If you are expecting this review to be one of glowing expressions and falling in line with the vast majority of people who think this series is some masterpiece, then you had best move on. You will be disappointed. I separated the presentation of this series, which is phenomenal, from the story itself because, for me, the presentation overwhelms what is a very weak, confusing, and disjointed story. I could never put my finger on exactly what it was we were to be concentrating on. And therefore, I found my emotions being scattered and torn in all different directions.

Unquestionably, and to its credit, this series is one of the best visually presented and cinematically filmed sagas to come along. Kudos. It takes you on a journey of kaleidoscopic scenes of peaceful forests, tea fields, quiet contemplative settings, almost like visiting religious retreats. It helps you clear your mind. Its unveiling is an immersion. Perhaps the best way to think of this series is like watching a stage-play on screen. Even the music fading into the credits at the end with its melting-enhancing scenes adds a new dimension to its storytelling. The variations to tea making and the nuisances to picking the leaves and all its preparations are paramount to this story and obviously added a depth to the story that, for those who understood the references, made this story perhaps even more ardent. Not being a connoisseur of teas nor having much knowledge of teas or Chinese culture or custom, I am sure, as a Westerner, I have missed a great deal of hidden meanings and deeper elucidation behind the story. And for that, I seed so as a caveat for my review.

Unsettlingly as it is for me, the story itself fell apart. I looked at it simply from its core foundation. It is yet another drama about a major film star with all his issues, needing and wanting to escape and have some time alone. Totally understandable. So, his younger brother, Feng Qing Tian (Hu Yi Chen) who has a knowledge of various teas, arranges for his famous brother Feng Qing Lang (Kuma) to stay at a secluded mountain tea farm operated by a free-spirited young man named Xu Chang Lang (Liu Jang Yu), whom he knows well. It is a rather isolated place in a picturesque, rugged location, away from prying eyes.

Because of his obvious top celebrity position and status, to say nothing of his portentous handsomeness, Qing Lang would indeed be an object of great fascination and attention. And over the years, has expected to be attended to instantly. That sense of entitlement seems common among celebrities, as if their elevated fame has earned it. Meanwhile, Xu Chang Lang immediately, upon meeting him, caters to Qing Lang’s whims and needs and seems to have an astonishingly in-depth knowledge of Qing Lang. At one point, it looked as if he had developed an almost obsession with him. Very quickly an attraction begins to percolate. One can discern his natural magnetism, of course. Xu Chang is a very virile, rugged-looking, breathtakingly handsome young man, with intellect, and a quick, fierce mind, who is fixated on developing a relationship with Quin Yang. Almost bordering on idolization, perhaps.

For me, the attraction developed too quickly; aside from physical desire, I did not sense a natural or convincing progression, though the story tried to suggest one. While I stated this whole series felt like we were watching a play, that is true. With a play which is three-dimensional, the nuances and dimensions of the characters, we can see and connect with empathy. On screen, that element is missing and therefore, the buildup to that must feel real, and be genuine and honest in a two-dimensional setting. This simply did not work for me. All the natural beauty of the surroundings and tea-picking and gorgeous mountains cannot substitute for genuine affection between two people. If you felt it, then, you were able to break through the screen and have their connection grab you. It just did not for me.

To be sure, the dialogue and screenplay are exceptional and outstanding, and I have nothing against their individual acting. And yes, even some of the romance scenes are convincing. But all of it just felt too stilted, theatrical, to me and a full element of truism just did not exist. It feels like they were merely acting out scenes from a storyboard. There was so much heavy reliance on the histrionics of love rather than the framing of love. The two of them hardly knew each other. Their reality of love just had no magnitude or persuasiveness to it. There was simply not a strong basis to it. That needed time to develop, and given who each was, that was not possible.

Regrettably, I was just not moved nor taken in by all the theatrics of its presentation. While the dramatics of this story are second to none, the enactment of the story itself, for me, felt nebulous. The story, perhaps felled by the arcane editing, felt disjointed, disconnected and frankly did not consistently present a clear, clean, crisp, logical, coherent story. For me, it just did not flow very well. I know I will not be popular here, but I did not buy the relationship between the main protagonists. Oh, I understood their story; I just did buy not give credence to or accept how neat and pretty their relationship rocketed into intensity. It all came across as rushed and serpentine, almost contrived. And it became so interspersed with a multi-level story that sometimes it all got so jumbled. It honestly felt like we were watching a story merely being played out from ideas coming alive from projections from thumbnail sketches.

The manifesting of the secondary couple was a complete mystery to me, and frankly, I found it tedious and uninteresting. The on-again-off-again and constant bantering between those two protagonists was candidly annoying and childish. Interest is all in the timing and the flow of the story and their story was presented so cryptically. Why was it even there? I honestly did not care about the relationship between Qi Hao Yu (Guo Zong Xu) and Han Lu (He Jia Kia). It was like watching two petulant children pouting if they did not get their way at times. It is not that their acting is necessarily bad; but it is also not very memorable either. It certainly appears to be stiff and stilted at times. I found their storyline rather superfluous, and mostly distracting. Honestly, their full story was never fleshed out to make sense to me. I am not sure what it was trying to connect to overall – perhaps as a parallel story of Shi Yahao and Qing Lang?

