In Blossom is a great Chinese Historical drama with budding romance, murder investigation, and beautiful gothic cinematography. See the full review below!
Drama Details
Title: In Blossom (花间令)
Episodes: 32
Release Date: March 15, 2024
Genres: Thriller, Historical, Romance, Fantasy
Country: China
Original Network: Youku
Available On: Viki
Synopsis and Plot Summary
The story is set in the sinful city of Heyang, where the well-liked Pan Yue marries Yang Caiwei, who is hated by everyone.
But on their wedding day, Yang Caiwei was murdered. The suspected perpetrator was none other than Pan Yue. Reborn from the dead, Yang Caiwei is known as the “evil woman” named Shangguan Zhi.
She returns in a fierce attempt to uncover Pan Yue’s crimes. But in the process, Yang Caiwei learned that the real culprit was not Pan Yue. He was the one who loved her deeply and never betrayed her.
When they bravely faced the Four Great Clans and uncovered many old cases, their hearts grew closer once again.
Just when everything seems to be going according to plan, the mastermind behind the scenes sets another trap, pushing them into the abyss of despair. Will their love be able to survive everything?
In Blossom Chinese Drama Ending Explained
In Blossom Chinese drama has a happy and convincing ending. At the end of the episode, as each case was resolved, the mastermind behind all the incidents in Heyang, Zhuo Shanju, was finally apprehended.
Surprisingly, he was merely a pawn, coerced by others and motivated to protect Zhuo Lanjiang. The true orchestrator behind the murder weapon remained elusive.
With the collapse of Yinyu Tower and Pan Yue’s return to Beijing to resume his duties, he seized the opportunity to thoroughly investigate the elusive mastermind. The only lead pointed towards Baihua Palace. Meanwhile, the Qing Emperor reflected on the death of his beloved sister Yun Shang, and his years-long pursuit of justice for her. The transportation of dancing girls to Dill Garden, involving “Shangguan Zhi,” presented a new angle for investigation.
The news of rebellion in the northwest and the attack by the Jiang clan originated from General Lu’s palace. As Grand Sima, he was unjustly framed due to his Luoxi heritage, orchestrated by the Jiang clan.
During a conversation between Pan Yue and General Lu, insights into Luoxi people’s habits were gleaned, leading to suspicions surrounding Lieutenant Jia, who happened to be married to the princess’s sister. Eventually, the true culprit surfaced.
This mastermind, originally from the Luoxi Jiang tribe, concealed his origins and amassed wealth in Heyang over a decade ago. He shared a surname with Zhuo Shanju and rose to prominence with Zhuo Jushan’s assistance, eventually marrying the princess’s sister and harboring ambitions of grandeur.
Pan Yue uncovered the identity of “Shangguan Zhi” as Yang Caiwei, rescued her during trial, and pieced together evidence implicating Captain Jia. The pursuit led to the revelation that Yun Shang had faked her death, hiding with the help of her beloved, the Lord of Zuoyuan.
Pan Yue’s investigation culminated in exposing Taiwei Jia’s involvement. Despite attempts at rebellion, Taiwei Jia’s machinations were thwarted, and he met his demise at the hands of his own wife.
Pan Yue, disillusioned, resigned, intending to return to Heyang as a county magistrate. With Yang Caiwei by his side, they departed, leaving behind a tale of intrigue and betrayal.
The discovery of Jia Taiwei’s duplicate tokens hinted at deeper conspiracies, leaving the audience eagerly anticipating the potential sequel, “Im Blossom 2,” and the unraveling of new mysteries.
In Blossom Chinese Drama Review
In Blossom is one of those rare dramas that really grabs viewers’ attention from the first episode. Face swapping, Murder investigation, Blooming romance and Gothic Cinematography are the four ingredients that create this amazing drama.
The story is about the female lead who has a scar on her face. On her wedding day, a beautiful and obsessed woman swaps her face with the female lead, so she can marry her husband (the male lead).
But finally killed on the same day. With a new face and body, the female lead begins to investigate her death in the city full of sin, with her husband who does not know her true identity.
It is important to mention that the first two episodes are unusual in that they give the entire screen time to the guest actress who plays the female lead’s real body (scarred face).
This is great exposition in establishing the relationship between the main leads and enhancing their love story. But the downside is that when the main actress appears in episode three, it feels a bit off and it takes a few episodes to get used to seeing the same character played by someone else.
The biggest highlight for me was the amazing writing of the male lead who really made us all believe that he fell in love with the female lead’s personality and that no matter what face or body she had, he would always choose her and love her unconditionally.
I enjoyed watching their romance develop, which was slow but more like continuing to build in a realistic and mature way.
What really struck me in this drama was the complex murder investigation case that felt real, raw, and well developed.
They have just the right amount of mystery and cool storylines to keep the audience interested. These scenes never feel like filler scenes because they are always connected to the main conflict of the plot.
The fact is that I really liked these cases even though I am someone who rarely watches investigative dramas or even likes them.
For the cast and characters. Pan Yue played by Liu Xue Yi was written perfectly. You can’t help but fall in love with him. He puts personality above appearance.
He’s a great fighter, a great poet, and probably a great lover (hello kissing scenes). Actor Liu Xue Yi has a strong presence on screen, he is smoking hot and very underrated.
His character feels well-developed, especially in showing how he falls in love with the female lead. Maybe his only downside is that he might be too perfect but I’m not complaining.
Meanwhile, the characters Yang Cai Wei and Shangguan Zhi, played by Ju Jing Yi, appear strong-willed, brave, and intelligent with unique forensic skills.
My only issue with the way the character was written was the slight inconsistency of his personality after her face was swapped (I’ll go into more detail on the negative points below).
The lead actress Ju Jing Yi is amazing at acting and especially her acting impressed me when she played the villain in the first two episodes. I felt she did a great job of playing two very different characters and I was easily convinced by the facial swaps.
In Blossom Chinese Drama Cast
Main Role
Ju Jing Yi as Yang Cai Wei / Shangguan Zhi
Liu Xue Yi as Pan Yue
Support Role
Wu Jia Yi as Bai Xiao Sheng
Li Ge Yang as Zhuo Lan Jiang
Qi Pei Xin as A Ze
Ding Jie as Ling Er
Anna Liu as Lu Ai Ge
Zhong Wei Hua as [Old Jiang Head]
Fan Jin Lun as Constable Liu
Mark Han as Chen San
Sun Zheng Lin as Sun Zhen
Hu Kun as A Fu
Li Pei Ming as Pan Jin
Nina Wang as Liu Qing [Princess]
Yi Yong Ming as Jia Quan [Lieutenant]
Mei Ling Zhen as Madame Jia
Chris Song as Xue Jian Li
Bai Wei as Zuo Jing Fei
Hua Wen as Sima Xuan
Liu Qin Shan as Yun’er
Xu Tao as Shen Ci / Shen Yan
Ren Wan Jing as Yun Shang
Xu Nai Yu as Chen Fu
And More
My Verdict
Overall In Blossom is a good Chinese Historical drama. Amazingly, this is also the best 2024 drama for Youku so far. It has garnered millions of views with a heat index of 10,000 on the third day of its release.
If you are looking for a drama with a developing romance, murder investigation, beautiful gothic cinematography with a smart and skilled lead this is for you. I recommend this for you to watch. My rating for In Blossom Chinese drama review is 8,7/10.
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