We Best Love: The Runner-Up Strikes Back (2021)

Some how they made it work

OMG! I was a bit upset with the ending of season 1, then I was a little more upset after the special edition of season 1. I was furious after the 1st episode of season 2. I was just beside myself by episode 3 when I realized that they were going to get back on track and get away with the emotional trauma of the twist and turns in the plot at the end of season 1 and the start of season 2. Was all of that necessary? I think not. So as in season 2 the main story characters were great (episodes 3 to 6) and my need for certain couples to live happily ever after has been fulfilled. TG! However, my ratings are 8+ not because of the main characters but because of Yu Zhen and Pui. They could have been at 10 for sure. What a powerful story. My vote for best actor would be Shih Chih Tian. I think his portrayal of the character Yu ZHen was award winning. I know I'm late to this party but maybe someone will read this a appreciate my comments.

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Great leads chemistry, disappointing second half

Completed - 1/3/2022

The second season continues the romance of our main leads, Shu Yi and Shi De, after they graduated from college and are separated for years. They finally meet again, and the leads' chemistry was amazing. I am happy to watch a BL drama that is not about high school students, but a more mature romance.

I wasn't a big fan of Shu Yi's character in the first season, and I didn't think YU's acting was on par with Sam Lin's Shi De. I am happy to say that I really like the more mature Shu Yi. YU did a good job in portraying the hurt and betrayal that Shu Yi is feeling. The internal turmoil of wanting to hate Shi De, but can't help but still feel attracted to him. The more mature Shu Yi is charismatic and gives off a very attractive vibe. He also looks really good in this tight suits.

The main reason I bumped my rating up to a 8.0 is because of Sam Lin's amazing acting at the end of episode 2. How can you not feel the heartbreak, the passion, the longing and all that he has bottled up inside of him in this "sexy" scene with YU. Actually, both YU and Sam Lin were amazing here.

I enjoy the main romance and how they reconcile with each other. Once the initial misunderstanding is cleared, they are both very honest and open with each other. The romance is sizzling and mature at the same time. I do wish to see more kisses and skinship between them. There are so many scenes where I can feel the sexual tension, but it was just a big tease.

On the downside, the other two romance storylines were quite disappointing. The dysfunctional romance between Zhen Xuan and Shou Yi took up a lot of time in the second half in this already very short drama. I was actually hoping they don't get together in the end. And the proposal at the end of the drama felt out of place as well. If I want a proposal, I want Shu Yi and Shi Den's, not someone else.

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A nice follow-up

Okay this second part was really amazing and the flowed exactly how it was meant to, picked up where it left off, and answered the questions that were left forgotten.

The older version of the main characters were really cute, and his determination to get his man back was really sweet.

Although I did find it strange to be in love with someone for that space of separation and the reasons why for the separation.

The second couple was a bit confusing and needed a bit more detail in there story, also the whole daddy getting involved and causing the separation was lacking. This drama had more misunderstandings then explanation, it took to much time and could have been avoided.

Nevertheless this series was good and easy to follow ?

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Apart from the reason that Gao Shi De had for the separation for 5 years I really liked the series. As I found the reason to be extremely absurd. Being an Indian myself, I have seen/heard of similar plots in old Bollywood movies but now I think for the current generation this is completely absurd.
The acting was pretty good. The story's pace was fast but not too fast.
The chemistry between the lead actors is good but could have been displayed/portrayed in a better way.

Please ignore my music rating.
I really loved the 1st season of the series, find it to be better than this one.

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the best bl drama

was in love with first season and now the second season took my heart away..i mean like how can there be so perfect chemistry so perfect ,pure sincere love..the sofa scene was suppose to be a hot scene but their acting and the love they showed us made us cry along with them and just be "awwww how sweet" and then theirs two tear drop on the pillow where they both cried but camera couldn't capture and may be it wasnt on the script but the actors went too deep in the characters that they actually cried..so naturally done everything was so good to watch their wasnt any flaws just the part where they didnt clear out who the blonde girl was the flaw..but Yu and Sam heads off to you both...its been 3 times i have watch this drama and everyday without it is a day incomplete ?

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WBL 2 can't compete with it's first season

Lol, I somehow went from absolutely loving We Best Love to not really liking it anymore. I think that the college setting of season one, which I absolutely loved, and the lack of it in season two does play a part in me liking this story a bit less. However, season two has just soooo many issues, as in so many.

