HIStory: Obsessed – Drama Review

Nine years ago, Yi Chen and Chin Teng were university lovers. However, Yi Chen feels betrayed and heartbroken when Chin Teng announces that he's getting married to another woman. After a heated confrontation with his ex-boyfriend, Yi Chen runs recklessly into the road in the middle of the night. He is struck by a car and dies on the spot.

After his death, Yi Chen is mysteriously resurrected and taken back to his life from nine years ago. Now a university student again, he is eager to change his destiny. He decides to refrain from starting a romance with Chin Teng, his long-time university crush. Yi Chen even burns all his fan diaries of Chin Teng, signifying his fresh start.

However, some of Yi Chen's diary entries escape the fire and end up in Chin Teng's hands. Inspired by the passages, Chin Teng becomes intrigued that another student has taken an interest in him. He begins to notice Yi Chen and hang out around him, developing feelings over time.

The flirtatious Chin Teng makes passes at Yi Chen, eager to initiate a romance with him. However, Yi Chen keeps rejecting him, adamant about maintaining distance from his former lover. The more he tries to resist, the more aggressive his ex becomes in his advances. Never the type to give up, Chin Teng's growing obsession with Yi Chen consumes him. He's determined to win over the target of his affections, no matter what it takes.

In my review of HIStory: My Hero, I talked about how that series aged well over the years. HIStory: Obsessed has the exact opposite problem, leaving a worse impression after a rewatch. The fast-paced plot moves so quickly that I haven't processed everything in my first viewing experience. As I watch the drama again, many of the problematic elements stand out alarmingly, while the rest of the story fades in comparison.

When I think about HIStory: Obsessed, what immediately comes to mind are the undesirable moments. I remember Chin Teng forcing himself onto an unwilling victim, grabbing a defenceless girl by her throat, and threatening murder-suicide if Yi Chen doesn't reciprocate his love. Normally, these disturbing events occur in the crime section of the newspaper, as opposed to the plot of a BL drama. Yet, Chin Teng's depravity is an undeniable part of HIStory: Obsessed, romanticized in a way that his grisly actions are deemed acceptable.

Chin Teng's behaviour goes beyond obsessive. He is a violent, abusive, controlling, and manipulative love interest. When Yi Chen rejects his overbearing advances, Chin Teng retaliates with physical aggression. When Yi Chen stays out of the way, Chin Teng pesters him, invades his personal space, and fabricates lies to weasel his way into the bedroom. Everything he does is driven by selfish desires, and he never respects Yi Chen's needs for consent, privacy, or boundaries. The romance isn't between two willing parties. It's just Chin Teng stroking his massive male ego.

I like the initial premise of HIStory: Obsessed. It explores the themes of second chances, changing your destiny, and trying to escape your past. There's an epic element to the storyline, because you supposedly love someone so much that your fates are always intertwined. In theory, this type of transcendent romance sounds compelling. In execution, the plot is rushed, disjointed, and doesn't resonate that deeply. Plus, it's impossible to overlook the creepy antics and behaviour, casting dark shadows over the love story.

HIStory: Obsessed has a happy ending that softens Chin Teng's misdemeanours. Chin Teng's character is given a clean slate in the final few minutes, as if the past four episodes of abusive behaviour don't matter. This last-minute character redemption comes just in time for a steamy sexual encounter between the two leads. It's a pretty raunchy sex scene, especially by BL standards in 2017, and the actors don't hold back from expressing their physical affections. If I'm just judging that sex scene alone, I would consider it a highlight of the series.

Unfortunately, I can't isolate the one positive aspect of HIStory: Obsessed from its many enormous flaws. The toxic relationship is too much of a mood killer, making me intensely uncomfortable for the majority of the series. While some viewers may have a higher tolerance for a dark and gritty romance, the problematic elements go overboard for me. I don't enjoy HIStory: Obsessed, and the polarizing series is near the bottom of my least favourite HIStory installments.