50
178
8
1
1
1
6
1
6
6
2
7
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
5
7
Two for the price of One.....but One is more interesting than the Other
**Edit** Do not miss the clips after the closing credits of EACH episode! I missed them all until a friend told me. Now I have to go back and re-watch them. ARrghhh..... I might have felt differently about the drama if I had watched them before.
Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25
Well, I would really want to check out the full drama “Into the Role” (the drama within the drama). All the fun stuff happened while the leads were filming that ‘drama’. The general plot isn’t new as we’ve seen and known actors falling in love with their co-stars because they are so deep into their roles. Having said that, I am still pleasantly surprised to see a drama coming out of China to be able to explicitly showcase the obsession and sexual fascination depicted here.
This is Ollie and Shu Yuan’s first drama and although I have things to pick on, they did a fabulous job for a first project as the main leads. Personally, I think Ollie did a better all-around job with better subtle acting than Shu Yuan. However, I feel that Shu Yuan did a better job when filming “Into the Role” when he has to be emotional and obsessive. But once he’s back to real life Zhang Zhun, his everyday acting becomes a little bland. These two main leads sorta have a role reversal there. Ollie as Fan Chi (Drama) is more quiet and controlled, but more impulsive and wears his heart on his sleeves in real life as Zhen Xin. I think Ollie balances both roles well, thus, I think his overall acting is better. Shu Yuan’s Gao Zhun (drama) is more chaotic, with more venues to showcase his talents. But as Zhang Zhun (real life) being the more cautious and inexperienced one, his weakness shows more
“Deep In” spends a lot of time inside the drama. And because it feels more dramatic, I was more engaged while watching that part of the story. I wish it had spent a little bit less time there, but give me more of Zhen Xin and Zhang Zhun in real life. I want to see them explore more of those confusing feelings and question more if they truly love each other. I think they tried to do that in the last few episodes, but I wanted more throughout. I understand sexual attraction plays a big role and I want those scenes as well (of course! LOL) but I want the thinking and the questioning to happen more after they get intimate. Oftentimes, there’s no time to breathe and they jump back into filming of the drama.
Now, my other criticisms are my personal pet peeves. They may not bug you, but they bug me. 😜 As I said, I want those intimate and sexy scenes. I want more kisses. But Ollie seems to be doing all the kissing and Shu Yuan is just there. Give me more lip movement and sucking, Shu Yuan! I know this is not a Thai or Korean BL, so I will excuse the sexy scenes for not satisfying my personal satisfaction. My other pet peeves are skinny actors. Ollie looks so skinny that it’s hard to believe he plays a therapist. I would have called that bad casting! I know you can’t really make Ollie magically bulk up, then the stylist has to do a better job. Ollie looks like he’s a tiny kid wearing adult clothes for most of the drama. I feel like he’s being swallowed!
Having said all that, I did have a great time watching “Deep In”. It was fun to chat with my friends about it, and I did try to time it well so I can binge when it’s almost done airing. That's my commitment to this drama! It might not be the best BLs while it’s airing (as it’s competing with The Prosecutor’s Proposal and Payback), but it’s still a very enjoyable and fun drama that I would recommend.
Drama Completed: 7/31/2026 Review #708
Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25
Well, I would really want to check out the full drama “Into the Role” (the drama within the drama). All the fun stuff happened while the leads were filming that ‘drama’. The general plot isn’t new as we’ve seen and known actors falling in love with their co-stars because they are so deep into their roles. Having said that, I am still pleasantly surprised to see a drama coming out of China to be able to explicitly showcase the obsession and sexual fascination depicted here.
This is Ollie and Shu Yuan’s first drama and although I have things to pick on, they did a fabulous job for a first project as the main leads. Personally, I think Ollie did a better all-around job with better subtle acting than Shu Yuan. However, I feel that Shu Yuan did a better job when filming “Into the Role” when he has to be emotional and obsessive. But once he’s back to real life Zhang Zhun, his everyday acting becomes a little bland. These two main leads sorta have a role reversal there. Ollie as Fan Chi (Drama) is more quiet and controlled, but more impulsive and wears his heart on his sleeves in real life as Zhen Xin. I think Ollie balances both roles well, thus, I think his overall acting is better. Shu Yuan’s Gao Zhun (drama) is more chaotic, with more venues to showcase his talents. But as Zhang Zhun (real life) being the more cautious and inexperienced one, his weakness shows more
“Deep In” spends a lot of time inside the drama. And because it feels more dramatic, I was more engaged while watching that part of the story. I wish it had spent a little bit less time there, but give me more of Zhen Xin and Zhang Zhun in real life. I want to see them explore more of those confusing feelings and question more if they truly love each other. I think they tried to do that in the last few episodes, but I wanted more throughout. I understand sexual attraction plays a big role and I want those scenes as well (of course! LOL) but I want the thinking and the questioning to happen more after they get intimate. Oftentimes, there’s no time to breathe and they jump back into filming of the drama.
Now, my other criticisms are my personal pet peeves. They may not bug you, but they bug me. 😜 As I said, I want those intimate and sexy scenes. I want more kisses. But Ollie seems to be doing all the kissing and Shu Yuan is just there. Give me more lip movement and sucking, Shu Yuan! I know this is not a Thai or Korean BL, so I will excuse the sexy scenes for not satisfying my personal satisfaction. My other pet peeves are skinny actors. Ollie looks so skinny that it’s hard to believe he plays a therapist. I would have called that bad casting! I know you can’t really make Ollie magically bulk up, then the stylist has to do a better job. Ollie looks like he’s a tiny kid wearing adult clothes for most of the drama. I feel like he’s being swallowed!
Having said all that, I did have a great time watching “Deep In”. It was fun to chat with my friends about it, and I did try to time it well so I can binge when it’s almost done airing. That's my commitment to this drama! It might not be the best BLs while it’s airing (as it’s competing with The Prosecutor’s Proposal and Payback), but it’s still a very enjoyable and fun drama that I would recommend.
Drama Completed: 7/31/2026 Review #708
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