But you are 😠not new to BL right? He expressed himself that it's a psychological reason and he meant during…
Was just reading through this whole thread and this comment of yours in particular stands out, everything is so well put and explained (love to see all your other comments too, I too keep on coming back to this page. I just wanted to add another comment to respond to the other person, so feel free to look/answer it if it's of interest to you cause I'd love to hear your thoughts too)
(Just sharing a rant again) I find it really compelling that the series doesn’t portray scheming as inherently bad but as something neutral, with elements of deceit, sincerity or a mixture.
Just like how Chi Cheng explains his own definition of scheming where he differentiates it from purely lying. I was thinking about how typically a lot of other series will depict scheming as an ulterior motive that the protagonist tries to achieve out of necessity and typically involving a third party. For instance, in Unintentional Love Story (which I really like), the protagonist approaches his love interest because he recently lost his job, and if he can get his love interest (a ceramic artist) to collaborate with his company, he’s been promised that he would get his job back. The scheming is almost a parallel story to the ongoing romance, and ceases after the scheming is found out and forgiven.
Another common depiction of scheming is when a character doesn’t really take the scheming seriously, and it’s more of a playful ’response’ to the other character. In Love In The Air for example (which I also really like), Rain initially wants to ’get back’ at Payu but it’s more of an impulsive thought he goes along with, and which transforms into an open commitment to Payu to date him within the first two episodes. Likewise, the scheming on Rain’s end stops afterwards, it’s more so Payu who is one sidedly scheming in a teasing manner, which also sort of fades or remains playful teasing as his relationship becomes official with Rain.
In Revenged Love, all the characters scheme and have their individual methods and awareness of the scheming of other characters, the scheming is also defined by a more precise and calculated intent. To me, the series is thus commenting on how scheming is an essential aspect of human relationships and human identity, and not simply an act of villainy, necessity or a character quirk (which I would say is the case for Payu). I find Dabao’s scheming particularly touching because it intertwines and reflects his considerateness towards others. I really want to highlight the word ’considerate’, because it’s a key part of his characterisation. Given Wu Suowei’s cleverness in his scheming, we know that Wu Suowei being mistreated by his ex-girlfriend and former boss wasn’t due to his lack of awareness of the mistreatment or even of their intentions, but rather a result of his considerateness. Afterall, to be considerate, one has to consider other people’s feelings and circumstances. When one is considerate, there is a common tendency to put other’s needs over one’s own (not to say that one should have to to be considerate, just that I think people who are considerate seem to often do so). This is because, being considerate often involves believing that people have their own reasons, or even that you are the one in the wrong and need to make up for it (even if you truly aren’t in the wrong, just like in Wu Suowei’s case).
As such, when Wu Suowei finally breaks up with Yue Yue and loses his job, he is no longer willing to put up with being disparaged and looked down on. I find it really interesting that this transition is signalled by a scheme. As though scheming was a way to be more in tune with his own feelings, wants, desires and relation towards others, and a way for his considerateness to be exacted in a way that doesn’t put himself down but rather reflects his own agency as a person. The thing with scheming in many series is that it’s often done by one character onto another in a way that can partially or even sometimes completely dehumanise the other person, making them lose their sense of agency. However, in Revenged Love, because all of the characters scheme and are aware of it (even if not all of the details), they are equals, and all are depicted with agency. It intruigues me then that the series places a lot of emphasis on the idea that the scheming in the series isn’t the same as a puppeteer controlling puppets with reactions that he can always predict and use. Scheming is a form of dialogue, where the characters are three dimensional and will break out of the ways they are being used (even if without any ill-intent) in schemes. One of my favourite scenes of this so far is in the scene where Wu Suowei prepares to tell Chi Cheng his whole plan, and that his ex-girlfriend was Yue Yue. He anticipates Chi Cheng’s reactions step by step, and it’s an endearingly comedic moment (once again, not a purely negative association in the scheming) because it shows how well he can mimic Chi Cheng and how brilliant the plan is to allow them to address and resolve the issue by using the opportunity of mentioning Chi Cheng’s most recent scheme. Chi Cheng then doesn’t try to justify himself and instead apologises, which completely flips Wu Suowei’s plan on its head, as he transcends the scheme, showing how even with the scheming they remain full-fledged as people and indeed retain their agency.
I find it even more interesting that there is a dual scheme going on: it's heavily implied that Chi Cheng has his own subtle scheme (even if I think Chi Cheng was ready to admit his wrong due to guilt, but still) to distract Wu Suowei with the food and new clothes to prevent conflict, but these only work momentarily. Wu Suowei insists on bringing up the topic afterall, breaking out of a role where he's a puppet in a scheme, but rather a person with intentions interacting with others with intentions, without it necessarily being seen as an inherently dishonest/bad aspect of the characters. That's why when Wang Shuo appears, I find it touching how Wu Suowei reacts to the situation. He addresses it first-hand instead of pretending to be oblivious, and it feels as though Wu Suowei's new "scheme" is showing his ways of handling a situation to ensure that he can reach a certain wish/goal but without imposing his own feelings onto the situation to neglect the other. It's a way to be sincere to his feelings and sincere to Chi cheng's. Instead of forcefully clinging to Chi Cheng or inserting demands or distance himself emotionally, his method is to actually give Chi Cheng, who is conflicted, space for his own feelings and even encourages him to meet up with Wang Shuo without hostile pettiness or even sarcasm.
