Lost You Forever (2023)

Who does she pick?

I planned to watch the first two episodes and hours later I had finished all 15 of the available episodes in one sitting. It is binge worthy. I wasn't a fan of Yang Zi's dramas but this one is a standout drama for her. She doesn't act too immature and the role suits her well. Initially she is a man but her true form is of course all woman :). She is an orphan who is a brassy village physician who can be petty at times in a humorous way. Her true background is a princess who had a deep childhood connection with Cang Xuan, they become separated during childhood. She later encounters the MLs, one she nurses back to health from the torture he endured; the other is a nine tailed demon who drinks her blood to replenish his health, and the other childhood love is her frenemy.

Each ML has a different romantic relationship with her and has a compelling enough personality, you become invested in them . What I thought was unique about this is she doesn't become committed to her one true love. She acknowledges the complexities in attraction and bond to other love interests such as Xiang Liu who was pretty abusive towards her in the beginning but that is the draw of bad boys. At first, I wasn't really feeling it with Xiang Liu with the FL but it really develops later on. The boat scene between them where he poses as a woman so the FL could let her guard down makes your heart flutter a bit. I saw the trailers for future episodes of future interactions between them, Xiang Liu flirts and sucks her into his web.

Cang Xuan is really handsome and the actor does such a good job portraying the longing he had for her. Just looking at him in those scenes is enough to send butterflies everywhere. He is really good in his role with the complexity of his character, you never got the sense he was a straight up good guy but had a combination of self interest, darkness, and thirst for power. He probably isn't good for the FL either, his attraction for her really develops after she transitions back to her original gender and he sees her beauty when she is back to her true form. Why couldn't he love her in that way before? The other two MLs developed their love for her before they saw her true form.

It may of been intentional of the story, as a viewer I found myself drawn all over the place to the different relationships between the FL and the three MLs. You just couldn't commit to one, I guess its good to be a player!

Citeste mai mult

Best Xian Xia/Wu Xia drama with great story and acting from lead actors and actresses.

"Lost You Forever" is a two-part Xian Xia/Wu Xia drama. The first part has 39 episodes, and the second has 21 episodes with 60 episodes.

The story has many immortal and mythology characters that were confusing at first. Still, thanks to a Youtuber's in-depth story explanation, it is more interesting.

The Synopsis: In ancient times, humans mixed with deities and demons; the world consisted of Chenrong, Xiyan, and Haoling. Wandering in Dahuang, Jiu Yao from Haoling lost her identity and appearance. She settled in Qingshui Town and was renamed Wen Xiao Liu. The Prince Cang Xuan of Xiyan was Xiao Liu's cousin. To find Xiao Liu, he traveled around Dahuang and arrived in Qingshui Town. In Qingshui Town, Xiao Liu saves Tushan Jing from danger and falls in love with him. Xiang Liu and Xiao Liu appreciated each other and became confidants. After twists and turns, Cang Xuan and Xiao Liu eventually recognized each other. After recovering her identity, Xiao Liu helped Cang Xuan bring the whole world under his rule and retired from the rivers and lakes. The thoughtless man puts all his energy into governing the country because he knows that as long as the world is at peace, his little boy will be able to be happy and healthy.

The acting of the entire ensemble was excellent, especially the 4 main leads (Yang Zi, Zhang Wan Yi, Deng Wei, and Tan Jian Ci)

Xiao Yao has complex and complicated relationships with each male lead (Cang Xuan, Tushan Jing, and Xiang Liu). To make things more complicated, they are in love with her, but she only has a heart for Tushan Jing.

The script is rich and good, with complex characters, politics, and abusive and dysfunctional relationships. This drama not only has good acting, but it also has good music (OST) and special effects. It is also very colorful, for some scenes that were pleasant to watch. This is the best acting that I have seen from Yang Zi. Deng Wei did a good job too, and his character in this drama is better than in "Til the End of the Moon."

Overall, I really enjoy this drama and give it an 8.5 rating. I can't wait for part two to broadcast.

Citeste mai mult

IM HOOKED UNTIL NOTHING LEFT

Not gonna exaggerating or adding MSG for a review purpose, but this one deserves to be one of the best Cdramas Ive ever watched so far. Been watching a lot of Cdramas throughout my life, only a few managed to catch my heart and soul. This one is one of it.

