NIke_v

LOL - that's a real possibility 🤣
You can spoil if you want (I was spoiling myself a bit by reading come comments).
For now I am most invested in Ray/Sand. Ray was hitting on Sand so hard, so when there was party and he was wavering between the two I was like - don't be "homewrecker", get your singer! 😉

I am definitely bracing myself for the poo hitting the fan and me hating most of them (or their actions). I read some comments and I know that people for example hated Boston but now love him (I don't get the defenses of him being straightforward about his relationship with Nick, as in past 2,5 EPs he was quite confusing with his behaviour - culmination being every few scenes him "upgrading" Nick's status, so I get why Nick would get his hopes up).

Great comment ♥️
My plan is about 2-3 EPs per work evening, so not to get into the rabbit hole 😉
I was reading some comments here and there so I am bracing for impact to basically hate most of them/their actions. I am hoping that redemption acts are done well for all of them 🙏

You disagree?
I am only after EP2, so I might be proven wrong but I see that they are both jealous of him. IMO Boston behaves a bit like he is into Top but he was the one who introduced them in hopes of Mew loosing his virigity and becoming more casual when it comes to relationships - that was the vibe I got from 1st EP. I think he was trying to get together with Top to break him up with Mew. He is confident in their friendship and that it would survive it and then he would perhaps have "easier go" with Mew. I am not claiming that Boston loves-loves Mew - perhaps it's more of an attraction?

So I was stockpiling EPs and wanted to watch once all was realeased but my will is not strong enough 😉
After EP1 I was obsessing over Sand's door and his apartment - if it just me or is the same set as Black's in "Not me" or Cher/Lam's in "A Boss and a Babe"?
EP2 - I read constantly that Boston was clear with Nick from the beginning that there were no strings attached but, from what I saw in this EP, I get why Nick thinks there might be chance for more. Boston called him repeatedly his favourite, the picture and dark room gave intimate vibes, they were having constantly s*x (so not very "one night standy"), Boston said they they are more than s*x buddies...
So far Boston is the trashiest - hook up in the showers with your besties boyfriend is 🤢 (especially since he inicited and pushed for it). His only saving grace is that he warned Mew about Top.
It's clear to me that both Boston and Ray have feelings for Mew (don't get why but love is blind). After what Mew told Ray about feeling something for Top, I would hope he gets that he has no chance - they have been friends for so long and nothing, so fat chances of that happening in the future.
Sand's "confession" at the end - he already has feelings and predicts a lot of pain from this ting with Ray (I read comments, so I know it's going to be hell but Ray is so cute, charming, seductive and pretty 😻, so I get why he was powerless in face of him even though we all can see how strong his character is... I think that is also going to be his downfall as people with less strength would've droped Ray and his mess quickly).

They are under GMM, so we can only hope that they would be cast in the one excellent show per year (sometimes GMM is capable of more than one 😉 - I am hoping for Last Twilight to bring me to tears).

I agree partially, as you portrayal shows only Mizuki to be "bad".
I think Yoh was as well obsessive (he would draw his pictures since they were in uni, how many times was he watching the same weather forecast?) and enjoyed Mizuki's attention - like s*x (he was so down and actively searched for solution after Mizuki gave the rule - but whether they had it or not was not changing how he was treated, so it was purely due to his desire).
When I was watching this series I was thinking that they both show classic Japanese reservation (at least they were not calling themselves by last name-san as I've seen done by some wifes) - they bottle everything inside and are akward at expressing feelings. What they need is to work on communication.

Yes, I remember other situations (like "exercise") but "lip balm" was sooo obvious (and hilarious)
(I think you mixed WB and SY - SY is a "nerd" and WB is a fighter)!

If you like enemies to lovers thorpe + justice (starts as a bit of procedural) + morally ambiguous characters (or just looking ambiguous on the 1st sight) + action + mystery + doppelganger (same actor plays 2 roles - not related by blood) + familiar relationships (said judge with his niece in the present and his family in the past) + housekeeper who seems to be set on destroying taste buds 😂, then I would suggest you give Devil Judge a try.

Nah, that was definitely lip balm 😋

Have you seen Devil Judge? Theoretically there was FL that had feelings towards MC (ML had his own psyho-female-love-intrest that he never had any interest in) and MC was denying he was interested for the most part of the show (said he was in love in her in the end but it did not last long). Their chemistry was for me almost non-existent. MC and ML on the other hand were fire and quite suggestive (not to mention the whole family angle, basically co-parenting, meals etc.). Was MC distraught after what happened with FL? Yes. Was he inconsolable/suicidal? Only about what he thought happened to ML.
So... is it bromance or BL in your opinion (I was of the opinion that FL was there just as a smoke screen for the conservatives in Korea but it was more of a BL)?

