The Promise (Vietnamese Series)

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the production quality of the show was. It had beautiful visuals and artistry and the actors and the director knew what they were doing. It did not feel like an amateurish attempt. Sure, the story basic about a love story between step siblings is something that different people may have different sensibilities about, but you can't deny that the idea behind everything is a show of love with a simple story narration.

Tan is an angry young man who goes to school. He feels he is misunderstood by his teachers just because he is weak in studies, but has a very close group of friends who are always there for him. His tough exterior hides his vulnerability and pain, which is always directed towards his step brother Vu, who is smarty intelligent and loved by almost all. Tan is angry with his father for having married Vu’s mother, who herself travels a lot for work. There is a boy in class of Tan whom he has a crush on, but he never acts on it. When Tan gets caught cheating in class, his teacher asks for his father's signature on a report. Unsure what to do, he is surprised when Vu helps him with that and offers t even become his tutor. Afterwards, the relationship between the two characters improves. Dong even gives Tan a ride to school every morning. They spend much time bonding and growing closer, and Tan begins to realize that Vu is not an enemy and his feelings for Vu start to grow so much that he starts to even dream about it. As these feelings intensify, Tan realizes that he is almost falling in love with his stepbrother. Interestingly his feelings are reciprocated, although Vu is more reserved in his approach to how he feels towards Tan. Vu is soon supposed to move to Singapore for college, and he makes a promise that one day he will be back after finishing studies and they have the most passionate sex. The parents find out about the relationship. Initially angry, they eventually ask for time to understand them. As time goes by, the contact between the two brothers becomes non-existent. The time for healing and reflection begins. Tan is narrating this story to a writer for a book, only to realize in the end that his lover indeed keeps his promise and comes back.

One of the most interesting things about the show was, it starts with Tan narrating this whole story to an author to write a book. The way he narrates the story proves that time heals things and give you a more objective approach to rethink and evaluate what happened in your life. I found this approach a beautiful way to reminisce their love story as the author was able to ask the questions that are too painful to ask of yourself. Thus, we get a pensive, reflective picture told through the eyes of the person reliving the love again, though it is spoken with a clearer focus. The two characters are as different as chalk and cheese. One emotional, the other realistic. One older, the other younger. One was always sure, the other needing to get there. They brought depth, a sense of reality, and intensity to each of their characters. You see how Tan'c character grows from silly antics to a person who is very much in love. Now all grown up reflecting on his life, he is happy to just know that he was truly loved once by someone in life. The two actors give a very confident performance and are totally believable. They do share a good chemistry and even in their intimate scenes you can tell they feel comfortable. The silly funny scenes with Tan's friends were also fun. I did feel slightly bad that the other school friend, for whom initially Tan had feelings for, somehow shows hints of reciprocal feelings and could have been a good match for Tan, but eventually the story is about the love and promise made between lovers who also happened to be step brothers. The story may not be new , but it was a nice pleasant watch with only 6 episodes of 25 minutes each. (6.5/10)