Wonderful theme, scripting, and acting. Definitely incorporated information into the storyline very well.

This is also my first time to participate on Wangyi's performance here as I am not familiar with his projects before, he really BELONGED to Zhuan Xu's portrayal . The rest of the casts also played their part brilliantly and so far, I am invested and there is no turning back. Yangzi as a beautiful lady Xiaoyao, and man in disguise Xiaoliu, Dengwei as a sweet sly fox Tu Shan Jing, Tan Jian Ci as a seductive 9 heads demon and last but not least our baby Hongyi as a clueless - no - woman-beside as Feng Long. I wanted to raise my praise for every casts here, but it would be too long but they are all giving brilliant acting.

I have read the novels before during the Covid, the plot is interesting and stay true to novel. My review does not contain spoiler as I knew probably all the watchers have already read it and understand how it went until the end.

For people who is questioning whether to watch it or otherwise, please dont stop yourself from watching this MASTERPIECE . you gonna miss a lot

thank you

Citeste mai mult

₍ꕤᐢ..ᐢ₎

simple review!

I love this drama in every way. I haven't been this emotionally invested in a drama in a long time. The music is beautiful, acting is great, and the characters are complex. There is nothing more that I can ask for. I was hooked since episode two. Watching it was really enjoyable. It made me laugh and it made me cry. I definitely recommend watching this drama and I will miss staying up till 3am to watch the episodes... Needless to say, I will be looking forward to season 2 and what it will bring. Hope it will air soon because I feel so empty right now lol ˙◠˙

Citeste mai mult

I LOVE THIS DRAMA!

I went into this drama expecting something good because I am a fan of the FL and I always watch her dramas.

I did not expect though that she will be surrounded by such effective actors starting with Zang Wan Yi. I have not seen his acting before and I was blown away by his depth. His acting is exceptional, the emotions he conveys is spot on. I love watching him, he simply owns the screen. Very impressive!

Deng Wei and Tan Jian Ci are also proving to be so efficient as if these roles were tailored made for them.

Yang Zi, as always, delivers. She means business, she has serious acting chops and it's amazing how she always has chemistry with whoever actors working alongside her.

When I watch a drama, I usually skip dragging scenes, I mean you can easily recognize when the writers are messing around. In this, surprisingly, I watched faithfully and listened to the dialogues which I think were done beautifully. I really appreciate what they've done here.

Not sure how this will pan out for season 2. But whatever the ending is, I am eagerly anticipating to watch until the end.

It is a pleasure watching this.

Citeste mai mult

If you are a sucker of good acting,wonderful storyline and beautiful casts then go for it!

I'll try to not give any spoilers.

So if you're searching for a good historical drama and you're considering watching this then just go for it. This drama is adapted from a very famous novel written by Tong Hua and she's also the screenwriter of this drama. So ofc she won’t destroy her own work
But still I was a little afraid of this adaptation because they're not good at adapting these dramas as same the novels. But when I watched the first episodes and trailers I was so assured. I didn’t have any doubts about Yang Zi's acting. She's nailing this role again!
I'm ranking the acting of main characters
Yang Zi>Zhang Wanyi> TanJianci>Dai Luwa>Deng Wei
Tan Jianci did so good!

If we talk about the story, Xiao Yao is disguised as a male character named Wen Xiaoliu and works in a small town as a physician. So naturally this appearance or hers will be shady,poor,no makeup like a hard working male. I heard some people who are rating this drama with 1 star just by watching the poster saying that she's not beautiful enough to get this role ?
Like how badly you wanna say that you didn’t even watched a single episode not even trailers ?

As for Tan Jianci's character, he's a nine header demon serpent. So naturally his character is a bit cruel and ruthless. Idk why some people are taking advantage of this and saying that it’s supporting female abuses! Xiang Liu abuses her cause It's in his nature, and Cang Xuan doesn’t even know she's a girl and as for A nian, well she's also a girl.
I didn’t rate rewatch value 10 because this story will make you cry every in episode!?

