Meet You at the Blossom (2024)

A Step Forward in Danmei

The story sticks pretty close to the novel which a lot of fans will totally vibe with. But one big issue is how they handled the non-consensual scenes. Instead of taking those moments seriously - they were kind of romanticized which is definitely misleading. In my opinion they could have been way more thoughtful about this to show a more responsible perspective of those heavy themes but I do not fully blame them because they did follow the book after all.

On the flip side - the actors really killed it! Their chemistry brought a lot of authenticity to the adaptation, I really loved how they looked at eachother and the kisses were pretty decent too. And even with a limited budget, the creative team made it look pretty impressive.

So overall I think this adaptation is a promising step for the genre. It features Chinese actors and culturally relevant elements and it sets a new standard for future projects. Its awesome to see a production that respects the source material in the DANMEI world. Sure, there are some areas that need a bit more care and improvement but this is a meaningful move towards more nuanced and culturally accurate representations of danmei literature.

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awesome setting/styling, slightly confusing plot (watch suggestions)

Overall: while I loved the setting/styling, there were way too many characters/plot for 12 episodes and I was ambivalent about the romance aspect with the leads. Because of the collaboration, actual kisses & wide release, this got a bit of a rating boost. The series is based on a book but I reviewed the series on its own merits. 12 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired 2 episodes per week on: YouTube, GagaOOLala, Viki, iQIYI, WeTV, Loklok & Heavenly (more info at the end of this review)

Content Warnings: murders/deaths, rape?/non con turned consensual?, suicide, non con kissing, strangling, manhandling, fights/violence, blood, torture, manipulation, drugging, theft, kidnapping

Watch Suggestions (focuses on the leads, takes out love triangle, most violence/angst/pain)
- watch episodes 1-5 (beware episode 1 has non con/dub con)
- watch episode 6 at 31 minutes if you want a plot explainer
- skip episode 7 (angst and torture)
- episode 8 watch 5m30s-9 for a side couple, the rest is angst, pain, love triangle stuff
- episode 9 start at 29 minutes and watch to the end to get more plot developments
- episode 10 skip 7:30-20 or watch the whole episode
- episode 11 start at 11 min to 14:40, 18:30-20:20, 23:45-25
- episode 12 watch 7:45-18, 26:30-30, 34:10 to the end

What I Liked
- an opposites attract dynamic
- sweet moments
- setting/style
- really happy that a character convinced another character not to see/forgive a truly terrible character in episode 12
- got actual, shown kisses
- the production really made an effort to get this on as many platforms and to as many people as they could, they also wrote out the countries on their social media that had access to each platform
- collaborative effort between China, Taiwan and Thailand; hope this was successful and we see more collaborations

Room For Improvement
- exposition dump to start the series
- too many characters and plot given and I was confused until finally in episode 6 at 31 minutes they explained the plot more clearly, spent too much time on the leads apart
- wish they had modified the scenes in episode 1 and in episode 6
- how no one was concerned about the sister's fate
- wanted more relationship development shown of the side couple, it seemed that it mostly happened off screen
- Su Yin was infuriating and had way too much screen time
- the dubbing especially with 1 character (I guess he was speaking Thai and then they dubbed over it)
- odd camera angles

Thoughts on Grey Characters/Their Romantic Relationships
Sometimes these characters and their dynamic work for me and other times they don't. Here are the factors that I think about:
1. was there a realistic reason why the character/s acted the way they did in the past (Huai En was tortured/abused/manipulated his whole life but that doesn't forgive what he may have done in ep 6)
2. how bad was/is the treatment (because this is fade to black and based on reaction afterwards, I'm not sure if episode 6 was rape or turned consensual but it was still terrible, and in episode 9 he was choking the other lead)
3. were both characters grey or was one squeaky clean (Xiao Bao was pretty squeaky clean, he's very dense, Huai En was a cold blooded killer)
4. was there some kind of apology/amend making (I don't think Huai En apologized, he did save Xiao Bao and his family and risked his life to do so)
5. was there character growth (episode 9 and Huai En was still physically violent, in episode 11 he did have a revelation of the tighter he tried to hold on to Xiao Bao the more he slipped away)
6. do I believe that the characters will stay together in a happy romantic relationship (maybe)
final verdict: I'm nervous that the first time Xiao Bao looks at another attractive person Huai En will rape/kill him, but they did seem pretty happy at the end


