Only for Love (2023)

I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this despite its (many) flaws! Despite all the nonsensical and frustrating aspects, I was still eagerly awaiting each new episode.

I wouldn't consider myself a Bai Lu fan, but she was just so playful and charming when her character Shu Yi was flirting shamelessly with Dylan Wang's Shi Yan. Dylan Wang felt miscast because he didn't pull off the CEO aura and his expressions were sometimes lacking, but he does have a pretty face and he looked good with Bai Lu.

But I had too many issues with the plot and characters. Shu Yi was (supposedly) an intelligent, insightful, and hardworking journalist, but it seemed like 100% of her work was focused on Shi Yan and his company, and when it was time to get serious about her relationship with Shi Yan, she totally failed at communicating. Even after her friend Yu You explained how her actions were coming across, she still didn't change her behavior! It was like she was too used to being the center of attention and spoiled by others to understand how to communicate and apologize.

It was delightful when Shi Yue came into the picture and I cackled every time she was trying to help Shi Yan or be his spy. It was nice to see a lovable rich girl for once, but my one complaint is that I didn't like how her romantic storyline was developed. She became a relentless, obsessed stalker after one extremely brief encounter?! I wish she'd been given room to grow and mature before a romance developed and I didn't like her love interest's sudden 360-degree turn either. I'm not saying they weren't cute together, I'm just saying I didn't like how the progression was written.

And then there's Guan Ji and Bi Ruo Shan, who had a setup I loved and so much chemistry! Friends with benefits who fall in love! I even understand why initially they would be hesitant to take a chance and open up their hearts, but they just looked depressed separately for far too long. Especially while Bi Ruo Shan was giving Shu Yi the worst advice on the planet. There were too other minor couples that were very pleasant though, which showed the writers WERE capable of writing mature relationships with good communication!

My last complaint is Yi Yang, whose entire character was unnecessary, or at least the romantic aspect was completely unnecessary. He literally came out of nowhere just to create opportunities for Shi Yan to get jealous??? The actor who plays him was great though and I'll be keeping an eye out for him.

It's been too long since I watched this so I probably had other complaints but this is what I remembered most clearly. But like I said, I still found this immensely entertaining and have no regrets about watching it.

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Watch this of course for Bai Lu & Dylan Wang. And I'm not disappointed. Haha... Yes, after read many review here, I realize this drama have many problem. But however I still really like the chemistry between Dylan & Bai Lu.

This drama tell story of 3 main couple & 4 side couple. And almost all of the relationship stories kinda unhealthy in their own way. The most healthy above 7 story maybe only 2, 1 main couple & 1 side couple...

1st couple. Our ML & FL
Shi Yan (SYa) and Shu Yi (SY). Start with the wrong foot, leading to misunderstanding & hiding the truth. Haha... Start with SY get closer to SYa with the purpose of her carrier & revenge against her ex-boyfriend. Her ex-boyfriend, Yue Xing Zhou (XZ), broke up with her to be with niece of SYa. So with the mind to show off to XZ, SY get closser to SYa. Of course you can't forever hide the evil-smelling, soon or later we can smell it... And when SYa finally know about that 'little secret', SY not instantly confess & ask for forgiveness, but still try to hide it. The consequences between got caught & confess is so clear here.

2nd main couple. Guan Ji (GJ) and Bi Ruo Shan (RS)
The playboy & playgirl. Both have fair share of naughty & affraid of commitment. But GJ more honest to himself & his feeling. And in the end, he is the one that take the first step into the relationship.

3rd main couple Yu You (YY) and Qin Shi Yue (SYu)
Story of young woman and an older guy. The initiative SYu get block a few time by YY, that feel he is a little bit too old for SYu & think SYu at first chase him only for fun & nothing serious. But overtime YY finally feel a little bit missed when SYu suddenly dissappear from his daily life. That's when he finally realize his own feeling for SYu.

4th Yue Xingzhou and Qin Lezhi
The story of the EX. From the first their relationship already scream problem. The rich girl that proactive with someone boyfriend. And turn out in the end this rich girl still hide very dark & twisted secrets...

5th Guan Xiang Cheng and Tang Yi.
6th Shi Wenguang and Song Le Lan
The secret couple. Well this 2 couple basicly have the same story line. The couple that have reason to hide their relationship from the world. The diff only 1 is married & the other is not.

