The Eternal Love Season 1 Review

I know I’m very, very late when it comes to The Eternal Love Season 1 (双世宠妃). It was released back in 2017. But I can’t help watching it as the couple has a big fan base behind them and Season 3 is on its way. So, I have to give it a go to see what the hype is all about that it could spawn another 2 sequels. Well, now that I have watched the first installment, I think I would have to lay off Season 2 for now. It is certainly not what I have expected in relation to the popularity it has garnered. The Eternal Love Season 1 review below will spell out my verdict for this drama.

My rating: 6.5/10
Episodes: 24
Type: Romance
Aired: July 2017
Images Credit: Tencent

The Cast Of The Eternal Love Season 1

• Xing Zhao Lin as Mo Lian Cheng / 8th Prince
• Liang Jie as Qu Tan’er / Qu Xiao Tan
• Richards Wang Rui Chang as Mo Yi Huai / Mo Yi Feng
• Amy Sun Yi Ning as Jing Xin
• Xin Rui Qi as Zhao Qing Yun / Yun’er
• Tiffany Zhong Qi as Qu Pan’er
• Wang Hao Ge as Mo Jing Xuan / 14th Prince
• Hu Chun Yong as Yu Hao
• Lai Xi as Liu Qian Shui / Elder Liu
• Wu Yu Hua as Empress Dowager
• Hei Mei as Madam Qu
• Zhang Xin Hua as Qu Jiang Lin / Minister Qu

Main Characters

Mo Lian Cheng / 8th Prince

Lian Cheng is a son of the current Emperor of Dongyue Empire. He is a smart man with good martial art skills. He is also his grandmother’s favorite to be the Crown Prince. Lian Cheng has 2 concubines whom he sees as spies.

Qu Tan’er

Tan’er is the younger daughter of Minister Qu. Her mother is a mistress and hence, she is often bullied by her half-sister and stepmother. Tan’er is timid and polite. She has deep feelings for Mo Yi Huai.

Qu Xiao Tan

Xiao Tan is a real estate agent in the modern world but transported back to the historical era. She is a loud and brash young woman who is not afraid to voice her displeasure and opinion.

Mo Yi Huai

Yi Huai is the eldest prince of Dongyue Empire. He is ambitious and wants to be the Crown Prince. He is willing to work with suspicious characters to achieve his aim and sees Lian Cheng as his rival. His love interest is Tan’er.

Jing Xin

Jing Xin is Tan’er’s and Xiao Tan’s personal maid. She is a loyal and obedient servant who only wants the best for the ladies she serves.

Supporting Characters

Mo Yi Feng

Yi Feng is the previous Emperor and founder of Dongyue Empire. Lian Cheng was his grandson.

Zhao Qing Yun / Yun’er

Yun’er is the Empress Dowager’s grandniece. She is a naive and immature young lady who loves Lian Cheng. She also has the Empress Dowager’s support to be Lian Cheng’s wife.

Qu Pan’er

Pan’er is Minister Qu’s eldest daughter. She is a jealous and petty woman who hates her half-sister, Tan’er.

Mo Jing Xuan / 14th Prince

Jing Xuan is the 14 Prince of Dongyue Empire. He has a good relationship with his brother, Lian Cheng, as well as Xiao Tan. Jing Xuan is still a young and immature man.

Yu Hao

Yu Hao is Lian Cheng’s personal guard and assistant. He is loyal and does Lian Cheng’s biddings.

Liu Qian Shui / Elder Liu

Elder Liu is a mysterious man with unusual powers. He is helpful towards Xiao Tan and Lian Cheng and holds the answers to many of their questions.

Empress Dowager

The Empress Dowager was Yi Feng’s empress. She is a cunning woman with an evil streak but wants the best for Lian Cheng. She is fond of Yun’er but hates Xiao Tan.

Madam Qu

Madam Qu is Minister Qu’s official wife and Pan’er’s mother. She is a cruel woman who often bullies her stepdaughter, Tan’er.

Qu Jiang Lin / Minister Qu

Minister Qu is head of the Qu family and helping Yi Huai to be the Crown Prince. He favors Pan’er over Tan’er although both are his daughters.