It has a great storyline,MARVELLOUS acting and ofc handsome and beautiful casts! If you just have some patience and watch this you’ll get hooked up for real!

Citeste mai mult

Let the story lead you

Fantasy and wuxia dramas aren't usually my kinda thing but this one is really intriguing to me. The characters are well rounded and have good and bad moments as the plot twists this way and that. Difficult to choose who is the best ML at this point but they all have their merit, and all are handsome. I really got pulled into it and can't wait for each epsiode, I have no idea where the plot will go so it's quite entertaining. The acting is also very good and they chose the cast well. I also like that the FL actually could pass as a guy for once and she has a strong character without being annoying. I hope this drama keeps getting better as I'm loving it so far.

Citeste mai mult

best chinese drama for me so far

Ive never been excited to wait and watch for every episode, mesmerized by the charisma and charming Xiang Lu " Tan Jian Ci" and the soft hearted Tushan Jing "Deng Wei" , feeling super kilig ?. Being not a chinese, its been hard to recall their names but with these two, especially Tan JC, OMG been in love with them. Hope to see them in real person. ???

Ofcourse, Xiaoyao "Yang Zi" performs very good in this drama as well as the ambitious guy Cang Xuan "Zhang Wan Yi".

Im not so avid fan of C drama and at first and during the first posters ive saw, i thought it was a sad and boring drama got it from the title itself, who would want to watch something like "lost you forever", its like a tragic drama that will give you pain at the end.

But then, i got to like it since episode 2, and begun to love it in episode 3 when i saw Tan JC.

I hope in the end i will not cry...

Citeste mai mult

This drama on the surface looked to me like a typical romance xianxia, but after watching it I have come to realize that the romance part of it is very atypical and unlike other dramas of the same genre that I have watched before. For me what stood out most was how drastically different each pairing was, which was a good thing, because if all the pairs were similar, the entire drama would be a bore. Another plus was I felt that the entire drama was centered around the sibling relationship between Xiaoyao and Cangxuan. It was ultimately a story of brother and sister conquering the world, and everyone else were just supporting roles along the way. My thoughts on each of the CPs will be written down below to avoid spoilers in my more generic review.

The plot itself was streamline and I did not feel it dragging, though it did slow down after all the action moved to the courts and politics became more prominent. The best part of the drama had to be the episodes spent at the little town of Qingshui where it all began. As I said above, the majority of the plot revolves around the siblings, and we get to follow along Cangxuan’s journey to power. What made it relatively easy to follow was there were minimal important characters, and the world that the story takes place in is relatively small. In other words, we didn’t have to spend too many brain cells to remember a ton of names and places. This is also a plus because it meant there weren’t many useless characters.

However, I have to speak out (rant) on my dissatisfaction for episode one. It really left a bad taste in my mouth and almost made me reluctant to continue. First, I feel that it was a very unnecessary episode. If it wanted to introduce us to background story, it could’ve done it in a different way, a way that the drama used for the rest of the episodes - flashbacks!!! If flashbacks are done well, their purpose is to tell the audience the background story. This introduction was not effective, and I did not understand any of the motives behind what the adults chose to do (ahem a certain grave jumper). Second, fine, you want to start off with an introductory background story episode, then why do you need to add in a narration. It seemed like they just gave up on telling the background story and resorted to the typical narration followed by a time skip format. Anyway, enough ranting. Luckily I chose to move on from episode one and immediately the scenes that followed the 300 years later time skip were drastically improved.

Before the spoilers, I would like to applaud the acting of the entire main cast. I never doubted Yang Zi’s acting. Zhang Wanyi, Deng Wei, and Tan Jianci were pleasant surprises as I have not seen any of their past work before. They were truly the one and only fit for their role and did a phenomenal job. Can’t wait for season two.

SPOILERS AHEAD. Now on to taking about each CP.

First we have Yaojing. I fell instantly for 17 as soon as he made an appearance. He also had a great advantage in that he was the first male lead to make an appearance. I think what struck me most was his devotion towards Xiaoyao that began from the instant she saved his life. Usually this type of relationship is backwards in dramas, where the female lead is the one that needs saving then falls in love with her savior. It was refreshing to see this trope flipped in this drama. 17 was doing great and ahead in the race for me up until he had to resume his identity as Jing. As politics entered, although he wanted his heart to only belong to Xiaoyao, he could not help but carry some of the burden of being his clan’s future leader. What is heartbreaking is he did nothing wrong, but I think it is intentional to make the audience feel that he is no longer at a position where he can be a good partner to Xiaoyao.

