BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“You asked me to have eyes only for you. Now its my turn to fight back.” – Quote from We Best Love: Fighting Mr. 2ND
Despite what you might perhaps sense, you really do have to watch Season one of this series in order to truly appreciate the depth of character of the protagonists in this particular series. It does stand alone in another sense. I know that sounds confusing and frankly it is. But to fully appreciate who these men are, you might want to watch the first season. To understand what is going on with the flow of this story, you do not, however.
It is a continuation of the story of Zhou Shu Yi (YU) and Gao Shi De (Sam Lin). If I may go off on a tangent for a moment. These two actors gave brilliant performances again to their roles and unquestionably make an astonishingly handsome couple. I really believed them. They did the most to what for me was a weak, predictable screenplay. It is not as powerful or has as much angst or depth as the first series (for this couple, as I shall explain later). The story continues five years after their relationship seemingly ends. As in my previous review, I thought that series was solid but did not really understand episode 6.5. In retrospect, I wish they had not done that and left us ‘hanging’ from the first series as all that was, was a tease for the second season.
Both have become very successful business tycoons with Zhou Shu Yi acquiring the company that is owned/managed by Gao Shi De. It appears now, finally, Zhou Shu Yi can get his revenge and literally be number one. Persistent as ever, Gao Shi De manages to explain finally his side of the story and why he did not make contact with him for all those years, even though he really did try.
I cannot say enough about the brilliant acting from these two gave in continuing their story but the story itself, while sounding plausible, is just so full of illogical rabbit holes, you could drive a tank through it and not scrape the sides. This relationship ends where it is expected to end but it lacked the rawness and pain that the first one had. But these guys still made it seem so natural and played it so convincingly that I bought their rekindled relationship totally. They made it work and the soft tones they had with each other was very nice to watch. Even in Zhou Shu Yi’s most bitter and resentful moments based on real justifiable reasons, I sensed he would never let his anger or hurt overshadow his love for Gao Shi De.
One of Zhou Shu Yi’s hesitancy was his fear of losing him again. It would be a challenging fear since everyone around him treated him as a pawn and not strong enough to hold his own. (After all, he always came in second). They did not trust his commitment and passion. Zhou Shu Yi was quite magnanimous towards his father and Gao Shi De. Personally, for me, I do not know if I would have been as forgiving or his strength in understanding. Certainly, their relationship deepens in this second series but for me it still remains just a bit too superficial. They are indeed ‘a happy couple’ but it all seemed just a bit too neatly accomplished.
However, for me the REAL story is between Pei Shou Yi (Ray Chang) and Yu Zhen Xuan (Chih Tian Shih). In the previous series, Pei Shou Yi was the school doctor but, in this series, he is the owner and operator of a bar/restaurant as he left the medical profession. Yu Zhen Xuan was introduced in that series as a troubled teen but now he is the CTO of the company of Gao Shi De. He is an incredibly odd person with several idiosyncrasies about him, almost anti-social but manages to maintain a high level and prestigious position. He is mildly depressed and paranoid and is most assuredly on the Autism Spectrum. He follows Gao Shi one day and finds that the school doctor, now bar owner, is here. He has found his lost long-love after 12 years of searching.
Yu Zhen Xuan is deeply, passionately, and almost obsessively in love with Pei Shou Yi. But Pei Shou Yi rejects him out-of-hand and says he cannot develop a relationship with him on several occasions. He tells him that he has an affective disorder, and he does not react to anything. He cannot connect with anyone emotionally. He tries to tell him that while he had been looking and longing for him for 12 years, for him it is just 12 years. Pei Shou Yi tells him to not waste his time on him as it is not worth it. In the end, Yu Zhen Xuan brings him a box of things that mattered to him that he had given.
Small things. Insignificant things but items that displayed the intense connection he had for Pei Shou Yi for all these years. He gives Pei Shou Yi a blessing and thanks him for everything he has done and hopes that he will fine the one whom he wants to be there for him. At the end, in a small glimmer of hope, as Yu Zhen Xuan is leaving, he says to him, “Yu Zhen Xuan, shouldn’t you be dealing with these things yourself?” This quasi-relationship touched me deeply because it was so organic, raw, and so full of emotions for individuals who by their very nature are unemotional and feel differently than the rest of us.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? This is easy. It was Chih Tian Shih as Yu Zhen Xuan. He was quirky, anti-social, full of anxieties, and deeply troubled and no doubt had autistic tendencies. But he was brilliant, analytical, deeply committed, and displayed intense personal passion like no other. He is an intrinsically flawed person living in a chaotic world and trying to make sense of it by making Pei Shou Yi his foundation to function. (And in a sense, the same was true for Pei Shou Yi). Chih Tian Shih showed us such a depth of personality and understanding of who this character was. He could so easily show his idiosyncrasies at work with a laconic expression but be passionate, deeply emotional, and share his heart and soul with Pei Shou Yi. He continuously had this ‘lost soul’ feel about him and a profound sense of isolation and loneliness in his eyes. That whole scene with him and Ray was some of the best acting I have seen. It was raw, genuine, deeply personal, and profoundly moving. I felt the anguish and I cried both tear of sadness and joy. It is worth watching this series just to see their stunning interactions. Having worked with individuals with mental health diagnoses, I saw these two spiral so deeply into their own worlds that perhaps they are the only ones who get themselves out of those worlds. They found each other and they need each other.
In the first series, I wondered about the doctor and thought there was more to him. Indeed, he was not in love with Gao Shi De but had a significant affect disorder (almost sociopathic). This was handled well, and I am glad these conditions were introduced, although I am not sure that this was their real intent. This really is the focus of the series. While the story of Zhou Shu Yi and Gao Shi De was a continuation, it figurately ended when they were able to reconcile.
Pei Shou Yi and Yu Zhen Xuan, on the other hand, is the real story. They are so flawed, enigmatic, so unorthodox, and do not fit into societal norms, their story is fascinating. The emotions, the pain, the intense negative feeling (or no feelings at all), are also part of what makes us love and that needs to be explored as well. The irony of ironies in that you have one person incapable of love and the other incapable of not loving him back.
This is a well-acted story with some very high moments but not as intense or satisfying as the first one. But it is still a top-notch series for tackling the whole realm of personality disorders and how they indeed are part of our humanity.
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