any_anka

I don't keep a registry of dramas-that-are-slowburn-and-don't-involve-kisses-up-untill-episode-8-but-include-trips-and-falls-beforehand...
I can tell you, however, that this sort of thing where a proper kiss doesn't even happen until very late in the story (and sometimes might not happen at all) is *very* common in cdramas. Straight ones. The characters might have tension, tension, tension, and share like one or two kisses somewhere towards the second half of the show, making the audience wait sometimes 20 episodes if not more.
Oh, actually, a big current title, Pursuit of Jade, has the main couple not share a kiss until episode 10 or 11, and when they get somewhat intimate before that, it's always through them being thrown into a situation by people around them who expect them to consummate the relationship (hence it's often borderline absurd and comical in it's nature, even though the chemistry is there).
I haven't finished the drama yet, but from the spoilers that I have seen, the kisses and more intimate moments that follow later on will be happening when one or both characters are under the influence...
It's a straight drama, but clearly follows certain tropes that - if they were to happen in a BL show - one could include in your little theoretical essay about deprecating depictions of the gay in fiction (saying something like: "the intimate interactions never happen with characters having full vocation of their actions or carrying responsibility for them, as they're always either influenced by others or under the influence of alcohol/drugs, which clearly indicates that whatever romance happens between them, is not fully greenlit by the storytellers as a thing they both want to pursue and see as correct" - or something of that sort).

Anyway, my general point being. Calling SCD homophobic based on the fact that it heavily relies on "gazes and flirtations", while not having watched even 1/3 of the show feels like relying solely on confirmation-bias on your part.

Chusan (the nerdy guy) is probably one of the most confident, self-assured gay dudes I've seen in a BL story in some time (without being too overbearing or forceful). The issue between the two protagonists is not even gay-panic really, it's mostly the gangster guy feeling inadequate more than anything else (even if it's veiled as him being stupidly oblivious).
As for the moments of affection, there are kisses earlier than episode 8 too. However, I suppose they wouldn't meet your standards, as one is a make-out session happening in a dream and the second one is a stolen kiss, when the gangster is (pretending to be) asleep.

Either way, you disliking the drama is fine by me (though I do think you are missing out and 1/10 rating is btw crazy to me, just considering the cinematography and acting alone), but throwing big words like "homophobic" felt like something I wanted to address.

Oh, come on... What exactly is homophobic about glances and flirtations, even if accompanied by silly sound effects?
So if the show happened to be a straight romance with a focus on slow burn, eye contact and with a touch of comedy etc. - would you be making an argument that it's made by someone hating hetero people or something sounding equally silly based on a similar logic?
It's not homophobic just because it's not to your liking...

P.S. There are gradations between the extremes and this drama actually falls in-between the two extremes, as it's neither of the two.

That's what I keep saying... The cinematography is so frigging pretty in this one. I could just watch it for the beautiful shots alone.

I mean, you might wanna wait a bit with the disappointment then, because didn't they just say that they don't wanna give any empty promises without an official confirmation? That's not exactly the same as saying there's no season 2 😉
And didn't Changxi say in the same live that he *thinks* there will be a second season? (Unless the subs were wrong, I'm nowhere nearly proficient enough in Mandarin to be able to confirm it).
Personally, I plan to celebrate only when I actually see episode 1 of the second season released, but not everything is definitively doomed, isn't it? 😋

Personally I can relate to cliffhanger-induced frustration, but the comments about how nothing has happened for 8 episodes are beyond my understanding. There's not a dull moment, each episode goes by so fast and is eventful, and as you've said Liuyi and Chusan's relationship has progressed so much.

From them being strangers and Liuyi forcing Chusan to work for him, to Chusan saving him, nurturing him to health and helping him with the internal gang power struggle, to them missing each other, to becoming "friends" and Liuyi finding a place he feels safe at Chusan's home, to the whole emotional disorder mess 😂to finally Liuyi slowly realising his feelings and Chusan coming clean with his.
Like, so many things has happened already and it all progressed so naturally, without anything feeling like it's forced. And I do second your comment that it also doesn't feel like they're going in circles (which is not a given in a romantic story, quite the contrary - it's a common thing to happen).

So yeah, I kinda wish works that actually take time to make the relationship make sense were appreciated for it, not the opposite happening 🙃

And maybe it's just me being biased considering how I like this show, but each interaction between the two is either entertaining or awww-inspiring or touching - I never feel bored or that I'm just waiting for something else to happen.

I felt almost cathartic reading this... You basically said everything I wanted to, but didn't 😋

Besides, there are tons of dramas where characters jump e/o's bones in the first episode, there need to be some shows allowing for the slow burn and gradual development of feelings. For a healthy balance, if nothing else 😋
And another "besides": I actually feel like SCD's creators have already planned in advance for people being disgruntled and impatient. Hence, they literally gave the audiences a two minute long make out session in episode 5 (while keeping it a dream to safeguard the story itself). Aaand they added two BTS clips for those who might've thought the final cut was too vanilla.
Like, what more do you guys need? The story is so captivating because the characters are how they are and behave the way they behave...

You're fully endorsed to do so 😉

For the period drama being undone... just look the other way, e.g. focus on the good looking cast when in need😋)

But I enjoy the slow burn too 😉 The only thing I could do without is those cliffhangers, everything else is chef's kiss for me.

