Eternal Love

ETERNAL LOVE (San Sheng San Shi Shi Li Tao Hua / Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms) (2017) was an unexpectedly wonderful show, super entertaining plot and lovable characters. I was skeptical going into this one, fearing it to be another "too cheesy to believe" romance. However, it completely pulled me in. Everything was really well done. <3 Although this definitely gets categorized as a guilty pleasure drama.

The character of Bai Quan played by the wonderful Yang Mi was perhaps one of the best female leads I have seen in a C-Drama yet. She is very loveable, feisty, witty and completely unique. I loved her character so much. Mark Chao was great in this series as well, but especially as the stoic, yet warm-hearted Ye Hua. I loved Bai Qian and Ye Hua and adored watching their love grow and their lives intertwine. They had such palpable chemistry. So adorable.

The whole cast was great, honestly. Bai Fengjiu and Dong Hua were also very enjoyable. Li Jing, although broody and tormented, was also a very interesting character. I honestly wish there were more episodes, even a second season. The costumes were dazzling, the setting breathtaking and the mythology was captivating. I fell in love with the world of Eternal Love, along with the majority of the cast.

And the music! Fantastic. My only complaint, and it's a pretty small one, was at some points the drama became almost melodrama, as if the emotions overshadowed the plot, slightly detracting from the suspense of impending doom. (Usually the melodrama had to do with Su Jin or Li Jing.)

This show made me cry, and I don't cry easily. But the ending was very satisfying, complete with HEA. Anyway, this was a very enjoyable, creative and dazzling show. If you're into fantasy romance, and xianxia, give it a chance. Unforgettable.

Although the story is a copied from a lot of books, but it still makes one of the best TV series I've watched in 2017. The plot is great. The only thing I don't like is Bai Qian was sent to the mortal world by Qing Cang. I think it'd be better if someone else. Or she just went trial. The performances are great, especially Yang Mi. She is such a great actress. I totally love her.

There are two more things I like to mention. One is the OST. The songs from this show is great. I can't stop listening to them. And the other one thing is, although they've added extra things, it's not boring and even they make the story becomes easier to understand. Unlike the film, this one is totally better than the film produced by Crystal Liu.

All in all, if you are looking for some fantasy and romance with true love, I recommend you to watch this show because it's totally a great one.

'So glad I persevered with this series as the story started to get specially interesting for me in Episode 11. This is not to say that I found the first 10 episodes boring because they're not - they set the stage for the rest of the series. I just got initially overwhelmed at having to watch 58 episodes. But in Episode 11, when Ye Hua (Mark Chao) and Su Su (Yang Mi) first meet, the magic hit home for me. Their every interaction is precious. Even their exchanges when he is in dragon form are endearingly hilarious, like when he thinks, "How dare you!" when she kisses him and he forces himself to swallow the raw meat she is feeding him so she would not kiss him again.

Ye Hua is simply beautiful. Sure, the actor is handsome, but it is his manliness, depth, intelligence, wisdom, elegance, sincerity, strong sense of justice and most of all, love for and faithfulness to one woman that captivates. Another enchanting quality is his sense of humor that seems to be triggered only when he is with her like at the end when he is reminiscing their times together. Mark Chao did an exceptional job perfectly portraying such a compelling character. Yang Mi also did a great job as Bai Qian/Si Yin/Su Su. Who wouldn't find the beautiful goddess Bai Qian endearing when she gets dismayed at being labeled old by a clueless princess who has a huge crush on Ye Hua? However, I'm not too impressed with Bai Qian's fondness for wine to the point of severely affecting her emotions and decisions. Gosh, I'm sounding too attached to the characters. This is how powerful the hold this series has on its admirers. This is why I gave it a 10/10 even though the CGI is not perfect - the emotional attachment is off the charts.

The love story is indeed beautiful but it is the top-notch acting that raised this drama to a level of quality befitting its exalted position as the most watched Chinese TV series of all time, with over 50 billion views as of August 2018, just over a year after its release in January 2017.

Update: Watching the series a second time was an even more satisfying experience. I felt the magic from the first episode. Every scene between Mo Yuan and Bai Qian/Si Yin simmers with affection, with the mystery of "does he love her as a disciple or a woman" adding to the enchantment, if not poignancy, of the story. And now that I'm well aware of the significance of Jin Lian, the golden lotus, Ye Hua's attachment to Si Yin/Su Su/Bai Qian takes an even deeper meaning. A truly remarkable, beautiful, wonderful, mesmerizing series.

A wonderful fantasy romance drama. They're delivering the story with beautifully, captivating, fascinating and romantic. All the settings and outfits were described very beautifully into the screen, it seems very magical and heavenly. Kudos for the main cast to portray their roles perfectly (Mark Chao and Yang Mi) and have an excellent chemistry. The OST and instrumental music blend perfectly into every scenes and i think TMOPB has the best romantic ending ever of Chinese drama.

How can one actress portrait a vulnerable but passionately loved woman, (that we root for) in one section of the story, and then wooden puppet treated with polite indifference in other part? And make us feel in accord? I started paying attention when I rewatched this series. Main actors act not only with eyes, but with posture. They make us believe in those emotions. They have a chameleon-like instincts about their respective roles. Which also means that the script gave them sustenance they could work with. Otherall, what a fantastic introduction to genre I did not know it existed! I have read comment recommending this production to people favouring chinese drama. I think that the series speaks to variety of cultures, and about abundance of universal sentiments. There is compassion, honor, rebelion, obsession, hope, resignation, depth, love, depression, anger. And somehow: characters honesty toward their own feelings, versus just response to the plot. This is satisfying truly above and beyond Hollywood production, which by comparison seem "rushed before cancellation" and never developed with fulfillment in mind. Downton Abbey or British costume dramas are closest watcheable comparison. Give this series a serious try. Expect to spend a little time on it.