I really wanted to love this season of Lost You Forever. The first one was achingly beautiful - the dangerous, chaotic world of Dahuang was brought to life. Against the backdrop of such a world was our incredible cast of characters, yearning for healing and life, striving to achieve a world where everyone could live in peace and happiness but finding it very difficult to do so.

Season 2 picks up where the first left off. Xiaoyao is betrothed to marry Chishui Fenglong, Cang Xuan’s confidante and a buddy of Jing’s. The wedding fails to go through when the charismatic Fangfeng Bei gloriously crashes it and takes the bride away. What ensues are many twists and turns before Xiaoyao can find her happiness.

This story continues with our brother and sister duo to their respective ends - but the drama is not exactly the story originally laid out in the novel of the same name. Notably, the character of Cang Xuan is significantly altered, and it is from here that I feel a lot of the missteps in this season originate from. We are teased with a dream/illusion sequence that follows the novel, but since it did not truly happen, the last section of episodes start to unravel in logic and dramatic tension.

Warning: major spoilers ahead.

In the novel, it is Cang Xuan who joins forces with Tushan Hou to do away with Jing out of jealousy. Here, it is Chenrong Xinyue, the Empress, who is the main culprit. Because of this change, Xinyue becomes yet another one-dimensional villainess, and Cang Xuan essentially is not allowed his character arc as in the novel. Instead, he is inserted into scenes where other main characters should have been highlighted, and the end result is a bit of a muddled narrative. Story themes, character arcs and just plain exciting moments are lost in translation.

Ultimately, all of the foreshadowing and build up of Cang Xuan’s jealousy of Jing and of his desire to possess Xiaoyao do not really get to go anywhere satisfying. The power of raw emotion in the illusion episodes is quite effecting (if a bit overdone), but alas, it dissipates after Cang Xuan wakes up from his tea-induced illusion. More importantly, the use of an illusion sequence makes a lot of the rest of the scenes devoid of the tension and urgency seen in the novel. There is no shock when he confesses his love to Xiaoyao. There is no urgency or poignancy to Xiang Liu saving Jing (because Cang Xuan is actively searching for Jing here in the drama as well). And there is no urgency for Jing to return when Xiaoyao is at Jade Mountain before she becomes the next Queen Mother. There is ultimately no reason for Jing and XY to disappear from CX - and there is not the pain felt on the part of the audience, which was so heartbreakingly conveyed in the novel - that eternal sense of longing, missing and losing her forever.

The cast do their best with the much weakened script - but one can only make screaming, throwing tantrums or standing there without lines or purpose in a scene really that interesting.

If you enjoyed season 1, this is still a decent watch to see Tushan Jing finally work together with Xiaoyao to get back at Yiying and Hou. A’Nian, Ru Shou and some other supporting characters (Lirong Chang) also are a delight to watch. Fenglong and Xiang Liu’s deaths also leave a strong mark. However, if you are fan of the original novel, there is no balm, medicine or poison that can soothe one’s disappointment in not seeing a truly faithful adaptation come alive on screen. Perhaps it is best to say the opportunity was there, but it is now lost forever.