Blossoms in Adversity

Predictable ending but good family story

ML acting is so flat but he looks really good in action scenes. Put him in action drama instead, please. The plot is quite different from any drama I've watched. The family was once respected, and rich. All 4 members of their male members got into ministry. But because the platriach slighted the emperor of Daxing, he and all male members above 10yo got exiled, properties and money confiscated, and the female members were left with no home, but a small villa. So the wellbeing of these female members who know nothing of businesses or making money all rest to the eldest granddaughter. Who is resilient, optimistic, book-smart, and know what to do. She lifted them off of poverty, changed the behavior of all her aunts and female cousins to leave the old habit of "money makes ones happy" while in fact they should've been invested in people instead.

Her issue got more problematic when she fell in love with the emperor's nephew who's practically a prince. And palace intrigue got into her family as well. But of course they can overcome this by showing you that love conquers all. What a cliche.

Again, I was more interested in the side characters who was not 1st dimensional. They grew, they learned their mistakes, their dropped down the arrogance, and they become loveable. While not so much changes in main characters. I find that odd. But it's good for a family drama. Not enough for a rewatch.

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How to Succeed in Business if You're the Main Character

Pros:
- Has my favorite opening scene of any cdrama I've ever seen. It establishes the metaphor of life as a ship at sea, demonstrates the main lead's courage, brains, and kindness, and gives the viewers a memorable shot of our main girl staring at a beautiful view she won through hard work
- Fun love lines. The relationship between the main leads was trusting, mature, and fun to witness. I loved them together and that their journey as a couple felt natural to me. I loved all of the other couples that ended up together as well
- Complicated characters. I absolutely love that many of the characters weren't lumped into one basket of good or bad. Specifically, members of the Hwa family were flawed in a way I found engaging. When the family had arguments, it made their reconciliations more meaningful. The Emperor was also a deeply flawed person, yet I still cared about his relationship with his nephew. I especially loved the scene where he imagines the scene of his son, happy and carefree before he grew up twisted and power-hungry -- that gave a great insight into the Emperor's psyche and the struggles that he faced despite being the most powerful. Characters like the maids also got arcs, which doesn't always happen and I'm happy that it did in this show.
- Lu Yuxiao was far and away the best actor. Her performance was layered and infused with a lot of heart, and I was always rooting for her character.
- This is the first I've seen Hu Yitian but he was everything a ml needs to be
- Hard work pays off. Even though I think she was a successful business woman a little too easily, I still enjoyed watching our FL churn out ideas and plans to make money.
- The focus on family dynamics. Because you love your family even when you want to kill them


Cons:
- Incredibly strong live laugh love energy throughout the show, which won't be a con for some people. I just would have preferred to see the main characters fail a little more. The show makes her success a product of hard work, but the fact that she herself never fails because of decisions she makes causes her to be a little too perfect in my opinion. She does indirectly cause the Emperor to take their money and send them away, but the entire family is back to live laugh love in a few minutes. You're telling me that you're all the happiest you've ever been while doing back-breaking labor? This show is fiction for a reason.
- Not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I still find Zhang Jingyi's acting to be quite wooden. She played a high-achieving, put-together woman well, but failed to portray many subtle emotions that aren't abundantly happy or sad. I found myself wishing she could demonstrate more complicated emotions.
- Most of the men didn't have character arcs, which does make sense as they were absent for the majority of the story. But I would have liked seeing how they would have adjusted to living in a women-run household.
- The final villain's scheme felt rushed. I really enjoyed the connection between the FL and the female villain talking about the beauty of being at sea. That was a great moment, but there wasn't much else beyond it. Also, she was right that the Emperor was corrupt lol
- The concept that the ML could fix the security bureau/police force forever all by himself. The show was more nuanced with portraying women's struggles, but I guess they went with a magical, offscreen fix for this issue even though it's the reason for all of the men being exiled in the first place
- Not sure if this is a con but it was funny to see how many of the family's problems were solved by the Emperor dying. It wasn't their hard work that reunited the family in the end, just the death of a tyrant
- I didn't like the side braid. I was glad to see it go

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Another good drama worth a watch

LIKE

Love the positive vibes where all family members stick together through thick and thin - so much better than those with arguments and lots of schemes

Hua Zhi's way of letting the children learn about every occupation is such a good idea

Li Ge with his mothers' story just made me cry so much

This Hua family ladies keep on getting married gosh lol

DISLIKE

Emperor is the worst person I have ever seen - always suspicious quite crazy

MUSIC - personal fav

荆棘中孤生的花 Jing Ji Zhong Gu Sheng De Hua - 希林娜依高 Xi Lin Na Yi Gao
云绿 Yun Lu - 张耘嘉 Zhang Yun Jia 张乐嘉 Zhang Le Jia
落在心上的花 Luo Zai Xin Shang De Hua - 张远 Zhang Yuan
夜与昼 Ye Yu Zhou - 刘至佳 Liu Zhi Jia 都智文 Dou Zhi Wen
暖色 Nuan Se - 薛凯琪 Xue Kai Qi

REWATCH VALUE

Five for now

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Hu Yi Tian is so freeeakkkkingg handsssommee..!!!?

