Lost You Forever Season 2 (2024)

Choice and Consequence

I'll be reviewing the drama more as a whole taking into consideration both parts rather than just part 2.

One thing about Lost You Forever, is that it's different from other Xianxias. Right off the bat, it doesn't give you the fantasy elements that most Xianxias are known for. No beautiful, mystical looking sceneries, or castles in the sky. No flying or cloud riding as it's called. It's easy to forget that these characters are supposed to be deities. Majority of the time not only are they dressed like regular people, the tools & items they utilize are rudimentary, and don't appear to be magical. So much so, I had a hard time conceptualizing where Dahuang is supposed to be situated in terms of the realms as it seems to be in the mortal realm. Though it didn't have many of the tropes I looked forward to in a Xianxia, it had it's own special uniqueness to it.

Acting:

The acting in this drama is top notch. Each character, whether main or supporting played their individual roles well. This in turn either endeared you to the character, tolerated the character or downright detested the character. However, the ultimate accolade goes to Yang Zi & Zhang Wan Yi, who play the main characters of Xiao Yao & Cang Xuan. Their acting in Episode 19 of LYF S2 is chef's kiss. What a moment.

Characters:

Moving on to the characters, we are first introduced to the two main characters, Xiao Yao & Cang Xuan as children. We meet them from their playful interactions to their pained separation as they experience loss one after the other in a short period of time.

After their separation, Cang Xuan vows to become strong, to obtain power in order to be able to protect Xiao Yao. Xiao Yao on the other hand after experiencing a series of traumatic events learns to not trust anyone, not to depend on anyone and most especially not to wait for anyone. We see how their experiences shape who they become and ultimately the decisions they make in life.

When we meet the adult Xiao Yao & Cang Xuan, they are both living a completely different life. One from life as a noble Princess to that of one of a struggling physician in the form of a male disguise known as Wen Xiao Liu. Cang Xuan on the other hand has become a hostage Prince, traveling around in disguise as a wine seller as he secretly continued his search for Xiao Yao whom he'd never forgotten.

We see that Xiao Yao has become a cold, calculating and distrustful individual who never truly lets others get close, while Cang Xuan keeps a calculating and scheming mind hidden behind his calm smiling facade.

Despite Xiao Yao becoming a very guarded individual she still yearns for companionship, so much so that she'll even settle for the companionship of her tormentor because in her mind, it is better than being alone as she verbally states in LYF S1. Her desire for companionship leads her to make all kinds of acquaintances along the way & ultimately led her to Ye Shiqi/Tushan Jing and Xiang Liu /Fangfeng Bei two very different men that will become prominent in her life for different reasons.

Xiao Yao as a romantic partner is not for the faint of heart. She is double minded as she falls for two different men, and she is quick to "drop a person", to put it in colloquial terms, if she deems it necessary.

Xiao Yao as Wen Xiao Liu initially meets Tushan Jing, whom she names Ye Shiqi, when he is at his worst and on the brink of death. At first she leaves him to his fate, but, later on decides to help save him despite whatever potential trouble it might bring her. Ye Shiqi in return becomes devoted to Xiao Yao in her guise as Wen Xiao Liu. Performing various acts of services in a gentle and quiet manner, he cooks for her, cleans up after her, takes on the tasks she usually tries to avoid, all while assisting her and quietly looking out for her during their time in Qingshui Town. Slowly, without realizing it Xiao Yao comes to rely on Ye Shiqi more and more. After learning of his true identity as Tushan Jing, she makes multiple attempts to cut him off, and forget him, but is unable to completely do so. Their journey to each other is littered with misunderstandings, lack of communication, falling victim to other peoples schemes. Xiao Yao eventually learns that love is about the choices one makes. One person can love but it takes two to build a shared future. From Xiao Yao's perspective, Tushan Jing went from being a suitable companion who was devoted to her to a man whom she deeply loved and wanted to spend her lifetime with. What I loved and their interactions was how tender they could be with each other. Once they'd both confessed to each Xiao Yao's almost any girlishness around Tushan Jing was endearing.


