're going to do an ABO show you have to really go for it, and this show definitely did.

I think the four main characters were really interesting. I loved them all for different reasons and the actors killed it. I loved seeing Wenlang's growth throughout the series! I wish Hua Yong could've had some kind of character development, but he didn't and some people never change, so I guess it's okay.

My only complaint is the ending. I wish we got more from Gao Tu and Wenlang. I wish we got to see them have an actual conversation about everything. I wanted them to end up together but even if they didn't it would've been nice for them to get more screentime towards the end. It just felt unsatisfying. I also thought the time jump was abrupt and made it so certain things were skipped over that shouldn't have been. They're ending just felt like the creators didn't care about it anymore towards the end.

This show was missing baby bumps. Wanted to see them with actual baby bellies.

I really liked this series though! Definitely different and very interesting! Can't wait to see the actors in things in the future!

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Once a seek drop is frustrating

Chinese attempt at BL. There must be so many constraints around it that it affects the acting. Maybe they can’t look too passionate towards each other and at times the physical contact looks painfully staged. The S class alpha has ill fitting suits and doesn’t look domineering at all and he’s supposed to be a bit of a man whore. He looks scared.
Yet I’m still watching it because the enigma guy is so pretty and I like watching his eyes go from soft-boy to manipulative in the space of 2 seconds. The budget is low and the chains the enigma has look like they came from Daiso.

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This serie is sooooo addictive. I watched the first episode and got so addicted that I read the whole novel in 3 days...

First of all, yes it a fucking black flag. Hua Yong is a manipulative psycho. So be aware about it.
Actually, I'm not gonna be that much sad for Sheng ShaoYou. A player getting tricked into becoming head over hells for someone. No fair enough.
We failed you Gao Tu.. I wanted to go in the screen to protect you.
I'm actually sad for Shen Wenlang, yes he is an ass toward Gao Tu. But get in his shoes, Gao Tu, his long time crush - even if he isn't aware of it - is in love with someone else and leaving him for them. Ofc he is gonna hate the smell of this supposed omega.

It's a bit rush toward the end. The show is a great adaptation of the novel. Sadly I expected a little more of Gao Tu, because I wanted more of them in the novel :c They give us a little more but didn't do a proper end

Btw can we not normalize using rut and heat to excuse SA... I know it's omegaverse blablabla but no.

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