Me neither... could have been longer, though 💦

I was in discussion with one user on Chinese BL that that person was claiming to being bromance. I saw some Chinese straight series and they are not too far off with affection as the BL - it's just country's style. But no - not a BL. I even asked what does series needs to have for that person to consider it a BL but got no clear answer and decided not to continue to convince them that they were not "cheated"/mislead 🤷‍♀️

There are some who would still relegate this to bromance (as they do with Stay With Me). I find that couples do not have to be super affectionate in public (or private) or confessing their undying love to make it clear to the audience what they feel about each other (Chinese BLs are always good example - I am on re-watch of Killer and Healer and I know I am still not prepared for the ending but cannot help myself due to all couples chemistry and storyline, a true gem!).

Was the kidnapping plot just to show us shirtless Ngern? 🤔
😉

Wasn't it because she could not commit? I think Yang mentioned that she hasn't changed, never settles, has multiple guys at the same time...

So I did the math. 25000 yen divided by 30 days, by 2 people and by 3 meals a day is less than $1/meal (drinks included)...
With 30000 yen (wasn't this the price of umbrella in New Year's special EP?) we get slightly above $1/meal.

Skirting around subject matter: it's still China (even if they don't release it in the mainland the actors might face repercussions if it's to hardcore... like hand holding 😉)
Hot-tempered, erratic and volatile (...) lacked proper communication: they are 17 years old boys. We cannot expect them to be mature. WB practically from 1 scene was shown as quite hot-headed, so it's his core characteristic.
Ending: it's just a cliffhanger. For me it was not as surprising because it was an escalation - big bro could control WB easily before but now his influence was greatly diminished, so he played the same card that worked in the past (remember that he tried separation and it did not work at all, so he needed more "permanent" solution).
For me the focus on the family was a bonus but I get that's not everyone's cup of tea.

Perhaps we are going to see ihim fight a lot in the "Red Peafowl" (it's based on novel but I haven't read it, so I have no clue about his character) - it's mafia/police themed.

I like this series as well and don't get the negative comments about their progress (granted I would prefer for Sailom to be more into that kiss but I can get that it wasn't exactly ideal circumstances for it). I was not expecting much and just recently learned about novel and hope to read it.
I also quite like Love Syndrome witch was bashed a lot (let's be happy that they based it on 3rd novel which had much less toxicity and the series made make it even less problematic - not totally but still much better).

It was long (same as mine 😉).
What I meant was: how do you see Chinese BLs? With what you wrote it would be that China makes no BL as they all fall under bromance, if I understood you correctly.
Each country has their own style of it, I think and Chinese rely more on reading between the lines now (in some "straight" dramas I saw as well).
"A shoulder to cry on" was for me not the typical Korean style of BL, so I was disappointed (even though I loved the scene with the phone call 😂). This show is in line with other Chinese BL adaptation (being a bit bolder than them). Would I want them to be more faithful to the oryginal story in some aspects (not toxicity)? Yes. Could that happen any time soon? Doubtful.
I would say that it is advertised correctly by the show itself - opening song is all about the family. It's just people who hype some aspects of it causing misunderstanding and not the show itself, I think.
Taiwanese adaptation or Thai - would they actually do it better than this? In some aspects perhaps but lacking in others. I doubt that there are many adaptations that are universaly liked / without criticism when compared with oryginal.

It wasn't produced in China but the actors are Chinese, right? So if they got more explicit it might end badly for them (weren't actors from "Addicted" banned to show on the same stage?). My another theory is that they are leaving "hardcore" stuff (like hand-holding 😉) for next season...
When I watch BL from China, I set myself on the mindset that we won't see much physical aspects of relationship (or them outright saying it) but if the feelings are there I would still enjoy it.

What makes a good Chinese BL for you (I am seriously asking and not trying to start a fight)? IMO they did a lot more than in other post "Addicted" BLs ("Untamed" had the bowing before tablets as show if their love - was it more BL for you?
In "S.C.I." they were doin the mouth-to-mouth 🤔).

What I liked about this series is the whole message that the family are the people we decide to be with. They don't have to share blood with us to make us feel true familiar love and warmth. What the children need is their parents attention and support - throwing at them money won't solve the issues (like seriously the didn't know his son transferred schools for months?!).
In BLs usually conflict within the family comes from person's sexual orientation (much less now) and only sometimes they show issues like too much pressure/high expectations. Here the conflict starts with lack of communication, father grieving and just simply letting things be. It's good to see that the dad had some growth in the series.
BLs usually don't show interactions in the families much - they mainly focus on the couple (+friends), so I liked this kind of "slice of life" theme.

I am hoping that they do season 2 next year and we finally get the closure (and "hardcore" stuff 😏).