Unknown Taiwanese BL Review Part 2

Show: Unknown

Director: Ray Jiang/Rui Zhi Jiang

Writer: Cai Fei Qiao

Adapted from the web novel “Da Ge” (Big Brother) by Priest.

Cast: Chris Chiu, Xuan (Kurt Huang), Tammy Lin, Kim Jae-hoon, Danny Liang, Yankee Yang, Sam Lin, Justin Chang, Prince Chiu, Max Kuo, Edward Jhu (Zhu You Cheng), Juan Po Hao, Calvin Tsou, Linda Lin, Alisia Liang and others.

(*This review may contain spoilers. If you have already watched the show, please continue reading. If you haven’t watched the show yet, you can still continue reading or you can come back to the review later.)

(**All images taken from Unknown Official )

Favourite Scenes from the show:

1) The Beginning of the 1st Episode:

Yuan- Can we be more than just brothers?

Qian- Besides being brothers, what else do you want us to be?

The beginning of the first episode - the preview of the entire series with the clips of Qian and Yuan’s journey from strangers to brothers to lovers. All of this is summarised in the above two questions. The glass breaks and as soon as the preview is finished, the video rewinds, the glass rejoins and we start the series. I am in love with the beauty of this creation, of this masterpiece.

2) Episode 6 - The one where Yuan leaves for the US:

The beauty of the final scene - Yuan walks down the stairs, takes one final look at the house he has called home since the day he was brought there by Qian and Lili. It’s a house that will be his home, now and always. It is a house that has his family.

He takes one look up the stairs with tears welling up in his already tear dried red eyes, pain throbbing in his chest. He looks up for any slight movement of a person, his person, his Ge, his Wei Qian. When that doesn’t happen, he is disappointed. He takes his luggage, walks out of the house and closes the door revealing only a ray of light in the dark room. Then as soon as the door closes the house is completely dark, denoting that the light in the Wei family house and in Qian's life has left, leaving darkness everywhere.

As soon as the door closes, Qian comes out of his room, pain stricken, miserable, lost, and heart broken and takes a look at the room across from his that was his brother's. It’s a room where Yuan grew up and created memories of a lifetime with Lili and Qian. It’s a room filled with just Yuan. He looks longingly at the room and that is all he can do now. He knows the distance is painful. He knows he isn’t strong enough for this misery. He watches as the camera pans into Yuan’s room all the while keeping Qian on the screen. The screen has only Qian and the empty room. The empty room signifies how empty Yuan has left Qian and his heart.

3) Episode 7: Qian is alone in his house after Yuan leaves:

Qian closes the door to Yuan's room the morning after Yuan leaves. He is closing the door. He doesn’t want to deal with the emotions yet. He doesn’t want to acknowledge Yuan’s absence. He doesn’t want to let his heart go there. For now he will procrastinate. He doesn’t want to feel what Yuan has left in that room, Yuan’s love for him.

The morning after New Years after Qian gets drunk:

Yuan (text messages and missed calls) - "I'm glad you are ok. Ge, the taste of heartache really can change a person. Paranoia, anxiety, jealousy and resentment for not being able to get what you want, all of these will fade away eventually. I know that now, after leaving. As long as you are happy, that’s what matters. Don’t make me worry. Be good to yourself."

This message alone causes an ache in Qian's heart. Memories of Yuan come flashing back. And Yuan's understanding of Qian, his decisions and Yuan's concern for Qian make him feel guiltier. The Sigh escaping Qian's mouth is evidence enough that Yuan's words have had a deep impact on Qian.

Qian's immediate response after reading Yuan's messages is to open the door to Yuan's room. The door that he has kept closed because of fear of dealing with his emotions is finally opened. He is ready to acknowledge Yuan's absence and the impact of that absence on Qian and his life.

I love the details. The dust that is there on all the tables. The dust collected on the table over the last few months because of neglect of Yuan's room by Qian.

Finally, the letter that Yuan has left for Qian-

Yuan – "Everyone has to say Goodbye at some point. It’s just a matter of time. But I’m scared. What if something happens and you never know that there was someone who loves you so much? So Ge, don’t let me be too far away for too long. Don’t let me forget your face, your voice and everything about you. If there comes a time where we can never meet again, I will find you and say goodbye. At least, with a confession, there can be a farewell. "

This one letter stirs something in Qian’s heart and he acknowledges that Yuan’s presence in his life is very important.

4) Episode 7: Qian finally decides to call and message Yuan:

After talking on the phone with Yuan, Qian comes into Yuan's room and sits on his bed and messages Yuan. He feels Yuan’s presence inside the room. The room gives him memories and comfort. He misses Yuan and that’s why he sends the message - if you miss home, come back.

The phone call makes him realise that he misses his Yuan after all.

5) Episode 9: What if Qian would have lost Yuan forever?

