This BL will not appeal to anyone who doesn't like/appreciate a bitter note of angst and reality in their BLs, but for those of us who do, it's a great watch, and closed on a satisfying note for me personally. I cannot give it a clean 10 because it had its drawbacks for sure, which I will note down below, but the drawbacks were few and not actually a surprise considering this BL managed to finagle its way out of no-homo China in the first place. Alright, on with -

*THE GOOD:
1. Zero disappointment on the acting/casting front, especially not from the two MLs, really, they brought their A-game, particularly in emotional scenes and even the fluff scenes. Qin Xiao is a gem, he managed to express a lot what was lacking physically between the MLs with some of his looks and actions.

2. The filming/cinematography side was to my taste, the music didn't contradict or overwhelm the scenes which was a win. The LUT of this highlighted the coldness of winter with it from start to finish, very suitable for the theme. The budget was probably not that high for a small production like this but they managed to apply whatever funds they had to bringing the characters to life very well.

3. The show touched on some interesting and lovely, but also disheartening and realistic facets of being gay in China. In the first couple, we meet Qin Xiao who was raised basically solo by a grandparent (not uncommon in modern China even when parents are alive), but even so, he's the adult, he's the responsible one, the one in charge, and his sick granddad is in his care, so he's quite independent, and as a result he's influenced by a mixture of modern life and wanting freedom versus traditional family values, expectations and responsibilities. We saw him have to work through developing feelings for someone of the same sex and how it made him question himself and worry. Then we have Qi Lu, who is openly gay to himself (and presumably to some other people he trusts since we see him confiding in his senior online friend, Bai, confessing to liking Qin Xiao and saying he's worried about the same thing happening as before, eluding to him having tried to confess to a boy he liked previously with negative results). We see him rather directly and certainly pursue his feelings for Qin Xiao. In the second couple we have Liu, who is independent as a grown, working man, but who is emotionally and mentally bogged down with family trauma and drama, and Tan Yin, another openly gay character who is likewise bogged down a history of abuse and disownment/abandonment from his family on top of his disability. We get to see how their situations play out differently, how differently they strive to be closer to each other and accept each other according to their different circumstances. It can all, in essence, be picked apart and discussed ad nauseum, as to how the issues with how even in modern China 'children' still have trouble escaping the reach of their parents/family influence and how it affects their adulthood in good and bad ways. But I think Blue Canvas highlighted what it needed to and moved forward and past topics well enough without overdoing it on those complicated themes. A good balance for only 12 eps.

4. Qin Xiao and Qi Lu are just really great individual characters with different strengths and weaknesses that they portrayed wonderfully.

5. The 'dangers' and 'drama' were not over exaggerated or blown out of proportion, from the side story of the small time drug dealers, to Qi Lu's abusive father and Qin Xiao's grandfather's death, it was all quite tidily handled and emphasized enough to show its importance to the plot.

6. The pace was good for 11 eps, 12 however rushed a bit, even so, the flow of events was clear and not confusing.

There is no 'bad', so I'll just do-
*THE DRAWBACKS:

1. As previously mentioned, episode 12 was rushed, and I do think this could have been avoided if some of the second couple and art school filler had been shortened or removed in order to play the more plot final relevant scenes out fully. Several scene choices were not very wise and used up valuable time.

2. There is a lack of couple-esque moments between the two pairs post 'getting together'. This is not surprising, and not a big issue because the fact that we have openly gay characters who blatantly confess, kiss and establish their same sex relationships, and go on to be together happily, in a Mainland Chinese BL, is already a big deal. Unfortunately, it does take away from some scenes where small things like kisses hello or good bye, or eluding to/implying intimacy would have done more for the actual realism of the two pairs being couples. Pity. That said, I do personally think that the reason any more overt physically romantic scenes were avoided after the first kisses was because these actors do still have to live and probably hope to have acting careers in China in the future, so they didn't want to overdo it and risk too much backlash, if any, from the government and entertainment industry. And I'm okay with that, small steps for the LGBTQ media in China.

3. The second couple fell off. It was weird, because their dynamic seemed quite mature and enjoyable BEFORE they became a couple, after that, I'm not really sure what the producer/director was going for with the excess play-fighting thing they were doing, it was almost nothing like Liu and Tan Yin had been prior to becoming a couple, so that was a bit 'okay then'.

5. The misunderstanding/miscommunication trope went very hard there at the end. Literally, a single line of explanation from Liu or Tan Yin to force the two to talk to each other could have fixed the need for them to separate, of course, it would also have meant their individual futures would have worked out differently, but I don't think any less positively and definitely in a shorter fucking time.

That's all for 'drawbacks' from me, onto
*THE HIGHLIGHTS:

1. The build up to Qin Xiao accepting his feelings and the moment he admitted it to Qi Lu and then kissed him was just EXCELLENT. Best 'confession' scene of 2024 hands down for me. Had to put on my profile under 'scenes that live in my head rent free' because it was just so damn good.

2. The scene in ep 12 where Qin Xiao steps in so he gets hit by the bottle to defend Qi Lu, I LOVED it. It was well done too, not over dramatic, not him foolishly letting himself get hit in the head so there could be some unnecessary head injury, instead he raised an arm and with his leather jacket on he avoided getting cut but had an impact injury and it made sense, it was filmed well, such an important scene too to show his feelings for Qi Lu, well written and executed.

3. Qi Lu and Qin Xiao arguing after Qi Lu confronts him the second time about trying to kiss him, great scene, feels feels feels.

4. Qi Lu standing up to his sperm donor TWICE. My guy Qi Lu was no little bitch, had it not been for the power his father held over external factors that could affect Qin Xiao, Qi Lu would obviously have stood up proudly for his relationship. I like that message, I like that clarity in that character's development.

OVERALL:

9.5/10 with 5 points deducted for some wasted screen time resulting in a rushed final episode, the second couple's ooc dynamic after getting together, and also for making the time Qi Lu and Qin Xiao were apart be 6 whole years. When it comes to the 'lovers separated' trope, less is always more.

100% recc this as a watch, but ONLY if you can handle or have a taste for angst, otherwise you'll just end up being upset.
This show checked all my boxes though, since angst feeds me! Great stuff, no regrets in 12 eps and definitely rewatchable!
✌️ 😁