The Journey of Flower (2015)

Had lots of potential but not sure what happened.

Okay there are spoilers in this but I honestly liked this drama in the beginning. You know unique storyline for that year, great actors and the ost is really good.
But there are a few things that really bothered me.

- one thing that really bothered me is the fact that Qian gu gets punished for the smallest things. While other characters such as man tian, mao yan etc kills and does things way beyond what is seen as bad/evil, yet their doings are all justified and put on qg. QG never killed or intentially wanted to or harmed anyone. Even being controlled by the great evil force. That was so annoying.
- I mean we are talking about a righteous sect yet the co leader and student does everything they’re not allowed to. Then qg does one tiny thing that gets misunderstood and gets SEVERELY punished. (…???) apparently everything she does is wrong even if it’s for the good.

- dramas are full of lack of communication issues. But this one jeez. Everything could have been avoided if they all just you know spoke their own truths and not hide it from anyone. Yeah I know it was ancient china and people weren’t as open but still. This one takes the cake for it.

- I’m not exactly sure when BZH started to fall in love with QG. The fact is they met when she was 16 and he’s like few thousand years old but looks mid 30s is a bit eh. It reminds of of goblin with the age difference. Of course you wouldn’t even know he loved her romantically until the very end. ( but the actors are similar in age so there was def an odd child/parent chemistry then lovers)

- it’s hard to tell when BZH fell in love with QG but he did care for her a lot throughout the series. I’ve seen some complaints about him not showing any emotions. However actor does a great job showing emotions through reactions and his eyes. They’re subtle but you can see the care he has for her.

- so in the beginning the master of changliu tells them they fall in love and have emotionally attachments. Well it seems like it only applies to BZH while every other immortal can. I don’t even know.

- I did like the fact that zi xun was able to turn around in the end. I mean she’s supposed to be a few thousand years old too lol. But that’s good character development while man tian just goes all buck crazy over nothing and continues going down the wrong path.

OH YEAH EVERYTHING could have been avoided if BZH accepted that he loved QG and told her. Literally if he wasn’t trying so hard to never show emotion everything could have been avoided.

- a few plot holes but I feel like that’s all dramas.

- actors and ost were excellent in this.


- I’ve seen some people compare this to ashes of love. It’s similar in that it’s a xianxia drama and that’s about it. In AOL characters show way more emotion and remorse etc.


One more thing
The journey of flower 2015 on IQIYI is the second season. Don’t even bother watching it. I did a review and yeah it’s terrible lol. Not sure wtf they’re thinking and whoever did the translations were on crack.

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Forbidden love

This is my fav wuxia drama. I rewatch it regularly and listen to ost almost daily. I like raw emotions this drama stirr in one's heart.

Anyway, lets get to the review. If I were to sum up the story of this drama in two words, then these two words would be - Forbidden love. I think that would indicate what sort of things will happen without the need for me to give whole story away.

In short, the hero was just and kind. His kindness became a rope around the heroine's neck. It slowly strangled all the good things, leaving behind only the debris of innocence. He only realised at the end that she was most important to him but it was too late.

Despite above words I wont call it a sad ending. In the end they did managed to live happily ever after. Well sort of. Its just that production team didnt do justice to the hero. His scenes were cut down. So his side of things werent as clearly explained. The cut scene are available on youtube. So, at the end watch them. It will make the journey better.

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I liked this seriea very much , cried more than 5 times in this series , its storys is really amazing , which mealts your heart and made you cry. This is the one of series in which I don't have to skip at any point ..
Actully I like this type of series in which main actriess suffers a lot of pain badly and then she becomes too powerfull and mature, so that is why I liked this drama too much.
But what I don't liked was, from starting they said that Qing Gu is Zi Hua's fathed calamity but from due to their belief mostly Xi Zun did lots of thing to kill her or created mess. Hua Qing Gu don'nt did any thing wrong . But its ok , I thing they tries to show that this was already writen to happen..

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I see a big contrast between the reviews from Asian vs US (western) show watchers, especially for story. This may have something to do with the big culture difference.

Let's look at the Story first, I think the most touching and tortured character in this show is not the female lead (Hua Qian Gu), although she indeed suffered a lot physically. The soul and the most moving character in this show is the male lead character (Ba Zi Hua). Ba Zi Hua is portrayed as a godlike, statuesque man suffering so much, on so many different levels. While I agree that the story may lack some details or depth, the essential points are all in there.

The social or public level: You need to first understand the context of their “forbidden love”. While the story is certainly being told in a fantasy setting, let’s translate it into a more “realistic” setting, can you imagine someone like a Cardinal who fell for a nun in his convent, or something sort of like that? Then you may understand how publicly scandalous the situation would be, if their love is revealed. Ba Zi Hua has to be responsible for his “sect” or his community or his group of people. This sense of responsibility haunts him throughout the story.

The religious/philosophical level: Ba Zi Hua is on a quest for “immortality” for a journey of a thousand year old. Personally, I don’t understand why people seek “immortality”, but there are people like that and they certainly have my respect. If he accepts Hua Qian Gu’s love, it means that he has to step down from the shrine, give up the efforts of thousands of years, and go back to a mortal ordinary worldly life. If you are in Ba Zi Hua’s position, will you be willing to do so? That’s why he suffers from constant inner turmoil.

