The human heart is a stormy place, and when paired with thought, it becomes even more tumultuous. Love isn’t logical—it’s a force that heals, torments, and binds, sometimes all at once.

When mixed with thought, love can often feel like madness.

Adapted from the novel Mou Mou by Mu Su Li, the Taiwanese BL The On1y One defies expectations while exploring love amidst emotional turmoil. Starring Liu Dong Qin as the studious and friendly Sheng Wang and Benjamin Tsang as the reserved loner Jiang Tian, the series follows two boys with their own personal traumas who are brought together as unexpected brothers.

I’ve started this review a thousand times—not because I’m sad, though I am, but because The On1y One gave us so much to think about and feel.

While I haven’t read the novel the series is based on, I was blown away by the thought, care, effort, and symbolism infused into the drama we were given. From each characters’ internal thoughts and struggles to the feelings expressed through body language to small things like falling leaves, mint, and storms, everything holds meaning.

The falling leaves in a previous episode remind us that, like them, we must shed the old in order to grow, to enter into a cycle of renewal. Mint, with its dual nature, reflects how love can often feel as violent as it does peaceful and healing. And the storm? Love is never just one feeling—it’s a chaotic, emotional monsoon that can sometimes cripple us.

“The probability of two people meeting is 0.00417. While the probability that you happen to like him, he likes you back, and you both become each other’s sweethearts is only 0.0000173.”

Love is such a natural part of life that we don’t think about how hard or scary it is as often as we think about how good it feels.

I sometimes wonder how much is lost in translation when watching a drama that isn’t written in my native tongue, which is why I appreciate a series that focuses as much on universally expressing the characters’ emotions as it does speaking them. I could have watched The On1y One without subtitles and understood the inner turmoil of Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian.

There’s so much I can say about The On1y One. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster, and I truly started this review countless times before finding the right words. But for me, the most poignant moment, the scene that brought the entire series into focus, was when Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian stood beneath the falling leaves, each pulling one from the other’s hair.

In a way, the series itself is like the falling leaves—every character and storyline is undergoing change and transformation. While some may find the multiple storylines in the series distracting, I believe they’re part of what makes The On1y One so strong. Life is full of other people’s stories, and it’s not until we’re deep in our own personal dramas that we realize how much we’ve been shaped by the stories around us.

The On1y One takes the stories Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian are surrounded by, the people they keep close, and the changes they’re experiencing in their own feelings, and they hit us hard with how confusing and painful it becomes.

And that made The On1y One much more than a series. It made it a personal, real, and unique experience.

For me, this series transcended the usual BL tropes. It wasn’t just about two leads who fall for each other after becoming stepbrothers. By the end, you forget they’re destined to be brothers and become fully immersed in Sheng Wang’s journey of self-discovery and Jiang Tian’s heartbreaking realization of what love has cost him.

Caught in a maelstrom of chaotic emotions, Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian find themselves waiting for the storm to pass in an effort to protect one another. Neither wants to lose what they have and the family they’ve become, but they also don’t want to lose the new feelings they’re scared to hold onto.

Let’s be honest, The On1y One is just as much about Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian protecting their own hearts as it is about protecting each other. Their whole lives, they’ve built walls to shield themselves from further hurt. It takes a lot of courage to break those walls down.

Storms come and go, violenting sweeping over rain-soaked streets and windblown landscapes. And like these storms, love can sweep in violently, leaving behind a world that’s changed, sometimes damaged, but ultimately new. In love, as in life, once things change, we can never return to what was—but we can rebuild, stronger and more resilient.

And that’s precisely what I hope for with Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian.

Thank you to the cast, crew, director, and screenwriters for giving us a powerful series that heals and scars the heart while leaving room for renewal. I appreciate the effort it took to create a new medium for these characters. As a published author, I know how hard it is to shape a story onto the page. And as someone who has worked in the entertainment industry, I also know how hard it is to paint a story in pictures and words inside a limited digital landscape while still managing to touch the human heart. Both are art in their own unique, soul-touching ways.

My heart is touched. Here’s to more to come.

For a series that leaves a lasting impression on love, life, and change, check out The On1y One now on iQiyi, GagaOOLala, and Viki.

Rating- 4.5 out of 5