This review may contain spoilers
I enjoyed the story so much, visually and emotionally!As a huge fan of a fantasy/historical/romance genre, all aspects for me are fulfilled here.
Cinematography is superb, I really enjoyed the heavenly realm and now I want to see more of it, that's why this drama and Ashes of Love are my favorite C-Dramas so far, I hope it will be more dramas like this in the future.
Story: 10.0 *** SOME SPOILERS AHEAD ***
Love story is just phenomenal, their falling in love in mortal world is my favorite part, later on, it becomes more tragedy-like but you have to be shaken to the core by all those disasters they encounter during they journey so in the end you can feel tremendous joy and happiness when they overcome them.
Acting: 10.0
I think they couldn't find better leads for this drama than they did, they are just perfect for their roles, male lead especially, he acted two roles here and after some time I really couldn't see that it is the same actor, you could feel the difference between those two characters so clearly, amazing.
*** THE OF THE SPOILERS ***
Music: 9.5
Music is really touching and beautiful.
Re-watch: 9.0
I've watched this drama two times so far, but it was a bit overwhelming at times with all those misunderstandings, (I really hate those in any drama) so that's why I give it 9.0
If you are in dilemma, should you watch this drama or not, don't be, this is Must Watch Drama.
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Excellent story, acting, production…
This one is always listed in the top 10 historical c-dramas… so kf course I had to check it out.A bit long with 58 episodes of 45 mins… but it is worth it.
ML- God Moh Yuan / Ye hua is amazing. He manages to give you a complete different feeling when playing each of the roles…. And his devastation when FL is gone breaks your heart.
FL- Bai Qian… she is a mix of everything… from shy, quiet, stubborn, martyr… to fierce Goddess… she plays it very good.
I loved her as a Goddess… taking command and no BS from anyone… (although you have to wait a lot of episodes but .. it happens).
One thing..l a lot of time spent on secondary storylines… probably to give sedway for kther seasons… but they are endearing so, it was Ok.
The story makes you really hate Heaven… and cheer for the underdogs.
Overall… a bit long but very nice story, acting and production… and with good ending.
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A must watch that needs the assistance of FF
TLDR: While the story is lovely, the acting is wonderful from the 2 leads, and the chemistry was fire when it need to be, the drama is way too long, and has so much fillers that at time, was super boring and one needs to FF.Why it’s a must watch, yet I only can give it 8.5:
I think I watched the first 4 eps and was bored… and this was when it was first airing. I checked back again at ep 8 or 10, can’t remember and found myself do not care for the mopping demon Prince 😒 so while the whole world raving about it, I was meh about it. Then I got back at 26, and then it turned to be a must watch! From then on, I was glue to the airing schedule, I couldn’t wait for more. Yet I was still FF-ing 😒 I FF anything that isn’t the main leads, and because I didn’t want to miss the storyline, I FF the slow way, so more double speed on certain whiny characters, than jump skip and has no idea where everything is. With the amount of FF I did, I was amazed I understand everything 😒
I love everything about the 2 leads, when they alone, when they are together. I kinda dislike or don’t care about the rest 🤦♀️ as much as I like DD as FJ, and her love story was great, the second she went down to the mortal realm, I was FF-ing 😒 I saw parts of it, but I wasn’t invested in it, nor I’m moved by it or feel it needed in any real sense. So minus 1 point for making me FF so much, n it was painful to FF the right amount n not missing anything crucial! Normally I would abandon the series by now because seriously, when you FF 30mins of an episode to watch 10-15mins of it, you wonder why would you bother?!!! But Mark Chao and Yang Mi were so good and addictive together that I couldn’t stop. To this day, I still haven’t watched this drama fully. I started from 26 til the end, came back from 13(?) for their mortal time together n all the way back to 26, skipping along the way.
The other 0.5 deducted point was having way too many characters I do not care for 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ I do not need 5-10mins of that mopping Prince every few episodes 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ I love FJ but I also don’t need so much of her either 😒😒😒 nor I need to care about all these sect brothers, the servant that took her spot marrying someone 😒😒😒
If you find yourself having a hard time starting this series, do start at ep26, trust me, you will love it. It started with FL jump off to end her life, and that’s interesting. You wonder why or what the ML did to her that she rather abandoned her child than being with him! And that’s also where the book starts! If you have doubts, do what I do, and you will find yourself falling in love with this drama.
