Tanky Toon

To me, it seemed like the writer can't make up her mind whether to write a comedy or a tragedy and decided to go with both.

I don’t have a problem with the over-the-top caricatures in this show. And a huge chunk of the BL audience are females who ship two men (whether gay or not). What I definitely have an issue with is the show's treatment of the stalking/violence as if it was excusable because he is in love with the brother. There are other ways to show a pseudo incest love story without resorting to aggression (different from angst). I thought they would take the opportunity to develop this sibling romance trope further when they lightly touched on it in History 1 and 2. Very disappointed towards this end.

If the intent of this show is to be comical and light-hearted, they should have just went all with the same mood rather than throw in random clichés that had nothing to do with the other. To me, it seemed like the writer can't make up her mind whether to write a comedy or a tragedy and decided to go with both.

Just because you don't agree with the some of the opinions voiced here doesn't make them stupid or the people voicing them dumb. Just a matter of preference IMO. No need for name calling.

Yes, I'm primarily watching this show because of these two.

@solipisism5 Great question, but I can't assume what someone else would have done because I'm not in their shoes nor they in mine. What did happen though when I had my first partner, my parents disapproved of our relationship, and despite my efforts, I was whisked away to another country and my communication with my ex-partner got cut off. Every time, we tried to get back, there were obstacles that frankly exhausted our relationship. Maybe if we had fought harder, loved deeper, we would have won that battle, but we didn't. Maybe also the fact that we were young and at the mercy of our families (threats etc) that we failed. However when I became older and got into my second relationship, the same thing happened, but this time, I stood my ground despite my family's objections. Would I have done anything differently, I don't know. As Shu Yi said, you can't undo the past.

Some of my friends/relatives managed to reunite with their first love, after years of separation, forced marriage to others or only after the deaths of their parents. While others ended up in unions arranged by their elders. The fear of repercussion is real, especially when they don't believe they could be self-reliant or something else (e.g. money) is at stake. When I entered into a relationship with my current partner, I was told from the get-go that I would be disowned, ostracized (whether the threat would be carried out, I wouldn't know then). But because I was older and more independent, I was able to make the call I wasn't able to do with my first relationship. Sure, I am not living in the lap of luxury had I succumbed to my parents' wishes, do I regret it? No.
Do I regret not fighting for my first relationship? I would never know, I can't say which path is more "correct" than the other. Similarly, I think Shi De's plight was exacerbated by the fact that they were not of equal backgrounds. His decision was influenced by Shu Yi's father's notion that his son, who would be eventually taking the helm of his company, would face more criticism if Shu Yi entered into a same-sex relationship. Perhaps, naively at that time, Shi De also considered this, that his fight for their happiness would put Shu Yi in a precarious position. Without consulting Shu Yi's opinion, it was Shi De's flaw, and for him to believe the father's bald-faced lie (regarding the breakup) was also a misjudgment on his part.

At that time, to Shi De, the 5-year no contact rule, though unreasonable, seemed a good deal: as long as Shu Yi didn't get a girlfriend and get married in that time frame, after five years, the father promised not to meddle any more in their affairs. So perhaps to him 5 years of waiting, was nothing compared to the previous 10 years of longing, and if that would free them of one major obstacle and gain the father's approval, why would he not take it?

On the flipside, Shu Yi, after seeing Shi De with the blondie and the baby, immediately thought that Shi De quickly moved on. Why not? They were incommunicado almost as soon as Shi De landed in the U.S.
Rather than confronting Shi De about the situation, Shu Yi ran away. (Assumptions are the source of a lot of misunderstandings I tell ya.) Anyway, I hope, that as the show progresses, that they will learn from their mistakes and grow as a couple.

Exactly. The characters' actions are within an Asian context and we cannot use a Western lens to view or discard their actions whether those decisions proved to be right or wrong. I have the same argument with my non-Asian peers because they cannot fathom how we are still subject to the traditional values of our parents, elders, despite being exposed to Western influence. Living in Canada afforded me another world view that's different from what I've been taught growing up, but not a lot of Asian people have that luxury and are still trapped in the confines of traditional thought. It's just a matter of trying to understand where people are coming from, when they make those kinds of decisions.

Thanks for the link, I will check this out.

