Blossom

A Strong Story with Flaws

I had high hopes for Blossom, and while it delivered in parts, it also left me a little frustrated. The beginning is gripping, full of clever moves and emotional depth. But as the story goes on, the pacing becomes uneven, and some weak writing and rushed arcs drag it down. The directing also felt sloppy in places, which hurt the impact of key moments.

The saving grace is the cast — the leads especially. They carried the drama, even when the script didn’t give them enough. The romance is light but heartfelt, and the final episodes brought decent closure.

Blossom could have been excellent, but instead it’s just good. If you can overlook its flaws, it’s still an enjoyable watch.

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Worth watching

The first few episodes were riveting but it slowed down for me towards the middle where the step mother’s multiple schemes against Dou Zhou became tiresome and repetitive. I stopped and watched something else for a few days and when I went back. Itl picked up for me again.

I didn’t think there was good chemistry between the 2 main leads initially but it was better later on. It could be because the performance of the male lead could be better in the first half of the drama. It’s his first main role so can’t be too hard on him because he got better in the 2nd half. I liked the characters the 2 main leads portrayed. Dou Zhao is a strong and intelligent woman who built wealth with her own abilities despite being shunned by her father and step mother. She is a good match for Song Mo who is upright, honest, loyal and great with martial arts.

The drama has some fresh elements but its shocking how Song MO’s father could be so vicious towards his own biological children with his first wife just because he bears a grudge towards her and her family. SPOILER: Thankfully it was a good ending for the 2 protagonists though I wasn’t sure until the very end….

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A blooming flower among thorns

Blossom came out of nowhere and took the spotlight of one of the best historical dramas of 2024. The acting, story and cinematography is top notch. Biggest win for this drama is that everyone gets a good conclusion AND it has a GOOD ENDING!!!

The chemistry between the main leads are not spectacular but good still. The romance between them is quite nice. I wouldn't say it is low on romance, but is not in abundance which for me I think is just enough for the story its trying to tell. But still some romance scenes could have been given more time and not edited so much/skipped over so fast. ML character is quite nice and FL is likable and actually smart, she doesn't go around doing stupid things randomly unlike many other dramas. And what's best is that even though a lot of times ML does end up saving her, she's not helpless all the time, she actually saves ML multiple times or gets out of problematic situations by herself.

The drama kept me engaged until around the last third section, without spoiling I found myself skipping over scenes and questioning the sudden change of personality for some characters, it began to drag a bit until the last 2-3 episodes where it picked back up its pace and led to a good conclusion. Though tbf they did feel quite underwhelming.

Overall, this is a well made drama with just a few minor set backs that can be overlooked. I recommend. ദ്ദി( °ᗜᵔ) *.✧

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Dark horse drama turn into a ...

The director plus the acting crew didn't expect the drama blossom would flare better. Topping the chart . Both the ML were low traffic actors. The director were darned good with his visual filmography and story telling were pretty awesome. The scene from the first episode where both the ML was shot by the arrow both fall into the abyss, It was differently done.
The film setting was set-up during ming dynasty. The costume was posh and stylish.
The story of the Rebirth was done so well. The audience understood the reason for them to be reborn again, It wasn't like other drama where they left the audience hanging in the air.

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Bad Story Ruins Good Premise and Production Values

A terrible script made this drama a giant bore. This story is the braindead webnovel to end all braindead webnovels. The main character has about five golden fingers, between remembering her past life, a secret manual with cryptic predictions, a secret advisor, and sudden second life genius medical skill and second life genius business skill (okay, for the last one she used the manual and her memories to beat the market, call that 4.5 golden fingers?). Do you enjoy watching a Mary Sue pull the strings on all the major players in history with no stakes whatsoever? Then maybe you will enjoy this as a fluff drama. Personally, I got more and more frustrated and bored, started skipping through scenes and missing nothing whatsoever. You can skip from about 10 to the last 2 episodes and have barely missed a thing.

