Lost You Forever (2023)

Love is as beautiful as it’s cruel.

I missed this heroine sooooo much !! I truly enjoy this actress when she’s playing roles that “fit her acting persona”. The story is DIFFERENT and let you be surprised at times. It is true that some parts are prolonged to death, but this drama is a very well hidden gem. The actors chemistry is borderline perfect, and FINALLY A PASSIONATE KISS AMONG HETEROSEXUAL, that is so well done to give you butterflies. Last kiss so well done was Hyena. The male actors are quite interesting: at the beginning they seem dull and sleepy, but the more you watch the more intriguing they are. THANKFULLY they all DO NOT LOOK LIKE stiff porcelain dolls, increasing the reality factor tenfold. If the whole world was made of perfectly good looking people, how boring would that be ???? Im a believer of TALENT, above beauty. Wayyyyy above. So, if you can manage reality, you can definitely enjoy this show. The script is confusing.

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This drama became one of my most favorite costume C-drama

This drama's original novel was very well written, so I wasn't sure how it would come out as drama. But thankfully, original author is part of the screen writing, so drama is made as good as novel. Story of each main leads are well described and plots are made flawless. There are many scenes make you cry and sobs. Yet once in a while few plots make you laugh and lighten up your sad feeling. It is so well balanced for audiences to enjoy just like real human lives.

What surprised me is while I love this drama so much, there are reviews with very low rating and wrote full of hateful comments towards drama itself and performers. Boy, there are so many different types of ppl in the MDL world. I can accepts proper critiques about the drama, but I cannot accept the hates in any of drama introduced here at MDL.

And some of them are obvious that they didn't watched the drama, but they already have strong negative opinions about it and they wrote bad reviews. Some of them wrote that there were too many violences and torture scenes. This drama is a fiction and if these fictions do bother audiences, they have a right to stop watching. If this drama is not your cup of tea, they can leave. Viewers may dislike the characters, but one thing I don't understand is why such dislike become the hate towards actors? It's very strange behavior to me. It irritates me that these haters intentionally write bad reviews. I don't get it what do they gain by doing so? It's very toxic mind some carry in their brain and mind.

I hope you will not be influenced by hate comments or super negative comments. You are the only one can make own decision to watch this drama or not, Or you will like it or not.

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The real male lead…

Just finished the drama and saw a few spoilers that broke my heart. Out of the 4 ML I gotta say Xiangliu is the real one. Just based on the name of this drama, FL is bound to lose XL (which he will) and the 相 is the same character as XL’s “Xiang”. He truly loves XY, secretly supported her, willing to sacrifice himself, and never pushed XY into liking him after her rejection. One thing I really like XL is that he seems cold on the outside but is actually a man full of promises and will do anything for FL if she say so. I believe XL was actually the first person XY fell for, in the earlier episodes she was very comfortable and shared a lot of her past experiences with XL, looked for him even though he was abusive and slowly understood that he isn’t that cold blooded and have trouble expressing himself. I felt that after XY expressed her worries and rejected him, XL thought she was scared of him and transformed into FFB to make her happy, which I also think FFB is his true personality and XL was just a shell burdened with the troop responsibilities. FFB had also halfheartedly asked XY a few times to test the water if she wants to leave everything behind and be with him. All these small misunderstandings and chances to be together caused the other ML to take their chance. Cough cough TSJ binding XY with an empty promise and one misunderstanding leads to the next, XY will eventually lose XL forever…

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SIMP OF THE YEAR AWARD GOES TO...

As much as I liked the drama and the actors, I couldn't help but get nagged by the role of Tushan Jing. Man was simping all the way throughout the drama. I had to fast forward most of his scenes to avoid the lagging storyline that went around him.

Would still recommend anyone to watch but expect some disappointment from Tushan Jing if your taste for drama is as good as mine.

Xiao Yao was excellent, the costumes were excellent, the casting was excellent, the OST was even better. Tushan Jing was the simp of the year winner, and he was foolish as well, who couldn't notice Yiying was hiding something all along.

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Heart wrenchingly gripping

Lost You Forever is a drama that is so gripping and yet heartbreaking at the same time. I think the angst aspect of this drama is what made it more interesting and gripping. It not only showcased the acting prowess of the casts, it also added dimension to the story. The story brought people to root for all the main characters in the show. It made us want to wish the best for each of them. I honestly can't wait to watch Season 2 and know what's next for all of them.

