Wenxia

Slightly;P Maybe I'm projecting but adding intimacy on top of that secret feels like a much heavier burden to me. You know, my comment is only half-serious. I know we need the mystery alive for the sake of the plot:) But I genuinely felt like their dynamic got slightly rewritten there.They were so awkward with each other last ep and now suddenly the trust is there and boundaries are down? and W just casually caresses Sean's ear like he does it every other day... Btw my problem is not with S having issues. I just wish W would've called him out on it, instead of giving him a pass because he's already 'suffering inside'. Let's help Sean, not enable him. Though it does seem to be in character for White;)

Really? He gave me mostly 'good guy' vibes. I don't think he meant to cry:) more like a reaction to baring himself both literally and figuratively, and not having to pretend in front of yok. Looks like he carries a lot of guilt that ties to his art. Maybe he's witnessed Tawi or another privileged person get away with a crime, and could do nothing about it as a cop, so the art became his outlet for these emotions.

Wow the comments section exploded lol.
On that rooftop when White said: „Sean, have you ever thought about” I was sure he's gonna finish with „...going to therapy?” I liked the other thing they did too... But seriously, Sean has issuuueeesss. Probably why he's my favourite:) And hey finally White fought back! Sort of... but talking about trust and yet not telling Sean who he is? Tsk tsk. Well, Sean didn't tell him he knows/suspects either… they're such a mess I swear. Btw, I thought they were building up to an angry make-out session, not this emotional closeness… where did that come from. The casual caressing of the ear gave me a little pause at first. Not that I'm exactly complaining… well…;)
Best line in this ep: "if you don't put away that pillow, I'll assume you're thinking about sth other than art"😂 Yok's killing me. I'm thrilled with their storyline ...and I'm more than ready for real B to join the party!

This made me laugh! I agree with both of your comments:D

I was a little disappointed that the motive didn't tie in well with the type of attack. For all these loops they were fighting so hard to blow up this bus… But wouldn't it have made more sense revenge-wise to put bombs under the driver's/police officers cars for example - instead of killing off a bunch of random people in a bus, 5 years after the accident with their daughter?

Finally a series I could watch with my partner who dislikes C-dramas:) A very enjoyable drama, especially in later episodes.

Some strong points:
- Well-written characters. Big draw for me was that most of these characters felt like someone I might have met in real life. The main pair frustrated me at first with their bumbling efforts, but once I let go of my expectations and saw them as young people who let the emotions get the better of them (a lot of the time:)), they drew me in.
- Pretty good acting all around. ZJM felt a little lifeless to me at first but she came out of her shell beautifully in later episodes. BJT has pretty good comedic timing and I loved his not very southern accent:)
- Well-constructed story with a fair share of funny and heartwarming moments, and no logical errors. I liked that the story turned out to be completely different from what I expected with a lot of screentime given to people's life stories. A few of these made me really emotional, even more so because the show doesn't try to be melodramatic. Life's just unfair sometimes...
- Beautiful Xiamen!!!! I love this city. Spent some of the best years of my life there<3

A few problems I had with this drama:
- The beginning dragged. The story unfolded too slowly - some early episodes passed without unveiling any new info. I think the problem is with the directing. I can see how scenes like the one in the hospital or police questioning from the first loop could be written as suspenseful. I just don't think the director pulled it off.
- The mystery was too predictable. I've guessed quite a lot of the events in the story, including who was the guilty party. It's always disappointing when those you suspect turn out to be it.
One more thing in spoiler.

Yes, because the pervs who've enjoyed bl in the 90's are long dead and buried or at least their libidos went to shit by now... and none of the young would ever enjoy that old school stuff....Wouldn't you say that's a little ageist and snobbish of you to say?:D seriously though, I feel a disconnect with your comments or people who claim BL is just a 'gay romance made in Asia'. I feel like you're trying to forcefully redefine what's a well-established genre that always had a degree of 'female gaze' or the objectification of male characters as one of its characteristics. As it gained popularity, it did transform - became more diverse and more mainstream. But if you're claiming that the sexual objectification no longer applies, then you only need to tour a few of the comment threads on Mdl to challenge that view:) If the works you watch/read don't fit, then just give them different genre tags. Imo these are just for guidance anyway.

Lol, the bed's the only thing I can even remember from that space. The size was very ...noteworthy. It'd be a total crime if they didn't use it;) (yeah, this comment was so I could use that stale pun. I'm sure it's a stale joke day somewhere:))

I can agree that they overplayed Tawi's arc. But I also think keeping him so vague is smart/safer.
1. The audience can just think of the Tawi they know in real life:)
2. In my country, every time a show portrays someone in power, people speculate who it could be. I don't think the team behind this show would want that.
3. I personally couldn't care less. He doesn't interest me as a character.

