Michelle Topham

The side characters are interesting, as is the ML. There is ZERO chemistry between the ML and the FL - am now fast forwarding thru all their scenes, as they've become mind-numbing. Drama is still awesome. Their relationship is not :)

Pace has slowed waaaaay down in the last two episodes, the FL is increasingly useless and increasingly annoying. Hopefully it will pick back up. If the FL gets killed in the next episode, I'd be even happier :)

He's also really young -- just 22, but has a decent acting range for someone barely an adult :) He had a guest role in The King's Avatar (fabulous drama!) and really stood out for me in that one too. Especially as he was only about 15 or 16 at the time.

It's actually a very interesting scenario, with the second season, IMO, being FAR more powerful once you understand the backstory of Season 1. It might seem like two separate stories, but it's not at all.

And remember, if you find the first season slow-going (I did a bit), you can always watch it on 1.5 or 2x speed :)

She's far more interesting than the bland useless FL.

The soundtrack is gorgeous. I've been listening to it on repeat on YouTube Music for days. Then again, it would be as its by renowned Chinese composer Hu Xiao Ou who also composed the music for series like The Prisoner of Beauty, Unveil: Jadewind, Blood River etc. His OSTs are always epic, and this is no different.

Orchestra btw is the China International Philharmonic Orchestra. They also performed the soundtrack for The Untamed, Nirvana in Fire, The Longest Day in Chang'an and several others. Equally stunning music. They place some of the tracks from the dramas during their live concerts.

BTW, I wrote an article yesterday about the Fate Chooses You OST with all the pertinent information if anyone is interested:

https://michelletopham.com/fate-chooses-you-ost-information-composer-lyricist-theme-song-artists-tracks-instruments-and-more/

Yes, you need to watch both seasons or you won't understand the second season or many of the references in it. Forever and Ever is the second season and the second half of a novel, One and Only being the first half of the novel.

No. Or you will miss the entire backstory of their relationship. It's the SECOND season,

Yes. Or you miss the entire story of the point of their entire relationship. The story in One and Only is integral to the story in Forever and Ever. Crazy anyone would think it isn't.

And re: pacing, we are already over halfway through it (Ye Gods, that went fast!) and, by this point with many other dramas, I'm often trying to figure out if I can motivate myself to finish it. ROTFL.

With this one, I'm wishing it had been a 60-episode one, it's so entertaining!

Yep. They really are.

Yep. It's both very tightly written and very tightly directed, and then immaculately post-produced, so the pacing is exceptionally well done. I've watched many many hundreds of C-dramas over the last couple of decades, and get bored easily.

In this one, other than the one scene with the FL going on and on and on about the abuse of humans and berating the sect members while holding the Jade tokens, which should have been shorter in my opinion (writing should have been tighter) as it harmed the pacing, there hasn't been one scene that I've thought "That should have been cut". An exceptionally well-created in all respects drama.

Fight scenes in this are incredibly well choreographed. They're nicely paced as well, and don't drag on too long like fights in some dramas. Looking forward to the completion of the latest fight in Ep 23 :)

Not every drama or actor works for everyone :) For instance, I'm loving this drama and Allen Ren but speed-watching through all of Wang He Run's scenes, especially as she has ZERO chemistry with Allen Ren. Oh for a better FL :)

Same. The cast was exceptionally good in that one too, and loved all the characters.

Don't try to educate the "woke" and idiotic. It's like the saying about pigs -- "Never wrestle with a pig - it gets mud all over both of you, and the pig likes it" :) Just block these "virtuous anti-racist" morons and move on. Makes your day much more pleasant I've found :)

They never are black, these "defenders" of blacks. They're just woke, white liberals who feel "virtuous" because they're calling out so-called "racism". Meanwhile, actual blacks care about actual racism, and not fabricated b.s. like this one. I block all of them, btw. They're a waste of space.

Oh I absolutely agree with you, especially in Chinese dramas where looks surpass pretty much everything else when casting women for wuxia/xianxia etc dramas. (It's similar in K-dramas although that does seem to be changing, as there are now more average looking Korean actresses without already large fan bases who can actually act becoming household names).

I'm just holding out for the day where most FLs (and MLs) are portrayed by people who are more than just a pretty face and a big fan club. Although I don't mind a pretty face if there is substance behind it as well :) As for Wang He Run, she is nowhere near the worst actress in C-dramas, as she's at least palatable in most scenes in this :)

And btw, it is changing somewhat with the men, although we still have a plethora of pretty boys grabbing MLs.

Look at Allen Ren, average looking honestly and aging, but still grabbing the main roles, Cheng Yi, who is quite plain, Xiao Shun Yao not remotely stereotypically attractive - huge nose, a heavy, not delicate face, Liu Xue Yi (who has more of a villain's face if the truth be known - I'm writing an article about that as we speak :), Xiao Zhan (sure, he has a massive following since The Untamed, but he's not stereotypically attractive), Dylan Wang -- all actors who, if you saw them on the street and they weren't famous, you wouldn't look at twice. But... one thing they all have in common, they are superb actors.

I'd like to see many more female actresses like that. And I'm fine if they're beautiful, as long as they can act :)

BTW, just remembered the scene I was thinking about -- if you want a cryin g scene that's actually authentic and shows incredibly acting skills, watch Song Zu Er in Episode 3 of The Demon Hunter's Romance -- Starts at 8:50 into the episode when she finds out her father has died. An incredible scene, and an FL's performance that pulled me into that drama after I felt it was pretty mediocre to begin with.

She's an actress that's pretty enough, but has incredible acting skills, which is why she is also one who will still be around decades from now if she wants to be, IMO.

Oh sure, there is always some of that going on, so you're correct there :) Problem with Wang He Run she's not new talent, she's been grabbing decent roles for a decade, had a slew of main roles, and still can't even half-carry a drama. Annoying :) Ah well -- the drama itself is excellent, and I'm now off to watch the newest episodes :)

Oh and btw, there are some very interesting characters in this besides the ML.

Loving Fu Wei Lun's Meishan Jun, Zhang Kai Ying's A Sheng, and Sun Ze Yuan's Lin Mu Han (especially as he started out as annoying and now is just funny :)