Expectations can be weird. Sometimes a series benefits greatly from low expectations. Others suffer when we expect too much and feel let down, even if objectively we know we are being unfair by holding it to a higher standard. But expectations can influence our experience.
This post is dedicated to some of the 2025 shows that exceeded our expectations. This doesn't mean they are our favorites, but each of these surprised us.
Khemjira
Our expectations were high, but they hit it out of the park! FIVE STARS! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Stubborn
This one definitely benefited from low expectations. And it was total junk food. Still, can't believe how much fun we had watching this with our tumblr peeps! This series was truly unforgettable 🤣
The Ex-Morning
Never would have guessed we would end up loving this series so much, but we do! This one gave our 40 year old queer asses lots of feels.
Knock Out
As two people admittedly who aren't big fans of contact sports (or most sports really...), we were not sure about this series, but were pleasantly surprised by how entertained we were. Plus. Keen was a firecracker and we loved him and his best boy!
The Heart Killers
The trailer looked fun and we love gray characters, but with everyone lying and scheming and DRUGGING PEOPLE, the first couple episodes had us wondering if we even wanted either of these couples to be end game. It was like watching a train wreck waiting for the betrayal and then it was even more painful than we expected! But despite our early impression of these characters, they won us over and got us completely invested. We didn't see that coming.
Revenged Love
The first episode had us grabbing popcorn and just hoping not to feel too dirty when it was all over. But we ended up loving these messy boys so much.... maybe definitely more than was healthy!
ABO Desire
We started off real obsessed with this one and it definitely suffered from our early expectations as the weeks went on. But it made the list because it exceeded our expectations just by getting made! Mpreg was not on our 2025 bingo card! (But it's definitely on the 2026 one! We're looking at you Knot!)
We could add more, but we won't 😁 Which series did you watch that surprised you?
We were MIA last week, so not only are we late to this game, but we were tagged by everyone 🤣 @my-rose-tinted-glasses (post), @watchthisqqq (post), @wanderlust-in-my-soul (post), @obsessedferalgremlin (post), @thisonelikesaliens (post), @gayteezsnailboats (post), @befuddledcinnamonroll (post), @hughungrybear (post) 💗🤟 Not tagging anyone because we are assuming everyone has been tagged already. But as always, consider yourself tagged if you want to join. Also, blank template at the end of the post.
Number of QL's you've watched so far:
From 2026... 45? Our watch list for this year is at 61, with some of those being current, some old QL, and some non QL. We actually dropped a couple, but we also finished some we should have dropped.
Best QL you've watched in 2026 so far:
LOVE YOU TEACHER! This one blew us away. Can't say enough about how much we loved this series.
QL that you want to watch but haven't gotten around to yet:
Forcing ourselves to wait on a lot of series to avoid the torture of waiting a week for every episode, but waiting is haaaaaarrd! We are very excited that soon we get to start Payback and A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hills. Patience is not our virtue.
QL that was the biggest disappointment for you:
Sometimes you want steak and wine, and sometimes you just want cheesy popcorn. We really enjoy our junk food watches, but Your Dear Daddy left a bad taste in our mouth.
Most anticipated QL for the second half of the year:
The next live watch we are most excited for is Be My Player Two!!!
Biggest surprise/favorite new actor (debut or new to you):
Ayden Sng from Double Helix was scary good. Really enjoyed his performance. We loved this toxic tragedy of a series, but it wouldn't have been nearly as good without him.
Newest fictional crush:
Absolutely any character Intak from P1harmony plays whenever he decides to do a Korean QL. We are manifesting that shit. Pretty sure this is not what they meant by fictional, but we do what we want.
Favorite QL that made you happy:
Too many to choose from, so we didn't!
Me and Thee - This one started in 2025, but wrapped in 2026, so we are counting it. We had way too much fun watching this series and laughed so much.
Cosmetic Playlover season 2 - This season felt like a long bonus episode! So much cute boyfriend era!
Life In Smokey Blue - This one made us feel a different kind of happy. It's the quiet kind of happy that is lined with hope.
