Senza

If you are regular cdrama lover, then obviously the current release schedule feels much slower especially when regular cdramas release at least 10 eps per week. And even though this is a BL drama, its completely formatted and made in the typical cdrama style, not like the usual Thai BLs or any other region's BL. It has 24 eps, just like most standard dramas and many of the episodes end in the middle of the flow, again, just like regular cdramas. Unlike Thai, japanese or korean BLs that tend to end each episode on a high note, this one doesnt follow that pattern. So when you are already used to watching cdramas in that specific style, it obviously doesnt help. If this were a Thai, japanese, or korean BL, your point would be more understandable given they typically have fewer episodes than something like Revenged Love.

Also, dont tell me what to do or not to do, just mind your own business. This platform is for discussing dramas, and thats exactly what im doing. Im not commenting on your or anyone else’s personal habits or preferences, so dont try to police mine. Focus on your own enjoyment instead of going after others comments or asking them to drop the show.

Day by day, im losing interest in this drama. These days, i dont even feel excited to watch new episodes on mondays. Not only has the plot become frustrating but the release schedule isnt helping either.
Everyone is keeping secrets from each other and no one is being even a little honest. Even WSW’s small schemes with dr.jiang have started to annoy me. And whats with CC’s ambiguous response to Wang Shuo when he couldnt even say, i dont love you anymore??
Plus, the schedule of just 2 eps per week over 11 weeks isnt helping at all, it feels like this drama is dragging on forever. If they had released 4 eps per week for 6 weeks, it would have ended long ago and i bet it wouldnt have felt this frustrating to watch. But right now, it just is and im losing interest.

Why are these gays so dramatic man? 🤣 I don’t know about others, but Im having a blast watching the show after Wang Shuo and Wang Zhen’s entry. They are all hurting themselves, and at the same time, it feels like they are also having fun with the other characters. Atp, I just want everyone to be with everyone lol. Ngl, I don't really feel anyone’s pain right now. Idk why but I never felt like WSW or even Chi Cheng were truly hurt, I never felt their love was that deep.

Also, I kinda want Wang Zhen and WSW to do some naughty stuff with each other or at least kiss. Wang Zhen is pretty hot 😜.

Chemistry betn Wang Shuo and Xiao Shuai is as good as chemistry betn Xiao Shuai and Cheng Yu, so i dont mind threes.... betn them 😜.

finally this crap ended.

Doesnt matter what anyone says, Wang Shuo is fyn shyt. No wonder Chi Cheng & Guo Cheng Yu couldnt move on after so many years. I love you Wang Shuo, i will supoort you even in your wrongs lol.

Oh God, really?? Then he should stop both producing and acting lol.

I genuinely wonder, dont the actors feel secondhand embarrassment acting in such a poorly written and illogical script??

There is barely even 1% logic in the storyline. The most laughable part is how every single character randomly gathers for a group meeting just to deal with Tony. The actual issue is between Babe/Charlie and Tony, but somehow, the entire cast drops whatever they are doing as if they have no personal lives or individual goals, just to back Babe and Charlie like its their life’s mission. These dramatic strategy meetings in labs or garages are so ott and immature, its hard to take anything seriously.

Then there is Tony's ridiculous experiments, which are nothing more than him attaching a bunch of random wires to people's head. Its painfully fake and laughably childish. To make it worse, the actor playing Tony cant act to save his life, probably one of the worst performances i have seen and yet they brought him back for S2 too. Just why??

Even the supposed relationship development between characters feels so forced and robotic. There is no emotional depth or natural chemistry, it all feels scripted just for the sake of having something happen.

Definitely one of the worst BLs i have ever watched. Im only continuing because i have already come this far. At this point, im just skipping scenes and finishing it just for sake of it.

This one is definitely worst bl i have watched this year.

I dont have much of a problem with this drama’s ratings, as im really enjoying it too. But I still feel it doesnt quite deserve such a high score. I think somewhere between 8.4-8.6 would be more reasonable.
You might argue that the series isnt over yet and the ratings could drop after it ends, but I actually believe it will maintain its high rating streak even after completion. I think it will settle somewhere between 8.7-9.0. The reason is that, after a long time, a Chinese uncensored BL has aired, featuring good actors and a decent storyline, so fans are going gaga over it.
If the Chinese BL industry had been as consistent as the Thai one, i think it would have received more accurate ratings, like 8.4-8.6.

