Double Helix

I desperately want Chinese companies keep producing BL dramas, They finally got back together.

I can't believe it's the remake , This version totally eclipsed its predecessor
China has elevated the production value of BL dramas to new heights . And 2026 marks a turning point for more intense and creative Chinese BL genre .
The quality of Chinese Bls is day by day getting higher .
The first two episodes is about the backstory/ flashback of the past relationship between lu feng and cheng yi . The two lovers who meet again in the future as boss and employee , still stuck on their previous feelings .
Xiao Chen tries to deny his consistent feeling for lu feng
Their story improved in the next episodes , cheng yi discovered his unconditional love for lu feng .
Even though cheng yi never knew about how honest and sincere lu was , I just can't believe that he was literally head over heels for him , howw is lu feng that much devoted to cheng yi that he was willing to even give up his passion or job for himm , the biggest green flag , the was he was craving for cheng yi was insane .
The second couple's chemistry's fire , even though I hate yi-chen's guts cuz he keeps on troubling the lover boy , but can't deny he looks so fine with Qin lang

::: Highlights :::
Intense Plot: The story follows Lu Feng and Cheng Yi , covering school-day romance, dramatic separation, and a tense, "boss/employee" reunion years later.
Strong Chemistry: first 2 episodes highlight electric chemistry between lu feng and cheng yi , bringing to life the obsessive nature of the characters.
Emotional Rollercoaster: The series is praised for its ability to convey heartbreak and deep longing within its first episodes, promising a mature, dramatic experience.
Production Quality: The drama features high-quality CINEMATOGRAPHY and production, setting it apart as a standout in the 2026 Chinese BL landscape.

Detailed Review ( Alert !? )

I'm sorry!! my reviews are quite detailed, cuz I enjoy capturing my emotional response to every significant scene

Their emotional bond is truly unbreakable, and their enduring love is so healing to watch. I honestly had very low expectations after seeing the trailer, but episode one completely changed my mind.
Seeing them reunite—and watching Lu Feng literally give up his family, career, and wealth for love—makes me wonder if that's even possible in real life. The healthy relationship they’ve built genuinely brought tears of joy to my eyes.

Honestly, Lu Feng never stopped loving Xiao Chen. The way he continuously tries to reach out to him makes me cry. No one else could ever bear the pain he went through—from the physical beatings to being locked up by his sister—yet he never gave up. I just don't understand Xiao Chen's brother. Why did he hide all of Lu Feng's messages? If he hadn't kept them to himself, all of this painful misunderstanding could have been completely avoided.

The central conflict driving this heartbreak is pure homophobia. Lu Feng is the ultimate green flag; he willingly endures his father's physical abuse and accepts every ounce of pain just to stay by Cheng Yi’s side.
Tragically, the cruelty continues with Cheng Yi’s mother. It is devastating to watch a mother call her own children "abnormal" instead of offering them the unconditional love and understanding they deserve.
And what was the point of saying SORRY after literally destroying everything.

While Lu Feng’s love is unshakeable, Xiao chen’s constant pushing away is deeply painful and is driving Lu Feng to his breaking point.
Ultimately, neither of them is to blame—it is the toxic weight of homophobia that is actively destroying their relationship.
Everything's so horrible , their lives turned into a nightmare .

Xiao Chen never truly chose Lu Feng. Instead of fighting for their love, he took the easy way out by breaking up and marrying a woman he had no feelings for, just to appease his mother. He accommodates everyone else’s needs and listens to his family, showing kindness to the whole world—except to Lu Feng. It is incredibly cruel how he refuses to stand up and protect the one person who actually gave up everything for him.
He is painted as a kind, compliant person who pleases everyone, this trait turns into cowardice and cruelty when it comes to Lu Feng. He is simply unwilling to fight for their love, making him the ultimate source of Lu Feng's heartbreak.

Lu Feng, just do whatever it takes, we are completely on your side!
I hate seeing him get hurt like this.
He literally just finished eliminating those homophobic parents and dealing with Yi Cheng's nosy brother.

Now, after years of getting Lu Feng arrested and prioritizing his duties as a husband and brother, Yi Cheng suddenly remembers him just to cause more pain?
I seriously cannot wait to see Yi Cheng burn with jealousy.
..

The psychological power dynamics in these drama is fascinating.
Lu Feng’s manipulative behavior—specifically using third parties to provoke Xiao Cheng's jealousy—creates incredible narrative tension.
And there are striking structural similarities between To My Shore and Double Helix that back this up. In both stories, the male leads (Yunxi and Lu Feng) suffer a major betrayal, spending years in prison after being reported by their respective partners. Furthermore, both narratives utilize extreme confinement tropes, with the leads trapping their wives to prevent them from escaping.

From being the greenest flagg to a manipulative black flagg...

Even after all this yi cheng doesn't feel bad about what he did to lu fengg literal 5 years ago, I just can't stop hating him, broo have some guilt.
Yi cheng totally deserved that gun shot and it's not lu feng's fault.

Seeing Lu Feng completely shattered after Xiao Chen was shot truly reveals the depth of his love. By staying at his bedside and caring for him every single day until he woke up, Lu Feng proved Xiao Chen's immense worth to him, showing a profound devotion that Xiao Chen often struggled to deserve. The raw fear of losing him was unmistakable in Lu Feng's eyes.
Ultimately, if Xiao Chen had not letting his own fear and cowardice dictate his actions, this entire tragedy could have been avoided.

I honestly cannot comprehend how Yi Cheng can just leave Lu Feng behind to go abroad with his brother. It’s devastating that he’s abandoning Lu Feng to face everything all alone with absolutely no one to turn to.
At least Cheng Yi Chen realized Lu Feng wasn't at fault once he snapped out of it. Learn from that.
Letsee what happens nextt.

