Loved it
This is so original and mature and it really changes from the habitual high school or college romances. Actor have a good chemistry and really have been able to make me feel the evolution of love between the characters. More than that, the action genre is good to see in a BL and both characters are independent and strong by themselves.The only bad point is that the second lead is not here as much as I'd like because their story is cute .
To summarize, this story is so refreshing, the actors have played very well and it is a "must be seen " BL
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This review may contain spoilers
Could have been better
Story: I thought the story was pretty solid. There are different layers of subplots going on that all tie the characters together. I did find one of the subplots kind of forceful, like it had to be placed there for the purpose of continuity of the larger plot. But it didn't bother me to the point of disrupting my enjoyment.The hate to love thing they have going on was nicely done. I like that I'm able to see the levels of emotion/feelings they have for each other change per episode. Visually it helps me understand how they developed those feelings and thus helps me enjoy when they express certain emotions later on.
Acting/cast: Jake who plays Shao Fei is my least favorite. His acting was not the best. There were moments when I thought wow, they let this make it into the final cut? I don't know how to explain his acting, I'm not an acting expert, I just know what I saw was not the best it could have been. Also, I don't know if this is how he normally is in normal life, but he does this thing where he pulls his chin out and his back and neck look like he has kyphosis. It's not a pleasing visual. Chris who plays Tang yi is alright. I think he and Andy, who plays Jack were good. He was able to express Tang yi well, although I did find some scenes a little exaggerated. Andy's character was a weird one, reminded me of someone who's a little kookoo sociopathic, but I think Andy did a good job since his character doesn't really express much emotion except smile, so it should be easy already, I assume. Kenny who plays Zhao Zi also did a decent job. He's the one with the least experience out of the 4 but he did relatively well. He was able to capture the niave innocent factor. However, overall, judging the finished product on all of their acting/casting choice, I think the finished product was pretty average. I'm not going to lie and say this was the best acting/cast I've seen because it wasn't, but the cast did well enough to get the story across.
Let's talk about the action portion of this drama. I have a gripe. Personally, I found the fighting very poorly choreographed. They all looked stiff. It was awkward. Fists were flying but they looked like they were flying in the wrong direction. I wish the fight scenes were more worked on because it's supposed to play an important role in the story. Cops and Mafia, c'mon, you should at least have epic fight scenes.
Something to note that was actually quite good about this might be their chemistry/ability to be professional about certain scenes. It wasn't exactly clear in the final cut, because characters have to be characters, so you don't see the realness behind their behavior, but the behind the scenes was another world. I loved their chemistry and friendship. Really great on that part.
Rewatch value: Personally I was really interested in Jack and Zhao Zi's relationship. Because they would have moments weaved in here and there, it makes you more curious what their relationship will turn out and that's where my attention was on. I would definitely rewatch this for Jack and Zhao Zi's relationship. The main story was alright but it's a one time thing for me. I wouldn't want to rewatch for Tang yi and Shoa Fei.
Overall: Yes if you haven't watched this, you should watch it for the experience.
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Mobsters are people too....
This is probably an 8,75 show... so I may or may not up it to a 9... why purely for entertainment value, the story itself is nothing remarkable it is just the typical cop investigates mob a little bit to closely... gets trapped here and there and falls in love... All with a bunch of slightly underdeveloped intrigues , misunderstanding and more or less predictable twist...Showing us a lovely selection of types of assault (including sexual), gun shots, stabbing, kidnapping... you name it this drama has it.. However the main couple is actually pretty supportive and seem to listen in one another's needs odd but true this is actually possible even for a mobster...
The Mobster guy is an icicle combined with a huge sense of playfulness while the cop is mr thinking positive bubbly love boy... cute as a button and the two together are a blast to watch from start to finish... I love the way these two interact and even if there are some flags here and there it kind of works anyway...
The second couple is one part so naive I am impressed the guy is still alive with mysterious ether jacket! great combo, not so much consent... and a lot of flirting with food... again fun to watch indeed.
This drama may not have constantly kept me on my toes, but it was still a nice rom com without to overly annoying characters and a pretty consistent character and relationship development from the leads leaving most of the drama to the supporting cast... Which is what makes this a bit different than many other dramas.
Definitely too easy to binge, it latterly felt like i just started it when it suddenly said The End.
