Chinese_Dramas
This review may contain spoilers
"Throughout my life, I've never let anyone down, but Eleven"
One and Only 《周生如故》. The drama lives up to its name: it's the one and only drama that is able to express these heart wrenching emotions in such a beautiful, poetic way. Never have I ever cried so hard in a drama, yet every tear was worth it. One could see the true love in the deep pools of pain in the characters' eyes, not just the main couple, but everyone else's. It was a tragic, beautiful love story that literally can rip your heart right out and crush it into pieces, but it is just as meaningful and deserving, if not more, as the other masterpieces out there.
**Story**:
Like many other historical costume dramas out there, One and Only is another drama adapted from a novel. The novel《一生一世美人骨》by 墨宝非宝 is a novel of wonders, tragedies, true love, and true friendship. It tells the sorrowful love story between the powerful General Zhou ShengChen (周生辰) and the highly esteemed noble princess, Cui ShiYi (催时宜) in which the master-apprentice relationship turns into romance but couldn't go further due to their own respective responsibilities and duties. The drama portrayed the ancient, dark, imperial times in China very well with political corruption, pre-set marriages for the sake of one's own benefit, and the false accusations/rebellions of Generals in order to get rid of them. Although the story itself is fantasy, it's sad when one realizes that it represents all of those people with beautiful bones and true love who couldn't be together at the fault of evil, greedy emperors, empresses, ministers, etc.
**Acting/Cast
Zhou ShengChen (Actor: Ren JiaLun 任嘉伦): Many describe him as a cold, stone-faced General, but to me, he was quite the opposite. He was full of warmth, love, care, and often worried for his eleven disciples that he practically raised himself, of which, was his most beloved one, Eleven. Although he was part of the imperial family, he was willing to change his family name from Liu to Zhou Sheng, go defend his country's borders at the age of 13, vowed to not get married and have a family, all out of patriotism and love for the people. The brutal experiences shaped him into the closed person we saw, never allowing his heart to open and reveal his true emotions/thoughts to people. His biggest wish was to protect the people of BeiChen, allow them to live in peace without war, even if it meant sacrificing himself, and he didn't expect anything in return...that is until he met Cui ShiYi. Ren JiaLun, man, ripped my heart out. He truly lived up to the character; I can't imagine anyone else portraying Zhou Sheng Chen because of how well Ren JiaLun did. I don't know how he did it, but you could see love, pain, sorrow, and helplessness in his eyes when it came to ShiYi. In an interview, Ren JiaLun commented on his own character: "The more he liked ShiYi, the more he suffered, the more lonely he became because he couldn't tell anyone. He could only let go of his emotions at some moments." It's one of the best descriptions I've heard, and Ren JiaLun executed it quite literally to perfection.
Cui ShiYi (Actress: Bai Lu 白鹿): Completely opposite of who Bai Lu is in life, Cui ShiYi is a lovely, talented, disciplined princess from a well-esteemed family. In order to be shielded away from the evilness of the court in the central state, she's sent to become the apprentice of Jr. King NanChen in the western state, whom she later falls in love with. Both him and her knew that due to their identities and status, there was no way they could be together. ShiYi knew this well, so she was happy to even just be next to him, and all she wanted was to stay at the Nan Chen mansion in western state for the rest of her life, with her master and brothers and sisters. Like Ren JiaLun, I have no idea how Bai Lu was able to show such deep, sorrowful love in her eyes. I previously watched her in "Love Is Sweet", and she did amazing, but I had no idea how good she was at crying scenes. In an interview, the director stated that she had over 30 crying scenes alone in this drama, and like the audience, he was surprised and impressed with how professional she was. I cried with her and felt deeply sad for her tragic love story. Bai Lu completely blew me away with how well she did.
I mainly wanted to commend on our two main characters, but I'll never forget our support characters: General Cui Feng, General Hong XiaoYu, General Feng Qiao, Monk Xiao Yan, Military Advisor Xie, the rest of the generals, our beloved NanChen Royal Army, the scholar at LongKang Academy, and the list goes on. The love between Cui Feng and XiaoYu tore me to pieces, Feng Qiao was the cutest ever, and the monk was so smart when it came to the love between Zhou ShengChen and Cui ShiYi. Each had their own story, and every actor/actress executed it so nicely. Of course, the actors/actresses portraying our villains deserve a shout-out for their outstanding performance; they really are professional since they made us hate them so much (but I strongly hate the characters). I love this cast, and I fell in love with the army and the tragic couples. It was like I was there with them, part of their big family, witnessing every victory and happiness, and that's why the sorrows and poignant scenes touched me as deeply as it did to the characters.
