Latest / Besties Do Verticals / Episode 5 - The Prince's First Love
Transcript
- Aleta: Hello and welcome to Besties Do Verticals with your besties, Lucy and Alita. I'm Alita. Lucy: And I'm Lucy. Just a little update today, guys. Today would have the episode release of Tutoring My Rival Boy. For logistics reasons. We did change it. And surprise! Princess First Love. Tutoring My Rival Boy is now gonna release on May 17th. But okay, we are not changing the schedule. Anymore and we promise it will be released in less than seventy two hours. Today we will recapping The Prince's First Love, which is on Real Short and was directed by Royce Gao. This is the summary from IMDB. Lucas never expected to kiss a prince. Least of all in front of the entire school. What began as a feud with Prince Nicholas turned into a forced friendship, and that into something far more complicated. so before we get into the recap, I would just like to mention that Royce Gow is another female director. She has directed quite a few verticals, but this appears to be her only boy love so far. We both really love how many women we are seeing directing verticals. And ⁓ we a lot of it is women. There are men. But so far we know a lot of women. We'll just Keep learning more about the directors as we recap. Aleta: Today I'm so excited to be discussing The Prince's First Love. It stars Tong as Prince Nicholas Valehart and Greg Duffy as Lucas Wilder. Lucy, you know that this is one of my favorites. In fact, it's tied with Succum for my absolute favorite. Greg and Andrew are both so good and it's just packed with such incredible scenes that are not only visually stunning but so tender and emotional. They're both such good actors. The chemistry is phenomenal. I love everything about this one. I just can't say enough good things. We could be here all night. This vertical is based on a Korean manoir of the same name, and we've looked through it a bit, and a lot of the scenes are straight out of the comic. Which is a prince and pauper enemies to lover story. Lucy: And I definitely did a double take when you first said manhwa. And I was thinking, it's a manga. And then we had a whole discussion on no, Aleta: Mm-hmm. Lucy: the ⁓ Korean version is Manoa. So I thought that was really neat. I do think it is really crazy that Greg dyed his hair for this. Whew! But damn, made his blue eyes pop. ⁓ And I was so ⁓ proud to learn that Greg and Andrew prepared for these roles by reading that manwah. Thought that was really cool. I think it's part of why it was so successful and so well done. Aleta: This was Greg's second lead role and Andrew's first, and I think they did an amazing job portraying these characters and really conveying a lot of their personal struggles. Nicholas has the pressure of his position and his duty, and Lucas has the stress of being an outsider and his financial struggles to stay in this expensive private school. The vertical opens to a tall, dark haired man kneeling in front of a throne, his hands tied behind his back with a leather belt. He's wearing a collar and leash, which is held by the prince. The prince twines the leash around his finger and then pulls on it sharply, saying, Beg me. Please me. Show me how far you'll go. Every dirty trick, every secret move. Impress your future king. Lucy: ha Beautiful French lady, please can you say this to us in French as well? Please, please, please, please, please, please, please. Aleta: French. I'm not French. Lucy: Do it for me? Aleta: I am not French. Let's just clarify that. Lucy: You you French ⁓ so beautifully, as well as any French So Aleta: ⁓ I ⁓ we're gonna get letters if we ⁓ say that or emails. Lucy: Send the letters send them. Let's do it. Do it for us. ⁓ Aleta: ⁓ okay supplie moi ⁓ Femoi Montremoi jusqu'ou Turira Impressionne ton futur Roy ⁓ I can't believe you made me do that. Lucy: Yeah. Aleta: ⁓ Lucy: You so much. friend ever my listeners wasn't that so hot ⁓ ⁓ my god, I'm blushing over here. Aleta: I'm gonna need a drink. Lucy: We can pause and go get a drink. Okay, sorry, I'm blushing. You go girl. Aleta: ⁓ no, just joking. Don't put this in, but I'm too sober for this. I'm just I'm just No, no, I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm just joking. Okay. Lucy: I think that should I think that should be in there. I think