Lost You Forever Season 2 (2024)

deep sigh

season 1 was the best, lost you forever s1 was even my top 1 wuxia series, Some may not approve of my opinion on season 2, don’t come for me. This is just my personal
opinion, frustrations, and sentiments.

I’ve put a hold on this for long since I’ve read the novel, wishing they wouldn’t follow its ending… but I decided to binge watch from episode 1-20 lol

Xiao Yao, was a bit tolerable in s1 but to be honest, I sometimes get so frustrated with her, but no one will beat my frustrations towards Tushan Jing.

Anyway Cang Xuan (zhang wan yi) in season 2 was so remarkable, how he portrayed his character, and Xiang Lu (Tan Jian Ci) these 2 are the main reason I anticipated season 2. Tan Jian Ci looks great in this kind of genre, I enjoyed love me, love my voice because I am a huge Zhou ye fan, but I don’t know I wasn’t fully immersed with him as the lead there.

anyway back to this review, I’m in a point wherein I’m just annoyed with the other two main leads XY & TJ so if they will
follow the novels ending maybe they deserve each other grrrr.

Incest during the earlier period was a thing, probably if CX and XY didn’t separate at a young age their probable love line would’ve been plausible, but hence overtime people change. I understood where he was coming from being in such a traumatic childhood losing people he truly cares about, only having XY but later on it became an obsession, I’m quite sad that they couldn’t fulfill the promises they had for each other.

As for XL, he’s carrying such a great burden, and base on his decisions so far it was for the greater good (more lives at stake) but my heart is hurting for him, yes he may be too harsh but remember he was never used to feeling what love and affection is like, and no one really taught him that, until he met XY…

As for CF, he was such an easy going dude but I think I’m not as invested because there were very little to no interactions between him and XY comparing it to the screen time XY had with the other 3 ML. But he was a good option to be honest, willing to be loyal and faithful to XY, willing to let her do whatever she wants… but yes there’s no chemistry… and later on he realized his feelings for her weren’t so deep, so I’m happy for him not getting messed up with XY’s slefishness and indecisiveness.

As for TJ, I’m sorry I really started disliking him S1 midway and more on this S2, I just find him so pathetic, at times manipulative, and calculative. Like yes he’s loyal like a dog but that’s about it. He is utterly pathetic, and a lousy clan leader, he’s selfish if you look at the bigger picture. Yes they could careless about others only wanting and focusing on their feelings but man that’s unrealistic.

XY ughh don’t get me started, I wanted or envisioned her to be a more badass FL tbh, why can’t she be more grateful being able to focus on her medicine, her archery, spending time with her brother, sister, and grandfather, she’s becoming more and more annoying. She doesn’t realize the life she’s living now is all thanks to other people who makes/made sacrifices for her to live a more unrestrained life, but here she is yapping about her past, and making it about her. But CX and XL had more traumatic past, and are continuously suffering in the present for the greater good (for a lot of people)

UPDATE: wow XY how can she be so self centered, yes she faced countless of hardships and was traumatized and still uses that card to make her seem so pitful, but CX’s experiences and hardships from his younger years up to the present day were and are more traumatizing, and he’s been sacrificing so much like XL, but here she is making it about her, it’s between her feelings and the greater good. She’s too selfish, doesn’t she realize she’s been living so freely nowadays because of everyone else’s effort? but here she is still holding onto the past as if she’s the only one w/ a scarred past?! CX and XL are the ones who are pitful, the burdens they have as an individual.

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Not a tragedy but with a gut wrenching ending

The first series ended with Cang Xuan becoming emperor and a political marriage. So the drama continued with XiaoYao nearly marrying Fenglong but the wedding was interrupted by the impetuous FangFeng Bei.

You would not call the drama a tragedy since the lead couple did not die. But the ending was gut wrenching.

This sequel had a draggy start. The first few episodes were quite boring but got quite interesting later. What sustained me during the early episodes was the desire to find out who eventually Xiao Yao would end up with in view of her four suitors.

