“There is one pain, I often feel, which you will never know. It’s caused by the absence of you.”

Jiang Yue Lou would definitely understand and appreciate the meaning behind this quote. Some love stories are eternally tragic, his ill-fated romance with Chen Yu Zhi is a classic example of the same. While Word of Honor is winning hearts with the honest portrayal of their main lead’s relationship, Killer and Healer bowed down to prudent censorship in the finale episode. What is it necessary to kill some great characters that had won the hearts of the entire Chinese BL fandom? Unnecessary and fraudulent. The show’s producers and scriptwriters could have chosen a better premise to give a meaningful ending to the much loved couple. It’s no use crying over spilled milk and so without further ado, let’s review the finale episodes and seek closure over this beautifully scripted romance saga, however tragic it was!

Our main couple’s life goes through a major upheaval, after Jiang Yue Lou goes undercover to seek out the real identity of Drug Lord, SaYe. Zhan Junbai puts them through an emotional wringer as he tests Yue Lou repeatedly before revealing himself. Chen YuZhi is put through hell and despite the vehement torture he goes through, his belief in Yue Lou remains unmoved. Boss Yu or Fu Cheng finally confronts Commander Zhan Tian Qing and realizes that it was Zhun Junbai who killed his family mercilessly. This sets of a chain reaction wherein Zhan Junbai puts Fu Cheng under arrest, while carefully guarding him. The finale episode ends on a tragic note for both of our couples, as truth triumphs and peace is restored in Jing City.

They Weren’t Meant To Be Together

The most fascinating aspect of Chen YuZhi and Jiang Yue Lou’s relationship is the mutual understanding they share. I’m still amazed by how much they understand each other’s intentions and words won’t suffix to describe their subtle romance. While Jiang Yue Lou recuperates from his fatal injuries (after his fateful encounter with Jiang Sheng Nan), Chen Yu Zhi becomes his emotional support. Jiang Yue Lou on the other hand trusts him with his past and present memories, something that I guess is a huge deal. Even Commissioner Bai notices the same and is quick to point out that Chen Yu Zhi is indeed an important brother (cringe worthy because Yu Zhi is more than that). He has always stood beside Yue Lou, offering him love and care without expecting anything in return. It can be safely said that Yue Lou and Yu Zhi have the most healthy relationship in this sadistic world and that’s the reason for the popularity of this show. Mao Zi Jun and Ian Yi’s careful portrayal of their characters makes the entire experience so enjoyable, that you can’t help but fall in love with them. They are truly a match made in heaven!

When Jiang Yue Lou suddenly loses his calm and turns into a murderer overnight, everyone questions his intentions, but not Chen Yu Zhi. He tries his level best to make sure that Yue Lou escapes the death penalty, because he truly believes that Yue Lou would never indulge in such a despicable act. His trust is obviously shattered when Yue Lou callously accepts the crime and also belittles Yu Zhi. Despite that, Yu Zhi spends a considerable amount of time worrying about Yue Lou’s mental health. I’m actually surprised by their thought processes, which are often in tandem.

Yue Lou hates faking his emotions in front of Yu Zhi while our good doctor isn’t exactly convinced that his temperamental Policeman has actually completely crazy. The most difficult scene is this series was watching their tragic reconciliation, as planned by Zhan Junbai. Yue Lou realizes that SaYe is testing his boundaries and lashes out at Yu Zhi. The pain, regret and desperation in Yu Zhi’s eyes stung at my heart.

Junbai’s next requirement is to kill Yu Zhi and the entire sequence of events that follows this demand would probably leave you devastated. Yue Lou has no other option than to target Yu Zhi (albeit making sure that he never hits Yu Zhi’s heart). The accompanying dream sequence will put most modern romances to shame. We have a synchronized conversation wherein Yue Lou explains his situation and Yu Zhi calmly accepts his fate. When Yu Zhi wakes, he explains the same to an agitated Chu Ran.

The unwavering amount of faith that Yu Zhi has on Yue Lou will leave you stunned. Yue Lou might kill him a thousand times and yet Yu Zhi will still try to understand his circumstances. I have never seen a more selfless character and despite Junbai’s constant vehement attempts, their bond is stronger than ever. Life is entirely predictable when we have bad guys like Zhan Junbai lurking around the corners. When he discovers Yue Lou’s deception, Junbai forces Yu Zhi to kill him in exchange for his sister Keying’s life. Obviously, Yu Zhi wouldn’t harm his man, so Junbai has back up ready. Without revealing too much, both of our characters escape death and reunite to fight a battle against Zhan Junbai and his evil Second Uncle. Their efforts are awarded and finally peace is restored in the Jing City. This is where this delightful story should have ended, with our main characters leading a peaceful life, while raising Keying. But all good things come to an end and Yu Zhi is shot dead while trying to save Yue Lou from Zhan Junbai’s murder attempt. The only silver lining is that Yu Zhi makes him promise to take care of Keying and that becomes the singular purpose of Yue Lou’s life.