There are a number of astonishing performances from supporting players who stood out. And all deserve our praise. However, I was fascinated with the characterization of Qing Lang’s former lover named Shi Yuhao, played by Xion Yiwen. It was an obviously toxic relationship, and their split was not amiable. Shi Yuhao had fallen out of grace and has been trying to make a comeback in the entertainment industry by using unscrupulous methods and means to do so. He was exerting undue influence over Quin Yang to complete a project with him in the hopes that it would resurrect his career. Shi Yuhao wants to ‘piggy-back’ from Quin Yang’s current success to rebegin his. The story helps unfold a rather complex and at times convoluted relationship with Shi Yuhao. He is one of those characters that is so easy to ‘love to hate’. I honestly felt, of all the characters in this series, Xion Yiwen projected the one who was most human. He had the qualities and characterizations of a relatable person. He was a complex individual showing both redemptive and unscrupulous qualities. Everyone seemed to ‘hate’ him, but I was not so sure if he truly warranted such venom. He was a kid trying to survive in a cutthroat industry with many temptations. We later always regret the actions that we might have taken and at times we do regrettable things when we are trying to get ahead in the moment. He became a very multi-faceted individual in this series and one of the only few that maintained a sense of being real to me. Without his presence, this story would have lacked an antagonist. He was the perfect candidate for the role.

This series goes on and on with each succeeding episode not necessarily as creative or as interesting as the last one nor of equal quality. It is explosive in the beginning, drags endlessly on in the middle, with a lot of mundaneness, until there are traumatic and jolting events. Only very quickly to move on – with more tea-making and workday scenes. Death, ever present, is a stream that flows alongside the tree-of-live. One mourns. And then it is time to move on to the next death. Frankly, I did not understand the family dynamics of Xu Chang’s family, and I did not care to understand it. All of that was superfluous noise and unnecessary. The idiocy and childishness of Xu Chang’s sister was beyond the pale for immaturity and petulant behavior.

The last episode felt rushed to me and frankly perplexing. With Qing Lang leaving the entertainment industry and announcing that he is ‘gay’ and is going to spend time with his partner, which ironically, was minimal. While that all sounded so romantic, it was not. I did not understand the waiting around for nearly 5 years. Much, and I do mean much, had and will change in 5 years. Qing Lang spent a considerable amount of that time alone, obviously reflecting, and pondering and wondering about a relationship that was developed hardly on intensity but on lust. So, when Xu Chang finally came home, and he announced that he had quit whatever he had to do (which I honestly never fully understood what he was doing), I expected a moment. Now the hard part begins. Really building a relationship. But the story ends.

As I eluded, for me, this story is smoke and mirrors. Much of the narrative focuses on the entertainment industry’s pressures, compromises, and the way performers are valued financially. Their personal relationships are discouraged at best, if not even downright forced to break up. Yet the repeated denial of same-sex relationships drives much of the story, keeping the characters in the headlines and fueling constant buzz across social media. This is an astonishing large part of the story as well.

To be forthrightly honest, I just did not care, nor am I sure I should feel sorry for over-indulgent individuals who cannot be open about their sexual preferences. That is the price one pays to be in the entertainment industry. Only you in the industry have the power to change it. Otherwise, simply do not become a performer. Or learn to live in the shadows, like so many of your predecessors had to do. Fame and fortune come with a huge, steep price. Learn to live with it or change it. This was not a story of love worthy of elevation as we never saw anything resembling a serious romance except a few scenes of idealized courting rituals, some sensual kissing scenes, and heartstring moments with cursory romantic set ups.

I was truly surprised by my reaction to this series. Although I liked it more than I disliked it, not by much, however. Its visual presentation is stunning. Its screenplay is first-rate. Its cinematography is top-notch. Its story lacked conviction. I say this not to be condemnatory, but the whole idea of trying to find a commonality to be pampered, privileged individuals who are in a world completely unrelated to my own in which one can retire at an age between 20 to 30 something and wait around for his lover for 5 years in a paradise world so carefree is completely alien to me and one no tugging-at-heart-strings can make me feel I can relate. I cannot. To even promote that is counterproductive, excessive, and solipsistic.

That is why I disliked the story. It was just too overindulgent for me to enjoy. Surprisingly as it sounds, I am deeply affected on a personal level by the intent of a BL story. I found very little in this story romantically beautiful or emotionally enriching. This one left me feeling very empty and sad.

I do not expect many, if any, to agree with my assessment of this series. I know its acolytes are in the stratosphere. I, simply, do not see it that way. My review does not take away from its excellent and exceptional presentation value. I was not taken in by all its sentimental theatrics. I would rather see romance with all its pain and glory delivered in a realistic fashion that I can understand and feel I can relate to. This was a Pollyanna soap-opera.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Streaming on- Gagaoolala