Be Loved in House: I Do (2021)

Just Watch It! (This is long).

This is my very first review, so please bare with me.

Story:
Regarding the story there were some plot holes here and there, and I feel like the running time of each episode was poorly used in many occasions, some added things felt unnecessary to the plot as a whole, and some things could've been explained in a better way.

Yes, the pacing...

I love a slow burn romance, the whole enemies-to-lovers trope, but watching this show week by week was actually painful, and not in a 'oh my God, what happens next?' kind of way. It was actually frustrating, and when I thought things were about to pick up, it slowed down completely.

Still, I have to say that I absolutely love the concept of "The Little Prince" involved in this story, and how he falls in love and ends up with the fox.

Acting / Cast:
Let me have my shallow moment...

The first time I saw anything about this series, what called my attention was how attractive both main leads were. They have different vibes, and I think they fit perfectly in what was presented, but the real question is, what about the often mentioned chemistry? Looks are not enough to measure weather there's chemistry between a pair or not.

Jin Yu Zhen is a complicated character, with unresolved and complex feelings, your seemingly stoic, heartless, asshole kind of character right there. I do think Aaron Lai nailed it, especially when we saw the transition of JYZ opening up little by little, showing his true colors.

Honorable mention to the last episode, I felt his desperation all the way through the screen.

Shi Lei is not only someone with that bright, beautiful, dimply smile, I like how he had a personality and how he wasn't afraid to stand his ground no matter what. Hank is a newbie as far as I know, and he did good, I like his acting.

Honorable mention to Shi Lei "coming out" to his mom, that scene was beautiful, and necessary.

So, in conclusion, they do have chemistry, a lot in my eyes, I liked to see how Shi Lei fell for JYZ little by little, how he had an "oh shit" moment, realizing he was caring a lot for him, and how Jin Yu Zhen reciprocated his feelings and cared for him just as much. They had a lot of cliche moments, but I didn't mind it at all. There was tension, and want and longing.

The second couple can be a big hit, or a big miss, sometimes they even steal the spotlight from the main couple, and this time I have to say they were cute and all, but I unfortunately didn't really care for them. There wasn't enough substance, I don't know how to put it better.

Yan Zhao Gang was a good guy, with good intentions and he mostly had some great things to say, the type of guy you go for advice, I like the actor playing him, and I don't think he's bad.

Wu Si Qi on the other hand, was the shy, young and inexperienced guy. Cute? Yes. Still, I don't know, but I cared even less for him, I felt detached. I don't blame it necessarily on the acting, but oh well.

The rest of the cast does the job, I found some of the meant-to-be-funny moments to be actually funny, and I liked their interactions.

Shi Lei's mom has to be mentioned, she was his wingman, the real MVP, a mother who cared for her son's happiness and well-being. It's refreshing to break from the stereotype of a mother who's disappointed, mad or angry, against the fact of her son/daughter being in love with someone of the same sex.

Music:
I love soundtracks, and I have to admit that the "I do, I do, I do" is catchy.

Rewatch Value:
I wouldn't mind re-watching the whole thing now that it ended, maybe it would feel different than watching week by week.

Overall:
I know this review is very mixed, I tried pointing the flaws, but also the good points of this series, at the end of the day all I can say is to each their own, don't let anyone else's opinions and thoughts stop you from watching something, do it, see it for yourself.

For me this series is worth watching, it's simple, it's cute, it's easy, and the end is refreshing.

Hope this helps.

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OVER EXAGGERATTING!!!!!