Wishing upon the Shooting Stars - It made us sad, but it was also filled with fun characters and cuteness and was visually a treat to watch!
Duang With You - These two were precious and gave us so much joy.
Fake Fact Lips - We looked forward to this one every week and had so much fun watching! LOVED IT!
Fourever You 2 - We had too much fun watching these.
Knot - Don't care how bad this ends up being... we are happy this was even made!
Favorite QL that made you cry:
Again with Love You Teacher. We cried almost every.single.episode! Pretty sure we only escaped one. Sometimes tears of sadness, grief and pain. And sometimes tears of hope and healing. So many delicious tears! Love You Teacher is the clear winner as both our hands down favorite series and most tears because we cried buckets!!! But these are the runner our ups for sads:
My Romance Scammer - We may not have cried, but we felt every one of those tears!!!
Countdown to Yes - This series felt like it hurt forever.
Cat for Cash - This cute series rudely came out of nowhere to make us cry ugly tears.
Double Helix - This story was a straight tragedy of ruined, broken boys and it HURT!
What QL's do you need to watch by the end of the year?
ALL OF THEM!!!! We just need to win the lotto, quit our jobs, and find a substitute for needing sleep.
----------------------------------------
Blank template ⬇️
Number of QL's you've watched so far:
Best QL you've watched in 2026 so far:
QL that you want to watch but haven't gotten around to yet:
QL that was the biggest disappointment for you:
Most anticipated QL for the second half of the year:
Biggest surprise/favorite new actor (debut or new to you):
Newest fictional crush:
Favorite QL that made you happy:
Favorite QL that made you cry:
What QL's do you need to watch by the end of the year?
Making this list for giggles, in case anyone needs it. Going strictly off memory, so recency bias will definitely come into play. Obviously these are our opinions, and this is not a list of series recommendations, just ones that brought some extra heat.
Can't have a spicy roundup without our favorite #dmd jalapeno cotton candy! As to be expected, these series delivered lots of spice and even a jump scare...
🔥Your Sky
🔥The Next Prince
🔥Khemjira
In no particular order:
🔥 The Heart Killers
🔥 Sangmin Dinneaw
🔥 My Golden Blood
🔥 The Boy Next World - damn... that one scene was 🔥 even with everyone's clothes still on!
🔥 Top Form
🔥 The Bangkok Boy
🔥 My Stubborn - like seriously... so much spice!
🔥 Reset
🔥 Ball Boy Tactics - lower spice than many on this list, but this one was unexpected... forgot we were watching a Korean BL for a minute!
🔥 Suntiny
🔥 Secret Lover
🔥 Revenged Love - not as spicy as many series, but A) we were robbed with much of the spice being left on the cutting room floor and B) extra point awarded because this is hella spicy for a Chinese BL!
🔥 Knock Out - some of these episodes out spiced My Stubborn!
🔥 Love Sea: The Home For Lovers
🔥 The Heart of Tsukuyomi
🔥 Punks Triangle - ummmmmm... wow. This one was not traditionally spicy, but we found that heat instantly addictive.
Tagged by @my-rose-tinted-glasses (post), @gotmehookedonthekpop (post) and @miss0atae (post)💗 If you want to play, consider yourself officially tagged!
Rules: Post 10 gifs of your personal top 10 QL performances you've seen, the one's that drilled into your heart and took over your brain. This is low pressure. Add words if you want, but the gifs are the only requirement. Then tag 5 friends to hand out their tumblr awards.
🐠&🐈: First... can't choose a "top" 10 because that is way too much like "favorite" and we don't do favorite. We worked together on this list and waited to read anyone else's posts until we came up with our picks. We did pick more than 10 actors, but we limited ourselves to 10 series. Sticking with Asian QL because. And we will tag as many people as we want. 😜
Nam Yoon-su in Love in the Big City
The acting in this series was absolutely devastating. We can't even talk about it.
Boom Raveewit in Top Form
Don't think we would have liked this series nearly as much if it weren't for Boom's incredible performance as Akin.
