In Your Heart: The new Chinese BL series
Last week, a new Chinese BL drama, In Your Heart, was released. We were surprised about this for many reasons, considering China’s stance on the depiction of homosexuality in the media, and in light of its recent media crackdown on what they refer to as “morality”. Then, when we saw the promotional poster, we almost couldn’t believe what we were seeing.
The poster for In Your Heart features the two male leads standing in the snow kissing and embracing. Yes, folks, you heard us, kissing. For those new to the world of Chinese BL, this may not seem so strange. It is a queer romance after all. Kissing seems normal, right?
Wrong. China has incredibly strict media laws that have been in place for some time now that aim to censor, or even erase, the depiction of homosexuality on television and in the media. That means any queer stories that are fortunate enough to get made, get watered down so much that they look like nothing more than friendship on screen. No touching, no I-love-yous, and certainly no physical intimacy such as kissing and hugging.
Evidently, the existence of In Your Heart has sent the staffers at Q+ Magazine into a bit of a tailspin. The first two episodes were released on Viki this weekend, so naturally, we sat down to check out this bombshell Chinese BL. Here’s what we’ve got so far.
The story-line
Ling Zi Ming (Hu Bo Wen) and Cheng Yi (Hu Shi Wen) have been friends forever. Now in high school, their friendship is stronger than ever. Both boys are from complicated family situations that others might consider unusual. Ling Zi Ming lives with his aunt, while Cheng Yi was raised by his grandmother.
Their unusual family situations is what brought these two boys together, but it’s not what forged the strong bond that they have now. As they journey through adolescence, their friendship enters a realm of confusion for both of them as they realize that perhaps they feel for each other in ways that extend beyond friendship.
Unfortunately, an exploration of this unique bond leads the boys down a path that eventually separates the two of them into estrangement. As the first two episodes are the only two available for watching right now, we’re not sure how this ends. However, we don’t have high hopes for a happy ending.
The first two episodes
Episode 1 dropped on Friday and episode 2 dropped on Saturday. The release schedule will continue with an episode every Friday and Saturday until the middle of March.
The first scene was shocking. The show opens with the boys engaged in a heated moment with Ling Zi Ming asking Cheng Yi if they are still friends. Cheng Yi responds that they’ve already kissed, so how can they consider themselves just friends these days? Ling Zi Ming counters that he doesn’t even know what he is to Cheng Yi, and sweet baby Jesus they had us right here.
Cheng Yi comes back with the same question, to which Ling Zi Ming responds with “nothing”. Ouch. That’s gotta hurt. However, Cheng Yi, seemingly unperturbed by the rebuff, grabs Ling Zi Ming’s face and kisses him. Ling Zi Ming pushes Cheng Yi away. Clearly, there is tension between the two.
We pushed pause immediately and rewatched it three more times before we moved on to the rest of the episode. Did we really just watch that? We have no idea how this show was allowed to see the light of day, based on this one tiny scene alone. How did this kissing scene get past the Chinese government? And we’ve seen the promo material. This is not the only scene that has our eyes bugging out of our heads.
Inquiring minds want to know!
We understand that it’s a web series and that it isn’t airing on television anywhere, but considering the recent crackdown on all forms of media regarding the depiction of what China deems as a threat to masculinity and heterosexuality, this is still a huge surprise to us.
Anyway, the scene continues and they tussle a little. Like so many other BLs, instead of dealing with their feelings properly at the moment, hands are thrown and the scene cuts out. When the next scene starts, the boys are back in school. We’re assuming the story flashes back to the “before times” to show us all how the boys wound up in someone’s bedroom kissing and throwing punches at each other.
The first two episodes of In Your Heart are relatively low-key. The foundational issues with their families are presented when the boys get into a scuffle with another boy at school (we’re seeing a theme of minor violence emerging here). Their families are presented with the notion of paying the victim’s family off for compensation or facing expulsion from school.
There is a sweet moment at the end of episode 2 that depicts Ling Zi Ming caring for Cheng Yi’s injuries. Something definitely passes between the boys that foreshadows the feelings that live deep inside them both, but other than that, there is no overtly gay stuff in these two episodes.
Are we hooked? We’re not sure, but we are very, very intrigued. We are definitely going to keep watching.
In Your Heart is available for free, without an account, on Viki. Episodes are released on Fridays and Saturdays until March 5. In Your Heart consists of eight short twenty-minute episodes. If you have any insight into the censorship laws and how this project was possible, drop us a comment below or hit us up on social media. We have many questions! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!
