Lost You Forever Lost Me Forever Too ... A Final Review [CC] 

The most disappointing part was when Xiaoyao did nothing to save Xiangliu, despite knowing the war was happening and despite all her resourcefulness. She cried a little for him and then went on her honeymoon with Jing like he was just a passerby in her life. Wtf.

I just hate the height obsession with chinese people for actors. I mean, Tan jianci is enough tall to me. It is a stupid & ridiculous reason for not giving him more idol dramas or roles like the devil from "love between fairy & devil". I mean they do have toxic beauty standards. Acting matters the most. He is better than many Ai generated "good looking" actors who just can't act.

The XiaoYao in the Novel is very different from the XiaoYao in the drama. The Xiaoyao in the novel is hard to thr point of being brutal. She ALWAYS choose herself above all others. Her every decision is based on her best interest. The "men" in her life are her choices, who among them will be the best for her, who will be there to serve her best interest. The drama XiaoYao is confused. 😅

I hope people criticize more & more this drama season 2 for being so lame. I have depression & Xiang liu's death+Xiao Yao's emotionless neglect on him made me cry on nights for some days. Xiang liu really died for Xiao yao, it was so painful & irritating to watch. It is fine for Xiao Yao not to love Xiang liu or anyone BUT she is so ungrateful & manipulative. As she doesn't love Xiang liu, why is she constantly taking help from him? If Xiang liu had not saved Tushang Jing, he would have been dead. Xiao yao would not have happy ending. If she was a modern day character, she would be called narcissistic by some people. If we change the gender here, many people will call this drama misogynistic on women. If xiang liu were a woman, none would like that sufferings. I am amazed by Tan Jianci's performance on Xiang liu. I always love dramas that depicts unconditional & deep love from men for their women. But this drama insulted the concept of true love. Xiao Yao DOES NOT DESERVE ANY TRUE LOVE.

Omg thank you!!! When she turned into a princess its like her brain fell out of her head and just spent the whole series playing love games. I started skipping scenes before episode 20 and i usually try to watch fully for 25 episodes

That last part hits me hard, suddenly I'm in a realization mode, not that I don't agree with you about the liuliang, but I just think that Tan Jianci deserves to be seen by many others. It's just sad how the ecosystem in cdrama works. Please don't give up on him. Hope you'll always have faith in him because I do, and hope he will stay true to himself until the end. 一定要做自己！

I agree with this review. There are four main issues for me. 1) The script being quite inconsistent, they hook us with this super smart and resourceful FL only to string us along as she becomes this powerless princess who'se fate revolves around men. The way they dealt with war was INFURIATING. The Haoling war for instance, making a mockery of it with all this surrendering and pretending its a "gentle" war with as little casualties as possible. This is pure propaganda, and in the times we are living, with so many wars going in, it is just disgusting to promote that kind of narrative about war. There are no "gentle" war, war is always devastating. 2) This should have been one season, the second season did not bring much, just drawing out things. 3) The characters whether in season 1 or 2 lack depth, they are one dimensional archetypes for the ML, or inconsistent for the FL, which makes it hard to relate it, unless you're a brainless fandom of one particular actor. 4) They did not have the guts to make it a real reverse harem story, which is what it is supposed to be. Hence the FL being clueless and active as a naive child half the time. It is a bit ridiculous. It makes perfect logical sense she chose the one she chose, but they really cheapened her experience with the other guys, instead of treating all with the necessary depth. I don't understand the fandoms thing fighting about MLs, this is reverse harem, she loves all of them, there is no "ultimate" winner.

Lost me forever at S1 ep30 plus... more so when i know what happen to Xiang Liu, i don't even want to continue watching the drama

I am a fan of Tan Jianci and I completely agree with your opinion about LYF, that is completely how I feel about this drama. Speaking more about Tan Jianci, I don't think choosing LYF (and 1 or 2 other idol dramas before LYF) is bad, or in other words, I think choosing the traffic route is the most suitable choice that Tan Jianci can make. With the identity of an idol transformed into an actor, plus his appearance is considered too "pretty" or too "idol", no matter how good his acting is, it is really difficult to reach some good roles and scripts without traffic. This is the rule of the industry, so just go with it, with traffic, there is at least a 50% chance of meeting a good script, it is still much better than not being famous and having no scripts to choose from. Since I don't like watching idol dramas and also feel annoyed by the chaos in the fan circle, I also feel a little sorry that he chose to go the traffic route, but I'm much happier for him because he is known by many people like now, with traffic, he is recognized by many people, both his acting and performance skills are recognized. And I think you can still look forward to Tan Jianci's future works because his point of view is to play a variety of roles and scripts, for example, before LYF aired, he chose Go East, a drama that is not purely an idol drama, and now, when there are many opportunities, he is still considering carefully and aiming for more mainstream scripts. In the end, our fandom will not deny that TJC is traffic so you don't need to worry haha

