This series defies everything one could expect from china, and so because of that I'm rating it pretty high, taking the music and visuals into consideration, as well as the chemistry between the actors. They managed to portray longing and love through their body language as well as with their gaze, and I hope to see them all again in other productions as well.
BUT! As a hearing-impaired watcher who has spent all her life in the deaf community, I do have a bone to pick with the writer of Tan Yin... the actors portrayal of a deaf/HOH character was good, but the script for Tan Yin is very much full of dreams and wishes. I was OVER THE MOON when I saw them speak sign, as it is a big part of my life, and I was happy that my community is being represented. But there are a few points where the script is wishful thinking, and honestly infuriating to some degree, as it totally disregards the challenges we face. Such as:
- Being able to understand spoken language IMMEDIATELY after getting a hearing-aid when in reality it takes months or even YEARS of practice to filter and comprehend all these new sounds
- Not using sign after being able to speak (my heart was crushed by this tbh. His first language, just tossed aside...)
- Being able to speak fluently so soon after receiving a hearing-aid
Besides this, the story was very well written, though I wish we could've gotten a more in-depth ending and a better explanation of how they managed to resolve all their previous issues now that they're back together again.
But, for a Chinese BL, they set the standard HIGH, and I can only assume that they were rushing to finish the show before they would be forced to stop production. So with that in mind, and considering the other parts of the series, this could've been the best of the best had they not been under so much pressure to finish.
But the actors did an amazing job, and I was especially fond of Qin Xiao, as the actor managed to portray emotions in such as way I haven't seen in a long time. The way his eyes look at Qi Lu with such love and care, as well as his body language when he cries. I can see a bright future in acting for him.
I hope more people begin to defy Chinese censorship and begin to produce more BLs of this caliber<3