Lovely Writer: The State of Self-Awareness in the BL Industry

Frustration about the toxicity and tired tropes of the BL genre was what led me to write my first critical essays on the matter. I had enough of the way the genre normalized and romanticized abuse and toxicity as the standard for love and romance. I was tired of the fandom that seemed blissfully unaware of even the most basic concepts of respect and care in a relationship. People are shipping the most abusive and unbalanced relationships imaginable and even wish they had a partner like that—because they are hot.

Then I stumbled upon Lovely Writer, a series that had aired a few short months before and I was intrigued. A BL series about an author of BL novels and an actor in a BL series? A series willing to call out the toxic elements of its own genre? Sign me in!

The short story is that I had a great time. Lovely Writer is one of the best BL series I have ever seen and I recommend every fan of the genre to go watch it.

SPOILER WARNING: I will discuss plenty of elements of the series in extreme detail and spoil the story in its entirety. For those unbothered by spoilers, I will try to describe the context and story of the series in sufficient detail as I go along.

I stand by my statement that it is one of the best BL series I've watched, but paradoxically I was also deeply disappointed by it at the same time. And even more paradoxically, the reasons for why it is good and the reasons why I was so disappointed overlap. It is not easily explained in a few sentences, so I will elaborate on my main angles of criticism in several sections before I can summarize it more succinctly at the end.

The Central Theme of the Story

The very first scene of the series has the protagonist Gene sit in front of his computer trying to write a steamy sex scene for his new BL novel. He however struggles with it because per his publisher's demand the scenes must be non-consensual which Gene strongly disagrees with. This establishes a theme: that the BL industry (and perhaps also the fandom) is obsessed with toxic depictions of gay romance. This theme is later reinforced when Gene's previous novel is turned into an extremely clichéd series titled "Bad Engineer" featuring the same type of non-consensual scenes.

So here we have it: a BL series about an author of BL novels and about the creation of a different BL series within the series. A series explicitly calling out toxic elements within both the genre and the industry of BL. This sounds like an excellent setup for a series that's overflowing with satirical meta-commentary. The series could (and in my opinion should) go one of two ways: either it turns the common tropes of the genre up to eleven and creates a hilarious over-the-top parody or it tries to improve the formula by removing the toxic, worn-out clichés and creating a template for what true romance should look like. It might even go as far as doing both at the same time as the series-within-the-series has the potential to serve as a contrast between what is and what should be.

Unfortunately the series does not make use of its potential. It may switch a few things around. The setting is not a university campus and the plot does not focus on hazing and bullying as driving forces to push the romance forward (which is the plot of Bad Engineer). But other than that, the overall plot follows the standard template of the genre.

One scene that is particularly emblematic of the general issue with the show is the ending of the first episode. Gene is approached by his friend Tum and by Nubsib who had just snatched the lead role for Bad Engineer. They are seeking a place for Nubsib to stay and ask Gene if he could take him in for a while. Nubsib has at that point already made an impression on Gene during the audition for the series sparking the first feeling of infatuation in him. However the genre-savvy author immediately recognizes the trope taking place before his eyes. The main couple of the series moving in together and subsequently becoming a lot more intimate is a staple of the genre and Gene isn't having any of it. So the episode ends with Gene shouting "NO!"

This ending to the first episode is what led me to hope that I might be watching the most subversive BL series ever. A clear rejection of the most basic plots and tropes imaginable. But these hopes were mercilessly crushed in the second episode when it started with Tum refusing to take a no for an answer. After a short discussion, Gene accepts to take Nubsib in for a while and the plot unfolds. This stark contrast between episodes 1 and 2 can stand in as a representation for the series' themes over all. On a surface level the series is self-aware and subversive, but upon closer inspection, it is an example of the genre rather than a commentary on it.

