Reblooming Blue (2024)

Peyton place of a Porcelain town

For those who are old enough to remember the TV series, Peyton Place, this drama reminds me of that soap opera. - the toxic relationships, family secrets, shady business deals. scandals, greed, love, loss. This story is set in a famous Porcelain town and the female protaganist is an orphan from a famous family of ceramic makers. She was almost cheated out of her family legacy by a domineering and self serving aunt and a good intentioned but weak willed and tradition bound uncle who is the creative force of the family business. The male protagonist is a wiz investor who was double crossed by a trusted friend and business partner and almost realized too late that there is more to life than making money. The story is not just about the romance and the trials and tribulations that the 2 protagonists experienced but is also about how people with centuries old Chinese traditions and mindsets are pulled unwillingly and painfully into the 21st century business environment and what happens if you trust the wrong people and are too naive in business dealings.

Those who enjoy learning more about porcelain and porcelain manufacture will enjoy this drama as I did. I was very interested when they showed and talked, though on a very basic level, about how famille rose porcelain is made. I have a new appreciation of how much sweat and tears goes into the making of good hand painted porcelain. The countryside backdrop is very scenic and the cinematography is excellent. I find myself looking forward to every episode and visiting Jingdezhen in the future.

I think Victoria Song and Vic Chou played the leads convincingly and the chemistry between the 2 was good though both their hair styles (especially Vic’s disheveled countryside hair style)could be better at times ：） Victoria Song is so beautiful and young looking, she could easily pass for a woman in her mid or late 20’s.

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Heat death of a drama

I’d normally drop a show because it is bad and unwatchable. In this case, it is due to apathy and the need to ration my time. After 6 eps, I feel like I've seen it all before and in much better productions.

For instance, I gather this show follows Will Love in Spring in the schedule. Ouch, that must have hurt because while WLiS has enough chemistry to warm your house in the dead of winter, there is no chemistry here. We get the meaningful glances, but I get more feels looking at a slice of chocolate cake.

Ditto, the topic of disappearing traditional Chinese is well documented. Several shows have highlighted this and one prime example is Meet Yourself. MY is far superior in every way. Not only is the story and acting better but their predicament is woven into the plot in a humanistic way. You feel for the old masters and respect them for their dedication. In this series, all we get are buyouts, shady deals and naked greed. I will quit too if I have to put up with those shenanigans.

The opening scene of this series is so confusing. It literally dropped our leads in front of us with no preamble and then immediately does a flashback. Did that scene gave half the story away?!

Backstabbing, underhanded deals, and betrayal is the only way Chinese knows how to do business, according to this show. We are 5, 6 eps in and there is no way I would do business with any of them. This extends to the FL's family. Her family is willing to renege on their promise to sell the FL shares in the family business. All in the name of keeping the investors happy and benefiting their useless son. To paraphrase an adage, who needs enemies when you have family like that.

Speaking of friends and family, while a lot of series have quirky and interesting supporting characters, so far, I have seen none. They are all either nasty, scheming, useless and/or parasites. I suppose it means our leads have nobody to rely on except themselves . . I shall just refer back to my point on zero chemistry. Touché.

Let's talk a little about our leads now. Vic Zhou has been absent from the small screen for many moons. He is still dapper and quite stoic in this drama, but he is a little stiff as well. Need to loosen up those acting muscles.

Speaking of acting muscles, Victoria Song is quite lively and animated this time around. This is a departure from her usual stilted and pouting way. She is also playing a woman somewhat younger than her real age. Picture Zhao Lusi in that role and you'll get the picture. It is a bit of hit and miss though. I see it as a welcome change but is it too little, too late? I don't know and probably will never find out.

In the end, too many tropes, poor chemistry and dodgy characters rules this series. There is no good reason for me to keep watching. It might come good, or it might get worse. Regardless, with Joy of Life 2 going live, conservation of viewing hours is a no brainer.

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