I really enjoyed season1 but deeply disappointed in season 2. Second season rushes through the storyline, deviating significantly from the main plot and altering some of the best parts of the book. They compress and oversimplify key events. The nuanced and carefully developed plot points in the novel are either glossed over or entirely omitted. These deviations not only disrupt the narrative flow but also undermine the integrity of the characters' arcs. And I totally agree with you about Xiaoyao's character. After reverting to a princess, her entire personality changed. She was no longer the smart, witty, resourceful individual who survived the most dangerous situations. Instead, she became a constant crybaby and attention seeker, doing nothing but testing how much people were willing to sacrifice for her

I agree with all your statements. I finished it only for Tan JianCi. His character was the most touching out of all others. However, even with Xiang Liu, there were some inconsistencies. His enemies called him “genius strategist”. And what he did at the end was totally unnecessary and stupid. I mean, dude could have persuaded the general to dissolve the Chenrong army for some time, plant spies everywhere, bring together all people who don’t agree with CangXuan and then when they had a chance, they could have struck the enemy completely off guard. What did he do instead? He just went straight forward and fought against the army, that outnumbered his own troops. Is this a genius idea?

"BUY 3 get 1 Free" LOL I completely agree with everything! S2 was such a struggle to finish.

Xiao Yao was getting on my nerves I agree with you!!!! Everything is about herself . I was shocked by the scene when Nian was in pain thinking about her country and her father and her crisis of trusting ppl Meanwhile Xiao yao was talking about ( please eat with me my father is a demon million years age ) shut upppppp . Xiao Yao reminds me of an old friend I knew years ago who lives to talk about her misery . These kinds of ppl are low key selfish and very toxic

Discussing TanJianci's height quite extensively is sad. I know TJC will never get roles that requires ht above 180 but saying he is limited bcos of his ht. is sad. Among the actors in CXS TJC performed his best and the audience felt that. I became TJC fan bcos of CXS and to be honest I only watched TJC's scenes in the drama. He performed XL well. I look forward to TJC's performance as an actor, in whatever drama he is in. His dedication in his craft must bear fruit and it is blooming now. Up until now, TJC's performance as an actor has not failed nor has it declined. Why does it feels like being an actor in idol dramas a bad thing? Being an idol-drama actor is only bad when your performance in it is mediocre at best. I dont think being an idol-drama actor is necessarily a bad thing. Yes, most of idol dramas have ridiculous plots and are repetitive BUT there are some that are also good. TJC can be a "proper actor" he can also be an idol drama actor, he can also be a singer and a dancer because he excel in all. TJC promised his fans that everything he puts out will be good, well made and well thought of, so far he has not failed in that promise. Well, I just love him I guess.

So sad 😢. Season 1 was really good. It had so much potential to surpass all the other dramas.

The fact that is is a "happy ending" by Tonghua standards but is actually one of the saddest c-drama endings I've ever seen.

I didn't like the main character's change from and independent anti-hero character to a helpless princess.

I am never effected by someone’s opinion ……..I am here for your 100% brutal honest opinions ….. love it !!!

Ti Jian Ci..dont forget Winter Begonia. That is the role I saw him in first and he was fantastic at it.

I have no objections to raise regarding this series, as I believe it has shortcomings in all areas. However, before I see your review, I would like to say that, contrary to many complaints, I think XL's death is just perfect. He died freeing the world from his influence and enslaving no one. Instead, he flooded the wilderness with his blood and, like the old general, inscribed his name in memory in a manner reminiscent of the song: a magnificent peach blossom blooming in hearts. I applaud this scene👏👏👏

I think that there’s no need to put TJC into a ‘box’. Rare is a young Chinese actor nowadays who can do ‘idol’ so well (singing, dancing, stage peformance/presence, etc) and act so well at the same time (used to be more common in the good old days of C-ent), TJC fulfills both roles brilliantly. When he is doing idol stuff: he is 100% top-tier idol-like, and when he is acting: he is a VERY good actor. I believe he can break current stereotypes and dichotomies of “Liu Liang vs Actor” or “Idol Vs Actor”.