7th Chen Sheng and Kong Nan
The most healthy relationships in the whole groups. Meeting because of work & just get interested with each other & start the relationship. We don't get more from this couple...

Ok that's basically the introduction of our couple. Now the other ploblem that arise in the drama.
- Why in the first place GJ & RS must hide their relationship never really told. How come best friend that always share every problem suddenly so secretive about her own relationship. Even when RS struggles with her own feelings, she never once told SY about it...
- Yeah a little stupid advice that RS told SY about hiding the truth from SYa in the first place.
- The funny litte fact that man always ask for forgiveness. When SYa ask his assistant what he do if his GF angry, he can instantly answered. But how SY so confuse how to ask SYa forgiveness.... And how in the end YY give her direction where her mistake actually is....

What i like:
+ the chemistry between Bai Lu & Dylan Wang.
+ to see other character of Miles Wei. I usually watch him as arogant boss like SYa here, but in here I can see him as soft & gentle man.

Overall I still really like this drama.

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DONT WASTE YOUR TIME WATCHING THIS SERIES

If red flags were leads that would be both the male and female lead and second male lead and second female lead. Nothing made sense, not the story, not the dragging plot, not the music, not the camera angle, not the editing, nothing about this series makes sense. The only reason there is one star given by me is for the third male and female lead story - niece and professor yu's story. Rest everything was rubbish.

Bai lu i know can act. I have seen her act and i usually love her acting. But in this series it was like i was watching some new actress trying acting, not bailu. The female lead to be appeared - desperate, spineless, lying, coward, a little gold diggerish, honestly appeared so so desperate for male lead's attention. Male lead was just so bland, had no personality. Only personality he had was being silent. The second and third male lead seem to had more character nuances than the main male lead. The progression of love made no sense. The placement of repeated phone calls to interrupt kisses - which happened like more than like 20 times in series - was so so annoying. The editing was very pathetic. What's with the camera man going for close up ajd far away shots for same scene?? That one kiss scene where male lead kissed fl while rescuing from her ex had a pink tinted background and fl make-up looking like she has not eaten for 20 days, - the make up, coloring of picture, the camera crew, the editing, the story line everything so so sucked.

Don't even get me started on the playboy playgirl second lead. They tested my patience.

The only thing worth about the series is the third main leads - ml's niece and professor yu. They were the only good thing in this disaterous drama.

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I consider this a fantasy drama not a contemporary drama.

"Only for Love," has the talented duo of Dylan Wang as Shi Yan and Bai Lu as Zheng Shuyi. As a fan of their previous works, I eagerly anticipated their collaboration in this fantasy-like story that attempts to bridge the gap between reality and imagination. I cannot call this contemporary - hence the use of the term fantasy. If you go into this with that thought then you will ignore all the inconsistencies to how the real world works.

I really like Dylan Wang and Bai Lu in their previous dramas, however "Only for Love" falls short in certain aspects. Particularly in its character development. The characters, particularly Shi Yan and Zheng Shuyi, seem poorly written, lacking the depth and complexity that would have allowed the actors to showcase their full range of talents.

One noticeable aspect is the delivery of lines, where maybe the actors could have benefited from better voice coaching? The delivery often fell short of expectations. This broke the emotional connection between the characters and the audience. This improvement would have elevated the overall viewing experience and allowed for a more immersive engagement with the storyline.

The costuming choices in the drama were not my favourite. The cheesy aesthetics, though like I said, i consider this fantasy... struggled to find a balance between sincerity and satire. Yes, I am calling out Bai Lu in those knee-high boots!!! The drama might have fared better if it fully embraced a more satirical tone, allowing the audience to appreciate the intentional exaggeration rather than perceiving it as a drawback. I am thinking about King the Land and Business Proposal... they seem to have done this balance better.

There have been criticisms regarding the alleged objectification of women in the drama. While some viewers may hold this perspective, I feel that that "Only for Love" is a work of art, not obligated to reflect societal norms or promote any specific agenda. Art has the freedom to explore various themes and perspectives, and in this case, the creators chose to weave a fantasy narrative that might not align with everyone's expectations.

Despite its shortcomings, "Only for Love" has its merits. If you are a fan of Dylan Wang and Bai Lu and enjoy their on-screen chemistry, the drama provides a visually appealing experience. The fantasy-like setting, though struggling to portray itself as real life, offers a unique escape for those who appreciate the actors' previous works.