it should be in there. Go go get a quick drink. All right, all right. Hee hee hee Aleta: In a voiceover, we hear Lucas say, How the hell did I end up here? And we see him arriving at school on his red motorbike. Which is apparently a very expensive Ducati. He's on the phone to his grandma, talking about a scarf that she gave him. He's held up by the arrival of Prince Nicholas in a stretch limo. Lucy: I really like it when Prince Nicholas arrives and gets out of the limo. He stares straight into the camera. Isn't that like breaking the fourth wall or something? I loved it. ⁓ he looks so good. Aleta: Hm. Mm. As the prince's guards stop him, a breeze quite a breeze ⁓ blows Lucy: Ha ha ha. Aleta: his scarf away, and the prince steps on This establishes the animosity that bad boy Lucas towards the prince. Then Lucas overhears the plan to engineer a meeting between Nicholas and his best friend Alice, played by Halle Fletcher. And we see via flashback that the Queen has arranged a marriage, since Alice's family are wealthy and influential. Leading us inevitably to the accidental kiss trope, which we see in a lot of verticals, most notably to us in Succum. Lucas's guard throws a ring under Alice's feet, causing her to slip. Lucy: Alice. This is the first vertical I've seen where no one catches the girl. She goes down. Aleta: Mm. Both Nicholas and Lucas rush to save her and crash into each other. Lucas lands on top of Nicholas, and of course their lips lock. There's some great lines in this vertical. A bit of foreshadowing here, as Lucas says, Do you think I want to be on top of you? Lucas is not impressed when Nicholas shows up in their class, but Alice texts teasing him, he definitely has a thing for you. Lucas admits to himself that Nicholas looks good, but insists that he's the enemy. One thing I like about this vertical is that Lucas seems to be comfortable with the idea of liking boys, even if he doesn't want to be attracted to the prince specifically. Nicholas is surprised by his attraction to Lucas and fights it, but really only because he's the heir to the throne and isn't allowed to be gay. Next we see a scene where Lucas is fighting, and it turns out that he is defending another boy who has had his lunch money stolen by Mark and his gang. This is our first introduction to Mark, played by Ben Methfin. Lucy: I love this guy. I know I said it in Drive ⁓ Wild, but he's totally an eighties villain. So you know what we found out? I thought Ben was older, but he's only in his early twenties. I've been following him on Instagram and he's hilarious. He's a total comedian with great impersonations. Just go check him out, guys. Aleta: Nicholas and his assistant Vivian are in the limo watching Lucas fight. Unaware that he is protecting another student from the bullies. And he is holding a report on Lucas. I wanted to add here, Lucy, something that a lot of fans have noticed. Since we've been mentioning little errors to spot in all of the verticals, the photo in the report is very clearly not Greg, ⁓ and I I really wonder about something like that because I could have photoshopped Greg into that image in about five minutes. Like, why would they not? ⁓ Lucy: Ha ha ha. Aleta: The following day we see Lucas finding the gift that Nicholas has arranged for him in his locker. There's a fight scene here with Mark and his gang trying to take the gift. Lucas heads off to find Nicholas and confront him about the gift, which is a dog collar with his name on it, and a note that reads, Lucas, the prince's good boy. They have an argument which leads to Lucas tying Nicholas up against the door. And Nicholas having a hard time with it. Lucas says, You know why they call me the black jackal. It's because I bite back. And he bites Nicholas. Lucy: Lucas fighting him? And Nicholas says, You actually bit me. You are a fucking dog. I'm just sorry. I love how he delivered that. So hot. Aleta: This entire vertical is just one great line after another, honestly. ⁓ Nicholas says, You have no sway over me. And Lucas runs his down Nicholas's chest and then says, Are you hard right now? You can't seriously be turned on by this. The media are trying to get in for an interview with the prince, so he ends up breaking free, and of course they burst in to find he's fallen on top of Lucas. The headlines read