It is incredibly painful to watch Lu Feng beg Xiao Chen to stay.
I knew how deeply Xiao Chen has been suffering emotionally. Even through all the trauma, his bond with Lu Feng is too strong to just let go. When Xiao Chen finally chooses to stay and attempt a healthy fresh start with Lu Feng, it highlights how tragic it is that the entire world seems against their love. Ultimately, it is a massive relief that Xiao Chen chose to stay and live his life with Lu Feng instead of moving abroad.

It is heartbreaking to watch Lu Feng struggle with his deep-seated insecurities, past trauma, and the constant fear of losing Xiao Chen. My heart broke when he opened up about his trauma—especially the painful revelation that he avoided the hospital just to keep Xiao Chen from feeling burdened by a sick partner.

The plotline where Xiao Chen borrows money from his brother for the house is a hilarious idea honestly. Why is he overcomplicating things when he could just be direct with Lu Feng.
Given how severe lu feng's illness is, chen needs to drop the arguments and just force him to get help. Lu feng is completely stubborn with everyone else, but chen is the only one he actually obeys.
It is shocking how indifferently he reacted to the sight of Lu Feng's bleeding hand. Rather than rushing him indoors to tend to the injury, he chose to deliver his entire speech out in the pouring rain while Lu Feng bled. Sometimes this guy's reactions makes me laugh hilariously. But gotta say he's so good at wiping..
I actually wonder lu feng in love literally got himself mental illness. Idk if in real life people like this still exists. It's so hard right going though that illness that drives you crazy??
For the first time chen accepted Lu feng as his familyy waohh

Lu fengg had intense, uncontrollable, and toxic obsession towards Yi Chen, bordering on a severe mental health issue that manifests as erratic, manipulative, and often violent behavior. That made him look like a ruthless and manipulative, displaying dangerous behavior such as isolating, controlling, and emotionally damaging the person he loves. It's all because of his traumatic past ..

After suffering for days and nights he finally got away from his mental illness.
At the end they got their happy ending and I'm happy about it, after bearing a lot of pain lu feng and chen got it.

Overall I really enjoyed this series I waited for literally every week, I always give it to first priority because it deserve this actors really acted very well I can see that in the literally deserve a big hand, I'll always support them. I had a very great time watching it every Saturday and Friday, not to mention sometimes I actually loss patience and I know actually the patience was worth it.

Beautiful quality of production and beautiful script except some parts were logic less ( ofc nothing's perfect ) , I really appreciate each and everyone's effort in the production of this series.
They leads had great chemistry throughout the whole series, the second couple had a steady and healthy relationship.

It's really good to see the China is developing so well and we are getting something that is unexpectedly incredible.
I can't believe it's the time to say goodbye to double helix, and the story between lu feng and xiao chen will always stay in our memory.

Read More

From Cute Green Flag to Toxic Black Flag The Best BL of 2026!

I was completely hooked from the very first episode. After watching more than 500+ BLs, I can honestly say this is one of the best I’ve ever seen. It grabbed me so deeply that I ended up rewatching it three times in a row because every scene pulled me in even more and left me wanting more. So rarely do I ever set alarms for dramas, but I was putting my alarm on for 10 PM every Friday and Saturday just to catch the new episodes the moment they came out. Then during the week, I would rewatch them all over again. That’s how addicted I became to this series. One of the best remakes ever made.

Chinese BLs really know how to create emotional and addictive stories without making everything feel overly cheesy. What made Yichen and Lufeng stand out to me immediately was that their relationship was not the typical soft and natural romance you see all the time. At the beginning, their relationship felt obsessive, possessive, intense, and emotionally consuming, and honestly that is exactly what made it so addictive to watch. Every interaction between them carried tension and strong emotions, making their connection feel impossible to ignore.

The flashbacks showing how they first met were done beautifully and made their bond feel even deeper over time. Their chemistry is incredible and every scene together feels charged with emotion. The acting is amazing too. Yichen is soft, innocent, and emotional while Lufeng is obsessive, possessive, protective, controlling, and confident. Both actors completely brought their characters to life.

What makes this story stand out is how emotional and heartfelt it feels underneath all the intensity. From high school classmates to lovers separated by family expectations and distance, every part of their journey feels painful yet beautiful. Knowing Lufeng was forced to stay overseas for years while Yichen tried to continue his life made every reunion scene even more emotional.

I cried during the ring exchange scene in episode 2 because it felt so genuine and emotional. Yichen being the first to say “I love you” even though he fell later made the moment even more powerful. When he cried, I cried too because the emotions felt so real through the screen.

Another heartbreaking scene was when Yichen begged his brother for a chance to see Lufeng again while, at the same time, Lufeng kept writing letters and trying everything possible to reunite with him. Even after years apart, their feelings for each other never changed, and you can truly feel how deep their connection is.

What I love most is that this drama is not only about romance. It is also about timing, sacrifice, family pressure, fate, and fighting for the person you truly love. Every episode balances tenderness, obsession, heartbreak, and longing perfectly, making it impossible to stop watching.

This show truly has everything: an amazing plot, emotional storytelling, strong chemistry, beautiful cinematography, and great music. Every episode feels memorable and meaningful.

Ayden is an incredible actor!

Some dramas fade from memory after a while, but this feels like the kind of story that will stay with me for a long time and always be worth rewatching.

Honestly, this is the best BL dramas of 2026 for me and definitely a masterpiece.

