vanwarren

I just want to start off by saying that Chinese BL in 2025 is CLEARING Taiwanese BL in 2025. Now that I got that out of the way, this shouldn't have to be highlighted for the simple fact that it should be basic human decency, but respect to Guo Cheng Yu for not taking advantage of Xiao Shuai. Xiao Shuai was completely defenseless, and that scene could've easily gone left really quickly. Although nothing happened to him (and it seems as though Guo Cheng Yu took care of him throughout the night), that scene made me feel bad for Xiao Shuai since it seemed as though he was reliving a traumatic experience that happened with his ex (I haven't read the novel, but hopefully it wasn't an assault or a r*pe). While I understand that he was under the influence of the aphrodisiac, Xiao Shuai's ex must've done something to him for physical/sexual contact to trigger a reaction like that. In regard to Chi Cheng and Suo Wei, I'm honestly surprised that we got as much of a NC scene as we did given the fact that this is a CHINESE BL, and historically, Chinese BLs tend to be a bit more cautious by leaning more into the "bromance" angle than a genuine BL angle; but this series really went there, and I'm here for it. I have a feeling that the impending breakup is going to hurt Suo Wei significantly more due to the fact that he's willingly slept with Chi Cheng MORE than once. He gave Chi Cheng his virginity out of both love for Chi Cheng (granted there was manipulation involved, but the manipulation brought Suo Wei's true feelings for Chi Cheng to the surface), and fear of losing him to someone else. His initial "revenge plot" went out of the window the moment he admitted to Xiao Shuai that he had genuine feelings for Chi Cheng. During the earlier episodes, I was under the impression that Suo Wei would sleep with Chi Cheng as a way of reconciling after Chi Cheng found out about Suo Wei's relationship with Yue Yue, and how it connected to Suo Wei's initial "revenge plot." I'm curious to see how they end up reconciling since it seems as though the impending revelation is going to leave deep emotional scars for both Chi Cheng AND Suo Wei.

Overall, this was a solid series. However, I do have to dock it a bit for the simple fact that Coach Petch staying behind to be held hostage made absolutely no sense since he wasn't revealed to be a part of Sia Thep's operation (because in my Cardi B voice, what was the reason?). While the conclusion of the Sia Thep storyline was satisfying to watch, I feel as though it all wrapped up a bit too quickly given the fact that the finale was over an hour long, and the Sia Thep saga concluded within the first 20 minutes of the episode, Also, in my humble opinion, SOMEONE (I don't care who) should've killed Yut as well. With all of the drugs in his body, he was clearly the type of character that would just keep coming back had he not been killed. A life sentence in prison seems too easy for a character like Yut. Speaking of Yut, I have to give Gap his props for playing that character to perfection. Hopefully, he gets a lead role in a BL sooner than later. This series was a solid 8.5/10 for me. I would've rated it higher had the script made better sense of Coach Petch staying behind as a hostage when he had more than ample time to escape with everyone else if he WASN'T a part of Sia Thep's criminal organization. I hope that Nice can land more roles that allow him to develop and display more range with his acting. His acting wasn't bad in this series, but with his look, it's rather easy for him to be typecasted as the "innocent/naive" character.

I'm not gonna lie, this episode in particular (episode 9) felt like GMMTV doing the thing that GMMTV often does with their BL series after the 8th episode where the series starts to lose steam and tries to extend the series by any means necessary to meet the "x-episode quota" (typically the "12-episode quota"). Even with the revelation of Paul being a dirty sponsor, this episode still felt like a filler episode overall. Thankfully, since this series only has 10 episodes, the last episode shouldn't really feel too egregious to the point where it seems as though the series is just dragging to meet the episode quota.

After the postponement of the newest episode of "Revenged Love," I NEEDED this episode of "Reset" in my life. I'm glad that Tada's relationship with Thiwthit was clarified in this episode; especially since the flashback between them seemed to have Thiwthit be a bit flirtatious with Tada when I was under the impression that they were brothers (like, blood related brothers). Anyways, it felt nice seeing Ren get his comeuppance for harassing Armin. I'm also glad to see Tada giving Armin the courage to actually fight back against the media as opposed to hiding and denying things like everyone would've expected him to do since (in this "reset") he's a lesser-known actor with very little (if any) influence. It almost feels as though the ever-looming question of "who drugged Armin in the past life?" is taking a backseat for a bit; so I'm interested to see if it'll resurface and possibly conclude within the remaining episodes. Despite the fact that this iteration of Tada is acting as if he's from 1999, I still can't shake the feeling that he also came from Armin's past life and is taking advantage of this "reset" to reveal himself to Armin instead of supporting him from the shadows the way he did in the past life. If this iteration of Tada was truly from the year 1999, one would think that he would still be supporting Armin from the shadows unless an event of some sort were to alter the predetermined events in Armin's life at that time (i.e. Tada coming from Armin's past life to forcefully alter predetermined events in Armin's "reset" by revealing himself to Armin). In regard to Narin, it's clear that the reason he decided to work for Thiwthit is because he's a scorned boytoy who caught feelings for Tada (and honestly, I can't really blame him based on how Tada has treated Armin thus far), and Tada didn't reciprocate those feelings due to the terms of their agreement. This series so far has been significantly better than I expected it to be, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the story progresses. - *SIDE NOTE* - Do I have to fly to Thailand to find a man like Tada (because I will)? Also, as a 90's kid, the indestructible Nokia phones in this series are unlocking a lot of core memories. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

They REALLY postponed episode 11. 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

This HAS to be setting up a Season 2 right? Without spoiling anything, literally the final 60 seconds of the finale gagged me. If there's a Season 2, I can't wait to watch.