The Tragic Couple With An Even Worst Ending

Zhan Junbai and Boss Yu’s romance was never meant to have a happy ending. Yet, you can’t help but hope for a better ending. These two would have been a “Power Couple” if they weren’t busy playing revenge games or trying to fool each other. Zhan Junbai is a difficult character to understand. Most of the time, he acts inhuman and his actions betray his ruthless nature. But there are some moments when he acts vulnerable and that mostly happens whenever Boss Yu is around. Boss Yu makes him feel things that he has never experienced before. Loyalty, care, affection and kindness, to name a few! As such, when he starts suspecting Boss Yu’s real identity, his first reaction is to test Boss Yu’s limits. Junbai puts him through literal hell by forcing to eat crabs and then proceeds to monitor him. Boss Yu is lucky because Yu Zhi immediately understands the situation and takes requisite measures to save his life.

The most painful part was watching their growing feelings for each other. Although Boss Yu is planning to avenge his parent’s death, he never once suspects Zhan Junbai. He is attuned to Zhan Junbai’s daily needs and knows everything about the man he has come to admire. Junbai on the other hand, although suspicious still adores Boss Yu and his affections are pretty obvious as compared to his lackluster interactions with Chu Ran. But you can only hide the truth for so long. Boss Yu’s crestfallen expression when he realises that Zhan Junbai was the real murderer will leave you wounded. Although his Uncle pushes him to kill Boss Yu/Fu Cheng, Junbai puts him under house arrest instead. And thus begins their tumultuous relationship that borders on high-end torture.

Fu Cheng can’t bring himself to forgive Zhan Junbai for his treacherous acts and Junbai can’t let him go. The situation turns even more tire when Junbai’s Assistant tries to kill Fu Cheng and Junbai punishes him mercilessly for daring to hurt Fu Cheng. The ghastly contrast is unthinkable, because Fu Cheng has become his biggest weakness. Obviously his poisonous nature would never let him accept his true emotions and as such Junbai spends a considerable amount of time torturing Fu Cheng and then feeling remorseful. I have never seen a more unreasonable character in my entire lifetime. Junbai is used to Fu Cheng’s kind nature and caring demeanor. As such, he feels the loss acutely and provoking Fu Cheng is his way of expressing his feelings. To most people, it won’t make any kind of sense but Junbai is a calculative antagonist and although he loves Boss Yu deeply, any weakness is considered as a chink in his strong armor. He is left devastated when Fu Cheng commits suicide to destroy Junbai’s consignment of illegal ammunition. In his dying moments, when Junbai commits suicide himself, he is still holding onto Fu Cheng’s memories. Would they have a different outcome if Junbai wasn’t a villain hellbent on destroying peoples lives? Zhan Junbai certainly had a charismatic personality and his love story with Fu Cheng was much appreciated. It’s just that they weren’t meant to last long, given their fraudulent lies and trust issues.

Interesting Side Characters

Chu Ran met an ill-fated death and despite that she will always be one of my favorite characters in this drama. Guo Shu Tong’s controlled expressions added subtle nuances to this role. Even though she was projected as a female love interest, Chu Ran had an incomparable strength of character. As such, she always stood beside our main couple and helped them in their endeavors to fight for justice. Bromance dramas are most littered with female characters that are roped in as antagonists and yet Chu Ran managed to change this perception. Despite her one-sided love for Yue Lou, she grew to understand and accept our main couple’s relationship. Beautiful and yet tragic, Chu Ran will always be engraved in our memories!

The Chu siblings shared the same evil fate at the hands of the man, whom they both implicitly trusted. Despite Chu Ran’s strained relationship with her Stepmother, she truly loved Chu Min. Chu Min adored and respected his elder sister. The fact that he ended up dead at her hands was surely devastating and gave me one more reason to hate Zhan Junbai.

The surprise element in this drama was Jin Da Cheng’s character growth. If you had told me in the initial episodes that someday Jin Da Cheng would save the Jing City, I would have laughed it off. However, as Yue Lou rightly points out, Jin Da Cheng isn’t a man without sense of justice. It was interesting to watch this sudden transformation as he helps Yue Lou save the Jing City from the rebellion planned by Zhan Junbai and Commander Zhan. It was especially hilarious to watch him chase after Zhan Tian Qing and then shot him in exasperation simply because he was tired of running behind the older villain. Jin Da Cheng seemed like the most irresponsible and treacherous character in this universe and yet in the finale episodes, he redeemed himself. His blossoming friendship with Jiang Yue Lou was heartwarming and watching Da Cheng tease our main couple about their relationship was truly encompassing. Maybe he might help Jiang Yue Lou recover after his sudden loss and they might become close friends someday!

Overall Impression

Although I was left dissatisfied with the ending, Killer and Healer will always be on my list of “Best Chinese BL/Bromances”. Simply because of the poignant love story portrayed their main lead’s relationship in a positive light! Although their journey was tumultuous and fraught with excessive hurdles, Yu Zhi and Yue Lou never gave up on each other. They were each other’s biggest support and family. The ending wasn’t in their favor, but I’m glad that Jiang Yue Lou decided to take care of Keying (instead of falling back into old habits and losing his temper). This show gave us valuable lessons on trust, loyalty and redefined healthy relationships. Killer and Healer was MGTV’s first foray into the Bromance genre and they have done an exceptional job. Hoping that they will produce and market many more shows in the future with honesty portrayal of their character’s romance which foreshadow false depictions of “Brotherhood”.

Rating- 4 out of 5