This review may contain spoilers
If a friend asked me what is the plot about, It would be pretty difficult to put the drama in a flattering light-> ~
It's a Cinderella story with a mean mother in law. The ML's family has family relations so complex, that Mexican soap operas pale in comparison. There is a brother (who may, or may not really be a brother) who tries to compete with ML for the family business, he is also using underhanded methods to get his way. FL ends up in the hospital very frequently, some supporting characters also lose their babies..
~
So to summarize the plot is just bad. It's like a bad romance webnovel's plot. Despite that I still enjoyed this show a lot. In fact all episodes excluding 28-29 were very enjoyable for me. This is not a romantic comedy, but rather pure romance, so the plot should've mattered, but even though the story is clearly bad the scriptwriter did a great job with the dialog, I could just listen to the leads talk to each other forever, obviously it's not as good as in Before Sunset, but it's up there. Also the leads had great chemistry and uncountable beautiful scenes together. In fact the entire cast did a near flawless job, there are no acting related weak points in this one.
The main strength of the drama is how it portrays the progress of this beautiful romance. Everything is just so great about it. It's not just sugary fluff, though there is quite a lot of that, but rather it's really about two fated people meeting and getting to know each other slowly. This is romance with depth, not the typical shallowness that I'm quite used to in modern cdramas.
There is no real love triangle, no breakups, no misunderstandings and the leads communicate with each other very well. ♥
People talked about the lack of kissing issue to death already. My take is that I think I would've been totally okay with just the one kissing scene early on, but for some reason the production team felt the need to torment the audience with countless "kiss the forehead, kiss the cheeks, kiss the hand and kiss whatever else you name it" scenes. I feel that there was zero need for that. I think just the one kiss scene plus the hugging scenes & their numerous bed scenes were more than enough skinship for my viewing pleasure.
The OST on the whole is not all that impressive, but I found the >Give You Give Me 给你给我 by Mao Bu Yi 毛不易< song quite pleasing to the ear.
The story of One and Only does not appeal to me, so I decided not to talk about that in my review. I think there is no need to watch OaO to enjoy this show.
I have a feeling that I will rewatch FaE eventually.
edit: I decided to rewatch the drama and it feels so incredibly SLOW now, even at double speed. I loved this drama, but rewatching it feels pointless.
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Forever Ever or Forever Never: My Delulu vs. Ren Jialun
Let's be real, there's just something about watching actors and actresses who are happily married in real life play swoon-worthy romantic leads that throws a wrench in my "delulu" machine. My brain screams, "He's someone's husband!" and just like that, the romantic spell is broken. This was my exact struggle with "Forever and Ever." No matter how much I adore Bai Lu and her incredible talent, the thought of Ren Jialun being a married man(who according to unverified rumours signed a "no-kissing" close) kept me from pressing play. For months, I resisted, a true martyr in the vast dramaland desert.But then, as it always does, the well ran dry. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, captivating to watch. So, with a sigh and a dramatic flair, I broke my own sacred vow and hit play. And thus, my journey began.
A Second Chance at Forever (Even Without the Backstory)
Now, I confess, I never watched the prequel, "One and Only." So, I was going into this blind, a fresh-faced newbie with no historical baggage. Thankfully, the show's creators were kind enough to sprinkle in some flashback memories from the FL's perspective. These little nuggets were enough to clue me in on the whole "reincarnation" thing. From what I've gathered, the prequel was a real tear-jerker, the kind that rips your soul out and stomps on it. So, it was a sweet relief to see these characters get a second shot at happiness, a chance to rewrite their tragically beautiful story.
Despite my lack of prequel knowledge, "Forever and Ever" managed to stand on its own two feet. The creators did a stellar job of weaving the past into the present, creating a modern drama with a historical twist. The sets and architecture were subtly reminiscent of another era, and I imagine for those who watched "One and Only," it must have been a blast playing "spot the reincarnated character."
Ren Jialun: The Physical Contact Conundrum (aka My Hilarious Pain)
Alright, let's get to the elephant in the room, the source of my deep, abiding, and now, rather humorous pain: Ren Jialun. Look, the man is a solid actor, no doubt about it. I'd absolutely watch him again... just maybe not in anything with a "romantic" tag.