An Extremely Narrow Range of Criticism

The early focus on non-consensual (NC) scenes might give the impression that the series will go into detail about a variety of different tropes deemed toxic within the genre. There are plenty of tropes that deserve being torn apart: 

• the top/bottom binary,
• power imbalances wherein one partner is seemingly the owner of the other,
• the unfaltering, exclusive focus on handsome, "masculine" men (which I already tackled),
• the omnipresent "enemies to lovers",
• normalization of harassment and manipulation as flirting tactics,
• …

The opportunities are truly endless. But the series does not actually address any of them. One reason might be that many of these tropes are present in the plot of Lovely Writer as well—with no hint of self-awareness or criticism in sight. Nubsib pretends to have nowhere to stay, so he can be near Gene. Both Gene and Nubsib fit the stereotypical beauty standards etc. So naturally the series focuses on the one matter which it attempts to handle well. But unfortunately, even the series' idea of consent is flawed.

One scene of the series within the series, Bad Engineer, depicts one protagonist push the other against a wall and kiss him despite him repeatedly saying no and being visibly uncomfortable with the situation. The message seems quite clear: "This is the kind of NC scene we are criticizing." But consent can be violated in far more subtle ways. When Tum ignores Genes refusal to let Nubsib move in and keeps asking until Gene changes his mind, that is not consent but coercion. When Nubsib pretends to be in need of housing, he takes away Genes ability to give informed consent. When Nubsib announces Gene as his boyfriend before they are actually together and without asking Gene if he is okay with it, that is a violation of Gene's autonomy. Consent doesn't begin and end with kissing and sex.

But it gets worse. The scene of Gene's and Nubsib's "first time" turns the entire premise on its head. The scene is overshadowed by the assumption that Nubsib has just taken some aphrodisiac that was slipped into his drink (which later turned out to be false). With this knowledge Gene naturally doesn't want to have sex with Nubsib while he is under the drug's influence. However Nubsib is very insistent and chases Gene around the bedroom ignoring Gene's several attempts to talk him out of it. Eventually Nubsib has Gene cornered, but then Gene pushes him away onto the bed and jumps right onto him. Is Nubsib at fault for ignoring Gene's no? Is Gene at fault for having sex with a presumably intoxicated Nubsib? No matter the answers, consent it was not.

My issue with that particular scene isn't necessarily what's happening in it. It is well established at that point that the two are in love with each other and that they both actually really want to have sex. That dance around the bedroom was exaggerated for comedic effect and I was able to enjoy it as the lighthearted scene it was while watching. What puts me off about it however is the contrast with the series surrounding it. Why does a series that emphasizes how bad NC scenes are depict so many subtle violations of consent? And why does that same series then proceed to have a sex scene that—in the eyes of a malevolent viewer—can be interpreted as both partners raping each other simultaneously? The creators could have easily made the couple's first time an unproblematic, fully consensual act, but they decided not to do it. This discrepancy is the nail in the coffin of the series' meta-commentary. The acknowledgement that BL features NC scenes is mere lip service. There doesn't appear to be any intention to actually change it.

The Obligatory Coming-Out Arc

It is a law of nature that every BL story must feature some sort of coming-out story. Lovely Writer is no exception to the rule. It features a whole story arc spanning the second half of episode 9 and the first half of episode 10 wherein both Gene and Nubsib reveal their sexuality and their relationship to their families in one single blow. Several scenes of shouting, fighting, introspection, reconciliation and ultimately acceptance ensue. The scenes are by no means bad. I found myself quite invested and moved while watching them. However there are some issues I have with it.

First of all the entire arc is extremely formulaic. It follows the standard structure of pretty much every other coming-out story: reveal, conflict, introspection, reconciliation, acceptance. The series does not even try to subvert it in any way which is a little disappointing considering how it presents itself. The main characters Gene and Nubsib don't change or mature over the course of the entire arc. By the beginning and by the end they are in love with each other and are on good terms with their families. The only thing that ultimately changed is that by the end their families are aware of their relationship. And that's the bare minimum to even call it a coming-out. What makes the arc an enjoyable experience is the quality of its execution. The acting, editing and music are excellent. In terms of themes and storytelling, it is just the same thing we have seen a hundred times before and might as well not be in the series at all. You wouldn't miss it if it wasn't there.