It shows his considerateness towards Chi Cheng in preparing the situation so that their relationship suffers the least as possible from this, with the intent to ultimately hope and have Chi Cheng find closure and have their relationship continue as usual.
The series explores every character's scheming as forms of revelation towards themselves and others, allowing them to understand each other more profoundly.
[Hope this makes sense / was interesting and thank you to anyone who read this far ^^]
If it soothes anyone, I think it's actually a good sign that the official production company/staff are being silent right now, and most likely won't say anything beforehand so that when Monday comes, they can release the episodes as usual, but without causing a bigger stir in the meantime
I was just thinking about Revenged Love (again) since I like thinking about why the series is having such a hold on people as of late. And whilst I’ve come up with multiple other reasons (that I won’t be going into this time), I was thinking about it from the angle of Chi Cheng’s characterisation, in relation to how the series is portraying the blurriness of consent uniquely, this time in how it ties into what people find refreshing about the story.
As we’ve discussed before, Chi Cheng is clearly a morally grey character who is meant to be seen as such (in my view), and who could be considered to sexual harass/forces some physical touch on Wu Suowei in certain scenes, even if there is nuance. This is just a reflection, and not something to justify any morally wrongful actions with (particularly a sensitive and important issue like consent), but I find it interesting that it brings something humane to the series. A human aspect that is typically avoided or straight up erased from a lot of media nowadays, and if it’s not, it’s typically either done in one of two ways: it vulgarly romanticises/normalises SA or shows the reality of the violence and trauma it brings.
In Revenged Love, there is something unusual going on, and if I had to put words to it, I think it’s partially due to the acknowledged moral ambiguity of the narrative, and also the emphasis on the uniqueness of individual expression in human relationships, which means that a character’s actions should be judged by: its specific context, the intentions of the specific characters, and their way of understanding and communicating with each other (so no longer purely associating a moral label by how things look on the surface, and more by what they mean in the represented relationship, which I also touched on in a previous comment). I personally believe that viewers of any kind of media actually subconsciously and also at times consciously sense these meanings (even if everyone will have their own interpretation), but therefore, when a collective has a strong reaction, and a majority feel a certain way, to me it reflects something the series purposefully does (in this case a lot of people describing the feeling of finding Revenged Love as literally making them feel ‘revived’ or enthralled by the series in a way they haven’t in a long time).
It’s the result of a myriad of details in the subtext of the series that comes together to create that feeling, and therefore, identifying what exactly is the cause of those feelings, aka what the series is doing, leads us to realise even more about how other media might repress or avoid, or exclude/include certain things that we don’t notice. That is, until we come across a story like this one, that lets us see how we are affected by the a lot of media’s ‘avoidance of immorality’. Which can, without us realising it, cause a disconnect or feeling of passiveness when we watch other shows because of the other parts of the show that are pleasant. Yet it therefore blocks the experience of the viewer in other ways, because, as humans, we are inevitably multifaceted and therefore in some ways, immoral, so it leaves a vital part of our humanity unaddressed.
So with Chi Cheng, I had the sudden thought that the reason why his forcefulness and insistence on sexual interactions neither feels offputting (or if it does, it’s part of the moral complexity of his character) nor as though it’s romanticising it truly either, is because…it’s frantic. Simply put, Chi Cheng’s lust is honest. All of Chi Cheng’s actions pretty much reflect his unfiltered desire for sex, and as the episodes develop, it becomes his desire for Wu Suowei as a person, which he neither hides nor uses to neglect Wu Suowei’s feelings. It’s something for Wu Suowei to answer to. Not just a one way street. It communicates something, which requires mutual interlocutors. A lot of media normalises SA as something that is ‘natural’ for a character to do or negates the other character’s feelings. And there’s something interesting about how an uneven dynamic in a relationship with aspects of SA tend to be characterised by deceit. That’s why a lot of stories that don’t even have a lack of consent sexually, feel somehow similarly dishonest and imbalanced because the characters, for example,might not have the same level of awareness and therefore agency to be on the same level. One quick example is Cutie Pie, where the relationship feels unequal even though it appears to abide by conventional moral principles on the surface, as Hia Lian knows everything and even makes decision for the both of them on his own whilst the protagonist remains unaware. And again on the surface, it can come across as adorable because Hia Lian is just trying to protect the person he loves, but the approach of the series renders Kuea into a character who is unable to be part of the relationship as an equal (and interestingly this kind of writing is the most common in straight couples as it’s often dictated by gender roles).
