VixenByNight72

"Like Trin said, Thanwa had some healing to do, and Trin couldn't help him with that."

Exactly. Tanwa had years of drugged down trauma that he needed to deal with, outside of what happened regarding the death of Victor and Trin's feelings of betrayal. Ugh. Both Tanwa and Trin had to go on their own separate journeys in order to find themselves again. As for Tanwa being the one to meet up with Trin in Paris after two years, it was for a direct purpose for their second chance. For him to experience the "vanilla sunset" in Paris with Trin. Their new beginning.

Sadly, GMMTV really isn't "losing" regarding the fan service that is heavily relied upon in Thai entertainment industry, specifically within the BL/GL genre.

There is a method to their marketing, and they want talent that is willing to play the game.

I'm glad that GMMTV, Inn and Great figured out that their form of marketing their talent did not work for them as performers.

I just think that neither Inn nor Great really were willing to participate fully in what it takes to be a "successful" CP with GMMTV, and that's understandable and okay in my opinion.

I loved the journey of Mashiro and Kanade reuniting with each other as adults.

Kanade realizing that he's not alone in the world anymore due to him finally being out to himself, his family, and a select group of close friends with his relationship with Mashiro.

Mashiro and his Mom are finally able to have a non codependent relationship with one another as a parent and child. This was a lovely BL series that focused on gay male adults establishing healthy boundaries with their parents. Along with showing
the experiences that many queer people go through to affirm their devotion, love, and care for one another.

"They are people with their own stories. When dramas flatten them into clichés, it does not just waste potential. It also sends the wrong cultural message. Women’s lives matter on their own, not only when they orbit men."

Agreed, but many of the creators of the stories these BLs are adapted from are young women writers. I know they are creating fictional works, but they don't even attempt to try and give their female characters anything remotely focused on their own interests/goals other than their main purpose of supporting the male characters.

Why should we continue to have these young girls constantly pursuing young men, who actively show no romantic interest in them? Why is it that none of their other female friends tell them that they should move on and stop setting themselves up for more heartache?

Especially since this series is set in college.

"After death they met once more beneath the peach trees. No thrones. No chains. Only two souls finding each other again."

The huge smile on Duan Ziang's face when he approached Shuhe in the afterlife, along with the look of amazement on Shuhe's face. Shuhe told his older brother that he couldn't leave with him, because he was waiting for someone else. He didn't expect for Duan Ziang to rush to by his side after everything that he said to him on their last day together in the mortal world.

Yes. This is a happily ever after for these two characters.

I get why Fumi has reservations about Kaishin being around Ai. She views him as being a "fan", just like she sees herself with Himeka. That those two are only supposed to be there to make the lives of Ai and Himeka easier to navigate in.

If she could just stop viewing herself as only a fan, she might be able to see just how much Himeka is drawn towards her.

Fumi doesn't seem to understand that Ai has Kaishin around, because he does need him, he doesn't want to need him, but he's growing accustomed to him. Which is why Ai got so angry, when he thought that the bartender was mocking Kaishin, while didn't care at all. Kaishin is used to others seeing him as less than. He had to overcome that and not care in order to survive being on his own.

Kaishin is slowly tearing down the emotional/mental walls that Ai has placed around him, to try and protect himself from being used and hurt by someone that's supposed to care for him.

That whole scene between him and his sister, revealed just how much they both need to feel "in charge" when it comes to their relationships with men.

What is HE and SE?

"If I hadn't been so greedy, so set on completing my mission, maybe we could have had an honest relationship. If I hadn't been so insistent on reuniting with you, maybe we could both be living peacefully on our own now."

To quote Bon Jovi: "Shot through the heart, and your to blame. You give love a bad name!"

"There’s also the guilt. Shuhe’s very survival and rise to the throne rests on that one act of violence. Every time he looks at Duan, he sees the man who saved him and the man who condemned him to a kingship built on loss. To forgive Duan would mean admitting he accepts that bargain, and maybe even that he wanted it. That’s a truth he can’t carry."