Namping Napatsakorn and Keng Harit in Khemjira
These two are seriously incredible actors. They both have amazing facial acting and micro expressions. Namping made us feel every one of Khem's wounds and emotions, often quickly transition layers of complex emotions together. And he absolutely nailed playing being possessed and playing Jet. Keng's performance was also impressive and one of our favorite things was being able to see Peem soften towards Khem. This series was magic thanks to their incredible performances.
Lee Seon in Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo
This series absolutely would not have hit the way it did without these incredible actors. Both the leads did such a good job, but the performance that haunts us the most was Lee Seon. We need to rewatch this series...
War Wanarat and Yin Anan in Jack & Joker
SIGH. These two really know how to bring the pain. It was rude how much they hurt us with these performances.
Pond Ponlawit in Reset
We enjoyed watching Pond play Armin. It really felt like someone experienced taking full advantage of a second chance.
Jin Yun in See Your Love
We loved Shao Peng so much as a character and a large part is because of Jin Yun's excellent performance. The way he clearly expressed all of Shao Peng's emotions and delivered his lines without the assistance of vocal tone and pacing was so impressive.
Billkin Putthipong and PP Krit in I Told Sunset About You & I Promised You The Moon
(Dori still hasn't watched yet.) From making sniffing inexplicably hot to cultivating an entire sadderfly farm in Kat’s tummy, these two absolutely wrecked her. So much so that poor Dori had to listen to her process for hours over multiple days. Honestly, no wonder Dori’s terrified to watch it.
Lim Ji Sub in The Eighth Sense
The depression in this performance was so palpable that watching it felt physically heavy at times.
Takamatsu Aloha in Tokyo In April Is...
This is another series where we could easily nominate both actors without blinking. But if we’re forced to choose just one, Takamatsu Aloha as Ishihara Ren takes the crown. His performance gave us all the feels. The collapse, the dramatic “don’t touch me or I’ll die,” the raw vulnerability—we felt every second of it in our own souls.
No obligation tags for our usuals, but everyone is invited: @soypim, @watchthisqqq, @hughungrybear, @pointlesscandies, @heretherebedork, @nabi-unveiled, @gayteezsnailboats, @delesaria-blog, @wanderlust-in-my-soul, @babyangelsky, @theside-b, @bl-bam-beyond, @outofthemouthsof, @kandadze
We were tagged by @hughungrybear (post). If you want to play, consider this your official tag!
Rules: Without naming them, post a GIF of ten of your favorite ships (any media) and tag as many people as possible to do the same!
Our Rules: 🐈Kat and 🐠Dori decided to stick with recently watched series with ships we both love, so this is more of a current faves list. No time for overthinking because we need to get back to watching our series!
2. 3. AHHH!!! We can't choose! You can't make us!
2. Dori just tortured herself by rewatching this and they make the list since we LOVE THEM WITH OUR WHOLE HEARTS!!!
3. We finally watched this and stealing this ship from @hughungrybear because SAME! JUST KISS AREADY!
4.
5. These two would be torture be in the same room with.
6.
7.
8.
9. Listen, just give our little psycho what he wants... he's worked hard for it.
10. Yes, all of them. Fight us.
Tag time. No pressure as always: @my-rose-tinted-glasses, @soypim, @watchthisqqq, @pointlesscandies, @heretherebedork, @nabi-unveiled, @iguessitsjustme, @delesaria-blog, @wanderlust-in-my-soul, @babyangelsky, @theside-b, @gotmehookedonthekpop, @miss0atae
Editing to add a tag 😉 @bl-bam-beyond you're tagged now!
Inspired by 🐠 Dori's post, we are starting a tag game because we are curious what scenes would be on everyone else's list.
Rules: Share 5-10 scenes you can't forget. Not your favorites, the ones that got stuck in your brain for any reason.
Explain if you want to, or don't, your choice. We chose to stick with Asian dramas. Don't like the rules? Make up your own. We won't judge. And consider yourself tagged if you wanna play. Just please tag us to we can see your list!