Airing Platforms/Links/Countries (country info was from the production company)
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkzvQsQu-ofvkwO5v1gax9jqOYNYvhWN4
Airing everywhere except: Thailand, Japan and South Korea

GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4541/meet-you-at-the-blossom-2024-e01
Airing everywhere except: Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong China, Vietnam, Philippines, Canada, Australia, India, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Brazil.

Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40650c-meet-you-at-the-blossom
Airing: Americas, Oceania, Middle East, Europe, India

iQIYI https://www.iq.com/album/meet-you-at-the-blossom-2024-1689d4pr2sl
Airing: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Macau China, Brunei, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Brazil

WeTV https://wetv.vip/en/album/c5o1ffdwm6yhwy5
Airing: Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Macau China, United States, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal

Loklok - airing: Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Mexico, Spain, Russia

Heavenly - airing in South Korea

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AN UNSUCCESSFUL YET APPRECIATED EFFORT

Meet You at the Blossom is a series many of us were anticipating. It was supposed to be the first non-censored period same-sex novel adaptation and it is a co-production between China, Taiwan and Thailand with the latter being the one that distributes it.

Now, China -despite the censorship- has produced some great series in the past years. The Untamed and Word of Honor are probably the most well-known. Those two series got super popular to a point that China ended up having even stricter rules when it comes to censorship, even banning, at some point, novel writers from uploading their -uncensored- work online. Those two series gained a huge fanbase -especially The Untamed- and the actors starring in them are currently some of the most popular and well-paid people in Chinese entertainment industry having tons of opportunities to expand their careers even more.

I know, we all know, that those series along with many others didn’t have a decent budget when they were made. The production quality and CGI were horrendous, BUT, those series had many elements that most dramas were missing at the time. They were entertaining from beginning to end, the chemistry between the leads was on fire and the plot and characters were interesting to watch and well-written. Especially when it comes to The Untamed, the series managed to bring a very complicated story with some flawed yet relatable characters that we rarely get to watch nowadays.

Those adaptations, those adaptations that no one wanted to watch when they were announced, got so popular domestically and internationally, that the companies started mass producing danmei adaptations. They invested tons of money to film them. Actors that may have not been that popular when those series were filmed, are currently dominating the C-entertainment industry. Actors like Chen Fei Yu, Luo Yun Xi, Zhang Ling He, Tan Jian Ci and others. Unfortunately, all those adaptations have not seen the light of day yet and maybe they never will, but China has proven despite the change of the original sources that they are the best when it comes to stories portraying same-sex relationships.

What does that have to do with Meet You at the Blossom? Nothing and everything.
This series was announced out of nowhere. I obviously had zero expectations that it was going to be like The Untamed or Word of Honor for multiple reasons, but I was sure I would watch it on a legal platform, cause let’s be real, this was an experimental project. It was more to see if it will gain any money and if it is worth it to produce more series like this one. We have Taiwan making great efforts lately when it comes to danmei adaptations with Unknown being fantastic and with projects like The Only One airing soon. BUT, they didn’t touch the “period” danmeis for a reason.
Was this series worth the wait? No. But does it give some hope that maybe in the future we will get something better? Yes.
But let's get to the actual series.


Friendly disclaimer: This is my personal opinion and it is completely fine to disagree with it, as long as you are not being rude.

PRODUCTION QUALITY
As everyone can see, this series doesn’t have a big budget, but it honestly looked much better than I anticipated. And like previously mentioned, production quality is the least important when it comes to the final result.

ACTING
Unfortunately, acting was not good. It wasn’t unbearably bad from most of the actors, with Wang Yun Kai -Xiao Bao- doing a pretty decent job along with some actors in supporting roles. On the other hand, Li Le – Huai En- was very very bad. He barely had any expressions that looked real and most of the times I couldn’t help but roll my eyes every time he appeared on screen.

