Unfortunately, this series, for me, missed the mark. Perhaps it makes sense only to the population for which it was intended to serve directly, namely the Vietnamese population.

The narrative centers completely and solely around school bullying with all the ancillary negative byproducts of that- emotional persecution, physical abuse (including torture), and psychological manipulation. Overall, this series is very, very difficult to watch as the mistreatment is exceptionally intense and gets very graphic in parts. But I am guessing that was mostly done to jolt the Vietnamese community (society) to grasp the extent of school bullying and the consequences of its ugliness to its aftermath of physical, psychological, and emotional abuses.

Essentially, it is a story about Bach (Ba Vinh) and his stepbrother Dat (Võ Minh Hiền). Dat is the older brother, but only slightly. Bach’s father married Dat’s mother after he divorced Bach’s mother. Over the years, Dat has become Bach’s protector as he is bullied mercilessly in school by classmates. He is victimized both physically and emotionally. The school both directly and indirectly sustains this bullying by doing nothing to hinder its continuation not only on Bach but on others. They either ignore it or ‘blame’ the victim. Over the years, Bach has remained silent about the abuse and ‘puts up with it’ to keep peace and to keep it focused on him and not transfer it to others. If it were not for Dat and his closest friends, Bach would be constantly harassed.

Because of the persecution, Bach suffered emotionally and psychologically from its effects. He is depressed, has suicidal ideation and also has attempted it on more than one occasion. He suffered obviously from low self-esteem. He withdrew from society and into his own world to the point he created an alter-ego. He became the “Teenager Judge’ which is a simulation of his ‘good’ self’ in which he exposed the bullies/abusers for who they were via social media. Unfortunately, the school and his father, once they discovered who the ‘Teenager Judge’ was, thought that what he had done was inappropriate and the bullying simply increased more after he was exposed. His father also magnified his corporal punishment against him. All along, Dat maintains his love for Bach and tries to develop a relationship with him, but Bach is only passively accepting of these overtures of affection.

There is a secondary weird relationship with Bach and Dat’s good friend Trung (Tri Nguyễn) and a teacher named Lac (Duc Harry). Trung is openly gay and pursues Lac rather assertively. Lac does mildly protest his advances, but it is still nonetheless flattering and ego building to be wanted by someone. He does try to point out to Trung that developing a relationship while he is his teacher is exceptionally inappropriate. And by any ethical teaching standards, it most assuredly is.

The story simply begins to fold onto itself with no clear point or direction. Here is how I think the series spiraled out of control:

1. After so many episodes, the bullying got repetitive and unnecessary. We got it. Why repeat the same scenarios?

2. The bullying got to the point where it became physically abuse and led to extensive emotional torments as well. It eventually escalated even into torture in the extreme. Fear of consequences against them ruled supreme as to why students did not report. The perpetrators simply subjugated the school. How terrifying that is with no end in sight.

3. There were no real serious consequences for those who bullied. Even though awful mistreatment happened in front of teachers, no one did anything. It all seemed to be taken as ‘normal’. The bullying was well known and well documented, but everyone simply turned a ‘blind eye’ to it. The perpetrators knew that no significant consequences for their actions would be implemented since their families were wealthy or influential. This was a bad message to send out.

4. The school system, as portrayed, was weak, inept, and ineffective and took the side of the bullies because they are the ones whose families were kingmakers. It was a sad commentary on the school’s abdication of its responsibility for not taking more forceful action against the bullies/abusers. The school as an institution was shown to be an abject failure and displayed for all to see that help was unavailable.

5. The advocate, namely Bach as the Teenager Judge, was considered a threat to the accepted order of the system because he used unconventional means to show who and what the bullies were doing. This ‘whistleblower’ paid a heavy price for his advocacy. Not uncommon for whistleblowers in other countries as well. While some students who benefited from his advocacy for them praised his actions, Bach himself paid a very heavy price for speaking up. Whereas, Bach should have been a ‘hero’ and painted as such. He was essentially vilified.

6. Bach’s father was one of the worst abusers himself. He physically abused Bach by beating him with a hanger and psychologically humiliated him by telling him he wished he had not been born. He had been belittling his son for several years. Considering yourself a loser by your own father and favoring his adopted son had to be one of the most painful experiences in anyone’s life. He is an evil man but the fact that there is so much filiality to family in Vietnam, he is given free passes and pardons for his behavior. He is a despicable man and a poor excuse for a father and ought to be shamed for his contribution to making Bach feel less than human.

7. The secondary love story is and was unnecessary and morally corrupt. A relationship between a student and teacher is completely and fully off-limits in any culture and that point should have been made crystal clear. It is ethically wrong for a teacher to have a relationship with a student, even a student that might even be over the age of 18. That is not a romanticized story line that is acceptable.