As Jing was slowing down in the race, Xiang Liu quickly overcame him and became first place in the race. At the beginning I hated him. He hurt Xiaoyao without batting his eye and was abusing her by drinking her blood without her consent. But I got to understand him more, and he quickly became the most suitable partner for Xiaoyao in my mind. I see Yaoliu as soulmates. They were both in the same tragic conditions as children, and both fought their way out of their struggles, and made a life for themselves. They are both emotionally cold, strong, but also soft for the right people. Xiang Liu was there to pick Xiaoyao up whenever she was down. He was the one who taught her practical skills and how to defend herself. In return, Xiaoyao allowed him to take her blood as medicine, she accepted his identity and purpose, and never condemned him because he is a nine-headed “monster”. Their relationship was well balanced and Xiang Liu is the only person that I feel Xiaoyao can really be herself around.

Cangxuan’s over-protectiveness of his sister is a result of his tragic past as a child, losing all of his relatives in a short amount of time. Xiaoyao is the closest person to him, and he cannot emotionally bear losing her too. I never saw Yaoxuan as a couple, but they are probably the best sibling CP that I have seen in a drama. They are soulmates in a way that is different from Yaoliu. The pair had some of the best cry-worthy scenes in the drama. Two that are worth mentioning are when Xiaoyao mistook A-nian’s mother as her own mother, and her identity was therefore revealed in a heartbreaking scene with Cangxuan. Another one is when Cangxuan was being attacked and Xiaoyao protected him with her life from Fang Fengbei’s arrow. I can’t wait to see more of these two in season two.

Lastly, we have Fenglong. I don’t even know if I should include him in the race or not. I never shipped them, and I never felt that Fenglong would be a good partner for Xiaoyao. As he said himself, they are more like bros than anything else. I appreciate his frankness because he admits that he wants to marry her partly because of her identity.

Citeste mai mult

Not the ending I hope for, but worth watching

Am I the only one who find this whole part about 4 very good potential guys chasing after one girl a bit too cliche? It's like Boys Over Flowers / F4, but in ancient drama. Don't get me wrong, I love how the characters played out but I guess I'm not a huge fan of the romance plot. Every guy seems to be pining for one girl, it does seem like the entire world only has one potential girl worth chasing after.

If I strip away all the romance, each character is multi-dimensional and I love how the actors / actresses play out their characters.

1. The character whom you should hate but couldn't because he makes you feel more sad than angry - Xiang Liu
2. You also have this character who is playboy (with reason), powerless but extremely capable and the most loyal to one - Chang Xuan
3. A character who has everything but also has nothing - Tushan Jing
4. This girl who has gone through the worst things possible in life from being abandoned, abused, surviving alone and heartbroken - Xiao Yao

Who am I rooting for with Xiao Yao? To be honest, I really would love Chang Xuan together with Xiao Yao. The chemistry between the two characters is honestly off the charts. Chang Xuan is so firm on protecting Xiao Yao, that nothing could get in the way. Without hesitation, he would sacrifice anything to keep Xiao Yao from harm.

Of course, the one person who could match Chang Xuan is Xiang Liu. I feel bad for him. The whole time, he seems to always be alone. Other than Xiao Yao, I don't think I see him having a genuine good time with anyone else.

I always thought Tushan Jing is quite acceptable. Until when Xiao Yao was "assassinated". Dude went into coma the whole time because of his unwillingness to live without Xiao Yao. Dude, that guy just went to sleep while Chang Xuan went around taking revenge for Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu sacrificing his life to save Xiao Yao's. When CX and XL were out doing whatever they could to keep Xiao Yao alive, this guy given up. How this guy is the perfect match, baffles me.

All in all, the plot turned out to be pretty good - the politics, the fight scenes, the story behind every character, the different clans and kingdoms - I love them all. Just the romance - not my cup of tea.

