The Blossoming Love

If "I'll let the world burn for you" was a drama...

I decided to start this drama because I absolutely adored the female lead in "Until the end of the moon". She portrayed a very fiesty character in that drama and I was pleasantly surprised when the directors of this drama decided to bring that micheveous persona of hers over to this drama.

The drama revolves across 2 star-crossed lovers who are tragically fated across multiple lifetimes and yet, still willingly go through pains and sufferings just to rekindle their love. The ML shoulders the biggest responsibility of the immortal alliance, swearing to protect the human realm for as long as he lives. The FL who comes from the Dark Abyss (the enemy clan you could say), tumbles across this ML, recognising him as her long-lost saviour from when she was a child and thus, their love story begins (or so they thought)...

The drama itself is an absolute masterpiece. I had no problems with the pacing of the drama as every episode seemed to have served a purpose and it certainly did not feel "dragged out" like a lot of other cdramas. The storyline of the drama was also incredibly thorough, with most plot holes and curiosities satiatied by the end. The actors and actresses did a marvelous job in portraying their emotions and Vin had the hardest job of portraying 3 separate characters but still executed it well.

Moving onto the production value, I have to say this has been the one of the most impressive dramas in terms of their CGI. It didn't feel ridiculously artificial and in fact, looked realistic. The costuming was beautiful however there were some parts of the drama where I did wish that the female lead had more wardrobe options because it seemed like she was always cycling through the same 3 costumes.

The OST is chef's kiss; there's really nothing else I can say about it other than that.

The only critique that I would give this drama that warrants it a 9/10 rating, is the fact that once you approach the episodes where there is time travel involved and "communication with a different time", the story becomes a little difficult to follow as the pace of the story picks up. The side characters of this drama also do not have a lot of screentime and we as the audience do not get the details on how their feelings developed into an actual relationship; it just kinda happened out of the blue almost.

Other than that, I would recommend to watch this drama if you're looking for something that is almost based on romance since this drama has little to no politics. I also recommend this drama if you're looking for something that tugs at your heartstrings without making you completely bawl your eyes out.

Happy Binging!! 🫶

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A Promising Start, but Disappointing in the second half

I have been anticipating this drama, The Blossoming Love ever since the cast was revealed since I love Zhang Binbin on my end, and I also like Sun Zhen Ni (in TTEOTM) and from the footage/teasers back then it seems like an appealing story.

This Drama was airing at the same time (month) as Moonlight Mystique, and back then I was watching both drama's at the same time, and have even subscribed to Youku and joined SVIP to watch 1 episode in advance. I remember back then I used to watch The Blossoming Love first since the airing time is earlier than Moonlight Mystique (by Iqiyi), which I have also subscribed to watch through their official channel to support it's viewcounts.

In terms of the story The Blossoming Love, I did enjoyed it at the beginning and first half of the story, because I love the female lead, Mu Xuan Ling played by Sun Zhen Ni, because she was bold and unafraid to show her love/confession to win over the Male Lead Xie Xue Chen. I found that type of female lead to be refreshing for once, and I love how she was devoted to her love when it comes to Xie Xue Chen. Their love was quite interesting in that sense where I can see that Mu Xuan Ling started to warm up to her, and love her.

I even enjoyed the friendship between the Mu Xuan Ling and Nan Xu Yue, but... it is because I love their friendship, is why I didn't enjoy the later half of the story from what I found out happened, and I didn't like what Nan Xu Yue had become.

I felt like the plot started to go the direction I DON'T enjoy when Sang Qi forced Mu Xuan Ling drink the potion that forget her love/feelings for Xie Xue Chen... That was a negative point and direction for me that I didn't like... Although it did showed how hard Xie Xue Chen puts in to cure her from that "poison", but I didn't like Mu Xuan Ling during this time on my end here.... I felt like her actions, although I know she wouldn't have done it, if she were in her right mind, lead Nan Xu Yue to further walk down that path and become more selfish with his feelings to win her over...

Another plot point I didn't like is, how it shows a "Split-Soul" between Xie Xue Chen and Zhao Ming, especially when they both are complete opposites, where the Dark side (Zhao Ming) is oppressing the good side Xie Xue Chen. It kinda gives me the Luo Ge and Hei Yue(in Song of the Moon) vibes here...

You know the irony here is that, while I really dislike Zhen Yu (in Moonlight Mystique) but in The Blossoming Love, I can never bring myself to hate/dislike Sang Qi played by Han Dong, and I even did shed tears for him when Sang Qi died... In the Blossoming Love, at least he showed me qualities that I liked, whereas in Moonlight Mystique, I truly dislike his character Zhen Yu that I cannot stand him. So this goes to show that Han Dong really can play out these two characters well.