I also want to mentioned the visuals of this drama...it had some of the best sceneries and costumes I've ever seen. Ren JiaLun and Bai Lu are two of the very rare group who can act in historical costume dramas, republican era dramas, and modern ones and fit into the characters, especially outfit wise. Bai Lu's historical costumes were so simple yet so beautiful and exquisite, reflecting the beauty of the Chinese hanfu. Ren JiaLun looked so good in black and white, but when he was in the armor, whew! I hate comparing dramas, but it reminded me of The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion. That drama had some beautiful costumes as well, but to me, they were fake, and the hair accessories were not needed, nor did it have as much history in it, but One and Only had beautiful clothing. Truly mesmerizing.
**Music**:
This drama had some of the best OSTs ever. I enjoyed every single song, and that's usually rare when it comes to dramas. The following are some of my favorites as well as some of the touching lyrics:
1. "As It Is" 《如故》sung by Zhang BiChen 张碧晨. I believe that this song was literally made for their love story; The lyrics grasp every detail and tells their love story with such devastating, poetic words; It perfectly captures every heartfelt emotion from our dear Zhou ShenCheng and CuiShiYi. It's their song. "The inkstand carries all my feelings...I struggle, my heart burns...We're both tormented on the outside...suffering from this sea of pain...But for you, I can leap down, dyeing red this love I painfully hold back. This weak empire extravagant only on the exterior, swords, knives, and warhorses forced us to give up mortal love in this life. (Our) story is like a dissipating firework, stuck in the wind, swept sand, and winter blizzards...Each stroke of my brush becomes him, it's hard to be detached"
2. "If" 《若》sung by Jin WenQi 金玟崎. These are ShiYi's words to Zhou ShengChen, her unspoken feelings and thoughts of love: "The fireflies I secretly hope for has a corner to flicker, is the spark to light up the dark night for you. Even though I have so many wishes to tell you, even though this knot of yearning has not been untied yet...count the times the moon waxes and wanes, still miss you...flowers blossom and withers, yet my love will not waver...to protect one person this entire lifetime, hope to be with you, unable to speak of it or ask for it"
3. "Always/As One" 《如一》sung by Ren JiaLun 任嘉伦. And these are Zhou ShengChen's upspoken words/thoughts from deep down his heart to ShiYi: "Turn your head and listen, do you understand I'm missing you? If I were to pick up my brush, how can I describe you with words? Under the moonlit city gates, we appreciate the beauty of the lanterns and boats together. However, I can never express my feelings to you...Reluctant to wake up from the dream of seeing every expression, smile of your's...To finally enjoy this scenery every day and night with you. Even if I'm millions of miles away, I will still come to you....No matter how far I am, my love for you will always be the same."
4. "No Worries" 《无虞》sung by Li ZiTing 李紫婷/ Jing Long 井陇. The lyrics sung by ZiTing are directly from ShiYi's heart, and the lyrics sung by Jing Long perfectly expresses Zhou ShenCheng's longing love for ShiYi that he can't show: "(ShiYi) But they are nothing compared to you, nothing to you. (Zhou) Only love comes so silently. (ShiYi) There is some valiance on your eyebrows, something I will pursue with the rest of my life. (Zhou) This loveless, intolerant heart of mine is one that can't hide my feelings. Lower my head to find a path of light, only after bidding farewell do I clearly realize, that everything I look at, makes me think of you...Who Knew I would become obsessed with that one look? (ShiYi) I still remember what I felt the first day I came here. That's why it's hard to forget every shadow of you."
*Song translations are by this Youtube link (some of the best translations): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjczFbzSU-A&t=308s
**What some may dislike/cons**:
Well, I think the biggest con to some people is the tragic ending. I quote a fan on the last few episodes: "Rip your heart out now, or they'll rip it out for you". I now understand what that means. If you want a cute, bubbly rom com, this drama is definitely not for you, but it deserves every bit of recognition out there; everyone should try it.
