A Tale of Love, Identity, and Intrigue
The story follows a unique premise centered around the female lead, who has a scar on her face. On her wedding day, a beautiful but obsessive woman swaps faces with her in an attempt to marry the male lead, the female lead's husband. However, the imposter meets her demise on the same day. Now with a new face and body, the female lead embarks on a mission to uncover the mystery behind her own "death" in a morally corrupt city. She works alongside her husband, who remains unaware of her true identity.One notable aspect of the drama is its unconventional structure. The first two episodes focus entirely on the guest actress playing the original version of the female lead (the scar-faced character). This approach is a clever way to establish the emotional connection and backstory between the main leads, giving depth to their love story. However, this choice also has its drawbacks. When the main actress takes over in episode three, it feels slightly jarring, and it takes some time for viewers to adjust to the new portrayal of the character.
The standout element for me is the exceptional writing of the male lead. He genuinely makes us believe in his deep connection with the female lead, showing that his love is rooted in her personality rather than her physical appearance. His unwavering devotion is beautifully portrayed, and their romance unfolds in a steady, realistic manner. It’s more of a mature, well-developed bond than a rushed love story, which adds authenticity to their relationship.
Another highlight of the drama is its captivating murder investigation subplots. These cases are intricately designed, raw, and compelling, with just the right amount of suspense and unexpected twists to keep viewers hooked. Importantly, they never feel like filler content; instead, they tie seamlessly into the central storyline. As someone who rarely watches investigation dramas, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed these elements. They added depth to the narrative without overshadowing the main conflict.
Favorite Character:
My favourite character is Yang Cai Wei/Shangguan Zhi (the female lead) is portrayed as a strong, intelligent, and brave woman with a unique talent for forensic investigation. Ju Jing Yi, the main actress, delivers a fantastic performance. Her ability to convincingly portray the face swap was truly impressive, and her performance added depth to the character's journey.
Overall, this drama was an exceptional watch for me, and I would rate it a solid 10/10.
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This review may contain spoilers
really over makeup ,jujingyi said she willing to makeup ugly for this drama, but.. just once and look very fake .. the rest just pale , for other cast very regular wounds!not very bad but still not that best ,lacking of profesional ,very mind
1. what happen with yang cai wei and shangguan zhi?the witch trick? not seeing
2.there's no point for them to killing Cai Wei, basically even though she's dead, there still have people looking for yang family cases, and even more provoked, Likewise with Zhuo Lan Jiang, in vain
3.It only explains how to kill Cai Wei, but not how to making her fall down ,not the guess ,the real one
4. To be honest, Mastermind doesn't look as powerful as Silver Rain Sect
5.How did Panyue know that the door lock in gambling place is fishtail shaped? thats a secret
6. the last one, panyue's father was shocked, i was shocked too..., was that done on purpose? for what??
This drama can be said to be completely finished, but deliberately made it unfinished by stating that there is still have Mastermind No. 1
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Hmmmm FL make up???
Watched this for Liu XueYi but JJY just ruined it a little for me tbh. Finally after slowly watching, stopping and re-watching - I'm officially abandoning this one year later LOLThe story is very interesting and everything/everyone did very well, I just cannot look past the make up of the FL. I used to like JJY in Legend of Yunxi and the Ruyi Pavillion, she's not amazing at acting but not too bad. She looks so different here, yes pretty but what genre is she in ? Because it's definitely not the same time period as the rest of the cast.
Also the earlier Yang Cai Wei (Zheng He Hui Zi) was too good, JJY just could not live up to that unfortunately.
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Worth the watch??
The first 3 episodes will get you interested; and the last 3 episodes will keep you on the edge of your seat!!Don’t try to make sense of the body/ face swap thing- it was just that interesting for me. Every few episodes will have a plot twist, so it keeps the momentum going.
ML is hot:) his character is loyal and steady- he’s got brains and can fight. FL is caring but also independent and strong. Both compliment each other very well. Supporting characters are also intriguing and not at all boring. The main plot and storyline is solving crimes and sourcing who is the mastermind behind the conspiracy and unrest in the government. The romance is another main plot, and yes, someone dies:( I guessed it already somewhere halfway in the middle. But it is generally a happy ending.
