Every time you watch a well-written script, there are certain scenes that strike your fancy; it could have an emotional wringer or heartwarming reminiscence.

We always return to that moment and enjoy the remembrance; that specific scene remains with us forever, lingering in our memories forever. In today’s feature, our authors will be talking about their favorite BL scenes and share their recollections!

PotatoBLChild’s Favorites

In other words, I probably have no taste (laughs in self-deprecation).

All things aside, there are quite a few scenes that are pretty memorable in most BL media that I’ve watched. A lot of them are just funny scenes that made me laugh way too much, while others made me want to hug my pillow and curl into a ball (mostly to protect myself from an onslaught of emotions).

The Most Comfortable Cuddly Scenes from Secret Roommate (2020)

I honestly have not found another already-established couple that I’m so comfortable with (except for Nick and Charlie in Alice Oseman’s Solitaire).

I do realise that I’ve mentioned them in the previous Sunday Bite, but they’re too cute to be left out of this post. Whether it’s the comfortable yet intense make-out session that they have on their chair or their soft and intimate moments in their bathroom, it’s the chemistry between these two amazing actors that just makes the hopeless romantic in me swoon. The way they radiate comfiness throughout this short film is enviable.

The “Be Sweeter” Scene from Gaya sa Pelikula (2020)

Or more specifically, what comes after it.

The sexual tension is over the roof with this one. Although I’m not particularly fond of the sister for annoying Karl and Vlad, asking them to kiss and ‘be sweet’ in front of her for no reason whatsoever, it did give us the thumbnail that probably got many people invested in the series. It may have ended with a really cute kiss on the cheek, but I’m sure it gave a glimpse into what they would look like as partners later on in the series.

The Improv Scene from My Pistachio (2018)

I think the seniors’ confusion was probably the most palpable emotion at this point in the film.

The scene where Mooyoung replaces the main lead in the play and the dialogues in it seem to be pretty much a love confession to Hanbit. It has everything in it, especially if you understand the reference to the pistachio—the improv, the romance, the fumbling, the seniors being clowns, a few laughs, among other things. The scene is adorkable and makes people wish for a full-length series instead of the 19-minute film that everyone got in the end (the small budget really did hurt, but they did an amazing job).

The Bottle-Shower Scene in Theory of Love (2019)

Also known as the scene that made me fall in love with Gun Attaphan’s clownery.

At first, I was under the impression that the scene was sad. I did feel terrible for Third, his puppy-dog-like expression making us all want to punch Khai—until I realised that what was supposed to be a shower turned out to be a water bottle with a few holes in it because the dorm had run out of water. I remember laughing for an eternity before I calmed down. This scene was what made me stick around to watch more Thai BL after 2gether. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Gun looks like the most adorable child that ever graced this planet (it was quite a shock to know that he’s older than I am).

The Sword-Holding Scene in Wuliang (2020)

The entire movie might as well have been this sequence and I wouldn’t mind.

I’m assuming China’s censorship got in the way of the film and, as a result, what was supposed to be hand-holding (in my head at least) became sword-holding in Wuliang. In this 37-minute long beauty, a good part is devoted to Feng Ren leading the blind Po Xiao using his sword. These scenes are picturesque, with brilliant cinematography, an amazing set, and two pretty men whose chemistry revolves around that sword-holding right up till the end, with their grey hair, an aesthetic forest filled with snow, and their never-ending friendship and love for each other.

Special Mentions

Or rather, scenes that I can’t shut up about.

I couldn’t include some of these especially because they’ve already been talked about either by me or other writers on the blog—the cigarette-lighting scene in Please Tell Me So (still burns me); the dance scene in Gaya sa Pelikula before Ian and Vlad first kiss each other (they look like they’re having the time of their lives and it’s just so beautiful); EarthMix’s forehead kiss in A Tale of Thousand Stars (I just cannot stop talking about this one); the entirety of A Man Who Defies the World of BL (comedy gold I tell you, a brilliant adaptation).

Yarnball’s Favorites

Word of Honor

Episode 13: The Rain Scene

This scene is the one that convinced me that Word of Honor is one of my favourite danmei ever series. Wen Kexing, so far the playful, flirtatious stalker, coming to terms with the fact that the soulmate he has just met is dying, and Zhou Zishu, a man who has already accepted his death, being forced to explain the reasoning for choosing to end his life rather than be unable to fight for himself. The emotion of their confrontation, followed by Wen Kexing smashing his flute in despair… I love everything about it.

Episode 28: New Years’ Eve Shenanigans

On the opposite end of the spectrum is this ‘calm before the storm’ episode. It’s just domestic fun as Wen Kexing, Zhou Zishu and (their son) Zhang Chengling prepare for Lunar New Year, decorating the house and struggling against a feisty chicken. As a sucker for found family tropes, this scene really tugs on my heartstrings. I just want them to be happy, okay?

A Tale of Thousand Stars

Since I already added the airport scene with my favourite kisses, here’re some of the highlights of ATOTS for me

Episode 3: The Mosquito Net conversation

One of the things ATOTS does so well is show the growing relationship between Phupha and Tian without actually putting it in words. This quiet scene where Phupha asks Tian what he had for dinner, saying it’s because he just wanted to talk to him is all of that. The conversation is nothing special, but the unspoken feeling behind it, and that quiet chemistry makes it so that the slightest touch of Phupha and Tian’s pinky fingers at the end of the scene feels like as good as a kiss.

Episode 10: The Wind Song scene

If you’ve watched ATOTS, you know this scene and you have cried over this scene. There’s no need for dialogue, just the heartbreak of Phupha choosing not to meet Tian at Dr Nam’s wedding, followed by Tian accepting that he needs to give up on meeting Phupha again, all with the haunting melody of Num Kala’s Wind, it’s one of the most memorable scenes of the series for me. I am crying even thinking about it.

Theory of Love

Episode 11: The Railway Station

Khai is one of the most despicable main characters I’d ever seen in a BL but this scene goes a long way towards earning him redemption. Khai staying in the train station the whole night waiting for his friends and stewing in thoughts that he’s been abandoned by them even though it’s a kind of karmic just desserts narrative wise really make you feel bad for the character. That and Khai’s vulnerable, ‘you could have just told me if you didn’t want to go with me’, is kind of heartbreaking and one of the best scenes in the whole series.

The Untamed

Episode 2: The Reunion

Yes, there is a lot very odd CGI work around it, but the scene where Lan Wangji recognises Wei Wuxian is iconic in every adaptation I see it in. In hindsight, when you know the story, you know why Lan Wangji knows it’s him in that instant, and honestly that knowledge only adds to the dramatic tension of that moment where he grabs Wei Wuxian’s wrist in realisation.

Episode 43: Snowy Night in the Jingshi

I love a lot of things about this scene: the quiet atmosphere of a snowy night in Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian thinking about the past and how there will always be someone to be made a scapegoat in the world, but his ultimate realisation that he will never be alone in the world, not as long as there is Lan Wangji… All combined with the aesthetics of Wei Wuxian with his jar of wine, and Lan Wangji with his hair down, playing the guqin make, combined with the orchestral version of WuJi, the theme song, swelling in the background, makes for one of the scenes that has stayed with me the longest from this series.

We will be back next week with the third edition of this feature. So till then, keep watching this space as we bring you more updates from the Asian BL World!