The Boyfriend Season 2, Part 2!
Sorry to keep you waiting! We’ve been so gagged by season 2 of The Boyfriend, Netflix’s hit show that we’ve been behind on giving you our thoughts on the series! Well, be anxious no longer: here’s what we think about the second part of the second series!
Our Favorite Reality Show
We’re back into it with Netflix’s flagship Japanese reality show. This time, with the cast already established (or is it?), we reunite with our heroes as they continue to navigate love in the snow-dusted landscape of Hokkaido. But just as love warms everyone’s hearts, it is inevitable that some people are going to be left in the cold.
Putting the Drama in BL Drama
So, let’s pick up where we left off last time. Specifically, we’ll start with Jobu. Our guy, who has been unlucky so far — not only in love, but in being disrespected by much of the cast — wavers on whether or not to even attend the “school trip” where everyone visits the resort area of Niseko. In the end, though, he puts on his brave face and goes along.
It’s during this trip that more than a few developments moved our heroes… and moved our hearts (one way or the other). The first thing to mention is that Izaya and William continue with their back and forth relationship, where they get closer, then hesitate, then get closer, then hesitate again. I would say that, if I had a criticism of the direction of this season, it is that Izaya and William’s relationship is established as a point of drama in the first episode, and then becomes fairly anodyne.
And it’s not just the relatively sedate nature of their courting: it’s that it takes up so much screen time. The back and forth between them is just… not especially interesting right now. However, drama is far from absent during these episodes. Our poor Jobu finally gets to enjoy time in the onsen with the others, but is cruelly treated by William when, in an episode wherein the coffee truck leader role is up to a volunteer, puts himself up because he has yet to go on a date, and wants to have a serious conversation… before William comes down with a severe case of main character syndrome, and bullies him into withdrawing.
This isn’t all. Poor Hiroya, who has been really putting himself out there, is rejected by the (too?) direct Huwei. There were gasps heard around the world when Hiroya confessed how he felt, and Huwei replied (to the man’s face!): “there were three people I was interested in when I got to know everyone. And you weren’t one of them.” This is a level of brutality typically reserved for Mortal Kombat games.
Huwei has also taken the role of the new Kazuto: very popular, but somewhat… picky. He appears to be toying with Bomi a little bit, who has made his feelings clear, always stringing him along. Saying things like, “I prefer to warm up slowly” makes it feel like he’s just trying to keep Bomi as something of a reserve option, rather than being open and saying, “thanks, but no thanks.”
New Arrivals!
These episodes also see the departure of Hiroya, who is leaving for… a little while, to handle the outcome of a business deal that he had been working on for a long time, and needed to see through in person. However, we also see the arrival of two new faces: one new, one familiar…
First, we have Tomoaki. Tomoaki, an IT manager, comes into the show with the most insane dimples, and when asked about his reason for wanting to be in the Green Room, has a reason that is different but touching. He used to be overweight, and while he has gotten into better shape, he still hasn’t come to terms with his sexuality. So rather than being on the show to find love, or even come out, he is there to learn to accept himself.
On the other hand, we have the return of Taeheon! Coming back for another season, he says that he satisfied himself in the first season by coming out and being open, but he wanted more: he wants love. Lucky him, Jobu, who has been perpetually bummed out through the entire season for various reasons, is smitten already, having fantasized about him coming back. Will there be sparks between them?
What Next for Netflix Japan’s Top Reality Show?
Well, we’ll see! We’re excited to see the new cats among the pigeons, as well as the eventual return of Hiroya (hopefully imbued with new confidence following his overseas success), as well as cute student Ryuki coming into his own a little more, having been laid low by a fever.
