Mid-point Update on King Flower: Stakes are Raised and the Love Triangle Heats Up

One caveat before I get started with my update on the increasingly awesome King Flower (also known as Substitute Princess) – Chris Wu is one of my TW-drama biases. I love him. Loved him since Autumn’s Concerto (and I’m still angry at Ady An or Liang Mu Cheng or whatever her name is), loved him in Zhong Wu Yen (blind or sight back, and both twins), and endured the horrible What is Love? just to see him in his first prime time drama leading role. Now comes King Flower, where we have Nikki Hsieh as the heroine faced with two leading men in Chris and James Wen, and things have simmered its way to a high stakes emotionally charged playing field after ten episodes. Episode 1 was nice and breezy, but I actually zoned out in the subsequent episodes which felt like set up and I wasn’t feeling the growing romantic awareness between Jin Da Hua (the country bumpkin) and her oppa Lin Guan Jun (James Wen in a nicely rough and tumble performance). I was feeling all sorts of warm and fuzzy for Terry/Ouyang Tai (Chris) and his fiancee Du Liang Yen (Nikki as well), and then the drama puts her in a coma and Da Hua is roped into getting a full plastic surgery makeover and pretending to be Liang Yen for a year. Initially I thought this drama would be a funny farce, and both leading lady characters would be around so that we can have a dual wedding at the end after all’s well that ends well.

Then episode 7 hit and my jaw dropped somewhere between the floor and a place close to the center of the earth. The drama up and offed Liang Yen! What the what? Holy shit smokes, suddenly the drama’s stakes are raised higher than high and I snapped to rapt attention. This isn’t an amusing game anymore – Terry is stuck between a rock and a hard place (maybe hell), Da Hua’s kindness and loyalty keeps her beside him, and somewhere Guan Jun figures out that he’s got feelings for his not-so-little-sister but things are all sorts of complicated. Wowsers, I was not expecting this drama to suddenly hit so hard and be so ridiculously gripping that I can’t stop watching. But like I said in my opening sentence, Chris is my bias and Terry is the character I have the most feels for. Chris is also acting his pants off (the scene where Lian Yen died needs to be submitted for an award somewhere), and every time he looks at Da Hua I feel his heart in his throat. Initially I thought James was the male lead but after ten episodes its clear both guys are equal leads, which leaves me uncertain of how the next ten episodes will unfold and where Da Hua’s heart lies. It’s with her Guan Jun big brother right now, but there are all sorts of ridiculously shippy moments between her and Terry that leave me all shivery in a good way.

We start off with one sorta couple – buck-toothed country bumpkin Da Hua with her oppa Guan Jun. They are really sweet and I approve. This drama has lead the ratings for Sunday night, but its just hovering above 1 which is a far cry from the 3 and above that SETTV expects from its biggest night for idol dramas. KF got lucky that its up against dramas that were either utter crap (Spring Love, K-Star) or too mellow to be interesting (Die Sterntaler). KF lacks a big name star as its draw, with both James and Chris just one step away from being an A-list leading man, and Nikki a fresh-face on the small screen despite her legit movie cred. But I think all three are well-cast and have chemistry with each other. Da Hua and Guan Jun have familiarity and candor with each other, knowing all of each other’s flaws and drawbacks but still liking each other.

On the other hand there is another happy couple – rich as Croesus Terry and his kind and sophisticated (and extremely sheltered) fiancee Liang Yen. They are not in a chaste engagement, to say the least. I also approve, nice rich pretty people also deserve love. One thing that sticks out for me is that Nikki has had twice the screen time with Chris compared to with James, due to her playing fiancee Liang Yen and then later Da Hua pretending to be Liang Yen. I also feel like she has much better romantic chemistry with Chris, it was evident when they played an affianced couple, and later even when Terry was in a scene with Da Hua the air still crackled. The scene at the end of episode 8 when she confront him about ending their contract had me screaming at the screen for them to make out already. I wonder if the audiences are having a hard time picking which leading man for Da Hua in the end?

