Hear me out (a bit of analysis about Top’s character). I just thought about how, if i didnt get it wrong, Top and Sand are the only two characters that specifically have a “i don’t sleep with the same person twice” policy. In the same vein, Sand has a curious animosity toward Top which i don’t believe has been explained yet but is very explicitly shown to be present. Most notably with Sand throwing a middle finger directly toward Top in the latest episode. I was thinking about whether or not these could be small clues about the two of them having had a more serious relationship in the past.
On another note, I truly believe that Top has, regardless, wanted a genuine relationship with someone deep down, but does not inherently trust people. So he sleeps around instead, unable to form a more serious or well-developed bond.
I think this is going to be the key focus of Top’s character arc: his ability to trust (or rather his lack thereof, and how he overcomes this). This is why, from my perspective at least, Top is a character who actually sincerely appreciates the moments he spends with Mew, and the refreshing perspective Mew offers about their activities and interactions. Especially as their encounters are not purely reliant on sexual intimacy, but rather on an interest in the actual person they are with. Top, for the very first time in a long time I’m sure, has come to meet someone who is interested in ‘Top’ as the person, and not just for their body, and is honest about it (unlike Boston). Even more importantly, there is a person now who actually explicitly lays down their boundaries with Top, and let’s Top see that they are a three dimensional person with feelings, fears, hopes and intentions, and not an object of desire.
I also believe that Mew’s persistent reminders of his own boundaries also makes Top feel safe. They make Top feel safe because it makes him feel like he can more easily begin to trust and open up more (as we have already seen with him confiding in Mew about his inability to sleep alone AND the reason why: it’s evident that he has already started to become vulnerable with him). However, as we have seen in the latest episode, Top can just as easily revert, and become closed off, hesitant and distrusting, leading him to do impulsive actions.
This is exactly what happened in the last scene we saw: Boston fed into Top’s fear of betrayal and trust issues, by pushing onward the narrative that Mew and Ray have kissed and have something going on. Especially with Boston underlining the notion that Top is just being used and manipulated, suggesting that Mew is only playing with him to get Ray’s attention. It once more planted the seeds of distrust into Top’s heart, and he reverted into his previous state: having sex with someone else, basically fooling around whilst he is in a relationship. Not to mention that in this case, he also broke his policy of not sleeping with the same person twice (which VERY interestingly is what Sand’s character was ready to do with Ray as well in this same episode).
In my view, this breach of Top’s own policy reflects the way that Top seeks sex for three main reasons (not including sexual urges): firstly, in this case specifically, as a self-soothing mechanism. As Top is unable to form deeper bonds with others due to his lack of trust, sex is a way to fulfill that gap, even if momentarily. He has sex with Boston a second time here, both as a way to symbolise his regression, but also to showcase the sort of anxiety-filled response he had to the possibility of his very fragile trust he’d started to build for Mew crumbling (a big source of fear).
Secondly, Top seeks sex as a way to have an excuse to stay next to someone at night, which, as we know, helps him sleep. As such, sex is also symbolically a form of self-protection and self-care. It’s also proof perhaps that he has not been able to disclose his insomnia and traumatic past to others, again due to his lack of faith in people. Ironically, in that case, sex is a means to keep people away. Ever heard of, keep your friends close and your enemies closer?
Lastly, sex is a sort of test for Top. A way to test people (very fitting for someone who has difficulty placing trust in others). It’s striking to remember that it is on the night that Top and Mew were supposed to have their ‘one night-stand’ (from Top’s POV), their first sexual encounter, that Top grows interested in Mew. Why is that? Because, contrarily to Top’s expectations, Mew does not want to have sex after all, but instead offers him to have ice-cream and even allows him to sleep over, allowing cuddles but no more. This is, in Top’s own words, a first. It’s as if all his one night stands were tests to see if any person would show something, anything, that meant that it was not just sex. And Mew gifted him that warmth: letting him stay with him even though they had already kissed.
I think this is something that Top is not fully conscious of but is definitely, in terms of emotions, something that he is following whole-heartedly without ulterior motives. I just think that he is easily influenceable by the likes of Boston, because Boston actively feeds into his fears, causing Top to self-sabotage his flowering relationship with Mew. Top is also clearly not used to openly communicating his troubles with other people, so I think that he’ll suppress everything and not ask (because, deep down, he is more afraid of the truth he’s assumed to hear the actual truth).
