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Can’t see the chemistry at all but the plot is still bearable
I was hesitating to watch this drama considering I wasn’t that much of a fan of the leads in the first place but I decided to give it a go because it was on my watchlist. Now, right after finishing it I wanted to share some of the good and bad sides to it. First off, the supporting cast’s character development especially Hua’s family kept me from fully dropping it. Grandmother and the rest of the aunts did such a great job at developing their characters and so well played. That’s it. Meanwhile the main characters didn’t strike me as much, their chemistry wasn’t that great, and appealing, I couldn’t really say that the male lead was that charming either or his character suited his face card or maybe his soft and calm demeanor doesn’t match well with the cruel and aloof role as the commander and along some episodes you can really see how he was so unemotional during some heated scenes like getting his loved ones in danger, I just personally think his acting did not make it at all. Hua Zhi’s character and acting was good though, I tell you that.Was this review helpful to you?
Best couple and empowered female lead
One of the best dramas to come out of China. The way it tackles multiple issues and topics while also balancing the comeback story is superb. The cast of Zhang Jing Yi , Hu Yi Tian , Lu Yu Xiao is brilliant and was able to portray their characters beautifully.If you enjoy a love story that has a subtle growth and the angst is to the minimum then this drama is for you.
If you enjoy an empowering female lead who fights for herself this drama is for you.
If you want a story about power and fight for the crown and how greed corrupts a person, this is for you.
RECOMMENDED!!!
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Woman independence & Communication in a relationship
There are 2 main theme in this drama: surviving from adversity and romanceExcellent writing regarding the romance between the two leads. No BS between the both of them. Communication 10/10. Level of Maturity of the two leads 10/10. A romance story which will not kill your brain cells. (YAYYYYY)
I love how many character eventually grew stronger & mature over time. The plot was engaging and I liked how the Hua Family member became more independent and eventually had a ability to survive. Other than surviving, they also grew confidence and accepted their life.
Generally great acting. (Some ppl r saying the main leads acting could be better, but I think its fine. On the other hand, I find the actress who acted Shao Yao acting kindda off. I have seen her in My Journey to You and she was great there. Maybe she wasn't in her best condition here). The actor who acted as the emperor did a good job. Boiled my blood multiple times :)
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Pretty good
Pros: i enjoyed the story of all them, especially side characters. I liked the female lead and how strong she is. There is heartfelt in this. The cast was great. Storyline was good also. I love a good family oriented show.Cons: not enough romance for me. The development of it was okay. Story of villain was eh. Ending was also eh. Not that much twist or anything like wowing.
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This review may contain spoilers
Who run the world?
GIRLS!Hua's family and their story of building their life from the ground is my favorite storyline. Among this big family lies different stories of womanhood from their early life until the drama's present time. Despite their differences, Hua family became united and managed to rose from the dust. I love Grandma Hua and Empress Dowager's friendship that saved them multiple times. Cunning she may be, I also adore Master Haoyue.
Opposite to the people I dearly hold from this drama, the Emperor made me furious from the beginning until the end and that feeling extended to Yanxi because he was loyal to him until the end. This emperor is fortunate that even after everything, Yanxi remembers him with love.
Despite overcoming challenges together and helping each other, Hua Zhi and Gu Yanxi's lives felt separate, in both good and bad ways.
My conclusion: A very enjoyable drama. The flow of the drama is enough to understand and absorb the story. I like that this drama makes you think and not just spoon-feed information. However, romance isn't a strong suit for the leads. On the other hand, I admire Hua Zhi and she's definitely one of the fictional women I look up to. I recall how different she was from ep 1 to ep 40... she has grown a lot and learned new values on top of the values she already live by. A female-centric drama done amazingly, I would say.
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Blossoms in Adversity: A Triumph of Female Empowerment and Drama
I am so glad I didn’t skip watching Blossoms in Adversity—it’s truly one of the best dramas to air in 2024. The star of the show is our female lead, Hua Zhi (played by Zhang JingYi), who embodies female empowerment. In times of need, she stepped up and took on the role of head of the family, managing to make a living despite being faced with a dead end. Hua Zhi led her family’s prosperity and survival, making a significant impact.The side characters also played notable roles. All of Hua Zhi’s family members contributed to restoring the Hua family’s reputation through hard work and dedication, overcoming their adversaries. The main couple, Hua Zhi and Gu YanXi, had a strong relationship based on mutual trust and belief in one another, despite the obstacles between them.
The supporting cast, including Caesar Wu (Shen Qi), Lu YuXiao (Shao Yao), and Bian Cheng (Shen Huan), was memorable. I felt Caesar Wu should have had more screen time, but the second couple was sweet, and I liked how they ended up. I also appreciate the OSTs, especially the powerful opening song, which represents the drama well.
At times, I did feel like Hua Zhi was being very unreasonable, especially considering her family’s situation and the temperament of the emperor, which she is aware of. I feel like she did bring some of the misfortune onto her family by not being able to keep her mouth shut in the name of 'justice'.
The drama never dragged, and the arcs were well-planned and spaced out. The ending wasn’t rushed, and I am very satisfied with it. Overall, this was a great drama, and I definitely recommend watching it. I rate it 9/10.
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A heartfelt historical drama that offers much more than romance
The story focuses on resilience, family bonds, and personal growth during difficult times. From the start, it draws you in with strong writing and steady pacing. The drama never feels draggy, and each episode moves the story forward smoothly. Even emotional moments are handled with balance, making the viewing experience calm yet engaging.The female lead Hua Zhi is the heart of the drama. She is intelligent, composed, and quietly strong, stepping up when her family needs her the most. Her journey is inspiring without feeling unrealistic, and her relationships with other women in the family are especially touching. The romance is mature and refreshing, built on trust, communication, and mutual respect rather than misunderstandings. The male lead complements her well, offering support without overshadowing her strength. Their chemistry is subtle but sincere.
The supporting cast adds warmth and depth, with meaningful development across the family members and side characters. There is no unnecessary jealousy or forced drama, which makes the story feel refreshing. While the plot has a few small flaws (and an annoying emperor), they are easy to overlook because the overall storytelling is strong and satisfying. This drama highlights hope, kindness, and perseverance in an amazing way.
PS: It was pure joy and satisfaction watching Zhang Jing Yi, her calm strength and graceful presence made the drama truly special.
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It's a drama with good acting, good story and good production. For those who likes this genre, go for it. The straight that these woman have is something outstrading.
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incredible drama! but male lead has resting :| face
This is my first time writing a review for a series. The story was definitely my favorite part of this one. The female lead's character was really well written, and the twists and turns of the story made sense without being too predictable. I kinda skimmed through the epilogue but that's only because of my personal preference. The story really hooked me and the production backed it up. The acting was good overall. (with one exception. see next paragraph.)My biggest complaint is that the male lead needs to move his face a little more. I don't think his acting is necessarily terrible. (He doesn't strike me as especially good either, though.) But his face... It genuinely broke my immersion at points when his character would be going through it or acheiving his dreams and i was just begging him to move his facial muscles just a tiny bit. I started celebrating every tiny half-smile and started hoping bad things would happen to him so I could finally watch this man cry. Well, bad things certainly happened to him, and yet his face was as stoic as ever. The couple times he ever cried looked like the same exact face as when he was happy but with a drop of water carefully applied to his face by a PA. I know this is kind of the trend with a lot of dramas, but I just don't remember it being this bad. I mean just compare him to the second male lead and you'll see the difference. Honestly compare him to any other actor or actress in the show. Even compare him with the child actor playing the younger version of himself.
All that being said I still think it deserves an 8/10
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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
LIKELove 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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