#jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

I still am not over the choice to turn parts of pan yue's hair white. He's menacing, he's merciless, yes yes, it's what he portrays outwardly, but also visible to everyone else are those streaks of white, his grief in full display, and not a single person thinks he is mourning his dead wife. He is cunning and secretive, but not with this. He could've dyed it back to black, but he doesn't, and so displays his greatest heartbreak, and no one sees this vulnerability.

#in blossom #it's just there and no one not one person thinks he's mourning her #those pieces of white hair drives me up a wall #pan yue #i am not coherent sorry im so tired but i love love the white hair choice #liu xueyi #jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

they said give the freaks what they want (liu xueyi with white streaks in his hair, light blue eyes due to blindness, desperate crying man)

#this drama says give the girlies what they want: a hot pathetic man #in blossom #liu xueyi #pan yue #jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

How does one guy have so much chemistry with a cgi chicken omg

#the legend of shen li #director really doing it right because HOW #jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

When you're on a long trip with no form of entertainment, but then this angry pup of a dude shows up, and it's the juiciest drama you've seen all year:

#im deadddd #all of them are so invested in seeing how this plays out #i bet they have bets going on lmaooo #and i bet qian zhao is winning #a journey to love #jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

I am kissing the writers of this drama. I am saluting the directors. I am bowing to the martial arts coordinators. I am hugging the costume designers and make-up artists.

#20 eps in and im just really enjoying so far #i know that there's a small chance the drama could go to hell in the last half #but at least this first half was chefs kiss #a journey to love #jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

Okay, I do feel a bit bad for Li Tongguang. He never learned how to grieve AND move on. No one has taught him. He's stuck, and now he's also stuck on denial and obsession. It's hard to watch how he'll go from hardcore and ruthless to unstable and fearful all in one sitting. All from chasing his master's ghost.

#a journey to love #obsession as a result of grief is heartbreaking #jina watches cdramas #li tongguang

[tytangfei]

We really getting childhood friends to estranged almost lovers to enemies. This drama is hitting so many fav things

#she misunderstanding him and he thinking she was involved with murdering his dead lover #oh myyy goodness #jina watches cdramas #in blossom

[tytangfei]

Stopppp, their engagement was born from their protection of each other as children???? This is literally the cutest arranged marriage I've ever seen

#in blossom #jina watches cdramas #im sobbing rigjt now this is so cute #and also quite unique

[tytangfei]

okayyyy, first ep got strong cinematography, separated childhood friends, especially her with a mysterious past of like what happened and why she has a scar, and their dynamic is already off the charts, like he searched for her for TEN years, and she's not trying to acknowledge their shared past, and she's competent, and he's competent, and he protected her from assassins already. and their chemistry is amazing and sizzling. I'm excited, to say the least

#we'll see how well ju jingyi does once she comes into the picture #but im enjoying them rn #in blossom #jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

now that In Blossom is over...

i'm going to briefly compare ju jingyi's version of yang caiwei versus zheng hehuizi's version (the first actress) to answer the question of 'is ju jingyi's verson in character according to what we know of yang caiwei in the first two episodes and in childhood flashbacks?'

why? because a lot of people have a reluctance to start this drama due to ju jingyi. i get it, she's not everyone's cup of tea. also, she has a harder task in this drama as the actress that plays the second version of female lead, and many think that she didn't step it up.

but i wanted to throw my thoughts out there in case anyone was willing to give her/the drama a chance. does ju jingyi's version feel in character, and thus, tolerable?

yeah, mostly.

zheng hehuizi's version is just, mature, and sensible. but we know from flashbacks that she wasn't just serious all the time; with her friends, she was cheerful and bright. even at the little kids who bullied her in episode 1, she played a prank on them--showcasing a silly sense of humor and ability to shrug off judgements after years of discrimination. the main reason why she was serious in the first two eps was because she was trying to push pan yue away. (and also she was worried about her sick master.)

ju jingyi's version also was pretty much the same. she was just, smart, and wary of pan yue (rightly so). the reason why she acted extra super cheerful was because she was trying to show to pan yue that she, shangguan zhi, had changed. by doing this, she was hoping to draw his eyes away from her so she could investigate. that's why i accepted the fact that ju jingyi's version could be almost too much with the quirky acts; it was initially for a good reason. once she believed in pan yue, her character wasn't so quirky anymore, because she didn't need to be over-the-top about everything. once the quirkyness disappeared, she felt more attuned to the first version we saw.

so, in terms of whether it's in character and coherent, i would say yeah, it feels enough. it's not perfect, but it's just enough to get through (though the last parts of the drama didn't give much to her character...i say more on this near the end.)

