Lyson

So many people seem surprised that China can produce this quality of a BL, but those who watch the censored shows and have seen other small CBL productions that try to tell their LGBTQ stories despite censorship, KNOW that China would dominate the BL industry if the government dropped the homophobia and gave them free run to do their creative best.
This show (and the extra 13 eps) were a real pleasure to watch.

This show is incredibly asinine, like, whoever wrote this has the emotional mentality of an 11 year old. The consistency of scenes, the randomness, the weak and empty attempts and seriousness in the characters out of nowhere...yet I'm still watching it. Mark is one hell of a draw card, damn, it's actually frustrating af. And it's a pity because Jay/Sant (i.e: MarkOhm)'s actual chemistry is so good.

Lol yeah, I was feeling like bro came back after 12 years, having to remind people who was, like he looks any different XD

Yeah I think BM was big because of the actors and the time it came out, but the movie itself was really only worth a one time watch.

I must admit, aside from Rocky Horror, Maurice and SKAM, I haven't watched a single film on that list. I think I MIGHT have seen Eyes Wide Open, but it's too vague a memory to be certain.
My list is not strictly films and my list is not long, if I exclude American made, it's going to be even shorter, but here we go. Some of my favourites, the non American (writers) movies/shows are -in no particular order-

SKAM wtFOCK
SKAM France
SKAM Norway
(I watched the entire series of these three SKAMS, not just season 3 of each, but season 3 of wtFock and France are also the m/m couples)

Good Omens
Elite (seasons 1-4 only, after that I got bored)
Please Like Me
All Of Us Strangers
Young Royals
Pride
Rocky Horror Picture Show (naturally)
Velvet Goldmine
Closet Monster
The Power of the Dog

From Asia, the ones I enjoyed despite not being on my 'best' list are:
Dear Ex
Your Name Engraved Herein
Marry My Dead Body

I almost feel it's a crime to leave the American movies/series off this list! But that's it. All I can remember, I watch a lot but only what I really like stays in my brain, but if stays or I rewatch, it makes my list. I hope if you haven't seen any of the ones I listed, you enjoy watching them.

I'm also curious what you've rejected out of America's LGBTQ/Queer offerings?

Always glad to have a productive chat.

And that's understandable, our tastes just differ, the LGBTQ shows I've watched out of Asia have never made an impression on me, they are fine, entertaining, but I don't consider them to be outstanding. I watch them in the same way I watch BL.

My favourites all fall onto the western side of things, that is, not all American made, but I suppose most of them certainly are. And another difference we have is that while I loved Heath as an actor and respect Jake as an actor, Brokeback Mountain itself was a one time watch I have never been interested in seeing again, it was a good story and their acting was on point, but it doesn't rank even in my top 10. For me it's only a classic in the sense where people see it as a gateway Western LGBTQ movie experience. It's the 'go -to' in a sense. I watched it when it came out and I've never thought about watching it again after all these years. And it's not because of the somber content, I love angst, I love realism, the recent Fellow Travelers was fantastic despite the over all somber tone of the series, but BM was just not 'all that' imo. Perhaps for the time it was quite 'oh wow' film? I can concede that much.

I agree that there is nothing like BL in the west, totally agree, but my agreement is in the negative sense, as in, I don't think that's a flex for BL 😆

Honestly, you're not the first person to express that BL has a different meaning to them and also expressing the desire/preference for BL to remain separate from the LGBTQ genre. I think this is a genuine divide that BL is seeing more and more and imo it's all good. Having some shows firmly on the side of BL is great, and those firmly on the LGBTQ side too are great, some of my fave shows of all times fall into that category. That said, I also think that some BLs crossing into LGBTQ and forming a new genre is necessary for some viewers who want to see them merge, who want the gay leads but want a full plot, more story than what the average BL offers.

I mentioned in my comment here last week that this is not a BL, so I reckon plenty of viewers here for that specifically will gradually be disappointed and leave the chat. To me, this seems to be a borderline LGBTQ show, a full plot story where the protagonist is gay and he will have a relationship, but it won't be the focus on the overall story, just part of his journey, which is not a 'classic' BL as we know it.

As for quality, I saw it mentioned in the above comments (I skim read so I may have gotten who said what confused anyway) I agree there's a stark quality deficiency. I don't rate any BL ever made on the same level of western professional gay/LGBTQ productions. That may offend some people but it is what it is. One can hope one day that they can get there but as it currently stands, big nope. So I watch BLs with the bar on a default preset that it not very high. lol

Really enjoyed this episode, continuing to flesh out the story and build the character of Sun and his different and changing relationships. I love that they're taking their time and filling in the details, not half assing it, building anticipation, building tension and motive for the impending escalation.
Including Sun's first meeting and then second run in with Peace, I loved that it wasn't some slow mo, glowy accidently bumping into/catching one another eye roll moment.