Well, that was well done I must say. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised that the drama imploded as do so many dramas from China. The highlight for me in S1 was Tan who was sexy and menacing toward the FL thus capturing my attention. I’m looking forward to Under The Skin S2. I’ve seen him in Secret Of The Three Kingdoms where he was terrific and I’m currently watching The Advisors Alliance. The latter is good. My hope is that he will take a page out of my favorite Chinese actor’s bag Zhang Rouyun who manages to pick interesting projects. Other examples would be Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo who are very popular but are being deliberate in selecting their projects. I haven’t seen the second season of LYF but it’s on my list to watch. Thanks for your review and take care.🌸💃🏽

I don't even watch it but i came here just to say; the title of this video totally have me 'lost' it 😂😂😂 seriously it's really funny😂 You are the best avenuex!

I feel like I end up hating every drama that Yang Zi is in… she just always picks these insufferable, cutesy/naive and annoyingly oblivious sacrificial-type damsel roles that I just can‘t stand 😢

The main problem with the scriptwriters is that they dont change the script when it is required to but they change it when they dont have to. I agree with you, i cried a lot when i read the novel i couldn't get out of Xiangliu's death and pain for jing because he knew that Xaoyao is never gonna get out of Xl's death. He also had character details too bad they didnt show it in the drama. When i was watching season 2 i was literally laughing the half time or wanted to throw my phone on the wall because of how ridiculous this drama was. At the end when the main scene of Xl's demise came i didnt even feel a pang of pain in my heart i was already out of sympathy, love, pain or any other feelings for this drama and then came the mourning scene which made me laugh again. I mean you didnt even go to take a look at the place he died just 2 or 3 crocodile tears wow. Tbh i felt relieved as the drama ended wasted my time and emotions on something so nonsense.

I always love listening to your drama commentaries where I can find someone with similar opinions as me. I appreciate your take on ss2 of the drama, and I actually agree with many of your points, it's the strange feeling of lack of non-romance context and loss of unique character qualities that were introduced in ss1 which diminished in ss2, esp for xiao yao. Like many people said, XL's character stood out to me the most, it still does, his goal was to communicate the rich novel character and I'm SO glad he chose not to be a glacier. Despite no conventional formal training in acting, his character felt the most alive and complicated. Due to his looks, the idol route is already kind of happening but us mainland drama veterans know just which dramas to hold high expectations for, regardless of the actors that star in them. I really hope yz takes on non-idol dramas with more realism, and that good producers will keep an eye out for her because she's a really humble actor who always looks to improve herself, it's often times the progression of the story that drives their character to unrealistic places. Liu liang will make you more visible to the public eye and producers, but I think she definitely should seek more opportunities to apply her acting to a greater range of dynamic characters!

Your impression of Deng Wei is so funny! I love the cotton ball/mother boyfriend, but you're totally right 🤣

I agree with all the problems you mentioned BUT I enjoyed (some of it not all) it because I wanted to see parts of my favourite novel recreated. Also, Xiang Liu 😏

The best character in the program was Xiang Liu/Fang Feng Bei and in the end was the one who was "lost forever." He was a true anti-hero. Xiang Liu was the only lead who depicted some natural masculine sexuality and was truly willing to sacrifice himself for the female lead. Tan Jianci was phenomena in this production. Part one was enticing, and I looked forward to part two. The story became a nonsensical narrative in part two, turning the heroine Xiao Yao/Wen Xiao Liu, played by Yang Zi, into a hot mess. I get it that she lived through a lot of tragedy, but in life when you face tragedy you can only chooses to be a victim or a survivor. The writers took a strong female lead and, in the end, gave her a victim mentality. AvenueX, I enjoy your reviews and was greatly appreciative of your presentation when you visited China and showed us the sets and filming locations. ❤

I have been wondering how I would react, being a fan of the book for so long, if this drama was shown in one season. I really loved how it stuck close to the narrative in its Season One depiction. Would my enjoyment be slowly turned to horror as I watch it becoming something so mangled? I could not believe how different Season 2 was from Season 1, being that they were filmed in one go. How was it possible to be so close to the book for 39 episodes and then the next 23, be turned into a dumpster fire? I still enjoyed the acting because the actors (except for Sleeping Beauty there) were carrying the show, but their characters--my poor characters, so distinctly selfish and strong in their book form, were now caricatures of drunken mopeyness. WTH. But still, the acting was strong enough to carry through to the bitter end. I do love Tan JianCi's portrayal of Xiang Liu. When I read the book a decade ago, I could think of no actor who could fill this character's shoes because he was so complicated and layered, especially in a Chinese drama. But TJC breathed life into him and brought my imagination to fruition. For that he'd made me a fan. As for the dumpster fire--the "fake" unshown war, the freaking DREAM SEQUENCE that wasted everyone's time, the weird Mona Lisa smile on TSJ's face for every situation, the fake reversed harem--Season Two definitely lost me. Also, YES YES YES about your analysis of Wen Xiao Liu turned Princess Xiao Yao. WTH happened to the marvelous and cunning WXL once her face changed? Did she turn from Hehuizi Zheng to Ju JingYi?!!!!!

