Beautifully executed
Prepare lots of tissue because this is one of the most tear-jerking dramas I've watched this year. I really like how the whole drama is executed and the entire flow of the story does quite makes sense.Some thoughts about this drama:
1) I love all the characters in the drama (villains too). I can't really imagine not having any of the characters in the drama because they each contribute to one or more important parts in the drama plot. So I'd say, they are all quite important.
2) In a way, I can't help but pity Liu Zixing. To be honest, I do think he is more capable of being the emperor. At least he has more wits than the emperor on the throne. Not only is he always sick but have been treated as a placeholder for the most part of his life. The girl that he loves and was rightfully meant to be his wife didn't love him back. How can one person be happy living out the life he did?
3) All the little rituals and the meaning behind every action (especially Zhou Sheng Chen's) are quite interesting. Everything seems to have its own explanation in this drama and it hooks you in as much as the development of the characters.
4) Not all historical dramas or war stories end up with victory and happy endings. As much as I hate the outcome of my favourite leads in the drama, I can't help but applaud at how realistic this ending is. Given the circumstances the characters were put in, I think I would have done the same if I were to be in the same position. Everything comes with sacrifice and this truly reflects real life.
5) The only reason why I didn't rate 10/10 for this drama is mainly because of the heaviness of this drama. Hence, I don't think I would rewatch the drama. But I do anticipate for its sequel.
All in all, I do think this is the kind of drama where you gotta sit down and focus instead of binging all the way. You'll be missing a lot of details if you do skip too much.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I will take ur silence as a yes
A drama with perfect cast and story with perfect implications is rare to come and i would say after The Untamed i would say this is a drama i could give such title to...........Casts: its just perfect...the leads have a chemistry which is rare to explain....u can feel how much they love each other just by the look on their face....
The friendship they showed...they all were a family protecting and fighting alongside and for each other...
Story: thankq for making be sobbingly cry after ages.....the last time i cried like this was while rewatching aa ling and then now.....i literally am afraid of getting dehydrated after this....the story is well portrayed and expressed....
Cinematography and scenery: they used snow and so vibrant yet light colors and they were so beautiful and aesthetic....so pleasing to eyes......
Frankly speaking im really afraid of watching dramas with such endings...its like for me the concept of happily ever after never exists but endings like this always leave a hole in ur heart which can never be filled and will only hurt....but the truth is that it's the reality....
1. The power hungry society is the reality of not only those days but also of today...
2. Not all love stories r meant for a happy ending.....Untamed taught me one thing that if u r not meant to be then no matter how much u love each other u can not be together and this drama brought that pain back........the fact that parents dont let 2 lovers get married and so many love stories r just end like that.....
3. A soldier's life is never his....it belongs to the country and i don't know how to repay this loan of their's on us....just thankq for protecting us
"Chen, in this life, never let down anyone in this whole world, except Shi Yi'...
I read a line....in the next life if their's an opportunity i will hold u even tighter
And he did....
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It’s Perfect!
I have never written a review for a drama, however today I decided to write one because this story is so beautiful. The actors for this drama were really good because you could feel their pain. The main leads never kissed, but I don’t think we needed a kiss scene because their chemistry was so strong and sweet. Every episode was interesting and it never made me get bored. If you don't know whether to watch it or not, I recommend watching it because its a well done drama. However, before stating episodes 22-24 make sure to have some tissues.Was this review helpful to you?
Understated but well-done
A little slow in the middle which is where I've deducted the points, but fortunately it's not a long drama so it's not endlessly dragging. Beautiful and understated, really tugs at your heart string both with their love but also with the grief you'll feel at the end. Not a well-known drama (probably because it's exclusively on iQIYI subscription as far as I know), but a gem!This is my first drama with Ren Jia Lun but he and Bai Lu do a great job at playing restrained characters but their love is palpable. There was an online blog review I read (Cyn Lynn) that mentioned that typically, Bai Lu's acting always carries a bit of her real persona in there, but in this Bai Lu the actress is completely gone and she fully embodies Shiyi. I fully agree! A lot of people find her character boring but she is strong in her own way, acting in the confines of her noble status, but she uses her smarts to assess dangerous situations and act accordingly, so that only people equally as smart can catch wind of what she's thinking.
