The On1y One (2024)

A Realistic Depiction of Teenage Romance & Relationships

The human heart is a stormy place, and when paired with thought, it becomes even more tumultuous. Love isn’t logical—it’s a force that heals, torments, and binds, sometimes all at once.

When mixed with thought, love can often feel like madness.

Adapted from the novel Mou Mou by Mu Su Li, the Taiwanese BL The On1y One defies expectations while exploring love amidst emotional turmoil. Starring Liu Dong Qin as the studious and friendly Sheng Wang and Benjamin Tsang as the reserved loner Jiang Tian, the series follows two boys with their own personal traumas who are brought together as unexpected brothers.

I’ve started this review a thousand times—not because I’m sad, though I am, but because The On1y One gave us so much to think about and feel.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/10/03/the-on1y-one-series-review-ep-3-to-12/

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Simple done very well!

A massive congratulations to the cast and crew for a well thought off bl! I am forever in love with the cast (especially you andy chen!!!) and will forever cherish them in my heart!

Weeks ago when this was airing ep 1 and 2, I just saw this series on my fyp on TikTok and thought to myself that this might just be a silly Taiwanese series just for the vibes (cause I saw the truth or dare scene! the kiss was what reeled me in!), but woah was it more than that!

I might sound like I'm overhyping the quality, but c'mon you gotta admit everything was done soo well! The song choice, the camera angles, the script, and the lighting?! The production team carried a lot as well as the actors! I honestly was not prepared for what is to come, and honestly am very thankful for this rollercoaster of a show! We went through so much in such little time and I would applaud how the pacing fits sooo well!

This series so simple, like it has the most basic Taiwanese bl plot of step brother but it is sooo well done! It had it's own unique flair and style! I will forever love you Shang Weng and Jiang Tian ( and Gao Tianyang MY HUBBY) This is definitely forever one of my top bls to date!

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What was that ending?

This show made me so mad. It was a great beautiful story (very slow moving) and then it just ends abruptly. It's too many open ends. There are so many plot points that are not wrapped up.
You have
1. The Substitute teachers
2. Tian's Dad
3. Both leads parents relationship
4. Tian relationship with his mother
5. Sheng's relationship with his father
6. The overachiever boy and his insecurities
7. The English teacher

And that's just seven right off the top of my head. There's a few more that I'm too mad to remember at the moment. That is why I gave this such a low score. Those take away from the story. I'm very sure it was ended that way to set up for a second season. But I've seen plenty shows that do something like this and don't get a second season. I need Taiwan to do better. This is the second time they have disappointed me like this with a drama

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A series that will make your heart beating again.

This series will make your heart think of ''Someone'' who is always in your heart, a story of love, friendship, and confusion. A time of youth that is bright and full of life. Their love and friendship will make a lifeless heart feel alive again. Even if you have to shed some tears but it is another series that is worth to watch and is a must in 2024...
ซีรีย์เรื่องนี้จะทำให้ใจของคุณหวนนึกถึง '' ใครบางคน'' เรื่องราวของความรัก มิตรภาพ เเละความสับสน ของช่วงวัยที่สดใส เเละ เต็มไปด้วยชีวิตชีวา ความรักและมิตรภาพของพวกเขา จะเติมเต็มหัวใจที่่แห้งเเล้งไปแล้วให้กลับมาชุ่มชื้นได้อีกครั้ง เเม้จะทำให้มีน้ำตาบ้างเเต่ก็
เป็นซีรีย์ที่น่าติดตามอีกเรื่องนึงของปี 2024 และเป็นซีรีย์ที่ห้ามพลาดของปีนี้ด้วยเช่นกัน...

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Excellent

The On1y One is a serious, gut-wrenching coming of age drama about the sexual awakening of two teenagers under very difficult circumstances.
Tian is traumatised by his parent's divorce and the shocking exposure to his father's secret which leads to conflicts in his heart and years of internalised self loathing. He considers himself to be essentially homeless, keeping a suitcase packed and ready to be on the move at any moment.
Sheng has lost his mother and lives through a lonely childhood grieving his loss.
They need to come to terms with their parents relationship and somehow start building a new family together.
Their tentative friendship gradually starts to turn into more. They negotiate this new path, forging a friendship which is deep and sincere despite Tian's early reservations. They find a tethering in each other which gives them a sense of belonging, a sense of home in each other.
As they realize their romantic feelings, Jian and Sheng deal with their feelings of shame and guilt differently. While Tian comes to term with his feelings, Sheng withdraws.
Sheng's withdrawal cuts into Tian's core, opening the very same wound he had helped in healing.
Season 1 ends on this heartbreaking note.
The series is beautiful, both visually as well in the powerful emotions it inspires.
Each and every actor has played a nuanced role giving us a sensitive glimpse into the pains of growing up. It is a story of sexual awakening which reminds us how delicate and painful it is to be 17.
Looking forward to season 2 of this excellent drama. Kudos to the entire team. ❣️❣️??

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Very soild slow burn high school romance, but could be way more better

(If you don't like slow burn romance, coming of age, step-brothers romance; you won't like this story.)
[Update:- WHY THEY DECIDED TO END IT LIKE THISSSSSSSS?]

This is my first ever review cuz English isn't my first language, but mou mou forced me to write this.
This drama made me a lot of emotions, but most of it was warm and nostalgia.
This drama reminds me of the good semi-old high school c dramas, like when we were young s1 and suddenly this summer but way more towards Taiwanese vibes (ofc cuz it's a taiwanese drama).