PS: all these nonsense about the drama isn’t great if you skip so much or require you to skip so much, meh. Who cares?! So what if you have to abuse your FF button in order not to miss out on one of the best xianxia love story! It might not be the best due to the company wants to milk it for all its worth. But fact is it’s truly a great love story that anyone who love drama, shouldn’t miss! (And seriously many, many great xianxia out there has the same, if not more, amount of fillers!)
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I recommend this one, especially to Asian drama newbs
As always, possible spoilers ahead.This is another one of my favorites, though, oddly enough, I skipped the latter half of the second arc and just read episode summaries instead. I just could not watch how badly SuSu was treated (seriously, though, she was MORTAL, they could have just sent them down to live out their life in the mortal realm and in six months, Ye Hua would have been back! And Ye Hua's family kept acting like she [a lowly human] had seduced a god [so they must have not thought they were all that great and powerful then if one mere human could cause such havoc] when he was the one who had pulled the wounded bird act so he could stay with her).
The first arc was...meh. Its kind of hard to believe that Bai Qian only felt for her master as teacher/student since she sacrificed soooooooo much to keep his body alive. Though its fun watching Vin Zhang as a demon prince/king (seriously, Li Jing's epitaph should read "Wanted to be a better person but couldn't". If you loved a girl so much you spent thousands of years moping about her disappearance then another period of time begging her to take you back...maybe should not have cheated on her in the first place!? Though I personally would find it hard to refuse anyone looking like Vin Zhang anything...;P).
The second arc I could not finish (see above), but I liked the third arc a lot and that is the one I rewatch. The way Ye Hua looks at Bai Qian when he finds out who she is...whew...*fans self*. And when Bai Qian goes to get her revenge on Su Jin and then the trial afterwards. Very satisfying. And the fact that Bai Qian, once she remembers her past, is not about to let it slide with Ye Hua (well, at least until he goes to battle). And its a happy ending because nothing is worse that wasting hours of time you should be spending on work, exercise, studying, etc. all for it to be a tragedy.
And can someone please explain the logic behind doing all sorts of evil things just to try and get a dude who clearly is just not that into you? Are there actually people like that in the world or is that just a drama trope? Not sure why Su Jin was all surprised when Ye Hua stabbed her. B***** had it coming.
The side romance between Bai Feng Jiu and Dong Hua was meh. It was cute when she was a human concubine, but he looked so old in that form, it was kind of a bit ick compared to how young she looked.
Random thing I appreciated: The stylists taking the time to put Mark Chao in a different wig when he was going to bed (like Chen Kun in Rise of Phoenixes). One of the great mysteries of both period/costume Korean and Chinese dramas alike for me: Did men wear their hair down when they went to bed!? I get that it requires a wig change from the director's perspective, but as someone who had long hair and regularly wore it up, the thought of wearing it up to bed makes me cringe. So its that just because it requires a wig change or did ancient Korean and Chinese men never really let their hair down? Of course, the other thing I appreciated, was Ye Hua in his jammies in general. Tee hee.
Anyway, to me, it was worth the watch. But then I like XianXia as a genre so I'm a bit biased.
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This drama was sooo long. I started watching only because Dilraba is the main lead in the sequel and I wanted to know more about the story as a whole so I decided to watch this first. It took me five months to finish this 😩I understand that they had to show these three lifestyles in the drama but honestly I don't even understand which was the first one since I assume that the one with Mo Yuan didn't count??
There were too many unnecessary subplots and characters and at the end I felt like some had more potential and some ends were pretty open and not concluded at all. Also sometimes I hated how Ye Hua was acting.
But on the other hand I liked the CGI a lot, I saw many people complain about it but in my opinion it wasn't that bad. The big battle in the earlier episodes was really great and I would love to see more big battles like that one.