On the other, Xiao Yao while disguised as Wen Xiao Liu in Qingshui Town also meets Xiang Liu, the feared and ill reputed nine headed serpent. Xiang Liu known as being cruel, calculating, and a killer of both demons and deities lives up to his cruel reputation on this first meeting with Xiao Yao as Wen Xiao Liu. Having his pet Chubby brutally rip apart and devour the Feifei that she was trying to capture, he also had her harshly whipped many times, despite knowing she was a woman. He eventually sets her free on the condition that she must make poison for him, and giving her no option but to agree, because to refuse leads to her being harmed by him. And harm her he does, multiple times over throughout. With such an introduction, one would think she would have to be crazy to fall for such a man, but she eventually does despite never admitting to it. Her falling for Xiang Liu makes me think of victims suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, because it makes no sense from her perspective. For a lot of her dealings with him he either physically harmed her, threatened to harm her or doled out some form of punishment to her while forcefully taking her blood in the most inappropriate way without her permission until she was resigned to it. However, it seemed that for a person like Xiao Yao who hated loneliness even this form of companionship, if it could be called that, was acceptable. Even after gaining back her identity & noble status, Xiao Yao continued to make poison for him, in addition to hiding and protecting his identity a few times. This might have made some sense if maybe this attachment she formed with Xiang Liu came about after he saved her life or after her many interactions with him as Fangfeng Bei, but if anything it seems that those later interactions deepened her attachment to him. All this while she would still cry over Tushan Jing.

As Cang Xuan's closest relative, Xiao Yao took her role very seriously, doing whatever was necessary to help him secure the throne even if it meant becoming engaged & possibly marrying a man (Fenglong), she didn't love and living the kind of life that was the opposite of what she wanted. She used herself as a shield to protect him & learned archery from someone that was supposed to be an enemy in order to protect Cang Xuan. Cang Xuan is one of the very few people she trusted the most. He is her Cang Xuan gege, and someone she believed she could rely on always. Their relationship and rediscovery of each other as adults was enjoyable to observe yet poignant as it became clear that the more power Cang Xuan obtained the more they will become separated.


Cang Xuan is a man with a mission and high ambition. For his goal, he can use anybody as a pawn, even Xiao Yao, the one person whom he holds dearly above others. He is ultimately a pitiful character. His desire for power was driven by his desire to protect Xiao Yao and to keep her by his side so that no one can ever force them to separate again. However, it is this very power that when he obtained it came between them. In order to acquire power, he had to become the king, and to ensure that there was true peace throughout Dahuang, he had to unify the kingdoms and different clans, and to do so meant marriage alliances. Each time he married a new consort, he would ask Xiao Yao not to attend & not to congratulate him. Zhang Wan Yi played this role so achingly well. His portrayal of his character's emotional turmoil was palpable. From the sadness etched onto his face each time he married a new consort and felt the distance between him & Xiao Yao growing more and more, to the yearning every time he was around her knowing he can't have her, and his jealousy of the devotion Xiao Yao showed towards Tushan Jing. A superb acting.

Tushan Jing is a character whom we are first introduced to at his lowest point in life. We meet him crippled, dirty, on the verge of death and beyond recognition. After suffering the ultimate betrayal from a brother he looked up to the most, Tushan Jing goes from being a man who was once admired throughout Dahuang for his looks, his skills in poetry, art & playing the guqin in addition to his business savvy, to being the lowest of low. Crippled, brutalized, unable to walk he was shunned & scorned by passerbys who saw him on the street. Thrown into the river & left to die, he eventually drifted to Qingshui Town where he met Xiao Yao in her male disguise as Wen Xiao Liu. She saves Tushan Jing literally & figuratively. Tushan Jing in turn treats Xiao Yao in a way that she had not been for a very long time. They live a somewhat idyllic life until reality comes knocking no longer able to hide from their true identities. Having already known what it's like to be at the top of the social ladder, with the admiration of the people as well as to be cruelly brought low, & treated worse than human, Tushan Jing has no desire to return to the life he once had. However, it is his very admirable nature that makes it hard for him to escape his obligations & also fall into the trap of those he failed to guard against. What makes his character lovable is that despite the schemes against him, the brutality he'd experienced, he maintained a pure heart, which was what drew Xiao Yao to him. And he to many viewers. However, as XY told him, it is his greatest strength as well as his fatal flaw.

Nonetheless, his love & devotion to Xiao Yao was evident. He had no other ambitions than to be with her. He didn't seek power, and despite being able to obtain one of the highest positions as an official, he chose not to. His shrewdness & intellect is usually downplayed, except by those who know it. For him, nothing is more important than Xiao Yao not even his own life. With half of his cultivation gone due to the vicious torture he received at the hands of his own brother, despite not being as strong as he used to be, & still recovering from his injuries he used up what remained of his powers & his body to shield Xiao Yao's body from being burnt to ashes after her assassination, and was ready to die with her. His sacrifice is what allowed the opportunity for her life to be saved. Tushan Jing's devotion to Xiao Yao ultimately warms & heals her cold jaded heart. His kind, thoughtful, & loving nature made him the life partner she desired. A man who put her above all else & valued her more than his own life. While the first part of LYF did a fair job of introducing us to Tushan Jing and giving us his background and his duty bound nature, this second part/season failed in further developing his character arc, his limited screen time in the second half of the drama was noticable. Deng Wei did well to convey Tushan Jing as a lovelorn man mourning the reality of missing out on Xiao Yao, as well as portraying the devoted & loving man, whose sole desire is to be with his love assisting her in accomplishing her goals.