Prince Nicholas goes for a ride. On a boy. Lucy: I really like the one that says gay prince rides his classmate. Aleta: The next scene is one that appears in every single spicy edit of this vertical. And it's a common vertical trope which we discussed in our succumb recap. The mutual dream. Nicholas and Lucas have a simultaneous spicy dream. This begins with the scene from the opening with Lucas on the leash, then breaking free. Greg has some great lines here. You want me badly And you got hard for me today, Nicholas Hard as a rock Lucy: Go, Alita. Aleta: ⁓ god. Shoot me he says like boys and says he can't and he says, ⁓ I get You don't like boys, you just ⁓ like ⁓ me. ⁓ Lucy: ⁓ Aleta: I love he delivers that. The line I really love is When they wake up, Nicholas says Why did I dream about hooking up with Lucas? And why did it feel so good? ⁓ my god, I like boys I like Lucas Wilder And I I laughed out loud when Nicholas lifts the red satin sheets to show the wet spot. ⁓ I cannot believe they put that in. Lucy: So I know during this next scene we get to see Greg under a car wearing just a wife beater, one pants, of course, and they lovingly decorated him with grease. And he looked really hot. Like we get a little scene of the camera looking down at him and he's got this little I don't know, grin and he gets I'm just I ⁓ Greg, you looked good there. Aleta: Ha Lucy: Just leaving Aleta: ha ha. Lucy: it at that. You good. ⁓ Moving on. ⁓ Aleta: Moving on. Alice arrives to ask Lucas whether he plans to attend the New Year's Eve ball that Queen Victoria, played by Elise Murto, has arranged to clean up Nicholas's image. Lucas says that he's not going, and neither should Alice. But Alice says that privilege has a price and her marriage was never hers to choose. Which is so sad. She tells Lucas about Nicholas passing out after his little stunt, and he agrees to go with her. Nicholas is clearly bothered when Alice arrives at the ball without Lucas. But then Lucas makes his grand entrance. He's here in a on a bike. Why is heart racing? ⁓ love how we see that ⁓ why is my heart racing in multiple BLs. ⁓ Lucy: Yeah. Aleta: The media wants to know whether they're dating. There's a great tense moment here when Nicholas tells the reporters that they are just friends, and Lucas is about to deny it. Nicholas threatens him to go along with it or he will kick him the hell out, and Alice will have to spend the rest of the night with him. Lucy: Mm. Aleta: When the first dance is announced, Lucas is not happy about Nicholas asking Alice to dance and intervenes. One thing I like about this one is we get both of their internal monologue. You know, in In Straight Until He Kiss Me, we only got Miles's. Lucas is having a flashback to the mutual dream, and he does not like the sight of Nicholas kissing Alice's hand. They dance together, and Lucas trips over Nicholas's boot, resulting in a low dip as they gaze into each other's eyes. The dance ends with them both feeling awkward. Lucy: ⁓ I love seeing the catches and BLs. I I know they're so campy and it's in every vertical, but I don't even care. I love it, I love it. Aleta: Hehehehe As they count down to midnight, Nicholas turns and locks eyes with Lucas. Beautiful slow motion scene here as they gaze yearningly at each other. As the confetti falls around them, Nicholas strides off. Lucy: I think this might be one of my favorite scenes of the vertical. It's so well done. I just love the confetti. I love the slow-mo. I love the angles. I just, ⁓ they did such a good job filming this. Aleta: The Queen sends Vivian, played by Imogen Wood, to Alice with a note to meet Nicholas under the Palace Garden tree. That always makes me laugh like there's only one tree in the Palace Garden, but anyway. It is a very large tree. ⁓ Alice tells Lucas, knowing that he will offer to go instead. Lucas goes and finds a romantic setting complete with rose petal heart. and Nicholas standing there with a bouquet of roses with an engagement ring in the middle. Lucas grabs the bouquet and they have an argument. Lucas quotes from the dream Let go. We both know you want me. Badly. They have an emotionally charged conversation where Nicholas explains that he's bound by his duty, that he dreams of being free to marry for love, but the fate of the nation is at stake. Lucas