Before I start, bear in mind that there have been a few Chinese dramas with the same title over the years. Forever Love 2023 (盲心千金) that I’m reviewing is a mini drama with only 12 minutes per episode for a total of 30 episodes. To be honest, I’m not a fan of short dramas as they tend to be sloppily produced. I watched this mainly because of the leads’ previous drama. They have such blazing chemistry in that project. So, I was curious if the same chemistry will be replicated in this one. Below is my Forever Love 2023 review for my take on this mini drama.
My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 30 (12 minutes per episode)
Type: Action Romance
Aired: August 2023
Images Credit: WeTV Official Facebook
The Cast Of Forever Love 2023
- Chen Fang Tong as Lin Xin Tong
- Dai Gao Zheng as Qin Mo Yao / Zhou Mo
- Ma Xin Yu as Xia Yu Wei
- Hou Dong as Chi Shan
- Hu Xi Fan as Zhou Mo
Main Characters
Lin Xin Tong
Xin Tong is a rich heir to a conglomerate. She is suffering from temporarily blindness but has a fiancee and best friend to help her out. Xin Tong is trusting and softhearted.
Qin Mo Yao / Zhou Mo
Mo Yao is medical graduate but pretends to be a bodyguard by assuming his foster brother’s identity, Zhou Mo. He has excellent fighting skills and is a smart guy. He is also a courageous risk-taker with a determined attitude.
Xia Yu Wei
Yu Wei is Xin Tong’s best friend. They have known each other since young as her father worked for the Lin family. She is a hypocrite and evil-minded woman who is jealous of XinTong.
Chi Shan
Chi Shan is Xin Tong’s fiancee. He is an opportunistic and greedy man who is after Xin Tong’s riches. He is cautious but cruel and ruthless.
Zhou Mo
Zhou Mo is Mo Yao’s foster brother. He is protective of Mo Yao and doesn’t like to see him endangering himself.
Synopsis
Xin Tong’s father was the chairman of a conglomerate who passed away suddenly supposedly due to a heart attack. On the day of his death, Xin Tong saw her father having an altercation with Mo Yao. However, she tripped and knocked her head against the steps which caused her to become blind. Later on, Mo Yao ended up as her bodyguard when he claimed that her father had paid him to protect her before he died.
In actual fact, Mo Yao has his own agenda in investigating what happened to his father’s company. His father and Xin Tong’s father were good friends. But it appears that his father was scammed by Xin Tong’s father a few years back. As a result, his father committed suicide when his company went bankrupt. Although Mo Yao knows Xin Tong is his enemy’s daughter, he still falls in love with her.
In the meantime, Xin Tong’s fiancee is cheating on her with her best friend. They are after her shares in the conglomerate that her father left for her while Mo Yao also has an ulterior motive in approaching her. With her fiancee and best friend warning her about Mo Yao and vice-versa, Xin Tong has to decide who to trust.
Forever Love 2023 Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)
Forever Love 2023 has a happy ending. Mo Yao defeated Chi San’s men in a fight but was slashed in the process. When Xin Tong arrived and was taken hostage by Chi San, the injured Mo Yao had to expend more energy to save her. Chi San was stabbed in a way that ensures his survival because Mo Yao wanted him to face the law. After stabbing Chi San, Mo Yao collapsed in Xin Tong’s arms as she wailed in desperation.
The scene then switches to Xin Tong preparing flowers for a cemetery visit. She walks out of her home to be greeted by Mo Yao. The drama ends with him walking her to the car. So, Mo Yao didn’t die. The condolence flowers were for Yu Wei who was killed by Chi San earlier in Episode 28. In a narration, Chi San was sentenced to death for his crimes by the court.
When Did The Couple Get Together?
Xin Tong found out from Zhou Mo that Mo Yao likes her in Episode 14. Zhou Mo was unhappy seeing Mo Yao drinking himself into a stupor after Xin Tong chased Mo Yao away as she didn’t trust him. So, Zhou Mo confronted Xin Tong about it and told her about Mo Yao’s feelings for her. Xin Tong then questioned Mo Yao about his feelings and he admitted that he likes her.
Mo Yao asked Xin Tong to consider being with serious with him in Episode 18. She gave him her answer in Episode 20 and they officially became a couple then.
When Did Xin Tong Discover Her Fiancee Is Cheating On Her?
Xin Tong regained her sight in Episode 12 after she slipped and knocked her head against the bathtub in Episode 11. She saw Chi San in bed with Yu Wei when she went to look for him. But she pretended to be still blind after seeing them together.
Did Xin Tong’s Father Harm Mo Yao’s Father?
No, the scam was done without Xin Tong’s father’s knowledge. Chi San’s father who was working for Xin Tong’s father was the culprit. Both father and son hatched and carried out the plan.
Xin Tong’s father also knew Chi San was not a good man and wanted him to leave his daughter. Chi San killed Xin Tong’s father in his study room. A secret camera was recording the whole scene and Yu Wei ended up with a copy of it which was played for viewers’ benefit in Episode 27.
What Happened To Yu Wei?
Chi San broke up with Yu Wei in Episode 23 when he needed to get back with Xin Tong after their plan to wrest control of her wealth went awry. He laid the blame on Yu Wei. In Episode 27, Yu Wei gave Mo Yao information about Chi San’s secret company that was being used to siphon off money from Xin Tong’s father’s conglomerate. But she was still holding the recording that could prove Chi San killed Xin Tong’s father.