the reality is we really didn't get to see much of zheng hehuizi's version so we really don't have that much as a frame of reference. in fact, we barely get flashbacks to when yang caiwei struggled after her parents died, and her learning coroner skills from her master. because of this, i'm forced by the story to just accept that ju jingyi's version is accurate/correct.

which isn't all bad. ju jingyi's version have several shining moments. (one of my fav scenes of her is when she's drunk and confesses she's not "shangguan zhi" but pan yue doesn't believe her, so she stares at pan yue achingly with these wide regretful sad eyes. we know her conflict, we know why she can't tell him the truth yet! it's heartbreaking.)

but what i've noticed, especially toward the end of the drama, is that ju jingyi's version actually doesn't get that much time to show her character's interiority. we don't get to see her, just by herself, thinking and feeling. the most obvious example of this is when she's in jail! and has been tortured!! and we see NOTHING except she's leaning against the wall and ignoring the food and jail guards. no thoughts, no words about her situation or reminiscing about her family or her master or concerns about her friends or pan yue??? she might die, does she not feel regretful that she hasn't brought justice to her family???? she just silently endures. that might be a testament to her strength of character, but as a viewer, i'm scratching my head. i'm not that compelled by her just sitting there. i need her to say or do something.

now, with the drama all wrapped up, i can definitely say that pan yue has so much more growth and growing than yang caiwei. even his relationship with his father gets a little redemption arc. pan yue becomes the biggest main character. yang caiwei, on the other hand, kind of stops growing once she and pan yue gets together.

whether it's by writing or her own acting or editing, yang caiwei ultimately is an underutilized character. we could've seen more of her character's growth to perhaps appreciate ju jingyi's version more. but we didn't get that, for better or for worse. i liked both versions of yang caiwei in the end. just wanted a bit more for her.

#in blossom #shangguan zhi #yang caiwei #ju jingyi #zheng hehuizi #not sure if this made any sense but like it's writing it's editing it's acting #it's all these things combined to make her version decent but not perfect... #jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

enjoying the interviews from the actors. according to someone on MDL and their translation, cheng lei and lu yuxiao confirmed that shangguan qian IS pregnant and knows shangjue will come find her, so she's planted the flowers and is waiting. (MDL user also said some other things like the fact that only three people are allowed in shangjue's room (which represents his heart): himself, yuanzhi, and shangguan qian.)

#my journey to you #jina watches cdramas #;A; #i need a season 2!!!!!!! #i need the angst that comes from their reunion!! #cheng lei #lu yuxiao #shangguan qian #gong shangjue

[tytangfei]

thinking about how shiqi saw the bite marks on wen xiaoliu and assumed that wen xiaoliu and xiang liu were doing ~things~, but it never stopped him from loving her. it never hindered his love, his care, his protection. it bothered him immensely but his feelings never wavered. it was always about trusting her, loving her, protecting her--even if she never reciprocated.

#yo i'm emotional about shiqi #jina watches cdramas #lost you forever

[tytangfei]

The misunderstanding is deepening, oh bby girl, he loved you so much his hair turned white. Oh, so much misunderstanding

#in blossom #jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

Pan Yue finally pieced the puzzle together! Before, he had plenty of excuses to deny her similarities to yang caiwei (he overheard that shangguan zhi is trying to learn yang caiwei's undertaker skills; she was drunk and babbling nonsense; he was not completely lucid in the dungeon and assumed the singing voice was from his memory). Now, it is undeniable! The one who can calm him with one eccentric rhyme song has now passed it to others! I'm surprised this was how he learned of it as I was hoping the show would bring back the pendant she hid in the ground...but it was still delightful to see him so excited, and then see himself resolved to keep her secret.

#in blossom #pan yue #liu xueyi #jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

Oh, oh no, his white hair 🥺 how he must've been utterly devastated at losing the one he's been searching for so long that he was willing to cut ties with his family. Oh, the white hair of grief

#look at him !!! #look at his tragic face!!!!! #in blossom #jina watches cdramas

[tytangfei]

some people are upset about yuan qi/ gu jin being so flippant about godhood and not wanting to return to the god realm. I support him wholeheartedly. I watched his god mother shang gu--who technically birthed him but wasn't the same immortal mother Hou chi who carried him for months and loved him and expected his birth with joy--leave him for hundreds or thousands of years. It wasn't HER, not really, and frankly I've not forgiven her for this.

#when people say they were the same person....i see red #like. their primordial spirits or whatever had entire lives and wishes and hopes #and they were forced to die in a way for the other selves to emerge #and it's heartbreaking.... #ugh i cant articulate it. it's too sad #but yeah. when she left yuan qi ?????? #i was so upset on his behalf ughhhh #the last immortal #gu jin #yuan qi #ancient love poetry #jina watches cdramas