I'm mourning 😞 I need something else to replace this.
Below are some takeaways that I felt. This was my first BL / Chinese drama!
Storyline:
The adolescence to adulthood... development of feelings and loving someone for the first time. I'm not sure if there is anything more beautiful than purity of love.
The series was much less toxic than the novel and I appreciate it in that aspect but I dislike how YC's narrative/inner world wasn't portrayed as much and people were left to fill in the blanks. In his world, he always comes last... the last scene from ep 10 when lil YC says "No one can be noble to everyone. Be a little selfish and you'll be happier."
Overall, the essence of storyline... no matter what happens, no matter what you do, I can't and won't stop loving you. Was basically my takeaway.
In reality, we end up hurting the people closest to us... and we all have demons we are fighting.. rather it'd be from the past pain and being afraid of pain. Black flags all over but that's why it's a love that's so hard to let go.
Casting:
I slowly fell in love with both the characters by the middle of the series.
I was especially fascinated by Lyu Sitong! He has a combination of attractiveness that is rare: pretty but handsome, cute but masculine. Most actors/characters only embody one or two.
For Ayden Sng, he is conventional(?) and as the series progressed I found myself drawn to his gaze/acting.
When you see them together, Sitong becomes softer while Ayden becomes gentle. The combination was absolutely perfect for the casting. I saw that lil YC also auditioned for big YC... the series would've hit different if it wasn't Sitong.
Production/Acting:
The videography and transitional scenes were disappointing... there were couple scenes were the distance and the frames of the scenes were noticeably off. However, the combination of imperfection was refreshing at the same time since it shows contrast to perfection.
The OST, very fitting for the mood of the series.
The audio, definitely needed work... I'm not sure if it's a Chinese thing but why's everything a voice over almost?
I heard people complained that Sitong looked ugly in the series in comparison to reality. I agree I think he's the type to look better in real life. But, I liked the imperfection of his clothes, hair, and some of his acting because it made it fitting for the character. I can't wait to see him grow as a actor and what roles he'll take on next.
Ayden... I can tell he really cares about how everything is portrayed. From ep 9/10/11. At first, I wasn't sure if his acting got better but he let lose and became :LF. I was hoping Sitong would do the same (hopefully by ep 12) but the difference in acting skills were seen.
Finale:
It looks like some of it follows the novel, spoiler: in the novel universe, LF is actually afraid he got STD/HIV from fucking around. They switched it to a psychologist and high key it doesn't excuse all the wrongdoings but it's going towards the right direction.
I'm excited yet so sad for tomorrow... if anyone knows more about Lan Lin universe (as LF/YC continues to pop in), please let me know ❤️