[Mainland Chinese Drama 2021] Forever and Ever 一生一世

[ChibiLy]

I just realised the director is different. One and only is directed by 'Gue Hu', whereas Shen Yang is the director for 'Forever and Ever'. No wonder the pacing for the drama is different. 

 

@rabbit_casathanks for your explanation. It's a shame the Forever and Ever did not capture the subtilty scattered through the novel. I think its rather beautiful how Shiyi recognised ZSC and did what she could, to get to know him again in this life time. 

 

1 hour ago, realistic2280a said:

 

Sounds sad actually, to live such life, of guilt, as if living and waiting until the end of time... for the sake of it...   depressing... 

Sounds like ZSC's step-mum...

 

Well, lucky for SY that she managed to meet ZSC's then.. 

 

It does sound depressing! It gave me goose bumps when I watched the latest episode

 

Spoiler

Shiyi explained to ZSC how animal respond weirdly to her. That is because she isn't suppose to be there. I take it as a subtle link, how Shiyi committed suicide in her past life, so she shouldn't reincarnate as human.  

 

 

 

46 minutes ago, rabbit_casa said:

ZSC's step-mom is actually a very pitiful person. She loved one man, married another for her family. She did not love ZSC's father but tried her best to care for and protect ZSC, maybe not as a mother shld but in her own way. At the end though, her ending is very sad...

 

How rough is it, that she can't even avoid her love interest. ZSC's step-mother is a very strong woman. 

I wouldn't rate her as a nurturing mother, but one can see why she turned out that way. Sadly her own children suffered in the long run too.

 

 

 

[Ma OO]

I am seeing a lot of comments from international fans whereby they are not that happy that this drama is not showing full kissing scenes or bed scenes. They are blaming on RJL marriage and his past record as "having no kiss scenes policy". Not that I know RJL or ever will, based on what I have observed, he is not that unprofessional or have power to alter all these scenes.

 

Let's start with the start of no kissing scene controversy, the first famous drama that RJL had was Glory of Tang which was before his actual marriage. He kissed his co-star as required by the scripts. Along the filming process, he contracted pneumonia. He was quite sick so his gf then, now wife, really followed him around and took care of him. After that drama production, he continued to act in many more dramas (as required by agency) despite his illness NOT fully cured. He "stopped kissing" so as a preventive measure. After he got married, his dramas got shelved as his popularity decreased. Those shelved dramas only aired in these recent years (2020 & 2021) because he became popular again. So what audience are seeing (Under the Power, Autumn Cicada etc) are his old dramas with "no" kiss scenes.

 

In his recent dramas, (MCWML, forever & Ever), he has actually started to kiss the actresses. There are Behind the scenes and leaked scenes but they got deleted/Waterdown  so as to fit the volatile China ent. (If you follow the China Entertainment industry, you would have know what is happening - actors, directors and dramas are disappearing one by one if it is considered not "fit" for audience/policies based on their regulation)  

 

Also, for RJL to actually request to replace those scenes, it is impossible given how much of "power" he has. I am not sure of his real wealth or "power" behind the scenes, from my observation, he is respected for voicing out his thoughts but he always step behind for directors' and productions' decisions. (he complained about some of his dramas, and he said he may choose not to watch if the final product was not what he was presented for)

 

It is sad that an actor's marriage got blame for every time audience cannot ship the leads. I mean, I don't understand the whole shipping of actors too. They are kissing in front of 20 plus staffs members, how much of romantic feeling they can have?

 

Spoiler

(Also he is notoriously shy, if they give him leeways to not undress or kiss, why not? he is human..) 

 

[rabbit_casa]

So true! And I dont think F&E would be anything less for not showing for skinship anyway. Back in the days there were plenty of dramas that did not have much intimate scenes but audiences were still convinced through just the acting of actors/actresses. I actually love those kinds where they could convey the love and passion just by the ways they were together, the looks they gave one another...