Sadly the happy rich couple isn’t meant to be as Liang Yen falls off a cliff. Literally. After she begs, pleads, whines, and wheedles Terry to take her mountain climbing, disaster befalls them. I can say Liang Yen is a spoiled brat, but she’s written as just a very naive and sheltered girl who wants to taste adventure for a change. This is sheer dramatic license that she gets into a random mountain climbing accident.

Liang Yen falls into a coma, and Terry falls into a funk and a dilemma. He’s told by his friend and Liang Yen’s doctor that she needs a year to recover. The man is a lying sack of shit, but he does it to keep Terry from falling apart. Terry finds Da Hua and offers her a deal – $2 million NT for a year of her life where she gets plastic surgery and pretends to be his fiancee Du Liang Yen while the real Liang Yen recovers. Terry’s evil cousin and aunt are waiting in the wings to kick him out of the company as CEO and he needs to keep Liang Yen’s accident from her dad who is the other major shareholder in the company. Da Hua needs the money and accepts the contract, telling her family and Guan Jun that she is off to work in Australia for a year.

This drama’s Chinese title is Jin Da Hua’s Extravagant Adventure, and in the closing sequence we see Da Hua awakening from a nap to find herself in a wonderland situation with both Terry and Guan Jun spending time with her. In the end she wakes up again and smiles. Initially I thought she would just experience something that would change her life, but now I’m not sure the end means she goes back to her previous existence and lives happily ever with Guan Jun. I feel like her experiences with Terry make her more self-sufficient and learned and changes her inside and out in ways neither expected. Whether she falls for Terry in the process remains to be seen.

Too bad Liang Yen doesn’t recover. In fact, she was never going to recover. She briefly wakes from from her coma and Terry arrives just in time to hold her in his arms as she dies. She asks him to not feel guilty about what happened to her, it was an accident and she was the one who begged him to take her climbing. She wants him to find love and happiness again. Terry breaks down completely with her death, and Chris was crying so hard during the filming for this scene the director had to give him time to recover afterwards.

What I love about Terry as a character is that emotionally he feels real. He loves Liang Yen, wants to make her happy, feels guilty for letting an accident befall her, and is devastated that he lost the love of his life. For the sake of his family and company he has to endure and trudge onward with Da Hua pretending to be Liang Yen, but in the process he both lets Da Hua into his broken heart as she picks up the pieces unwittingly, at the same time he tries to hold onto his memories of Liang Yen.

After Liang Yen dies, Terry struggles with what to do next. Heartbroken Terry takes a night dip in the pool to cool his head and Da Hua thinks he’s committing suicide and dives in to save him. He doesn’t need saving and instead saves her, but her consideration for him does touch his totally broken heart. He has decided to hell with it and wants to come clean about this deceit and let Da Hua out of her contract. But his friend reminds him that his entire company (all the employees’ livelihood) is at stake if Liang Yen’s dad discovers she’s dead and destroys Terry. He is still adamant about letting Da Hua go but when he tells her she can return to her Guan Jun and her family immediately, she finds out that Liang Yen is dead and decides right then and there that she will fulfill the year long contract. Terry needs her and she wants to make sure he is alright.

Da Hua is about a subtle as a mack truck driving through a one-lane alley so its actually amusing how long it took for folks to start figuring out the truth. No joke, she talks with that country accident and walks with her usual ungainly gait, not to mention her plastic surgery took about 2 months to completely recover from a full facial transformation. This drama, realistic it’s not. Guan Jun soon finds out the current Liang Yen is his Da Hua and wants her to end the charade and come home. She refuses, saying that Terry needs her right now. Guan Jun correctly points out that all that pretending to be engaged and living together is bound to increase the chances that Terry will fall in love with her for real. He asks if she is just trying to be kind and loyal, or is a part of her much too concerned about the welfare of Terry