Xiang Liu is a character I have mixed feelings about. On first meeting him you are introduced to his cold harshness, even downright cruelty. I will never get over his whipping of Xiao Yao, throwing her off from a high distance on Chubby's back so that she was injured to the extent she couldn't even walk. The amount of times this man choked her, reacted violently to her, and then we are supposed to sympathize with him because he loves Xiao Yao is crazy. For those with a fetish for dark characters he would be their cup of tea. Xiang Liu behaves like an emotionally stunted person or a person suffering from a split personality disorder (maybe it's the nine heads? 🤔). When he manages to have civilized & normal conversations with Xiao Yao it almost never fails not to end in him doing something cruel or harsh that pushes her away. When he is doing something to help her or that's to protect her not only would he not let her know, but he would go out of his way to choose the meanest or harshest method to do those things. He's only ever treated her tenderly when she's unconscious. His love of Xiao Yao is like a backhanded compliment with the compliment getting lost in the insult. Others have waxed poetic about Xiang Liu being so self-sacrificial in his love. But I can't help but see his selfishness & cruelty. Love is an action word. You show love for a person in the things you do, in the same way you cannot show it in the things you fail to do. When the person you love has only personally experienced your harshness, coldness, your cruelty is that love? If inwardly & secretly is the only way you express & do things for this person while outwardly constantly causing them pain is that okay? Would anyone accept that kind of treatment in real life & call it love? Xiang Liu's character frustrated me a lot, because ultimately what he got was the result of his own choices. For his own principles he & the displaced Chengrong army refused to surrender viewing their ego, because that's what it ultimately boils down to, as higher than the greater good. Their principle wasn't about ensuring the peace of the people, their well-being or their safety, their principle was about holding onto whatever ideals they had than to give in to surrendering & unifying a land that was initially not divided into different kingdoms in the first place. It made their deaths needless & meaningless, but hey, they satisfied their desire to die in battle. On that note Tan Jian Ci played the dual nature of his character very well. I would love to see him in something else so I can erase the image of him as Xiang Liu.

With all that said, the notion of choice & the consequences of the choice a person makes is peppered throughout the drama. In life we all have a choice to make. We can choose to be happy or not. We also have a choice on who we love. In order for love to last it must be nurtured. Xiao Yao ultimately makes a choice she would rather spend her life with a man who loves, cherishes her & puts her first.

Further, the author does a good job of drawing parallels & similarities between Xiao Yao & her main "love interests".

With Xiao Yao & Tushan Jing you have both experienced torture. Both lost a significant amount of their cultivation that they didn't get back, both lost their prestigious identity & lived the life of a pauper.

With Xiao Yao & Xiang Liu you also get both experienced torture, and with them there's a parallel in their blood. While Xiao Yao's blood is a panacea, Xiang Liu's blood is poisonous.

Even between the two main "rivals" for Xiao Yao's love there's a parallel. Tushan Jing is a nine tailed fox spirit deity, while Xiang Liu is a nine headed serpent demon. 😅

Plot:
Overall the drama did a good job in conveying the story it was telling. However, there is no denying that the second half of the drama suffered from the multiple episode cut. There were noticeable areas where it felt that something was missing. Nonetheless, everyone involved in the drama did their job well.

Lire davantage

What a journey from the beginning to end

I rate LYF as 10 & -1, but not 9. (well, I cannot rate 10-1, so it's 9, I think) It's hard to explain. I read the novel and it was one of the best novel I read. Tong Hua is an amazing writer, no wonder I also love Moon Lovers/Scarlet Heart.

-1 is because S2 story lines were changed from original while they followed almost the similar to original for S1. I wonder they made changes due to no. of episodes were cut down to 2/3 ?! Or I read some comments that production was afraid of the criticisms by CX fan for following the original? -1 is also I was extremely upset to know someone leaked the scripts and that ruined my anticipation of how this drama would end. Even I didn't read it, there were so many comments about it here and other SNS.

Anyway I read many comments said they were sad because their favs had BE. I may be the only one think that all of main leads somehow got their wishes.

XY=Found the forever love and peaceful & carefree life
TSJ=Found love and assisted CX to unite the countries
CX=United the countries, became the King and brought the peace to ppl
XL=Completed the obligations and responsibilities to fight for adopted father and ppl of his clan.
FL=Achieved to fulfill his father's wish to secure his clan's position and save his twin sister's life.

But of course, they cannot achieve their HE without some losses. And we all know what each losses are.

