RIP: Meet Me At The Blossom

Hello, hello my lovely Misfits, 

And welcome to another review while the show is still in progress. Or simply RIP. 

And today I wanna gush over the beauty and awesomeness that is Meet Me At The Blossom, the first proper Chinese period drama with snogging. Oh, how long have I waited. Ever since Love Is More Than A Word I have waited. And this shit came out in 2016 and was heaaaaaaavily censored to the point where they even censored our beautiful wedding at the end. Yes, I am still salty about that. Sue me. 

But back to the positive things and that would be Meet Me At The Blossom. Just to get the main question out of the way, because it seems like everyone is asking this all the time. How is it possible for a chinese production to film something like this when there is still a total ban on any queer content? Well, very easy… It was never produced for the Chinese market but for the Thai market. So there is no issue with producing gay content in China as long as you don’t release it there. See, they still want the money and everything. They just don’t want to see the gays kissing. 

But honestly I don’t give a hoot and I just hope that none of the actors or producers are getting into trouble with the Chinese film industry afterwards. But knowing the film industry… If it brings them money they don’t care that much. 

And why should they care? Because so far this production is just pure awesomeness. I will be honest. It took me maybe the first two episodes to get completely hooked but that is mainly down to the fact that I have spent my BL absence with Chinese period drama once more. I have seen Yanxi Palace, Ruyi’s Love, The Double and so many more. And I looooove it. I love the clothes, the stories, the backdrops. It’s just all so gooooood. And coming from pretty much the bestest costume drama possible, going to Meet Me At The Blossom might feel a bit like a step back. 

But that’s honestly just for a moment and before you know it you are completely taken with the story and the pace and the acting and just everything. Le Li in particular as Huai En took me a while to fully embrace but I am now at episode 6 and I would give my right arm to protect this lost little boy. And do I have to even start talking about Xiao Bao? I am sure the entire fandom has already adopted him as the most protected puppy ever. His naivety and huge heart are just so refreshing and it really feels like there is not a bad bone in his body. Huai En in the beginning is a bit harder to read but I think once he understands how unconditional Xiao Bao’s love is he can’t hold back anymore either. 

Ah, gosh. I could honestly write for hours about how much I love this production. There was also this message from Qi Li, one of the producers of the show. He said how much he wanted to create a beautiful love story and to give the genre justice. He might even lose his house over this entire production, but he feels that telling the story is more important and setbacks are just temporary. Creating something stunning is permanent. Just reading this at a time where Thai BL is just flooded with all these money grabbers, who try to make a quick buck, no matter how shite their product is. It really heals my little fan heart and gives me hope that there are still people in the business who are doing this for the love of the story and the genre. 

And last but not least I want to mention the original creator and the director. Because for once in a blue moon these are both two women. Oh, how my feminist heart sings. In a genre for women from women I recently have seen an awful lot of men. But that’s just a side note. 

The director of Meet Me At The Blossom is Yi Yu Chen. A very experienced director who also did the last two HiStory instalments. The original novel comes from Shui Qian Cheng and she is also not a stranger within the community. She has not only written the classic “Beloved Enemy” but also “My Stand In”. So yeah, for a change we have two women in charge and it really feels good somehow. 

I honestly am getting sick and tired of always the same university stories told just with a different colour engineering jacket. So Meet Me At The Blossom is really different from what we usually are seeing and I really, really am celebrating this so hard. It’s the perfect middle finger to the Chinese absurd BL policy while also gifting us with some stunning visuals while telling a story that we have not had so far at all. I honestly can’t sing the praises for this series enough. Please watch it. And if it’s just to support the production company and the actors who definitely have been taking a risk by taking part in this endeavour. So let their bravery not have been in vain and support however you can. 

First posted on BLDA