Honestly as much as i love tan jianci's performance and the complexity of Xiangliu as a character, i agree with you in terms of how OOC they feel. S1 Xiaoyao had a lot of potential to be one of a kind FL, especially with the AMOUNT of political leverage and status on her end -- being the princess of both Haoling, Xiyan AND having the blood of Chichen in her veins??? The kings of both kingdoms doted on her (something not even extended to their OWN kin). She could've united ALL of Dahuang without bloodshed as long as she put her mind to it. The only aspect that would've been SOMEWHAT tricky would be to convice Hong Jiang to get on their side, and even that could be solved by using her identity as the child of Chenrong's great general (and maybe a political marriage-alliance with Xiangliu to set it in stone). Bro did NAWT have to lose all those lives like a bad run in Super Mario Bros.35. The whole show is the epitome of purposeless tragedy.

I am a big fan of the drama. I was looking forward to see the continuation (the so called S2) as soon as they stopped S1 last year. I was unhappy with the fact that they been waiting for 1 year to release the rest of it, it was unnecessary long. I agree with most of the things you mentioned in your rant. My only favourite character in the drama is XiangLiu as he stays consistent through the drama. I prepared my heart for his passing since S1 when I found out he will not have a happy ending. XiaoYao character indeed distances herself a lot from the version we see at the beginning as the story progresses. She becomes more sentimental, she dwells a lot into the past, she dreams about love all day long and only cares about boys. She turns into an angsty teenager with troubles in love. And I dont see any real progress in treating her trauma and making peace with the past. And her "love story" with Tushan is more like a teenage love. He treats her like a close friend more than a women he loves. They have a fling, kiss once and hold hands. Like how can I believe in this relationship? And she has better and deeper conversations and more genuine even with XiangLiu compared with TSJ. And Tushan has no back-bone as a man and neither as normal person in general (who would forgive his brother after all he been through and not mention it to anyone? Or after he finds out what his wife done to him he didn't even got involved in the decision about how to punish her.) He indeed has a extreme motherly vibe and is no wonder the FL has a better chance in life even with the " 3+1". 😂 And DengWei is a poor actor and has a lot to improve, his fanbase only rides on his looks. CangXuan actor is good, but his character is obsessed (not in love) with XY. His obsession is unhealthy and toxic and I couldn't ship them knowing their are cousins and even if they weren't. Their relationship is more similar to a brother and sister. Even if CangXuan doesn't act just like a "brother" in many occasions showing his clinginess. And later on as he becomes a King, he should have been so busy attending all the state matters + the countless concubines that he wouldn't have had time to chase XY skirt all day on the top of the mountain. And the war arch, was almost ridiculous. Why even starting a war if a simple talk over tea could have solver things so easily? 😂 The drama has parts I loved also and was still enjoyable. Most of the costume C-dramas are a bit ridiculous like this. Indeed I had higher hopes about this drama given the good start it had.

Agree with your review(mostly), I wonder Yang Zi being the main lead why she didn't fight for her characters growth arc. Its even more baffling for someone who has read the novel and know the depth of character a little. Xiang Liu's character even said to her in novel:"The Wen xiaoliu I knew had many deficiencies but he wont rollover and accept the beatings like an idiot. Has Tushan Jing taken such good care of you that you dont know how to survive?"... Sadly they cut this part too. Tan Jianci's performance as Xiang Liu is the saving grace of that show frankly. Atleast he didnt disappoint despite several OOC moments. plus the extra work his studio has done for Xiang Liu character is commendable for readers. Oh and A Niang too, at least her character arc was good.

My fav from the beginning wasn't Xiang Liu, but I'd have to say he's the ONLY one who brings slightly justice for the drama. Without his tragic dead sequence, the S2 would be fail

I'm in the minority, but I enjoyed this drama. No fandom or anything, I watched for Xiang Liu's story; his journey and ending broke my heart. Flaws of the show aside, his character moved me so I'm glad I watched it.

