I just watched the web BL series, Because Of You 2020 (B.O.Y.) and I have to start by saying: what is it with these Taiwanese BL series and the next-level gorgeous actors? My heart, and other parts of me, oh my goodness. Most BL actors are really good looking, male and female, and a lot of them are real beauties with visuals to die for, but there's something about the Taiwanese BLs where especially the guys are all knockout stunning, not just the main cast. Anyway, on to the review. (Not just of the view...)
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!!SPOILER WARNING!! ⚠️ This review contains major spoilers, DO NOT READ if you don't want spoilers.
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Because Of You 2020 (B.O.Y.), 10 web episodes, each episode running 12-15 min., run dates: February 14, 2020 - March 14, 2020, directed by Zero Chou, written by Yang Yi Hua.
Main cast:
Lee Shi Kang as Yuan Jun Cheng
Hsu Mu Ji as Lin Xun
Will Chang as Yuan Jun Dao
Wells Su as Yan Yue
Jerom Huang Alouf as Yuan Jun Ping
Leo Kuo as Yang Xiang
This series is unique I've a few ways. First, there are 3 main couples: three brothers and their boyfriends. Whereas most BLs focus on one main couple and showcase 1 or 2 "side couples" (who often go on to be the main couple of sequel seasons, or spin-offs) this series gave equal screen time and story importance to all three, and included all of them in the central plot. Second, this is another series that does not take place at a university -- the ultimate typical BL setting, and whose plot does not revolve around the main couple coming out of the closet. All 3 of the Yuan brothers follow a general family rule against falling in love, and there is a strong indication that none of them have been with another man (or anyone?) before. Their emerging sexualities do not seem to play a large role in the decision to get into relationships, the focus is on them admitting they are in love at all, not that it is with a man. And lastly there is a welcome departure from the typical BL formula, which is: love confession somewhere around Ep. 6, followed by a fight or break-up (that is often quite dubious in terms of believability) followed by a period of mourning and jealousy, resulting in a melodramatic reunion and equally melodramatic finale sex scene and reconciliation. Instead, this BL series takes a much steadier path for the 3 couples as they navigate outside events causing them to realize how much they depend on one another, and to come to see the full nature of their feelings for each other.
The couples themselves are each unique in their own way. I would say that at least one of the couples are mostly already a couple at the beginning. Jundao and Yanyue have already been living together for several years, sleep in the same bed every night, and are constantly discussing their strategy for staying with each other forever. (What if you get married and she hates me? I'll get a divorce. Won't it be weird for all 3 of us to sleep in the bed? I can't sleep without hugging you. Etc.) Similarly, Junping and Yangxiang who are supposedly just best friends, are identified as a couple from the start by a random cast member who is always watching them at the coffee shop where they hang out, "That couple is so cute, I can't help it." And, last but certainly not least, as they are the couple that propel a good deal of the story, Juncheng and Linxun are the ones that do follow the most typical story arc for a BL. They do not already know each other at the start, and there is quite a lot of tension between them, including some very problematic elements, which I will discuss shortly. In fact, the relationship between Juncheng and Linxun is somewhat of a mar on this story.
We need to discuss the premise first.
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Through a series of flashbacks it is revealed that this woman is in fact the mother of Linxun, who apparently broke up with the father when they were still young because she would not be his mistress. If he is the father of Linxun, that would make Linxun the 2nd Yuan son, thus demoting two of the brothers and diluting the inheritance. There is also some mention of Juncheng wanting to "find and reclaim his mother's inheritance," but we never find out what that was, or why he needs to find it. The father sends the 3 brothers on a quest to find their long-lost brother, after a mysterious phone call from Linxun at the behest of his mother as her dying request. She instructs Linxun to tell him, "You lost after all," and we find out through the story that this was a bet she made with him when she broke up with him and he told her she would regret if forever. She replied that she would make a bet with him that they would never see each other again. (Note, that is more a promise than a bet, since there was no actual wager involved, but that is minor issue.)
We also find out that Juncheng has already met Linxun, because he rescued Juncheng from a mugging / possible kidnapping in the opening scene of Ep. 1, where there is also a lot of complimenting each other on their handsomeness (Linxun calls him an "oppa" which is a very flirtatious term) and longing stares. Like I said, the Jungchen - Linxun romance is the most typical for a BL. It is also typical of some of the more problematic themes from BLs that are luckily fading from the genre, but are on stark display here.
After Linxun rescues Juncheng there is a bunch of montage-style exposition where we see that Linxun is poor and has to work hard for everything, but is also a kind and giving person. We see him give his last money to a homeless man on the street and then realize he has no money for food today, etc. Jungchen sees this and tries to give Linxun money which he will not take. Jungchen shows his emerging attraction to Linxun by also giving money to the homeless man, because he is moved by Linxun's kindness, or at least that is what I thought was being communicated.