What a journey from the beginning to the end. Despite these -1, I truly enjoyed this drama. Entire performers made this drama this good ! Each performers acted so well of their characters. I am so happy they made this novel to such an enjoy full drama!

(BTW, my favorite male lead for XY was keep changing every episode! If possible I like to have reverse harem for XY, so that no one dies and everyone is happy.)

Lire davantage

Mezmerizing

I was surprised how much I enjoyed both seasons of Love me Forever. The acting was outstanding and kept me entranced though out. The emotions was so believable and real. I cried several times I was so caught up in the scenes.
You could see the love in the eyes of the ones who TRULY loved the FL. While the one who was just enthralled didn’t have the same emotion when interacting with her. For the character l, spot on.

At several points in both season one and season 2, I wanted her with the Demon character. Their interactions and his emotion was truly seen in his eyes.

When Season 2 ended I wanted more, I want
To know if the Demon survived, I wanted him to find love.

The makeup used to create the older version needs more training. It was obvious and just looked too heavy. Learn to work with thinner prosthesis to look more realistic.

Lire davantage

Disappointing and super boring

Season 1 was great or at least the first half is very well paced and has interesting storyline. Honestly it is better that Xiao Yao remain as a guy the whole story, as her love story is really not important at all and just boring...
Season 2 is totally a different pacing and the story is flat, like changing the director or scriptwriter.
Actor and actress wise, I can't stand to watch Tusan Jing, either this character personality is an "OK" man, everything Xiao Yao said he only can said Ok, Ok, Ok with that dull facial expression or is it his acting so lame? No chemistry at all between this 2 (holding hands does not represent chemistry).
Xiang Liu deserved the love, acting and character wise he is the best male in this series..
And I am wondering why everyone need to fall in love with Xiao Yao? She is not that damn gorgeous nor has the best personality, she is selfish and undecisive. She love every men who love her, she choose Jing at the end is because Jing easy to be manipulated and can be stir by her.
Well I expect and have big hope in the beginning seeing finally there's a series from Yang Zi (love story thing) that is interesting BUT once again it is another boring one.. Not sure it is because of her facial expression or really because of the story line?

Lire davantage

Ending too rushed/ Still heartbroken for Xiang Liu

I just finished watching season 2 but my heart still aching for XIANG LIU! I HONESTLY THOUGHT HE WILL BE THE END GAME FOR XIAO YAO while watching the first episodes for season 1!!! I was so surprised when FL chose Tushan Jing!

I understand what ya'll saying about Tushan Jing and everything that proved he was the right man for FL. BUT GALL!!! RESPECT for Xiang Liu's DEEP LOVE! I could make a lists of all he did for Xiao Yao since season 1 but the scriptwriter and director in this show really wanted him WRECKED! IT'S SO UNFAIR!!! AND I'M CRYING!! AND WHY!!??? T_T WHYYYYYYY!!! He had to die like that!! He didn't even say a proper goodbye to Xiao Yao! And Xiao Yao being stupid and dumb treated him so cold!!! I love this show but I hate it at the same time.

AND THE ENDING!! WHAT KIND OF ENDING WAS THAT!!! YA'LL MADE 2 SEASONS FOR THIS SHOW AND JUST GAVE US A RUSHED F****D ENDING!??? WHAT IN THE WORLD!!?? AAAAAHHH!!

I WISH IN ANOTHER DRAMA Tan Jian Ci and Yang Xi can be the end game!!! MY HEART'S REALLY BROKEN I AM GOING CRAZY! LOL

Lire davantage

perfect dráma with perfect acting

maybe many people won't like this review but i'll write my honest opinion... i'm not a fan of love triangles at all, i don't like to watch dramas like this because someone always gets hurt... but i saw yangzi in ashes of love so i gave this drama a try , because I love the triangle there I didn't mind.. I don't like this much for someone who doesn't like love triangles, it's hard to watch because the story revolves around Yangzi and her lovers .. maybe that's why I'm giving the drama a 6 ... the reason I'm watching the drama is because of TanJanCi, his role here is iconic and I thought he would end up with yangzi, that's why I was waiting for some season, but as I see, it breaks my heart because he won't be my dream... I don't like the first Ml, he's too annoying, nor deng wei.. i wish to end Tanjan's dream, he deserves it because he always protected her, but in the end I understand that the script is different and it's very good ... the costumes, the scenes, their dialogues, everything is beautiful this the drama, certainly the story is very interesting for lovers of such plots, the drama is very interesting. ..it's just my honest drama review, I can't give 10 if I don't like their love triangle, I'm a big fan of xanxia drama but I can't give more because this story is not for me

Lire davantage

Lost You Forever S2 is the equivalent of Game of Thrones S8

I literally created an account just to write this review and warn folks (if you're anything like me)

I understand that this show is based on a novel/manhua so they're following that storyline but the stark contrast in how much I loved S1 to how much I hate S2 gave me PTSD from when I finished GoT S8. I remember staying up late and waking up early just because I couldn't stop watching the first season and was impatiently waiting and excited to watch season 2.

