Unknown (2024)

Masterclass on BL Dramas

How will I continue to watch BL series after this?

Suddenly you realize how a BL Drama can be if :
1. You have committed, good and well prepared actors (main and secondary)
2. You have a scenario in which a 2 second scene in episode 1 solidifies a major plot choice in episode 10
3. You direct it using the minimum appropriate time for a reaction aiming for the greatest impact
5. You deal with delicate matters very carefully and with great respect, giving the appropriate time to mature
6. You use EVERY available tool (actor, timing, light, music) in the service of the scene
4. YOU KNOW YOUR JOB AS AN ARTIST.

"Unknown" reminded us the basic and most profound codes for a good drama...
and that we have tolerated and support too many poorly crafted experimental works who tried to please an insatiable for shipping audience regardless of the artistic effect.

It's almost a shame to admit it, but "Unknown" should have been the rule and not the exception.

A great applause and many thanks to the director, writers, actors and crew of this exceptional work!

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Conflictos y dificultades

Normalmente, tengo una idea clara de lo que quiero expresar al escribir una reseña sobre una serie que acabo de terminar. Sus fortalezas, debilidades, inconsistencias... sin embargo, con "Unknown" he necesitado tiempo para recuperarme emocionalmente antes de atreverme a redactar estas palabras.

La historia inicialmente me generó muchas dudas; se desarrollaba a un ritmo acelerado y los personajes evolucionaban tan rápidamente que sus actores cambiaban más rápido de lo esperado. Esto me dificultó saber en qué momento temporal me encontraba durante los dos primeros capítulos. Sin embargo, el desarrollo de la narrativa finalmente aclaró mis dudas, confirmando una idea que había estado formándose en mi mente a lo largo de los episodios y que se consolidó con su conclusión: Unknown nos brinda una clase magistral de narrativa como pocas ficciones han logrado.

Los tropos empleados no son novedosos, y profundizar en el amor hacia un hermano no biológico a menudo me provoca un conflicto que, aunque me complace enfrentar, se origina en ideas preconcebidas y una noción de familia judeocristiana que me resulta difícil dejar atrás, pero que desearía descartar.

Los actores son sobresalientes, y es imprescindible resaltar la labor de Chris Chiu y Kurt Huang en la obra. No solo logran transmitir un abanico de expresiones y emociones, sino que también desarrollan una química que consigue trascender la pantalla.

La banda sonora es excepcional y, contrariamente a algunas opiniones que he visto en foros, no pienso que disminuya la solemnidad de ciertos momentos. Al contrario, refuerza el mensaje visual que se nos presenta, interactuando con nuestras emociones.

Siento propensión a dar altas calificaciones a los BLs, ya que me producen una inmensa felicidad al verlos. Satisfacen un vacío que de otra manera no sabría cómo llenar, por lo que otorgarle un 10 a este producto tal vez no tenga el mismo valor que tendría si mis críticas fueran más rigurosas... pero lo que sí puedo afirmar es que este drama ha provocado un cambio en mí. Y aquellos que alcanzan ese nivel, permanecerán conmigo hasta que no pueda hablar más de ellos.

Denle una oportunidad. No se arrepentirán.

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it's a good bl

so speaking of the drama I like it a lot the acting the story line everything is good but what I don't like is the back story of yuan is not shown and the ending was a little unsatisfying for me and I wanted to see lilis wedding and stuff but they bombarded us with the accidental pregnancy trope in here
I like the family aspect of it and in my opinion it isn't incest ..
I loved the friendship between mr tan and quan but I didn't see any chemistry between lili and mr tan.
I liked this drama alot it's refreshing to see the plot in this not having a lot of toxicity and stuff
and I loved to see dr lin ( love him)...
in the end I liked this drama
so that's it

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A love story where life is more celebrated than love

Have you ever seen an infected wound? If we leave the wounds untreated, sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes out of fear, the wounds if severe enough can get infected. Now it smells. You will have the urge to leave it as it is as now it's hideous. When the pain gets too unbearable, we try to cure it and even if we cure it, it leaves a nasty scar. Some wounds are just too deep to cure on our own. It's where our hands can reach. Qian is carrying the heavy load alone throughout his life and he gets used to the weight. When Yuan wants to share his load, he loses balance. The only thing Yuan ever wanted was to support Qian, so it enrages him that Qian never shares his burden with him. It's not a review just my thoughts on the series.

