Be Loved in House: I Do (Taiwanese Series)

Time for reviewing another series from Taiwan which surprising is not from HIStory series. Although truth be told, this could have been part of the same. I don't think that series follows any specific pattern as such. The starting of this series was so well. Almost first 5-6 episodes were going alright (although pacing was still an issue), but then I don't know why and how, my interest kept dropping in the show. It felt the things were being stretched unnecessarily. More on that later.

She Lei works in a workshop that makes metal accessories. The workshop which was on verge of bankruptcy is suddenly taken over by a new group and a new director, Jin Yu Zhen, shows up. He asks for a strict rule of being single and no dating, which annoys She Lei and others in the workshop including a straight couple who were just about to propose. The director also moves in the apartment that She Lei was sharing with an intern thereby forcing the intern to move out. Luckily he is taken in by Gang, the owner of coffee shop where this group always hangs out. The new director doesn't start off very well but slowly She Lei starts to see his ways of working and doesn't; t find him that annoying except his singlehood rule. Trying to spy on the new director, She Lei and director start to find themselves falling in love/care relationship with each other. But neither of them has the courage to confess to the other person. When Jin Yuzhen's ex from before shows up as a new client who could possibly save the workshop things get further complicated. Of course, the end everything is well. Also, in parallel, the Leo story between the intern and the coffee shop owner also takes huge strides.

Lets talk about goods first. The actors were very good looking and actually they all acted very well, I mean, given whatever the direction was given to them. They all did pretty good. She Lei, as the young, charming, naughty yet professional guy suited his part. All the rest were also good. With his mysterious past that we only find out later, Jin Yuzhen adds another interesting dimension. I loved all the scenes when She Lei's mother shows up and stays with the duo briefly. And lets not forget about the very beautiful scene, where She Lei comes out to his mother. That scene was so dignified that I am willing to forget for a moment all the negatives that I have to say about this show. Also the two leads had some good chemistry. Talking of chemistry, the pair of intern and Gang started off so well but eventually I couldn't really care for them. They were just not given any arc. Any if Gang touched the intern's hair on his forehead one more time, I will completely lose it. I mean what's up with that. Petting your lover like a dog, and like every single time. I personally found that very annoying, even to just watch. The series built up well with initial fights, dislikes, understanding and finally feeling love for each other between She Lei and Jin You Zhen, but god! Can they talk to each other for a change. When the ex shows up, both of them start cooking stories in their head about what that would mean, without even having a proper conversation with each other. I understand the director had baggage from his past relationships' but why can't She Lei have made the first move. The constant back and forth of their longing for each other, yet not accepting and admitting to each other was a bit weird to me. 

The pacing of the show is the biggest problem. Some random flashback scenes are shown suddenly which really are just not needed. Instead of 13 slow burning episodes, this would have been a much much better 6 episode, tightly paced series. The story had potential and the actors were great. It's the screenplay and direction that needs bit of help. To give credit, I am guessing the series was filmed during pandemic, so applause and kudos to the entire team for pulling this through, but I just hope that all these BL shows start taking some fan feedback seriously and do constant improvements in their shows. At some point everyone would want quality over quantity. (6.5/10)