I'd heard the whispers, the rumors about a "no physical contact" clause, and honestly, I thought it was just that – a rumor. But watching him and the directors play a grand game of hide-and-seek with anything that would bring him an inch closer to the FL? My initial anger quickly morphed into a bewildered "What in the name of all saints is this?" and then, inevitably, pure comedy.
It would have been fine, truly, if he'd been paired with a cold, unfeeling FL, someone with the personality of a damp rag. But no, we're talking about Bai Lu here! Her very smile, her subtle grimaces, they practically scream "I'm down for whatever!" The contrast between her natural warmth and his determined physical distance became an unintentional laugh riot. It's like watching a dance where one person is trying to salsa and the other is performing an interpretive dance about personal space.
Honestly, I've had my time to recover from this particular grievance. While it's perfectly fine to have boundaries, perhaps a little memo to the manager saying "Please, for the love of all that is holy, no more romantic dramas!" would be in order.
The Verdict: A Slow Burn for the Patient Soul
All in all, "Forever and Ever" is a good drama. My little quibbles are purely personal, born from my own comedic observations. If you don't mind settling in for a SLOOOOOWWWW BURN – think frustrated wife trying to ignite a spark with a clueless but smart nerd husband who's basically a walking green flag – then you'll probably enjoy it. Just be prepared for a few laughs at the sheer lengths some directors (and actors) will go to avoid a good old-fashioned hug.
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This review may contain spoilers
Forever and Ever - Review
This sequel to One and Only certaiinly managed to satisfy me. It's got a lovely happy ending, with Shiyi and Zhou Shencheng married. One thing about this series though, is that Zhou Shencheng proposes to Shiyi in Ep 4, when they've barely just met! It's got a concerningly fast pace at the start, with them only meeting the other half a year ago, and only seen each other a few times, and they decide to get engaged. Of course, I wouldnt be complaining. There are some awkward moments that are really quite cute, and i love how the first time they kiss was so awkward. Bai Lu is an amazing actress (and SOOOO pretty) and the series was just really nice, and only one person dies and yea.Was this review helpful to you?
Warm and comforting
First of all, I know that my ratings are all 7's and 8's, which many might think is low, BUT if you look at my other reviews you'll notice I have never given anything a 10 because I feel like giving everything you like a perfect score makes it lose its meaning.Overall this is a great, heartwarming drama. I don't care much for the family politics and stuff about the ML's research lab, but I can't say that it's bad or poorly written, as it's actually just fine. I just didn't care about it as I mainly wanted to watch this to heal my heart after One and Only (as most people did). On its own, this is actually still a very cute drama; their awkward interactions are squeal-worthy because it just makes the romance feel so genuine and honest. It's like high school awkwardness but with adults, but not in an infantile way. They are both mature adults who understand the world but are new to romance, so it gives me the warm fuzzies. Great for older people like me who aren't really into high school romances but still love the innocence of first love romance.
Obviously there are characters that you dislike (Zhousheng Chen's mom), but there are also family members you adore like the grandma and Zhousheng Ren. The kind supporting characters also heal your heart.
As a sequel to One and Only, the connections are very subtle, especially if you are not fluent in Chinese (as I am not). I actually had to read Cyn Lynn's blog for episode recaps as she draws more attention to the connections: https://cyn-lynn.blogspot.com/2021/09/forever-and-ever-recap-and-review.html
That being said, the connections do make everything all the more sweet, so it's still very nice.
Overall the drama does have some angst, but not within the main couple's dynamic itself, which is the most important. Their previous lifetime was so sad, they let nothing stop their love now that they finally can be together in this lifetime.
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This review may contain spoilers
New meets Old. Modern meets Traditional.
One and Only = 9.5 Rating.Forever and Ever = 8.5 Rating.
