1This review may contain spoilers
Justice is served
When you play a game of cards, the outcome is never 100% guaranteed. It can be predicted based on the players moves but it is never really absolute. It can change in the blink of an eye. One is expecting something and at the very last minute, the perceived unexpected happens. Why? To show that a person’s life path can be challenging and though? What is the point of climbing a mountain, through treacherous terrain, temperamental weather and conquering altitude sickness in hopes of enjoying a spectacular view at the top only to discover a cemetery instead?It's almost as if drama production teams were compelled to discreetly push and motivate the audience to continue watching the drama, building up hopes that it would be worthwhile and that fans would enjoy it, just to deliver them tombstones.
Blossom's production team, thankfully, delivered their implicit promise that the view from the top of the mountain would be incredible. In fact, the view was breathtakingly flawless, with the ending seemingly crafted in the stars. After going through the pits of hell with and for one another, Song Mo and Dou Zhao would finally be able to live happily together.
The deliverance of their wedding fairly early in the drama has allowed viewers to experience their marriage life for a significant number of episodes, which the majority of dramas tend to overlook in favour of unnecessary fill-ups that devalue the quality of the visual storyline and irritate viewers. Story quality over number of episodes worked extremely well as the 34 episodes perhaps minus one or two that could be condensed in the later stages of the drama were just right to tell a good story from beginning to end without dragging it out to 40 episodes with boring material that added nothing to the plot.
The story’s introduction was an epic masterpiece with Song Mo in a lengthy white/greyish hair, saving Dou Zhou and an orphan child from harm. His softness, tenderness, sensitivity, empathy and kindness were as riveting as the fated arrow that later pierced through them, binding their life stories together. It was so unexpected and mind-blowing that made the audience thirsty for more and did not let it down throughout. As they are pierced by the arrow, they fall through a large mirror, and travel back in time, waking up as children to begin their lives again.
Song Mo is a strong man, a powerfully humble, righteous male lead with an unquestionable sense of justice and loyalty who has been betrayed by a number of people, most notably his father, a duke who despised him in favour of his younger brother, an illegitimate love child whom he desired to be his legal heir. To accomplish this, he had no qualms in hurting Song Mo as much as he could, displaying his public contempt for the son who took a beating for him in front of soldiers. However, the father no matter how wicked and terrible he was, was a known enemy. Song Han, the seemingly soft studious brother, however, plotted Song Mo’s demise without publicly opposing him. The worse kind of opponent is the one that hides in the shadows and the most dangerous one is usually a family member. Betrayal after all never comes from an enemy. The most intriguing aspect of Song Mo is that, despite everything he has endured from his father and paternal relatives, his heart has remained pure and his honour has remained intact, as evidenced by his commitment and dedication to justice and determination to find the mastermind behind his maternal uncle’s demise.
Dou Zhao is a phenomenal strategist who, unlike Song Mo remembers everything about her previous life, and works tirelessly to remedy the mistakes that have led to their demise. In the present, with the red line of fate intertwined with Song Mo’s, they embark on a journey of mutual assistance, support, trust and love that transforms them into allies and converts them into a loving husband and wife, united against the world, literally transcending both time and space. Through her decisive actions Dou Zhao is able to achieve her goals and avoid repeating her past life mistakes, thanks to her strategic, decisive measures. Despite being unable to prevent her mother’s death or her best friend from becoming her stepmother, Dou Zhao is able to move in with her grandmother, grow up in peace, and build prosperous business ventures that provided her with financial freedom. She was also able to choose who she married, accepting Song Mo marriage proposal and becoming his wife, rather than marrying Wei Ting Yu as she had in her previous life and getting poisoned by him and her sister due to their simplistic idyllic love for one another.
Blossom is full of twists and turns with various demises as the story progresses including Dou Zhao’s sister Dou Ming and Wei Ting Yu who not also marry in the present but also die tragically, and her stepmother, who ends up living the rest of her life paying for her sins, among other characters like Song Mo’s father, to mention a few.