Like I had seen lots of positive reviews of this show and I am glad lots of people are enjoying so do I, but the show has some flaws and we have to point that out like we are not going to ignore them,
In terms of acting this show has one of the best cast and Aaron and Hank chemistry is really good and enjoyable, and the side couple is also good doing justice to the show and the side characters is enjoyable, this show is really good and I love how there is a coming-out scene (and that's a fact lots of BL series did not address this important issue) and my favorite scene when Shi Le comes out to his mother and another thing that how Zhen is not suddenly turning gay for one guy he was gay before he met Shi Lei and hats of the director and staff for amazing cinematography and I really enjoyed that and we have just 1 episode is remaining and I will edit this review afterward.
And why did I use this tag is over-exaggerating because of how slow-paced it became and Slow Paced DRAMA are not my cup of tea and like how last 4 episode just have been there with no relationship development so it just became annoying to wait for every Thursday and what do we get silent stares with ending music being "I Do,I DO, I Do" and it just became irritating to the point and on other hands, the side couple became Boyfriends and even make out and on other hand the main lead doesn't have any kissing and we even get a kissing scene with the Ex and the main lead but not with the main couple, and in the end, the story just predictable and became less enjoyable too and for sure in the last episode we get Zhen chasing and Shi le and confessing his feelings and then they will kiss and "I Do, I Do, I Do" and the show will end and the side couple even got married like I already predicted what going to happen in this last episode it exactly happenend what i thought but we got a good chemistry and the last scene was just a chef kiss, but can they both stop dreaming that Zhen thought that Shi loves Zhing and Shi thought that Zhing and Zhen are getting back together, but lets just move on from that and the kiss was really good i can feel their love
So Overall pretty enjoyable drama you can watch it and I love the chemistry it was really natural so it's a big recommendation and I would love to see Aaron and Hank in another show like their chemistry is superb
I really like the coming-out scene and the main lead chemistry
But I am not going to rewatch this slow-paced drama again, I would just watch it s Fan-Made Edit

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I've a love-hate relationship with this one

Loves:
1. The character, Shi Lei, is such a darling. He's one of those "straight guys" who fall in love with men that are common in BL, but I like how honest and cool he is about it. No silly gay panic moments
2. The cat in the cafe
3. The allusions to The Little Prince

Hates: The sheer wasted potential:
1. First of all, the side couple is really cute together. There are hints regarding Zhao Gang's past (which cause him to be hesitant to commit to a relationship for fear of being hurt), but that's where it stops. The side story could have been more moving and the side couple taken more seriously, but the potential went down the drain.

2, The story of the main couple is also not developed properly. The story actually starts off pretty well. But it fails by the time the fake crisis comes in. It is more than just hinted that Yu Zhen has been through a sad relationship, which serves as the main obstacle between him and Shi Lei. But it just doesn't add up. So he got into a serious accident while trying to get to his boyfriend who was leaving the country, and that was the end of their relationship for some reason. The accident, which is made to seem important, doesn't seem so important in the end. And it is not convincing that this guy would just end up imposing some ridiculous singlehood rule at the workplace.

4. The fake crisis: Yu Zhen's ex-boyfriend suddenly turns up, seemingly to win him back. By the end of Episode 11, however, it is obvious that there isn't time to develop the plot in this direction, so there's only one predictable direction for the plot to take: the ex-boyfriend is really here to help Yu Zhen and Shi Lei get together. I was hoping to be proven wrong, but I wasn't.

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Just What you Want it to Be!

Oh heck! I loved this. Some people complain about the pacing being too slow, but that's expressly because one of the main characters has never been in a relationship before and the other main character is coming from a traumatic past. Anything but slow pacing and it would have felt rushed and weird. That being said, the episodes are 25 minutes a piece, so the pace isn't THAT slow. And the evolution of all the relationships is what we come for, yes?

The music in this was very, very pretty. The theme song was sweet and the song that played when they are dealing with hard moments was just so bittersweet that it perfectly reflected the mood.

I loved the setting. As an artist myself, seeing a BL set in a designer jewelry studio was so fun. And I also got a kick because when I first saw Aaron on screen, I was pointing and yelling "He looks like an East Asian Superman". And then came the Kryptonian jokes in the plot itself! Ha!