My rating is 7/10. Not that bad but from all the hype, I expected more.
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My favorite drama
One of the best Chinese fantasy dramas I have watched. No wonder it’s still one of the most watched. Superb cinematography, acting (especially Mark Chao), and beautiful OSTs (50+ pieces of music). Heartwarming love story balanced with funny moments, especially when little Ah-Li are on screen, he’s just so cute and smart! Mark Chao made Ye Hua character so amazing and give us all the feels.When watching this drama, don’t be discouraged by the pace of episodes 1-10. If you bail before episode 10, then who would have missed the best godly male character in the whole cdramas, Ye Hua.
This drama really is the Ye Hua show, one who is fiercely dedicated to the one and only girl he ever loves. The only drama where ML doesn’t ever fall for the scheming of the other ladies wanting his affection. The only drama where the ML is truly dedicated to his love and shows it whenever he can. The only drama where the ML shows his vulnerabilities more than FL when it comes to his feelings. Oh, no shortages of skinship here. Mark Chao is also the best kisser in the cdramaland, in the best way. All other Chinese actors should take note.
I don’t care at all for the 2nd couple, Feng Jiu and Dong Hua, feel free to skip and it doesn’t ruin the enjoyment of watching this drama.
I love all other characters, Mo Yuan, Zhe Yan, 4th brother, Mi Gu and Ah-Li! They are just so endearing. This drama also has the best hair, compared to the other costume dramas. 😊
I really enjoyed this drama, highly recommended.
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What a rollercoaster! (lot of spoilers, avoid reading if you don't want major spoilers)
This was one of the dramas that I put off watching for a while. Mainly because it has too many female antagonists trying to ensure the female lead's life is full of sufferings.1. Xuan Nü: She fell in the love with Li Jing, a guy the FL was dating at the time. So, she put in some efforts to split them apart. However, the guy was really no angel. He claimed to love the FL but was easily seduced by the Xuan Nu. He found ways to justify being with her and didn't really put in any effort to stay with FL, resulting in the breakup and him getting married to Xuan Nu.
2. Su Jin: She had such a good beginning with Ye Hua. They could have been friends who shared each other troubles. Instead, she tried to force her attentions on him. When that didn't work, she did everything possible to make sure he didn't have happy life with anyone else, even when he clearly stated many times that he didn't care for her. But her schemes were the reason that the ML had to treat the FL like utter crap, and he also had his share of blame to take for that part. Anyways talking about Su Jin , she just didn't know when to admit defeat and made everyone miserable.
3. Miao Qing: Another person who liked the crown prince Ye Hua. She was easily manipulated by Su Jin into trying to seduce Ye Hua, who saw through it often enough.
4. Le Xu: Ye Hua's mother. I had expected her to treat Su Su fairly when she was in nine heavens, but her neglect was the worse. She was biased towards Su Jin and made sure to show it every time, not really seeing that she didn't have her son's best interest in heart. Even when everything was out in the open, she still kept Bai Qian from visiting her Ye Hua's body, showing that she really was so heartless.
One of the worst and repulsive characters was Hao De [Heavenly Lord]. I remember one thing he said to Ye Hua, "You can have as many concubines as you want but don't get tangled with a woman who'll lead you astray" He said so many misogynistic things that his character was hardly tolerable. He also was one of the people who allowed Su Jin to torment poor Su Su.
Now about the male lead (Ye Hua), there are times when you think he is adorable and then you just want to outright murder him for hurting Su Su so much.
The period when I hated him:
In the beginning when he tried to be indifferent to to her to protect her, I was thinking, okay i can roll with this punch. But then things took a drastic turn. When Su Jin framed Su Su, he leapt to his feet, picking up Su Jin and leaving a confused and a bit hearbroken Su Su behind, who was questioning her sanity at this point. He did this knowing that Su Jin framed Su Su, but he had to pretend that he didn't care much about Su Su. And if that wasn't enough, he took Su Su's eyes and gave it to Su Jin, quite unforgiveable in my books. But since I knew this show had a happy ending, I wanted to see how Ye Hua would redeem himself, that is if he could at all.
