Reviews

Highly overrated

Ji Changwook is a versatile actor and we all know it. Shin Hyesun is the toughest and one of the most elegant actress and we know that too. But here, both of their potentials were wasted big time. I can't even get started on the sheer ridiculosity of the story. The writer made some unbelievably stupid and irritating characters and just dumped them without a proper background. One of them is Cho Samdal herself. That woman's fake pride was high up the sky, and she was living in denial all along that she can never fail, because according to her, she is supposed to be the only one to succeed in Seoul from Jeju. Her bratty behavior and her demeanor was a pain to watch tbh. Next is Yongpil's dad, Sangtae. He definitely has some serious woman issues and was almost a lunatic. He blamed Samdal's mom for his wife's death when in reality it wasn't anybody's fault. I have never seen such a spineless man ever in my life. Imagine blaming someone else for your own incompetence. All in all, it was a forcefully curated slice of life drama where there's no slice of life in it. The only saving grace was the natural backgrounds, at least they were pretty. Eunju, the antagonist, was supposed to be annoying, but she was less annoying than Cho Samdal actually.

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50-50

I was disappointed with the ending of the drama, or rather, I found the ending to be unclear.

While the beginning was promising, especially with the introduction of all the main characters, I only found the story truly interesting after 30th episode. Although there were some good scenes scattered throughout the drama, overall, I found it to be quite boring.

Personally, I found Tan Yu's love story more engaging than the main leads' storyline, but unfortunately, as a second lead couple, they didn't get as much screen time.

The actors and actresses did a great job, giving it their all, but the story itself didn't leave much of an impact.

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No Thank You

I only watched it for Yeon Woo Jin. I'm simply glad that this travesty has ended. The female lead is so annoying that she tampers with the crime scene and makes poor decisions. I am not shipping her and the police officer, I am rooting for the husband. Glad this drama is over. The reporter Seo Jung Won was emotionless her husband just wanted someone to love him and she was not that person she loved her career more than her husband, the police officer was stuck in the past, and his love for a married woman was a bit disturbing. The writer and the director tried to force-feed the audience with this nonsense of first love, I usually like that concept, but not in this case where the FL was very selfish and tampered with the crime scene and never showed any emotion.

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To be human is to be insecure and fragile

That's my take on this drama.

I have always been impressed with Zhou Yu Tong's acting prowess and selection of dramas. So, I know her drama will definitely not be typical.

Here, she is portrayed as toxic (in terms of relationships) but honestly, don't we all?

Humans, by their nature, are complex beings with emotions, vulnerabilities, and insecurities. As the eldest daughter and disabled at that, Zhuang Jie felt an intense sense of responsibility for others, having an inclination toward overachieving, struggling with anxiety, people-pleasing, and establishing boundaries in adult relationships.

Being human also encompasses strength, resilience, and the capacity to overcome challenges. This is what I find sweet because she finds her strength from Chen Mai Dong. A man who is non-judgmental but also won't take any shit. This is exactly what Zhuang Jie needed to complete her growth as a human.

The theme of this drama is death - which makes a lot of viewers uncomfortable, but quoting CMD - "death is unavoidable. It's not the end but rather the completion of a process"

Which I find rather true and it's not dark. It's just real.

So if you want a real drama, intense chemistry, character development, and something that makes you ponder on life, go for it

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Witchcraft and face swap in a thriller-packed drama

Hi guys, I'm back again after hiatus for quite some time due to final exams and lack of spare time. I've done watching In Blossom some time ago, but I only get my time to work on this review today. In Blossom is not a drama that I expected very much, I was obsessed in Burning Flames and didn't plan to watch this beforehand. After scrolling through the comments, I decided to try it and check out my review below.

