A snowy night. A fated encounter. A book of records. An arrow shot.

And then, young Dou Zhao woke up from a dream that seemingly foretold her entire life. The book of records and the new birthmark she got seemed to tell her not to take this lightly.

Will things be different this time?
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It’s yet another rebirth themed story. But with well paced exposition and pacing of the story introducing the characters and background, I quickly immersed into the story. Dou Zhao quickly got into my favourite female characters list, with her wisdom, emotional maturity and capability. I like that her outlook in life which, influenced by her grandmother, went beyond palace politics and family entanglement. Even if that was hard to do with her family lineage, Dou Zhao always tried her best to protect and to live her life well.

I enjoyed the romance progress between these two for the most part - from strangers to comrades to admiration to couples. Different from other rebirth story themes, Dou Zhao in “the first life” had minimal involvement with Song Mo, our male lead. And the book of records she held only consisted of poems that require Dou Zhao to unravel the meaning. The blossom did well to highlight the exact moment and dialogues between Dou Zhao and Song Mo shared which prevented the latter from heading towards the path of no return as life kept beating him down. Whether the dream that Dou Zhao had of them was their past life or not, Dou Zhao became the guiding light that Song Mo needed in this life.

While I really liked Meng Zi Yi’s and Li Yun Rui’s CP and their chemistry, the after marriage scenes in the middle did felt a little flat, losing the sparkly tension in the beginning. I am alright with innocent secondary school kids cute fluffs, but the whole everyone is preventing me to kiss my wife troupe is a little overused. What I usually look forward to in an idol romance drama funnily felt like unnecessary fillers for me. They still have quite the improvement when it comes to their acting, especially Meng Zi Yi - but it’s good enough to make me believe and root for Dou Zhao’s and Song Mo’s romance.

Some parts of the story were a little choppy. The change of sides and motivation for some of the characters also felt abrupt and too easy, though highlight scenes were given to these supporting characters. What’s fortunate was Director Zeng’s resourceful and the cast’s dedication, from actors & actresses to screenwriter, making this point negligible. And thankfully, the last part of the story picked up the pacing and intrigue we had in the beginning, closing most of the loops and questions.

Speaking of Director Zheng, the cinematography of the Blossom was one of the more one of the more revered ones we have seen in a long while. Though it’s Director Zeng’s first long filmed television series, he utilised his best strength to enhance the visual storytelling of the shots, giving Blossom a fresh look and nice upgrade in the voluminous ancient idol romance genre.

All in all, the Blossom has grown well this winter, with each and everyone’s care. It’s Director Zeng’s first long firm production; it’s Meng Zi Yi and Li Yun Rui’s first leads show; it’s a story which talks about enduring the storms and grow strongly with a little help from others - and they all deliver.

Hope all these will win this cast another collaboration.

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What flower is this? Fourth Lady seemed to cherish it a lot.

‘Purple wreath (九重紫)’, a type of wildflower. Duke Heir doesn’t have to worry about it, it can endure countless storms and can grow strong independently.

I believe that it can, but I also believe that it will blossom quicker with a little help.