This review may contain spoilers
5 reasons to watch Fighting Mr. Second
I am absolutely in love. Literally. I usually never write reviews or for that matter watch shows live or pay attention to the BTS stuff but this show grabbed my attention and never let go. It will forever hold a place in my most memorable and favorite dramas not just a BL1 - Cast/Chemistry
The whole cast is pretty great, from YU’s eyes that break heart to Chih Tian Shih whose monologue left everyone in tears. But the stand out will always be Sam Lin, he is just amazing at making you feel exactly what Shi De is feeling. Who knew a “Hi” could be that sad.
Also there chemistry is undeniable. Whether it’s the angry scenes, sweet ones or smexy times there is always a kind of tension between the 2 mains. They just feel so natural together and never felt forced or overdone.
2 - The Mains
Shu Yi - I love this dramatic baby. He is a force of nature, selfish, arrogant but in such a cute way that you can’t help but root for him in the end. I love that he never backs down from Shi De, always challenges him at his level and calls him out on his crap.
Goa Shi De - I think he is my overall favourite character. He was originally going to be more macho and aggressive but with the input of Sam they changed him to agreeable, bendable , humble and accepting. I think the writer (of the show) said it best when she said that Shi De’s biggest flaw is he’s always been the pioneer in his relationship with Shu Yi and feels like he should go out first to clear the way of obstacles but he underestimated Shu Yi ability to catch up to him so he made mistakes. He holds everything inside and when he explodes it left me in tears of sympathy.
3 - Storyline
The story is quite simple for the most part, it’s about the after of the happy ending. In season one we see Shi De and Sho Yi finally get together but what happens after that? Can young love in all its immaturity conquer insecurity, distance, pride, misunderstandings and get to a more mature place? When you’ve been hurt by your most trusted one, is possible to let go of angry in order to forgive? Can you withstand your partner’s hurt and hatred to earn the forgiveness? Are you willing to walk hand in hand instead of always being the strong one that shows no weakness? These are main conflicts.
At first I didn’t think I was gonna like this as much as the 1st season because the “misunderstanding” troupe is so damn over used but if you roll with it and stick with the characters, the internal reasoning from episode 4 allows you to sympathize with the real why.
One of the shows flaw is focusing on the Alpha plot at the second part of the drama and cutting out the emails scenes that many felt was a necessity. However I felt like the director did the Alpha plot to show the mains working together in a common goal to show a glimpse of what there future working together is like. And it also was a vehicle for Pei Shou Yi and Yu Zhen Xuan to be in each other orbits again.
4 - Music
The music in this show is actually really good, only rivaled by ITTSAY as my favourite BL soundtrack. Usually I find the music overused and distracting because sometimes it doesn’t go with the scene it’s in (I’m looking at you Love by chance and Tharntype). But here it fit the theme of the season because it’s slightly bluezy/moody and YU has a beautiful voice.
5 - Side Characters
I actually don’t really every like multiple couple stories in general because it draws too much time away from the main couples storylines especially in shorter dramas. But here they gave us interesting side story between Pei Shou Yi and Yu Zhen Xuan that was just enough to make me want to see where there story goes in there spin off series without annoying me with too much screen time. I ended up falling in love in Yu Zhen Xuan in episode 6.
Will I rewatch this drama? Yes it’s now cemented in my heart as 1 of my favs. Should you? I say don’t hesitate, some people might find it not as fluffy as the first season or can’t overlook some flaws but give it try cause it might surprise you.
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Rarely a BL series will have a sequel, and when they have, there is a handful that is equally good or better as the prequel. Most, fell short. I guess given that there is a "blueprint" in the form of the prequel, one will have a hard time not to expect especially when it ended like with this sequel's prequel.
This one of the very few that figured out how to make a successful sequel. Why so? It is a direct continuation for the prequel, coupled with growing and maturing of all the characters. Making the main couple's world bigger with the sense of responsibility with real-life consequences. Introduction of the side couples didn't interfere nor takes away time from the main couple. And that's where a lot of sequels failed to do that after watching one you will ask yourself, is the sequel a way to introduce a side couple to be the main? "What the Duck: Final Call" is one of the classic example how to ruin a good enough prequel with a side couple that didn't interact with the main one. Hence, the main couple had lesser scenes.