Read More

A story of obsessive psycho and his Stockholm syndrome lover he can't let go

The boundary between love and obsession is very thin. Nothing is good is if it's too much. Since the beginning Lu feng's obsession runs too deep and Yi chen is just a hopeless mouse who will never be able to get out of his paws. Two boys met, fell in love what could go wrong right? But here everything went wrong. As much as I hate lu feng's action I also realize that it was the society that driven him to take such drastic steps. Then again, you can't control what happens to you but what you do is your responsibility. Both parent family gave them no choice, either abandon the world or leave your love cause they knew even love cannot survive alone

Lu feng and Yi chen were wronged by their parents, the society. Lu feng's anger management issue made him took some drastic steps that is irreversible. And Yi chen's cowardice only made it worse. Both of them are at fault. They can't be together yet can't stay without each other either. Such a paradoxical fate

Let me praise Ayden. This actor did a tremendous job. Lu feng before their separation, after meeting and at last two episode were totally three different people. His expression is perfected to the micro level. I enjoyed each of his scene. The more I hated Lu feng the more I loved the actor. He did that hell of a job
Yichen was cute, sunshine. perfect cast for what the role needed at the beginning. That's why their chemistry shined so much. But later his acting paled compared to Ayden
The worst part of this series is probably screenwriting. There is literally no coherent storyline going on. We are jumping from one scene to another. Everyone beside main two characters are show piece and barely has any value to the plotline. The second couple.... severed nothing though their story had so much potential. There is no logic behind what's going on. This show is only watchable if you are focusing on the main character's chemistry otherwise there's nothing really noteworthy

So my question is can a trash plotline actually be saved by a couple with sizzling chemistry?

Read More

Started Strong but it was getting weird at some point

This show started off so strong, but then completely went downhill. One of my biggest pet peeves in dramas is grown adults who never know what they want and can’t form their own opinions. For a 12-episode drama, how many times did they seriously need to break up?
The script also wasn’t great. At times, it genuinely felt AI-generated because the dialogue and character decisions made no sense. And I’m sorry, but I absolutely could not stand Xiao Cheng’s character. He constantly looked spaced out, confused, and like he had no idea what was going on around him.

Read More

Double Disaster

Trigger Warning - SA! Suicide attempt! Self-harm! I'll have to give some major spoilers to explain why I have given this drama a low rating but essentially it involves the triggers and how they were handled. It is an attack on one's sensibilities. Also, this drama uses AI for overhead city and street scenes. There is literally a car driving on the wrong side of the road in one part.

Frankly the plot was interesting at first. Guy falls in love with his school mate. Being of the same gender, they face critcism not just from the school but also their parents who want them separated. Even after years pass, when they finally meet again, they again face problems due to their families. Up until this point, the plot is good. The struggle is valid.

The problems with the plot started when they first threw in non-consensual sex. This was when Lu Feng and Yi Chen become intimate for the very first time. Lu Feng refuses to stop when told no. It was disturbing but unfortunately there are too many BLs like this. Yi Chen walks out, Lu Feng apologises saying he'll never to do it again.

Years later, Lu Feng has only grown angrier as a person and his behaviour is more disturbing. He not only causes YiChen's mother to be hospitalised, his attack also injures YiChen's younger brother. He takes no responsibility for his actions. After the second separation, Lu Feng upon meeting YiChen again, drugs him, assaults him, keeps him hostage, assaults him again after YiChen attempts suicide. Again, he does nothing to make up for these and it is brushed aside by the drama.

The show tries their best to minimise everything by giving Lu Feng a psychiatric disorder. That doesn't do away with rape but we gotta have a happy ending so by drama logic, all's good!

Besides these major problems in how they dealt with the character's "short comings", there were many moments that were simply repetitive. They practically destroyed the chemistry between the two since one was abusive and the other was tolerating abuse and not even capable of speaking for himself. His masochistic tendencies made me dislike him adding to this disastrous storyline. I couldn't see them together anymore. It was torture. The last two episodes were a struggle. Also, sorry to say, Yi Chen's half open mouth expressions were meh. He has very blunted emotions most of the time as a character which make him quite boring.

The few good things about this drama besides the initial real life homophobia depictions were the healthy relationship between little YiChen (both brothers have the same name) and his green flag boyfriend, Qin Lang. To be honest, the only actor that I found attractive among these 4 leads is Fa Xuan Ge. I wish he had a longer role. Respectful, caring, giving, sensible, you name it. And frankly this second couple makes the first look even more like a train wreck. The contrast between how Lu Feng and Qin Lang handle situations are stark! The younger brother, YiChen - though his character is not very remarkable but at least his concern for his brother came through as genuine.

The BEST thing about this show though is the music. Forget the Double Headache of a drama, just listen to the OST and call it a day!

Read More

A Badly Written Mess with Superficial Dark 'Romance'

This is a very poorly made series. I shudder when people compare it to other Chinese dark romances because it doesn't come close at all. It's extremely shallow, illogical, and superficial, and most importantly, it's not even a romance.

These characters don't love each other, and I don't mean it in "they hurt each other too much" kind of way. No, they truly, genuinely do not love each other. Throughout the series, they hold no meaningful conversations. They don't get to know each other. Until the end, you have no idea what they are supposed to like about each other because it's never shown.

Lu Feng isn't interested in Yichen's thoughts or feelings. He just wants them to be in a relationship: that's where his obsession starts and ends. He's not interested in the person himself, in his worries, his hopes, his values; on the contrary, he shows time and time again that he doesn't know or understand him. In the second half of the show, he blames him for being a gold digger. Like, seriously blaming him and punishing him for it even though there is zero reason to think that. If he doesn't know even this much about his supposed great love years later, what can I say?..

Yichen also doesn't love Lu Feng. He invests precisely 0 effort in preserving or maintaining this relationship. He bends where the wind blows, and in most cases, he bends for everyone and away from Lu Feng. He always, always puts everyone and everything else above him even though there are a million other solutions that a loving, somewhat intelligent person would have instantly come up with. He's so spineless that a stranger could take him from his house, put him in the car, and tell him they are going to another country, and he'll just say "okay" meekly with an empty, drugged-out look. And if you think it's because he's been badly broken: no, not at all. He's like this from E1.

