This review may contain spoilers
Messy, Toxic, Over-the-Top, and I Loved Every Minute of It
Let me start by saying — do not let the negative reviews deter you from giving this a try. It's over the top, it's messy, it's unconventional, and it doesn't have a huge budget. But for me, it hit the spot because it concentrated mostly on the romance without drowning me in unnecessary subplots, and that's exactly what I needed. And Everlasting Longing delivered.
The Plot
The plot is extremely simple. A woman gets kidnapped into an enemy state and falls in love with her kidnapper, which only complicates everything because they can't be together due to the political conflict between their nations. The idea and general direction of the story are already interesting enough with genuinely high stakes — writers just needed to build on it better. The first impression is that they kind of tossed a bunch of different situations together so our leads could share the screen. The script feels a lot more like a first draft than a finished product. Still, despite that, the drama left an impression on me for its unique portrayal of a toxic, complex, and more mature romance.
The Romance
Yes, the romance is toxic and far from sweet. And the viewers criticizing these characters for being selfish probably didn't get the bigger picture. All of Qi Luo's concerns about why she can't be with the man she loves are completely understandable — just like his obsession with her is also understandable. She is collected, set on her goal, determined to get back home and protect her family. He is a hormonal, love-obsessed man who simply cannot let her go. They are both torn between their feelings for each other and their duty to their countries. It works.
If viewers feel uncomfortable watching the first half set in Beixuan while Xuan Lie is still a horrible red flag, they should move on to lighthearted romcoms. This drama is simply not for them.
The Chemistry Debate (Yes, I'm Going There)
There are too many people online criticizing the casting of Angelababy with Song Weilong, and I'm not quite sure why. First of all, Song Weilong has plenty of experience working with older actresses — his co-star in Find Yourself is twelve years older, among his other co-stars. Secondly, this man can make chemistry with my nightstand. So here? The chemistry is absolutely present. People saying Angelababy is showing her age on screen are insane — they must be eighteen or nineteen. Oh, I will see how they sing when they are my age. Women in their mid-thirties are fine as hell. I wish I could get my thirty-seven back now; I'd be very happy. If viewers can't feel the chemistry between them at the end of episode fourteen, they are blind and should not be watching romantic dramas. Period. Angelababy and Song Weilong looked absolutely gorgeous together. He has the kind of aura that allows him to feel domineering, endearing, and protective alongside any more experienced actress. And she is drop-dead gorgeous. So, let’s just not.
Character Growth
Xuan Lie does grow as a character in the last third of the show once he realizes his mistakes. His growth actually starts much sooner — when he plans on deceiving everyone at his wedding to let Qi Luo leave. Unfortunately, Qi Luo never finds out about his intentions and takes matters into her own hands, which causes the rift between them. She also realizes toward the end that forcing herself to forget someone she can't is futile. Here again, I think the writers needed to develop this realization in her earlier, before Xuan Lie's alleged death in Yannan. There were too many wasted opportunities in Yannan — instead of having three or more scenes (that basically repeated themselves but in different settings) of him asking Qi Luo to talk about their relationship properly and her telling him to leave, the writers should have written better situations for him to actually show her he's changed and her accepting him. Show, don't tell. Please.
This was a very lazy script work. Nothing to do with actors.
What Didn't Work
From what I already mentioned, the biggest flaw is the weak writing and the many missed opportunities. This drama could have also used a couple more episodes to wrap things up better and give our leads more time to be an actual couple after they reunited. Them coming together to terms with wanting to be with each other felt rushed. I wanted more romance and courting and tension post-reunification — give me the payoff! But this seems to be the general issue with most romantic C-dramas. Writers start building the foundation for the romance and then get carried away and forget how many episodes they actually have to finalize everything, so they scramble at the last bit to put things together as fast as they can.
I also don't understand the choice not to show Xuan Lie and Qi Luo's children. Why?
