There is a lot to love about this series.

First of all, I was surprised by how prominently the gay theme is foregrounded from the start. The story isn't entirely focused on the gay romance, the issue of homosexuality is central to the plot. I was thinking that the subject would be a minor issue, but it seems that the production has decided to take a risk by focusing on it throughout even when the story isn't dwelling on the romance. For a show that doesn't pander much to a BL fanbase, this is quite amazing.

Secondly, the bromance is wonderful. The close bond between Tian and his brother, Yang, was what made the series, which involves a lot of characters scheming and plotting against one another, more palatable. And while a lot of series featuring "bromance" make it borderline romance, in this case, the Tian and Yang are biological brothers, and there is no hint of possible romance at all. The sibling bond between them is pure and moving. I really love the scene in which Yang realises that Tian is gay and runs to him to hug him, half chiding himself for not understanding what Tian has been going through, half wanting to comfort Tian without revealing that he knows his secret.

As a bonus, the straight couple, Yang and Pin, is also cute.

Yet, some of the scenes and turns in the plot may leave one incredulous. A case in point is the scene in which Jiu was attacked by a group of people sent by Tian's father. The attackers (some of them anyway) had guns, but nonetheless fought with knives until they were about to lose. So far it is simply not very logical, but the next part is truly absurd. Another group of people do not want Jiu to be killed but do not want to clash with the attackers. So guess what? They spotted a couple of birds on a tree and somehow manage to catch the birds and send them flying into the hut to create chaos, so Jiu has a chance to escape.

Then in a plot twist that isn't exactly unexpected, a man who has been "killed" by poison turns up alive . . . because he has the antidote. Okaaaaay, but he was rendered unconscious by the poison and couldn't have taken the antidote--especially when the one who wants him dead dumps him in a body of water to drown him. No proper explanation is given for how he manages to stay alive apart from the fact that he has the antidote.

And the main villain in the show is ridiculously hard to kill. It's perhaps another soap opera thing, but it's quite funny how he could survive having a couple of fingers cut off, having a sharp object stabbed into his eye, being hit viciously with a stick several times (including on the head, I think) and getting knocked about by some drug that caused him to lose consciousness--all at the same time! I thought that the loss of blood while he's unconscious would kill him. But not. Not only does he survive the attack that takes place in the wilderness, but he also soon turns up at Tian's house (with his injuries already bandaged) with a few soldiers and go on a rampage despite all the injuries he has sustained.

Additionally, the portrayal of homosexuality may be somewhat controversial. It seems ridiculously easy for characters to guess that Tian is gay. Yang sees Tian helping Jiu, whose sleeve is stuck somewhere, by cutting Jiu's sleeve, and Yang can suddenly, with a few recollections of events in the past (like Tian pretending to be a female protagonist of the opera, Madam White Snake), surmise that Tian is gay. Is anyone suggesting that it's a sign of homosexuality if a kid who is into opera and pretends to be the female protagonist in an opera? By all appearances, Tian merely loves opera and isn't into crossdressing.

Although the series is flawed, I did find myself quite invested in the bromance and romance. Tian, Yang, Jiu and Pin are characters that one will care about enough to keep watching. However, do make sure that you can take soap opera plots and their levels of exaggeration.