Same how the prequel, this season has a special episode as well.
STORY
===========================================
Personally, when a relationship falls apart, there is one who is at fault and the other had/have shortcoming(s).
Equally, communication is what keep relationship healthy and can make it stronger, open communication that is. Once it lacks, doubts seeps in then and cracks develop. Little by little, cracks grew bigger until it breaks it apart.
The question becomes, after it is broken into pieces, thus one of the parties ready to endure the pain in picking up the pieces, putting it back together for the love to be whole again?
After the "surprise" episode of "We Best Love: No. 1 For You", a follower of the series will definitely have a conflict for this sequel set in mind. Questions like "What stop Shi De?", "Why Shu Yi didn't confront?", to name a few. It turns out more than a lack of communication.
Can things go back like they were used before when maturing happened, when there are new factors to consider. Will perseverance can make the person trust you again? Flirting perhaps? She Di and Shu Yi world got bigger, way bigger and it no longer involves the two of them as others may be largely affected with the decision that they will make. After all isn't that what adulting is about? More responsiblities and consequences.
When you get to choose between options, you also need to consider others' welfare and not only of yourself. Or are you willing to be selfish in dispense of others just to win someone's love, again? Can you charm back your way to your ex-partner's heart? Are you ready to endure the pain just for the person's heart to be put back together and make it whole again?
Those are dominant conflicts of having a partner when you were a student, lost it and only to meet again in the future. Carefree versus responsibilities.
How can you expect forgiveness if you haven't apologize or say sorry? "I am sorry" goes a long way.
In any kind of relationship to last, it needs open communication, and I for one couldn't stress it much more.
Those are just some of the take away a viewer can have.
Obsession. How bad can it be? If you are following, okay let's settle for stalking, someone, it is actually bad? Or what is more important is the action that can happen after? However, one can never tell what in a mind of a person obsessing over someone. Is this a case of mental health concern?
The very last scene though, the very last scene.
ACTING
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YU as SHU YI - one can feel that the tenacity turns into angst, despise. Both emotions suits YU's facial features as he barely needs to act to expression those emotions with those sharp looks. With his snappy moves, glares and stares. Shu Yi tsundere is back and it is all over the place! Can it be tamed once again?
SAM LIN as SHI DE - the ever low-key and waiting for the right moment to hit. He is not the "strike the iron while it's hot" type of guy, a very calculated guy which he was able to carry from season 1 up to now. Noticeably, he lost weight. Nice touch to indicate that years indeed passed by. However, one of the most difficult to act out is being drunk, Sam is no exception but still like his overall acting. And he is a cute drunk. >:)
As for the rejected guys, will they be more involved for the two to get back together or drive a wedge to make sure that won't be reunited?
Also, one can clearly see how the boys now turn into men. You can clearly see how they matured in their actions and demeanor.
MUSIC
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Episode 6 is when the songs were masterfully woven into the scenes. It gives more depth and meaning but kinda hard to be "in the moment" while reading the lyrics. Nonetheless, watch out for the scene where someone is returning things.
REWATCH VALUE
================
Like all of my reviews, not even one I have rewatch and this will not be an exception. The magic won't be there anymore.
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This review may contain spoilers
Lovely chemistry and excellent production but extremely weak story.
I feel kind of bad rating this so low considering the elements I do love about it, but it's just so disappointing in the end that I can't rate it any higher...Positives:
-Chemistry and acting. Sam and Yu really carry this entire series tbh- without them and their chemistry, I would have rated this maybe a 3-4. They are both incredible actors and their chemistry is insane. Sam in particular is just incredible- especially in the drunk scene. Their angsty, intimate scenes are the best thing to come out of this season (don't lie you replayed the sh*t out of them too). You can just feel the passion and emotion in those scenes. If you were on the fence about watching this and loved the first season- I'd recommend just watching the first 3 eps to see all tension and eventual makeup between the two. I was waiting with baited breath for every scene they had alone in those eps. But I was surprised that their arc is pretty much tied up in ep 3. The first 3 eps are pretty decent, but get progressively weaker after that.
