solipsism5

The screenplay is top-notch. I'm very confident in the writers at this point. But, just to play devil's advocate, you could be right and I might be premature. As a writer, myself, I find the writing nuanced, subtle, and ingenious. I feel I could take away many lessons from it. I don't feel that way with virtually any other series.

This drama is just incredible. I think it's a blessing that we get such a top-notch show right after ATOTS with virtually no break in between. The writing is very witty and very real. This drama is pulling no punches. It's so revealing that you wonder if P'Aam is sacrificing his career to shed some light on the BL industry. I certainly hope not because he is a superb director. I like his approach to his craft - a complete collaboration between the artists and director to the point where there is no difference in artistic perspective. I assume that is the way he directs and that is totally different from most directors - as an example Stanley Kubrick would make actors repeat takes endlessly till they got the shot exactly the way he wanted it (making many actors/actresses emotionally numb).

The producer is a total hatchet-faced villain but certainly real enough that I can imagine this is pretty much the producer that he met in real life. He is not always totally in the wrong, and P'Aam does let him explain why they don't allow Director James drive with the actors. I found that valid enough, but his stinginess with the director's salary and the weird dietary regimen he forces on the actors are very problematic.

I'm not sure what I feel about James' relationship with Ait. Personally, I would greatly appreciate phone calls late at night from said actor and would welcome long seductive talks with him, but realistically, this seems a little unethical. I don't know where this relationship is going but maybe the director is putting his own shortcomings on display so we get some heightened cinematic veritas. And how does Director James also have this model Marco living with him? Is he Don Juan? I can only say I'm very jealous.

I feel very sorry for the other actor in this drama. Bas says he would rather die than not be an actor. I just feel very few people make it in this business and sense that he has a tragic future in store for him. It's also very sad to see him being tortured with a ridiculous diet for such a piddling salary. I know people in Hollywood have to conform to the right body type for their role but they are paid a fortune.

Overall, this is a great show that we have never seen before in BL land. I really enjoy the humor in it. It's not from a bunch of one-liners but just arises out of events in the screenplay - like how befuddled Director James is going around the office of producer Tee asking what a BL drama is, talking with his mom in the middle of his business meeting with the producer, etc. This humor is just so natural and refreshing. I feel it is on a totally different level than any other BL drama I've watched. I can't wait for more. This show is a real blessing for people who like this genre.

I found your insights into the BL industry fascinating. I've been really interested in the whole financial side to this business. One thing I'm interested in is that there seem to be very few BL actors that get to appear in more than 1 or 2 shows. They also don't really have any fan service that they can participate in. I assume they are just going to go into some other career because they wouldn't be able to survive on the piddling wages of these BL dramas. Why do they even bother? Do they just like the chance to appear on tv once in their lifetime? Is the industry just exploiting naive kids with a pipe dream of great wealth and stardom?

Do the production companies make a massive profit (in percentage terms) that they are, out of greed, unwilling to share with the actors?

Do you have any ballpark numbers for how much these BL Dramas cost to produce? (If you could, provide some distinction between low-end and high-end productions).

I know this is asking a lot, and feel free to just answer whatever you want here. I'll appreciate any response you are willing to give.

This is a light fluffy drama with a lot of humor. I'm really enjoying it. Phuwin shows some range as an actor playing Pi after playing Morn in My Tee and has the best English accent I've ever seen from a BL actor. Mix looked really beautiful in the opening episode and when he put that heart on Pi, things could not get any fluffier. Mix was also looking really sharp in the bar scene with his leather jacket.
Although I said it was just a cute little drama, I like that they are going into school bullying and seem to be doing it rather well. I can't think of where this is addressed elsewhere in BL except maybe The Effect, but it is definitely a very important topic and you think it would be addressed more given the innumerable shows set in schools.
I like how they reveal who the secret texter is from the beginning. It shows a little bit of innovation. There have already been plenty of shows with a secret texter and it is definitely time for something new.
Speaking of great range as an actor, it's really impressive how Neo has played three totally different characters: Gord (My Tee), Na (Tonhon Chonlatee), and Duean.
Overall, this show is off to a great start and is compelling from the beginning. Maybe I'm easy to please but I didn't think the jokes were that bad - I liked the scene where Duean had to pass his friend the toilet paper - really cute delivery there from his friend. You can't expect comic genius from Thai dramas. Just lower your expectations and you can enjoy their slapstick Mo, Larry and Curly humor.