Another extremely missed opportunity is Shao Qi Min and Qing Kou's storyline. It started off so well — Ren Hao was stunning in the few episodes they were paired up together at the beginning. Their ending was horrible, but made total sense. The problem? Writers completely ignored them in the middle stretch. If you're going to give a secondary couple screen time, then actually develop them. They did Qing Kou so dirty. She was an interesting character at her core—a spoiled princess who falls for her slave/foreigner. She ended up being neglected by writers entirely, and I kept wondering why writers bothered setting them up at all as a couple. Or why include her character at all? They wrote her horribly.
The Acting and Production
As far as acting goes, both leads did well. Song Weilong needs a high-budget drama to truly showcase his skills. He's great in romantic roles, he has a strong on-screen presence, and as I've said — he can create chemistry with anyone. He's still not quite there with certain emotional scenes. I think sometimes, when it gets too nuanced he doesn’t quite pull it off, but I think that's partially a direction issue because I’ve seen enough fo his work to see that he does have talent. He just needs that one big role for him to show it. Angelababy is very pretty, and here's my advice: if you start watching and consider deserting it after a couple of episodes because you're put off by her acting while she's still dressed as a man — don't let it affect your view. Keep at it for a few more episodes. Her character changes throughout the drama as she starts wearing women’s clothes, and her mannerisms change as well.
I also initially dropped it because of poor CGI in second and third episodes, but in all honesty, CGI is used sparingly, and there are only a handful of scenes where the budget is obviously lacking. It won’t be too distracting later on. For the most part, I really liked the costumes, especially in the Beixuan setting. So give it a few episodes — if you're still around after episode four, you'll probably enjoy it or at least finish it.
Final Verdict
Everlasting Longing is not the best historical drama out there. The script is underdeveloped, some characters aren't fully fleshed out, and the main couple deserved more time together after reuniting and some better-written scenarios. The secondary couple was ignored by the writers altogether.
But… this was romance-heavy with very high stakes. It was fast-paced and didn't waste time on unnecessary characters and subplots. The music is beautiful. And the relationship between Xuan Lie and Qi Luo was complex enough to keep me invested throughout. This is exactly why I watch romantic C-dramas — over-the-top stories with swoon-worthy male leads that make me feel things.
I think this would be perfect for someone just starting their journey into Chinese historical dramas who hasn't yet seen recent blockbusters like POJ or POB and doesn't have their bar set astronomically high. That said, I watched this right after those titles raised my bar, and I still enjoyed it. For me, this was very entertaining — flaws and all.
The Plot
The plot is extremely simple. A woman gets kidnapped into an enemy state and falls in love with her kidnapper, which only complicates everything because they can't be together due to the political conflict between their nations. The idea and general direction of the story are already interesting enough with genuinely high stakes — writers just needed to build on it better. The first impression is that they kind of tossed a bunch of different situations together so our leads could share the screen. The script feels a lot more like a first draft than a finished product. Still, despite that, the drama left an impression on me for its unique portrayal of a toxic, complex, and more mature romance.
The Romance
Yes, the romance is toxic and far from sweet. And the viewers criticizing these characters for being selfish probably didn't get the bigger picture. All of Qi Luo's concerns about why she can't be with the man she loves are completely understandable — just like his obsession with her is also understandable. She is collected, set on her goal, determined to get back home and protect her family. He is a hormonal, love-obsessed man who simply cannot let her go. They are both torn between their feelings for each other and their duty to their countries. It works.
If viewers feel uncomfortable watching the first half set in Beixuan while Xuan Lie is still a horrible red flag, they should move on to lighthearted romcoms. This drama is simply not for them.
The Chemistry Debate (Yes, I'm Going There)
There are too many people online criticizing the casting of Angelababy with Song Weilong, and I'm not quite sure why. First of all, Song Weilong has plenty of experience working with older actresses — his co-star in Find Yourself is twelve years older, among his other co-stars. Secondly, this man can make chemistry with my nightstand. So here? The chemistry is absolutely present. People saying Angelababy is showing her age on screen are insane — they must be eighteen or nineteen. Oh, I will see how they sing when they are my age. Women in their mid-thirties are fine as hell. I wish I could get my thirty-seven back now; I'd be very happy. If viewers can't feel the chemistry between them at the end of episode fourteen, they are blind and should not be watching romantic dramas. Period. Angelababy and Song Weilong looked absolutely gorgeous together. He has the kind of aura that allows him to feel domineering, endearing, and protective alongside any more experienced actress. And she is drop-dead gorgeous. So, let’s just not.