They completely ruined all the character development and reasons why I loved XiaoYao from season 1. She went from being a strong witty independent and lively main character who was also vulnerable while standing her ground. In season 2 it felt like she was the complete opposite, and was so depressing to watch. Like I watch dramas to escape from my own depression and even sad stories have a glimmer of hope or a message behind it.

SPOILER: Xiaoyao even went batshit crazy, when she thought Tushan Jing died, had like a hallucinogenic fever dream wedding by herself and attempted to kill her brother/king. Which completely turned me off because I loved how she was able to care for all the people in her life, especially the men that loved her, despite the difference in relationships and obstacles. The relationship with her brother was the entire basis of the S1 storyline. How strong their bond and love for each other were and their promises to support each other and the lengths they went to reunite and live up to their expectations and dreams... Yeah that imagery was shattered for me as soon as S2 started.

I also hated how they tried to bring back Tushan Jing's storyline, it just made me sour and think of him as such. weak minded or willed person. Basically a babybackbitch. JUSTICE FOR XIANG LIU -- HE SHOULD'VE BEEN END GAME!! >:( But I would've also been happy with Cang Xuan if they had just written/directed S2 better, with how S1 left off.

Lire davantage

Prepare to have your heart mangled!

Here is a reverse harem romance that is very well written and acted. It's also a costume drama which is right up my alley, so if you like romantic period pieces, then this is for you. What stands out in this drama, aside from the devastatingly beautiful performers, is their magnificent acting skills. There was not a bad actor in this bunch. Everyone seemed to have their character study down pat and each one made you care so deeply for them. There was no one to hate in this drama and I liked that. This was all about the drama around the main leads--and there are many. Each one brings a special gift to this series, each is different, but all are deeply in love with the female lead and wish to win her heart.

What left me so impressed with this show was how well directed, written and produced it was. This was the whole package. I appreciated the twists and turns that kept me glued to the TV, and the comedic elements that provided a little relief from the tragic moments that made me weep. Thank goodness that they had solid material to work from, as it seems to have made a good basis for the well-written screen adaptation. Add some excellent direction, gorgeous and talented actors, and you have a gem on your hands. Each character had several layers to them which was slowly peeled back, letting you see the beauty and strength within each character. Some of the supporting cast even had character growth and became much more enjoyable to watch. The sets were breathtaking. CGI just keeps getting better and better.

The ending was both happy and sad because, obviously, one will win the girl while the other one loses, and that loss is devastating for those of us who had our favorites. The most beautiful part of all this is how well our main lead was loved--how lucky she was to have the love of three wonderful men, who were, each of them, a glorious catch. The way they looked at her took my breath away. Bravo, to the cast for such wonderful performances, for the gift of their talents and for taking us on such an unforgettable journey. I highly recommend this for romance lovers.

Lire davantage

─ do you still remember the oath you once swore ?

I started the second season of Lost You Forever with high expectations, having read the book and appreciated how closely the drama followed its storyline. It was a pleasant surprise, as not all adaptations stay true to their source material. However, I was somewhat disappointed that certain pivotal moments didn't receive the emphasis they deserved in the second season.

While I understand the need for adaptation and the constraints of regulations, there were significant deviations from the novel. Some scenes, like Xiao Yao's reunion with her parents, felt a bit rushed and lacked the depth I had hoped for ( I hoped we could get a glimpse of their story as well even if there is already a drama about them ). Yang Zi's performance was a saving grace in these instances.

In fact, the entire cast delivered outstanding performances, particularly in conveying the characters' emotional turmoil. I wish the drama had prioritized key plot points over filler episodes, especially given its shorter runtime compared to the first season.

Among the cast, Xiang Liu's character was a standout for me ─ Tan Jianci's acting was so memorable and impressive. Despite his flaws and little chance with Xiao Yao due to how he treated her ─ particularly at the early stage of their relationship, his unwavering loyalty to the army and the complexity of his bottled emotions were portrayed with depth, especially in his poignant final scenes and heartfelt letter to Xiao Yao. I feel like his letter to Xiao Yao wasn't just for her. In a way, he tried to be a person that he, himself needed when he still had a chance to make decisions. I'm glad they at least gave enough time for his last scenes and highlighted specific details.

Honourable mention to Zhang Wanyi as his acting was truly captivating, and I wished for more exploration of his character's moral ambiguity.