[leo2020]

3 hours ago, Ma OO said:

After he got married, his dramas got shelved as his popularity decreased

I've heard many times about such situations, that's astonishing and sad to say the list. Why on Earth would a fan get angry about his favorite actor getting married? I personally would be happy for him/her to find a soulmate; for those stars to have some personal life/privacy is already a challenge, and  to get married and have a child - an achievement that should be treasured). 

[whiteybao]

Ok sidetrack a little to just say I’m hopping onto this thread from One & Only.

 

up to episode 5 of F&E and I love it! I like how they went straight into it from the first episode. No frills, no “misses” at every turn of the corner. Just straight up “hi, can I have your number”. 
 

I also like how noobish and awkward they both are. Both BL and RLJ are excellent artists but BL upped the notch (for me) in FE.

 

I particularly like this smirk of hers:

 

 

both the wingman and wingwoman to the FL and ML are hilarious. Both coincidentally tie their hairs the same. 

 

I’m not gonna try to compare FE and OO because they’re two entirely different genres. I do enjoy seeing the cross-references to OO in some scenes in FE like the phone number and the erotic poet. 
 

also, the bts shows BL laughing all the time it’s contagious.

[realistic2280a]

 

Saw Bailu's interview... she seems more intune with the skinships scenes as we are, haha...

 

Its not as if viewers are expecting an RA rated scenes from the leads, but just reasonable amount of affection between the leads to make the drama more sweet.

 

What done is done.. lets enjoy until the end next week 

[leo2020]

25 minutes ago, realistic2280a said:

 

Saw Bailu's interview... she seems more intune with the skinships scenes as we are, haha...

 

Its not as if viewers are expecting an RA rated scenes from the leads, but just reasonable amount of affection between the leads to make the drama more sweet.

Well, if you follow her work - pay attention to that scenes- she always goes into it 100%, with every partner))) 

[realistic2280a]

13 hours ago, leo2020 said:

Well, if you follow her work - pay attention to that scenes- she always goes into it 100%, with every partner))) 

 

I love her and Leo in Love is Sweet.. i couldnt finish the military drama (i read that even skinships scenes there were cut!).....and her recent dramas, the ML actors were not handsome and im not watching, hahaa (yes i am vain).....so this is my 2nd BaiLu drama and will watch until the end despite having some issues with it. 

[ChibiLy]

@Ma OO Thanks for clarifying the situation. I am glad he is becoming popular again. There are plenty of close contact in the later episodes. I have seen some awkward love scenes, BL and RJL's are all very natural. So I don't see why fans need to complain. 

I actual admire RJL for marrying "young" and being honest with his fans. There are too many hidden marriages or actors delaying their marriage until they are in their late 30's. That just sets a unrealistic image for the entertainment industry. It is absolutely ridiculous how some fans expect their idol to be single forever.

  

Bailu is gorgeous and hilarious. 'Legend' was the first drama I saw of hers and have since been a fan.

So glad she got to star in 'One and Only', and 'Forever and Ever'. Hopefully she continues to get good quality productions.   

[whiteybao]

I watched The Legends and Love is Sweet and yes.. BL does not hold back on the kisses at all. 

[realistic2280a]

I heard good reviews in the Legend as well.. so probably that will be my next drama...haha.. 

 

Gosh BaiLu is so pretty and beautiful,  she can act and kiss! She needs more handsome male leads and better scripts!...

 

Apparently, F&E was shot before O&O... maybe still akward between them.. heh

[Alila N]

On 9/18/2021 at 1:06 AM, rabbit_casa said:

I think the author assumed that everyone would know that this is the sequel after One and only and this is the reincarnation of the 2 leads. Actually in the novel, the heroine was the one so insisted on the relationship and the ML was more followed along with her, because she is the one with the memories, the love and regret from the past life. It is the key elements of the novel as as though the ML's appearance had changed, she still recognized him because she loved his 'bones', aka his inner beauty, which also explains the title of the novel in the 1st place. Sadly this is all missed in the drama due to the censorship of China. 

