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A Near Hit But A Miss All The Same
In Blossom is a murder mystery historical fantasy drama in the same vein as Mysterious Lotus Casebook, so it grabbed my attention from the start. As it is a dark fantasy, it features witchcraft and body-swapping, although it doesn't dwell too much on it, much to my disappointment. It focuses rather on the theme of inner beauty and a love that transcends physical appearance. The female lead is a coroner and the male lead is the town's magistrate, and together they solve crime mysteries and bring criminals to justice. It's basically an episodic type of series with an overarching plot just like Mysterious Lotus Casebook. I loved that drama, so I thought this would really hit the spot.
It has spectacular gothic cinematography that I found edgy and enthralling. The sets and costumes do not look cheap, so I assume that this is not a low budget series. I especially love the look of the male leads in their intricately embroidered garments of dark blues and blacks, highlighting their tall and slim figures and making them look regal and statuesque. Great choice of costumes indeed! The soundtrack and musical scores are also pretty impressive, especially the theme used for Zhuo Lanjiang and the Silver Rain Terrace.
Liu Xueyi as Pan Yue is the epitome of a romantic hero, devastatingly handsome, loyal, honest, kind, valiant, and wise. Xueyi is one of the most versatile Chinese actors I've seen thus far, transitioning from protagonist to antagonist and vice versa with ease. Pan Yue is definitely his best role yet as he was able to showcase his dramatic abilities as well as his physicality in the fight scenes.
The second male lead played by Li Ge Yang is also impressive. I never thought that this idol could possess some serious acting chops. I greatly enjoyed his interactions with Xueyi that I started to ship them. His character's relationship with the second female lead also helped draw me in because it started out as an unrequited love and I'm such a sucker for that. I watched the drama for Xueyi, but stayed for him. This kid will go places if he continues to get good roles that will allow him to show his skills.
Unfortunately, this is not a perfect drama and I do have some gripes. First off, the casting of the female lead was definitely not inspired. Ju Jingyi is quite possibly the worst Chinese actress I've seen. I first saw her in The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion and the girl has the acting range of a potato. I thought that her then co-star, Zhang Zhehan, completely overshadowed her in dramatic scenes and Zhehan is not even on the same level as Liu Xueyi in terms of acting skills. So her being paired with Xueyi in this drama is an absolute travesty. She looks stiff as a board next to Xueyi in their intense and dramatic scenes. The disparity between their acting skills is glaringly obvious. Then her long spider-like eyelashes, glittery eyeshadow, and glossy lipstick just take me out of the drama. Girl, those things didn't exist in ancient China!
Another major beef I have with this drama is the pacing and editing. The first part is pretty solid imho, but with 10 episodes left, it lost me. They could've ended this drama with just 25 episodes. I am convinced that C-dramas have difficulty sticking the landing. Most C-dramas I've seen have questionable endings. This is probably because they always want to have an open ending for the possibility of a season 2. But it kinda sucks when you watched 50 episodes only to find out that the series ends with no resolution. I think this is the C-drama curse that they just can't seem to shake. As far as I can remember, I've only seen a couple of C-dramas that gave me satisfactory endings.
The fight choreography in this is only passable. But I suppose it's understandable considering it is not a wuxia drama unlike Mysterious Lotus Casebook and Word of Honor. But I do wish they invested more in the action scenes because Li Ge Yang and Liu Xueyi can definitely pass for martial artists. This was a wasted opportunity imho.
Overall, In Blossom is an entertaining drama full of suspense and intrigue. But it lost its steam right at the end and the less than desirable acting of its female lead left a sour taste in my mouth. This could've been so much better had they opted for a different actress and shortened the series. I would rate this a generous 6.5 out of 10.
It has spectacular gothic cinematography that I found edgy and enthralling. The sets and costumes do not look cheap, so I assume that this is not a low budget series. I especially love the look of the male leads in their intricately embroidered garments of dark blues and blacks, highlighting their tall and slim figures and making them look regal and statuesque. Great choice of costumes indeed! The soundtrack and musical scores are also pretty impressive, especially the theme used for Zhuo Lanjiang and the Silver Rain Terrace.
Liu Xueyi as Pan Yue is the epitome of a romantic hero, devastatingly handsome, loyal, honest, kind, valiant, and wise. Xueyi is one of the most versatile Chinese actors I've seen thus far, transitioning from protagonist to antagonist and vice versa with ease. Pan Yue is definitely his best role yet as he was able to showcase his dramatic abilities as well as his physicality in the fight scenes.
The second male lead played by Li Ge Yang is also impressive. I never thought that this idol could possess some serious acting chops. I greatly enjoyed his interactions with Xueyi that I started to ship them. His character's relationship with the second female lead also helped draw me in because it started out as an unrequited love and I'm such a sucker for that. I watched the drama for Xueyi, but stayed for him. This kid will go places if he continues to get good roles that will allow him to show his skills.
Unfortunately, this is not a perfect drama and I do have some gripes. First off, the casting of the female lead was definitely not inspired. Ju Jingyi is quite possibly the worst Chinese actress I've seen. I first saw her in The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion and the girl has the acting range of a potato. I thought that her then co-star, Zhang Zhehan, completely overshadowed her in dramatic scenes and Zhehan is not even on the same level as Liu Xueyi in terms of acting skills. So her being paired with Xueyi in this drama is an absolute travesty. She looks stiff as a board next to Xueyi in their intense and dramatic scenes. The disparity between their acting skills is glaringly obvious. Then her long spider-like eyelashes, glittery eyeshadow, and glossy lipstick just take me out of the drama. Girl, those things didn't exist in ancient China!
Another major beef I have with this drama is the pacing and editing. The first part is pretty solid imho, but with 10 episodes left, it lost me. They could've ended this drama with just 25 episodes. I am convinced that C-dramas have difficulty sticking the landing. Most C-dramas I've seen have questionable endings. This is probably because they always want to have an open ending for the possibility of a season 2. But it kinda sucks when you watched 50 episodes only to find out that the series ends with no resolution. I think this is the C-drama curse that they just can't seem to shake. As far as I can remember, I've only seen a couple of C-dramas that gave me satisfactory endings.
The fight choreography in this is only passable. But I suppose it's understandable considering it is not a wuxia drama unlike Mysterious Lotus Casebook and Word of Honor. But I do wish they invested more in the action scenes because Li Ge Yang and Liu Xueyi can definitely pass for martial artists. This was a wasted opportunity imho.
Overall, In Blossom is an entertaining drama full of suspense and intrigue. But it lost its steam right at the end and the less than desirable acting of its female lead left a sour taste in my mouth. This could've been so much better had they opted for a different actress and shortened the series. I would rate this a generous 6.5 out of 10.
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