My second issue is one element in the conflict between Gene and his father. As it turns out, Gene's father is bisexual (or something to that effect) and had a relationship with another man before he met his wife. His disapproval of Gene's sexuality therefore stems from his own internalized homophobia. I'm not a fan of the trope as it is very cliché and a lazy gotcha to call a homophobe gay himself. More importantly it puts the blame for homophobia on gay people cementing the role of homosexuality as the cause of all suffering. The series somewhat atones for this by giving the father a few more scenes showing how much the trauma of his past experiences causes him pain to this day. Paradoxically, his disapproval is an attempt to protect Gene from the same fate. It deflects the blame back to the homophobic society where it belongs which is why it's not a deal breaker in my opinion. What remains is an unnecessarily severe case of Gayngst.

The Characterization of Nubsib

This is where we enter dangerous territory because the things I'm about to say are more likely to cause disapproval than anything else in this essay so far. Nubsib is a mild example of something I am about to dub the "Perfect Top Syndrome". This describes a BL character who is depicted and perceived as good, kind and always right despite mountains of evidence to the contrary because the character also exhibits the traits commonly associated with the "top" in a BL couple. This correlates with the perception of the corresponding "bottom" as annoying and stupid when all he does is rightfully call out the perfect top's toxic behavior. In my post about Fish Upon The Sky, I already dissected this dynamic between Mork and Pi.

Nubsib is not nearly as bad as Mork in this regard and since Gene does not seem to take on the role of the annoying bottom in this dynamic, I think that the relationship is still overall healthy and I was happy to see them together in the end. Nonetheless there are some things worth calling out about Nubsib's behavior:

• He pretends to need Gene's help in order to get close to him.
• He purposefully keeps quiet about their past friendship, thus taking away Gene's ability to give fully informed consent.
• He on several occasions makes inappropriate advances (calling Gene his boyfriend when they are not, trying to "act out a kissing scene" without actually telling him what he is gonna do, …).

And while Gene does call him out on it and the reveal of their past friendship leads to a big fight between them, none of these are depicted as actual flaws in Nubsib's character. They are acknowledged and then brushed aside. His secrecy about their past friendship in particular is even justified because Gene saw Nubsib as a little brother, so the manipulative tactic were necessary for Gene to see him as a boyfriend. If I was there to ask Nubsib one question, it would be: "Oh, really?"

There is so much wrong with that reasoning. Childhood friends can and do become lovers. The age gap wouldn't really matter either because they are adults. Nobody gets turned off by the thought that their lover was once a child, so why would Gene have so much trouble with that? Nubsib should have approached Gene upfront and told him: "Hey, I'm your childhood friend from 10 years ago, but I'm an adult now and madly in love with you. Wanna be madly in love with me?" The chances of success would be about the same. If Gene said yes to it, I would still take less issue with that than with the fact that a 10 year old falls in love with a guy and is still obsessed with him 10 years later to the point that he engages in manipulative tactics to win him over once the opportunity arises. That's just not healthy.

And even if it was necessary to get Gene to love him, I'm doubtful if it was the right thing to do. The amount of suffering that Gene experienced during that dramatic reveal is really something that Nubsib can't justify. But luckily he doesn't have to because he's a perfect top.

But moral issues aside, there is one other thing we can take away: Nubsib is the kind of person who engages in manipulation and deception to achieve his goals. He is someone who is not easily swayed from his goals. This is not meant as criticism. It makes for an interesting character and it would be fun to explore his dynamic with his boyfriend and the world around him. Especially the question if and how he would change in response to Gene's reactions would make for a meaningful character arc.

This is where my secret third issue with the coming-out arc comes in: the way Nubsib resolves the conflict with his father. Nubsib's father is a businessman and thinks and acts predominantly on the basis of how much money a thing will make or cost him. Thus his primary concern with his son's gay relationship is his company's reputation. Nubsib's solution to the issue is to strike a deal: If he can make a certain purchase of land his father has been unable to obtain, his father has to accept the relationship. This allegedly portrays Nubsib as a competent negotiator who can achieve what he wants through wits and charm. This is not a bad idea either. It is consistent with Nubsib's previous portrayal and acts as a new dimension to it when he uses his manipulation in Gene's favor.