It's harder to relate if you are not from a broken family like Wei Yuan and Wei Qian. The fight and flight response doesn't go away once you become an adult. Wei Qian learns to survive but no one ever teaches him how to live his life. Wei Qian is scared of becoming like his mother. He feels physically ill thinking about his mother. He feels somehow inside him somewhere his mother had imprinted her shadow and one day he will be consumed by it. He closed the curtains to let the darkness conceal the shadow.

"Don't be afraid of the cracks that's where the light comes in." Yuan came as a crack in his closed walls. He shook Qian's moral ground. For Yuan, Qian is his whole world which is not normal in any sense but nothing has ever been normal in their life anyway. Convention is something many people can't afford. I know  where Qian's Dilemma was coming from. I would have been disappointed if he never resisted. The 5 year gap seemed like a too long gap. But the distance was necessary for this dynamic. Yuan never has friends. He always worshipped the land Qian stood on. He would protect Qian at any cost. It's hard to tell if it's just simple gratification turned into infatuation or actual 'love'. And here comes Qian's Dilemma he knows if he commits he can't go back. For Yuan, love is as simple as wanting to stay by Qian's side forever, taking care of him. For Qian, it's complicated. He has been a brother to him, for times he has been a provider for him. After the gap, even though they have history, their relationship gets a fresh start.

"Don't you love Wei Yuan or don't you dare?" There's a term in philosophy called "Porcupine's dilemma". Porcupine is a rodent with sharp spines. In cold days, porcupines want to get closer as it's craving the warmth but whenever they get closed the sharp spines pricks them. Deep down Qian is afraid that he will hurt Yuan if they get closer but after all these years he understood that it's equally hard for him to stay away from Yuan. Qian all these years couldn't comprehend his feelings for Yuan. He still doesn't understand. So he gave up. He allowed himself to be happy without the veil of conventionality.

The story about unconventional love is very tricky. If it's not handled well, it can be downright disturbing. But here we get the psyche of each character and we root for them. Once upon a time I would stumble upon a book that will make me angry at myself that I don't know the language. The translation is bad yet it has kept me captivated so it's the proof of its supreme plot. It's a love story where life is more celebrated than love. I love this kind of story. It makes the love that much epic.

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"Don't be afraid of the cracks. That's where the light comes in."

I really enjoyed the main love story featured in this BL series. It is a forbidden romance concept well done in terms of sorrow and angst...It firmly tugged at all my heartstrings. Unfortunately, the scenario is not without flaws regarding the build up of the secondary romance as well as some stupid decisions made by characters (...yeah my pet peeve aka noble idiocy is back once again). There were also some pacing issues in addition to some shift in tones not always very successfull.

What really made me forget about these little defaults is the excellent chemistry between the two main actors who are pretty good together. They sell super well the main concept of "Didi's puppy love for his Gege who is blind to his feelings". Kurt Huang impressed me so much as his character grows the most during the show. He is very compelling to look at and his evolution was very well acted. Given his charisma, I will be for sure looking forward for more series with him in the future. Chris Chiu is a solid counterpart as well. The secondary cast made less of a lasting impression on me, except for Sam Lin whose I wish the character had more screentime.

I liked the production: it has a very raw style on some scenes that I enjoyed (especially in its first episodes). The filmmaking of most of the romantic scenes had my heartbeat increasing. There so many pretty and exciting moments between the leads. The office setting was more mundane and standard but very suitable overall. I truly enjoyed the OST, especially the ending song which is so charming and fitting perfectly with the thematic of the series.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a forbidden romance concept with a lot of angst and chemistry. I watched it week by week but I think it would make an excellent binge watch. The script is not without flaws in terms of pacing as well as narrative choices but overall the payoff in terms of love story is so good that it is really worth it and you forgot all the defaults thanks to the good acting and chemistry of the two main male leads.