S2 was so disappointing compared to S1 which is my favourite costume c-drama by far. They added unnecessary plot-twists, e.g. the one with the tea, they built up so much angst around Cang Xuan's character, only to not even commit to making him a villain ultimately. The only plus I would say for the 2nd season was Zhang Wanyi's acting. He did great! Yang Zi and Tan Jianci were phenomenal as always. Deng Wei, was well Deng Wei. His perpetually constipated expression the entire two seasons contributed to me not liking Tushan Jing as much as I did with the other two leads. Huge props to the cinematography and soundtracks because they really were the saving grace of this drama. I don't agree with the point of the fl going from being independent to a damsel because she was practicing poison and medicine throughout the drama. And if it's referring to her being weak then that's explained it's due to her ling li (magic power) being low, which I think is completely fine, because not all fls need to be overpowered. Xiao Yao's superpowers were her poison skills and her blood. Finally I would say, that as much as it upset me, Xiang Liu's end was the most fitting one for him after all that foreshadowing. But the most heartbreaking part is that Xiao Yao will never find out about everything he has done for her, which also makes sense in the bigger picture, because if she did then it would be impossible for her to be happy with Jing. One thing that I hated they deviated from the novel was that Xiao Yao loved all of them and not just Jing. In the drama, they tried to portray Xiang Liu's love as unrequited and transactional when in the novel, it's implied that he was her soulmate. In the novel, Cang Xuan asks her whether she would pick him if he hadn't pushed her towards Tushan Jing and she replied that she spend hundreds of years on Mount Jade waiting for him, not Tushan Jing. There was no Tushan Jing. Which basically implied that she would have considered him romantically as well and not platonically had there been no Jing and if he wasn't the emperor. But in the drama she acts so surprised when CX finally confesses his feelings for her and tries to make everything platonic from her end when it wasn't.

Before I watch the review itself, a) you look beautiful! And b) I genuinely enjoyed both the seasons, more s1, but I cannot lie, I really did enjoy watching s2 too!! 😊 After the review, I agree with all of your points and usually all of them bug me and I don’t continue, but somehow a combination of lot of things worked for me, I’d never seen any of these actors before so I didn’t mind the typecast, their acting was good enough, I didn’t read the novel, so I didn’t have pre conceived wants, and this series really just came to me at a time I didn’t have much to watch, so I just enjoyed the costumes, settings, cinematography, acting and ofc the OSTs 😊

Haw many people like to watch "suffering for the sake of suffering...", even if it doesn't make sense😊

"Polluting collective human consciousness" DAMN that killed me😂

I watched season 1 hating everyone except tan jianci (I have never liked yangzi and her pop eyed portrayals of stupid girls). I skipped season two...zero interest. I also am older and have no patience with bad dramas, badly written stories, crappy directing and camera work, ugly costuming, and so on. My time is valuable...I must have an emotional connection to one or more characters or it doesn't work. I thought this was a terrible drama and I much appreciate your review!

6 episodes. 👏👏👏 I read the novel translation before, i know about the leaking script rumor, i patiently wait for a year and try to watch season 2. In the end, i could only handle 4 first episodes. Later, i fast forward it and only enjoy XiangLiu parts. Maybe i hope too much. Hehehe...

我总是喜欢看你的影片，虽然在极个别剧中，我们的想法并不完全统一。但我很开心，当我打开你的视频，都能收获另一个角度的体验。能感受到你用心负责的的态度，用自己切身的体验去真诚的评价每一部影视作品。感谢并祝你越来越好~❤❤❤

"Yeah, but it's still poop," got me rolling 😂😂

You’re totally right about xiaoyao character even I was frustrated with her character in the novel… I even asked what’s so good about her that makes all men like her??? There is nothing… her blood is special but so what? She has no special powers or anything special enough to explain why so many ppl like her beside her ordinariness. And her crying scene are similar in every drama many ppl argued that she is so good at crying esp yelling with anguish but I said it’s the same for every drama even u realized and said it too she cried like that in every dramas so no surprising or worth any praises because I no longer felt it when she perform the same in every dramas. Even some hair are similar lol if ur a first timer seeing her this drama then maybe u felt like she cried so emotional which I don’t doubt it but when u watch too many dramas of hers and realized she cried the same it’s too repetitive u no longer feel anything but just watch her mouth twitch and make weird expression Enough about her crying and acting she def did her best in acting this novel out. I said it too flirting with your cousin or brother so many times and still does not know he liked her is unbelievable just saying… like how can u not know someone likes u when it’s there! She does not deserve XL anyways I’m glad he died or perhaps make ppl believe he is dead. At least she ended up with another character that want ordinary life with her. He is ordinary nothing special much about his clan beside business wise they rich. They yearned for ordinary lives and they got it. cangxuan wanted the world he got it just not her.

