Blossom

set the standards for me!!!!

smart FL x smart ML? YES PLEASE!

it was my second cdrama, after In Blossom, so i have my expectations set on low and decided to just enjoy the ride instead of setting a certain standard. and boy oh boy, did it DELIVERED!!! i was not disappointed and i'm sure i have never devoured all 34 episodes so quickly before—it's just that addicting!!

as a plot-centered girlie, i can say that i am truly satisfied. yes, it can get overwhelming at times, but that's the advantage of watching it on a streaming platform, no? i can always rewind to catch myself up. but. then again. i didn't do that often—most of the time, the plot itself flowed smoothly like a river. there's no obvious 'scene-chopping' that i could notice, and so i believe that everything had been carefully and meticulously planned so that every single arc could be told without losing the audience's attention.

the romance tho? UGH. don't even get me started!!!! even on the first episode, the chemistry between ML and FL, despite being strangers, had already shone through—it captivated and amazed me at the same time, because HOW?! you were strangers, guys, how did you pack up SO. MUCH. emotion into a single scene??! it took me a while to realize that this was one of those type of dramas in which the romance was a slow-burn so i was crossing my fingers (some dramas just don't do the slow-burn trope justice), but to my relief, it was done so beautifully, infused with so much yearning, with that depth of emotions that hit just right, and so many moments that practically screams "oh my gosh, they're soulmates!". so yeah, needless to say that by the time they finally got together, i erupted a loud cheer that my mom scolded me for (but worth it!)

song mo was basically an enabler and i love to see him cater to every single one of his wife's plan and strategy. that man was down bad! only to have his feelings returned tenfold by dou zhao? soulmatism i say! no, but, seriously, in this second life, even without the reminder of their past lives, they made a very powerful couple, a healthy one at that too! with clear communication, unconditional trust, and all-encompassing love. ugh, I love to see romance done right!!

that aside, i don't know the budget but the vibes told me that it's probably a handsome amount—the production had that elegant, lavish kind of vibe. the VFX was done beautifully too. the acting was impressive, needless to say. though, some missed their marks, it didn't stain on the rest. the cinematography? well, they didn't show it that often, but when they did, it was beautiful that some scenes are practically engraved to your brain (example being that infamous kissing / departing scene, song mo on the horse with dou zhao on the ground?! GAH THAT WAS EPIC!!!!).

so yeah. a balanced amount of good plots and slow burn romance, with the gritty scenes of action and the fluffiest of slowburn romance—what more could convince you to watch this masterpiece?!

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we get to witness a blossoming love with the classic historical genre backdrop

Similar to The Prisoner of Beauty in that the MML must deal with their trust issues lol but also in how the FL is both powerful AND feminine. Often times its one or the other so I loveee when the female lead is both. While it takes some time for the main leads to get together, their relationship is SOLID once bonded and they are a FORCE to be reckoned with. I feel like I could watch this over again for their love as it really was cute. The royal espionage was well done over all but there are some parts I feel just had a conclusion but I'm not sure how – this can def be a translation thing but I don't know that is was. No crazy plot twists but some not so predictable moments which is also nice. Def will recommend this one.

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Even something broken can shine again!!

A strong woman needs a strong Man - This drama beautifully portrayed that.

I don’t want anyone to miss out on this drama, so I’ll be keeping the review to the point.

Why did this beautiful drama end? I get the hype now. I was confused if I should start this drama or not but I am so glad I did. This drama will hook you from the very first episode. I didn’t even skip a single second of this drama.
Everything about this drama is BEAUTIFUL.
It is by far the best visual drama I have seen. I can’t even explain the beauty of this drama in words.
This drama has great writing with lots of twists. Even if the main plot of the story is predictable, it will still give you shocking twists.
I have said this before in my other reviews that I love dramas with strong female leads.

Dou Zhao is so well written. She is strong, smart, ambitious, strategic, and straightforward- a true inspiration to all women. She can go to lengths to save him.
Not everytime a man is needed to protect a woman even a woman can protect his Man.

Yantang- The beauty of this man is irresistible. Another well-written character. He can move mountains to protect his woman. He is a capable, smart, badass fighter, the greenest forest and a perfect example for all men.

Their chemistry- No words will be enough to define how cute they were together. I love how they got married in the middle of the series and we got to see them as a married couple. Whenever they came on screen I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. No unnecessary misunderstandings and miscommunications. The way he looks at her and smiles when she stands for herself and for what she feels is right is so beautiful. This is what a great chemistry drama looks like. They both deserve all the awards. Truly a breakthrough drama for both of their careers.