-Production Quality - it's filmed beautifully and is very aesthetically pleasing (although I find some of the environments a bit cold and sterile this season- but I loved the waterfront restaurant!). The outfit design, styling and overall production quality is great!
Negatives:
-Story. What story? The plot was weak and disjointed. I think a lot of us were worried after the previews for the season that the reason that Shu Yi and Shi De split up for 5 years would be an extremely stupid, unconvincing and contrived gimmick... and it was... I'm so sick of the same weak and plain old lazy miscommunication tropes in BL. It's just lazy writing with zero creativity. Like at least add some flair to why they "had to" act like babies and not talk for 5 years smh. (I'll admit that although I hated the whole setup- it did allow for those incredible angsty scenes filled with fire sexual tension though lol- which I can see was the whole point).
-The scenes showing the blonde woman with the baby that were never discussed again? I thought this would be an angsty plot point as why would you show it otherwise- but nothing is ever done with it?
-The pacing, nothing happens. I saw a lot of comments excusing the bad story by saying they only had 6 episodes, what could they do with such limited air time? There's only so much they can include blah blah. But that's untrue as there are so many movies and short series that convey an interesting and fleshed out storyline in similar or shorter timespans. And we have the direct comparison of the first season being the same length but having a good story so? Honestly in this season I found myself bored in a lot of scenes waiting for an ep to finish.
-The whole software/code being stolen plotline- legitimately NO ONE CARES. This was downright filler bullshit where air time was limited and could have been used on actual/plot character development??? Worse it was boring af to watch and if you've ever worked in a corporate or IT environment (like me)- it is done laughably bad.
-The second couple of Shou Yi and Zhen Xuan. Wtf. Honestly for the first half of the show, I was one of the rare people in the comments who was actually intrigued and keen to see more of this couple. But by the end I was completely turned off by them. They are given so few scenes and then that random "explanation" at the end about Shou Yi having a dissociative disorder- and that's why he's a cold prick the entire season? Um. Ok. Don't get me wrong here- I actually liked that they were including a couple with chars with different conditions. But they handled the whole thing sooo badly and messily. They implied the whole season that Zhen Xuan had some kind of attachment disorder and that Shou Yi was distancing himself thinking it was the right thing to do. Then they randomly do a one eighty and suddenly Shou Yi is the one with a disorder and that's why he distances himself????? What. Then in the last ep after Zhen Xuan's monologue basically saying goodbye- the next scene with them they are acting fine and all chill with each other? WTF?
-Also this is a minor thing but why is Shou yi now running a bar/restaurant instead of being a doctor anymore? This is the kind of thing it would make sense to include as a plot point or at least comment on since this is a character driven drama.
-3rd couple who? I found it really strange that the third couple that has barely a couple of scenes in the entire season gets to take the spotlight of the final scene with the random marriage proposal? I found myself thinking wtf I don't care- can we actually finish with a scene of the main couple? Or you know, touching on how the second couple pretty much just had their emotional, goodbye monologue scene and now are randomly all good again? WTF is this? I know it says "their story is not over" at the end- but this whole setup was just messy af.
I would still eagerly watch a 3rd season if they make one- but this season largely felt like a waste of time that was mostly filler. Overall it was pretty with some excellent tension filled scenes between Sam and Yu- but aside from that the season was a general disappointment.
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Worth the wait!
I finished this a couple of weeks ago and I've been re-watching it just to see both Gao Shi De and Zhou Shu Yi. I will never get enough of these two and like I said in the first series, too damn short!The story line was not as deep! I wish there was a more deeper reason as to why Gao Shi De was away for so long (clearly, I thrive on drama) and I feel Zhou Shu Yi forgave him too soon. I feel if the drama had a few extra episodes, it would have been different. The story would have been prolonged a bit and we would get to see the missing parts.