The supporting characters and their relationships are also beautiful; sometimes there are side couples that I just could care less about but I deeply cared about all of them.
I'm glad that I read spoilers because I probably would have passed out crying if I went in blind. I put a lower rewatch value simply bc it is very slow, but other people in the comments on iQIYI mentioned they've rewatched several times.
Was this review helpful to you?
Truly beautiful bones
I watched this despite knowing it was a tragedy. Watched just cause there is a happy reincarnation sequel… The story the acting literally everything blew me… There are changes from the book but still I looooooove it. I cried bucket load of tears but I can’t help but love everything about this drama.Do watch it even if you hate tragedies. This one is worth all those tears.
Loved the character and resolve of the Nancheng prince.. truly beautiful bones. No wonder Shiyi fell for him…
Ahhh now I want to read the book once again…
Was this review helpful to you?
Beautiful in every way
I started this drama after hearing it had a sequel series already completed for it right after. I was intrigued so I planned to watch one episode and got so invested I watched 5 before I knew it. Its a beautiful drama. The cast, the cinematography, the directing... everything is great. And to top it for the story is amazing. The characters feel real and their motivations and the world they live in feel like they have actual stakes. The main leads have great chemistry and are good actors. The supporting cast does well too. The reason this is not a 10 is because the side relationships needed work. To have some couples have amazing chemistry and others fall flat was a loss for me. There are certain scenes with side characters I skipped and missed nothing critical to the plot. But overall I loved this drama and I recommend it to those who love romance filled political historical dramas.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
the story is actually not bad, even though the ending is... ,, but the storyline is not clear, it seems very perfunctory,, what to expect from a 24 episode drama? it's impossible to have clear details,
The interesting of the story in this drama starts at the end of the drama
Watching until the end i don't know how old they are, this is my main questions from the beginning of the story ,because always birthday birthday and birthday ,,don't know how old they are when she go to westernstate(xizhou),how long time ,, and how much time has passed, but when the young emperor died they said he was 19 years old,and he reign when 6 years old,, when emperor 6 years old it was half a year from Shiyi's 10th birthday, which means they were 4-5 years apart, if the emperor was 19 at that time, it meant that shiyi was 23 years old? did they not take that into account?,, and zhoushencheng said he and she age difference is not more than 10 years,that mean 9++ ZCS maybe 31 years old?
when i just met shiyi everyone in the manor already understood the sign language,, well i pretended not to see it
And what the mean of lotus painting?
All incident happen suddenly!
Death is necessary, but is it a bit too perfunctory?
The story ,,saying what and doing what ,different !
Was this review helpful to you?
A SUPER tortuous love
Everyone loves this drama and everyone has seen it several times. If you are looking for a review that is lower and is curious to why, well, I’ll tell you my thoughts and feelings and why to me it wasn’t a 10 star drama.Did I like One and Only? Yes, it was good. Did I love it like everyone else? No. And here’s why.
First off, I love Bai Lu, even though she’s fairly young, she looks and acts older. I like that the dramas she picks are usually romantic, sweet and very funny. One and Only is a melodrama and when I first watched it, I didn’t know that.
Allen Ren dramas are hit or miss for me. I love some of them (Under the Power) and some of them were tough to watch (Miss Crow and Mr. Lizard). Usually I have a problem with his fake kissing, but he doesn’t do that anymore (not that it has any relevance to this drama). It’s just something I associate with his character.
The casting was 100% point in this drama. I agree with the other reviewers that Bai Lu and Allen Ren really brought their A game. If you want to watch an epic love, then this is it.
Now, I went into this drama, not knowing anything and maybe that is my problem. I think I was in the mindset for a very typical C drama (even if it’s a melodrama). I have my C melodrama expectations and to my surprise, I didn’t get what I usually get. Was this good or bad? I’m not sure. It was different.
What makes everyone love this drama so much and maybe that’s where I started to fall apart, was the tortuous love between the leads. It’s a very simple concept. Two people who have a very strong relationship, but can never be together. That is a very common storyline for many C dramas, but in One and Only, I felt like this issue was just amplified.
You feel the tortuous love between the two and a simple thing, like a glance can make your heart beat a million miles or wreck your insides (depending on how the glance is taken). It’s a SUPER slow burn romance and it’s super focused on feelings.
