One and Only (2021)

A tragic love story

This won’t be your typical romance drama, and there’s not a lot of skin-ship. There were many times I would scream at my screen and say, “Kiss her you fool!” ;) But alas, Zhousheng Chen is too noble and honourable for that.

It’s a slow burn, melodrama with a tragic ending, so make sure you have the stomach for that. The storyline can be confusing, as the timeline goes across years in just one episode and next thing you know, ten years have passed! Also there’s a lot of families and clans so the names will be difficult to remember. It starts off a little meh, and the first half is lighter but as it progresses the conspiracy, power struggle, betrayal etc makes it darker and definitely more interesting.

I DO LOVE the cinematography! The settings are all so realistic and beautiful. The battle scenes are epic, very similar to LOTR (in fact one scene really looked like the battle at Rohan) and the orchestral music soundtrack is very very well done! It really moves the audience for the particular scene. Bravo to the composers!

Now as for the love story, it’s slow- but their affections run deep and although nothing was really laid out in the open, their love for each other was very real. From the happy glances to the intense looks; the gestures and gifts that he gave Cui Shiyi over the years; from how he is so protective of her etc... I only wish, really wished there was SOME skin-ship and some sort of utterance of love etc. Even if it was just one scene... sigh. Allen Ren was good, a little stiff I felt with not much variation in portraying his emotions. Bai Lu I loved!! Very beautiful and talented actress but I don’t know why her voice was dubbed. :(

The supporting casts were fantastic! Each had their own story and character development which were fundamental to the plot and storyline. I DO FEEL SORRY for Liu Zi Xing- as a kid he was being used as a scapegoat and took all the punishments for the emperor; he was promised the title Crown Prince but was denied it later; the woman he loved felt nothing for him; his health was poorly and in the end, he lost everything. Really sad :(:(

The ending [skip this part if you don’t want to read SPOILERS] :
1) Zhousheng Chen should have never trusted the word of a mad rebellious general like Jin Rong. When he was set up, he had enough manpower to fight back.
2) Cui Shiyi - ending your life also was not the right choice. You could have helped regain the armies and power to fight back and bring honour back to the kingdom.
3) I thought there would at least be an epic battle scene where the Nanchen Royal Army would fight back, but in the end it was just a brief summary. the last 15-20mins was kind of a let down.

Tbh, I didn’t cry at the end. Not like Scarlet Heart Ryeo and Youth of May- I was crying till I couldn’t breathe :( The next drama Forever and Ever- is a continuation of this story, where they meet again in modern times and Cui Shiyi has memories of her past life. One and Only is one of the better historical Wuxia dramas, definitely recommended. :)

Read More

Sad but we will love the story.

I had postponed continuing this drama since episode 12 because at that time I watched the Taiwanese drama More than Blue and my eyes were very sore from crying a lot. a few days ago I continued watching this drama until the end, and right as I thought, I cried until I used up a lot of tissue. the story is very sad, even though I have watched forever and ever, but still, the sadness of this drama is very heavy and it hurts to see the ending of shi yi, his brothers-sisters, and teacher Zhousheng Chen who are punished. since the first episode, I was amazed by this drama which has very beautiful cinematography, the soundtrack songs that fits the drama, and amazing acting from the actors.
I'm giving 9 point for rewatch value because may be I need a time (a right time) when I need something to watch for crying, because a little bit heavy crying TT.
At the end of the conclusion, the sad ending is not always bad, this drama has a special place in the hearts of the audience because of the sad ending.

Read More

Beautiful drama with sad ending...

I don't know how to express my feelings after watching this drama..the story line, superb acting, all the soundtrack and how the story brings me in to the drama make me feel hate, anger and sadness. I cried a lot, smiled and loved at the same time. I know this drama has a sad ending but I still love watching all the episodes, even though I cannot stop crying . Great job Bailu & Allen.
Aku adalah fans Bai Lu dari Indonesia. Aku sangat menikmati suguhan drama yang indah ini. Tidak sabar menantikan drama lanjutannya Forever and ever. Semoga drama lanjutannya membawa kebahagiaan buat Bai Lu dan Allen Ren. Mengobati patah hati fans di drama One and Only..semangat buat semua

Read More

A Heartbreaking Wholesome drama

This drama is filled with careful planning of the character and the plot. The ML is the ultimate prefect man u can get just that u can never get him (U will know y when u watch the drama). My ML is such a responsibly man for the country but that will also be what led him to his downfall :( The family relations among the ML and the 10 orphans that he lived with was also very wholesome. Everyone supports each other well :)

My FL is such a cute sweetheart even the mighty ML will fall for her. The FL seems to be a cute and innocent girl at the start but once she starts talking, you will realised that she is actually very smart and sensible.

