Rewatching Ai Long Nhai and AiNhai
This is part of my Crazy-Ass End-of-Year Rewatch Challenge where I will rewatch some of my favorite shows, some of my least favorite shows, and some shows in between. I pulled another title out of the bowl (yes, I'm letting chance choose for me) and got Ai Long Nhai.
Anyway... I can't promise cohesive thoughts in these posts because it's the end of the year, I'm currently living in right-brain land 10+ hours per day, and I'm TIRED because the darkness of winter is here. You've been warned.
Also, since this is a rewatch, there are spoilers ahead.
I binged this show for the first time in September 2023 and the sequel (AiNhai) right after I finished the show. As I wrote in the compilation post of all the shows I will watch for this challenge, I have them (both the series and the movie) on my rewatch list for reasons I can't remember (which means I'll watch them both).
All I can remember is that it's Meen and Ping in the main roles and that Porsch and Arm are playing Meen's character's (Ai's) parents. I also remember that there's some conflict with Ai's biological mom and that the pacing is pretty slow.
I don't mind slow-paced shows, but after just watching three 8+ episode-long shows in a row that I don't like, I'm not sure I can survive slow-paced right now. So, I'm choosing to watch the movie version of the show instead. It's a little over 2 hours rather than 12 40-minute episodes.
The Show Movie Version of the Show
Well, Ai Long Nhai started off well with Ai getting busy:
It continues to deliver with the introduction of Ai's dad (played by Porsch):
And, of course, Ai's dad's partner/husband:
Who is just as much a parent to Ai as his dad.
I think this family unit might've been why I had this show on my rewatch list. With so many fucked up parents in many of the QLs I've watched, it's such a breath of fresh air to get to see great, supporting parents and role models. And let's not forget that they're queer parents, which I need to see more of (I can only remember Gene's dad in Lovely Writer, Yi and Diao in Naughty Babe, the teacher in one of the HIStory shows, and Papa & Daddy off the top of my head right now, but I'm sure I've seen at least a handful more).
Then, the show continues to deliver:
There's a dick joke in here somewhere.
Ai confesses his feelings for Nhai…
With neon lights in blue and pink in the background. And I love the purple vibe there is throughout the scene.
Then I’m pretty sure I remember that they decided to live together for some time so Nhai could figure out his feelings for Ai, but that doesn’t show up in the movie version. Instead, it just jumps to Ai staring at Nhai in bed…
Before Nhai wakes up and kicks Ai out of said bed…
As they take a break from packing some clothes for Nhai in his room to kiss instead. And even though it resulted in Ai on the floor, again, they both got a hard-on…
And Nhai offers the best solution for the situation…
And I’m loving every second of this.
Then there was what felt like a giant leap in the story, so I went back to the 12-episode show version, skimmed through the omitted scenes, and found some golden nuggets that had been left out. Nhai’s obsession with sausages, for example.
Seriously, if his obsession with sausages isn’t a euphemism for his obsession with dicks (at least his own and Ai’s, anyway), then I don’t know what is.
I also found this nugget:
Which was specifically for me. I’m sad it was cut out of the movie version, though. But, anyway…
I’m glad they kept this scene with Nhai’s dad in the movie:
But I didn't get to laugh long, because then all of Ai's family issues are introduced with his sister's introduction.
And the family issues keep stacking up as we get to see the backstory of why Ai has issues with his mom:
But I'm glad Ai apologized, especially to Jaonan because Ai was an idiot to him before.
And then Nhai practically tells Ai's mom to fuck off when she demands that he breaks up with her son, which was a great scene. And that, somehow, solved it...
Anyway, Nhai refuses to break up with Ai, and they and their friends go on a trip together instead. And we got this ending:
And that’s the end of the movie version of the show. Now, let’s move on to the sequel movie.
It starts with some trouble in paradise as Ai seems preoccupied with something…
And Nhai has no idea what it is.
And while people and relationships do change over time…
It seems like Ai lost his memory too because Nhai is notoriously bad at taking directions…
And has a vivid imagination…
But, luckily, he finds the XXX that marks the spot in one piece and gets a proposal, surrounded by family.
And I got a visually stunning ending to the movie, which I’m always grateful for.
And what a beautiful scene to end this on.
I enjoyed watching both Ai Long Nhai and AiNhai, but I also think it was the right choice to watch the movie version of the show and skim some of the scenes that were omitted. I needed something shorter and faster-paced after 3 shows in a row that were on my least favorite shows list for this challenge.
That was short and sweet and I feel like I’m on a roll, so let’s move on to the next rewatch…
