Love a Lifetime (2020)

FAVE WUXIA THIS YEAR

Compelling from the very beginning, Love a Lifetime hits all the good parts for me. It sticks to its core plot and does not move away from its theme. The writing nor the editing may not be the best, but its unpredictability and the way it set up the characters truly gives this drama an edge.

Wuxia has never been my genre because I tend to lose interest halfway through. But that is not the case at all for this drama. I was intrigued from the start, wondered about the main lead’s identity and was quite confused about the plot which motivated me to keep going. The pace is neither fast nor slow, but rather just enough for the necessary events to occur.

It has less frustrating scenes than the usual Chinese historicals and has taken on quite a few fresh tropes. One, it is filled with multi-dimensional characters. It leaves you thinking what the characters' next action will be. A character may seem to be bad, but they could also have a bit of humanity in them. Secondly, misunderstandings that could have easily been developed from the leads' family conflict did not happen. The trust between the main couple is amazing and did not cause a lot of hiccups in the plot. Yes they doubted each other at some point, but overall? They were solid! I definitely salute Rong Hua’s unwavering trust to Nalan Yue. There were many instances that tested their relationship, but they stood strong, which made this a really good one to watch. Third, there is no third party. Initially i thought the fiancée would cause a problem, but nope! She turned out to be good (even helpful) until the end. This drama also did an amazing job with exhibiting different meanings of love. It could be selfless love towards your lover, your own family, or your power.

Its unpredictability is commendable. It took me along with every character, brought me along with their struggles and somehow felt their pain and dilemma. In short, it made me empathize with them. And so eventually, i get to witness how their characters changed because of certain events. I grew to care for the villain that I initially disliked, but also learned to hate a character that I used to love in the beginning. I got to love Dragon Howl City and even hoped for its survival when they faced some threats. And before I knew it, I was already cheering for another sect halfway through.

Let's also not forget how clever the female characters are presented here, most especially Rong Hua. She may not have the best martial art skills but she's smart enough to execute a plan that has always been helpful/successful. She may look fragile, but she's more than that. She knows how to pick herself up against adversity and think of ways to fight her problems.

Acting wise, everyone did not disappoint. Ren Jia Lun's acting has got to be the best thing here. He did a good job, regardless if it's a funny or a dramatic scene. The fighting scenes are also very gratifying to watch. Even the OSTs are amazing !!! They even get better as you watch more episodes lol.

Overall, this has to be one of the better wuxias out there and a personal favourite of mine despite its flaws. I'm the kind of person who values and loves a fresh plot + multi-dimensional characters, hence i think this drama worked really well for me. It successfully kept my interest and I don't think i even got bored at some point.

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Probably the best drama of all time

After binge watching Yanxi Palace in three days three nights it has done quite some damage to my emotions towards dramas I watched after that. My feelings getting attached to dramas takes time but this.. This drama had me hooked instantly like never before? The romance really saves the drama honestly

STORY: 9.8 It's not face paced nor slow paced but perfectly right in the middle. I feel like if more characters died I would've been more emotional but it's a good thing that the drama didn't lose too much of the characters like xueman and yizhou. Ngl I do enjoy dramas that contains misunderstandings and jealousy. Just brings spice into it, this drama didn't had much but it's still really good. Nothing bad about the story, I'm honestly happy about the ending, still sad that the main couple lost their first unborn child so was wishing to see them have kids or have some scene in the future! (Really really hope they have a S2) in general and overall, no complaints

ACTING: 10 The acting is just *chef kisses* allen's acting did NOT disappoint. I love how he fits the young, free, and funny role to a more darker mature role. He rely suits it, and I'm looking forward to watch Under the Power after this! Zhang Hui Wen's acting is wiite good, may need some more skills and practicing but she has a lot of potential! All the other characters wether its support or the main role did an AMAZING job. not to mention the martial art scenes where they fight is so fucking clean and high quality. It's almost like it's very different from other dramas, its so cleannn. In geberal and overall: 10 would'e took 0.2 points off bc of zhang hui wen's acting but I'll just let it slide

MUSIC: 10 Loveeeee the osts!! Absolutely beautiful!! And the bgm really fits the situations. And the sounds are very high quality too. No complaints honestly

REWATCH VALUE: 100/10 There were SO many memorable scenes I can't even count how many times I've replayed it before even finishon the drama. (Never knew facial expressions would make me replay it 10x tehe) From my journey of starting to watch C dramas actively from 2017 until now, I'd never thought of finding a drama that I get so attached to until now. It's been a while since I've felt like this. Debating if this is #2 or #1 favorite dramas of all time..

Overall: 10/10 It was good, although didn't make me cry from previous dramas (probably because of after watching yanxi palace) Until the final episodes where rong hua got killed and nalan yue running towards her crying just made me so emotional to drop a tear. What really got me was rong su and yizhou. They deserve a happy ending.. (Can we talk about how pretty rong su is in that formal *lady like* costume?? The baby blue and flower pins and that hair downnn suits her so well *ched kiss* She looks so good :() I'm really satisfied with this drama but will take me a few days to get over with. I reay wished to see them with their future kids tbh was really wishing that, then I would've been completed.

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