At this point, I don't think that Duan wants or even feels that he deserves forgiveness from Shuhe. I think he wants to shoulder all of the guilt, shame, pain, and anger that Shuhe has for what happened onto himself. He's trying to recreate Shuhe's "peaceful oasis", but he knows that all Shuhe can see is that he's trapped in a prison. Mind you, this prison, and Duan's obsessive love is the one thing that is keeping Shuhe alive (for now).

Because it was 100% accurate. Charn didn't even attempt to question Jet. He just ran. It's funny, because Charn was a total skeptic, that I thought would make future situations worse for Paran, Khem, and Jet. Yet, he's become a true believer.

"In the end, I couldn't tell if I was lying to him or to myself."
Shuhe is still in love with Duan. The time they experienced together five years prior is vivid for both of them. When Duan woke up, due to hearing Shuhe's cries of pain after he was whipped. Even though the prison is on the opposite side of the palace, AND Duan had never heard Shuhe's cry in the past. I was expecting to see those guards being executed for harming his Shuhe.

The love is still there, but their trust, faith, and belief in themselves is gone.

This production as achieved all of this within 10 episodes, with two more to air.

We can get great historical Chinese BLs, if they can get produced and released out of China.

I'm thinking that Huo Ying will somehow attempt to revenge his beloved Shu Qian's murder by taking out Duan, but Shuhe comes to his aide, resulting in both of them dying.

Does Shuhe still believe that Duan killed his father and not realize that it was his brother who did it?

His brother's madness started the destruction of Shuhe and Duan five years ago.

Not to say that Duan and Shuhe haven't done things now, that have given them trust issues, but Shu Qian was planning to kill everyone he viewed as a threat to him. Shuhe wouldn't have survived if not for Duan.

But, Xia Cha was right. Hai Yuan would have never loved Zhe Fang. He never even liked him.

Zhe Fang also never really liked, nor loved Ri Qing. He used him to try and get Hai Yuan. Zhe Fang treated Ri Qing horribly.

Shuhe was never raised to be a candidate for the throne. His Father Emperor never wanted that outcome for him, so it makes sense that his time in power was unstable. While Duan was able to achieve a fast rise to power in the North, due to his past. His family was slaughtered, his younger brother captured, and him being taught from a very young age to be a killer. The only one who ever gave him a sense of peace, calm, and love was Shuhe.

Duan has spent years meticulously achieving power and becoming more obsessed with getting Shuhe back in his life. The replica of Shuhe's home?!

I don't know what's going to happen next.

"As a Westerner, I admit it feels a little too neat sometimes. People don’t usually change that quickly in real life. But then again, that’s probably just my Western lens talking."

Agreed, because if this was a Western based series, both Kanade and Mashiro would have distanced themselves from both of their families (specifically Kanade's dad and Mashiro's mom) years ago, because those relationships were keeping them from emotionally and mentally developing as grown adults.

These BLs have these characters being so restrained/reserved to the point of restricted lives, to showcase that once you can truly admit your feelings, needs, and wants to yourself and others, the sense of freedom doesn't seem so overwhelming and not obtainable anymore.

The look of relief in both Kanade and Mashiro is what made their developments as individual characters, and their romance great for me in this episode.

"He didn't go home because he didn't feel welcome there."

Exactly. Kanade was just supposed to deal with his father's behavior, even though it made him feel less than worthy, because that's what a child is required to do.

Just like how Mashiro for years accepted the manipulative behavior of his mom.

Both Mashiro and Kanade had to have their confrontations with those specific parents, because those relationships were keeping them from emotionally and mentally developing as grown adults.

".....they don't come there with the right spirit..."
Absolutely agree. Nevertheless, I try to avoid those that don't have the "right spirit"

I am loving this adaption.