jpny01

Maybe a more relevant issue with your analogy is that SciFi has evolved over time, BL hasn't. You, I, and the entire audience could map out every step of Li Cheng & Mu Ren's relationship from the first 5 minutes of the first ep. The formula robs the genre of opportunities for dramatic effect.

We know that if there's an effeminate gay or trans character, they'll screech and paw at attractive men. That's the same as blackface. This isn't 1980s Japan, it's a 21st c global phenomenon.

Maybe they'll surprise us and reverse it - or better yet, take turns.

I mean the stressful restaurant scene that went on forever and Bas' digestive issues. The latter was at least part of the plot, but too much of the ep was consumed in being difficult to watch and not enough to moving the plot forward. There are only 6 episodes, so this struck me as self-indulgent and time-wasting. We got the point - it didn't need to be belabored.

The cringe-inducing nature of the Fish Upon the Sky. Going from that to this even more cringe-inducing ep was a lot of stress.

It's very easy to wrap your mind around it. The same 5 cliches over and over is boring and lazy. That's the objection. Also, you need to get over the idea that you own BL - nobody does. It's like saying Austrians own Mozart.

I thought it was the lighting, especially when Xing Si was in the bedroom.

I would love it if they reversed it, but they won't - Li Cheng/Mu Ren so far hasn't strayed at all from the formula.

It's not the History4 comments sction without someone making a weird and irrelevant comment about Yong Jie, even though he wasn't even the episode.

That a disingenuous argument. Marginalizing and exploiting oppressed minorities is not acceptable in the SciFi genre, so why should it be here?

Beyond that, it's stupid and boring to do the same unrealistic thing over and over and over.

I would answer you by saying, if you want the same thing over and over, then just go rewatch SOTUS every day and let BL progress beyond the same 5 cliches.

When I was that age I could - a little less so now. Regrettably alcohol tolerance declines with age. Not so much the ability to handle it, but the likelihood of hangovers. At 30 I could drink any amount and not get sick or hungover. Now I still never get sick, but I don't feel so good the next day.

In any case, I never had the BL vomit-fest followed by total amnesia after having a sip of beer.

That was pretty realistic - I think BLs in general make alcohol 10 times more potent than it is. A six-pack of beer is equivalent to 2-3 glasses of wine, and a bottle of wine is about 4 glasses for a total of 6-7 glasses. That's enough to get drunk, and maybe hung-over if you don't drink water before going to bed, but not the usual BL vomiting all over and totally forgetting everything that happened.

So this ep was mixed for me. I really like that they have drunk people behave realistically - Mu Ren was great here. Those two were really making out - that was not faked at all. But I was thinking, "uh, maybe brush your teeth first."

Also, Li Cheng and Mu Ren have great chemistry when they're sparring, but less as a romantic couple. BL writers don't seem to be able to do two guys in a relationship - they always default to a very traditional man-woman dynamic that forces one of the two to undergo a personality transplant, in this case Mu Ren, who is suddenly boring. Even his clothes were dowdy this ep.

On the other front, I think I called that Dad already knew about Xing Si - and once again, Yong Jie's plans worked. I think there must be easier ways to achieve the same goals, but he does get results...

I was missing the ability to adjust speed on Viki - the endless scene of Mu Ren standing on a balcony was tedious - in general this ep was boring, and coming after last week's also dull ep, I'm hoping next is more eventful.

I assume the perpetrator behind the video is the disgraced VP.

Either the digraced VP or Yong Jie - he said he would help Li Cheng get Mu Ren, and it worked. He's sort of the Wile E Coyote of romance - unnecessarily complicated plans that result in lots of collateral damage. The VP's motive is obvious.

Thanks! Looking at it now, that was a LONG review. I blame COVID.

I meant that's what whoever produced this was thinking.

That is really concerning. Either your friend was drugged, has a serious allergy, or may have been on some medication that is incompatible with alcohol. A lot of alcohols have allergens in them like wheat and yeast - please tell your friend to be careful.

Why is everyone so harsh on this? It's really fun and cute. A lot of people complained it's too sudden and they didn't get to see the wedding. Right, they're going to produce a Joseon-era noble wedding. If you have like a billion dollars to spend, you can donate it to the production.

Also, all the Korean BLs are the same length. Are there people still surprised?

Anyway, Jang Eui Soo is so gorgeous. Kang In Soo, isn't bad, but he kind of pales in comparison. I love his awful letter - that was so funny. It should be a crazy ride starting next ep.

It feels like two guys were sitting in a room and one says "My girlfriend is really into this BL craze - we should find a way to cash in on that."

There is a lot of fantastic American stuff on cable - there are whole channels dedicated to gay content.

Everything is supply and demand. You don't stop supporting ALL BL, just the companies that don't treat their actors right. That will result in less BL, but better BL, and let's be honest, there is a ton of absolute crap on the air at any given time. There are over 30 series airing right now.

Boycotts work. Gay rights were largely achieved by boycotting companies that didn't have gay rights policies, and stopped holding events or building facilities in states that didn't have gay equality laws. Nobody wants to make less money, so corporations almost universally have LGBTQ+ supportive policies and a large number of states have legalized gay marriage or are in the process.

For BL, the sponsors will pressure the production companies to treat the actors better - it's not going to stop BL.

It works - it's the way most social justice is achieved. No one gives anything up if nobody is fighting for it. Treating the actors well will just reduce the profits by a small amount - and good actors will be more willing to work or stay in BL, raising the quality.

You know which series treated it's actos well? ITSAY.

I would at least have made him go brush his teeth.