What i really liked:-
1- the acting, most of the actors showed a very soild steady performance except for some people. but overall the acting was good.
2- the way the director shows the harmony between the classmates was awesome, very awesome actually. It made me feel like that was a real class. how they tease each other, rooting for each other, their friendships, how little pepper had a cute crush on sheng wang, and how gao tian yang liked little pepper but he knew that she liked someone else. even the jealousy and hatred that jiahao had for wang, it felt real, cause sometimes -especially in middle and high school- you would meet (or had met) someone that hated you for a reason or not. it all felt so real, and that's very good.
3- the complexity in SW's and JT's families was good. whether you liked those characters or not, the dynamic between them was good. how JT's mother regretted how she left him and wanted to make up for him but JT had moved on and wanted to assure her that he doesn't blame her. or how JT resented his own biological father because his trauma. or how SW had a close-not-very-close relationship with his dad. It was portrayed very well.

What i don't like/ hate:- (maybe you'll see it a very small thing but it distracted me very much)
1- i hated it how the director was telling us in some scenes "look, JT is taller than SW. It looks like the novel, right?"
I didn't read the novel btw -cuz i don't have money ??- but i know that in novel that JT was taller than SW, i think it's not that big height difference but still. In the first episode, when SW first transferred into the class and met JT for the first time and JT stood up against SW, i rolled my eyes. nothing throws me off like the forced height difference. and in the third episode when JT kissed SW, the dictator made liu dong qin (actor who played SW) for the second time looked smaller against Benjamin (the actor who played JT), it looked and felt really bad.
2- the flashbacks when SW's mother was alive, those scenes felt like the editor chose a very cheap filter for them. it annoyed me a little but not very much.
3- the biggest flaw in this series is teacher jing, not her in specific, but the trio (jing- xi- linzi)
If you -the production team- were aware that when you brings ml actor, this actress will tag along; you had two options:- 1-you stick to original novel plot. 2- if you would change the plot, pls at least write a good script for her and the other two.
You decided to not follow any of the options above and it led to disaster, to the point that a lot of people skipped their scenes towards the end. i won't write any specific scene but at least, couldn't you -screenwriters- made them looked more mature adults? cuz the way they behaving was like a childish, emotional teenagers who can't take any decision.

I watched 11 eps out of 12. The rating now depends on the final ep. Is the rating gonna go up or down? I don't know. but if i update this review, I'll update it after finishing the final ep.

The update:- that final episode.... i swear to god, IF YOU CANNOT WRITE A SCRIPT, THEN STICK TO ORIGINAL NOVEL PLOT!!!!!
It's not even a sad nor an open ending, it's like a normal ep that makes you feel like there's next episode after it.
The 12 ep is so exaggerated, SW's actions somehow make sense to me. He's just realized that he likes his step brother and thinking that what he was doing is wrong so he decided that he gonna switch classes.
JT's actions didn't make sense to me AT ALL, when he knew that SW switched classes, he made me feel like it's the end of the world, like SW had been in lethal accident, like he's in SW's funeral. Why did he act like this when he obviously can just walk upstairs to see him? And they're still in the same dorm, and even if SW decided to move out, he can still move out as well to their home, IT'S NOT THAT DEEP.

now, how bad the final ep is? Let's just pretend that the novel doesn't exist and this series based on original script, if we do that then you gonna realize how bad it is. It's like you have been building a house for the past few months only to suddenly realized that you build a house of cards and a mere air destroy it. That's how the final ep felts. After all this buildups, interactions & feelings only to crumble down and go back to the beginning line. That's not how to end a series especially when you're not so sure if there's a second season or not. By doing this you disrespected the novel fans and the drama fans!!!

There's only two reasons for me so that you decided to end it like that:- 1-that the drama is actually not a 12 episodes drama but more than this.
2- that you decided to change a major events in the original plot, like you decide to not make SW & JT couple when they're teenagers, you decided that when SW switched classes, SW&JT will have a minimal contact and after that somehow JT or SW will travel overseas then after 10 years they meet again. Im gonna be very angry at you if you decided to do that.

However, this episode left a bad taste in my mouth to the point that made me downrate the overall rating.

I hope anyone read this have a good day or a good night or a good sleep❤.

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honestly…

Although it might not be for everyone… a high school, coming of age, love story that is pretty slow-burn at that, it’s still hella good in many other ways. The slow burn makes sense as the character starts off having bad impressions of e/o esp after finding out their parent are dating so naturally it will take a bit to accept that and have a better relationship but they did it and it turned out great! The scenes feel very realistic and genuine. The small but cute gestures will have you squealing already despite the fact it’s so minuscule. The cast is also lovely in my opinion even though many people, especially the novel enthusiasts, wasn’t the a big fan of it because that’s not how they expected the characters to look like. But i think the all the actors aced this! You can tell they really tried and it’s not some half- assed bs. Overall, I love this so far and would rewatch again for sure. Looking forward to the next 2 episodes!
(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

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This drama is worth watching

From the beginning where they first met and had some conflict's later on, how both of them understood each other's misery leading the story to having a bond of friendship, taking care of each other and finding happiness in each other, this type of drama is what i was craving for. Most of the adaptations frequently rushes the story to end while cutting off most of the scenes. From episode 1 till 10 its worth watching and i can't wait to see where the story is heading to. There is only 2 episodes left and i think we will witness their separation soon. I just hope they will drop season 2 as quick as possible.

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