I also would have loved to see more of Shi Zhe Yu and Liu Bing Wei and how their love story came to be. Maybe there is a 3rd season that will give them more airplay, we can hope!
All in all, I would give it a 9 without question. The chemistry between the two main leads is great and Zhou Shu Yi's dad is funny, a cool dad … haha!
The music is beautiful. I actually had to download it.
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Solid first half and much weaker second half
I think Fighting Mr 2nd would work better if it had not been presented as a Part 2 of WBL. Still, I like the way it pushes the boundaries of BL a little.The first two episodes (that's one-third of the series!) are a bit of a risk--you can either say that it intrigues the viewer or you can say that it confuses the hell out of viewers. The story takes place about five years after the end of No. 1 for You. But our main characters have not seen each other for five years, and we are left wondering what has caused Shi De to not return. In a way, it is effective because the frustration of not knowing is what the characters go through. Shi De does not know why Shu Yi stops replying him, and Shu Yi does not know why Shi De seems increasingly uncontactable. For me the first 3 episodes are very good even if they defy the expectations we might have after watching No. 1 for You.
It turns out that Shi De has faced problems that he can't tell while Shu Yi has misunderstood Shi De, thinking that he is in a relationship with someone else. Shu Yi seems to hate Shi De now even as Shi De enters his life again due to a coincidence. Their intense longing for each other, a longing that Shu Yi tries to hide, culminates in what's probably the best scene in the series: a drunken Shi De starts kissing Shu Yi, who can barely conceal the love that he still has despite not daring to show it. For me, the camerawork, music and acting work together very well here to show the emotions of the characters. I particularly like the performance by YU, the actor acting as Shu Yi in this scene.
Unfortunately, the story soon goes downhill after this point. The real causes behind their separation are revealed, and Shi De and Shu Yi soon make up. Their story then doesn't really get developed much further. The scenes between them are sweet and cute, but somehow don't seem to reflect the intensity of emotions that you can imagine will arise when you are reunited with the love of your life after a long separation that leaves you baffled, frustrated and pinning.
Furthermore, the series has to give some attention to the side couples. Despite the attention given, I still get the sense that the side couples' stories could have worked much better had there been sufficient development.
This series does end up to be quite likable because of its strengths. Its weaknesses still seem quite glaring to me, however. So I'm a little conflicted here.
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not as good as its predecessor
I really, really wanted to like this series. I loved the first one and I thought sure, surely, the writing for this one will be just as good.Sadly, I was wrong.
And it was the writing that let it down. All the acting was on point. The entire cast knocked it out of the park, so to speak, even if the script they had to work with was dodgy. The music was beautiful, the editing good and the story itself, if it had been translated into the script better, would've worked.
The plot involved Shi De and Shu Yi meeting again after five years. After unexpectedly having to stay in the U.S. for two years, rather than two months, Shi De comes back and runs into Yi's father, who has confiscated Yi's phone. He tells De, in less subtle terms, that he's not good enough for Yi, which brings back a whole lot of insecurities that De already had about their relationship and he agrees to stay away from Yi for five years.
Three years after that, De is running the successful Hua Cing Technology company on behalf of this mother, when who should walk in the door to oversee the company's merger with Cheng Yi Group?
What follows is the rekindling of Shu Yi and Shi De's relationship along with some incidental corporate espionage thrown in to make it all more dramatic.
My main problem with this series is the writing. I don't know what Lin Pei Yu was thinking with this. I was confused so many times about when scenes took place in the timeline. Non-linear storytelling is fine, but it needs to be clear and concise and this was neither. Scenes were just thrown in and we were just supposed to, what? Intuit that they were set in the past?
Also, whilst in a visual medium you always want to try and show rather than tell, you have to actually show things so people understand them. I don't want to just make assumptions - I want it to be clear that I'm making the *right* assumptions. And I shouldn't have to go on social media to find out what the writer is trying to show. I shouldn't have to reference other media to understand the one I'm watching.