I would like to address some thoughts from commenters on why the story had to end like this. Why couldn't Zhou ShengChen just run away with Cui ShiYi and ignore everyone else? Why did he stay at the palace? Why couldn't he even show a bit of selfishness and allow himself to forget that he's a general sometimes? The answer is: because he's a general and she's a esteemed princess. I would like for those to put it this way: imagine the president/chairman/prime minister of your country all of the sudden disappeared and rumors state that he ran away with his loved one from the government position. How would you, the country, the citizens, everyone think? Will everyone on this earth know his story and empathize with him like we did towards Zhou ShengChen and Cui ShiYi? Zhou ShengChen gave up his imperial family name, half of his childhood, his emotions and feelings, his freedom of getting married and having a family, just to protect the his country's people, to bring peace and prosperity to them, even if it meant sacrificing himself. His responsibilities, duties, and vows constantly remind himself that he's a general. I'm glad that nothing broke that reputation. If he had ran away with Cui ShiYi, maybe they would've had a happy life, but what about their own respective families, their reputation? Entire Nan Chen mansion, his father, his generals, would be affected. ShiYi's entire clan can be affected. History will be written different. Please think first. They are some of the most selfless people I've ever seen, and I wouldn't change anything about the show at all. Not one bit.
**Favorite Quotes**:
1. "Beautiful bones are rare in the world. There are bones but no skin. Those with skins have no bones. King Xiao Nanchen is the only person in the world who has both bones and skins.”
2. "May there be no more smoke of gunpowder on the land, and may the people of Beichen live and work in peace and contentment, and the smoke in the world (representing liveliness) will continue for thousands of miles!"
3. "I can promise you that if something happens to me one day, someone will tell you when and where I will die." Zhou ShengChen kept his promise to ShiYi because her mom did tell her exactly what happened.
**Final Thoughts**:
Everything about this drama, the production, the OST, the details, were full of meanings, of sorrow, of sadness, of poetry, yet so beautiful. The expressions, the tears...I've never felt something like it before. My heart has been completely ripped out by Zhou ShengChen and CuiShiYi. My entire mind is occupied by them and their memories, and seeing pictures of them, hearing the songs, just remind me of that sorrowful journey. Was a tragic? Yes. But was it worth it? Definitely. I'm glad I witnessed their love.
**Rewatch value**:
10/10. If you're suffering like I was, I highly recommend watching the bts scenes and the sequel because they will help your heart heal; of course there will still be cracks left from this one. I'm definitely coming back to this drama in the future. It holds a special place in my heart that has somewhat mended together now after watching all the bts scenes. This story is more than catastrophic; its a poetic, elegant, scroll that is more valuable than any gem out there.
**Story**:
Like many other historical costume dramas out there, One and Only is another drama adapted from a novel. The novel《一生一世美人骨》by 墨宝非宝 is a novel of wonders, tragedies, true love, and true friendship. It tells the sorrowful love story between the powerful General Zhou ShengChen (周生辰) and the highly esteemed noble princess, Cui ShiYi (催时宜) in which the master-apprentice relationship turns into romance but couldn't go further due to their own respective responsibilities and duties. The drama portrayed the ancient, dark, imperial times in China very well with political corruption, pre-set marriages for the sake of one's own benefit, and the false accusations/rebellions of Generals in order to get rid of them. Although the story itself is fantasy, it's sad when one realizes that it represents all of those people with beautiful bones and true love who couldn't be together at the fault of evil, greedy emperors, empresses, ministers, etc.
**Acting/Cast
Zhou ShengChen (Actor: Ren JiaLun 任嘉伦): Many describe him as a cold, stone-faced General, but to me, he was quite the opposite. He was full of warmth, love, care, and often worried for his eleven disciples that he practically raised himself, of which, was his most beloved one, Eleven. Although he was part of the imperial family, he was willing to change his family name from Liu to Zhou Sheng, go defend his country's borders at the age of 13, vowed to not get married and have a family, all out of patriotism and love for the people. The brutal experiences shaped him into the closed person we saw, never allowing his heart to open and reveal his true emotions/thoughts to people. His biggest wish was to protect the people of BeiChen, allow them to live in peace without war, even if it meant sacrificing himself, and he didn't expect anything in return...that is until he met Cui ShiYi. Ren JiaLun, man, ripped my heart out. He truly lived up to the character; I can't imagine anyone else portraying Zhou Sheng Chen because of how well Ren JiaLun did. I don't know how he did it, but you could see love, pain, sorrow, and helplessness in his eyes when it came to ShiYi. In an interview, Ren JiaLun commented on his own character: "The more he liked ShiYi, the more he suffered, the more lonely he became because he couldn't tell anyone. He could only let go of his emotions at some moments." It's one of the best descriptions I've heard, and Ren JiaLun executed it quite literally to perfection.