Forever and Ever is the follow-up story from One and Only, where the MCs are essentially reincarnated to modern times. You will need to watch One and Only first to understand quite a few references in this sequel and why certain parts are specifically emotional and why the drama team put alot of emphasis in some scenes. I had major redemption hopes for this series which we did get, BUT the story was once again lackluster. The audience got the ZSC and SY ship that everyone wanted but everyone else were the problem. From very early on, I would say most of the characters had a red flag associated with them in which I firmly believe down the line, they will come back to affect the MCs in some small or big way. This made me quite annoyed as in the back of my mind, I would always be reminded, oh this person is likely going to come back 4 episodes later and maybe hurt our MCs in this way...Also the MCs story was mediocre at best too which made the entire drama OK to the end. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the entire series, but could have been so so much more.
Quick Story/Plot
The story is mainly about the FL and ML meeting each other again in modern times and falling in love in which they couldn't do in their past life. As mentioned earlier, it is best to watch One and Only first to fully understand Forever and Ever. The characters also frequently reference the historical context and story which was another driving force in pushing them together. In the prequel, it was all about protecting the family, but in this life, the ML faces multiple drama with his immediate family trying to hurt him. The story can get quite slow at certain times and whats odd with the story telling is that during major family dramas, the audience and the FL are kept in the dark and does not know what is exactly happening. It is as if this big thing is happening behind close doors and the audience can only know about it when side characters are literally telling us in some random gossip conversation. This way of story telling I did not like at all as they literally showed nothing about that side story and to cover the plot hole they quickly explained in 5 lines or so this big thing happened and like multiples familes were involved, police came in and doctors are running around and we the audience weren't told a thing. Very poor story telling imo.
Also the drama does a really cool job in showcasing modern people living in traditional homes and setings. All the furniture are mostly made out of wood and bamboo with lanterns and vases all over the place. Contemporary ideas with traditional settings.
Quick Acting/Cast/Characters
- The FL is a voice actor/dubber with a strong affection for traditional art and history. After meeting the ML on that fated day, she became allured to him. She is mainly the proactive one in the relationship because the ML is just very dull. She has to learn how to deal with the ML's complicated family while also being with the ML.
- The ML is a chemistry professor with a big family background and very wealthy. His family owns multiple traditional businesses and he needs to learn to deal with the various people in his family. One downside is Allen Ren's dubbing voice is soo weird/off which makes him always sound out of place. That said ZSC character is quite dull and nothing spectacular as a person, not sure why anyone would fall in love with him other than the FL due to fate.
Won't go over the other characters as it will be spoiler for the show, but the ML's siblings, mother and best friend are critical characters. On the FL's side the best friend is always there to support her. There is alot of individuality with the characters which makes the audiences attached.
Music/OSTs
Once again the music and OSTs were superb to listen to and fills up the scenes with the additional level of emotion. High quality mix of traditional sounding tunes to contemporary love songs.
Rewatch Value
Would not rewatch. 1 watch-through is enough.
Why my final rating (8.5)
Closing out, I don't think you will miss out alot if you watched One and Only and NOT Forever and Ever. I think everyone wanted to watch this sequel because of the redemption love story we all wanted to see from O&O. The MCs story and how they became a couple was definitely odd and out of the ordinary. Their affection for each other was real, but their relationship and everything else was illogical. Would not remember them as best couple, but more like a happy ending to them. The early episodes were great, then the middle was ehhh/so-so and then the ending was real slow burn.
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A Beautiful Modern Sequel
FOREVER AND EVER was a decent C-drama / modern day sequel series, based upon the reincarnated souls of Shi Yi (Bai Lu) and Prince Zhou Shen Cheng (Ren Jia) from the historical romance drama "One and Only"."A renowned voice actress and a chemistry professor chance upon each other at the airport. They form a bond while conserving traditional crafts and weather storms together, deciding to be lifelong companions."
Overall, this was a well-made, romantic drama set in modern times, as opposed to the historical era as the original series had been. This was a good drama, HEA included, if that is your cup of tea.
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After 1000 years of separation, they finally deserve their happy ending forever and ever.
Their love story is heart wrenching in One and Only, so anyone who witnesses what they had been through in the past life is waiting for their happy ending in the Sequel Forever and Ever.
In this modern life, both ZSC and ShiYi are total different persons. ZSC is just an average normal dorky and shy professor with influential family background who mostly spent his time in lab and research.
ShiYi, on the other hand, is a beautiful and successful voice actor.