grabs his arm and they end up accidentally kissing again. Then, as the snow starts to fall, Nicholas reaches for him and it is just ⁓ such a beautiful moment. ⁓ Swoon ⁓ Lucy: Okay, maybe this is my favorite scene. This should have been the most swoonworthy moment at the Vertical Drama Love Awards. I think we talked about it one point. Is this what kind of snow did they use? What was this? Aleta: Artificial snow. Lucy: This was asked. Was it artificial snow? There was a twinkle ink who thought it was so I think, right? Aleta: Yeah, I think Andrew said it was sort of bubbly, kind of like but it's not actually soap, it's artificial snow. Lucy: Okay. Fair fair fair. Aleta: Someone asked him on a live. Lucy: I think that was our twinkle ink. Aleta: Possibly it was. Lucy: That was our mama twinkling. Yeah, was. Aleta: Greg did say that when they were shooting this scene they ran out of time and had to leave the location. So they had to reshoot the entire thing again another day. I don't know what the original location looked like, but the scene they ended up with is just so visually stunning. The next day at breakfast Nicholas's uncle Dolan shows up, and tells him that it's a good thing they are just friends, as Entrado will never accept a gay king. The Prince of Briarvale is visiting and wants a school tour. As Nicholas is showing him around, Prince Farlan asks if Lucas is the guy he was riding. He says that Lucas is no one. And Lucas just looks heartbroken here. Lucy: I don't like that part. I don't like it. And ⁓ did we talk about this before? Is this Seth Eden? Aleta: Either. Yes, it is. Lucy: Okay, so my understanding is Seth is an extremely famous straight vertical actor. ⁓ and I had heard from fans that they were so excited to see him in this. It's interesting because Alita and I have no idea who he is. I mean, I I've seen his picture on posters, but we just don't I do okay. I do watch straight verticals, but I am so selective about what I watch and A few straight vertical men have sucked me in, but it's just it's just not the same. My heart is so much with the queer verticals. But it was kind of cool, I guess, for people to be so excited to see him and he that he was willing to do a cameo. Aleta: Mm mm. Lucas takes his student loan paperwork to Mr. Johnson and catches him sexually harassing another student, Elena. He attacks Mr. Johnson and is caught. The dean is about to expel him when Nicholas steps in to save him. We get a great speech from Andrew here where he says that sexual harassment rarely happens just once, and victims are often afraid to speak out. I love this as I personally hate how common sexual assault is in verticals. after school, Lucas is waiting for Nicholas and asks to go with on his They go to the lake where we get another of the most beautiful scenes of the vertical. Nicholas and Lucas sitting under a tree and he says You don't have to hold your head high around me, Nicholas. And they have a lovely tender kiss. This was nominated for most swoonworthy moment at the V Vertical Drama Love Awards. ⁓ And honestly, in my opinion, should have won. Lucy: Yeah, I agree. This is a very swoon worthy vertical. ⁓ I'm sad it didn't win. There is also a line here where Nicholas says, But who would have protected you? Mmm, that melted me, I died. Aleta: This was filmed at I'm not sure how to pronounce this, Castake Lake in Santa Clarita, where Sabrina Carpenter made her music video for Espresso. And Greg and Andrew filmed their own version, which is so good. ⁓ Find it on Greg's TikTok. Lucas decides to go swimming, and as he removes his shirt, Nicholas is very clearly overcome, saying, He looks like a Greek god. Lucas dives in and then Nicholas to join him. Nicholas says, Princes don't skinny dip. And Lucas says, Sure they and pulls him into the lake. They dive in and come gasping, and Nicholas tells Lucas How dare you! I'm still your prince. Lucas says, Give up. You're never going to win this one. And Nicholas responds, Sounds like someone needs to be reminded of his place. And as Lucas looks taken aback, Nicholas bites Lucas, telling him, I remember every single thing that you've done to me. Lucy: So Alita didn't want to say this part, but she said so many other Aleta: Hmm. Lucy: dirty parts already. ⁓ But there is an honorable mention here. ⁓ let's