GoodRick

I know right. What a shame. I really love Song Kang and I already had to give up on Love Alarm because of the s#itty rating on that one, and now looks like I might have to give up on Nevertheless too. I have an extremely busy and hectic life and no time to waste. Wish this show had a better rating because I really love Song Kang. Sigh.

Well considering the fact that a TON of K-dramas released this year and within the past year or two have a rating of 9.0 or more makes 7. something rating look really trash. I mean I'm not talking one or two dramas. There is like tons of recent K-dramas have a rating over 9. These are only some I remember, I'm, sure there are more - Move to Heaven, Navillera, Vincenzo, Hospital Playlist, It's Not Okay To Be Okay, Flower of Evil, Mr. Queen, Crash Landing On You. All of these clocked a rating of 9.0 if not more. And these are just the recent ones, I'm sure there are plenty more. So, yeah makes 7.something sounds really bad.

I think the more relevant question is - Why do you find TU more subtle than WOH? Because they showed us a hug in WOH and not in TU? If so the bar for a Chinese show to be called a BL same sex romance is incredibly low, isn't it? And you have to remember the context in which they showed us that hug. ZZS was comforting WKX during the painful memories of his parents, and WKX almost seemed to reject and push back on that hug.

I think there is plenty of subtext, hinting and innuendos in WOH that can be interpreted to be romance. But that is all at the discretion of the viewer. What you felt was understated romance for me is just homoerotic subtext. I would never call subtext as romance. Subtext doesn't hold a candle to romance because romance is so much more powerful than subtext.

Hello. You're fine and your post is very respectful. It does not sound aggressive at all, at least not to me.

I think you really need to separate the novel Tian Ya Ke (TYK) from the TV adaptation WOH. WOH was adapted from the novel TYK but they are two separate entities. WOH is not TYK and TYK is not WOH. If you read your own post carefully I think you answer your own question. You are calling WOH a same-sex romance a lot in part as a nod to the original novel which represents the homosexual relationship. But you forget the two are not the same, but are separate entities. I agree TYK is a same-sex BL romance novel. But the fact is WOH is not. WOH is littered with homoerotic subtext like sleeve cutting, plenty of hinting, suggestions, innuendos, poetry. They throw you a TON of bone and we are lapping it all up. But there is no confession or any explicit acknowledgment of a romantic relationship. Everything is up to the discretion and the interpretation of the viewer. I understand why they did it - It's China and they have homophobic censorship rules, etc. But that doesn't change the fact that there is no depiction of romance beyond the subtext.

I guess it is all in the eye of the beholder. One man's trash is another man's treasure. What one finds ugly another might find beautiful. What you find in WOH as the BL romance of a lifetime, I find it Queerbaiting. It's all up for interpretation.

Quit picking on my boy please. I love him.

Hey that is awesome. I am so glad you stuck with it. This is an amazing drama, one that I really love.

I do have to warn you though, and this is just my opinion. I do think it is misleading that some are saying there is a "overt portrayal of BL" in WOH. There is NOT. Sure, there is a hug or two and you might catch them clasping their hands one time, but there is no overt romance between the leads. Not even the least. There might be some homoerotic subtext (sleeve cutting), clever twists, lots of hinting, suggestions, innuendos, poetry, bone-throwing, etc - plenty of that going on that is suggestive of a same-sex relationship, but then there is absolutely NO depiction of same-sex romance. I personally find it extremely disingenuous, not to mention misleading that some are claiming that there is "overt portrayal of BL", but that is just my opinion.

Hey this is just my opinion. I do think it is misleading that some are saying there is a "overt portrayal of BL" in WOH. There is NOT. Sure, there is a hug or two and you might catch them clasping their hands one time, but there is no overt romance between the leads. Not even the least. There might be some homoerotic subtext (sleeve cutting), clever twists, lots of hinting, suggestions, innuendos, poetry, bone-throwing, etc - plenty of that going on that is suggestive of a same-sex relationship, but then there is absolutely NO depiction of same-sex romance. I personally find it extremely disingenuous, not to mention misleading that some are claiming that there is "overt portrayal of BL", but that is just my opinion.

OMG Choi Woo Shik in a K-drama. That hasn't happened in a while. So excited.