 Also for the lack of skinship, I think it's due to the author's style as she is the one who wrote the script as well. In the novel, the 2 characters barely got any skinship at all, it is all hinted in the way they together. I remember there was a scene that the two just started meeting up, and they went out to a restaurant together, having a meal without saying anything to each other the whole time, yet the MC felt really content and happy, because she felt that the ML was ok without saying anything too. The both of them were actually quiet and did not like to say things when it was not neccessary. You figure out the plot bits by bits through the characters around them. For the MC, as long as she was next to him, she would not question anything. The ML at first intended to marry her out of convenience and also because she was the only one he could be comfortable to be with, but he felt in love with her slowly later on. Unfortunately it is really to hard to transcribe in the drama all the nuances of the novel.

Uhm, I read the book and there are many love scenes lawl. To say there is barely is not really correct :/

On 9/19/2021 at 12:34 AM, leo2020 said:

 

That's 100% true, she is always trying to be as cute and pretty as possible, always with her eyes and mouth opened.  Her styling in her last modern drama is exaggerated to being comical and "clownish", like a plastic doll. Sorry for off-top). 

 

My experience with F&E, however, is may be surprisingly different from other viewers. Unfortunately I'm not a fan of contemporary dramas, and for me it's really a torture to watch .

I personally would prefer modern drama with sad ending and happy ending for ancient one ))). But that's just me .

 

Lol, dw, this one isn’t as great, so you can just stick to the ancient one. I think many who loves the ancient one so much, would watch this one then forget about it  like the ancient one makes me cry but I would rewatch. The modern one makes me smile but I wouldn’t bother rewatch lol

[Alila N]

On 9/19/2021 at 4:50 PM, Ma OO said:

I am seeing a lot of comments from international fans whereby they are not that happy that this drama is not showing full kissing scenes or bed scenes. They are blaming on RJL marriage and his past record as "having no kiss scenes policy". Not that I know RJL or ever will, based on what I have observed, he is not that unprofessional or have power to alter all these scenes.

 

Let's start with the start of no kissing scene controversy, the first famous drama that RJL had was Glory of Tang which was before his actual marriage. He kissed his co-star as required by the scripts. Along the filming process, he contracted pneumonia. He was quite sick so his gf then, now wife, really followed him around and took care of him. After that drama production, he continued to act in many more dramas (as required by agency) despite his illness NOT fully cured. He "stopped kissing" so as a preventive measure. After he got married, his dramas got shelved as his popularity decreased. Those shelved dramas only aired in these recent years (2020 & 2021) because he became popular again. So what audience are seeing (Under the Power, Autumn Cicada etc) are his old dramas with "no" kiss scenes.

 

In his recent dramas, (MCWML, forever & Ever), he has actually started to kiss the actresses. There are Behind the scenes and leaked scenes but they got deleted/Waterdown  so as to fit the volatile China ent. (If you follow the China Entertainment industry, you would have know what is happening - actors, directors and dramas are disappearing one by one if it is considered not "fit" for audience/policies based on their regulation)  

 

Also, for RJL to actually request to replace those scenes, it is impossible given how much of "power" he has. I am not sure of his real wealth or "power" behind the scenes, from my observation, he is respected for voicing out his thoughts but he always step behind for directors' and productions' decisions. (he complained about some of his dramas, and he said he may choose not to watch if the final product was not what he was presented for)

 

It is sad that an actor's marriage got blame for every time audience cannot ship the leads. I mean, I don't understand the whole shipping of actors too. They are kissing in front of 20 plus staffs members, how much of romantic feeling they can have?

 

  Hide contents

(Also he is notoriously shy, if they give him leeways to not undress or kiss, why not? he is human..) 

 

Im not sure if they blame his marriage. On MDL, most is not happy because the way he acted is awkward and you don’t feel a strong chemistry with BL, unlike OnO. Yes, they were unhappy with his “no kissing clause”, because they feel if you have that, you shouldn’t be acting in romantic drama, again, that argument is not wrong either. He can act how he thinks is appropriate, the script can be written whatever way the writer/producer likes, the fact is people is not happy with this drama and he’s a contributing factor. (Just look at Game of throne, people used to love it, and willing to overlook its flaws until the last season). When a drama didn’t excel, there’s a number of factors, he’s the male lead, so he got most of it, but that doesn’t mean the script writer and the director got let go scotch free either (easier yea, but not scotch free).