Cui ShiYi (Actress: Bai Lu 白鹿): Completely opposite of who Bai Lu is in life, Cui ShiYi is a lovely, talented, disciplined princess from a well-esteemed family. In order to be shielded away from the evilness of the court in the central state, she's sent to become the apprentice of Jr. King NanChen in the western state, whom she later falls in love with. Both him and her knew that due to their identities and status, there was no way they could be together. ShiYi knew this well, so she was happy to even just be next to him, and all she wanted was to stay at the Nan Chen mansion in western state for the rest of her life, with her master and brothers and sisters. Like Ren JiaLun, I have no idea how Bai Lu was able to show such deep, sorrowful love in her eyes. I previously watched her in "Love Is Sweet", and she did amazing, but I had no idea how good she was at crying scenes. In an interview, the director stated that she had over 30 crying scenes alone in this drama, and like the audience, he was surprised and impressed with how professional she was. I cried with her and felt deeply sad for her tragic love story. Bai Lu completely blew me away with how well she did.
I mainly wanted to commend on our two main characters, but I'll never forget our support characters: General Cui Feng, General Hong XiaoYu, General Feng Qiao, Monk Xiao Yan, Military Advisor Xie, the rest of the generals, our beloved NanChen Royal Army, the scholar at LongKang Academy, and the list goes on. The love between Cui Feng and XiaoYu tore me to pieces, Feng Qiao was the cutest ever, and the monk was so smart when it came to the love between Zhou ShengChen and Cui ShiYi. Each had their own story, and every actor/actress executed it so nicely. Of course, the actors/actresses portraying our villains deserve a shout-out for their outstanding performance; they really are professional since they made us hate them so much (but I strongly hate the characters). I love this cast, and I fell in love with the army and the tragic couples. It was like I was there with them, part of their big family, witnessing every victory and happiness, and that's why the sorrows and poignant scenes touched me as deeply as it did to the characters.
I also want to mentioned the visuals of this drama...it had some of the best sceneries and costumes I've ever seen. Ren JiaLun and Bai Lu are two of the very rare group who can act in historical costume dramas, republican era dramas, and modern ones and fit into the characters, especially outfit wise. Bai Lu's historical costumes were so simple yet so beautiful and exquisite, reflecting the beauty of the Chinese hanfu. Ren JiaLun looked so good in black and white, but when he was in the armor, whew! I hate comparing dramas, but it reminded me of The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion. That drama had some beautiful costumes as well, but to me, they were fake, and the hair accessories were not needed, nor did it have as much history in it, but One and Only had beautiful clothing. Truly mesmerizing.
**Music**:
This drama had some of the best OSTs ever. I enjoyed every single song, and that's usually rare when it comes to dramas. The following are some of my favorites as well as some of the touching lyrics:
1. "As It Is" 《如故》sung by Zhang BiChen 张碧晨. I believe that this song was literally made for their love story; The lyrics grasp every detail and tells their love story with such devastating, poetic words; It perfectly captures every heartfelt emotion from our dear Zhou ShenCheng and CuiShiYi. It's their song. "The inkstand carries all my feelings...I struggle, my heart burns...We're both tormented on the outside...suffering from this sea of pain...But for you, I can leap down, dyeing red this love I painfully hold back. This weak empire extravagant only on the exterior, swords, knives, and warhorses forced us to give up mortal love in this life. (Our) story is like a dissipating firework, stuck in the wind, swept sand, and winter blizzards...Each stroke of my brush becomes him, it's hard to be detached"
2. "If" 《若》sung by Jin WenQi 金玟崎. These are ShiYi's words to Zhou ShengChen, her unspoken feelings and thoughts of love: "The fireflies I secretly hope for has a corner to flicker, is the spark to light up the dark night for you. Even though I have so many wishes to tell you, even though this knot of yearning has not been untied yet...count the times the moon waxes and wanes, still miss you...flowers blossom and withers, yet my love will not waver...to protect one person this entire lifetime, hope to be with you, unable to speak of it or ask for it"
3. "Always/As One" 《如一》sung by Ren JiaLun 任嘉伦. And these are Zhou ShengChen's upspoken words/thoughts from deep down his heart to ShiYi: "Turn your head and listen, do you understand I'm missing you? If I were to pick up my brush, how can I describe you with words? Under the moonlit city gates, we appreciate the beauty of the lanterns and boats together. However, I can never express my feelings to you...Reluctant to wake up from the dream of seeing every expression, smile of your's...To finally enjoy this scenery every day and night with you. Even if I'm millions of miles away, I will still come to you....No matter how far I am, my love for you will always be the same."