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This was the first time I watched any of the History series and I'm so grateful that it was such a good start. The best point of the show is the plot, which is SO rare, specially in BL land. I was intrigued, everything made sense (although still very fictional), I was at the edge of my seat. every. single. episode. It had the right amount of drama, action, romance and comedy. Very well done indeed.
The character development was great as well. I enjoyed every little story besides the main couple. The pairings.. I just really liked them! The acting, I must admit, didn't always convince me for some of the characters. My favorites were Tang Yi (Chris Wu) and Chen Wen Hao (Chia Kuei Chen). Their chemistry whenever they acted together was really good as well. I cried quite a lot at the end. To me, Jake's facial and body expressions weren't great. I know Shao Fei's character is like that but... I felt like something was lacking. Thankfully, by the end of the series, I warmed up to him. Jack and Li An didn't have he best performances. But their story was so cute and their characters so fluffy... hopefully we will see them grow from now on. Another actor that didn't sell it for me was the police chief. Weird expressions, weird acting... I don't know. But I really enjoyed his scene with his daughter. I felt true emotion rather than just.............. weird facial expressions.
The chemistry between the couples was amazing. Specially our main couple. So so so cute. Hot scenes everywhere and I'm certainly not complaining.
The music was really good, actually. I really enjoyed the opening theme.
I already know the plot so rewatching it could be a bit boring but it's also short so why not? Maybe when I run out of things to watch and nostalgie hits.
In conclusion, watch it. That's all I can say. I'm quite skeptical though because I dont think ill ever watch a bl as good as this one in the near future. Honestly, I'm so happy I decided to watch it. I don't even remember why I did but I'm really thankful. The BL world just gained a beautiful gem.
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This review may contain spoilers
Here’s the thing, this drama did the gay love story a good solid in that it didn’t treat it as the obstacle to the couple that your typical boys love type of movies do. The story was more about finding a killer and learning to move on and not hold on to anger and revenge. I don’t really think the title “Trapped” fits. There wasn’t really any part of the plot that involved trapping someone using love. But I can get past the title of the movie because the characters were so cute. Tang Yi was smexy (his acting was only so-so though, boy can’t fake cry worth a thing), Shou Fei was the most adorable male lead EVER (I couldn’t get enough of his expressive face!), and Jack was just too much (very expressive and mischievous). I had very strange editing choices at times that didn’t explain parts of the plot. And I felt like the last two episodes were extremely rushed and managed to fit in a few minutes of fan service to cover up the fact that they had too much story for 10 short episodes (on VIKI). I’m sort of left feeling like I didn’t get a complete meal and it was taken away from me before I finished the last few bites. I’m not starving but I’m not quite full either. It’s a frustrating end to the series that I was waiting weeks and weeks to finish before I watched it. Overall I’m still happy that I watched it, but it wasn’t quite as good as I hoped it would be. Was this review helpful to you?
can good chemistry excuse bad plot?
for a drama under the action, thriller and crime genres, the way they handled this whole mafia/corruption business seemed not that well thought out; the characters are inconsistent, and the amount of plot wholes made it look like there were entire episodes missing between scenes.as for the actors, i have no complains about their lovey dovey scenes, i can see why this drama is popular with fujoshis, hot men with convincing chemistry and a good amount of kissing and shirtless scenes. but when it comes to emotional scenes is where I kind of felt let down. specially with tang yi's character that is filled with emotional trauma, the performance looked forced and made me cringe at times.
another major issue with tang yi's character is that, for a mob boss, he has little to no conviction and most of his actions are based on what people tell him to do, if he's not fulfilling his master's last wishes, he's getting manipulated by his incestuous little sister, and by the end,
[SPOILER ALLERT]
all of his emotional baggage gets resolved in a quick chat with his boyfriend who basically tells him to just get over it -even though it's them refusing to "get over it" exactly what moves the story forward-
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Lovable in Parts, but also Highly Irritating
Alright. This series is lovable in parts, but also highly irritating in parts, with some repetitive, uncreative and extremely immature plots. This, combined with the fact that Tang Yi (the main character) is almost always frowning and angry, sometimes even while kissing his partner, and that the main job of Shao Fei (the other main character) is to take cuts and bullets for others, makes me want to give the series a 5/10 rating, but nevertheless I will give it a 6- mainly because of these good things:1. The intense and believable interactions between the various mob guys
2. The initial light-hearted and wonderful acting of the Captain
3. The natural, believable and heartwarming interactions between the second lead couple- Jack and Zhao Li, which I found much more enjoyable and spontaneous than those of the first lead couple- Tang Yi and Shao Fei.
