HIStory3: Trapped (2019)

The best story of the History series

Among all the BL out there this series is indubitaby one of the best, both for the writing, the acting and the directing. The chemistry among the cast members is top notch and the story very interesting even outside the romance part of it.
As for the 2 couples they are equally lovable, the main one is wonderful and the evolution of their relationship is so good to watch. Shaofei with is perseverance and kindness manages to melt Tang Yi walls and defences and it's wonderfull to watch.
The second couple is just plain adorable Zhao Li An is so endearing and sweet that Jack is ensnared by him almost without realizing,
watch it it:
you love angsty stories with perfect ending
if you are looking for a enemys to lover romance
if you are simply looking for a good story with good acting and a bunch of very interesting characters

don't watch it:
well if you do not like mm relationship (but why should you be here then?) or if you really do not like crime stories or if you are looking for cruel vicious gangster and hero police forces.

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Start watching if you still haven't

Guys this is a must watch. I found this series in November and honestly I've watched it more than 6 times and I still love it. The storyline, characters, OST, acting everything is just perfect. Chemistry of both the CPs was so interesting. I'm pretty sure you all will love it. If you guys have time, watch the behind the scenes of the show in YouTube by Line TV. You'll see how familiar and friendly the cast is with each other and that's the reason the couples had an awesome chemistry. I won't post spoilers but the ending is totally relatable and justified. You won't feel sad seeing the ending. Do watch the show!!

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Lovable in Parts, but also Highly Irritating

Alright. This series is lovable in parts, but also highly irritating in parts, with some repetitive, uncreative and extremely immature plots. This, combined with the fact that Tang Yi (the main character) is almost always frowning and angry, sometimes even while kissing his partner, and that the main job of Shao Fei (the other main character) is to take cuts and bullets for others, makes me want to give the series a 5/10 rating, but nevertheless I will give it a 6- mainly because of these good things:
1. The intense and believable interactions between the various mob guys
2. The initial light-hearted and wonderful acting of the Captain
3. The natural, believable and heartwarming interactions between the second lead couple- Jack and Zhao Li, which I found much more enjoyable and spontaneous than those of the first lead couple- Tang Yi and Shao Fei.
4. The natural and wonderful acting of Chen Wen Hao and Old Tang

Next, I will list the irritating things, so that you are well prepared in advance, and may feel a bit less frustrated, in case you decide to watch this lengthy series. Here we go:
1. During the starting episodes, Shao Fei keeps bugging Tang Yi to reveal the 'truth' based on a hunch. This approach of a police officer is unrealistic and immature, and soon becomes borderline-irritating.
2. Most of Shao Fei's initial interactions with Tang Yi are overly stupid and childish, and make him look like a mindless clown.
3. Shao Fei moving in with Tang Yi, to protect him and to keep an eye on him, was quite unrealistic in itself, but it becomes completely senseless and intolerable when he accepts to babysit Hong Ye, and takes her shopping.
4. Shao Fei's main task as a police officer is not to solve cases, it is not to catch criminals, and it is not to help or protect others with his acquired skills. Then what is it? It is to use his body as a shield for others. And it does not matter who this 'other' person is.
5. Have you realised that every person in this world has two faces? And that every person is confused and conflicted and unreliable? Well, you better believe it, because that is what the storyline tries to portray at the end. Too many persons are shown to be selfish and conflicted, and are just using the others for personal gains. This was completely unbelievable, stupid and immature. I have absolutely no idea why these kinds of plots were suddenly stuffed into the otherwise okay-ish storyline, making it completely ridiculous, so much so that I lost interest completely during the last few episodes.

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I Married a Mobster

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this one, the premise is totally unrealistic... but I'm so happy I did and would love to see a sequel. What a fun series. I'm THRILLED to see a new storyline in the BL universe. Cop falling for Mobster and all of the intrigue, mystery, danger etc that goes along with it. They actually created a good detective story first and then allowed the two main characters to fall in love. It did get a bit convoluted and confusing, especially since we only hear the mystery details after the fact from third parties, but even if you come for the mystery, you will stay for the love story.

The growth of this relationship (while ridiculous in its premise), made absolute sense to me. You could see each of the main characters come to learn more and more about each other that would allow them to trust each other and even fall in love with each other. That gradual evolution is what made this story work best for me.

There is so much humor that works really well. Several characters are preposterously over the top, but the actors play them with such sweet, gentle, natural manners that they work perfectly. Jake Hsu was awkward and ungainly in all the right ways. But I also believed he was smart, loyal, honest and a really good cop. My favorite "touch" was his unkempt hair. They have one lock of hair ALWAYS out of place, sticking out in the most ridiculous manner. It became his signature and I came to miss it when he washed his hair and it disappeared. Kenny Chen may be my favorite naive "little boy" (alongside Plan as Can in Love by Chance). He is so vulnerable and trusting and goofy. I can't wait until he stars in his own BL series. This kid deserves to be a star. Unfortunately, Chris Wu is pretty horrible. He is wooden, blank-faced, lacking the internal emotions needed for this complex character. This is a recurring problem in BL series. They go for the good looking bad boy, but rarely can they find an actor who can play the subtleties of those roles. Chris did have some good moments, toward the latter half of the series, when he got to open up and express his affection for Meng Fei.