Character Growth
Xuan Lie does grow as a character in the last third of the show once he realizes his mistakes. His growth actually starts much sooner — when he plans on deceiving everyone at his wedding to let Qi Luo leave. Unfortunately, Qi Luo never finds out about his intentions and takes matters into her own hands, which causes the rift between them. She also realizes toward the end that forcing herself to forget someone she can't is futile. Here again, I think the writers needed to develop this realization in her earlier, before Xuan Lie's alleged death in Yannan. There were too many wasted opportunities in Yannan — instead of having three or more scenes (that basically repeated themselves but in different settings) of him asking Qi Luo to talk about their relationship properly and her telling him to leave, the writers should have written better situations for him to actually show her he's changed and her accepting him. Show, don't tell. Please.
This was a very lazy script work. Nothing to do with actors.
What Didn't Work
From what I already mentioned, the biggest flaw is the weak writing and the many missed opportunities. This drama could have also used a couple more episodes to wrap things up better and give our leads more time to be an actual couple after they reunited. Them coming together to terms with wanting to be with each other felt rushed. I wanted more romance and courting and tension post-reunification — give me the payoff! But this seems to be the general issue with most romantic C-dramas. Writers start building the foundation for the romance and then get carried away and forget how many episodes they actually have to finalize everything, so they scramble at the last bit to put things together as fast as they can.
I also don't understand the choice not to show Xuan Lie and Qi Luo's children. Why?
Another extremely missed opportunity is Shao Qi Min and Qing Kou's storyline. It started off so well — Ren Hao was stunning in the few episodes they were paired up together at the beginning. Their ending was horrible, but made total sense. The problem? Writers completely ignored them in the middle stretch. If you're going to give a secondary couple screen time, then actually develop them. They did Qing Kou so dirty. She was an interesting character at her core—a spoiled princess who falls for her slave/foreigner. She ended up being neglected by writers entirely, and I kept wondering why writers bothered setting them up at all as a couple. Or why include her character at all? They wrote her horribly.
The Acting and Production
As far as acting goes, both leads did well. Song Weilong needs a high-budget drama to truly showcase his skills. He's great in romantic roles, he has a strong on-screen presence, and as I've said — he can create chemistry with anyone. He's still not quite there with certain emotional scenes. I think sometimes, when it gets too nuanced he doesn’t quite pull it off, but I think that's partially a direction issue because I’ve seen enough fo his work to see that he does have talent. He just needs that one big role for him to show it. Angelababy is very pretty, and here's my advice: if you start watching and consider deserting it after a couple of episodes because you're put off by her acting while she's still dressed as a man — don't let it affect your view. Keep at it for a few more episodes. Her character changes throughout the drama as she starts wearing women’s clothes, and her mannerisms change as well.
I also initially dropped it because of poor CGI in second and third episodes, but in all honesty, CGI is used sparingly, and there are only a handful of scenes where the budget is obviously lacking. It won’t be too distracting later on. For the most part, I really liked the costumes, especially in the Beixuan setting. So give it a few episodes — if you're still around after episode four, you'll probably enjoy it or at least finish it.
Final Verdict
Everlasting Longing is not the best historical drama out there. The script is underdeveloped, some characters aren't fully fleshed out, and the main couple deserved more time together after reuniting and some better-written scenarios. The secondary couple was ignored by the writers altogether.
But… this was romance-heavy with very high stakes. It was fast-paced and didn't waste time on unnecessary characters and subplots. The music is beautiful. And the relationship between Xuan Lie and Qi Luo was complex enough to keep me invested throughout. This is exactly why I watch romantic C-dramas — over-the-top stories with swoon-worthy male leads that make me feel things.
I think this would be perfect for someone just starting their journey into Chinese historical dramas who hasn't yet seen recent blockbusters like POJ or POB and doesn't have their bar set astronomically high. That said, I watched this right after those titles raised my bar, and I still enjoyed it. For me, this was very entertaining — flaws and all.
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