The romance aspect of this drama, while very heart wrenching, is also beautiful. All of the men in Xiao Yao's life are worth of her. They all love her in a different and yet sweet manner. Honestly, it'll be hard to choose who to root for as all of them have her best interest at heart; it's just that, most if not all is heavily burdened with their duties that choosing her above all else becomes an issue. But nonetheless, I loved how love was portrayed in this drama. It touched on all aspects of love and how love isn't always about the butterflies and giddiness. Sometimes, love is also suffering in silence for someones best interest- and I think this aspect was beautifully portrayed in this season regarding all the love interests.

The political aspect of this drama just added spice to the whole storyline. Especially since politics played a huge role on why some men just can't get their happy ending with Xiao Yao.

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A surprisingly good xianxia

Wow, a female lead cdrama that doesn't make me want to tear my hair out from sheer rage. Whenever I watch historical cdramas with a woman as a protagonist, it's always an exercise in frustration, always so disappointing. This is happily half a step towards a strong female lead.

Fantastic acting from everybody. Yang Zi killed it in this drama! I found her previous roles quite bad (cough Ashes of Love that I dropped halfway) but she was excellent in this. Maybe it's because her character isn't a total damsel in distress? She gives some good, solid acting in this show, delivering serious tearjerker performances multiple times. I stayed up till 2am to watch the reveal of her hidden identity and cried alongside her. I was that riveted.

Zhang Wan Yi's Cang Xuan was really good at playing the ruthless strategist politician with intense emotional eyes (I thought he had a bit of a baby face but he grew on me). And special shout-out to Tan Jian Ci's Xiang Liu. This guy can seriously act. He was really charismatic, regardless of whatever persona he was playing - playboy Fangfei Bei or cold and stoic Xiang Liu. He really grew on me and stole the show.

Deng Wei's Tushan Jing was a bit weak. He's supposed to be one of those gentle scion of a noble house with a very astute and sharp mind, but came off as a bit of a puppy and looked quite angsty and lost most of the time. There was a big disconnect between how the other characters talk about him and how he carries himself and acts in the scenes.

The first half was, as always, the highlight. Yang Zi's character was badass. The second half was about political machinations and the love quadruple (love web by the end). I shipped Xiao Yao and Tushan Jing at first (lol it's quite fun to pick a ship) but got a bit bored of the 'will they won't they' between them. By the end of the show, I was firmly on the 'so close they're codependent' powerful sibling duo Cang Xuan and Xiao Yao. Love how they'd kill for each other. That's the drama I live for.

Great fun, can't wait for S2.

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Best C-Drama so far 2023

Catches you from beginning. I couldn't stop watching to the detriment of my sleep.

First 16 episodes are great. Later episodes are bit draggy and 15% fillers.

But overall writing and dialogues are good. Writers of show move at pretty good pace. And most important the storyline and characters are not brain dead like most fairy dramas recently. People's behaviors and actions actually make sense most of the time. Characters actually look out for their own interests and don't speak aloud in crowded room about poisoning the food.

There's not too much 3rd grade humor like in many fairy shows. Or stupid brainless silliness or wacky music.

There are certain parts that make no sense. But overall I like it better than many recent disappointments. The biggest disappointment for me last few years have been Sword Snow Stride. It began as an absolute masterpiece and ended up being garbage by the end.

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Unique story. Mature themed. Slow paced. Stunning performances.

Lost You Forever season 1 tells the story of the FL who believes she has been abandoned by her family. She lives in a small town as a man and heals people with her medicine while hiding her real identity. Her peaceful life is turned upside down as she meets three men. The first man, she rescues and helps him heal his injuries that have been inflicted after years of torture. The second man she accidentally meets, he blackmails her into giving him medicine otherwise he threatens to kill her. The third one, is her long lost cousin that's been searching for her for a very long time. The first 16 episodes introduce all the characters, the world and the backstories. Afterwards the FL decides to reveal her identity and join her cousin in claiming the King's throne.

