Sam

So Glad I Hit a Play

I am in my C-Drama phase. So naturally like a well adjusted person, I am currently watching nothin' other than historical C-Dramas, genre non-withstanding. Although none I have watched recently was a dud, there were very few which compelled me to share the joy I felt after watching them. Blossom is probably in the top 5 of such c-dramas.

Ok so gushing mode triggered, fair warning.

I loved this drama. Like absolutely loved it. I would be watching it again, then again and may be yet again. It has solid "A"s in every thing that counts for me. Although the concept is not at all original, the story and screenplay make it feel fresh. The narration is tightly controlled. There are no loose threads; there are no unnecessary tracks; there are very few filler scenes. I kid you not. I started watching this last evening. I binged through the night. At 5:00 AM this morning, I realized that I should rest my eyes. It was a tough decision to make. But I grabbed 4 hours of sleep and then continued from there. I was that riveted. I had to click on the next episode. I couldn't help myself.

Characters and actors. There are so many characters, and 99% of those have back stories and reasons. With most of them, you understand why they are doing what they are doing. It probably helped that I did not hit an FF even once. So may be that was the reason why every character felt real?!? Dunno.

The main leads are to die for. They are so intelligent and fierce and loyal, that I rooted for them not just because I was supposed to. I wanted them to have a good ending. I was invested in their struggles. Song Mo and Shou Gu are going to live rent free in my heart for a long time. Their initial tussle, power play, mistrust, mutual respect for each other's capabilities and the instinctive pull towards one another are presented so darn well. There is no insta-love. They are not enemies either (although Song Mo actually greets Shou Gu with a sword across her throat). They are two people thrown together by their fates. But they are essentially very smart people. So even though they find the other intriguing, there is no lowering of their guards. It happens all so organically, that when they eventually trust each other, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. I gobble that stuff. Give me a good slow-burn and I am your minion. This drama does that well.

Meng Zi Yi rocked. Her Shou Gu is another badass h who does not need to be bratty. She does not possess any martial skills. Her brain is her asset and she abundantly uses it. This is a blast to the past drama, where she gets a do-over after getting backstabbed by her good for nothing husband and at the same time, meeting a stranger, Song Mo, who basically dies for her. She makes full use of it. She does not have any altruistic motives in the beginning. She is not out there to save the world. She just wants to avoid her own tragedy. By the end, she willingly enters the fray to save her loved ones, most importantly her husband. In her first life, she is painfully betrayed by her loser, cheating SOB husband and her younger half sister. Yet, in her second chance, she gives her all for her loving husband. “You and I are different. I trust the person I love”, her simple statement to the Empress showcases what a mature and brave woman Shou Gu is. Meng Zi Yi captured Shou Gu's sharp wit so darn well. Her large eyes and ready smiles do help.

As good as MZY is, for me, the star of the show was Li Yun Rui. I had seen him in a couple forgettable supporting roles. This was his first major drama that I watched. Me likieee! In the first scene, with that amazing silver grey hair and a slow & tired drawl, he just reeled me in. Since Legolas and Aragorn, I have a thing for hooded, tortured heroes. No wonder I fell so hard for Song Mo. Li Yun Rui brought Song Mo to life. His darkness, tiredness, and undeniable goodness grabbed ahold of my heart through the screen. I waited for him to come on the screen. Even a simple twitch of his eyebrow added to the depth of the scenes. I can also gleeful attest that Song Mo maintains the same charisma through out. Shou Gu does not outshine him in the second half or vice versa. That's my pet peeve. A to-die-for ML roams around with a lost puppy expression once the marriage is consummated or something.

Li Yun Rui is a seriously good looking guy too. In my magnificent shallowness, I confess that I started watching the drama because I was captivated by his beauty. Typically that adjective is not used for men. I am gonna. He is utterly beautiful. *Sigh*. Even if he didn't perform the way he did, I would have been happy to just watch him on the screen.

IMO the leads did not have the so-called sizzling chemistry. They just worked together very well. They fit. The tension was very much there though. I was more than happy with the outcome. I guess that's what good actors bring to the table. Their scenes still made me squee. Like a simp I was smiling whenever they got all flirty.