The emotional level: why Ba Zi Hua fell in love with Hua Qian Gu? It’s not because she is beautiful, sweet, kind, and spiritually strong. Of course, these characters certainly help, but what really gets him is the “innocent, pure, and unconditional love” she offers. She pours out her heart and soul, without asking or even expecting anything in return. She doesn’t care if he knows, acknowledges or returns her love, as long as he is being well, that’s all she has hoped for throughout the show. How could anyone (at least a mortal) resist something like that? So now you may understand how hard it is for Ba Zi Hua to control his emotion or feelings toward her. This is a very tough job!

The psychological level/concept of love: people have different understanding or different points of views in this matter. There is a big issue in the story, so called “Sheng-Si Jie” (life and death calamity). Hua Qian Gu is the life and death calamity of Ba Zi Hua. Or we can think in this way, she is the biggest “trouble-maker” for him. In general, when people try to deal with troubles, they get rid of the “trouble-makers”, this is exactly what Mo Yan did in his situation. However, Ba Zi Hua made a different choice, instead of killing her, as instructed by his own Master. With an inclusive and benevolent mind, Ba Zi Hua accepted Hua Qian Gu, took very good care of her, raised her up, taught her everything, and hoped that she would become someone like him. So in fact, it’s Ba Zi Hua who first offered the “unconditional love” to Hua Qian Gu, although this type of love has nothing to do with man and woman. Unavoidably, Hua Qian Gu has to grow up and the problem comes.

The sexual level: OK, the love between man and woman, the story deals with this issue in a very obscure way. There are hardly any scenes showing the sexual desire of Ba Zi Hua toward Hua Qian Gu. Maybe there is one such scene when they were in their Illusion and dressed up in wedding-dresses, he was leaning over and about to kiss her, although the illusion was eventually broken by his will power and nothing really happened. There are also a couple of scenes in the end (in the last few episodes), however, it looks like some scenes were cut and the emotional flow of the characters was disrupted. Anyway, one can imagine Ba Zi Hua, at some level, must also suffer from the troubling issue of sex and abstinence.

Now, you can see how difficult, sad and mad situation Ba Zi Hua got himself into.  While he suffered so much from all these different levels, yet, he cannot show anything (so called emotionless) or do anything. So the whole situation is entirely hopeless and desperately sad. In the end, this could become a really good tragedy but I guess a relatively happy ending would please more people who watch the show.

Acting: the male leading actor did an absolutely exceptional job at playing Ba Zi Hua. One has to pay more attention to the emotions released from his eyes since he cannot say or do anything. The female leading actor also did a wonderful job too! The other supporting actors are pretty good too, especially Dong fang and Sha Qian Mo.

Music: I enjoyed the music very much, reflecting the hopeless and desperate atmosphere of the show.

Re-watch values: I would not watch the whole show again, but I really enjoyed certain episodes and watched them again and again.

Overall: a superb fantasy show, not occurring in a realistic setting (of course), but it will touch your life deeply if you could understand it. It will also show you different point views of many hard-core values of life.

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This series the start of somewhat slow. I am glad that I finished it because it got really interesting. I will say that but it was interesting to watch how the characters develop overtime but what I found more interesting was how relatable the characters are. I will tell you that the main female lead with initially frustrating because she was a bit naïve however she grew into her character. I absolutely loved each character in this series especially the “big sister” character which was portrayed as a villain but to me was an absolute forced to be reckoned with. The ending did leave something to be desired but it wasn’t awful. Overall this is worth the time.

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I have put off this drama for too long and I can see why people recommend this drama. It’s very sad but touching drama. The story follows Hua Gian Gu, who is cursed at birth for “destroying” life, plants, flowers, animals, etc. She bumps into an immortal Bai Zi Hua in disguise as Mo Bing, and ends up falling in love with him. She ends up being told that she can find Mo Bing at Chang Liu, and does all she can to join Chang Liu and join their sect. Her journey through this entire drama is tough. She is often looked down upon because she’s considered weak, dumb and naïve. She is betrayed by close friends, and her love life is forbidden.

I enjoyed this drama. I think the characters are well developed, even all the side characters. The relationship of Bai Zi Hua and Hua Gian Gu reminds me of Yang Guo & Xiao Long Nu. Everyone misunderstands them, and condemns them, and in the end they cannot admit they love each other. I was BAWLING my eyes out, crying in the last two episodes. But it was refreshing to see the ending here. The other characters in this drama are complex. A lot of them ended up in misery, due to their own doing and obsessions. I can name several characters that caused their own downfall. Another refreshing aspect is that this drama doesn’t have ONE main antagonist. I was trying to predict the ultimate bad guy in the end, but was surprised about how it went about & how in the end the “bad” sect turned good!

Overall, it's a pretty good drama. I cried, I laughed, and binged watch this. I felt Zanilia and Wallace didn't have too much chemistry/romance because their characters were probably not allowed to. Even in the end, I didn't feel "it." But still an enjoyable ending.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but at the end does it sound like Sha Qian Mo would come back, maybe a season 2?