However, I really hated the 2nd ML to the core(which means he did a good job). The 2nd ML is actually quite pitiful but his actions really make me erase my sympathy to him.

Everyone should know this will be a tragedy and u will cry ur hearts out at the ending..... I am so happy there is a part 2 to this drama in the modern world. Hopefully that will help to heal my broken heart for this couple.

Read More

Beautiful Story and Beautiful Chemistry

I have read the novel and really like it. So when it was made into two different dramas, I was already very excited. In the book, their past story has too many plot holes, in drama, all these plot holes are well covered. Thumbs up!

The chemistry between Zhou Sheng Chen and Cui Shi Yi is adorable! Likewise the chemistry between Zhou Sheng Chen and all his students. The interaction between them made me feel like they were a family. And so cute too! Shi Yi was treated like a princess in the Xiao Nangchen Prince's residence, and was very protected. Make them look solid. It's a shame it's the plot demands that make their story sad. This makes their future (next drama) worth watching.

I feel so sad 'cause I know they will be separated by the plot and torn apart, even though I already know from the start how this story would end.

Read More

The first ever drama that makes me cry a lot and makes my heart ache?

It’s been so long that I haven’t cried like this while watching a drama. This is the most beautifully painful drama I’ve ever watched. First let’s talk about the two main leads! I haven’t watched that much of Allen Ren dramas before so I didn’t know that his acting is this good. He’s so perfect and fit in with his character. Needless to say about Bai Lu, I know her acting is so great. I’ve seen her previous dramas with strong woman facade so when I see her with this Shi Yi character, I’m surprised by her versatility that she can portray any character or any role with ease. Here comes about the story or the plot of this drama. I heard this is based on the novel, I haven’t read it yet. So I cannot tell the drama is as good as the novel. Although I am watching this drama knowing nothing about the novel, I’ll give this plot 10/10. The development if feeling for each other goes with a slow pace. So if you like fluff romantic senes this is not for you. But even though there is not much skinship between them, I really like their soft gestures, meaningful gazes and soft romance. If feels like you are contented just by these because you can really feel their true love and how much they care for each other. Next, I want to give thumbs up to the production team for the beautiful cinematography. The setting places in the drama are so beautiful that I want to jump into the drama and watch those beautiful scenes together with them. Lastly, the OST! I like all the osts and they all perfect with the drama. There’s this OST(the duet one I don’t remember the title) I feel like my heart aching and my eyes crying whenever it comes out in the drama. So after all, I give this total 8/10. Why it’s not 10/10 is because I feel like my heart is so aching for the male lead. He doesn’t deserve any of this after all he had done for his country, and the people. There is no one left to clear off his name. At first I thought, the female lead would clear his accusation at least before she goes after him. But on her point of view, I can see that she can’t do much for revenge and may be cuz she has no strength to fight. So she just chose to goes after him. So it’s obviously a sad ending but I want you to give this a try even though you don’t like sad endings cuz it’s really worth the watch. You won’t regret it! It also has a sequel which is about their reincarnation story during today’s era. So you’ll have happy ending in that drama of course!

Read More

Entertaining enough

This is not the melodrama or the tragic love story I was expecting but it was entertaining.

STORY:

- First part : How ShiYi ends up the "student" of Zhou Sheng Chen and the time they spend together or far from each other. How they grow fond of each other. The part is cute and fun. They obviously have a huge age gap and different levels of maturity but it made it even more credible.

- Second part : ShiYi leaves for the Capital of the Center State to marry. The plots and schemes for power intensify and they are caught in the middle. That part looked the usual historical palace cdrama with its numerous characters and schemes. It was enjoyable as it was clear and fast paced, not too convoluted.

- Love story : It is not a Love story. These two were no lovers. Master and protégée, teacher and pupil, fatherly figure and god daughter maybe, friends and confidants... Instead, it is a story of untold feelings. I liked how their fidelity to their duty and their love for their people led them to their demise.