Why did Shu Yi suddenly forgive Shi De between one episode and the next? Why did Pei Shou Yi go from (apparently??) rejecting to accepting Yu Zhen Xuan in the space of about five minutes? Come to that, why is Pei Shou Yi running a bar instead of being a Doctor? Did I miss the explanation for that?
Was that blonde woman actually Ashley? I assume so. Is Ashley Shi De's stepsister? Is she the nanny? My assumption is stepsister. Why throw in that special episode and answer no questions about it? Because Shu Yi has decided that he trusts Shi De (apparently out of nowhere) that means we, the audience, don't get to know?
Tell me how I did with my assumptions, show. Tell me!
A smaller, yet as important problem, is also the casual ableism that runs through this series. Yu Zhen Yuan has real feelings for Pei Shou Yi, but they are dismissed as him being "crazy" because Shou Yi thinks Zhen Yuan suffers from filial imprinting, paranoia (which we see no signs of) , Aspergers, mild depression and prone to autotomy (which apparently means Zhen Yuan is prone to cutting his own limbs off.)
Pei Shou Yi makes all these diagnoses despite the fact that he wasn't a psychologist and hasn't been an actual medical doctor in years.
It's like the writer just went for an out-of-date DSM and randomly picked things she thought would make the character as woobie as possible.
And, even assuming that all these diagnoses are correct, that still wouldn't mean Zhen Yuan's feelings for Shou Yi aren't real. To claim so is ableist and wrong.
Pei Shou Yi himself says he suffers from an affective disorder (but never specifies which one) but if he suddenly declared he had feelings for Zhen Yuan, nobody would call him crazy.
A third series was teased, and I'd like to see Bing Wei and Zhe Yu's wedding, because that proposal scene was lovely and they're the most sensible couple on this show.
I can't give this as high a rating as 'No. 1 For You', but I still rate this highly and I did enjoy most of it. It is fairly re-watchable and I give this my sincere recommendation.
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A second chance romance
Is it strange to be in love with someone for that long of a period? Breaking up and moving on are two very different things, especially when the breakup of the reason may have been a reason beyond your control. I think this is the central question of this season and I love it for exploring this because I love second stories.Sam and YU is phenomenal.. I usually get annoyed with the long scenes with silence but i think with this series it was necessary because of the intensity of it. The chemistry between them is insane and i feel every bit of it.
As far as the kissing scene- I thought they did a good job at towing the line between passion and force. There is a reason people having been calling these scenes the “most sincere kisses ever” because they are. There is no awkwardness, just natural affection. A whole series can be ruined for me by insincere or stilted kisses. I would there be nothing than to taint a good story with a fish eyed kisses.
I loved this series and I look forward to how they will expand Pei Shou and Yu Zhen Xuan’s story in the upcoming spin off.
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To sum it up? Several great scenes worth reblogging in gif form, as a whole nothing really special, though. But since it’s just 6 eps, each 30 or so min. long, give it a try and see for yourself? That would be my advice. Maybe you will love it.
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The miscommunication trope needs to die
Okay i think i speak for everyone when i say bl shows have passed the need for miscommunication. I love this show, the first season was solid and had such nice story telling even tho you could notice the budget limit. This season i felt it lacked what the first season gave and thats what happens when bl shows go for second seasons they eventually drag out problems that could have been solved by a simple special episode.Although i can call out this seasons flaws i still enjoyed watching every second of it. Many people have expressed their dislike for the way shi de and shu yi relationship feel off and how pei was portrayed this season. I personally still felt they could have worked much more in giving pei more character depth then just hurting ZX feelings. Zx was the standout for me this season especially the actor and his acting.
God knows whats happening with those 2 other guys who just bl ornaments imo (side couples that have no meaning but just have to look pretty together).
