any_anka

That's a proper strategy.
Impossible for me to execute though, as I lack this thing called patience ;)

Thai - KinnPorsche.
I don't watch many Thai BLs. I try sometimes... and I end up dropping or skip thru. KP was an exception that I genuinely enjoyed (Bible's acting!)

Korean - Eighth Sense.
Quality-wise, if I tried to be objective, it's probably Love in the Big City, but Eighth Sense has my heart.

Japanese - Our Youth.
Above everything else (and I'm a Japanese BL enthusiast - I find them having the most interesting concepts and best cinematography).

Chinese
actual BL - THIS ONE.
Unless a disaster happens with the last 3 episodes, but if it stays this good, nothing tops it for me :)

censored BL - Killer & Healer
I loved The Untamed, but I loved it in its entirety. I was so into the whole drama between WXW and Jiang Cheng, I adored Wen Ning... so whatever it was that LZ and WXW had going on, it was *not* at the forefront of my focus. At least not solely.
Killer & Healer just wins in the romantic sense, as a BL, even though The Untamed is a better show.

Taiwan - The On1y One.
Loved it to the bits. Still bitter about the s2 fiasco...

Viki is even cheaper... And Youtube membership is yet cheaper than Viki.
Plus with Viki and Gaga you get access to different shows too... so it's actually a pretty decent deal.
Considering how good quality is this show and the fact that it doesnt make money from product placements and the actors probably won't get plenty of brand deals afterwards in their home country either, it would be nice if the popularity of the show brought the team *some* actual benefits. With Viki or Gaga, at least there is an official mark on how popular the show is and an incentive for the platform to order another season (if there is one), Youtube money is the direct money to the creators I guess (though I dont know how the split actually goes).
So yeah, would be nice if ppl watched on legal platforms. Not judging, just hoping... ;)

I'm old enough to remember it being shown as romantic in many more stories than nowadays 😋
Still, as much I'm in the "Chusan-can-do-no-wrong" since pretty much episode 3 I think, kissing someone unconscious, even if they're single and you guys are close and you might think they can have feelings for you and all that is still *not* the best course of action, to put it mildly.

But yeah, the whole "May I kiss you" thingy is a thing of the last 10 years or so... Before that ppl were acting on vibes, reading the atmosphere and just making sure that when they're moving in for a kiss they leave enough space and time for the other person to evade if they're not interested 😅

Ok, so the first two episodes that dropped were refreshing and intriguing, so I kept watching.
The third episode already hooked me good and I've started developing my intense liking for this drama.
Episode 4 - I probably was already obsessed.
Episode 5 made it seem like it was impossible to handle waiting for episode 6 (and I absolutely loved it).
And now episode 6 was genuinely my favourite one yet...

What is up with this drama... What are they doing to me? And I mean everyone, the crew, people responsible for this drama, I don't mean the main couple only.

Am I the only one who thinks the editing is so smooth? It's obvious we're pretty much running thru the plot at this point, there are plenty of time jumps within the story, but the narration is so fluid, the transitions so seamless. And (as someone who doesn't know the book) I always feel like we are focusing on the most important aspect for the development despite limited time.
There has to be someone else who's gushing over the cinematography too (the lighting, the symbolism in some of the scenes), right? :P

Like, this is so genuinely good.

And then there's the acting. Guys... We had episode 3 with Liuyi talking about his past and thirst for revenge and it was intense and epic, but this episode today? The micro-expressions, the subtle smiles, the shadow of disappointment on Chusan's face, the hurt in the last scene - how good was that? Usually it's Yanzhao who makes me think he's so expressive, but I really really enjoyed Changxi's performance today soooo much.
(And I remember reading here on MDL some people calling the acting subpar. They weren't really hating, just expressing their opinion, providing some arguments and whatnot... So I guess it was cool :P But after today's episode I really wanna ask them "what the fudge are you guys watching?" ;))

Anyway, yeah, that's it. Now on to another week of waiting...