In Revenged Love, the bold interactions between the characters don’t follow a conventional and perfect moral frame. Instead, here, it becomes a conversation about Chi Cheng and Wu Suowei’s boundaries, which is the literal main plot line at present (which to me shows that it’s neither romanticising = pretending nothing’s wrong, nor categorising it in a black-and-white moral box). The human aspect comes in with the fact that since it does become a metaphorical ‘conversation’, the characters are playing within that conversation, just like them playing with each other on a basketball court. There are general rules in formal basketball, but for their personal relationship, they inspect the rules, break the rules, play with the rules, and go over them again to come with agreed upon rules (through their understanding of each other and unconventional way of communicating their boundaries). But I think what a lot of media struggles to acknowledge, becomes it inevitably dabbles in morally grey territory as well, is that, as humans, we also find emotional intimacy in the flexibility of those rules.
Of course there are limits to what ‘lines not to cross’ for full-fledged characters you could argue, but the humane aspect about it is experimenting with each other’s boundaries with respect to the other person’s wellbeing. And in my opinion, that is something that the series really explores through Chi Cheng and Wu Suowei really well. For instance, with the scene in EP10 where Chi Cheng asks Wu Suowei directly if he really does not want to sleep with him, and Suowei says ‘no/it’s not that’, reflecting the core of their relationship as equals (which is marked by the fact that there’s a mutual awareness and understanding of each other, and that Chi Cheng cares about Wu Suowei’s agency).
It means there will be morally questionable aspects that can be difficult to interpret, but it also means that there’s something that feels truthful, endearing and human about their relationship, that I believe is one of the reasons why the series is getting such an intense following. People feel that the story is not immobilised by a sense of ‘stiffness’ or ‘restraint’ in character interactions, because the characters are actually delving bluntly into verbal and physical behaviours (here i don’t necessarily mean sexual/romantic) that are based on raw feelings or thoughts, not held back by a polished template for morality. So it feels less like watching Trope 1 and Trope 2 interact, and more like watching Chi Cheng and Wu Suowei (the individuals) interact. They affect one another, they have fears, desires, ulterior motives, schemes, sincerity and affection that can be expressed in their own way, which might lead to a mistake in judgement or in testing one another’s lines.
Especially the dialogue really plays with heteronormative thinking by introducing it plainly and directly, and then breaking it apart in the most unexpected ways (ex; the very premise itself -> heteronormative thinking = Wu Suowei is a guy that had a girlfriend, and who now must earn his pride back vs transcending that norm = Wu Suowei is going to seduce THE GUY to take revenge?? In conclusion = reveals the absurdity and fragility of societal norms within society), which leads to reactions of laughter and/or excitement and investment, because the viewer feels freed by it too.
So yeah, just some thoughts I had which I wanted to express (sorry if it’s quite long-winded), of course my thoughts evolve throughout the show too but what I’ve written is something I do think is true for this series. Thank you to anyone who read this far! Again, I’d be happy to hear anyone’s thoughts as well^^
This is spot on for me. Chi Cheng seems very aware of Wu Suiwei’s identity crisis. it’s honestly very smart…
thank you and for taking the time, and agreed, I'm glad Xiao Shuai is by his side, and I think Wu Suowei knows deep down Chi Cheng wouldn't go through with it but definitely that the reasons behind the threat are real
Just wanted to show the horror-like aspects of the series in a fun way (using Michael Jackson's thriller), to compare the presence of the snakes with the characters' interactions and fears in relation to their desires:
I was just replying to someone about the topic of Chi Cheng's recent actions regarding Wu Suowei's trouble with coming to terms with his sexuality, so I wanted to put it here as a main post out of curiosity about people's opinions (and as someone who loves hearing other people's view and debate) :
I actually think that Chi Cheng is quite aware that Wu Suowei is struggling with this specific aspect of not wanting to go through with sex (as a pyschological blockage), so I personally find that it's not a problem of miscommunication and more so an issue of Wu Suowei's sense of identity causing him a crisis in regards to his sexuality. The reason why I think Chi Cheng knows is because of how he's been subtly trying to address this very issue in a way that doesn't put too much pressure on Wu Suowei to have to respond immediately, whilst still trying to get Wu Suowei to face and resolve the matter. The main things Chi Cheng does is physically probe or patiently wait. Examples of the former is in how he sneakily initiates kisses and touches to see what Wu Suowei is okay with (but ultimately respects Wu Suowei's boundaries -> we see this in the kiss scene in ep 10 where Wu Suowei's change of tone in his voice indicates when he is serious or just panicked, which signals to Chi Cheng how far he can go).
Examples of the latter are in the many scenes in which Chi Cheng doesn't initiate anything sexual so that Wu Suowei can feel at ease, in order to be able to just affectionately be around each other without having to discuss the topic of having sex. This is prominent in the last few episodes in scenes such as when Wu Suowei misses Chi Cheng and touches himself, and then Chi Cheng arrives, sees him, and just lays beside him without doing anything else (even gives a verbal affirmation, which allows Wu Suowei to relax, and we see Wu Suowei stare at Chi Cheng lovingly as CC sleeps).
