just posting my caption from my edit if anyone's curious to read my thoughts on Wu Suowei's motive:
whilst his plan seems petty, i like that the series shows us that wu suowei's experience of being seen as "lesser" is a real form of pain to him, and is the driving motivation behind his actions. it seems less like he's simply trying to hurt the people he felt betrayed by, and more a way for him to prove that he's "worthy" as a person too, of respect and love. so i find it quite intruiging to see that even though wu suowei is deceiving chi cheng (and chi cheng can tell something's up), wu suowei is also genuinely affected by his interactions with chi cheng (a figure who doesn't need wu suowei to be wealthy, nor of high status, as well as chi cheng is the one putting up with wu suowei instead of the other way around - as wu suowei is the one used to putting up with other people's mistreatment of him). instead, wu suowei, for the first time, is kind of breaking the walls of heteronormativity in his own life, in how he experiences his own value: making himself pursued instead of being the pursuer, and how that experience is sort of toppling the expectations around his identity and making him rethink and play with gender roles/toxic masculinity. plus, the fact that it's in the hospital that wu suowei "restarts" in episode 1, and that the rest of the series takes place in said hospital as his new "home", really leans toward the metaphor of wu suowei having a "wound of the heart". a wound which he is trying to treat and heal through his plot for revenge. it's why I particularly like the scene where Chi cheng is with Wu suo wei at the clinic/hospital, and chi cheng is treating the injury on wu suowei's head (caused by the people he's trying to take revenge in), as though to further insinuate that their ongoing relationship is and will truly impact wu suowei emotionally and is more profound than simply him trying to get back at someone, and will allow him to really grow.
This is filmed in Mainland China but it's not airing in China, that's why they don't need to censor anything this…
out of curiosity, wouldn't chinese bls still make a lot of money because the international audience will really latch onto a series like this one (it's already building a lot of hype on social media) or is it not enough solely due to its inaccessibility in mainland china?
I think this is the same problem that High School return of a Gangster suffered from. They wanted to make a re-make…
I totally agree with you, I’ve not seen Return of a Ganster and that makes me curious to watch it to compare(it’s a shame if it sounds like they didn’t keep the romance explicit)
Mm, it seems I was far too quick to judge (or not judge rather) the inclusion of the CY + JI couple instead of…
You explained it in such good detail (much clearer than I could) and neatly explained the reasons as to why I think the choice of focus on the characters is so detrimental to Seungwon and Heesu’s relationship so far (thank you for your comment and the witty way you wrote ’numero 1’ and ’numero dos’ made me laugh haha)
Whilst I am enjoying Heesu in Class 2, I personally find it disheartening that, for a drama that has 10 episodes, we're four episodes in and we've barely gotten long interactions between our main leads (Heesu and Seungwon) whilst the drama keeps focusing on other aspects such as Heesu's sisters, Chanyoung's wish to continue tennis and Chanyoung & JiYu's relationship. I'll explain in more detail why I think so:
If this was a 16 episode drama with 1h long episodes, I'd just trust the process but we're nearly half-way through and episode 4 has like 3 minutes of interaction between Heesu and Seungwon total, whilst Chanyoung and Ji Yu's scene in the basement on its own is five consecutive minutes, not even including the rest of their scenes in the same episode, and series so far, when their romance didn't exist in the manhwa (please correct me if I'm wrong).
I understand this might change in the long run, and maybe once the series is complete I might have a completely different opinion; because who knows, maybe the rest of the episodes will fully focus on Heesu and Seungwon and make up for it (whilst the first episodes will then be considered to have just set up the circumstances). But I just wanted to vent a little bit, because (and this is my own speculation) it seems to be a conscious decision from the creators of the series, based on their handling of the trailer, to minimise the queerness of the story to make it more palatable to a mainstream audience.
I think that this is not done out of intentional ill-will, because I think that the trailer for example and their current execution of the series seems to try and have avoided attention from homophobic audiences that would try and protest against the series which may have affected the release of Heesu in Class 2 and could affect the actors' careers. In other words, it could be down to understandable caution. My impression that this isn't done out of ill-will is reinforced with how Heesu in Class 2 is openly and explicitly showing that Heesu and Seungwon do have feelings as men toward other male characters, so it is acknowledging the queerness of the story and correctly adapting the characters' feelings. But it's still lame to say the least (how they're diverting the attention away from them as much as possible).
