Spoiler-Free Mini Review: Flourished Peony (S1)
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
There is no situation Mudan can't girlboss her way out of.
Title: | Flourished Peony (Season 1) |
Platform: | Viki, Youtube, MGTV (Mango), IQIYI, Apple TV |
MDL Rating: | |
Genre: | Period Idol Romance |
Epiosode Count: | 32 |
Parental Guidance Rating: | PG-13: Domestic violence, brief torture, some action violence and blood . I'd say TV-14 rating is an accurate rating. |
Staring: | Yang Zi as He Wei Fang/ Mu Dan (Female Lead/FL) Li Xian as Jian Chang Yang (Male Lead/ML) Miles Wei as Liu Chang/Zi Shu (Male Lead/ML) Zhang Ya Qin as Li You Zhen (Second Female Lead/FL) |
RBTS Rating: | 4.7/5 |
Stay tuned for my full review!
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
This is as "proper" as an idol drama can get. Flourished Peony has "slice of life" narrative with a dash of political intrigue, following a shop owner after she flees her ex-husband and his crazy lover. There are #gurlpower themes that feel out place, especially since so much attention was spent on making the drama look and feel congruent with the Tang Dynasty. That being said, it didn't ruin the show for me, though I didn't care for those plotlines. Heaven forbid a girl just live her Tang dynasty life without having to fight patriarchy on top of everything else.
The sets and costumes are absolutely stunning and the music is beautiful. For a Chinese drama, the cinematography was top notch. Though it's visually a masterpiece, the storyline could've used some work, but it's all about the vibes for me and the vibes are immaculate.
The romance was too much of a slow burn (I'm talking a one wick candle here) but it is more realistic. So much of the relationship is reading between the lines which is very Chinese show (i.e. he says she has something on her face because he wants to look at her longer). Biggest cons: 1. Some of the subtitles are in French for no reason and are a bit inaccurate towards the end. 2. The season ends randomly-- there will be a season 2 called In The Name of Blossom. 3. SLoowwwwww moving romance 4. Shengyi storyline was not my favorite, but slay on sister I guess. 5. Gurl Bossing too close to the sun. I'd imagine this is up your alley if you like Blossoms in Adversity or Dream of Splendor.
Story=4 (Solid, but some unneeded plotlines), Acting= 4.25 (Solid), Production Quality=5 (Beyond Impressive-- the most lush sets, costumes, and lighting I've ever seen. And the sound quality is actually amazing), Rewatch Value=5, Ending=5 (only part 1, but nice wrap up though a bit random). Enjoyability= 5 (loved)
Trailer:
Comments