A definite recommended watch. Enjoy:)
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Meh
This started out intriguingly and had my attention for a good while, but after episode 25 I was so done with the show. It was too long in my opinion, and the last episodes had too much filler content that made it boring. I am also disappointed how we didn’t see more of YCW’s autopsy skills as it was barely relevant. The romance was underwhelming to me because the chemistry between the leads was only so-so. To me, the male lead created better tension with the female lead than the other way round. Also, what … was that ending? What was the reason for the last 2 minutes?? 🧐🤚🏻 Could have lived without that. The settings were very pretty as were the costumes! I also liked the music a lot – specifically the instrumentals! The actuals songs were okay, but not outstanding or memorable to me. I feel like the show was overall a whole of … bland after a while because they just dragged out the ending, and I found the revelation of the bad guy kind of random because we literally meet him so late in the show🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️Opinions on the acting. While I agree that JJY’s acting/interpretation of YCW is different than the other actress’, I find it a bit harsh to only criticize her. She is not solely responsible for the characterization and development of said character. That is actually the writer’s as well as the director’s job to lead her along the way. Of course, as an actress, she could do a better job (and I only say that because other actresses voice their opinions on how to interpret the character, an example would be Zhao Lu Si, I don’t know how involved JJY really is), but in my opinion, YCW as SGZ is just written differently than the YCW we were introduced with. Sometimes, her actions and behavior don’t align with the character we met in the first two episodes, but again, JJY didn't write the script, so I don’t really understand why she gets flamed so much🧐
It was okay, but it is not a must watch – to ME. 🧚🏻♀️🌺
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Romance with Detective and Forensic work
In addition to the superb acting and the love story, the detective and forensic aspects kept me going in watching the series. I thought I would quit after just a couple but no the series kept getting interesting.The ML Liu Xue Yi as Pan Yue is such a delight to watch, not just his good look in costume drama, his acting is excellent. I want to see more of his works, definitely one of the best actors in Chinese costume drama in my opinion.
I enjoyed the FL Ju Jing Yi as well, I thought her acting was overall good. I wish they opened episode 1, in addition to the Yang Caiwei, also showing Shangguan Jhi who was rich and spoil and always had unrequited love interest on Pan Yue since she was young. This would help the viewers understand the face swap better.
I rewatched the drama not long ago, and I enjoyed the drama more during rewatching, so definitely this drama has high rewatch value.
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A Nice Watch with Missed Potential
The story is solid, but the execution feels a bit anticlimactic. The cast is attractive and delivers strong performances, yet the romantic scenes between the couple fall flat. This could be due to limited acting range or production choices that don’t fully capture the intended intensity. Overall, I don’t regret watching this C-drama; it was an enjoyable watch, even though it had the potential to be much better.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A straightforward mystery + romance with a teaser ending
So I have a habit of watching cdrama reviews before watching any of them (I don't care if there's spoilers haha), and so many people were harping on about JJY's mid-tier acting here, but I found it fine. Then again, I'm biased as a JJY fan and love her regardless, because she's so pretty that I don't mind her acting. She's an idol first and foremost so I'm fine as long as she's doing the basics.Anyways, long story short I liked this fine! And I enjoyed watching JJY's acting and all her beautiful costumes and hair ahhhh. I also think her ship with Pan Yue was finnnneeee and I'm so relieved that their ending was happily ever after.
Some parts of the drama were obviously played for dramatic effect and unintentionally hilarious, like the second male lead not having enough time to run into that burning building in That One Episode. Like realistically he could've done everything during that dramatic slow-mo montage but plot said NO so he couldn't, hahahaha~
It's been a while since I watched it so my memory of it is fuzzy, but I can still remember some key scenes in my mind:
- The wedding night with the tragic death
- The moment Pan Yue realized her identity and ran back to see Yang Caiwei in Shangguan Zhi's body while she was twirling the umbrellas
- Rain scenes in general hahaha
And the mystery! It was legit a mystery and the last episode drove me nuts with the open clue they left for a potential sequel. It probably will never happen but I still had to look up what Chinese netizens said about it and summarized their views here, which was super cool: https://sonderwrit.tumblr.com/post/774970037168652288/i-finished-in-blossom
Too bad this drama didn't seem popular enough to get more theorycrafting overseas but I watched it and liked it and even though I can't remember exact details now I will always enjoy the experience. A worthwhile use of my time!