Mew and Top’s relationship is ultimately dependent on whether Top will be willing to trust and communicate with Mew openly going forward, not doing things one-sidedly like going to Boston (a complete third party) for ‘evidence’ rather than ask Mew directly, or even afterwards. And whether Mew will be understanding enough once he learns the truth about Top’s recent actions. I also hope that Mew does not kiss or have sex with Ray or anyone else. I feel like it could be tempting for him to do so based on the trailers, probably when he will feel betrayed by Top. But if it does happen, I hope that it would at least be in a scenario where he has already broken up with Top. If not, their relationship will be very difficult to salvage because it means they’ll have both become people who are distrusting of others (Top even more so than before in such events).
So yh, sorry for the rant but I’d thought it’d be fun to theorise. Thanks to anyone who read this far if any. If you have tho, PLEASE share your opinions bc i am v curious. Okie bye
The moment when Wu Bi’s father thought aloud: “what does [Wu Bi] really want?”, and then it immediately transitioned to showing Wu Bi staring at Su Yu spoke volumes. It’s a classic film technique for a character to pose a question and then the next shot answers it. This is the series’ way of telling us what we’ve all wanted to know. It’s probably the most cinematographically elegant way they could have confirmed to us that Wu Bi wants Su Yu.
OUF this is long but here are my thoughts on the romance of the story in the last two episodes:
That last scene, when the three of them are finally confronted with each other and Wu Bi states all the lies Ye Wanying has been spouting in front of Su Yu, saved me from being in full agony for a whole week before we get the next episodes haha.
Honestly, these episodes were so good in solidifying the romance between the leads, especially because the events would hold little weight if the characters didnt hold blooming feelings for one another and growing jealous (I’m thinking particularly of the scene where Wu Bi is hurt to find Su Yu having slept in the same room as Ye Wanying, an instant heartache that would not make sense if he did not have feelings for Su Yu).
It was especially relieving and satisfying to see the last scene of the two recent eps because Wu Bi (and partially Su Yu) realised at that moment, that Ye Wanying had been untruthful, manipulating the situation to separate them. I was worried we’d have to go a week with both protagonists believing in the misunderstandings that had been caused.
The reason I say that Su Yu has partially realised is because, even if he has not understood yet that Ye Wanying has been orchestrating these lies (unlike Wu Bi who knows everything now, with the only exception being that he thinks Su Yu still has feelings for her), he has now witnessed Wu Bi declaring that Ye Wanying has been lying. Su Yu is an intelligent character, and all the more, he understands Wu Bi’s straight-forward personality: that he would not state the things he did if they were untrue. So, even though we saw that Su Yu is still unsure as to whether Wu Bi actually has feelings for Ye Wanying or not (and only because Wu Bi didn’t say anything when Su Yu directly asked, out of frustration), it has still planted the seeds of healthy doubt that we need for our leads to finally reunite.
I also really like that that the last episode truly asserted the fact that Su Yu is developing feelings for Wu Bi. I had been worried about that factor, because, to me, thus far, Wu Bi had seemed more obvious about his interest toward Su Yu. In fact, with the ambiguity beforehand of the romance, Wu Bi’s attitude toward Su Yu kept giving me hope that this would indeed be a romance and not bait. But I was still concerned about how they would portray Su Yu, because his attitude verged more toward that ambiguous aspect of ‘bromance’, which could muddle the relationship itself if his characterisation remained the same.
However, in this last episode, I love how it was strongly hinted at the fact that Su Yu was more bothered by the notion that Wu Bi could potentially have feelings for Ye Wanying rather than feeling jealous over Ye Wanying.
Four key points in the episode demonstrated this:
1.) First, when he looks at Ye Wanying on the bed, and contemplates on how his feelings are changing.
2.) When he sees Wu Bi and Ye Wanying at the cafe, and he desperately shouts : “but do you like her?!” amongst all the other things that were being said. Like, Wu Bi literally revealed that Ye Wanying was dating his cousin but that did not matter to Su Yu nearly as much as just the thought of Wu Bi of all people liking someone else. Instead of being troubled by the fact that the “girl he likes” is dating someone, he pleads to know whether Wu Bi has feelings for her. That is his priority. That’s what really bothers him. On the other hand, Ye Wanying has already become someone staying vaguely in the back of his mind.
