ottercakes

Everlasting Longing starts off with all the signs of a solid drama — an intriguing premise, a dual-nation setup, and characters with actual potential. With its unique structure bouncing between the perspectives of Beixuan and Yannan, it should have delivered layered political tension and juicy emotional stakes. But somewhere along the way, the drama veers off a cliff into the Land of Lost Potential™, weighed down by sloppy execution, character arcs that change with the weather, and more dropped threads than a broken loom.

The dual setting — Beixuan and Yannan — had all the ingredients for a rich, nuanced narrative. Two nations. Two ideologies. Two leads trying to balance love, loyalty, and political survival. But instead of weaving those threads into something cohesive, the story ends up fragmented, confused, and emotionally hollow. The first half holds promise, actually building toward something meaningful. Then we get to the second act and... that sound you hear? That’s the plot face-planting.

Core themes are introduced with great importance — a mysterious resource, escalating conflict, loyalty tested under fire — only to be conveniently ghosted whenever it’s time to follow through. Like, we’re gearing up for potential war and then suddenly it’s like, “You know what? Never mind.” Tension that should explode just kind of… dissolves. One minute, you’re expecting betrayal. The next, everyone’s singing kumbaya with zero buildup. It's like the writers hit “skip to resolution” and hoped we wouldn’t notice.

And the characters? Buckle up. The female lead starts out as a firecracker — smart, strategic, fully in control of her role in this political chessboard. Then, almost out of nowhere, she’s softened into a vaguely pacifist figure with motivations that feel more like plot devices than actual choices. It’s like the writers got bored of her intelligence and decided vibes were more important than consistency. Her development doesn't evolve — it erodes.

And Xuan Lie? Introduced as the stoic, duty-bound soldier with a complicated moral compass, only to quickly unravel into a walking contradiction. His decisions make no sense. His loyalty shifts like sand in a storm. And the drama expects us to roll with it — but with zero internal logic to explain why. A few juicy moral dilemmas are dangled in front of us, and just as you think we’re diving into something deep — nope, back to status quo. His arc is less a character journey and more like someone shaking a snow globe of angst and hoping it settles into something profound. Spoiler: it doesn't.

Honestly, the side couple steals the show. Their relationship is grounded, emotionally earned, and — miracle of miracles — consistent. Their moments together feel like actual storytelling. Their emotional beats land. Watching them, you can’t help but think: Was this written by a different team? Can they take over the rest, please?

Meanwhile, the main romance can’t decide what it wants to be. There's no cohesion, no sense of progression — just a grab bag of dramatic tropes that pile on top of each other like someone’s ticking clichés off a checklist. A few heavy emotional moments are tossed in to sell the illusion of depth, but there’s no foundation underneath. It all feels like grief for the sake of drama, rather than something that actually earns our investment.

And don’t even get me started on the ending. Let’s just say a lot of things are implied, very few are shown, and whatever emotional payoff they were aiming for gets drowned in the sea of unresolved subplots. There’s a final scene meant to be symbolic and touching — and maybe it could have been, if it hadn’t followed two straight hours of narrative ghosting.

One bright spot? A smaller subplot that actually pulls off something subtle and moving — a quiet, unrequited love arc that manages to stay true to its characters and deliver something emotionally satisfying without the dramatics. It’s underplayed and underused, but hey, at least someone remembered how to write emotional continuity.

Also — shoutout to one poor character who gets dragged into the main plot only to be left hanging with no resolution, no closure, and definitely no reward for their time. You deserved better, my guy.

In the end, Everlasting Longing had everything going for it: a strong concept, political intrigue, rich worldbuilding, and emotional stakes waiting to be mined. But instead of digging deeper, it skips from one shallow conflict to another, hoping the aesthetics and dramatic music will cover the holes. It wants to say something meaningful about love, duty, and sacrifice — but forgets to actually truly show it.

The acting? Solid.
The visuals? Gorgeous.
The writing? A hot mess.

So unless you’re tuning in just for the side couple (and honestly, I wouldn’t blame you), this is one drama you can absolutely skip.

But hey, at least they all looked good doing it. Heh.