4. "No Worries" 《无虞》sung by Li ZiTing 李紫婷/ Jing Long 井陇. The lyrics sung by ZiTing are directly from ShiYi's heart, and the lyrics sung by Jing Long perfectly expresses Zhou ShenCheng's longing love for ShiYi that he can't show: "(ShiYi) But they are nothing compared to you, nothing to you. (Zhou) Only love comes so silently. (ShiYi) There is some valiance on your eyebrows, something I will pursue with the rest of my life. (Zhou) This loveless, intolerant heart of mine is one that can't hide my feelings. Lower my head to find a path of light, only after bidding farewell do I clearly realize, that everything I look at, makes me think of you...Who Knew I would become obsessed with that one look? (ShiYi) I still remember what I felt the first day I came here. That's why it's hard to forget every shadow of you."
*Song translations are by this Youtube link (some of the best translations): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjczFbzSU-A&t=308s
**What some may dislike/cons**:
Well, I think the biggest con to some people is the tragic ending. I quote a fan on the last few episodes: "Rip your heart out now, or they'll rip it out for you". I now understand what that means. If you want a cute, bubbly rom com, this drama is definitely not for you, but it deserves every bit of recognition out there; everyone should try it.
I would like to address some thoughts from commenters on why the story had to end like this. Why couldn't Zhou ShengChen just run away with Cui ShiYi and ignore everyone else? Why did he stay at the palace? Why couldn't he even show a bit of selfishness and allow himself to forget that he's a general sometimes? The answer is: because he's a general and she's a esteemed princess. I would like for those to put it this way: imagine the president/chairman/prime minister of your country all of the sudden disappeared and rumors state that he ran away with his loved one from the government position. How would you, the country, the citizens, everyone think? Will everyone on this earth know his story and empathize with him like we did towards Zhou ShengChen and Cui ShiYi? Zhou ShengChen gave up his imperial family name, half of his childhood, his emotions and feelings, his freedom of getting married and having a family, just to protect the his country's people, to bring peace and prosperity to them, even if it meant sacrificing himself. His responsibilities, duties, and vows constantly remind himself that he's a general. I'm glad that nothing broke that reputation. If he had ran away with Cui ShiYi, maybe they would've had a happy life, but what about their own respective families, their reputation? Entire Nan Chen mansion, his father, his generals, would be affected. ShiYi's entire clan can be affected. History will be written different. Please think first. They are some of the most selfless people I've ever seen, and I wouldn't change anything about the show at all. Not one bit.
**Favorite Quotes**:
1. "Beautiful bones are rare in the world. There are bones but no skin. Those with skins have no bones. King Xiao Nanchen is the only person in the world who has both bones and skins.”
2. "May there be no more smoke of gunpowder on the land, and may the people of Beichen live and work in peace and contentment, and the smoke in the world (representing liveliness) will continue for thousands of miles!"
3. "I can promise you that if something happens to me one day, someone will tell you when and where I will die." Zhou ShengChen kept his promise to ShiYi because her mom did tell her exactly what happened.
**Final Thoughts**:
Everything about this drama, the production, the OST, the details, were full of meanings, of sorrow, of sadness, of poetry, yet so beautiful. The expressions, the tears...I've never felt something like it before. My heart has been completely ripped out by Zhou ShengChen and CuiShiYi. My entire mind is occupied by them and their memories, and seeing pictures of them, hearing the songs, just remind me of that sorrowful journey. Was a tragic? Yes. But was it worth it? Definitely. I'm glad I witnessed their love.
**Rewatch value**:
10/10. If you're suffering like I was, I highly recommend watching the bts scenes and the sequel because they will help your heart heal; of course there will still be cracks left from this one. I'm definitely coming back to this drama in the future. It holds a special place in my heart that has somewhat mended together now after watching all the bts scenes. This story is more than catastrophic; its a poetic, elegant, scroll that is more valuable than any gem out there.
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