Qinjing

PURE MADNESS!!!

I understand why many viewers felt disappointed with the ending. At this point, the drama could have followed the webtoon more closely, especially since its ending, though still sad, felt more complete.

That said, I genuinely enjoyed this drama. It’s one of the rare shows where I didn’t skip a single scene. From start to finish, it held my attention.

The early high school episodes were a highlight for me. I actually wish they had lasted longer. Without them, if the story had begun only when Baek Ah Jin became a celebrity, her character would have seemed like just another fame-obsessed star willing to do anything to rise to the top. But that’s not who she is. Those early episodes showed the roots of her trauma, and because of that, I could empathize with her, and I pitied her, even if I didn’t agree with her choices at all.

And it wasn’t just her. Every character in this drama had their own brand of madness. Let’s be honest: the world Baek Ah Jin lived in was far from sane, and the people around her were just as chaotic in their own ways! Everyone was mad in their own way!

Despite all this, I admired the two male leads. Their devotion to the female lead was unwavering, and they were willing to do anything to support her. Still, I can’t say I condone all their actions, especially Jun Seo’s behavior toward the end, which was absolutely wild (although that's not what happened in the webtoon).

Overall, I’m really satisfied with this drama. I usually gravitate toward lighthearted romantic comedies filled with cute fluffy moments between the leads, and this show was the complete opposite. Yet I found myself appreciating it deeply, and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something different.

I’m just giving it fewer points for rewatch value. Because of its dark themes and how emotionally heavy it is, I feel that watching it once is more than enough.

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A masterpiece but…

I have mixed feelings about this drama.

Undeniably, it’s a beautifully crafted costume drama. The acting, the landscapes, the fight scenes, and the plot were all meticulously done, with attention to every single detail.

I admit that the first ten episodes didn’t really capture me. However, once Ye Hua appeared and the story began to lean into the romance, I found myself completely drawn in, and as a huge fan of romance, I started loving it.

The interactions between Su Su (formerly Bai Qian) and Ye Hua in the mortal realm were incredibly sweet. But once they arrived at the palace, Ye Hua became distant and cold, supposedly to protect her, though it certainly hurt her feelings. This led to many misunderstandings.

There were a few points that frustrated me:

First, it took an incredibly long time for these misunderstandings to resolve, and I lost count of the episodes before they finally reunited.

Second, as other viewers have noted, some of Ye Hua’s actions toward Bai Qian crossed a line, such as forcibly kissing her. Those moments didn’t feel romantic at all, especially when compared to the tender and heartfelt moments between Su Su and Ye Hua in the mortal realm. Thankfully, it’s a drama, so it was predictable that Bai Qian would fall in love with Ye Hua again,but technically, his behavior was abusive.

The ending was happy, though not particularly memorable.

While I found the plot of Eternal Love more engaging overall, I personally enjoyed the romance in the sequel, Eternal Love of Dream, between Emperor Dong Hua and Bai Feng Jiu, even more.

Overall, this is clearly not a low-budget production. The story was well-crafted, and I genuinely enjoyed watching it. I may even revisit it in the future.

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It started really well but then…

I started watching this drama purely because of Zhang Bin, and to be honest, I probably would have kept watching just for him, but I couldn’t.

The drama started off really strong. I loved the chemistry between the main leads, and the story initially felt intriguing and engaging. Honestly, I think the story should have wrapped up around episode 23 or 24, when Mu Xuan Ling returns to her old self and happily reunites with Xie Xue Chen.

After that point, however, I lost interest in the storyline involving Zhao Ming and others. The chemistry that made the first part so captivating seemed to fade, and the story began to feel weaker.

Overall, I truly believe this drama would have been perfect as a 24-episode series, and for that first part, I would easily give it a solid 10. Unfortunately, after that, it started to go downhill.

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