Another thing that Chi Cheng does in the most recent episode is verbally address the matter directly, where he says : "so you really don't want to sleep with me?" and Wu Suowei answers "no", leading Chi Cheng to then ask "then, what is it?", showing that actually Wu Suowei is not against sleeping with Chi Cheng in the sense of it being a form of intimacy between them, but is still unable to go through it at present because of what the action would mean for his identity and for his future.
So I think that this is also a reflection about how close and vulnerable they have gotten with each other, and how it manifests in these kinds of 'silent' conversations with each other, where they might not be directly saying anything about a matter, but they're still communicating their feelings in a different way and understanding each other through those indirect messages. It's just that as Wu Suowei's conflictedness won't go away, even with his own self-awareness, I think Chi Cheng is (semi-jokingly) trying to find other ways to try and get Wu Suowei to react. So that Wu Suowei may find a way to overcome his fear, or for him to really understand/come to terms with what is blocking him (and because Chi Cheng is a bit viciously playful too).
I love this series with my whole heart - but I’m a little annoyed by the turn it has taken. I winced when CC…
I actually think that Chi Cheng is quite aware that Wu Suowei is struggling with this specific aspect, so I personally find that it's not a problem of miscommunication and more so an issue of Wu Suowei's sense of identity causing him a crisis in regards to his sexuality. The reason why I think Chi Cheng knows is because of how he's been subtly trying to address this very issue in a way that doesn't put too much pressure on Wu Suowei to have to respond immediately, whilst still trying to get to face and resolve the matter. The main things Chi Cheng does is physically probe or patiently wait. Examples of the former is in how he sneakily initiates kisses and touches to see what Wu Suowei is okay with (but ultimately respects Wu Suowei's boundaries -> we see this in the kiss scene in ep 10 where Wu Suowei's change of tone in his voice indicates when he is serious or just panicked, which signals to Chi Cheng how far he can go). Examples of the latter are in the many scenes in which Chi Cheng doesn't initiate anything sexual so that Wu Suowei can feel at ease, in order to be able to just affectionately be around each other without having to discuss the topic of having sex. This is prominent in the last few episodes in scenes such as when Wu Suowei misses Chi Cheng and touches himself, and then Chi Cheng arrives, sees him, and just lays beside him without doing anything else (even gives a verbal affirmation, which allows Wu Suowei to relax, and we see Wu Suowei stare at Chi Cheng lovingly as CC sleeps). Another thing that Chi Cheng does in the most recent episode is verbally address the matter directly, where he says : "so you really don't want to sleep with me?" and Wu Suowei answers "no", showing that actually Wu Suowei is not against sleeping with Chi Cheng in the sense of it being a form of intimacy between them, but is still unable to go through it at present because of what the action would mean for his identity and for his future. So I think that, as you mention, they have gotten really close and vulnerable with each other, and this includes their 'silent' conversations with each other about this kind of topic, where they might not be directly saying anything about it but they're still communicating in a different way and understanding each other in that sense. It's just that Wu Suowei's conflictedness won't go away, even with his own self-awareness, and I think that's why Chi Cheng is (semi-jokingly) trying to find other ways to try and get Wu Suowei to really find a way out of his fear, or for him to really understannd/come to terms with what is blocking him
Another great, long but easy read from Liltsu! May I start by saying that I appreciate you for basically speaking…
Thank you I'm so happy to have received any kind of response but especially receiving comments as thoughtful and insightful as yours! I agree, I think it's really important that stories don't have to have characters that perfectly apply ideal moral standards, and also explore a unique dynamic between individuals. I also think that there's value in debating about how things are represented and why. With characters like Wu Suowei and Chi Cheng, what's so refreshing and meaningful in this story (and on my view, one of the reasons why I think this series has kind of revived people's interest in BL/made people so invested in this series in a way I haven't seen in a while) is due to how it actually allows the characters to explore each other's boundaries. A lot of characters behave within a pre-determined set of values and norms that don't really relate to their personal relationship with the other character, but simply follow a line of logic that doesn't 'cross the moral line' for viewers. But the issue is that, as humans, we develop intimate and vulnerable connections with people when we are as we are: morally complex, ambiguous, and flawed. This also includes positive flaws and can draw positive outcomes because it is through a spectrum of good, bad, and everything in between, that we feel close to others. This includes the relationship between character and viewer. Revenged Love doesn't try to evade or erase those conflicting norms or controversial aspects of life, it addresses and faces norms (even prejudiced ones) to then be able to transcend them, and that creates the feeling of excitement in the relationship coming across as 'real' or 'vivid' to the viewer. It feels like watching detailed characters rather than tropes, in a bl series. One fairly simple example is in Wu Suowei's reaction to Jiang Xiao Shuai's sexuality as a gay man. Wu Suowei is first shocked and kind of jokingly evades his touch when he immediately finds out, which reflects a form of internalised homophobia. But in the next scene of them together, Wu Suowei is comfortably walking around half-naked, oblivious to Jiang Xiao Shuai's amusement, and when Jiang Xiao Shuaiiang hints at it, Wu Suowei nonchalantly remembers "Oh, that's right, forgot you liked men", completely unbothered and clearly accepting of Jiang Xiao Shuai's