It becomes clearer and clearer that Yong Ji is just a normal person with just a few personal quirks. His diary makes it clear that he has all the best intentions for his brother and has no sociopathic attachment. He is in love with his brother, but it is not a "fatal attraction" scenario. I think this show is not even that dark at all but certainly many people are hypersensitive on here with their overblown PC sensibilities. I'm surprised they are still watching.
Just another criticism that Yong Ji that I would like to shoot down - he's not a person that just manipulates people for fun. He's actually trying to even help the other couple by just giving them some pointers - what a little Machiavelli. I've never seen him do anything in this drama that was done purely for the love of power. He did manipulate people but it was just to help them.
I like how unconventional this show is even with your typical BL couple of Mu Ren and Li Cheng with the masturbation scene in the bathroom. Here again it's just a light hint of darkness in the screenplay - Nonetheless, I'm surprised there aren't more apoplectic comments on the masturbation and Li Cheng's voyeurism. It's just great how the screenwriters just stretch the boundaries all over the place. It also adds to the drama when they do this. We don't really need the "rape" scene with Yong Ji and Xiangsi after we read his diaries, but it is certainly much more dramatic having it in there and enhances Yong Ji's bad boy image. We see that Yong Ji is just playing the bad guy so he can help his brother, for the most part. This show is one of the best BL's out there - just give it a chance.

I said after watching episode 5 that this show was unsalvageable because of all the loose threads. I was waiting to see what their attempt would be to complete the series. I can't make heads or tails of it. Even a 3rd rate BL has better continuity than what occurred. How did the issue with the data breach get resolved? Are we going to introduce a major issue in one episode and not even discuss it in the next? How did this father who is doing everything to separate his son from Gao She De suddenly get excited about the relationship? Is it just because he suddenly remembers how much his wife used to love him? Why couldn't he remember this before?
Why does a side couple that was so completely in the background that they were indistinguishable from other office staff members get such a prominent role in the last episode? This "third couple" overshadows the second, and probably the first at the end of the season. This is so ridiculous that you have to make yourself think that the director's high-school kid came up with this plot. I can't believe how terrible this storyline is. I'm giving it a 0.

The only thing that was good was the explanation for why Yu Zhen Xuan and Pei Shou Yi have such difficulty connecting. We find it is Pei Shou Yi's mental disorder that is actually the reason the two can't get together which is a really well thought out plotline, being both unexpected and very emotionally fulfilling - we really didn't want Yu Zhen Xuan to be rejected for his Asperger's.

I think the directors and producers were totally lacking confidence here and when you're like that you can hardly make any good decisions as we can see in how they cut out one of the best explanation for the 5 year separation between the leads (the clip with the step-sister) making room for random office scenes.

The acting was still very good all around. I really like Yu Zhen's Xuan heartfelt performance in the last episode, but it is impossible to have a good show without a script. This show feels like it was done completely ad-hoc, with no thought for the long-term progression in the plot.

I don't know why so many people think Yong Jie is so troubled to the point of needing therapy. Albeit, most teenagers could use a little therapy at some point, but I think people are implying a more intensive kind of psychotherapy, perhaps involving medication. I don't think this is the case, and he seems like just a troubled young adult. He did have a rough spot in his childhood but he was soon saved by his stepbrother and how bad could that have been if he had some very good support system between the brother and mother? Perhaps he is just brooding because his brother left him for a couple of years. It might be akin to your lover leaving you for several years and that would make a lot of people depressed, including myself.

The mother in this drama is really a model mother and should win Taiwanese LGBT mom of the year. She is not being noticed at all due to all the hatred surrounding Yong Jie both for his supposed rape of his brother, and probably because of his committing "incest". She knows about their relationship but has nothing but support and only pauses for a moment because of how unorthodox this relationship is - she's like ok, but I know they love each other so that's what's important here. Just to have that level of almost nonchalance is so amazing. But if you rewatch that scene it is Yong Jie that makes the clear case to her that is so compelling - his brother will never come out and will die old and lonely. This is where the mom should have objected but she realizes it's true. He also shows her he's responsible by how he's saved up and made investments - this is very impressive for a 20 year old, and I know I never had that level of responsibility when I was his age. He makes a strong case to her and she accepts it - both deserve compliments for their behavior here.