Those moments, when the two relaxed and allowed themselves to be boyfriends, were some of my favorites in the series. Despite the very quick transition in their relationship, you could sense an ease between the two actors. They truly portrayed the trust and relief you can only get in the arms of your beloved. The kissing and intimacy scared me at first. I didn't think they were going to pull it off. The first kiss was so tight-mouthed that I feared it would never look natural. But by the end of the series, these two were making out like they meant it. It got steamy for a second!

I appreciated the secondary BL romance, though it was even more ridiculous than the first. But again, Kenny Chen made his character so believable I wanted to fly to Taiwan and marry him myself. And I truly enjoyed the hetero romance as well. I thought it was well established and with little back-story I was able to understand both sides of this couple and was happy they came together in the end. Kudos to Diane Lin who does an excellent job as well. The filial love between these two "siblings" was another strong aspect of the series.

At times I thought the music was inspiring and spot on, but at other times it felt like it was lifted from a library of stock music that I've heard in so many other series.

Solid direction, cinematography, editing throughout. Truly high production values that helped propel this to the top of my list.

I will watch this one again FOR SURE.

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This has been, hands down, the best gay drama I’ve ever seen. Did it have its issues? Sure. Would I change some things? Yeah. But generally, it was made with a lot of heart and warmth and a genuine desire to give people a fanfic-like story about a mob boss and the cop chasing him, literally.

Out of the 3 main pairings - Shao Fei/Tang Yi, Jack/Zhao Zi and Hong Ye/Dao Yi - I was most interested in Shao Fei & Tang Yi, the least in Jack & Zhao Zi, which was probably obvious from my recaps. But I really liked Hong Ye & Dao Yi, the only het pairing, and that’s a rare thing in gay dramas, that the het pairing isn’t there just so not everybody’s gay but that they actually have an interesting arc, too. So much kudos for that.

I loved Tang Yi and Hong Ye’s sibling relationship. I loved the glimpse of what could’ve been between Shao Fei and Chen Wen Hao. I loved the unexpectedly multi-layered relationship between Shao Fei and Captain Shi. I loved Tang Yi’s friendship with Doctor Jian. And I loved the flashbacks to Boss Tang mentoring Tang Yi…

What I didn’t expect was how non-cliché turned out Shao Fei to be. No crisis of sexuality or morality when he realized he fell for a male gangster. No, just pure love and determination to save Tang Yi even against Tang Yi’s will.

And the same goes for Chen Wen Hao. I started off hating that guy and ended up crying for him. He truly was a man screwed over by fate - and his friends. If only Boss Tang tried harder to get him out of jail. If only Li Chen waited for him. Everything could’ve been different.

I was one of the few who liked the music choices in this drama - from smooth jazz to the tinkling bells - and the slo-mo. But then, I’m old-school *shrugs*

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I'm keeping this short. This was my first full length BL series and I'm pretty disappointed. I often wonder about the director's vision. I'm not sure how the actors were told to act, but I can't imagine they were told to act like this was their first high-school performance. I can't describe how bad the MLs are at acting. Chris is obviously better, but not by much. I suppose the director wanted them to be over-exaggerated, but it was too much for me. The only actors I enjoyed were the dad roles (and Kenny because he was cute). Maybe because they're older; but at least something was there. Speaking of dad roles, I really want us to end the narrative that forcing/badgering a partner to speak to their parents is a 'helpful, loving' thing to do. Shao Fei was so quick to suggest meeting up when Tang Yi probably needed time and therapy.

I understand that dramas are 'dramatizations' of real life. Yes, that's clear. That being said, why did they take the route to portray their police force as caricatures of stereotypes? In the first episode, they burst in guns a'blazing and that's fine for a raid, but then Shao Fei holds Tang Yi at gunpoint??? Excuse me...officer (he does this twice)? I'm not sure what Shao Fei did so well that made it okay for him to disregard the rules of his job, but I didn't see it.

I would like to mention Jack and Zhao Zi(?) before I end. Jack did not pass the vibe check. He's our resident king of manipulation. To this day I don't know what his true role was and why he wasn't persecuted by Tang Yi, the bad guy, or Interpol. Jack snaking his way into Kenny's life is supposed to be charming and it is at first; but, it quickly becomes creepy and pushy.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend it if you're into more serious dramas. This is more lighthearted than anything. And that would be fine if the story and acting were good, but they should've picked a struggle. I don't remember the music so I suppose it was unoffensive.

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One of my favourites

Absolutely loved it. Tang Yi and Shao Fei just made sense, the actors’ chemistry is so good, it’s OFF-THE-CHARTS. Like yin and yang, Shao Fei balances and brings out the loving side of Tang Yi whereas Tang Yi makes Shao Fei settle down and have a focus other than the case he’s been investigating for 4 years- get his man for a different reason.