So why do I dislike the moment? Because nothing comes of it. The nuance in Nubsib's willingness to turn his relationship into an item to trade and negotiate is overlooked. Gene never even seems to learn about it and if he does, he too doesn't seem to care either way about it. But shouldn't he have some sort of emotional predisposition to Nubsib's manipulative ways after experiencing them himself? What could be a beat in Nubsib's character arc collapses into nothingness when viewed in the context of the story. It's meaningless and might as well not have been there.

But the worst part of it is the way Nubsib handles his situation during the final climactic conflict. When his relationship with Gene goes public and damages the popularity of Bad Engineer because fans of the show would obviously ship him with the other lead actor, the studio demands them to publicly deny their relationship and to essentially break up until the last episode aired. How does Nubsib resolve the issue? He gives in to the studio's demand and doesn't do anything about it. Nubsib and Gene simply reunite after the 4 month period is over.

That is not the scheming, smart negotiator who deceived Gene for months, who outwitted his own father and who got his way in the end every single time. To think that he wouldn't come up with a single way to use his leverage as the series' lead actor to reunite with Gene earlier or get some comeuppance for the injustice the studio has done to him seems just ridiculous. Nubsib is a great negotiator except when it would really do him a favor to be one. In that case all he can do is shout: "That's not fair!"

Now, you could make a point out of Nubsib choosing not to engage in such manipulation because he learned his lesson after Gene set him straight, but this is where the previous scene between Nubsib and his father bites us in the back twofold. In order for this sort of character development to make sense, the change in Nubsib's moral compass should already be evident during his conversation with his father, but instead it depicts him as the most calculating and witty he's ever been. This is why my third issue with the coming-out arc hits so hard. It serves as a cornerstone cementing the crucial continuity error in Nubsib's character.

The Moral of the Story

Let's focus on the main conflict. From the very beginning of the series, Gene has to struggle with his publisher's demand for NC scenes. A struggle that is further established during the filming of Bad Engineer when the producers demand certain scenes to be even more heated than intended in the original novel and screenplay. This even makes Nubsib uncomfortable when playing the scenes. While the theme about toxic tropes in BL remains unexplored, the theme of publishers and film studios meddling with the vision and artistic integrity of their artists' work for marketability is put into more focus. At the end of the series, this meddling extends far beyond legal boundaries when Gene and Nubsib are demanded to end their relationship for marketability.

This part of the series is good. It is the one element of the meta-commentary that is left mostly intact. No attempt is made to justify this perverse infringement on the personal freedom of the main characters. The machinations pulling the strings behind the BL industry are depicted as an immoral, antagonistic force. This is some great commentary on the very real issue of large companies binding young people in inhumane contracts. The setup and eventual escalation of the conflict were well-written and promised a big resolution that changes our views on life and love forever.

That resolution never came. I already mentioned my disappointment in Nubsib's character arc, but this is where he could have really shined. He could have decided to simply disobey. He could team up with Gene and take on the entire industry. Lay bare the contradiction of how a genre of gay romance destroys gay relationships in real life. Watch it crumble under the weight of its moral corruption. It's fiction, it doesn't have to be entirely realistic. And if you prefer a more low-key resolution, you could still have Nubsib and Gene choose each other over their superiors. What I wanted was some sort of message that "love wins". But what I got was the most disappointing resolution possible. Gene and Nubsib do as they are told. They break and don't even see or talk to each other for four months. The BL industry got what it wanted and just disappears from the story.

Then after their 4 month break, Gene and Nubsib get back together and love each other like nothing happened. What was the point in having this break-up plot in the first place? A lot of drama that keeps you watching, but nothing comes of it in terms of relationship dynamics. Gene and Nubsib don't have to change or learn in order to overcome this obstacle. They merely outlast it and return to the way they were before.

My biggest concern however is with the way, this resolution alters the way the BL industry as a whole is portrayed. Suddenly it is not an immoral force anymore, but an amoral one. It seizes to be led by people who prioritize their wealth over human rights and begins to be just a part of our world with all its flaws. The protagonists cannot change it, they cannot resist it. They simply obey, implying that it is an appropriate resolution. Admittedly, Gene's publisher agrees to no NC scenes in his novel, but how much of a victory is that really after they made him break up with Nubsib? They will likely continue to make other authors write NC scenes until the end of time.