In Blossom tells a bittersweet story between two childhood sweethearts, Pan Yue and Yang Caiwei. Yang Caiwei was in a disgraced situation after having escaped from the attempted murder which successfully killed her parents. Subsequently, she went to the Pan Mansion and wanted to meet Pan Yue. But Pan Yue wasn't there, and his father refused to let her in. Filled with grief and resentment, Yang Caiwei wandered around Heyang City and was taken in by a retired coroner, who worked as corpse taker now. Together with her lunatic master, Yang Caiwei became a corpse taker and did everything to relieve her master's burden.

She accidentally encountered Pan Yue again. Originally, Yang Caiwei gave him a cold shoulder and ignored him as possible. Pan Yue, of course, didn't give up and tried his best to woo her back, even wanted to marry her. A spoiled and pampered girl of the wealthy Shangguan family, Shangguan Zhi, witnessed this event and was furious. The day before their marriage, Shangguan Zhi used witchcraft to switch her face with Yang Caiwei's. After that, she pushed Yang Caiwei and her subordinates to a narrow cliff, thinking that she had erased every trace of her evil deeds.

Things became more and more unexpected. Shangguan Zhi (in Yang Caiwei's persona) was suddenly murdered which aroused fear and suspicion. Yang Caiwei soon learned about her 'own death' and vowed to find the culprit and uphold justice for Shangguan Zhi despite the latter's treatment towards her.

In order to investigate her murder, Yang Caiwei had to work with Pan Yue in the county yamen. Originally, they were at odds because Pan Yue didn't like Shangguan Zhi before, not knowing that the latter has swapped her face with Yang Caiwei. Thus, their sweet love story began.

So far, the plot is woven in intrigue and mystery, which can attract the audiences to skim in, especially mystery and thriller lovers. However, after the case of Gu Shan, I started to fast forward and skipped a lot of the main leads' scenes. Don't get me started at the capital arc. That arc was rather boring and dull. Even with skipping, I could still grab some details of the case and in short, I didn't lose anything from skipping here and there.

The acting is so-so. This is my third time watching Liu Xueyi after 'The Blood of Youth' and 'Love and Redemption'. I think he did pretty well in this drama and his persistent love towards Yang Caiwei was one of the best aspects of him. You could see him conveying his eye expression when he was staring at Yang Caiwei and you'll know why. Meanwhile, Ju Jingyi's acting is a bit of lackluster. Like other reviewers, I also prefer Zheng He Hui Zi's portrayal as the real Yang Caiwei. Ju Jingyi's Yang Caiwei is a little spoiled but thank goodness they didn't make her into a damsel-in-distress (she's still as intelligent as her old self).

Personally, I'm rooting for the second couple (Zhuo Lanjiang and Bai Xiaosheng) than the main couple. They're a cute bickering couple and help the leads to solve cases too. My only complaint is why should they KILL OFF Ah Jiang. He didn't deserve it and should have got a happy ending with Bai Xiaosheng.

OSTs are nothing special, but still commendable.

Is there any rewatch value? Nah, that will depend on yourselves. The plot is good in the first half but falls in the second half. I myself won't be rewatching this drama as this is a one-time watch for me. Nonetheless, I'll give this nine out of ten stars for the great plot and the case solving. Give this a try if you want some case-solving drama, but you can skip the rest of the scenes if they've arrived at the capital. Happy watching!!!

SPOILER ALERT:
The real murderer of Yang Caiwei points to Shangguan Zhi's brother, Shangguan Lan. I'm not entirely sure of this, but given that the Shangguan family has good connection, a private army, and witches, everything is possible for them. To please Shangguan Zhi, her brother must have intended to kill off Yang Caiwei from the beginning so that Shangguan Zhi can marry Pan Yue - and that's the only reasonable thing to do (in my opinion).

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Watch Episode 1 then head straight to ep 7!! :D

May contain spoilers.

Writing this review to defend my boy Gu Xun. lol. A little tip, watch episode 1 then skip to episode 7. ;)

NGL I almost dropped this drama because of how annoying FL was in the first 6 episodes. I decided to pick it up again because I was really curious why it was so popular last year. Turns out, it is a fairly good show.