3.) When Su Yu returns home and is thinking about Wu Bi only. After the conflict, Su Yu starts wondering if it could be true that Wu Bi might not actually like her, seeing that Wu Bi was revealing all sorts of new information that had previously mislead Su Yu, and yet, Su Yu still fears the possibility of Wu Bi actually liking her (given Su Yu did not get a response to his question in the end - Speaking of which, i genuinely believe that Wu Bi did not answer his question there, because he genuinely believed that Su Yu was getting so riled up because of his feelings for Ye Wanying, but I whole-heartedly think that Su Yu was so riled up because of his growing feelings for WuBi. Feelings that Su Yu himself still does not fully understand, therefore explaining why he was desperate and frustrated when he asked). Regardless, Su Yu’s focus remains on Wu Bi.
4.) The way Su Yu tries to find homework to complete to attempt to distract himself, but realises that he has completed it all. In turn, there is nothing to distract him, and he seems visibly restless because of it. It’s interesting to note that the scenes in which Su Yu does his homework throughout the series, slowly and steadily became an activity that he and Wu Bi would partake in together. In fact, those scenes are probably their most intimate downtown moments, when it could just be them two. I find it interesting for them to highlight this scene , because Su Yu seems like the kind of character that, when troubled, would always be able to put his mind off of things by doing homework or an activity of a similar nature, but now, is unable to keep Wu Bi out of his thoughts and that’s reflected by the inability to escape even through homework.
This was long and disorganised but thought I’d share. if anyone’s read any of this, thx sm for taking the time! How do you guys think the romance will develop going forward?
Over on Twitter, BLUpdate said that the producers of the series were asking fans if they thought Wu Bi and Su…
My thoughts exactly. I think it would be particularly meaningful if it did end up coming true, as there was no hint of a kiss (or even confirmation of a romance) in any of the trailers or other promotions (possibly to prevent getting undesired attention by the chinese gov, even if it isn’t airing there). So looking back it’ll look like reassurance from the producers that we are indeed watching a queer series, and it’ll feel like a victorious moment of progress, an alternative bypassing of censorship.
On the other hand, it would indeed be cruel bait on their part if they plan on keeping the relationship between the leads platonic (so therefore no kiss, unless accidental i suppose - but that obviously does not count). This would make their action completely unethical. Since, there’s a difference between making a series like this one without specifying the genre (which is not necessarily bait at all, and in fact can be very healthy to encourage interpretation). But to ask the question and not follow through, feels like a cheap trick to get people to watch, only to lead people astray, and disappoint.
I dont know if this series will be actual "bromance" or not, but some people are incorrectly using the word on here.
Bromance refers to bonds in series/films in which the two characters involved dont have any romantic feelings for each other and even have other love interests, it's just that the two are close friends and might be a bit touchy-feely with each other. A bromance is NOT when characters clearly have romantic feelings for each other but don't have an onscreen kiss/sex scene. People need to remember that romance can exist outside of those things.
For example, I've seen a lot of people label Word of Honor, Advance Bravely and The Untamed as "bromance" when they're not. Not only does the original source material canonically exist as "bl"/romance, the series themselves clearly imply, hint at, and develop their relationships even if in very subtle ways. These series/films need to be marketed as "bromance" to bypass censorship, but the producers/writers often try to be faithful to the original material and convey the actual romance that the story is. You can clearly tell when something is bromance like the one in Strong Girl Do Bong Soon and the "bromance" (STRONG QUOTATIONS) of Word of honor.
Remember, censorship is the main factor here, especially for how the characters can't explicitly call each other a couple or profess their love directly. But even without censorship, romantic relationships can exist without sex/kisses/skinship, again it’s the feelings of the characters and the intentions of the writer/director that are key in determining this. So, this series could very well be a bl series regardless of if it needs to abide by censorship or not, we just have to wait and see.