However, I still think that the series can be criticised thus far for the way it is giving far too much screentime to other elements than the queerness (when it has such as short run time), when the queerness is supposed to be the central aspect of the original story. Thus in a sense, masking the queerness as much as possible (so far) almost as though to satisfy a heteronormative audience, whilst not fully enraging the original fans of the story or a queer audience. At least it's much better than dramas adapted from queer manhwas/novels who completely erase the explicitly queer elements and I do really appreciate the ways in which Heesu in Class 2 is graciously depicting Heesu' feelings for Chanyoung explicity, showcasing his fear of being outed and his general experience with his queer identity (+Seungwon in episode 4 even admitting to his feelings for Heesu).
I also find it aggravating that the scenes between Seungwon and Heesu have been cut down in such a way where when Seungwon invites Heesu to eat chicken with him for example, then the scene gets cut (we don't see this interaction) and most of their interactions are shown in 'flashbacks' of Seungwon's perspective (and them being visually separate, both in terms of the shots - a lot of the time - but also in terms of the physical space + with rapid transitions into different short moments), whilst Chanyoung and Ji yu's relationship is always shown in the present moment, and often with them spending time physically close (and we stay with them in those moments).
Once again, maybe I'll be proven wrong (I want to be) in the coming episodes, and I understand that these episodes can still be considered to be the 'establishing' episodes, but I just wanted to express the hurt I felt for how the explicit queerness of stories are so often reduced, chopped up and sometimes even erased and how that reflects an exclusivity toward queerness. All in all, Heesu in Class 2 is otherwise really well acted, and I love the style of pacing that they use (with how dynamic the cuts are in general), the script is engaging, whilst the characters are endearing and fun to follow but it feels hollow not to focus on Seungwon and Heesu more, making the story as a whole feel lacking. I wonder if anyone feels the same way, and what I said is not at all in an attempt to disregard the effort and positive elements of this BL series; i'd be curious to know if anyone has similar or differing thoughts. And thank you for reading this far if you have
love every bit of it.. left a comment but i'd like to say this too .. their unfiltered conversations were something…
thank you so much for the lovely comments (both here and on my edit itself), i found it fulfilling to hear about your thoughts through them (sorry it took me a while to respond to you, i haven't been online much recently). Agreed for the conversations, i found it extremely refreshing as well when they found out about each other's identities that Sei was already anticipating that their conversations would either cease or become 'filtered' as now their veil of anonymity was breached (reflecting this idea of putting up a social mask once that has been revealed, because it is harder to continue writing in an honest manner when you know that the person 'knows' you, even if you had unfiltered exchanged before), and yet how hagiwara immediately invites him out again, showing how he intends on keeping contact with Sei like before. I think those details helped reinforced the depth of their bond so that when they eventually decide to be together at the end, even though it's still rushed, their decision doesnt feel out of place
I found their ending exchange of dialogue underwhelming, leading up to a stiff Mannequin Kiss. By episode 6 Sei…
that's fair, i also wished we could see more of sei's expressiveness with hagiwara (which could have been explored had we gotten an extra episode or two, showing their life together post-events), but also like that the characters had continuity in their characterisation within the short period of time we saw them in the series
I love your edit. Initially, I felt there weren't enough intimate moments in the show, but when I saw your edit…
sorry for the late reply! thank you so much ^^ and ikr, i tried to enhance the subtlety of the emotion within their physically intimate moments so i'm really glad to hear if it came across! Nine days later and i still wish there could be an extra episode but i'm glad we at least got an ending with them together after all the build up
I also wanted to portray Sei and Kazuaki's (=Hagiwara's) relationship now that the series ended. It's a shame there wasn't an extra episode that would allow us to see more of them together now that everything has been resolved, but I'm pleased the protagonists explicitly stated they like one another and plan to stay with one another. Also wanted to note that although I agree the ending was a bit rushed, I still liked how the protagonists' expressed themselves at the end because it reflects their personalities well, and is still quite powerful emotionally in my view. The intensity simply isn't in a grand, noticeable gesture or shocking statement, but there is a lot of detail in the characters' facial expressions when they lock eyes. Especially when Sei confesses, i found it to be intense, with the detail of him looking straight at Kazuaki and saying it in an unwavering manner. Since he is a character who is "short with words" and looks rather indifferent (as it is canonically how he is personality-wise even to other characters), this gesture speaks volumes. I thought the same earlier in the episode when Sei laughed heartily when his old friend commented on the meat, only because it reminded Sei of Kazuaki, whereas he barely ever smiles or laughs in the series, and the only times he really does is when he is thinking about Kazuaki or is in his presence. Likewise, whilst for Sei it's the smile that reveals his emotions, for Kazuaki it's his eyes. He looks at Sei as though he is focused on nothing else but him, and as though he cares deeply about what Sei thinks or how he reacts. His gaze also appears endeared and moved by Sei. So whilst I do wish there was more and that the story had been tied up better, I disagree that the scene in and of itself was not conveyed with an intense emotional intimacy. That to me was very present.
