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Strong & magical beginning, long & draggy midsection
Ok, so 2 eps in and this had the Pursuit of Jade director all over it. No wonder POJ was a huge success. He was already a very talented, fully developed cinematography-focused storyteller, he just got a bigger budget with POJ, (plus more star power and an insane male beauty pageant).
Blossom is, early on at least, POJ’s barely older sibling. Maybe not quite as polished, but still, it has visual storytelling that’s an exciting eyeball feast. It’s elegant (but not stuffy) and dramatic, a gorgeous snow and fire-lit dream where you instantly bond with the determined and capable FL, and have heart-eyes with the boy next door/princely looking ML with teeth so perfect he looks like he just got his braces off.
All the scheming and rotten uncle-ministers had nearly the exact similar beards, wigs, makeup, and all the voice acting sounds similar, too. It’s difficult to remember which family member is stroking his beard and thinking up more ways to be naughty. Is it a Dou? Wu? Zhou? No idea. Halfway through and I still don’t know if it’s an uncle, or a dad, or what side of the fence they’re on, they all went into the makeup/wardrobe trailer looking like individuals and they all came out looking like “don’t let them stand out” background extras.
It lost its way, bogged down in the middle and packed with (as always) schemes and plots, treacherous family members, wicked stepmothers and court ladies. The villainous, greedy ladies here are pretty well done, no complaints. I hated them 100%. But the story lost its spark for a long while.
Lin Yunrui’s main character Song Mo is perfectly swoons and heroic in the first part, but the character fades a bit as it goes forward, and that’s story issue. FL actress Meng Ziyi felt a bit flat/uninterested/not very expressive/staring puppet-like (for the most part). Unlike POJ, the side characters here aren’t given much time to develop, so for the majority, you’re just not super invested in whether they live/die, win/lose. I miss that. I adored Xia Zhiguang’s enigmatic and charismatic Ji Yong.
A very strong and magical beginning and great ending, excellent cinematography and acting throughout, but it didn’t make up for a just okay, ho-hum/spinning the plot wheels/snooze middle section for me. There were episodes I just was just…please God end this, I’m bored. That really surprised me.
Blossom is, early on at least, POJ’s barely older sibling. Maybe not quite as polished, but still, it has visual storytelling that’s an exciting eyeball feast. It’s elegant (but not stuffy) and dramatic, a gorgeous snow and fire-lit dream where you instantly bond with the determined and capable FL, and have heart-eyes with the boy next door/princely looking ML with teeth so perfect he looks like he just got his braces off.
All the scheming and rotten uncle-ministers had nearly the exact similar beards, wigs, makeup, and all the voice acting sounds similar, too. It’s difficult to remember which family member is stroking his beard and thinking up more ways to be naughty. Is it a Dou? Wu? Zhou? No idea. Halfway through and I still don’t know if it’s an uncle, or a dad, or what side of the fence they’re on, they all went into the makeup/wardrobe trailer looking like individuals and they all came out looking like “don’t let them stand out” background extras.
It lost its way, bogged down in the middle and packed with (as always) schemes and plots, treacherous family members, wicked stepmothers and court ladies. The villainous, greedy ladies here are pretty well done, no complaints. I hated them 100%. But the story lost its spark for a long while.
Lin Yunrui’s main character Song Mo is perfectly swoons and heroic in the first part, but the character fades a bit as it goes forward, and that’s story issue. FL actress Meng Ziyi felt a bit flat/uninterested/not very expressive/staring puppet-like (for the most part). Unlike POJ, the side characters here aren’t given much time to develop, so for the majority, you’re just not super invested in whether they live/die, win/lose. I miss that. I adored Xia Zhiguang’s enigmatic and charismatic Ji Yong.
A very strong and magical beginning and great ending, excellent cinematography and acting throughout, but it didn’t make up for a just okay, ho-hum/spinning the plot wheels/snooze middle section for me. There were episodes I just was just…please God end this, I’m bored. That really surprised me.
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