*** Spoiler Alert (PERSONAL FEEDBACK)
Title : Blossoms in Adversity – 2024 (Complete 40 Episodes)
Personal Rating : 8/10

Hua Zhi (played by Zhang Jing Yi) is a smart, calm and brave eldest granddaughter of the high-standing Hua family. She is expected to keep them under wraps – and play the part of a “good partner” to her intended husband Shen Qi till a devastating tragedy of asset forfeiture suddenly befalls the Hua family. She have to step up her game and protect her family.

Gu Yan Xi (played by Hu Yi Tian) is a from a Royal family raised by his uncle the EMPEROR. At a certain age he moves to the Northern Border to watch over it. Soon he was asked by his uncle to return to the Imperial Capital to be the Commander of the Security Bureau which is known for their brutality. But later on, things have change because of his kindness. He can be brutal to the real enemy but not on the community.

Hmmm.. Normally I don’t watch a trailer or even read the synopsis or spoilers to get me excited. To be honest I expect a lot from this drama because of the hype in some groups but it fell short for me.. I’m not saying it’s bad.. It was okay.. the storyline is okay.. the way she handles her family and the problems that comes with it is a standing ovation.. even she struggles a lot she always put her family first and never gave up.. How Mr. Yan and Hua Zhi relationship blooms from friendship to romance is cute and fluttering.. Their relationship is ssoooo matured..🤎 They respect and trust is each other.. Gu Yan Xi always support & protect Hua Zhi as much as possible even from his scary uncle EMPEROR.. One of the good things about this drama is its not heavy.. and there are no heartbreaking or stressful scenes.. maybe I was more into more romantic comedy than romantic that's why I feel different.. 😅😁 I like the FL and ML chemistry.. They are gorgeous..🤩 I love the 2nd couple more.. there are so cute and funny.. There is no dull moments on their scenes.. 😍🤩

Overall, I am rating it 8/10.. It is a happy ending light romantic drama that anyone can enjoy without getting their heartbreaks.. and Hu Yi Tian is so freeeakkkkingg handsssommee..!!!😍

FAV OST – Flower Print by Mika & Lai Mei Yun / NIGHT AND DAY by Liu Zhijia & Baby J

GENRE – Romance, Costume, Family Affairs

LEAD CAST – Zhang Jing Yi & Hu Yi Tian

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Who run the world? GIRLS!

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am not generally a fan of Cdramas, find their heroines a little too over the top. But this one was quite the revelation. It was all about women standing up for themselves, making a living and living a life of integrity, irrespective of whatever storms life throws at them. Standing at the helm of all the feminist struggle is the FL, Hua Zhi, played by Zhang Jingyi. It's nice to see that non-ke'ai female actors also exist in Chinese dramas. She did a really good job in portraying a headstrong, go-getter head of the family, whose ingenuity saves the day. However, she was a little too perfect, had no opposition from anyone at all (except the king), and pretty much won at everything in life. It makes sense, but yeah.. not the most relatable, everyday character you see on screen.
The ML was a contradiction. He had a screen presence, it was nice to see him fill the frame up with his TALL, gangly frame. But again, this is a guy who's supposed to be cold and emotionless, like a bodyguard or an assassin at best. Apart from his height and stony face, there was nothing else that could convince me that he's a scary figure. He looked too pretty to play the role of the Commander of Security Bureau. And after they showed his "softer", lover-boy side, believing him as a scary figure was just hilarious.
The rest of the side characters, aka members of the Hua family were also well fleshed out, each had a good story arc to them. But the best of all the women was the grandmother's character. Now she demanded attention on screen. Best character out of all, although she had an early exit.
The Emperor was the greyest figure of all, and even though his actions were villain-like, one could understand where his motivations were coming from. I loved his character; he commanded fear and respect. The actor did a good job. But the best (and the most underlying) part of the whole series, was the ML and the Emperor's relationship. Theirs was such a toxic filial relationship; I was always at crossroads, trying to root for either of the characters, but when the Emperor made sense, the ML didn't, and vice versa. Towards the end, when Yanxi says that he understands the Emperor, it didn't strike a chord with me, because I didn't see how the Emperor's actions were legit or necessary.

Overall, it was a neatly written, well-tied script, filled with ups and downs, good acting, and all for women power. Good watch!