Da Hua’s concern for Terry’s well being is really sweet, but I just feel like she cares way too much for his difficult situation. When Terry tells her to go home, and now even Guan Jun knows and wants her to come home, yet she keeps insisting she will stay, she’s totally making it hard for Terry to let her go later. After her discussion with Guan Jun she immediately rushes back to Terry to assure him that she’s taken care of things and she’ll keep her promise to finish the contract. I like that the drama tries to grow Guan Jun as a character, but his arc isn’t written with nearly as much raw angst as Terry, so in the end I just connect less with him. I don’t doubt that he loves Da Hua and she loves him, but I’m still mulling over whether this is romantic love or familial love. I also quite like the second female lead who has a crush on Guan Jun, the daughter of the buffoonish gangster loan shark. Maybe I’m projecting another girl for Guan Jun just so I can safely ship Da Hua with Terry, LOL.

Liang Yen’s dad, still unaware that his real daughter is dead, pushes Terry to set a wedding date. Da Hua is worried he will ask her to marry him as part of the pretense but Terry promises he’ll handle it. Terry is really a very decent guy, one who does things only when he appears to have no choice but he always asks Da Hua first. He tried to let Da Hua go earlier because he didn’t need her anymore. But as he’s starting to fall for her, he’ll likely push her away so that she can return to her own life.

Preview for episode 11:

Based on the preview, we’ve got a date coming up in episode 11 where Da Hua takes Terry to all her favorite places in the night market that she used to go with Guan Jun, just to cheer him up (see them fishing for goldfish above). She doesn’t realize that he’s made up his mind and is going to forcefully end their contract afterwards. When he sends her away and she calls out for him through the window and you can totally see his heart hurting, my heart………. T___T And then he hugs her and OMG I almost stopped breathing. My weekdays are now spent wondering when Sunday will arrive. Unlike my last TW-drama watch, Miss Rose which got progressively worse and worse (AND WORSE), this one keeps getting better and better (AND BETTER). I’m such a happy camper right now.

Aside from the story getting really interesting, the drama is also an easy watch because the music is so good. I actually loved all the songs from this drama. It’s probably up there with Drunken to Love You (a brilliant mix of Yen-J, Magic Power, and Rainie Yang) and Office Girls (Genie Zhuo was da bomb!) in terms of how much I love every piece of music released so far. Check out the songs below and if I found the download links I’ve posted it as well.

Opening theme for King Flower – Dreamgirls “Because You’re There”:

Ending theme for King Flower – S.H.E. “A Woman Like a Girl”:

Click here to download the latest S.H.E. album with this song on it.

Sub-theme for King Flower – Aaron Yan’s “The Moment”:

Click here to download the latest Aaron album with this song on it.

Sub-theme for King Flower – James Wen “Why Bother?”:


Comments

Mid-point Update on King Flower: Stakes are Raised and the Love Triangle Heats Up — 56 Comments

  1. This drama is crack, I’m just circling around some visualised bonfire praying for eps to come faster. But I have to repeat it – I’m deeply, horribly disturbed by this one. Not only they killed the bride, they just go into deepest hell with covering this up.

    • The crack on this one is STRONG. I keep rewatching the last eps while rocking back and forth and chanting Sunday, Sunday, Sunday…..

      It’s not Terry’s fault Liang Yen died, and even psycho doctor couldn’t revive her if he tried and told the world she was injured. At least that is what the drama is suggesting – Liang Yen’s a goner no matter if they kept her injury a secret or not.

      Terry is in such a rock and a hard place with respect to Liang Yen’s dad, though. I hope they don’t kill the poor guy. If this drama posited that Terry was guy1 clearly in the set up, then I would say the story would have him come clean about Liang Yen’s death and get kicked out of the company. And Da Hua would choose him despite him being totally penniless now (very Woody Sambo) and he would keep pushing her away cuz he thinks she deserves better.

