It made an impression on me when it came out because there was very little BL content out there. Luckily we have been blessed with much better shows since. When I saw it a second time years later, I didn't really enjoy it. I found Gu Hai pretty unbearable. Even from the first viewing, I felt their relationship was problematic because of the non-consensual events. At the same time, I couldn't help being mesmerized because it was kind of the first of its kind. In the time, it because sort of a cult classic in the BL world.
Wow, I absolutely love your breakdown of the show thus far, it's very detailed. From since the second episode…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Here's my take:
1. I didn't have a problem that Danouea confessed without Kluen knowing him (even though, as you said, I suspect Kluen had noticed him before that because Danouea wasn't exactly stealthy about his crush), just that he jumps to the worst conclusions, so quickly. I don't think it was fair to assume that Kluen was heartless, cold, and aloof just because he didn't respond to his feelings right on the spot. I think it's important to remember that Kluen was with Gia at the time, and Danouea was flying to Germany the next day. Most people would freeze if they were confessed to in those circumstances. Danouea comes off childish for being so angry at Kluen because of this and acting like Kluen was trying to humiliate him.
2. I don't think we know that much more about Kluen than Daonuea. We still haven't been shown how he started liking Daonuea, but we could deduce he must have been crushing on him too because of the longing looks and the gentle way he treated him and a couple of flashbacks. He invited Daonuea to his home for his mom's birthday and had been dropping hints that he cares for him. I mean, sure, it's not as good as a clear confession, but he's had plenty of time with Kluen that could have clued him in that Kluen is not a bad guy, and he's not a player. And I really still don't understand how either Kluen or Gia are somehow to blame for being together when Daonuea started crushing on him. Because in several episodes, Daonuea shows that he's very bitter about it, but he is the one that appears last in that dynamic.
Regarding the kiss, it’s not the kissing itself but how it happened. From a character like Kluen, I would have not expected so much aggression and disregard for Daonuea’s resistance to it. Because Daonuea was really not feeling those kisses, he was crying and resisting and I think someone with a personality like Kluen’s would have backed away. Maybe it was bad acting or bad directing, but it didn’t sit right with me.
3. Yes. I recall, and I very much dislike that about him because it means that a. it's ok to start relationships with people out of pity. b. he has a right to be that offended by Kluen's 'rejection' when it wasn't even that bad. He is very much in his head, making assumptions and having knee-jerk reactions like everything is life or death. Yes, both the girl and Phoon were manipulative and pushy, and giving into them is still his character flaw. The thing is, Daonuea doesn't think he's doing anything wrong or that it's a character flaw. He lacks awareness. He thinks he's doing it because he's a better person, at least better than Kluen. Because by saying he can't stand to hurt them as Klune hurt him, he's saying, Kluen was a bad guy, I'm going to be the nice guy and override my feelings so I won't hurt theirs. When the truly kind thing to do would've been to acknowledge their feelings and be honest that he doesn't feel the same way back.
4. The writers really did a number on his character in this episode. In the previous ones, I was still empathizing and trying to see his point of view. In this episode, his immaturity became too much.
5. Indeed, Kluen not being able to talk about his feelings was the whole point. Instead of all this unnecessary, I would have loved for the two of them to spend more time together and see Kluen finally opening up in an organing way. It's just weird how the catalyst became that everybody's going crazy over Daonuea for no good reason. When I heard Phoon say he loved Daonuea, my reaction was, 'since when you've known each other for a few weeks?'.
Oh Man, what a mess. Phoon is really annoying. If he knows those two like each other, why interfere? Just stay out of it! He tried to compete, he says, ew. Phoon was forcing himself on Daonuea. Of course, Kluen got angry. Why does Daonuea get mad at Kluen and not Phoon??? And maybe I'm dense, but I feel like Daonuea is overreacting big time.
1. He confessed to Kluen out of the blue when they weren't even that involved with each other, if I recall. During that time, Kluen must have known him somehow and ended up reciprocating his feelings. He even broke up with Gia. It was too late because he had already left for Germany, so what could he do? I think most people in Kluen's shoes would have reacted the same way.
2. When Kluen finally confesses, Daonuea jumps to weird conclusions. Kluen is toying with him??? Where did he get that? Because Kluen told him to choose Phoon. How was Kluen supposed to know that Daonuea still liked him? He never re-declared that he did. On the contrary, he says that he wanted to move on. So in the spur of the moment, Kluen thought it was the right call to encourage him. But when it happened, he found out he couldn't handle it. That gave Kluen the courage to finally say something...well, go for a kiss which wasn't the best approach, I admit. From what I got about Kluen from the first episodes, it's really out of character for him to do that, so I didn't appreciate it either. But then he used his words too and told him he liked him.
3. Then Daonuea tells Kluen he has to wait while he thinks it over and agrees to date Phoon for a day. Why??? Phoon is pushy, but Daonuea is also stringing him along with never setting the record straight for no reason. He shouldn't use other people to figure out his feelings for Kluen. What a selfish dummy.
4. Daonuea is irrationally jealous of Gia. They have grown up together. If Kluen loved her, he would have stayed with her, but he chose just to be her friend instead. She's like family? Would you not worry over family?
5. Kluen might be a bad communicator, but his actions speak louder than words, and he's never not been dotting over Daonuea since they met again in uni. In turn, Daonuea keeps getting irrationally angry at him and then gets involved with a girl and a boy he doesn't like because he thinks he's too kind to reject them. Is that kindness? I would beg to differ. Everybody is on Kluen's case for not communicating, but Daonuea is far worse with overreacting and sending the wrong signals all the time.