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Touching Story With Sweet Romance

Friends, this is easily the most bingeable watch this year. I could not stop pressing play and impatiently waited for episodes once I caught up with the live release schedule. Not only was the story interesting, it was incredibly touching the way this family came together to solve their issues. The story revolves around the ladies of this family - both the family members and their servants. I really enjoyed the intricacies of these various relationships. Their shifting dynamics created genuine character growth for many of the women. There are lots of #ladiessupportingladies as well as #ladiesLEARNINGtosupportladies in this drama, which felt really refreshing.

The main couple had a sweet and slow romance built over the course of the story. A bit more passion from them would have been nice, but I understand these dramas typically are on the tamer side. They did have some great hugs! The main leads did a good job portraying the characters and had decent chemstry together. I'm not sure their performance was as memorable as the overall story, but I will probably remember them fondly. I wonder how I would have felt about their romance with different actors in the roles. Overall, a great and touching story paired with a sweet and steady romance made this one of my favorites this year (so far).

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Underrated

Whenever I come across a lengthier series that keeps my interest from beginning to end, it's always difficult to summarize without giving away spoilers. But dare I say that this series is (almost) better than one of my highest rated series so far, The Story of Minglan.

Foremost, the ML and FL were pretty much a perfect cast and all the supporting actors did a fantastic job. As a viewer who favors watching women in truly independent roles and surpassing adversity, the FL and her character did not disappoint. The ML who is meant to be mostly expressionless for his character somehow managed to still be very convincing with his soft and hard roles switches. And while the romance in the series isn't quite as passionate as the couple on Minglan, it is equally as strong in a gentle and steady way.

For a 40-episode series, there is very minimal lag in the plot and it takes the time to really draw you in to many of the characters. There is also that added extra special layer of humor injections along the way that really balances out many of the events.

The only two minor nits I have is that the relationships and interactions with the imperial court felt a bit muddled but this really wasn't the main focus for the series anyway. The ending also felt slightly rushed but it didn't prevent the smiling on my end as they still managed to do pretty well with wrapping it all up.

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SO GOOD

Phenomenal.
It was very refreshing from the start, with a very smart and reasonable FL. I loved her through and through, aside from one or two of her decisions, but i don't blame her- she carried a lot of burden. Props to the actress, she did an outstanding job portraying the strength and raw emotion of the character.
There were so many lovable characters, and the "bad guys" were not so bad to the point of frustration. It was also kind of refreshing to see how the main lead's love story isn't the main part of the show. I love how they both had very serious roles that also acted as barriers to their relationship.
Overall, this show was a breath of fresh air. Loved it.
My only criticism is that it lacked emotional depth; sure I cried a few times but I NEED something to damage my soul for it to be memorable hahah.
Overall 9/10

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ML Completely Undermined Blossoms in Adversity

Blossoms in Adversity was completely undermined by the choice of this actor as the male lead. He wore the exact same expression no matter what was happening, which made it impossible to connect with his character. Honestly, any of the other young men in the cast would have made a stronger, more believable lead. I ended up fast-forwarding most of his scenes because the supporting characters were far more engaging and delivered better performances. I also couldn’t take him seriously as a supposedly formidable “commander.” Maybe younger viewers like his looks, but he really needs more acting training before being put front and center again. I am not hating on this man, I wish him well…but he should probably choose another profession.

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Healthy relationships despite the storm

I honestly created a profile to leave drama reviews because of the ml(his previous dramas which i always ended up disliking). Oddly i found this to be very interesting and engaging. Each character executed their roles excellently although i wish there would be more emotion in the ml acting (he still did a good job).

Every character kind of had their own plot and personality and it was nice to see them shine in a harmonious way. There was a particularly annoying side character (the king) but i tried to focus more on the good. I also enjoyed the fact that the lead characters had a strong relationship
, scerets werent hidden from each other for too long and the fl was also quite matured when dealing with the guy. It was fresh to see. I also loved seeing LuYiYao slay her role as the ml sister with a mental disorder. She did act it really well!

I would get tired along the way but the plot would often find a way to come back to life and had many funny scenes that had me laughing.
Overall, i think its a great watch that shows how team work is really the dream work!

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Good Series but Male Lead Fell Flat

This is a good series, I enjoyed it. A story of injustice from those in power, family relationships, personal growth, redemption, and karma. My main complaint is that the male lead fell flat. His acting was bland and stiff which impacts the chemistry w/ the female lead.