The period when he redeemed himself:
When Su Su jumped off the Zhu Xian Terrace, he dived in after her when he could have clearly stopped himself in time. Later, when he met her as Bai Qian, he went out of his way to be good to her. Even when he thought that Bai Qian might love Mo Yuan, he was okay with it as long as she had a little affection for him as well. Not only that, he also went through many challenges to bring Mo Yuan back to life for Bai Qian, knowing that she might choose Mo Yuan. Also, the Male lead has never been unfaithful. He hated Su Jin and didn't every look at any other women.
Mo Yuan (The one we all thought was the male lead): From the get go, it was easy to notice that Mo Yuan treated Si Jin (Bai Qian disguised as man) differently, with affection. But with the way Si Jin treated Mo Yuan, it was hard to guess if the devotion was one of purely of disciple towards that of a master or anything romantic. Had Ye Hua not existed, may be there would have been something between the two. When Mo Yuan came back to life, it was easy to see how bothered he was that Bai Qian loved Ye Hua. It was plain to see in his eyes. However, by the end of the show we could see that he had accepted it.
Let's talk about the female lead (Si Jin/Su Su/Bai Qian )
Its hard not to love Si Jin and her shenanigans. It was nice to her grow into someone who could lead an army alongside her brothers from Kunlun Mountain. Her loyalty to her master remains unchallenged. After she left the mountain with Mo Yuan's body, she continued to grow into her identity of Bai Qian, the great lady.
As Su Su, she was kind but had the worst fates. The words "this world can be so cruel to the kind," remind me of her. All of the people in the nine heavens messed her up. The only person who grieved her passing was Ye hua, for others she was just a passing mortal. She was so messed up that she left her child behind, something that I'm conflicted about. I don't like her for abandoning her child, but at the same time she was too messed up to care for one. Even when she regained her memories as Bai Qian, she made the decision to forget not just her worries but also her baby.
Coming to the story, when it comes to Bai Qian's identity as the monarch of Qingqiu, there were times when she didn't pull her weight. I felt the same way about the Mo Yuan, the god of war, especially when he came back to life. All the Xianxia dramas I have watched have so much corruption in the heavenly realm, starting with the emperor himself. So, there are a lot of characters we end up wanting to punch.
I have been binge watching continuously without even taking time to leave reviews, but this one made me want to take the time and write everything down! That's how much I was invested in it. Although the ML eventually grew on me, once in a while I let out that silly giggle because he kept reminding me of Professor Snape.
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Pros
1. Visuals - this drama is great on visuals, every frame is like a painting, Yang Mi is pretty like Aphrodite, and Bi feng jiu is like Persephone? Idk. For some reason Ye hua only reminds me of hades with his costume, I kept hoping he will switch for a different colour showing that his character has become sunnier, but nope, black does not really suit Mark Chao, nor does that hair style.
2. The subplots were what kept me going, the host of side characters like Ze Yan, Dong Hua Dijun, Li Jing, Mo Yuan and his seventeen disciples, Yan Zhi and all the others, Their back stories and their individual story arcs.
Cons.
1. Too many make out scenes, I get it if romance is your thing, but I watched if for the fantasy element and period setting, but it's first and foremost a romance
2. Clichés - the story has ridden with clichés, girl cross dressing and living among several boys, causing some of them to fall in love with her and having them doubt if they are homosexual, girl who has a crush on main lead creating misunderstanding and hatching plots to separate them.
The music was pleasant, the acting was satisfactory, for some reason I preferred Mark Chao's Mo Yuan over his Ye Hua, None of three character of Yang Mi are really likable, Si Yin is too carefree, by not paying attention to her studies she leaves Mo Yuan with no choice to to take the trial in her place, SuSu is too docile, and Bai Chin is too proud and aloof to others except her family, everyone from Kunlun and Ye Hua. At first I liked her strength and capability but she comes across as stuck up later on. The side characters could have been paid more attention to, their stories more developed.
