The Eternal Love Season 2 (2018)

If " The eternal love " was okay, " The eternal love 2 " was bad.

The first few episodes, with the modern era, were interesting and pretty entertaining. But, then we got back to the original story, where we rewatched pretty much what had happened in the first season. At least, this time around, the second couple had their moments and the second lead had a chance to get presented in a better way and so we could get a more in depth look of his character. The big mystery with the two leading characters was nice, but it got tiring and it was not well concluded. The couple, finally, was cute as always, but had less romantic moments in this one.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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The Eternal Love is back with a second
season and we’ve decided that another
positive recap is in order. First, let me
assure you that Lian Cheng’s eyeliner is still
on point, Xiao Tan is as spunky as ever, and
THE BED makes an appearance. What else
is the same, and what has changed? Let’s
find out.
When we last saw our couple Xiao Tan had
been sucked into a black vortex and pulled
Mo Lian Cheng in after her. They showed a
brief scene with Lian Cheng in a horrible wig
that implied they’d made it to the future
alive and would find each other.
Season 2 starts with Lian Cheng explaining
to us that he found out that the fabric of
time had been altered and therefore even if
a world looked to be the same one you
knew, that it could be a parallel universe.
Duh! That’s time travel 101. Lian Cheng
ends up in the present, but this Qu Xiao Tan
isn’t the one who went back to the past, but
the one who existed before that happened.
She doesn’t know about Lian Cheng yet, or
any of their steamy encounters.
Those lame magical villains made it to the
future too (or they are the original ones
from the past time line. Timey wimey can be
confusing) and they’re trying to get that
darn orb. So Lian Cheng has to protect Xiao
Tan while not being some creepy stranger
(we’ll talk about if he managed to not be
creepy later).

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A creditable second season but have some issues

Let's get the caveat out of the way first. You really need to watch season 1 before you watch this. The show starts right after where the last season ended. There is a very quick recap but it doesn't cover any of the backstories so if you don't know the story already, it just won't make sense. Maybe you can pick it up as you go but it will be fairly bewildering for a while. Furthermore, it will be impossible to do a proper review of this season without references to season 1 so spoiler alert.
Firstly, hats off to the writer and director for attempting to do this series. It is not totally unique but certainly a new approach for a c-drama. As mentioned before, this show picked up where the last season left off. All the key characters are present but only one remembered what happened beforehand and the show recreated the story of the OTP's love story from a different angle and with different dynamics in play. On the whole it worked.
The basic framework is the same but they managed to spin new yarns that tied the two seasons together. While in S1, they went high fantasy to try to explain the plot, S2 only made passing reference of the spirit realm. Maybe they realised it was too much of a Pandora's box. This is a double edged sword as it removed the idea of a Supreme Evil Puppet Master. So much so that you felt that there is an imbalance between the fantastical act of transplanting two souls into ancient times yet the evil schemes are firmly based on simple human desire of revenge and power. Even though the villain from S1 was super campy, at least it fit in with the overarching fantasy plot and gave it raison d'etre.
The chemistry between the OTP was as strong as ever. To capitalise on this, the CP was almost always the focal point but this sucked the air out of the secondary characters. S1 was more balanced because the support roles were given more love and they provided some cohesion. They were still there in S2 but most of them are shadows of their former selves. There is a 2OTP but I found their relationship not very convincing.
As in S1, the pacing was good for the most part but it fell off in the last third of the show, similarly, S2 felt like they ran out of steam towards the end, it became tropey and predictable. 30 episodes is probably a stretch.
Production value is decent. OST is on par with S1. Mostly easy listening tunes.

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Season 2 was better but still more room for improved storytelling

Last week I finished reviewing season 1, and here I am with season 2. Season 2 was slightly better I would increase my rating by 1, to an overall 7 - I still think it's a drama for which you will need to leave your intelligence at home to enjoy it.
Let me look at this drama from my seven criteria point of view (for more details in the footnotes).

