TianQi

Yes

I *finally* made it through the last two episodes after stopping to binge other series. My first opinion is that the last two episodes make up for the whole series in terms of romance and "feels". The leads have really good chemistry which makes my frustration with how long we have to wait in order to see them interact alone and intimately even more justified than it was at episode 11 when I wrote my first rant. lol

However, the hazing throughout the first several episodes and the continued focus on hazing in the last two episodes really draws focus away. I'm fairly positive virtually none of the viewers are entertained by it and those of us who have experienced it, don't want to relive such a frustrating time of their lives.

Before, it seemed like Kongpop came out of nowhere in the beginning with his love for Arthit, but the ending clarifies that, which is good because I thought that aspect of his character was really weird (like how can you be in love w/ someone that treats you like an animal every day?!). It also seemed like Arthit was just downright rude and aggressive. Due to the fact in the last two to three episodes we ACTUALLY get to know the characters (as they relate to each other specifically), the dynamic comes full circle. Kongpop is extremely, almost creepily (imo) submissive...he likes that Arthit is bossy, aggressive, and sorta whiny. Likewise Arthit likes the fact that Kongpop is able to put up with all of his crap because even Arthit realizes how insufferable his own personality is.

PROS:
-production quality
-acting (more or less)
-lessons about teamwork/compassion

CONS:
-too much focus on hazing aspect
-too little screen time for the leads alone
-too much time taken to get to the actual romance

Well, maybe it's because I am a gay guy and I did grow up with awkward situations with boys that I liked during high school etc. and this just doesn't ring as realistic. I don't know shy people who simultaneously act like assholes because they don't know how to express their feelings. To me, Arthit's character comes off as a aggressive and rude, not just cold. I mean, I'm sure those people exist, but it's not entertaining to watch....but now that you mention it, it does seem more like something a girl would do in the same situation instead of a guy, but I don't want to rely on stereotypes.

That said, Arthit and the other characters REALLY aren't my biggest complaint about the show. I rather like the characters to be quite honest. My biggest issue is the pace of the show. Like I said, most of the season is spent with the main couple arguing, being frustrated while their alone or being awkward when they are in a group. Most of the "romance" we see is what we imagine and nothing really happens until the last 2-3 episodes.

In terms of BL, I don't find this theme to be terribly different from Addicted. The production quality is higher in this series and the supporting characters get more screen time, but overall both main couples give the same sense of: "Wow! I really like this couple!"...but the I think Addicted illustrated the romance much much better than did SOTUS.

This should be marked as a "spoiler".

I read your review before watching. 15 episodes in and your words are really resonating with me. I mostly watch because 1) I'm always down for a good costume drama 2) this one got a lot of advertising when it first released in China, so I automatically had high expectations and 3) because I loved the leads in Eternal Love, but the king's "tyranny" is falling flat on me and Dilraba seems so nonchalant about everything. :/

It wasn't "bad" per se, but it wasn't particularly remarkable. I didn't feel like I've wasted my time after having watched it, so I guess that's something...

No to the first question, yes to the second.

Yes, he did, but just to make her pregnant, but after the first few times, the lover and the queen meet in the library in secret to have romantic sex, not just sex to make a baby.

We can only hope! haha

It's probably because the person who made the page didn't have a lot of info on the show, but yes, Yan Zi Dong is in it and so is Huang Li Ge from Like Love.

I really liked this one. The acting was great and I could "feel" the love between the leads. Their childishness was a little cheesy, but honestly, I really loved that aspect. I found it extremely cute. Nothing negative to say about this one, really.

I agree. The hints were all there. Just no kissing. hahaha

I appreciated this in the same way I appreciated Love Is More Than a Word. I feel like "bromance" is somewhat of an inaccurate way to describe these types of dramas. Fraternal or brotherly love is more platonic, imo. In this story and Love Is More Than a Word, deep bonds were shown and expressed in overt ways that completely come off as romantic, but without obvious romantic actions. I understand that with government censorship, things have to be muted, but that doesn't kill this story and how it was executed for me. I adore Jiang Zi Le and Yan Zi Dong when they work together. Very tender and very sweet.

lol

It's the communist party...they suck...Chinese people actually like these series, but the government is just full of a**holes.

By "chasing", I meant how Kongpop purposely goes out of his way a lot to interact with Arthit personally. They're at the same school, but they're social circles and academic levels are different, so they aren't actually afforded that much time to meet. The times when they are alone together, it's because Kongpop went out of his way to make it that way.

He's still pretty rude, whether he means to be or not. I don't find it hard to understand the characters. I like their chemistry when they're actually getting along with each other. They're great, but Arthit's confusion and denial for the first 11 episodes (literally over half the season lol) wasn't entertaining to me, it was just annoying. Up until now, I've found Arthit to be one of the coldest leads I've ever seen in a BL and I've seen quite a few. He really doesn't deserve Kongpop n my opinion. ha

I think our opinions come down to personal experience. If you feel you're similar to Arthit, then I can see why you can appreciate him.

But in the second episode and thereafter, he's continuing to chase, so clearly he's still in love. lol

Maybe Kongpop doesn't know when it started, but it's clear in the ep 1 that Kongpop had already fell for Arthit...maybe it happened off screen, but since that's the first that we see of Kongpop and Arthit, it comes off as "love at first sight" for me. Maybe just the notion of openly mistreating then liking someone doesn't come off as real or nice for me. Arthit's attitude and treatment of Kongpop is just too much for me. I really don't like his character at all. There's nothing cute about being rude because you're shy...it's just you being a jerk for no reason. haha

Relationships are slow-paced and, sure, that's realistic, but if the show revolves around a couple and we barely see the couple interacting (they don't even really get that much screen time together outside the company of other students at this point), then the show kind of misses the premise in my opinion. If a guy ever treated me like how Arthit treats KongPop, I would never give him the time of day let alone continue to chase him and seriously don't know many others that would either. So, that aspect for me, seems unrealistic. Also, I definitely see an aspect of the "love-at-first-sight" BL theme on the part of Kongpop. Kongpop from Ep. 1 is head over heels for Arthit and we're not actually given any inkling as to why and even Kongpop himself says he doesn't know why when confesses his love while they're in bed. Now that I mention it, That's a HUGE issue for me with Kongpop. How do you fall in love with someone you've never spent any time alone with or really getting to know that treats you like crap every day? I know it's all part of the hazing, but even outside that realm Arthit wasn't even sorta friendly...at all.

I dunno. Like I said, the show is well-produced and the actors are great, so I'm gonna keep going, but in spite of that, I don't really find this to be as realistic as others are suggesting...I don't know of people who go from being severely annoyed by someone to being in love with them nor do I know of people who actively pursue a romance with someone that shows that they're annoyed by them as much as Arthit does to Kongpop.

On another note, this series would be 3000 times better if it also followed a relationship between Wad and Prem more closely.