It almost seems like after a supporting character’s arch has served its purpose in the story, the character dies. Thus, death serves both as a karmic, tragic ending and a beginning to another uncovered plot, which continues until the very end with existing personas i.e. Ansu, Dou Zhou’s childhood friend who is granted the title of princess by the emperor and marries Song Han. She debuts early in the story, then goes about her life for a number of episodes before taking centre stage as Dou Zhou’s high-ranked sister-in-law, second only to the male leads, to propel the storyline forward. She stands by Song Mo, because she loves him, ignoring his distorted mind and sordid inner nature. A man who was willing to hurt another person in order to prove his physical superiority had a black heart and a corrupted spirit, as a result of his inferiority complex with Song Mo. In the end, Ansu serves justice by taking her husband’s life, showing that there is love and hate on opposite ends of the spectrum and their combination is fire and ice.
Yuan Tong / Ji Yong was an interesting character. In the first life, he was a monk, in the second, a game-changer strategic healer mastermind who strived for power to implement the changes in the empire that he saw as necessary, and aimed for Song Mo’s death to be with Dou Zhao, whom he admired and loved to the ends of the earth, whom he saw as an equal, and the ideal match for him. Yuan Tong was kind and light-hearted. Ji Yong on the other hand, was kind, deceitful and grey, a magician of fates, using people as pawns in his chess match to gain authority. The first wanted peace, and strived for good; the second wanted peace and aimed for war, believing that revolution was necessary and could only be achieved via force. He eventually achieved his professional goal of becoming the new dynasty’s chief grand secretary but loveless. Love, however had never been his main priority anyway.
Even though he was mentally in love with Dou Zhao, Ji Yong was more focused on his career than actively chasing her, unlike many second male leads. However, the character could not really be regarded as a second male lead in the first place. He was a dynasty manipulator who used Prince Qing and Song Han like his disposable pawns, who ultimately paid the price for their wrongdoings, demonstrating that even though they had the means to accomplish their goals, those things mean nothing in a conflict between evil and right, darkness and light, war and peace, hate and love. Karma should be fulfilled and love should ultimately triumph. That's what took place here. Justice was served, love prevailed and karma was served without the possibility of redemption but then love and redemption is another story.
All things considered, Blossom was refreshing sans the cliched storylines. As per usual troupe, the leads did not meet, fall in love, break up, and then reunite at the very end. They met, became allies, friends, fell in love, married, endured hell together, remained devoted to one another, and had a daughter they watched grow up. Since Song Mo and Dou Zhao only had eyes for one another and did not want to be with anyone else or put up with any interference in their relationship, there was absolutely no love triangle. Kudos to them for sticking together through everything life threw at them, for helping and caring for one other, for demonstrating what a healthy, stable, and loving relationship should look like, and for the happy ending.
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TharnType Season 2 Special: The Wedding Day
19 people found this review helpful
Wrapped up fairly well
I really enjoyed how this episode revolves 90% around Thanrtype as it should. Their story was wrapped up with a bow on top. It was really emotional seeing them finally getting married after two seasons of watching them grow together. I usually don't cry from being too happy but seeing them finally saw their vows made me shed tears.I would have been very interested to know how Champ and the doctor's relationship were progressing, but it was nice to see them at least acknowledge the relationship. The only real letdown was how Khlui and Seo were treated completely as comic relief; I would have liked to see at least one serious conversation with each other rather than making everything a joke.
All in all, it was a very happy finish to this story, and although not everything was perfect, it was rewarding to watch.
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A Mixed Bag of Emotions: Ji Chang Wook Shines, but Empowerment and Chemistry Fall Short
I recently immersed myself in Welcome to Samdal-ri, eager to witness the brilliance of Ji Chang Wook's acting prowess after watching him in Healer. While he undoubtedly delivered a stellar performance that left me in awe, I couldn't help but feel a void in terms of female empowerment and on-screen chemistry.Ji Chang Wook's portrayal was nothing short of captivating. His nuanced expressions, impeccable delivery, and undeniable charisma added depth to the character, making it difficult to look away. His acting prowess alone almost carried the entire show for me, and I applaud his dedication to his craft.
However, the storyline left me yearning for more when it came to female empowerment. Despite the potential for a strong, empowering female lead, the narrative fell short of delivering a character who could stand on equal footing with Ji Chang Wook's. It felt like a missed opportunity to showcase a more balanced dynamic between the male and female characters. I guess her wanting to lean on him was literal.
