The On1y One – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review

Episode 5

Episode 5 of The On1y One starts with the class’s teacher introducing Zhao Xi and Lin. They are going to take over the class while the teacher attends a teaching seminar. Zhao begins to teach them physics, covering Bernoulli’s principle. He talks about the conservation of energy and shows how a gust of wind brings two spheres together, but they fall apart as soon as the wind stops. During the class, Tian notices something is off with Wang and asks him. He says he doesn’t like Bernoulli’s principle.

At present, Wang manages to run away from the bullies who are beating him up and get back to class. He’s late but the teacher allows him to take the English exam.

During lunch, Wang’s friends realise that he was set up. They insist on telling the teachers but Wang says he can’t get involved in another fighting issue. Tian asks notices an injury on Wang’s head and then asks what they looked like. Suddenly, Tian gets up and leaves, saying he’s headed to Uncle Zhao’s shop. Once there, he buys water and some band-aids. He goes back to class and gives Wang the band-aids.  

When Wang gets home, Tianyang messages him to say the bullies have been caught. He says it was Zhao Xi, who caught them creating a ruckus at his restaurant. In the photo that Tianyang sends him, Wang recognises Tian’s shoes. When Tian comes home, Wang confronts him about it, forcing him to accept that he was involved. He says he saw the CCTV cameras at Uncle Zhao’s shop and used the footage to alert Xi. He never mentioned that Wang had gotten hurt.

Wang asks why Tian did this and hid it from him. Tian says he only thought about how scared Wang must have been, which makes Wang tear up. Wang then uses his twisted ankle as an excuse to have Tian carry him up to his room.  Wang sees that Tian’s knuckles are bruised and puts a band-aid on it for him. Tian definitely did more than just catch them. 

The next morning, Wang comes down to eat breakfast, where Auntie Jiang has made a dish specially for him. Tian, she says, has gone to the Little White House. We see him helping the old man there repair his refrigerator. When Tian mentions he has to go to an English competition with Wang, the old man insists he call Wang over for lunch.

Wang is more than happy to come over. While Tian is fixing the toilet, the old man talks to Wang about Tian and how his family didn’t pay much attention to him. Which is why he grew up so cold and isolated. He asks Wang to not let Tian push him away since he’s one of the few people Tian is close to.

Afterwards, they head to their English competition. They reach the location and Qi Jiahao says that Miss Jing asked him to tell Wang that it’s okay if he didn’t do well on the previous test. Another student points out that Miss Jing told him to say so after the exam. Wang realises Jiahao just wanted to fluster him. Tian also tells Wang not to pay attention to Jiahao and believe in himself.

They both then head in to take the exam and end up finishing their papers at the same time. They high five but Miss Jing later berates them for leaving the exam early. However, they were also the only two students to get over 90 in the previous test. Qi Jiahao, who’s eavesdropping, is annoyed at this.

Back in class, a student gives Wang and Tian a form for school accommodation. Wang says he doesn’t want the accommodation anymore since he knows Tian well. But Tian’s response is different. He seems to still want to move.

Their class teacher then comes in and announces that Qi Jiahao has won the model student. The student rankings are released and Wang sees he has risen by 47 ranks. It would have been over 50 if not for the bullies that made him late for the exam.

Later, Wang keeps thinking about the two spheres which come together despite the wind. He comes home and pictures himself talking to Tian. He says that he dislikes Bernoulli’s principle because he hates wasted effort. When you strive for something but it doesn’t happen. Like wanting Tian to stay. He also hates Qi Jiahao because the more effort he puts in, the more it feels like a waste. The wind has started but when it stops, everything will be as it was.

An epilogue of The On1y One Episode 5 shows Jiang Tian’s Very Moment: One night, he is looking at his half-packed suitcase when he gets a notification that Wang has made his social media profile picture black. He steps out of his room.

The Episode Review

The On1y One Episode 5 shows Wang and Tian coming closer while Wang also understands more about Tian’s tendency to push people away. The entire arc about the bullies shows just how far Tian is willing to go for Wang and yet, at the end, he pulls back from Wang when he says he might be leaving.

Uncle Ding’s conversation with Wang gives us more insight into how Tian clings to isolation and independence. Benjamin Tsang, as always, does wonders with his micro-expressions portraying the stoic Tian’s inner emotions.

The Taiwanese BL drama continues to be visually stunning as well. The cinematography is beautiful, framing the boys’ faces and their hands in a way that highlights their closeness. There’s a lot of playing around with light as well, like delicate rays of sunlight on a character’s face or the yellow light of the hallway that spills into Tian’s dark room as he walks out in the final scene. This series continues to be a delightful watch.