Be Loved in House – Series Review & Ending Explained

Premise

Be Loved in House is a remake of an older Taiwanese drama called Just You. The premise is the same as the original, except they changed the straight couple into gay characters instead. While I haven't watched the original series, I do think the premise is interesting. Of course, the no-romance policy wouldn't fly in any real-world workplace, but the plot is unique enough that it works for a piece of fiction. It creates conflict, introduces drama, and makes me curious to see what happens.

Let's be clear: Prohibiting romantic relationships is a dumb, discriminatory rule that no employer should have the right to exercise. Yu Zhen is completely irrational and causes a lot of mental distress in his employees. There's no justifying what he did. With that said, I suspected there's a ~deeper reason~ why he implemented this policy. No one would take such a drastic stance against romance without some kind of personal story.

My original theory was that his ex died in a car crash. Losing his first love caused Yu Zhen so much grief that painful memories are stirred up any time he sees a happy relationship around him. I didn't know what exactly triggered him at the time, but I figured Yu Zhen had a deep-rooted trauma that made him lose hope in love and happiness. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about his character. 🤔

Love triangle

Honestly, I kinda liked my version of the storyline better than the love triangle tripe that ended up happening instead. Bringing back the ex-boyfriend was an unnecessary complication, and the drama didn't do a good job fleshing out his character or his opaque motives. First, he was flirting with Yu Zhen. Then, he moved on to seducing Shi Lei. In the end, he revealed it was part of his master plan to get Yu Zhen and Shi Lei to admit their feelings for each other.

Um, what? Why not just be honest from the start instead of playing these agonizing mind games for half the series? So dumb. 🙃

The only worthwhile part about this storyline is that they picked an extremely attractive actor to play Yi Zi Tong. His two fantasy sequences with Yu Zhen and Shi Lei were sizzling hot, overflowing with raw sex appeal. The sheer eroticism in those scenes disrupted the dull monotony of the plot, if only for a short while.

Yu Zhen & ex-boyfriend

I was excited about Zi Tong's character at first. He had one of the best character introductions, coming out of the swimming pool with his dripping wet torso displayed in slow motion. We were acquainted with his incredibly fit physique before we even got to meet his character. Needless to say, I liked what I saw and it made me eager to see more of him. 👀

Sadly, the ex-boyfriend character may be attractive on the outside, but his personality is pretty ugly on the inside. He's a spoiled, privileged prick who dumped Yu Zhen with a sticky note. This guy might be rich, hot, and successful, but he's clearly a douchebag. Yu Zhen is better off without this loser ex in his life.

I wouldn't mind a little drama with the ex if it was short and swift, but they dragged on the storyline for way too long. The ex-boyfriend outstayed his welcome in those last few episodes, and hardly anything interesting happened with him. I didn't understand his motives, didn't like the way he manipulated Yu Zhen, and didn't want him to get in the way of the main romance. His character seemed unnecessary, only dropped into the plot to manufacture conflict.

Shi Lei and Yu Zhen

If you've watched enough BL or any type of romances, Shi Lei and Yu Zhen will feel like familiar character archetypes. Shi Len is the feisty lead, packed with vigorous passion and positive energy in his personality. Yu Zhen is his exact opposite in every way, remaining icy and aloof without ever letting his guard down. Since the two characters are so different, they are bound to clash and create a lot of fireworks.

It's fun watching their relationship make progress, as Yu Zhen opens up more about himself and Shi Lei softens his stance towards him. The journey happens gradually, so you go through the ups and downs of their romance before they end up together. The two characters also have chemistry with each other. There's a playful and vibrant dynamic between them, which builds as the series progresses.

However, it does take a long time for Shi Lei and Yu Zhen to become a couple. Even when it's obvious they both have feelings for each other, these two guys keep skirting around the topic. If Shi Lei and Yu Zhen simply communicated better, they could've spared the viewers many episodes of agonizing relationship drama.

Gang and Si Qi

While the Shi Lei and Yu Zen romance is always packed with drama, there's hardly any of it in the relationship between Gang and Si Qi. This romance goes smoothly from Episode 1 to Episode 12 without any rocky bumps along the way. We don't even get the typical ~age difference~ conflict in their relationship scenes. Shi Lei and Yu Zen are simply two consenting adults who fall in love and remain in love for the entire series. That's it. There's not much else to their storyline.

In a way, it's refreshing to see a sweet and simple BL romance where they're happy all the time. They are such a nice, well-adjusted couple, and it's important to highlight this type of normalcy in BL relationships. Plus, many of their scenes are cute, including that moment where Si Qi accidentally spat a piece of food onto Gang's face. 😅

With that said, their love story is so linear. There're no surprises and you don't go through an exciting journey with this pair. Compared to the sparks flying between Shi Lei and Yu Zhen, the Gang and Si Qi romance seems tame and mild. I didn't need them to bicker, break up, or anything of the sort, but I just wished more unexpected events happened with them.

Qian and Wang Jing

Believe it or not, Qian and Wang Jing might be one of the biggest missed opportunities in Be Loved in House. I know it's not common to focus on the straight couple in BL, but these two needed more development. As the ones most affected by the anti-romance rule, they serve as the emotional core of the story. They're the reason why we should care whether there's a workplace policy or not.