The chemistry, unfortunately, failed to ignite the screen. While both actors individually gave commendable performances, their on-screen connection lacked the spark that could have elevated the romantic aspects of the plot. This absence of palpable chemistry and incomplete storylines (like what happened to Sazal Kim's character Man-Su) left me somewhat detached and wanting more.
While the show had its moments, the missed opportunities in character development and resolution left me with mixed feelings about the overall viewing experience.
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Another plus point was it's music. It's been over a year since I watched this drama and I'm still in love with the entire OST. 'Because I miss You' is like my favorite Korean dram OST of all time. These things kept me going and that's actually the reason I'm giving this drama a 7 instead of a 6 or a 5. Because of it's awesome star value and music. Those who look for nice content and intriguing storyline should skip this one.
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Misunderstanding that amount to nothingness
Intro of this series was amazing, plot line seemed like something fantastic, i mean who does not want to be sucked into the world of immortals and their crazy power tussle and upside down romances but this drama is a whole bunch of that, that ended to nothingness. Don't get me wrong the storyline was making sense and each episode would keep you waiting for how it all began a 1000 years ago but the moment you arrive a 1,000 years ago the entire misunderstanding the show was built on amounts to nothing!!!You now begin to wonder why you stuck to the drama till the end!!!
With characters that could not be tied exactly to the main characters and it makes you wonder what the writer was trying to achieve.
My honest advice,skip this drama it is not worth your time!!!
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This film moved the majority of the audience to tears in the theater. I must say, it is incredibly inspiring, and I hope it reaches many people who face challenges in life, encouraging them to stay hopeful and keep fighting, even when life feels overwhelming.
Applause to the lead actor, Jackson Yee, for his extraordinary performance! His portrayal was nothing short of remarkable, and he truly brought the character to life!
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Anywho back to the movie. It is a great mash up of east meets west. A great cast, with everyone acting superbly. It's a cute movie about a girl and her friend being separated for greed. I won't go in to too much detail or else it spoils it. There were some tears and there were some chuckles. Definitely a rewatch just to see the girls relationship with Okja. Don't think there was a soundtrack and the movie seems shorter than it is, it is over 2hrs long. It is a Netflix production, which seems to be more of a thing nowadays. Great production with clear and lovely graphics.
Nice to see Choi woo shik, brought some comedy. Oooo and watch till the credits finish rolling for some more of him lol
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THE BEST CHINESE DRAMA EVER!
The storyline is interesting. This drama has a sense of humour in it so you wont feel bored. You can laugh many times just watching it. Sometimes you will feel sad, happy, and you will experience mixed emotions in this drama.Male lead deserved my credit. He portrayed his character so fantastic and extremely good. He can convey his feeling through his expressions and voices. He has so soothing voice that makes his character suited him perfectly. His expression is priceless and just on point. His acting undoubtedly excellent.
Female lead absolutely a stunning beauty. Among the actresses i have watched, she is the most beautiful FL as if i see a breathtaking view by just seeing her. Her acting deserved credit also.
I missed them badly after this drama ended. They did a very good job on this drama. Will miss you Wang Ye and Wang Fei.
Recommendedly watching! Happy watching guys.
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Like chewing gum...
It started out kind of fun, an easy watch with a pretty cool female lead and good looking cast. There was a slight stiff awkward yet playful vibe to the story and most of the characters as well. Entertaining as long as you don´t care about logic, because well there is none. While most of the story and quality is inconsistent there is one thing that never fails and that is the lack of logic in the plot.There are of course some well loved drama cliches, and an abundance of umbrellas but as the episodes passed by I realised that the awkwardness that worked so well in the beginning was actually just lack of direction and/or talent from the leads. Add to that the plot just goes meeh, the slight build up of the first episodes just goes flat there is nothing really interesting to see there and while there are a few cute lines and smiles here and there it all just went bland... like the drama got covid and kept trying all kinds of flavours but had lost all sense of taste... Just like chewing gum bursting with flavour the first 2 minutes untill it slowley turs in turns to this tasteless mass you may be able to make bubbles out of but the falvour is gone...
