I enjoyed this series. JBLs are a completely different animal from Thai or even Korean ones. And definitely different from CBLs.
The Japanese ones (for the most part) seem to be based more on maturity, without a lot of drama. Some might find them boring, I'm sure.
But having MANY gay couples in my circle of dear friends, I find the more mature ones rather refreshing from time to time, and closer to my own observations of my friends' real life relationships.
This is giving me Memoir of Rati vibes. That is great acting/chemistry, good direction/production, but somehow…
Ticket to Heaven is incredibly well-acted and directed.
Fourth's acting alone is really deep and thought-provoking. Gemini is great, too, but Fourth is in another category.
IMO, this series is much better than Memoir of Rati.
While MoR was airing, it was apparent that Great and Inn were already growing distant as a BL couple. IMO, they just did not have their former chemistry, and that dragged the series down.
After MoR concluded, their pairing breakup announcement was no real surprise.
At the beginning of the Ep, the screen says it's 2025.
Then there's a flashback.
It's 1996, and both Tanrak and Barth are in the second semester of 12th grade. So they're about 17-18 years old.
Two problems:
1) In 2025 before the flashback, Father Arnon says "Hard to believe it's been almost 20 years." But by the math ...... 2025-1996 = 29 year difference in time
2) If we add 29 years to Tanrak and Barth's ages in 1996, they would be around 46-47 years old in 2025.
But in the opening scenes of Ep 1 (in 2025), Barth has no lines on his face, no gray hairs......nothing. He barely looks 28-30 years old, much less close to 50.
(Putting aside all of the rapes, sexual assaults (forced kissing, etc), physical abuse (choking, etc, psychological abuse (being kidnapped and held captive, watching Lu Feng bring home multiple men, Lu Feng telling him he's not worth anything and telling others who visit the house that Yichen's presence is not worth acknowledging.....)
1) Wasn't Lan Zhou breaking the law by having a gun?
How did they cover up the fact that she almost killed Yichen? (I know her intended target was Lu Feng.)
Even if the police were not notified right away, how did the hospital not report it after Yichen's surgery? It seems like she was not charged with a crime.
2) All those months that Yichen was unconscious in the hospital and Lu Feng was talking to him, never once did Lu Feng apologize for anything he'd done. He didn't show empathy and understanding for the decisions Yichen made. And he didn't really express any understanding for the consequences of his OWN decisions and actions. His one-sided conversations and crying jags were full of "Why me?" and "I want...." and "I need...." and "You can't leave me....." etc.
And his unspoken reaction when Yichen finally woke up was......"You're awake!! Now we're going to get back together, right? You won't leave me, right?" He didn't say those things out loud, but that was the vibe I got from him in that scene.
3) It bothers me that Yichen is NOT willing to leave and go somewhere else to start his life over, until his annoying brother asks him to. He's basically just trading one obsessive (and dangerous) man who controls him, for his younger brother who is ALSO obsessive and controlling. He allows himself to be manipulated by both.
4) Why did Yichen tell his brother he never saw Lu Feng again after he moved back to Xincheng? There's no way he would logically be able to conceal the truth, knowing how Lu Feng was still finding ways to see him, be close to him, try to convince him to get back together, etc. The younger brother was destined to see Lu Feng at some point and realize Yichen had lied to him.
5) How in the world does Lu Feng run a successful business when he spends HOURS each and every single day obsessing over and physically being in the same house / hospital room with Yichen? I read a medical report recently that talks about severe, chronic sleep deprivation and how it can cause psychosis in some people. I think besides Lu Feng's already obsessive personality, the lack of sleep just completely pushes him over the edge any time he thinks Yichen might leave him again.
6) It's so difficult to watch a series where the characters obviously love each other but NEVER try to clear up misunderstandings. Constantly concealing problems, lying, never explaining anything, never standing up for themselves, etc. It's exhausting.
7) Depending how the last episodes go, I might swear off heavy, toxic dramas for a while. Years ago I was in an abusive relationship. Most dramas I watch that show those kinds of relationships still allow me to suspend belief and see them as "fictional." But some are almost too much for me to watch. They actually trigger some of my PTSD. Double Helix is one of them. I am too invested to quit watching, but it's really making me angry and sad. I love the real-life actors, but in the series it hurts to see their characters hurt.
Why would a contract killer give his prisoner - someone the assassin doesn't want to escape or call attention to his imprisonment in the basement - a LIGHTER of all things, and then walk away??? That makes no sense.
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The Japanese ones (for the most part) seem to be based more on maturity, without a lot of drama. Some might find them boring, I'm sure.
But having MANY gay couples in my circle of dear friends, I find the more mature ones rather refreshing from time to time, and closer to my own observations of my friends' real life relationships.