thanks for asking, i'm pleased! the thing is, i only post compilations on youtube so i might post it in a while within a longer compilation and I don't post edits on Insta T.T . Does X/Twitter work for you? here is the link to the post on X if you were having trouble accessing it and would prefer it instead of tiktok:
1
1
whilst his plan seems petty, i like that the series shows us that wu suowei's experience of being seen as "lesser" is a real form of pain to him, and is the driving motivation behind his actions. it seems less like he's simply trying to hurt the people he felt betrayed by, and more a way for him to prove that he's "worthy" as a person too, of respect and love. so i find it quite intruiging to see that even though wu suowei is deceiving chi cheng (and chi cheng can tell something's up), wu suowei is also genuinely affected by his interactions with chi cheng (a figure who doesn't need wu suowei to be wealthy, nor of high status, as well as chi cheng is the one putting up with wu suowei instead of the other way around - as wu suowei is the one used to putting up with other people's mistreatment of him). instead, wu suowei, for the first time, is kind of breaking the walls of heteronormativity in his own life, in how he experiences his own value: making himself pursued instead of being the pursuer, and how that experience is sort of toppling the expectations around his identity and making him rethink and play with gender roles/toxic masculinity. plus, the fact that it's in the hospital that wu suowei "restarts" in episode 1, and that the rest of the series takes place in said hospital as his new "home", really leans toward the metaphor of wu suowei having a "wound of the heart". a wound which he is trying to treat and heal through his plot for revenge. it's why I particularly like the scene where Chi cheng is with Wu suo wei at the clinic/hospital, and chi cheng is treating the injury on wu suowei's head (caused by the people he's trying to take revenge in), as though to further insinuate that their ongoing relationship is and will truly impact wu suowei emotionally and is more profound than simply him trying to get back at someone, and will allow him to really grow.
LINK TO EDIT: https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7517722806805728534
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7516974135482862870
I really really like the series so far and i'm genuinely excited for the rest to come out
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7516719491896642839?lang=en
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts
"Falling down"
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7510619356540226838?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=mobile&sender_web_id=7510667973003216406
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7510352928943688982?lang=en
If this was a 16 episode drama with 1h long episodes, I'd just trust the process but we're nearly half-way through and episode 4 has like 3 minutes of interaction between Heesu and Seungwon total, whilst Chanyoung and Ji Yu's scene in the basement on its own is five consecutive minutes, not even including the rest of their scenes in the same episode, and series so far, when their romance didn't exist in the manhwa (please correct me if I'm wrong).
I understand this might change in the long run, and maybe once the series is complete I might have a completely different opinion; because who knows, maybe the rest of the episodes will fully focus on Heesu and Seungwon and make up for it (whilst the first episodes will then be considered to have just set up the circumstances). But I just wanted to vent a little bit, because (and this is my own speculation) it seems to be a conscious decision from the creators of the series, based on their handling of the trailer, to minimise the queerness of the story to make it more palatable to a mainstream audience.
