This Week in BL - When Bad Gossip Happens to Good BL
Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) Iām enjoying the most.
The Eclipse (Fri YT) Ep 2 of 15 -Ā This is a great show and the leads are killer! Their conflict contrasted to moments of empathy contrasted to flirtation and then hints of genuine affection is nuanced and beautifully performed. I expected no less from this pair, but Iām delighted to see that theyāre executing so well. This show has the sophistication and balance of something like Gifted,Ā Not Me or Bad Buddy, which basically means this is the best we can expect from GMMTV. NeoLewis are also doing a better job than I expected. They arenāt my favorite pair. However Neo unexpectedly excels in a serious part. Finally, an actually deserved and appropriate pratfall moment. Very nice.Ā
Vice Versa (Sat on YT) Ep 6 of 12 -Ā Living together = fake out. Curse you GMMTV! Look, hereās the thing, flaws and all I pretty much spend this entire show smiling. I donāt mind being manipulated when we are all having so much fun with it. Is Tun/Puen super suss. Oh yes. Do I care? NOPE. *bats eyes in Jimmy nation*Ā
21 Days Theory (Sun YT ) Ep 2 of 4? -Ā X is def flirting in the āpulling pig tailsā fashion. Also wooing his bf2bās mum is very smart. (Why is BF2B not a 3rd gen Kpop group? I ask you.) Meanwhile Q & his friends are the new candidates for the āonly one brain cell between themā club. Like Tineās crew in 2g all over again.Ā
X is older than Q.Ā X uses pom/khun & rao +kap which is stiff, adult, and somewhat formal (and pom is age backwards for him and Q). Pom is oddly servile coming from an older kid.Ā
Q jumps around a lot in response to this adult speech from a phi: pom/khun but also rao/nai + (a reluctant) kap, but never phi. (I donāt think Iāve ever heard a high school BL use nai this much.)Ā
There was a conversation about formal speech and the end of ep 2.Ā Q was telling X that he could use guu/mueng rather than rao|pom/khun. Q had been sort of attempting to match Xās formality by using nai as a more formal version of phi, and was struggling because, I think, itās too grown up sounding.Ā X declined guu/mueng, he finds them too rude to apply to someone he likes. X then offered to call Q just by his name (avoiding having to choose entirely), but I think Q finds that too intimate. But phi is still not discussed and Q goes back to rao/nai at the end. So honestly Iām really not sure what the hell is happening.Ā
I rewatched all their interactions through 3 times and Iām still mostly mystified.
My Only 12% (Fri iQIYI) Ep 2 of 15 -Ā Cake and Eiwās relationship reminds me of a high school version of the friendship thatās central to the movie Big Eden. Thereās a part of me that wants that to be where this narrative is going too. Iām not gonna say more, because everybody should watch Big Eden. Yes, itās ultimately happy. However, if this narrative does choose to go with a more mature approach, then this show will ultimately be sad, as a BL. Regardless, SantaEarth are doing a really killer job with this set up. They couldnāt have chosen a better pair. Cake calling a Eiw a sheep when Eiwās name essentially sounds to me like ewe is hilarious. I donāt think theyāre being that clever, though.
Coffee Melody (Mon Viki) Ep 5 of 10 - I do love how tough Jean is - flame on, indeed. Plus his boyfriend 2B has magical pink hair. (Are they secretly a marvel superhero team?) This was another ep of a show where I didnāt care that the leads were apart, because that just meant more side dishes. Itās not bad, this show, itās not good either, tho.Ā
Love Mechanics (Sun WeTV) Ep 9 of 10 -Ā Random new faen fatal in the 11th hour is annoying. And the boxing match is a dumb plot device. But the theme around food, family, affection, and acceptance was great. Mark is so good at flirting and Vee is so confused when that skill is targeting him. Someone give YinWar a better BL. Please?Ā
Love in the Air (Thurs iQIYI) Ep 1 of 13 - Mameās creature has indeed whipped me into a verbal frenzy. So yeah, thatās another dumpster fire trash watch happening. Come with me if you wanna BURN and smell bad. Good times. So whatās this show like? Terrible. Also entertaining and engaging and kinda hot. Like all good dumpster fires.Ā
Unforgotten Night (Weds on GaGa) Ep 9 of 12 -Ā I donāt have very much to say about this episode. I guess they are cute boyfriends? But do we want cute boyfriends from our mafia daddy? I ask you?Ā TRASH WATCH IS HERE!