Chi San confronted Yu Wei after she leaked his information to Mo Yao. He also wanted her to delete the recording that could incriminate him and then bludgeoned her to death in Episode 28. However, a copy of the recording was in her grip when Zhou Mo discovered her body.
Forever Love 2023 Review – Expected Skinship But Predictable
As with most mini dramas, Forever Love 2023 is short on specifics. You are not going to get a well-crafted plot with only 10 to 12 minutes per episode. So, there are a lot of things that you will have to turn a blind eye to. The business side of things is never really explained although the male protagonist’s father committed suicide because he lost his company after getting fooled. So, you can say that there is no real “story” to it besides watching how the villains got caught and the girl’s dilemma on whether to trust the guy.
Because there is no foundation to the plot, mini dramas like this one will have to rely on things like chemistry, suspense, and skinship to make them watchable. To a certain extent, they are just recycling some of the successful aspects of Maid’s Revenge which the 2 leads also starred in. By replicating their blazing chemistry in the previous drama, Forever Love 2023 is bound to attract an audience especially those who enjoyed their earlier performance. Therefore, watching this for the plot is a non-starter. This is a kind of drama that you binge on to get butterflies when the couple get together and a hot feeling when there is skinship. After all, kisses and bed scenes is bound to raise interest level for a lot of viewers.
Passionate Kisses
Chinese dramas are known for their mild kisses which is sometimes annoying as they are hardly realistic. Forever Love 2023 is definitely one of those few dramas that will pass muster when it comes to the kissing scenes. It kind of reminds me of The Forbidden Flower with its steamy romance. The bed scene in Episode 25 is going to leave you hot and flustered. It is well-executed and will be addictive to watch for some. As mentioned, you need it to attract eyeballs for a short romance drama when the emotional depth is missing unlike longer romance dramas like Fireworks Of My Heart and Hidden Love.
On top of that, the male lead is an eye candy especially when he appears shirtless in a few scenes. You will find the female lead caressing his body as well which is another way to raise the hotness bar for the viewer. I guess this kind of trick works for those who enjoy watching seductiveness and passion in their romance dramas. But if you don’t, then it might backfire as it might seem too blatant and hence, a turn-off especially without a good story to go with it.
Cliche Web Drama With A Little Suspense
Forever Love 2023 is not going to be praised for its story. It is predictable from the start to the end. The villains are known upfront and you know they are going to get their just punishment. There is also a lack of originality in the overall script. However, the drama starts with some level of suspense which I think helps to draw in viewers to continue watching. This is because the male lead’s identity and entanglement with the female lead’s father is not made clear when the story begins. Hence, there is some mystery to it which is gradually revealed to the viewers.
That is why some people will find this mini drama intriguing. It is not great but good enough to spend a few hours of your time to get yourself entertained. Just like My Lethal Man, there are noticeable plot holes although not as substantial and glaring. The female character is also not a particularly brainy one although not entirely stupid either. Her dilemma of whether to trust or not to trust the guy is understandable but you are not going to get a strong and confident female character with this one. Apart from her riches and perhaps looks, she appears as kind of ordinary which is not exactly that enticing to me.
Acting & Chemistry
In Forever Love 2023, both Chen Fang Tong and Dai Gao Zheng managed to produce a high level of chemistry to make the drama exciting. But I feel that it doesn’t seem to have the same level of intensity as Maid’s Revenge. Maybe it is because the story and setting are different. Maid’s Revenge has more room for sexual exploits due to the guy’s power over the girl which induces a certain level of magnetism in their interactions. So, for those who expect the chemistry to be more explosive in Forever Love 2023, I think there will be a slight disappointment there. However, this newer drama definitely have a better ending than Maid’s Revenge.
In terms of acting, I think Chen Fang Tong fared pretty well as a blind girl in the beginning of the drama. It is convincing enough for me for a short web series. Dai Gao Zheng is hot as usual in his bodyguard role. His fighting scenes alone are probably worth the time spent on the drama with his oozing masculinity.
My Verdict – Not Bad For A Short Drama
Personally, I think Forever Love 2023 is binge-worthy but it is not going to make you feel that it is a great production once you reached the end. It is just about 5 to 6 hours of viewing time which is easy to complete especially with some fast-forwarding. Just like Love Of Replica, it is produced to take advantage of the palpable chemistry of the leads following the success of their previous collaboration. It is really not the kind of drama that is made to be great but simply decent enough for short, light entertainment.
Hence, don’t go into this expecting a fine plot. There won’t be any depth to the story with its short length to get you emotionally hooked. What will make you stay and watch will be the little bit of suspense at the start and the leads’ chemistry which leads to an anticipation in their romance. So, if you like their on-screen chemistry, this will be a pleasure to watch. But if you can’t find the sparks between them, then there is little to stay for.
For this Forever Love 2023, I would rate it 7/10. It is not too bad for a short drama to me. However, being a low budget flick, I don’t have high expectations on it. It is entertaining enough while it lasts but it is not going to have any rewatch value. The kisses are better than most but the emotional intensity could be heightened for a more satisfying romance. If you want a filler drama or something short to pass your time, this is okay. But if you want a quality production, do look elsewhere.
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