 

also glory of the tang was made in 2016, unless under the power was made in 2016 or before, it’s not an old drama. The fact is he went from kissing in glory of the tang (you see a full face kissing, not a half face cut off), to virtually no kissing, to half face cut kissing in a clear timeline say a lot. And yes, there’s bts of him kissing BL, but not really, their lips touched, and none of the “deep” kisses with the half face cut you see in the drama. Idk about his other drama, because idc about the other dramas.

 

now back to the drama, the problem is not just the nuances of their relationship is lost, they whitewashed ZSC. He’s not a saint in the book, he doesn’t mind take out his brother when his brother doesn’t care about their sister (if ShiYi and other didn’t stop him, he would have done it himself). He lie to her repeatedly (in a form of silence, but not telling her the truth is basically lying, again, missing the opportunity to show a man who  understand what’s the right thing is, but also act on his desires, don’t want to lose ShiYi and kinda not trusting her).

 

the relationship is awkward at first, but he’s at every step of the way showing how he’s willing to improve for her. Getting better at kissing, be a lot more proactive in “taking her to bed”, etc. the contrasting between the “cold” relationship when they are outside versus the “smouldering heat” when they are inside is what made the novel a good read.

 

I understand people love RJL, but accepting his shortcomings will help people not so idolise these stars. For me, I’ll watch his historical drama as I know I don’t need skinship to feel the heat. Modern drama though, I don’t need them to be GOT style, but I expect a kiss on the lips here and there casually (not passionate) just to show me they are a comfortable couple, so like other, I’ll skip his modern dramas. Also looking at his track record, most of his period dramas are the one that got buzzed and recognition. Whereas both recent modern dramas are basically not getting attention. 

[realistic2280a]

Watching ep23... ok, whats missing .  What happened to Wenxing? Sigh...

 

Then the bathtub scene looks very awkward.. sigh.. 

 

Way to go wenchun...getting your girl pregnant... hehe

 

---

First 10min of ep24.. like what... why is everyone wanting ZSC to leave the family? We havent seen how toxic they are anyway... sigh...

 

---

Ep23-25 should probably be compresed into one episode.. ha

[whiteybao]

11 hours ago, Alila N said:

Lol, dw, this one isn’t as great, so you can just stick to the ancient one. I think many who loves the ancient one so much, would watch this one then forget about it  like the ancient one makes me cry but I would rewatch. The modern one makes me smile but I wouldn’t bother rewatch lol

i second this^.

[tantaran808]

I admit I’m a hopeless romantic, but F&E will be in my library to watch over and over again.  The hero and heroine are adorable, sets are beautiful, and it ends happily. It joins the dramas that I like to watch during the holidays - gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.  I reread the novel for the same reason.

 

[ChibiLy]

1 hour ago, tantaran808 said:

I admit I’m a hopeless romantic, but F&E will be in my library to watch over and over again.  The hero and heroine are adorable, sets are beautiful, and it ends happily. It joins the dramas that I like to watch during the holidays - gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.  I reread the novel for the same reason.

 

I am with you Tantaran808. F&E storyline may not be as tight and as emotionally heart wrenching compared to O&O, but I still enjoyed watching how the couple's progression. I like how they have a simple and straight forward relationship, there is no push and pull. They have one of the most functional relationship in Cdrama land.

 

In terms of RJL's kissing scenes. His kiss scenes my not be as intense or passionate, but I feel like its a standard Cdrama kisses. He isn't any worse or better compare to other actors. Maybe for his acting standard, his kiss scenes are lacking but no one is perfect!

 

I am excited to binge on the remaining episodes this week.

 

[tantaran808]

Glad we agree @ChibiLy.

This drama pushed all the right emotional buttons for me.  Similar to An Affair to Remember (Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr), Pretty Woman (Richard Gere, Julia Roberts), Ghost ( Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore).

