dodoubleg1785
Toronto, Canada and New York, USA
This review may contain spoilers
One word summary: Beautiful
Really, everything in this show was simply beautiful. The story, the relationships, cinematography and the acting and everything in between. Even the imperfections in each character were beautiful because of the history behind them. They were realistic portrayals of flawed human beings. Even so, the show had so much heart, and not the soft, superficial kind.
Speaking of Heart, right off the bat I have to say Gemini did a phenomenal job in his role. Like, mindblowingly so. For a young, relatively new actor, he gave the best performance in this show in my opinion. I was more invested in Heart and Li Ming's development as both a couple and as individuals than anyone else in the series. Without having seen any trailers or info about the show beforehand, I didn't even know Gemini and Fourth were in it so when they first showed up on screen, I was a little worried it would be the same as My School President, but it was anything but. Honestly, these actors get a better chance to shine when they are taken out of the school setting and placed in more realistic and mature scenarios.
Speaking of casting, while I loved Earth and his character, I had a hard time reminding myself that he's supposed to be near 40 in this. Like, he's not even 30 yet, nor does he look it, so why would they constantly try to make him seem as such? They did the same thing in Tale of Thousand Stars where he was supposed to be near 40 and I just call "bullsh*t." I mean, realistically, in the BL drama category, the actors have a very short lifespan as they start to approach 30, now the writers/casting directors want us to believe these guys in their 20s are actually 40? I'm torn because I loved Earth's performance and I like him as an actor overall, but I think the story would have been just as good if they said Jim was, say, 30-32. It still provides the age difference storyline without taking it too far out of the realm of possibility.
All of the relationships, not just romantic, were complicated and some were strained while others were so tight knit giving a balance throughout the show. The friendship between the diner staff had me feeling envious while the less than perfect relationship Li Ming had with his mother was very raw and, honestly, refreshing. I know some see Li Ming as just a moody teenager but he was just so very REAL. When he was having the conversation with Jim about his feelings toward his mom and whether he actually loved her when she's essentially a stranger, I wanted to applaud the writers. So many times, the characters just blindly love and follow their parents even when they don't deserve it. Just because someone gave birth, doesn't make them a true "parent." It's a messy and complicated type of relationship that is sometimes considered even more taboo to bring up in conversation than talking about sexuality but they handled it really well here.
I know a lot of people would have liked a longer series and honestly, I get it. It was so good that instinctually, we just want more of it. But as far as the overall plot, I think 8 episodes was perfect. It didn't need any filler with silly storylines like miscommunication or misunderstandings that tend to go on for multiple episodes.
This is a good series to have on hand when you need a pick-me-up from the weight of the world. It will definitely get a rewatch from me, that's for sure.
Speaking of Heart, right off the bat I have to say Gemini did a phenomenal job in his role. Like, mindblowingly so. For a young, relatively new actor, he gave the best performance in this show in my opinion. I was more invested in Heart and Li Ming's development as both a couple and as individuals than anyone else in the series. Without having seen any trailers or info about the show beforehand, I didn't even know Gemini and Fourth were in it so when they first showed up on screen, I was a little worried it would be the same as My School President, but it was anything but. Honestly, these actors get a better chance to shine when they are taken out of the school setting and placed in more realistic and mature scenarios.
Speaking of casting, while I loved Earth and his character, I had a hard time reminding myself that he's supposed to be near 40 in this. Like, he's not even 30 yet, nor does he look it, so why would they constantly try to make him seem as such? They did the same thing in Tale of Thousand Stars where he was supposed to be near 40 and I just call "bullsh*t." I mean, realistically, in the BL drama category, the actors have a very short lifespan as they start to approach 30, now the writers/casting directors want us to believe these guys in their 20s are actually 40? I'm torn because I loved Earth's performance and I like him as an actor overall, but I think the story would have been just as good if they said Jim was, say, 30-32. It still provides the age difference storyline without taking it too far out of the realm of possibility.
All of the relationships, not just romantic, were complicated and some were strained while others were so tight knit giving a balance throughout the show. The friendship between the diner staff had me feeling envious while the less than perfect relationship Li Ming had with his mother was very raw and, honestly, refreshing. I know some see Li Ming as just a moody teenager but he was just so very REAL. When he was having the conversation with Jim about his feelings toward his mom and whether he actually loved her when she's essentially a stranger, I wanted to applaud the writers. So many times, the characters just blindly love and follow their parents even when they don't deserve it. Just because someone gave birth, doesn't make them a true "parent." It's a messy and complicated type of relationship that is sometimes considered even more taboo to bring up in conversation than talking about sexuality but they handled it really well here.
I know a lot of people would have liked a longer series and honestly, I get it. It was so good that instinctually, we just want more of it. But as far as the overall plot, I think 8 episodes was perfect. It didn't need any filler with silly storylines like miscommunication or misunderstandings that tend to go on for multiple episodes.
This is a good series to have on hand when you need a pick-me-up from the weight of the world. It will definitely get a rewatch from me, that's for sure.
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