This sequel did a melodramatic portrayal of Xiao Yao's suitors. The most painful to watch was Xiang Liu and Cang Xuan. Xiang Liu accepted Xiao Yao's rejection as they were from opposing camps, although deeply in love. He continued to make sacrifices for her in secret. It was evident that Xiao Yao somewhat reciprocated as the love bug could infect them both. And indeed if he was really FangFeng Bei, things might turned out differently. What was even more painful was towards the end, he removed the poisonous love bugs at the expense of two of his lives without letting her know.

Cang Xuan watched in pain as Xiao Yao pined over Jing and regretted he pushed Xiao Yao to Fenglong and Jing to gain their support. As he rightly pointed out about his numerous marriages - it was like he had brought all the flowers into his garden but the one he loved most was not there. And there were continual flashbacks of their childhood years and how Xiao Yao had saved him, almost sacrificing herself in various occasions. He wanted her as empress but could not tell her. There was a twist towards the end of the drama, which helped to push the development of the Cang Xuan character forward and helped him managed his obsession.

This drama had some obvious clanky parts. Cang Xuan waged a war and nearly lost, only to have an aging benevolent king abdicated to avoid unnecessary further deaths and in favour of the capable and younger king. Even though the old king had always had the younger man in mind as successor, it was unnatural that he did not become angry at the outrageous betrayal.

The ending episode was gut wrenching as the most selfless of Xiao Yao's suitors was killed although he was revered by his enemy for his loyalty and capabilities. And at his death, Xiao Yao's tear drop he kept fell onto his eyes to become his. This actor was amazing. A good looking actor, doing an outstanding job, taking on a tragic ending in an excellent drama - almost always take their careers to new heights.

Tan Jian Ci was outstanding with the multi-faceted portrayal of the reckless, fun-loving Fangfeng Bei and the serious and ruthless Xiang Liu. He rightfully deserved being list separately as the special lead actor in the lead-in.

Interestingly, when Jing was suspected of being killed, I knew he would be revived but hoped he won't. Although he was deeply in love with Xiao Yao, he was just silently pining away. He did little to stop his marriage to Yi Ying and just passively accepted his 'mistake' and submitting to his foolish grandmother. Even at Xiao Yao's and Fenglong's wedding, he had to use someone else to spoil it rather than did it himself. To Xiao Yao, he was a safe choice - always there for her. Also, he had no ambition besides to be continually by her side. But I would rather have Xiao Yao select either Cang Xuan or Xiang Liu. Unfortunately these men have other priorities that got in the way.

In this sequel, you would go through an emotional roller-coaster of laughter and mostly tears. At the end, you see the couples that remain were not the matches you would have wished for.

However overall, I think this drama was excellent and highly recommended it. Cinematography, music, costumes and most importantly the acting. I gave it a high rating taking away only 1 point for the clanky and draggy parts and for choosing the wrong bridegroom, but in recognition of the spectacular ending.

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except for XL, everything else meh

well, my s1 comment still stands. with better director and screenwriter, this show can go down to be one of the memorable ones in recent years. shucks.

things I don’t like were many compared to those I like.

even for XL, why they think it’s good idea to turn him into this mopey mess? TJC saved this OOC with his acting thank goodness.

illusion scene? what? they trying to be twilight 2.0? epic fail.

I’m even surprised Jing felt nonexistent in most part of the show given that he’s 2ML. but even so, his scenes were dull.

we might have a better storytelling if eps weren’t cut to 23. but who knows.

just how many times XY need to wait and burst out like a mad woman? in s1, the mum scene was really good and effective. in s2, we have her crying scene with mum AGAIN, then yelling with CX, burst out during Jing….then we have the “underwhelming” cry for XL. Too much, no matter how you tell me oh that was good. it’s repetitive, and no nuance.

my problem with this show in overall, the growth of female lead was nonexistent. while in book, the ending was the start of her real growth, in here, she’s just love brained. that very person who said she’s lonely and don’t mind temporary companionship/lifelong to someone who needs a man or else she can’t survive. must it be a man? lol. I rather she don’t end up with anyone.