Now, regarding MDL’s reliability when it comes to ratings, i partially agree with the idea that its not reliable. I think MDL has different rating standards based on country. On IMDb, anything 8+ (or 7.5+) is considered good. But on MDL, for most Kdramas, 8.5+ is considered good. For Jdramas, anything above 7.7 is decent in my opinion. For Chinese dramas, the standard is different: some historical ones with 8.5+ ratings may not actually be that good, while for modern Cdramas, anything above 8.2 is considered decent.

But yes, MDL is totally unreliable when it comes to BLs, this is where I fully agree with you. For BLs, especially Thai ones, even trashy series get high ratings just because two good looking guys are making out. On the other hand, plenty of Japanese and Korean BLs that have strong storylines, good acting and emotional depth usually end up with ratings between 7.7-8.2, just because they dont feature explicit scenes. So yes, MDL is quite unreliable when it comes to rating BLs.

Btw Addicted was really good. Even considering its low budget, it felt raw and realistic, almost like the novel had been directly translated onto the screen. The actors were great, the story was engaging, but because it remained incomplete, its ratings stayed low. In my opinion, it deserved something between 8.3-8.5.
And yeah, the first Counterattack Chinese adaptation was trash. This new one is much better.

Yeah, thats exactly what im saying. I’d also like to add one more point. In BL dramas, when it comes to ratings, acting and storyline often become secondary for a large part of the fandom. Many viewers tend to prioritize good looking guys making out over actual plot quality.

Very few BLs manage to strike the right balance where the storyline is strong, acting is good and the ratings reflect that. But there are plenty of BLs where neither the acting nor the story is particularly good, yet they still receive high ratings, when in reality, they deserve something closer to a 6.

For example, The On1y One, Happy of The End, Hidamari ga Kikoeru, Lets Free the Curse of Taekwondo, Semantic Error, Blueming, The Eighth Sense, To My Star, Our Dating Sim, Unknown, Sing My Crush and many others have lower ratings, even though their storytelling is far superior to many overrated thai dramas that rely heavily on NC scenes.

I have also noticed that some BL fandoms, mostly Thai ones, tend to downrate BL dramas from other countries, especially korean & japanese ones.

I know only 1/3rd of the series has aired so far, but honestly, i have a really strong feeling that this show will maintain high ratings in the 8.7-9.0 range.

Ok, lets exclude this show for now (though honestly, i still think there is a high chance this series will remain highly rated, probably in the 8.7-9.0 range) but since it still has 15 episodes to air lets exclude this one.

Now coming to thai BLs, just because of the shipping culture, you cant go and exclude Thai dramas. They are very much a part of the BL arena. Otherwise, even i could argue to exclude korean ones just because they are globally popular or something.

Thai dramas often have terrible scripts and weak acting, yet they still get high ratings. And not everyone who watches them is part of the Thai shipping culture. For example, take your case, you have watched plenty of Thai BLs and i dont agree with the ratings you gave to many of them, as i have watched them too. Yet you still rated them high, right?? So, are you also part of the shipping culture?? Thats why i said, dont exclude them, because they are still a part of the BL landscape.

There are plenty of shows i have watched and liked, The On1y One, Our Youth, Gel Boys, Love in the Big City, Happy of The End (JBL), etc. that truly deserve high ratings. Some of them did get it but many didnt. Why?? Because in the BL community, most people dont care much about the story. They focus more on how good looking the main leads are or how hot the NC scenes are.

There are many BL shows with good storylines that get ignored because of this. Only a few, like Love for Love's Sake, Our Youth or Gel boys, which actually have strong storylines and acting, get lucky with ratings.

Also, homophobia isnt really a factor in BL ratings. People who are homophobic dont even bother with BLs, they stay away altogether. Only a few shows, like Love in the Big City, were affected by homophobia, and that too because it was more of a queer drama than a typical BL. Apart from that, most BLs arent victims of homophobia.

Whereas with straight dramas, no matter how good looking your leads are, while giving ratings people often take storylines into the account. Otherwise shows like True Beauty, My Demon, King The Land, A Good Day to Be Dog etc many would hsve gotten as high as 8.8-9.0. but that doesnt happen with straight drama but only BLs, that to Thai ones, which i agree.