I also appreciated the portrayal of family dynamics between Xiao Yao, Cang Xuan, and their grandfather, as well as the touching bond with A Nian ( sisters' bond was so beautiful to watch ). The dinner gatherings and the grandfather's astute understanding of their relationships added richness to the narrative.

Overall, Lost You Forever was a visually stunning drama, though the lengthy wait between seasons visibly affected the audience. I think I'll revisit specific scenes that left a lasting impression.

Link to edits: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxplWeBw3y5h7gYmd9Du3X0IX2TgMeFuv&si=s-zn5oh458Az5RNa

Lire davantage

i stopped watching for months after ep 19 and i wish i never picked it back up

you know... a tragic ending is okay sometimes. and it's okay.... for the main male lead... to be a bad person.

the ending of ep 19 was exactly what i wanted for this story (cx confessing, xy killing herself when she couldn't bring herself to kill him). it was deeply tragic, but befitted the narrative and themes that had been set since the very beginning. i hate a tragic ending when it's set up simply just for tragedy's sake, to make people cry at the end. it cheapens every character and theme more often than not. a tragic ending must be EARNED, it must be what the characters deserve, the story that the writer is trying to tell!

then i looked online and saw some ppl saying it got real stupid after that and i got scared and stopped watching. i got too emotionally invested in this drama and had too much shit going on in my life to see it get utterly ruined by shit writing and these show runner's complete inability to write a genuinely terrible ml so i just put off the ending. today, with no pressing deadlines or things to do the next day, i decided, in a great fit of self harm and delusion that maybe it might not be so bad to finish this show. i was wrong.......... i was saur wrong...................... it was worse than i could've imagined. so awful. like, genuinely top ten c-drama betrayals of all time. not even top ten, this has made my personal top 5, if not, TOP 3. you mean to say.... that the most incredible confrontation.... with these two very complex and well written trauma bonded siblings....... with the greatest acting of yang zi's and zhang wanyi's career thus far (i am making a bold assumption i've never seen anything else these two have been in)................ was an illusion? the emotional climax and critical point for both characters, in particular for cang xuan's character arc, for the CORE OF THE STORY.... what everything has been building up to since episode 1.......... was all just a dream? A DREAM????????????/ ARE YOU FR FR??????????

here's the deal. in general, the plot of season 2 is a mess. i can understand that due to certain regulations for series length, things had to get moved around or cut or whatever so i get it. as always, the plot writing of cxs has never been great. i talked about this a lot in my review of the first season but this shit just continues in the second. the show is not a political one, nor is it a military one.... it is a purely character and relationship driven story. HOWEVER, politics are critical to cx's character development, but clearly the writers don't give a shit, resulting in it feeling like cx's wins as emperor are unearned. season 1 already had grandpa just giving him the throne, season 2 is just all these other countries just GIVING him their countries. like what do you mean he's just such a great guy and there's like no rebels, everyone willingly joins his empire, there's minimal bloodshed, and he treats the citizens all wonderfully so they love him?>!??!?! it's such bs, like actually an insult to the intelligence of the audience. and i don't know too much about this as a non chinese citizen but like......... definitely at times i got this uncomfortable distinct feeling that i was watching ONE china propaganda LMAOOOO and therefore, cx HAS to be a good emperor who never abused his power ever lmao. like stop TELLING me how great it is that he unified chin- i mean DAHUANG and show me how this is a grand improvement from before. show me how this echoes the actual history of china like the warring states or three kingdoms or whatever where there was non stop bloodshed, military generals of various small countries held all the power and were tearing each other apart and oppressing the common ppl, many of whom were war refugees in the hands of military might. establish that THIS is the chaotic world that we live in, AND THEN cangxuan stepped in and united everyone, ending the blood shed. then i would feel like i could believe that cx is not only a good emperor, but a necessity for the stability and peace of the entire country. but no..... they could not write that story because they cannot spare even a tiny shred of consideration for politics or military...... so cangxuan is just unrealistically a benevolent ruler who wins ppl over by being nice to them. the thing was this show DID show us the lives of the common ppl in the first 20 episodes and they were FINE and HAPPY.... in fact their lives were what xy aspired to and created for herself. in what world would these ppl willingly be conquered by a foreign force???? insanity. delusion. and that's what leads to it feeling like uncomfortable propaganda or censorship or something, because the proof of him being a Good Emperor pivotal to the nation is shoehorned in.