DUBBING
It was horrendous. I have seen worse in the past, but it is pretty bad here especially when it comes to specific characters, where the dubbing -or sound mixing- makes the sound, sound very artificial.

CHEMISTRY/COUPLES
I personally felt zero chemistry when it came to the main couple, or maybe one-sided chemistry from Xiao Bao’s side. Them falling in love or lusting for each other was so sudden, it is not possible to make it look interesting enough. Same with the other couples that their interactions were, however, much more interesting than the main one's.

CHARACTERS
Most of the characters are flawed, but not in a way that makes them interesting and fun to watch. I am not sure how to explain this, but because of how the plot/directing was handled, the characters felt "unnatural". I knew I was watching a series when watching them on screen. They didn’t feel real and I didn’t feel for any of them at any point of the series.

PLOT
Despite the fact that the romance is not getting as much screentime as I expected, for some reason, it feels like the plot is more of a background and the romance is the main story. Like the plot and the rest of the characters were there to fill screentime and in reality all the scriptwriter wanted was to focus on the main pairing. I have seen this tons of times in bls. I have seen this in tons of bls that wanted to make the plot the main focus and couldn’t. And this is where most period -well written- danmei’s (and their adaptations) differ. The general plot and all characters are more important than the main pairing and their love story and this is one of the reasons this series could not gain my attention.

HUAI EN AS A WOMAN
Okay, just mentioning this, cause I have also seen this a million times and it is never done well. Huai En would never pass as a woman and especially a pretty one, taking into consideration the beauty standards. This is a main plot-point in many Cdramas. Woman dressing up as men (The Legend of Fu Yao, Eternal Love and many others). Men dressing up as women -in danmei- (Heaven Official's Blessing, Kaleidoscope of Death). In live action it is very difficult to work and MYATB is no exception.

TOXICITY
First things first. People who know me, know how much I love toxic relationships in dramas, how much I enjoy watching flawed/toxic main characters on screen, NO MATTER how toxic they may get. Here, we have such a toxic character -and not only one, but let’s stick to that one because he is the most important-. If you have watched it, you know who I mean. And you know what? It’s not like I hate him or like him. I just find him bland and uninteresting. Even the way they portray the toxic scenes are shown in a very romantic light to a point that is laughable and can’t be taken seriously in any aspect.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE
I won’t lie. I enjoyed and laughed by how ridiculous the first 2-4 eps were. After that, I just felt completely bored and the only reason I finished watching it was because I had promised myself to support this great effort. Taking into consideration all the negative points I mentioned above, it had almost zero entertainment value for me.


All in all, Meet You at the Blossom, adapted from the Blooming Flowers, Silent Sorrow novel -much better title btw- felt more like a Thai-parody of a danmei-adaptation than a serious try to make something good. Both serious/sentimental and funnier scenes felt equally ridiculous. However, even though this was an unsuccessful effort in my eyes, it was an -appreciated- effort nonetheless.
I feel like I will completely forget everything about this series in a few days, but the hope that this may bring better period danmei-adaptations in the future will stay with me -along with my hope that the already filmed series will air someday-.

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Ming, Come Collect Your Great-Grandfather

Dishonour. Dishonour on Huai’en, on his ancestors and his stupid arse adorable smile. Matter of fact, dishonour on his family goat. Darn red flag out there making me angry but also feeling sorry and sad for him.

So like, are we all gonna need to explain to our therapists why we’re normal for feeling bad for a psychopath with the cutest smile ever, or? Cuz, like… u tripping if you say you didn’t at one point feel bad for Huai’en and his stupid arse adorable face. But no, really, Huai’en is so broken he’s pitiful and painfully sad.

Finding out the same author who wrote My Stand-In also wrote this one made so much sense. Of course, Haui’en is a red flag, he’s Ming’s ancestor! XD

Listen, bls have been trying to out-do themselves when it comes to red flag characters. But Haui’en, oh Haui’en, homeboy is waay past red flags and turning into a whole arse red sea. Which brings me to this week’s ranking of red flags.

BLs Red Flags HOT 100

#1 Huai’en [NEW]
This guy might as well has invented the color red.