From E1, these characters act inconsistently and make illogical choices. Their problems with miscommunication cannot be treated seriously because they are overblown to an extreme extent. Yeah, I get it, miscommunication is a popular trope, but you still need to adapt it smartly. There is nothing smart about writing in Double Helix. The characters don't talk about the most basic and obvious things just because the plot needs it.

There is no logic or psychology here in general. You have the oddest situations occurring, like one character allegedly trying to commit suicide and both characters forgetting about it in the very next scene, or a brother deciding to abandon his hurt brother with a man they haven't known long for 5+ years for the weakest reason of hiding, and then 'hiding' by working in a publicly known wife's company. Or a kidnapper inviting the powerful wife of the kidnapped to his place to show her abused husband to her for some reason, and her just so happening to carry a gun even though she didn't know the kidnapping took place. And then the very loving brothers reuniting after years like some random schoolmates with no emotional ties between them. Characters will appear when it's convenient and disappear when their presence is not convenient - and it happens all the time. It's a big annoying mess, just flashes of scenes with no logical or psychological connection.

The kindapping/abuse part everyone dreaded and kept freaking out over was done very, very poorly. There is just... barely anything happening there. Maybe Yichen gets assaulted, but it's shown very weirdly and he seems to be at least partly into it. Other than this, nothing. For 99% of time, it looks like a middle schooler got put on house arrest. There is no nuance, no psychological breaking, no depiction of how challenging and torturous this was for Yichen to live through; he just keeps eating apathetically as Lu Feng brings people over, never thinks of asking for help, and makes the same face in every situation. This can't be compared to what other red/black flags did to their partners in other dramas, so I never understood why everyone kept calling Lu Feng the king of black flags. He's crazy, that's true, but the biggest problem in their dynamic is a clear lack of love. The abuse itself is superficial as hell, so if you've come looking for dark and gritty stuff that horrifies and fascinates you, and has long-term consequences and a challenging road to redemption, you won't find any of it here.

The music is pretty good; one song in particular has stolen my heart. The acting... honestly, I'm not a fan, although I blame direction and weak script for it first and foremost. There are good scenes, the actors clearly have talent, but a lot of these scenes are very exaggerated, and Yichen's actor is walking around with the same empty expression for a major part of the series, even in situations that don't warrant it. These people deserved a way better script.

It's just old and beaten tropes over old and beaten tropes. These tropes aren't connected or presented well, so it feels like you're watching an outdated parody on quality dark romances. The actors seem absolutely lovely, their BTS are a treasure, but unfortunately, in my opinion, the series is a massive waste of time.

Read More

Not quite "a fast-paced, illogical, black-and-white dream," but...

The actual quote comes from Xiao Chen in episode 8 and reads as follows: "Life right now is like a fast-paced, illogical, black-and-white dream." I just couldn't resist using parts of it as the headline. It's the perfect self-own after all. The first 4 episodes are particularly rough. And, believe me, I'm anything but opposed to toxic romances, so it's not that. It's just that the story bulldozes through conflicts at a breakspine, I mean breakneck, speed, the acting is subpar at best, and there are entirely too many slow-motion sequences set to an overly dramatic soundtrack. I finally understand why GMMTV requires their actors to have base-level musicality. The actors' foundation is distractingly mismatched; what I can only assume are the results of plastic surgery don't do anyone any favors either. Oh, and the plot points are ridiculously trite clichés. What do you mean, several parents die of homophobia-aggravated, heart-related illnesses"?!

Once we're past the halfway mark, this mess surprisingly gets better, which is something I rarely say about shows. Lu Feng reaches his full potential as a psychopathic abuser, of which we had previously only seen, like, 80%. Is it effective buildup or my lowered expectations? Who's to say? Anyway, the spine incident is actually when I thought to myself, "Hm, maybe I will enjoy this in a sick way." The false imprisonment arc works really well, in part because the story slows down for a change. Once Lu Feng lost his last marble, my interest in him and Xiao Chen was piqued, though certainly not because they had any allure as a romantic pair. Since my initial lack of emotional investment in the main couple almost became this series' death knell, that's quite the turnaround. I also like a not insignificant number of side characters, such as Zhuo Lan (love that she tries to save Xiao Chen), Ke Luo, and Chen's office coworker friends. The second couple is also sometimes quite good and I must admit that the humorous scenes forced a chuckle or two out of me.

I'm curious to see how everything will be wrapped up in the remaining two episodes. What I can say for now is that I sure feel dumb for getting baited by the opening into expecting a GL couple. Update: Color me perplexed because this show actually did pull through AND I somewhat get the appeal of the main couple. Don't get me wrong, though; the acting choices are still, uh, choices, the pacing is atrocious, and to call the tonal shifts jarring would be an understatement. Tell me: On a scale from very to a lot, how offended should I be on behalf of people with bipolar disorder? While we're at it, what kind of toxicity level would you label the orange juice? Judging purely by its color, I think it should come with a nuclear waste warning.

Read More

Double Headache

Blood of Jesus, may this level of love never locate me! See nonsense! Naah, but this sh!t must be ragebait cuz aint nobody that effing in love. Lu Feng needs to go drink some water and chill the eff out with his toxic love. Yi Chen needs to stop looking like he’s living his whole damn life to a sad background song, Yi Chen’s brother needs--no, never mind, eff that dude, he sucks! And Qian Lang needs… actually, he needs nothing. Homeboy could have been replaced by a houseplant in the drama and it wouldn’t have made a damn difference to me. You know what, eff him too.

Before I start this review, is it just me or, was this Yi Chen throughout the drama?
Random tiktoker: Hey, brother Yi Chen, choose one of these two options. Option #1, Lu Feng or op—
Yi Chen: *cutting him off* 2. Option 2.
Random tiktoker: But you didn’t even hear the–
Yi Chen: I don’t need to hear what it is. My answer is #2.

