Ronke Lardner – Google

Wow! Wow! Wow! We! Wow! What an excellent, excellent drama! I laughed, I cried, I groaned with misery, I shouted with joy! Everything was outstanding - from the exploration of the issues and challenges about this gaming industry, that have also been encountered in other countries, to the way in which the drama allowed the viewer to immerse themself in the matches between the teams, to the attractive settings and exhilarating music that were in keeping with the modern theme of the drama. Yes, yes, it is clear that sponsors are pushing their products in these dramas and no doubt have to be accommodated, resulting in some awkward and cliched scenes here and there. But the super storyline that made every episode exciting, and the wonderful (and brave) performances by Cheng Xiao, Zu Kai and all the other performing artists in this drama, more than made up for these. I really hope that there is a Season 2, as there are many interesting loose ends that need to be tied up. The good standard of the subtitles is much appreciated.

I just finished watching the 30 episodes of this series on iQIYI and oh my goodness! What a story!! Please, please continue it! I so do not want this story to end yet! I laughed, I cried and I am not able to leave that world yet! I want to see Chen and Yi Shi become a family and live a loving and fulfilled life; I want to see Mei Xing find love and happiness; I want to see Ren grow up and find love and happiness, even as they all cope with life’s challenges. Wow! Wow! Allen Ren Jialun, you are a brilliant actor! That, together with the outstanding performances by Bai Lu, Ci Sha, Liu Ruo Gu, Long Bin, the grandmothers, the mothers, indeed all the performing artists in this story, as well as the fact that the story manages to create at one and the same time not only nostalgia for the past, but also hope and excitement for the present and the future, puts ‘Forever and Ever’ into a class of its own. The settings, food, fashion and the music were all beautiful. I notice that quite a number of C-dramas are based on books/novels. Are these books available in English? As ebooks, for example? Because it would be wonderful to read these books/novels as well.

Watched up to Season 1, Episode 7 and I am thoroughly fed up with this drama. The storyline is very poor - illogical, nonsensical, and frankly disrespectful towards the performing artists who had to cope with this nonsense. I liked the acting skills of the male lead and hope that he and the other performing artists have had the opportunity to practise their art in dramas of much better quality. The character of Mi Duo is simply awful and the acting skill of the performing artist who played this role is just as bad - or maybe she simply could not come to grips with such an awful role. Dilraba Dilmurat demonstrates her versatility in acting and I am happy she has long since gone on to act in other great dramas. I think episode 7 is as far as I am able to manage with this drama.

Now that I have finished watching this series, these are the things that stand out for me: I so admire Chinese and Korean performing artists – whether they are playing the lead roles, or are in secondary or tertiary roles. Dillraba Dilmurat delivers another first-class performance and goes from strength to strength. This is the first time that I have come across Johnny Huang, and he is a superb actor; so natural that you forget that he is acting. All the performing artists turned in a stellar performance. Performing artists, settings, costumes and the storylines – there is always so much to admire and enjoy. It could be the case that the English subtitles did not quite convey all the storyline details, but in my honest opinion I wish that a bit less time was spent on the mothers and the generation gap issues with their children and prospective sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and a bit more time spent exploring the psychological state of mind of Su Yushin. In the case of Qing Qing and Pencil Boy, in real life their relationship would be considered pretty unhealthy and the relationship between Qing Qing, Pencil Boy and his mother equally unhealthy. There was so much disrespect and so little demonstration of love from Qing Qing towards Pencil Boy – not even a kiss exchanged between them – that I was unable to believe in her love for him. First, I got a bit bored with this particular aspect of the storyline and then I got depressed because of it. I guess a sign that the performing artists were playing their roles very well! In the case of Su Yushin – what disease did his first wife die of – an opportunity for the viewer to learn and understand its impact? Why did he marry someone else when he clearly was still deeply grieving over his first wife – a grief that affected everything he did? What kind of a person is his second wife – someone who came to know that her husband took actions that led to customers suffering ill health and risking acquiring cancer, from substances placed on the material used for their clothes created by his rival, and she did not walk out of that marriage in disgust? Thank goodness for the dramatic and happy ending!