Yes, I didn't know she's also the writer of "Bromance" it's not BL, but gender bender. I loved that show too.

To a lot of people who are finding the enforced separation and the lack of communication implausible: coming from an Asian family, where a handful of my friends, relatives and myself go through this trial, I am not surprised at all. A lot of us keep things to ourselves, and rather than verify the information from the source itself, a lot of us believed that whatever was imparted to us, especially by those in position of power, are true. So entrenched in our studies and our upbringing that we have to respect the elderly, for Shi De to go against Yu Shi's father's wishes, would be more unnatural.
Why do you think that is so common in a lot of Asian dramas, to have disapproving parents, that they are against their children's choice of partner, whether based on sexual orientation, family background, race, lifestyle, etc. Because this happens in real life too. It is very easy to say that "he should have fought back" or "she should have done this", without having lived through it, what consequences our choices may bring if we have done something differently?

We were brought up to cater to the "greater good" and being filial is important. Individualism or to fight for one's own happiness, with disregard for the feelings of others may be construed as being selfish.
So we listen to our parents, teachers, authority figures, (or at least try to) without much questioning because their experience/age make them "wiser," that they know what's good for us. (Although whether this is ultimately true or not is entirely a different matter). So for me, it's reasonable for Shi De to accept that deal, thinking that he's doing what is best for Shu Yi and at the same time, to appease Shu Yi's father.

We have to remember that at the very beginning, Shi De didn't even dare to dream that Shu Yi would like him back, so for 10 years, he was waiting in the sidelines, contentedly or not, just watching Shu Yu from afar. And I don't think it's a matter of Shi De not trusting Shu Yi to stand by his side, but rather him not trusting himself being able to hold on to Shu Yi's heart. After all, it wasn't long after they got together that Shi De had to leave.

On another note: It would be great if all our individual desires match those of our family's expectations, or not to care what society may think of us, if we were to do something against cultural norms. We'd like to think that, in this century, that we should be more progressive but we are not. Asian countries still largely conservative, despite steps being made in that forefront (e.g. Taiwan legalizing same-sex marriage). With that said, I'm just happy and appreciative that we are getting more LGBTQ content from Asia in recent years, and that the flurry of discussion (whether good or bad) is indicative that more people are paying attention to these issues.

Yes I know that Close to You isn't written by Lin Pei Yu. That it was written by the same writer as MODC that I am having some reservations. But then again, we will see.

The writer of this show is the same as MODC. The writer of Obsessed, Crossing the Line and Trapped is the same one who is writing We Best Love.

Maybe it is because I watched History 1 and 2 that had 8 episodes, and they managed to achieve a lot in that time frame. I think this format worked well for the History franchise, that I say this. Unless the writer can come up with a complex and/or a compelling plot for this, I fear that we may end up getting a lot of fillers. From her recent work (MODC), she ran out of ideas that she had to pilfer from another work. But again, we will see how this goes.

Trapped and Crossing the Lines are by the same writer who has now moved to We Best Love. She also did the other popular installments, Right or Wrong and Obsessed. Pretty damn good writer in my opinion as she was the one beind Bromance.

OMG, same here!

I was hesitant to watch this as the comments didn't seem favorable, but after watching the first episode, I seem to be on the fence on this. Sure this show won't win any awards for its directing, acting, scriptwriting etc but I fell off the chair laughing (esp. At when they tried to figure out what BL means).
I'm gonna give this drama a few more episodes before I pass judgment. I get a kind of "Capture Lover" vibe right now and that show was a train wreck. Not sure if we really need 20 episodes of this though but we will see.

Pseudo incest is a common trope in BL mangas so maybe that's why some production would exploit this, like History 1 & 2 did prior, but this is borderline creepy step-siblings or not.

Each country offers their type/style of BL, their own strengths and weaknesses. Some countries have more BL productions (whether due to earlier adoption or more lax LGBT views) while others are just starting, so I can't make all-encompassing statements just because some countries had a head start.

But to note, for me it's a toss up between Thailand and Taiwan for now until other countries catch up.

Exactly!

Yes, I have to remind myself NOT to feed the troll.

@LysonP Have you seen Word of Honor? It's giving Untamed the run for its money.