Unknown (2024)

The story was 10/10, acting 10/10.
The story was so good. He sacrificed so much for his younger siblings and gone through a lot just to take care of them. The trauma was so realistic and made sense. His dilemma regarding his feelings were justified.
The writer was so good and took care of every point beautifully. However, i feel something was missing. Maybe a little more emotion needed to be shown.
Idk if it was only me, but i felt like i needed a little more love. Little more concentration on love between them would have been great.
Some parts were little bit unclear, i guess it's more because of the editing.
Will i rewatch it? YES absolutely. I need to watch it again so i can fully understand.
Overall this was a great series. 8.5/10, and this score is maybe because i have high expectations of Taiwanese dramas. I mean 2 of the greatest dramas of all time was made in Taiwan. Kiseki: dear to me & History 3: make our days count. So, i was expecting this to be as good as those in terms of transferring the love and emotions to the viewer

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True love bl perfectly portrayed by the main Leads,but wished certain points were taken care.

Finally our favourite series is got an end with a total of 12 amazing episodes.But why all the series that are so nice suddenly ends only when the relationship between the characters just starts to bloom .why are the directors in a hurry to finish it quicky only when the characters just starts opening up to eachother 😔 .
Now i want to bring into light some of the points that wish would have got the attention of the director or any of the members of officialunknownchannel . So here it goes
1 .Qian has been like a father figure to his siblings more than just a brother ,so for him yuan is not only like a brother but like a son too ,in the boxing episode even before qian confessed that he liked boys ,when yuan said to qian " you looked the best" how come qian felt something different at that moment and kind of shy too but after scene qian was back to being interacting like his ge only ,i feel a missing piece over there as there was no follow up of that emotion after .
(throughout the whole series they made it look like yuan called his brother by his name whereas every time he called his brother "ge" ( meaning elder brother) and not Qian ( as they have given wrong subtitle purposefully , I don't know for what reason😠).
2.when Yuan was sent abroad after the confession and when he returned back as a new version and was again confessing to qian when they went for fishing mentioning about what he was thinking all these 4 years,only then it was made clear that he had returned after 4years but it looked like he went for a week and came back as a new version when qain called him.The thing is what happened between them in 4 years was not shown clearly coz it looked like he just went for a year and came back .They should have shown what qian had gone through all those years coz 4 years is not a small period .But it was made so simple like qian dusting yuans room and sucking the lollypop to avoid smoking coz yuan always warned him not to smoke but really not showing what happened between them in 4 years,how qian must have passed everyday ,did he try to call him ,did he wanted to go and see yuan in person ,how did he stay at their home alone near yuan's room being empty not having his presence 🥺how he might have wanted to know about what is going on in yuans life through other contacts , and was he doing well ?like i don't understand how come he could he survive like that without any presence of him for 4 years ( though sangpang mentioned he looked miserable after yuan left ) that miserable part is the missing part that im talking about, doesn't make any sense to me 😣they should have shown all the pain qian has gone through missing yuan and talking about yuan what he might have gone through not able to hear his ge 's voice , dying to see him for 4 years , though he will be getting updates through sangpang and lili how come he controlled himself to stay like that because i know he will do anything what his ge ask him to ,but some more deatils of yuans pain and his daily struggle must have been shown in that particular espisode. Those 4 years just looked like it passed so easily without much change except yuan's hairstyle being changed and him coming as a new version.
3. when yuan came back as a new version and starts to express his love in his own way (though qian was nervous and confused) he was still staying like he used to be( like a father/ older brother) but then suddenly
in episode 11 after qian confessed to yuan that he doesn't know what his feelings for yuan is , whether it is a brotherly effection or love and when he leaves yuans hand when he was taking him upstairs saying that " I don't know whether im ready to go up with you" ( of course how would qian know what feelings he has for yuan coz 4 years they just wasted by not showing any character development for qian for sorting his emotions for yuan) and when yaun for the last and final time made his feelings clear by saying " i want to be with you for the rest of my life ,can i ?" how come they directly jump to bed scene without allowing their love to blossom and qian breaking down his guard as a brother and being comfortable with opening up to his brother about his feeling in his own pace rather than forcing the character who has been like a brother /father figure to suddenly get physically intimate with his brother who he has been taking care like his son since childhood
I felt that the series got end just like that showing their intimate scene without actually showing how Qian slowly accepted his brother as a lover ,how their relationship progressed to be able to get intimate with yuan physically coz even in the episodes just before the bed scene he was not shown in anyways was ready to put his guard down as a brother , yuan has been waiting for that moment all his life as he said but on qian's parts he has been portrayed as someone who will never sleep with his brother one sudden day because the way he has been with lili and yuan he definitely should have given time to reach that scene.
They shouldn't have been in a hurry to finish it like that cause if the intimate scene was shot only after showing their blooming romantic relationship it would have made sense on Qian' part ( being the father/ brother figure to yuan since his childhood to be able to even think of yuan as a lover in the first place let alone to be able think of sleeping with him)😣.Their intimate scene was perfectly portrayed by chris and xuan ,thanks to them for giving their heart and soul to the character 😊♥️ but my only concern was on the above points especially when they hurried upto to the bed scene coz they could have slowed down over there by just kissing and not taking it forward on that day itself and giving qian his own time to see his brother as a lover in the first place ,to be able to be comfortable to get into physical relation with him .Anyways thanks to the (author)priest
for writing such an amazing story.
Thanks to to auditiong department for casting chris and xuan for the role of qian and yuan. The way chris portrayed every emotion of qian shows how talented and great actor he is ,expressing every subtle emotions of qian to the top-notch.He gave his heart and soul to this character ,that why we know qian as yuan's dage😊. coming to xuan ,he also gave his heart and soul to the character and his realtionship with chris in real life also helped him to act comfortably and bring out all the emotions of yuan naturaly.He mentioned in an interview that since he was less experienced he felt helpless at certain times and when didn't know what to do so he always turned to chris for help and after communicating with him he would know what to do☺️ so chris was there with him throughout the series guiding and caring him as his ge.Thanks to Chris for being such a sweet heart and caring xuan like his own brother pouring him all the love and care💖.
All the child artists,( they all did an amazing job but i felt bad for the youngest qian coz while showing how bad and abusive his mother was ,the way she kissed him and hugged him though it is for acting i didn't find it right for a child to experience it😠) , sang pang and lili also did their characters with all justice.
Actors - chris ( who played the role of Qian)and Xuan ( who played the role of yuan) . They both share an amazing bond both on and off screen 💗. Just like in the series😭 in real life also chris is xuans's ge who takes care of him like his own baby brother ,helping throughout the shooting of the series and xuan said in an interview that series is as it is because they all love eachother from the bottom of their heart and there are lot of emotions that they didn't just act but are genuine 🥺🥰and also they both have known each other for almost 10 years 🤗🥺 and xuan also respects and loves his ge immensely .we could see in their eyes the love care and adoration they both have for eachother whenever they interact 🥺😪🥰. Already missing them 😭
Finally thanks to the whole crew for giving the best of them and giving us such an amazing series touching our hearts through qian and yuan's pure love and making this series forever memorable in our hearts .only wish the above points were taken care ✌️🙂. Sorry for the long paragraph 😅.