Overall very mediocre season idk if we getting a 3rd season but if we do i hope they take there time and focus on the writing a bit more. Also FUCK THE DAD
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This review may contain spoilers
Problematic writing and second seasons
Before starting this criticism/ review, the first thing I want to say is that I personally like the series, I am going to mention some points that seem problematic in its development, but on a subjective level I am a fan, in addition to that I deeply love Sam Lin (and his character), but I still want to be critical and honest about what the second season of WBL looked like to me.The first thing I would like to mention is that as in the first season, the chemistry of the actors is excellent, it is so good, that it even feels a little strange the moments where you are fighting or where they supposedly hate each other, as if the actors themselves do not they would like to shout at each other, the main performances are very good and the musicalization also seems to me to be one of those highlights, it is very well achieved and the main theme is very good.
The setting is also good, let's see, the series itself shows that it has a rather regular budget and also has a short extension, so almost the entire series occurs in no more than 3 or 4 different scenarios, but even so these they feel organic and if the series in its production values does not disappoint.
Leaving aside what I liked about the series, let's talk about ... the writing of this series is by anyone, it is messy and frantic and the rhythm is strange, there are plots that you advance and resolve too quickly and others that the series drags all the seasons that seem more like filler and others that do not even develop, what happened here? The writing is far inferior to its predecessor and it shows too much.
To start the separation arguments, ok I understand they had to separate their characters in one way or another so that this series had a reason to exist, but the argument is weak, it does not hold, their separation does not make sense, that's why i don't mean that they shouldn't have separated them, it's fine if that's what they wanted, but the reasons they gave for their separation are very silly, the only moment where it seemed to me that the intention was good is when ShiDe opens up with ShuYi about the insecurity that his relationship caused him and that is why I accept his father's treatment, but everything that happens when he is in the USA seems to me simply lazy writing, as I said, the point is not that they should not separate them, but that they did it a very unbelievable and uncreative way.
Another thing is that the revelation of all these events in the series have a very strange rhythm, the first episode is intense "the meeting after so many years" and it is well achieved, everything begins with a very good rhythm, then the second episode is frantic we have a peak of rhythms, it happens too much and the emotions are on the surface, but then in the following episodes the rhythm falls precipitously, it is as if after their reconciliation there was nothing more to say, which raises many doubts. What do they reconcile so quickly? Likewise, rapid reconciliation is not a problem, the problem is the way and the tone with which this is achieved. It's as if the series yelled at you: once they get back together there is nothing more to say they are "perfect for each other."
From this moment on, the episodes are rather filling to reach the final stretch, only that there is no longer a final stretch, there is no longer a purpose, a mind to reach, and it is not that the other couples are not good ones or anything like that, but we know so little about them and their development is so poor that they do not generate the same degree of empathy, the situation with a short series is that you have to think very well in a fast and effective way for the audience to connect with your characters; to pose them as beings of flesh and blood, with their own problems, dreams and hopes is complicated in itself, it is a series with a standard extension, even more so if they are secondary characters and in this case it is not achieved.
One thing that I would like to address is not exclusive to this series, the issue of stating that the main characters suffer the same for their separation, let me delve into this a bit, in the series ShiDe and ShuYi are separated for 5 years and the series It implies that: "well in the end both suffered because of the separation, therefore, reconcile yourselves" and no, I do not deny that both suffered, but the same suffering? I am not going to judge here who suffered more and who suffered less, but I think that the situation of both is completely different; ShuYi lived for five years practically hating the person I love so much, who left out of nowhere and never came back and who also believes that I cheated on him (because of the girl and his baby) and when ShiDe returns to his life, he finds out that the people around him who supposedly love him the most (his father and his boyfriend) made decisions that affect his life without even considering what he wanted or felt. On the other hand, ShiDe has in theory his motives and reasons to get away from ShuYi, he works very hard and although the separation hurts for him it is just a kind of test to become worthy of ShuYi's love in the future, his love for him is like an emotional trigger, it gives him the motivation to continue, because in the end he believes that the separation is finite that one day he will have the opportunity to be with the person he loves again.
And that's my point, the feelings of the person who was left in the end is never explored, I think the things they go through are more complex and deserve a better treatment than they imply, and as I said before, my problem with this particular situation not exclusive to this series, but I would have liked them to explore it in another way.
