Subjective Enjoyment Rating: 8.5

This is one of the rare dramas that I think the English title better describes the drama than the original one, at least for the international audience. “Let’s Talk About Chu” focuses on the relationships and sexual experiences of each member of the Chu family. The Chinese title (愛愛內含光) is the name of the Vlog channel of Chu Ai, and focuses on sex education and her ideals on sexual relationships. The title originates from one of the verses of a poem 「曖曖內含光」meaning those with talents and positive traits shine from within (a very loose translation). How do we look past the appearance to find that special person who is right for us?

I had a very enjoyable time watching this short drama. A lot is being covered and was done at a very fast pace. I guess one of its shortcomings is the inability to really delve into the complicated relationships and spend time exploring the backstory of each character. This is also to be expected when we only have 8 short episodes.

At first, I thought this drama is similar to the K-drama “Hit The Spot” as it also has a podcast focused on sex. “Hit the Spot” actually focuses more on the podcast than this drama’s vlog. The vlog also comes at the end of the epilogue of each episode. I watched a few of them and got bored of it. The vlogs were not done in a humorous way and I found them dry and preachy.

Luckily, the actual drama is full of love, laughter and emotional moments. The acting is great and all the characters have excellent chemistry. Ok, maybe the actual acting of the sex act could be better, but that’s totally fine as they’re not porn stars. LOL. Yes, there are many sex scenes, though nothing with full-on nudity. These scenes help tell the story and I don’t find them arbitrary or unnecessary. I like that women in this show are not afraid to talk about what they want in their sex lives. They get frustrated and are not afraid to accept the fact that they’re not happy. The drama also touched on how a past trauma can affect your view of relationships and sex.

Though I am not fully invested in all the storylines, I like most of them.

* Chu Ai and Chou Ping Ke - I enjoyed their story in the beginning. I found Kai Ko (who played Ping Ke) super adorable and hot. How come I don’t remember him being so cute in “Till We Meet Again”? I must have got distracted by the pink hair. However, Chu Ai and Ping Ke’s romance lost steam towards the second half. I think Ping Ke is way too good for Chu Ai. He should have let her grovel a little more.
* Chu Yu Sen and Lee Yueh - They are my favorite! They are such an odd pair, yet they complement each other in a way. Their story is interesting and unexpected and also with a lot of heart. I love the last intimate scene. It’s making love instead of having sex.
* Chu Wei and Lin Shi Chieh - A very realistic story about married life when the initial sparks are gone. How do you keep the romance going and keep working at it?
* Mom and Dad - Not my favorite story not because they’re older, but because it’s boring.
I love that mom is watching BL on GagaooLala but Dad has no personality. I wasn't curious enough to find out if Dad has an affair or not.

Overall, this is a quick and easy watch. It doesn’t have too much time to tell a very deep story. But it touched on issues in various stages/types of relationships.


Completed: 2/4/2024 - Review #400