The series begins with being self-aware and critical of its genre and industry. And it ends by reinforcing the very same genre and industry as just the way they are. Just don't think too much about this major act of injustice that was just done to the main characters. Just look at that happy ending! Aren't Gene and Nubsib cute together? Don't you want to buy their merchandise? Why don't you come to every single fan convention? No, of course it's nothing like what you just watched in the series! Our actors love being shipped together! Stop thinking! Just keep watching!

Before I'm getting carried away too far, let me return to the reason for this sarcastic outburst: What do you think is the cause of all this? Why did a series that set itself up to be so meta and critical fail to deliver? Was it because the writers were merely incompetent? Or could it be that a producer was worried about their reputation and demanded changes to the series for marketability?

I don't pretend to know the answer to that as I know neither the writers nor the production process and the language barrier makes it difficult to explore the matter. What I'm saying is that the way the series reinforced the status quo more and more over time is suspicious because it is the exact thing a meddling producer would do. Regardless of the causes, the series' quality suffered as a result. However, I find the thought funny that the series might secretly depict the precise reason for its own decline so accurately. That would be the most meta it could possibly get.

The Main Antagonist

If you think, the main antagonists are the publishers, producers and film studios of the BL industry, you are mistaken. The main antagonist is a character I barely mentioned yet because of how irrelevant he turns out to be. It is Aoey, the second lead actor in Bad Engineer.

No romance is complete without a love triangle and Aoey is the third wheel to Nubsib and Gene. At first he pretends to be in love with Nubsib and asks Gene if he could help bring them together, but later he reveals in a dramatic twist that he actually was in love Gene all along. One thing about this kind of love triangle is that it never works. There was no chance whatsoever that Gene and Nubsib would end up not getting together. The reveal that Aoey actually loves Gene falls completely flat because it changes nothing about the dynamic. He is still jealous about the same happy couple. The one thing it does change is that Nubsib can step in when Aoey tries to kiss Gene rather than the other way around.

So if Aoey isn't a viable partner or rival to the main characters, what does he effectively do? He is present in plenty of episodes feigning some sort of conflict with either Nubsib or Gene that never really leads anywhere. The only thing of consequence he does is cause the final conflict. He asks his fans—the people shipping #NubsibAoey—to flame the shippers of #NubsibGene. That's the extent of his wrongdoing apart from being hostile, toxic, annoying and disrespectful a couple of times. It's obviously no small issue when an influencer encourages his fans to bully someone, but considering that Nubsib is quite the celebrity himself and Gene is a successful author, this doesn't really look that bad anymore. It's obviously wrong, but far from irredeemable. Also it seems quite odd to blame Aoey for a flame war between the two ships that was already going on anyway. You could literally cut him out of the series and the story wouldn't have to change. And yet he is the main antagonist because he is made to appear as the major cause of conflict in the series.

His backstory does little to rectify this issue. Aoey has an unaccepting, abusive family—in particular a hostile father and a mother who "loves" him but doesn't do anything. And unlike Gene and Nubsib, it doesn't just take a night for his family to have a change of heart. We see Aoey run out of the house crying. The unambiguous implication being that this kind of abusive family history shaped a significant portion of his life. The only person who seems to care about him is Mhok, an undeveloped love interest who is probably meant to be Aoey's "perfect top" in a sequel. Aoey's backstory may establish a reason why he is the way he is, but since he doesn't have any significant character arc and isn't depicted as likable and complex in any way later on, it doesn't serve a narrative purpose and would be better suited in a series that actually focuses on him.