The side story of the cousin and L-like employee was already iffy for me when season one hinted at the cousin liking a high schooler when he worked as a high school doctor, but I was in no way prepared for the shit show that was about to happen. I'm all for mental illness and mental health representations if it's well done & in this season of WBL it was anything but well done. I'm seriously like why....? Dear writer why did you mess up so badly? I probably should have known that WBL would take the route to problematic since the writer also wrote the first three seasons of HIStory, which is like the definition of problematic. For instance, the forced kissing without consent between the main couple was not okay since YU's character said no multiple times, even tried to push him away a couple of times, but nope his love interest just keeps kissing etcetera and somehow YU's character just gives in after all that..... that's not okay nor healthy.

The leads still had amazing chemistry and YU was still the prettiest boy ever, but honestly YU's character deserved better. Like a lot better. I was also too soon in saying yay no homophobic parents since the dad actually turned out to be a homophobe, yay......

It's truly funny how YU's character had supposedly had two best friends since childhood but not once did they show up in the second season neither were they ever mentioned. I'm like what friends, lol.

Something else that's funny is how the doctor in the special episode was like should I quit my medical profession and open a bar and afasgdsg in season two he actually opened a bar. I'm like BITCH WHAT THE FUCK?

Also, I'm still confused about what the actual fuck was going on with the doctor and that L-like employee. The doctor acted like he gave no shits about fake L and that he has no heart but dude literally kept his chipped mug for years and only ever ate the ramen that "L" loved. But somehow he has no feelings because of some random medical condition.... and out of nowhere he was like sure let's date. Their overall relationship is/was just a big no for me.

I was truly living for that third couple and I was absolutely rooting for them. I think they had the most healthy relationship of the show and they were just the cutest. I shipped them from season one until now. If there will be a third season I will mainly watch it for them (& YU) and I sincerely hope that the cutest couple will have a bigger role then. They deserve that. The marriage proposal was the cutest thing ever and yes I looked up if same sex marrisgee were even legal in Taiwan, which they are so yay to Taiwan.

So yeah I am planning on watching season 3 just because I'm invested in certain characters but this wasn't that great. I'm kind of sad it went this downhill since I absolutely loved and adored its first season.

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Just not as good as the first season...

This sequel was okay, but a bit of e mess, I am not really sure what the main theme of the sequel is and it does not really wrap things up as much as I had hoped. I would have wanted to see more of the process and more dialog between the first couple because this drama seems to have one foot on a second couple, a hand on a third couple and well I guess a foot in the air for the first couple from season one, I am left with the feeling of having missed some scenes, will there be a 3ed season for those or are should I use my imagination? I do not know.

The first couple is however very sweet and lovable but do need to learn how to communicate with words instead of body language (both seem to have a pretty wide vocabulary), While Shi de is in desperate need of a lesson in the notion of consent, Shu Yi is needs to learn how to ask instead of assuming and also to control his emotions. But other then that they are really sweet ;)

The second couple had allot of potential to be interesting and sweet but just did not catch my interest at all and the third well, they could have been interesting if they had more screen time but fall flat.

Still worth watching, a third season could make up for all the plot holes, so if there will be one I advise you to wait with this till season 3 is out.

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Sequel did NOT disappoint

I was left confused and heartbroken after the little scene with Shi De and his step-sister. This season hurt me, I will not lie. If I thought Shi De being hurt by Shu Yi going on a date with a girl in season 1 was hurting, this hits far differently. While it was obvious there was a reason for Shu Yi being mean to Shi De, as a viewer I couldn't help but feel sad for BOTH of them, not just one of the characters. This Shi De had his reasons for not clearing things up with Shu Yi and Shu Yi in turn was in his right to feel betrayed after what he witnessed. In fact, anyone in his shoes would probably act that way. While Shu Yi continued being mean to Shi De, I applaud his maturity to handle things calmly rather than the usual 'violent and creating more misunderstandings' ways of how these situations are normally handled.

I do not like the assistants (mainly Shi De's former friend) butting in as if it is any of their business to "advise" Shu Yi on what he's supposed to do. Just because the guy didn't like you, doesn't mean you get to feel enjoyment seeing his love life going to shit. The one thing I was a little off about was Shi De's little drunken "mistake". However, something good did come out of that. Shu Yi finally learned the truth behind Shi De's silence.

I am also glad we got a little more backstory on the cousin's former love and what happened to the guy that was mentioned/thought of in season 1. What I would've liked is a little more explanation of what exactly happened to Zhen Xuan.

But yeah, I can say this is one of those shows where there is no toxicity, just parents interference when it comes to their kids lives and thinking they know what's best for them.

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SHIH CHIH TIAN (YU ZHEN XUAN) STOLE THE SHOW FOR ME!

