Loving, Never Forgetting: C-drama review

            Merry Christmas and happy holidays! Before I start, I'd like to point out that I usually avoid watching modern Chinese dramas because the ones I come across usually have the same story line and I’m more fond of ancient series. However, I took the chance to watch a drama called Loving, Never Forgetting. I knew how heart breaking it would be due to a video that I came across on YouTube. 

                I guess you could say it’s your typical rich boy (Li Zhong Muo played by Jerry Yan) – poor girl (Wu Tong played by Tong Li Ya) love story. Li Zhong Muo comes from a rich family and built a successful business by himself. He is known to be ruthless and emotionless even though he is dating the famous celebrity Zhang Man Di (played by Feng Jing). Li Zhong Muo has a one night stand with Wu Tong and quickly forgets about her. 5 years later, she comes back into his life announcing that he is the father of her child (Wu Tong Tong). Thus, he fights for the custody of his child.

Wu Tong could be considered a weak female lead – the damsel in distress. However, she is also a strong mother who would do anything to protect her child. In a way, she has an optimistic outlook on life due to her struggles. But just like any other person, she has her weaknesses – her child Tong Tong and her faith of trust/friendship. Li Zhong Muo as a character is indeed more complex than Wu Tong. His past plays a huge role in his current state of mind.

**CAUTION: Contains spoilers beyond this point**

Loving, Never Forgetting is a drama that has a slow build up and a sudden turn of events towards the end. This drama actually has a second male lead named Xiang Jun (played by Huang Bo Jun). He becomes Wu Tong’s lawyer in the fight of custody and eventually falls in love with her. He’s everything that a girl could dream of. He’s the man who supports her during her darkest moments and brings her happiness. Personally, he was my favorite character at the beginning of the drama. I had second male lead syndrome and couldn’t help but support him with Wu Tong. Unfortunately, nice guys finish last so he eventually turns into the “bad guy”. I’m not sure if he could really be considered a bad guy. Even though he committed some sinful acts of ruining Zhong Muo and Wu Tong’s relationship, he redeemed himself later on. Perhaps he’s more of an overly obsessed vengeful guy. Whatever the case, my love for him gradually died down as the drama continued and my love for Li Zhong Muo grew.

Although Li Zhong Muo is cold on the outside, he is actually very caring and passionate on the inside. (Cliché, right?) He sacrifices many things for those around him and actually helps Wu Tong along the way. While he won custody of Tong Tong, he falls in love with Wu Tong as he sees her more and more often as she is granted visitation rights by the court. Zhong Muo eventually breaks up with his girlfriend and pursues Wu Tong, for she has given him a new perspective of life, love, and family.

I honestly don’t know how I feel about this drama. There were flaws in the plot because everything built up too slow and suddenly there was a change of current 5 episodes away from the ending. Putting that aside, I highly dislike Wu Tong. I’m not too fond of weak female leads and she somehow unconsciously creates problems. She was unwilling to compromise and communicate with Zhong Muo.

I felt like making Xiang Jun turn into a bad guy was very unnecessary. It didn’t happen abruptly but I felt as if the author/scriptwriter turned him into a bad guy because they didn’t have a high enough climax. They needed to add conflict to the story since everything that happened beforehand was slow. In addition, the last episode had unnecessary health issue relating to Wu Tong. Of course, it revealed the importance of family and her strong relationship with Zhong Muo but it honestly felt like that health issue was thrown in there just to take up time.

Despite these negative aspects, the characters themselves felt very real. They portrayed the fact that everyone has their own flaws. Not everyone is perfect and mistakes are inevitable. Vengeance and trust plays a big role in the conflict but family and love is a major theme. To have a family means that there must be love. Grudges must be put aside in order to achieve happiness and peace. There are many other themes in this drama: moving on with your love life, making amends to past mistakes, accepting your child’s spouse, the importance of raising a child, etc. The plot itself was weak and overdone but I love the messages that came with it. In all honesty, my heart broke while watching Loving, Never Forgetting. Like I mentioned earlier, I was somewhat prepared for the conflicts due to the video that I watched. If you enjoy melodramatic and heartbreaking dramas with a cute child reconciling his/her parents then this one is for you. If not then perhaps it’s best to look elsewhere.