One of my issues with Aoey is that he is not what the series makes him appear as. He doesn't do much of anything. He doesn't interact with the story. He doesn't change its trajectory. He is just there to take the blame for a story beat that was happening anyway. If you absolutely want to make him a monster, Aoey could have quite easily done some truly despicable actions that would fit with his characterization. Without giving it too much thought I can easily come up with these ideas:

• He could have outed Gene and Nubsib to their families in an attempt to drive them apart. This ties the coming-out arc with the surrounding plot. It connects and contrasts the depiction of Aoey's abusive family with Gene's and Nubsib's families. It would be a statement about how abuse leads to destruction and misery while love and acceptance lead to healing and happiness. And it would be a more calculated and cruel act than anything anybody did in the actual series
• Aoey could actually slip a drug in Gene's drink instead of just pretending to do so. It's a minuscule change with huge implications. It turns him from someone who tells a few small lies to get sympathy into someone who commits major criminal acts to get his way. You may want to change the following sex scene between Gene and Nubsib, but that had its issues anyway.

Giving him more agency and having him do something wrong on multiple occasions goes a long way in cementing him as toxic and unlikable. His appeal to his fans stops being a singular lapse in judgement and becomes a last ditch effort in an entire series of attempts to drive Gene and Nubsib apart. If we see him stuck in a cycle of doing something awful, apologizing and then doing something awful again, it also greatly reduces the sympathy the viewer might have left for him by the end.

But alas, it doesn't happen. In the end Aoey makes just the one mistake mentioned before. He regrets it almost immediately and apologizes a million times, but then he suffers all the consequences anyway. He is left by his manager for moral reasons and doesn't have anybody left except for a million anonymous fans. Then he has like three more scenes of just crying in different environments (and boy, can that actor cry!). His last scene has him broadcast a nice live stream for his fans with a perfect smile on his face. After the stream he starts to cry again. And then he eats the chocolates his fans sent him. And then he eats the flowers. At that point my impression was simply: "He's gonna commit suicide." And then the scene ends and we never see him again. I was hoping, praying for some sort of confirmation that he was gonna get better, but I'm just left thinking that the poor soul is still sitting there eating the wallpaper or something.

I certainly can appreciate misery in a story, but watching a character just cry and suffer endlessly should at least be contrasted with something else. A spark of hope, some deeper purpose. With the amount of familial abuse and emotional torment Aoey had to go through, having his story end with him crying alone in his room feels just cynical. Almost sadistic. I am so upset about it because I have seen quite a lot of comments for that scene saying they were happy that Aoey got what he deserved and calling him toxic or a bunch of slurs. Some were kind enough to acknowledge that he might be in need of therapy, but actual empathy was scarce.

Nubsib engaged in several acts of abuse and deception over the course of months and faced no consequences (except for Gene being angry for a night). Aoey is the most miserable, most tortured, most hated character ever for doing far less than that. The reason for this injustice is simple: Nubsib is a perfect top, Aoey is a mere bottom. A relation that is completed when you realize that they are actually playing that precise couple in Bad Engineer.

The Second Couple

This is the story about a love between Tum and Tiffy who are the managers of Nubsib and Aoey respectively. Having a straight side couple in a BL series is not uncommon, but having the only couple apart from the main one be a straight relationship is certainly rare. Tum is a man who is very interested in personal hygiene, skincare, needlework and who is all around "softer" and more "femimine", but completely straight. Tiffy on the other hand knows how to fix cars, loves to ride her motorcycle, practices martial arts, knows almost nothing about those "girly" topics that Tum is so adept in and she is bisexual. They are a direct contradiction to so many gender stereotypes. When they are on screen together in the early episodes, their chemistry quite easily outshines everything else around them. Even when they were just sitting around having a chat about themselves with barely anything happening on screen, I found myself more invested in their relationship than the one between Nubsib and Gene.

Their romance suffers from the same problem as too many other side stories in TV: not enough screen time. They disappear for long stretches of time in the second half of the series and the little plot that is left for them is dedicated to some drama that feels incredibly forced. Tiffy is suddenly utterly convinced that Tum must be gay even after he confessed his love to her several times. It doesn't really make sense for a bisexual woman who is herself such a strong contradiction to gender stereotypes to then make such a superficial assumption about someone's sexuality based on those stereotypes. It felt like pointless artificial drama.