Synopsis

Lian Cheng is decreed by the Emperor to marry Tan’er. It is an order that was passed down from the previous Emperor who was also his grandfather. On the other hand, Yi Huai is ordered to marry Pan’er. However, Yi Huai and Tan’er love each other deeply. On Yi Huai’s wedding day, Tan’er tries to commit suicide. She fails in her quest but when she wakes up, there is another soul residing in her body. That soul belongs to Xiao Tan who is from the modern world. Xiao Tan is being chased by mysterious figures and somehow, ends up being transported back to another era and into Tan’er’s body.

Tan’er and Xiao Tan have very distinct personalities. Each will take turns to appear when there is a trigger. Because of Tan’er and Yi Huai’s history, Lian Cheng is suspicious that his consort is his brother’s spy. But at the same time, he is attracted to Xiao Tan’s personality and gradually they fall in love with each other. However, misunderstandings occur because Lian Cheng is unaware that there are 2 separate souls in Tan’er’s body. Apart from love rivals, a dark force is also after Xiao Tan who is trying to find a way back to her world.

The Eternal Love Season 1 Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

The Eternal Love Season 1 has a happy ending. However, it is also kind of simplistic without much explanation. I guess it is intended to be that way to pave the way for a Season 2. But there is no ambiguity whatsoever about the happy ending unlike the confusion in Love Of Thousand Years and open-ended nature of Legend Of Yun Xi.

In the very last scene of The Eternal Love Season 1, Xiao Tan is transported back to the modern world after defeating the Lord Devil. She gets separated from Lian Cheng as they are pulled in separate directions. Xiao Tan wakes up on the antique bed in an abandoned residence which is the same place she was hiding in in Episode 1 when she was being hunted by the Lord Devil’s subordinates. Everything that has happened seems like a dream. When Xiao Tan exits the building, she sees Lian Cheng. Now, it is Lian Cheng’s turn to be transported to the modern era from his historical world as he reunites with Xiao Tan.

Why Is Xiao Tan Being Hunted?

Xiao Tan is the reincarnation of Qu Xiang Tan who had defeated the Lord Devil and sealed him up a hundred years ago with the Soul Suppressing Orb. She is now the master of the orb and also the key to the Lord Devil’s freedom. Hence, the Lord Devil wants Xiao Tan killed as that is the only way to break out of his seal.

When Did Lian Cheng Find Out About Xiao Tan?

Lian Cheng finds out that there are 2 souls in Tan’er’s body in Episode 12. Xiao Tan tries to tell him earlier but he doesn’t believe her. In fact, he thinks she is being disloyal for meeting Yi Huai when she is only doing so for Tan’er’s sake. Lian Cheng finally believes it when Elder Liu confirms it after a drowning incident.

Eventually, Tan’er decides to cut off her relationship with Yi Huai as she feels he is merely using her as a pawn to become the Crown Prince. This automatically erases the complication of having 2 men sharing a single woman’s body in the drama.

How Is Lian Cheng Related To Yi Feng?

In Dongyue Empire, Yi Feng is Lian Cheng’s late grandfather. But they are actually from another world called the Xuanling Continent. In their world, Yi Feng and Lian Cheng are good friends. 100 years ago, Xuanling Continent was in chaos. The Qu and Mo families were enemies. Qu Xiang Tan killed Lian Cheng despite their love for each other. Yi Feng couldn’t bear losing his good friend. So, he saved his spiritual will and subsequently found a way to transfer it to his unborn grandson while in Dongyue Empire. When his grandson was born, he is basically the Lian Cheng of Xuanling Continent but without the past memories.

Yi Feng then left a will decreeing Lian Cheng to marry Tan’er. This is because Yi Feng could foresee the events that would unfold. He knows Xiao Tan is Qu Xiang Tan’s reincarnation and she is the only one that can save Lian Cheng’s life at some point.

Who Is Elder Liu?

Elder Liu is from Xuanling Continent and used to be Qu Xiang Tan’s subordinate. He was entrusted by her to hand over the Soul Suppressing Orb to the Qu family for safekeeping. Elder Liu has been looking for her reincarnation after she died to ensure the Lord Devil remains sealed up.

Who Died In The Drama?

• Tan’er – She is killed by Yi Huai who is being controlled by the Lord Devil. When she is being strangled, Tan’er and Xiao Tan detach and become separate entities. Tan’er takes a blow to protect Xiao Tan and dies.
• Yi Huai – He knows he is being controlled by the Lord Devil during his last moments and struggles to stop himself from killing Xiao Tan whom he thinks is his beloved Tan’er. So, he kills himself instead.
• Yun’er – She drinks the poisoned wine which is meant for Xiao Tan and dies. The wine has been poisoned by Pan’er.
• Madam Qu – She kills herself to take the sole blame for the plot to murder Xiao Tan and Lian Cheng in order to save Pan’er.
• Pan’er – She is killed by the Empress Dowager’s eunuch to stop her from revealing the Empress Dowager’s role in the attempt to murder Xiao Tan.