One day at the airport, ShiYi upon hearing the name ZSC through the intercom, she immediately followed him and their love starts to bloom…
I enjoy watching them together from being cute, shy, awkward to completely trust, respect, love and support each other wholeheartedly.
Both Allen and Bailu deliver their characters to my full expectation. Allen’s portrayal of ZSC in Forever And Ever is on point : a shy, introverted, details oriented chemistry professor, but very gentle and caring, is completely different from the righteous, heroic Prince Nanchen ZSC. ZSC in this modern life is the man of “actions speak louder than word”. Bai Lu, with her subtle and nuanced expression, brings freshness to Shiyi: an independent, caring, energetic voice actor who fully devoted her love to ZSC because ““I don’t have time. I don’t have time to use tactics, to use techniques. I need to seize every minute and second and just be with him”.
This is a slow pace romance, but adheres strictly 90% to the novel in chronically order. Everything is slowly revealed at the end. So it does require some patience from the viewers.
There are also many meaning subtle elements which can also be easily missed if you don’t really pay attention: ShiYi phone number, the coin ZSC gave ShiYi when she was sleeping at his grandma’s house, the envelope ZSC returned back to his brother as a warning: do not mess up with my wife.. or ZSC’s family name..
Having all said, due to Chinese censorship, the reincarnation theme has to be changed. So it is less convincible to understand ShiYi’s boldness toward ZSC on her first encounter with ZSC and agreed to be engaged with him over the phone just after 3 times meeting him.
There are some lack of creativities in term or language uses when the two are together in bed. They introduce ZSC a person who loves collecting Wu Songs, but instead of exploring and utilizing the beauty of Wu Songs to seduce his partner, they use the off mood line “I’m ready”. It is not only once but twice and the second time is with Shiyi repeating the same line. I really don’t understand the thought process behind this. Does the director/ writer underestimate our Wu Songs comprehension skills or are they just trying to be comic? If the latter is the case, then I don’t think it’s even funny. It is just unglamorous and lazy.
Despite some drawbacks, I still like the drama and enjoy both characters better than in the novel.
To sum up both OnO and FnE, let’s revisit what ZSC said to Shiyi in the novel which is just beautiful and yet, so emotional:
“I think, I must have used my beautiful bones as an exchange for you to have unrivalled beauty, as an exchange for you to remember me, as an exchange for you to be able to utter my name when your lips moved.”
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This review may contain spoilers
Slow burn romance + old money family cdrama
Initially I started watching One and Only because according to synopsis, this modern series is tied to the historical drama series. I am not a fan of historical drama and honestly strugged with One and Only after 6 episodes in. I immediately switched to Forever and Ever.What I like
1) Romance - I like the pairing of Ren Jia Lun & Bai Lu. Even though there are not many kissing and intimate scenes, two scenes (they got wet due to rain, and bathtub) are quite exquisite.
2) Male lead characterisation - I like that Zhousheng Chen is intelligent, quiet and inexperienced in love. Those qualities made him endearing. Ren Jialun played his role very well - just look at his facial expressions. Ren Jia Lun with bangs & wavy hair reminds of zb1's Matthew.
3) Female lead characterisation - I like that Shi Yi is smart, capable & have high EQ. She knows the type of men she likes and goes after him. Bai Lu also played her role very well.
4) Supporting chracters - Uncle Lin, what would have Chen done without you? Ren, Chen's cousin - it's cute that he looks up to Chen so much. I also like Chen's grandma.
6) Snippets from One and Only - Right amount at right time. Despite sharing the same names, I feel the historical couple are different people from the modern couple.
What I dislike
1) Chen's mum - haughty and snob. She never gave Shi Yi a chance. That's why karma bites her really bad.
2) Zhou Wenchuan - I feel that his character is underdeveloped despite being assigned a baddie. I don't understand why his romance with the tailor was given screentime. I fast-forwarded their romance because I don't think it adds value to the story.
3) Shi Yi's parents when she was in coma - I know they were angry at the circumstance but they shouldn't prohibit Chen from caring for his legally wed wife.
Favourite scene
Bathtub scene. Ren Jialun gave a raw performance of being very deep in pain and almost catatonic.