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Now the series itself: I love how this series actually is different from what I've been watching its so cute. A pet shop owner falling in love with an author and how their love transpires over the course of the series, it has a little fluffy tone to itself and it is a more fluff based series. The characters were very entertaining, the friendship inside all of it was really nice. Most BL series are high school, a little dark, and little weird and normally just end sad or have an overly gripping story line that yeah you can relate to but seems to become the same staple for a series/movies like how car accidents or getting ran over is the staple in most k-dramas, that doesn't mean that I'm dismissing those staples because many of great works have those. This story line is still relatable, the conflicts are what people have gone through, still go through, and is still alive with others today it. I love the rising actions that take place, I got irritated with Liang Ze of course because most bottoms bother me in BL stuff but his character is a little different than most bottoms. I love the dialogue it's lighthearted and fun, the music was well placed for certain scenes, flat out i would recommend this as a nice beak away from a very serious show that you may have watched.
Now I don't give it praise, but i cant bash it either. Definitely, I love the fact that it's lighthearted and that it ends on a sweet note : (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywqp4Ve7qX8) (I do apologize that this has no subs but it's the ending part where someone mentioned that this is one of the BL series that ends happy) but truthfully the reason why i wouldn't give it all 10's is because the story line was simplistic the scenes weren't edgy and it didnt have as many transitions that reopened some foreshadowing in the series to uncover tension or a surprise for the viewers but honestly you don't need that all the time; a simply, delightful story structure goes a long way people. The series is really sweet but not like Moon Lovers, it's not like Diary of Tootsies, it's a short collection of episodes that you can watch when you cant decide on what to watch. It's really cute but then again everyone this is just an overall outlook from my perspective, my opinions. Some from a collective selections of other reviews and my knowledge gained from watching the series.
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If your favorite character is Ayan, do not watch this
The scriptwriters of The Eclipse are consistent in their efforts to bend characters until they fit into clichéd tropes. They did it in the last four or five episodes of the series, and they are doing it here again.In just two episodes, they managed to completely destroy Ayan's character, presenting him as extremely self-centered. What? Ayan, who spent all of The Eclipse trying to protect people from the curse, who understood Akk and did everything he could to help him, who supported Thua like a great friend, is self-centered? Give me a break.
Furthermore, Akk is now a person who cares too much about others. Really, scriptwriters? Akk, who almost killed his schoolmates to prove that he is a good student prefect and get a scholarship, cares too much about others? I think you are a little confused. Did you forget which one of your characters is Ayan and which one is Akk?
The destruction of the main characters aside, these two episodes were not bad. The great acting and FirstKhao's amazing chemistry made them an enjoyable watch. Khan, Thua, their friends, and Teacher Sani are all here to make fans of The Eclipse happy.
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Save yourselves the time and watch the Untamed again
What did I just watch? I'll save everyone the effort, the endiong is a massive cop-out. The things I waste hours of my life on, for Wang Yibo. That is all. The plot was incoherent, Yibo is in it for about ten minutes and it is clearly a body double with strategic camera angling for the rest. Suuuuper disappointing air styling, problematic storyline aspects, cringey overall. The things we do for our biases. I loooooveeee Yibo but whew. Grab yourself a drink for this one. Seriously.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A very different take on the genre
This is the first time I’ve ever written a review for a drama (more of a characters analysis and acting appreciation). I don’t even do this for dramas I love, however this is an exception I had to make because certain things had to be said.I’m going to be honest, I have a hard time being engaged in the fantasy world Cang Yue has created. I was bored out of my mind watching Mirror Twin Cities but kept on because of Zheng Yecheng. Although admittedly, her concepts are definitely refreshing and different from the usual Xianxia/Xuanhuan genre. And watching MTC turned out to be a good idea because it paved the way for me to better understand the world of Yunhuang in TLP.
