This was the first drama I couldn’t wait for. I watched all the YouTube videos showing the making of. I patiently waited until my streaming service had the English translations ready to go. Then in January, I sat down and began what I hoped was the next EL…..which……..sigh, it wasn’t.

STORY:
Eternal Love of Dream is the love story of two fun characters from Eternal Love adapted from the novel by the same writer as Eternal Love. The problem with this story is Bai Feng Jiu’s and Dong Hua Dijun’s story is pretty much the only interesting storyline in this entire show. One of the beauties of EL is that it had so many fun characters that it wasn’t just about the leads. Other than the character of Chi Wu played very nicely by Wayne Liu, everyone else was just so-so. Okay. I take that back….Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen’s relationship was very nicely defined (more so than EL) and I will admit I didn’t see anything but bromance in EL, but it is very easy to see there is more to those two in ELOD (It was almost as if they said…..What Censors?).

CHARACTERS:
Of course, Bai Feng Jiu and Dong Hua Dijun are so much more interesting in ELOD because they are fleshed out and have lots of good and bad about them. I didn’t appreciate their mortal arc (but it was well thought out). I do love how Bai Feng Jiu is really good at some things like cooking and sword fighting but still childish and immature up until the Aranya arc. Dilraba is probably one of my favorite Chinese actresses if not the very top. The same goes with Vengo Gao’s performance as the cold and aloof Dong Hua Di Jun. He warms up about the same time the Feng Jiu grows up. Their conclusion was quite nicely done.

Wayne Liu played Yan Chi Wu the obnoxious demon prince out to challenge Dong Hua Dijun to several duels all the time because he thinks his true love Ji Heng will marry Dong Hua. By far, Chi Wu is the MOST interesting character in the entire show. Wayne Liu played 15th Disciple in EL but in this, he is WAY more fun (they even explain the likeness which is silly but who cares).

That’s it. Si Ming’s and Feng Jiu’s relationship in EL was more fun. Lian Song and Cheng Yu were more interesting in ELOD but meh…I didn’t even see their story was concluded. Other than the strangely fascinating pair of Bai Zhen and Zhe Yan (by the end….it was obvious), not one of the characters were fun or deliciously evil.

Ji Heng (Angel Liu), well I feel very sad for the actress. Here she bought the rights to ELOD before EL was released. After EL, there was no female that could play Feng Jiu properly other than Dilraba. If Ji Heng was written the way Angel Liu portrayed her, then eeeeek. She would have been better off trying for the Cheng Yu part. From the first moment Ji Heng was introduced, I hated her and didn’t change my mind with her ending either. I don’t think that was because of Angel Liu but how it was written. (Poor Angel Liu)

MUSIC:
The music was nice, but I didn’t download anything. It was very reminiscent of EL. Again….meh.

REWATCH VALUE:
I’ll admit, I went back to watch the beginning parts with Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen (because the end was so blatant) just to see if they were a couple from the beginning……yep. Other than that, I just couldn’t do it. I may go back and re-watch the bird tribe arc with Chi Wu and Feng Jiu. That was just fun all around.

OVERALL:
If you liked EL, you should watch ELOD. If you like Vengo Gao or Dilraba (and I love them both), then watch ELOD. If you like lots of fun characters which makes Wuxia so much fun…..ELOD, not so much. Truth be told, I put ELOD on hold in March and did not pick it back up to complete until August. It didn't capture my heart as well as EL did. BUT! It was worth finishing.