This 2nd season for me was purely YU ZHEN XUAN! This character caught my attention right away by its subtlety. There was something about the way he sat in that L-from-Death-Note-like fetus position, how he played with things in wonder and how he communicated with and saw the world around him. Shih Chih Tian was so natural in this character I can't even....

Zhen Xuan being picked up by shou yi and Zhen xuan trying to stand awkwardly with a peace sign in the intro of every episode made me dare not even think about skipping the intro in my wildest dreams and made me smile even if the show started going downhill from early on. The scene at the Riverside where he tells Shou yi how he had been looking for shou yi for 12 long years and wouldnt give up no matter even if he left him then or now again BROKE ME! I can't even imagine what kind of level of love it takes for someone to look for someone for 12 freaking long years. At this point, the 5 years of ghosting between Zhou Shu yi and Gao shi de looks like a baby in front of what Zhen xuan underwent. Don't take this the wrong way. I love shu yi and shi de and they were the only reason I started watching this show but 2nd season made their story look so weak along with their characters and then there was Zhen Xuan who literally made me cry like a baby and feel for him on another level.

Shou yi revealing his "affective disorder" to Zhen xuan as a reason behind ghosting him for 12 years was so out of place when Zhen xuan was the one with asperger's disorder. So this is about two people with disorders which should have worked but just the way the story was handled wasnt it for me.

Zhen Xuan carrying up the box of things that he had preciously kept for 12 years to return it to Shu yi was the pinnacle of my emotional capacity. The way he delivered the words, the emotions....!!!! The way he scaled step by step to shou yi!!! His habit of smiling through pain and tears!!! The sad violin and piano music (which has been a constant throughout the show and something I love about the show) playing with it!!! I CANNOT WITH THIS GUY!!! HOW DID HE END UP WITH AN EMOTIONLESS GUY LIKE THAT?! WORLD ATTACC ZHEN XUAN, I PROTECC ZHEN XUAN!

I AM SAYING IT NOW AND WILL SAY A THOUSAND TIMES: I WANTED AND NEEDED MORE OF ZHEN XUAN AND I WILL PROTEST IF THEY MAKE A SEASON 3 AND DONT GIVE US MORE OF ZHEN XUAN OR MESS HIS STORY IN ANY WAY! THANK YOU. PLEASE.

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Not just your typical BL

Wow what a show.

A very famous director once said that pacing is everything, and the director does an excellent job of it throughout this season and the last(although there is a couple of shaky moments this sseason), which fully resonates with me personally, which is a world apart from western shows where everything's so fast paced, theres no time to take anything in. There's seriousness, but also comedy, there's high emotion, but also fluffy and it touches on (albeit lightly) on stuff like Autism. (Although, I do believe the character is just copying L from Death Note a little too much).

It seems like Thailand really kicked off the BL trend, but Taiwanese (and Filipino tbh) are really taking it up a notch in terms of deliverability. and quality. I look forward to a season 3 as I believe the character development has been spot on without giving away to much so quickly or slowly to the point where we lose interest, and there's still very much in terms of story, they can continue with.

Definitely a 9/10 for me and easily one of the best series to date, and even though the second season is a little weaker, it's still a very enjoyable one.

10/10 1st Season
9/10 2nd Season

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Now I feel Full...

I just finished watching season one and two back to back. And I have to say, I disagree with a lot of the reviews. I think season two was just as good as season one, if not better. And it fleshed out all of the couples more. Especially the cousin (the former Doctor) and the CTO. Their stories really intrigued me. How one has Aspbergers and his little oddities, and the other has what looks to me to be some kind of personality disorder (maybe mild sociopathy?).

I thought the explanations for what happened at the end of season one made sense, at least in drama world. The thing is, truth is stranger than fiction. Some weird dramatic things can happen in relationships, especially when you have family interfering. So I think it’s plausible for the separation to have been the way it was and for the reasons it was explained in the story. Miscommunication is often the downfall of many relationships.

As far as some complaints about there being non-con in the relationship… I did not see it that way… I think they have a complex relationship with a lot of history and push-pull. And frankly, Su Li held the upper hand in the relationship pretty much ALL the time. He may be the “bottom”, but he has Gu under his thumb. I did not feel like their relationship was a matter of dominance. I think that Gu was drunk and his emotions were coming out finally that he had held in for so long. And the fact that they were implied to have had sex, I feel like it was consensual from the way Su was acting before the cut scene.

I hope that if they have a season three they will delve more into the relationship with Yi and Xuan. I feel like these two could really save each other, and maybe understand each other better than anyone else can understand them. They are two oddballs meeting in the night. But I am intrigued to where they could take their story. If they end their story with season two though, I will still be happy. I could leave the series at two seasons and feel complete. I will definitely rewatch it again!

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