see. Yeah, there is a line here. A lot of Greg's subscribers really like. Shout out, Laura. ⁓ Not me, of course. ⁓ Aleta: ⁓ yeah. Lucy: But it's when Nicholas says to him. Your voice makes me throb and I don't remember what says. No? ⁓ You do it, okay. Aleta: No. Luc Lucas says to Nicholas, No. Lucy: I thought it was Nicholas saying it to Lucas. Now we have a problem. Aleta: No. Lucas says it to Nicholas, he's Lucy: Go ahead, Alita. Aleta: No, you're right. Yeah, no. ⁓ Lucas says Nicholas, your voice makes me throb and Nicholas says a ⁓ and ⁓ God. Yeah. And Nicholas says hint taken. Lucy: Where does that's a handful come in? Aleta: That's what Lucas says when he That's before that's That's before that. So before that ⁓ This is not this is not staying in. ⁓ Lucy: This is great. It's staying in. Aleta: So yeah. Lucas goes in first and he says that's a handful. And then he says, Your voice makes me throb. Thank you for making me say it anyway. ⁓ And Lucy: Yay. Aleta: ⁓ when ⁓ he re when Nicholas ⁓ reaches for Lucas, then he says, You're pretty nice too. And it Lucy: Okay. Aleta: says, Pretty nice, and then they a little splash. ⁓ Lucy: They were so cute splashing each other. Aleta: And Lucy: Okay, Aleta: yeah. Lucy: well we're good. ⁓ Mission accomplished. Hahaha ⁓ Aleta: As they go to leave, they are caught kissing on the shore by Mark and his gang. Lucas protects Nicholas from being seen and they run for it. Eventually, Mark catches up with them, and he and his gang attack them with baseball bats, with nails in them. A bit extreme for a high school gang, I think. Lucas fights them and gets hit by a bat, which enrages Nicholas, who utters those words we seem to hear variations on in each BL. You dare touch what's mine? I love how Andrew spins the bat here as he goes to hit Mark. Lucy: Hands down, a favorite scene here. Andrew looks like a total badass. He's got some crazy eyes here. Aleta: Ha ha ha. Another continuity thing here. When they run off, they're both in swim trunks and carrying their belongings and in the next scene they run up the stairs fully dressed. After the fight, they are back at Lucas' house for another spicy scene. Nicholas bandages Lucas's hand and then Lucas says it's his turn to play nurse. And they make out on the sofa. Some great lines here. Nicholas says, I need you and Lucas replies, As you wish. Shades of the Princess Bride. I think Greg would make a great Wesley. Lucy: He would! ⁓ my gosh! They should remake it with Greg. ⁓ so what I like about Princess First Love is that both Nicholas and Lucas are kind of equal. So not ⁓ one ⁓ is more dominant than the other necessarily. And we seen quite yet in a lot of BLs, except maybe bullets. ⁓ And mafia lover. Ooh. ⁓ I'm excited about this. Okay. I know I do this every episode like every episode. You guys hear my excitement. I'm sorry, but I'm not. ⁓ Anyway, there has been a lot of talk recently about Greg and Sky Kawhi after their almost tease at the Vertical Drama Love Awards. I have to see this. I need see this. Come on, apps. Real short. I know you've been tagged. You better be looking. Get it together. They are a gold mine. That's a gold mine here. And I would love to see a script on how they figured out how to play it, right? Like I think Sky would I I think it would be a Jeff Greg situation. And I'm so here for it. I would just love it. Who would Skyplay? We should this would be like a dream. Who would Sky play for you? Like what kind of what kind of vertical could you see with Sky and Greg? You haven't th you haven't thought about this like I have? ⁓ I've been thinking about it. ⁓ mmm Aleta: About this. I'd say you should write one, but we don't have time for any more jobs. We ⁓ do. Lucy: No no no no no. We know a fabulous script writer who will make this happen. all right. Well anyway, thanks. Aleta: Yeah, I love the fact that despite their difference in social station, they're actually equal when it comes to their intimate moments. you said, neither of them is more dominant. Unfortunately, they are interrupted by the arrival of Queen Victoria, who has the guards arrest Lucas and take him to the police station. Just when they were getting to the good ⁓ She threatens to have Lucas banished unless Nicholas gives him up and marries Alice. ⁓ And I mean this getting married thing, they haven't