Are we being nitpicky now? Yay, finally someone decided to do it, cause I kinda wanted to, but since I adore this drama so much, I felt somewhat reluctant on the other hand.
Well, let me join in on the fun 😉

The car thing bugged me too. I even tried to explain it away by maybe Liuyi having a stolen imported car, but I don't think that's the case since it's the same for Chusan's car too 😋

I'm also like 80% sure that I've seen some simplified characters here and there during the show, which I think shouldn't be the case in Hong Kong, especially in the late 80s (?).

Another thing - correct me if I'm wrong on this one though - I don't think the touchless faucets were a common thing in the 80s? Yet in that bathroom scene between the righteous and not-so-righteous cop, there totally is a faucet working on infrared sensor (or sth of that sort).

Bubble/Boba tea Chusan brings together with food for Liuyi in episode 6/7. Now it's ever-present globally, but it was invented in the late 80s in Taiwan (I actually double checked 😋). I do wonder if it already crossed over to HK and became a popular thing back when the show takes place 😋

Kowloon Walled City itself - the air pictures we get of it in the drama are just sooo far from the actual thing. It's not like I expected a low budget show to CGI a faithful replica, but what we are seeing look way too orderly. It's just a densely built area, nothing special about it, whilst the real Walled City looked like a concrete... tumour (for the lack of a better word) - so asymmetrical and totally chaotic.

Having said that, as I mentioned, I adore this drama. These don't really ruin the experience for me at all, but they did make me stop and think for a moment or two.

What payoff are you talking about though? Because personally I don't feel like I'm sitting through something boring just waiting for good things to happen.
There's something happening constantly that I enjoy (whether it is the chemistry between the protagonists, the comedy parts, the cinematography, this week I actually enjoy more plot around the mafia theme). So I wouldn't really say that I'm not getting the payoff for the time "invested" in this drama.

I thought I couldn't like Chusan more already as a character and then he pulled off this drama queen never-done-before wiping fake tears of glasses move and I just... I couldn't just leave it like this. I had to give it some form of a tribute 😂

I feel like we don't talk enough about how pretty this drama really is. And I don't even mean the cast (the cast is ofc very good-looking, but that's a different thing entirely).
The choice of colours for each scene, the use of light and shadow - I didn't expect that it'd be a cBL making me go "aaahh, cinema is still alive", but here we are.

And those moments when Chusan is standing illuminated by light and Liuyi is swallowed by the shadows (like in the final shot of ep 6 or in ep 7 when he gives Chusan a ride home) - I suppose maybe it's a bit in your face with symbolism and stuff, but I guess I like being whiplashed by symbolism 😉

Yes, that's what Dong Dong said in the drama, but since it was never clearly stated, I assumed it was more Dong Dong being cautious and Mei looking young then anything else.
If she's Chusan's classmate then she should be over twenty already when we meet her first time.
Also... Liuyi's jealousy feels more justified now, knowing her and Chusan share some form of "history" ;)

Why would they do that, indeed? It's like they realize that people's relationships come in different forms and shapes, being "manly" doesn't equate to being top, couple's dynamics in bedroom vary case by case and gay men are regular people. They're crazy for it. Absolutely insane 😂

This is a great show, btw. If you ever decide that it's not "too much" for you after all, you might wanna reconsider giving it a try.
P.S. Both characters are manly.

hmm... maybe she was then? :P Maybe my brain just wanted to believe she wasn't cause otherwise I'd be like "don't let this child stay in such a place!"
Either way, I think she's no longer underage now. There definitely was a few time skips and my other point about Liuyi, his attitude, his sister etc. still stands :)

I assumed she isn't it?
It was never clearly stated in the drama she was, only that she looked young and innocent ,thus Dong Dong didn't want any trouble, having Mei working at her place, in case Mei was underage.
Plus, the drama makes huge time jumps, too. Enough for Chusan to graduate, get a job and even establish himself as a top employee of his company since we first met Mei. I'd say it's been at the very least a few months, but might as well have been over a year. Technically, she had to get older too.
Finally, considering how Liuyi sheltered her the first night they met and what his father wanted to do to his sister when they were kids, there's just *no way* in my mind that Liuyi would ever push Mei on *any* man, even Chusan, if she was underage.

Most actors spoke Mandarin while being filmed. Then the show was dubbed in Cantonese afterwards.
Matthew Han speaks Cantonese though.

I was holding off on reading the novel, because I didnt wanna be spoiled 🙃I ended up reading some bits of it (like the Birthday/first kiss scene, which was beautiful... I wish the drama at the very least reached that part, but alas).
I gotta say, though, that after waiting a few months for *any* info about the second season and then experiencing such a huge let down, I felt too bitter to finish it.
Maybe I should though... I really loved the series.

I've been having the exact same suspicion about Liuyi's sister since episode 2 aired. And then Xu Ying's words in episode 3 only made my suspicion deepen.

I honestly don't know if I've ever been this entertained by a BL show. This drama just delivers everything. Interesting story? Check. (I'd say immaculate) pacing? Check. Satisfactory acting? Check. Cinematography? Check. Deeper and sad moments? Check. Hysterical comedy? Check. And it manages to blend everything so well together.
This is honestly such a gem...

But... Last time I loved a BL this much was when The On1y One was still airing... And there were talks about 2nd season... And it got cancelled in the end. And I'm having flashbacks, seeing analogies and already starting to worry...