There was a shocking moment for me when I saw Aaron topless I stopped and paused the video because I used to work in the medical profession and I immediately said "That is the best, most realistic scar makeup I have ever witnessed". As the show went on and I got to see the scars from more than one angle, got to see how they pulled, I began to suspect they were real scars. So I looked Aaron up and was amazed to find that prior to the filming of this show he had been in a car accident that nearly killed him. He was in a coma for months. Then rehab. And straight into the filming of this project. In an interview he said that the actor who played Shi Lei was the first person outside of his doctors to ever see his scars and he had been very self conscious about it. So yeah. Wow.

As for the relationship between the main 2 characters, it's awkward and sweet and careful in all the achingly tender ways you might want it to be, without being gooey. Their chemistry is magnetic and immediate. And poor Shi Lei coming out to his mom was the best coming out scene ever. It was so well acted! And really, Aaron did a superb job bringing a quiet, very wounded guardedness to Jin Yu Zhen.

Everyone did a great job. Kudos to the secondary pairings and support cast too. They rounded out the plot and drove it forward at useful moments in a seamless way.

This just took a spot in my top 5 favorites! It does NOT disappoint. Loved the pace. Loved the actors. Loved the story. My only complaint is that there just wasn't enough of it. I would have loved the episodes to have a longer format or for there to have been more of them.

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It started off great then fell flat

I was very excited for this show because we were getting another story that wasn't highschool/college centred, and the BL genre needs more shows like that. Initially the series showed great potential but unfortunately it didn't fully deliver. The first half of the series was quite good. It was exciting, the characters were really intriguing and the chemistry between the main couple was excellent. There were some plot holes especially with the Singlehood rule, but they were things that could be looked past.

What the show really struggled with was pacing. Initially the slow pacing worked well to tease the audience but eventually it began to drag and felt like the director and writers were trying to stretch 8 episodes of material into 12. The most frustrating part were the main characters, Jin Yu Zhen and Shi Lei who both repeatedly continued to not make a move on each other. It became severely frustrating. Then when the show became uninteresting around the 10th episode, the writers tried to add a new character which initially did bring some interest but the plot continued to get weaker and less interesting.

Okay, so back to what I actually liked about the show? Again Aaron and Hank's chemistry was good and they are both so good looking. The side couples were sort of interesting, but not enough to cover up my frustrations with the main couple. The straight couple didn't really get much screen time but I still liked them and they were funny sometimes. The acting for me was excellent and the production quality was top tier. So I must commend those who were responsible for that.

I believe this series may be more interesting if you binge it. Waiting every week for 25minutes and seeing basically no progress is almost torture.

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So much potential, blandly executed

I really enjoyed Just You, the Taiwanese drama this series is based on but unfortunately Be Loved in House: I Do just fell short of my expectations. All the elements were there, an amazing cast, interesting story and great set but the overall feel of the drama was off.

The side couple Zhao Gang and Si Qi for instance, got way more screen time than I was expecting. They were super cute, I'd admit, but their relationship was way advanced compared to Yu Zhen and Shi Lei that it made the main couples pacing seem way to slow. Moreover, maybe a bit nit-picky but, Zhao Gangs' café was always empty, and so the scenes filmed there felt awkward and unrealistic, at least to me.

Overall I liked Yu Zhen and Shi Lei's relationship, their chemistry was really good. But, the development between the pair just became tedious to watch, especially because we didn't really get to see them happy together (domesticated lol), I would have loved to see more of that towards the end. Individually though I think they are great characters that were portrayed well, the problems I have are with those directing rather than the actors themselves. Yu Zhen was a perfect blend of stubborn and soft, I loved his story and it was so nice to see Aaron embrace acting again. Shi Lei was super cute, and I loved that he was also able to be strong and lets face it, a bit cunning when he needed to be! Also, I loved Shi Lei's relationship with his mum and how accepting she is of him, and Yu Zhen was so adorably accommodating to her when she stayed with them.

Honestly, I would have liked to see more of Xiao Qian and Jing's relationship, because they added so much to the plot, I'm not a fan of BL's glazing over the straight couples interactions but hey, it is what it is!

I don't think Yu Zhen's ex really added much to the story, this is where the plot differs from Just You if I remember correctly and there are definitely other ways the main couples relationship could have developed. Saying that, it was the only surprising part of the story, so I appreciate it for this aspect at least.

