The Blossoming Love (2025) 千朵桃花一世开
Summary: During the time of the gods, the People Emperor Zhao Ming sacrificed himself to save the humans from the gods. After he died, his partner Hun Dun Zhu saved one piece of his soul and set a spell for the soul to be reincarnated. After thousands of reincarnations, Zhao Ming is now the Human Alliance leader Xie Xue Chen 谢雪臣 (Zhang Bin Bin 张彬彬). 混沌珠 has also reincarnated to become the Saintess of the Dark Realm Mu Xuan Ling 暮悬铃 (Sun Zhen Ni 孙珍妮). They reunite in the human realm but have forgotten their past lives and are now enemies. By chance Mu Xuan Ling rescues Xie Xue Chen and the two set off on a mission together. They develop feelings for each other but are faced with differing loyalties. They both want to capture the all powerful 混沌 pearl but this tests their limits. They must decide who to save and what to sacrifice.
Total Episode Count: 40
Initial Airing Date: Jan 2, 2025
Platform: Youku
Initial Rating 7.2/10 [20 episodes] – A visually stunning fantasy drama to kick off 2025, with just enough fresh twists to make an enjoyable watch. Zhang Bin Bin gives a serviceable performance as the righteous Xie Xue Chen but his storyline feels thin. Sun Zhen Ni shows promise with her first leading role but doesn’t fully deliver.
Xie Xue Chen 谢雪臣 zhang bin bin 张彬彬
Ruler of the Snow City, he has the burden of maintaining peace in the human realm
Mu Xuan Ling 暮悬铃 Sun Zhen Ni 孙珍妮
The sly and beguiling Saintess of the Dark Realm, she stages a rescue of Xie Xue Chen but has ulterior motives
Gao Qiu Min 高秋旻 zheng ya qin 张雅钦
Pupil of Jin Hua Palace, she's a lonely and arrogant young woman who quickly faces the realities of the world
Nan Xu Yue 南胥月 Wang Duo 汪铎
Owner of the Southern Moon Villa and master of magical formations, he is devoted to Mu Xuan Ling but has mysterious motives
Fu Lan Sheng 傅澜生 Wu Yu Heng 吴宇恒
Son of the owner of the Bi Xiao Palace, he enjoys treasures and women but has a kind heart
Feng Yao 封遥 Chen Yu Xian 陈雨贤
Loyal Servant to Nan Xu Yue
Qian Guang Jun 潜光君 Chen Mu Chi 陈牧驰
First leader of the Spirit Alliance and has spent thousands of years in search of his partner
Feng Rang 凤襄 Wang Zi Xuan 王子旋
Partner to Qian Guang Jun but has disappeared for thousands of years
Initial Thoughts
This is a solid and engaging fantasy drama that has maintained my interest. It follows familiar fantasy conventions, featuring a stoic young leader who suppresses his emotions to protect humanity, only to fall in love with an enigmatic young woman with a complex backstory. While watching, I couldn’t help but feel that the drama is competent yet lacks an element that truly captivates. It offers a visually stunning experience, though the stakes do not feel particularly high. Overall, it serves as an enjoyable, light entertainment that I have appreciated, though I doubt it will leave a lasting impression.
This drama has sadly been a dud for Youku who has placed its bets on relative newcomer Sun Zhen Ni. This drama has barely breached 8000 on Youku’s popularity index and hasn’t garnered much buzz. I personally enjoy Zhang Bin Bin outside of fantasy dramas and wish he can be in more period political dramas.
What I Liked
- Exquisite Costumes and Impressive Visuals: Fantasy dramas have undoubtedly elevated their standards with stunning costumes and remarkable visuals in 2024 and this drama just continues that trend. Mu Xuan Ling and Xie Xue Chen have dazzling (yes dazzling) costumes that I honestly just spend time admiring their costumes than focusing on the plot. This is also extends to several side characters. I am pleased to see that fantasy dramas have moved away from the ubiquitous use of thin, light fabrics for characters (as seen in many fantasy dramas of the 2010s), as the new costumes provide greater depth and individuality to each character. The visuals are also top notch. I was particularly impressed by the visuals depicting the trap that Mu Xuan Ling was ensnared in and admired how effectively it was brought to life.