The Longest Promise is adapted from the novel Zhu Yan by Cang Yue. It is the prequel to MTC and spans a 70 years difference, however some pivotal characters from MTC makes an appearance in TLP (i.e. Su Mo). I have not read the novel but skimmed about the details and understood that the drama stayed pretty faithful to its original source with a few exceptions that I’ll get to later. As everyone is mostly familiar the story I’ll just get right on to the good part:
Xiao Zhan + Ren Min — this is my 3rd XZ drama, first being The Untamed then Oath of Love. I won’t say I was impressed by him in these two dramas, especially The Untamed which funny enough was what brought him international stardom. I felt that his performance was great, but nowhere near excellent, of course this is just my humble opinion. He was also great in Oath of Love, but did not leave much of an impression. Speaking of impression, I actually first noticed him years back (before The Untamed ever came around) from the trailer of the drama The Wolf. I was quite smitten with him just from the snippets in the clip even though I knew he wasn’t the Male Lead. Nevertheless, he definitely caught my eye and I always thought he’ll probably caught someone’s eyes in the future too, and he did because The Untamed happened. Obviously when the filming happened, a lot of people were unimpressed with the introduction of Ren Min as the Female Lead due to the Xiao Zhan’s rising popularity at the time. And indeed, after a 2-years long wait, TLP finally aired. I, like a lot of folks, were skeptical about Ren Min and not only because of her aesthetics but also her acting ability. Master-disciple relationships is a trope that has been done to the death dating back from Jin Yong’s Return of the Condor Heroes. And not just Ren Min, I had worried how Xiao Zhan was going to carry out his role (given that there were some similarities to Gu Wei from OOL) and how they’re going to pull off that tension and chemistry due to the characters’ nature of relationship. But turned out I had worried for not because both leads were amazing. Their loveline is completely different from the usual tropes in these kind of relationships; XZ’s Shi Ying does embody the usual traits with this type of character: handsome, cold and aloof. However this only scratches the surface. Shi Ying is a complex character; he is handsome but humble and unassuming, he is aloof but not cruel, cold but not unkind, and he is this way because of his past tragedies. He is singleminded and devoted to his craft and whatever (or whoever) it is that he chose, and he can be hard and ruthless when he has to be. And just like XZ, RM’s Zhu Yan also embody the usual traits of a spunky heroine, cute and bubbly but thankfully not nauseatingly so, heroic but with a touch a willfulness and stubbornness. She can sometimes grate on one’s nerves with her righteousness but she is not unreasonable and is very understanding. Zhu Yan’s fiery nature and Shi Ying’s cold disposition do make them clash at times, however, underneath it all is always a need to protect one another. Zhu Yan is completely oblivious to her master’s feelings and thus this makes for some humorous moments when they try to get together in the future. As for Shi Ying, due to his decisive nature and devotion to his priesthood, he initially drove her away. However, because of an event later on, he realizes he wants to be with her, but because of many things that happened concurrently, he was never able to fully confess his feelings before tragedy strike.
I can still remember the look of disappointment and hate in Zhu Yan’s face when Shi Ying killed A’Yuan, and the pain in Shi Ying’s eyes when Zhu Yan screamed her hate for him. It broke my heart to see him so hurt, and when she told him that she never wanted to see him again, I think it was the straw that made him choose to end his life. Shi Ying is a type of person that understands responsibilities very well; he does what needs to be done even if it’s the hardest or at times impossible task. He will feel guilt but above all he’s practical. And so I know that even had he killed A’Yuan, he would not choose to end himself because he feels guilt towards Zhu Yan. He did it because he would rather die than live with her hatred. That’s how much he loves her. And this where XZ’s characterization of Shi Ying shines; even teetering on the brink of death, he still has his own selfishness. He stabs himself to allay Zhu Yan’s rage yet he still harbors hope that she’ll miss him and mourn him when he’s gone, thus his “Will you be sad if I died? More sad than when that person died?”. What an acting master.
The chemistry between XZ and RM is very subtle and nuanced at the beginning. Both characters are crushing and unable to express themselves about it. Later, as each comes to terms with their feelings, that subtlety amps up to real romantic tension. It is funny yet also sweet and almost swoon-worthy at how Shi Ying goes about chasing after Zhu Yan, and later as they’re beset by tragedies and misunderstandings, this tension becomes more palpable with pain and longing mixed in and it’s almost beautiful to watch if it’s not so painful. It’s interesting to note TLP shares quite a bit similarities with MTC and not just because they’re in the same universe but also the way the relationship between the leads are handled. Both are plot-heavy dramas with romance indisputably taking a back seat. But that’s where the similarities ended. I could care less about Bai Ying and Su Mo, in fact I shipped her with the Crown Prince Zhen Lan. There were no chemistry whatsoever and I was wholly glad that they barely had any romantic scenes together. Whereas with TLP, I lament that Shi Ying and Zhu Yan did not get to spend much time together especially once everything started happening.