Ji Yong- He was a monk in the first episode and her soulmate in the second life. I just love their friendship. He can do anything to protect her. He is cunning and intelligent. Who said he can’t feel anything or express emotions? When he confessed to Dou Zhao of being the mastermind, he was begging her to leave her husband because she might get hurt. That was peek of his emotions. He was not evil at all, he just wanted to remove all the evils. I will never hate this character.

Another reason to love this drama is its beautiful happy ending. Everything and every character was wrapped up very well. People who needed to die died(except Dou Ming). Even the characters of the villains are so well written. I wish I could erase my memories to watch this drama again. I will definitely rewatch this.

P.S. I love his grey hair.

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Not a fan of Meng Zi Yi but this drama is really awesome

LIKE

The never-ending turtle shells for fortune telling - lol

Wang Ying Xue's love for Dou Ming

Second lifetime where everyone seemed to be better

Poor Dou Ming and Pei Jin

Song Yi Chun and his servant so silly and hilarious being scammed by Dou Zhao

I actually teared for Dou Shi Shu - my god so touching

Ji Jian Ming's love for Dou Zhao

DISLIKE

So good nothing to be picked on

MUSIC - personal fav

不羡 Bu Xian - 伯远 Bo Yuan
久念 Jiu Nian - 弦子 Xian Zi
重圆 Chong Yuan - 李佩玲 Li Pei Ling
紫忆 Zi Yi - 张紫宁 Zhang Zi Ning

REWATCH VALUE

Yes definitely

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A well-written story and ending!

FINALLY we have a nice story with a good ending that doesn't feel rushed and didn’t have too many tragic deaths. If you liked Double cdrama, you're definitely going to love this one! The Main leads chemistry was fire🔥! Yantang and Duo Zhao are so in love with each other. The male lead casting was perfection. He was fantastic in portraying the character, be it hatred, guilt, love, sadness and damn his voice or whoever did the voiceover, matched the main leads pain and emotions perfectly. Their initimate scenes were well done, not too much, not too little either. The actress from Untamed really did an amazing job with this one! She is strong-willed, witty, knows when to attack, when to withdraw, she's a great wife and also strategist for the hubby! Honestly what else could the guy ask for haha!

The main lead with his grey hair looks amazing even though he is always close to dying in this drama lol. The second lead aka our monk guy plays double agent and really made me confused at one point. I didn’t know whether to hate this guy or root of him and his unrequited love lol. All the characters had good story arcs.

The only parts that I didn't like were when the younger sister and her husband get caught in the mess and their lives are cut short. It was way too cruel for the poor girl.

The ENDING was great! Better then a lot of other cdramas that came out in 2024. Loved that all the loose ends were met, villains taken care of, and we also get the happy couple with a cute daughter.

Rewatch value: 10/10!!

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How does this have an 8.8 rating on MDL?

After watching the entire 34 episodes, I don't know why or how this show got its 8.8 rating on MDL! The plotlines and story were good but in no way compares or comes close to the levels of intrigue, suspense and mental complexity of other shows like The Vendetta of An which only scored 8.5, or The Legend of Zang Hai only scored 8.4, which drives me to want to ask in despair, "Wèishénme?"!!!
The sole reason I can fathom why this show has scored 8.8 on MDL is down to the fan-base and popularity of male lead, Li Yun Rui, not only incredibly hot but a skilled actor who's ended up carrying the entire show on his back. In comparison, his female lead, Meng Zi Yi, is completely missing in action with zero on-screen charisma or presence and zero chemistry with Yun Rui. Why was Zi Yi cast in the lead at all? Who makes these decisions? It's the second time I’ve noticed this issue repeatedly with her. She also had zero chemistry playing alongside Liu Xue Yi in "The Princess' Gambit". This firms up my belief that Meng Zi Yi is the problem and I do wish she would do the world a favour and change careers, but I guess after investing so much irreversible effort into her physical appearance, there's no chance of this ever happening.
Her performance in Blossom clearly demonstrates she has absolutely nothing to do with its 8.8 MDL rating - certainly not based on her performance - which leads me to speculate on what behind-the-scenes mafioso force of power is keeping this uninteresting, extremely-forgettable actress on our screens and forcing her down the collective throats of a public viewing audience? The fact she's got 6 upcoming TBA roles on MDL defies all logic. Do production houses really analyse her poor performances and think "Yes, we want to see more of that and so does a gullible paying audience".
Most upsetting is how talented up-and-coming actresses are losing out when someone like Meng Zi Yi keeps being offered cushy slots when she hasn't the talent to justify such blatantly brazen favouritism. It would be a different case if she did have some acting skillset but was still cast due to having powerful connections. An example of such a would-be scenario (in my own personal opinion) is Story of Kunning Palace, where I've always felt that the female there, Bai Lu, while obviously a skilled actress, still did not embody the role of Jiang Xue Ning in Kunning Palace well enough. She was physically much older than the character she was playing, as well as much older than her male romantic co-leads which I found jarring. She also came off a little jaded and worn in the show. I resented her performance even as I admit that she was proficient enough in it - just not the most suitable person to be cast for it. The Bai Lu issue is very different to the Meng Zi Yi issue. The latter case is not only a mis-cast, but a mis-cast of a poorly skilled actress. Any actor can say lines, but when that actor lacks any screen presence, charisma or genuine talent, they become talking-mouths like Meng Zi Yi - just people who always dreamt of acting when young regardless of whether or not they possessed the talent or not. And then they get offered a chance to actually do it - invariably meaning that some other actor with the requisite talent and skillset just lost out due to not having the kind of powerful support Meng Zi Yi has. Such a pity!