Qian was desperate as a teenager, having to take care of Lili and Yuan and himself but not finding sufficient funds or work. He grabbed the first opportunity he got. That is to join Le's gang and fight. He did all sorts of miscellaneous work for Le and his bar in the morning and at night fought the people Le asked him to fight. Slowly that became his life, until Yuan and Lili started getting affected when Qian got home beaten or ended up at the hospital and San Pang confronted him about the same. He leaves Le's gang not knowing that his gang (not Le) was not ready to forgive him and let him go.

Now Le is back and Hu, that is Le's right hand man, wants revenge. Yuan has been secretive about this to protect Qian now that he has grown up. But Qian hadn’t realised that his choices as a young adult to provide for his family would lead him to life threatening dangerous moments as an adult. Will Qian manage to save himself and Yuan and pull them from the hands of death?

The fight scene:

Qian is desperate.

I have never seen Qian so helpless. He wants to protect Yuan. He wants to keep him safe but he couldn’t. The entire time Yuan gets beaten or has a gun to his head, Qian's desperate, helpless screams are painfully audible. The entire time Qian has a gun to his head, Yuan is begging Le to take him instead, to shoot him instead. They are ready to sacrifice themselves for each other. They are an epitome of love, selfless love. They are ready to give up their lives for each other.

That moment, Qian realises what it would feel like to lose Yuan, to lose him to death. He cannot bear the thought. He sees his and Yuan's selfless love for each other flash before him and he understands right there what they mean to each other. They are complete only with each other by their side. They are devoted to each other and Qian has just had the most painful way of experiencing that devotion and love. He sees Yuan struggle, on the verge of losing his life in front of his eyes and it just breaks him but also makes him realise Yuan's importance in his life. Yuan is his entire life.

Qian is squirming and fighting for life to be let go to save Yuan. His 'no' and his screams prove how scared he is. The gun is pointed at Yuan's head and he mouths 'Wo ai ni (I love you)' to Qian as he gets ready to give up his life for Qian. Qian is helpless and unable to bear even the thought of losing Yuan let alone experiencing it.

Yuan is brave. He warns Le even in his helpless state to not touch or do anything to Qian and to let his brother go. And then begs Le to shoot him instead. He apologises and begs and pleads to let his brother go.

The way they both just scream for each other, the way they are ready to give up their lives for each other is a display of their devotion for each other. Yuan and Qian are selfless and courageous.

Qian reaches out to Yuan after being let go. He hugs Yuan to himself, cupping his face with both hands. There is a desperation in him, a longing and love in him that he has experienced for the first time in his life. He got his brother back. He got his Yuan back. From the hands of death and the realisation hits him like a tornado.

Le is fair. He gives them a fair chance at the Russian Roulette. They win. And he lets them go and tells Qian that he and Yuan are now free to go and that they should never meet again. He is fair. He is moved by their selfless love for each other. He is fed up of his own people, especially Hu. On one side, the brothers (Qian and Yuan) are ready to give up their lives for each other, have displayed their undying love for each other and on the other side Hu and his gang are acting like cowards. They want to throw Le under the bus and fight him. This betrayal that Le has experienced previously and now again, disgust him and he wants nothing to do with them anymore.

Le has just finished witnessing the most genuine and beautiful bond between two brothers and his interest lay in making sure that the two of them live a life where they never see, feel or experience this kind of pain again. His intentions are good. He is kind hearted and wants the best for Qian (who was one of his best boys in the past) and Yuan (who lives only and only for Qian). Le wants the brothers to now be safe and wants to protect them and keep them away from this dangerous world.

Finally as they walk back under the streetlamp from the shed where they experience near death, Qian suddenly stops midway and takes a look at Yuan. At once, all his emotions rise up. Though angry and frustrated at Yuan for putting himself in danger, Qian is relieved to have gotten Yuan back in one piece. Qian has realised suddenly that he was too close to losing his life, his love, his heart, his home, his family, his Yuan.

The hug is a display of his relief and his love.

For the first time in Qian's life, he is finding out many things that happened to Yuan when he was away from home in the US. The most important one is that he almost lost Yuan. He blames himself. He thinks - if him not willing to confront Yuan, not willing to sit down and talk it out, if him being scared, if him hiding away/running away, if him pushing Yuan away and if sending Yuan away from home and from him had led to him to almost losing Yuan. He begins to understand that if he would have lost Yuan when he was abroad, he could never have continued to live normally. The thought alone is painful for him. He realises that sending away Yuan from home was painful as it was but what would it mean to him if he would have lost Yuan forever and he could never see him again. The thought alone of not having Yuan in his life breaks his heart. The thought that all of this could have been prevented if he had the courage to deal with his and Yuan's emotions back then. He blames himself. 

The ending scene

Yuan - "Everything I own is yours, even if you want it or not. My entire life can be summed up with just two words, Wei Qian".

