etoks21

Episode 12/Finale

Benjamin Tsang deserves so much better than this poorly-written trope-fest.
I was moved to tears by the ending but ONLY because of Benjamin's powerful and restrained acting performance. His pain, feeling of betrayal, and sadness were so real that they overcame the complete and utterly bogus narrative that got us to that point.

If there were an annual Oscar award for Best Actor in a BL, Benjamin Tsang would win multiple copies of it for 2024. Without him, no one would have been watching this past episode 6.

Early Wang: "Hey, I will always be at your side. I will be with you in your first real 'home' and you can be secure and happy!" Later Wang: "Oh, I changed my mind. I will now rip your heart out, spit on it, stamp it with my foot, take a dump on it, and leave you. I will do this because it's in the script."
GIVE ME A BREAK.

We all know what comes next, and not because I've read an interview or stalked IG, but because this show is a trope-fest and the next trope is a long, unnecessary separation of many years because no one has a cell phone or email or the ability to text.

I wish Tian would forget all about Wang and get a real man.

FINALLY...what was the point of the amazingly performed and stunning scene at the end of episode 11? What Tian experienced in that moment seemed to have no effect whatsoever on his attitude toward his own sexuality and perception of self, which is a great thing. The entire series, he knew what was up; he wasn't afraid. He was waiting for Wang to grow a pair. So, the episode 11 ending had zero relevance to the plot. It was just stuck in there and forgotten.

Weird.

Bravo Benjamin! If there is a S2, please refuse the role and move on to a screenplay deserving of your talent.

2/10

Got it. People who disagree with you and reply to other commenters' replies to them are "trolls." lol Very original.

How about YOU "...are just a negative troll with no actual substance for an argument?" Don't ask me why you wasted your time; that's your issue. Apparently, you lack self-control.

They should have presented this as the first installment of several seasons, if that's the case. I'm of the opinion each series needs to stand on its own, even if a sequel is possible. That doesn't mean I insist on a happy ending by any means; just that it not be written in such a way that if there is NOT a S2 the ending of S1 makes no sense.

You wrote it twice because you're not a good writer.
No, words have specific definitions contained in things called "dictionaries." Use one.
ooooh, you wrote "AMAZING." It must be, since you say so.
Your replies have deteriorated to first-grade-level nonsense. I won't be engaging further. I prefer arguing with people who can think and write.
Also, you can't read. I specifically said there is NO BL worthy of the word "masterpiece."

Oh, you're not going to falsely call Seungri a "rapist?"
That's what most of your type do.
He helped professional women providing a needed service connect with clients. Sounds like a stand-up guy to me. Keep your nose out of other people's panties.

I will take a look at LDQ's bio.

Here we go with the usual "why are so heated up, it's not that deep, lighten up a little, why are you bitter, blah blah blah" bullshit. This is the common tactic of attributing an opinion you don't like to irrational emotion. Cuts no ice with me. I'm not "heated." That would be YOU, in your bitter defense of calling this thing a masterpiece.

Why are you so willfully delusional? There is NO BL that I call a masterpiece because a BL masterpiece has not yet been made. The tropes, conventions, cliches, low budgets, etc. make the existence of a BL "masterpiece" nigh impossible.

That's why I don't throw the term around like it means next to nothing, as do you.

Are you saying because tastes and opinions differ and we all perceive things differently, there are no such thing as levels of "quality," from excellent to shitty? Because someone will always claim the shitty stuff is a "masterpiece," right? So what's the point of comment sections?

We all have our set opinions so what's to discuss, right? Spare me.

lol Pathetic, "GIRL."
Calling a marginal series a "masterpiece" doesn't make it one, even if you say it twice in one sentence. Quit lurking here.

This is the first show of any kind I've seen LDQ in so who knows, maybe after I've seen more of him I will become a fan. But yeah, his acting isn't doing it for me here, especially as he is up against the remarkably naturalistic, charismatic, and centered work that Benjamin is doing here. Tian feels REAL to me. When I watch Wang I see the actor acting, not the character.

I'm just the opposite of you: Almost 5 years ago I stumbled across BL World and all the first ones I watched were Thai, the classics that had already aired in their entirety and I could binge. It's been over time that I found Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese BLs, thank goodness. I rarely watch a Thai BL anymore...they're so lame and repetitious. Last one I liked all the way through was Midnight Chicken.

I immensely dislike portraying a character by resorting to cliche faces and actions so everyone will recognize the "type" you are and what they expect. Very boring. To me, it's lazy and lame.

But that's me. I don't lower my standards for BLs a whole lot from what I expect of feature films and straight dramas. Which is why I like relatively few of them and almost NONE of them out of Thailand. All they DO is "types."

What is your definition of "masterpiece?" I ask because the actual definition does not fit this show; not even close. :)

Tian Yang could be bi for Pepper and Shi Yu both. :) I'd like to see the Tian Yang actor in a lead role.

Great movie! I will need to watch a second time at least, but that is true of all the best films, especially this kind of corporate/computer intrigue stuff.

Son Suk Ku is as good an actor as he is good-looking, and every inch the leading man. Kim Dong Hwi and Hong Kyung are excellent as well. Nice to see both of them growing their career. Hong Kyung initially impressed me in the drama Weak Hero Class 1. I found his character off-putting, but after seeing him in two more shows, it was clear he was off-putting because that's how he chose and was directed to play the character. He is a talented actor.

9/10

Spoiler button please.

That was my thought too when I saw the end of 11. However, the setup and execution of the scene was done so well, I hated to be my usual, picky self about it. But you're right, a cig just bouncing on and then off again wouldn't leave a scar. It might not even leave a burn.

But adding or changing a character into someone capable of holding a lit cigarette to the skin of a small child would require a hell of a background story change...and now that we've got all of ONE episode to resolve all this shit, that's not gonna happen.

This will have some absurd cliffhanger.

"... this masterpiece..."

lol Oh look, another MDLer throwing around the word "masterpiece" like it's the word "the." What a surprise! :)

Ich wünschte, die Show hätte genug Zeit, um diese beiden als Paar zu begleiten. :P

I get it, you're a Wang/Lu Dong Qin fan.
I didn't realize he is supposedly 16 in this show. I thought he was 18 and that I can believe, but 16? No. Which is precisely the problem with his acting. He is TRYING to look and act like he imagines a 16-year-old does and it's not working. Contrary to your words, 16 is NOT a "baby," yet "baby" is a good description of the faces he makes.

A better actor would let us see him BEING 16, not ACTING like he thinks 16-year-old babies act instead.

I find Benjamin entirely convincing as a high schooler; LDQ not so much.
What I don't get is why the director felt he couldn't use younger actors. There are 18-year-olds who can act very well.

Perhaps you should take OFF your "I love Lu Dong Qin" glasses so you can see what's really on the screen.

I don't mind unhappy endings, if they're earned, make sense, and aren't there to satisfy "gay people can't be happy" trope.

Really lame if it ends on a cliffhanger, with no guarantee of a S2.

Put this under a spoiler, Amigo. Jesus.