however, emotionally, most of the show continues to be great! i absolutely loved seeing cx deal with the emotional effects after becoming emperor. cx thought that power was the answer to having everything taken from him. when he finally gained that power, he had to face the emotional devastation that it would never return the happiness and innocence of his childhood. however, like many traumatized people, instead of accepting this, he went straight back to trying to find the answer to his happiness or healing in the wrong places. it became clear that his incestuous obsession with xiaoyao is not true, romantic love. because to him, xy is a symbol of his innocence and happiness. the only time he ever felt whole and safe. a time that was destroyed by the deaths of his parents and family. he believes that the answer to his pain lies with her, that if he gets together with her and is with her forever, then he will be happy. just like he wanted as a little boy, because he is still that little boy. he does not truly love her, because if he did, he would respect her first and foremost as a human being. he would let her leave his palace, and leave his side to live the commoner life as a male doctor w tsj that she clearly desires. instead he forces her back to his side again and again, manipulating her and finally, if this show was good, killing tsj. but the past can never be returned to, and i wanted cx to learn this lesson the hard way. i wanted this obsession, the objectification, cruelty and pedestaling to make him pay the greatest price by losing xy for good. it was why the fucking dream confrontation was so satisfying! it was everything his narrative had set up from the beginning, culminating in him absolutely losing his mind and going totally feral with pure emotion, the opposite of his usual cold and calculating and repressed self. i like, still can't get over how great that scene is because we just really don't get that kind of thing very much with idol dramas. seeing the way yang zi couldn't stop screaming in absolute horror after he confessed to her was actually bone chilling. like, it made me uncomfortable, sick and disgusted and sympathetic in a way that an idol drama has NEVER made me feel. the fact that they erased this scene, rewrote it so that he was not the one to kill tsj but it was CRXY instead????? ok so now it's just MISOGYNY????? when she was ALso a pretty well written character and they just made her BEYOND STUPID. and ALLLLLL of this.... was just grandpa showing him what COULD HAVE HAPPENED.... destroying everything we've built up towards, fucking up cx, xy AND crxy all at once. for WHAT???? because yall are just too scared to make cx a bad person???? guess what, HE IS!!!!!!!!!?????? he is a severely fucked up, traumatized, toxic, manipulative freak in love with his fucking sister like????? LET HIM BE BAD OH MY GOD. just fucking let him be bad!!!!!!! that's how i like him because it's GOOD FUCKING WRITING. and even if it WAS crxy there was not a single moment where cx got the blame because it's also fundamentally his fault for driving crxy CRAZY by being the MOST NEGLECTFUL HUSBAND OF ALL TIME. like even then they couldn't write that well!!!! and then they wrote us into this stupid ass hole where he couldn't punish her for political OR personal reasons because csfl died for her essentially so then xy can't even take revenge but also she DOESN"T EVEN TRY to and then magically crxy has a change of heart and wants to be a good queen and then xy doesn't even question WHYYY crxy would kill tsj even tho it makes NO SENSE because she has no motivation to kill tsj or xy and since xy is supposed to be SMART would that not naturally lead her to the conclusion that crxy wanted something from their deaths and that therefore cx had feelings for her but no xy doesn't use her brain or do any investigating so WHY!!! why write this conflict at all w csfl and xiaoyao not being able to take revenge! her feeling miserable because EVERYONE knew crxy killed tsj except for her?? what was the point of all this???? UGHHHHHHHHHHh. like disappointed isnt strong enough of a word to describe how i felt about this ending. it was beyond stupid and pointless and stole xy of all agency because if they used LOGIC that would mean even more conflict and cause MOre problems and they didn't care about that or have time to deal with it. so xy is magically just gonna give up on her revenge because whatever, even tho we know that even if tsj returned, based on who she is as a character, she would NEVER let the murderer get away with it. remember when she wanted to fuck up a'nian for bullying lao mu and chuanzi??? BRO.

okay onto xiaoyao. as a character, xy felt like more of an after thought this season, since it was primarily about cx's character arc. and in truth, as soon as she genuinely accepted tsj as her partner, her character arc was over, because that is what this story has always been about. tsj is not particularly lovable to me as a character, but he is a symbol for healing, the correct path to take after trauma, as a foil to cx. i was really disappointed by what happened in the last season, and the way that they handled tsj's family issues and sexual assault. however, this season did actually make up for it somewhat. seeing xy come to terms with her own wrong doings and truly grow was actually powerful for a fl. usually when we follow the fl in a drama, since she is the protagonist, we tend to just go along w her actions as the right thing or reasonable thing to do from her perspective. but this scene w tsj showed that it wasn't true, that in fact, she should've worked together with her partner instead of essentially testing him to fail her and disappoint her, as she believed all people would eventually. personally, i felt that she could've done more to make it up to tsj afterwards, but she fought and they worked together to take down tsh and ffyy, which was good enough. from then on, i really wanted her character's final move to be leaving behind her trauma bonded relationship w her brother that was stunting her growth and happiness. which like, ofc she still does at the end, but it was deeply unsatisfying. i wish there had been any acknowledgment that cx was holding her back and they were bad for each other. which ofc, was had in the dream sequence and then promptly erased. the other reason i liked that ending, was that through trying to kill cx, she had agency, and when she couldn't do it, through her suicide, xy still had agency. by taking this away from us, instead, it just feels like xy is defanged and just goes along w the big moves that cx and xl make until the end where she doesn't even take revenge on crxy and just gets her happy ending. and im sorry.... having cx admit his incestuous feelings to xy and her accepting them is just really gross and uncomfortable for me. i get that culturally, chinese ppl value blood and patrilineal lineages SO much that as long as they don't share a last name it isn't considered incest but that is CRAZY to me as a modern day american and cx and xy are very much siblings who grew up together and xy's acceptance of his feelings and not immediate fear and disgust like in the dream sequence (which is again WHY the dream is the superior real ending to me) is just really weird and throws me off the whole show. i wish they stuck the landing w our female lead and gave her a truly satisfying ending, but whatever, it was fine.