Maybe it's just me, but I'm really annoyed with how they handled the whole conflict? The writing hasn't been the best for the past few episodes. The angst feels too forced just to drag out some artificial drama. The show started so good...
1. I didn't have a problem that Danouea confessed without Kluen knowing him (even though, as you said, I suspect Kluen had noticed him before that because Danouea wasn't exactly stealthy about his crush), just that he jumps to the worst conclusions, so quickly. I don't think it was fair to assume that Kluen was heartless, cold, and aloof just because he didn't respond to his feelings right on the spot. I think it's important to remember that Kluen was with Gia at the time, and Danouea was flying to Germany the next day. Most people would freeze if they were confessed to in those circumstances. Danouea comes off childish for being so angry at Kluen because of this and acting like Kluen was trying to humiliate him.
2. I don't think we know that much more about Kluen than Daonuea. We still haven't been shown how he started liking Daonuea, but we could deduce he must have been crushing on him too because of the longing looks and the gentle way he treated him and a couple of flashbacks. He invited Daonuea to his home for his mom's birthday and had been dropping hints that he cares for him. I mean, sure, it's not as good as a clear confession, but he's had plenty of time with Kluen that could have clued him in that Kluen is not a bad guy, and he's not a player. And I really still don't understand how either Kluen or Gia are somehow to blame for being together when Daonuea started crushing on him. Because in several episodes, Daonuea shows that he's very bitter about it, but he is the one that appears last in that dynamic.
Regarding the kiss, it’s not the kissing itself but how it happened. From a character like Kluen, I would have not expected so much aggression and disregard for Daonuea’s resistance to it. Because Daonuea was really not feeling those kisses, he was crying and resisting and I think someone with a personality like Kluen’s would have backed away. Maybe it was bad acting or bad directing, but it didn’t sit right with me.
3. Yes. I recall, and I very much dislike that about him because it means that a. it's ok to start relationships with people out of pity. b. he has a right to be that offended by Kluen's 'rejection' when it wasn't even that bad. He is very much in his head, making assumptions and having knee-jerk reactions like everything is life or death. Yes, both the girl and Phoon were manipulative and pushy, and giving into them is still his character flaw. The thing is, Daonuea doesn't think he's doing anything wrong or that it's a character flaw. He lacks awareness. He thinks he's doing it because he's a better person, at least better than Kluen. Because by saying he can't stand to hurt them as Klune hurt him, he's saying, Kluen was a bad guy, I'm going to be the nice guy and override my feelings so I won't hurt theirs. When the truly kind thing to do would've been to acknowledge their feelings and be honest that he doesn't feel the same way back.
4. The writers really did a number on his character in this episode. In the previous ones, I was still empathizing and trying to see his point of view. In this episode, his immaturity became too much.
5. Indeed, Kluen not being able to talk about his feelings was the whole point. Instead of all this unnecessary, I would have loved for the two of them to spend more time together and see Kluen finally opening up in an organing way. It's just weird how the catalyst became that everybody's going crazy over Daonuea for no good reason. When I heard Phoon say he loved Daonuea, my reaction was, 'since when you've known each other for a few weeks?'.
And maybe I'm dense, but I feel like Daonuea is overreacting big time.
1. He confessed to Kluen out of the blue when they weren't even that involved with each other, if I recall. During that time, Kluen must have known him somehow and ended up reciprocating his feelings. He even broke up with Gia. It was too late because he had already left for Germany, so what could he do? I think most people in Kluen's shoes would have reacted the same way.
2. When Kluen finally confesses, Daonuea jumps to weird conclusions. Kluen is toying with him??? Where did he get that? Because Kluen told him to choose Phoon. How was Kluen supposed to know that Daonuea still liked him? He never re-declared that he did. On the contrary, he says that he wanted to move on. So in the spur of the moment, Kluen thought it was the right call to encourage him. But when it happened, he found out he couldn't handle it. That gave Kluen the courage to finally say something...well, go for a kiss which wasn't the best approach, I admit. From what I got about Kluen from the first episodes, it's really out of character for him to do that, so I didn't appreciate it either. But then he used his words too and told him he liked him.
3. Then Daonuea tells Kluen he has to wait while he thinks it over and agrees to date Phoon for a day. Why??? Phoon is pushy, but Daonuea is also stringing him along with never setting the record straight for no reason. He shouldn't use other people to figure out his feelings for Kluen. What a selfish dummy.
4. Daonuea is irrationally jealous of Gia. They have grown up together. If Kluen loved her, he would have stayed with her, but he chose just to be her friend instead. She's like family? Would you not worry over family?
5. Kluen might be a bad communicator, but his actions speak louder than words, and he's never not been dotting over Daonuea since they met again in uni. In turn, Daonuea keeps getting irrationally angry at him and then gets involved with a girl and a boy he doesn't like because he thinks he's too kind to reject them. Is that kindness? I would beg to differ. Everybody is on Kluen's case for not communicating, but Daonuea is far worse with overreacting and sending the wrong signals all the time.
Maybe it's just me, but I'm really annoyed with how they handled the whole conflict? The writing hasn't been the best for the past few episodes. The angst feels too forced just to drag out some artificial drama. The show started so good...