any_anka

Don't open that wound... 😭

Yes to your first sentence. Not only because it is a Chinese BL, but generally, as far as I know, Thailand is the only country that has this CP-model that turns two actors into some sort of a unit to have multiple joint productions. It usually doesn't happen in other countries (the exception I can think of is these two Korean BL dramas with the same pairing, but I don't remember the titles - one show was roommates-to-lovers trope and the other one had one of them being a vampire). Actors play their parts, they do promotions together and they go their separate ways professionally, unless there is a second season. Just how it usually goes for actors.

However, I am not so sure what you're talking about pertaining to The On1y One actors not being allowed to meet? I've never heard of that. And generally, how do people even know those things? It's not like we are privy to the internal decisions of their agencies 😋 Dong Qin was not part of the promotions in Taiwan, but he was filming in Mainland China at that point. Him and Benjamin had a live together on Weibo as part of promotions with their co-actress and later on two of them had an actual physical fan meet in Macau.

Also... Wang Yi Bo and Xiao Zhan thing... Are they really not allowed to interact in public or do they strategically avoid being potentially seen next to one another due to the unhinged fans and anti-fans reactions every.single.time whenever these two are even mentioned in some proximity to each other or there's a possibility of them attending the same event? 🤔

All the time 😉 So far they appeared in every episode, on multiple occasions.

Well, I actually agree with @Senza on the ratings part. BL dramas usually have a following of people who will watch everything as long as it has two good looking guys kissing and rate it high for that reason alone (e.i. it being a BL drama), even if the quality is rather dubious.
There are plenty of "straight" shows of various genres that are well-written, complex and well-acted and they barely get an 8.2 rating (a rating which they objectively deserve) and plenty of BL dramas that stumble on storytelling, acting, well... virtually anything, and still receive the same rating just because they happen to be a BL.
Homophobia affecting the rating argument might play a part in some cases of shows who garnered a lot of attention outside of the usual target audience of BL dramas (e.g. Love in the Big City when I did see people just down-rate the drama for it being a queer drama), but it honestly doesn't happen very often.

As much as I am enjoying Revenged Love, I strongly disagree with that comment about Japanese BLs having the same scripts. Japanese BLs are some of the most original, unique stories you'll fine in the entire drama-land.

A story about a 30 year old virgin who starts hearing other people's thoughts bcs of still being a virgin at his age - they have it.
A story about an erotic fiction writer - they have it.
A story about a guy who has almost supernatural bad luck and decided to cling to a very lucky guy to avoid accidents happening to him - they have it.
An office story about a dude who finds out his 60-sth years old boss has a crush on him - they have it.
Domestic violence/abuse themes treated with sensitivity - they have it.
Highschool stories, office stories, stories happening in the underworld, stories happening in the showbusiness industry - they literally have it all and they constantly deliver something new.

Liking Japanese BLs is another thing. I actually agree that they're not for everyone as jdramas in general have a very unique feel to them, but saying how they deliver recycled scripts is just factually not true.

WSW has enough pride and prejudice for both of them 😉

Exactly that. It for sure was not an accidental, random choice, Revenged Love being a take on enemies-to-lovers trope itself. I love Easter Eggs that are well thought-out, which this one most certainly was! 😁

I just realised the book Wu Suo Wei is reading when he is pretending to be all cultured and stuff in front of Chi Cheng is Pride and Prejudice (an absolute iconic enemies-to-lovers tale - good choice drama creators 😁)

Yep. Gotta admit, I am not too crazy about dubbing in cdramas, especially by people other than the actors we see on screen, but sometimes some voice actors are just so perfect for the role. It was like that with Wei Wu Xian's voice actor in The Untamed for me and it's like that with Chi Cheng's voice actor in Revenged Love now.

I'm not sure if we understand what happened in the second case the same way... Because my takeaway about Yi Wan San as a character is quite different.

In his background story during the 2nd case he's literally a kid who loses both parents in a short span of time due to - what looks like from his POV - as the village's obsession with clams and disregard to his parents life. This sort of life tragedy that happened to him would be difficult to handle and process in a rational, mature manner even for an adult, needless to say a kid. Now, I am by no means saying that what he did was right, but at the same time there is some space for empathy for him, isn't there?

I'm also not certain what do you mean by "only caring about the loss of the place of his childhood memories". His emotions were rather complicated, you could see him struggling with both guilt and anger all mixed up in his head. But he for sure felt guilty and terrified when he thought he might've been the reason for what happened to his homeplace. I'm not sure what else was he supposed to do? And I don't find him caring about his birthplace and his parents' bodies much different than Hong Sha wanting to retrieve her uncle's body. Was she selfish, too?

That's a very possible theory 😉

Can't speak for the other person, but originally I had issues with the editing (felt abrupt, like there was no natural flow between the scenes). I either got used to it by episode 8 or they actually fixed it in later episodes 😉

It's streamed on international platforms: Viki, GagaOOLala, YouTube (and I think some others in countries like Thailand, Korea, Japan - not sure though).

So I finally finished it... Erm... it lost some of its charm for me in the final episodes. The main couple was super cute - I still stand by my original opinion - but what I could ignore about the plot initially, became simply too frequent for me to look the other way and suspend my disbelief in a constant manner. Still, it's the best of what VBL put out this year...
I really liked the plot with the sick sister - I thought the family dynamics were wholesome and sweet. I kinda wish this part of the drama got a better, less rushed conclusion, but I understand I was probably in the minority who cared about it 😋
Leads chemistry: 8/10,
Plot (oh dear Lord...) 4.5-5/10,
Overall: generous 6.5/10.

Try Revenged Love. Truly, honestly, sincerely ;)

Ah, yes! I read you wrong the first time (my eyes and brain 🙄).

"It's like demonstrating "we're really not targeting the mainland Chinese audience, honest!"" - for real though! 😂 And we all know they still *are* their main target anyway :>

As for listing it under Taiwan, Singapore or Mainland China on different platforms: I don't quite understand the entire strategy tbh. It's way too multi-layered and contradictory for me to grasp it ;)

Oh btw, speaking of simplified characters - the version on Viki actually has the opening with credits written in traditional characters, not simplified.
To confuse us even more 😋

Revenged Love, The Sparkle In Your Eye and Blue Canvas of Youthful Days are all Mainland Chinese BL dramas listen on Viki under Taiwan category.

I suppose it has something to do with them not being officially aired in the Mainland China?
Revenged Love YouTube channel is set for Singapore, but since Viki doesn't have the Singapore category... maybe hence Taiwan? 😋

You forgot subs that leave it as Xiao Cubao 😉

Same here 😢