1. Fantasization: 3/5 ★★★☆☆: I was pleased with how the drama has started, especially the setting in the modern world was funny and delicious to watch. I was pleased to know the entire cast of season 1, except for the king, is also starring in season 2.
I wished the couple could have spent a bit more time in the contemporary world. Overall, the story is still adorable to watch. The main couples, Qu Tan Er and the future 8th prince, have great chemistry; especially the 8th prince is a lot more easy-going and positive personality as compared to season 1. Also, hat down to the improved acting skill of Xing Zhao Lin, who manages to depict the two 8th prices. Sometimes I had problems distinguish which is which, but somehow it was a fun element of this drama. Noticed he just turned 20 years young when filming.
It was pleasant to see that the crew had a larger budget for this season. The sets, supporting characters, shots look more polished and proper. The OST is very good as well.

2. Emotional Rollercoaster: 4/5 ★★★★☆: I give the maker team credit to come up with the story of the two 8th princes. No, not only that, they even add Liu Shang's face disguise as a sort of lover 2.5? And we also have the eldest prince who is in love with the Qu Tan Er's body; this makes a total of 3.5 people in love with the FL. What a lucky girl she is!
In terms of acting, Liang Jie's role was less challenging than last season, and her character seems to be a bit more simple-minded. Her naive and careless modern self enlightens the drama with a great deal of humor. I gave this category a 4 out of 5 is also for the sincere love the 8th price expresses towards the FL. There is a great scene in the garden of Liu Qian Shui, at which QXT met the blind Mo Lian Cheng, which was heart-wrenching.
I also enjoyed the acting of Wang Rui Chang, which advanced markedly. Also, his style has improved, and he sounds much kinder and the tone smoother with the use of a voice actor.
On the other hand, the acting of the 14th prince continuous to be weak. This is especially noticeable as it was paired with the outstanding performance of Jing Xin.

3. Sleepless nights: 2/5 ★★☆☆☆: Like season 1, I did not have a strong urge to binge-watch this drama. Despite the delightful love story between the leads, there was not enough suspense and drama (except for a few episodes in the middle) that pressured to click on the next episode.

4. Natural and intelligent storytelling: 2/5: The Eternal Love series is not a very logical drama. If you care about these elements, you will suffer. I did enjoy the start of the show, but if you think about everything in-depth, many question marks will pop up. The biggest one: what happened with the modern QXT? She must still be alive because otherwise, why would the future MLC still be alive? So is it ok for MLC to just go after the QXT from the past? Questionable! There was this whole section in the middle between the main leads and QTE's evil dad, which was so ridiculous that I even found funny. And the story improved slightly but got worse with the last ten episodes.

5. Loveable supporting role 4/5 ★★★★☆: Supporting roles have its ups and downs. Overall, the quality has improved as compared to season 1.
I enjoyed the acting of Wang Rui Chang, which advanced markedly. Also, his style has improved, and he sounds much kinder and the tone smoother with the use of a voice actor. I also really enjoyed the acting of the king, Zhang Lei's performance. His last scene was heart-breaking.
Lai Xi's role as Liu Qian Shui continued to be a joy for the show.
Chen You Wei, as Liu Shang, did a decent job. I was not all over him, but he managed to convince me as the 8th prince despite having a completely different appearance and atmosphere.
On the other hand, the acting of the 14th prince continued to be weak. This is especially noticeable as it was paired with the outstanding performance of Jing Xin.
I found the first antagonist, the father of QXT, really awful. Motivation and behavior are questionable, and the acting was exaggerated and weak.

6. Proper Pacing: 5/5 ★★★★★: I enjoy a short episode number of 30 episodes. Thanks to this, the pacing is proper and did not feel draggy.

7. Solid Finale: 2/5 ★★☆☆☆: The last episodes were messy. I don't understand why Mo Yi Huai had to become this evil. You could argue he did it because of QTE, but his 100% turning to malicious felt very unnatural and forced to me.
In the earlier show, there was a sense of rivalry between the future and past MLC. The memories and even personality were slightly different. This was "all solved" by merging both princes into one person, how convenient! This makes zero sense!
The turn of events of the elder prince taking over the throne (no one in the palace noticed that!) but then evidence of his betrayal, was effortlessly found in his room (why did he keep it?!). His imperial token was stolen easily by QTE, and the entire army turned against him all of a sudden. The good people have won, and all is well. Throughout the last episodes, I tried very hard not to roll my eyes or write rant comments, but this is poor storytelling.