      And then Liang Yen’s dad will realize what a douche Ouyang Shen is and what a horrible choice he is to run the company. And he’ll find some video or letter from Liang Yen that says how much she loves Terry and wants him to be happy now matter what. And he’ll forgive Terry and Da Hua will have developed some affection for the poor old dude and will pop by now and then to spend time with him in place of Liang Yen.

      Terry will get back to running the show, win the girl, go through his whole angst about falling for Da Hua (and he is falling for her, not because she looks like Liang Yen, but because she’s the super sweet and awesome cheerful Jin Da Hua).

      Oh….and somewhere there is Guan Jun oppa….doing his thing.

      • LOL!I’ve only watched a few TW dramas to the end because most of the ones I started got unwatchable for me. So I was half watching this one because there’s really no KDramas at all to watch right now. I had the same reaction as you when LY died!! I was multitasking and and went – Whaaat? Did they kill her off? Rewind. And the Dr. LSOS — wasn’t he also Ms. Rose’s LSOS ex-fiancee? I am totally shipping Terry and DH and hope the writer has read and will copy your scenario. But, how much of the attraction for Terry is that DH looks exactly like LY?

    • I’m not shipping every boat, but I will survive if Da Hua ends up with Guan Jun. That just means I’ll have to take care of Terry myself.

  2. Yay!!! I am so glad you are watching it too. 🙂 I have been hooked since episode one and I really feel like Chris is the lead most of the time. But I do have a really hard time picking for da hua. I don’t really agree with Terry’s actions and so that holds me back even though I have a major Chris bias as well. I too did not like liang mu Chen for picking GX over TY, especially since I thought the doctor was just fine for him. I sat through all of his shows and liked the very horrible hua shi ai… The bias is blind. Lol but even so I though GJ is a better fit for her and if he can prove himself to be a better person than he has been in the past, I would support them all the way. But I gotta love terry too. So I am still a bit torn but I would like her to end up with GJ. It just seems weird cause I don’t know if terry would have loved her if she didn’t look just like LY. Anyhow – I am loving this one. I admit to not being too into Roy but Chris and James – I am there for the long haul. Nikki is cute here.

    • Finally! A TW-drama that actually has stakes. Terry’s future is on the line. Da Hua has a different face, how the heck is she ever going back to her old life without her whole world rocked upside down. Guan Jun may have figured out the fauxcest is there, but is it too late, and would he turn to the dark side because of his jealousy over Terry. Kyaaaa~

      • Yeah, see… just reading this – I have to just face my secret desire and that is for Da Hua to end up with Terry. LOL Like I said, the Chris bias is completely blind. 🙂 No matter how I look at it, I still don’t like how Terry turned Da Hua into a Liang Yen lookalike (even though she agreed to it). He should have come clean the first time. That is the right thing to do. But I do want douchebag OYS to not be on the winning end. And if Terry ends up with her, I won’t be unhappy. But I really really do want GJ to up his game and fast and in the right direction. I really really don’t want him to go the way of YC in MR cause what the heck was that… going all evil at the very end (at least I think, I tuned out after awhile). I want GJ and Terry to really duke it out on “equal ground”. Serves GJ right for not realizing it earlier than she was her original self.

        Another note: I really like DH’s character better than our sheltered but eager to break free LY. So I appreciate all the ways that DH’s leaks out onto “LY”. I was hoping that LY would actually wake up but since that’s out of the question, it’s a tough tough route to go. I’m thinking she’s going to end up with Terry 🙂 hehe. 🙂

  3. Thanks for the music. I am learning Mandarin and am always looking for nice Mando pop to listen to. You have great taste.