LMAO!! ^^That boy was allergic to choosing Lu Feng. Homeboy kept choosing everyone but him. Yikes. Well, he ran in the rain for a bit to make that stupid arse choice in episode 11… but yaayy love, am i rite?

Listen, yes, this is just a drama, yes, chill, still, imma rant cuz that was 12 episodes of annoyance, anger, pain, turmoil, and straight up rage baiting. Cuz, all the characters in this drama were insufferable! At one point I wanted to be Lu Feng just so I could slap myself in the throat! That dumpling scene… nothing vexed me past that hospital scene with the dumplings. Were we supposed to feel bad for him?

First off, I am not #TeamLuFeng or #TeamYiChen. I’m Swizerland, cuz I hate those two leads an equal amount. Perhaps 0,6% less on Xiao Chen (cuz he ghosted his brother that one time), but other than that, every one on this show equally sucked. And don’t get me started on that brother and his twin.. was it just me or did the two look… never mind, another rant for another day.

CHARACTERS:
And I repeat. LU FENG needs to drink some water and chill the eff out. I’ve seen so many people excusing his behavior all in the name of love. Peoples! Are we watching the same drama? No one on his show is a saint but Lu Feng sure as hell isn’t whatever some of y’all making him out to be. Out there talking about ‘he’s so broken because he loves so hard’. Pfft, if you don’t go sit somewhere with your nonsense.

No, but this was Mr.-I-bought-your-favourite-dumplings-and orange-juice-for-you-so-eat-while-you're-in-a-coma 98% of the drama:
Lu Feng: Manipulated, kidnapped, tormented, abused, humiliated and completely shattered Yi Chen.
Lu Feng supporters: OMG, he did all of that cuz he loved Xiao Chen so much. He gave up everything for him and Yi Chen didn’t choose him, so he is entitled to being a scum of a human. He’s so misunderstood and pitiable, cuz he did all of that for love.
ME: May thunder fire you and your family’s goat!

Cuz why? LOVE? Ha! Make this kind nonsense love come disturb my backyard, na slap someone’s son go chop! Some of y’all can’t be serious. LOVE? Yi Chen got shot and couldn’t eat dumplings. Ain’t nobody that in love. Naah, miss me with that sh!t! I’d rather be that one cat lady.

Look, I get it. Lu Feng loves so deep, rare and wholehearted, it even made him sick. When it comes to love, he literally has nothing else in his heart than his love for Xiao Chen, and he’d gladly give up everything for it. Kudos to him, he’s a forever simp, yappiee. So of course he’s gonna be obsessive and do everything to protect it. But, and SO WHAT?

And the rage baiting arguments I’ve seen, like:
# Lu Feng said no to his FATHER and left his family for Yi Chen!... Well no sh!t! Lu Feng’s father was an abusive prick! He was literally beating him, and he was in a family situation where he was clearly not happy, (he's sister seemed like the only partial sane one, bless her heart). So of course, he was gonna protect the one happiness he found, which was Xiao Chen. It was no brainer for him to protect that happiness and choose Yi Chen in that situation.

In contrast, Yi Chen was from a happy (before he met Lu Feng) family that loved him. Two parents and a brother, all they were missing was a dog to be the perfect poster for ‘family’. Then, the father died and the 3 made it work. Sure, his parents wanted him to be ‘normal’ marry a female homosapien, but he saw it as the family that loves him, not wanting him to have a hard life, so of course, he had a hard time letting them go for Lu Feng.

Seriously, what was Yi Chen supposed to do in that situation when everything crumbled? There was his mother who just made new year’s food for them. They were all happy, then bam! She's super sick and at death’s door, but she’s been hiding it so as to not worry her children. Then here comes Mr. Lu Feng with his one track nonsense, selfish love. Like dude, read the effing room, you are the elephant!

Seriously though, was Lu Feng’s brilliant idea that moment to add more fuel to fire? Dude wanted all the credit for angering all their parents to death. Someone’s mom is dying, any little thing will set them off, and dude wants his boyfriend to use that moment to tell his dying mother who he loves to eff off with her homophobic arse and crook already! Like??? And of course Yi Chen said no, so Lu Feng decided the best thing in his situation was to tie Yi Chen up by force, shove his brother down the stairs to disable him, then confront the dying mother.

Dude!! Are you not tired, Sharon? Seriously, that whole episode, I kept screaming: ‘Nah fam, yous is hungry, go home and eat and sleep, cuz you’re doing too much right now!’ Aint no effing way his arse thought he was helping. No, seriously, what was he expecting would happen? Yi Chen told him to go home, give him space, but no, Mr. I’m in love, choose me, had to keep piling on the pressure.

Yes, I get his frustration. I supposed, his whole world felt like it was ending, so he reacted the best way his obsessive arse could. Still, Yi Chen calling the police on Lu Feng’s crazy arse was too lenient, my arse would have added a punch, like calm the eff down, Susan. And yes, I got where Lu Feng was coming from. He gave everything up when he was in the same situation, but Xiao Chen isn’t from a broken home. That decision wasn’t an easy one to make for him. He had a mother he loved (who sucked btw) and a brother he loved (eff him) and a boyfriend who was inherently making things more complicated than they needed to be in a hospital and escalating stuff. Dafug was that bagel supposed to do? Not call the police? Nah, I would have called the national guard, evacuate him from the goddamn country while you are at it! Don’t wanna even run into someone who knows him.

*another excuse* is people going: Lu Feng went psycho and did all of that to Yi Chen cuz he was hurt, heartbroken, and wanted him to feel the pain he felt when he chose his family over him. —- Huh? Is you crazy? That’s not an excuse, that was SELFISH! Dude said he was in love and would do anything, yet, he wanted that love returned (sure, who doesn’t) but he expected the same unconditional love, regardless of circumstances. Also, why they put Yi Chen in that outfit during the kidnapping/house arrest? LMAO it was so on the nose.