I feel like the scriptwriters actually attempted to give this story a brain, but kept getting pulled back by the stupidity in the original. That's assuming this is based on a webnovel; but it's very hard to believe the drama writers invented this extremely webnovel trope heavy and super inconsistent narrative on their own. One glaring problem is that this drama betrays its own premise. Supposedly, the FL was the wife of a noble household for a decade before going back in time to her childhood, yet retaining her old memories. The only clue that this is a mature person in the body of a child is the MC making what become rather annoying counsels to all the main male characters, which of course always miraculously change their life. The author's conceit must be that men are very dumb. Strangely, this experienced head of a household has no way to deal with the female head of her father's household and can't even seem to understand her thinking. So one minute she is a national preceptor and the next minute she's acting like a totally naive and spoiled girl who thinks she can just run away from her stepmom and she'll just forget about her and forget about marrying her off to improve her biological daughter's marriage prospects.

In a different drama, being smart about politics and stupid about your personal life would work. But here it just reads as terrible writing. There were actually two dramas recently which had a female lead that lived half a lifetime before traveling back in time to their teen years. They were "Princess Royal" and "Kunning Palace". Both of them convincingly portrayed a middle aged, experienced woman getting a do-over. There's a saying "youth is wasted on the young". What if you could have do over with the benefit of experience and wisdom? "Blossom" has never heard of this idea. The author never once uses the life experiences from the FL's first life to guide her decisions in the second life, except to avoid her ex husband in the previous life because he cheated on her. Which means there is no point to her having lived twice--one of her golden fingers could have told her that he was a bad'un. The narrative ends up reading exactly like a modern time transmigrator wakes up in the FL's body rather than a person reliving their own life. Running off to live with grandmother and become a business mogul is exactly what a modern soul transmigrator in a transmigration novel would do.

I wasn't particularly convinced by the romance. It has its moments, but it uses the prior life as a sort of relationship cheat while also not properly leveraging the prior life. Things move along at exactly the speed the script requires without earning it.

Another pet peeve I had while watching this drama were the darn anachronisms. This drama appears to be set in the Ming Dynasty. That's also the latest it could possibly be set. Yet, in the first two episodes, the ML and FL fall through a plate glass mirror which shatters around them. Plate glass did not even exist anywhere in the world until the 19th century (Qing Dynasty). Window glass of some sort was available in Europe in some form during the Ming period. It came in tiny pieces and had lots of flaws and inclusions. That's why people used water and polished metal as mirrors. It's not just this one mistake. In another scene, our business genius MC is promoting cultivation of potatoes. I don't think potatoes were even known in China in the Ming Dynasty, but even when they became available, they were only cultivated as animal feed. Until the end of the 20th century at best Chinese people were reluctant to eat potatoes. So what would be the point of cultivating them? (The same thing happened in Europe. Governments in the 18-19th century used tricks to get common people to accept them.) It just betrays the same bad webnovel author arrogance where she doesn't even realize how ignorant she is.

I think it's a shame this much money and effort was put into such a not-worth-it drama. I also have a bone to pick with people who recommend it. "Strong female lead" -- no, she's the opposite, she's a Mary Sue with golden fingers because the author was too arrogant, too ignorant, and also too insecure to give us a human lead who doesn't have weird advantages but can still convincingly prevail over her circumstances. "Slow burn romance" -- it's fated romance where they meet in the next life after dying together, combined with constructed misunderstandings to draw out the inevitable longer. "Power couple" -- I guess? "Intelligent" -- Wrong. There are so many better dramas--within the same year there was "Are You The One?" and "Prisoner of Beauty" with great lead actors and actually good, intelligent stories. "Are You The One?" has a premise that sounds very stupid and braindead, but, surprise! It's actually a really good story. Go watch that instead.

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Blossom is such a beautiful show like literally. Every frame was so pretty and it felt visually distinctive from the other shows I've watched. Every moment of the show was also utilized. Everything that was included felt like it was important to the overall narrative or at least interesting in some way. I loved how they contrasted characters' fates and actions in their first life to the current life. (Dou Ming dying and having a miscarriage instead of Dou Zhao, Song Han having the fate of Song Mo from the first life)

One of the highlights of the show was Wang Yingxue and Dou Ming's relationship. Yingxue is a terrible person and she's hurt lots of people even Ming herself but you can also tell that Ming is her most important person (Yingxue killed one of her loyal servants but lost her mind when Ming died, tried marrying Dou Zhao to a bad family but eventually let Ming marry into the family instead to make her happy).

Dou Zhao is such an older sister. She has so much love for her friends and she's so dependable. Never once doubted that she'd find a way out of any situation for those she cared about. She truly deserved her happy ending with everyone she cared about and a loving husband.