POSITIVE:
- The cinematography is top-notch.
- All the fantasy places are stunning, the costumes are beautiful, the CGI animals look very real.
- Magical fight scenes look impressive.
- Acting is fantastic from all the actors.
- All characters felt real and three dimensional.
- Realistic make-up and bruises. We have characters that are shown to be tortured and their look is very, very realistic.
- Unique story with a realistic and mature feel to it.

NEGATIVE:
- Only one negative but it's quite a big one for me. The pacing is very, very slow for my taste. The drama likes to show a lot of details in each scene, characters talking slowly so something simple like a dinner can be a very, very long scene, a lot of slow motion scenes etc which makes the drama feel draggy and boring at times.

CHARACTERS (MINOR SPOILERS):
The story has a reverse-harem trope so you have one FL and four male love interests. Her relationship with each of the four males is very different. Having said that, the drama clearly shows that FL only likes romantically two guys and early on decides to choose only one of them.
- FL is Xiao Yao, without revealing her identity, I'll only say that abandonment and loneliness are the main themes that the FL is struggling with from the start till the end of season 1.
- ML 1 is Cang Xuan, FL's cousin (not blood related). He is a prince and his story is the centrepiece of the dramas as he fights his way to become a King. He is ruthless, calculating and secretly in love with the FL.
- ML 2 is Tushan Jing, FL's chosen lover. He comes from one of the richest clans and has big obligations to his father. He is soft-hearted, kind, artistic and devotedly in love with the FL.
- ML 3 is Xiang Liu, FL's enemy. He is a general and loyal to the man who's saved his life... who also happens to be FL's enemy. At first he is very cruel and abusive to FL but later becomes her silent protector, secretly loving her.
- ML4 is Chishui Feng Long, He is Cang Xuan's closest friend and helper. He comes in later in the story. He likes the FL (mostly because of her status but doesn't love her).

OVERALL:
The first 16 episodes were very slow for me as they introduced all the characters and world. Afterwards I definitely became more invested in the story and some episodes were good others just ok. Last 10 episodes were definitely the best and the season wrapped up very well with no annoying cliffhangers. I'm definitely looking forward to season 2 and seeing how the story will unfold.

If you want a unique, mature, slow paced story with multiple love interests, great acting and beautiful visuals - this drama is for you.

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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).

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Confused storyline on the dominant female role

Though the series starts very well with Xiayao being a strong female lead and acting like a male …things get messed up the moment she changes to female after meeting the queen mother. And the role of male hero also loses value.
If she is a strong female with the way she talks to king on the fact that she’d can’t be dependent on any males….then why should she try to put lipstick make up and satisfy guys?
Why she wants to be a female charm when she thinks like a man or the key player of the future king…
Atleast the hero sacrifices everything for the love of his sister but the female heroine role is confused…more like double standards unsure on who they are satisfying …
dominant male role - she is not an ideal heroine
Charming female role - not sure what’s her specialty other than making poisons and using her title Princess of Haoling …

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Who lost love forever?

I grow to like it after episode one.
There are 4 love rivals for FL, among the 5 characters, who will be losing love forever? No characters is perfect , that is how human are.
We have female lead who had lost her loved ones, been abandoned (thought she was abandoned); Male leads who are abused or tortured, another has mission to accomplish, hidden agenda. Selfishness, low esteem, insecurity, not trusting, the male leads and the female lead, eventually they could possibly losing someone they love or cherish.
That is what makes me hooked to this story, can't hate any main character. It stirs my emotion, thought. Superb , expressive acting. It has its depth. One of my favorite line (from her father) : hurt is done under name of "love"
I would prefer gentle and warm one like Seventeen., he has his own issueor weakness as well. While another was abused when young and can be abusive, but grow to love, in a wrong way, not expressive and perhaps could be one that makes me torn apart, Isn't that one of the ways , we could be losing someone we like/love?
If you are asking for a show full with action and fighting, fast moving, this may not be one; if you are about romance, you may like it, not super fast, but each episode has something to deliver. (it is not steamy hot, instant noodle kind of romance; but it still has some moments that warm your heart and put a smile with taste of sweetness. It may take time to see how things developed , why the characters could have such behaviours.)
Overall I am liking it, how the story progress, hopefully it will not rush to end or ending badly done. (quite a number of time, I was disappointed by the badly done ending or editing).

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