I think that this is not done out of intentional ill-will, because I think that the trailer for example and their current execution of the series seems to try and have avoided attention from homophobic audiences that would try and protest against the series which may have affected the release of Heesu in Class 2 and could affect the actors' careers. In other words, it could be down to understandable caution. My impression that this isn't done out of ill-will is reinforced with how Heesu in Class 2 is openly and explicitly showing that Heesu and Seungwon do have feelings as men toward other male characters, so it is acknowledging the queerness of the story and correctly adapting the characters' feelings. But it's still lame to say the least (how they're diverting the attention away from them as much as possible).
However, I still think that the series can be criticised thus far for the way it is giving far too much screentime to other elements than the queerness (when it has such as short run time), when the queerness is supposed to be the central aspect of the original story. Thus in a sense, masking the queerness as much as possible (so far) almost as though to satisfy a heteronormative audience, whilst not fully enraging the original fans of the story or a queer audience. At least it's much better than dramas adapted from queer manhwas/novels who completely erase the explicitly queer elements and I do really appreciate the ways in which Heesu in Class 2 is graciously depicting Heesu' feelings for Chanyoung explicity, showcasing his fear of being outed and his general experience with his queer identity (+Seungwon in episode 4 even admitting to his feelings for Heesu).
I also find it aggravating that the scenes between Seungwon and Heesu have been cut down in such a way where when Seungwon invites Heesu to eat chicken with him for example, then the scene gets cut (we don't see this interaction) and most of their interactions are shown in 'flashbacks' of Seungwon's perspective (and them being visually separate, both in terms of the shots - a lot of the time - but also in terms of the physical space + with rapid transitions into different short moments), whilst Chanyoung and Ji yu's relationship is always shown in the present moment, and often with them spending time physically close (and we stay with them in those moments).
Once again, maybe I'll be proven wrong (I want to be) in the coming episodes, and I understand that these episodes can still be considered to be the 'establishing' episodes, but I just wanted to express the hurt I felt for how the explicit queerness of stories are so often reduced, chopped up and sometimes even erased and how that reflects an exclusivity toward queerness. All in all, Heesu in Class 2 is otherwise really well acted, and I love the style of pacing that they use (with how dynamic the cuts are in general), the script is engaging, whilst the characters are endearing and fun to follow but it feels hollow not to focus on Seungwon and Heesu more, making the story as a whole feel lacking. I wonder if anyone feels the same way, and what I said is not at all in an attempt to disregard the effort and positive elements of this BL series; i'd be curious to know if anyone has similar or differing thoughts. And thank you for reading this far if you have
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts?lang=en
Curious to see how Phu will react to Cir's return in the next episode
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7473651146566012162
I also wanted to portray Sei and Kazuaki's (=Hagiwara's) relationship now that the series ended. It's a shame there wasn't an extra episode that would allow us to see more of them together now that everything has been resolved, but I'm pleased the protagonists explicitly stated they like one another and plan to stay with one another. Also wanted to note that although I agree the ending was a bit rushed, I still liked how the protagonists' expressed themselves at the end because it reflects their personalities well, and is still quite powerful emotionally in my view. The intensity simply isn't in a grand, noticeable gesture or shocking statement, but there is a lot of detail in the characters' facial expressions when they lock eyes. Especially when Sei confesses, i found it to be intense, with the detail of him looking straight at Kazuaki and saying it in an unwavering manner. Since he is a character who is "short with words" and looks rather indifferent (as it is canonically how he is personality-wise even to other characters), this gesture speaks volumes. I thought the same earlier in the episode when Sei laughed heartily when his old friend commented on the meat, only because it reminded Sei of Kazuaki, whereas he barely ever smiles or laughs in the series, and the only times he really does is when he is thinking about Kazuaki or is in his presence. Likewise, whilst for Sei it's the smile that reveals his emotions, for Kazuaki it's his eyes. He looks at Sei as though he is focused on nothing else but him, and as though he cares deeply about what Sei thinks or how he reacts. His gaze also appears endeared and moved by Sei. So whilst I do wish there was more and that the story had been tied up better, I disagree that the scene in and of itself was not conveyed with an intense emotional intimacy. That to me was very present.
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7471810517527465238
❤️
https://x.com/liltsulil/status/1890451899452698707
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts
excited for the last episode and at the same time wishing there would be a special episode T.T