I won’t say anything about the CP here because S2 successfully destroyed all the ships.

lastly, all the actors here suffered from bad editing and inefficient production team. so, don’t blame the actors. the director, screenwriter and the production team are solely responsible. doesn’t mean Tonghua is a good novel writer means she’s good screenwriter.

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Was expecting more from a supposed second season.

I really love the first season despite wanting to see Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao end up together and of course the open ending.
I dislike the character of Tushan Jing so much. His only good quality is that he doesn't love anybody else but Xiao Yao.
He is, for a man that was supposed to have been born in a rich family, an idiot.
He says to Xiao Yao that he loves her but at the same time doesn't fight for their love. This is really important especially because all the people that Xiao Yao loved abandoned her.

Why to me the second season sucks is that the ending (despite not having read the book) is really predictable. There not being a body of Tushan Jing already shows that he did not die. I had hoped that Xiang Liu would not remove the Love Bug and that there would be a struggle of Cang Xuan trying to save Xiao Yao while trying to fight Xang Liu. Unfortunately that didn't happen.

The 23 episodes do not have enough storyline to make it good. Had it been allowed to air it all at once that would have been nice. I would not have liked more but I wouldn't have felt that I wasted months waiting on it for it to disappoint.

Things I do love are the costumes and definitely season 1. I would probably only watch it one more time all at once but then not again. Or only when I feel like seeing Tan Jianci in a beautiful costume with long hair. (Especially while waiting for Winner Is King to finally air, aka until my hair turns white)

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Still worth the watch

Season 2 wasn’t as good as season 1 but still worth the watch as the overall story is still really good.

The Good

The acting kept me sustained throughout this drama and everyone really showed their range. A lot of emotions were very well portrayed by both the main and supporting characters. If not for this, I may have not made it through season 2. I will still give the story an A+ rating if I look at it from the overall show. This is a very uniquely written story about love and loss among immortals and demons that deviated away from your typical xuanhuan stories and I can really appreciate the effort they made to let it stand on its own. The OST is still pretty good.

The Bad

This season was less interesting than the first season and seemed to have slightly lower production quality. The editing was a little more choppy and you can tell that bits of detail were removed. I found a lot of this season to be a drag. Many of the scenes had too long of a runtime, far too much of a slow burn and it became a little more of a chore to get through. I rated the first season a 10 and was very excited to watch it everyday but the airing schedule for this season didn’t make it any better and I found myself deviating to other shows. There was also some predictability in how it would end and that may be due to the endless spoilers that novel readers gave if you read comments on MDL. Either way, the climax fell a little flat for me towards the end.

I would rate this overall show an 8.5 given that season 2 wasn’t as good to me as the first season but would still recommend a watch. Still one of the better shows in 2024.

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It's first time i hate a female role so much.
I don't understand why such a writer should create such a weak and depraved character. The whole time she just wanted to marry one and keep her relationship with the others, why?
Because she was afraid of loneliness. The main character was obsessed with marriage and was full of trauma and complexes, and she was not suitable for being the main character.
The story really got crazy in season two and it made me feel bad.
The character of Jing had a very nonsensical personality and I don't understand why Xiao Yao should fall in love with this character, whereas the presence of Xiang Liu and Sang Xuan was more prominent than Jing and even the sequences about Jing could have been deleted.
I watched the whole series because of Xiang Liu and Sang Xuan, because they were the only people who had strong personalities and could show themselves, but Xiao Yao I don't think she could even be the main female character in the story because there were always strong contradictions and behaviors.
The story proceeded completely irrationally, and Xiao Yao's choices were completely irrational.
I have a piece of advice for the author, don't write novels anymore

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Multifaceted title depending on your POV

Where do i even start? I was on Team XL the whole damn way (even when i eventually found out what happened to him in the source material). Perhaps TSJ was better in the source material and was not adapted into the drama in a better way (excerpted from other people opinion) but overall his character seemed to annoy me more. CX was a complex character and honestly the dream sequence would have had more impact if it was truly the ending as i think it really fit the drama title which is him losing XY forever. I enjoyed Nian's somewhat of a growth and redemption arc and her giving XY, XL's final remnant and also understood why she was intent on telling the white lie the whole way. Grandad was the goat and i loved his leisure time on the mountains. Overall i would have loved to see more political tropes play out towards the end (heck they should have made 36 eps instead so some parts can take their time to unfold). On the fence on recommending this series for others but nevertheless it was top notch acting from all the actors involved, kudos to them

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A journey led by choices and fate

After a year of waiting in anticipation, we finally get to see the result of the choices (or perhaps lack thereof) made by our beloved characters. Will they achieve their ultimate wish/goal, or will fate lead them to a different path? Or perhaps, will fate lead them to a path where they will always be destined to make the same choices?