even graduated high school. The next morning we see Lucas being bailed out by his grandma. When he arrives at school, he's excited to see Nicholas. But he ignores Lucas and asks Alice to have lunch. And we see them exchanging longing looks from ⁓ across the hallway. Now we get a quick scene of Lord Dolan, Nicholas's uncle, meeting with Mark, who tells him about cast catching Nicholas kissing Lucas at the lake. Alice and Nicholas have lunch together, and he is clearly distracted. She tells him that she knows she's not the one he wants to be with, and that he should go find Lucas, or he might lose him. I love Alice. She's a great ally from the start. He runs off to Lucas' house and there's another lovely scene where Lucas asks What am I to you? And he says You're everything to me. My heart beats for you, Lucas. ⁓ I love it. Something I'd like to mention about some of these scenes is that Andrew did a TikTok answering what his favorite scenes are. And he said that everyone expects him to say the New Year's Ball or the Coronation. But that those scenes, as beautiful as they look on film and as fun as they are to film, are really chaotic because there's so much going on and so many people. He said his favorite scenes are ones like the two of them at the lake, this one in the house. The one in the garden and the one in the bed that we haven't reached yet. He said that those are his favorite because they've been holding on to all of these emotions of the characters the longing, the despair, the regret and the fear, and they can just sit there in the dirt and tell the truth. Anyway, go watch his TikTok. He expresses it so beautifully. ⁓ On twenty second, look for that one. He also talks about the importance of the scene where Nicholas is able to deliver the message about sexual assault. When violence against women and sexual assault are such common tropes and verticals, it's rare to be able to put that message out. Okay, after that aside, they are interrupted by Nicholas receiving a text. Dolan has released the fact that they were caught kissing at the lake, and it's all over the media. They head off to return to the palace to find a ton of reporters waiting outside the house. Nicholas is about to confess that he is in fact gay when Queen Victoria arrives. ⁓ She tells the reporters that Nicholas and Lucas are just friends, and that they are offering Lucas a position as the prince's personal bodyguard. Lucas agrees to take the job and moves into the palace. We find out that Queen Victoria has asked Vivian to arrange for Lucas to be in a room adjoining Nicholas's, which leads to a lovely scene in the bedroom. They finally get time to themselves, ⁓ and ⁓ spiciness ensues. Some more amazing lines here as Nicholas helps Lucas with his uniform. Lucy: ⁓ I thought it was so cute how Nicholas had to help Lucas put on little sash. ⁓ And I don't know, that scene in stood out to me. I just thought it was so cute. And then how ⁓ he turns Lucas around and they're looking each other in the mirror while he's kind of dressing him. ⁓ it was it was hot. It was beautifully done. I loved it. ⁓ are we gonna that you wanted to go over some of these lines and go back and forth. Who are you gonna play? Aleta: I w you you pick. Lucy: Ooh, I'll do Nicholas. Okay. Aleta: Okay. Lucy: I you to do ⁓ Aleta: These not necessarily in order some of them are, but they're not necessarily all sequential. anyway. Lucy: fr h some of the more notable lines from the scene, Nicholas says, ⁓ Show me how much you want me. Aleta: And Lucas says, Keep your eyes open. I want you to remember this moment, just you and me. Lucy: Nicholas later says, What round are we on? I thought you'd be tired by now. Aleta: I could never get enough of you unless you're implying that you're tired, Your Highness. Lucy: Nicholas says not a chance. ⁓ Aleta: And Lucas replies, Good, because I plan on wringing every last bit out of you until you're begging for me to stop. Lucy: Read your side note, Alita. Aleta: Ha ha Lucy: She has a little side note here on her notes and it's f F Fuck. It's very long too, it says Fuuuuck. ID Mel! Aleta: You need to cut that out! Lucy: No And you know what? All the Greggels gremlins agree Aleta: I don't know, I don't know any of those. I just know Duffies. Lucy: Liar. ⁓ I love it. Okay. Aleta: A little aside