I'm saying that I think his older brother is his only step sibling. He and his younger sisters share the same mother and father if I'm not mistaken.

Actually, I think the brother is the step sibling judging from the picture in Sun's gym.

Excuse my language, but even if they're trying to push the idea of "desperate times call for desperate measures," Alan is a dumbass for even agreeing to work with Tony when he should know from everything Tony has done in the past that he can't be trusted. I find it interesting that as someone who's technically an outsider, Kim of all people was the first to clock the fact that Alan had went to see Tony. I'm not sure why Pete couldn't just use his power to read Alan's mind and figure out why Alan was doing what he was doing. I haven't read the novel, so I have no idea what Tony's power is, but up until this point, I've always thought it had something to do with necromancy since he was able to bring both himself and Willy back to life, but since it's been revealed that his skill enhancing serum is made with his blood, perhaps his power has to do with rapid cell regeneration(?). I'm curious to see what his power ends up being.

*SIDE NOTE*

Now that Willy is free from Tony's control, unless Tony's power can neutralize other powers, couldn't Willy just utilize his time manipulation against Tony? I could never understand why Tony would give Willy such an OP ability without any possible way of neutralizing it without an exploding chip.

I think Keen is going to end up shooting/killing Sia Thep based on the preview for the finale.

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo... If Coach Petch ISN'T in on all of this, having him stay behind and willingly be held hostage makes no sense other than to have a reason to extend the series for the remaining two episodes. Petch had ample time to escape with everyone else in episode 10, but seemingly decided to play a "martyr" as a way of "saving" his son and trainees. While Yut was seen holding Petch at gunpoint in this episode (episode 11), the average hostage would at least be bound in some form, but Coach Petch's arms and legs are completely free; which would lead me to believe that he's somehow in on this. Hopefully that plot hole is fleshed out in the final episode. Keen and Thun should've killed Yut in the previous episode, but I suppose there'd be no one to hold Coach Petch at gunpoint had that happened. I like the fact that Keen is becoming more protective of Thun and willing to physically protect him with his life. It displayed how much he loves Thun without him having to verbalize it (granted there are other ways to display love for someone, but still). Overall, this series has been solid, so hopefully the final episode will have a strong and definitive conclusion where Keen and Thun can be together in peace.

*SIDE NOTE*

I feel like Pakorn may die in the final episode as a way of "proving himself" to Thun. I feel like this is one of those series that can't conclude with everyone being alive, so I think at least two of the supporting characters are going to die in the finale.

It wasn't as well-paced as "Trapped In Osaka," and it definitely NEEDED to be longer in order to properly show the development of Zai Rong's feelings for Lu Xiao, but it wasn't a terrible miniseries. I'll give it a solid 8/10 for the acting, but again, a story like this would've REALLY benefited from a full-length BL format.

- Reset (Thai BL that airs Mondays)
- Knock Out (Thai BL that airs Fridays)
- Memoir of Rati (Thai BL that airs Fridays)
- Pit Babe Season 2 (Thai BL that airs Fridays)
- The Bangkok Boy (Thai BL that airs Saturdays)
- Trapped In Osaka (Chinese BL on YouTube)
- A Sketchy Job (Chinese BL on YouTube)

Kinn prevented Vegas from r*ping Porshe after getting drugged just so he (Kinn) could be the one to r*pe Porshe himself. Porshe didn't even remember being penetrated. That just never really sat well with me.

To be fair, KinnPorshe was released three years ago, so it's not necessarily as old as it may seem. Every country that produces BL has had at least one unsavory series/movie that either makes the attempt to romanticize s*xual assault and/or r*pe or simply sweeps it under the rug if it's male-on-male. To give a specific example, episode 9 of "Wandee Goodday" (which came out last year) shows how s*xual assault is handled in the case where the victim is a female compared to when the victim is a male (the way each situation is handled is like night and day). Point being, there are still series that sweep those things under the rug to this day.

Actually, there are A LOT of Thai BLs that sweep s*xual assault and r*pe under the rug and get praised by fans (most notably KinnPorshe and TharnType); so you may want to give them recommendations for non-toxic Thai BLs as well.