The Eternal Love Season 1 Review – What A Mess!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Z9fEtJXhU

I think my opinion may not be a popular one but I do feel The Eternal Love Season 1 is overhyped. It begins well enough but the plot starts to disintegrate over the last 4 to 5 episodes. It is a pain to watch as the fairly simple story in the beginning turns into a big mess towards the end. The switch from the mortal world to an immortal-like realm just fails to resonate with me. I suppose that is an integral part of the story given Xiao Tan’s background but the way the tale unfolds and the relationship between Lian Cheng and Yi Feng is just dumbfounding. A twist in a tale is always welcome but this one just ends up being bizarre for me.

On top of that, the explanation for past events is kind of confusing. You will have to follow the dialogues closely when the characters relate their story to understand what exactly happened in the past. Otherwise, certain things will not make sense.

Not The Best Ending

The ending isn’t a particularly satisfying one because there are unanswered questions. It is just too simplistic to me given the nature of the story in the last few episodes. I don’t know whether the producers already had a second season in mind when they were shooting the first. If they did, perhaps it is understandable why Season 1 ended the way it did. It does give viewers a push to continue on with the sequel.

Nevertheless, the ending is still acceptable as there is a clear idea of what happened to the couple which is very different from the ambiguity in Dance Of The Phoenix. There is a finality to it which also helps to lessen the temptation to catch the second season especially if you don’t particularly enjoy the drama.

The Annoying Female Character

I understand why Xiao Tan and Tan’er need to have completely different personalities. Since they share the same body, their personalities need to be distinct so that viewers will not get confused over their identities. But perhaps it is an overkill to make Xiao Tan to be as loud and brash as she is in the drama because she is just teetering on the edge of being annoying to me. It is like the female lead in General’s Lady – you have to like this type of impudence to find the character cute and lovable. So, just be aware that the female lead in The Eternal Love may not be someone who is easily likable if you prefer a heroine with more finesse and grace.

The other thing that needs getting used to is the constant change in personalities as the character switches between Xiao Tan and Tan’er. It happens quite a lot in the first few episodes before it tapers off towards the halfway mark since the focus of the story is on the romance between Xiao Tan and Lian Cheng. Hence, I feel as if I’m watching a character with a split personality in the beginning. I don’t find it particularly enjoyable as there is a feeling of repetitiveness although the constant switching is a necessary part of the drama.

Chemistry

A lot of viewers love the chemistry between Xing Zhao Lin and Liang Jie. To be honest, I don’t find it to be anything great in The Eternal Love Season 1. There is the required skinship and sweetness in the romantic scenes. They did their part but the chemistry isn’t off-the-charts that could easily make hearts flutter. Even the couple in The Sleepless Princess seems more loving to me. Perhaps their acting was still unpolished then and the drama was their first project together. In You Are My Destiny, they certainly seem more natural and comfortable with each other there compared to the first installment of The Eternal Love.

My Verdict – There Are Better Dramas Out There!

Basically, The Eternal Love Season 1 is a low budget production with mediocre CGI and special effects. You cannot compare it to the likes of Love And Redemption and Ashes Of Love. However, that is not to say that a low budget drama cannot shine. As long as the story can draw viewers in, the weaknesses can be overlooked to a certain extent. I think the problem with The Eternal Love Season 1 to me is that it tries too hard to have a captivating plot but fails in its execution and carry-through.

The beginning of the drama is interesting but as the plot gets more complex, it also becomes messier and more bizarre. The on-screen adaptation just falters with plot holes and lack of details littering the drama. I have to admit though that the story is refreshing as it is not the usual palace politics and investigative historical dramas like The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion and Maiden Holmes. So, if you like something different, then this might be worth a try for you.

For The Eternal Love Season 1 review, I’m giving it a 6.5/10 score. It is a type of drama that you wouldn’t miss much if you skip. From the story execution to the cinematography, there is really nothing special here unless you really like the Xing Zhao Lin and Liang Jie pairing. Otherwise, there are plenty of better dramas out there that you could spend your time on.