i don't really have much to say about tsj because he is more of a symbol than a character and his inability for most of the series to stand up to his evil ass patrilineal confucian family is not completed in a satisfying way either. While it is clear to me that he was xy’s number 1 choice, i see other viewers primarily wanted her to be w xl which is the antithesis to the show but also i can understand. tan jianci is a better actor than deng wei LOL has more chemistry w yz and is also able to deliver A+ sexual tension! like... ofc they made xl so cool that people can't actually receive the theme and message of the story. but whatever!!! my take on xl is that he is a well written character who never changes lol. he valorized giving his life to a useless cause fed on nothing but pride and nationalism and he got what he wanted. so in a way it was a happy ending for him, but ultimately deeply sad because he asked for every bit of heartbreak he went through. others, and certainly the writer, see him as noble to a fault and deserving of respect. i do not share these values, so to me, he is just stubborn and pitiful but i do think he is quite well written and i appreciate him. i will always wish that his plotline was better written and the writers gave a fuck about the military instead of just how cool it looks. it is easy for me to find him stubborn and stupid because i don't believe that what he's fighting for is worth it!!!!!!! i wish that they showed me more of his relationship w his father and the soldiers, that they were truly brothers in arms, the people he loved who died in battle, or died for him... that chenrong was worth fighting for. if they strengthened those relationships, gave literally anyone else in the army NAMES and showed that his loyalty to them was actually worth it, then he would make a far greater impact to me. instead everyone else in the army distrusts him and hates him for being a yao and he only has his father like WHAT.......... make it make sense!!!!!!!

all in all, this drama's greatest shortcomings are its inability to care for or write politics or military plot that is as complex or even just as supportive as its characters deserve. season 2 is much of the same of season 1, but even more messy and roundabout in some ways, and ultimately capped with the most insane retconning rewrite that was never concluded in a way that made even a lick of sense. the ending was a gross insult to the original author, to the characters, the actors, everyone who worked on this show and their audience. i will never forget the absolutely fire first arc in qingshui town. the one time i cried this season was when we got to meet old sang tian'er. qingshui town was when the show felt fresh and gold, down to earth while still exploring the complexities of trauma and dating post trauma. i will always be thankful for the first 20 episodes..... i too, like tsj and xy would like to return there........

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Atuações incriveis, final coerente

Desde quando comecei a ver LYF, entendi que minha experiência só valeria a pena se eu não me fixasse por um par romântico. E, assim o fiz. Eu compreenderia qualquer decisão da Xiao Yao, afinal ela é a maior interessada. E, também porque cada um dos pretendentes apresentavam lados positivos e negativos.
O final foi triste para alguns e feliz para outros, mas acima de tudo, achei coerente.
Fato é que nessa segunda temporada muitos personagens ficaram meio apagados. Yang Zi e Zhang Wan Yi brilharam muito na atuação. Que show!
Bom, eu amei e recomendo.

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Heartbreaking ?

I don't like the ending. There should have been a twist where they really pursue what their heart wants. 🥺 I am a fan of Xiaoyao and Xiang Liu tandem but also wants to see if Cangxuan would pursue Xiaoyao since there is a promise made that the two of them will protect the Zhaoyun Peak. The director could have given them the chance or anything that sparkle between Xiang Liu or even Cangxuan.. It's just so sad. 🥺 It makes my heart break. I hope there's Season 3 of this series. The story is great that I would like to crave more of it. I like the series. I love it actually. I'm just disappointed as my favorite characters are always holding back their feelings. Please give the 9 head demon a chance please 🥺🥺. I felt bad for him. 💔 It's so heartbreaking. Hope the ending would end up Xiaoyao and Cangxuan together.

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