#2 Ming, My Stand-In [-1]
Y’all remember when he hit Joe upside the head with a bat? Good times.

#3 Vegas, KinnPorsche [RE]
Vegas apologists be like: Sure, he kidnapped and tortured Pete, but like, did Pete die? hmm?

#4 Boston, Only Friends [=]
He’s the only good thing about that drama. I said what I said, bite me. Mew should be on this list instead, if not for anything, for that stupid arse silver chain.

#9 Vee, Love Mechanics [+1]
I still think Mark would have been better off as a creepy stalker following Bar into his 80s, and dying alone with 5 cats, cuz ending up with Vee’s two-timing, hypocrite arse was just tragic.

#15 Khai, Theory of Love [-1]
Meh, they should have left him at the train station.

And so on and so forth. I didn’t put Haui’en on top of this list for decoration. I know most of us can and will explain why he did the things he did, and even understand him. Yes, his upbringing was terrible, and he didn’t even know what love was until Xiaobao. When I heard his backstory, it remained me of Dr. Doofenshmirtz, (you know, when even his parents didn’t show up for this birth) #realsad. But he still did the things he did, and he was grown/sane enough to know right from wrong.

So, although I did understand him, and felt sorry for him. His character was a hard one to cheer for most of the time, cuz look at his track record:

1. His love language is threats and physical abuse
2. Kidnapped Xiaobao’s sister and threatened the poor child
3. Turned Xiaobao’s family in, causing them to lose everything (which the parents deserved btw) and Xiaobao to lose his home.
4. Indirectly being the cause of Xiaobao’s poisoning and pain
5. SA’d Xiaobao multiple times, and even in one did it while choking him until he was unconscious.
6. Causing Xiaobao to lose his smile.

No really, Haui’en was something else. This guy comes to ask for a second chance and his apology is like ‘I want to take you away to a place where there is nobody and lock you up, and you’d never see your parents again. would you love that?’ Boy what? LOL, how is that what we going with??

Yeah, he did all the above and more, and got my blood pressure off the roof, so much that, more than once I went, ‘nah, yeah, I literally don’t care about him anymore, he can go hug a tree’. But then he turned around and..

1. Falls in love so deeply, he’s willing to destroy the entire empire to be with Xiaobao and protect him.
2. Gives up his royal title so Xiaobao’s family can be free.
3. Knowingly walk into danger and got poisoned to find a cure for Xiaobao
4. Going back to his sect to get the last flower and rescue Xiaobao’s sister
5. Not giving up on Xiaobao even after he constantly said mean things to get him to leave.
6. Standing up to his crazy arse uncle/dad and going through torture cuz he refused to give up his for love Xiaobao.
7. Agreeing to be Xiaobao’s good wife.

Why, why they out there trying to kill me with tears?? It was so sad listening to Haui’en talking about how he was never loved, although everyone says he looks like his mother. And Xiaobao thinking he must have done something bad for loving him, all because of how he was suffering.

Yes, we can all argue but agree that most of the good things he did was just him undoing the bad things he did, but still, that's growth, that he saw they were bad and he needed to fix them. So, good for him.

This series tested my morals. On one hand, I wanted to hate Haui’en with the passion of the sun. On the other hand, I wanted to do one of those side-ways, I don’t really care, take the blanket if you want things and protect him. But even with that, I will not excuse his behaviour, cuz his own actions brought him most of the pain he got into. If he hadn’t want to control Xiaobao and make himself Xiaobao’s whole world by betraying him, he wouldn’t have had to suffer heartbreak.

Which brings us to poor heartbroken Xiaobao who I want to protect and slap with a rubber chicken at the same time. Cuz really, he picked up a beauty, mind you, he found Huai’en while he was in the middle of slaughtering a whole bunch of assassins. Then he mistook him for a woman, and immediately decided to make him his wife. Literally, he went 'It's Mine' and just ran with it, not caring at all the consequences.

LOL, that concept got me, it was so funny, then homeboy was like ‘Hey, you, why are you a man?’ sksksks, why you think child??