Their romance would have been so much better placed in contrast with the rivalry between Nubsib and Aoey. When the lead actors of a series become so hostile to each other that it begins to threaten the success of the series over all, how can the actors' managers cooperate to overcome this issue? With this simple change their romance suddenly becomes an element of the main plot.

The Heartwarming Backstory

The biggest plot twist in the series is the reveal that Gene and Nubsib who appeared to be strangers at first are actually childhood friends who have known each other for years. After being separated for over 10 years, Gene doesn't recognize his friend anymore. Nubsib on the other hand has been mad in love with Gene ever since they parted ways and the reunion was far from a mere coincidence. I have a few issues with this particular trope, some of which I already mentioned above and don't want to reiterate. Obsessing over a past love for such a long period is weird and it only becomes weirder if you take into account that Nubsib was not even 10 years old at that point while Gene was some 4 years older. Some people need to learn the difference between love and unhealthy obsession. Also I get the feeling that this trope is a bit too common in BL in general.

But this shall not be the place to indulge in excessive criticism because the most important point is that this backstory is perhaps the best thing of the entire series. I'm not kidding. One short flashback consisting of just a few scenes managed to convey their friendship in its entirety.

You learn how they first met each other. You see Gene take on the role of Nubsib's protector and older brother figure. You see how they fight and disappoint each other and then reconcile again. You see them getting closer and really start to feel how they establish a deep bond. And then you see them part ways two years later when Gene has to leave for school, not yet aware that Nubsib would live in another country before they would see each other again. With just these few scenes the series paints a complete picture in your mind. A picture of a beautiful friendship. It filled me with a deep sense of nostalgia, a yearning for memories that aren't my own, a desire to return to a life I never lived.

Lovely Writer achieved something that no other BL series ever did. It made me feel the weight of time. The feeling that nothing lasts forever and that even a friend for life can just vanish from one moment to the next, never to be seen again. And finally it succeeded in conveying to me that those emotions I felt quelling up inside of me were also the emotions that Gene experienced at that moment. I felt deeply connected with the series I was watching.

This flashback happened right in the middle of the series when the memories returned to Gene. However in the final episode shortly before Gene and Nubsib reunite again after the four months apart, Gene walks through his childhood home and relives some of his memories once more. An since we, the audience remember the scenes from an earlier episode, they are not simply Gene's memories but also our own.

This way of using the universal concept of the passage of time and memories of a distant past to establish an emotional connection between the characters and the viewers is masterful. Scenes like this are the reason why I enjoy watching dramas to begin with. This is art.

On a side note, I commend the casting of child actors who are about the same age as the roles they are playing and who are able to play their roles well. Too many children in other series are barely acting at all. Lovely Writer served as a reminder that it is actually possible to watch child actors without constantly cringing inside.

The Ending

The idea to make Gene write a novel titled Lovely Writer based on his personal experiences during the series is funny. It makes for a great scene when in search for an ending for his book, Gene and Nubsib play through several endings of classical stories (Snow White, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet). That entire scene is brilliant. I love the shifts in tone and style occurring several times in quick succession when they go from one story to the next. The transition between stories is executed by having Gene or Nubsib turn to the camera and then grabbing it turn it into another direction. The implication that the characters are taking control of the series they are in is completely coherent with the fact that they are actually writing the end to Gene's novel which tells the story of that series. It is such a well executed break of the fourth wall.

You get the impression that the creators truly put all their creativity into this ending. It overflows with originality. It is a blast to watch and leaves the viewer behind with a happy mood.

Conclusion

When I think about all the reasons why the series did not turn out to be as good as I expected and hoped, they can be summarized in two words: wasted potential.

All the talented people who were so obviously involved had to put their everything in a story that for the most part did not match that level of talent and creativity. The insane talent involved becomes evident when the series is at its best. The flashback to the characters' childhood, the coming-out arc, the happy ending. They all were so captivating, so impressive and so promising of something even better. But the story didn't lend itself to that.