Fourth's acting alone is really deep and thought-provoking. Gemini is great, too, but Fourth is in another category.
IMO, this series is much better than Memoir of Rati.
While MoR was airing, it was apparent that Great and Inn were already growing distant as a BL couple. IMO, they just did not have their former chemistry, and that dragged the series down.
After MoR concluded, their pairing breakup announcement was no real surprise.
At the beginning of the Ep, the screen says it's 2025.
Then there's a flashback.
It's 1996, and both Tanrak and Barth are in the second semester of 12th grade. So they're about 17-18 years old.
Two problems:
1) In 2025 before the flashback, Father Arnon says "Hard to believe it's been almost 20 years."
But by the math ...... 2025-1996 = 29 year difference in time
2) If we add 29 years to Tanrak and Barth's ages in 1996, they would be around 46-47 years old in 2025.
But in the opening scenes of Ep 1 (in 2025), Barth has no lines on his face, no gray hairs......nothing. He barely looks 28-30 years old, much less close to 50.
The bullying in Ep 1 involves a lot of violence and results in one suicide. So just be forewarned about that.
I have not watched the other episodes, yet.
(Putting aside all of the rapes, sexual assaults (forced kissing, etc), physical abuse (choking, etc, psychological abuse (being kidnapped and held captive, watching Lu Feng bring home multiple men, Lu Feng telling him he's not worth anything and telling others who visit the house that Yichen's presence is not worth acknowledging.....)
1) Wasn't Lan Zhou breaking the law by having a gun?
How did they cover up the fact that she almost killed Yichen? (I know her intended target was Lu Feng.)
Even if the police were not notified right away, how did the hospital not report it after Yichen's surgery? It seems like she was not charged with a crime.
2) All those months that Yichen was unconscious in the hospital and Lu Feng was talking to him, never once did Lu Feng apologize for anything he'd done. He didn't show empathy and understanding for the decisions Yichen made. And he didn't really express any understanding for the consequences of his OWN decisions and actions. His one-sided conversations and crying jags were full of "Why me?" and "I want...." and "I need...." and "You can't leave me....." etc.
And his unspoken reaction when Yichen finally woke up was......"You're awake!! Now we're going to get back together, right? You won't leave me, right?" He didn't say those things out loud, but that was the vibe I got from him in that scene.
3) It bothers me that Yichen is NOT willing to leave and go somewhere else to start his life over, until his annoying brother asks him to. He's basically just trading one obsessive (and dangerous) man who controls him, for his younger brother who is ALSO obsessive and controlling. He allows himself to be manipulated by both.
4) Why did Yichen tell his brother he never saw Lu Feng again after he moved back to Xincheng? There's no way he would logically be able to conceal the truth, knowing how Lu Feng was still finding ways to see him, be close to him, try to convince him to get back together, etc. The younger brother was destined to see Lu Feng at some point and realize Yichen had lied to him.
5) How in the world does Lu Feng run a successful business when he spends HOURS each and every single day obsessing over and physically being in the same house / hospital room with Yichen? I read a medical report recently that talks about severe, chronic sleep deprivation and how it can cause psychosis in some people. I think besides Lu Feng's already obsessive personality, the lack of sleep just completely pushes him over the edge any time he thinks Yichen might leave him again.
6) It's so difficult to watch a series where the characters obviously love each other but NEVER try to clear up misunderstandings. Constantly concealing problems, lying, never explaining anything, never standing up for themselves, etc. It's exhausting.
7) Depending how the last episodes go, I might swear off heavy, toxic dramas for a while. Years ago I was in an abusive relationship. Most dramas I watch that show those kinds of relationships still allow me to suspend belief and see them as "fictional." But some are almost too much for me to watch. They actually trigger some of my PTSD. Double Helix is one of them. I am too invested to quit watching, but it's really making me angry and sad. I love the real-life actors, but in the series it hurts to see their characters hurt.
Ayden is a TOTAL cat guy (so is Sitong, but Ayden is the true main cat guy in this video):
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pJ3SMfj4hsk
Or am I just not remembering?
This drama was OK, but not great. The ending was so abrupt and impersonal.
I think, out of all of the main actors, Jasper Zhou was the best. I'll have to check out his other series.
At the very least, why didn't the killer cover the guy's mouth in some way?
And yes....no food.....no bathroom breaks.....UGH. Illogical plot points bug me.
But in Ep 2.......
Why would a contract killer give his prisoner - someone the assassin doesn't want to escape or call attention to his imprisonment in the basement - a LIGHTER of all things, and then walk away??? That makes no sense.
Not sure what that says about me, though. LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRPhnrHfngE