This review may contain spoilers
The Lovesick Boys and the Throne Everyone Wants
I genuinely don’t know what they put into this drama, but it is ridiculously addictive. On paper, it’s another court intrigue drama about power struggles, revenge, succession, and the imperial harem. In reality, I could not stop watching. Every episode gave me something new, whether it was another political scheme, a plot twist, a new character, or another reason to stay up for “just one more episode.” It was one of the easiest dramas I’ve binge-watched this year.
I actually went into this drama expecting not to like it because I’m not the biggest Meng Ziyi fan. The only reason I started it was because of He Yu, and honestly… I was not expecting to love it this much.
Let’s start with the biggest star of the show: the male lead.
He Yu absolutely stole this drama. His character was shameless, manipulative, calculating, intelligent, hilarious, ridiculously handsome, completely lovesick, and somehow still incredibly endearing. He became one of my favourite male leads of the year.
I love a shameless male lead, and this man delivered everything I could ask for. One minute he’s pretending to be weak, fragile, and in desperate need of help, and the next he’s reminding everyone why he’s actually one of the smartest and strongest people in the room. His confidence, wit, fighting scenes, principles, and absolute devotion to the female lead made him impossible not to love.
Can we also talk about the face card? Please keep casting He Yu as the lead in historical dramas forever. The styling, the costumes, the hair, the acting… everything worked. That man served face every single episode.
I had mostly seen He Yu in lighter, playful roles before this, so seeing him completely own such a cunning, layered character genuinely surprised me. He carried the role effortlessly.
Meng Ziyi also surprised me.
This is easily my favourite performance from her. I’m usually not the biggest fan of her acting, but she completely won me over here. At first I honestly disliked her character because she felt cold, distant, and almost heartless. But the more the story developed, the more I understood her. She was driven by revenge and power rather than romance, so her emotional growth felt earned.
Her crying scene after his death was probably the best acting I’ve ever seen from her. That scene completely broke me.
The only thing I’d like to change is her styling. I really hope future historical dramas give her different hairstyles and costumes because I feel like she’s always styled exactly the same.
The chemistry completely shocked me.
Off-screen they gave me sibling or best friend energy during promotions, so I wasn’t expecting much. On-screen? Completely different story.
These two characters were genuinely written for each other.
They’re both intelligent, manipulative, calculating, ambitious, and willing to play the long game. Their personalities complement each other perfectly.
He falls first, falls hard, and isn’t shy about it at all. Meanwhile, she isn’t someone who believes in love because revenge has always been her priority. I never minded how slowly she accepted his feelings because it made perfect sense for her character.
And once she finally falls…
They become one of my favourite couples of the year.
That said, I do feel like we were robbed of several romantic moments. There were multiple scenes where it genuinely looked like kissing scenes had been awkwardly cut, making the editing feel abrupt. It was disappointing because their chemistry deserved more.
Another standout was Prince Lei, played by Lai Weiming.
I had only seen him in variety shows and Shine On Me, so I wasn’t expecting much, but he completely blew me away.
He was absolutely gorgeous, but more importantly, he had one of my favourite character arcs in the drama.
He loved her deeply, yet he still chose to let her go because he understood it was what she wanted. His feelings never disappeared, but he respected her choices anyway. That made him feel incredibly human.
Please cast Lai Weiming as the male lead in a historical drama. He absolutely deserves it.
I also wish we had seen more of him toward the end. The drama built him up as an important character, only to almost forget about him during the finale. I wanted to know what happened to him years later because he deserved a proper ending.
Prince Yu was another disappointment—but not because of the character himself.
I genuinely thought Shan He Yi would have a much bigger role because he was literally on the poster. Instead, he had maybe four scenes.
I kept waiting for him to return, thinking surely there was more planned for him, but nothing ever happened. It honestly felt like both the actor and the character were wasted.
One thing I loved was seeing so many actors who usually play villains all acting as brothers. It honestly felt like an assembly of famous C-drama villains, and I found that really fun.
Speaking of the princes…
I loved all of them.
Honestly, everyone had chemistry with everyone. The leads, the villains, the brothers… every interaction worked. I actually wish we’d gotten more genuine brotherhood between the princes because their dynamics had so much potential.
The second couple, Bu Shuyao and Cui Jinbai, deserves a special mention.
They were absolutely hilarious.
The entire misunderstanding where he believed he was gay because he had fallen in love with someone he thought was a man, then she thought he was gay after learning the truth, and eventually everyone else also believed they were gay… it was one of the funniest running jokes in the drama.
They also had fantastic chemistry.
Unfortunately, just like several other side characters, they were pushed aside after Episode 26 even though they still had plenty of story left to tell.
That became one of my biggest issues with the drama.
It introduced so many interesting characters with huge potential but kept abandoning them instead of fully developing them. Rather than exploring the existing cast, it kept introducing new characters.
Story-wise, though, the drama was fantastic.
The mystery surrounding the poisoning kept me guessing the entire time. Every episode made me suspect someone else. Eventually, after the letter appeared, I realised it had to be the Empress, but I still didn’t fully understand her motivation.
The biggest twist—that the Crown Prince wasn’t actually the Emperor’s son but Prince Qing’s—made me genuinely gasp.
The drama handled its twists extremely well.
Prince Ning was the only character I had mixed feelings about.
Sometimes I loved his ruthlessness, ambition, and power. I even appreciated his redemption when it was revealed that everything he did was ultimately to help her become Empress.
But his obsession took up far too much time during the ending.
If that storyline had happened in the middle of the drama, I wouldn’t have minded.
But shifting so much attention to him during the final episodes completely ruined the pacing for me. Those episodes should have focused on the main couple and delivered a satisfying conclusion instead.
Which brings me to my biggest complaint…
The ending.
Until the final episode, this was honestly a 10/10.
I was completely okay with the Crown Prince dying. His death was meaningful. It pushed her toward becoming Empress and ruling in her own right. It hurt, but it worked.
Then the drama brought him back… without explaining anything.
That completely took me out of the ending.
I shouldn’t have to read the novel to understand what happened.
Even with the extra episode, we never receive a proper explanation. We never find out whether he learned who poisoned him, despite that being one of his biggest motivations throughout the entire story. We don’t really get to see him reunite properly with his son. She hugs him, and that’s basically it.
After six episodes without the male lead, his return deserved so much more.
If they wanted him alive, explain it.
If they wanted him dead, let his sacrifice remain meaningful.
Instead, they chose an ending that somehow felt both rushed and incomplete.
That was incredibly frustrating because this drama deserved a much stronger finale.
Despite all that, I still think Blossoms of Power is one of the best dramas I’ve watched this year.
It has incredible pacing, beautiful cinematography, gorgeous costumes, amazing face cards, good OSTs, strong writing, memorable plot twists, excellent court intrigue, and one of the most entertaining shameless male leads I’ve watched in a long time.
If you enjoy political intrigue, revenge stories, arranged marriage tropes, slow-burn romance, brilliant scheming, yearning men, and characters who constantly outsmart each other, I highly recommend this drama.
The ending may have left a dark cloud over an otherwise incredible journey, but it wasn’t enough to erase everything the drama did right.
I actually went into this drama expecting not to like it because I’m not the biggest Meng Ziyi fan. The only reason I started it was because of He Yu, and honestly… I was not expecting to love it this much.
Let’s start with the biggest star of the show: the male lead.
He Yu absolutely stole this drama. His character was shameless, manipulative, calculating, intelligent, hilarious, ridiculously handsome, completely lovesick, and somehow still incredibly endearing. He became one of my favourite male leads of the year.
I love a shameless male lead, and this man delivered everything I could ask for. One minute he’s pretending to be weak, fragile, and in desperate need of help, and the next he’s reminding everyone why he’s actually one of the smartest and strongest people in the room. His confidence, wit, fighting scenes, principles, and absolute devotion to the female lead made him impossible not to love.
Can we also talk about the face card? Please keep casting He Yu as the lead in historical dramas forever. The styling, the costumes, the hair, the acting… everything worked. That man served face every single episode.
I had mostly seen He Yu in lighter, playful roles before this, so seeing him completely own such a cunning, layered character genuinely surprised me. He carried the role effortlessly.
Meng Ziyi also surprised me.
This is easily my favourite performance from her. I’m usually not the biggest fan of her acting, but she completely won me over here. At first I honestly disliked her character because she felt cold, distant, and almost heartless. But the more the story developed, the more I understood her. She was driven by revenge and power rather than romance, so her emotional growth felt earned.
Her crying scene after his death was probably the best acting I’ve ever seen from her. That scene completely broke me.
The only thing I’d like to change is her styling. I really hope future historical dramas give her different hairstyles and costumes because I feel like she’s always styled exactly the same.
The chemistry completely shocked me.
Off-screen they gave me sibling or best friend energy during promotions, so I wasn’t expecting much. On-screen? Completely different story.
These two characters were genuinely written for each other.
They’re both intelligent, manipulative, calculating, ambitious, and willing to play the long game. Their personalities complement each other perfectly.
He falls first, falls hard, and isn’t shy about it at all. Meanwhile, she isn’t someone who believes in love because revenge has always been her priority. I never minded how slowly she accepted his feelings because it made perfect sense for her character.