Sorry for the longer post, but I found it frustrating to always see the word being misused. Thank you to anyone who actually read this lol <3
So since we have to wait 3 days for the next episode, what is everyone currently watching or going to watch in…
I have few I’m getting through including a bl called Tokyo in April, a kdrama of the name King the Land, and another bl series of the name Be My Favorite :>
The eighth sense was interesting in the way that it both tackled queerness and mental health that are both still considered to be taboo in their respective country. I was particularly impressed by how natural the actors were, and contrary to popular opinion, I enjoyed the editing. The reason I was fond of the editing is that it sets a precedent for creativity for k-bls. It’s experimental, and plays around with the audience’s expectations. Not to say that it was flawless, I will admit that there were some aspects that could have been improved on. However, I loved the little but impactful details that the editing brought into the viewer’s experience, that I haven’t really seen other Korean BLs try, as they mostly try to stick to a very formal, clean format.
One example of what I liked in The eighth sense’s editing, was how in some scenes, they keep the camera on one character who is speaking, and in doing so, intentionally omitting the reaction of the character listening to what is being said. When this happens, the lack of insight into how exactly the other character is reacting or feeling (something which would normally deduce from their facial expressions) creates a stronger emotional reaction in the viewer. It’s a cool technique to convey the idea that what the character (who is not shown on the screen) is feeling is indescribable. I find it really unique and endearing.
Another aspect of the editing that I personally like, which everyone seems to detest, is how we cut from scene to scene immediately, which can feel very abrupt. To this, I say, I like that it is so abrupt, and I believe it is intentional. In fact, the abruptness to me reflects the emotional journey the characters are on. Especially from Jaewon’s point of view. It feels disruptive because Jaewon feels that it is: the scene where he and Jihyun making love being followed by the accident, is meant to show how from the characters’ point of view, the moment they reached a climax in their happiness and time together, it seems to immediately have come to a halt. Like Jaewon says, he feels that he ‘jumped the gun’ too soon. That’s why it’s intriguing that they decided to jump to a month later after the accident, starting off with a scene of the club members discussing the cancellation of their club, instead of showing the main characters. For Jaewon he probably felt so out of it, and so the time skip represents how this month for both jaewon and jihyun felt like it just went by, almost as if, consciously, they werent really there during that space of time, mentally.
Idk if you guys agree with me haha but just wanted to share my thoughts <3
I agree this works better in part cuz of the longer length but just want to point out it is not as simple as saying…
I totally agree with you there, and I feel that Korean BLs in general or BLs from other countries with a similar situation should be appreciated more given their restrictions. However, I would like to add that I still think the way Korean BLs are released/cut is really quite frustrating, especially now. What I mean is, even if the total content amounts to something like 120 minutes or even less, it’s such a bad decision to release one episode of 10 minutes a week. I feel they should then either make it a film or release all the episodes in one go like with Blueming. It really kills the immersion to have to wait eight weeks to finish such a short series, and worse, to have only like 14 minutes (including opening and ending) a week. It was still fine in like 2019/2020 when korean BL series were just starting out, and experimenting. But now, in 2023, I feel there are more practical options. For instance, with Happy Merry Ending, the story, acting and production all seem really top notch but the way they’re releasing the episodes take away from those elements in my opinion.
Guys, Eunji is emotionally manipulating Jaewon when he is now at his most vulnerable.
Jihyun's near death experience seemed to have caused Jaewon a relapse due to the trauma of losing his brother, which is why he seems to be stuck in a frozen state. Barely responding. Staring into space. Clearly unfocused, in a state of passiveness. It's a coping mechanism: to shut himself off almost completely, hanging by a thread in the meantime, any trigger can cause him to go over the edge (ex: hitting taehyung in the classroom for all eyes to see, reckless actions of the like).
Eunji knows this, and uses it for her sole benefit (morally dubious to say the least). Jihyun knows, and vocalises this: "youre confusing him on purpose". If anything, the kiss(es) between Eunji and Jaewon are only further adding trauma onto Jaewon, because whilst he is internalising everything, in a state of regression, someone is physically trespassing on his physical space. This subsequently impacts heavily on his mental and emotional state. It's an invasive gesture, and sinister in nature ,because Eunji knows that she is only making Jaewon repress more: troubling his senses, muddling his emotions and mind.
So if anything, whilst jihyun's reaction to the kiss in the spoiler hurts (a lot), i actually almost feel worse for jaewon because it feels like he's being run over, drowned, when he is in need of help the most.
Idk if anyone else agrees with me on this! Also this series just keeps getting more enthralling (and heart-rending) each ep.