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YOU'LL FALL IN LOVE WITH YE HUA
I really like how mark chao portrayed his character ye hua. You'll see how on point he express his emotions through his eyes. I had my piles of cdramas but most of them would give off cringy yet cliche vibes. Those predictable plot with draggy episodes can be so discouraging to watch. But, Eternal love exceeded my expectations. I couldnt predict what happened next and that is why I really appreciate the work and creative writing they(productions)had manage to create.Im at ep 50 and I already don't want to finish the drama because I dont want it to end. It hurts to let go of such fine drama and since this is my first time reviewing a drama, the only thing I could say to you is watch Eternal Love!!! because its worth your the time and I hope my simple yet honest review can encourage you to watch the drama. You'll love it.Was this review helpful to you?
A Goddess, A Crown Prince, and a Love That Refused to Die
The drama is divided into three major arcs: Si Yin and Mo Yuan, Su Su and Ye Hua, and finally Bai Qian and Ye Hua.The first arc lays the foundation of the world and relationships. While some may find it slower, it builds the emotional depth that pays off later. The real emotional turning point begins in the mortal arc between Su Su and Ye Hua. Their love in the mortal realm is tender, soft, and deeply moving. However, once Su Su is taken to the Celestial Palace, the tone shifts dramatically. Miscommunication, secrets, palace politics, and Ye Hua’s misguided attempts to “protect” her lead to devastating consequences. That arc remains one of the most heartbreaking stretches in xianxia dramas.
The final arc between Bai Qian and Ye Hua is a mix of romance, frustration, and redemption. Their chemistry is undeniable, but the repeated misunderstandings and Ye Hua’s often forceful behavior can be difficult to overlook. Still, the emotional payoff, especially Ye Hua’s redemption arc, is powerful and memorable.
Acting & Performances
Mark Chao delivers a phenomenal performance as Ye Hua. He conveys emotion through his eyes with remarkable depth. His pain, longing, authority, and vulnerability feel authentic. Whether as a restrained Crown Prince or a desperate lover, he commands the screen. Some of the most powerful scenes in the entire drama belong to him.
Yang Mi shines in her triple portrayal of Si Yin, Su Su, and Bai Qian. Each version feels distinct. Her Su Su is fragile and tragic, while Bai Qian is composed and dignified, though sometimes emotionally obtuse. Yang Mi captures heartbreak beautifully, especially in the palace arc.
The child actor who played Ah Li was absolutely adorable and added warmth to the story. The supporting cast also deserves praise.
Maggie Huang as Su Jin made viewers truly despise her, which speaks to how well she embodied the manipulative antagonist.
Vin Zhang as Li Jing portrayed a flawed but layered character whose long, obsessive love felt tragic rather than purely villainous.
The side couple Feng Jiu and Dong Hua became so popular that they later received their own drama, Eternal Love of Dream.
Even minor characters, from Bai Qian’s fox family to the heavenly gossip trio, added charm and personality to the world.
Strengths
Deep emotional storytelling across multiple lifetimes
Strong performances, especially from Mark Chao
Beautiful costumes and cinematography
Memorable soundtrack
High emotional impact scenes that remain unforgettable
Complex relationships beyond the main couple
The chemistry between the leads is intense and believable. Some romantic scenes were passionate and mature, which is refreshing in the genre.
Weaknesses
Excessive miscommunication and secrecy that prolongs conflict
Ye Hua’s questionable choices in the Celestial Palace
Some CGI that reflects its 2017 production limitations
Certain side plots feel stretched or underdeveloped
Lack of a truly strong, overarching villain
Dragging pacing in some later episodes
At times, it feels like nearly all suffering could have been avoided with basic communication. While that is a common trope in melodramas, it can become frustrating over 58 episodes.
Overall Impression
Despite its flaws, this drama earns its status as a xianxia classic. It is dramatic, emotional, sometimes frustrating, but undeniably impactful. The love story is tragic yet devoted, flawed yet powerful. The redemption arc of Ye Hua, the heartbreak of Su Su, and the enduring bond between Bai Qian and Ye Hua leave a lasting impression.
It may not be perfect in writing or pacing, but it stands in a league of its own because of its emotional depth, performances, and unforgettable moments.
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