BL Review: Feel What You Feel 🇨🇳
An unexpectedly simple, light and adorable offering from China.
This is a show that feigns a lot. Maybe it’s because Chinese BLs tend to walk a certain path and adhere to some unspoken rules, and Feel What You Feel throws that textbook out the window by presenting a coming-of-age story with a dash of slice of life structure to it.
The conflicts presented are all light, save for one psychopath that feels out of place in the overall narrative, Yu Lei and Chen Ke are just two young adults hopelessly falling in love without even realizing, and their story could’ve easily stumble into boring or mundane territory, but due a soft approach and good acting from leading duo Sun Cai Zhen and Liang Bei Yi the show holds itself quite well – every time Cai Zhen looked dotingly at Bei Yi with an infatuated gaze, it was quite believable.
More often than not, the problems that arise exist only in their heads, with insecurities and social pressures playing a significant role in the narrative. However, this show takes an unusual approach, with the couple sorting things out and dealing with their issues with a candor rarely seen in this type of drama. Of course, they still tackle some of the usual elements, such as teenage angst, miscommunication, and overly emotional reactions, but the resolutions are often wholesome and heart-warming.
A notable strength of the show is its setting in the noughties, which allows it to take advantage of the ins and outs of the time period. Messengers, mobile phones with polyphonic ringtones, DVD players and other memorabilia from the recent past help create a soft, nostalgic bubble, offering a glimpse of what was once commonplace not so long ago. It also gives them a way to avoid one of modern media biggest enemies: there are no smartphones around, which enables the creatives to dodge narrative holes with ease.
The only element that scratches the record is the costuming, caution was threw into the wind with this and the show ends up with an anachronic visual for the characters.
Another positive aspect of the show is the side couple, played by the deliciously sharp Cheng Hao and Huang Huai Ting. Interestingly, they are the latest addition to an expanding list of fashion models entering the BL realm. This allows them to avoid being blacklisted in the Chinese entertainment industry.
While the main couple offer sugar, the side characters provide spice. From the moment they first meet and clash, there is an undeniable electricity between them that grows stronger, even with minimal screen time (the final episode cuts them too short).
Feel What You Feel is not out to reinvent the wheel, although at times it does feel like an oddball when compared to it's local peers (supportive parents? No hate crimes? They are not step-brothers?!). It's a fluffy and warm slice-of-life with a cool setting and talented cast and crew, that hopefully will stick around for more – they seem eager to.
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