From the moment Qian brought Yuan home or took him in, Yuan considered Qian his everything, his home, his family, his life. He knows what he has today is all given by Qian and is because of Qian. He was saved by Qian and he was given a new life by Qian.

That’s why for Yuan, Qian is not just his adopted brother but his entire life. Yuan is devoted to Qian.

When Yuan looks at Qian, all I can see is one thing, Devotion. He has devoted himself and his life to Qian because today 'He is' is because of Qian. The true meaning and purpose of Yuan’s life is Wei Qian.

 For Yuan, Qian is the reason for his existence. 

Yuan - "Everything I own is yours, even if you want it or not. My entire life can be summed up with just two words, Wei Qian".

These words hit Qian in his heart. He finally understands the extent of Yuan's love for him. He finally understands that Yuan has love beyond measure for him. He understands that his kindness has impacted Yuan heavily. He understands that Yuan doesn’t feel like he owes anything to Qian but that Yuan's existence and meaning for his life is Qian and revolves around him. He finally understands.

Qian (inner monologue) - If my running away had ended up with that letter, would I regret it?

6) Episode 11: San Pang and Lili talking about Qian in the Wei family house:

We have always seen Yuan and Qian express love openly for their family. Lili has always been the mediator or the one to keep them closer. This is the first time I have seen her express her deep love for Qian.

Qian has given his all to take care of Lili and Yuan and all Yuan and Lili wanted to do in return was to protect him for life. They want to keep him close, take care of him and give him the best in life. They want to shower him with love and care.

Lili’s unconditional love for her brother can be felt in this scene.

 Lili – When we were young, Ge was always there to help us with everything we did. I always wondered when I would grow taller than him. Then I could protect him. Even though he’s only a few days older than us, his hands were always covered in scars and calluses. Nobody cares for Qian.

San Pang – Yes, they do. We all love your brother.

This entire scene and the conversation is heartwarming. You can see the pure and genuine love in San Pang’s eyes for Lili and the comfort they share in each other’s company. They have deep respect for each other and for Qian, who is the reason for their coming together. Their conversation is proof of the mutual admiration they have for the man who gave his all to keep his family happy, healthy and well provided for.

When Qian and Yuan return to the house hand in hand, Lili embraces them both with all her might, with San Pang looking over at them with love in his heart.

What I love about this scene is the love that exists in the house that day. I admire the love that the four of them share.

(With Yuan, she is always expressing her love. Lili says, Qian plays favourites by always choosing Yuan. But Lili plays favourites too by always choosing Yuan. They did choose Yuan, together, for their family. But here it was her immeasurable love for Qian that she kept pouring out).

7) Episode 3: One of my favourite scenes -

Yuan hugging Qian and sleeping beside him like he used to when he was young and Qian trying to get him away from him because he feels too hot. The sadness in this scene is Yuan being pushed away.

This scene gives me an ache in my heart every time I watch it. Yuan's longing eyes, his persistence to remain by Qian's side and his inability to express that he is in love with his Ge.

Qian is Yuan's whole life. He doesn’t see anything else in front of him. The one who gave him a home is the one who is his whole world. Qian is Yuan's home.

Yuan's perseverance to win his Ge's heart, his ability to know that his Ge also likes him back and him deciding to continue to pursue him is praiseworthy. The one who pushed him away is the one who falls harder for Yuan. The power of selfless love – Yuan. 

Yuan (inner monologue) - I want to stay with you like this forever.

We can feel the love and happiness Yuan feels upon waking up and finding himself in the arms of Qian, who is embracing Yuan in his sleep, from across the screen.

8) The Official Dating Era:

The long awaited union of Qian and Yuan in Episode 11 had us all rejoice with teary eyes, claps and happy smiles. Qian and Yuan have had a tough life. They deserve all the happiness, love and kindness that this world can offer. We have waited for them to give in to their feelings for each other and share the love they have for each other. It has been a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs for them and I am proud of Yuan for not giving up on Qian and of Qian for finally letting go of his inhibitions and fears and taking a plunge into the relationship. The moments of them together, happy and in love is what I was looking forward to and they did not disappoint. They were in love and I was not jealous. My heart is full every time I remember that they are finally together. Now and forever, they have promised to stay by each other’s side through thick and thin, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health until……

9) The twelve kinds of family:

The first ever family that will never abandon you.

The second kind of family always leaves the light on for you.

The third kind of family is the kind that always makes you want to stay.

The fourth type of the family member is someone who is always there for you.

The fifth kind of family is too good to let go

The sixth kind of family pretends to be strong and doesn't say goodbye.

The seventh kind of family is always waiting in the distance, never leaving.  

The eighth kind of family shows care in his own way.

The ninth kind of family's always there to protect you when the end comes.

The tenth kind of family loves you so much that they want to leave you.