4. The natural and wonderful acting of Chen Wen Hao and Old Tang
Next, I will list the irritating things, so that you are well prepared in advance, and may feel a bit less frustrated, in case you decide to watch this lengthy series. Here we go:
1. During the starting episodes, Shao Fei keeps bugging Tang Yi to reveal the 'truth' based on a hunch. This approach of a police officer is unrealistic and immature, and soon becomes borderline-irritating.
2. Most of Shao Fei's initial interactions with Tang Yi are overly stupid and childish, and make him look like a mindless clown.
3. Shao Fei moving in with Tang Yi, to protect him and to keep an eye on him, was quite unrealistic in itself, but it becomes completely senseless and intolerable when he accepts to babysit Hong Ye, and takes her shopping.
4. Shao Fei's main task as a police officer is not to solve cases, it is not to catch criminals, and it is not to help or protect others with his acquired skills. Then what is it? It is to use his body as a shield for others. And it does not matter who this 'other' person is.
5. Have you realised that every person in this world has two faces? And that every person is confused and conflicted and unreliable? Well, you better believe it, because that is what the storyline tries to portray at the end. Too many persons are shown to be selfish and conflicted, and are just using the others for personal gains. This was completely unbelievable, stupid and immature. I have absolutely no idea why these kinds of plots were suddenly stuffed into the otherwise okay-ish storyline, making it completely ridiculous, so much so that I lost interest completely during the last few episodes.
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Enjoyable & Sweet
Sweet and touching with its gay relationships. A bit slow with a story that is a bit ridiculous as it doesn't make much sense with plot holes and questionable plot points, but it was fun and cute. I didn't really cared for the revenge storyline, which was weak and not particularly interesting (until the end). I was only interested in the gay relationships to be honest. Jack and Zhao Zi. Tang Yi and Meng. The dance scene where they tried to make each other jealous was HOT! The seducing scene with slinky R&B music was even HOTTER and probably the most erotic scene in a BL that I've seen so far. I really liked the skinship that was shown. Not exploitative and not superficial either. Just the right amount. It's pretty cool seeing an older BL couple who are in their late 20's and early thirties. Like is those K-dramas. I personally liked History 3: Trapped better than History 2: Crossing the Line. I cannot wait to see Taiwan continue to produce BL content!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I'm keeping this short. This was my first full length BL series and I'm pretty disappointed. I often wonder about the director's vision. I'm not sure how the actors were told to act, but I can't imagine they were told to act like this was their first high-school performance. I can't describe how bad the MLs are at acting. Chris is obviously better, but not by much. I suppose the director wanted them to be over-exaggerated, but it was too much for me. The only actors I enjoyed were the dad roles (and Kenny because he was cute). Maybe because they're older; but at least something was there. Speaking of dad roles, I really want us to end the narrative that forcing/badgering a partner to speak to their parents is a 'helpful, loving' thing to do. Shao Fei was so quick to suggest meeting up when Tang Yi probably needed time and therapy.I understand that dramas are 'dramatizations' of real life. Yes, that's clear. That being said, why did they take the route to portray their police force as caricatures of stereotypes? In the first episode, they burst in guns a'blazing and that's fine for a raid, but then Shao Fei holds Tang Yi at gunpoint??? Excuse me...officer (he does this twice)? I'm not sure what Shao Fei did so well that made it okay for him to disregard the rules of his job, but I didn't see it.
I would like to mention Jack and Zhao Zi(?) before I end. Jack did not pass the vibe check. He's our resident king of manipulation. To this day I don't know what his true role was and why he wasn't persecuted by Tang Yi, the bad guy, or Interpol. Jack snaking his way into Kenny's life is supposed to be charming and it is at first; but, it quickly becomes creepy and pushy.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend it if you're into more serious dramas. This is more lighthearted than anything. And that would be fine if the story and acting were good, but they should've picked a struggle. I don't remember the music so I suppose it was unoffensive.