The Good:
- FL did an amazing job. This is the 3rd series I've seen this actress in, and she gets better and better with each role. She's adorable, charismatic, and played this part so well. Fearless, clever, loyal, and righteous but without being over the top saint-like. It's refreshing to see such a strong well-rounded female character.
- The relationship between the main couple was refreshingly open & honest with mutual respect and understanding. No illogical, sociopathic love triangle where people try to break up the couple w/ vicious jealousy and manipulation (except for the Emperor, but that was for a whole different reason).
- The emperor - that actor is type-casted for the villain roles. He nailed it with this role. He kept me guessing: are all his sinister moves for the greater good, and did he genuinely feel love & devotion for his family or was everyone expendable to maintain devout obedience to him?
- Supporting cast was really good as well. Even 2nd, 3rd, 4th supporting characters had natural & believable character development. They way the women and children fell from grace, went through hardships and evolved was really well written and acted. There wasn't anyone who was particularly annoying. Except for the annoying paternal aunt who caused the Grandmother's death - but justice prevailed there.
- Pacing was good, not draggy. I actually did not skip much like I typically do.

The Bad:
- ML fell flat. This is the first time I've seen this actor in a series. His acting was stiff and did not evoke much emotion for me. It wasn't just him playing the typical stoic, heroic tough guy act either - his acting was just bland. His facial expressions were limited to just serious or a wide-eyed deer in headlights. And his wig was distracting - they made his hairline so low that his forehead looked tiny. A role like this would have been better suited for an actor like Leo Wu (Love Like the Galaxy) or Dylan Wang (Love Between Fairy & Devil).
- Lead couple chemistry was just ok. Wasn't terrible but wasn't great either. This type of storyline requires major chemistry.
- The music could've been a lot better for this type of series. It's not memorable at all, and the song that kept playing was children singing like a nursery rhyme just lowered the quality of the OST.

Overall this is potentially a re-watch if I'm really bored w/ nothing else to watch.

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Inspirational and Thrilling Series!

@20 episodes in...I am amazed by this series. Every cast member is giving the performance of their lives. We have loved every section of this story and there are many! The cast is enormous...so large you may lose track of faces...so pay close attention.

It is a multi-faceted tale...but primarily it is about the Hua family.
They have been a powerful and prestigious family for many generations. Both grandparents are renown and revered for their character and kindness. Both have led exemplary and very public lives. The family is huge and not only well-known but also well-loved.

That is ...until they lose everything!!
The men are exiled and the women and small children must survive alone. Shunned by the ppl who once sought their favor, this family must learn to endure by themselves with very little help.
It will not be easy to do ...but they will learn.

What I Loved:

The Female Lead: Zhang Jing Yi

Zhang Jing Yi is becoming a major star. Here she plays the role of Hua Zhin who was the grandfathers most beloved granddaughter. She has her grandfathers keen brain so she naturally become his shadow and learned to soak up everything she could. But her independent and dauntless spirit came from her grandmother, who was equally bold and decisive while growing up. Recognizing her granddaughter's abilities ....the grandmother pushes her to take over her role. This group of women would not have adjusted nearly so well if they had not had her. Her character is strong and adventurous and you will love her.

The Male Lead: Hu Yi Tian

Hu Yi Tian is also excellent here. He plays a complex role as Gu Yan Xi who is nephew to the emperor and his incognito role as the head of the security dept. He is watched/brooded over by his uncle, whether because he fears he may become a threat or simply because he likes to control ppl..it is too opaque to see yet......but GYT straddles the line between obedience to his uncle and maintaining his own independence. Not easy to do.. so we will see how that goes. But I am loving his character and the sincerity with which he cares for her is lovely.

Inspirational Watch:

These women will try many things, some will succeed, others not so much....but they will learn from both. Seeing these different women (some more spoiled than others) adapt to these life changes and elect to work and pull together is absolutely stunning. Many scenes are so sweet..that you catch your breath and it brings tears to your eyes. It has been a sincere joy watching this unusual series.

Quick Resolutions to Problems:

I owe this one to a friend rajv...she noticed before I did how lovely that it was that when a problem came up, there was often a discussion and a quick resolution, even between the two leads.
Rarely are misunderstandings allowed to linger...instead it is quickly dealt with. This is a much better plot device than letting it simmer for 5 or 10 episodes causing a great angst in the viewer. So a very refreshing change and we loved that. So thanks rajv!

Trope Less Love Relationship:

Both leads are great together..it has been thrilling to watch them fall in love . All the feels are there...and you will love this romantic part of the story. It is central to the main story, not pushed to one side and it is a very satisfying love affair.

Finally this is a long one @40...but one I think you will find riveting enough to hang with it. I confess I am watching it in a watch party atmosphere..but we like it so well that block off times where we can watch 3 or 4 at a time..is that nuts or what? Lol, but even then we can barely stop. So we are in LOVE with this drama..and I think you will be too.


Happy Watching!

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