I completely disagree with the statement, "But it's also fair to say that straight dramas on MDL tend to be rated higher compared to BLs of the same quality." In fact, I would argue the opposite, straight drama audiences often give lower ratings for the same level of script or production quality. Just look at Kdramas as an example: many straight dramas with similar script quality have lower ratings. And if the male lead is toxic, the ratings drop even further. So I definitely don’t agree with that claim.

There are several popular Kdramas like True Beauty, Boys Over Flowers, and others, just check their MDL ratings. Now compare those with this BL, its ratings are way higher despite having similar or even more flawed elements.

You might bring up exceptions like Hidden Love, Business Proposal or other well received mainstream dramas. But those shows actually deserve their high ratings because of good production quality, well executed scripts and comparatively less problematic lead characters. Even in their case, a large part of the appeal comes from the chemistry between leads, which, again, is a major reason this particular BL is rated highly too.

Secondly, look at many Thai BLs, the scripts are often weak, the acting subpar, yet they still receive high ratings. If those same dramas were straight romances with the same level of quality, do you really think they would be rated that high? So no, it's completely inaccurate to say that straight dramas are rated higher than BLs of the same quality.

The truth is that BLs often get higher ratings regardless of actual quality, mainly because straight dramas are produced in bulk, while BLs are relatively fewer in number. This scarcity gives BLs a clear advantage. With fewer options to choose from, audiences tend to rate the best among them highly, even if the quality is just average.

You are completely wrong about korean BLs, its rare for them to get high ratings, so don’t say things like “korean BLs get high ratings even when the plot isnt good.” The highest rated korean BL is probably Love for Love’s Sake with a rating of 8.7, which is fair because it offered something new, the acting was solid, and the plot wasnt typical. The second highest might be Love in the Big City, which is actually a queer drama rather than a typical BL and it has an 8.4 rating, though honestly, it deserves more like 8.7-8.8 because it’s that good.

But i do agree when it comes to Thai ones, they are just plain bad. The acting is often weak, the stories arent good and they are filled with cringe, yet somehow they still get high ratings. At least here, the acting is good, leads have good chemistry but the plot isnt that good to deserve an 8.9 (maybe 8.4-8.5). But i do get why it got 8.9 as its from china and uncensored bl from china is quite unusual so fans are giving extra love.

As for japan, their situation is kind of similar to korea. Their BLs also rarely get high ratings. I think Our Youth is the highest rated japanese BL with 8.9 and in that case, the rating is actually well deserved.

I genuinely enjoy this drama and love watching it but i do think the 8.9 rating is a bit inflated.

Yes, its entertaining but there is some silliness and childishness that makes it feel somewhat overrated. If this were a mainstream hetero drama, the rating would probably be around 8-8.3. Even if it were a BL from another country, i doubt it would score this high.

But because its a fully uncensored Chinese BL, with attractive actors who can actually act and have great chemistry, people are more inclined to give it a perfect score, even if it doesnt fully deserve it. The long drought of BL content from china has definitely made viewers a bit more generous with their praise.

When you see 455 (S2) and 456 (S1) people die in front of you and you are even partially responsible for their deaths, no person can remain sane or have the will to live, even for their loved ones. At the very least, he was able to save that innocent newborn baby.

Honestly there is nothing like character development in this kind of survival show where you are stuck in a life and death game. Character development is a term more suited for other genres, not shows like Squid Game. It's always a do or die situation and Gihun was consistent from Season 2 till the end of Season 3. Even though he failed to destroy the game, he was at least able to save one innocent life.

How is that considered suicide? I mean, what other options did he have? Did you want him to kill the baby instead?

I absolutely loved this drama! The satirical take on politics was clever and made it such an entertaining watch. My favorites were definitely Sehun and Jaewon, and Kwak Sanghyeon was excellent as the villain, he really nailed the role.
What i don’t get is the unnecessary hate this drama is receiving. I have even seen one particular account going out of its way to leave negative replies under almost every comment. If you didnt like the show, that’s fine, leave a review, share your thoughts, and move on. But constantly replying to others just to spread negativity? That’s not criticism, thats just hate. Some people seriously have too much time to waste on shows they claim to dislike.
My personal advice to anyone planning to watch it: dont take any reviews or comments too seriously, whether they are glowing or harsh. Just watch it for yourself and decide based on your own judgment.

For me, this was a solid 9/10.