Reviews

A great rebirth drama

Lacking time to write a full length review, I will just simply say that this one is worth watching for any fans of Chinese period dramas. It’s an idol drama to be sure, but it maintains all the beats and elements that have made any excellent C period drama of yore stand out in the sea of period dramas from any country.

Rebirth dramas have been popular lately, and I think this one balances that fantasy aspect with realism quite well. It’s grounded in Ming dynasty aesthetics and politics, which helps that side of the story work much better than say that of The Story of Kunning Palace. The romance side is done quite organically, with the tremendous help from a director with solid vision to tell that story with palpable tension and believability. My only small gripe is that the character of Song Han just didn’t work for me - he seemed to me an unnecessary villain in a story already complex enough with various antagonists.

Ultimately, gripe aside, of all the Chinese romance period dramas to pick from this year, this one reigns supreme for me.

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Everything is great especially the costumes

Worth the hype, worth the watch everyone played and executed their parts excellently.

The female lead and the male lead have very great chemistry, the supporting characters were on point too.

I was pained when one of the twins died and FL younger sister died. I really hoped she would have a better ending but it makes sense though because in other for FL to change her fate, she had to die. Her marriage was one of the things that caused it.

The costumes made it even more worth watching.

Including it in my top 3 best historical drama of 2024.

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Not bad at all

I quite enjoyed this mini series. This one was done decently with a pretty complete, more detailed story than the usual mini dramas.

The Good

The plot was decent here and kept me engaged throughout the show. I appreciated that the love triangles were kept to a minimum and our main couple was the focus throughout. No real evil love rivals and annoying childish characters. It was a more mature romance as they recognized and acted on their feelings pretty early on. Definitely lighter on the tropes but a couple were thrown in (not the annoying fall into a kiss ones). The acting was also good here especially from our main leads. This almost felt like I was watching a fuller length drama. The production was standard for a modern drama but it had a nice OST. Oh and this has lots of romance and kisses. A very green flag couple.

The Bad

Wished some of the characters could have been fleshed out more but with this being a mini series, they were limited on time to do that. Also, it’s not a new story as it’s an older woman/younger man trope. Some may not like it. It also had the bad parents tropes which sometimes gets tiring.

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JCOC!

This drama is great for the love part only.

Type is an a-hole, self centered, egotistical, moul fouthed, jerk, douchebag, hypocrite kinda guy. I hope I write all of them that represent Type character, because the actor is so awesome on portraying it, or better, the writer!

The plot is spicy for some, full of TW for sure.

The one thing that make me stay to watch it is the way the director make the scene, especially the lovey dovey scene so perfect, you want to play back just to watch and get the feels.

In the end, Type is a great love to Tharn.

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Could Have Been Better.. Should Have Been Better..

Face Me is another attempt at medical crime thriller drama that had the potential to stand out but it falls short due to the lazy screenplay and narrative.. The whole concept felt off at the beginning.. Even the initial cases failed to create any real pull towards the story.. The dialogues were not that great.. I guess thats why the initial episodes felt boring..

Lee Min ki and Han Ji Hyun both delivered good performances but I felt they are far better actors and they were underutilised in Face Me.. Especially Lee Min Ki.. Han Ji Hyun is a lively character.. I hope she does a historical drama soon..

Lee Yi Kyung was also good in his role.. 2024 has been a great year for him.. Marry My Husband and Face Me.. And even Marry YOU.. He is showing his range and gaining more attention as well..

They could have made the scene where the real culprit is revealed much more dramatic.. It should have been a goosebumps moment.. I mean imagine realizing the person who killed your father and tried to kill you.. The culprit you have been looking for / hiding from is right in front of your eyes about to operate on you.. And you only realise this as you are slipping into unconsciousness.. If only they had made it more edgy or exhilarating..

I actually think Face Me is a better drama than what the ratings and comments indicate.. I guess the rating is below 8 because most of them were expecting some romance even if it's not the main focus.. And also they were expecting something more dramatic i guess?? What were they expecting?? A killer who changes his/her face after every murder??

Overall the drama was good.. The ending didn’t feel rushed.. And the conclusion hinted at a romance between the leads.. Which was nice.. However I would have loved it if they had explored that a bit more.. What harm would an extra 15 minutes in the final episode have done??

P.S.. The subtitles were poor again.. What will it take for them to hire someone skilled to handle the subtitles properly??

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Worth the Hype, Really

Saw this drama release on Youtube but didn't watch it because of the unremarkable name. It wasn't until people went wild that I decided to give it a try. Definitely don't think it was a waste of time.

'Blossom' is a drama adaptation of a web novel with the same name (let me side track for a moment: can we please start having more original content?). In my opinion, making a good adaptation of a written novel has its pitfalls that not many people talk about. Things like script arrangement, storyline fidelity, character development are all impacted when you have to cut a novel down to fit the number of episodes. When it's a smaller novel with a simpler storyline, it's manageable. We've seen successful examples like Hidden Love (143 chapters). Longer novels or those with complex storylines suffer a bit because there is a decision that needs to be made: a) cut material, b) leave it but speed everything up, or c) go off the rails and make the drama 'loosely' adapted. An example of a more successfully adapted drama is Love Like Galaxy which chose to elongate the drama series to have sufficient time for story telling. Blossom like a couple of other dramas this year successfully avoids a lot of those pitfalls.