I feel like a broken record saying this but I'm so impressed at the quality of this drama I feel like it's out…
I totally agree, tmi but I remember watching the international trailer and sent an audio to my best friend explaining to her how I thought the exact same things you mentioned, and once the first two episodes came out, I was certainly not disappointed. This series has a realness to it that I have not seen much in Korean bl dramas up until now, I feel like it is really portraying a more authentic queer experience (not that other k-BLs don’t however, but I sense that they tend to have a certain filter).
A gem that is really pushing k-BLs forward, I hope big producers in South Korea will take note of this series (and its potential success), so that we could one day have full-length queer kdramas, full of unique story ideas and possibilities.
Like kwanto said, HYX has supposedly passed censorship. Regarding the theme of the story (I also haven't read…
Thank you for your answer! I definitely agree with you, and in fact, I am kind of expecting at least some of those scenes to be entirely cut or majorly reduced time-wise for sure (staying a bit cynical so as to not get my hopes up). I also have to say, I wonder if the change of gender in hyx also greatly helped in having the drama pass censorship. Given that mo ran is convinced for a good chunk of the novel, at least from what I have read so far, that he is in love with shi mei (whose gender was changed to a woman), then maybe the fact that it appears to be a straight romance on the surface, with chu wanning simply being a tyrannical rival and mentor to mo ran (but secretly someone he admires or maybe even cares for ‘platonically’), then it wouldn’t need to be censored as much, because the assumption would really be that mo ran is romantically attached to shi mei and shi mei only (or even how the fact alone that he likes a woman makes him ‘straight’, since there is prominent amount of bi-erasure in both western and eastern media).
My only concern would be that they take the censorship too far and actually try to make idk mo ran and shi mei canon for instance, or that they never clarify explicitly that his feelings for shi mei weren’t real, making it seem as though his relationship with chu wanning only improves in terms of master-disciples or as rivals, but that he would still romantically be with shi Mei. I havent read the rest of the novel though, so I am not sure how improbable that kind of thing would be, but i can’t trust censorship lol. I’m traumatised enough already by some of the older anime where they did this kind of thing lmao. But in case none of the above happens, and by some luck that the series even tries to develop the romance between chu wanning and mo ran on the screen, then that would be quite ground-breaking, even if it is very subtle haha. Excited to see how they will pull it off if it does eventually air, at some point.
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On another note, I truly believe that Top has, regardless, wanted a genuine relationship with someone deep down, but does not inherently trust people. So he sleeps around instead, unable to form a more serious or well-developed bond.
I think this is going to be the key focus of Top’s character arc: his ability to trust (or rather his lack thereof, and how he overcomes this). This is why, from my perspective at least, Top is a character who actually sincerely appreciates the moments he spends with Mew, and the refreshing perspective Mew offers about their activities and interactions. Especially as their encounters are not purely reliant on sexual intimacy, but rather on an interest in the actual person they are with. Top, for the very first time in a long time I’m sure, has come to meet someone who is interested in ‘Top’ as the person, and not just for their body, and is honest about it (unlike Boston). Even more importantly, there is a person now who actually explicitly lays down their boundaries with Top, and let’s Top see that they are a three dimensional person with feelings, fears, hopes and intentions, and not an object of desire.
I also believe that Mew’s persistent reminders of his own boundaries also makes Top feel safe. They make Top feel safe because it makes him feel like he can more easily begin to trust and open up more (as we have already seen with him confiding in Mew about his inability to sleep alone AND the reason why: it’s evident that he has already started to become vulnerable with him). However, as we have seen in the latest episode, Top can just as easily revert, and become closed off, hesitant and distrusting, leading him to do impulsive actions.
This is exactly what happened in the last scene we saw: Boston fed into Top’s fear of betrayal and trust issues, by pushing onward the narrative that Mew and Ray have kissed and have something going on. Especially with Boston underlining the notion that Top is just being used and manipulated, suggesting that Mew is only playing with him to get Ray’s attention. It once more planted the seeds of distrust into Top’s heart, and he reverted into his previous state: having sex with someone else, basically fooling around whilst he is in a relationship. Not to mention that in this case, he also broke his policy of not sleeping with the same person twice (which VERY interestingly is what Sand’s character was ready to do with Ray as well in this same episode).