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Masterclass on BL Dramas

How will I continue to watch BL series after this?

Suddenly you realize how a BL Drama can be if :
1. You have committed, good and well prepared actors (main and secondary)
2. You have a scenario in which a 2 second scene in episode 1 solidifies a major plot choice in episode 10
3. You direct it using the minimum appropriate time for a reaction aiming for the greatest impact
5. You deal with delicate matters very carefully and with great respect, giving the appropriate time to mature
6. You use EVERY available tool (actor, timing, light, music) in the service of the scene
4. YOU KNOW YOUR JOB AS AN ARTIST.

"Unknown" reminded us the basic and most profound codes for a good drama...
and that we have tolerated and support too many poorly crafted experimental works who tried to please an insatiable for shipping audience regardless of the artistic effect.

It's almost a shame to admit it, but "Unknown" should have been the rule and not the exception.

A great applause and many thanks to the director, writers, actors and crew of this exceptional work!

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it's a good bl

so speaking of the drama I like it a lot the acting the story line everything is good but what I don't like is the back story of yuan is not shown and the ending was a little unsatisfying for me and I wanted to see lilis wedding and stuff but they bombarded us with the accidental pregnancy trope in here
I like the family aspect of it and in my opinion it isn't incest ..
I loved the friendship between mr tan and quan but I didn't see any chemistry between lili and mr tan.
I liked this drama alot it's refreshing to see the plot in this not having a lot of toxicity and stuff
and I loved to see dr lin ( love him)...
in the end I liked this drama
so that's it

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A love story where life is more celebrated than love

Have you ever seen an infected wound? If we leave the wounds untreated, sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes out of fear, the wounds if severe enough can get infected. Now it smells. You will have the urge to leave it as it is as now it's hideous. When the pain gets too unbearable, we try to cure it and even if we cure it, it leaves a nasty scar. Some wounds are just too deep to cure on our own. It's where our hands can reach. Qian is carrying the heavy load alone throughout his life and he gets used to the weight. When Yuan wants to share his load, he loses balance. The only thing Yuan ever wanted was to support Qian, so it enrages him that Qian never shares his burden with him. It's not a review just my thoughts on the series.

