kfff
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I HAD TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT JUST TO VOICE MY DISGUST WITH THIS SHOW...
(SPOILERS! You have been warned!)I simply don't understand the rave reviews here, did we watch the same show??? Maybe there was a version that edited out the KIDNAPPING and RAPE and REPEATED UNWANTED SEXUAL ASSAULTS?? Because the show I watched was not a cute romance, but a very problematic and cringe-inducing cautionary tale about obsession and possessiveness.
The whole time B.L.Y. looked disgusted by G.H.'s advances. Even if the intent was to show the downside and desperation of a person in such a situation, it was completely undone by "romantic" music riffs stolen from the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack and the band Explosions in the Sky, the rights to which I doubt the producers obtained legitimately. The music was only "good" bc they were ripped from Hollywood films/TV shows, but they were used in excess and at the wrong time to force a mood that didn't fit the scene.
Yes, the boys were cute, and they were decent actors, and the story had some promise in the first few episodes that made you want to ship them (and maybe that's why the positive reviewers wanted to like it so badly?), but after the kidnapping, everything turned way too dark for it to be a romance. I mean, their FIRST KISS was forced onto one of the guys WHILE HE WAS HANDCUFFED and TIED UP AGAINST HIS WILL!
Even in the last episode (15, was it the last episode?) when B.L.Y. FINALLY showed a little bit of interest in G.H. (after rejecting him for 14 and a half episodes), it felt like Stockholm Syndrome had set in and he reluctantly gave in. It was not the heartwarming moment the showrunners intended it to be.
Given the title referring to drugs and addiction, maybe it could have worked as a thriller like Fatal Attraction or something like that, but the director was clearly intending this to be a love story, and that simply does not work both ways. I haven't read the source material, but since the show was also apparently written by the same author, I'm going to assume the show and book are similar.
It's sad what happened to the show regarding the bans, and I hope for things to improve in China regarding the homophobia, but even then, that doesn't mean this show should be held up as any kind of a triumph for boys' love, because the relationship shown here? THIS IS NOT LOVE.
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Why little kids?
Why do they always have to be neighbors as kids, long lost friends from when they were kids, cousins, or step-brothers?Why do we have to see kids hug and kiss each other in these shows in order to give meaning to their adult relationships?
Can't they just be two guys who fall in love?
I think I'm gonna give up on BLs altogether, this is making us all look bad. This is giving the homophobes of the world plenty of ammunition to accuse us of being pedophiles in order to deny us basic human rights.
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SO FAR SO BAD
@sarhattiwatti got everything right about this problematic show, so I'll just add a few comments here in response to how I've seen people defend other terrible shows.1) "You haven't even seen the whole series yet, how can you judge it so soon?"
In a few short episodes, we have already seen unwanted touching, STALKING, and INCEST. There is no way to justify these actions no matter how many more episodes are left. Once a person has committed these acts, there is no taking it back or making it better or okay. They are and should be deal-breakers for any further relationship developing between people. Would you end up dating a stalker because they turned out to be "nice" or "cute" or YOUR BROTHER?
2) "This is just fiction, anything goes. It doesn't mean anything, it's just a fantasy."
Fiction and story-telling have always had real-world consequences. Every culture uses stories to pass on values and spread ideas about what beliefs they hold . The representation shown here regarding male/male relationships are very problematic and those who do not know real people in same-sex relationships can conclude, based on this show, that men can be persuaded to date their own brothers or their straight co-workers if the only tried hard enough. There is so much wrong with this narrative. Lack of positive or accurate representation is a part of why we have racism and homophobia in the real world. This show certainly doesn't help in any of these areas.
3) "This was created by straight women for straight women."
Again this is an issue of REPRESENTATION. Regardless of the creators or target audience, the relationship being portrayed is male/male and therefore is a representation of gay men everywhere. Telling other people's stories without getting anything correct is harmful, and it begs the question if any gay people are involved in the creation of this show, because it doesn't seem like it, and that's a problem in itself. I also highly doubt straight women or anyone want to see incestuous relationships between characters, fictional or otherwise.
4) "It's not incest, they're not related by blood."
Again, @sarhattiwatti already addressed this but I also want to further emphasize this because it's WAY TOO COMMON in BL shows. Whether related by blood or not, IT'S STILL INCEST. They have a scene in the show from back when the brothers were younger and were taking care of each other. That just further establishes that they had a prior FAMILIAL relationship and makes this all the worse. They grew up together, nature has a way of making people not see each other in a sexual way if they grew up in the same household as established through psychological research, so anything that deviates from this is WRONG. Please don't debate me on this because it will make you look bad. Stop trying to justify incest, it's not a good look for anyone... And as for the inability of two men to reproduce, would it be okay for a brother and sister to have sex if they use protection or have their tubes tied??? IT'S. STILL. INCEST. AND. IT'S. STILL. WRONG. (add clap emojis for emphasis)
BL shows have always blurred the lines between realism and fantasy, but this series really takes it too far to a place that creates a problem for the representation of male/male relationships. It has taken cute fantasy into a dark place, and it's a huge step back in the progress of LGBTQ+ representation. Such a shame coming from Taiwan, which is otherwise the leader in Asia regarding these matters. This show either needs to hire some actual gay people, or end entirely for the sake of everyone.
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