In my view, this breach of Top’s own policy reflects the way that Top seeks sex for three main reasons (not including sexual urges): firstly, in this case specifically, as a self-soothing mechanism. As Top is unable to form deeper bonds with others due to his lack of trust, sex is a way to fulfill that gap, even if momentarily. He has sex with Boston a second time here, both as a way to symbolise his regression, but also to showcase the sort of anxiety-filled response he had to the possibility of his very fragile trust he’d started to build for Mew crumbling (a big source of fear).
Secondly, Top seeks sex as a way to have an excuse to stay next to someone at night, which, as we know, helps him sleep. As such, sex is also symbolically a form of self-protection and self-care. It’s also proof perhaps that he has not been able to disclose his insomnia and traumatic past to others, again due to his lack of faith in people. Ironically, in that case, sex is a means to keep people away. Ever heard of, keep your friends close and your enemies closer?
Lastly, sex is a sort of test for Top. A way to test people (very fitting for someone who has difficulty placing trust in others). It’s striking to remember that it is on the night that Top and Mew were supposed to have their ‘one night-stand’ (from Top’s POV), their first sexual encounter, that Top grows interested in Mew. Why is that? Because, contrarily to Top’s expectations, Mew does not want to have sex after all, but instead offers him to have ice-cream and even allows him to sleep over, allowing cuddles but no more. This is, in Top’s own words, a first. It’s as if all his one night stands were tests to see if any person would show something, anything, that meant that it was not just sex. And Mew gifted him that warmth: letting him stay with him even though they had already kissed.
I think this is something that Top is not fully conscious of but is definitely, in terms of emotions, something that he is following whole-heartedly without ulterior motives. I just think that he is easily influenceable by the likes of Boston, because Boston actively feeds into his fears, causing Top to self-sabotage his flowering relationship with Mew. Top is also clearly not used to openly communicating his troubles with other people, so I think that he’ll suppress everything and not ask (because, deep down, he is more afraid of the truth he’s assumed to hear the actual truth).
Mew and Top’s relationship is ultimately dependent on whether Top will be willing to trust and communicate with Mew openly going forward, not doing things one-sidedly like going to Boston (a complete third party) for ‘evidence’ rather than ask Mew directly, or even afterwards. And whether Mew will be understanding enough once he learns the truth about Top’s recent actions. I also hope that Mew does not kiss or have sex with Ray or anyone else. I feel like it could be tempting for him to do so based on the trailers, probably when he will feel betrayed by Top. But if it does happen, I hope that it would at least be in a scenario where he has already broken up with Top. If not, their relationship will be very difficult to salvage because it means they’ll have both become people who are distrusting of others (Top even more so than before in such events).
So yh, sorry for the rant but I’d thought it’d be fun to theorise. Thanks to anyone who read this far if any. If you have tho, PLEASE share your opinions bc i am v curious. Okie bye
That last scene, when the three of them are finally confronted with each other and Wu Bi states all the lies Ye Wanying has been spouting in front of Su Yu, saved me from being in full agony for a whole week before we get the next episodes haha.
Honestly, these episodes were so good in solidifying the romance between the leads, especially because the events would hold little weight if the characters didnt hold blooming feelings for one another and growing jealous (I’m thinking particularly of the scene where Wu Bi is hurt to find Su Yu having slept in the same room as Ye Wanying, an instant heartache that would not make sense if he did not have feelings for Su Yu).
It was especially relieving and satisfying to see the last scene of the two recent eps because Wu Bi (and partially Su Yu) realised at that moment, that Ye Wanying had been untruthful, manipulating the situation to separate them. I was worried we’d have to go a week with both protagonists believing in the misunderstandings that had been caused.
The reason I say that Su Yu has partially realised is because, even if he has not understood yet that Ye Wanying has been orchestrating these lies (unlike Wu Bi who knows everything now, with the only exception being that he thinks Su Yu still has feelings for her), he has now witnessed Wu Bi declaring that Ye Wanying has been lying. Su Yu is an intelligent character, and all the more, he understands Wu Bi’s straight-forward personality: that he would not state the things he did if they were untrue. So, even though we saw that Su Yu is still unsure as to whether Wu Bi actually has feelings for Ye Wanying or not (and only because Wu Bi didn’t say anything when Su Yu directly asked, out of frustration), it has still planted the seeds of healthy doubt that we need for our leads to finally reunite.
