Blossoms in Adversity thoughts

Finally got around to watching this & fuck this might be my fave cdrama. Everything about it was perfect. Signed up for 2 Broke Girls: Ancient China Edition, got 2 Broke Girls Crossed With Game of Thrones.

- Wow there was a *lot* going on here. Like they kept throwing new calamities & you wonder how the family will get through this one & they find a way super easy barely an inconvenience & then something else. Said like that, it sounds shit but fucking hell it was so stressful to watch. The panik-kalm-panik meme constantly. Speaking of good choices in narrative structure I love how they didn't drag Gu Yanxi's identity out for the sake of a late game shock twist. This gets revealed between the main couple pretty early on & they don't keep secrets (CHARACTERS COMMUNICATING WITH & TRUSTING EACH OTHER???? WHAT IS THIS?) & it's not treated as that big a deal. Oh you're a Commander of the Security Bureau & a prince? OK sure whatever not the wildest thing that's happened this week.

- Yay for female solidarity & the power of friendship & how so many of Hua Zhi's solutions to stuff involve working together with other people. Meanwhile the royal family are murdering each other in the background.

- Needed 3 pages of notes trying to keep the characters straight & it still took me till episode 10 to figure out Boli & Bolin were two different characters.

- Tensest cooking competition ever.

- The Hua mansion becoming the Home For Wayward Royals.

- Shaoyao stabbing *&* poisoning Shen Huan & he immediately decides she is The One. 10/10

- The women of the family all getting some kind of development & depth, all growing in confidence & going from thinking they can't possibly manage without the men in the family around to bossing them around when they come back & not taking any shit.

- Unironically love the scene where they're travelling & go 'Oh no it's getting windy!' but the wind itself & the associated debris has clearly been added in later because nobody's hair & clothes are being blown about & it's so goofy & I love it. Like the effects aren't bad & everyone is doing a good job of trying to convince the audience it's really windy but it's clearly not. A+ for effort guys.

- Wished we got more of Haoyue but I loved the way we got glimpses of the person underneath. In different circumstances she & Hua Zhi could have been good friends.

- Love the Emperor being like 'Wait, you acted to save my life even after I've tormented you & your family & ruined your lives?', & instead of trying to persuade him to free her she just goes, 'Nah fuck that it's just the assassination method involved a lot of collateral damage. Wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire actually'. Like girl gave away the last fuck she had to give. Just throw the old dynasty out & make her Empress cos that's some queen shit right there.

- New Emperor has customer service experience. I approve.