Lu Feng was out there crying and talking about: ‘please wake up, if you wake up i’ll never leave you alone again’. and my arse vexed and rolling my eyes like ’now, why is you threatening that poor boy? Like, all he wanna do is get away from you, why the eff he wanna wake up?’ Yi Chen a better person than me, cuz just to spite him, imma be in that coma forever, let us both be miserable, heck even if I woke, imma go back to sleep.

And when he gave him the ring and said he’d wait, I was looking around all confused like… ‘Wait.. hold on. Are we serious? Mfker why you threatening that poor boy in these streets? Dude is traumatized and you wanna put a ring on it?’ Nah, shame, does he even have it?

Listen, before I start on YI CHEN, let me just say, I’m not gonna waste my breath defending that passive human. Dude doesn’t want to be saved, his reason, ‘he’s in love’ Hahahaha see nonsense. Somebody's son don leave his brain for ein mother's womb before he comet from there. Cuz, after all that, dude put on that ring and ran back and even was the one to ask him out again. After all that abuse, emotional pain, the parade of std’s walking around his face and bullying him, while having Lu Feng tongue down their throats, plus the gunshot, mfker went back. Sure, the alternative was his brother (eff that dude) and that one guy, still… he went back, all in the name of love. God forbid! May this kind love never locate me!

Oh Yi Chen. Yi fucking Chen. Dude woke up after all that and the first name he called out is Lu Feng? And the worse part. He made him RAMEN! You know how much you gotta love someone to make them raman?? Nah, eff him, he’s just as bad. Dude vex me pass Lu Feng self. It wasn’t like this dude didn’t know how obsessive and crazy Lu Feng was, but somehow he kept acting like he was waiting for him to become something he wasn’t. Dude literally smoked a cigarette shop outside your gate the first time, grape you the second time, and mfker got a divorce and went straight to look for him, glasses off and everything!

FAM? Like, if you are going to let him go, let him go! What’s with all the half arse break ups? And look back out the car window every time? And knowing how Lu Feng is, Yi Chen promised to love him, stay with him, and then the moment his life gets upset, he chooses every one and their mother but Lu Feng, of course the mfker would go crazy, cuz what’s your love really worth if you can’t stay with him through the tough times?

Like, he knew Lu Feng was going to give up his family, riches, and MONEY for him. Yet, he chose the mother who wants him to give up his happiness so she can die in peace and sacrifice for his brother (gawd I hate that air-breather!) Like, who won’t go crazy in that situation? The woman was two seconds away from kicking the bucket and Xiao Chen, not sure if it was due to his filial piety or love, decided to sacrifice Lu Feng to make her die in peace. Like, you is dying anyway, dafug is it to you if your son out there kissing a psycho dude who is about to be broke? Nah, I too would have shoved people down the stairs.

I hate self-sacrificing idiots. I am pretty sure he thought he was doing the right thing. Making his dying mother happy, sacrificing so his brother didn’t have to give up his love. But why do you have to be a good son and brother at the expense of Lu Feng’s love and heart? Xiao Chen’s love felt too conditioned, too clean. Sure, that first time, he was broken and waited and waited, and couldn’t move on, but when it really mattered he did nothing. Yes, yes, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Still, after the mother died, he basically erased his life and stayed married to his beard!

He gave up on everything and decided to ghost everyone. Dude was like ‘lmao, y’all thought I was gonna stay. Nope, imma go fill the Zhou family with negative energy and waste 5 years of my life cuz my dead mother told me to marry a female and make her and my brother happy. I believe he’s crippled now, but I told his boyfriend he’s his problem now, and also I don’t wanna see him be happy while I’m miserable so good luck to him, his sadness for his mother dying, his brother ghosting him, and his broken legs. I’m out. #peace

Speaking of, my fellow females and males, dafug is with fighting for a man who doesn’t want you? Sister knew brother Xiao Chen didn’t want her, and she still married him. Some love is truly nonsense when all is said and done. Then of course, after disturbing us with her nonsense, she went and re-marry.

THEN after all that! All that! Yi Chen went and take a bullet for Lu Feng! Hahahhaha, Child! Is you alright, Bob? Lu Feng messed him up so much, I’m convinced he developed Stockholm syndrome. And then Lu Feng… hahahha were we supposed to feel bad for him at the hospital scene with the dumplings, cuz my arse was chewing my popcorn and goin ‘my friend, my friend, give it a rest, I am tired.’ I kept waiting for the police to show up and haul his arse away. Also why wasn’t anyone arrested or even charged in that?

And when he woke up and said his name and light appeared in the room. Ew, I wanted to throw up my popcorn, cuz aint no effing way the Lu Feng of that time was the light in anyone’s life. I won’t even say he was a candle, mfker was a flickering, dying firefly at best, couldn’t light shit.

The parents: Eff them both. At least the father had the decency to die in anger. The mother ruined lives and said ‘I’m sorry’ like that would fix anything.

The Second couple: Was the brother dude in love with Lu Feng at some point or another? His love for his brother was as cheap as my auntie’s church wig. Like, what the eff was he trying to achieve with telling the boy he was in love with to date his heartbroken brother… who is completely broken because he deleted a message that might have spared him some pain?
Who was that supposed to help, ho? And that houseplant, he said yes, knowing full well he didn’t like Yi Chen. Sure, he was doing it for someone he loves, but why would you hurt someone like that? Yes, I disliked that brother, still, he was there for Yi Chen, so I guess... he cares and like, his shoulders are nice... still.

And were those stairs not long enough or what? Hmph! Can’t even trust stairs anymore. ‘Hey, Lu Feng, next time try the wall of China.’ Those stairs would have done the job. At first I was like, Damn Yi Chen really exorcized his brother out of his life, but then I was like, I too would have deleted my life from his existence, cuz he was obnoxious when he wasn’t rolling down the stairs, now, he’d be insufferable.

