This review may contain spoilers
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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A hidden gem
I watched this drama and dropped it after second episode as I felt that the pace was too slow and the story was confusing. Rewatched it again as I want a mystery drama and found it very entertaining. I would say that after third episode, you will be enchanted by it. I did not know that I would be enjoy and really like this drama.And, Liu Xue Yi showed us how great he is as an actor. Shout out!
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I love Ju JingYi <33333333
This show was incredible. The plot twists just kept on coming and I loved it. I feel like when it comes to drams that focus on crime solving and mystery, the focus tends to be drawn away from that and become more dragged.. like the same problem is delt with throught multiple episodes, leving less time for newer cases that could be solved. This tends to make viewers grow tired of mystery dramas, especially if these dramas are very long(ex 40+ episodes) but this drama focused on a lot of different cases, each one having it's own backstory that also ties to the bigger picture makes this show so worth watching.Story :
The story was really well written. It was so good I dont have a lot to comment on lol. First I love the plot, how there's this big organization that has different branches in different places, causing problems for the main leads to solve. I love the female lead, the start was a little confusing but Ju jing Yi played both the evil supporting female lead and female lead very well. The way their personalities were so different, props to her. I also like how the main lead was very focused on her goal. The whole story about revenge and clearing their names while solving crimes together and developing feelings was the perfect mix. The plot twists between each episode and how each episode keeps you entertained. I also like how the director didnt make the second male lead so obsessed with the female lead and always trying to ruin the main couple's relationship, it gets so repetitive as a lot of dramas use this trop, so seeing how the second male lead was able to let the main female lead go and move on to love someone else really helped make this drama a lot better.
Music :
The songs were alright. I didn't really focus on it much as it didn't really catch my ear. It just sounded boring and not special. Maybe because I finished another drama not that long ago with a fire soundtrack that other soundtracks dont seem as good. The songs were great and I still enjoyed the vibes it gave for different scenes, but nothing really stood out to me.
Acting:
The main lead acting was soooo good. I've seen clips of ju jing yi's acting before and also watched some of her older dramas, as much as they were good her acting seemed a bit stiff and sometime not real. Like in previous dramas, when she had to be sad or cry, she barely shed a tear which made it seem really fake. But in this drama, she really brought it. All her scenes and emotions felt as though she actually went through the pain of losing a loved one, etc. Her acting greatly improved. I would love to see her play a evil character, cuz she plays them pretty well. The main lead was really good too. This is the first drama I've seen with him in it and I found his acting really captivating. He was very monotoned but you could still feel his sadness and grief through his acting. Although there wasn't many romantic scenes with the main lead, every scene their in did ooze chemistry. The servants of the main leads were soo cute, their relationship was so cute too. Although it was not fully confirmed that they liked each other, the audience could very much tell. The second lead couple was also really cute, too bad they had very less screen time and it didn't last long :( hope they get to be together in another drama one day.
Ending:
The ending was nice, I like how they finally caught the mastermind behind all the murders and betrayals. Though some characters didn't deserve to die but I like how everyone got a good ending. I do have one question though, and this may be a bit of spoilers but as the main leads solve each case, a tag with a number was found on it. from 7 all the way to 2, but there was no number 1, which was strange because the main mastermind throughout this drama should have been 1, as nothing pointed to a person with higher power. So does that mean we might get a season 2??? hope so, I loved this cast.
Very well done, if your someone who loves mystery then this drama is really good and will keep you hooked.
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This review may contain spoilers
this was not on my watch list but i saw this recommended while prisoner of beauty was still airing and i wanted to watch it so bad that i started this one thing it would be similar. it was not.the story follows yang caiwei who has been forced to change faces with shanguan zhi due to romantic issues with pan yue and unfortunately shunguan gets killed during their wedding. thus caiwei is left all alone to find out who killed her alongside pan yue who is the current magistrate of heyang. the synopsis is pretty confusing but once you started watching it it becomes easier
everyone said the fl had bad acting but imo it was okayish. she is beautiful and did well for the most part the only thing i did not like about her was maybe her pouting at everything and anything idk, other than that she was fine enough. i really started the drama because of the leads but just like the 90% others i fell hard for the second ml (i was fucking devastated when he passed like i was so sure he cannot be gone i just watched that scene causally and then for the next episode i see the comments reminiscing him and im like bitch wtf) the second fl was kinda annoying, suspicious and making me angry at times but still she was good enough (ig) imo the second leads had more chemistry than the main leads. the romantic pov for both the couples felt so absurd and forced. like one episode pan yue does not care about shanguan zhi but the next when she realises she is yang caiwei, her childhood crush he becomes all sweetheart catering to everything she wants/ needs at all times like he has loved her for generations. the second leads also were smooth-sailing, having great chemitry but them suddenly kissing and spending a night together then becoming awkward with each other was so questionable to me.