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This review may contain spoilers
Do you like well-developed plots and characters? Do you like amazingly diverse acting? Do you like insanely emotional, heart-warming romances? Do you like beautifully shot scenes? Then this is the BL for you!!First thing I'd like to say is, I'm going to review this series in the bounds of its genre, aka BL Series.
If you've never watched a BL series before I definitely recommend starting with this one. It is truly one of the best.
One big thing to know about BL series: There's a lot of intense/cheesy romantic scenes.
The main reason I absolutely loved this series though was the fact that they didn't make it all about the romantic scenes or all about the main couple/side couples. They had a bigger overarching storyline that didn't feel forced at all and made a lot of sense.
Most BLs focus a lot on romantic scenes and making the show all about cute couple moments and it doesn't give the characters much room to grow other than in their love life. But this one does not do that at all.
It has such a great overarching storyline on gang life and the things Tang Yi and Shao Fei were struggling with. And the development of the story as well as the development of the characters, specifically Tang Yi and Shao Fei, was for the most part very fluid and well thought out. The plot never became repetitive, it was fast-paced but still managed to keep a lot of suspense that had me at the edge of my seat.
The acting was incredible considering some of the cast's lack of acting experience. I loved watching the live streams the cast and director recorded following each week of episodes as you really could notice the amount of work and thought that was put into the relationships between actors and their characters. The director did an amazing job at guiding the actors to understand more and more about their characters so they could portray them better in the show. And it's noticeable the amount of studying and effort the actors put into their characters. I truly applaud everyone from the main cast, especially Chris.
Lastly, I believe the series is doing what it aimed to do and that is to top the last few seasons of History. I personally loved crossing the line, which I think is the second most popular story out of the whole show, but it clearly did not have the chance to be as detailed with the plot lines as Trapped did.
I really believe this BL series does what many BL series can't do and that is finding a good balance between the romantic scenes the BL genre is known and loved for and a solid, logical storyline that makes the show that much more enjoyable to watch.
Some things I wish could have been better: the character development for Li An and Jack as a couple and as individuals, the development of Shao Fei's relationship with his boss, and the development of Zhi De's character. I believe most of these issues were created by the lack of time the show had. Most shortcomings of BL series are caused by the lack of time but I understand that this is caused by the small size of the industry and lack of funds.
I've already watched the show twice and I can say that it is really so good and interesting, I definitely recommend this show if you like a sad but still not-too-cruel angst story accompanied by cute romances.
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○i mean, i am quite biased towards this sort of plot; it's a trope that i love. the character introductions and developments were nice and the story line flowed pretty well. there were however certain areas i thought could have been written a bit better. i thought some scenes were slightly unnecessary and that time could have been put into better use with another scene. nevertheless, i love how the story never got incredibly deep or remained too light; it was a sweet balance of comedy, drama, action, and love. i appreciated all its twists and turns since it kept the story intriguing for me. overall i was quite pleased with the story.
•acting:
○first off, i must seriously commend Chris on his acting in this drama. he did so great! his eyes spoke so much raw emotion that i was taken aback as the episodes progressed. he really did a fantastic job with the role. i've always seen this sort of role a bit difficult to play since it's so easy to come off as a bland character. however Chris really shone in this part.
○Jake's character was a weird one, i've got to say. but it grew on me (by the end of the first episode ahaha). he portrayed it well enough to make me think that's how he usually acts irl. let me note however: that in the later episodes, i was a very slightly detached from his character though. he didn't hold me in as strongly as he did in the earlier ones. i'm not sure if it was the writing of his character or his acting that came into play here. but overall, he did well with this quirky character!
○Kenny and Andy were amply cute! it was very satisfying watching their lighthearted scenes. i'm not even surprised their popularity among the couples was so high. Andy's smile captivated me from his very first scene! Kenny is simply naturally adorable ㅠ.ㅠ
○i really want to give all the actors compliments on their acting!
•music:
○wow, from the first time i heard each of the main osts, i fell in love! i desperately scoured the internet for the full songs and the singers. the singers evoke so much emotion with these songs. i can bravely say this drama had one of the best osts i have ever heard. it's one of those you'll always remember. incredibly beautiful,,
i've only just recently finished the drama and while writing this review on a cozy, rainy day, i'm already missing it ❤
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