In Your Heart: The reluctant review
Considering the “cultural cleanse” and the crackdown on the entertainment industry in China recently, we were completely shocked to see a new BL emerge from the country. While it didn’t air on television, and was released as a web drama only, In Your Heart still shocked the gooseberries out of us.
First of all, the promotional poster features the two lead actors kissing. Secondly, the rest of the promo shots that were released before the show even started depicted more kissing and a naked bedroom scene.
We were excited and we watched with gusto! Unfortunately, it certainly feels like we were clowned. We are reviewing this reluctantly because we really wanted to love In Your Heart for the sheer fact that it was a Chinese production (the community needs all the help and representation they can get). However, this is one BL that does not give the people what they want.
Here is our review.
Overview
In Your Heart is the story of Ling Ziming (Hu Bo Wen) and Cheng Yi (Hu Shi Wen) – two high school buddies who clearly don’t realize the full extent of what they mean to each other. Like most of the BL produced in Asia, In Your Heart is a coming of age story that should, in theory, deliver all the feels.
Inseparable at school and besties in life too, these boys understand their relationship transcends normal friendship, but as the show kicks off, they do seem to be rather clueless about the romantic vibe that clearly exists between them.
The “clueless friends to lovers” trope is one that is often explored in the world of BL, so we hoped the show was planning to do something new with these characters. Unfortunately, we expected too much.
The boys get into trouble at school, which forces them into an even closer friendship. Then Cheng Yi takes an interest in a girl, because yes – this is one of those BLs, and another kid at school takes an interest in Ling Ziming.
All the outside attention makes the other jealous and then its Ling Ziming’s birthday and the clueless fools are kissing.
Old habits die hard
The fact that China produced a BL at all right now had us walking around with a false sense of security. Especially after we saw all the promotional stills, there was definitely a minute where we thought that just maybe, this was going to be the groundbreaking project that changed it all for that country.
But no.
So while the project got made, we now wondered if it should have been. When the boys take their relationship to the physical level, there is quite a lot of tossling that occurs before they’re able to really enjoy each other lovingly. They push each other, and Cheng Yi certainly forces Ling Ziming into submission. Not exactly the picture of perfectly obtained consent. Sex is often synonymous with agression and violence in the world of BL and well, its getting old.
This trope does nothing for the queer community in the countries that desperately need positive representation to move their country’s social agenda. Alas, In Your Heart is clearly not the groundbreaking show we were hoping for.
Apart from the very unromantic and aggressive sex, the boys are separated by their families and they absolutely do not get a happy ending. They end up living in different cities, alone and miserable, pining for each other.
The message is clear: the gays just don’t get a happy ending.
Real talk
So China made a BL. One with touching, and kissing, and actual sex, which in theory, sounds progressive. However, story-lines like this serve to reinforce the homophobia that is alive and well. In Your Heart clearly leaves the very somber message that if you’re gay, you’re destined to live an unhappy, unfulfilling life.
We don’t know about you, but we’re tired, y’all. We are challenging the creators of BL to start giving the genre the respect it deserves. Represent the queer community with more dignity than this. If you’re going to tell queer stories, stop falling back to these hurtful and negative agendas. Yes, there are unhappy queer stories that exist in the real world, but they’re not the only stories that exist.
Queer people have happy endings too. Queer people struggle to triumph in the end. Queer people have families, they’re not all completely rejected by their loved ones and their communities. They have successful careers and make all kinds of friends. When are we going to see BL start showing those realities too?
So it’s with a heavy heart that we reluctantly reviewed In Your Heart. But hey, if you like pain and despair, then maybe this will be your jam.
All eight episodes of In Your Heart are now available to watch on Viki. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram!
