KSM4

I missed the page with the beautiful special episode! For those wondering if we'll have more: 3 mini-episodes are coming out on the 11th, 14th, and 17th of June.

Omg, yes, absolutely. I kept hoping they'd add more modern twists to it, but nope, didn't happen.

I think it comes down to different perceptions; I was displeased with how the love story progressed from the very first episodes here. I was just hoping it'd get better, but when I realized it won't, I've already watched way too much to give up :D For me, true love is based on mutual understanding and knowledge of each other. I can't recall a single meaningful conversation these two had at any point that wasn't about their relationship. I feel like they are just going from one romantic trope to another without any depth. Entering a relationship, breaking up - but what do they like about each other? What are their likes/dislikes? What are their values? Where are the moments with them sharing their non-romantic turmoil, hopes, dreams together? Without it, I don't feel any substance. They never felt like partners to me, and the fact that they don't seem to know each other even years later cements it in my eyes.

That RL song shook me, too, but the main song that starts from E4 completely destroyed me!

Yes, I agree with this. YS is strong and he gave FX hell for mistreating him, so it feels differently. It's just that, with LF and YC, personally, I feel like a lot was told, but nothing was shown. They had no meaningful discussions, no bright moments that could prove that yes, these two really click, they relate to each other emotionally and psychologically, so I don't buy their relationship. I know we are invited to think they were deeply in love, but their love story through flashbacks didn't convince me, it felt very superficial. The fact that LF doesn't seem to know a thing about YC (truly believing him to be a gold digger!) and YC can't be bothered to apply even 1% of effort to preserve their relationship just solidified this to me.

Fan Xiao did assault You Shulang repeatedly. But I agree that this had serious impacts and he had to let go and change before they could get together again. He truly loved You Shulang, and You Shulang truly loved him; I haven't been getting this from Lu Feng and Yichen at all.

I'd say To My Shore wins. The abuse here is very intricate, very well-shown, and prolonged enough to have a deep psychological impact, which is demonstrated from every painful angle. In Double Helix, everything is pretty superficial, from the relationship to the abuse and its impacts, especially in comparison. Curious what you'll think, though!

Okay, I caught up on the episodes I missed, and at this point, I have to admit that I have no chance at liking this show. I kept hoping to be proven wrong, but the writing is incredibly weak here, in my opinion. It's simply abysmal, none of the conflicts have any logic behind them; the characters refuse to communicate the most basic things and it looks downright absurd.

Most importantly, they just don't love each other. I can tolerate a lot of imperfections if there is a strong emotional connection between the characters, but here, there is nothing like that at all.

If Yichen loved Lu Feng, he would have tried to apply at least 10% of the effort to protect their relationship. There was absolutely no need for him to marry; even if he was hell-bent on pleasing his Mom (and they didn't show that he was a very loving or obedient son prior to that), there were a hundred ways to keep everyone more or less happy. He could make a deal with the girl he married or with someone else and pretend to date her seriously. Considering his mother wouldn't live long, they wouldn't have to keep up the charade for an extended period. This was something he could discuss with Lu Feng in advance, and that's just one basic solution. There are many more. If a person can't be bothered to do even this much, to even discuss it, what love are we talking about?

He wasn't even the one who suggested a divorce after 5 (!!!) years, and he seemed to remember about Lu Feng only after seeing him in the news. Pathetic.

As for Lu Feng, he's obsessed for sure, but he doesn't love Yichen at all. He was never interested in his feelings or thoughts, and he doesn't know him at all. They didn't have even one profound conversation about something; we never saw them exploring the inner worlds of each other. Their connection is extremely superficial, to the point where Lu Feng seriously thinks Yichen has come to him out of greed for money. If he knew him at least a little bit, he would never think that. When you love someone, when you know someone, you have at least a basic idea of what this person is like; Lu Feng doesn't.

There is a lot more to say about it, but I think I've ranted enough. I don't know why this show is so popular, it lacks so many vital things, but of course, to each their own.

I'm glad I'm not alone thinking that! I was complaining a few episodes ago how in a trailer, I'd been impressed by Yichen's dead face because I thought we were in for some very toxic, well-made drama where he would end up feeling completely exhausted and hollowed out. But he's been making that same face nearly from the beginning, which really takes away from its impact. Also, a huge yes, I don't see a single thing apart from maybe physical appearance that Lu Feng would be so attracted to. I really, really hoped he would grow some personality or a spine or anything, so I kept watching, but it didn't happen.

That's a very odd decision on their part, imo, but I'm very happy for any crumbs :D Thank you for sharing!

Thank you, now I get it, this makes sense!

Thank you, this makes sense!

I think there were plenty of ways around it anyway; he could agree to pretend before the Mom while discussing it with Lu Feng and the girl in advance. If the girl disagreed, he could always find someone else to make his Mom feel at ease if she was that important to him (which, honestly, I never felt based on what we've seen).

He did have a choice. A lot of choices. He chose the worst one that ended up ruining the lives of 3 people at once.

I agree with every point. I do hope Yi Cheng will finally grow a spine, even if it's way too late.

Oh, I know about the censorship and the hardships they are all facing :( The fact that they manage to keep giving us so much goodness is a miracle. I meant that, unless something new happened in the last 10 days, it's highly unlikely that censorship is at fault in this particular instance.

They dropped one special episode less than 2 weeks ago; nothing was stopping them from uploading two of these episodes at once. I'm trying to follow all the news closely, and everyone involved, including the studio responsible for the drama and the author of the novel, are making happy and enthusiastic posts. I saw no reports from Asian fans about a sudden surge in harassment lately, so it's more likely that they are just waiting to release it at some later point.

I do hope to see them (and the Desire crew) again in another drama! They are fantastic.

I felt like it's drama for drama's sake from E1, but I'm intrigued by the twists they are making now because at least Yi Chen woke up a bit earlier.

The 4 episodes thing wasn't confirmed; based on the trailer, we can only tell that there is at least one more episode ahead. No info on the dates, though :(

I doubt it? They just released the first special episode 10 days ago and it is well liked. The actors are doing extremely well: their concert passed successfully, they were just invited to walk the runway for VOGUE yesterday, and they have a ton of endorsements. They're doing frequent streams together; other Chinese BLs are blooming, too, so it doesn't look like censorship is at fault. We'll probably get it a bit later. A new big fan event takes place on June 3, so maybe then.

This is literally a place for discussions... if you don't want people to interact with what you write, don't write it. Simple.