I can also agree the social commentary could have been executed better. But I don't think the show is as one-sided/preachy as you make it out to be.
They tried to bring in different perspectives in the show. We've got yok's mom who's Tawi's employee. W's dad with his 'dont rock the boat and you'll reap the rewards' attitude. There's Dan, who's a cop, telling yok he should look at things from a wider perspective. The young guys are also not like-minded clones. Each has their own views, and things they disagree on (esp. Nuch and Gram).
Plus, the fact that this series features real-life artists, musicians, activists and their work, makes the commentary unique and doubly interesting to me, whether or not I agree with it.
I'm really confused about the rich=evil and poor=good thing. Is that even a theme in this show? To me it's mostly about fair treatment under the law and how the privileged hoarding power and wealth through nepotism, impunity, corruption, monopoly, etc. makes that a fiction.

ROTFL now I hope he does betray them. I wanna read your rant on that:D

I don't think he lives there?! They said it's an abandoned building and he used his clout as a cop to 'store' things there. Maybe it's his artistic hideout ...just with a really big bed:D And why would he be running when yok's got his ID? The cat's already out of the bag:) I sort of assumed since it took him so long to come collecting, that he was gathering blackmail material on yok and waiting to see whether he'd tell anyone. That's what I would've done. Same with the arrest - maybe he just wanted to take him away from a public area as quickly as possible, before yok does sth stupid, or make it look legitimate which groping him probably wouldn't:)) As for the flirting, come on they had a whole convo about art and their motivations first. Honestly, if a cute guy who's obviously into both you and your art was chasing you around the city, wouldn't you be at least intrigued? Especially a guy who doesn't seem to have the words 'subtlety' or 'personal space' in his dictionary. I for one am easily charmed by people like Yok:D It also seems like yok's the only one who knows who unar is, so that must feel freeing for Dan too.

Lol, that's exactly what makes that pairing interesting to me. People have been saying they're gonna end up as a typical loveatfirstsight couple, but I was hoping for a more dark or complex storyline. I wish Dan had a hidden agenda but he came off as a rather good guy in the last ep. I guess I'll need to get my fix of dark and dangerous romance somewhere else;))

Lol, I admit I was hoping W was gonna knee Sean hard in the jewels and extricate from the chokehold with his own might, thus restoring the balance to the universe and letting them move on on a more equal footing:) But that'd be OOC for White and after this episode I'm willing to give the writers the benefit of the doubt - that they'll find a way to handle the fallout in a satisfying way.

Yep, Gram kissed B's ex-girlfriend, but her name's Eugene. Namo is the graffiti artist friend that W had a tantrum over seeing in 'their' bed together with Sean. After I slept on it, I don't remember why I was so convinced Sean was written as a gay character... Probably just conjecture. But I don't think anything in his character s set-up indicates he's straight either. Let's see what happens behind the closed door next week. Maybe they'll have a heart-to-heart on the topic:D

Personally, it doesn't bother me at all. If they criticized consumerism, I'd be the first to laugh. But calling for fair treatment under the law or criticising how the privileged controlling the entirety of the production chain paired with impunity and corruption keeps 'proletariat' in its place? I don't think showing a few logos/products detracts in anyway from the show's message.

Hmm, was the hate verbalised? Cause I got a kinda different vibe. Anyway, as I said I could've missed sth. What made you think he's unequivocally straight then?

Good to know I'm not alone:) With her? Really? I didn't read any interest there - from both sides. There was like half a meter between them on that bed.

What? I thought Sean was gay? Isn't he gay? I thought there was palpable tension from him towards both White and Black in the flashback.... Did I miss sth or talk myself into it? I wasn't focused 100% of the time...

Alright, I have to put away my grumpy cat suit, because this episode was so good and gave me so many feels, I don't even care what went down in ep6 anymore:D Though, I'll just say that I'm happy the writers let it be acknowledged onscreen how stupid that plan was and its impact from a wider perspective (esp. the employees). I'm repeating myself at this point, but the soundtrack for this series is amazing. I think I've watched that flag scene 10 times by now and that cheesy disco theme made me feel like giggling every. single. time. Awkward is an adorable look on Sean;) I was so curious about where they're gonna take the Dan Yok story, but I certainly didn't anticipate this angle… I need to work on my limited imagination. Yok is so confident. He's what I wish I could be with people that I like. I'll just live dangerously through him;))

Me too. I wish they interwoven both storylines together. It would be fun to see how a more mature person dealt with the same situation:)