Now, about FL being annoying and Gu Xun (ML) being a d*ck in the first 6 episodes - totally part of their story. He was not mean to her for no reason, in ep 1 he finds out she has a "crush" in real life, not knowing it was him (they only know each other online and completely anonymous to each other in real life). So in order for her to surely be rejected by her crush, he gives her advice about what boys like about girls. Of course, the advice he gives her are things that he hates about girls - again, his intention is to make sure her crush rejects her not knowing that he is her crush! So what happens? FL follows his advice (FL's friend mocks her by asking why she is even following a boy's advice about boys?) All of this is in ep 1 so just watch ep 1 then head straight to ep 7. :)

My boy Gu Xun has been getting hate because people did not pay attention to these things in EP 1. It was pretty much set up in the first episode and I only fully understood what was happening during their scene in ep 7. It was so satisfying to see him regret his whole life decisions lol.

Episode 19 also that heartwarming hug, he looks like a really cute puppy with those eyes backed by the OST "With Me" which is my favorite song in the series :)

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It started with sarcasm ...

...and jokes that keep me interested and watched till ep. 8, where there is a plot twist, which is the peak of the drama.

Afterwards, it goes downhill esp. ep 13 onwards where there are too many flashbacks and romantic conversations btw the main leads, which bores me and reluctant to continue watching.

However, there are still many meaningful and funny portions, e.g. the aunt and her bf made up the most hilarious parts.

Eun Seong, a cool psychopath from the 'Psychopath Diary' plays a cold-hearted person too in this drama; except that, he falls in love with FL, which made him vulnerable and looked unconvincing, which is a pity.

Hence, I rated it 8/10. Overall, it is still a good watch and writing.

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RuyiZhou, my Heart!!

A Journey To Love is one of the BEST historical drama out there. This is the first time I'm writing a review but this show seriously deserves it!! This show is action-packed, contains such a heartfelt love story you can't help but be encapsulated!! Seriously, a female lead who doesn't bow down in danger and knows what she wants , a rare gem in Cdramas. You can't help but fall in love with the supporting characters, the writing allows each character to shine in its own way, giving the watcher so much information on every individual and laying it out perfectly!! The FL, Ren Ruyi has SO much depth, she kills without remorse and doesn't hesitate, (I might be a little problematic for liking this, but whatever!!) The ML Yuan Zhou, ugh I started not liking him in the beginning but came to love him just as much as Ruyi. His character is so compassionate and genuine, a perfect balance to Ruyi's persistent personality. Each episode had me HOOKED, not a single skip, coming from someone who skips a lot in dramas like this. Please, if you're looking for an attention-grabbing historical Cdrama, this is one of the best, if it wasn't for my personal bias for "Love Like the Galaxy", this would be number 1 on my list.

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uma boa surpresa

depois de anos acompanhando sobre a série na internet e salvando vídeos aleatórios na esperança de um dia assistir, o dia finalmente chegou e eu estou meio gag. era de se imaginar que uma série tão comentada mesmo passando anos de sua estreia teria uma certa qualidade mas estou surpreso com o que eu encontrei.

apesar de achar que as coisas operam em um ritmo acelerado a série faz uma outra coisa com essa mesma característica: faz a gente se apegar aos personagens e ao enredo muito rápido também. a construção da narrativa e do personagens é tão gostosa de se acompanhar que ao final de todo episódio surge a vontade de assitir aos próximos. estou apegado aos protagonistas pois ambos tem personalidades distintas e acharam uma maneira de conviver da melhor forma possível entre si ao ponto de desenvolver um romance dessa relação. um outro ponto positivo é entender as camadas que envolvem os personagens (como traumas antigos e inseguranças) de uma maneira muito evidente, a série não se preocupa tanto em desenvolver esses dilemas mas você consegue perceber de forma clara que eles existem e a maneira como eles influenciam no jeito com o que os personagens se relacionam com outras pessoas.

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