However. what makes Blossom stand out from other C-dramas this year was the subtlety of the acting and the characters decision making. The FL who experienced rebirth was not immediately this all powerful character with a golden finger. The ML who was adept in martial arts also wasn't all knowing and has his fatal flaw of impatience and acting out of impulse when it comes to his family. Meng Zi Yi, as an actor, had to walk the fine line of smart but not all powerful and makes mistakes but not dumb. Easy to describe but hard to execute. We've seen countless examples where the FL is almost too OP for the villains or too dumb/naive to be considered the main lead. Meng Zi Yi did a fantastic job portraying a strong FL who has a good noggin on her shoulders. Li Yun Rui, similarly, had to tread the fine line of powerful but human in addition to a fatal flaw of a lot of C-drama MLs: the curse of the stone block. All too many times we've have MLs that portray strong = no facial emotion besides ocassional anger. Li Yun Rui did a stunning job in portraying himself as a ML who was strong yet capable of emotions. In the beginning of the drama, expecially with his encounters with FL, Li Yun Rui showcases an array of emotions: resolve when deciding to take revenge on his uncle's killers, trust in FL, betrayal when he believed FL to have betrayed him, admiration when he slowly gets to know FL, and later being completely smitten. Each emotion was subtly different from each other and cannot be confused with a similar emotion.

That being said, the chemistry between the leads was off the hook. I truly was invested in their romantic development as a couple. It did not seem artificial and there was a palpable tension between them when they become more and more attracted with each other. Both ML and FL were attracted to each other. It wasn't just ML or FL's one sided pursuit of the other. That one scene where ML asks if FL truly wanted to get married to her fiance nearly took me out. Though it was a tropey kabedon, there was nothing forceful about it. FL wasn't some helpless lass trapped by this charismatic man there to force her to love him. I think that's definitely something that I appreciate about Li Yun Rui's portrayal of ML's love for FL. It never felt forceful. While I cannot tell if it was because of his acting or if his features weren't as sharp (like pointy sharp, not intelligent sharp), but Li Yun Rui's Song Mo was a gentle protector. Swoon~

So then here are my nitpicks... I think that the character list was a tiny bit too expansive. Because it was adapted from a 523 chapter novel, there are bound to be arcs and loads of characters. While I can see how they add depth to the story and create the illusion of mini arcs the ML and FL go through to get stronger, I think taking some of these characters out wouldn't have changed much of the main plot line. Examples of minor characters that I'd probably cut out (based on their role in the drama): the Crown Princess (1-2 eps), the Grand Princess (2-4 eps), Zhao Zhang Ru (5-9 eps), Official Mu (eh, this is an iffy one to cut; 2-3 eps). Regardless, I think they've already done a fantastic job at making the script concise and well developed. Another nitpick was the villains' endings... They were all pretty whitewashed. While I could see that the script writers wanted to give the characters a sense of depth, the sudden change in tone when portraying them made their individual demises a bit lackluster. Several characters had revealed or suggested that they fell in love. Others had off screen deaths. It was a little unsatisfactory because the ending was ever so slightly rushed. You can tell it was rushed starting from the moment ML's poison was revealed because at that point, things started to focus less on ML and FL and how they solve things and more about the plot from a narrator's point of view. Going from the characters' personal perspectives to a narrator's perspective definitely saved story telling time but it made the drama less immersive because it makes the characters seem more like storybook characters and not people.

All in all, it was still a fantastic drama. Personally, I might even choose Blossom over 'The Double', 'In Blossom', 'Blossoms in Adversity', 'The Rise of Ning', 'The Princess Royal', and 'The Story of Pearl Girl'.
Don't come after me, it might just be the post-drama emotions, but I really really really loved Li Yun Rui's portrayal of ML. I asked for romance and I got romance. Most importantly, I got the happy ending I didn't get from 'The Double' and 'The Story of Pearl Girl'. I'm tempted to include 'A Journey to Love' but the ending kinda fits with the genre of old-timey, Hong Kong TVB-esque wuxia.

TLDR: Really loved this drama. Worth the time. Other dramas listed above were good watches too. If I had to pick a similar drama I liked that was less political intrigue-y but won't make you cry, it would be 'The Autumn Ballad'.

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Great start, alright end but most important, good chemistry

I am a massive fan of Zhang Chu Xuan & have seen Xie Yu Wang in another drama with spicy scene at the start. Was curious to see how this pair work on screen so I clicked play.

What I liked:
1) FL characterisation - I love that FL Jiang Yu Yang is not work that is common in cdramaland (businesswoman, designer). She is an actress who has a crush on voice actor. I like that she acts her age because I dislike childlike & childish FL.
2) Acting - Zhang Chu Xuan was excellent in her role here. She has great chemistry with Xie Yu Wang who gave a subdued performance of a CEO in love.
3) Romance - The flirting at the start was so sweet. That role play was hot. There is good amount of skinship though I wish there were more kisses.
4) Supporting characters - I like FL's best friend, Fu Yi Ze, ML's mother, FL's grandfather & ML's assistant. I was surprised when ML's assistant showed his emotions in a hospital scene almost at the end.