From S1 to S2, we follow XY and CX’s journey together along with TSJ, XL, FL, AN, etc who accompany them along the way. We come to understand how they are shaped by their experiences, their traumas/struggles, their expectations and goals. 

My personal thoughts:

The lows:
As someone who has read the novel, I will say that S2 (technically part 2) had several disappointing changes that ultimately left me wondering how they could possibly undermine the strong plot and character development from S1 (which was pretty faithful to the original). While it is understandable for adaptations to have some tweaks due to a variety of factors, the inconsistencies and choppy editing left things feeling lacklustre. Whether you’ve read the novel or not and no matter who your favourite character (or ship) was, the changes downplayed the complexities of each character and their relationships, and the meaning behind the entire theme of lovesickness/losing someone forever. I think it is fair to say that all the characters were impacted and got the short end of the stick. It is unfortunate that LYF was one of the many victims of such changes (due to censorship or other reasons). It would have faired better by being a bit more faithful to be main events and the essence of characters in the original. I think a good 30 eps would have given viewers more context to follow along with a conclusive storyline.

The highs: 
The actors really carried the show, and I thank them because they really did their best with the script they were given, which helped me pull through in S2. They have a good grasp of their characters and executed the array of emotions beautifully. ZWY and YZ (also TJC) absolutely SHINED this season - their acting range and calibre are some of the best I have seen in a while. I am so happy they were casted and can only hope they collaborate again in the near future. That level of chemistry should definitely be utilized again. In fact, all the cast members did an amazing job! They pulled my heartstrings and are the heart of the series.

Although there were some questionable and illogical changes, they did include some scenes that were not part of the novel, which added onto the storyline and the characters’ POV.

Also, shoutout to the supporting cast: Grandpa, Haoling Emperor, Lao Sang, Ru Shou, Mao Qiu (Chubby) who made the drama that much more vibrant.

Overall, the drama as a whole was still very memorable with many meaningful life lessons touching on life, love, and loss. The detailed discussions and analyses you see in MDL reflect just that - the deep impression the characters have left on the viewers. I still recommend this series and highly recommend the novel if you haven’t already checked it out. 

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Let me explain

You’re probably wondering why I rated it an 8.5, despite loving all the factors. Well, I watched the show, and started from 10, and there were multiple things I did not like.

1. It bothered me that the first 6 episodes were backstory to the ending of season 1. I thought we’d jump straight to Fangfeng Bei taking Xiaoyao away.

2. The editing was atrocious. Particularly the war scenes. I was expecting something epic, not graphic art with an explanation and then a short scene of fighting.

3. Some episodes felt like pure filler, or felt off. The episode with the 3-some date for example. What the heck was that?

4. Due to the script leaks, a lot of it was lacklustre for me.

Now, let’s get into what I loved:

1. EVERYONE performed well in their respective roles.
2. The OST was delicious.
3. Even when the angst was fake, I felt it.
4. I also believe the story is strong, despite its flaws. I’ve taken away that I may have challenges in my life, but that it is best to persevere through them.

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Choice and Consequence

I'll be reviewing the drama more as a whole taking into consideration both parts rather than just part 2.

One thing about Lost You Forever, is that it's different from other Xianxias. Right off the bat, it doesn't give you the fantasy elements that most Xianxias are known for. No beautiful, mystical looking sceneries, or castles in the sky. No flying or cloud riding as it's called. It's easy to forget that these characters are supposed to be deities. Majority of the time not only are they dressed like regular people, the tools & items they utilize are rudimentary, and don't appear to be magical. So much so, I had a hard time conceptualizing where Dahuang is supposed to be situated in terms of the realms as it seems to be in the mortal realm. Though it didn't have many of the tropes I looked forward to in a Xianxia, it had it's own special uniqueness to it.