Chris Wu as Tang Yi is so good! His controlled expressions, his character arc is absolutely a joy to watch.

The background story keeps it real, this is why I avoid most school-based BL stories, I am bored with them.

All characters were interesting, this is the first HIStory series that I was not at all bored with at any second and didn’t fast forward any part.

The ending is very realistic for me.

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SUPERB!!!

One of the best BL Series I watched this year, 2021. At the first I am hesitant to watch due to a lot of series that I am currently watching such as Korean, Japanese, Thai's and Chinese series but without further thinking, I got hooked and attached to the first episode until I didn't notice the time has been passed by and finished watching it for one whole night until I saw dawn outside of my window.

CHEMISTRY is totally incredible, I love how they help each other and how they portrayed their characters in every scene, plus the side couple is also entertaining. I am now loving the lead stars Chris Wu and Jake Hsu.

STORYLINE, when you think of it, a Gangster and a Policeman will fell in love to each other and that took my attention, plus the twists of the story at the end, makes me feel like I am watching Korean drama.

REWATCH VALUE, well I had been watching the series for 3 consecutive times, therefore it is worth to watch and from it I can still feel that "goosebumps" and the "love" factor as if it's my first time watching the series.

This is definitely indeed a worth watch series from Taiwan.

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Definitely the best out of all HIstory parts.

I absolutely loved this one, and I am extremely glad I saved this one for last out of the HIstory parts.
If you are (like I was) thinking about whether you should watch “make our days count” or “trapped” first I strongly recommend you watch “make our days count” first and end the Series with this one.

The actors were extremely well chosen in my opinion, I absolutely bought their portrayal of their characters. I loved their chemistry, there was no awkwardness at all. The side characters where extremely fitting as well.

This whole Drama was a mixture of lighthearted fun and seriousness that didn’t feel misplaced at all.
I literally savoured every second and every emotion of this one, sadness, happiness, romance, I really can’t find much to criticise.

Definitely watch this if you’re still wavering.

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History 3 : Trapped is my first BL drama ever!

I think it's a good drama to begin with and I wasn't disappointed at all. It was really entertaining and now that I've seen other Bl dramas I think the plot is pretty original (it's not a school drama like it often is). The story was interesting but if we cut the BL part I think I wouldn't have like it as much as I had. I think the chemistry between the main leads but also between the second leads (I loved Jack) is really enjoyable. The romance between the leads is really beautiful, and I liked the end.
One thing I didn't like is the way of acting of some actor (for instance Tang Yi, in one scene he wasn't credible at all and that bothered me a little). I recommend this drama for those who want a good BL with an original plot (but it's far from being a good thriller, it's still a BL and the story focus on Tang Yi and Shao Fei).

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经赞演技, 经典对白, 美丽故事, 紧扣人心,
非看不可, 续集必要。

Beautiful and simple story line that depicts how beautiful falling in love is and more importantly sticking to it, even if the tough gets going.

The chemistry between the main characters is excellent, especially in certain scenes. I have to add that I would have preferred that some scenes between them could be a longer, rather than ending abruptly.

The other highlight is the lines between them is excellently crafted and it makes me sit up to listen attentively. In addition, it makes me want to watch more Chinese dramas to relearn Mandarin, which is my second language.

A must watch drama especially if you’d like to have your faith in love reinforced. Love can be that simple and totally beautiful.

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History 3 trapped is by far one of the best asian BL's that have been filmed in the last year.

After watching H3T y got a great deal of satisfaction and I would like to share my thoughts with you from two different perspectives. First we can see it for it's artistic value, acting directing and script, on a second hand we can analyze it as a product that reflects an specific social context and it's repercussions.

H3T is great because it is a BL but it is even greater because it is not only a BL story, it is a story about justice, about lost opportunities, about what it means and meant to be an adult to different generations, it is about loneliness and finding people to share it.

From the artistic perspective this series is a must. It is very well written although it's flaws like a slow start and tone issues. At the beginning we feel that we are on a romcom mostly because of the great acting of Jake Hsu that portrays what it looks like a naive and over optimistic cop (Meng Shao Fei), his superior acting sometimes is the biggest flaw of the series, they depend so much on his charm that they barely give him any background, at least not as much as Tang Yi (portrayed by Chris Wu) whom being less charismatic has a big screen presence and fills the role completely.

Eventually we get to meet several characters which help drawing a universe where we can find much more than a love story or a story about cops an bandits, this is well rounded drama about what family means and how you can find it on different places despite of blood, and also how the decisions we make affect the people we love even if we don't want to. The senior actors on this series that portrays either the cop's chief and the rival gangster, they are the ones that deliver the best scenes and really tight the story together.

The last two chapters are gold and I couldn't stop the feelings, I cried a lot, but I also smile a lot, I will always love this series for what it is: an epic tale about family with a main couple that happens to be gay. This has been the goal of queer cinema for ages, having actors portraying truthful stories where their sexual orientation is not the main issue or a trope.

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