Let's Talk about Chu - Review
All the most engaging BLs I’ve been watching are now finished or about to end, so I needed to fill the time with something else.
That’s how I decided to start Let’s Talk about Chu, a Taiwanese series which came out this year and is available on Netflix.
The pitch is simple enough :
“Chu Ai, a wax technician, runs a sex education vlog on the side. Living by her motto of "Only Sex, No Love," she has a long-term sexual relationship with Ping Ke. In the face of the challenges and conflicts that arise from the Chu family's, unfulfilled demands for sex and love, can Chu Ai find the answer to desire and self-discovery and start a relationship that goes beyond the physical?”
The synopsis made it seems like the main character was Chu Ai, but it’s not true. The main character is the Chu Family, as a whole.
Chu Yeh Mei Chih and Chu Cheng Nan are the parents. They don’t have a really good relationship. They let things between us goes without have a proper conversation and now they live with resentment.
Chu Yu Sen is the oldest son. He is lying about his job to his parents to hide the fact he is earning his money from being an expert card gambler. He is also openly gay and has an open relationship with his current boyfriend and things are not going well. He will eventually meet a gangster and things will change...
Chu Wei is the oldest daughter. She is married to Lin Shi Chieh who is older than her and he is a teacher in University. She desires a deeper connection with her husband because she feels they lost the passion in their relationship.
And finally, we have Chu Ai, the sex education vlogger who has a friends-with-benefits relationship with Ping Ke who also have to deals with his own vision of what is love or relationship based on what he witnesses in his family.
I have to admit, I didn’t like the first episode. However, I know myself and I also always hate the first episode. I don’t know why, but I start to know if I like a series after the second episode. That’s why I never trust my first impression. I’m glad I didn’t stop after the first episode because this series is awesome. It’s very engaging for several reasons.
First of all, because this series deals a lot with sexual relationships, it’s important when the actors can translate that well and here it works. They all have a really good chemistry. Nothing feels too awkward, but it is also not trying to portray “too perfect” moments. I would like to also add there isn’t that much nude-scenes despite the series focus on sex and love.
I also appreciate how it centered the story around different stages of relationship. We have the old couple who never talked, the queer relationship, the open relationship or friends-with-benefits relationship… You can see the point of view of a younger generation on what is love or sex, but also the view of the older generation.
Finally, the series also allows you to have an insight on different issues such as not wanting children despite being pressure to have them, sexual compatibility, STI, childhood trauma, homophobia, abandonment… just to name a few.
My favorite couple were the oldest sister and her husband. They have an age-gap and he also was her teacher, when she was in university. At first, I found her annoying because she never seems to understand how her husband may not want the same things at the same time she wanted it, but I started to understand her after a few episodes. They lacked proper conversation about what they wanted, because when the passion is not there anymore, you have to connect differently. Their couple is all about, how your relationship can turn if you don’t communicate enough. Despite their issues, you could feel their love for each others.
My second favorite couple was the oldest son and the gangster he met. I wasn’t expected them to end up together, but what a ride it was. They really are good for each other and they fulfill what the other needs. Of course, they don’t get to this point without facings some difficulties, but their unexpected relationship is really wholehearted. They get more grow than some BL couples and I also like how it gave us an insight of what is it to be gay in Taiwan nowadays.
I was less interested by Ai because I felt she was the least likable character. It is mostly due to how she treated Ping Ke. I felt she was usually not fair to him. I agree, he also needed to express his feelings more, but when you learn about his family story you kind of get why he is this way. I feel like Ai, as his friend, should have known more but I can see why it wasn’t that easy for her. They are cute, but I believe their relationship is not as interesting as the others. I liked them both more as individual character than as a couple.
Finally, I connected less with the parents because their relationship made me think of my own parents and I didn’t really like what it said about my reality. I feel the mother has a real personality while the father remains bland because we don’t see him that much as he is not present a lot in the series. The mother is struggling a lot and I really appreciate how she grew from it and learn more about her children but also about what she yearn for. Brownie points to the mother (she is one of us) who was watching a BL series on Gagaoolala.
Overall, this series is a true gem. Taiwan can really produce amazing series and they should not be overlooked because they really have something to offer.
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