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A deserving ending to both stories
The storyline isn't particularly eventful, but somehow I don't feel that the episodes are dragging. It's fascinating to watch their romance unfold, and how they deal with the ups and downs of life as a team. I was afraid that Zhou Sheng Chen's family power is going to be blown out of proportion like in the novel, but I'm surprised at how the filmmakers managed to hint at power and influence without having to show scenes of lavishing wealth. It feels like a real family, with conflicts and interactions I could totally see in real life. The scenes where Lian Sui, Lin Fei, Uncle Lin take care of Zhou Sheng Chen and Shi Yi made my heart melt as that is how family members are supposed to act around each other.Everything else that's happening around them seems insignificant, even the supporting characters are not fully fleshed out as the whole spotlight shines on the two main characters. I think it's a good thing that they don't remember much about their past, as it was full of regrets and sadness. What's important is that they finally find each other again, and fall in love, and create another ending for their fate, and this time, a happy one.
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Romance so good, you will think about it for days
This drama is one of my comfort dramas, i still sometimes think about the romance. It has the silent type of romance and both of them are wonderful. I usually like the MLs more but for this drama the FL was perfect.The storyline is really good. I loved the FL's acting and on-screen presence. While i felt the ML to be a little less expressive, their chemistry was wonderful. Also has some satisfying beatdowns.Was this review helpful to you?
Sweet, fluffy, with a touch of this takes forever and ever to move along...
This drama is much like its prequel very slow at times making you wonder if you will notice if you watch it in double speed. The relationship progresses bothe very quickly and frustratingly slowly at the same time. It is refreshing to see a male lead being cautious (almost too cautious) with a relationship as well as seeing a female lead take charge and not only be passive. This whole extreme caution and slight awkwardness from the male lead makes for great humour the few times he takes initiative.I loved the dynamics between the main coupla, the side characters all had their roles and they did them well. There was some drama but not a lot of it, the drama was however completely different in its manner than the prequel so to be honest other than the leads and occasional back flashes this drama has very little to do with it.
Watching the very sloooooow prequal see copy paste, or click on the link in the comments for my review of one and only https://kisskh.at/profile/Shirioink/review/172709 . I do however think watching the prequel will give you a sence of longing and make you appreciate this drama more than it´f you have not watched it, so it is not necessary but I do recommend it and the order does matter because forever and ever does include a bunch of spoiler from one and only.
I loved how the male lead kept to his personality without compromising his affection as well as the way both the leads handheld drama cliche situations in an admirable manner. I especially loved the way this drama handled the issue of trust and jealousy even if it at times bordered on co dependency.
I also loved the use of pets in the drama, but tidd miss the beautiful umbrellas from season one... well you can not have it all I guess...
All in all definitely worth watching but beware of its slooooooow pace that will drive you nuts at times and is the reason for the 8 and not 9.
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This review may contain spoilers
A pacifying end to the sad prequel
After the roller-coaster bad ending of Forever and Ever, I guess this serves as the "anecdote" that we want for the main leads.What I like about it:-
(1) The story is simple and straight forward-no old cliches and over-used plots that are synonymous with romance dramas i.e. horrible mothers-in-law (there's one here but her evil intentions wreak limited influence on the story, just an annoying and irritating character), break-ups and reconciliation, cold and overbearing male lead, unrealistically virtuous female lead, that kind of flow....
(2) As with its' prequel, the OST is very nice
(3) No overdose of skin-ship either but it exudes warmth and romantic feelings through the leads' interaction with each other.
(4) A decent romantic drama to binge on.
What I don't quite like:-
(1) Maybe it was intended to follow the male lead in the drama to a T, I find Allen Ren's styling in this drama a bit dull. Compared to Zhou Sheng Cheng the graceful general, this modern version is a bit of a bumbling and awkward character, oftentimes boring.
(2) Again, because it's adapted from a novel, nothing much can be changed on the characters and plot. However, it'd be nice to provide some background story on certain incidents other than getting them across through the mouths of the leads.
(3) And why can't the do something about the styling of the second (or third) female leads - the girl who makes dress and likes the evil step-brother. She practically wears the same dress and beret throughout the drama.
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