 

Any other C dramas affect any of you the same way?  (Sorry, I can only compare them to American movies)

[Ma OO]

18 hours ago, Alila N said:

Im not sure if they blame his marriage. On MDL, most is not happy because the way he acted is awkward and you don’t feel a strong chemistry with BL, unlike OnO. Yes, they were unhappy with his “no kissing clause”, because they feel if you have that, you shouldn’t be acting in romantic drama, again, that argument is not wrong either. He can act how he thinks is appropriate, the script can be written whatever way the writer/producer likes, the fact is people is not happy with this drama and he’s a contributing factor. (Just look at Game of throne, people used to love it, and willing to overlook its flaws until the last season). When a drama didn’t excel, there’s a number of factors, he’s the male lead, so he got most of it, but that doesn’t mean the script writer and the director got let go scotch free either (easier yea, but not scotch free).

 

 

 

MDL grp of audience has always been biased against RJL, so what is the point of taking into account ? Also, really? This argument again?! Where is the proof that he got that "No Kissing clause"? One should not jump into conclusion without checking. If you and those audience are dying to see him kiss, here is gif for all that was cut off. If any audience want to see much deeper action, maybe time to reflect oneself over their desires.

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

18 hours ago, Alila N said:

 

 

also glory of the tang was made in 2016, unless under the power was made in 2016 or before, it’s not an old drama. The fact is he went from kissing in glory of the tang (you see a full face kissing, not a half face cut off), to virtually no kissing, to half face cut kissing in a clear timeline say a lot. And yes, there’s bts of him kissing BL, but not really, their lips touched, and none of the “deep” kisses with the half face cut you see in the drama. Idk about his other drama, because idc about the other dramas.

 

I am quite sure I stated it was filmed after Glory of Tang while recovering from his illness. Also, thank you for not caring. 

 

 

18 hours ago, Alila N said:

 

 

now back to the drama, the problem is not just the nuances of their relationship is lost, they whitewashed ZSC. He’s not a saint in the book, he doesn’t mind take out his brother when his brother doesn’t care about their sister (if ShiYi and other didn’t stop him, he would have done it himself). He lie to her repeatedly (in a form of silence, but not telling her the truth is basically lying, again, missing the opportunity to show a man who  understand what’s the right thing is, but also act on his desires, don’t want to lose ShiYi and kinda not trusting her).

 

the relationship is awkward at first, but he’s at every step of the way showing how he’s willing to improve for her. Getting better at kissing, be a lot more proactive in “taking her to bed”, etc. the contrasting between the “cold” relationship when they are outside versus the “smouldering heat” when they are inside is what made the novel a good read.

 

 

Err, did I say I ever like ZSC here ? If you track back my post, I have been complaining about how passive he is. I don't like Passive or whitewashed ZSC (here) or that ZSC in novel. In fact, I have also written in other forum. I don't like this novel or loving this drama (as much as OnO) despite RJL in it.

 

18 hours ago, Alila N said:

 

I understand people love RJL, but accepting his shortcomings will help people not so idolise these stars. For me, I’ll watch his historical drama as I know I don’t need skinship to feel the heat. Modern drama though, I don’t need them to be GOT style, but I expect a kiss on the lips here and there casually (not passionate) just to show me they are a comfortable couple, so like other, I’ll skip his modern dramas. Also looking at his track record, most of his period dramas are the one that got buzzed and recognition. Whereas both recent modern dramas are basically not getting attention. 

 

I think you should skip all. If anyone think kissing scenes are more important than mannerism or eye acting, yes, RJL definitely is a "bad" actor. And no, no one here is idolizing him. He is not the best actor either but I admire his eyes acting and he does it well, so he is my favorite actor now . But anyone want to blame him for his "bad" acting in Kissing scenes, then no comments. Anyone can comment about his shortcomings . He sure has. But about kissing scenes? Really?

 

Do mind that we are watching Chinese drama. From China.

 

[realistic2280a]

Hmm.. ep28, silly fighting scene... sigh.. impossible for no one not to hear the screaming upstairs... sigh..