Watching When My Love Blooms feels like reading a poem but in the form of moving pictures
Drama Profile
Title: When My Love Blooms (화양연화 – 삶이 꽃이 되는 순간 / The Most Beautiful Moment in Life)
Main Cast: Yoo Ji-tae, Lee Bo-young, Park Jin-young, Jeon So-nee
Writer: Jeon Hee-young
PD: Son Jung-hyun (Should We Kiss First, Yeah, That’s How It Is, The Woman Who Married Three Times)
Timeslot: 2100H Saturday and Sunday
Network: tvN
Episodes: 16
Genre: Melodrama
Plot Synopsis:
Han Jae-hyun (Yoo Ji-tae) and Yoon Ji-soo (Lee Bo-young) were each other’s first love. After twenty years, they’ve met again but they are now different from their university days.
Major trope: First Love
Maknae’s Impression:
Going straight to the point, When My Love Blooms is the kind of series you should watch if you’re craving for a melodrama with scenic cinematography and slow-paced storytelling. I personally enjoyed watching the first two episodes of the series as it is the right kind of melo I was looking for. It put a balance on my watchlist and offered a different feeling from the lightheartedness and fast-paced narratives of other dramas I’m currently watching.
For a premiere episode, they successfully created an air of intrigue around their main leads by going back and forth to the past and present timeline. I must say the story is a bit cliché but if they’ll be consistent until the finale, the characters and narration will be the series’ strongest points. The difference between the main leads’ past selves to their current situation is an interesting introduction. It’s an effective way to make its audience wonder how they’ve become who they are in the present and tune in to their journey.
One scene that I like is the ending moment of episode 1. Yoo Ji-tae and Lee Bo-young’s stares felt so loaded with history, regret, and longing. They’ve done that with just a few lines and the magic of picturesque cinematography.
Speaking of the script, the dialogues felt like reading an old lost love letter or a poem. The writer surely knows how to strike a chord with his words. There were also a lot of carefully crafted introspective scenarios for the characters; giving us a good look at their thoughts and innermost feelings despite their adult selves masking it with lies.
Sticking to its theme, When My Love Blooms is making use of the universal experience of first love to capture its audience’s attention. But I have a feeling Han Jae-hyun and Yoon Ji-soo’s tale will be more than just the usual second-chance-at-love kind of story. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.
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