here, part of what made this so many people's favourite is not only the chemistry that Greg and Andrew have, but the fact that they both really went for it in every way, both for the emotional and dramatic scenes and for the spicy ones. ⁓ Lucy: Yes, I wanna just jump in here. I love it when actors commit. Please, for the love of God, when you are in a vertical and when you are a romantic lead, take of Greg Duffy, think of Andrew Tong, think of Leo in Callboy, think of Tristan Green and Declan Clifford. Just go for it. Please. ⁓ Aleta: Ha ha ha. Lucy: Love of God! Thank you. That's my soapbox for prints. Aleta: Lu Lucy's anti stage kiss. Lucy: I can't handle it. I can't I don't like it. Just put your lips to theirs, please. Okay, done. Aleta: The next morning, Nicholas and Lucas wake up together and finally say I love you. And they both say it, thank goodness. ⁓ Lucy: Right? What the hell, Miles? be a running joke for like the whole podcast. What the hell, Miles? ⁓ Aleta: Unfortunately, they are being spied on by a maid who records some kissing for Lord Dolan. Nicholas goes to tell his mother that he's gay, but she refuses to listen until after the coronation. As a parent, this bit upsets me because she clearly knows that Nicholas wants to come out to her, and instead of showing him the love and support that she should, she tells him to wait. And Nicholas just looks devastated. I don't like. The coronation day and it's a beautiful scene in the ballroom. Lucas is about to be crowned when the video of them kissing is played on the overhead screen. Everyone is shocked. says that the country will not accept a gay king. There's a beautiful emotional scene from Nicholas here. He says, Is that how my people see me as shameful? And Lucas comes to his defense saying that Nicholas has given everything he has for his country. And then Nicholas gets so brave and he takes Lucas's hand and gives a clear and honest statement that he is gay and that Lucas is his boyfriend. That before Lucas he never truly understood happiness and freedom. He says that if the people cannot accept him, he will abdicate. But then one of the reporters stands up and commends him on his bravery in coming out. Others join in and Dolan throws a little temper tantrum. The actor who played Dolan, Dallas Schaefer, was really good as well. I didn't mention him earlier. At this moment, Alice and a group of other students arrive, waving pride flags and saying, Nicholas will be the best king ever. is so funny to me here because it's such a tiny group of students and the Queen announces that this is the will of the people ⁓ and it's half a dozen of their classmates. ⁓ Lucy: Yep. ⁓ Aleta: Dolan starts in again, and Vivian says that Dolan was the one who had them filmed, and that he has been making deals with foreign countries for his own gain. Dolan is dragged off by the guards, and the coronation resumes. He did a really good job when he was being dragged off, he was very convincing. Nicholas is finally crowned. Hooray Lucy: Hooray! Aleta: He takes Lucas' hand and says that they will rule together. And the vertical ends with a kiss. Lucy: As it should Aleta: So Lucy, I have talked way too much this time. I just love this vertical so much. I love Greg and Andrew, as you know, and yeah, it's tied from my favourite vertical. Lucy: So I think objectively, Prince's First Love, if we were to break it down, it is technically probably the best BL ever made currently. Is it my number one? No, but it's very near the top and honestly should be higher than I have it on my list. Honestly. We need to blame Evan for that. I just I love everything Evan does, and he just goes straight to the top. But for real, I loved the costumes, I loved the sets, the intention behind everything, the absolute care to how it all came across on screen. Andrew was perfectly casted for Nicholas, and both him and Greg looked so lovely together. I think a large part of why this was lovely and worked so well is because it was adapted from a manwa. I personally love K dramas and mangas and all of that. So seeing it translated on screen is awesome. Aleta: Thanks for joining us. That was The Prince's First Love. Find it on Real Short. It is such an excellent BL. It's worth a watch or ten. We hope you will tune in next time. Bye besties. Lucy: Bye Vestes.