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素晴らしいケミストリー

主演二人のケミストリーが素晴らしいです。
ストーリーはおかしなところはあるものの、全般的によくまとまっており、丁寧に作られていました。

魏謙は一家の大黒柱でありながらも、自分のことには無頓着で家族のためにひたすら一生懸命働きます。
これは、彼の母親との関係性が強く関わっています。
母親から自分がしてもらえなかったこと、自分と母親が作れなかった絆を、彼は自分が作った家族で培うことに命をかけました。
だからこそ、血が繋がっていなくても家族であり弟である魏志元からの愛を受け入れることに悩み、葛藤します。
弟である魏志元は、人生の全てである兄を愛するようになります。

2人の苦悩と葛藤、そして愛することを止めることが出来ない演技が素晴らしかったです。
そして、弟の魏志元が少し怖いです！
兄のことしか考えていないこともそうですが、どんな些細な事でも小さな表情でも全て気づきます。
この弟を敵に回したら恐ろしいです！
そして、彼の周りはみんなそのことに気づいていて恐れているのも面白いです。

何も知らない魏謙が魏志元に「もし、あなたの好きな人が他の人と結婚してしまったらどうする？」と聞いた時の魏志元の答えに納得です。
彼なら本当にそうなるだろう。

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foi de 0 à 100 e de 100 à 0 muito rápido

conheci o bl através de um edit no qual Qian estava coberto de sangue, lutando para salvar o irmão não biológico - por quem mais tarde deveria se apaixonar. a partir dali, as minhas expectativas já eram altas. então quando li a sinopse da série, faltei urrar. um romance moralmente questionável? não sou contra isso (embora claramente não seja incesto). de fato, achei que eles poderiam ter idades um pouquinho mais parecidas, mas ok... eu já estava de quatro para esta série. o casting? simplesmente um dos melhores de taiwan. dos atores principais aos coadjuvantes (amei o vilão amorzinho da gangue; foi ótimo rever o queridinho de We Best Love) - enfim, eu estava entregue. do primeiro ep, até a metade da série, eu estava atordoada de amor pela história, que era densa, complexa, intensa, cheia de angústia e anseio e promessas: ingredientes perfeitos para um prato fresco de bl. mas então, pecaram por excesso. os últimos eps pareceram um conglomerado de informações mal elaboradas. toda a complexidade da trama sofreu um esvaziamento de simplicidade por ter sido reduzida à joguinhos de sedução que beiravam ao infantil, o amor incondicional de Yuan estava simultaneamente repleto de condições e abnegações que facilmente negavam o amor romântico que ele havia colocado em questão, e que havia mudado toda a história, todo o status quo da família até então. ora, se o fato de Qian não corresponder os sentimentos não fosse tão importante, então por que causar um dramalhão sobre isso? por que se confessar? por que exigir de Qian uma responsabilidade sobre esses sentimentos/confissão? isso não fez o menor sentido. e por falar em amor romântico, foi estranho: Qian realmente não pareceu sentir nada além do que amor fraternal por Yuan, até às últimas consequências. depois da confissão de Yuan, o que sobrou para Qian foi o luto da perda de um amor/amigo/irmão/identidade, e que de algum modo nos foi empurrado, em um pacote só, como sendo a manifestação de um amor romântico reprimido. se esse foi realmente o caso, isso não foi bem trabalhado, seja no roteiro/direção, seja na atuação de Modi Chiu. em nenhum momento antes da confissão de Yuan, Qian demonstrou desejo sexual/amor romântico pelo irmão, nem mesmo apresentou o mínimo desconforto com a ideia dos dois juntos, o que poderia nos deixar imaginando alguma coisa - qualquer coisa. nem sequer ciúmes da possibilidade de Yuan arranjar uma namorada Qian sentia. tudo foi apenas ... esquisito. era nítido que Qian amava Yuan, mas não mais do que ele amava a sua irmã, e ponto final. de início a quase fim, a história foi a de um amor unilateral. quando Qian finalmente cedeu a relação, a sensação foi esta: de que ele simplesmente cedeu a qualquer coisa, para nunca mais perder a relação com o Yuan, já que isso claramente lhe trouxe muito sofrimento. a paixão, o amor romântico, o tesão, o crush platônico... senão nos últimos instantes (logo quando Yuan retorna, e muito brevemente), é que a gente vê algo disso. pareceu forçado, e desinteressante. quando o potencial da história poderia ter sido apaixonante. até mesmo mais tarde, a cena de pegação dos dois, que tinha tudo para ser bonita (além do elemento visual/cinematográfico, claro), eles me trouxeram uma diálogo mixuruca de "isso não é rápido demais... eu esperei por 15 anos". então, afinal, tudo era sobre Yuan. um amor incondicional, só que egoísta. essa é boa. enfim. as contradições da narrativa me irritaram e brocharam infinitamente. só o fato d'Eu ter me decepcionado com a série foi uma decepção. e nem vou falar da tentativa chata de vender o slogan piegas de "toda forma de amor..." com a história paralela da irmã de Qian com aquele amigo dele mais velho. gosto de romance com age gap, mas esse foi absurdo, porque ela era uma pré-adolescente quando o cara já era bem de maior quando se conheceram, e mesmo que tenham ficado juntos quando ela estava maior de idade, isso me pareceu uma tentativa ridícula de validar o amor entre Qian e o irmão, sendo que a história deles já poderia falar por si, sem forçar a barra desse jeito. o tom final que a série adquiriu, de comercial de margarina, ou filme educativo de sessão da tarde para família tradicional, foi muito sem graça. decepcionante