I also didn't like the overuse of the theme tune, it got a little tiring after a while.

I'd say, go into this one not expecting much and then you'll be pleasantly surprised because even though the pacing is slow, both couples (Yu Zhen and Shi Lei and Zhao Gang and Si Qi that is) have amazing chemistry and there are some interesting twists and turns along the way!

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Sweet & Moved along very nicely ....

Regarding the story there were some plot holes here and there, and I feel like the running time of each episode was poorly used in many occasions, some added things felt unnecessary to the plot as a whole, and some things could've been explained in a better way. I love a slow burn romance, the whole enemies-to-lovers trope, the two main leads were really attractive and you could feel the chemistry between them, and how they come together. It flowed through without any hiccups and the characters were well suited, my attention was how attractive both main leads were. They have different vibes, and I think they fit perfectly in what was presented,.

The second couple was really sweet, they story just came in and when right to the marriage proposal, its like they knew what they wanted and didn't bother with wasting time, and being dramatic. they did seem to have more screen time than I was expecting. They were super cute, I'd admit, but their relationship was way advanced compared to the main leads.

For me this series is worth watching, it's simple, it's cute, it's easy, and the end is refreshing.

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the beginning raised the bar too high for the ending to completely fall flat

My main problem with this drama was HIS EX. TERRIBLE timing to add his ex, should have cut all the slow burn filler and side couple scenes to allow more time for the main couple to develop. It was going so well from the beginning to when Shi Lei came out to his mother, there was finally some hope of the relationship progressing. But then the addition of the ex in literally like the last 2 episodes? was so unnecessary. They rushed to try and resolve yuzhens past and it fell EXTREMELY flat.

I loved yuzhens character and story and its such a shame they couldnt explore and resolve it in a timely manner. It would have been amazing to see the main couple work on it together (since they are a couple..) instead of yuzhen basically being forced to confess and then his ex being written off and a plot device to ultimately end in yuzhen confession to shi lei.

We had some nice scenes with the main couple in the last episode, though i was a bit upset about how yuzhen and his ex got so much screentime, but it couldnt get worse right???? this is why we have special episodes, to develop on the main couple after they confess their love right?????

the special episode was 90% scenes of yuzhen and his ex. i started to question whether this is a drama about yuzhen and shileis relationship or a drama about yuzhen himself. why on earth would i want to see him and his ex. the last few minutes of the special episode was dedicated to the main couple where they shared a singular kiss. nice ? (not to mention the kiss felt a bit awkward on shi leis part now that ive seen other reviews mention it)

I really enjoyed this drama up to about ep 8/9 and i would rewatch just those episodes. The acting was great and I love both yuzhen and shi leis characters and good chemistry together.

this drama had a lot of potential and built up my expectations just to deliver an extremely dissapointing and mediocre ending.

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So much unused potential

Okay so, this drama was a rollercoaster for me. The acting was okay and even good most of the time, and the chemistry between the two leads was there, I just wish that the plot used this chemistry better.
There were a few good moments, but sometimes the writing and the plot just weren't there. I enjoyed this for sure, it is a light and fun drama, it just loses it self sometimes. Also, the side characters are very marginal and didn't even get proper closure in the last eps. Honestly Shi lei's mum was my fave, and the scene with Shi Lei right before she leaves was the most memorable, really heartfelt.
I wish that this drama was given a better script honestly.

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Sweet n' easy with lots and lots of fluffely fluff

I started watching this becaus I heard this drama actually lets you see a persons real scar without covering it up, sound like as good a reason as any I know! But well Once I started waching something just because I saw a sweet picture of a cat on feeds. And this drama had both the scar, beutiful, real and even has that all imprtant extra scar for where the thick draining tube used to be during athe oporation thatgave the person the big scar to begin with. But anway, the scar is only a small part of the drama, it also has a cat, a fluffy adorable cat that has a personality and is deffenetly worth a spot in the credits. So it incorparates two things that can get me to start watching.