It's harder to relate if you are not from a broken family like Wei Yuan and Wei Qian. The fight and flight response doesn't go away once you become an adult. Wei Qian learns to survive but no one ever teaches him how to live his life. Wei Qian is scared of becoming like his mother. He feels physically ill thinking about his mother. He feels somehow inside him somewhere his mother had imprinted her shadow and one day he will be consumed by it. He closed the curtains to let the darkness conceal the shadow.

"Don't be afraid of the cracks that's where the light comes in." Yuan came as a crack in his closed walls. He shook Qian's moral ground. For Yuan, Qian is his whole world which is not normal in any sense but nothing has ever been normal in their life anyway. Convention is something many people can't afford. I know  where Qian's Dilemma was coming from. I would have been disappointed if he never resisted. The 5 year gap seemed like a too long gap. But the distance was necessary for this dynamic. Yuan never has friends. He always worshipped the land Qian stood on. He would protect Qian at any cost. It's hard to tell if it's just simple gratification turned into infatuation or actual 'love'. And here comes Qian's Dilemma he knows if he commits he can't go back. For Yuan, love is as simple as wanting to stay by Qian's side forever, taking care of him. For Qian, it's complicated. He has been a brother to him, for times he has been a provider for him. After the gap, even though they have history, their relationship gets a fresh start.

"Don't you love Wei Yuan or don't you dare?" There's a term in philosophy called "Porcupine's dilemma". Porcupine is a rodent with sharp spines. In cold days, porcupines want to get closer as it's craving the warmth but whenever they get closed the sharp spines pricks them. Deep down Qian is afraid that he will hurt Yuan if they get closer but after all these years he understood that it's equally hard for him to stay away from Yuan. Qian all these years couldn't comprehend his feelings for Yuan. He still doesn't understand. So he gave up. He allowed himself to be happy without the veil of conventionality.

The story about unconventional love is very tricky. If it's not handled well, it can be downright disturbing. But here we get the psyche of each character and we root for them. Once upon a time I would stumble upon a book that will make me angry at myself that I don't know the language. The translation is bad yet it has kept me captivated so it's the proof of its supreme plot. It's a love story where life is more celebrated than love. I love this kind of story. It makes the love that much epic.

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"Don't be afraid of the cracks. That's where the light comes in."

I really enjoyed the main love story featured in this BL series. It is a forbidden romance concept well done in terms of sorrow and angst...It firmly tugged at all my heartstrings. Unfortunately, the scenario is not without flaws regarding the build up of the secondary romance as well as some stupid decisions made by characters (...yeah my pet peeve aka noble idiocy is back once again). There were also some pacing issues in addition to some shift in tones not always very successfull.

What really made me forget about these little defaults is the excellent chemistry between the two main actors who are pretty good together. They sell super well the main concept of "Didi's puppy love for his Gege who is blind to his feelings". Kurt Huang impressed me so much as his character grows the most during the show. He is very compelling to look at and his evolution was very well acted. Given his charisma, I will be for sure looking forward for more series with him in the future. Chris Chiu is a solid counterpart as well. The secondary cast made less of a lasting impression on me, except for Sam Lin whose I wish the character had more screentime.

I liked the production: it has a very raw style on some scenes that I enjoyed (especially in its first episodes). The filmmaking of most of the romantic scenes had my heartbeat increasing. There so many pretty and exciting moments between the leads. The office setting was more mundane and standard but very suitable overall. I truly enjoyed the OST, especially the ending song which is so charming and fitting perfectly with the thematic of the series.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a forbidden romance concept with a lot of angst and chemistry. I watched it week by week but I think it would make an excellent binge watch. The script is not without flaws in terms of pacing as well as narrative choices but overall the payoff in terms of love story is so good that it is really worth it and you forgot all the defaults thanks to the good acting and chemistry of the two main male leads.

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