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Best Step-Brothers BL I''ve seen

As a fan of the forbidden step-brothers trope, I feel like Unknown is both the best and most realistic BL that tackles this situation. When compared to other BLs like Brothers and Cherry Blossoms After Winter, the character development, specifically the two main character's pasts are well developed compared to the aforementioned BLs. Which makes the viewer much more invested into the lives of Qian and Zhi. The stakes are higher after witnessing and knowing just how close as siblings they are through their shared experiences. Which is why the response of Qian sending Zhi away abroad after having been confessed to is justified and understandable. We see just how hard he has brought up his siblings all on his own and doesn't want to ruin that relationship for a romantic one. Sure, its not the first and only step=brothers BL to do this, its the only one that has shown me why instead of simply saying its because they're step brothers and its wrong.

Despite the messy beginnings of their love with Zhi's confession, when their relationship actually begins its very cute. A sweet and rewarding 12th episode showing the two happily together while still keeping their family a loving and caring one was the sweetest of cherries on top. Especially after how dramatic and messy (in a good way) the first 11 were. Overall, if you are not a fan of the step brother's trope, I don't think this BL will convince you. But if you don't mind it and are in the mood for a dramatic BL with strong messaging of family, heartfelt and interesting story, and well thought out characters. Then I would suggest Unknown for you.

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Soy un misógino, homofobo pero me enamoro de mi hermano.

Vale te acepto el gap age (aunque no me guste nada) , te puedo aceptar el incesto (porque aunque seas hermano adoptivo sigues siendo hermano, no hace falta que haya sangre de por medio. Si no todos los hijos adoptivos no son hijos en sí porque como no estan relacionados por la sangre y el adn en si la biología, pues como que no es incesto si hago cosillas con mi hijo adoptivo es lo mas normal sabes. Que es que hasta el final le llama hermano y no novio.... ) pero tío la misoginia. Todas las mujeres son lo peor , mira que tu madre lo habrá podido ser pero es que como tratan a la hermana que si tienes que estar a dieta porque vas a bailar, que si me río de ti, que si digo como tienes que ir vestida. Amor que tú madre sea una drogadicta y abusadora , claramente afectará a tu relación con a las mujeres pero de tu personaje no que haya misoginia en toda la serie y más si tu público objetivo del BL es femenino.

Y mira lo unico bueno que saco bueno de esta serie es conocer a los dos protagonistas porque son guapos a rabiar uno sabe actuar y el otro odiaba su personaje y que no sabes actuar.
Kurt Huang me has sorprendido gratamente con tu actuación,tanto cuando se confiesa al hermano (y dice que sabe que esta mal amar a quien ama) como cuando se vuelve a ver con los de la banda, esa actuación si me pareció algo mejor que la de Chris Chiu. Es que, la escena de la ruleta rusa no me la tome en serio porque madre mia no habia por donde cogerlo.

El Wei Qiang es peor que un cuñao.

Claramente la serie se salva por los dos capitulos finales, me hubiera gustado que al ser mas corta hubieran predominado esos momentos que la homofobia del Wei Qiang, eso si maravilloso cuando Yuan vuelve de EEUU y le da un poco la espalda al Wei Qiang.

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