And once she finally falls…
They become one of my favourite couples of the year.
That said, I do feel like we were robbed of several romantic moments. There were multiple scenes where it genuinely looked like kissing scenes had been awkwardly cut, making the editing feel abrupt. It was disappointing because their chemistry deserved more.
Another standout was Prince Lei, played by Lai Weiming.
I had only seen him in variety shows and Shine On Me, so I wasn’t expecting much, but he completely blew me away.
He was absolutely gorgeous, but more importantly, he had one of my favourite character arcs in the drama.
He loved her deeply, yet he still chose to let her go because he understood it was what she wanted. His feelings never disappeared, but he respected her choices anyway. That made him feel incredibly human.
Please cast Lai Weiming as the male lead in a historical drama. He absolutely deserves it.
I also wish we had seen more of him toward the end. The drama built him up as an important character, only to almost forget about him during the finale. I wanted to know what happened to him years later because he deserved a proper ending.
Prince Yu was another disappointment—but not because of the character himself.
I genuinely thought Shan He Yi would have a much bigger role because he was literally on the poster. Instead, he had maybe four scenes.
I kept waiting for him to return, thinking surely there was more planned for him, but nothing ever happened. It honestly felt like both the actor and the character were wasted.
One thing I loved was seeing so many actors who usually play villains all acting as brothers. It honestly felt like an assembly of famous C-drama villains, and I found that really fun.
Speaking of the princes…
I loved all of them.
Honestly, everyone had chemistry with everyone. The leads, the villains, the brothers… every interaction worked. I actually wish we’d gotten more genuine brotherhood between the princes because their dynamics had so much potential.
The second couple, Bu Shuyao and Cui Jinbai, deserves a special mention.
They were absolutely hilarious.
The entire misunderstanding where he believed he was gay because he had fallen in love with someone he thought was a man, then she thought he was gay after learning the truth, and eventually everyone else also believed they were gay… it was one of the funniest running jokes in the drama.
They also had fantastic chemistry.
Unfortunately, just like several other side characters, they were pushed aside after Episode 26 even though they still had plenty of story left to tell.
That became one of my biggest issues with the drama.
It introduced so many interesting characters with huge potential but kept abandoning them instead of fully developing them. Rather than exploring the existing cast, it kept introducing new characters.
Story-wise, though, the drama was fantastic.
The mystery surrounding the poisoning kept me guessing the entire time. Every episode made me suspect someone else. Eventually, after the letter appeared, I realised it had to be the Empress, but I still didn’t fully understand her motivation.
The biggest twist—that the Crown Prince wasn’t actually the Emperor’s son but Prince Qing’s—made me genuinely gasp.
The drama handled its twists extremely well.
Prince Ning was the only character I had mixed feelings about.
Sometimes I loved his ruthlessness, ambition, and power. I even appreciated his redemption when it was revealed that everything he did was ultimately to help her become Empress.
But his obsession took up far too much time during the ending.
If that storyline had happened in the middle of the drama, I wouldn’t have minded.
But shifting so much attention to him during the final episodes completely ruined the pacing for me. Those episodes should have focused on the main couple and delivered a satisfying conclusion instead.
Which brings me to my biggest complaint…
The ending.
Until the final episode, this was honestly a 10/10.
I was completely okay with the Crown Prince dying. His death was meaningful. It pushed her toward becoming Empress and ruling in her own right. It hurt, but it worked.
Then the drama brought him back… without explaining anything.
That completely took me out of the ending.
I shouldn’t have to read the novel to understand what happened.
Even with the extra episode, we never receive a proper explanation. We never find out whether he learned who poisoned him, despite that being one of his biggest motivations throughout the entire story. We don’t really get to see him reunite properly with his son. She hugs him, and that’s basically it.
After six episodes without the male lead, his return deserved so much more.
If they wanted him alive, explain it.
If they wanted him dead, let his sacrifice remain meaningful.
Instead, they chose an ending that somehow felt both rushed and incomplete.
That was incredibly frustrating because this drama deserved a much stronger finale.
Despite all that, I still think Blossoms of Power is one of the best dramas I’ve watched this year.
It has incredible pacing, beautiful cinematography, gorgeous costumes, amazing face cards, good OSTs, strong writing, memorable plot twists, excellent court intrigue, and one of the most entertaining shameless male leads I’ve watched in a long time.
If you enjoy political intrigue, revenge stories, arranged marriage tropes, slow-burn romance, brilliant scheming, yearning men, and characters who constantly outsmart each other, I highly recommend this drama.
The ending may have left a dark cloud over an otherwise incredible journey, but it wasn’t enough to erase everything the drama did right.
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