Qian and Wang Jing had so much potential to make a bigger impact on the plot, which would've strengthened the premise behind Be Loved in House. Unfortunately, I don't feel anything towards this couple because their scenes are so scattered and trivial. Their romance is marginalized to the point of irrelevance. We learn more about their relationship status through exposition than seeing them actually interact.

If their scenes had been written better, the workplace storyline could resonate more emotionally. Flesh out their relationship and make the viewers care about why they can't be together. It could be as simple as a quick conversation where they talk about finding another job. The stakes in the story would feel higher if the viewers feel attached to these two side characters, instead of treating them as comical fodder.

Good acting

The acting in Be Loved in House was consistent. I especially want to highlight Shi Lei's actor (Hank Wang) for putting in some good performances. As one of the liveliest characters, he makes a big difference in setting the mood and tempo of the series. Thankfully, the actor is quite charismatic and he injects a boost of boisterous energy to many scenes.

When Shi Lei's character experiences a slump in the last few episodes, the script requires him to mope around. I notice the difference in the overall vibe, where the scenes are significantly less lighthearted. That's because none of the other actors can bring the energy up to the same level as before. Without Shi Lei's usual enthusiasm, the series suddenly feels a lot less vibrant. The actor's perky charm was sorely missed in the final set of episodes. 😞

Physical intimacy

You'll be pleased to know that all the gay couples are physically intimate during their romantic scenes together. They touch, they make out, and they have sex. These actors are open, immersed in their performances, and don't shy away from each other. The main couple has skin-on-skin contact, including a sizzling scene that gets just a little racy in the final episode. I could feel my heartbeat getting faster as I watched them. 😳

The only couple that doesn't have show any affection in Be Loved in House is the token straight couple. A decade or less ago, the situation would have been the exact opposite. We'd see all the straight pairings making out, whereas the token gay couple (if there was one) was relegated to making forlorn gazes at each other from afar. It just shows you how much the media landscape has changed in the past decade around LGBT representation, all thanks to BL.

Happy ending

Be Loved in House has a happy ending where the main characters get together during the last episode. Yu Zhen finally has the courage to admit his feelings for Shi Lei, resulting in a wonderful kiss between them. Yu Zhen also tears up the paper with the anti-romance policy, symbolizing that he believes in love again.

Afterwards, the happy couple takes their passion to the bedroom, where they have sex for the first time. The series concludes with them going on a date, holding hands, and walking in unison together.

Ending explained

Leading up to the finale, Yu Zhen's ex-boyfriend made it seem like he was attracted to Shi Lei. He flirts with Shi Lei constantly, hoping to sweep him off his feet with a whirlwind romance. Of course, Yu Zhen has MULTIPLE opportunities to intervene, but chickens out from confessing his love until we're closer to the end of the episode. How annoying. 🥱

Once Shi Lei and Yu Zhen get together, we discover this was supposedly Zi Tong's plan all along. He played the role of matchmaker behind the scenes, helping his ex-boyfriend move on and find a new partner. He flirted with Shi Lei to make Yu Zhen jealous, lighting a passionate fire inside him. In reality, Zi Tong was shipping Shi Lei and Yu Zhen together, just like the rest of us!

Of course, Zi Tong also could've just butted out and minded his own business. Before he came along, Shi Lei and Yu Zhen's relationship was progressing perfectly fine. They were on the verge of becoming boyfriends until the pesky ex suddenly intruded, stirring up all this unnecessary drama. Zi Tong is the same as that Tuxedo Mask meme, acting like "My job here is done!" when he didn't do anything productive at all. 🙄

The proposal

The other couple has a happy ending too! In the final episode of Be Loved in House, Gang and Si Qi get engaged to each other. Si Qi is the one who proposes with a custom-made ring and Gang says "I do". As the two of them share a kiss, the cheerful theme song plays right on cue: "I do, I do, I do~" with lyrics that are not so subtle.

Their proposal does seem kinda quick, considering the two of them only started dating a few months ago. Si Qi has some weird obsession with getting married, eager to show his boyfriend that he's serious about a long-term commitment. I don't think Gang cares that much about marriage either way, but he accepts the proposal because he knows how much it means to his fiancé.

At BL Watcher, I'd never judge a gay couple for wanting to marry each other. Considering the LGBT community has been deprived of their civil rights for so long, there's no such thing as getting married too early. If I had my way, every BL couple would get married as soon as they meet. So, I completely endorse all gay shotgun weddings in my BL dramas. Go for it!

Ending review

Although Be Loved in House has a happy ending, I'm not completely satisfied with it. Most of my frustration comes from the momentum carried over in the last few episodes. So much time was wasted on the ex-boyfriend and their dumb love triangle.

The relationship drama dragged on for way too long, keeping Shi Lei and Yu Zhen apart until the final moments of the last episode. As the series comes to an end, we have to rush through all the affectionate scenes between the pair. The truth is that these guys could've been a couple since Episode 9, back when the story was in the right place and the timing felt appropriate.

Instead, the relationship hardly made progress in those last few episodes. By the time Shi Lei and Yu Zhen finally get together, I don't feel as buzzed about this highly anticipated moment. The pacing of these episodes dampened my enthusiasm for a BL romance that I liked so much at the start.