You have to go into the drama in the right mind set. It’s a slow burn. It’s a complex love. It’s a super melodrama amplified. You will be left with overwhelming feelings when you finish the drama.
Overall, I totally understand and respect why everyone loved this drama so much. For me, I found it somewhat painful and uncomfortable to go through. I think I am glad I watched it so I could appreciate the actors and the storyline, but I wouldn’t say I enjoyed watching the drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
usually i dont watch historical chineese drama like god/angel/demon all that but this historical drama is not related about that fiction,it was adapted from popular novel and i want something not too much romance,little sweet but give me such big impact
actor
bailu and allen did a good job and i respect with both of them as i know allen have that no kiss scene policy when acting but im sure u will not bother about that, cus the storyline already amazing and im okey if they dont have kiss scene in this drama
story
story is well organized, u can easily adapt with this drama with not much too think about, there not many problem from ep1-12 and we can easily follow the story and the problem,and i know the climax will be when bailu(shiyi) need to marry crown prince and im waiting for that, and for one and only they will have tragic ending so be prepared but dont worry they will continue their love story on forever and ever sequel for this drama, so i have high expectations for modern times p/s i love tragic ending
song
omggg i keep repeating this drama ost everyday in youtube, allen voice is really soothing ❤️🤤
rewatch value
because i watch this drama when it still ongoing, i cant let go if this drama while waiting next ep another week i dont watch any drama,i binge rewatch every ep, i cant handle watching other drama cus i cant focus(my head was like omg bailu and allen) 😂😂
overallll
good drammmmaaaa ❤️❤️❤️
Was this review helpful to you?
I have a headache from crying so much
Cried so hard that I got a headache, my heart is broken and my chest is heavy. I'm taking this personally; I am in severe pain. This show was… absolutely sickening.I was immediately in love from the first episode. The cinematography and tones in this show are so beautiful, the production feels rich and completely took me away. Every episode felt like it was only 5 minutes. The quietness of the show and deep affections of the characters is what makes this drama a high-quality show. None of the characters had to explicitly say anything, it was always understood. The longing, the adoration, the respect – it was all in their actions, in their eyes, in their behavior – I’m getting sad again as I’m typing this.
The actors… Bai Lu is absolutely insane in this show, and so was Ren Jia Lun. His eyes said so many things. He knows eye-acting to a T!
Visually, the show was stunning. The music was beautiful too. The acting was the cherry on top. I don’t have any words to describe this heart-shattering show, but despite my pain right now, I love it. Watching “Forever and Ever” is a must though… this heart asks to be mended – and quickly. ❤️🩹
P.S.: don't take my rating for the rewatch value seriously lmao. I'm extremely sad right now, how could I want to go through this pain again❤️🩹?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Throughout my life I've never let anyone down, but Shi Yi
first i would say this lives upon their name One and Only, the story is shown beautifully by the actors not just main couple but everyone did amazing, they express such emotions and i would say my every tear worth it because i never cried so hard for a drama.i watched very late because i don't like watching sad endings but i have to watch it because i missed this so much, after 8 ep. i put this drama on hold because i get to know it has sad ending but recently i just saw a clip and i say that rather than ending focus on story development maybe there is rarely any other drama that can compare with this one oh right i would say TTEOTM can but not this much though their endings are almost like this but i would say One and Only is far more than that.
in this its feel like you are feeling the real emotions of them and your tears are automatically rolling down.
Ren Jialun and Bai Lu really did put lots of efforts and i have no words to describe this any further its just literally too good but it will make you cry more than you cried ever but just give it a go and you will find out the beauty of this drama ans ost.
THIS IS TRULY BEAUTY WITH BONES...
Was this review helpful to you?
The best Melodrama I have watched till Date!
It's just too Perfect, the show has absolutely everything! Even as a Standalone I just doesn't disappoint. The Characters are so well Presented and that too with the acting of Ren and Bai Lu. It is a show which will make you cry but at the same time it would also warm your heart. The set, story, production and the OSTs are all just perfect.In the end if you really feel you need more you can check out Forever and Ever although that is more of a slice of life show unlike this one which is set in the present time!
Keeping all this aside I ll highly recommend everyone to watch this!
Was this review helpful to you?