Acting:

The acting in this drama is top notch. Each character, whether main or supporting played their individual roles well. This in turn either endeared you to the character, tolerated the character or downright detested the character. However, the ultimate accolade goes to Yang Zi & Zhang Wan Yi, who play the main characters of Xiao Yao & Cang Xuan. Their acting in Episode 19 of LYF S2 is chef's kiss. What a moment.

Characters:

Moving on to the characters, we are first introduced to the two main characters, Xiao Yao & Cang Xuan as children. We meet them from their playful interactions to their pained separation as they experience loss one after the other in a short period of time.

After their separation, Cang Xuan vows to become strong, to obtain power in order to be able to protect Xiao Yao. Xiao Yao on the other hand after experiencing a series of traumatic events learns to not trust anyone, not to depend on anyone and most especially not to wait for anyone. We see how their experiences shape who they become and ultimately the decisions they make in life.

When we meet the adult Xiao Yao & Cang Xuan, they are both living a completely different life. One from life as a noble Princess to that of one of a struggling physician in the form of a male disguise known as Wen Xiao Liu. Cang Xuan on the other hand has become a hostage Prince, traveling around in disguise as a wine seller as he secretly continued his search for Xiao Yao whom he'd never forgotten.

We see that Xiao Yao has become a cold, calculating and distrustful individual who never truly lets others get close, while Cang Xuan keeps a calculating and scheming mind hidden behind his calm smiling facade.

Despite Xiao Yao becoming a very guarded individual she still yearns for companionship, so much so that she'll even settle for the companionship of her tormentor because in her mind, it is better than being alone as she verbally states in LYF S1. Her desire for companionship leads her to make all kinds of acquaintances along the way & ultimately led her to Ye Shiqi/Tushan Jing and Xiang Liu /Fangfeng Bei two very different men that will become prominent in her life for different reasons.

Xiao Yao as a romantic partner is not for the faint of heart. She is double minded as she falls for two different men, and she is quick to "drop a person", to put it in colloquial terms, if she deems it necessary.

Xiao Yao as Wen Xiao Liu initially meets Tushan Jing, whom she names Ye Shiqi, when he is at his worst and on the brink of death. At first she leaves him to his fate, but, later on decides to help save him despite whatever potential trouble it might bring her. Ye Shiqi in return becomes devoted to Xiao Yao in her guise as Wen Xiao Liu. Performing various acts of services in a gentle and quiet manner, he cooks for her, cleans up after her, takes on the tasks she usually tries to avoid, all while assisting her and quietly looking out for her during their time in Qingshui Town. Slowly, without realizing it Xiao Yao comes to rely on Ye Shiqi more and more. After learning of his true identity as Tushan Jing, she makes multiple attempts to cut him off, and forget him, but is unable to completely do so. Their journey to each other is littered with misunderstandings, lack of communication, falling victim to other peoples schemes. Xiao Yao eventually learns that love is about the choices one makes. One person can love but it takes two to build a shared future. From Xiao Yao's perspective, Tushan Jing went from being a suitable companion who was devoted to her to a man whom she deeply loved and wanted to spend her lifetime with. What I loved and their interactions was how tender they could be with each other. Once they'd both confessed to each Xiao Yao's almost any girlishness around Tushan Jing was endearing.


