How do I even begin to tell you how good “Blossom” is? From the writing, cinematography, acting, storytelling, visuals, dialogue and chemistry between the leads. Absolute perfection.

From the very first episode, you knew this show was going to be special. By the time we get to the finale, all the issues were resolved and the story came full circle even for side characters.

All the characters had very clear development as well as stayed true to their essence. That’s really hard to do when there’s so much happening and you can’t give each character screen time for the audience to build familiarity with. The ambiguous characters flowed between good and bad, the villains were villains for a reason and the good guys were all for the greater good.

The main characters, Song Mo and Dou Zhao, were dragged into a royal mess and just chess pieces to the royal family. I’m so glad they had each other to navigate and come out of the ordeal unscathed and get their happy ending.

Li Yunrui as Song Mo was the standout performer in this series! He embodied the character and the morality of the character exquisitely. I know his popularity blew up once the show premiered so I’m excited to see him more in lead roles. SM is a top male lead character in this genre moving forward. He is truly a green flag — caring and loving DZ, but never dominating or exerting power over her. He’s so gently when it comes to her whereas he’s fierce as a general.

Meng Ziyi was absolutely fantastic as Dou Zhao and the writing was one of the best written female roles I’ve seen on CDrama. The character itself never strayed from her values and beliefs. DZ was progressive, but also understood traditions. She was strong, but showed vulnerability. She loved deeply and never doubted it. This woman was determined to never let SM stray from his goodness. ✨

SM and DZ were perfect together and I don’t know if another couple can top them for me in CDrama. They demonstrated a relationship that was healthy and equal. They didn’t hide things from each other nor did they assumed what the other person needed — they actually communicated, shared opinions and strategized together. They made promises to each other and kept to them. They didn’t let their own egos overshadow their relationship nor did they let other characters make them doubt each other. All of this is so rare in CDramaland!

I hope Meng Ziyi and Li Yunrui team up again because their chemistry felt so natural and real. You can’t help but root for them.

Some of my favorite scenes were the wedding in ep19 and the reveal of SM’s mother’s death in ep31. Those scenes were so visually beauty and great storytelling. The wedding was particularly wonderful because it felt so grounded by showing the audience details and traditions that you feel as though you’re witnessing a real wedding.

For the last few episodes, I think people are going to want a big battle at the end. However, this show has never been about big action scenes, but rather the characters and their cleverness and strategies. I think how the fighting happened and concluded made the most sense to the story. The show is solid and consistent in its writing.

“Blossom” is a must watch drama and SM and DZ are characters that will be forever iconic in CDramaland.