I agree with you in everything you said, especially Dung Wei's boring acting, his ridiculous role, and the provocative heroine, but I do not agree with you regarding Zhang Wanyi's acting. His acting was very good. I did not watch the series. I only watch clips of Zhang Wnyi.

I think sometimes the line between an idol drama and a proper serious drama is blurry

Tom Cruise is short but the directors know how to compensate. Not so in Chinese media, as a result they hire all these tall male actors with short female actresses. It is most awkward.

Was waiting for this review !!!! 😭

Totally agree with AveX's thoughts on Tan Jianci. I really liked him in Advisors Alliance. I wish he would continue to dip into the meatier roles. He could become a really good actor.

Great review thank you so much for the honesty!

When S1 ended, I couldn't wait for S2 to air so I searched online and I found it's book version. The one I read was very interesting. So it made me look forward to it's airing. Though YZ is one of the C actresses I like, honestly S2 wasn't as exciting as the first season

First time seeing a review by you. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you for your honest review. I watched most of the first season and was already feeling a little disappointed. Hadn’t started the second season and you confirmed my thoughts. Thank you. Will look forward to future reviews

How could quality be so different for a drama that was film at the same time? What kind of mushrooms were they eating?

Because of the “type” of actor like TanJianci the drama has been so successful, fortunately the director does not think like you.. ( tall enough or fancy idol etc etc)..

Omg you nailed it. I liked season 1 and something felt really off about season 2. I watched a season 1 recap and I was so much more interested in their dynamic in Clearwater Town than the current timeline. I was thinking it’s almost like female lead’s whole persona changed

I have to agree with this perspective. I enjoyed watching Season 1, although there were some boring parts. However, Season 2 felt like a completely different show to me. It was so disappointing that it made me question whether I actually enjoyed Season 1 in the first place.

The first half did a great job setting up the world and characters and second half butchered it. I agree with a your points even including your worries about Tan Jianci career trajectory. I do hope he does a mixture of non idol roles ... there's not alot of money in indie filmmaking, but you get to learn and experiment with story telling. I hope he can be a game changer in the way c-entertainment considers talent and market value. There were two directors and I am not sure who did what...but that could have been an issue that caused the inconsistency. The screenplay also had several writers which include the author herself.

I have to agree, as much as I like YZ, her acting has not improved lately. It’s like, I know she can be better but she can’t hit that high note.

Second season was horrible. The editing was weird. There were missing scenes that confused me when the characters started talking about it and scenes that were extra long and draggy or unnecessary. Makes me wonder what and who we're supposed to be watching. Felt the one explosive scene was cheapened too and cheated.

This kind of rush happened in the plot works for mini dramas, but for 2 seasons drama that got splits for the entire year, no way

I dropped at Season 1 right after Xiao Yao went back to her kingdom and got back her royal status. The scene where she saw her mom lookalike and finally admits who she is was very touching and that was very good performance. But everything else after that just going down the drain. And I dropped the drama soon after that. Looks like I didnt miss out anything 😝

I loved season 2. And I loved Xiang Liu too. That's all, that's my opinion

You’re so right about this, s2 was very disappointing 😭

Wow 😮! You look so pretty AvenueX !

Lost it forever since ep 5.

You are my favorite Cdrama reviewer( I don't even watch others😂). You're so right and for me I watched it till the end 1. bcz I started it last year and I didn't want to stop half way since I started, I had to finish it 2. Bcz of Xiang Liu, okay I am a TanJian Ci fan but he was the only one who acted decently for me to look up for the drama 😅. But overall the drama was kinda disappointing😂

I loved season 1...then I watched just one episode of season 2 and I knew right away that something was off....it didn't keep my attention...I was bored 😐.....I removed from watch list with intention of watching later by just scanning through each episode and then watch finale....now I won't even bother...glad I didn't waste my time...1st season made this promising...oh well.😊

I enjoyed season 1 because XiaoYao was a smart, independent, strong female lead and loved by all the men. She is not perfect. None of the characters are perfect. But I couldn’t watch season 2 because she became this weak princess who cannot live with a man. I don’t understand why she has to marry and if she has to strengthen her cousin, then marry for that reason and just be manipulated and waiting for men to convince you it’s the wrong decision.