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Nine Layers of Purple: A Reincarnation Story Made Right

You can choose to bloom alone, but you may also want to be tended to and bloom even brighter. This is the reason why this adaptation of the Nine-Layered Purple Flower drama is named Blossom.

Scriptwriting. "When a deer hunter sees a rabbit, he must be patient. When a deer hunter sees the mountain, he must be open-minded." As a sucker for brilliant scripts, I must say this was a gem. It sits on a pedestal with Nirvana in Fire , not quite Rise of Phoenixes, but you get me. While you can say something directly, you can also leave the audience guessing. It took a lot of brain that I had to skip backward to analyze some lines or take screenshots because dang, I found a good line. I have not read the novel, but I guess they stayed true to the original storyline, and the author must be really good.

Plot. Despite censorship on reincarnation, this drama gave us the angst of a bitter past life that planted in us the desire to see a happy ending. It starts of with a powerful episode - one driving an arrow piercing through our main leads, shattering the glass, leading them to fall into the abyss, and waking them up confused and lonely. Whether this was a past life or just a dream, the desire, not just to survive, but to be happy is strong. This hooks you right at the very start. Other reincarnation adaptations either omitted the bitter past life part or assumed we know about the bitter past and just move on but not this one.

Then, as the story progressed, there was a fine line between whether one can truly alter fate or believe it is set in stone. Duo Zhao had the foresight and was able to use it to win in business, amassing the fortune she needed to support herself in the future. She knew about the key players and approached them, using them right for about a third of the story. The rest, she had to navigate on her own.

The conflict was the conspiracy of the empress, Prince Qing, and the rest of the nobles and other distant royal members. This was too huge that when investigating, one cannot be careless. It had to be dealt with within one blow hence pushing the empress and Prince Qing to commit treason, driven to a point of no return. This was a scheme by the emperor who wanted to create a clean government. However, his constant portrayal of favor to the royal family and the nobles has created a divide between him and Duke of Ding (his best friend and one he dreamed of creating that clean government with). He only showed favoritism because he wanted to deal with the villains in one go, but, this created a huge misunderstanding instead especially between him and Song Mo (the greatest fan of Duke of Ding, his uncle). In the end, it was revealed that he only wanted the Duke of Ding's support for the Crown Prince hence he agreed to call back the duke to the capital, however, there could have been other ways to do this. In the end, as we would have it, the problem is solved, and they live happily ever after.

The drama was 34 episodes long. It took me 2 years to finish it lol. I started it and loved it when it was still showing, even recommended it to my niece. But I think I got bored at episode 20 and perhaps got tired of waiting so I only finished it 2026 after the same niece encouraged me to finish it. I rewatched from the start because I forgot what happened. And I did not regret it. The general plot is ok, as a lover of good plots. It is not without flaws like dragging the plot, adding unnecessary storylines, and family drama. Nevertheless, 34 episodes was good enough.

Most iconic scene - Song Mo on his horse, bending down to kiss Duo Zhao as the army exits the gate. Superb!!!