- Engaging Backstory for Mu Xuan Ling: Mu Xuan Ling is unquestionably the central character of the show, possessing a distinctive backstory and intricate motivations. At first it seemed as though the narrative was going to focus on Xie Xue Chen (which I’ll get to later), but I was happy to discover that Mu Xuan Ling took center stage. Her narrative stands out as one of the more unique and compelling backstories for a female protagonist, and I have greatly appreciated uncovering more about her story.
- Complex Antagonists: Han Dong’s portrayal of Sang Qi is undeniably the standout performance in the drama. He excels as a compelling antagonist, evoking both fear and a deeper understanding of his character’s motivations. With the ability to outsmart and defeat the main characters, he proves to be a truly formidable adversary. There’s another lurking foe in the form of Xiu Xian Ge but we haven’t seen him much in the first half of the drama.
- Intriguing motivations:We are introduced to a world marked by inequality, where the Spirit Clans have been subjugated by humans. The Spirit Clans harbor significant resentment towards the humans due to ongoing oppression. It is particularly intriguing to observe the various stances taken by humans, some aligning with opposing forces or succumbing to darker inclinations. Some do so in an effort to combat this injustice, while others are driven by personal ambition or a desire for vengeance. I find the exploration of moral ambiguity in the characters to be quite engaging, as each one proves to be far more complex than initially perceived.
- Zhang Bin Bin: Out of the younger cast, Zhang Bin Bin is definitely the best actor. He’s great when sparring off with the antagonist San Qi because they do act off each other. However, that still isn’t saying much because I think Zhang Bin Bin’s talents are rather underutilized in this drama. I personally prefer him in political dramas or mystery dramas.
What Suffered
- Thin Characterization for Xie Xue Chen: Zhang Bin Bin has the top billing for this drama and I mentioned that he gives a decent portrayal. Unfortunately, the character of Xie Xue Chen is rather thin. He’s the righteous leader of the Snow City who must not give up his duties to protect humans for one individual. This is a tired trope in fantasy romance dramas which made me rather bored of the character. So far, the character hasn’t made (many) surprising choices from what I would expect of the genre. Therefore, Xie Xue Chen as a character isn’t really compelling.
- Lack of gravitas for Sun Zhen Ni: Sun Zhen Ni is an up and coming talent and I’m glad that she’s getting new leading roles. Unfortunately, she doesn’t quite command the presence of a leading lady. She shows flashes of charm, which come out when acting with Zhang Bin Bin, but otherwise seems rather rigid. This is especially evident in her eyes. She sometimes seems to be blankly staring into space. As a saintess of the Dark Realm, she should be alluring and beguiling but Sun Zhen Ni can’t yet capture that essence. She’s not very threatening and is at her best when she’s teasing Xie Xue Chen rather than trying to seduce him. I liked her more in Till the End of the Moon because she was more of a tease as a fox spirit.
- Squanders a talented supporting cast: I often don’t say this because there are many dramas who focus on supporting characters at the expense of the main couple. The drama squarely focuses on the main couple BUT we are introduced to many different characters that barely have a storyline or are brushed aside that show glimpses of a good story. The different factions of the Spirit Alliance seem intriguing but we don’t see much of them. The characterizations that we do get when they are on screen leaves me wanting more and I wish we spent a little bit more time with the other characters. The mysterious Xiu Xian Ge has many devoted followers but I haven’t seen much of them yet to understand why they are such a threat and want to see a little more of that storyline.
- Injuries, what injuries?: This is another fantasy drama that brushes off life threatening injuries. Xie Xue Chen is injured more times than I can count but somehow still comes roaring back as if nothing happens. His injuries are mentioned during the drama but there seems to be minimal effect on his powers. He should be nursing his health for months but then pops right back up when he needs to save someone. It gets really hard to suspend disbelief when this keeps happening every episode. At least Zhang Bin Bin shows that he’s struggling when he gets injured. The other characters just spit out some blood and then pass out.