Citeste mai mult

The Analysis

At first I was going to watch it the whole way through but then after I got to episode 10 and spoke to various people; I decided to just to do what I did with GoT because I knew I wouldn't be able to make it all the way through though I will watch season 2. This is different from my regular reviews as it's really an analysis from my pov.

Ok what I found solid in the series was the world and story building. Everyone we met started somewhere solid. It wasn't a drama where you were thrown into the middle of it and you had to catch up to with figuring out who was who and what was happening. Episode one was mostly focused on the children and making us invested in their story and lives which I thought was brilliant. Then the transition to adulthood and this where the story really got going. I will now go through the characters as they stood out to me. I will say that every character is flawed in some shape or form but some seemed worse for me.

XY: The anti-heroine. A massive red flag and I figured that out by episode 10. Life imitates art or art imitates life; YZ did well here (I'm usually not too thrilled with her roles; again just my opinion). I think she played a narcissist with abandonment issues who uses men to her self needs like a pro. I would say my favorite arc with her was that first one. It's where she was the most genuine. To her everyone was expendable as long as her needs were met. I felt like she really had no idea what love was. Though TSJ was the one and end game; even when he sacrificed himself and was in a coma, the way she spoke to him just rubbed me the wrong way. She used a lot of verbal abuse towards everyone; she spoke like she was the only one who suffered; yet we knew both TSJ and the demon were imprisoned and tortured. Like ok once, twice, but it got old quick. Saying her mom abandoned her instead of dying on the battlefield was so weird and foreign to me. She got the victim card down on lock. She needs an immortal pet not a lover. It'll never leave her and give her unconditional love. Her reaction to TSJ saying his grandmother essentially drugged him and he was most likely assaulted, just made me freeze. Yes she spit blood later but in the moment, she couldn't even offer words of comfort; it was all his problem and now they were strangers. She just called it quits. I was like what just happened here? I'd be worried, go confront grandma; poison the bitch. Hell, I'd fight for my man from the get go and that's something I think she needs to do evolution wise. She always treated it like whomever had to do something for her first and always. She never gave an ounce of herself and that's why I didn't like her; I couldn't root for her. But I do hope she figures herself out in S2 and what or rather who she wants and makes the necessary steps herself.

TSJ: This was my first time seeing DW in a lead role as I had just seen him previously in one small supporting in a modern. I will have to say that perhaps this role was a bit too complex for him but you gotta start somewhere, right? Hopefully in the future he'll be up to the challenge, he definitely has the potential. The character was complex in the sense that on the one hand he was a killer strategist but on the other hand he was essentially a doormat with the equivalent of Stockholm syndrome (victims that are so broken by their abusers, they love them because they believe no one else will) towards his toxic family; especially his brother who essentially nearly killed him after 3 years of insane torture. He couldn't kill his brother after what brother did to him; he was too timid and yet so easily manipulated even by the woman he loved. And watching her do that to him for her own pleasure made me sick to my stomach. So many times I wanted to shake him or smack him, like "do something, say something, stand up for yourself!" No one else will protect you even XY who promised in the cart they were imprisoned in by CX in the beginning that she would protect him against bullying, never did. Everyone seemed to remember how he broke promises due to the toxic family, but not that she lied and manipulated the hell out of him too and yet he would still die for her. My hope for him in S2 that he grows some balls and starts to go on the offensive. Enough already. I actually like his character as frustrated as I was with him.