🐈Kat: I broke my own rules (I am a rebel like that) and ended up picking 10 series, though sometimes had a few scenes from the series. Also, I very intentionally did not pick any scenes 🐠 did, just for funsies.
Love Between Fairy and Devil
This series has imprinted on me, because it hard launched a pretty intense hyperfixation. I may have binged this in an embarrassingly short amount of time. I then proceeded to rewatch it more times than I will admit back to back. There are way too many scenes in this series that live on in my head. For simplicity, I give you a scene in episode 9 where I knew for certain that I was going to love Dongfang Qing Cang. Daddy says, “How dare you hurt my woman.” Then BAM, f-ing black smoke wings. Hot damn.
Crash Landing on You
This whole series has stayed with me. Not sure I will ever watch it again. It was really freaking good, but it hurt. I am not sure I have it in me to let it hurt me that way again. My mind comes back to episode 12 a lot, as the threads in this episode are all interwoven. The parallel between what Se Ri says to her mother, and what Jeong Hyeok says to her… just damn.
“Next year, and the one after that, and even the one after that will all be good because I’ll be thinking about you. I’ll be grateful that you were born into this world. I’ll be grateful that the person I love is still breathing. That’s why your birthday will always be a good day.”
Fireworks of my Heart
In a similar vein, there is a scene in episode 28 of Fireworks of my Heart when Song Yan is talking to Meng Yan Chen outside Xu Qin’s condo that lives in my head. Meng Yan Chen is telling Song Yan that he is not good enough for Xu Qin.
“She has insomnia. She needs sleeping pills to fall asleep. Did you know that? You said this neighborhood is good. It really is. The floor is good too. It’s very high. Meng Yan Chen, look up. Given her previous state, do you think one day, she’d jump from above? None of your family has the right to say I don’t deserve her.”
I had spent the whole series up to this point feeling like there was a brittleness to Xu Qin, and I kept expecting her to make some sort of suicidal gesture. But I also thought I might be being over-dramatic, because there was nothing explicitly stated in the script before this. In that moment Song Yan demonstrated once again how he is the only one who really SEES her. With her adopted family she has to be a fragile doll, not living, but with Song Yan she can be her "imperfect" self and actually LIVE. And this scene perfectly embodies all of that.
Jack & Joker: U Steal my Heart!
Since 🐠 already brought up the non-wedding in the special episode, I'll choose the scene from the series that hit me the hardest. I can never forget Joker at the hospital after Toiting is hurt. Watching him break, the overwhelming shame and self hatred he feels, all his ugly crying and self-harming behaviors (tearing at his hair, hitting himself); and then Jack's utter devastation and rage. It was so incredibly well done.
I Told Sunset About You / I Promised You the Moon
I’m counting this as one extended series, as it two parts of a bigger story. This story hit me in unhealthy ways. 🐠 was the bestest of besties and let me drone on and on about this series in-depth. Despite the fact that at the time she had no intention of watching it, had no interest in or care about the series, she just knew this was knocking around in my head and I needed to talk it out. I want to hate this series. I hate how Teh hurts Oh-aew repeatedly, even if it isn't malicious in nature, while on his journey of self-discovery and growth. Oh-aew is so honest and clear about his emotions, he loves Teh and never questioned that. Teh on the other hand, navigating his own complicated emotions and his fears, wounds Oh-aew in the process. I want something and someone better for Oh-aew. Yet at the same time I know how much he loves Teh, and ultimately how much Teh truly loves Oh-aew, and I get that emotions are complicated and messy. This series hurt me a lot and made me wallow in it. But it did it so well I couldn’t walk away and I still carry it with me.
The scene in ITSAY that is the loudest in my head, is the back scratching/sniffing scene. That was the most confusing and uncomfortably hot scene. Billkin and PP Krit could teach a master class in telegraphing desire with your body. I think seeing their desire for each other, how Oh-aew surrenders and Teh can't seem to control himself as he get's lost in Oh-aew is what makes this scene so hot.