8. There is no real BL to this story. It is an exploration of feelings to be sure, but it was never ever established that Bach and Dat are deeply in love or wanted to be together. Sure, Dat says he will take care of him but words at that age are cheap and frankly meaningless. They did not appear to be in love. Respect yes, but love, I doubt. Dat is 17 and Bach is psychologically destroyed that a relationship is undoubtedly the last entanglement he can deal with effectively. This cannot be considered a BL.

9. Sadly, the protagonists are simply too old to play high school students. It just does not work. The story revolves around 17-year-olds, and they were not 17 in either physical appearance or emotional experiences. I might also add that if you are going to play younger, it might be more convincing doing so by covering up the body tattoos. While I know there are always exceptions, I found that to be so telling and distracting. I am not sure that many parents would allow their underaged children to have such adult-like tattoos on their bodies. This decreased the credibility factor and should have been corrected in production.

10. I am just not sure of the point of this series. I understand that bullying is the issue and calling attention to it might be the point. But the way it was presented is perplexing. It appeared as if the entire culture – which includes schools, parents, and the society in general – have turned a blind eye to this crisis. In this case, everyone ought to be held accountable for their lack of awareness and actions to stop it. The school deserves the greatest blame because at one point, a teacher was even bullied, and no one even reported it and only excused it. And of course, parents automatically side with ‘authority’ over the realities of their own children’s lives. This is a sad commentary on the stupidity of blind obedience to the so-called filial state as if authorities could not be in the wrong.

The acting overall in this series is exceptional. However, there is one performer who simply embodies the character of understanding and exemplifies the concept of nurturing. That was Bach’s stepmother (actress unknown). She is the only one in this series with a modicum of understanding of humanity and displays an appreciation of where individuals are, and an understanding of what their emotional needs are as well. She is the only one who understood Bach and Dat and was even willing to accept their love for one another. A true champion consistently showing act of kindness, caring, nurturing, and understanding. A mother figure par excellence. The scene where she finds Bach escaping under his bed, and she joins him was one of the most sympathetic and empathetic acts of motherly nurturing I have ever seen. I cried. Her portrayal is something to behold and appreciate.

I wanted to like this series, but I simply could not. The bullying by classmates was overwhelming, and the amount of physical abuse by the father was sickening. To watch the torture scene was unbearable and should come with a warning. Bach’s slide into depression from suffering physical and psychological abuse at the hands of student bullies, school officials, and his father was more than one person should bear. Like most victims, he began to think he deserved it. And he does it mostly in silence, knowing full well to say anything to anyone would be useless and futile. So, he created the alter ego of the Teenager Judge. Rather than getting praised for his efforts to expose bullying and abuse, he is further labeled a troublemaker, a non-conformist, and ultimately a loser. This is a prime example why victims do not want to say anything when bullied or abused. No one will listen and even if someone does, it all depends upon who is doing the bullying. Lest we forget, Bach attempted suicide and that in and of itself is a scream and cry for help. Even when Dat takes him to the doctor, the doctor only recommends meditation and reflection to stop thinking negative thoughts. This is beyond astonishing to me that a medical doctor did not or could not diagnosis what is clearly clinical depression with suicidal ideation from bullying and abuse and recommend therapy and medication. While I am NOT a doctor, I have worked with individuals with mental illnesses and know the signs and know that Bach is seriously depressed, even though he functionally seems to be ‘ok’. It is shameful that more attention is not paid to the needs of the illnesses of the mind as well as the body. And of course, those with money and power will get away with it. In this care, they were transferred out of school, but no other severe consequences were even considered.

You just cannot look at this as a BL, honestly. Sure, there are a few kisses between Bach and Dat, but it literally goes nowhere because there is nowhere to go. The story does not lend itself to fostering any type of relationship. And indeed, it did end realistically when Bach said that we have not broken up but merely ‘finished loving each other’.

There were certainly other directions that this series could have taken but chose not to. And I was not sure why. Characters came and went. Some could have made another impact on the story for either Bach or Dat but did not. Instead, it preferred to remain dark and melancholic. Frankly the whole concept of the Teenager Judge was never genuinely realized or explored and if it had been, that could have made for a much more interesting narrative. But instead, it remained concentrated on the bullying and the weaknesses of Bach as its focus almost to the exclusion of any possible story. The full story of Teenager Judge was barely explored and remained essentially in the background.

Regrettably, this is a series that completely disappointed me both for story development and message. While I applaud the effort to make aware that bullying and abuse are problems, there is not much here to give hope to those who are victims of these issues. It just seemed so dark. Throughout there was a lot of homophobic references as well and so gay people who are bullied, this simply adds another layer or dimension to ‘justify’ the bullying. I wish that had also been either addressed or referenced as well. I might again recommend, if such organizations exist, that hotline numbers be listed at the end of each episode of where victims could get help if they feel like they have been bullied or abused.

So much of this series was left unsaid than said.

Rating- 2 out of 5

Streaming on- O2 Production’s YouTube Channel