There is so much to unpack in this short series. It is a prodigious tale as well. Initially, the way it was presented felt as if it might be a light, even comedic tongue-in-cheek story. Full of fun. But true to the nature of Vietnamese BLs, it emerges into realness. The human drama becomes honest, sincere, and relatable especially because of what happens when we simply are unable to truly be ourselves. It is a story of gayness and the inability to be free and open about who you are and the person you love. The Vietnamese have mastered the perfection of being able to portray these emotions with such intensity.

It starts out novel of course. Ngọc Khánh (Nguyễn Hoàng Anh) is a teaching assistant and on the very first day of class, Vạn Bảo (Phạm Cường) is late for class. Being gay, Bảo is more than intrigued by Khánh. Obviously closeted, Khánh cannot help himself either, and he falls under Bảo’s spell. The two end up having wild passionate sex.

However, it is not long afterwards that Khánh finds out that Bảo is engaged to his sister, Ngoc Huyễn (Thanh Tâm). Neither happy nor comfortable with this arrangement, Khánh tries to dissuade him. Suddenly, however, the tables are turned because Bảo is introduced to Khánh’s wife, Thu Trà (Bích Phương). He is married! Oh, what a tangled web we weave!

The story begins to intertwine and twist in unimaginable ways. So, what seemed like a soap-opera type of series in the beginning, steadily begins to turn into a climatic and intense narrative involving a lot of moving parts. There are plot twists to the plot twists. It seems that Bảo was trying to be a ‘Good Samaritan’ by helping Huyễn with her lesbian relationship. She was terrified of telling her parents, and she did not want her parents to find out. The plot was she would save ‘face’ by marrying Bảo. Eventually, she would divorce him and move away with her girlfriend, with no one would be the wiser. It seemed full-proof until of course he got involved with Khánh.

Unfortunately, it all unravels. By the forces of nature, as Khánh becomes deeper entangled with Bảo, Trà begins to suspect something is going on with Khánh because he is increasingly isolated from her. While initially one might have felt sorry for Trà, we find out that she indeed has a few skeletons in her closet she has been hiding. Trà is not so innocent and opportunistically married Khánh for his money. In addition, she clandestinely continued to have a relationship with her former boyfriend. Fortuitously and unfortunately, she finds out about the relationship between Bảo and her husband and exposes them, causing catastrophic and irreparable damage both to Khánh’s family and his profession. Her dastardly deeds, however, were also exposed by Bảo, thus creating equal amounts of chaos for her. Karma has a way of catching up and equalizing the playing field.

Despite the fact that this is a low budget series and a very short series, it remains exceptionally intense. All put their heart-and-soul into this mini-series, but I want to tip the nod a bit to Bích Phương as Thu Trà. She is so deliciously evil and manipulative that in some sense you cannot help but to almost admire her. She almost pulled it off. She used every instinctual and cultural bias against gay people she could to heap hurt onto the two of them. For purely vindictive reasons. Not because she felt or sensed she had been ‘wronged’. But to squeeze more money out of Khánh. And then in a fit of rage and utter malevolence because her plan was not working, tried to do the unthinkable. Perhaps a bit overboard and maybe close to being a caricature, she is nonetheless a true representative of all the evil forces against people who are different. Bích Phương played the part to the hilt, and it was sheer perfection. Kudos for making evil fun again.

But in all seriousness, this series is truly one of the better ones from Vietnam. It tells a full story. Not a complete one, however, because at the end, another surprise twist is introduced, that obviously and hopefully will lead to a Season 2.

Summarily, the love story between Bảo and Khánh does get intense and even in this short period, we can see their feelings burgeon. With both being astonishingly handsome and presenting a picture of a beautiful couple, their relationship enters into a more solid commitment to one another. Although the sister and her girlfriend’s relationship is not thoroughly detailed, it is indicated that their relationship concluded positively. Again and again, what Vietnamese BLs do is tell a human story genuinely and passionately. Perhaps not as detailed as we want or even need, but it does not diminish the impact of the message.

Do not let the brevity of this series fool you into thinking that this series is somehow superficial. It is not. It is assiduously emotionally deep for a lot of reasons. Sometimes even painfully so. It also illustrates how quickly and suddenly the prejudices and bigotry of both individuals and organizations can surface against gay people. And it further affirms in rather graphic format how a loving and giving son who up to a certain point was the perfect son, now suddenly becomes a bane of humiliation for the family and must be excised from its core. All because the family thinks THEY have been wounded. And a wife who would go to any lengths to satisfy her need for revenge. Meanwhile, Bảo and Khánh have lost everything.

The thing about this series is that it is so real, honest, and contemporary. It might seem far-fetched, but it is not. Some parts may be a bit overblown, but its underlying message of hate is real. It is always there – ever present.

We can also see, however, glimmers of positivity that perhaps might not have been expected. The love of a brother for his sister in making sacrifices so his sister could live the life she wanted. The intense loyalty of Khánh towards Bảo to say nothing of Bảo’s sacrifice for Khánh. Both lives are on hold – waiting and hoping. Continuing to sacrifice for love.

This is honestly an exceptional series that is difficult to watch as it is intense even though it starts out in a cavalier manner. And shows and perhaps proves that gay love can be as intense and as deep and as committed as any straight relationship.

It is also a beautiful example of seeing people do ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ things and still be labeled as a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ person. Yet, it is the testimony of one’s character and integrity that shapes the narrative. So, who are the real heroes in this series?

Watch it in that vein and you will appreciate its underlying message even more.

Rating- 4.5 out of 5

Streaming on- MOI Studio YouTube Channel