One and Only

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.

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Mediocre Story, Acting is Ok

Summary: if you have watched many many and many more historical drama and you’d say the plot is alright because it’s the same old story re-mixed. who on earth reviewed this as 10? The last scene is like a remake of Ten Miles Peach Blossom. Watch it for the first 10 episodes for a light fun ride but don’t expect much. The first part is like Ashes of Lover and the apprenticeship part. General & I part of showing off the military base is here and all the actions, prince turned monk is also in another wuxia drama, controlling empress is also in another drama.

The main actress Bai Lu looked more in love in The Legends , less in love in The Arsenals and also mediocre in her subsequence love team-up. The main guy looks more manly now compared to his previous dramas .
Pro:
- some and barely there original plot. Mute part is somewhat a refreshing change. The disciple- mentor relationship has been on many dramas, not to mention general military dramas.
- still good acting. Barely any chemistry . Bai Lu’s eyes glowed in other older shows.

Cons:
- DUBBING VOICE . So similar to 10 miles peaches and other drama. Bailu ‘s strong voice has been tempered down with the dub. While good, it’s not great enough.
- same old story except for the mute part. Who reviewed this? Did someone pay them because the story is not very original.
- low budget. Repetitive costumes and same old places as other dramas.
Unbelievable part. Of course writers think we’re stupid that a powerful family will allow their daughter to sleepover without a chaperone. Stu-pi-d.

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Allen Ren ??

I m here, for Allen Ren Of course? He is gorgeous and easy on the eyes and his acting skills developing excellently.


The story is about love, politics, betrayal, deception, loyalty things like that. I mean the young girl growing up to be a beautiful lady and is actually in love with her so called mentor but forbidden to be together like swoon worthy? However, this potential of a love story didn’t really Shine through. There isn’t much steaminess and sauciness that makes us feel like we re on clouds I like a subtle romance and build up but to me this drama did not execute the romance well. I felt the second male leads desperation and love for Shiyi more than I did for the lead male.

Committing suicide for love is just selfish and a lot of C dramas do this not just this one. You are basically leaving the person you love the most to live a lonely life pining over you.

There’s no kiss, nothing like that. Which is disappointing because I mean a kiss kiss is something so basic to show the viewers that the love that they have for one another is now bound for forever. The note he gave because he dies didn’t even I love you or something like..... he just let her be married and act all sad about it on the outside.
.

The acting sure was alright. Story has potential but actual overall disappointing didn’t meet my expectations. I did skimmed through the latter half lol f the drama because of this. The writer and directors did not give me anything to be more invested in the show. The actors did the beat they could with what they were given.

Please watch it for yourself however definitely not rewatching even if Allen Ren looked amazing.

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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.

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Alright, so they story isn't that bad after all. It's a decent quick drama. The show happens fast. Zhuosheng Chen accepts Shiyi as his disciple which is funny because in most dramas I've seen the master usually teaches the disciple something like martial arts, or calligraphy and literature, but as a master he doesn't really teach her anything. Another huge thing to point our is that anyone could have literally seen that Shiyi had a huge crush on her master, like she would always cling on to him.

Something that made me really mad was there was no plot point. Like in the whole show it was just, Nanchen army is indesctrable, like norther army could take it down, then there was this marriage where Shiyi had to marry someone she didn't like, and in the whole story there really wasn't like a climax. I also didn't really like Shiyi's behavior or personality, like she's very stubborn, she likes her master and her arranged marriage is Liu Zixing but she literally doesn't care, like she kinda needs to know that other people's feeling matter. Like that's her fiancé she shouldn't be pushing him away, unless it wasn't her fiancé.

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Why is Sappiness so Popular?

I'm not sure when it became fashionable to drown the main leads in saccharine sappiness, but this drama is clearly under water. The story has two distinct storylines: a) the love story between the ML and FL, and b) the politics of the empire.

The love story is where the sappiness blooms. A young woman promised in marriage to the (then) crown prince becomes another prince's apprentice. She's initially mute, but finds support and kindness in her apprenticeship and blossoms into a young woman who's found her voice. Unfortunately, the love affair drags itself into an early grave. I was bored to tears by the longing looks and unspoken gestures that seemed to signify everything but a commitment to each other. Neither of the main characters have the backbone, smarts, or determination to do anything but accept the hand dealt to them and fall passively into their respective fates. Arguably, the FL chose her final fate, but she could easily have taken a different route if the scriptwriters hadn't been so wedded to the aforementioned sappiness. It didn't help that the FL was so childish and wooden.

The court politics may very well be a close reflection of reality, but they came across as a hot mess. No emperor, until the final emperor, could maintain power. There were coups within coups, backstabbing, power grabs, and revenge arcs played out in quick succession. It was obviously meant to depict the raw ugliness of power politics, but until the villain finally stepped up, all I could do was watch in utter bemusement as people in power ended up in early graves, one after the other.