Anyway, yeah, we can argue that his naivety and horny arse brought him all that misfortune, which it did, and he suffered for it. But damn, to still be in love after all that, and end up with him… yeah. But love am I right? The magic logic to solve everything.

Watching Xaiobao hardened his heart and living in pain was so hard to watch. It broke my heart so much to see the smile leave his face. At one point I wanted to put down my wine and hug my tv to console him… but then, you know, wine.

Hearing Xiaobao’s parents joke that he grew up overnight made me weep, cuz we all saw the pain and heartbreak he had to endure for that growth. This drama pulled on my heart. Started off all sweet, Xiaobao mistaking a beautiful murdering dude for his future wife… all warm and fizzy, then bam, sadness overload. And when Haui’en was left dying and he was thinking he didn’t deserve any happiness… water works :((((.

Rationally, I did not want those two to end up together. And when Xiaobao tried to let Huai’en go, I was like good for you, you’re not like those blind leads, you can actually see red flags. But of course, that did not last. That episode when he literally put his life on the line and went up the mountain to warn him, I was like: ‘Child, child, let that man go and go home and find something to eat.’ Obviously he did not listen to me, and almost died, so what do I know? Love, am I right?

I liked Xaiobao’s character, although he went back to his red flag with a big smile, I still liked him. I don’t know, both him and Haui’en were so sad and pitiful that I couldn’t bring myself to fully dislike them for their horrible decisions.

Not gonna lie. I do not hate that they ended up together. They both suffered, and now they both have an understanding of what to do to move forward, which is the growth they both needed. I’m glad they have each other, and they both found their smiles again.

EVERYTHING ELSE
Everyone played their roles well, even that annoying crown prince. every time he showed up, I was like. ‘child, will you keep quiet?’ out there acting like he licks postal stamps in his free time. Also, Haui’en’s whole family tree was crazy, cuz why was this crown prince in love with his cousin??

Su Yin had me in the first half. All caring and there for Xiaobao and his family, only to find out this whole time the mfer was trying to play match-maker! Out there acting like Xiaobao’s main father. At first, I thought he wanted to be more than childhood friends, turns out he wanted Xiaobao to grow up real nice and marry his sister, and have tons of children. HUH??? what? im— like?? Life in that time period was wild! Cuz, no one even raised an eyebrows when he said that.

That being said, I guess I understand Su Yin, yes he came to annoy me when he did things no one asked him to, watching him leave Huai’en to die was brutal. But I understand where he was coming from, wanting the protect Xaiobao, although he did too much at times. So yeah, as it stand, I ended the series feeling Wednesday about his character. I don’t hate him, I don’t love him. He's whatever. meh.

As for the bad father/uncle, so glad he ended up getting his neck separated from his head. Was so happy when Xiaobao said he won't allow Haui'en to visit him. He deserved to die alone with no one after how he treated the woman he loves' child.

SSKSKSK, my reaction was exactly like Xiaobao and Zhaocai’s when Jinbao was like, ‘I like the doctor’ what??? didn’t you like ran away or something to get away from him? Zhaocai was so done with them, lol! My man rolled his eyes so hard he saw the back of his head. Also that doctor was such a vibe, just out there saying whatever the hell he wanted.

PLOT
This had dark themes that they didn't shy away from. Plotwise, the concept was interesting, Xiaobao mistaking a man for a woman, and going whatever, love is love and deciding to court him anyway, got my interest. The royal background, and who is who of the brothers got confusing at times, but all in all, interesting concept. I really enjoyed watching this.

Omg, I was so happy when the guy who gave Xiaobao the poison died. Didn’t suffer enough in my opinion.

Also, we’ve come a long way since Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji’s long distant ‘subjective’ glances in The Untamed, to finally get a kiss from a Chinese bl, even if it was a collaboration with other countries, I’m still counting it as a win. Now, we wait and pray for 2ha's adaptation.

Anyway, all in all, a good drama that didn’t hold back in it’s dark theme. There’ are some triggers, so anyone who wants to watch it should be warned. I’m looking forward to more future work from the two leads, they had great chemistry. I'll recommend it to all bl lovers.
This is going on the list of my best watch of 2024, along with Unknown, My Stand-In, and Century of Love.