I did feel like the last half of the show was weaker than the first (after the marriage). The last half didn't engage me as much as the first half. It also felt like both Dou Zhao and Song Mo took a back seat in the action and the side characters played a larger role. Which could be good or bad depending on how someone likes a story to be told/how much you like Dou Zhao and Song Mo. For me, I didn't like it as much since I liked seeing Dou Zhao and Song Mo taking a direct role in the action and moving the story along.

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A do-over that managed to be different yet samey

Do-over seems to be the A-plot du jour nowadays. Contemporary, costume, Korean, Chinese, everybody is doing it.

This one starts a bit differently. Both leads are in a dark and troubling place in their lives. You'd think given their backstories it would be unlikely for them to be friends, let alone lovers. Well, stay tuned because the writer pulled a rabbit out of the hat with this one.

I'm not going to spoil it for you so let's just say both went back in time but only the FL retained the memory of her past life. She sets out to protect herself by not repeating her mistakes and tries her best to be independent. At first, she kept running into obstacles which pushes her back onto the same path but over time, she realised that she can influence events and bit by bit, her destiny and those around her began to change.

This is where the show shone the brightest. The first half of this show is clever and engaging. Our leads are given room to flex their acting muscles. They have good chemistry and we can ship them easily. Their growth and changing fortunes is very gratifying to watch. It was fun to watch their mating dance and navigate the various challenges but most importantly, falling hard for each other over time. Swoon!

It pains me to say this but as soon as they are official, the writer took a vacation. The pace dropped off; plots milled around the watercooler as well. Lots of things are happening but it falls under two categories. 1) We swoon while watching our OTP play house. 2) We groan while we are spoon-fed tropey palace intrigue shenanigans.

Not only are the antagonist not doing much hiding in shadows, they talk endlessly about their nefarious plots. I would have no problem if they were clever and devilish, but it all comes down to who should be king, who is backstabbing whom and when is the best time to act. The antagonist waited, the protagonist waited and we waited.

The pace did pick up in the last few eps. At one stage, I though they were going to hit us with the Angst Train but after 1 or 2 eps, everyone just went home. Yes, they literally went back to their estate and got some R&R. It was surreal especially after the torture scene!

The pace changed again towards the end, it is a bit unsettling to be honest. It is dramatic at times and impactful in the Final Confrontation way but I can’t help but feel the scenes are on rails.

That is awkward as the show have many positives up to the halfway mark but then the pacing, storytelling and character developments lost momentum. The game of thrones stuff is predictable and tropey. It is still very watchable but I missed that spark of originality at the beginning of the series.

The last ep is mostly fan service. All the loose threads are tied up with pink bows. The show cruises to a HEA ending as expected. It is sweet and wholesome. I can’t complain. The positives do outweigh the negatives. Peace.

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binge worthy drama

This drama was recommended to me by a friend. After watching a number of mediocre or even poor dramas, Joy of Life season 2 & Lost you Forever season 2, among the bigger disappointments in 2024, it was nice to come across this drama.

Lots to like about this drama, the plot, the leads, pacing of story, secondary characters, etc., there is little to compain about. The sign of a great drama is when you don't have the urge to fast forward through scenes, skip episodes or even drop the drama altogether. In fact you are eagerly waiting for the next episodes to drop which is the case with Blossom. None of those nauseating song interludes that serve little purpose other than to fill up screen time. Liked the male lead in Love Like the Galaxy, and remembered the female lead from a couple of dramas (due mainly to her distinctive ears) . Both of them were likeable and delivered big time here.

One of the better dramas of 2024, and definitely binge worthy

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A match up I didn't know I needed.

I tend to write reviews for shows that have left an impact. Whether good or bad and if bad... It has to be bad that I need to vent and not review 😂. This falls on the yes!! Wow!! My heart!!.

Where do I even begin!!!! Each episode got me hooked , well somewhere between episode 27-31, kind of dulled a bit but had it's moments. When Starting the show I honestly didn't expect anything, I was bored had no shows, to watch especially cdramas. For some odd reason this year has been a bleak one for the cdrama land. So this coming up at the end of the year and leaving some wonderful memories was epic for me.

Yin rui yin rui where do I begin??? He gets the girl finally and not as sml but the ml!!! He looked awesome, natural he understood his role and executed it whole heartedly. I wanted him to have the bad guy vibe aura cause that's where he would shine immensely but his devoted side as a husband was also effortlessly done.and his fight scenes, I can say we're the best. Maybe cause of the camera angles but when he unsheathed the two swords every time , had me feeling some type of way (blush) anyway he did a great job on this and hoping he gets more main roles.