Characters. Duo Zhao, as you would expect is your strong independent woman. A plenty of times she mentioned and proved that she was her own salvation. After a failed marriage in her past life, it is expected that she would be traumatized to try to love again so she avoided it as much as she could. However, a strong independent woman may not need a man, she might deserve a good one. And an excellent one is who she had. Her being through a lifetime taught her to be mature. I love how she always looked after Song Mo when they got married and always initiated communication.

Song Mo, on the other hand, is a bit impulsive. He is not the typical male lead we have who knows exactly how things happen. At first, I was a bit disappointed because he always gets himself in trouble, however, after meeting Duo Zhao, he started to learn how to temper things. And this is good because we shouldn't always have the same hero who is always perfect. His most memorable scene was when he said, "I think my wife doesn't love me." Wahahahaha. He had no idea his wife was around 45 to 50 years old maturity and intimacy was in the bottom of her list. Nevertheless, he was so smitten by her.

Duo Zhao and Song Mo had a rough start including a sword pointed to her neck. It's not exactly enemies to lovers, more of do I trust you if not I will get rid of you kind of way. Then, there was admiration, courtship coated in protection, confession, and then agreement. After marriage, they stayed strong and supported each other. There was open and honest communication. They were a power couple. We actually get a lot of sweet scenes here as compared to other dramas.

As for the other characters, I would like to point out Gu Yu and his lack of presence in the story. Maybe an introduction of him, how they became friends, why does he side with Song Mo instead of his cousin. He could have been used more in the story. Prince Qing and Crown Prince as well deserve more screen time. What is the beef between them aside from just rivals? Is there no way to patch their relationship or whatnot. Some of the characters I really hated tho - Song Han, Ji Yong (for a good amount of time), and the emperor.

Acting. Umm. No. It is hard to not think what if other actors were casted. No offence but Li Yun Rui has a hard time managing his facial expressions. Meng Zi Yi is ok. She portrays a mature woman with a plenty of experiences. Although, when put together, they are good together. Lol.

Music. Not very much. I usually watch sweet scenes because of music even if I don't like the characters but this time, I watch their sweet scenes because I like their chemistry.

Overall, I like this because I am a sucker for reincarnation stories, and this is done the best among other adaptations - Kunning Palace, The Double, and Female General (What a loss. I read the novel. I love Ryan Cheng, but it just doesn't hold a candle.). The script is certainly the top for me, then the plot, then the chemistry.

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GASP

This was a great drama, one of the best of the season surely. The first episode truly got me in a chokehold that I watched the episode twice in a row.

The ML, truly, shined in the show but I felt like it slowly died as the episodes went on. His looks, fierceness, and skills in the first episode were outstanding. However, slowly, they dimmed his shine and power. I understand the intention and metaphors behind those, yet I would appreciate it if there were more fierceness from him. His grey hair and spear were something else. I know there were reflections of this blind rage and revenge, but it was them that got me hooked on the show.

FL was not disappointing at all. She was a great choice and upheld her ground without slipping into any sort of stupidity. She was great. However, the leads were lacking major chemistry points in my review. Sometimes, even tension is superb chemistry but I could not feel it in the show and I felt robbed. It is my own view, of course, maybe others felt the opposite. They were amazing together and there were some moments of it, but overall, I did not feel the intensity of the emotions.

The cinematography was spectacular. I saw some BTS and all that dedication paid off, surely. Especially in the first parallel. I wish this dedication was reflected in the couples' chemistry, 34 episodes are not short to only see scheming and planning. The story did not get too outrageous or too straight. It made me laugh, yell, and tense over the course of episodes.

This show made it to my top 5 this year. I really liked it and hope we can see more of these in the future.

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The romance kept going until the drama ends

If you havent watched it, you miss a lot. this drama is in my top3 list.
I loved it because in some dramas, after the leads developed feelings each other, the director cuts their relationshop with each other. But here, they even develop stronger bond with each other. in addition, kissing scenes remain until the end. Becauise i hate it when they kissed at episode 18 end never kissed again until 40th episode ( for example). I wish there were even more intimacy. I like it as a grown woman 😂.

Furthermore, in my opinion, one of the best costume dramas so far. And somehow i dont think the budget is as big as the massive productions however, captured everything perfectly. The FL is strong, smart and kind-hearted.

i think our biggest dissapointing is seing the Song mo with a less gray-black hair. He was damn hot with gray-black hair. i hate you director 😂
From acting perspective, i discovered Li Yun rui here. He is one of the best chinese actors. he rocks in Blossom. FL and ML chemistry is good but imo Li yun Rui leads Meng Zi yi He . I know he is not the most handsome in history though he is hot.
just watch it

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