CHARACTERS / ACTORS:

- Zhou Sheng Chen : I liked the character. He is a great general but also very human and caring for people. He has a nice personality despite the fact that he almost never smile. He is a man of his word. His priority was always his duty even before ShiYi. He had affection and feelings for her but he keeps them buried inside as he must do. It is his role and his fate. Allen Ren is a good actor and I liked his portrayal of Zhou Sheng Chen

- Cui Shi Yi . At first I thought she was someone smart and a fighter but no. She is just a little bookworm smitten by a great hero's figure. She slowly develops feelings for him. But she is also a filial daughter and she agrees to marry for the sake of her family. I always had the feeling that her love was more made of admiration than real love as she was always calling him her master. Bai Lu is great as a strong female or as a nice weak protégée.

- Other characters were interesting. I liked General Hong and General Cui's story. This was the real love story. General Feng and the monk were cute together.

MUSIC:

It was good but one thing really annoyed me. Why they used so many songs to create a mood and atmosphere but the lyrics were louder than the dialogue at very important moments? That totally spoiled these moments for me.

REWATCH VALUE:

Maybe not but it does not mean it is not good.

OVERALL: 9. It is a good story. Not Romeo and Juliet but the two leads are cute and endearing. Both from their own side, they were really torn between their duty and their affection and feelings. Their ending is tragic as expected but it is well made for both of them to the point you will shed a tear for sure. The ending is well done and the story is nicely wrapped.

Read More

Good show, just have a few points to nitpick

Ok. Just finished this 5mins ago and i am burning with so much feels!

I’ll start with the good things about this drama. And bare in mind, i’m starting this show with 80% assurance that there will be tragic ending, so it’s not that the not happy ending is the thing that bugs me while watching.

-the chemistry between the FL and ML are thru the roof. From the first maybe 15episodes, they are still calling each other disciple-master, but somehow you get that theres more to them. No lovey dovey words, nor there are any kiss scene, but somehow, we know how in love they are. Which is basically what chinese dramas do best as compared to western ones (i hate when people kept commenting while watching chinese historical dramas for the leads to kiss already 🙄. Hello, this is chinese historical where basically for males to have a look at the female’s feet prior to marriage is considered taboo and disrespectful already, what more kissing or the french kiss you people from the west are clamouring for??)
-fight scenes are almost well executed and not cringey to watch. I’ll probably rate them 8/10
-costumes are aplenty and very beautiful for both the males and females. I especially like all the costumes for the palace scenes. They are all looking very majestic and flowy 😍
-the patriotism and ‘serving the country till death’ theme are very well potrayed and carried out thru the series.
-it’s quite refreshing to see such a character such as cui wenjun. She’s a matriarch alright, but still retain her humanity and respect almost all of shiyi’s decisions
-shiyi’s character is so mentally strong in my opinion. She is mature. She can still discern what she ought to do/her responsibilities as a daughter of a noble family even though she is head over heels in love. If zhousheng chen did not die unjust-fully like that, i bet she will carry on being such a powerful support to the country


Issues:
-the ML and FL’s look/beauty are something that grew on me. Not a fan of first FL’s look when she was younger but then she grows beautifully after. Props to the dresser/MUA. And i have a little issue with ML’s look initially due to finding him quite similar to Young Master Mo in Legend on Hua BuQi. Lol.
-the master-disciple love story may be slight disturbing at first, what with they equating them to ‘once a master, always a father’ sort of statement at start of the story, but then, with their narrow age gap and zhousheng chen being the ‘one woman man’ that he is, i grow to accept the love between the 2 leads afterwards
-liu zixing’s affection towards shiyi is basically creeping me out from start to finish. He’s complete obsessed lunatic i tell you!
-not sure what disciple shiyi is meant to be when she’s being sent to Nanshen Wangfu. I mean, it’s not like she has the build for or the motive for learning how to fight a war. The plot of master-disciple is quite shaky and unconvincing imho 🤷🏼‍♀️

Ok. That being said, what’s left is basically my biggest pet peeve regarding the plot!

