April 5, 2024

Blossoms in Adversity | Open Thread

Blossoms in Adversity
A woman holds up the whole sky for her man-less family.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Hu Yi Tian: Gu Yan Xi
Zhang Jing Yi: Hua Zhi
Director
Zhu Rui Bin
Chinese Title
惜花芷
To Cherish Hua Zhi
(惜 xi = ML;  花芷 = FL)
Network: Youku
Year: 2024
Episodes: 40


Hu Yi Tian:
Gu Yan Xi		Zhang Jing Yi:
Hua Zhi
Wu Xi Ze:
Shen Qi		Lu Yu Xiao:
Shao Yao
Bian Cheng:
Shen Huan		Myopia Wu:
Xia Jin E

Romcom/Romance Checklist

[In Progress]

How much of the plot is angst/romance?
0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
The ML: 
Cold–Lukewarm–Warm / Timid / Falls in Love First / Noble Idiot / CEO / General /
The FL: 
Bold / Cute / Cool & Independent / Falls in Love First / Better than ML / Noble Idiot / 
Describe the Relationship (the tropes):
Bickering Start / Childhood Connection / Cohabitation / Contract Marriage or Fake Couple / Enemies to Lovers / Hidden Identity / School to Adulthood / Love Triangle / Married Couple (Real) / Secretly in Love (F/ML) / Star-Crossed Lovers / 
Relationship Progress (officially together; first (official) kiss; breakup*):
Ep 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 36 / 37 / 38 / 39 / 40
# of CPs (including main CP):
0 / 1 / 2 / 3
Ending:
Happy / Sad / Open Happy / Open Sad / Bad

Screencaps


[Ep1]
[Ep2]
He slits his face to assure the Emperor that he will not inherit the throne. (ML is the Emperor's nephew)
[Ep3]
[Ep4]
[Ep5]
[Ep6]
I'm loving how this mirrors their Ep1 meeting
And there's a childhood connection.
[Ep7]
This "skin"ship. It's through the curtain, and through his sleeve, and through their hearts~
[Ep8]
[Ep9]
[Ep10]
[Ep11]
[Ep12]
[Ep13]
[Ep14]
[Ep15]
[Ep16]
[Ep17]
[Ep18]
[Ep19]
[Ep20]
[Ep21]
[Ep22]
Their reaction to their indirect kiss ~

[Ep23]
Gu Yan Xi needs a hug after his father died:
Hua Zhi kissed him first!
Zhu Rui Bin triggering bird kiss from The Long Ballad.
Our couple are each other's tree-hole ~ :)
[Ep24]
[Ep25]
[Ep26]
[Ep27]
[Ep28]
[Ep29]
[Ep30]
[Ep31]
[Ep32]
[Ep33]
Shao Yao's cute revenge look
[Ep34]
[Ep35]
[Ep36]
[Ep37]
Girl crush!
How dare Shen Huan shush Shao Yao from dissing the Emperor?
After an outburst, Hua Zhi sweetly holds onto Gu Yan Xi. My rational couple's first real fight resolved with love


🥹🥹🥹
[Ep38]
I have never been happier for a widow! xD
Village's Cow. 
This Emperor is legit the jealous 2FL, hahaha
Romantic. He gives her a calculator. 

[Ep39]
The ladies! <3
....and this guy.

[Ep40]
The Emperor's look of love xD
The ladies running for their men!
ML really is happy and so in love behind his O_O face. Trust.
Hua Qin & Ying Chun xD
You Jump I Jump CP


Remarks



[Drama Info] 
[Behind the Scenes] Under calendar comment. 

[Ending] Happy!


Four (4/5)


Reviewer: cynlynn
Date: April 2024
Hearts: ♥♥♥
A great story – acting is optional, namely one: Hu Yi Tian.
 
I don’t watch/praise shows for feminism, but this was refreshing and gave me so many happy tears. The women have unlikable and petty traits, yet I'm fond of all of them. Most are portrayed from that time (obviously not the FL), and Show has found a timeless relatability to them. The show just lets women be women.

Chemistry – completely unscientific and varies per person by the way – is there between Zhang Jing Yi and Hu Yi Tian. Even if emoting is a privilege here, and they’re just standing there, they look good together still. Maybe it’s their youth. Maybe it’s the writing that supports their mutual feelings. Maybe ….it’s the director zooming in and out and echoing their every word…. I hate to admit this, but I don’t mind Zhu Rui Bin’s directing that much because it distracted me from their acting and actually elevated the romantic moments. His tricks get irritatingly old, but by that time, I’m already in love with the drama. It’s still hilarious that Zhu Rui Bin is so heavy-handed with his techniques.

Here it is: Zhu Rui Bin’s best directed drama. It has nonstop events that reminded me of The Long Ballad, which kept it an entertaining watch. It has the most connected logic of all his dramas, no contest, though that credit should go to the scriptwriter/author. His credit though is definitely visualizing a loaded cast with a story that expanded radially rather than linear. It wasn’t hard to differentiate all the girls, and there were so many: the Hua daughters, the Hua mothers, the Four Season maids. The Hua men also had defining personalities. The eunuchs had their moments too.

I can’t say Shao Yao is my favourite character with Hua Zhi around (who’s just always so rational and proactive), but Shao Yao has a special spot. She makes everyone feel motherly! Hao Yue is a special villain too. When it all ended, I realized I’m on her side. She could have been a Hua Zhi, or better.

It’s finally not a revenge drama. It’s much easier to start a story about revenge (current trend for years now): punishing the bad guys, cutting their heads off, and whatnot. They’re engaging, thrilling, and satiating. Who wouldn’t want bad guys to suffer? On the other hand, good guys being rewarded for doing good deeds is really hard to write because it just doesn’t have a selling point. But Hua Zhi did it. I cried so many happy tears when others returned the favour. It felt so good. She earned it all.

The Emperor is interesting. Just try to decipher him. Show just has a lot of characters with depth at every corner. (I’m not really sure about Shen Qi though…….LOL. Do we really need him?)

The main romance is sweet, soothing, and stable. They are each other’s tree holes. Before their feelings reciprocated, they didn’t have that many scenes, but every meeting they did have was meaningful to the growth of their feelings and relationship. I like that a lot. Purposeful.

Lastly, this is how you end a show with a beautiful ensemble. On revision, I think the show did more than a full closure. It was a snapshot of everyone’s unexpected (funny) moment in their new, expectedly bright future.

Three (3/5)


Two (2/5)


One (1/5)






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Recommendations

"Iconic" "Similar" Director
The Story of Yan Xi Palace New Life Begins The Long Ballad


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