The only saving grace for this sappy hot mess was (wait for it) the villain. The young crown prince is deposed before he ever becomes emperor. He is sidelined, abused, discarded, and rejected. He nurses his grievances and waits for his opportunity. He goes from being a sickly, helpless, sad boy to a cunning, vicious powerhouse. It's almost like the writers loved writing him more than any other character in the entire drama. The actor does a brilliant job with this character, and really, this is the only reason this show gets 4.5 stars instead of 2.

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This drama pulls you in

I created an account just to write this review.

Story: I for one, am happy to see a girl from a prestigious family act according to the norms in her time. Also, it's a nice change to see a slow burn romance not a love at first sight kinda deal. I think the story is quite believable.

First episode was kinda choppy and confusing, good thing they released more than the first episode.

The story about why she went to study was also later explained so that was good coz I wasn't sure why. I do wish they would have shown more teaching interactions.

Acting : FL, I'm a fan of Bailu and have watched all her dramas, but this one is her best acting yet because her character is so different than how she is in real life (from what I've seen online of her). Her crying has truly improved and I'm so impressed! It totally grabbed my heart. When she was mute she could only use her acting skills, that was the great display of her acting skills. I love her even more now!

Allen as ML, this was the first time I watched his drama. TBH I never thought he looked handsome, but he had grown on me, when I first saw pics of white snake I didn't think he was that great looking but in here I think his styling and hair enhanced his looks and I now think he looks handsome. His acting was right for this role, the looks him and FL exchanged were excellent! I am curious how he will act in the sequel and hope for more range.

Chemistry is on point! Bailu is total chemistry queen, total CP feels. You can feel there was emotion behind the glances. Their feelings for each other totally pulled me in. Cast was also great, and you can see great group dynamics. No annoying and useless characters. Dubbing was pretty good too and wasn't out of place or character. Everyone cried very well.

Music ost was well placed and great songs. Love 如一 and was pleasantly surprised to find out ML sang it. The duet one was also great.

Rewatched already and will rewatch until sequel comes out.

Overall, I would truly recommend for all!

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I never thought I would cry for this drama. I'm usually very emotional but I don't cry for sad endings or sad scenes easily. This drama touched my soul beyond many things. I really couldn't control when Zhou Sheng Chen choose to surrender to them. I get easily involved with this characters. To be honest, I've never write a review on any of the dramas I've watched before. However, this one is just different. Everything about this drama was beautiful. The way they act out their characters are beautiful as well. It shows true love have no boundaries and it is blind. Especially the part where she jumps off the city gate saying that she is there to marry him. I couldn't hold myself. I was crying so hard and I'm still crying when writing about Zhou Sheng Chen and Cui Shiyi. Honestly, I started this drama because I like Bai Lu and Ren Jialun's dramas. Now, I'm actually speechless. In short, it was beautiful. Hence, I definitely suggest those who haven't it to watch. It has everything in it. Although the ending is sad, it definitely worth the watch. I'm waiting for the modern drama Forever and Ever where they reincarnated. You can look for it on Mydramalist as well.

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Frustrating

OVERALL
Now, I might be in the minority, but this drama felt like a waste of time to me. Watch it if 1) you like the impossible love trope, 2) you like the main actors, 3) you like slow and uneventful dramas. If that doesn't sound like you, then skip.

THE STORY
So. Let me just say that when I started this drama, I was really hyped. Female Lead was not my cup of tea (she's basically a waif), but I liked the aesthetics of the drama, I LOVED how Male Lead wasn't the typical mean, arrogant and misogynistic guy, and I saw potential between the two. Unfortunately, the drama failed to deliver. To me, it felt like the series was on hold for about 10-15 episodes. It's not like nothing REALLY happens. People come and go, there are wars and conflicts, conversations, confessions. But it's pretty clear that the drama is about Male Lead and Female Lead's romance, and the thing is, after they both realize their feelings for one another, nothing DOES happen between them for episodes on end. It's just them suffering in silence and reiterating again, and again, and AGAIN, how they can't be together. I'm sure it's some people's type of plot. I prefer mine to move along and not stagnate. After episode 20, I skipped ahead to see if it was worth continuing, saw that it wasn't, and gave up.

THE ACTING
Ok.

THE MUSIC
Pretty good!

REWATCH VALUE
Null.

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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

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Have The Box of Tissues Ready

So it goes without saying that this is a HISTORICAL drama, so have that box of tissues ready for all of you newbies out there, have that box of tissues ready. This series had some laughs in it, but it was the politicking going with the Royal Family and the court that really had you wanting to go, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!"

The acting in this was so well done from, the FL playing someone that lose the ability to speak due to a traumatic event in her childhood to the way the two leads were able to communicate without speaking at times. I really hope that the two were nominated for something from this drama because they really made with feel like you were in the family. Oh, let not forget the supporting cast and how they really help push the story.

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