I already loved the first season a lot and the second season is just as amazing.
Special Edition means here some scenes are longer or added on, I personally feel like all the scenes make the experience of the drama way nicer and more emotional.


MAIN CHARACTERS:
Shu Yi isn't that different from the first season, he is older now but that's mostly it. The work he had put into the swimming team he now puts into work, his illness is also brought back which is nice. A nice change is the fact that he stands up for himself more but in a healthier way then in season one (minus the "plan" ^^ but that's another discussion).
I love that they did with him in episode three. Him questioning Shi De's choice. The story could have gone so stereotypical and toxic but the writers did the right thing. I wished more dramas did that.

Shi De is the same too, also older but that's mostly it. He is being a bit more explored character wise and his guilt and insecurities are big themes. It gets stereotypical ('typical bl wise') at some points but not overly.

I like the storyline of the ShuDe. Definitely not perfect! But still good. The storybeats are strong and they use the screentime wisely, nothing drags on for too and everything fit together very well.
The emotional scenes are fantastic, the actors are doing such an amazing job at portraying the emotions and the chemistry. Also the soft scenes later, it all feels natural.


Zhe Yu and Bing Wei don't get explored much. Their scenes are nice enough, could have needed some more personal moments when it's just the two of them. It's mostly the same dialogue as in s1 which feels off. They're older and have been 'together' in a way for a while now. I would have liked it way more if they were the healthy developed example who help Shu Yi and Shi De.
The thing at the end seems a bit rash and way out of pocket. Just weird.
THE BEST PART ARE THE ALWAYS MATCHING OUTFITS! AMAZING!

Zhen Xuan and Shou Yi get fully explored too. Their story is a little bit confusing, mostly because Shou Yi "illness" is... Really weird. Affective disorders just means it's a disorder that has 'mood' in the centre (like depression, anxiety etc.) it's not a disorder in itself so it doesn't make any sense. Personally I would have liked it more if they went and explored that Shou Yi possibly has Asperger as well. It would make sense giving his non existent emotional abilities and the fact that he has learned what most people do in most situations and how they react but it never comes natural to him.
It would also been way better if they had actually casted someone who has Aspergers. Sure Chih Tian does play the character VERY well but nothing ever comes to close to giving an actual person with Aspergers a chance to shine.

TECHNICAL STUFF:
Camerawork was really good. The angles were definitely thought through and there was a lot of intentional experimental stuff (ep 2) which was real noice!
Colours were also great, a bit cold which fits the atmosphere of most scenes nicely.

STORYLINE (I'll try not to spoil):
The connection to the first season is... weird. I had to watch some scenes multiple times to understand in which timeline we're in. And still got confused. Shi De's trip to America was... In general pretty confusing. Especially because phones and planes for visits exists. It's forced let's say that.
Other than that the storybeats lead nicely into each other and get explored well. It's a bit too much "typical non straight story" at times, but never goes too far.


In general it's a drama which uses it's relative short run time well. Some storybeats are unnecessary or a bit too stereotypical but it develops healthy and explores the main characters well. Would definitely recommend it .

Thank you for reading kind stranger, I hope you enjoyed my review :)