This is yet again another winning BL from Vietnam. It is so definitive in its outcome and perhaps you can see it ending in the same way I did. Satisfying. The whole story unfolds right before you in a magnificent panoramic sweep. Funny. Sad. Poignant. Ordinary. But always entertaining. Always. And so relatable. Almost everything in this story, one can relate to or perhaps have even experienced in some form or another. They can take the ordinariness of living and make it seem extraordinary. Making the issues we face on a daily basis and seeing the traumas we have experienced come to life helps us get the picture of how that impacted our own persona. Perhaps we may not seem important, but our issues certainly are, and we get to see that through them. They visualize our experiences to make them real, impactful, and powerful. At the very least truncate the sum total to see how it does affect us. That has always been the beauty of Vietname BLs. It makes the ordinary seem prominent. And they validate our feelings, failings, and foibles along the way. In a sense, we find we are pretty much the same as everyone else.

The story begins innocently enough. An Binh (Thai Khang) accidently bumps into Minh Thang (Dac Thang), knocking his camera from his hand. Something of a ruse, as he was secretly taking pictures of Binh since he had been enamored of Binh for some time. Binh had been singing in the streets but due to a traumatic event when he was a child, is unable to sing fully showing himself.

Certainly, there are a casts of characters around both Binh and Thang that move this story along in very entertaining and creative ways. Perhaps starting out as a light comedy, it definitely gets heartfelt, not only in story focus but also in emotional entanglements.

Binh is in a ‘relationship’ with a rather nefarious individual named Khai Van (Thanh Chi). Van is quite the cameleon and an astonishingly good opportunist. When Binh finds out how untrustworthy he truly is, he immediately severs his relationship with him.

However, Binh, being the loner who essentially relied on himself, has learned over the years not to trust and to hold back in love. Even though Thang genuinely does seem to love him and want to be with him, Binh is reticent to let his guard down again. He does not want to get hurt once more.

This is really a story about redemption. Not only for Binh but also for Thang. As the story unfolds, we find that as a child, Thang was the source of Binh’s insecurities and fears without realizing it and now must prove that he is no longer that same individual. On the other hand, Binh must also learn to trust and forgive and put into perspective the things that are from the past must no longer guide him and to see what is right in front of him, staring back, is the here and now and that is genuine.

Supporting casts are generally just that. To support the main characters or move the story along. Obviously, this is true here as well, but Binh’s good friend from the coffee shop where he works, The Vinh (The Bang) and Thang’s neighbor, Nhat Troung (Tien Hai) are special. They both try to facilitate Binh and Thang in their rocky development as they both can see deep down that they are in love with each other. And since they all work at the same place, Vinh and Troung begin to slow walk their own relationship with one another. What the two epitomize is the solidity of friendship and the trustworthiness that goes with being a friend. Both give very good performances and are saleable as friends rather than as caricatures or simple window-dressing because the script called for them to be here. They never overplay their roles, nor do they play it off as insignificant.

The development of the relationship showed a lot of commitment. The beauty of this series is its steadfast focus to ‘make the right decision’. And the sacrifices that might have to fulfill to make those decisions. They are made unflinchingly and uncompromisingly. In other words, this story just simply has heart.

The screenplay is quite good and there are some great discourses between the protagonists that are meaningful and poignant. The story, while not particularly new, is kept fresh but the crisp interpretation of the action in the story. What it lacked was that depth to the intensity of the relationship. While words can convey, the emotions must be shown, and the actions must be convincing. It just was not there for me. Of course there were emotional scenes, but where it counted, such as the tender moments between Binh and Thang, it lacked conviction. While both are stunningly handsome young men (with Thang’s hair color completely suiting him), it did not feel genuine. While I understood perhaps in the beginning hesitancy in wanting to feel close, by the end, we should have seen and, more importantly, felt greater passion. Unfortunately, it looked staged and grudgingly performed. There is nothing worse for me than love scenes, which include kissing, that do not feel real, or look natural, or convey any sense of chemistry between the protagonists. Then the story becomes and is – fake. Common guys, you are in love. You should have done better. Make it look real and honest. That did not happen and that robbed us of credibility.

Nevertheless, this is still quite an entertaining BL. There are solid performances all around. The dialogue for the most part is very good. It lacked the gravitas to make it great. Maybe next time?

Rating- 4.5 out of 5

Streaming on- RL Studio YouTube Channel