I also really like that that the last episode truly asserted the fact that Su Yu is developing feelings for Wu Bi. I had been worried about that factor, because, to me, thus far, Wu Bi had seemed more obvious about his interest toward Su Yu. In fact, with the ambiguity beforehand of the romance, Wu Bi’s attitude toward Su Yu kept giving me hope that this would indeed be a romance and not bait. But I was still concerned about how they would portray Su Yu, because his attitude verged more toward that ambiguous aspect of ‘bromance’, which could muddle the relationship itself if his characterisation remained the same.
However, in this last episode, I love how it was strongly hinted at the fact that Su Yu was more bothered by the notion that Wu Bi could potentially have feelings for Ye Wanying rather than feeling jealous over Ye Wanying.
Four key points in the episode demonstrated this:
1.) First, when he looks at Ye Wanying on the bed, and contemplates on how his feelings are changing.
2.) When he sees Wu Bi and Ye Wanying at the cafe, and he desperately shouts : “but do you like her?!” amongst all the other things that were being said. Like, Wu Bi literally revealed that Ye Wanying was dating his cousin but that did not matter to Su Yu nearly as much as just the thought of Wu Bi of all people liking someone else. Instead of being troubled by the fact that the “girl he likes” is dating someone, he pleads to know whether Wu Bi has feelings for her. That is his priority. That’s what really bothers him. On the other hand, Ye Wanying has already become someone staying vaguely in the back of his mind.
3.) When Su Yu returns home and is thinking about Wu Bi only. After the conflict, Su Yu starts wondering if it could be true that Wu Bi might not actually like her, seeing that Wu Bi was revealing all sorts of new information that had previously mislead Su Yu, and yet, Su Yu still fears the possibility of Wu Bi actually liking her (given Su Yu did not get a response to his question in the end - Speaking of which, i genuinely believe that Wu Bi did not answer his question there, because he genuinely believed that Su Yu was getting so riled up because of his feelings for Ye Wanying, but I whole-heartedly think that Su Yu was so riled up because of his growing feelings for WuBi. Feelings that Su Yu himself still does not fully understand, therefore explaining why he was desperate and frustrated when he asked). Regardless, Su Yu’s focus remains on Wu Bi.
4.) The way Su Yu tries to find homework to complete to attempt to distract himself, but realises that he has completed it all. In turn, there is nothing to distract him, and he seems visibly restless because of it. It’s interesting to note that the scenes in which Su Yu does his homework throughout the series, slowly and steadily became an activity that he and Wu Bi would partake in together. In fact, those scenes are probably their most intimate downtown moments, when it could just be them two. I find it interesting for them to highlight this scene , because Su Yu seems like the kind of character that, when troubled, would always be able to put his mind off of things by doing homework or an activity of a similar nature, but now, is unable to keep Wu Bi out of his thoughts and that’s reflected by the inability to escape even through homework.
This was long and disorganised but thought I’d share. if anyone’s read any of this, thx sm for taking the time! How do you guys think the romance will develop going forward?
On the other hand, it would indeed be cruel bait on their part if they plan on keeping the relationship between the leads platonic (so therefore no kiss, unless accidental i suppose - but that obviously does not count). This would make their action completely unethical. Since, there’s a difference between making a series like this one without specifying the genre (which is not necessarily bait at all, and in fact can be very healthy to encourage interpretation). But to ask the question and not follow through, feels like a cheap trick to get people to watch, only to lead people astray, and disappoint.
Bromance refers to bonds in series/films in which the two characters involved dont have any romantic feelings for each other and even have other love interests, it's just that the two are close friends and might be a bit touchy-feely with each other. A bromance is NOT when characters clearly have romantic feelings for each other but don't have an onscreen kiss/sex scene. People need to remember that romance can exist outside of those things.
For example, I've seen a lot of people label Word of Honor, Advance Bravely and The Untamed as "bromance" when they're not. Not only does the original source material canonically exist as "bl"/romance, the series themselves clearly imply, hint at, and develop their relationships even if in very subtle ways. These series/films need to be marketed as "bromance" to bypass censorship, but the producers/writers often try to be faithful to the original material and convey the actual romance that the story is. You can clearly tell when something is bromance like the one in Strong Girl Do Bong Soon and the "bromance" (STRONG QUOTATIONS) of Word of honor.