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If you are into romance stories, this is a must-watch.

Wow... An amazing combination of romance, wuxia and fantasy, this is a must-watch. I place this drama in the same league as Ten Mile Peach Blossom.

The story development was filled with twists, turns and revelations throughout. The double twists in the ending were both heart-wrenching and beautiful. The script writer did an excellent job with the ending. I am a sucker for the underdog - for the couple who had gone through so much denial and trials... I shall not reveal too much of it. I felt really good after watching it and highly recommend it.

I love the music pieces especially the ending theme song, and the instrument pieces written for the zither and harp. The instrument music is very calming and the ending theme song is very sentimental.

And of course, the dashingly handsome Wallace Huo definitely mesmerises. He looked so cold throughout the drama until towards the ending when he broke down and a torrent of other emotions emerged. Zhao Liying was great too - you see her character develop from a playful silly young girl into a mature smart woman. MaKe was also very outstanding with his portrayal of the demon king.

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This drama has been a rollercoaster of emotions. It has made me happy, confused, annoyed and heartbroken.

But don't worry. It does not have a bad ending.
*I think*.

I'll leave it up to you to decide whether it's a good ending or not. But for me, it was!

If you're someone who hates stubborn characters then this drama is not for you.
You'll get annoyed easily midway through the drama. They are stubborn characters but not annoying.

My review will be based on the below points:

1) Plot/story- is okay for me. It's not spontaneously great nor boring. It was a story that just made me wanna keep watching based soley on the fact of suspense and mystery that i wanted to unveil in the story.

2) Acting- AMAZING!! The acting of these talented actors and actresses has been one of the major factor that made me enjoy watching this drama. They were all spot on in portraying their characters realistically. Especially the main lead girl did a great job of potraying a strong innocent pure hearted girl.

3) Character/ roles- I love the characters. Each one of them are distinct and each has personality. I love how the drama portrays the story to the extras and second leads instead of just focusing on the two main leads.

The main lead actress character is something to look forward to because her character isn't a damsel in distress waiting for her knight in shining armor. Her character potrays a strong independent woman who has a pure heart and is willing to go to the ends of the earth to save her prince charming.

*You heard right*. She's not gonna wait for Prince Charming to save her. She's gonna save herself and Prince Charming.

The main lead guy did an incredible job of potraying an emotionless emperor of the good realm that looks after the world. I loved his acting so much to the point of hating him for his character. *You'll understand once you watch the drama*

4) Chemistry- I felt it between the leads. Their chemistry is subtle but it hit me. At first their weren't barely anything but as it went on, i got hooked and was convinced that they were real couples.

The love that these two main leads potray in the drama is a very pure selfless love. Therefore, don't expect too much kiss scenes and touching scenes. BUT despite the lack of kiss scenes, i was still so surprised and intrigued by this drama.

Conclusion

- This drama is amazing because of the suspense and mystery of the drama plot. The characters just made the drama even more enjoyable to watch and despite the lack of kiss scenes, i was still so surprised and intrigued because i love how pure and innocent their love is. I've never come across a drama that truly potrays a true innocent pure love. It's so beautiful that it made me watch the drama till the last episode.

Note that this is the first Chinese drama i have watched till the last episode without skipping. ?

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I loooooovvvvedddd the show. I fell in love with Wallace Huo as Ba Zi Hua. And Zanilia as Hua Qian Gu was cute and sweet but can be sexy and sultry when she chooses. Ma Ke as Sha Jie Jie was simply too beautiful for words.The story pulled me in and is still not letting me go. Its so heart touching it literally touches your soul. Never watched a show so beautiful that it stays with you for weeks. If I could rate it beyond 10 I would do so as it totally deserves a 10+. All the actors performed really well but Wallace Huo was the best and he is my most favorite actor. I recommend the show to everyone cause you will miss watching out such a great show. I had the show for a long time but didnt watch it immediately as I got scared off with the number of episodes but after watching it I regretted not watching it sooner. The music is hauntingly beautiful and one of the tracks which is sung by the main leads is mesmerizing and is still stuck in my head.

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Story: Personally I don't see anything special for the story. It's nothing bad but also nothing new either. But the worst to me actually are that there are MANY bugs, SPOILERS like where Dong Fang Yu Qing could actually just got his revenged and killed everyone easily instead of going back and forth. Furthermore it's kinda making one less empathetic for the deaths, since everyone is dying due their love. To me those bugs, where bothering a lot. While the first half of the drama was still somewhat entertaining, the later half I felt it got weaker in my eyes.

Acting/Cast: The acting is acting good from the whole cast. I personally think Dong Fang Yu Qing, Sha Qian Mo and Yuyin's actors were standing out he most. I'm not saying that the leads are bad, but they are playing the more stereotypical roles, which are easier in my eyes.
Music: Nothing to complain about, the BGM is doing a good job and suiting the drama.
Overall: To me an average workpiece with some annoying bugs and weak script writing. Fans of Zhanliying and Wallace Huo might like the drama despite the shortcomings.

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