The scene I keep coming back to in IPYTM is the breakup scene. Watching Oh-aew watching Teh who is watching Jai and having all the pieces come together in a way that cannot be ignored or denied, and the devastation on Oh-aew face has left a mark on me. The following argument, watching Oh-aew fall apart and Teh facing the reality of losing Oh-aew burns.
Why R U ? (Thailand)
OMG. Zee is a master at crying, and Saint is no slouch. Technically two scenes, but all related, so I'm leaning into it. First, in episode 11 (damn episode 11 curse!). Tutor begging Fighter to let him go, saying it's because he’s tired and hurting, and that moment where Fighter realizes he will give Tutor anything… so he let's go.
Then came the salt in the wound in episode 12, when Tutor continues his campaign to make Fighter hate him. The desperate and angry kissing, Tutor remembering his why and pulling it all in and just laying there on the bed, before unleashing all the sneering disdain with an “are you satisfied.” Followed by Fighter breaking and BEGGING and Tutor being cold and deliberately cruel, throwing metaphorical rocks to make Fighter leave. Watching the character Fighter fall apart is really powerful, but honestly, there is something about watching Zee as an actor falling apart in any role that just does something to my feelings.
My Stand In
This is another series where I couldn’t pick just one scene. I have a questionably unhealthy love for Ming. I love a good toxic obsessive love trope. Soooo many dopamine sprinkles. Om nom nom. Ahem.
First, THE ICONIC BACK SCENE. This scene is so incredible for me because in that moment we have Ming, who knows he was in love with Joe, was utterly devastated over Joe's loss, and is living his life with the goal of finding Joe. He is eaten up with guilt- had already fallen out of “love” with Tong, and blames Tong as much as himself for what they did to Joe. Then he learns that the very thing he loved about Tong was never Tong, it was in fact, Joe. Who he had mistreated and lost due to his "love" of Tong. The apology, Ming's devastation and crying, and the way he clings to Joe with no care for anyone else in the room. So freaking good.
Joe losing it at the funeral. Seeing him grieving his old life, attending his own funeral, and then confronting Ming. It hurt so good.
And finally, when Ming- and please know it hurts me a little to phrase it this way, makes love to Joe for the first time. This scene was choreographed so well to relay how it was different. We have Ming prioritizing Joe’s pleasure, and while Ming has A THING for backs, the slight shift in positioning and Ming gazing at Joe’s face intensely are ways he is communicating to Joe that it is different this time. He is making it clear that he is with Joe, wants to be with Joe, loves Joe, and is clearly communicating that in his actions throughout this whole scene.
Love in the Air
I’m sure this scene may live in a lot of people’s heads for a variety of reasons. For me, there is the context of this being the first Thai BL I watched. Look, I am a queer American woman in my 40s - I have SEEN SOME THINGS. My mass consumption of live-action Asian dramas started with C-Dramas, many of those I watched barely register on the spice scale. While the K and J dramas I had consumed have a wider spice range, a lot of the (specifically Asian) BL content I had consumed prior to watching LITA had not prepared me for episode 6. Hell, the first NC scene and all the make outs hadn’t prepared me for this scene. I literally sent 🐠 something along the lines of “Holy guacamole Dori. I started this series I kept seeing recommended and there is a f-ing tongue lick.” And then I sent her a screenshot- followed by a gif - because words could not adequately convey what I saw.
4 Minutes
Which then leads me to 4 minutes (because you know that series has to make it on at least 2/3 of my lists for REASONS). Let’s just say, if LITA’s tongue lick has carved itself into my memory bank, then 4 Minutes - WHICH HAS SET THE CURVE ON OUR SPICE SCALE - is going to be there too. I want to say it’s a Bible scene, and yes, many of his scenes stay with me (for reasons… RESPECTFUL reasons). But for this list, it was Tonkla all the way, because bro went all the damn way and needed a TOWEL. Enough said.
Bed Friend
Since apparently we’re on the subject of spicy scenes, I will wrap up this list with Bedfriends and Uea in that damn cat-cosplay. Do there need to even be words about this? Because I think this gif says it all.