Yong Jie does display some level of responsibility in other ways as well. Remember that he takes charge while his brother is having a melt-down in the bathroom. One could perceive him as pushing his brother around, taking advantage of him in bed, forcing him onto a ledge, or it could be he is the leader in the relationship. Some would use the terms alpha and beta here, but I think that is totally unnecessary and oversimplifying. It's just that if Yong Jie is so troubled and irresponsible why is he always making the decisions for the couple? I'm just thinking again, the writers are very skillful and make you question things on so many levels. I'm very impressed with this drama and hope people will get over their hang-ups to watch it for its complex, and intriguing story.

I like how History 4 is really mixing the conventional with the non-conventional throughout the series. The first couple, Li Cheng and Mu Ren, seems like they will be following the normal BL storyline of a fake relationship turning into a real one. I don't mind seeing the old formulas and this one is done well enough. The other couple of Xing Si, and Yong Jie is really much more interesting. I like how the writers have made it seem like there might be a rape in their first encounter then make it obvious that it isn't a rape, then they make it seem like Yong Jie is going to commit suicide when he really isn't even thinking about it. They're testing your awareness of what is going and forcing you to study the nuance of Xing Si and Yong Jie's relationship. You also question Yong Jie's character when you see a much more vulnerable side to him that he's been hiding behind his brooding, emotionless demeanor. I think, most of this drama is very well done or is at least very thoughtful. It's definitely going somewhere different than what we've seen before.

I don't know what happened in season 2, but it's just all over the place and is virtually unsalvageable. I've already talked about all the time they wasted talking about the 5 year separation, but the other main problem is having another side couple in such a short season - and I really like the side couple. The Korean dramas have it right by focusing on just one couple given the time constraints.

I give the plot a 1 and the acting a 9. Did someone force the director to stick with this plot? The screenwriters need to be fired or demoted. The director also made the choice of leaving out the essential scene that helps explain the situation in America where Zhou Shu Yi stumbles across Gao Shi De and the unknown woman (his step-sister). Others have the link, down below. The plot is also very predictable. I said it a long time ago, since episode 2, that the main couple will definitely get back together, and I can easily predict that the father is behind the data breach.

I'm not that picky and I still think the main couple is one of my favorites in BL, but this could have been so so much better - a thousand times better with just a few plot adjustments.
I have no idea why the rating for this show is so high - it's almost like they are a paying for bots to jack up their numbers.

I love your analysis. This drama is complex and there are a lot of grey areas to explore. I think it delves into some darker areas and people are just unwilling to go there,but I think it's really very interesting. It's something new and dare I say artistic and avant-garde.

We need to keep an open mind and see the possibilities of what might happen in future episodes. Even if a rape happened it's not like that rape was promoted as something good and wholesome.

There is such a thing as artistic expression and the exploration of nuance in human behavior. I will guess here that there is going to be a redemption arc - I will bet all my prognostication powers on it. I am as optimistic as you are.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. That is such a miserable thing to have gone through. I never condone rape of any kind. What happened to you was just plain disgusting, and I'm really sorry that happened and thank you for sharing it.

I just think this is a complex drama and things aren't really certain. I've written a comical post above, but don't think I'm trying to fight with people about this subject. I think it's just best to walk away than argue so harshly on here. I think if you rewatch the scene in question you just have to make certain that the situation was actually rape, and act like you were a forensic detective here. I've analyzed it in a post below, and Flypsyde has an excellent post on it.

I've never been so drunk that I've collapsed but I've been super drunk before having sex. Everyone reacts differently to alcohol, and even an hour after you've been totally drunk you can be pretty sober. I don't know what was going on in big brother's head, but I'm just saying none of us know how drunk he was, so just give the younger brother some small leeway. Or more importantly, just be willing to see that other people thought the situation wasn't a rape because of how they both seemed lucid during the sex scene and we don't know how much time has passed between the time at the bar and when they had sex.

Again, I don't condone rape. I just think that we should also not accuse people of rape because it is a terrible accusation. If people are drunk there are different, complex levels of consent that we have to deal with. It's not black and white.

Thank you again for sharing, and I hope you don't block me :)

There's nothing wrong with being a complex character. He could go be evil or good, but that is good in a fictional drama. I don't know why we have to either love or hate him, but it's interesting to see a drama where we are forced to think about who he is. We should be interested in the art of the drama rather than being fans of a particular character. I can agree with you on that.

Can I join this anti-rape fan-club? It seems to come with so many perks, like you don't have to use any logic and pure emotion, expressed without reservation, in the most virulent form is given free reign.