I wantto specifically add one thing. The baddies are aplenty in this drama. But amongst those, Song Yi Chun, Song Mo's dad, is the most despicable character in the drama. I won't go in details, but I hated his guts. It's not even that the actor did a magnificent job or anything. Duke of Ying aka the worst father of the century, deserved to die a more brutal death (pardon my bloodthirstiness) . That scum.. Ugh. Then there was Wang Ying Xue aka the wicked-witch-of-the-west stepmother. Oh boy. I just wanted to jump through the scene and bitchslap her. That evil tweet was just that evil. And I also hated that slimy Eunuch Wang. He also got off easy. I needed him to be punished by the Emperor. Strangely, I hated him more than his master. Huh.

There are enough goodies to make it tolerable. Bless 'em! Honourable mention, Ji Yong. The show tried to get me to unlike him, but nay, I did not fall for it. Not for nothing I have been watching dramas for years. I have learned a thing or two ya know? His morality and motives seemed dubious but I knew there was more to it than what was on the surface.

The drama is not perfect though. It takes some atrocious cinematic liberties. Shou Gu's schemes do not fail, like not once. Song Mo, gets the miraculous antidote for his poison, in spite of everybody and their dogs crying it wasn't available. In spite of making elaborate plans in the middle of the show, Song Mo conveniently forgets 53000 odd soldiers from the Ding army and yet comes at the top.

Also, I gotta say. *SPOILER* I hated the death of the elder brother of the bodyguard duo. Apart from the fact that the brothers were funny together, I was worried about ma boy Song Mo. Who would watch his back now?? Argh..

But these were some minor issues that I forgot as soon as I thought of them. This was a solid solid watch for me. Now all I am worried about is hitting a post-series depression until I find another Song Mo-ish ML.

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Refreshing

Classic example of how actors, directors, writers can transform a rather run of the mill story to a quite quite enjoyable and wonderful drama. Lovely Runner does not have a great story, nor is it unique.. But its presentation is charming, refreshing and enjoyable. Major kudos to the actors, director and the team.

The plot does have some loopholes but that is to be expected of a time travel drama. My only gripe is that we don’t get to know why the villain does what he does in every effing time line. He is just incorrigible and sticks around like a two day old candy. But in the finale, poof.. he goes away very easily. I don’t want to put any major spoilers here but such an easy end makes him just a prop to make the show last for 16 episodes. It didn’t detract from this otherwise charming drama for me. But it just kept bothering me like a mosquito bite. Why did he keep on keeping on? Like either say why or just go away.

Music is wonderful; it stays with you afterwards. But the USP is the actors. Casting a good looking pair sure works lol, but if they just look good then the drama loses its momentum around eighth or ninth episode. Here ML and FL, SML, friends, mom, dad, bros and grandma’s are all just fantastic. The mix somehow really works. Apart from the OTP, the healthy and positive family dynamics on both sides were so nice. Keeps you engaged. I’m rather getting tired of the over-demanding, shrewish, moms and dads who look down on their kids. Plus as many have said before the height difference between ML and FL makes it cuter. The last episode also kept me smiling like a simp. I know.. I’m very shallow.. eh..

Loved this one. Wanted to give it a 10 but the caricature-ish villain deducts half a point for me.

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Edit:

Rewatched it today.. very unusual for me to revisit the drama so soon after the first watch but was feeling low because of something, wanted to get lost in the k-drama world and this was a random pick.. It struck me once again. How on earth our ML and FL are so darn cute together! It’s not silly cute but cute cute. Our leads’ strong performances actually change the tone of that cuteness as per their age. To me at least, the cutes of their teen age romance was different from the cutes of their mature romance. The pitch and vibe of their togetherness changes as per their age. Hats off to both the leads for throwing themselves in their characters. Sometimes the couple-ness (I know I made up this word..anyhoo) feels amazing in the high school years. But when the characters enter the matured phase, the chemistry either fizzles out or it seems contrived. It’s very difficult to see the leads as grown ups, in spite of all the hair style changes or wardrobe changes. I had this difficulty in WIFTY and Our Secrets. But here the transition was smooth. And the credit fully goes to Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon. Job well done you guys!! And that’s why I am bumping this to 10, in spite of my gripe with that very bad man.

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