honestly i was so bored of the first 10 episodes i did not even care about the romance i just watched the whole series for the thriller and let me tell you, it was fucking worth it. i had thought about dropping this drama so many times due to the lack of chemistry but the thriller kept me going and that was the best decision ive ever made, i watched 20 episodes today in one sitting and damn that was so satisfying. the way each case is discovered and then solved, mwah chef's kiss. the way they ended this season im very optimistic about a second season and i believe it would be just as good. the director has an awesome touch for thriller and i hope he does not touch romance for a while yea lmao
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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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BOOM SHAKALAKAAA
I LOVED THIS PREMISE. I've not watched many transmigration shows, but this one is AMAZING. Like the transmigration to lowkey enemies to lovers...this is everything I needed in a c-drama. I don't really read synopses when I start c-dramas, but I think watching this while not knowing anything about the plot made it better!!! Especially when it got to the transmigration plot.Originally, I thought the story would go to palace drama where it's real Yang CaiWei versus ShangGuan Zhi (like Yang CaiWei has to fight to make Pan Yue to believe it's actually her), but I pleasantly enjoyed the route they went.
**SPOILERS AHEAD***
One thought I had though...Zhuo LanJiang and Bai XiaoSheng's little side relationship was giving situationship 😭because what do you mean he won't say I like you or I love you but he's gonna say "I feel at peace when you're near me" and then they're doing the dirty LIKE I KNOW THEY ACTUALLY LOVE EACH OTHER but I kept thinking of it LMAO they were very cute though and justice for them fr
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In Blossom
The final episode should be allocated to the FL's original face. The FL should be allowed to have her own identity i.e. own face back. The FL and the ML must look for someone to reverse the original face back to the FL. If not, can the ML accept the face of a woman he never had the feeling for and sleeping next to a woman's face he had no feeling? Can the ML face a woman's face he does not love daily? So the ending of this drama is reasonable.Was this review helpful to you?
The biggest drawback is having two different actresses play the same character.
The premise of the drama is truly compelling. The initial actress portraying YCW did justice to the character, depicting her as a person who has faced numerous hardships without parental support. The scar on her face made her standout in contrast to JJY.Regarding JJY's portrayal of YCW, there's a notable absence of similarity in mannerisms compared to the initial actress. It's challenging to perceive them as the same character. Her acting style is similar in "Legend of Yunxi" and "In Class of Her Own".
and her makeup (it is same in every drama and every character she plays)..
i liked her acting more when she played evil SZ , it is really refreshing...
I think both actresses need to have a proper discussion on how the character YCW should be played. Their differing styles create a disjointed viewing experience, especially when the drama frequently presents flashback scenes featuring the YCW played by the initial actress. This inconsistency makes it increasingly difficult to stay engaged with the drama.
Regarding the love story...
We've been shown that the ML loves YCW deeply and is genuinely devoted to her. However, there's no solid foundation or explanation for his love. The only justification provided by the drama is that they met in childhood and he developed feelings for her, which isn't very convincing.
Given that the ML and YCW only met during childhood and were separated for a long period, there hasn't been enough time for their feelings to naturally develop. His desire to marry her seems to stem from a sense of pity for not being there for her during difficult times, or perhaps because of a marriage contract. Additionally, YCW doesn't seem to reciprocate his feelings.
The chemistry between the leads is lacking.
I would have preferred the story if the ML started to like SZ/YCW as a completely new person, rather than because she resembles his deceased wife and shares similar personality with YCW.
Apart from the face swapping and love story, the drama has several strong points:
1. The mystery element is very well executed.
2. The storyline is well-paced.
3. The costumes are excellent, and watching LXY is a treat for the eyes.
ok, I am dropping this drama.
However, I would recommend it to people who aren't bothered by face swapping or body swapping plots.
Story: 10/10 (The mystery and investigation are really interesting).
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This review may contain spoilers
Mysterie and love
It's a very intriguing story. FL and ML solve mysterious deaths. The change of the FL is also very interesting. Some may not like it, because the actress who played the FL in the first episodes is also very likeable. Both actresses made a very good impression on me.I have watched the drama to episode 7. I can't wait till the next episode is aired.
The story between the FL and the ML got me. The FL leads' tragical life.Her families' unsolved deaths which were tarned and presented as her father's betrayal to the state.
All seem to slowly unwind like a big knot giving small hints episode through episode. - We still have to watch many more episodes.-
The ML truly faithful love for the " believed dead" FL is shown very clearly. Although he at first seems to show no emotions, he cares a lot and hides every feeling very well behind a carefully put on passionless mask.
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A recommended watch
Production is simple but well done for the entirety of the series from wardrobe to props.All artist did an excellent job with their character, but have to say the actress who played Bao Xiasang still has improvements to do with her facial expressions.
I like the story: mystery, light humor, romance, and martial arts. Ending was left as if a season 2 can be expected which I hope they produce. No spoilers here just wish everyone will return to season 2 if there's any, but....
it's a recommended watch for me.
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