Despite the splendid start, the storytelling went downhill towards the middle of the drama. I enjoyed the romance between the leads, but it is not for those looking for logical storytelling. This makes me wonder whether I should watch season 3 once this is out...

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Fantasization": the degree of how much I care about the fate of the main leads, how often I have to think about them in my everyday life, and how much I wish the characters are part of my real life.
2. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.).
3. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
4. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
5. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have proper motivations behind their actions.
6. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that starts to lose its grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.
Obviously, many other criteria could be important as well, such as unique story setup, visual elements, camera work, music, costumes, etc. Some of the points are indirectly included in the criteria, and others are not this important for me.

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Okay so i am one of those few who totally enjoyed the first season. I thought the drama was so sweet and so fluffy. I had to take a short break and make a quick recap and watched the last episode of season 1 to jolt my memory.If you have not watched season 1 then i urge you to or else the drama won't make sense , well at least the 1st 2 episodes i have watched won't.
If you are going to watch season 1 then dont let how 'green' the cast is affect you. The faces are new (at least to me they were) and they kept on making mistakes and you could easily tell they have forgotten their lines or their gestures were too un-natural and exaggerated . Dont let it bother you.

Now back to season 2. I love how the drama is progressing. Who would have thought we would have 2 Mo Lian Chengs by the end of the episode 2. The 1st one looks like he is the past Cheng cheng before meeting our beauty. He comes up sitting with a pain he does not comprehend in his chest. I panicked there because that was a sign he does not recall going to the future and also meeting Tan'er otherwise he would not have been that calm. The 2nd one wakes up in modern clothing in Donghe again i assumed. Its going to be interesting and confusing and interesting again.
Now our beauty Qu Xiaotan wakes up in Donghe and she is the modern one with no recollection of the past in Donghe....i foresee a lot of comic relief when she approaches the prince in the hope that he will help him only to have him not recall her at all.

Seems like the writers did their homework well. I have a feeling its going to be a good one. I hope it proves my assumption wrong. Experience tells me 2nd seasons are a NO NO. I am yet to enjoy a season 2. A friend told me to watch ode to joy 1 and 2. She tells me its an exception to the season 2 rule. I hope this drama will be a 2nd exception. I have an inkling in my toes its going to be a good one. At least they retained the same cast. That alone gives me more hope.

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Don't bother

STORY
The story was potentially good but it came out terrible.

ACTING/CAST
The acting is so bad I cannot even call it acting. The main female lead Sounds so annoying and the main male lead's make up is horrific

REWATCH VALUE
I couldn't get past EP 4 let alone rewatch. This is garbage

OVERALL
I had high hopes for this because of the drama name but I was wrong. If you are looking for a drama with a well written story structure, go watch Nirvana in fire or Joy of Life. If you are looking for a love story, just watch something else.

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Sad, my heart longs for that which is no more...

The episodes 1 to 5 are really great, I think they are even better than the first season of the Eternal Love.
The plot is confusing, but at the same time interesting.
The male lead is really fun to watch, even more playful and emotionally conflicted than in the first season.
The female lead also plays well, having some really funny scenes. They again have great chemistry together.
All actors played really well, especially Richards Wang. He played suprisingly well, making me want to see more of him.

However, after episode 5 it all goes downhill. I kept watching hoping that it would become better again, but it didn't.
Suddenly I wondered where the chemistry of the fl and ml had gone. The male lead did not feel charming and caring anymore, instead he became quite possesive in a not fun way. All complex emotions he once had were gone.
The female lead did not feel that funny anymore either. The romance was gone. No, forceful kissing does not equal romance.

Suddenly there are a lot of fillers, that have no relevance to the plot, and are not funny either.
The female lead starts to have superficial feministic monologues, which are just not fun, and starts to promote a 9 to 5 hour workhour, because....? It is like they suddenly changed to another scriptwriter, who does not understand what made the previous season (and the first 5 episodes) so fun to watch.

I recommend watching the first 5 episodes, because they are really good. But everything after... just makes me sad...

p.s. The eternal love seems to be heavily inspired by Scarlet Heart (I've seen only a few episodes, but they are very similar). Scarlet Heart seems to be a more complex version of eternal love, so you might try that one instead.

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