The Dauntless Youths Review Eps 1-8
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!
I can clearly see this second couple is getting ready to END me 😭😭😭
The angry, aggressive, depressed Chong Yi Biao that we meet at the outset is a totally different man in the flashbacks we finally get that show how he is transformed by a relationship he develops with the real E Shun, characterised by genuineness, intimacy and vulnerability, that obviously morphs into something more than friendship.
It’s so touching to see from his wistful reminiscences the way Chong Yi Biao is so soft and smiley after his relationship with E Shun that is evidenced in his more humane relationships even with others outside the relationship.
When you’re loved and in love the world is a whole different place.
This is going to be so painful if things don’t go the way we hope with the real E Shun which is why Kun Wu’s life is constantly in danger of being ended by a lonely, hurting, grieving Chong Yi Biao.
Oh what a tangled web these Dauntless Youths are weaving. Chong Yi Biao is not the only one suspicious about this E Shun, but E Shun is now keenly aware of both sources of suspicion about his identity.
Not only is Jiang Wen Huan also searching for a valued lost connection in the “little slave” he rescued - Kun Wu, who thinks he owes Jiang Wen Huan his life, but both Jiang Wen Huan and Chong Yi Biao suspect the imposter though for very different historical reasons, neither of whom can confide in the other man exactly why. Brilliant!
Both Chong Yi Biao and Jiang Wen Huan are desperately searching for someone else, another man who seems to have been made flesh in the E Shun standing in front of them, but whom they both know in their heart of hearts is not the man they’re hoping for.
Additionally for Jiang Wen Huan, the man standing next to him who reminds him of someone he seeks is a prince, while the one Jiang Wen Huan searches for is a slave.
After Revenged Love just expertly showed us that it’s possible for a writer to make multiple couples simultaneously and vividly compelling in the same BL, if they are competent as a storyteller, The Dauntless Youths is giving us one better.
Kudos to the Director of this fine production also. I learned that all the leads are teenagers - including Zhang KangLe who’s playing 3 roles, when this drama was shot 5 years ago except for Yu JiWei the actor for Chong Yi Biao, which is a testament to the level of creative BL storytelling skill behind the screen output as well and in front of the cameras.