  4. Definitely on the same boat as you, (btw didn’t know you we’re watching this lol) I’m always waiting impatiently for Sunday!!! lol ^^

  5. Hey Koala, I’m so glad you made an update on this show! I’ve been waiting to read your opinion on it. I’m addicted and became an avid Chris fan. He displays such raw emotion in all of his scenes… just so mesmerizing. I really like the Da Hua/Terry pairing and am shipping them to the max… although I do agree with a previous commenter that Terry has to figure out if he likes her for her. You are right, this show is getting better and better… I just hope it keeps this up! Thanks for the music downloads. Can’t wait for Sunday to come faster!

    • Word! Everything you said.

      I actually think Terry sees her for who she is. He says she’s a lot like Liang Yen but I think he sees the potential and goodness in her, but I don’t feel like he’s falling for her as a substitute. I love that in some ways he can’t help but feel like Guan Jun is a rival, yet in other ways he urges her to go home and pushes her away. That conflict is what makes his character so fascinating.

  6. Terry all the way! Full disclosure: My drama bias was for James Wen before starting this drama. I love him in P.S.Man though he’s been wan in other shows. Terry just captures my heart.

    • Awwww, thanks for letting me know that as a James fan you’ve fallen for Chris’ character and performance in this drama. I just feel like his arc (losing Liang Yen, the deception, the family succession threat) is the main story and Guan Jun’s whole narrative feels very ancillary. We all know he’ll mature and become responsible, but that feels about it. Whereas Terry’s story is the driving force behind the journey that Da Hua takes.

      Btw, I fell for James not in PS Man but in My Queen. I loved him there. But sadly, that was also the drama that Ethan PWNED so it was hard to compete.

      • My Queen was the crack of that year and probably the best performance from the main casts. I love James Wen in that but Ethan Ruan was sooo fantastic.. sigh..

  7. I have been so obsessed with this drama, its amazeballs. But im so utterly torned on who to ship, I like Da Hua with both, gahh don’t think I’ve quite experience equal shipping before. I preffered GJ from the start but now Terry and his intensity and i pity him and chris has so much emotions in his acting. Although the thing with Terry is the i dont think he would have liked DH if it wasn’t because she looks like LY, so….gah decisions, decision.
    This drama is crack and deserves better ratings 🙂

  8. I’ve always been interested in both James wen (his fauxcest role in Gloomy salad days was pretty good) and Chris I’ve loved since autumn’s concerto(I wasn’t upset he didn’t get the girl cos I did ship GX and MC, plus I’m glad Chris’s character was always such a supportive nice guy and not a monster of a second male lead) but I wasn’t all too excited about the premise of the show. From what it sounds now tho…I think I’ll definitely have to check this one out

  9. I’m already mentally writing fanfiction for the rest of the drama according to Koala.

    I think they are developing girl2 to be Phoebe Yuan’s Hu Xiao Fei and making her rather cute in her affection for Guan Jun. That drinking scene outside the market was totally there to build their interactions. And now that Guan Jun may be working for her dad, I see a stronger possibility that he may end up with her and taking over the family business but turning it legit and using it to do good. It’s not like he has a great future ahead of him even if he were to become a responsible adult and go get a job.

    If Guan Jun ends up with Xiao Fei, that leaves my ship of Da Hua and Terry sailing to the happy angsty end. I totally see how many ways of them getting together. I think Terry will be totally emotionally frakked falling for Da Hua, believing she loves Guan Jun AND feeling like he’s betraying Liang Yen’s memory. I can’t wait to watch that. Guh.

    I also feel like Terry is totally traumatized by what happened to Liang Yen – the accident, her death, his inability to save her, and now he’s shouldering the burden of the entire company not falling into Ouyang Shen’s grubby hands.

    I kinda want the ending to involve him getting closure on that dang mountain and moving on from Liang Yen, and hopefully Da Hua picks him because she realizes that her love for Guan Jun was always familial and brotherly and she’s really falling for Terry as a guy. I can always hope, right?