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The obvious jumping off points for comparison will be The Untamed and Word of Honor. Like those two earlier series, Blossom presents a fantasy world grounded in an alternate version of a recognizable version of the distant Chinese past. Like those earlier series, the emphasis on martial arts qualifies its genre as wuxia. Like those earlier series, the plot involves a dizzying number of rivalries, factions, dynastic jealousies, and family politics. Like those earlier series, all that razzmatazz can become overwhelming and confusing—and is mostly incidental anyway because these machinations merely provide a structural form through which the main characters pass. Like those earlier series, Blossom revolves around the relationship between two men, qualifying it as representing the danmei genre. Unlike those earlier series, Blossom shrugs away the need to cloak that relationship beneath a veneer of respectable bromance. Instead, it makes no secret of the fact that Jin Xiao Bao and Zong Zheng Huai En are smitten with one another.

All three source novels presented their central same-sex romance in an unambiguous manner; yet, only the adaptation of Blossom manages to transfer that frankness to television. Many will deem that success alone as a justification for extolling what Blossom has achieved. Rightly so; I shall not gainsay that point of view. Blossom can elude the strictest constraints of censorship because the production was financed by backers from outside the People’s Republic. Strictures banning the depiction of same-sex themes presented an obstacle this production team could surmount. As a result, the on-screen product had no need to rely on winking at the audience in the hopes they will understand the significance when two male characters stare into each other’s eyes. Wait a moment, and those stares may well evolve into a passionate kiss—or more.

The plot mostly makes no sense. Where Untamed and Word each had 30+ episodes to layer in the world-building, Blossom’s budget permitted only a dozen. Some pivotal plot points simply occur off-screen. For example, when wounded or injured characters finish one episode traveling toward help, the next episode often resumes the story with that injured party waking up in bed. How, exactly, their rescue was effectuated remains obscure. In another example, Huai En has jumped toward a river of lava to retrieve a magical flower as it blossoms. Imagine the potential in this set-up for adventure or mortal peril! Imagine also the CGI cost to generate a river of lava. We never actually see what happens in this exciting situation because the series deems it unnecessary to depict the actual retrieval of the crucial flora. Huai En is presumed dead; yet, in the next episode, he is simply there with the others having been successful in his mission. These sorts of plot holes definitely demarcate Blossom as an inferior product to the highly respected Word and Untamed. On the bright side, some of the early episodes convey an almost campy spirit of action and adventure, as if the filmmakers are leaning into their own limitations. At times, Blossom can be a hoot because of its narrative shortcomings. It is ridiculous, but—wink wink—it knows it is ridiculous.

For me, two specific criticisms detract from my overall impression of the series. First, the second half-dozen episodes failed to match the breezy vibe of the fist half-dozen. Much of the early entertainment value derives from following the bungling fool Xiao Bo as he bumbles his way through life. He provides romance, adventure, and comic relief all in one berobed package. The series loses its way when it sidelines Xiao Bo from the worldly action due to a poisoning. That fate relegates him to bed for an exorbitant number of scenes and deprives the series of its most entertaining character, who is shunted away from most action sequences thereafter. Petty jealousies between other berobed characters competing to nurse the patient, whining and sighing endlessly in his bedchamber, become repetitive and tiresome.

My second complaint is far more serious. Blossom has a disturbing tendency to depict its “romantic” scenes as non-consensual. If a viewer wanted to reject the entire series on the basis of these non-com scenes, I would certainly not defend the series. One might overlook these moments on the grounds that a series portraying a milieu whose social structure is rooted in hierarchy, patriarchy, servitude, and misogyny need not remain faithful to 21st century values regarding the merits of consent in sexual relationships. And yet…the folks making this series do live in a 21st century milieu, and so does the audience they hope to attract. They could have done better. They should have done better. Why would enemies shoot an aphrodisiac laced dart at an opponent? Wouldn’t poison work better? Why not just kill him with swords or arrows? The answer is that the aphrodisiac gives the writers an excuse to stage a scene where one overly amorous lead character can (violently) seduce the other lead character, with the justification that he was under the influence of this potion at the time. OK…maybe. But if the original circumstances of the poisoning make no sense, then neither does any result flowing out of that event. (Again, why not just kill him? How does making your enemy horny help you?) Furthermore, it would be possible that the second character—recognizing that his acquaintance is not his usual self—might volunteer to “help him out” rather than portray their encounter as a violent assault. That choice is on the writers, not on the patriarchal milieu. The other major example of sexual assault in this story follows a fit of jealous rage when one lead is trying to assert his control and mastery (owernship) over the other. This sequence is even less defensible. Again, other options would have been better choices for the 2020s.