Check Out (Sat IQIYI) Ep 11 of 12 -Ā Jumping back to high heat like we in 2021 ep 0 I see. Fine. Also: chalk one up for an uke bj (usually bjs are seme penance) thats 3 i think: Gen Y 2 (sort of, PokeTongue always strike me as verse), SCOY, and now Check Please Out.Ā
My Secret Love (Sat YT) Ep 12fin - This drama suddenly got sensible and interesting in the finale after the time jump, and the reason for the split turned out to be a decent one. But frankly, that was just frustrating. Because I got a glimpse that this couldāve actually been, if not a GREAT show, at least a passable one. But they saved this for the last 2 eps? Thatās just annoying. Another wedding makes me feel like this trope is becoming ubiquitous in Thai BL. Who knew Grey Rainbow would end up with us here? In the end, I can't really recommend this. There's much better Thai BL these days, and tons of it. DONāT BOTHER 6/10 Full review on MDL.Ā
180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us (Mon GaGa) Ep 1 of 8 - As others said this is a queer family drama not a BL. Itās fine but I don't like the lead character. He's a brat in the wrong way. Especially at 20 years old. Itās also a bit slow moving and oddly paced. Iām DNFing for now. Maybe Iāll watch it when itās completed.
I gotta say iQIYI is really taking a stab at cornering this market and Iām not sure how I feel about it.Ā
Ongoing Series - Not Thai
Minato Shouji Coin Laundry (Japan Weds GaGa) Ep 8 of 12 -Ā So it finally came, the episode where Minato has to break Shinās heart. It was more delicately handled than I thought it would be, and that did surprise me. It was wistfully sad rather than gut wrenching. I still loved it, of course.Ā SQUEE WATCH ALONGĀ
Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Japan Thurs GaGa & Viki) 1 of 8 -Ā GaGaās subs are more poetic but Vikiās are more comprehensible, so Iām doing... BOTH. Itās cute. Amagi is an ADORABLE sunshine bean nugget but Iām not sold and his confession came out of nowhere. Itās maybe too high school? (GASP, did I just actually type that?) I did really like that we switched perspectives to Takara so soon in the series. Now we know their tortured pining is mutual. I like that, even if it means the whole rest of the show will be about miscommunication.Ā āI like him so much that it feels stupidā is a killer line (GaGaās version). Taraka is a seme who is scared of his own semeness. That said, this show is from the Mr. Unlucky and Senpai studio featuring Jpop idols, so Iām not expecting much. But I do love a high school setting and JBL has been killing it lately.Ā
Papa & Daddy 2 (Mon GaGa) Ep 3 of 8 -Ā I hate hate HATE the grandparents bloodline = have another child plot. Itās really upsetting to me in a visceral way. I didnāt even realize I had a trigger around this kind of bullshit. However, the gender plot-line is interesting. And, to no oneās surprise, I continue to have terrible 2nd lead syndrome.
Want to See You (Vietnam YT) Ep 13 - What happened? Did I miss it? Was last week the ending? Are they on hiatus? Is it a crowd funding tactic? Why tf MDL canāt list VBL is increasingly annoying.Ā
GaGa stepped up and will broadcast War of Y, if any of you want more PAIN in your lives.Ā
GMMTV droppedĀ Zero Photography to their YouTube, itās a GL advert special featuring InkPa from Bad Buddy. It was cute and sweet. But thatās it.Ā
Apparently Jimmy (of JimmyTommy) has withdrawn from Middleman's Love and so they need to recast both leads. Bed Friends seems unaffected.Ā
There are quite a few pairs that Cheewin could hand this too. Anyone wanna take bets? Who would we fantasy cast from his line up? (Cheewin uses his pairs in Y-Destiny, War of Y). Middlemanās Love requires and YOUNGER seme and an older but nerdy (or capable of being nerdy) uke for an office set romance about an intern pursuing his boss. So I think BillySeng and MaxNat are NOT right for this. Other options?Ā Toru & First,Ā KimCop (of course),Ā BoomPeak if you wanted to dip into the well (and if they were up for it), PerthLay if they need bigger names.Ā
More bad news, Korean BL Oh My Assistant probubly DOA. Read this.Ā
Next Week Looks Like This:
Starting: Thai BLs What If & Work from Heart.Ā
Ending: Love Mechanics andĀ Check Out the series (thank fuck).Ā
Still to come in August?Ā About Youth (Taiwan),Ā Ghost Host, Ghost House (Thai),Ā Ai Long Nhai (Thai). Iām gathering data for September releases now, so if you have any youāre excited about, leave a comment.Ā
Iām streamlining my systems to better keep track of BLs as they are announced and put into production, yes, there is a NEW spreadsheet as part of the DOOM (currently with 96 entries). Look, I never said this was easy. But now I can answer peeps when they ask me about upcoming stuff.Ā
This weekās best moments?
Yeah I know it was a sad bit, but thatās why I liked it. Vice Versa needed a bit of a low point. But also...
How to catch a live husband 101.Ā
Truth in BL, 21 Days Theory.Ā
Epic eye rolling in Love in the Air. Also, accurate picture of me the whole time I was watching the first ep.
The shoe tie! A pretty rare trope in BL actually. Common in Kdramas. Of course, I like it because itās always fun to see a seme kneel.Ā
This was SO FUNNY. This is what the GMMTV boys excel at: snappy dialogue and great friendship groups. (The Eclipse)
I LOVE A boy who crush-sniffs another boyās shirt.Ā
The pining is strong with this one. (Takara & Amagi)Ā
But then when heās THAT CUTE, what can ya do?Ā
current earworm? P1HarmonyāsĀ Doom Du Doom