Well considering the fact that a TON of K-dramas released this year and within the past year or two have a rating of 9.0 or more makes 7.8 rating look really horrible. I mean ton's of recent K-dramas have a rating over 9. These are only some I remember, I', sure there are more - Move to Heaven, Navillera, Vincenzo, Hospital Playlist, It's Not Okay To Be Okay, Flower of Evil, Mr. Queen, Crash Landing On You. All of these clocked a rating of 9.0 if not more. So, yeah makes 7.8 look horrible.

STILL
NO
START
DATE

WTF
ARGHHH

Why does Xu Kai seem to have such a wooden look. Its like he is constipated or something.

Wow the rating seems to be slipping. What's up with this horrible rating?

Not to sound like I'm picking on you because I'm really not and frankly speaking I think it is great that you find BL romance so pleasurable and that it brings out so many wonderful emotions like heart fluttering, blushing, etc and all the things you mentioned. But why do you associate that with guilt? Why do you feel guilty about finding BL romance so pleasurable?

Exactly! My jaw dropped to the floor when I read that comment - "It's not always healthy and I am sure the sane among us realize that".
WOW I say.

I totally agree with you. Quite honestly I'm not sure I understand why a lot of people characterized their liking of the BL genre as "guilty pleasure" and frankly I found that characterization a little disturbing. Like I said in my earlier post - When I think of guilty pleasure I think of eating ice cream, chocolate or a piece of cake. I know consuming foods with excessive sugar is not healthy but then I have a sweet tooth and so when I occasionally indulge in consumption of such food, that to me is - guilty pleasure. Why is romance between two men guilty pleasure? Is it because even though it is year 2021 we unfortunately still seem to live in a deeply homophobic society where everything gets looked through a hetero-normative perspective - one that assumes all people wish to have a partner of the opposite sex, marry, have children, and fulfill traditional gender roles throughout their lifetime? Is it because we live in a hetero-normative society which means straight and cisgender people are a part of a privileged group and hence acceptance and "consumption" of gay romance is - guilty pleasure? Just trying to understand.

Thank you all for your responses. This was very interesting. I noticed that a lot of people explained BL as "guilty pleasure" and I'm not sure I quite understand that. When I think of guilty pleasure I think of eating ice cream, chocolate or a piece of cake. I know consuming foods with excessive sugar is not healthy but then I have a sweet tooth and so when I occassionally indulge in consumption of such food, that to me is - guilty pleasure. Why is romance between two men guilty pleasure? Is it because even though it is year 2021 we unfortunately still seem to live in a deeply homophobic society where everything gets looked through a heteronormative perspective - one that assumes all people wish to have a partner of the opposite sex, marry, have children, and fulfill traditional gender roles throughout their lifetime? Is it because we live in a heteronormative society which means straight and cisgender people are a part of a privileged group and hence acceptance and "consumption" of gay romance is - guilty pleasure? Just trying to understand.

I totally agree with you on how you got hooked on to WOH from the very first moment and for me personally this was one major MAJOR distinction between WOH and TU. While it took what felt like forever for me to really sink into TU (yes, I almost stopped watching TU because I just wasn't getting into it, but I'm glad I stuck with it because I loved it), that was sooo not the case for me for WOH. I was into WOH right off the bat.

So about that episode 13. That was the one with the tortoise cave. I loved everything about it but specifically how they collaborate to deal with the black tortoise of slaughter. It was the entire interaction between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. How Wuxian starts to undress just to get Wangji to spit the poison out, Wuxian using Wangji's headband fully knowing that it is something off limits and Wangji letting him, Wangji getting jealous of Mian Mian, Wangji's controlled subtle micro-expressions and Wuxian's polar opposite gregariousness was a perfect juxtaposition of how opposites attract. The entire interaction is steeped in slow burning sexual tension that I felt I could cut with a knife. That episode was an instant light switch for me and it just hit me from nowhere and I just got hooked. I just knew it then that I couldn't give up now and I just had to keep watching and I needed to know how this story would unfold and conclude.

While we anxiously wait for HOB, I have a general question about the BL/Danmei genre purely out of curiosity. What I understand from what I have read is that the BL/Danmei genre is predominantly created by women and targeted towards a heterosexual female audience. So question - What is it about two men getting it on that straight women find so appealing?

While we anxiously wait for Immortality, I have a general question about the BL/Danmei genre purely out of curiosity. What I understand from what I have read is that the BL/Danmei genre is predominantly created by women and targeted towards a heterosexual female audience. So question - What is it about two men getting it on that straight women find so appealing?

You and the whole world for C-drama fans.