sexuality, whilst their friendship is as close as it's ever been. I think that the detail of his first reaction is an acknowledgement of the reality that straightness is societally treated as the default due to heteronormativity, and therefore that affects queer people/the way that queer people are treated or how they come out to others (even though the scene itself is literally comedic, it's a way of acknowledging it). Yet Wu Suowei's quick nonchalance reflects the way the series is conveying that there's nothing wrong with queerness, as well as Wu Suowei's characteristics as a person who is open and thinks critically (the idea that we all have internalised prejudice in some ways due to societal norms, but the difference is in how we then choose to think consciously, and how that changes through exposure). Not entirely satisfied with how I worded this but hopefully it makes sense or is interesting in any way. I'm really excited for the next eps, and thank you again
thats was amazing thoughts. as someone who has watched both revenged love and the beautiful man i would subject…
thank you, I really appreciate it and I'm happy to get your thoughts! Regarding all the elements you mentioned, I see what you mean and mostly agree. I think that's where the aspect of the characters being morally ambiguous comes in, and that their behaviours and actions are meant to be considered questionable at times or don't fit a normative standard of good or bad. We get to see their journey as people who go through moral changes and affect each other, just like you mentioned. I personally also like to think of the series itself as playing with norms, and that the series maybe is in some way, satirical about certain tropes too
Wow this is a very good analysis and you captured reasons why I love Chi Cheng and Wu Suo Wei so much is I love…
Thank you, I'm happy it was interesting, and I'm so grateful for your detailed and interesting response. I really agree with you regarding how Chi Cheng prioritises his emotional connection with Wu Suowei over the physical relationship he first wanted to have, and thus respects Wu Suowei's wish.
I love how you thought of the scene where WSW consoles Chi Cheng metaphorically. The idea that the door is a metaphor for Chi Cheng letting people into his heart or not. Just to add to your thoughts, thinking about it in that way, it's really interesting that previous scenes in which we saw Yue Yue at his place, we don't actually ever see her go through the door. She's already there with Chi Cheng, only because of his permission, and therefore conveys the image of him only entering his life within the extent of his use for her.
Whereas, as you mentioned, a lot of the scenes with Wu Suowei really emphasize the idea of him going in and out of the door, and being brought back in by Chi Cheng. Another thing to add in continuation with your metaphor, is to think about when Yue Yue hired the two guys to break into Chi Cheng's home (to kill the snake), we can think of it as being metaphorical of how Yue Yue tries to (literally) force her way into Chi Cheng's heart, and not only fails to, but is stopped by none other than Wu Suowei. Therefore, further conveying the idea that Wu Suowei already has Chi Cheng's love.
Wow on behalf of all of us, avid fans of this incredible drama, thank you for your deep thoughts! I really enjoyed…
Thank you so much for your comment/sharing your thoughts and I'm really pleased you found my thoughts enjoyable to read! And agreed, their flaws as characters aren't meant to justify a power imbalance between the characters or to stay as a trope, the flaws seem to deeply characterise the leads and affect their vision of life/wants/focuses/interactions in ways where we see their development as you mentioned. Plus the fact that the characters are treated as equals in terms of their abilities and awareness, they're on par. I like to think that these kinds of stories also feel more human in certain respects because the characters aren't as morally polished but the story actually delves into this so that it doesn't make the characters fixed in their morality either, just like people in real life
I love your thorough, comprehensive analysis! I enjoyed reading this, especially since a lot of my ideas are similar…
Thank you so much and also for taking the time to reply ^^ I really agree on how Wu Suowei's charms bring something refreshing to the story (Chi Cheng as well ofc), and personally I think that part of the reason why is due to how Wu Suowei is quite self-aware/aware, even when we joke about his denial regarding his feelings for Chi Cheng. He's clearly very astute and so it's satisfying to see how things unfold (and through his ploys too), because the story is driven by him rather than by common plot devices such as misunderstandings (the kind where the characters are actually oblivious/don't reconsider or reflect more deeply on it). This aspect of Wu Suowei also contributes to the relationship feeling equal because both characters feel fleshed out and have agency, which isn't necessarily always the norm in most romances. Probably also why BL series are so beloved as they tend to have characters that tend to be more equal to one another. But since some BL series do impose gender roles, making the relationship feel unequal, I think that Revenged Love's popularity is a testament to when an audience can feel, whether consciously or subconsciously, that the leads are equals in essence.
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I find it really compelling that the series doesn’t portray scheming as inherently bad but as something neutral, with elements of deceit, sincerity or a mixture.
Just like how Chi Cheng explains his own definition of scheming where he differentiates it from purely lying. I was thinking about how typically a lot of other series will depict scheming as an ulterior motive that the protagonist tries to achieve out of necessity and typically involving a third party. For instance, in Unintentional Love Story (which I really like), the protagonist approaches his love interest because he recently lost his job, and if he can get his love interest (a ceramic artist) to collaborate with his company, he’s been promised that he would get his job back. The scheming is almost a parallel story to the ongoing romance, and ceases after the scheming is found out and forgiven.