Anyways, I won't go into a very in-depth Review like I normally do, but if I am going to be honest with you, I did have plans to finish the drama when I placed it on hold after watching Episode 31, since the Past-Arc between Zhao Ming, Hun Dun Zhu & Tian Ming Su, was very boring filled with politics that I don't enjoy, so that's why I kinda left it until that arc has ended, but after the ending, and I have read reviews in here, and found out what happened in the remaining episodes, I kinda lost all that motivation to continue watching The Blossoming Love on my end here due to what I read about Mu Xuan Ling being indecisive or unclear about her feelings and she have lost that trait I liked in her in the beginning..... I don't like indecisive Female Lead, where she doesn't know who she wants or love more and leading the two male leads on, so this is definitely a negative appeal for me... So because of this, I decided to drop The Blossoming Love after watching 31 Episodes....

Well everyone is different, some people I read really love The Blossoming Love, then that is very good for you, however for me, if I can sum this up, The Blossoming Love had potential, but the 2nd half falls weak to me with all these changes and direction it was going (from the reviews and spoilers I've read). I felt like The Blossoming Love is the Drama that have me wanting to watch more episodes when it first started until a "certain point", and then into someone who just persevered for the sake of watching it, until the past was shown, where I actually felt like putting it on hold.

I can pinpoint where I lost my motivation to watch was when Mu Xuan Ling was forced to drink that potion, that was the starting point, and I didn't enjoy Nan Xu Yue going down that direction that I don't like(that is the second point). I really don't want to dislike him because I did like his character at the beginning especially his friendship with Xie Xue Chen, but when they ruined Nan Xu Yue's character and the friendship I enjoyed between him and Xie Xue Chen, this drama just keep going down the path/direction that I am not fond of, so in the end, despite I had intention to finish the drama on my side originally, but after learning what happened in the remaining episides, I don't want to put myself through that annoyance in the later half judging from what I learned in the spoilers.

While this drama (The Blossoming Love) and Moonlight Mystique was airing at the same time, but in the end, between the two drama, Moonlight Mystique had won me over if I have to choose, this is my preference because at least for Moonlight Mystique, I felt attached/hooked into the plot from beginning to end, but in The Blossoming Love, I felt like it had a promising start, but a disappointing change of plot direction and there are just too many unappealing plot-points and the direction the story was going in the second half that made me lost interest, so this is a disappointing outcome, because I did enjoyed The Blossoming Love from the beginning, just wish it didn't have too many of these unappealing tropes that made me give up.

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The Blossoming Love

I’m in love with this cdrama from the beginning, the main characters are incredible, the story can be smooth, a little funny and with amazingly and deeply dialogues. The cgi are pretty beautiful and the battle scenes are amazing for the eyes. It’s getting better and better. I love zhang binbin, already watched almost all his previous projects. it’s my first time seeing something with Zhenni, and she is not only a stunning view, but we can see that she’s an amazing actress, all the drama for the character she is changing the tone of her voice, this is pretty amazing, all the villain cast are amazing too, the new one the appear on the episode 15 is unbelievable a visual. All the cast are amazing, they are doing pretty great. Hope still good like this until the end.
I’m looking forward to it.

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Wh-What happened in 35-40 episodes??

Here is my review, I finished watching this drama,,till episode 20-30 the plot is absolutely interesting,I was like this is the one of the best xianxia I have ever seen, bcz FL saves ML in every downfall, whereas SML protects FL in every single time than the ML. 3 leads acting was too good, Bin bin acting was good he is very handsome in both good and evil character..

I don't know why the director screwed up after 35-40 , I was very confused, Am I not worthy to understand the final episodes, ? WTH is this .. Though is Happy ending I'm still confused I don't know why I keep watching till the end. Please don't watch after 30 episode or u will regret .

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Another epic failure of Xian Xia drama. Bad script and draggy. It can be cut down to 28-30 episodes.

Blossoming Love is yet another epic failure of Xian Xia's drama, starting with Vin Zhang, Sun Zhen Ni, Wang Duo, and Zhang Ya Qin.

Personally, I can never finish any Xian Xia drama because I don't like the genre. The story is stupid and nothing unique. It has been done over and over again between immortals and demons.

The story was watchable until episode 25, and then it became stupid.
- Xia Che Cheng is now a demon, so stupid after Nan Xu Yue betrayed him because he fell in love with Mu Xuan Ling, knowing she did not love him.
- Vin Zhang's acting is bad in this drama.
- Sun Zhen Ni acted better.
- The minute Nan Xu Yue's character becomes evil, the flashback episodes to review Emperor Zhao Ming's becoming the devil are so stupid. It took episodes 28 to the end (12 episodes) to review what had happened 10,000 years ago. It is ridiculous, dragging, and boring, and it should have cut 10 episodes. It does not need 12 episodes to review the past and change the course of Xie Xue Chen
- The only good thing about this drama is the OST.