I watched sea2 bcz of Xiang liu ❤

I was watching a video about how in a story the character should drive the plot not the other way around, since plot driven stories would not sell at all since you mostly cannot connect to the protagonist and sympathize with them. This drama seems an example of a plot driven story.

Over all, I enjoyed this series. That said, I have become very good at managing to just go with the flow when characters start to do things out of character. I confess there were many moments where my rational brain had to be locked in a cupboard while I enjoyed the eye candy, stuck my fingers in my ears and sang, "La, la, la, la" very loudly.

the weird thing is my fav male character in this drama is Ru Shuo, aside from Xiang Liu ofc.... lol He is so witty on the boundary of silly. But turn out he is a talented character too. His role is not much but leave a deep impression on me.

I agree with you on Tan Jianci that "he is the lover", yes I didn't get any lover feeling from other characters but Him. Jing is not a weak character but he does have a "nice guy" energy. I mean it is 100% ok to have a "cotton ball😂" cute mother energy boyfriend like that but in this drama, Xiang liu showed his selfless love.

I never thought a drama which was basically adapted from a popular novel could be so bad...I mean they already had the full story in front of them yet they couldn't do justice to anything. One of the worst dramas of this year. Special mention for its awful costumes. 🎉

yep, the problem started since she became a princess and I stopped watching since that 'arc' 😅

I can't disagree with anything you said but... I was very entertained by Lost You Forever S1 and S2. Loved them. Re-watched S1 and S2 again already. I am so used to CN drama not meeting reality that it doesn't bother me. I just want to be entertained and it hit the mark. I was entertained.

Excellent review -- I haven't seen the second season of this drama because I wasn't able to finish the first part for several of the reasons you mentioned. What really stopped me from enjoying it was that I didn't understand any character's motivation for doing any of the things they did. Cang Xuan, for instance: why did he want to be emperor?? He would have been better off as wine merchant, at least the character seemed to enjoy that.

As always you hit the nail in the head. I really appreciate you saying all of the things you said about this drama in this video. because I want someone else other than me screaming with me about how ridiculous this drama is then how man crazy the end of this drama had become. I mean common it's ridiculous. 😂😂😂😂😂

Memories during my high school days recollected when i watch this drama unpleasant. In my mind- "Can i really punch her" acting as if we are the fault here. Playing Victim card come on only no brainer will fall for that cry baby. The most annoying part is when stupid people fall for her words. Drama's are meant for enjoyment not give depression and heart attack. Flop drama not my cup of tea, the more i watch this drama the more i felt so annoying FL character is a toxic, my classmate carbon copy.

I understood that this drama was scripted after a well know book. ? If the script hasn't followed the book...the problem would be with the writers and directors and most certainly the producers of the video....not to mention who ever it is who decides how many episodes are going to be allowed air time and what is going to be cut. It seems almost on purpose that the continuity or flow the the second season didn't hold up to Season One. Who decided to treat this effort so incompetently ? And Why? The quality of acting was superior. The story line good enough to encourage thoughtful thinking for those who are awake enough to use entertainment as a learning tool. My Thanks to the cast and crew for their efforts !

Thank you for this review ! I totally agree with you about the weak script and character developmental issues.

Deng Wei & Wang Hong Yi are the newest actors of the 4 suitors. Their acting should get better in future projects.

I luv the tittle of this episode 👌🏻👏🏻😹

Thank You for your honest opinion. I too struggle to understand with this season 2. the boring unkillable characters. Very disappointed overall

I’ve outgrown this genre but love ZWY and TJC. It would be such a shame if their careers are corrupted by the liuliang road…

I was waiting for your review and roasting, and you didn't disappointed me 😂. I manage to watch s1 and s2. S1 is good but some part is boring bc dengwei didnt do well as Jing (this is fact). While Yangzi and Tanjianci did great, carrying s1. As for s2, i thought Wangyi did a great job despite the story. But indeed S2, is so lack of depth and is looking for safety net, trying hard to satisfy all. It has so much potential to be an amazing drama. I also thought Yangzi should learn how to express sadness. Should not cried the same way in her every character. In S2, she cried a lot, until i just can't feel anything about it. About tanjianci, doing idol drama, i think its ok. Bc i had a very hard time watching serious drama as the three kingdom and advisor alliance. Yes he is great in it, but those dramas are not my cup of tea. He did so good as xiangliu and deserves loves and acknowledgements from public, which he will never get from super serious historical drama. But i wish TJC will get good drama and chose well. I watched trailer of "filter" and i don't know why he chose that drama.😅

I thought they had to split it becos new rules states that each drama must no go over 40 eps and to circumvent the loop hole of releasing s2 right after, u must only release s2 a year later.

