Maggi64

Based on what you say, I suppose I can conclude that these censored BL's do just as well as real BL's. Nevertheless, I don't get why the writers/directors/actors don't all just go to Taiwan and make a real, uncensored BL.

Yes, a second season definitely indicates success. I am just wondering if it was worth all the trouble they took to censor it. I mean, do these censored BL's do as well as the real BL's that China used to have pre-2016? Frankly, I think the writers/directors should go to Taiwan to do BL's and not bother with China.

Ok, so he's likely being reserved cuz he's worried it would ruin the friendship if he confessed and it's not mutual.

If it was banned in China then why did they take such pains to avoid mouth to mouth kisses? And then they only showed a cheek kiss in ep 22, right before the show was over. I figured they waited that long into the show because that way they'd at least have the show almost done if China pulled it from the air. People were explaining the coded romance throughout this show as the result of it being a Chinese production.

If he's in love with adorable muscle man (my fav character too), then how does he even know it's unrequited? I mean, he hasn't even made a play for him so how does he know if he'd fail to win his love or not? Or, is the situation hopeless because muscle man is hetero? I noticed that they showed him with girls twice during the show, and he ran off another time as soon as a girl called him.

HOW DID THIS SHOW DO IN CHINA?

Does anyone know how this did in China? Specifically, how did it do compared to Addicted? That was not merely a hit in China back in 2016, it was a national phenomenon -- breaking out of the BL niche and reaching mainstream viewers as well. Timmy Xu and Johnny Huang got multi-million dollar endorsement deals. Johnny Huang's face was even on the the Visa card for China's biggest bank.

People talked about it internationally after it was banned and it became an LGBT talking point vis-a-vis Chinese homophobia, but the show itself was never that big in the West. Indeed, American women often describe it with terms such as "toxic" and "endorsing sexual assault." Americans comprise the largest user block on MDL and it only got a 7.7 here. I've noticed that shows which are described this way in the West do not suffer the same criticism in Asia. For instance, many Americans also called My Beautiful Man season 1 "toxic" and it only got a 7.8 on MDL. Yet it was such a huge hit in Japan that it garnered not just a season 2 sequel, but a feature film as well.

Knowing all this, I can't help but wonder how Stay With Me did in China, given that it is, after all, "Addicted Light." I think of it as something like a light beer which, yes, is good, but also not as potent (full disclosure: I preferred the potency of Addicted). In short, did the Chinese public embrace Stay With Me's lighter, more wholesome depiction of a gay romance?

That sounds pretty good actually. The problem with these 20 min eps is that one cannot get a grip on what the story and characters are about. Thank you!

Forget a wedding, I thought they went riding dressed as if they were going to play a tuba for a marching band and parade down Main Street.

But my bigger question was, "Why is the Evil Brother cutting Su Yu's hair?" Well, at least the Evil Brother had also given himself a haircut, and finally cut off the doorknob that was sticking out of his skull.

The first volume of the novel ends here and it picks up with volume two, eight years later. That's why the show was set in the past. Fans who wanted Addicted to air again even called their movement, "Eight Years Later." Although for some reason Stay With Me was set in 2006 (ie 17 years in the past), which made no sense. At any rate, the show's producers are clearly working on the next volume with the boys as adults.

They were depicted as being in love since ep 11 when Wu Bi said, "Su Yu is mine." In ep 12 Su Yu told his ex-girlfriend he did not care about her feelings, because he was mad only for his and Wu Bi's sake. In other words, all the signs of romantic love were already there back then.

Someone above said the show waited until ep 22 to portray a kiss because that way they could get as many eps as possible in case it got pulled off the air. I think that explains it.

But what's interesting is that the show had already portrayed them being in love with lines like "Su Yu is mine." And Su Yu told the bitch ex girlfriend that he was not angry for her sake, but his own (ie, he was in love with Wu Bi). So the boys were beyond the slow burn because signs of romantic love were there since around ep 11 and 12. It was only those small kisses that were not.

Someone above theorized that they included the kisses in the final eps so that they could get as many eps out as possible just in case the show got pulled off the air. That makes sense.

Ok, so you think they waited until the end so they could get in as many eps as possible just in case it got pulled off the air. Thank you, because that explanation makes sense.

Yea, I wanted to hear what the reward was too. Second, I wanted to know what was in the fujoshi's letter to the boys. Third, I wanted to know what Su Yu read when he dug up Wu Bi's wish from the garden. It's ok to leave the viewer in the dark about one thing, maybe even two, but not three. It became frustrating.

If light kisses passed China's censorship code why did the show wait 22 episodes to include them? I can't think of any narrative advantage for waiting when the show had already depicted Wu Bi in love when he said, "Su Yu is mine" back in ep 11. Why continue with coded hints that the boys were in love when they could've shown a kiss the whole time?

Wow, I had no idea Asians dressed like that for horseback riding. Wouldn't all that white get filthy from riding?

Why did the boys go horseback riding dressed as marching band members in a parade? Is this typical riding garb in China? Because I've never seen anything like that in the West.

Can you tell me the plot of the manga? So far this seems to be about a tyrant and his passive roommate who don't have sex unless it's a sunny day. In other words, it doesn't seem to be about anything at all.

The leads are stunningly beautiful. Which makes it all the more unnecessary to slather an inch of white base makeup on their faces. Hell, the makeup's so heavy one might mistake this show for a Korean BL.

Maybe #2 and #3 will change. But nothing will beat that backward bike ride! It was not only romantic, but utterly unique too. Indeed, that was the first time I'd ever seen such a thing. So that will remain my #1 fave scene no matter what.

3 BEST SCENES
1] The backward bicycle ride.
2] Su Yu's BFF in drag at the mall.
3] Wu Bi's whispering into the Vixen's ear, "Su Yu is mine."