- Title: Love Better Than Immortality
- Original Title: 天雷一部之春花秋月 (Tiān léi yī bù zhī chūnhuā qiūyuè)
- Year: 2019
- Genre: Romance, Historical, Time Travel
- Country: China
- Number of Episodes: 40
Love Better Than Immortality Synopsis
Love Better Than Immortality is a Chinese romance drama released in 2019 with 40 total episodes. This story follows Chun Hua who comes from the year 2169, where technology is so advanced that sickness is no longer a threat to humans. Hence they are able to attain immortality. However, this new level of existence comes with a price. Their daily lives and experiences become somewhat mundane. Tragically, life feels no longer worth living.
Chun Hua wants to feel the thrill of having a life well-lived. More specifically she wants to experience love for the first time. So, through the use of advanced technology in her time, she travels into a fantasy-like universe that is very much like the wuxia world.
There she meets two young men who are quite the opposite of each other and experiences new adventures. As she journeys through a complicated love story, she discovers herself and what she needs to find when looking for love.
Love Better Than Immortality Review
What I think is addictive about this Cdrama is the chemistry between the main couple. It is at a level where it makes the viewers’ heads spin and makes us obsessed, hooked, and beg for more. Based on the comments made by viewers, it even seems like they wouldn’t mind skipping the rest of the side plot just to see the two main leads interact with one another. I may even be one of these people!
It is not to say that the side plots are bad or uninteresting (the side plot I am referring to is exactly the heart of the story, actually haha). It is just that the allure from the main couple is way off the charts. I often find myself eagerly await for the main couple to appear and have my fill of their delightful and loveable interactions before I am finally satiated. If anything, the chemistry between the main couple should be their biggest selling point.
Plotwise, however, the story is actually pretty simple. A girl trying to decide whom to love between two outstanding young men, and how to be loved in the right way for her. I like how this part of this story is being told. How little things are being thrown to the female lead. And then have her decide how she feels about things, even though in the beginning she was adamant about how her Mr. Right should be. For me, I like to see the change in her as she realizes what type of person she needs.
Room of Improvement
I also have to add here that the quality of the production has many rooms for improvements. The actors’ and actresses’ make-up is something that I enjoy observing the most when watching dramas. I like to see a perfect, smooth, dreamy-like complexion, though unrealistic, and some viewers may dislike it for being too fake. But this is also a fantasy wuxia drama, already unrealistic in the first place. So can’t I indulge myself with eye candies on screen and help to keep this daydream alive?
Instead, there is smudged eyeliner here, messy hair there, the wrong shade of foundation, revealed pores and stubbles that I just find too distracting. In addition to that, some scenes borrow background music from some other Chinese dramas which I have watched. Making me distracted by trying to remember which drama they’re from. Having said that, I still watch this drama a second time.
How I Love The Characters
This Love Better Than Immortality Chinese drama finally pulls me into the charm that is Zhao Lu Si. Such a lovely, cute, sweet, and adorable little flower. I am bewitched. The comedy romance genre seems to be perfectly suited for her. She is lovable when she ugly cries, she is hilarious during the comical scenes, and she is heartbreaking during the touching scenes.
Now, I am very eager to see her in other Cdramas. Perhaps The Romance of Tiger and Rose, the plot seems interesting. She is currently only 22 years old, such a talented actress, I am hoping to see her do great things in the future (´♡‿♡`)
The male lead in this drama is Li Hong Yi, whom many say looks very similar to Cheng Yi. I will have to agree with this, coz look:
Right? Someone help me here…
However, while Cheng Yi has admirable abilities in looking sentimental, hurt. Not to mention as we have discussed in the Love and Redemption post. An uncanny ability in throwing up a mouthful of blood on command, Li Hong Yi has. Hmmmm….how do I say this properly to convey what I really mean.
He has the power to impregnate women everywhere with his eyes. There you go!
I mean, God Almighty in all that He creates, doesn’t this make you weak in the knees or something? Oh boy, I don’t think I will ever recover from this.
A Bit of A Story
Anyways….spoilers ahead!
In this Cdrama, Zhao Lu Si 赵露思 plays as Chun Hua 春花, a slightly foolish, gullible, and eager to love young woman. I don’t know how she was raised in her world in 2169, but her ideals are very different from that of the people of the world she is traversing into.
For some reason, her character here reminds me of little puppies, just begging to be loved by the human she had chosen. She gives her all to pursue her happiness, optimistic and she is loyal and full of faith in her ‘the one’.
She started off thinking Xiao Bai as the one and so she pulls out all the stops in courting him. When she finally realizes Xiao Bai is just not right for her, she feels utterly betrayed. Well, after all, this is her first experience with love, the disappointment and devastation feel like such a big blow.
Hence, by the time she is opening up to Qiu Yue. She is naturally filled with suspicion and judgment, thereby hurting Qiu Yue in the process. Had she chosen to welcome Qiu Yue’s (flirtatious) advances from the beginning. She would forever be the cheerful, optimistic Chun Hua, but then again she may not fully appreciate Qiu Yue.
A Side Note
I think it is funny how in the beginning she calls the second male lead Xiao Bai as 小白(Xiǎo bái) instead of his real name 萧白 (Xiāo bái). Since they sound almost the same. However, the first one could also mean naive pretty boy (who’s ripe for the picking) (≧▽≦)
If I may comment, Li Hong Yi 李宏毅 is perfectly cast here as Shangguan Qiuyue 上官秋月. As the main villain in this drama, he is one who has the superb ability to make a perfect side-eye haha. I believe this is the first Cdrama I have ever watched where the main male lead is the villain. Not because he is misunderstood but really because he has his own share of wrongdoings! Oddly enough, he is the only one who often wears all pure white, whereas normally the bad guys are dressed in dark colors. Not sure if there is any purpose/meaning to this, but Li Hong Yi wears it well.