On the other, Xiao Yao while disguised as Wen Xiao Liu in Qingshui Town also meets Xiang Liu, the feared and ill reputed nine headed serpent. Xiang Liu known as being cruel, calculating, and a killer of both demons and deities lives up to his cruel reputation on this first meeting with Xiao Yao as Wen Xiao Liu. Having his pet Chubby brutally rip apart and devour the Feifei that she was trying to capture, he also had her harshly whipped many times, despite knowing she was a woman. He eventually sets her free on the condition that she must make poison for him, and giving her no option but to agree, because to refuse leads to her being harmed by him. And harm her he does, multiple times over throughout. With such an introduction, one would think she would have to be crazy to fall for such a man, but she eventually does despite never admitting to it. Her falling for Xiang Liu makes me think of victims suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, because it makes no sense from her perspective. For a lot of her dealings with him he either physically harmed her, threatened to harm her or doled out some form of punishment to her while forcefully taking her blood in the most inappropriate way without her permission until she was resigned to it. However, it seemed that for a person like Xiao Yao who hated loneliness even this form of companionship, if it could be called that, was acceptable. Even after gaining back her identity & noble status, Xiao Yao continued to make poison for him, in addition to hiding and protecting his identity a few times. This might have made some sense if maybe this attachment she formed with Xiang Liu came about after he saved her life or after her many interactions with him as Fangfeng Bei, but if anything it seems that those later interactions deepened her attachment to him. All this while she would still cry over Tushan Jing.

As Cang Xuan's closest relative, Xiao Yao took her role very seriously, doing whatever was necessary to help him secure the throne even if it meant becoming engaged & possibly marrying a man (Fenglong), she didn't love and living the kind of life that was the opposite of what she wanted. She used herself as a shield to protect him & learned archery from someone that was supposed to be an enemy in order to protect Cang Xuan. Cang Xuan is one of the very few people she trusted the most. He is her Cang Xuan gege, and someone she believed she could rely on always. Their relationship and rediscovery of each other as adults was enjoyable to observe yet poignant as it became clear that the more power Cang Xuan obtained the more they will become separated.


Cang Xuan is a man with a mission and high ambition. For his goal, he can use anybody as a pawn, even Xiao Yao, the one person whom he holds dearly above others. He is ultimately a pitiful character. His desire for power was driven by his desire to protect Xiao Yao and to keep her by his side so that no one can ever force them to separate again. However, it is this very power that when he obtained it came between them. In order to acquire power, he had to become the king, and to ensure that there was true peace throughout Dahuang, he had to unify the kingdoms and different clans, and to do so meant marriage alliances. Each time he married a new consort, he would ask Xiao Yao not to attend & not to congratulate him. Zhang Wan Yi played this role so achingly well. His portrayal of his character's emotional turmoil was palpable. From the sadness etched onto his face each time he married a new consort and felt the distance between him & Xiao Yao growing more and more, to the yearning every time he was around her knowing he can't have her, and his jealousy of the devotion Xiao Yao showed towards Tushan Jing. A superb acting.

Tushan Jing is a character whom we are first introduced to at his lowest point in life. We meet him crippled, dirty, on the verge of death and beyond recognition. After suffering the ultimate betrayal from a brother he looked up to the most, Tushan Jing goes from being a man who was once admired throughout Dahuang for his looks, his skills in poetry, art & playing the guqin in addition to his business savvy, to being the lowest of low. Crippled, brutalized, unable to walk he was shunned & scorned by passerbys who saw him on the street. Thrown into the river & left to die, he eventually drifted to Qingshui Town where he met Xiao Yao in her male disguise as Wen Xiao Liu. She saves Tushan Jing literally & figuratively. Tushan Jing in turn treats Xiao Yao in a way that she had not been for a very long time. They live a somewhat idyllic life until reality comes knocking no longer able to hide from their true identities. Having already known what it's like to be at the top of the social ladder, with the admiration of the people as well as to be cruelly brought low, & treated worse than human, Tushan Jing has no desire to return to the life he once had. However, it is his very admirable nature that makes it hard for him to escape his obligations & also fall into the trap of those he failed to guard against. What makes his character lovable is that despite the schemes against him, the brutality he'd experienced, he maintained a pure heart, which was what drew Xiao Yao to him. And he to many viewers. However, as XY told him, it is his greatest strength as well as his fatal flaw.

