Flourished Peony Cdrama Review: Ongoing - (Blossom Recommendation)

SUMMARY OF THE PLOT:

The Chinese drama, Flourished Peony (2024), is a historical romance drama set in the Tang Dynasty, with a focus on female empowerment and resilience.

The female lead, He Wei Fang, is the daughter of a merchant who finds herself trapped in a marriage for three years. Soon, she meets the male lead, Jiang Chang Yang, an official in Chang'an. With his help, she succeeds in divorcing her husband and regaining her freedom. The main leads cross paths again after a while. Using her extraordinary skills in cultivating rare peonies and sharp business sense, He Wei Fang starts a flower shop with Jiang Chang Yang's funding.

The drama is currently airing; thus, this review will be updated after it is completed. Based on watching the most recent episode 22, I would give it an 8.3/10 rating for its empowering storyline and the developing relationship between the leads.

PROS:

Lin Yujing's journey through the dangerous realm of family politics and later starting her own business is incredibly fun to watch. She grows into her character, but her development is not limited as she empowers other women as well. Her perseverance is the most interesting part of her character. The male lead, Jiang Chang Yang, initially presents himself as a charming troublemaker. The female lead quickly picks up on his hidden talents and brilliance which is the start for their connection. His character adds a layer of wit and complements the female lead's character quite well.

I also found the character of the ex-husband, Lui Chang, to be quite interesting. Despite his initial dislike for the main lead due to their marriage, he becomes possessive of her once she regains her freedom. Additionally, despite his "love" for the country princess he soon despises being trapped by her affection towards him. Lui Chang has overly idealistic views of the world. He wishes to be a virtuous official, but he finds that the strings of politics are controlled by the country princess. Despite all his desire to be in control of his destiny and anger at others for making decisions for him, Lui Change does not act for himself. His hypocritical nature is eventually going to ruin his life unless he heeds the advice of the female lead. I am excited to see if his character will change and whether he will continue down this road.

Of course, I had to discuss the cinematography and general beauty of this drama. The female lead's peony business makes the scenery of the drama beautiful and reflects her journey from grandeur to struggle and to self-made prosperity. Additionally, she brings together other vulnerable women, thus empowering them with the knowledge and skills she has. It is rare to see a drama where the female lead uplifts other women as well, but I think this one does it effectively.

CONS:

Honestly, I feel like the start of the drama was great. They set up the backstory nicely and gave an excellent start to the beginning of the plot. The introduction also sets up the historical context for people who have not watched many Chinese dramas before. However, I did not love that the relationship between the main characters took nearly 10+ episodes to really pick up.

The slow burn makes sense when we understand the back story of the male lead, Jiang Chang Yang, is explored. His tendency to avoid marriage is explained and honestly made me appreciate the way the show is slowly developing into romance. It gave us time and space to get to know each character on their own rather than as just a couple.

A slight spoiler but also quite predictable was the return of the antagonists in the female lead's life. I was hopeful that the past would not come back but it seems that the female lead's kind-hearted nature is making her prone to schemes by others. I wish the female lead kept her guard up a little more but she seemed far too trusting till episode 20. Let's see where her character ends up and how she grows after this latest incident.

Lastly, I have no major complaints about this drama but something seems to be lacking. It is not reaching the 8.5+ category for me, but so far I have not been able to pin-point why. Perhaps the next few episodes will give me some more insight and I will update this review accordingly.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

As always I love the lead actor, Li Xian, because his acting is stellar but more importantly he consistently chooses good roles. Like in the drama, Meet Yourself (2023), he does an excellent job of portraying a character with depth and expressive emotions, something which many actors lack. The female actress is also excellent and she always takes roles that are different from one another. She has an excellent ability to portray a range of characters in both contemporary and historical dramas. Their acting is the biggest plus point of the drama as they bring out the depth of their characters and the intricacies in the plot effectively.

Overall, for this drama, I would rate Flourished Peony at 8.3/10. The romance is just beginning to pick up nicely and a big incident has occurred around episodes 18-21, which has moved the drama in a slightly different direction. I am excited for the next episode where we see how the relationship of the characters will evolve and how they will deal with the antagonists of the drama.

If you are eager for more Cdrama experiences, I recommend titles like:

The Blossom (2024): This drama is also incredibly interesting as the female leads mirror each other in strength and desire to build their own life. This drama follows the "second chance" trope as the main character dies and is sent back to her childhood with her memories intact. The historical Chinese drama was amazing and the romance is more fast-paced. (8.7/10)

The Double (2024): Both dramas have similar romance, aesthetics, and good acting. The side characters are incredibly well-developed in this drama and acting by all set new standards. (8.9/10)

Story of Kunning Palace (2023): The dramas begin similarly as the female protagonist remembers her past life and gets a "second chance". The characters are different from most dramas and the actors do a great job portraying the nuances of their characters. (8.7/10)

For more recommendations try: Story of Ming Lan, Blossoms of Adversity, and Meet Yourself.

flourished peony cdrama review