Like, the hell with zhousheng chen??!!! I understand why he swore his earlier oaths like not setting foot in the central plain again and even not getting married and having child of his own. Truly, he’s a powerful Wangye. So, his oaths are just basically to remove himself from threatening the throne. But pray tell me what the hell is he thinking just basically surrender himself to slaughter by someone who are very clearly not fit for throne (liu zixing) and a traitor/outsider (jin rong) than claiming the throne himself and do right by the country??! If it’s only about honoring his previous oath, then he had no problem setting foot in central plain after he swore not to? And it’s not like he’s taking the throne from someone rightful, like his brother, or his nephew liu hui. Even the little emperor liu zizhen is forced to abdicate by the traitor liu zixing, so what kind of rightful emperor are you surrendering youself to?? I mean, that is just plain stupid and selfish of someone of his standing. He knows that he is unjustly accused and put to death, and knows that this will not sit right with the ministers and his uncles/elders (who btw are dropping like flies being killed due to his surrender) and also his battalions of Nanshen Royal Soldier and generals, who are obviously going to rebel in order to revenge him. What peace are you preserving by surrendering?? And did he even spare a thought to shiyi, his so called beloved disciple who are still, at his time of surrender, who is still trapped to marry liu zixing, the very one who ordered all this massacre?? He just goes on his merry way to death, like it is even honourable?? For me, at that point of events, the more honorable way to go is to put down the rebellion/traitor, pick up the throne and govern your country (you know you are better than the ones currently usurping the power. You are even from the royal liu family at birth, so it’s not like you are not qualified even though you already change the surname previously 🙄). You can even bring liu zizhen up and properly nurture him to become a good emperor and abdicate the throne to him later if you detest the throne so much! But he went the chicken route and surrender rather than braving the way and do the right thing. I mean, i kept on watching the coronation scenes so many times it drives me crazy! Hahaha. What ‘long live the king’?? No king lives that long in my opinion. Lol. And alas, the throne went back to liu zizhen, the child emperor who cant even govern properly by himself. 🙄🙄
And obviously, his decision will lead to shiyi’s death as no woman in love will stoop so low as to allow herself to marrying the one who she’s convinced killed the love of her life wrongly and is not the rightful ruler anyway. Anyone can see that. Daaaahhh 🙄🙄

And for god sake, liu zixing! The f* do you want the throne for??! You are obviously frail in health and will die sooner most probably rather than later, the hell do you want the throne for??! And basically killing all your Liu families by trying to work with Jin Rong when you know that jin rong does not even respect you and given a chance, will overthrow you for his own Jin family??

Finally, i found that the Yang Shou character is the most intelligent. Lol. Even if some of his actions are questionable, and even his loyalty is questionable, in the end, he push forward, knows whats he’s doing and his end motives are. He got his due as a general and can even appoint Liu Zizhen as the emperor in the end. That, zhousheng chen, is how an intelligent general works!

All in all, it is quite a good show and having a 24 episodes is just enough for the theme and plot (rather than having more and risk being draggy), but i dont think i will quite rewatch this in the future.

Read More

Masterpiece I tell ya!

This is a real OG magnifico, extraordinary show! I laughed, I had frights, felt all anger and I freaking bawled to the point I had to stop eating my dinner!

The story line is great, the music? great, cast? Terrific!
Acting? Spot on!

This started off as a drama that you'd expect to be either cliché or soft.
But the story line developed and so did my feelings for the show.

It had me in and out of my freaking feelings, stressed out and thirsty for war!

Just to get it across... I AM NOT SATISFIED THAT THE CROWN PRINCE DIED FROM HIS ILLNESS! I WANTED THEM TO BURN IS A$$ ALIVE!!!

(pordon my french)

The music (ost) was good too, i liked the piano instrumental (background music) the most to be honest, even though all of them was good.

I think the did good with this show, i'll have to go find something cute to watch to help me move on seriously.

The costumes were beautiful too & none of the mens' wigs looked overly fake and I liked that.

The fight scenes? spectacular! Very detailed and seemed real.


i salute this show *chef's freaking kiss* man!

But tbh I rewatch value for me? 4/10

Why?
Because this show really punctured my heart and tried my life!
Thats why!

But watch it man, see what i'm talking about for yourself.

You shall not be disappointed.

Read More

Worst ending

Too emotional and the end , worst ending , after going though every episode the end is not worth the while , nothing gained ready disappointed.

The start captures the viewers and when you get to the last 5 episodes the shit hits the fan and a single happy ending just sorrow .
The good this is that you enjoy the first 15 episodes and feel good that the story is going somewhere where the main male lead will do something out of the box but after that its only dragging on with females politics

The action is pretty good but only in a few episodes the rest is talk and gossip.
Not worth watching if your in to rom-com. No physical there is not even a kiss. All the couples are suffering. And the end its justttttt out of the world like lighting a good painting on fire

Read More

A good lead-up to Forever and Ever

"A good bone structure,
what's so special about these bones?
Even the royal family fears them,
and all the people in the land praise them."

I, like most people, awaited episode 16 knowing episodes 17-24 were coming out on the same night. I said "I'll pace myself..." Needless to say it was impossible for me to last more than these last two days! HAH. So here's my honest review on this.