Synopsis: In ancient times, Emperor Zhao Ming sacrificed to protect humanity, setting in motion a cycle of reincarnation that spanned thousands of lifetimes. Currently, Zhao Ming is reborn as Xie Xue Chen, the leader of the Immortal Alliance. At the same time, his past love has transformed into Mu Xuan Ling, the Saintess of the Dark Realm. Unaware of their shared history, the two are on opposite sides, locked in a tense rivalry. Fate forces them together on a journey filled with danger, secrets, and unexpected alliances. As they navigate treacherous schemes and powerful artifacts, their bond deepens in ways neither could have foreseen. In a world teetering on the edge of chaos, Xie Xue Chen and Mu Xuan Ling must confront their destinies and uncover the truth about their intertwined pasts. Will they overcome the forces that seek to tear them apart and bring peace to a fractured world?

My Reviews:
1. Acting: 6
2. Script: 4
3. Music/OST: 7
4. Production Quality: 4
5. Cinematography:4
6. Onscreen Chemistry: 6
7. Rewatchable: 4

Overall Rating: 5.0

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A disappointing mess.

first of all binbin and sun zhenni may be one of the hottest couple in cdramas, best cast by far.

anyways after reading the book i found initially they were actually following the plot almost exactly, just adding something here or there which i was ok with it, but it was the last 10 or 15 episodes when things become a completely mess:

•villain getting more screen time than them, getting redeemed and making us feel pity for him therefore having us to give another villain so he could get free of all his crimes;
•last episodes barely any romance, the fact that we don’t even get a wedding nor they show us their domestic life together;
•mu xuan ling not accepting the demon lord as a part of xie xue chen, but accepting nan yu xue as tian min;
•demon lord having to suffer twice what he was supposed to suffer, honestly why would they do that to him;
•just generally it’s in a way a HE but the fact that the book already have a HE and it was giving more satisfyingly, how can they had gotten it wrong?

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Chaotic but Convincing

The story itself is a rather complicated journey of love, duty and sacrifice, spanning through thousands of years. With visually overbearing cultivation powers, the story begins when a flirty, morally-gray, assertive FL meets a good old cliche righteous cultivator, marking thr beginning of true chaos within different realms.

I couldn't help drawing a parallel with Wei Ying and Lan Zhan (Untamed) just if Wei Ying met Lan Zhan as a demonic cultivator from the start.

Which...is off to a good start.

The story starts with ML and FL being on seemingly two opposite sides, having two opposite worldviews. When circumstances force them to collide, they start to question their set views, listening and learning from one another. It was interesting to witness the growth their shared experiences have created.

The cast. Vin Zhang and Sun Zhen Ni did a good job in their roles. The banter, teasing and overall chemistry between the leads made their love story intriguing and the progress believable. Though they were stuck in a flirting stage for a loooong time before anything solid was established, the journey wasn't boring at all to watch. Throughout the story the actors also had to portray several different versions of themselves, and while both did a great job, I found Sun Zhen Ni's acting more charming if only because not only did her demeanour change but also moods and expressions would change completely with a different character, making it immediately obvious it is a completely difference person, while some of Vin Zhang's quirks bled out into all characters.

SML (Wang Duo) was established as a very intriguing character from the start with his calm, almost cold, yet kind personality. He was like a still water - pure, majestic and mysterious - seemingly another intriguing character to follow. Unfortunately later on his character suffered from a looong sequence of annoying plotlines that took away most of his previously established charm. SML is quite a pitiful character, and I wish his storyline went in a rather different direction, but alas. The actor did a great job in portraying the subtle yet deep emotions of his character. It'd be interesting to see him in a different role.

Why chaotic? The chaos comes from excessively detailed lore, over-the-top visualisation of spiritual powers and skillsets, fast-paced action sequences with clipped-short emotional scenes (mostly in the beginning) and too many loosely connected side characters. Some things last for the length of the drama. Fortunately, the emotional scenes attain a better-suited pacing later on in the series, allowing the viewer time to connect with the characters and their experiences.

Excessively-detailed lore was an issue though (personally). There comes a time when there's one too many ancient artifacts and overpowered characters takes out one too many new skills out of their "spiritual pocket". Side characters (together with side plotlines) got way too much screen time where they could've been shortened significantly without any loss to the main storyline. It felt a bit exhausting to keep up with all that. Instead of getting emotionally involved with the side characters (plots) I'd find myself missing the main couple. On its own, the ideas aren't half-bad but when added together they feel too convoluted. If it was up to me I'd focus more on the main couple's journey and less on the external factors.

The Ending (and the whole built up to it) was very thought-out and it beautifully circled back to a lot of the previous sideplots, making everything more meaningful. The CGI was the most intense at the end and this time it felt fitting and added to the story rather than distracted. While I wish some character arcs had a bit more emotional impact at the end, it wasn't a bad end and could certainly be considered fulfilling.

Overall, plot-wise, the story isn't all that novel, it holds several headache-inducing cliches, and perhaps I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this title for a non cdrama fantasy watcher, but the main couple's banter and chemistry is real fun to watch (and they have A LOT of good interactions), hence why I'd recommend it to fantasy cdrama fans.

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