FINALE
I'll be honest, not sure what to feel about the finale. On one hand, sure sad, on the other, they built those bridges themselves and now have to live with the circumstances. Like, Lu Feng went and got himself a titled illness and everything. Then he needed curing, so cue the sad montage. Then, afterwards, he was walking around all brooding, looking depressed, and like he's seconds away from calling it quits. The life in him was just gone. And for Yi Chen, trying to save him borrowed money from his brother (where he got it?) to get house. Sure, but what was the point, Lu Feng was in rehab, and couldn't use the house anyway.

Either way, they both ended up, both broken, healing, and finding a space in between to be happy. I guess, that worked for them, not me though, would have left back in the beginning episode when that dude who shoved me in the school yard started making googly eyes at me.

I wasn’t heartless enough not to feel bad for Lu Feng, but I was heartless enough to go. This is what you get for being in love. Next time, die and come back and be that in love again. Fool!

Any who, all in all, good watch, raised my blood pressure, but that's what these dramas are about, to get us talking. Recommend for anyone interested in black flags. Dude might just be in the same family as Hua Yong and Xiao Fan. Looking forward to more for the actors, their chemistry and acting was very good.


And just for this drama, if I ever meet someone and they go: ‘Long time no see’ imma throw salt over my shoulders and at them… those words started all this, and my arse don’t want none of that. God forbid!

Read More

Abuser X Victim: Traumatic God Awful Show!

I don't know where to start with this. I'm so tired right now. I'll try to be succinct, doubt that's gonna happen though. Double Helix is supposed to be symbolic of their relationship. Of our (ugh not mine) two main characters: Yi Chen and Lu Feng who crossed paths in high-school, found each other in college again and reconnected promising a forever love and a future together, but on contrary the Double Helix is one a zig-zag line another a squiggly line, the latter getting attacked by the former because love made it blind and also gave it a mental illness.

Lu Feng, A rich spoiled kid- brat, entitled, and inhuman selfish piece of shit. Yi Chen, our poor victim, warm-hearted dumb dumb, timid and dumb. God! I don't have adjectives for this guy other than those.

See now how I didn't have much to talk about Yi Chen, since other than being a victim and his whole life revolving around the other protagonist. We don't get much on him. Like his dreams, ambitions and a set of things he wanted for himself in his life. He lacks much of his personality(not talking about behavior). We see him hustling around, being told he is a great at this that, and we never see him being assertive, his cafe business also barely running. I hate that we are never given anything convincing to show he had a life of his own, he also turn into his assistant WTF BRO? YOU WORKED IN DESIGN OR SMTG. On the other hand, we have his brother but, we can easily see how he is different from him. He has dreams, he loves his family, and he is childish but guarded, his love life: healthy and supporting comparatively.

Lu Feng, from a strict rich family. But, he too is pathetically written like Yi Chen so there ain't much going on here and I don't care about him anyways. He has a company to inherit that's on stake because no gay, estranged relations, abusive father. He isn't passionate about anything else, other than Yi Chen. He doesn't care about anyone, not even Yi Chen.

Now let's talk about *drumroll* The Problematic Plot: It begins in high school, ML likes the other ML,Yi Chen because he has a nice smile? I don't remember much (thanks brain) Lu Feng, pretending to get hurt using this thin guy everytime, doing stupid things to get his attention. (Also they fucking ran in their school uniform not gym clothes bruh) College days and it continues more, Lu Feng is soooo pushy, all over Yi Chen, so much sexual harrasment gets excused here it was so hard to witness. From here on Yi Chen is done for, for life!

He doesn't care about the feelings of his partner, and whether he is ready or not for physical intimacy. He forces him to have sex[RAPE], also always when he needs to get Yi Chen to abide him he manipulated this guy in the name of love and their stupid vows. It was honestly so hard to watch those scenes where I expected clumsiness, gentle patience and understanding.

From here it spirals from one conflict to another, seperation after seperation from ep 2 onwards. So, the rest of 10 eps spanned over several years just doing this stupid continuous fall outs and second chances. Where we see more concerning debilitating, call the cops situations presented by: Lu Feng. Yi Chen gets conditioned to give in to everything because Lu Feng's abusive behavior and his rampant insecurity in their relationship controls as Yi Chen tries to refuse and so, he submits. I don't know if this guy is into it but at some point of time it is hard to distinguish whether he doing this because he is a masochist or because he is completely stuck in the bottomless pit of a hellhole that he believes as love and life.

Series of events unravel just to drag on plot and reach new heights in enabling the more of shit Lu Feng does as he never understands or is made to feel the weight of his actions. He selfishly paints Yi Chen as a villain for caring for his family who have been there for him his whole life. He doesn't acknowledge that he brought doom to both of his family members. Bipolar disorder doesn't justify his skewed morality. We never see him having episodes in the first place, if they were building towards this, they should show apparent and believable symptoms of the illness. Even if we were to say he was having an episode during that time when he did that. We never see the aftermath of his remorse or regret for causing harm. He just sucks as a human being, maybe with another mental illness or bunch.

Then Lu Feng drugs him, locks him up and constantly verbally, sexually abused him to the point that Yi Chen attempts suicide. After this utter depravity, rooting for them to end up together, wanting someone like him, and considering what Lu Feng did as righteous and out of love and out of yearning is fucking messed up. And arguing it is not real and it is acceptable because it's fiction is seriously vile. I don't care how everyone perceives it, if you enjoy it fine but calling it acceptable because it's fiction still negates the feelings a fictional character, for whom fiction it be, is real, the abuse happens there and he suffers A LOT.