In short, Blossom is a mess, but mostly it’s a fun mess. The attraction between Xiao Bo and Huai En makes no sense, but logic in romantic affairs has never been a prerequisite in the BL genre. Most BL fans will find Xiao Bo’s and Huai En’s continual striving to live life together to be quite satisfying. Afficianadoes of wuxia will likely not rank Blossom among the best examples of that genre, but its innate cheesiness makes it kind of fun. Those who object to scenes depicting non-consensual sexual moments will wish to steer clear.

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Most spectacular bl of 2024

So I am here after finishing this beautiful show. First I was a bit doubtful about this show and Collab due to only 12 episodes. But my god they presented the story do beautifully and it makes a lot of sense. Personally for me this was better than the novel. The casting was on point btw. Every character felt like they came straight out of novel. All of them were cuteness maximised. I loved the story character and the actors, and along with that I loved the Ost this beautiful series has. For me this show is the best Bl of 2024 along with Century of love. Loved this loved this. Want more collabs like this....❤️❤️🤍🤍🤍

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Uncensored costume BL drama: brave step forward

If you want to create uncensored costume BL drama, how to outwit Chinese censorship? Make the drama a collab project, produce it by a Thai company and distribute to international platforms. Bingo! When I've first heard about it in spring, while the drama was in production, my reaction was: "Looks intriguing. I wonder what they can come up with. I'll give it a try when it airs". So what's the result of the experiment?
First thing that impressed me was how the start of the story is built on contrasts. Jin Xiaobao is young master from a rich and loving family: spoiled, flirty and frivolous, however kind, caring and sympathetic. Zongzheng Huaien, cold as ice and aloof, was raised by cruel father; he's never seen kindness from anyone and views romantic love as a bad thing. This is how their story begins.
Secondly, I was glad to see that the drama had significant background. It's not just a romcom which started with a crossdressing. Actions of people obssessed with power, revenge and past grievances collide with MLs' family backgrounds and put their budding relationship to the test. The second half of the plot is very intense. Characters' development is beyond doubt: Xiaobao eventually turns out to be much stronger than seemed in the beginning, Huaien with his possessive personality finally realizes that true love can't be forced. The final episode is so peaceful and heartwarming, the best ending possible.
Does the drama have drawbacks? Yes. Minor problems with costumes, accessories and wigs are not that important, I barely noticed them. Acting, production and martial arts could have been better, but considering the low budget and the whole project being the experiment, the team did a decent job. The only thing that really worried me is the consent issue in the first half of the story. I know the drama follows the novel which I haven't read, but I don't want such an issue to become a trend for future dramas. If this project paves the way to more Chinese uncensored costume dramas of better quality and about healthy relationships, excellent. I'll wait for them.

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Story and acting

Good drama
I hope to see them again in other bl. The story is well constructed and the acting was well performed.
Acting: For young actors, I think they performed well. Even if it wasn't entirely very well performed, they gave it their best.
Music: Magnificent, the credits were very good (plus I have a weakness for Chinese songs). The ending song didn't really appeal to me, but the credits were 😘
Story: All stories about ancient China have always attracted me.So inserting a gay romance into this story is a first (knowing China with their bromance). I had an idea of ​​how the story would go from start to finish. I was especially intrigued by the romance.
I wanted to see: how the main characters will fall in love and how this ancient society will accept this love between two men. They successfully integrated romance into this Bl. A very beautiful story well told.
I like the characters: Xiaobao, Huan'in, Suyin, Doctor.....

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