Momijii

I interpreted that drawing as ZSY's own drawing based on his research into what "sexy underpants" mean. We've only seen his notebooks in the story before that. I'm curious what made you interpret that as GSD's drawing?

Wow, this is the best Thai BL I've watched so far! Truth be told, I haven't watched that many series yet, but I don't see how they can top this.

The story is a bit too long, which is a pet peeve of mine, but I'm too impressed with the storytelling to care. There was two semi-major reveals in the story that felt implausible to me, but the rest of the story was so well thought through. Every single detail that's introduced in the main storyline eventually turns out to carry meaning, and stuff that may feel odd or lacks explanation in the beginning eventually comes into play in interesting ways.

If this had simply been a sappy love story about two people falling in love again, it'd have been over in a couple of episodes. It's the wholeness of the story, with the focus on fate, guilt, family, survivors and redemption that makes this drama stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Best comment! ;)

I think where we are now at the half-way mark, the actors are singlehandedly carrying this utter mess of a drama. They're obviously doing the best they can with what they've got, which I respect!

I'm in particularly impressed with GSD's actor, though his best scenes are those where he acts with ZSY, so it's both their efforts that's paying off I guess.

Exactly, it added nothing of value to the story.

I would have been maybe-kinda-ok with it, if it had ended with GSD falling off the couch and falling asleep on the floor, then waking up with no clothes the day after because he threw up on his clothes, making the dad misunderstand the situation when he shows up the morning after. Then it would have been mostly awkward and might have added something to the couple's dynamic, while also advancing the plot with the father.

I really hope they didn't actually have sex, because if that was supposed to be their first time, that's kind of the worst possible scenario...

I watched Crossing the Line based on your recommendation and it's definitely better than History 1. Interestingly, I realised that it has almost exactly the same narrative problems that I mentioned about Fighting Mr 2nd in my original post above. ;D

The beginning was really strong and dramatic with a great story hook and interesting character dynamics. Then, to my surprise, the 3d episode became a bit of a slapstick comedy (which reminded me about how disappointing the anticipated dad-ZSY-GSD confrontation turned out...). The latter half was weak compared to the first 2 episodes, but still ok. The side couple was completely redundant, a bit like those in Fighting Mr 2nd.

What I did enjoy with Crossing the Line besides the great setup and good character chemistry was that some of the comedy parts was actually funny for real! Especially with the sister and her awful lunchboxes, and her brother being in total anguish when he realises he might need to keep eating them. :D

Anyways, I'm glad you mentioned Crossing the Line, or else I would have completely overlooked it! And it was interesting to see how the writer seems to have the same problems in her current writing. Though it's definitely possible that the comic books/novels she's adapting is the main problem. Or it might be a problem with those directing her scripts.

Interesting! I stopped after HIStory 1 because the writing was at best average, and the age gap and situation in the first half of HIStory 2 (Right or Wrong) felt off-putting. Maybe I should give Crossing the Line/Boundary Crossing a try though... I've heard that HIStory 3 is a favourite for many, but I haven't watched that one either.

Btw, strong agree that the chemistry between the lead actors are the one thing that makes me keep watching WBL s2...

I think your analysis seems on point. There's always stuff left on the cutting floor when making movies/tv-series etc of course, but it's too bad they seemingly cut that part...

Yeah, and it's especially disappointing since they have two really dedicated and talented actors with great chemistry. They deserve a better story than this.

Yeah, I don't think it's "hate-hate", more like "hurt-hate" so to speak. He's protecting himself even more than before by keeping people away from him so he can't get hurt again. GSD needs to give him some space now.

Agreed on the need to fill out the plot holes with headcanon. ;)

I didn't know there were scenes cut from s1! I remember thinking that it was a shame that we never got to see how BW and ZY's dinner date while they were grumpy and on the rebound turned them into that sweet couple we saw feeding each other at lunch. I'd have loved to see some of those hijinks!

I kind of wish the drama had cut the side couples completely if they weren't going to tell their stories properly. As it stands now, their scenes are clearly underdeveloped and aren't adding much of value to the story. :(

You make a great point with the backwards-and-forwards between comedy and melodrama. The writer (or perhaps director?) has failed to find a consistent tone in this season.

I can't take the father seriously at all; he feels like a joke character with his clownish behaviour and how he's literally bumbling about. Is this really the same person who's supposedly a successful entrepeneur and who took his son's love away from him for selfish reasons? His character feels shallow and is simply being used as a plot device.

I kind of want to drop the series, but I'm still enjoying the main actors so I think I'll stick around for the last few episodes. But I can't really see how they'll salvage this mess... :(

Yeah, I agree. Even if they return to building on that plot line in episode 4, they won't have time to develop it properly with so little time left.