I don't want to see homosexuals represented like this, nor would I accept a straight drama such. But, how it's disgustingly incessant and appreciated is concerning as it's being romanticized. Media such desensitizes the intensity of abuse and demoralizes the autonomy and feelings of the victim in whole. We see the exact same thing happen to Yi Chen and the drama brushed past the rape and trauma inflicted from it as if it was a phase in their relationship. He is an abuser, criminal, a rapist. He should be condemned and jailed lifetime. Yet, he is fawned over and excused because man he has mental illness.

Yi Chen goes back again for fucks sakes, I hated this drama so much for this. I don't care if Lu Feng cries that little shit uses his tears to shackle this guy and man does Yi Chen loves chains. He needs to be freed, he needs therapy, he should've been involuntarily taken to get medical help, we could've saved him but no, we need to give them a fucked up ending.

Yet Lu Feng, a criminal is free, And with a mental illness for the last episode. Stupid foreboding from ep 11, but wasn't expecting a sorry excuse of a mental disorder, wrongly diagnosed that too. And the whole episode is written even badly lol. None of it makes sense, from showing all patient records to not a guardian, disguised as a lover to check on your patient's obsession and not knowing that your patient is fucking vermin with an abuse history!! who needs to be kept away from the victim because he is a walking hazard with fragility of glass. Just because he has a mental illness doesn't means he can just get away with all of the fucking crimes he committed. Utterly bullshit. Well, dumb drama. I hate that Lu Feng gets that much understanding at his vulnerability of his mental illness(??) when the same is not offered when Yi Chen actually goes through worse and life threatening.

Seeing Yi Chen happy family made me hope that his parents would be supportive towards his sexual orientation, but writer made them die bitterly and making their children extremely sad and resentful(if not them, i am) too. The second couple was decent, only sane thing in the show. I just appreciated that it was a healthy relationship.

Complaining about the brother is dumb, he is fictional ffs bleh and right where he is coming from expect when he says that they(lu and xi) should get together that, a no! The siblings actually has a good relationship which was nice. The only thing that I liked about the mcs was the recorded video of their relationship montage in their college days played in ep 2 I think, that was cute and should've been the whole plot. 1 star considering all that. I can't rate it nothing or negative either so yeah.

A lot of the characters never appear again, the second couple barely gets any screentime. The acting is just okay, I didn't feel any chemistry between the characters, they kiss because their faces are close not because there is some tension. I didn't pay much attention to the OST since the show spends most of it's screentime ragebaiting me.

This was my first Toxic BL or whatever we call this stupid genre I don't know why such themes exist in the first place when they are gonna end up together and it is a happily ever after, given the horrifying things that are inflicted on one by their so called love interest and endgame. It doesn't offer any meaningful perspective cause I definitely don't want to understand or empathize with an abuser who, in question is never made to suffer the consequences of their actions. Not like a redemption arc would save his wretchedness, definitely ending that stupid relationship would've saved it some face and I would've tried to accept that the conflicts and abuse he endured finally over and he would get therapy and healing, finding purpose in his life.

So what's the point of Double Helix? Nothing. It is a twisted horror story where abuser and victim end up together. Not recommended. Very triggering and agitating. Don't watch this garbage.

Read More

The typical toxic chinese BL with a twist...

How to rate this? On one hand I despise the story, on the other hand it was done so perfectly. Of course I'm a bit sick of all the toxic chinese BLs because, do we really need that much toxicity? Is the world not toxic enough? As far as I can tell, the toxicity level was reduced compared to the first installment and the novels, on the other hand the scenes where Lu Feng is holding Yi Chen captive and abuses him are very painful to watch.

And then Yi Chen is also sick - with Stockholm syndrom - and deciding to stay with Lu Feng in the end. But of course he decided against him first because he is the knight in shining armor to protect the love of his brother who also happens to be gay. Of course his family did not help. At least his shitty father had the decency to die in a rage outbreak, but his mother still insisted that he would marry. And because Yi Chen is Yi Chen he does what his mother wants, even when she also dies soon after. Why the woman who loved him, did marry him, knowing he is gay, is beyond me. So it seems she is also sacrifing herself. But at least they get a divorce and because they changed the script, they don't have a child, so there was no intimicy whatsoever.

It's a bit sad, that we have always such characters especially in BLs. Yi Chen sacrifices himself - for what? Lu Feng was driven mad and due his medical condition, it escalated. At least in the finale we get the medical reason why Lu Feng did all the shitty things he did, which is neither in the book nor in most other toxic BLs. His dipolar disorder - also formely known as manic depression - at least explains a lot. He was a maniac for sure. Xi Chen did the only reasonable thing and forced him to get the treatment he needed for more than ten years.

Production quality was of course top notch and the OST was excellent. Acting was also very good for me. So, as usual, everyone who has mental issues should definitively not watch this series. At least with Yi Chen brother and his lover we got the typical fluffy BL stuff many wish for but only in limited quantity. Watch at your own peril!

Read More

A beautiful mess with an unfinished feeling

I stayed invested mainly because of the leads and their chemistry, which carried a lot of the emotional weight of the drama. I enjoyed the themes of first love, separation, and finding each other again after years apart, and there were several moments that genuinely worked for me. My biggest issue was the final stretch of the story. One of the leads suddenly spirals, and for a while it feels like his behavior comes completely out of nowhere, only for the drama to reveal in the last episode that he has bipolar disorder. That is such a significant piece of information, yet it arrives so late that it doesn’t have the emotional impact or development it deserved. The last two episodes felt incredibly rushed, as if the drama expected viewers to simply accept everything without taking the time to properly explore the consequences or emotions behind it. I also really appreciated the younger brother and his partner, who brought a lot of warmth and support whenever the story became too heavy. That said, for a Chinese BL, I was genuinely surprised by how much they managed to show and imply. Considering the limitations and likely censorship involved, there were several moments I honestly never expected to see on screen, and for that alone the series deserves some credit. Despite its flaws, the chemistry between the leads kept me invested until the very end.

Read More