So besides the main leads, most notable mention goes to Alen Feng’s Zhi Yuan. His story arc is just as tragic if no less than the leads. He was such a sweet and gentle soul who fell for a woman that died 200 years ago. He stayed on to fulfill her wish despite his identity as a merfolk. He cared for her descendant Zhu Yan and yet somewhere along the way for him, the lines became blurred. He did his duty to his people and died as a result. In hindsight, I realized Zhu Yan tragically loses both of her beloved one right after the other, twice. The ending was an explosive feast to the eyes in terms of special effects, music, action and most of all the top-notch acting from the 3 leads. I can’t help but go back to XZ at this point, as he unarguably pulled out all the acting chops he’s accumulated in his entire career and spilled it all into this one moment; teetering between demonic possession and love for Zhu Yan, begging her to kill him and ending in a climactic, beautiful and bittersweet farewell for them both. XZ and RM have outdone themselves in this drama. I am completely and emotionally drained from the last episode and though I’m heart-sore, this is a drama that I will come back to because it’s just so beautifully made, from the acting, music, characters, cinematography, and lastly the expensive looking CGI. TLP has definitely set the bar high for CGI in future dramas. And TLP has irrevocably turned me into a XZ fan.
*** Now this where I have to decry the finale a bit. According to the novel, Shi Yu dies, Xue Ying is widowed and pregnant. Shi Ying is heir to the throne however he chooses to pass it on to his future nephew and in turns spend the rest of the remaining years with Zhu Yan elsewhere. As Zhu Yan had sacrificed half her life to resurrect Shi Ying this means their fates are tied, should one die so will the other. I was extremely gutted at the way the drama ended but I will choose to believe Shi Ying truly came back to her. The writers can’t choose to have Zhu Yan sacrificed half her life for Shi Ying just to have him die again for nothing, and as their fates are tied, this is one detail viewers will not overlook. So for me, this is a wide OE even if it’s not outright HE.
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realistic and well done
Overall: if the premise/summary isn't your thing, I encourage you to watch at least thru episode 4 because this story is like an onion with layers. 8 episodes total about 45 minutes each, 2 aired per week on GMMTV's YouTube Channel (also Disney+Hotstar in some countries).Content Warnings: manhandling, homophobia, death, grief
What I Liked
- Li Ming and Heart were the cutest cinnamon rolls
- Wen was direct and communicated what he wants
- felt realistic which matches the setting/story (i.e. the actors faces have visible sweat and aren't airbrushed/filtered to oblivion)
- touched on power/class differences, poverty, marriage inequality/legal inequality
- step parent shown to be caring and supportive
- Gaipa's mom
- hints about future plot elements
- realistic response with Li Ming and his mom
- avoided a cliche plot point towards the end, characters had good communication
- production value* (music, cinematography - that long take/no cut shot at the beginning of episode 1 part 1 was cool)
Room For Improvement
- several scenes were a little too dim* and the camera is too shaky sometimes
- not a fan of some of the music choices, at one point there was an accordion
- how Uncle Jim himself and other characters talk about him being old when the actor Earth is 28 (and most definitely does not look old)
- each episode appears to skip a month however because we don't see montages or dates it doesn't always feel like that much time has passed
- wish it had been Gaipa that initiated things after the time jump
- I understand them not subtitling what Heart was saying in the beginning to show how Li Ming didn't understand but it was frustrating when they continued to not subtitle everything he was saying later on
- it was not Jim's place to tell the mom about Li Ming, it should have been Li Ming's choice
- I don't agree that "deaf people are the loneliest people" which is a line a character said
- good that actual consequences were shown for drunk driving
- the series title "Moonlight Chicken"
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