Shui Ze Mu Lan

The Double also has 8.9 rating.
Honestly, the other dramas you mention just don't compare them, especially in terms of storyline, chemistry, and visuals. It almost can tell at one glance that they do not belong to the same group. I'm not sure what is the meaning of "all of them are same."

If you're looking for a recent drama that has vibes similar to Blossom, you can watch Love Like the Galaxy.

What makes Blossom so addictive and deserving of such a rating is basically:
- The storyline is written amazingly so far, keeping a steady pace, and each episode ends at just the right moment to keep the audience curious about what's going on next. There are no lousy tropes (so far).

- The visuals are beautifully done, from the sets to the costumes.
They even put in the effort to create a perfect white-haired SM, unlike other dramas that just throw on a shiny, full-white wig.

The color palette is perfectly balanced, neither too blue nor too yellow, so pleasing to the eyes.

- The camera direction is also very satisfying. With no random bright lights that make no sense, no awkward fake backgrounds, no fake CGI oceans, no excessive slow motion, no strange spinning camera movements, and no overdone filters.
Even though some details could have been executed better,

- The fight scenes are also amazing.

- The chemistry between the leads is simply incredible, that make people suspect the two of them are actually dating in real life.

For an A-budget drama, this result is out of expectation.

It is Song Yichun. Ep 25 will tell you why he treated him like that.

Yeahh, as expected, the red invitation in DZ calendar means joyful events lol
And yes, we don't have the so-called "I'm dying, I divorce you" trope, instead "I'm dying, let's snusnu"
LOL

What is happening is probably like this:
- The Empress wants her son to become the crown prince and eventually the emperor.
But then, the Emperor has no intention of changing his crown prince.

- To achieve her goal, the Empress and Prince Qing plan a rebellion.

- The first step is to weaken the emperor's power by eliminating Duke Ding and his army. Without his backer, it would be easier for them to seize the capital and the Forbidden City since almost no other general has been introduced so far.

- Dou Shishu becomes a pawn to control the government and ensure that once the rebellion succeeds, Prince Qing can sit firmly on the throne. Gaining the support of important figures like Dou Shishu is crucial, as without his support, other ministers may not submit to the new king.

- Song Yichun is another pawn, manipulated by his hatred towards Jiang Meisun and the Jiang family. They use his anger to get him on their side by making arrangements for Li Yaoniang, freeing her from her life as a courtesan.

- With the deep hatred that penetrated his bones, they expect Jiang Huisun and SM to be taken care of by him (poison them to death).
It's kind of sad because in the flashback when SM was just born, SYC looks genuinely happy calling his son's name. Such a pathetic pawn. And in the end, he's dead by his beloved child, though the retribution is not enough at all.

- After hearing what the emperor said to the almost dying SM about "JMS and JHS will not die in vain", it gives me the feeling that the emperor is aware of what is going on.

- This is why the emperor chose to wrap up Duke Ding's death quickly, to avoid alerting the enemy.

- This is also why he assigned SM to the Imperial Guards and appointed him as Commander.
Also, allowing him to enter the palace with a sword to make sure when the time comes, he can rescue the emperor with his sword without being accused of rebellion.

- Ji Jianming wants to strike from within the household? That’s a cowardly move.
He’s probably going to manipulate SH.

- To do so, he’ll have SH marry Miao Ansu and have them go against SM and DZ, which will indirectly cause SM’s poison to take effect faster.
That's where the scene of a white-hair SM attacking DZ.

- During the poison attack, he enters the dream, meets DZ, who is holding a lantern, and eventually saves him from the poison attack.
That's why there's a lantern on SM's calendar for Ep 27.

- Ep 27 on DZ calendar is dice, and the trailer suggests that the empress will force her to make a decision, probably choosing between herself (or her family) and SM.
If she chooses herself, SM won’t get the life-saving pill.
But then I guess somehow she's managed to get it?? That's why SM's hair is back to its original color later.

- JJM plans to take action against SM, so he's asking DZ to leave SM.
But I guess he might need to reconsider his plan because, in the Ep 28 trailer, he’s seen grabbing DZ’s hand to stop her. He probably realizes she’s pregnant, lol.

And please, no lousy tropes like "Hey SM, Prince Qing is going to make a move, you can’t protect DZ and the baby, so let her go" or "Kidnapping her to protect her safety."

That's Song Han

I'm not sure if he'll ask for a divorce or not, but it's unlikely based on the calendar. Since in episode 29, DZ gets pregnant.

I think you need to got a better understanding of the drama's background so you can enjoy it more.
This drama was set during the Ming dynasty, and it closely followed Confucianism.
Yes this is fiction, but, the Chinese government has strict regulations regarding broadcast content.
Since they chose a Ming dynasty background, they had to ensure the portrayal pretty much aligned with the culture and teachings of that time. Otherwise, they won't get the distribution license.

