This review may contain spoilers
Had an insane potential
GagaOOLala: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/8026/unfold-2026-e01An alright series, I liked the first few episodes and was genuinely hooked, but it slowly became worse with every episode. The last episode felt like a fever dream, and I'm honestly happy it's done. It wasn't bad, just not really good either.
Would I rewatch it? Only if there is a second season to refresh the memory.
Would I watch a second season? Yes, but I'm not necessarily excited for it or anything.
Things I liked:
1. Bai Che. He is really smart, and I love that about him.
2. Visuals.
3. Idea. The idea behind the series was great and definitely had a lot of potential, but they really didn't execute it well enough.
Things I disliked:
1. Confusing plot. It was interesting but confusing in a lot of aspects. Unfortunately, people who made it are terrible at explaining things. Instead of spending time on explaining certain parts in more depth, they just add more and more lore pieces to make it even more confusing.
2. Cheng Fan. He is an incredibly unlikable character and genuinely pissed me off so hard, and maybe it's a controversial opinion, but realistically he had no personal reason for killing Bai Che's "father."
"He killed my mother" sure buddy... You mean YOU killed your mother? You needed an organ transplant for her, and HE was the first person you went to for help?? Yeah, it's your own fault, and you have only yourself to blame.
And saying, "No need to thank me," what are you even talking about?
3. Credits to the episode ratio. This one is pretty petty, but 50% series and 50% credits is an insane ratio.
4. No logic. As much as I love the plot and idea of this series, I hate how it doesn't make absolutely any sense:
* In episode 5, Ling Ye was theorizing about who killed Bai Che's "father" and even had thoughts that Bai Che might've done it himself. Now in episode 6, all of a sudden, not only does he know that Cheng Fan was the one who did it, but he also doesn't elaborate on how he knows it.
* If Cheng Fan killed Bai Che's "father," how has he not been caught yet? That doesn't make sense. He clearly had some "business" going on with him, so he should be one of the suspects, and don't even get me started on the fact that he touched him without gloves before killing him.
Watching this series feels like there is at least a one-episode gap between each episode. It feels like I'm always missing some information, and things are happening behind the scenes.
Was this review helpful to you?
The Only Chinese BL This Season That Isn’t Working for Me
I’m watching five currently airing Chinese BLs and four of them are easy 10 out of 10s for me.This was the only one that didn’t click. The intro and ending credits felt far too long, a 20 minute episode already has a 2 minute intro and 7 minute ending credits, so half of it isn't actually watchable content. I've never seen a series with ending credits that are this long.
The plot was confusing, and I never really connected with the characters. Chinese BLs usually deliver for me, so this one ended up being a disappointment.
Now that I’ve reached the finale, my opinion hasn’t changed. I kept hoping it would improve, but unfortunately it never did.
Was this review helpful to you?
Not bad.
I don't know why people say the plot was confusing, i was very clear to me. This story wasn't bad, but somehow the production failed it. It was a very interesting story, but they didn't use it to the full potential. The visuals and music were ok.The actors did ok, but weren't spectacular. The kisses and NC scenes were good enough.
I see there will be a second season, i wonder where the story will go i that season.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Waiting for more.....
Plot: Entertaining and intriguing. Incomplete.Acting: Better than most. Characters believable. ML needed more screen time. I liked how their relationship evolved. 2nd ML delivered but could do with less speeches.
Atmosphere: The unknown worked in its favor. Nothing was revealed until it was needed to kbe known. Grimy, dirty and depressing.
Direction: Good. Pacing was as it should be. Flashbacks filled in snippets that could be forgotten, used for revelation or introspection and impact.
Length of scenes and series: Episodes could be a little longer but it worked to stretch it to 8 ep with something new in each. So it wasn't repetitive.
Ended on a cliffhanger to be continued. Hope it does happen and funding is not an issue.
Was this review helpful to you?
A series with potential but zero development
In my opinion, this series had everything to be one of the best currently airing. It presented a unique plot with themes of suspense, action, and romance mixed within an environment of trafficking and corruption. However, it was the complete opposite. Its development was minimal; at times, it was unclear what was actually happening. You can tell the production team doesn't know how to handle the story when, out of an episode of around 20 minutes, practically 9 minutes are dedicated to the opening and closing credits. And what about that ending? I expected at least a decent conclusion, but they couldn't even manage that.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
darker vibe that needed to narrow the focus
Overall: the writers needed to narrow the focus (like leave out the whole shipping port part) to better explain motivations/plot. 8 episodes about 13 minutes (with 4 minute credits) each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/8026/unfold-2026-e01 (not available in Japan or Korea)Content Warnings: murders, past suicides, blood/gore, manipulation, torture, organ trafficking, kidnapping/child trafficking?, sex trafficking, slap, choking
Watch Suggestions (to take out seeing content warnings)
- episode 1 watch 3-6:30 and 8:15-end
- watch episode 2
- episode 3 skip 9:10-12:35 (there is a spicy scene here but a character has something on his shirt and you can guess what he just did)
- episode 4 skip 5:10-5:30
- episode 5 skip 5:20-6:40 and 9:50-10:10
- start episode 6 at 7 minutes
- episode 7 skip 7:30-8:15 and end at episode 8
- don't watch episode 8
What I Liked
- unique premise
- mystery
- visuals
Room For Improvement
- there were 4 main characters and they didn't devote enough screen time or clear up enough of the confusion
- neutral on having sex after a character was traumatized (i.e. not in his right mind)
- a lot of things didn't make sense/weren't explained. Examples in the finale: if all they needed was a thumbprint, why not threaten him at his workplace or knock him unconscious to get the thumbprint, why kill him after they got the thumbprint, why didn't the guy investigating ever involve the police along the way or at the end, how did he know what abandoned warehouse the other guy was at, etc.
- left at to be continued, where most series never get a sequel
Was this review helpful to you?