Dou Zhao!! A very beautiful actress and she nailed her part. Strong, resilient, smart and a proactive fl. Having come back with her memories I was hoping she would execute her part well, of trying to set e rippling effect and not being annoyed while watching and she obileterated the role. Her character arc was lovely to watch.

Monk/ yuan tong.. mehn his character had me feeling two types of emotions, disappointment when I thought he had allowed himself to be swayed by the traitor .phewks it was just a master plan by the emperor himself so there's that. He had a presence and he nailed it.

The supporting ones, the emperor, I actually felt sad for him, lost his only best friend, was betrayed by his wife and son, he had allowed, his thoughts of family over justice to crowd him that led to him straying away but he got his path and I felt really sad for him.

The miso and Zhou friends nailed their parts, felt sad for ansu, but her ending is worth fitting her role.
Song han just straight out annoyed me, but he got what he deserved.


Production and cinematography.!!!!! Why were the kissing scenes shot like that!! Wanted to see more of my yantang and shuogo chemistry burning fever pitch more than they already were.
The costumes were great and the lighting was also amazing.

Songs.. to be honest didn't leave an impression cause I can't remember one that was great.

Overall a good show, a match up I didn't know I needed!!! Yani tang got one new fan... But would I rewatch it???? Yes maybe after a few years... So take a chance and watch the show ..

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Love it how I ended this year with this drama

My last drama in 2024, i always wait until the series finish aired then i started.. because i never like to have curiousity when waiting next eps..
Actually typicall drama like this is very common.. like the double, kunning palace, royal princess..they have the same theme.. reborn or second chance to change their life.. If you like typicall drama like this, you will enjoyed..
SongMo is the most interesting character in the drama.. he has a deep hatred, revenge for his uncle and mother.. his father reject him and the king he trust disappointed him again and again.. YunRui has a handsome face but he can’t show the cruel face without mercy..his eyes too soft and warm.. actually i really wait how the different his face before and after know DZ but Yun Rui show me the same face.. but i still like him as songmo..
Dou Zhou has memories for her first life. she even has book to tell her what will happen next.. she has fate she will die with songmo but somehow in the middle of the series, she can break the curse between her and songmo. i dont really understand why but it just happen..maybe in the novel has more explanation..
DZ has a really good character. you will never disappointed with her.. she treat songmo really good until songmo can restore his uncle reputation ( something he cannot do in his first life)
in the end of the series will be a little bit draggy but you can still enjoy it..
i dont talk about other character because its too much..because of them, songmo scenes only have small portion..lol

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Logical, Political, Romantic.

I had been unable to escape this appropriately titled Chinese Costume drama on tumblr last year and chose it as one of the CDramas that I had decided to finish whatsoever this year.
(Appropriate because blossoms are an integral part of the story. Unlike so many other dramas which make it obvious that the ones who choose names pick the most beautiful/powerful sounding word.)

And I am curious how it successfully managed to slip through the ‘reincarnation’ plot blocker, because it's quite evident that our female lead, Dou Zhao, doesn't believe that what she saw was a mere ‘dream’.
To support this, the first episode is shot and presented to the audience in a very conspicuous manner.

Well, the plot is nothing new as far as Historical Chinese Dramas are concerned, but the almost effective use of runtime and a script that was written with a clear vision might be one of the few reasons why Blossom is one to try, particularly for historical drama fans.

Dou Zhao, a young girl from an influential family of Lords, mysteriously remembers her previous life while engrossed in a book. Following a series of inevitable events, and knowing what lies ahead, she leaves home to live with her Grandmother in the countryside, acquiring skills and knowledge to ensure her survival, adapting the lifestyle of a businesswoman far away from the restrained life of a noble household. However, she once again encounters Song Mo, the feared General who had perished with her in the past. With the pieces set on the board, Dou Zhao attempts to guide Song Mo away from the tragic fate that awaits him whilst simultaneously battling her family affairs, both in and out of the court.