Another common depiction of scheming is when a character doesn’t really take the scheming seriously, and it’s more of a playful ’response’ to the other character. In Love In The Air for example (which I also really like), Rain initially wants to ’get back’ at Payu but it’s more of an impulsive thought he goes along with, and which transforms into an open commitment to Payu to date him within the first two episodes. Likewise, the scheming on Rain’s end stops afterwards, it’s more so Payu who is one sidedly scheming in a teasing manner, which also sort of fades or remains playful teasing as his relationship becomes official with Rain.
In Revenged Love, all the characters scheme and have their individual methods and awareness of the scheming of other characters, the scheming is also defined by a more precise and calculated intent. To me, the series is thus commenting on how scheming is an essential aspect of human relationships and human identity, and not simply an act of villainy, necessity or a character quirk (which I would say is the case for Payu). I find Dabao’s scheming particularly touching because it intertwines and reflects his considerateness towards others. I really want to highlight the word ’considerate’, because it’s a key part of his characterisation. Given Wu Suowei’s cleverness in his scheming, we know that Wu Suowei being mistreated by his ex-girlfriend and former boss wasn’t due to his lack of awareness of the mistreatment or even of their intentions, but rather a result of his considerateness. Afterall, to be considerate, one has to consider other people’s feelings and circumstances. When one is considerate, there is a common tendency to put other’s needs over one’s own (not to say that one should have to to be considerate, just that I think people who are considerate seem to often do so). This is because, being considerate often involves believing that people have their own reasons, or even that you are the one in the wrong and need to make up for it (even if you truly aren’t in the wrong, just like in Wu Suowei’s case).
As such, when Wu Suowei finally breaks up with Yue Yue and loses his job, he is no longer willing to put up with being disparaged and looked down on. I find it really interesting that this transition is signalled by a scheme. As though scheming was a way to be more in tune with his own feelings, wants, desires and relation towards others, and a way for his considerateness to be exacted in a way that doesn’t put himself down but rather reflects his own agency as a person. The thing with scheming in many series is that it’s often done by one character onto another in a way that can partially or even sometimes completely dehumanise the other person, making them lose their sense of agency. However, in Revenged Love, because all of the characters scheme and are aware of it (even if not all of the details), they are equals, and all are depicted with agency. It intruigues me then that the series places a lot of emphasis on the idea that the scheming in the series isn’t the same as a puppeteer controlling puppets with reactions that he can always predict and use. Scheming is a form of dialogue, where the characters are three dimensional and will break out of the ways they are being used (even if without any ill-intent) in schemes. One of my favourite scenes of this so far is in the scene where Wu Suowei prepares to tell Chi Cheng his whole plan, and that his ex-girlfriend was Yue Yue. He anticipates Chi Cheng’s reactions step by step, and it’s an endearingly comedic moment (once again, not a purely negative association in the scheming) because it shows how well he can mimic Chi Cheng and how brilliant the plan is to allow them to address and resolve the issue by using the opportunity of mentioning Chi Cheng’s most recent scheme. Chi Cheng then doesn’t try to justify himself and instead apologises, which completely flips Wu Suowei’s plan on its head, as he transcends the scheme, showing how even with the scheming they remain full-fledged as people and indeed retain their agency.
I find it even more interesting that there is a dual scheme going on: it's heavily implied that Chi Cheng has his own subtle scheme (even if I think Chi Cheng was ready to admit his wrong due to guilt, but still) to distract Wu Suowei with the food and new clothes to prevent conflict, but these only work momentarily. Wu Suowei insists on bringing up the topic afterall, breaking out of a role where he's a puppet in a scheme, but rather a person with intentions interacting with others with intentions, without it necessarily being seen as an inherently dishonest/bad aspect of the characters. That's why when Wang Shuo appears, I find it touching how Wu Suowei reacts to the situation. He addresses it first-hand instead of pretending to be oblivious, and it feels as though Wu Suowei's new "scheme" is showing his ways of handling a situation to ensure that he can reach a certain wish/goal but without imposing his own feelings onto the situation to neglect the other. It's a way to be sincere to his feelings and sincere to Chi cheng's. Instead of forcefully clinging to Chi Cheng or inserting demands or distance himself emotionally, his method is to actually give Chi Cheng, who is conflicted, space for his own feelings and even encourages him to meet up with Wang Shuo without hostile pettiness or even sarcasm.
It shows his considerateness towards Chi Cheng in preparing the situation so that their relationship suffers the least as possible from this, with the intent to ultimately hope and have Chi Cheng find closure and have their relationship continue as usual.
The series explores every character's scheming as forms of revelation towards themselves and others, allowing them to understand each other more profoundly.