Finally, as I said, this series is not bad and I personally like it, but I do believe that it should be consumed with a little discretion, critically and that if it is very inferior compared to its predecessor, I think it is important as a creator to know when let your work die.
But Sam Lin is still one of the best events to ever happen to this world!
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I wanted to love this and did my best
I didn't hate this. But it's not good.There is no story, or at least not anything coherent enough to really merit the word "plot".
The "story" revolves around a failure of communication so utterly preposterous that it never really recovers from it and meanders all over the place, including a huge amount of time being wasted on an irrelevant corporate espionage subplot obviously written by someone who's never had a corporate job and who's knowledge of technology is minimal, and spends no time at all on one of the romantic pairings - I didn't even know they were a pair until the last scene.
I think the writing trapped itself with the famous preview where Shu Yi strides in to a corporate office and slaps Shi De. They really didn't know where to go from there, so intead an incredibly convoluted and tedious backstory was cobbled together to explain it.
If they wanted to have this start out with them as enemies, there are so many better routes this could have taken. Imagine this: they are comically horrible to each other, but the smouldering chemistry is still there. They end up having hate sex, after which Shu Yi tells Shi De "I hate you. I never want to see you again. Starting one hour from right now." Hate isn't the opposite of love, indifference is. It would have been funny and hot if they'd end up having crazed hate sex every time they were alone beacause they couldn't control it, until they hated each other back into love.
The acting is very good, the costume & production design are stunning, the cinematography was beautiful... there were so many first-rate ingredients - it's just the chef had no idea what to do with them.
There is only one scene I will ever rewatch, and those of you that have seen it can probably guess which one - I don't think I will ever tire of it. Well, maybe two. There's also a gratuitous scene where Shi De takes off his shirt for no apparent reason and stares out the window for a couple of minutes. Pointless, but not unwelcome.
If you want to watch a bunch of unusualy attractive men on your screen for a few hours doing incomprehensible things, you might like this. If you're expecting anything connected to the charming story of S1, you may be disappointed.
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This review may contain spoilers
Directing and writing chaos.
I truly have no idea what was the vision and direction for this show. What was the main conflict? What was the plot? What was the genre? It was everything and nothing.Starting from the plot, I think Fighting Mr. 2nd does a huge disservice to season one - the cute, fun and a little bit dramatic story. Here we get full on makjang for the first episodes, that turns into corporation politics, and then into big old nothing.
None of the conflicts make much sense. Shi De agreeing to cut contact with the love of his life, because the dad said so was unbelievably stupid. Shu Yi trying to get his revenge at first made him one of the most toxic (for everyone around him) and unstable characters ever (at least that made sense, it was destructive but fitting). Then we have the "blond lady" misunderstanding and no true chat about it between the main characters. Not to mention the stolen files in the firm, which brought exactly nothing to the story - just stole the precious screen time that could have been used in a better way.
Zhen Xuan and Shou Yi romance could have been an amazing story, but it was simply impossible to do it justice as a side couple in a 3 hour story. Both characters were too complex and had serious underlying issues that should have been addressed in a more detailed manner. I am quite confused why they said Shou Yi has affective disorder though, since the ones that go into that category are stuff like depression, bipolar and manic disorder - mood disorders, so his lack of apparent empathy and incapability to form relationships with others was not quite fitting the label he was given.
Then we have the messy directing. What exactly was the plan? Was the dad supposed to be a scary controlling figure or a laughable, but a slightly obsessive comedic addition? Was the main romance supposed to be realistic struggles of the couple or over the top dramatic melo? I'm not saying you can't have comedy in the serious shows, or deeper topics in a lighter story - the tone needs to fit though. Here, it was a mess.
At the end we get to the problematic aspect of drinking on the set. For some it might not be a problem, for me it is. I see no excuse for drinking on the set. It puts the actor, co-actors and the whole production in danger. You don't just get your actor drunk for the sake of realism.
The only redeeming quality of the show was the acting and the music, and more specifically Unbreakable Love, which isn't even the original song made for the show.
Overall, season one was a good BL with nice characters and good pacing. This was just... a mess.
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