Spoiler-Free Mini Review: In The Name of Blossom
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
Title: | In the Name of Blossom (Season 2 of Flourished Peony) |
Platform: | Viki, Youtube, WeTV, iflix |
MDL Rating: | |
Genre: | Period Idol Romance |
Episode Count: | 24 |
Parental Guidance Rating: | PG-13: More intense than Flourished Peony w/ battles depictions, violence, some torture, and domestic violence. Still in the TV-14 realm. |
Staring: | LYang 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: | 4.5/5 |
Stay tuned for my full review!
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
In the Name of Blossom is Season 2 of Flourished Peony, but it's really just part two. It has a different name due to Chinese Censorship laws at the time of airing that prohibited shows that exceeded 40 episodes from airing the different "seasons" within the same calendar year.
This "season" didn't have as tight of storytelling as the last, but watching it was still like eating candy. In the Name of Blossom really focused on political intrigue and JCY’s (ML) sphere, but somehow made JCY feel like a secondary character. The visuals were still incredible, as were the costumes. This show has the best armor I've seen in a drama, and the sets were lush.
It really tripped up by going full force Mary sue by practically making Mudan a miracle worker. The slow burn continues here with the one wick candle but adds the irritation of every time a character lights said romance candle, another character blows it out. The hot cold relationship was SO repetitive and out of character for both parties. The noble idiot trope was introduced and there was way more angst and misunderstandings this season. There were a few times I felt like I was in the Godfather screaming “Look how they massacred my boy” because the characters did not act according to their nature (looking at you, Mudan!) which was established in Flourished Peony.
Although I didn't love some story elements, this is so worth watching. It did eventually deliver. I'd be curious to know what I'd think of the drama as a whole if I watched it for the first time all at once.
Story=3.5 (SO many misunderstandings), Acting=5 (no crumbs, everyone cleaned the floor), Production Quality=5 (There was a mid CGI boat scene but everything else made up for it. Espc the battle), Rewatch Value=5 (I will obv rewatch lol), Ending=5 (Everything wrapped up with a bow), Enjoyability=4 (the misunderstandings and repetition took away some of the shine, but honestly none of it dragged)
Trailer:
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