• Story and Romance:
Like all political dramas, this one is not immune to the 'boredom' aspect. Unless you are willing to sit through several characters' planning and plotting. There is romance, which is integral to the story, yet it becomes the backdrop for a couple of episodes. I mean this in a positive manner -- there was an even distribution of both romance and politics which managed to keep me engaged and know what was about to occur. The villain is revealed right at the beginning of episode one, so nothing comes as a surprise, but the curiosity about how Dou Zhao will alter her future.
The romance is excellently paced. Both Dou Zhao and Song Mo tested each others' limits, particularly Song Mo, as he had no recollection of his past. But, the break in their ice was gradual and convincing. It was not a love-at-first-sight for either of them. I would describe it as something to be viewed in person rather than attempting to write it down in words.

The scriptwriter is the same person who wrote the script of Legally Romance (2022), so I won't complain much as condensing a 500 chapter novel into a 34 episode drama is no simple task.

• Cast, Costume and Soundtrack:
I have no complaints about the cast, but there were a few highly emotional (tearful) moments where I felt that I felt Meng Zi Yi wasn't much into her role, though she absolutely nailed everything else.
Costumes weren't flashy, but Dou Zhao's 'countryside' outfits were my favorite.
I guess most of the budget went into other aspects of the drama because I don't remember hearing numerous songs. My favorite is definitely Don't Envy (不羡) by Bo Yuan.

• Cold Pricklies: That would definitely be Song Mo's character during the final half of the drama -- considering the length of the original novel, I understand how certain parts have to be altered; but his sudden response to one of the characters in particular seemed too cruel for me. The buildup was unexpected or rather I had failed to understand Song Mo's past.

• Final Thoughts:
A really good Chinese drama that respects the intelligence of its target audience, provided that half the stuff they release is often mediocre at times. I'm not sure if I'll ever rewatch 'Blossom', but it has definitely left an impression on me.
I hope that the entire household of Dou Zhao is happily living somewhere in an alternate universe.

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Marty! We gotta go back... to show those cheating !@#$

Blossom

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Mystery, Historical
Episodes: 34
Streamed on: Viki

Plot Summary:

Our heroine gets cheated on, poisoned, and murdered in the space of a couple of days. Luckily the universe was like “aw hell nah!” and sent her back in time with a cheatsheet to her childhood to live her life out again. With this second chance, she’ll need to avenge her mother, get pre-revenge on everyone that wronged her in her past life, and stop the country from falling into war… maybe finding love along the way.

Characters & Cast:

Main Characters: Ships.
Li Yun Rui ⇒ Song Mo / Yan Tang
Meng Zi Yi ⇒ Dou Zhao / Shou Gu

Villains: Notable actors.
There are so many villains. Most of the cast of the show that isn’t the OTP are villains. Maybe not Granny’s group… though
even some of them turn. Can’t trust no ho’ on these Blossom streets.

Special Mentions
Li Bai Hui ⇒ Dou Ming
Coming from the generation that birthed emo music, the famous saying; “Whores don’t get a second chance” comes to
mind… But man… I wish she did though. 😢

Best of OST:

Ooooh the leads singing! My favourite!
https://youtu.be/mBGnxcC0KiM?si=ThtAeI2IiuH3d0ld

For a historical drama, the OST really sets the mood. This drama’s OST does a good job of that.
https://youtu.be/PV_jzr4UQs8?si=jyc4pfgjzraksgVt

Gripes:

Being filial. This whole requirement. It’s crazy. I mean I get it, but they take it to the extreme. So I guess I don’t really get it. I think if my dad cheated on my mum I’d stop being filial there. Maybe after his actions caused her death. Yeah there too. Maybe after trying to marry my rich ass off for political gain. Yeah there too. Sheesh. Shitty parents shouldn’t get special treatment.

I’m not talking about parents that tried and failed. They deserve respect, but parents that are spiteful and act against you shouldn’t be rewarded for busting a nut that one time. At some point somethings gotta give, and earlier than the point at which it does in this show.

Re-watch:

**Would I watch it again?**
Yeah, it’s a good drama.

**Would I watch it with my brother?**
Yeah. I think this borders on what he’d find a good watch.

**Would I watch it with my kid?**
No. I don’t think this is a drama I’d show my kid.

Final Thoughts:

All’s well that ends well. This was a bumpy and stressful ride. I felt like the couple could have gotten together sooner, and been around each other more. But the drama skirted the edge of having a good balance of romance, angst, politics and action. The juice was worth the squeeze.

Rating:
8.5/10

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