Blossoms in Adversity

What a positive surprise. I wouldn't have thought that the ordeals of a fallen noble family could be this captivating. This show explores the hardships of the family's women and children after their clan's men got exiled. In order to overcome this situation, they have to face all of the intrigues and conflicts that could conveniently be ignored during a life of wealthy idleness, but now have to be dealt with in order to utilize everyone's strengths in order to make a living.

Xi Hua Zhi is presenting a healthy mix of different genres. Besides the obvious family drama it tells stories about emotional struggles, business acumen, leadership, politics and balances serious topics with humorous relief and martial arts action. Even (for a Chinese show) unusual topics like disabilities and emancipation are convincingly woven into the storytelling - not in a condescending way as it is the case in most modern tv shows from the west, but in a way that it comprehensively fits even into the setting in the ancient Eastern society. While not all characters presented are fleshed out well, many of them are. Almost every family member (including the maids and concubines) has her own storyline with struggles, and most of them see a healthy share of character development. While the two lead actors do a good job carrying the show, there are a couple of hidden gems in the side character casts that will really get you invested. Most notably the display of the mentally challenged Shaohua, the good-hearted but lazy Baoxia, the self-doubting but highly skilled Fudong, the virtuous Shen Qi or the industrious and resourceful Jin'e are the ones that, imho, stood out the most in terms of acting.

What keeps this show from being 'perfect' are mainly three things. First, a lot of the drama seems just a bit too artificial and constructed. While a lot of the bigger picture leading to the challenges of the family can be explained with politics and the deeply distrustful and hurt personality of the Emperor, some of the things happening 'on-the-side' and some family members' reactions to that seem a tiny bit over the top. Second, especially towards the end of the show, some of the events seem a bit rushed. It feels as if the first half of the books' stories (which I admittedly haven't read) get like 32 episodes of space and the show takes time to explore these moments with the characters, whereas the other half has to be squeezed into the remaining eight episodes. This makes the end seem a bit rushed and, unfortunately also accompanied by the not too uncommon stereotypes (as in: all the girls have to find a husband). There's few expections to this rule in the show, but eventually, I couldn't help but feel like it was forced and thus a bit of missed potential, especially compared to what the story had been telling until then. But does this make it a bad watch? Absolutely not!

Xi Hua Zhi is a great show with a healthy mix of genres, great storytelling and a memorable cast of characters. I'm sure I'm gonna watch it again someday.