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What I would change: The last four episodes (29 to 32)
It's a good story overall, and I've enjoyed it.My Review contains many spoilers: don't read if you haven't watched the series yet.
The last four episodes (29 to 32) could have been better scripted, as some plot choices feel weak; they don't have any purposes other than to add unnecessary twists & turns.
And the drama’s ending...
Instead of delivering a satisfying conclusion, it forces suspense with an ambiguous scene that lacks context or payoff. Rather than a clever twist, it comes across as empty and confusing. Most viewers, myself included, are left wondering what it was supposed to mean. If the goal was to create an open-ended mystery, it fails because it lacks substance, and instead of a thought-provoking conclusion, it feels like an unresolved, last-minute attempt to appear deep without any real meaning.
So let's start with what I would change to make this a better story!
Ep. 29 - 24:30 min
Why would the princess chose to kill herself? But most importantly, why would she chose to kill herself in such a way that not only endangers Shangguan Zhi but also wastes an opportunity to make her sacrifice meaningful? As someone raised in the palace, she should be resourceful and strategic enough to devise a last-minute plan.
Frankly, this plot twist is unnecessary and leads to even further unnecessary drama, thus it should be erased. Let's examine something else that could prevent her death:
Ep. 28 - 38:00 min
Zhuo LanJiang meeting the mastermind (Jia Quan - identity not yet revealed) and his personal assistant (Zuo Jingfei) at night time in an undisclosed location.
Ep. 30 - 5:30 min
Zhuo LanJiang meeting the mastermind (Jia Quan - identity revealed) and his personal assistant (Zuo Jingfei) during daytime at the "Grand Commandant's Residence".
After comparing both meeting location, we can clearly see the same curtains and the same bookshelves in the background. Thus, we can deduce they meet in the same location.
We know Zhuo Lanjiang's motivations: to avenge his father. He's not there to stretch things nor investigate any further. This said, he had a very good opportunity to do this in Ep. 28's meeting. He could kill both at once swiftly at nighttime and try to escape alive.
But let's say for suspense sake he does not do it just yet. Plus, he gets to witness the presence of Mr. Chen (the organization's accountant who brought the ledgers with him) as he's being escorted to his new room. This opens the plot twist for him to look for those ledgers later which brings us at back at Ep. 29, right before the Princess death scene, the one we want to get rid of.
So here's what should happen:
(This removes all those scenes: princess's death, Shangguan Zhi going to jail, Pan Yue begging his father, Shangguan Zhi's trial + battle, them becoming fugitives, Zhuo LanJiang dying uselessly and in a very stupid way, etc.)
Ep. 29 - from 18:40 to 24:30 min
This is when the princess finds out her sister's husband (Jia Quan) is the great villain she and Pan Yue have been investigating. This triggers him threatening her. But frankly, why would he ask her to kill Shangguan Zhi? That's just plain not plausible considering his shrews character. If he wanted Shangguan Zhi dead, he could have had her dead 100 other ways anytime he wants.
In my opinion, once he made sure to make her understand that he can and will kill her and her sister (and make it look like an accident) if she tries to interfere, his most likely reaction would be to prohibit her to leave the residence and keep her under watch at all times until the completion of his "Grand Marshal" promotion ceremony to ensure she won't leak any information.
Next would come the scene from Ep. 30 - 5:30 min
Zhuo LanJiang meeting the mastermind (Jia Quan - identity revealed) and his personal assistant (Zuo Jingfei) during daytime at the "Grand Commandant's Residence".
But this time, he kills both in stealth mode, then proceeds to look for the ledgers, finds them and escape successfully.
There should be a commotion once Jia Quan's death is being noticed. It should be speculated that it must be related to the assassin that tried to kill Pan Yue the other day. The Princess would later go search for the ledger where she found evidence of Jia Quan's name change, then make a plan to meet with Pan Yue in order to discuss their next move.
