-Aprillen-

I think we're going to find out that the connection (probably from a past life) is actually between Xia Cha (the grandpa) and Ye Haiyuan. Just my speculation based on the setup. And Ye Haiyuan was clearly not into Xia Zefang at all, and obviously didn't even like him very much as a person, since he wasn't even very cut up about his death. So it's not like Haiyuan thinks that Xia Cha is his lover or anything. Which means that no, Xia Cha didn't "get" his grandson's love interest, because that was all in Xia Zefang's head, and Xia Cha also didn't have any such ideas before. At this point in the story, they are not lovers.

This. Also I think it's just about a lot of young people being disgusted by old people. If there's a power imbalance inherent in the age gap, then it's creepy, or older people perving over teens, sure. But that's not the case here. As you say, if reincarnation exists, then we're all old souls in younger bodies, we just don't remember it.

It wasn't written as sexy, though. It was clearly harrassment and I think we were supposed to feel disgusted. Xia Zefang came across as obsessive and selfish with no respect for other people's wishes or boundaries. It's clear that Ye Haiyuan doesn't like him and for good reason. Probably so we as audience wouldn't feel too bad about his passing.

Both Asian Crush and Tubi say it's unavailable.

How are you watching The Promise of the Soul? I thought it didn't start until Friday?

How are you watching The Promise of the Soul? I thought it didn't start until Friday?

Gagaoolala

This. Especially since they went around the ban by only airing it outside of China, so they are relying only on us international fans to earn back what they invested in this. Chinese fans can't support it by watching it legally, but we can.

There's some bad history between them that makes Guo Cheng Yu think that Chi Cheng will always go after his partners.

It's made for overseas audiences, it cannot be aired inside mainland China. Just because the government has banned BL doesn't mean people in China aren't trying their best to get around it.

This is leaving Gaga soon, so if you wanted to watch it but never got around to it, now is the time

Viki and GagaOolala

Yeah, I'd call it a queer youth coming-of-age drama rather than a BL. If you want vivid realism, this is it. If you want sweet escapism, this will probably not be it.

Personally, I guess I'm more in the market for escapism.

Yeah stepsiblings/foster siblings is a whole romance subgenre in straight romance as well, and definitely not limited to Asia. Most stepsiblings romance have the MCs meet as adults, though. Foster siblings romance is a slightly different thing as they often grew up in the same family, but it's also not new (a famous example is Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park).

The "obsessed younger stepbrother" trope is kind of common in danmei, though. We saw it in HIStory 4 as well as in Unknown, and I've read a few danmei novels with the same trope.

But in Unknown it was the older brother who used to be a street gangster to protect the younger one. In this he's definitely not. Most of the things you mentioned (possessive/obsessive/protective gong etc) are just staple tropes in Chinese BL and not exclusive to Unknown. The older kid adopting the younger kid off the street is the same, that's true, but again, step/foster brothers to lovers isn't a rare theme in BL either and it's very often the younger one who is the pursuer.

They would never have had the budgets to produce those dramas for only an overseas audience. They would have been on a much smaller scale, like Meet You at the Blossom.

Thank you for this very thorough rundown! I'd like to add that there (at least up until now) seems to exist another loophole, which is for subscription apps posting reel format miniseries. Somehow they don't seem to be covered by the censorship rules (yet).

It's interesting about intermediate Chinese actors still joining BL productions. I think they are betting that it's safe as long as they're not big household names, spring festival gala level of fame. And it will definitely make them more well known to international audiences. But it's still a risk.

The fact remains that *individuals* in China keep trying to make and put out BL in spite of the government policies. Which is why I feel that we who can watch it legally should do so. The fact that pirating these shows is the only option for people within mainland China means that we foreigners are the only ones who can support these efforts by paying for subscriptions and watching them on the official platforms.

I think you have to separate government policy around homosexuality (which is super conservative and homophobic) and popular opinion about it. Among younger people and in bigger cities, it's fairly accepted, and danmei is indeed super popular among many young women. Among the older generations and in more rural areas, people are much more conservative , but a large part in that is the strong Chinese culture around family and marriage (and gender). From what I can gather, there's no religiously motivated homophobia embedded in the culture like in countries with a strong Christian and Islamic presence. Buddhism seems to have said nothing on the topic either way.

It's not airing in China. This kind of uncensored BL drama can only be made for overseas audiences.

They're not made by the same people though