An unexpected realistic portrait of love and relationships in adult life
I had chosen Discovery of Romance in the first place because of the main male lead—an excellent actor, Qin Jun Jie—and although I already knew the female lead, Janice Wu, she hadn’t really stood out to me until now. Here, she’s really good and believable. Of the three main protagonists, the second male lead is the weakest. With a different casting choice, things might have been a bit more interesting and the overall score would´ve been higher. His acting isn't good.
This is a story of second chances, growth, and life, told in an engaging way, with the three main protagonists breaking the fourth wall from time to time. The first 10 to 13 episodes are comedy gold. In the middle part, the tone begins to shift as we learn more about everyone involved, and the final stretch (episodes 20 to 26) ... well, be prepared, it’s touching.
That said, this show is not for everyone. It's a “kind of love triangle” without really being one, since that first encounter pushes the ex to fight for the girl to come back to him—a difficult task, considering the female lead is in a relationship that checks all the boxes, at least on paper. As I said, the first 10 to 13 episodes are gold—I have so many many many favorite hilarious moments. Then the tone slowly changes, and by the end, it becomes deeply emotional – although ends in a high note again.
The protagonists are entering their 30s, and that’s clearly the target audience: people in their 30s and older. You need to have lived a bit, to have experienced life's ups and downs, heartbreaks, failures, longings, and struggles beyond your 20s, to fully appreciate, understand, and reflect on what’s happening, both in general and within each character, and why they make the choices they do.
There are no purely good or bad people here, just human beings being human: imperfect, selfish, immature, arrogant, insecure, caring, ambitious, sweet. They made choices, and they hurt themselves and others in the process. Some will grow more than others. That’s real life. They’re not perfect or always likable, but you won´t hate anyone. I think this is the drama’s strongest point together with the acting and the chemistry between Qin Jun Jie and Janice Wu. It feels real, with real people. And because of that, it's by no means perfect—but it’s solid and genuinely good.
I won’t spoil the ending. I was pleasently surprised, because I didn’t expect to find such a real and touching drama.
Side notes:
The friends/side characters follow the trend of early 2020s dramas, with a slightly cartoonish tone, but nothing you can’t handle. Overall, the acting is solid across the cast—except for two characters who are just boring to watch. I skipped some of their scenes (very personal preference, of course, as this review).
The English title is bad. The Chinese title is much more accurate—it plays with the name of the female lead and the ideas/situations of love. I guess in those years “Romance” and “Love” were trending, and “Blossom” wasn’t on anyone’s radar yet.
This is a story of second chances, growth, and life, told in an engaging way, with the three main protagonists breaking the fourth wall from time to time. The first 10 to 13 episodes are comedy gold. In the middle part, the tone begins to shift as we learn more about everyone involved, and the final stretch (episodes 20 to 26) ... well, be prepared, it’s touching.
That said, this show is not for everyone. It's a “kind of love triangle” without really being one, since that first encounter pushes the ex to fight for the girl to come back to him—a difficult task, considering the female lead is in a relationship that checks all the boxes, at least on paper. As I said, the first 10 to 13 episodes are gold—I have so many many many favorite hilarious moments. Then the tone slowly changes, and by the end, it becomes deeply emotional – although ends in a high note again.
The protagonists are entering their 30s, and that’s clearly the target audience: people in their 30s and older. You need to have lived a bit, to have experienced life's ups and downs, heartbreaks, failures, longings, and struggles beyond your 20s, to fully appreciate, understand, and reflect on what’s happening, both in general and within each character, and why they make the choices they do.
There are no purely good or bad people here, just human beings being human: imperfect, selfish, immature, arrogant, insecure, caring, ambitious, sweet. They made choices, and they hurt themselves and others in the process. Some will grow more than others. That’s real life. They’re not perfect or always likable, but you won´t hate anyone. I think this is the drama’s strongest point together with the acting and the chemistry between Qin Jun Jie and Janice Wu. It feels real, with real people. And because of that, it's by no means perfect—but it’s solid and genuinely good.
I won’t spoil the ending. I was pleasently surprised, because I didn’t expect to find such a real and touching drama.
Side notes:
The friends/side characters follow the trend of early 2020s dramas, with a slightly cartoonish tone, but nothing you can’t handle. Overall, the acting is solid across the cast—except for two characters who are just boring to watch. I skipped some of their scenes (very personal preference, of course, as this review).
The English title is bad. The Chinese title is much more accurate—it plays with the name of the female lead and the ideas/situations of love. I guess in those years “Romance” and “Love” were trending, and “Blossom” wasn’t on anyone’s radar yet.
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