Fast forward a little bit to the father sending the 3 brothers off to hunt for their long lost 4th brother. Their father has already done his homework and found a picture of him, so Jungchen knows it is this guy he has already coincidentally met. Now is when the real problem starts. Jungchen goes to Linxun's house, breaks in, attacks him and ties him up, proceeds to interrogate him, and forces him into giving a DNA sample via a cheek swab. After the other brothers show up, they also tie him up further and put him in the closet, gagged and feet tied. They then go back to their father and show him the DNA results which are in a sealed envelope so he will not be able to think they did anything to alter the result. The result: Linxun is not his son. Regardless, he is still willing to adopt Linxun due to his feelings for his dead mother. Jungchen at this point goes back to Linxun's house and releases him from bondage. (I guess we're supposed to assume this all only took a few hours?)
Full stop. First of all that should have been the end of any friendliness between Linxun and any of the Yuan brothers. They broke into his house, assaulted him, tied him up and forced him to give a DNA sample. Instead, what happens is a series of these types of events. Jungchen can't seem to leave him alone, is always asking himself why his heart is beating so fast when they are near each other (a very common question in BLs) and obviously wants to be near Linxun all the time. This results in Jungchen breaking into Linxun's house several more times, being there waiting for him when he gets home from work, and essentially announcing that he now owns Linxun. There is even a scene where Linxun directly asks Jungchen, "When are you going to stop stalking me?" And Jungchen pretty much says never.
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Of course, we are supposed to interpret this as Jungchen having a hard time coming to terms with his romantic and sexual feelings for Linxun, and he does go consult his brother's boyfriend (not yet confirmed) Yanyue about it, where he pretends he is asking about a friend, not himself. This causes a little comic relief when Yanyue says to him, "Will you please stop pretending your 'friend' isn't you?" and more later in the same scene, when Jungchen asks how he would know if he had had drunk sex with Linxun and Yanyue says quite mockingly, "Do you really have no experience at all? You would know. Especially boys."
After this troublesome series of events plays out, and the two of them actually become a real, consensual couple, they are very adorable. Although it really appears that Juncheng has inserted himselfinto Linxun's life by force, and with some truly creepy stalker-level tricks, Linxun does agree when Juncheng asks him to be his boyfriend. Thereafter we are treated to a lot of kissing and emotional confessions complete with the typical cooking together and doing household chores scenes. Linxun moves in with Jungchen and we are supposed to assume they live happily ever after.
My issue with this is the believability factor: any attraction Linxun may have felt to Jungchen at the start would have been killed by the kidnapping and the abuses that are carried out against him. It's a yucky, disgusting trope. No one falls in love with their rapist. And even though there is no actual sexual rape, Jungchen pretty much takes Linxun hostage and makes him into his kept boy, and we're supposed to believe this was some kind of organic love?
Interestingly, I will point out that strictly in terms of the relationship, any physical intimacy or mutual attraction between Jungchen and Linxun, consent is in place. They openly discuss the idea of "trying it with another guy" with each other and there is a proposal of sorts before the relationship starts in earnest. I just have a major problem with how it started. Who asks the person who broke into their house and tied them up out on a date? Particularly since Linxun is portrayed as such a kind and generous person, why would the go-to strategy be assaulting him? Why not start with showing him the evidence and asking him what he knows? They only do that after the kidnapping. And why would Jungchen be so easily willing to do harm to the person who saved him from a mugging just a day ago?
BL writers really need to stop using rape culture to inform their stories.
I have gone on at great length about the problems of this story. There is a lot to like as well. First, there are the two other couples, who do not have any of the consent or coming out problems of their older brother and his partner.
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Jundao and Yanyue already live together. It is obvious from the start that they have a deep emotional involvement. They call each other all the time and sleep in the same bed and are very affectionate toward each other. There are several points in the series where the future of their relationship comes up, and Yanyue is always offering to leave, to step aside for Jundao to get married to a woman, which inevitably results in Jundao either saying, "We'll make it work for all three of us," or showing real distress at the thought of Yanyue leaving and making it perfectly clear that he does not want him to leave. A couple jealousy-caused disagreements are the initial catalyst for them making the full transition to couple status, after an illness brings out the BL in both of them.
The source of these disagreements (of course) is a girl, who ends up meddling with both of the younger brothers' relationships. She is Yangxiang's sister, whom he lives with, and she is an unfortunate stereotype: a shallow, horny girl who throws herself at every guy she encounters in the story. However, she does the job she is intended for in the plot and causes two of the Yuan brothers to boil over with jealousy strong enough to force them to confess their feelings for their eventual boyfriends.