The demon: Sorry folks, with so many ppl, this is what I called him. By far the most complicated character out of the entire show. I have only seen TJC in modern dramas up until this point but boy did he nail the demon, I was very impressed. Let me clear something up for people; he never abused XY; in the beginning before I knew he was a demon I thought he was a vampire. And she wondered into enemy territory for her herbs first; there's a war, he on the opposite side and leading troops, so capturing her and the whiplashing is understandable. The biting, her bored expression made me laugh; no one being abused would react like she did. Moving on, he was very smart, he knew when she was toying with him and it'd piss him off and he'd walk away in a huff and I was like "can you teach TSJ how to do that?" How he's able to let himself be entirely a different person with the black wig that's all fun and playboy that even those that know him can't figure out who he is? Love that versatility from the hard ass silver haired demon. His weakness is that country he fights with and the soldiers. He's repaying the emperor who became a father to him and it's very admirable but he should know when to tell them to stop because they're obviously losing as sad and unfair as that is. He falls in love and his love is both refreshing and extremely painful. He's more of a sadomasochist to himself because of her. He gives one of his lives away (and of course there's no gratitude from her) and from what I understand is planning to give his life on the battlefield and also wants XY and TSJ to be end game as he understands no one else will give her themselves. They just don't want to or aren't capable. I feel that the demon likes TSJ the most out of the other options. He admires the doormat's unwavering love even when others complicate things. In my perfect world, end game (not in a romantic way) would be TSJ and the demon as like sworn brothers or good friends living a peaceful life with women that deserve them in a little village; no power struggles, manipulation, wars etc. All the rest could bite the dust for all I care honestly. What I wish in S2 for him which I know won't happen; is for him to survive. But other than that, go out the way you want and make sure you give the two people you want to be together, their opportunities before you do. I really wouldn't change anything about him.

CX: First time ever seeing the actor. CX is complex in the fact that he's power hungry and creepy towards XY. But honestly, even though she only sees him as her brother, I feel that because of her narcissism, he's the perfect match for her. Even though she says even he's abandoned her. I'm over that sob story but I feel like his thirst for power will ultimately be his downfall somehow. I liked the complexity of the character and the actor was convincing. In S2, I want to see how he gets worse and how convincing it'll be.

FF: Actually currently watching this actor in another costume drama, he's an antagonist there. I have more issues with the script than his acting. Here, though he's also part of this harem of men, because he hasn't appeared as much so I'm not sure where to put him. He's friends with CX but is that just to get benefits for himself or whatever, I don't know. Also are his feelings for XY genuine or like hers towards just about anyone it seems; like a business deal? I hope they flesh him out properly in S2.

All the antagonists, I want them dead especially TSJ's toxic family. Make them suffer. The other supporting characters or A Nian are either good from the get go or grow on you.

Overall, when it came out last year and people said that this series was one of those you either love it or you hate it things, I wasn't sure what to make of that. Was there no middle ground? That can't be. It's got great coloring, OSTs, costumes, the storyline is complex and so are the characters.

Would I recommend it? This is my analysis of the show and the characters I felt were important. My rating is based on just that and if you want to watch it, go for it. I think it is a good middle ground story.

Citeste mai mult

What I liked most about this drama were some of the characters. Xiang Liu as a dark and somewhat menacing type is one that I am a bit of a sucker for, and I initially decided to continue watching this show only to follow his arc. I like the angst that his arc provides to the story. I also appreciate the different kinds of relationships that the female lead has to the other male characters too, especially to Tushan Jing and Cang Xuan. I like that this story is about different kinds of relationships and I saw the beauty (and tragedy) in each of them.

Something else I like about this drama is the music -- not only the theme songs but also the instrumental BGM. Especially the instrumentals, actually. It contributed quite a bit to my enjoyment of this show.

However, having said that, I don't find the acting of most of the actors in this drama to be spectacular. Yang Zi was alright, but other than Zhang Wan Yi, I found the acting of the other male leads to be kind of lacklustre. Deng Wei's acting is quite dull and wooden (I know his character is supposed to be kind of a pushover, but a more skilled actor would still be able to bring more life into such a character). And Tan Jianci, though he is fine most of the time, there are some scenes where he overacted so much it actually made me cringe. (Don't get me wrong -- I have nothing against either Deng Wei or Tan Jianci, and in fact I think they're both gorgeous to look at. This is just my honest opinion about their acting in this show.)

Another problem I had with this drama was the plot, which I found hard to feel engaged in. Sometimes it feels almost as if there's no actual plot? The beginning was fine, and the last few episodes were also not bad. But the middle part bored me so much that I kept stopping and taking breaks away from it. Probably the only reason I didn't end up dropping this drama was because I'm not the kind of person who easily drops dramas that I've watched more than 5 episodes of, unless I really hate a show. All in all, I'm still glad I finished watching this drama -- but I wouldn't re-watch it (at least not this 1st Season).

Citeste mai mult