This review may contain spoilers
Is the hype justified? Kinda...
I like dark (and at times toxic) romance but I do have some things that will immediately turn me off a story. Now, where I draw the line is pretty subjective, I enjoyed "To My Shore", which arguably crosses similar if not worse moral lines.I suppose it's because in "Double Helix" it seems like Yi Chen had no possible power in or outside of their relationship. (Although Lu Feng's devotion could imply that in their dynamic, Yi Chen had the upper hand, this is not the case.)
Yi Chen is punished for doing just about anything Lu Feng doesn't agree with. And Lu Feng's treatment of him was domineering and abusive. Using his superior resources, physical strength and ruthlessness to manipulate and psychologically torture Yi Cheng and hold him captive.
And yet Yi Cheng gives him countless chances despite Lu Feng doing nothing to atone for them until going to therapy and ultimately in-patient care (which he is basically forced into by way of ultimatum.) His actual improvement shown with a montage in the very last episode. And I also don't feel great about justifying his behaviour somewhat with "mental illness".
I worry about the people I see defending Lu Feng online. You're more than allowed to like the character/enjoy a toxic ship but to justify his entirely selfish and abusive behaviour is concerning.
I gave the show 6 stars despite loathing the storyline because I really liked the second couple (Yi Chen's brother did nothing wrong besides his initial homophobia, he was right to protect his brother imo). The show's production quality was quite satisfactory and I honestly enjoyed the performance from Lv Si Tong and Ayden Sng.
I look forward to their next project because I do think they're talented and have great chemistry. This show just really went downhill for me story/character wise.
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