What I disliked:
1) Villain - I notice that many villains in vertical shot drama tend to be women scorned due to rejection of ML. This archetype is tiring me. The heinous attacks villain did on FL were shocking.
2) FL's action - I dislike FL's action towards villain once she was drugged. I understand the wrath but to leave a woman in a known vulnerable situation just doesn't sit well with me.

Favourite scene
When FL & ML flirting on the phone at the start of drama

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The abridged version

I was optimistic about the Japanese remake when it was first announced, but was left disappointed. The Japanese are usually more comfortable with dealing with sensitive topics in shows and I hoped they would do justice to Kai's. (Sky from the Thai version) trauma. They did not. The actor did well attempting it, but the writing did not allow the story to come to fruition. There in lies my big. problem with this show. This is like reading the abridged version of a novel you really like; all of the major plot points are there, but none of the emotional stuff that made you fall in love with the characters. For me it really comes down to the writing of the show. They condensed 14 50 minute episodes into 8 25 minute episodes. There was no it could really compete with the original. The actors did a good job. I really though Arashi was closer to the book version.

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A re-do of Fish Upon the Sky without all the things that made it funny and amusing

At least FUTS was able to get a few giggles out of me (and the fact that it's somewhat self-aware of how ass its plot and writing actually is helps it immensely with comedic time).

I strongly dislike series with "white knight" love interests like Joke because they always give way more than their partners ever give back. Always makes the relationship feel extremely one-sided.

This series feels ANCIENT. It's so old-school i was actually shocked when i found out it was released in mid-2023.

If you came here from The Heart Killers, don't bother. Just wait for "Dare You to Death" next year. Seeing them in THK made me feel like this next series of theirs have immense potential.

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Current Favorite Obsession!

Okay. Wow! Where do I start with this story? Because everything looks perfect. And this is only 2 episodes! Can you believe this? I can’t either. It is safe to say that I am hooked.

A young photographer named Po (Est Supha) is lost in life. He doesn’t have a decent job, he fails an important interview, he has a habit of saying wrong things at the wrong place, he is ashamed of his parents sending money to him, he is also a bit slow, he is dumped by his love who used Po’s talents for his own gains. So when, a friend recommends a dream job- capturing the final moments of the beloved T-pop band MARS- Po can’t resist the opportunity.

Things get interesting when Po meets the band’s leader, Thame (William Jakrapatr). Let’s just say their first encounter isn’t exactly smooth sailing!

Read the complete article here-

https://theblxpress.wordpress.com/2024/12/24/thamepo-heart-that-skips-a-beat-first-impressions-ep-1-2/

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What. A. Mess!

This "story" had no plot that actually made sense. It was filled with endless cut scenes that did not matter and did not add to the overall story. Not to mention the 180° flips of emotions from one scene to the next without any preparation whatsoever. I can't even blame the actors, most of which overacted the majority of the time, because it was the direction and the cinematography that really drove this to a weird place. I can't help but wonder if there are countless hours of missing footage that would have made this make sense; but truthfully, even that feels like I'm being too generous. The script was a mess, the direction was a catastrophe, the sex scenes we're painfully shot (Who the hell wears shorts in a tub? I understand that the actors would, but that's what camera angles are for, I don't want to see rubber ducky boxers, with black underwear underneath, in a bathtub, whether it's a sex scene or not.) Slight spoiler: I have never been more turned off by a scene, than when Park and Tin are in the tub, the extreme lack of chemistry was abysmal, yes, but the way it was shot was 10 times worse. Overall, the two leads were likable enough in the first half, (though the amount of whining Tin did is unforgivable for an adult, and the radically sudden change in character for Park was laughable.) and the episodes short enough, that it made me bear with it; even though the last six episodes were like nails on a chalkboard for me. It had no real ending, it had no real purpose, it had no real plot. My gods this is a must skip. How it has an 8.2 on Viki, I will never understand. It's like something that would have come out in 2008, not 2023.

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Definitely a Crime Thriller to Look Out For!

With a killer on the loose, some hidden history coming to light, and strong women working in men’s fields, Petrichor the series will give you a separate kind of thrill.

The city suddenly gets dangerous as young women are murdered. Their bodies left crumpled with hands and legs tied and their skulls fractured. The technique of killings resembles a slew of serial killings that happened 18 years ago. The killer only kills during a rainy night, they target young women who are walking alone and cracks their skulls. And it started when the “suspected” killer was set free after 20 years of his prison sentence.

Inspector Tul and forensic doctor Run team up to unearth the mystery and as they keep digging, the mystery becomes even more complicated.

What I always find fascinating about Thai entertainment is how it can go from super sweet romances to more mature stuff like this. It’s a cool contrast. And just like “Manner of Death”, we have a lot of mature themes playing out. Well you can’t expect less when Sammon is one of the screenwriters.

Read the complete article here-

https://theblxpress.wordpress.com/2024/12/21/petrichor-the-series-first-impressions-ep-1-to-4/

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