We showed your ours.... tag, you're it.
No pressure tag for people we think might like to play: @my-rose-tinted-glasses @hughungrybear @nabi-unveiled @respectthepetty @heretherebedork @lurkingshan @pointlesscandies @iguessitsjustme
Love You Teacher seems to have unlocked a new personal record for tear inducing episodes. Got us thinking about other series that set out to torture us and made us live in those feels FOREVER!
Watch list when you want some loooong pain!
Sometimes we are looking for some good angst. There are lots of series that hurt, but watching these series felt like an emotional endurance test. The kind that half way through you start questioning the motivation of the script writers and your choice in hobbies before you finally have to admit that apparently you are here for the pain.
About the list:
Since some of these hurt us more than others, we decided to rank them from least to most cruel. And since pain is subjective and things impact us in very different ways, our ranking may not be yours. We really tried to focus on ones that hurt us way longer than felt reasonable. So this isn't a list of the most painful series we've watched, though some of these would definitely make the cut for that list. There are definitely more that could make this list, but we went with ones that didn't make us overthink too much.
So how much emotional torture are you looking for?
🥊Punched in the gut
These hurt, and you might cry, but you probably don't need any medical attention.
Cutie Pie - The undercurrent of pain is there the entire time because even when it's cute, it's still broken!!!
My Romance Scammer - We knew the pain was coming, but that didn't make it hurt any less. And then as soon as you let your guard down, you step on another lego and cry all over again!
Theory of Love - Gun cries in the first 6 episodes. But the pain didn't stop just because the tears did.
I Feel You Linger In The Air - It's time travel... so we spent the entire series trying to figure out how this could possibly end happy.
To My Star season 2 - The second season was cruel! Pain the whole time!!
💔Stabbed in the heart
These ones are truly here to cause critical damage.
I Told Sunset About You & I Promised You The Moon - The pain never ends. Good luck.
Let Free The Curse of Taekwondo - They made snow sad!
Time of Fever - Friend + Love = PAIN!
🗡️Twisting the knife
They enjoy hurting you and want you to suffer.
4 Minutes - Mass devastation. This one is a complete tragedy.
Until We Meet Again - Episode one starting with a double suicide... it can't get more painful than that right? RIGHT?!?
To My Shore - First it's a toxic disaster. And then we get so.much.PAIN!
☠️Corpse mode
You might die. Or at least feel like you have. We definitely did not survive. These were not emotionally healthy watches for us and we have locked them away in a corner of our brain we are not allowed to visit. Ever. All of these are excellent series, but do we regret watching them? Noooooo??? But also, maybe.
Love In The Big City - This one broke us over and over again. And then it ended. We are still not over it.
When Life Gives You Tangerines - Beautiful story about life. Wish we had never seen it. This series is meant for people much stronger than us. Pretty sure anyone with offspring should never watch this series.
Had I Not Seen The Sun - We saw it coming from episode one. It didn't help at all. It is unbelievable how broken this made us.
Queen Of Tears - Dori has been spared the torture of this series, but did comfort Kat extensively when she made the mistake of watching it.
Same or did we get it wrong? What series are on your list?
We love our sweet psychos so much that we have started a collection! But as the list grows, we wanted to make it easier to track down our hoard. So here's the original collection post and you can scroll the entire collection under the #we ❤ sweet psychos tag or click on each character below and skip directly to their post.
We enjoy ranking them and trying to decide just how fast should their prey should run. Are we talking red flag or body bag??? Here's our ranking in order from sweetest🧁 to the most psycho☠️:
Cirrus - The Boy Next World
Hira - My Beautiful Man
Chi Cheng - Revenged Love
Bison - The Heart Killers
Hua Yong - ABO Desire
Ming - My Stand In
Fan Xiao - To My Shore
Li Jen-yao - Had I Not Seen the Sun
Lu Feng - Double Helix
Kelvin - Yesterday
Vegas - KinnPorsche
Jaemin - Secret Relationships
Did we get it right? What does your list look like?
Post updated 07-2026. Click here to see the current list.