Although throughout many episodes, the viewers seem to scream for Chun Hua to go for Qiu Yue instead.
Looking from Chun Hua’s point of view, from the start she has already mistakenly decided that Qiu Yue is the second male lead in her traversing journey to find love. She is not one to fight with the setting of the system, and she is certain that the system will not be wrong. So in her mind, she is ‘stuck’ with Xiao Bai.
How many of us have experienced that dead-end in relationships? Where you feel like you are already with the one, but you are still unhappy? Therefore, you feel like either something is wrong with you or you are just not destined to fit the mold of finding happiness in love in this world. Yikes, is this too much? Sorry, it is raining cats and dogs here where I live, am feeling quite sentimental suddenly.
But Qiu Yue, with his reputation of being the most malicious, despicable, villainous villain of them all, is difficult to be trusted. Especially after Chun Hua’s experience with Xiao Bai. I remember one scene where Qiu Yue asked Chun Hua to show him her heart. It seems actually Chun Hua was the one who needed to see his heart even more. She was upset and felt deceived by Qiu Yue at that time.
Wu Jun Yu 吴俊余 plays Xiao Bai 萧白, who seems upright, honest, heroic, with outstanding appearance and perfect (as in rich) family background. It is simple math for Chun Hua to immediately latch herself onto this little white cabbage. On paper, these are all delectable qualities to find in someone. Moreover, Chun Hua really thought the system has chosen him to be her ‘the one’.
Truth be told, in the first few episodes, I find myself cheering on for Xiao Bai and Chun Hua. And hoping they would be together, just because Xiao Bai has stability. A girl has to be practical right? Passion is overrated (^o^ )
But, as the story unfolds, it is clear that Xiao Bai is not the right choice for Chun Hua. Not because Xiao Bai does not hold Chun Hua as his everything. Not because he has ambition in the martial arts world, nor because he places the safety of the people first. But simply because Chun Hua is not the right one for Xiao Bai. Had he met with the right one, he will treat her differently, it is as simple as that. The right one will understand his aspiration and will support him in his sacrifices.
It’s a shame that the drama did not explore the possibility of Feng Cai Cai风彩彩, played by Jiang Yuan 姜嫄, with Xiao Bai. It seems that she may be the right fit for him, in my opinion. They share the same values, ideals (though at times politically correct), and virtues. Plus she understands what it takes to be the spouse of someone like Xiao Bai, who is the leader of the martial arts world.
It is interesting how this Cdrama depicts the righteous sect and the evil sect and shows how actually the righteous sect’s idea of what is right is a bit hypocritical. In the end, it seems that there is no righteous sect or evil sect. They are all just people who sometimes can make mistakes, and make the wrong judgment when blinded by obsession.
Feng Cai Cai started out as someone who thought she knows exactly the difference between right and wrong.
It is nice to see her views improve as Chun Hua, with her own modern ideals and virtues. Saves her time and again, and makes her see that this world also needs forgiveness and second chances.
Qin Liu Feng 秦流風, played by Liu Yi Tong 刘怡潼, is probably the smartest in the Xiao Bai’s gank and the most level headed. He could have been my favorite character but he was too busy chasing after Leng Ning ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Some Unsatisfying Things
I was told this Cdrama is based on the novel Spring Flower, Autumn Moon (direct meaning of Chun Hua and Qiu Yue’s names), that I haven’t read it. But I am interested to see this character being portrayed in Spring Flower Book. He seems like a playboy at first glance, but as the story progresses, he does not seem to have real-life experiences with a girl. Does that make any sense?
I think it feels right that in the end, he was the one who came forward and sort of sent Chun Hua off. Many viewers love to hate on the Xiao Bai gank, but please spare Qin Liu Feng, he is the fun one haha.
Look, in the best possible way, I just want to ask what is the purpose of this character Leng Ning 冷凝, played by Sheng Hui Zi 盛蕙子? At first, she dressed up as a man, but Qin Liu Feng, the playboy, was crazy head over heels for her. Then she went to comfort Feng Cai Cai’s broken heart and said things like how she is her husband and all. But in the end, she finally dressed up as a woman and got engaged to Qin Liu Feng. I mean…..I don’t know what to say. She is very pretty though.
Another Unsatisfying Point
In this Chinese drama, they never reveal the real murderer of Feng Cai Cai’s father, whom we all know is Leng Ning’s father. That was one of the moments that, I have to admit, I had looked forward to. Did they forget or there was just not enough time? Either way, it was a shame.
Xiao Bai and the gank are the future generation of the martial arts world leaders. If they had realized that they have mistakenly suspected Fulou for the crime commited by Leng Ning’s father, who belonged to the righteous sect, this would most likely change their world view and probably would make them better leaders in the future. That’s all I have to say on this topic.
Special mention for Ye Yan 葉颜, played by Zhang Tang 张棠, she is such a sweet and tragic character. I really would like to see her get a happy ending here. But I guess it was decided that it was happy enough for her ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Final Thought On Love Better Than Immortality
Overall, my impression of this Cdrama is that it was worth my time. And I am gladly re-watching it again to observe all the little details I may have missed out on before. To see if I’d still wince whenever I hear Qiu Yue says 自家的哥哥，怕什么.
I am your own brother, what are you afraid of everytime they ‘molest’ each other bahahaha…..what am I watching..!?