A second aspect of the wasted potential is the lack of interconnectedness. The series is filled to the brim with characters and side stories and they are all done well, but they lack in one particular quality: significance for each other. I have mentioned at several points how certain elements don't have a particular purpose for being there. The romance between Tum and Tiffy, Aoey's relationship with his family, the coming-out arc. Those elements are all there, they are all executed fairly well, but they don't touch each other at all. But that is where the biggest strength of a story with multiple parallel plot threads lies. What happens when these characters with different experiences, different motivations and different values eventually clash with each other? And how will they change when confronted with such a conflict? To put so many elements into a story only for them to not really matter in relation to each other is underwhelming.

The third aspect is setup without payoff. Besides the side stories that don't lead anywhere, even within a single storyline or within the identity of the series as a whole there is a lack of payoff for the elements it introduced. The series starts out depicting itself as self-aware of its tropes and as willing to subvert them, but then didn't follow through with it. So many issues of BL as a genre and as an industry are mentioned and acknowledged, but then no greater message comes from it. The characters and the world around them all stay mostly the same. Even Nubsib and Gene don't change apart from their relationship status. Presumably the conflict they have gone through made them stronger in the end and taught them a valuable lesson, but we hardly see any of that. The best part of rewatching a show is to recognize the way in which the knowledge of later events changes your view on the elements established early on. But when that second angle doesn't exist because the story as a whole is too stagnant, the experience becomes hollow. And that unfortunately happened to many things that happen in the early episodes of Lovely Writer. The knowledge that the things you see will be the exact same by the end or that they will just disappear without any trace is not satisfactory.

But "wasted potential" is not what I remember the series for. I said it before and I will repeat it here: Lovely Writer is one of the best BL series I ever watched, but the reason for it is not easily grasped until I have made all the ways clear in which it is not the great revolution of its genre.

Lovely Writer is not at its best when it tries to subvert or improve upon the genre of BL. Neither is it at its best when it is just another BL series following the same plot and tropes like so many before it. Lovely Writer is at its best when it is just itself.

When I think about the reasons why I enjoyed the series, I think of the so carefully filmed flashback to Gene's childhood that managed to invoke a sense of nostalgia so strong as if it was my own. I think of the emotional coming-out arc that—while cliché—is also incredibly touching. I think of the ending that is a firework of creativity and happiness. So what, if the plot that included these moments is also filled with tropes that lack this originality? Thinking back I am convinced that these highs were completely worth the watch.

This can honestly be taken as a takeaway for most pieces of art. Don't try to be meta for the sake of being meta. Don't try to neatly fit into a predefined category because you think it is what the audience wants. Just create what you think is good and what you deeply care about. That is the best way to create great art.

Looking at the sheer number of words I spent on tearing apart so many aspects of the series, one may think that this indicates the show's poor quality. However that is not an entirely fair assessment. The fact that I had so much to say about the show is an indicator that there was so much to talk about. There are so many BL series that are fun to watch, that have plenty of funny characters and cute moments, but that are so devoid of any deeper meaning that such a long essay about them wouldn't even be possible. When I think of series like "Love By Chance" or "WHY R U", I think of some moments that are memorable for one reason or another, but as much as I try to dig, there is barely anything worth to talk about in depth. My post on Fish Upon The Sky is almost entirely focused on the toxicity of its main couple because that is the extent of its depth. Lovely Writer has content. Good content. And while I spent the majority of this essay ranting about its failings, the mere presence of its many elements already sets it apart from so many other series in its genre. Essentially I criticize it so harshly because it is good, rather than in spite of it.

Furthermore while I made an effort to call out Nubsib's abusive and manipulative ways, I failed to ackowledge that he and Gene still are a healthy couple over all. They stand on equal footing and respect and care about each other. There is a good chemistry between them that makes the vast majority of their scenes enjoyable to watch. They fit together and it's a good thing that they end up together in the end—despite their bumpy start. Even during scenes where Lovely Writer is just a BL like every other, it's still good.

I think it is best to think of Lovely Writer as a teaser. It shows us that there is a self-awareness in the industry and that there are people willing to tackle these issues in their work. It gives me hope that at the points where Lovely Writer failed to deliver, another series may follow and exceed my expectations. We may not be quite there yet, but looking at Lovely Writer, I have the hope that we will get there someday.