Very normal and natural for the coincidence that it was, both times. And asking about the photo gives Sun a valid reason to seek him out, gives them a valid reason to talk, a valid reason to develop an attraction to one another, not a case of 'I bumped into you today and was stunned by the sight of you but also I was in love and irrationally obsessed with you since the last time I bumped into when we were 12 years old and I never moved on or got over that' or some stupid shit, god BL tropes really sour the perspective for themselves lol but I digress.

Right, as I was saying, I am enjoying this show very much. I also like the more natural film sites, the natural clothes (I cannot express enough my dislike for the Asian fashion trend in the last four years of giant, baggy clothes and giant two inch lift shoes), so for my visual preference, jeans, T's, hoodies, jackets and sneakers are very appealing. Kudos to the wardrobe department.

Also, did anyone else find that always smiling coffee shop dude to be sus??????

Speculation:
- Mei might be in some kind of trouble.
- Kawin joined the bad side after he got out of prison since there was no one to bail him out or help him?
- Sun's brother would sell Sun out to save himself if push came to shove lol
- Tan's gonna die at some point??? I just feel like we're supposed to be getting attached to him so it can be ouchie when he dies. That's what good writers do after all. If they writing remains consistent, we can definitely expect more deaths.

Could be wrong, just some random thoughts.

Notes:
- Licking someone else's blood is not scary, it's actually just unsanitary and gross. lol
- I do not think 3 years is long enough for quite so much nostalgia. I think five or 5, even 7 years might have been better, Sun would have been mid twenties when he got out, which is not bad , but this small point is not hindering the story in anyway because the biggest point is the neighbourhood has changed.

Very nice. Keen for next week!

Yep, most BL's miss this very important step that shouldn't even be difficult to add in, it's so basic. It's a sorry thing.

Alright I finally got around to episode 8, ended up skipping a lot, nothing wrong with the show itself, it just ain't for me. The story itself just bores me and when I found myself skipping Akin and Jin scenes I realised it made no sense to keep watching. Also, that scene with the fan who stalked him was quite a put off. Unhinged fans should not be met with lenience. Any STALKER of ANY person needs to face legal consequences imo. Anyway, I'ma head out. ✌️

I enjoyed the serious turn this episode took, in terms of events and communication/conversations, it was well done. I think it was great that Bai pointed out Hei was endangering himself over something that could be solved more safely. Hei said 'money can be earned back' to pay debt, but he won't consider the safer option of paying Bai back when his only other option is dangerous and illegal? It's good Bai pointed that out, it added depth to his concern. I also enjoyed the interactions of Hei Yubo with his sister, flowed well, felt quite genuine, not like a forced family scene we see too often. His sister is also not annoying, quite mature, quite logical, good character writing considering the situation she's meant to be living with, it fits that she's very cynical and frank.

I do think Taiwan is making a common mistake though, with sidelining the development of the relationship between Hei and Bai prematurely. Before they had their disagreement, we should have seen more new couple moments, and I'm referring to them adjusting to being a couple in subtle ways, not something extreme. After the fight, some distance between them would be understandable, but not before that, they just officially got together after all. But this is a common fall off of BLs, after the couple gets together, they either overdo it and it tends to feel cringe or forced (Thailand) or they underwhelm viewers with dry bland try hard emotional scenes (SK) and with Taiwan, like this show, they miss and hit at random, but miss more than hit.

THAT SAID, I still enjoyed this ep. Just noting that a hug or affectionate touches are continually underestimated in BLs, i.e: standard couple behaviour - please refer to Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island and Extra as a recent example.

Anyway, keen to see what Bai is going to decide to do, reckon he'll let the agency know that some illegal job may be about to go down in order to stop Hei from getting involved?

Oh and Taiwan, they need to take notes too. They miss more often than they hit with their BLs.

This show coming out of China just proves what I've always said, if China completely dropped censorship, they would DOMINATE the BL industry, even their censored works are superior to other countries BL's in storytelling, emotional depth, acting and plot.

Just started this , 4 eps in. Not bad, not bad.

Ratings on MDL are like points on Whose Line is it Anyway and good plots for GMMTV BLs, they don't matter.

Aren't they just burying a lead here? I mean, girlfriend is sometimes used ambiguously for females. But I don't watch previews so I dunno if they revealed something more about it.

Typical GMMTV drivel storyline. Pretty much just watching this for Mark atp.

🤣 they need to take ALL the notes!

Personally, I find the miscommunication trope is acceptable (and common), but only if the story and/or characters are well written. For me, Ji Hoon is a vapid character, like a wind up toy, he'd go in whichever direction Ba Woo pointed him, with zero self awareness. Terrible as a love interest in any pairing. My dislike and disinterest in the show stemmed from the fact that he was the end game for Ba Woo in the source material. It was a no for me. Especially when Ha Min (a series adaptation insert) was a much better option as a love interest.

This show was otherwise well done, the story itself just fell off me.

Ha Min was the only reason I kept watching, he was the only character of any substance or self awareness who could verbalize his thoughts and read a room! 😂

Ah yes, the time old confession of 'I read in your personal journal that you like me, so I like you too now'. So moving. I mean, how did Ba Woo not melt right before his eyes? 😂😂😂