Remember, censorship is the main factor here, especially for how the characters can't explicitly call each other a couple or profess their love directly. But even without censorship, romantic relationships can exist without sex/kisses/skinship, again it’s the feelings of the characters and the intentions of the writer/director that are key in determining this. So, this series could very well be a bl series regardless of if it needs to abide by censorship or not, we just have to wait and see.
Sorry for the longer post, but I found it frustrating to always see the word being misused. Thank you to anyone who actually read this lol <3
One example of what I liked in The eighth sense’s editing, was how in some scenes, they keep the camera on one character who is speaking, and in doing so, intentionally omitting the reaction of the character listening to what is being said. When this happens, the lack of insight into how exactly the other character is reacting or feeling (something which would normally deduce from their facial expressions) creates a stronger emotional reaction in the viewer. It’s a cool technique to convey the idea that what the character (who is not shown on the screen) is feeling is indescribable. I find it really unique and endearing.
Another aspect of the editing that I personally like, which everyone seems to detest, is how we cut from scene to scene immediately, which can feel very abrupt. To this, I say, I like that it is so abrupt, and I believe it is intentional. In fact, the abruptness to me reflects the emotional journey the characters are on. Especially from Jaewon’s point of view. It feels disruptive because Jaewon feels that it is: the scene where he and Jihyun making love being followed by the accident, is meant to show how from the characters’ point of view, the moment they reached a climax in their happiness and time together, it seems to immediately have come to a halt. Like Jaewon says, he feels that he ‘jumped the gun’ too soon. That’s why it’s intriguing that they decided to jump to a month later after the accident, starting off with a scene of the club members discussing the cancellation of their club, instead of showing the main characters. For Jaewon he probably felt so out of it, and so the time skip represents how this month for both jaewon and jihyun felt like it just went by, almost as if, consciously, they werent really there during that space of time, mentally.
Idk if you guys agree with me haha but just wanted to share my thoughts <3
Jihyun's near death experience seemed to have caused Jaewon a relapse due to the trauma of losing his brother, which is why he seems to be stuck in a frozen state. Barely responding. Staring into space. Clearly unfocused, in a state of passiveness. It's a coping mechanism: to shut himself off almost completely, hanging by a thread in the meantime, any trigger can cause him to go over the edge (ex: hitting taehyung in the classroom for all eyes to see, reckless actions of the like).
Eunji knows this, and uses it for her sole benefit (morally dubious to say the least). Jihyun knows, and vocalises this: "youre confusing him on purpose". If anything, the kiss(es) between Eunji and Jaewon are only further adding trauma onto Jaewon, because whilst he is internalising everything, in a state of regression, someone is physically trespassing on his physical space. This subsequently impacts heavily on his mental and emotional state. It's an invasive gesture, and sinister in nature ,because Eunji knows that she is only making Jaewon repress more: troubling his senses, muddling his emotions and mind.
So if anything, whilst jihyun's reaction to the kiss in the spoiler hurts (a lot), i actually almost feel worse for jaewon because it feels like he's being run over, drowned, when he is in need of help the most.
Idk if anyone else agrees with me on this! Also this series just keeps getting more enthralling (and heart-rending) each ep.
Made this jaewon x jihyun edit bc im already impatient for the next eps to drop :
https://www.tiktok.com/@bilily.bts/video/7224229214742990106
Thank you to anyone who read this whole rant 💀
My only concern would be that they take the censorship too far and actually try to make idk mo ran and shi mei canon for instance, or that they never clarify explicitly that his feelings for shi mei weren’t real, making it seem as though his relationship with chu wanning only improves in terms of master-disciples or as rivals, but that he would still romantically be with shi Mei. I havent read the rest of the novel though, so I am not sure how improbable that kind of thing would be, but i can’t trust censorship lol. I’m traumatised enough already by some of the older anime where they did this kind of thing lmao. But in case none of the above happens, and by some luck that the series even tries to develop the romance between chu wanning and mo ran on the screen, then that would be quite ground-breaking, even if it is very subtle haha. Excited to see how they will pull it off if it does eventually air, at some point.