STORY:
The early synopsis description of the show actually stated that ZSC 'died'. It didn't state that he was 'injured', I read that on a few fan sites, drama review sites including My Drama List. I think they changed it after a while realising that it might have been too detailed. I remember reading it thinking.. "Great, so I know what happens to him". I don't even think they should have mentioned that he got injured. So if you think about it, the storyline was already quite predictable. But like most period dramas, there's a lot of plotting, scheming, killing, heartbreak and love. I think in that sense, it's like any other drama within this genre.

PRODUCTION:
I think it's safe to say episode 1 was a real slow burner, so if you're struggling to get past it like I was (I watched it in 10 min intervals because I was loosing concentration), just know, you'll eventually get past it! It definitely picks up around episode 2-5 and by then if you're not hooked, then maybe it's not the show for you, but come back and try again!

I love that they filmed in real climates. All the snow scenes were beautiful! I also loved the way they edited the scenes. The cue's for all the music were just spot on. The library setup was my fave. I also like that all the action shots were up to parr, and not fake-looking or exaggerated.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of voiceovers. I see the need for it sometimes and I get why some directors/writers/producers might opt for it, but personally, I feel that this is a discredit to the actors who already put so much time and effort trying to memorise lines and act the scenes. I honestly couldn't get Shawn Dou's image out of my head every time Allen Ren spoke, but that's also because Bian Jiang voiced him in 'Tears in Heaven' too. It didn't ruin the show for me, but it made it really hard for me to be fully into Allen Ren. I know what Allen Ren actually sounds like—honestly, he doesn't sound that bad! He's a singer, like.. ???

Same with Bai Lu, I loved her in 'Love is Sweet' and thought she was already amazing as an actress, but I hadn't seen her in a period drama setting and I didn't think her actual voice was going to ruin the image of Shi Yi and I was curious about her portrayal. But all things considered, I was pleased with who they got as the voiceover actors and think they suited what a 'ZSC' and a 'ShiYi' should sound like. I love that the two of them are actually really great off-screen too. They're both just such extroverted people and you can tell they've got good chemistry!

CHARACTERS:
Shi Yi's inability to speak did drive me nuts in the earlier episodes and I was almost convinced she was going to speak like this the whole way through. Thankfully that stopped early on. I love the way Bai Lu portrayed her. Her smile made 16 year old Shi Yi look so innocent and it was great to see her character's growth through her change of looks. From the change of hair styles and even clothing colours.

Considering ZSC is supposed to be 25, I thought Allen played a rather convincing and matured ZSC, I almost wasn't sure about what their age gaps were which could make you believe that their relationship felt inappropriate (I know I did) but I love that they weren't too heavy on the romance for that very reason. I read a few comments below about people asking if he was going to kiss her and I can't believe that that's all some people look for. Cause can you imagine? 16's technically not a legal age! LOL.

I'm not saying there aren't plenty of CP moments (episodes 13-15 have plenty), but if you look past the need for any physical romance, there was such a deep and profound love between the two characters that didn't need to be publicly or verbally voiced out. There were many many things he did to show how much he cared for her and likewise with her—the writing of her name as their 'secret' in episode 17 was my fave because it was basically his declaration of his love for her. Shi Yi even says in episode 16, "I never had any wild thoughts, I really just want to be with him, and stay by his side, that's enough". You can definitely see that they could never have been anything more than the master/disciple relationship. *cue Forever and Ever.

PS - episodes 15-17, 23-24 will possibly require you to have tissues handy.

MUSIC:
I could instantly recognise Zhang BiChen's voice the minute her song played, I loved that they got her to sing the theme song for this. BUT my favourite would have to be Vanessa Lin's 'Ruo'. If this doesn't scream ShiYi, I don't know what else does.
"My obsession is silent,
I use all my life to guard only one person
I say nothing, only hoping to spend my life with you
I'm full of love for you
Waiting to unlock the years of time
Our eyes willl still be full of stars when we reunite"

<3

Overall, I still think they did an amazing job, and it's unlike any other Chinese Drama production that has thought to split their story in two timelines like this. I think that's a great idea and I wouldn't be surprise if we start to see more shows follow the same suite. Like many others, I'm awaiting to see what 'Forever and Ever' will hold for ZSC and ShiYi, because let's be real, that ending gave us all a heartache and we can't wait to see them finally have the ending they deserved.

Read More