"Only for Love" is a drama that caters to a specific audience – those who are drawn to the charm of Dylan Wang and Bai Lu and are willing to overlook certain narrative and stylistic flaws. It is as a testament to the unpredictable nature of art, where personal preferences play a significant role in determining one's enjoyment of the overall viewing experience.

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It’s complicated

The actors were super amazing and the storyline was also fine but it could not keep my full attention. It was very slow paced and many of the scenes should not have taken as long as they did. I get that people want to create tension but it was a little over the top. This is one of those shows that could have been done in 20-26 episodes , I’ve found myself skipping multiple times in nearly every episode until episode 20 something. The story itself was very interesting to see unfold and the couples were super cute & had me rooting for them all throughout , the buisiness aspect was also nice but I kinda wanted to see more details. The slow pace is nice if you’re watching a few episodes in a week but if you’re looking to binge it gets a little dissapointing to sit through hours of little to no progress between the couples. It’s definitely worth watching but more as a filler show.

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awkward camera angles and unrealistic relationship? yet good chemistry

The chemistry between dylan wang and bailu in this drama was there. Only disappointments were definitely the very terrible camera angles and unrealistic relationship between the couple. Honestly i don't get the part why she said she wanted to pursue him (like was it because of revenge or what?) but i just watched through the show ignoring the flaws because their chemistry was already there. Their acting was quite decent. OST was good esp the theme song and others too. Honestly, i only watched this since I'm a fan of both bailu and wang hedi. I found it weird how the last episode just presented the marriage of the side characters and not the main leads. Eventually the main leads marriage were thrown into special ep instead. Honestly speaking, some people might miss out on it so I just wished production team could've chosen to insert the main leads marriage in the end of ep 36 instead of side couple. This drama is definitely cringy but honestly no regrets watching all 36 eps.

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Dragged out story

I started reading the manhua recently but it is still ongoing, then found out that it has a c-drama adaptation so I jumped into watching it immediately.
This drama could have ended at 20 episodes if only they lessened the time allotted to finance stuff that nobody really cares about (I skipped most of this scenes). It is truly a wasted potential to see both amazing actors paired but have a complicated characters. The female lead is smart career wise but makes really poor decisions when it comes to romance. Still can't believe that she writes good headlines and talk professionally to different businessmen but can't even make a proper apology to the male lead. I think it took almost 5 episodes just for them to reconcile, which should have just taken one episode instead if ONLY they learned to properly communicate *sighs*. 36 episodes is too dragging, they could have already started their relationship early if those COUNTLESS phone call interruptions didn't happen.
This is my first time watching Bai Lu and I am now in love with her.

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it's was confusing

i like both the actresses and actors. I like the 4 couple ship but they had barely any communication going in the relationship department. Also, they overuse the phone calls cause it always interrupt the romantic moments. I like Bai Lu and Dylan Wang but this drama was a horror show. It also stretched the plot to 36 eps the whole thing could have been done in half. The whole 36 eps were so long and hellish i couldn't enjoy the drama i had to skip here and there because i wanted to know how the drama would end. I like the ending but not the drama just one ep i liked out of all the eps and that was the ending.

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makes for great edits BUT…

romantic parts are swooney
liked MCs chemistry
great for making edits
independent fl
BUT
too many missunderstandings
poor comunication skill (unrealistic for an investor and reporter)
dialogue and actions didnt make sense sometimes (overexplanation when not needed and no explanation when desperately needed)
best friend gives worst advice
somewhat immature
too long
niece is way to persistent, no means no girl
how prideful can you be? just say sorry!

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enjoyable

love watching these two actors. it was a great fit and chemistry. the supporting actors are also enjoyable to watch their storylines grow and evolve.

at times I thought it was very slow going, but realized life doesn’t happen and solve things fast, especially relationship problems. so I sat back and enjoyed the process.

I will be looking for more of their movies to follow. ML is what brought me to this series, but will also start following the other actors as well.

the one highly disappointment of watching this on YouTube was the constant “Silence” from around episode 20 till the end random moments of silence where the volume was turned off. I understand copyright, but it really interfered with enjoying the show and giving a higher score. However this is the ONLY series so far that will keep the captions even when the volume is off.
please find a way to stop turning off the volume.

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