In this respect, indeed, the relationships in the game develop so much into a certain trajectory, that choosing seemingly friendly lines, you may find yourself flirting with a character and already in a love triangle. I'd drink wine with Shadowheart, or dance with Will, or practice magic with Gale, he's a good teacher. But those are bits of romance, not friendly interaction, and you just won't see them without getting into the romance. Refusing to kiss Will, he stands a sour face, Shadowhart drinks alone for the rest of the game, Gale is eating of magic boots and suffers for an ex gerl. At least Carlach can be hugged without repercussions. And Laezel, Astarion, and Mintara without it at all, the plot is a plot, but the bushes are on schedule.
On the one hand, it may be fine when you're just choosing who you're going to go down this path with, but when the choice has already been made, there's no reward for the choice, only the opportunity to try 'everything. "Like, hey, it's a game, why be boring and limit yourself to 1 choice, take it all!" I was unpleasantly surprised when Halsin, after defeating my brain said, "well that's it, bye-bye, the jungle is calling me." "I got you out of the goblin cage, I killed Mintara, I cured the lands of the curse, and you tell me bye?". Hmmm, I'd rather take the "Eternal amantes" and "collar" or loyal Laezel, or Mintara. But that's just my opinion, not a call to action. Having said all that, the hot scene with Mintara doesn't get fixed (don't cut or abbreviate it), whereas with Ascended Astarion, I lost count of how many times that poor candle was inserted and removed from the stage.
We can sleep with anyone, but we can't give gifts to our love interest (with the exception of Shadowheart). A statue? A portrait? Flowers? A hug? That's part of romance, not bed.
Or we can end an old relationship and start a new one before Act 3, but we can't say something nice to our partner after Act 2, when it's obvious you're going to end the game with him. We can drag him/her to a brothel, though.
But that's to the question of who comes to the game for what. For the opportunity to try "everything", there really is "everything". And that's a plus. For those who don't want it, there are opportunities to avoid it, thankfully. (Not counting the kiss AA.) What's missing is the candy-bouquet period.
As Harlep said, "Let's play the game, take your pants off."
New: With the egg and Laezel, I'm really glad they added dialog. It was straight up missing, and it's really nice.