In the anti-rape club anything you can think of as even a possible, vestigial, unconscious thought that could be rape is rape. I just raped myself in my thoughts just now, woops. Sorry, guys.

Alcohol in the anti-rape club is the tool of the devil and must never be permitted in human relationships because it inevitably causes rape of the most depraved variety as witnessed by what we saw committed by Yong Jie (may the demons in hell flay off his skin and poke a red-hot poker up his a$$).

We've got to keep things simple kids, don't think too much. Rape is unforgivable especially in fiction because our artists can kill the souls of our kids. Thanks everyone for being so vigilant. We must crush the smarty pants that think so highly of themselves.

The storyline here is really complex, multi-faceted and unusual. There is the supposed taboo of the step brother sex relationship (just going on in Xing Se's head), the sociopathic/idiosyncratic behavior of Yong Jie, and the strange dynamic with the parents. I really love how avant-garde this show is. I think that you are right about what Yong Jie could do better but I don't entirely disagree with his method because you can't just wait around forever. Maybe his methods are more crude but they might just achieve the same intended objective anyway. I like your analysis of how they could help each other out in the future when they get together - I think that's right on.

Or something between scheming and planning. I know many couples in the real world who have gotten together this way. There is nothing wrong with it. No one just leaves everything to chance when pursuing a love interest.

I can't remember that about the house, but you're probably right. That does explain that whole scenario well, so I'll withdraw that complaint, but there is still so much wrong with the show. I think the third couple is distracting only in the sense that you see them in the promos and you would think they are supposed to be given equal weight with the other two couples.

I like the romance of the main couple but this series is really very scattered. I think it's jarring that Zhou Shu Yi has capitulated so easily. At least a few scenes of smouldering rage somewhere would make sense. What I also find jarring is the buffoonish father and his holocaust museum house. I don't understand who his character is supposed to be, and I find it difficult to believe he could be both tyrannical and comical. I don't know why that house is put in your face all the time like it's one of the main characters in the drama and it really doesn't fit the father's character at all, and it doesn't feel like the house Zhou Shu Yi would have grown up in - I feel that house would only produce morose, sickly children.
I find there is no way they resolve all the loose threads in this series in the last episode. It's too bad because Yu Zhen Xuan and Pei Shou Yi need a lot more time to finish their side story.
Why the third couple is even there is a mystery. They just seem to be handsome wallpaper.
I was hoping after they wasted so much time resolving the fatal five year separation issue they would move on to something better but it feels like we we have a very simple drama plot device going forward - the data breach - which is just eating up all the remaining time in the show that could have been used for character development.

Yikes, I have to amend my comment below. The novelist is usually right. I like that better than him leaving for two years. Two years is at least plausible, though.

That novel plot seems horrible. It would be like the really bad plot contrivance in Fighting Mr. 2nd. I usually think the novelist is better at plot-lines than the screenwriters but, wow, that was a bad choice. I don't think you can separate yourself so long from someone you are deeply in love with. I don't care what education goals you have. But I don't want to be too harsh on the writer because we would never have this great series without her.

That was just phenomenal. I just think this drama is just so unique and has done so much to expand the horizons for BL drama. I think it has the best expression of love between two men that I've seen. I was just watching the end of episode 9, just looking into Earth's eyes you could see such melancholy, resignation, and tenderness while Mix had a look of such innocent love. I think I haven't seen such sincerity depicted on screen in a very long time. The scene in the airport was also intensely emotional. On Pha Pun Dao Cliff, I like how Mix has really seemed to mature and has become an equal partner with Phupha. This scene has a nice elegaic quality with the long awaited kiss over the sunset.

I called this show a melodrama before and how originally the word meant song drama. I think the use of music in this show is really incorporated so well. The pastoral setting is matched by the theme music with its rustic flute, and the whole natural setting feels like it is vibrating with the orchestral music in the background.
The children are also the stars of this show for me and the parting scene in the village is just so stellar and remarkable, a true highlight of any movie I've ever seen. I think that Mix did such a beautiful job there.
Khama and Longtae were portrayed perhaps the best in the whole series. Khama is both wise and child-like and such a great character. When Khama is crying at the end it feels so heartfelt.

Incredible job by P'Aof putting this whole series together. This was both physically demanding and a huge cinematic challenge. He really deserves an award of some kind. Thank you for this great work, P'Aof.