The eleventh kind of family indulges you unconditionally because they love you so much.

The twelfth kind of family stays together for life.

My Analysis:

1) A moment of kindness may be a passing act for you but it might mean the world to someone. Sometimes that kindness has the power to change lives - yours, mine and ours.

Qian’s one act of kindness changed many lives, Yuan’s, Lili’s, his own and ours.

2) What I love about the show is that they haven't made the concept a taboo. This show isn’t taking just about two brothers falling in love. It is beyond that. It is two boys, strangers to one another, becoming a home for each other. It is two boys abandoned by the world, finding their way towards each other and proving to each other that the world still has kindness and love. It is two boys showing the world that love transcends all. Yuan made sure to remind us multiple times that they are not biologically related, so falling in love shouldn’t be considered wrong.

3) Yuan as a 14 year old is dedicated and devoted to Qian. He mentions in episode 2 that Qian could have a partner. At 14, Yuan acknowledges the possibility of Qian falling in love with someone else.

As he grows older, Yuan without him realising slowly starts to fall in love with Qian. He does not intend to but love is not intentional. You cannot control your heart and your feelings. He fell in love, with Qian.

Grown up Yuan explains in episode 2 while roaming about Qian's room that he doesn't not know when it started, but his world only revolved around one person, Qian.

Yuan's love is devotion.

Qian's love is selfless service.

Their love for one another is true, pure and absolute.

4) My favourite thing about the show is watching Yuan grow more and more in love with Qian. His feelings will not get diminished and he doesn’t give up or back down.

But what tops this is watching Qian, who sacrificed everything for his siblings and thought that he needed to spend his life only taking care of them and his responsibilities, find Yuan who was ready to show him that he can be loved and taken care of too. Watching Qian terrified of people leaving his life, and watching him terrified of thinking of living life leisurely to him bring his walls down (or rather say Yuan breaking the walls that Qian built around him) and realise he is worthy of being loved and taken care of.

Watching Qian give Yuan a chance to show him what love can be. Watching him understand the bond between him and Yuan and the love that flows between them. Qian finding his forever home in Yuan is what makes this show one of the best creations.

5) Yuan and Lili's relationship transitioned from sibling rivalry to sibling harmony. Their bond is unbreakable. They understand each other, support each other and lean on each other. Their bickering is as beautiful and emotional as their love for each other.

6) Understanding Qian : 

Qian saw himself in Yuan as a child -

A child who is abandoned by the world. A child who is frightened/afraid but wants to live. A child who is fighting to defend and protect himself. A child who needs a home and love just like he does.

Blood sweat and tears for your loved ones - Qian did it all. He did everything to give his family (Yuan and Lili) the best in this world.

For their sake, he cannot lose. He will never lose. He will win

Qian's childhood traumas go beyond just toxicity. His childhood and his life got ripped away from him. Instead of living a normal life like everyone, all he thinks of every single day is how to survive. His sacrifices for his siblings are incomparable. That's probably the reason why Lili and Yuan are always doing their best in their life. Qian's sacrifices didn’t come easily. He paid heavy prices to make sure he and his siblings have a decent life. Lili and Yuan will do everything to make sure that their brother's sacrifices don’t go in vain.

Qian (inner monologue) - A child raised in rainbow and sunshine has the luxury of not wanting to grow up. But for us who were abandoned and left to our own fate, we are forced to grow up. We find our own ways to survive.

Qian's past has had a major impact on his mind. While growing up, his mother made him feel like his achievements and abilities were him mocking her. She verbally and physically abused him for being better than her. He took a lot of his mother’s torture on himself and most times was used to it. That's the reason why he always protected Lili from his mother and kept her safe from his mother’s violent behaviour towards them.

The scars, wounds and the pain of the past in Qian's heart are the reason for his fear to see a bright and happy future with Yuan.

Qian doesn’t realise that he is Yuan's one and only and Yuan is his. Yuan has always been Qian's one and only. He even mentions it in episode 2. Qian says to Yuan, " If I lost you, I’d have nothing left".

Unknown is not just a show, it is a gift, to me and many others like me. We felt emotions we didn't know we could feel, we healed parts of us we didn't know were broken. Unknown broke us, shattered us and then has made us whole again. It's a creation that many of us will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

Unknowingly, we fell in love with what became a miracle for us.

Thank you to the Cast and Crew of Unknown for your hard work, your dedication and your perfection. You have given us a blessing in the form of Unknown.

Thank you Chris Chiu, Xuan, Tammy Lin, Kim Jae-hoon, Max Kuo, Edward Jhu, Juan Po Hao, Calvin Tsou, Danny Liang, Yankee Yang, the supporting cast, Ray Jiang, Cai Fei Qiao, Pan Xin Hui for your constant determination and efforts to make this show the success it is today.

"The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your action will be" - Dalai Lama.