This is NOT a BL but a gay story of love instead. As the title implies, this is a saga of lust. Loosely translated, the title means ‘thirsty’, and in a way that more aptly describes this story. It is an account of a sexual fervor that manifests itself in a reality we are unaccustomed to in the BL world. While the BL world is fantasy, this diegesis is anchored in realism. Like most Vietnamese BLs, this premise is also rooted in a world of authenticity. However, its ending becomes unambiguously romantic. It simply takes a different route than the usual formulaic path of a BL. Frankly, this one is based on what happens between two young men drawn to each other in the real world through eroticism. Uncolored. Unfettered. Unvarnished. But not in any way ribald.

Warning: if you are going to be offended by its honesty, then do not watch. For me, there is NOTHING offensive in or about this short story, but I am a gay man and so my perspective is different. It may burst your bubble to see a presentation that is not sanitized to conform with the straight world’s fantasy of what a gay romance is really like.

The impact of the story will hit you immediately. And I do mean immediately. It is a story involving two friends. We do not know much about either one except that they have been close for some time. Nhat (Tran Vu Duc Duy) suddenly and unequivocally says to his friend Phong (Vuong Huy) that he gets excited when he is near him, just like when he is near his girlfriend. Although Phong is gay and has been in love with Nhat, it has been an unrequited love, but they have been able to maintain a friendship. He is, of course, shocked by this. Shortly afterwards, Nhat rather unabashedly talks Phong into doing it with him. But just once. Only once he says, mainly to get it out of his system and to find out what it is really like. Is Phong vulnerable? Sure. Is he taken advantage of? Nope. Phong knows exactly what Nhat is doing.

The obvious issue here is that they are approaching this from two different strengths. Nhat is in the lustful stage thinking not with his intellectual head, while Phong perhaps fantasizing about sex with Nhat, is in the intellectual stage hoping for something that is more lasting and permanent. However, Nhat runs back to his girlfriend with whom he treats with kindness and respect.

Meanwhile, Nhat, apparently very much now enjoying the intensity of this new arousal, keeps pressuring and cajoling Phong into more and lustful sexual encounters. The presentation of how this is shown is graphic and becomes a conundrum for the viewer. While Phong clearly says ‘No’, he continues to be seduced by Nhat into these encounters. Is Phong willingly doing so? Yes! This is what makes this series so remarkable. Phong becomes a compliant and acquiescent partner and an enabler of Nhat. The underlying question becomes, however, is it leading to something stronger in meaning?

As tensions grow, their mutual friend Trac (Trọng Nghĩa) recognizes Nhat’s feelings for Phong is becoming even more possessive. He begins to suspect that both are suffering from sexual tension that is spilling over into their everyday level of functioning and their feelings for one another are genuinely deepening.

Trac arranges for his cousin Tri ( Khánh Duy), a very handsome but slightly older than they, to begin to help Phong with his photography skills for his club project. He notices one day that Phong seems down and asks him why. In an astonishingly honest and frank manner, Phong explains why. Attentively listening, Tri offers a solution. He will become Phong’s ‘pretend boyfriend’ in order for him to break away from Nhat’s grip and thus Nhat can return to his girlfriend. Superficially, that all works. However, Tri begins to become attracted to Phong as well and ends up doing something that changes the dynamics completely.

For a very short series, this is a well-acted and intensely emotive series. The protagonists in this series are strikingly handsome with their boyish faces and are able to display such ranges of emotions that it makes them mesmerizing to watch. Words are unnecessary to see what is going on. However, there is one character here that is unexpectedly refreshing that his performance just stands out as exceptional. Trac (Trọng Nghĩa) is astute and helps Nhat confront his girlfriend in no uncertain and unexpected terms. Perhaps a bit harsh but nonetheless, something that needed to be done between the two of them as both were wasting their time being together. Trọng Nghĩa’s timing with the way he executed the confrontation between them was just incorrigible, followed only by a physical action to Nhat that was just so classic. For those familiar with the slap in the movie “Moonstruck” you will know what I am talking about. It was comedy genius and so apropos to the set of circumstances. It was a way of Trac to illustrate abruptly to Nhat that how he had treated both Phong and his girlfriend was wrong. Lesson learned. You will enjoy that scene as it is so memorable.

To give an element of fantasy between Nhat and Phong, there are imaginative underwater scenes that are astonishingly sensual, representing both an esoteric and metaphysical thought process of how they both felt about each other. What could not be done in reality, could be done in a fantasy underwater world that is both dreamlike and erotic. It is so well done and so well filmed. It is quite impactful not just to the story but added to the intensity of the emotions of the two protagonists without ever having to say so directly. It almost becomes poetry in motion to observe. Frankly, I was moved not only by these visualizations but also by its underlying message. It is gripping.

The storytelling and script of this series is, simply put, brilliant. It is so well written that even translated into English, it is impactful. As usual for Vietnamese Bl narratives, it is about real life. This story is genuine, honest, perhaps brutally so, and cogent. Lust is no doubt the initiator of the relationship here. That is more likely to happen than from anything in the myriad of the fantasy world of BL. We are fooling ourselves into thinking that what is portrayed in BLs represents what is happening in the gay world. This anecdote is more likely how relationships begin and happen. Perhaps not as lustful but no less dramatic. And yes, many romances based on lust actually can and often do, lead to romance. Shockingly, sex does come before romance. Whether you accept it or not, it is what real life is like and most Vietnamese BL series, including this one, are exceptional at portraying and showing what life- real life- is all about.

The reasons I have some reservations about this series are twofold. One is its brevity, which I know is undoubtedly due to budget constraints. It really needed more time to develop its characters. Acting can get to show us only so much of who they are. We needed to ascertain more substance from each of them. We needed to feel them on a deeper level. That was significantly missing in this series. I wanted to feel both their pain and elation in the development of their relationship more intensely. Too much of it felt superficial. And the second reason is the detestable TikTok method of filming. I hated it for this series. It just did not work. I found it exceptionally narrowing in scope and dimension and it took away from the story’s impactful moments significantly. I really find this form of filming challenging to really get to see who these characters are. We do not see scope or depth and that takes away from the impact of the series. Otherwise, this series would no doubt have been on my Apotheosis list. It is that good.

Nonetheless, I would highly recommend anyone to watch this series. It is raw, gritty, and I am sure some may take offense to some of its content. Get over it. The expression of sexuality does not always fit into the mold of yaoi, manga, danmei, or BL. Sometimes it is based on what actually happens in the onuses from the deeper thoughts of desires that are not romantic but in a sense are more supremely satisfying in the short run. This is that kind of story. Fortunately, however, the intensity of the desire is replaced with the wisdom of love. Perhaps this story may not seem deep but on the contrary, it is significantly so. Do not let its brevity fool you into thinking it is not impactful. It is powerful. It tells a complete love story. I shall let you see its love story on your own. Its unfolding may surprise you.

Overall, this is an excellent short series. I just wish it had been filmed differently.

Rating- 4.75 out of 5

Streaming on- 2B Entertainment YouTube Channel