After watching both episode 9 and episode 10, it's clear as day that Chi Cheng is in love with Suo Wei, and even with everything that's coming in the later episodes, Chi Cheng is way too deep in love to crawl out. Chi Cheng choosing to save Suo Wei by killing his prized snake is a strong symbolic scene for a multitude of reasons. It confirmed his love for Suo Wei while also freeing him of the last remanence of the ex that broke his heart six years ago. In order for Chi Cheng to fully move forward in his love life, he had to get rid of the snake gifted to him by his ex (one way or another). Even before Suo Wei's confession to Xiao Shuai about his feelings for Chi Cheng, throughout both episodes, Chi Cheng's embrace slowly became Suo Wei's safe space; and the instant smile every time Chi Cheng embraces him proves it. Suo Wei's reason for not wanting to make things official with Chi Cheng is hilarious on the surface, but I feel as though Suo Wei believes that getting physical with Chi Cheng would officially make it "real" (almost like a physical admission to himself that he's fallen for someone of the same sex despite admitting it verbally). Also, while I understand Suo Wei's concerns due to the fact that he had never been romantically involved with a guy before, I feel as though Chi Cheng would be more than understanding (ESPECIALLY since it's Suo Wei) for the man he loves. In fact, I actually wouldn't be surprised if Chi Cheng allowed him to top because of how hard he's fallen in love with Suo Wei (love has a way of making people submit/compromise in ways that people may have never thought they would). Lastly, although he isn't entirely innocent in this situation due to the fact that he taught Suo Wei how to seduce Chi Cheng for his (Suo Wei) initial nefarious intentions, I do feel bad for Xiao Shuai since he's become accustomed to his interactions with Guo Cheng Yu. While he initially rejected Cheng Yu's advances, a part of him liked the idea of being pursued. Hopefully their relationship continues to develop as the series progresses.

*SIDE NOTE*

In general, Chinese BLs in 2025 has been CLEARING Taiwanese BLs in 2025.

I'm happy that this episode (episode 6) explored Tada's backstory to serve as an explanation for his undying love for Armin. I know that Armin has credited Tada (as "TD") for saving his life and giving him a reason to live, but knowing that Armin actually did the same for Tada as a child makes their bond all the more beautiful. Although I loved the energy of this episode, I still can't shake the feeling that Tada was in fact the one who spiked Armin's drink in the past life and played a pivotal part in Armin's death/murder, and that the Tada in Armin's "reset" is the same Tada from the past life. When Armin mentioned his death in the past life to Tada on the beach, Tada seemingly had a flashback of that night where he was crying in agony over Armin's body. There's no possible way he'd have any recollection of that night unless he himself was there. Also, I feel as though there was a reason for Tada displaying his mixology skills after becoming visibly jealous of Armin networking with other powerful men in the industry. Nothing that Tada is shown doing on-screen feels arbitrary. If I'm correct about the iteration of Tada also being from Armin's past life, I could see Armin's death breaking Tada to the point where he felt as though he no longer had a reason to live and ultimately decided to commit suicide. Also, If I'm correct about Tada being the one who drugged Armin in the past life, the guilt that Tada must have felt would be intense to say the least. The idea that (in his mind) he seemingly failed at protecting the one person he genuinely loved because of his own actions toward that person would be more than enough to obliterate anyone's mental and emotional state. So far, Tada has been nothing short of a green flag, but with four episodes left, I feel like there's even more to Tada than meets the eye.

Meh, the ending felt a bit abrupt in more ways than one. The storyline with Phut and his side piece was never resolved, Penny and June didn't appear at all in this episode, and Jom just disappeared never to be seen or heard from again. Outside of Jun and Sorn's NC scenes (because Tai and Champ's scenes weren't it), there really isn't much of a reason to watch this series. The story wasn't the strongest, and the characters were 1-dimensional for the most part. I've seen worse BLs, and considering the fact that most office romance BLs in general tend to have a weaker story/plot, it could've been worse. After finishing the series, I've come to realize that Jun is low-key giving sugar baby tease, and to be quite honest, I'm not entirely mad at it.

*Alexa, play "Finally" by CeCe Peniston* 🎶

After 87 years, and a total of 23 episodes (yes, I'm counting Season 1), North finally put his big boy pants on and confessed to Sonic. If done properly, I don't mind a "slow burn" romance but watching both North AND Sonic beat around the bush for nine straight episodes knowing that they like each other was a bit annoying. They have good chemistry, so hopefully their boyfriend era will give what it needs to give. In regard to Alan doing what he did, he never really seemed like a person who "planned ahead" so to speak. While his initial motive seemed selfless on the surface, it wasn't entirely unselfish in the sense that he thought he'd be able to use Tony's drug to his own benefit while at the same time (in his mind) rescuing Dean from Tony's control not realizing (I don't know why since he was there when Chris removed the chip from Willy's neck) that Tony's drug would also infuse him with a similar chip that Willy had, if not worse since Willy's chip was able to be removed by a third party. TO be honest, I really don't know why they don't take advantage of Pete's power more often; because had Pete used his power on Alan, he and the rest of the group would know where Alan REALLY went, and it would probably allow Charlie to make more sense of his vision. Lastly, the preview for the next episode where Chris reveals that he's Way's twin brother doesn't really make much sense to me since he spent the ENTIRE SEASON denying any relation to Way. Does that mean that Way was Tony's biological son based on Chris' supposed relation to Tony? I just need that part of the story fleshed out a bit.