Fateful suffering

Pros: The male lead and female lead have good chemistry, she also has good chemistry with the second male lead. The acting is nice. The ost is nice.

Cons: The female lead is attacked every single episode by many never-ending enemies with either a lust for power or a lust for the male lead. It's 40 episodes long so it gets tiring. Also, whenever the people she trusts betray or hurt her, she forgives them and then they move on to the next plot which honestly doesn't make sense to me. Additionally, the male lead and female lead are sometimes petty towards each other leading to unnecessary misunderstandings and further complications that weren't needed in the first couple of episodes.

Do I recommend watching this? It honestly depends. If you are looking for a feel-good drama to pass the time, this isn't the drama for you. This drama will upset you. However, if you like either of the lead actors or want to see good chemistry etc, then this would be a good show to watch. I gave this an 8/10 star due to the chemistry/acting and ost. Otherwise, I would have given this a 4 because the plot/storyline is frustrating.

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Fighting For Garbage

LMAO, the screenwriter hoodwinked viewers into thinking that this garbage adaptation would still have the three important elements that drew people into the book which were the following:

1. No palace drama
2. Strong and capable female lead
3. Female lead centric drama

Yet somehow the story shifts focus and the male lead becomes the main character and the second male lead becomes a background character/afterthought.

The only redeeming quality this drama has is that the fight scenes are pretty decent and that the ending was somewhat satisfactory since she did not end up with anyone and refused to see the emperor. However, they including her running off into the sunset made no sense to me. Honestly, this drama wasted so much of my time and was a big disappointment. Giving this 5.5 out of 10 stars was me being kind.

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Let's go on an adventure.

This show is worth watching. It's about friendship, love, adventure, and most importantly, the meaning of family. A lot of people say that this is a sad ending but to be honest, it's not. It's more so a bittersweet ending.

Spoiler Warning:

It doesn't end with us seeing him dead. The male lead has a terminal illness so obviously he will eventually die. So I guess knowing that is what is leading people to say this had a sad ending. His ending was the best ending one could hope to have given his situation and life circumstances. He was reunited with the people who matter to him in life and was able to accomplish the things he most wanted to. He was also surrounded by a supportive group of people. A lot of people in their last days don't get that. Anyways, that's just my take on things. Don't let the comments or other reviews discourage you from watching this.

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Choppy editing meets unfinished arcs

Wow, where do I begin?

This drama had so much potential, especially with all the veteran actors in this. But the way the editing was and the way the arcs were as well as character introductions is where this show falls very short.

There are several characters that are introduced and then we never see them again. There are important characters that the main character LQL has a relationship with that we barely see their ending/know what happens to them. It's like they disappear from thin air which makes no sense given the length of time they have spent with them.

Then we spend much of the show watching the prince have no faith or confidence in any of his son and their ability to help him keep the promise he made to the emperor only for him to now magically have faith in HL, who is the prince's 3rd son.

We watch the villains seemingly get away with everything despite the evidence against them simply because it would "break" the prince's heart to have to kill his evil children and because of one woman who is literally behind every single plot yet somehow she doesn't meet her compupence until the end.

It was just all very frustrating. Also, the random arc they threw in towards the end of ep 36 and we see the main characters standing together as if they are Avengers.

I'm sorry. But I'm just so disappointed because again, this is a stacked cast. Many of these actors and actresses I've seen elsewhere and they have proven their acting ability. Additionally, the ost was nice. So it just feels like their talent as well as the musical talent in the osts was wasted.

Would I recommend watching this? Maybe if you need something as background noise while you are doing some other task or if you just need something to pass the time but as a good stand-alone? No.

Side note, I will say this review is harsher than the reviews I typically give idol dramas but that's because the expectations were different.

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The chemistry between all the characters is amazing.

If you love angst and "fix-it" type of costume dramas then this is the show for you. I really liked the plot and how they didn't make her personality drastically change from what it was during her original timeline. The only thing that really changed was her realizing how fortunate she was and how many people in her life she had who truly cared about her. I liked that. I also liked how they didn't make the ML's personality do a 180 just because he fell in love and I liked her relationship with ZZ and YL in the second life. I kind of wish there was a part 2 where we could see the original timeline more but this was enjoyable. Lastly, I really liked how the villains were written especially XS who I loved to hate. She was very smart and calculative and didn't just sit around waiting for her doom. I can appreciate that. Although I was disappointed that her death was so light. As for FY...I wish they had shown JXN's grief more over her death. In the parts of the novel I read, she was truly devastated. All in all, this is a great drama and I 100% recommend watching it.

Although, slight warning, the ML is sometimes very aggressive and forceful so if that's not your thing or it makes you too uncomfortable, you might not enjoy the drama as much.

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Kill me with filler.

Pros:

The chemistry between the leads is amazing, especially in the episodes where they are separated and then reunited. You can feel how much their characters care for each other.

The cinematography is beautiful and the way they did the character's costumes and makeup was very good.

The ending wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and for cdramaland it can be considered somewhat ... okay. It's not necessarily the worst ending ever. It's what you would expect given Mei Lin is an assassin.