No, ep 5 aired a week ago... and ep 6 will air tomorrow; they air according to schedule every week on official platforms... (YouTube official channel, Viki, Gagaoolala)

I'm actually losing it over Chusan's stupid happy face *after* the kiss than the kiss itself.
But mostly over Liuyi being there for him at the hospital (cause it's the first time Chusan is so vulnerable in front of Liuyi and Liuyi looks sooo soft with him...).

So... the sneak peek of episode 6 is out and I think some of us (me) are going to lose it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj8f8IUQ4-Y

It's super good and scarily addictive.

I never thought I'd see Cristiano Ronaldo and Messy mentioned on MDL under a BL drama 😂 Taylor Swift... maybe, maybe...

What second season, I can barely handle waiting for the next episode...

I mean, the entire scene is rather beautiful and Liuyi's stare is quite intense and dreamy :)

I didn't read it like that.
I think Liuyi just saw a glimpse of something pure and beautiful that was so outside of his usual dark, violent reality, he was just taken by what he saw (and hence why he also stopped his men from interrupting saying "it's a happy moment"). His life since childhood was filled with pain and violence after all.
If anything I think this scene is showing the softer side of the rough gangster Xia Liuyi, or maybe even some longing after a normal, wholesome life. It might be establishing that he was familiar with who Chusan was, but I don't think it's supposed to be indicative of him falling for him at that moment.

Viki, GagaOOLaLa and their official YouTube channel.

Scenario b) is what I would've went with, I actually agree with your given option there. It would've been honestly better.
Still love the show though :)

I don't even know if I'd characterize this drama as a BL. It really is more a story about grieving the loss of a beloved person, while going through different stages of grief.
Such an original idea for a story and executed quite beautifully too.

Short but intense :)

Oh, I absolutely do not allow myself to have any hopes. I already had hoped once, when the whole mess with The On1y One was happening. I waited for months for *any* update about the second season. Was hanging on every word from the director to the point I feel silly 😋
So yeah, no. I prefer to have some form of closure and no expectations.
I'll believe in the second season happening when the first episode actually drops online. Not a day sooner 😋

I kinda see your point about shuttering the cop and the disrespect coming with it. But I also feel that if Chusan was not allowed to leave unharmed, that would've been a huge regress for the development of their relationship in the drama.
I mean, they've been through so much already, from Chusan saving Liuyi, taking him to his home, tending to his wounds, then putting himself at risk just to help him, Liuyi telling him his life story in the meantime and crying in front of him. Plus they just shared this bonding moment (once again with Chusan's family) recently... If after all that, they went back to Liuyi physically hurting Chusan, I'd feel like everything up till this point that happened between them was kinda wasted...
(Besides, we've seen that Liuyi is super soft with people he loves; ofc Chusan is not on the level of Liuyi's sister, but it's clear he did kind of let the smart boy in already).

I actually do agree to some extent with what you're saying about the disrespect part. And in front of all Liuyi's subordinates at that. But I also don't really see it happening any other way...
Unless - as a way of compromise - Chusan just leaves without shuttering the cop. I guess that might've been a better development, to save Liuyi's "face" (and also maybe, to some extent, keep Chusan's personality more intact as this very composed guy).

I haven't read the novel, but as someone who just watched ep 5, I'm pretty certain it *was* a dream (and honestly kinda funny, bcs Chusan's wet dreams are apparently very BL-tropes filled 🤭).
What really happened was: Chusan wanted the lollipop, but Liuyi bit the candy part of it. Their straight-out-of-a-tropey-BL-drama fall did not actually happen, neither did all the kisses. That was all Chusan's fantasy/dream.
That's why it was only Chusan who behaved weird morning after and why Liuyi had no idea what was his deal (it's very unlikely that Liuyi who had more experience drinking alcohol and looked less drunk than Chusan would not remember what happened between them.)

What was real though was Liuyi telling Chusan he was at a place he felt safe and Chusan telling him he could stay there forever 🥺