[Hope this makes sense / was interesting and thank you to anyone who read this far ^^]
As we’ve discussed before, Chi Cheng is clearly a morally grey character who is meant to be seen as such (in my view), and who could be considered to sexual harass/forces some physical touch on Wu Suowei in certain scenes, even if there is nuance. This is just a reflection, and not something to justify any morally wrongful actions with (particularly a sensitive and important issue like consent), but I find it interesting that it brings something humane to the series. A human aspect that is typically avoided or straight up erased from a lot of media nowadays, and if it’s not, it’s typically either done in one of two ways: it vulgarly romanticises/normalises SA or shows the reality of the violence and trauma it brings.
In Revenged Love, there is something unusual going on, and if I had to put words to it, I think it’s partially due to the acknowledged moral ambiguity of the narrative, and also the emphasis on the uniqueness of individual expression in human relationships, which means that a character’s actions should be judged by: its specific context, the intentions of the specific characters, and their way of understanding and communicating with each other (so no longer purely associating a moral label by how things look on the surface, and more by what they mean in the represented relationship, which I also touched on in a previous comment). I personally believe that viewers of any kind of media actually subconsciously and also at times consciously sense these meanings (even if everyone will have their own interpretation), but therefore, when a collective has a strong reaction, and a majority feel a certain way, to me it reflects something the series purposefully does (in this case a lot of people describing the feeling of finding Revenged Love as literally making them feel ‘revived’ or enthralled by the series in a way they haven’t in a long time).
It’s the result of a myriad of details in the subtext of the series that comes together to create that feeling, and therefore, identifying what exactly is the cause of those feelings, aka what the series is doing, leads us to realise even more about how other media might repress or avoid, or exclude/include certain things that we don’t notice. That is, until we come across a story like this one, that lets us see how we are affected by the a lot of media’s ‘avoidance of immorality’. Which can, without us realising it, cause a disconnect or feeling of passiveness when we watch other shows because of the other parts of the show that are pleasant. Yet it therefore blocks the experience of the viewer in other ways, because, as humans, we are inevitably multifaceted and therefore in some ways, immoral, so it leaves a vital part of our humanity unaddressed.
So with Chi Cheng, I had the sudden thought that the reason why his forcefulness and insistence on sexual interactions neither feels offputting (or if it does, it’s part of the moral complexity of his character) nor as though it’s romanticising it truly either, is because…it’s frantic. Simply put, Chi Cheng’s lust is honest. All of Chi Cheng’s actions pretty much reflect his unfiltered desire for sex, and as the episodes develop, it becomes his desire for Wu Suowei as a person, which he neither hides nor uses to neglect Wu Suowei’s feelings. It’s something for Wu Suowei to answer to. Not just a one way street. It communicates something, which requires mutual interlocutors. A lot of media normalises SA as something that is ‘natural’ for a character to do or negates the other character’s feelings. And there’s something interesting about how an uneven dynamic in a relationship with aspects of SA tend to be characterised by deceit. That’s why a lot of stories that don’t even have a lack of consent sexually, feel somehow similarly dishonest and imbalanced because the characters, for example,might not have the same level of awareness and therefore agency to be on the same level. One quick example is Cutie Pie, where the relationship feels unequal even though it appears to abide by conventional moral principles on the surface, as Hia Lian knows everything and even makes decision for the both of them on his own whilst the protagonist remains unaware. And again on the surface, it can come across as adorable because Hia Lian is just trying to protect the person he loves, but the approach of the series renders Kuea into a character who is unable to be part of the relationship as an equal (and interestingly this kind of writing is the most common in straight couples as it’s often dictated by gender roles).
In Revenged Love, the bold interactions between the characters don’t follow a conventional and perfect moral frame. Instead, here, it becomes a conversation about Chi Cheng and Wu Suowei’s boundaries, which is the literal main plot line at present (which to me shows that it’s neither romanticising = pretending nothing’s wrong, nor categorising it in a black-and-white moral box). The human aspect comes in with the fact that since it does become a metaphorical ‘conversation’, the characters are playing within that conversation, just like them playing with each other on a basketball court. There are general rules in formal basketball, but for their personal relationship, they inspect the rules, break the rules, play with the rules, and go over them again to come with agreed upon rules (through their understanding of each other and unconventional way of communicating their boundaries). But I think what a lot of media struggles to acknowledge, becomes it inevitably dabbles in morally grey territory as well, is that, as humans, we also find emotional intimacy in the flexibility of those rules.
Of course there are limits to what ‘lines not to cross’ for full-fledged characters you could argue, but the humane aspect about it is experimenting with each other’s boundaries with respect to the other person’s wellbeing. And in my opinion, that is something that the series really explores through Chi Cheng and Wu Suowei really well. For instance, with the scene in EP10 where Chi Cheng asks Wu Suowei directly if he really does not want to sleep with him, and Suowei says ‘no/it’s not that’, reflecting the core of their relationship as equals (which is marked by the fact that there’s a mutual awareness and understanding of each other, and that Chi Cheng cares about Wu Suowei’s agency).