Jundao and Yanyue end up finally getting together officially after yet another much used and abused BL trope: the unexplained fever. Jundao somehow has a fever and is in bed hallucinating and instead of taking him to the hospital, Yanyue treats him at home with the best medicine in any BL: love, and an ice pack. There is a fairly cute scene where Yanyue wakes up and realizes Jandao is way over on the far side of the bed tossing and turning in his fever and Yanyue at first says, "Why are you sleeping way over there?" There was just something so cute about that. As if it were not already made crystal clear that these two are in love, we also have it confirmed when Yanyue can't sleep unless they are touching. Yanyue then takes care of Jundao through his fever and when he is recovered it makes him realize his true feelings, and the question is popped: what if I don't want a wife? What if you're the one I want? Conveniently, they are already laying in bed... Cue the sex scene. (Which sadly we don't actually see.)
Jundao and Yanyue do stretch believability a little bit. Yanyue is presented as a bisexual character from the beginning, and he and Jundao have lived together for quite a while. Add to that the clear domestic partnership that already exists, and the jealousy any time separation is brought up... and it is a little hard to believe this is the first time there's been any kissing or sexual experimentation. But then, maybe we are supposed to assume that there has been, but it is just coming to the forefront now. People have friends and roommates, and sometimes those relationship change. It's not completely unrealistic.
And finally, the youngest couple, Junping and Yangxiang, who probably have the easiest time getting together, and are the most believable in terms of how it happened. They are best friends from school who are together all the time. They are the first to be called a couple in the story, even though they are not official yet, regardless, there is a lot of lustful eye contact and more-than-friendly touching. The two of them frequently seem like they might rip each other's clothes off at any moment.
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With the matter of Junping it is different -- he is her brother's hot friend (he is described early on as "a real beauty" and he is, in my opinion, the best looking actor in the series) and she expects Yangxiang to help her get with him. After a failed attempt to get some attention from Junping when she walks in on him showering, she starts to meddle for real. This results in Yangxiang having to do some fast talk to try to convince her she should not be interested in Junping, and he ends up saying that Junping is a player and a "fuckboy" and he will just use her and break her heart.
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Junping is very hurt by hearing Yiangxian said that about him, and an angry confrontation plays out between him and Yangxian, concluding with a tearful apology and the big confession from Yiangxian. It is the most authentic seeming of the confession scenes. Yiangxian admits he just said it to keep his sister away from Junping and shows real fear of losing Junping. He doesn't get defensive or try to turn the tables, he just says, "I'm sorry, please don't leave, you are the one I care about. You are the one who means the most to me!" It's the most touching of the three for it's frankness and genuine feeling.
Something I like very much about this series, and particularly about the two younger couples, is that the confession scenes are quite believable. In both instances there is some kind of argument or conflict that causes the final "please be mine" moment. And there is something that does not happen that I was very pleased with, and that is another far overused BL trope: letting him walk away. In this series, they do not let each other walk away. In a refreshing change from the norm, they apologize to each other and make up, instead of hugely over-reacting to words said in anger.
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It is so much more realistic, and still leaves room for plot to play out. It is a much better story element than the let-him-walk-out trope. I mean, come on, you've already confessed your feelings to each other but you're going to break up a minute later? This is also an overplay of the "gay panic" theme, which is another offensive stereotype, and one that luckily is fading out of the BL industry as more GLBTQA+ sensibilities have entered the genre. Happily, this series does not use that at all. Even in the more problematic relationship in the series between Juncheng and Linxun, no one just turns their back on the person they supposedly love, and with the one minor exception of the post-drunk morning, there is no gay panic at all in this series.
It's hard to give a rating for this BL. In spite of troublesome elements surrounding consent, and some stretches of believability in the premise, there is a lot to like. For a web series whose episodes averaged 13 minutes long, they did a very good job developing the characters. And, while I say they lean on some much-overused tropes, is it really a BL without at least one unexplained fever, and a clueless girl throwing herself at the obviously gay main character? The few plot holes that exist are minor, and the story flows easily without any jarring time jumps or hard to follow side plots. The story is cohesive, if lacking in very much actual conflict. It is a love story, with an interesting backdrop. The writers did not use homophobia or "gay panic" as the basis of the plot tension and the three main couples all work well together in terms of the story.
Because of the big stone dropped in the pond by the consent problems between Juncheng and Linxun, I have to lower my rating. Mostly due to that element, I would give this series 3 of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐
