I love the song when i first heard it. At first it was catchy, later I found the lyrics to be profoundly emotional. It had the vibes of a song that is fitting for a war scene, it lit a spark when I heard the part (敌人却还嫌不够
妄想从我身上跨去 / But the enemies were not satisfied, (and were) deluded that they can step over my body) and the rest of the song spurs my burning spirit. I got curious and tried to find out if anyone had analysed/translated the lyrics. Upon digging, I found that many people are making inferences from the lyrics (e.g. 血染樱花烟云里 / blood stains the cherry blossoms that disappear apace in the air) that it’s a song regarding the COVID-19 situation. I guess it’s probably obvious to a certain extent since I watched a reaction video on this and the person made the same assumption after listening the first 8 lines of the song. I found a fan edited video that made me cry alot so i’m just going to share it here. I decided to keep the lyrics after the cut and maybe one day when I am satisfied with my understanding of the song, do a further analysis. Overall i feel that GAI did a good job writing the song and the lyrics. <3<3<3<3<3
English lyrics were taken from the official video released by iQIYI and do not necessarily correspond directly with the Chinese words used.
回想七尺风雪中归去 / The hero dies in the snow
遥遥数月似无期 / Months seem like forever
血染樱花烟云里 / Blood stains in the years
恰似无声的伏笔 / Like a silent foreshadowing
万众一心烽烟起 / All the people of one mind in the war
若卒魂要归故里 / Dead soldiers have to return
思念明月落水底 / Missing like a moon in the water
儿女英雄为知己 / Heroes are for the confidant
醒来之时 刻下一世 / Awake a long time later
周遭已创伤遍地 / All dead and injured around
黎明之后 眼浸污垢 / Cry all night with tear stains left
脊梁柱化为灰烬 / All supports disappear
敌人却还嫌不够 / Enemies are not satisfied
妄想从我身上跨去 / With the attempt of cross over my body
怎能再忍让 Why bear?
我心滚烫 岂容尔等造句 / I am passionate. No way for you to do that
搭肩在夕阳里 马蹄声踏水影 / Walk together in the setting sun with horse clops entering the water
壮士随军不为瓦全从未想过有归期 / Heroic men go to the battlefield for peace without thinking of returning
战火当中洗礼 孑然一身的勇气 / Take the test in the wars with enough courage
眼看枯叶结霜 / The dead leaves will frost
茫茫荒原野冢正遍地 / and tombs can be seen everywhere in the vast wasteland
战争号角已吹响 / The trumpets of war have sounded
思念硝烟中飞扬 / (Longing) Missing disappears in the flames of war
仅剩劳累的臂膀 / Only left (with) the tired arms
抵住最后的城墙 / (Defend) Resist the last rampart
向苍天洒下最后的烈酒 / Pour the final alcohol to the sky
遥望残败的渡口 / Looking into the dilapidated ferry
保家卫国绝不俯首 / Defend the country with head never lowered
定当永垂不朽 / To be immortal
回想七尺风雪中归去 / The hero dies in the snow
遥遥数月似无期 / Months seem like forever
血染樱花烟云里 / Blood stains in the years
恰似无声的伏笔 / Like a silent foreshadowing
万众一心烽烟起 / All the people of one mind in the war
若卒魂要归故里 / Dead soldiers have to return
思念明月落水底 / Missing like a moon in the water
英雄儿女为知己 / Heroes are for the confidant
伤口已坠入到喉头 / Get Injured seriously
不容我片刻的踌躇 / I have no time to hesitate
还需拨开多少迷雾 / How many mists still left
剩下了多少的脊柱 / How many men still left
越是乌云密布 吾辈越单刀直入 / We have to go directly when its full of difficulties
功名利禄 无需在乎 / No care about fame and gain
勿忘国难后人记住 / Never forget the country’s difficulties
同泽已故逆行处 / Brother have died
难斩却心头恨无助 / Just feel helpless
呼风饮露劫难度 / It’s hard to spend the time
滚滚长江踏万里路 / it’s a long way being passed
戎马一生 保家卫国 / Defend the country with the entire life
千秋万代 每个惊蛰 / Every year during awakening of insects
横刀立马 驰骋疆场 / Dash about in the battlefields
妄想触碰山河 / No enemy dares to destroy the country
上马龙 下马虎 披荆又斩棘 / As strong as dragons and tigers
头顶天 踩黄土 挥动我大旗 / Fighting bravely to protect the flag
回想七尺风雪中归去 / The hero dies in the snow
遥遥数月似无期 / Months seem like forever
血染樱花烟云里 / Blood stains in the years
恰似无声的伏笔 / Like a silent foreshadowing
万众一心烽烟起 / All the people of one mind in the war
若卒魂要归故里 / Dead soldiers have to return
思念明月落水底 / Missing like a moon in the water
儿女英雄为知己 / Heroes are for the confidant
As a romance fan, I do not like shows based in the Chinese Republican era as they rarely have a happy ending, knowing that there will be a war coming. However, I’m a fan of detective shows and I liked the cast so I gave episode 1 a shot. The show was giving me Sherlock Holme vibes and I decided to carry on watching it whenever I run out of other dramas to follow. The casts were met with new cases in every/every other episode (23 cases in 36 eps), some of them are quite interesting. Actually, the cases and the bromance are what’s keeping me from dropping the show as the chemistry for the romance between the FL & ML due to their character set is kinda meh. More on that below.
Acting/Cast 8.0
I have seen many comments about the Bai You Ning, the female lead played by Shane Yan being annoying for the viewers. Her actions are sometimes confusing but not to the point of annoying. BYN is a rich man’s only daughter who studied overseas. For someone of her background and resources to turn out rebellious. I’m glad her actions only inconveniences the detectives and is less of a hindrance than she could have been. To me, she is a likable character since her nature is good and she stands by her beliefs. Only because it's her, the ML gets his freedom. Also because it's her, their relationship stood up to his father. Her actions in the show are quite understandable and the constant bickering with the male lead is a common start of a love-hate relationship in Rom-Coms (i.e. I can understand it being a scripted part of the drama).
Hu Yitian played Lu Yao, the male lead. The character is portrayed as a guy who is very materialistic and has loose moral boundaries, where he likes to colour outside the box. He plays a consultant of sorts to the detective but only assists in cases if he gets paid or has something to gain. He has a wide range of interests, appreciates antiques, art, and music and loves collecting novelty items. He steals from one of the suspects (for the item’s monetary value), showing the character’s warped sense of morality, which is a known part of his character that the detective Qiao Chusheng played by Leon Zhang and BYN at one point or another warns him against it. Since he is a very smart character that does not give in to social norms, his action keeps me guessing what is he up to (very much like Sherlock in "Elementary").
Qiao Chusheng played by Leon Zhang is a character that seems to have a complicated background. I have a very vague understanding of the power play (due to my disinterest) and his role in it as a detective who takes orders from BYN’s father. The show has him showing mostly his detective activities which he contributes by using his connections to gather intel and I enjoy the bromance vibes between him and LY.
[QC comes off as a character who I feel would have better suit BYN with his big brother vibes that is protective over her. In my own imaginary world, he would protect her and she would be her bratty self with LY being a smart sidekick. the chemistry might have been better]
Despite the lead actors and actress's good job portraying what I believe is how the character is scripted, the relationship development in the story is less than subtle.
In terms of romance, I can hardly feel the chemistry. LY jokes around with the BYN too much and I can’t take him seriously. Also, because Hu Yitian has played several characters that act kinda cool and doesn’t show much emotion so I feel like he is kind of stuck in that frame. Even when he is showing his affection for BYN, the jump from his goofy character is very stiff. The relationship between the characters needs a deeper level of analysis to understand.
SPOILER[ (scroll beyond this paragraph to avoid):
There was a scene where BYN brought up getting married to keep LY in shanghai which has been an on-going topic brought up from time to time in several episodes with both LY and BYN poking the nest and running away. Due to the pressing situation, BYN suggested they might have to resort to actually getting married and LY says, "If you don't like me, I can marry you." which I see it as him not wanting to lead BYN on. If he doesn't believe that BYN likes him, he could have just agreed, which means at this point he already senses BYN's feelings despite her saying that she doesn't like him. That being said, he just wants to keep things neutral until he can confirm his own feelings.
The rom-com preferring side of me is screaming in pain when I watch the show. The story would probably have suited a platonic relationship structure better but then rom-com lovers would not have watched the show. I couldn't really feel the chemistry between BYN and LY, so the coupling feels quite forced and I am really dissatisfied in this aspect. The pick of actors and actresses were quite fitting for the characters, the playful & strong-headed BYN, suave & loyal QC, smart & egoistic LY. I'd give 8 for that.
Music 7.5
The music, the outfits, and setting are pretty fitting for the era that the drama is set in. Nothing too amazing but it’s a fairly well done. Totally love the opening music though.
Rewatch Value 5.0
The story in respect of the detective genre is interesting but not that impressive and the chemistry for the romance is pretty lacking so I don’t recommend watching it a second time unless you like to analyze their relationships.
I’m a really lazy person and I agree with the review by the user “kiera” so i’m just going to link you: http://mydramalist.com/16547-eternal-love/reviews
If you have read the review, then you would know I would rate it a 10/10 drama
Since it’s a drama, it comes with a revenge that dragged out the story, which makes it less appealing? It does have a little peek into the medical differences between China and America, the possible situations seen in China. it’s a little light on romance but seeing how much it packed, I am quite satisfied with the way it played out. Side note, I love how the support characters are developed and especially loved Chen Shao Cong with his character being comical.
Acting/Cast: 9.0/10.0
The characters had incredible chemistry. The surrounding cast and stories supported the main story-line of revenge-love and were enjoyable to watch. I actually watched The Distance to Love (2013) where JIn Dong also played the main role in a medical drama but I feel that the characters in Surgeons had better chemistry.
Music: 7.0/10.0
Nothing much to comment on the music as there wasn’t any that stuck to me.
Rewatch Value: 9.0/10.0
Length of the drama aside, I would rewatch the drama and I have, more than once. =)