1. Killing parents (patricide or matricide) is considered an unforgivable sin. If someone does this, their life is basically over (So DZ had to stop SM from doing that).

2. Killing a family member is still a big deal, though not as severe as killing parents. It still goes against filial piety and is a serious crime.

For more info, you can check out this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Abominations

As for why they didn’t kill WYX directly and let her live, it's also influenced by Confucianism teaching. They believe retribution is through life, not death. Live while atoning for their sin is a better form of retribution.

About why characters often want to divorce when they committed crime or face death.
Indeed, it’s a bit of a cliche, but here’s why:

1. If the husband commits a serious crime, the whole family (including the wife and children) gets punished as well.
So, to spare his wife and children from punishment, divorcing her and allowing her to return to her family is the best solution for her future (which is why Gu Tingye wanted to separate from Minglan in The Story of Minglan).

2. If the husband dies, the wife has to mourn him for at least three years, during which she has to stay in his family, dress plainly, refrain from outside activity, can’t remarry, and must perform ancestral rites.
So, asking for a divorce is basically giving the wife a chance to return to her family, allowing her to move on with her life and maybe even remarry.

Trying to figure out what will happen based on the calendar lol

Ep 26: DZ’s calendar looks like an invitation. What happy event could happen during all this chaos? Maybe SM’s evil father dies, SM inherits the title, and they throw a banquet?
Or they finally do the deed in this episode since the invitation looks like there's some joyful event.

Ep 27: DZ’s calendar shows dice. She's gonna gamble with the Empress and win a super pill to cure SM’s poison. That's probably why SM’s calendar is a lantern. She saves his life again and brings light to his world lol.

Ep 28: Based on the calendar, DZ will get pregnant in ep 29.
If the deed doesn’t happen in episode 26, then it's a high chance to happen here.
DZ’s calendar is blank, but SM’s calendar shows a fighting arena. Maybe he’ll fight her until she’s lifeless, lol.

Ep 29: DZ gets pregnant. Meanwhile, the chaos is still going on?

Ep 30-33: Three episodes to wrap up the chaos.

Ep 34: The baby is born and grows up safely. Then, they travel after sending the kid off to school.

😊🥰

That's empress Wan not emperor's sister.

Killing biological father is shi fu (patricide) and considered an unforgivable sin (da ni bu dao).
If SM were to commit such an act, his life would be completely ruined. Even if he avoided punishment, he’d only be forced back onto his previous path (joining rebellion).

If SM wants to remain an upright person, he simply cannot kill his own father, no matter the circumstances.

In fact, killing any family member, even though not as heinous as patricide or matricide, is still a severe crime.

In the Ming Dynasty, which was strongly influenced by Confucian values, filial piety (xiao) was at the core of society.

The Great Ming Code (Da Ming Lu) was the legal code that governed laws and punishments during the Ming Dynasty. It was established to maintain order and ensure justice across the empire.
The code was heavily influenced by Confucian values, emphasizing moral conduct, social harmony, and respect for authority and family.

The Code defined the Ten Abominations as plotting rebellion, plotting great sedition, plotting treason, parricide, depravity, great irreverence, lack of filial piety, discord, unrighteousness, and incest. These were particularly severe crimes, which deprived those committing them of eligibility for amnesty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Abominations

I don’t know why, but I’ve never really liked him in his previous dramas, except maybe Pei Wen Xuan in Grand Princess.
I feel like his past roles didn’t really suit him, and he hasn’t delivered his best performance yet.
As for TXW, I’ve seen her in New Life Begins and Romance on the Farm, and both were good, but after watching LYR and MZY’s chemistry, I feel like something was lacking with her and her previous MLs, lol.

Now I’m really curious to see how the director (and his wife lol) will turn them into whole love birds, like the way he did for Blossom.

He’s not from the same mother, and I’m not sure if, at this point, he already knows the truth about his birth. But everyone has a selfish side. He clearly wanted the title of Duke Ying’s heir (eventually the Duke Ying title itself later).
And maybe it’s about genetic. Just look at his pathetic father.

We have him for the next costume drama, Chasing Jade. Though I'm not really optimistic with the chemistry between ZLH and TXW.
A big reason Blossom did so well was because LYR and MZY had insane chemistry, they looked great together, even when they weren’t doing much lol

I just want to share some context before anyone starts complaining why DZ is stopping SM from killing his father or why they don't just eliminate the evil family members to avoid the trouble.

Of course, his father deserves to die a thousand times. But...

Killing biological father is shi fu (patricide) and considered an unforgivable sin (da ni bu dao).
If SM were to commit such an act, his life would be completely ruined. Even if he avoided punishment, he’d only be forced back onto his previous path (joining rebellion).