Then it has this adorable icile lead, with all the fixed ideas, complete lack of comuication skills whol seems to live by why talk when you can set up rules and use your body to get what you want. Mr Icicle is of course in love with mister dimples.
Mr dimpels is the sweetest character ever, loving, cares about his friends and all rownd sweetheart. That just happens to live in a house that mr Icicle just happens to own.... Mr icicle is ofcourse also mr Dimples boss but even so Mr dimples doesis not the least bit threatend by Mr Icicle. So it is a very sweet and easy watch.

The isde characters are just the sweetest most accepting people ever to be seen on screen or maybe not the best but pretty close.

The mother is the nicest mother I have seen in a long time, and did not once bring out my less pacefistic side, she made me rather ok with being part of the grown up community.

The secound couple have amazing chemestry, and share a kiss I would gladly analize from a consent point of view,

The firiends ara adorable, and the slightest following is called out as stalking, yet they actually mention the word stalking and has r consequences!

The secound male lead stands for some pretty good drama and lovoely twists done right. The olnly slightly annoyng character here are some girls in the cafe that seem to only be there to annoy. other then that this drama gave me the idea for my next solo article, but I won´t tell you what it is ha ha.

All in all deffenetly a drama worth watching for all romcom lovers out there.

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It's complicated. I've many complaints but I still loved it a lot.

This show was truly a rollercoaster ride for me.. It started with me finding it boring to loving it & then being frustrated while still loving it a lot.

So I started watching this show as soon as the first episode aired. I knew the plot didn't really make any sense but I was ready to ignore that because I wanted something light & cute & I hoped this was gonna be that. But honestly the first 4 episodes were pretty pointless & bit boring to me. I was struggling to enjoyt it. There were no real developments & nothing was happening. It just didn't click for me..also the episodes are too short so there isn't enough substance in a single episode to keep you hooked. So after episode 5 I decided to drop it with no plans of ever watching it again.
Some 3 weeks later I came across a clip from episode 8 ( yeah that beautiful last scene ) & that got me all in the feels. I couldn't control myself & ended up binge watching episode 6 ,7 & 8. I enjoyed it so much & that's when I started adoring the show & the main couple. I realised how the initial episodes which I found boring were actually necessary for the build-up of the main couple's love story. I love slow burn & angsty romances & this was exactly that.
The way the relationship between Yuzhen & Shilei developed was so natural unlike most bls. It wasn't forced & they fell in love with eo gradually. It felt real .. them & their story managed to give me butterflies & that happens quite rarely to me nowadays. & I think it has more to do with the actors Aaron & Hank & less with the lackluster script
Episodes 8 & 9 were one of my faves but after that I started having more complaints. I wanted more moments between the main leads, even if it was them fighting. I just wanted them to get their shit together, talk & resolve all the misunderstandings. also confess to eo & get together so that I could see them being all cute & in love. But we weren't properly getting enough of them. They brought the ex bf too late in the storyline.I understood he was just a plot device to bring yuzhen & shilei closer but instead his presence was just creating misunderstandings & driving them farther away from eo. & the second leads..honestly I didn't care abt them or their storyline. They got together so I guess their story had more or less reached a conclusion so I couldn't understand why the screenwriters felt it was a good idea to waste screentime on them in an already short episode when that time could've been used to explore Yuzhen & Shilei's feelings, unresolved matters & their story. I didn't want the show to have a rushed ending where the leads gets together at the very end. So I wanted them to get together soon & was craving to see them as a couple & thus the draggy storyline was just getting on my nerves. But then I was loving it too.. yeah I know I'm contradicting myself here but I've already mentioned earlier that I love slow burns & this was just catering to that need. My biggest problem with the show is the extremely short runtime of the episodes.They were too short to explore the complexities of the storyline & the feelings of our main leads. Just when something exciting happens the episode ends & then we've to wait another week for the next episode. This show should've been longer or perhaps they should've just increased the episodes' durations.. that would've saved many of us from a lot of frustrations & headaches.

