Wei Wuxian

You're real fort that. Taecyeon did say he wanted to challenge himself with this role and do it authentically, so I have hope.

This trend toward reels, especially in Korean BLs, really needs to stop.

I agree. Especially with RL. I doubt they'd be able to have as many projects following this series if their scenes were more explicit than they are. The BTS are definitely more explicit, though. I think that's part of why the BTS are so popular.

Thailand is still pretty split on how they want to represent passionate romance in their BL dramas. On one side we have Playboyy and 4Minutes, and the other we have the very cutesy Your Sky (I thought this one was cringy af, even with some more daring NC scenes) and Boys In Love. Gems like Manner of Death and Not Me (easily one of my all-time favorite Thailand BLs for both acting, storyline, and real political awareness) are hard to come by . But I digress...

I didn't watch Together with me as I'm not really a MaxTul fan, though I absolutely loved them in Manner of Death. Even Shine doesn't really interest me. Though that's mostly because I'm not interested in the '70s setting (or anything in the 1900s) or Mile with long hair. The '70s gives me ick vibes, no matter what for some reason I can't really explain, no matter the genre.

With Netflix, they could wait another month or decide “Surprise MFs!” and drop it in a week. You never know with them.

Nope. Netflix has said nothing but that it’s “Coming Soon”. With Netflix, they can drop all episodes with a week notice or space it out. We won’t know until they decide we get to know. Ah, Netflix. The streaming service that gives no Fs.

It was not set for a time on Netflix. Just marked as “Coming Soon”. It’s Netflix though so they could drop it with only a week’s notice. Who knows with them. I have my notification alert on for it though.

Yes. Netflix confirms it’s a love story between two men. How explicit it’ll be remains to be seen. I hope they don’t do us like Heesu in Class 2 did us. So dirty.

Damn it. Why does it have to be a reel format?

Same, but First as a sneaky, intelligent villain is entertaining so I’m here for it.

Jimmy and Sea, man! I love them so much. And this plot is plotting. None of the scenes feel cringe or forced because it’s them. So refreshing in a GMMTV production. You know, when a couple can actually act and bring their characters to life without relying on their couple’s popularity to carry them? That’s called talent. I love that Jimmy is playing his profession too. He’s comfortable in the doctor role and it shows up in the character very naturally. I love that Sea doesn’t play a helpless victim, but a strong guy in his own right with a vulnerable side he protects. He owns it. This episode solidifies my belief that we have a truly worthwhile series from Thailand. Thankfully.

And Kan is sus af frfr. 🤨Like, there’s no way he isn’t involved in the mishaps Thap is experiencing.

I’m also curious how our second couple Ton and Pong’s relationship will develop. 🤭

Same! I feel like he’s trying to get rid of Thap because of the director position he mentioned and is using this situation to do so while framing that board member docfor. He’s so sus it’s crazy.

Tomorrow my fellow international fans! 😊

No shade from me, my friend 😊

You’re right, as Taiwan has legalized same sex marriage back in 2019- earlier than even Thailand. Yet even with their almost 6 year head start on same-sex marriage acceptance, they are still more conservative in their mainstream BL dramas than Thailand. Hell, I’ve seen Korean BLs more explicit than Taiwanese BLs- Unknown has been the most explicit to date. And they also struggle to receive funding for same sex dramas even as early as 2024, as evidenced by the The On1y One not able to secure funding for a second season, despite its positive reception and high ratings. Asia is generally more conservative in their same-sex dramas- all except Thailand, who, really took off the restraints around KinnPorche’s more daring success (if there was a series like KinnePorche in explicit scenes earlier than 2022- please let me know because I can’t remember off the top of my head). What’s endlessly frustrating is that the censorship bans are relatively new in China, and they were moving towards a more progressive view in the early 2010’s, but regressed to adopting President Xi Jinping’s philosophy in one husband, one wife when he came into power back in 2013 (he removed the term limits and has ruled ever since). His views are significantly more conservative and based on the filial system, where the social roles, especially that of the idea of family consisting of a husband and wife are taken literally in his case. Now, China basically has a 3 No’s system when it comes to same sex: No approval, no disapproval, no promotion. It’s neutrality leans towards disapproval though, especially when in 2018 they removed any LGBTQ related hashtags from their social media and kept them away. As long as Xi remains in power, I’m afraid the censorship laws will not change for the better in China. I hope Taiwan becomes more free in their filming though. We shall see with Secret Lover as the episodes progress.

Thanks for your comment! 😊

Is that even considered a drama? I don't see the point of a drama-less series.

Most of these novel translations are being deleted bit by bit. I would suggest binging through them when you find one. They're all on Wattpad. I've had to re-search for them at least 3 times.

I agree. Chi Cheng loves SuoWei so much that he knows this news will break that happy scheming guy. His mom is all he has and Chi Cheng knows he will be "alone" when his mother passes. He also very much respects Wu Ma and treats her better than his own mother (when he says he bought clothes for "Ma" he means Wu Ma, not his own mother). He wants to tell SuoWei, but his promise to Wu Ma keeps him from it, putting him in a position to be misunderstood by SuoWei. Every time SuoWei mentions his mother, any angry retaliation due to jealousy is immediately suppressed/diffused because he knows SuoWei's time is limited and his heart hurts for him.

I also see how keeping this secret is taking a physical toll on him- the heavy drinking, more unkept appearance, hollow eyes... Chi Cheng is going through all by himself. Then he also has to deal with Wang Shuo getting under SuoWei's skin and SuoWei idolizing Wang Zhen, plus his family's pressures for him to be with a woman instead, which must definitely still be happening in the background.

The complete change in what he used to be to who he is with SuoWei should be highlighted, not condemned. He's turned around so much and all because of his love for SuoWei.

The term "hubby" referring to Chi Cheng. YueYue calls Chi Cheng "hubby". In their NC scene, Chi Cheng tells SuoWei to call him "husband" and he refuses. I think it's part of the residual trauma from that relationship with YueYue and the shit he went through when they broke up.

OMG the number of times I've rewatched every episode... I think I have a problem. I noticed the hubby text and was like, "The NERVE of this gold digger!" Yeah, SuoWei has some residual trauma to get over still. YueYue did a number on him. It's no wonder he didn't cry when he lost her but is sobbing in the car over his boyfriend kissing his ex.

All of the above. 😉