Nonetheless, his love & devotion to Xiao Yao was evident. He had no other ambitions than to be with her. He didn't seek power, and despite being able to obtain one of the highest positions as an official, he chose not to. His shrewdness & intellect is usually downplayed, except by those who know it. For him, nothing is more important than Xiao Yao not even his own life. With half of his cultivation gone due to the vicious torture he received at the hands of his own brother, despite not being as strong as he used to be, & still recovering from his injuries he used up what remained of his powers & his body to shield Xiao Yao's body from being burnt to ashes after her assassination, and was ready to die with her. His sacrifice is what allowed the opportunity for her life to be saved. Tushan Jing's devotion to Xiao Yao ultimately warms & heals her cold jaded heart. His kind, thoughtful, & loving nature made him the life partner she desired. A man who put her above all else & valued her more than his own life. While the first part of LYF did a fair job of introducing us to Tushan Jing and giving us his background and his duty bound nature, this second part/season failed in further developing his character arc, his limited screen time in the second half of the drama was noticable. Deng Wei did well to convey Tushan Jing as a lovelorn man mourning the reality of missing out on Xiao Yao, as well as portraying the devoted & loving man, whose sole desire is to be with his love assisting her in accomplishing her goals.

Xiang Liu is a character I have mixed feelings about. On first meeting him you are introduced to his cold harshness, even downright cruelty. I will never get over his whipping of Xiao Yao, throwing her off from a high distance on Chubby's back so that she was injured to the extent she couldn't even walk. The amount of times this man choked her, reacted violently to her, and then we are supposed to sympathize with him because he loves Xiao Yao is crazy. For those with a fetish for dark characters he would be their cup of tea. Xiang Liu behaves like an emotionally stunted person or a person suffering from a split personality disorder (maybe it's the nine heads? ?). When he manages to have civilized & normal conversations with Xiao Yao it almost never fails not to end in him doing something cruel or harsh that pushes her away. When he is doing something to help her or that's to protect her not only would he not let her know, but he would go out of his way to choose the meanest or harshest method to do those things. He's only ever treated her tenderly when she's unconscious. His love of Xiao Yao is like a backhanded compliment with the compliment getting lost in the insult. Others have waxed poetic about Xiang Liu being so self-sacrificial in his love. But I can't help but see his selfishness & cruelty. Love is an action word. You show love for a person in the things you do, in the same way you cannot show it in the things you fail to do. When the person you love has only personally experienced your harshness, coldness, your cruelty is that love? If inwardly & secretly is the only way you express & do things for this person while outwardly constantly causing them pain is that okay? Would anyone accept that kind of treatment in real life & call it love? Xiang Liu's character frustrated me a lot, because ultimately what he got was the result of his own choices. For his own principles he & the displaced Chengrong army refused to surrender viewing their ego, because that's what it ultimately boils down to, as higher than the greater good. Their principle wasn't about ensuring the peace of the people, their well-being or their safety, their principle was about holding onto whatever ideals they had than to give in to surrendering & unifying a land that was initially not divided into different kingdoms in the first place. It made their deaths needless & meaningless, but hey, they satisfied their desire to die in battle. On that note Tan Jian Ci played the dual nature of his character very well. I would love to see him in something else so I can erase the image of him as Xiang Liu.

With all that said, the notion of choice & the consequences of the choice a person makes is peppered throughout the drama. In life we all have a choice to make. We can choose to be happy or not. We also have a choice on who we love. In order for love to last it must be nurtured. Xiao Yao ultimately makes a choice she would rather spend her life with a man who loves, cherishes her & puts her first.

Further, the author does a good job of drawing parallels & similarities between Xiao Yao & her main "love interests".

With Xiao Yao & Tushan Jing you have both experienced torture. Both lost a significant amount of their cultivation that they didn't get back, both lost their prestigious identity & lived the life of a pauper.

With Xiao Yao & Xiang Liu you also get both experienced torture, and with them there's a parallel in their blood. While Xiao Yao's blood is a panacea, Xiang Liu's blood is poisonous.

Even between the two main "rivals" for Xiao Yao's love there's a parallel. Tushan Jing is a nine tailed fox spirit deity, while Xiang Liu is a nine headed serpent demon. ?

Plot:
Overall the drama did a good job in conveying the story it was telling. However, there is no denying that the second half of the drama suffered from the multiple episode cut. There were noticeable areas where it felt that something was missing. Nonetheless, everyone involved in the drama did their job well.

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