Now abt the ending.. we all knew we were gonna get a rushed ending but that didn't stopped me from being overly excited for it. The last episode was no doubt very good & certainly one of my fav along with episode 8 & 9 but it was weirdly edited. So the ex was just there to help Yuzhen realise his feelings & act on them. that was a bit predictable. Also ShiLei conspired together with him.. but when did that happen. I really would've liked if they showed how ShiLei agreed to his plan. anyways..I loved seeing Yuzhen panicking at the thought of loosing ShiLei & him rushing to him to confess . Wish the writers did it an episode or two earlier & then we could've got to see more of them as a couple. The scene in the bridge was abruptly cut after the kiss. I would've loved to see them talk but we didn't get that. Then the next scene of them was the bed scene.. which was hot. but how did they get to that ? a little something before that would've been so good. But my fav was the last scene.. It was so so good. Loved seeing them being so happy & in love with eo. Their convo, the smiles on both their faces , the hugs .. everything just filled me with so much happiness. & it's so heartbreaking that we got so little of that. It's like we finally got everything we wanted but not enough. They clowned us for weeks with that slow burn so we really deserved more.. not much but atleast 1-2 episodes of just them being happy. I really wanted to see more of them as boyfriends.
Somehow this episode filled me with so much happiness but also left me feeling empty. I need more of them. I'm not yet ready to say goodbye to them. I wish the rumours abt episode 13 were true. I hope we really get to see more of Yuzhen & ShiLei's love story.. maybe a special or a season 2 asap.

Despite all its shortcomings & my several complaints abt the show I can't deny that I really really loved the show. So normally I would've rated this 7 or lower but my love for Yuzhen & Shilei made me increase the rating by 1+. Aaron & Hank did such a great job with whatever little material they got & they made this show into a memorable experience for me. Their chemistry together is phenomenal & it's such a shame that it wasn't utilised to its full potential. I'm always gonna be bitter about that. Their performance as Yuzhen & ShiLei felt so genuine & those characters literally conquered my mind for weeks. I'd literally think abt them at random times in a day & that would always bring a smile on my face. I couldn't help but imagine the possibilities of what the show could've been if it was a little better written.

I've already rewatched all its episodes several times & enjoyed them more each time. That's cos I binged watched several episodes at once. It's one of those series you can't really watch episode by episode but it's actually damn enjoyable if you binge watch the episodes. So everyone who's gonna binge watch it is surely gonna love it.

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12 episodes of fluff and questioning the script

Sorry for not liking enough, I do like the actors as probably most viewers, but I feel this drama shows the BL public would watch and be happy with anything as long as it has handsome likeable actors making out (here comes our rewatch value). I guess people are attached to the actors thanks to their promotional fan service activities, but what about the production value of this drama on its own?

I would question the scriptwriter about too many cliches, stuck recording developments, inconsistencies, for not realizing the full potential of such a beautiful metaphor of the Little Prince story. To me it feels more like fan service than a drama when the characters cannot decide their life on their own and need divine interventions from the shipping crowd around; the bigger the crowd, the more helpless the script. This drama is supposed to portray adult characters into their early 30s apparently, not typical BL schoolchildren who cannot make a step without being steered by their ship's captains (to the teenage audience amusement). On the other hand, probably it cannot be a BL story without these cliches? So the question is, does this genre requires and promotes a quality script in the first place?

Casting is not without an issue - the ex has better onscreen chemistry with both main leads separately (and this is probably the biggest innovation and the only refreshing moment in this drama.) The ex stole the show for me and it feels weird when the series is reaching its conclusion and instead of being immersed into the main characters story, I'm mostly sorry that both of them were too modest in their nightmares. Once again I would question the script. Probably it means that a possible s2 could have more of the ex (which he clearly deserves), but s1 shouldn't have sidelined its main couple story development from theirs points of view first of all.

I guess it takes significant efforts and team work to produce such a drama, wish the crew had a stronger foundation in terms of the script and direction. Or a better balance of the typical BL tropes cherished by the viewers.

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