Meanwhile, Zhuo LanJiang gives the accounting ledgers to either Pan Yue or Shangguan Zhi (or both, wathever suits the plot), tells them he fulfilled his vengeance (the bad guy is dead) and he plans to head back home with his girlfriend and marry her.
Next, we should obviously see Zhuo LanJiang have some happy romantic reunion with Bai Xiao Sheng.
Then, the princess meeting with Pan Yue and Shangguan Zhi to decide what will be done.
From there, I don't have anything concrete in mind, but I guess the most obvious would be:
- The princess confess everything to her sister.
- The wedding between the princess and Pan Yue gets cancelled.
- The evidence against Jia Quan gets deposited to help close his death's investigation.
- Pan Yue and his father reconcile.
- Pan Yue will confess everything to Shangguan Zhi's brother as promised. She should also have a moment alone with her brother to settle things.
- Pan Yue gets back his Heyang's Magistrate position and finds a way to offer Zhuo LanJiang a good position too in managing the docks (or wathever else that fits his fancy in order to compensate him for shutting down his clan. Maybe letting him reopen his clan/private business?)
- Pan Yue and Shangguan Zhi get married in Heyang at the same time than Zhuo LanJiang and Bai Xiao Sheng (double wedding).
Oh, and another useless scene is this one:
Ep 29: 6 min
Pan Yue's brother revealing to a stanger that Shangguan Zhi is Yang Caiwei.
Only Pan Yue's father should know about this, and this information should not have been revealed to anyone else in the household.
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Very lively drama about loving someone's true self
This drama was so emotional. Well atleast towards the end. The story is about two people that are engaged, the Male Lead (ML) has a 'fan'. And this 'fan' basically switches body with the Female Lead (FL) and the 'fan' dies. And it's about the ML and FL figuring out why the 'fan' in the FL's body was murdered and about the ML and FL finding their way back to their love. I knows it's a little confusing but the drama makes it to not be confusing. But. In this drama. Is a hidden jackpot. The second leads. Omg. I LOVED THEM And I was SOOOOOO sad at the end. Honestly the second leads' story was so captivating I kinda forgot about the Main Leads. But nevertheless, this was a really good storyline. The acting was marvellous and the music was nice to listen to in the background. Overall, This was a very captivating drama about loving someone's true self, and it has the most epic second leads' story. 👘👩🔁👩🏻🧰 💝🧑🏻⚖️Was this review helpful to you?
cool
Dans la ville pécheresse de Heyang, le très apprécié Pan Yue a épousé Yang Caiwei, qui était méprisé de tous. Cependant, Yang Caiwei a été assassiné le jour de leur mariage. Le coupable présumé n’était autre que Pan Yue. Renaître de la mort, Yang Caiwei est devenue connue sous le nom de « méchante femme » Shangguan Zhi. Elle est revenue dans une tentative féroce d’exposer les vraies couleurs de Pan Yue. Alors qu’ils affrontaient courageusement les Quatre Clans Majeurs et découvraient de nombreuses affaires anciennes, leurs cœurs se rapprochèrent une fois de plus. Yang Caiwei a découvert que le véritable coupable n'était pas Pan Yue, qui l'avait profondément aimée depuis le début et ne l'avait jamais trahie. Alors que les choses semblaient se mettre en place, le cerveau en coulisse a tendu un autre piège, les poussant dans l’abîme du désespoir. Leur amour survivra-t-il à tout cela ? (Source : Youku ; édité par kisskh) Modifier la traductionWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It's something you watch, but forgets very easily.
"In Blossom" is a body swap story. Cai Wei is a woman who has always been humiliated by people because of the scar on her face and for working with dead bodies. Pan Yue has searched for her almost his whole life, when they finally reunite, a twist of fate happens and Cai Wei ends up in Shangguan Zhi's body.The drama reminded me a lot of "A Familiar Stranger", specially because of the story being very similar. The couple is cute and their relationship catches your attention, but the investigations didn't stuck with me.
Ju Jing Yi is a very good actress, but I liked Cai Wei before her transformation, the character was much more interesting being played by Zheng He Hui Zi, but since the whole point of the story was the body swap, I know the actress couldn't keep playing the part.
Overall, it's a good drama. The story is light and easy to watch, but on the other hand, there's nothing really new or interesting.
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