The only character that stood out to me and I really liked is xiangliu. I only watched the season 1 and was greatly disappointed. When I got to know that xiangliu will die that's when i dropped it. Tan jianci is a great actor, I found rest of the actors acting averages. I can't bring myself to finish any of yangzi's drama because she always picks the naivest, dumbest, confused, cutesy characters. A drama with strong, intelligent fl is more to my taste. I would recommend : 1. The double 2. My journey to you 3. A Journey to love 4. Till the end of the moon 5. General's lady 6. Legend of yunxi 7. Legend of fei 8. A girl like me 9. Love like the Galaxy 10. Who rules the world

When my wife and I started to watch 1st season of this drama we dropped it on about 11 episode and both agreed that we do not like it. We could not clearly explain why, but overtime we got that most of the characters are not well written. My wife watched a couple of episodes for 2024 season and also dropped saying that it is not her cup of tea even she likes period costume drama genre. When watched your review we both agreed with it. You put our thoughts in clear words! Thank you so much!

Avenuex expresses what i felt better.... in short i alsomthink a like... a d thats why i have nit finish3d watching season 2 eventhough i have been waiting for 1 whole year for it...

"multiple flies sitting on there arguing who's got bigger chunk.. but it's still poop" succesfully snorted my coffee through my nose rigth there LOL

Season two was disappointing. It went off the original book. The reasons for that were the changes made in entertainment laws and regulations. When Season one ended I read the book. It's fantastic. Unfortunately Season 2 could not stand up to the book. Sad😢

I enjoyed the first season and was excited about this one, but it was draggy. Helped that I was sick in bed all day yesterday and had nothing better to do that finish this drama. I never truly shipped her with any of the leads. I felt bad for CX loving her so much but he also could have chosen a different path. And all of his poor consorts (its implied he never even visits them) living as grass widows. Honestly the best one for her, the one with the least about of baggage was ML #4. This drama started so well…and then just went down hill from that with the exception of really good scenes.

I agree with avenuex here. The weakest part for me was the FL. She just annoyed me. I do not have any idea why any of them would be so in love with her. She was fun a little bit as the male doctor of that village, but not as anything else. Things improved a little bit when she took responsibility for first failure with Jing and they both improved a little. But still weak sauce. I liked TL role the best because I felt it was acted the best and written better. I didn’t hate the whole drama as much as a nice did, but didn’t think it was great either. Ending was super lame all around. I would’ve liked it better if it stayed closer to novel and played by different better FL actor and different better actor for Jing.

Thank you so much for the honest review! To me, this season is such a letdown that I wonder if it'd be better if they'd not done a second season. A number of the actors just really felt awkward this time around or more awkward this time round. And a large part of the drama felt like a History exam revision class. They kept repeating the backstory time and again (and again!). Why would they do that? So much time is wasted in each episode just doing this. There seemed to be no value-add to the story and character development. I do also feel that they were trying to fit too many main characters and subplots into a time-restricted drama. I know that's how the story goes but really, I wonder if it might not be a wrong move to adapt a story of this nature on screen. I mean it's not like you can do those long-a** dramas that drags on for years in C-dramaland 😅

Yang Zi is a good actress! She portrayed what the director wants her to portray. The chopping up of the scenes destroyed the whole storyline! Blame it to the ones who cut the scenes not the casts!!!

Man, this is why I still enjoy watching your videos. You encapsulate so very perfectly everything that I also think is wrong with Chinese dramaland these days. But in particular, your point about aging out of the storytelling - in my opinion, I think Cdramaland has completely failed to evolve its storytelling. It's the same nonsensical crap over and over again, repackaged with slightly different faces and names. I have yet to see a new drama that tells a smart story that makes sense, that forces characters to behave logically and most importantly, face the consequences of their actions. I've dropped cdramas altogether for kdramaland which continues to impress me with the industry self-awareness.

Completely agree with Xiao Yao character. When i watched season 2, i’m like where the hell is Xiao Yao/Xiao Liu from season 1? She’s only crying and crying about a guy in season 2, and blame everything for her luck

The script has a good beginning but poor ending. Script writers are out of ending ideas.

After the disasturous outcome from S2 I made myself rewatch cang lan jue the nth time .... lol