I was only planning to write a short post about feeling let down, and then all my frustration started boiling and I wrote all this, ha ha! ;)

Imo, if the story dares to venture outside of the usual romance/BL stereotypes, I can think of a lot of interesting storylines they could peruse. I'm not loving the current season, but if they can salvage it and find an interesting angle to continue exploring, I'd be all for it.

I see your point, though I don't feel like this interpretation is completely supported by the story. ZSY's dad referenced an occasion where his son actually confronted him and told him he likes guys, so although ZSY may have had some private agony about it, it doesn't sound like he was traumatised by that particular aspect.

My own interpretation is that it's GSD's presumed betrayal (that ZSY believes that he witnessed at that surprise visit) that still upsets ZSY. Even in S1, ZSY is described as a difficult person who holds on to grudges. We could see how he opened up so much to GSD after they became a couple, which was a big deal to him. So he hates exactly as much as he loved – which was obviously a lot. He's an archetypical "tsundere" imo. ;)

CW: Super critical post, ignore this if you love the show and dislike or feel discouraged by reading negative opinions (which I consider completely fair, we all need to keep our mood up during these trying times after all, hence the warning).

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Ugghhh. The writing is so weak this current season! It's not just asking for the suspension of disbelief, it's asking me to completely switch off my critical thinking.

First of all, not even a peep about GSD's abysmally awful behaviour at the end of last episode. And please stop calling me a baby or tell me to go watch Disney instead when all I'm asking for is that the writing to take in consideration what actually happened on screen in the scene in question. But no, the whole thing was completely glossed over, as if it didn't even happen, which is THE worst kind of "writing" imaginable. Plot needs to hold together for at least the tiniest bit of logical scrutiny, and right now that's not the case.

Second, although I applaud and agree with ZSY for calling out GSD's absolutely baffling decision to accept the father's proposition, I still don't feel like GSD's actions in thesituation makes that much sense. I'm aware of the importance of family in Asian culture, but come on! GSD was in S1 described as a cunning and daring person willing to go the extra mile to befriend ZSY. He clearly skirted the line of acceptable behaviour several times! So who is this imposter that calls himself GSD in S2? He has ONE talk with ZSY's dad and then gives in? I'm so bored. Call me when the real GSD shows up again.

Third, I'm incredibly disappointed that the whole setup of GSD and ZSY being business rivals and duking it out during meetings and other company affairs was just tossed out like 5 minutes after it was introduced. I loved the tension and rivalry between them in the first episode, but it lead absolutely nowhere. Why would the writer/s/ introduce a plot with such interesting possibilities and then proceed to do nothing with it?! I'm just baffled by how amateurishly the story's being handled in this season...

Fourth, both side couples have been disappointing so far. The collage friends have barely any purpose – I for one would love to see a bit more about their relationship, even if they're meant to simply be a happy, conflict-free side couple. At least show us how they cook dinner together or have a dinner date somewhere. Compare them to the main couple, to point out how they're in completely different points of their respective relationships. Side couples (as well as side characters) should always reflect or point something out with the main couple (or main characters), otherwise they become superfluous.

And with GSD's cousin, his lost beau simply happened to find him after 12 years the moment GSD returned to Taiwan? There was an opportunity for some kind of intrigue related to GSD and ZSY to really anchor this side plot in the main story, like perhaps GSD took the company there for After Work to cheer his colleagues up or whatever, and the side couple recognised each other. But as it is now, their story is completely separate and although it seems from last episode that we'll be getting some misguided rivalry between the younger ex-bf and GSD later, it's still not interesting to me.

I feel like there's more I could point out, but this is my main points of criticism at the moment.

I'm absolutely open to serious discussion – no one would be happier if I could change my mind about the current season than me – but I won't respond to personal attacks, name-calling etc, and will report such behaviour if necessary.

I'm really struggling to enjoy this current season of WBL... The writing just isn't there imo.

I absolutely loved Prison Playbook, so I'll be sure to give her other works a try as well. What an amazing, well-written series!

I translate Japanese–Swedish and English–Swedish! Not full-time though, just as a side income. Hopefully I'll be able to translate Chinese–Swedish some day, but I've only been learning it for less than a year and feel that I have a long way left to go. I agree that languages are more than just a communication tool. Often when I find myself interested in something new, like movies or dramas from a particular place, I feel that I should also study the language because of how it's so strongly connected to the people living there. If that makes sense. :)

Thank you for clearing up the translation issue people have raised! I had an inkling that it was a nuanced expression. Those are always the most difficult to translate (fellow translator here, though between different languages).

When I see people act like there's only one possible interpretation of a word or an expression, I always try to point out that languages don't work that way. And as I understand it, Chinese in particularly context-based, so an expression might vary a lot depending on when, how and where it was uttered.