If SM wants to remain an upright person, he simply cannot kill his own father, no matter the circumstances (unless he could do it silently and cleanly, leaving no trace at all).
But even then, there’s always the risk of someone fabricating evidence and pinning the crime on his head.

In fact, killing any family member, even though not as heinous as patricide or matricide, is still a severe crime.

In the Ming Dynasty, which was strongly influenced by Confucian values, filial piety (xiao) was at the core of society.

The Great Ming Code (Da Ming Lu) was the legal code that governed laws and punishments during the Ming Dynasty. It was established to maintain order and ensure justice across the empire.
The code was heavily influenced by Confucian values, emphasizing moral conduct, social harmony, and respect for authority and family.

The Code defined the Ten Abominations as plotting rebellion, plotting great sedition, plotting treason, parricide, depravity, great irreverence, lack of filial piety, discord, unrighteousness, and incest. These were particularly severe crimes, which deprived those committing them of eligibility for amnesty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Abominations

So yeah, we're not in the Wu Xia genre, not in Jiang Hu, where killing is not a big deal.

She doesn’t have private soldier. Her people are basically just those working under her business, primarily spies gathering information.

If you’re referring to SM’s Ding Army, they’re banned. Their existence in the capital must remain a secret unless there’s an urgent situation (like when SM used them to eradicate bandits, at very last resort). Deploying them is always a gamble because if their presence is discovered, it would be considered qi jun zhi zui (the crime of deceiving the emperor) and possibly also the crime of raising a private army, since there's no more Ding army.

The only guards she has are SM’s men under Mr. Yan, but they left earlier to deal with the fire. That’s why there are only a few people left.

As for killing people, you can see who the evils are. SM’s father, DZ’s uncle and stepmother, the eunuch, and the palace officials. But how can you kill such people? They’re high-ranking officials, one is SM's father, another is DZ's family member. Killing them without being discovered is nearly impossible given the current circumstances.

Our wedding festivities are over. Now get ready for the turmoil!
So many things are about to happen, from Song Mo’s hair turning white (again) to their baby being born within the rest of 11 eps.

If you look at things from his subordinates' pov, you’ll probably understand why they acted the way they did.

1. DZ is a stranger. Since they don’t know her background, it's only natural for them to be cautious, especially after the tragedy involving Duke Ding

2. DZ's knowledge of Duke Ding and political matters is beyond what would be expected of an ordinary woman (women, especially noble women during ancient time typically don’t have access to or learn about political affairs).

3. Considering she’s from Zhending, which is far away from Futing, it makes no sense that she could have such knowledge about Duke Ding, unless she has an extraordinary background and has been spying on Duke Ding and the capital for long time.

4. After investigating, they discover that DZ is from the Dou family, which is known to have conflict with Duke Ding. The Dou family played a major role in the impeachment of Duke Ding in front of the emperor. For SM and his loyal subordinates, the Dou family is seen as an enemy with ill intentions toward his uncle.
So, it’s no surprise they’d be suspicious of anyone from the Dou family, especially someone with so much knowledge about his uncle.

5. On top of that, after Duke Ding’s death and SM’s imprisonment, they realize that despite following DZ's advice to keep Duke Ding safe, they still failed, and it ended up putting SM in a very bad situation. So, they can only think that DZ lied to them, worked with her uncle to have Duke Ding killed, and was trying to get rid of SM as well.

So, based on these circumstances, their suspicions are completely understandable.
When it comes down to a stranger vs the leader they've known for a long time and see like a brother, they won’t take the risk, even with the slightest doubt.

If you look closely, the one who shot the arrow is most likely the eunuch Wang Ge.

The story is set during Ming dynasty and you can easily tell by the costumes.
It's likely inspired by the lives of the Chenghua, Hongzhi, and Jiajing Emperor. During the Chenghua Emperor's reign, a few eunuchs from the Eastern Depot held significant power, one of whom was Wang Zhi (the two eunuchs named Wang in the drama are probably inspired by him). There's also a woman in his harem who had influence named Noble Consort Wan.

Piracy in the southern regions was a major issue during the Ming dynasty, especially in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong. Although Futing was actually established during the Qing dynasty, the author uses it in the story. It's located on the border between Fujian and Zhejiang.

And the most famous generals who fought against piracy in these areas were Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang. I think Duke Ding and Song Mo are based on them, especially since Qi Jiguang was dismissed from his position later on after falling victim to political intrigue. He was accused of being too ambitious and having too much influence, which is very similar to Duke Ding's story.

Hope this success brings LYR and MZY more excellent scripts and opportunities to refine their acting skills. As for the director, wish for him to gain more recognition and be entrusted with even better projects in the future.
A second collab is a very good idea, too lol

You’ve got to see it for yourself. I don’t want to spoil it for you hahaha