It means there will be morally questionable aspects that can be difficult to interpret, but it also means that there’s something that feels truthful, endearing and human about their relationship, that I believe is one of the reasons why the series is getting such an intense following. People feel that the story is not immobilised by a sense of ‘stiffness’ or ‘restraint’ in character interactions, because the characters are actually delving bluntly into verbal and physical behaviours (here i don’t necessarily mean sexual/romantic) that are based on raw feelings or thoughts, not held back by a polished template for morality. So it feels less like watching Trope 1 and Trope 2 interact, and more like watching Chi Cheng and Wu Suowei (the individuals) interact. They affect one another, they have fears, desires, ulterior motives, schemes, sincerity and affection that can be expressed in their own way, which might lead to a mistake in judgement or in testing one another’s lines.
Especially the dialogue really plays with heteronormative thinking by introducing it plainly and directly, and then breaking it apart in the most unexpected ways (ex; the very premise itself -> heteronormative thinking = Wu Suowei is a guy that had a girlfriend, and who now must earn his pride back vs transcending that norm = Wu Suowei is going to seduce THE GUY to take revenge?? In conclusion = reveals the absurdity and fragility of societal norms within society), which leads to reactions of laughter and/or excitement and investment, because the viewer feels freed by it too.
So yeah, just some thoughts I had which I wanted to express (sorry if it’s quite long-winded), of course my thoughts evolve throughout the show too but what I’ve written is something I do think is true for this series. Thank you to anyone who read this far! Again, I’d be happy to hear anyone’s thoughts as well^^
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7525618354862738710
And Wu Suowei saying it's his first time having feelings for a guy when he watches Chi Cheng fight lol
I actually think that Chi Cheng is quite aware that Wu Suowei is struggling with this specific aspect of not wanting to go through with sex (as a pyschological blockage), so I personally find that it's not a problem of miscommunication and more so an issue of Wu Suowei's sense of identity causing him a crisis in regards to his sexuality. The reason why I think Chi Cheng knows is because of how he's been subtly trying to address this very issue in a way that doesn't put too much pressure on Wu Suowei to have to respond immediately, whilst still trying to get Wu Suowei to face and resolve the matter. The main things Chi Cheng does is physically probe or patiently wait. Examples of the former is in how he sneakily initiates kisses and touches to see what Wu Suowei is okay with (but ultimately respects Wu Suowei's boundaries -> we see this in the kiss scene in ep 10 where Wu Suowei's change of tone in his voice indicates when he is serious or just panicked, which signals to Chi Cheng how far he can go).
Examples of the latter are in the many scenes in which Chi Cheng doesn't initiate anything sexual so that Wu Suowei can feel at ease, in order to be able to just affectionately be around each other without having to discuss the topic of having sex. This is prominent in the last few episodes in scenes such as when Wu Suowei misses Chi Cheng and touches himself, and then Chi Cheng arrives, sees him, and just lays beside him without doing anything else (even gives a verbal affirmation, which allows Wu Suowei to relax, and we see Wu Suowei stare at Chi Cheng lovingly as CC sleeps).
Another thing that Chi Cheng does in the most recent episode is verbally address the matter directly, where he says : "so you really don't want to sleep with me?" and Wu Suowei answers "no", leading Chi Cheng to then ask "then, what is it?", showing that actually Wu Suowei is not against sleeping with Chi Cheng in the sense of it being a form of intimacy between them, but is still unable to go through it at present because of what the action would mean for his identity and for his future.
So I think that this is also a reflection about how close and vulnerable they have gotten with each other, and how it manifests in these kinds of 'silent' conversations with each other, where they might not be directly saying anything about a matter, but they're still communicating their feelings in a different way and understanding each other through those indirect messages. It's just that as Wu Suowei's conflictedness won't go away, even with his own self-awareness, I think Chi Cheng is (semi-jokingly) trying to find other ways to try and get Wu Suowei to react. So that Wu Suowei may find a way to overcome his fear, or for him to really understand/come to terms with what is blocking him (and because Chi Cheng is a bit viciously playful too).
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7525236738420149526
I love how you thought of the scene where WSW consoles Chi Cheng metaphorically. The idea that the door is a metaphor for Chi Cheng letting people into his heart or not. Just to add to your thoughts, thinking about it in that way, it's really interesting that previous scenes in which we saw Yue Yue at his place, we don't actually ever see her go through the door. She's already there with Chi Cheng, only because of his permission, and therefore conveys the image of him only entering his life within the extent of his use for her.
Whereas, as you mentioned, a lot of the scenes with Wu Suowei really emphasize the idea of him going in and out of the door, and being brought back in by Chi Cheng. Another thing to add in continuation with your metaphor, is to think about when Yue Yue hired the two guys to break into Chi Cheng's home (to kill the snake), we can think of it as being metaphorical of how Yue Yue tries to (literally) force her way into Chi Cheng's heart, and not only fails to, but is stopped by none other than Wu Suowei. Therefore, further conveying the idea that Wu Suowei already has Chi Cheng's love.