Cons:

The plot. This show started on a high and then got boring because they introduced everything too fast at the beginning. On top of that, they killed off their main bad guy and gave him a lackluster death way too early. Additionally, some of the character's personalities changed drastically out of nowhere, particularly the general. Another issue was the romance line between the emperor and zigu as well as the emperor just letting the crown prince do whatever he wanted.

There was so much potential and it ultimately ended up poorly due to scriptwriting. It sad because this was one of my most anticipated dramas.

Conclusion:

Do I recommend watching this? Honestly yes. I'm not kidding, the chemistry between the leads is some of the best I've ever seen, and the moments when the script writing in the show is good, it's really good. But when it's bad, it's really bad. So maybe watch this when you are looking for something to pass the time or while doing chores.

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100% rewatchable

Honestly, I don't know why this show has such low ratings. It's a fun, low-stress drama, and the leads have chemistry unlike what some people have said. If you are looking for something simple and fun to pass the time, this is the drama for you. I also like how there are two potential endings but in the end, LXX and ZSK end up together regardless of the path they take. But tbh I'm torn on which ending I prefer. I don't want LXX to have to give up cooking for a long time to be with ZSK but I don't want ZSK to give up being crown prince either.

Anyways, I 100% recommend this drama especially if you like drama's centered on food, friendship, and love.

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Lost you forever, a fitting title

Lost You Forever is such a fitting title for this drama. In this s2 part of the drama, XY is quoted saying "What is gained cannot compensate for what is lost" and this holds for all the main characters. They have all gained something in the end, but at what cost? For some characters, the gains seem to greatly outweigh the cost but for most, that is not the case. This lesson from this drama is one that I think will stick with viewers for a long time.

However, my only gripe with this show is that they made a very important and character-defining moment between CX and XY meaningless by making it all a tea dream of sorts. All that emotional angst that so many people were looking forward to turned into nothing. Due to that, I can't give this show a 10/10. I will say though, the acting was amazing.

So, the question remains, do I recommend season 2? Yes, but not as much as season 1. A little disappointed but still worth the watch.

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Highs and Lows

I love this drama so much. It is going on my rewatch list immediately. Now, that that's out of the way, let's get into the review.

I titled my review "Highs and Lows" because that is exactly what my emotions were when I watched this. I was constantly at the edge of my seat, tweeting about plot points or how I thought certain characters would react. I cried a lot, laughed a lot and even made some new friends while watching this drama. It has been such a fun and enjoyable experience to get to learn more about each character in the story, why they act the way they do, the relationships that they have, and the growth that they experience as the story goes on. This story is more than just a revenge drama, it is a story about finding one's self and overcoming.

Now that I have gotten some of the highlights out of the way, let's discuss some potential lowlights. Some of the plot points are a bit... far-fetched. But if you come into this drama with an open mind and intend to enjoy yourself, then it becomes bearable/you will be able to look past it. Additionally, some of the shots chosen in certain scenes could have been done differently.

All in all, I give this drama a 9.5/10 due to how much fun I had and the chemistry between each of the characters.

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Captivating

Wow, what can I say? It's finally over. This show was very interesting to watch without too many over-the-top theatrics. I liked how everything tied in together in the end.

Things I wish would have happened/my only complaints (minor spoilers):

1. Development of YJJ and CSE's relationship. We got a lot of flashbacks but I still feel like more could have been done for the audience to grasp what led YJJ to want CSE back after he got divorced. Additionally, it would have been nice to have had more than 1 episode focused on them. They start getting closer and she becomes vulnerable and then bam, something happens towards the end of the episode that leads her to distrust him. Though the distrust is brief it is still unsatisfying.

2. The husband's obsession. It's not fully explained why he is so insistent on staying married to CSE. We can make assumptions based on what is seen so far but I somehow wish that was explained further. It did need a lot of episodes but just even a flashback maybe or something that shows what exactly it is he's clinging to. Is it her prestige and the benefits of being her husband alone, or does she have some hidden wealth or is it a combination of that and some lingering feelings? I feel like we the audience are left speculating.

Aside from that, I think everything was well done. I won't say anything else because it will lead to major spoilers but if you are debating watching this, I think you should give it a go. It's great with a great, strong, and complex female lead.

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Ending could have been better

I really loved this drama and I feel like more people will like it if they go into it focusing more on the female lead and her journey to coming to terms with her situation. It's less enjoyable if you are solely watching for romance as she really doesn't end up having much skinship with either the ML or 2ML. Secondly, the way the story is written...she technically ends up with both of them...sort of...but you mostly see her spend the most time with the 2ML. Also, for this review, in my opinion, the 2ML is the guard, not the man she is married to.

The only additional thing I wish was added to this drama was either a part 2 or a special episode where we got to see what happened after she accepted reality. That short cartoon wasn't enough for me. I would have liked to see what led to her building up her relationship with the ML in reality as well as his reaction to her pregnancy. Other than that, it's a fun drama. It's full of angst though so this isn't a relaxing low-stress romance. It's mainly about the female lead pursuing a potential redemption arc.

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