  10. Since you guys are talking TW-drama may I throw out a question to you? I have only ever watched two. Drunken to Love You – because Koala praised it and ISWAK because everyone called it a classic. Loved Drunken to Love! Fell in love with Joseph Chang! Liked things about ISWAK but found myself screaming at the screen A LOT! Just like I did when I watched the Korean version. I get so frustrated by a heroine whose only goal in life is to secure the man she loves. So many times I yelled at the screen, “grow and spine, have some pride and walk the F**k away!” But she never listened. I digress. I am in a watching lull and I was hoping to find something fun, light and romantic to fill it. Since the only show I am currently watching, TWTWB, is killing me with the angst. If someone could suggest an completed TW-drama that would fit this bill I would be much beholden.

    Thank you, Amy

      • Thank you Pigtookie for the suggestion. I remember Koala being happy with the ending of this drama and a drama with a crap ending is a very sad thing indeed.

    • Smiling Pasta is very fluffy and cute! It remiends me of a shoujo manga.

      My Lucky Star is also really good. There is some angst in the middle but it’s not near the level of TWTWB so you should be fine.

      If you do want some really romantic dramas you should check out Autumn Concerto and Sunny Happiness (this was broadcast in Taiwan and Mainland China). They are both amazing and two of the most romantic dramas I’ve ever seen. And there are happy endings!

      • Wow! Ashley you are amazing. I love to have options. Thank you for the suggestions and the insights.

      • Glad to help! I watch mostly Korean dramas but nothing beats a good Taiwanese drama. Those are usually the ones that make me feel the strongest emotions and stick with me longer. There is more heart in them.

      • Seconding Sunny Happiness and My Lucky Star, I’d almost forgot about those but they’re amongst my favorites. My Lucky Star used to be my favorite TW drama for a few years a while back.

    • Sunny Happiness is my personal all-time favorite TW-drama of all time. Hands down no comparison. The first few episodes take a bit to get going, but once it takes off there is no looking back. Watch it slowly, the conversations and relationships in that drama are amazing. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve re-watched it.

      • My dear Ms. Koala you have never let me down. I just finished (last week) the J-Dorama Rich Man, Poor Woman. The title so turned me off but because you kept writing such positive things about it I gave it a shot and I loved it. I respect your taste and admire your dedication to this blog. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

      • I second Sunny Happiness as my all-time fav as well all-rounder. There is something so delicately subtly wonderful as it unfolds even when the plot is not exceptionally inventive.

        haha and gosh I was such a scary nutcase when i was watching it live, I still scared myself remembering.

        I’ve also lost count how many times I’ve rewatched. Often, I watch a snippet, a scene, a convo btn the OTP and go about my day with a smile. 🙂

    • I actually love ISWAK because the chemistry was soooo goood. But I agree. There are times where I find every character annoying haha. It was such roller coaster drama of emotions for me. But Ariel and Joe’s chemistry was very good and reminded me of a manga (which the drama was based off of).

      But I would reccommend Bolin Chen’s and Ariel’s drama, In Time With You. The characters are flawed in a very realistic and human way (if that makes sense). They reminded me of my friends and the just the stories of love. It made me think a lot about love and friendship too. It’s more of a sweet love story than an angsty melodrama though. So it can seem slow for some people, though I thought the pacing was perfect.

      But if you check it out, I hope you really like it. I watch it a total of three time -___- already haha.

      • Thank you Chiyo!

        I actually prefer sweet love stories to the angsty melodrama ones so this is going on my to watch list. And I too really loved Ariel and Joe’s chemistry I just found the characters frustrating at times. I would like to see Ariel in a different role so this is perfect!

    • Devil Beside You is quite light and, to me at least, also fun. It’s also kind of ridiculous but I love that there isn’t that much drama. If you ever do feel like drama, though, I’d totally recommend Mars.

      • Thank you Selli!

        I have never heard of either. I have been a Kdrama addict since 2005 but I am trying to broaden my viewing world. I appreciate all recommendations.

  11. I skimmed the latest episode, and was puzzled… my tw drama instincts felt like Terry was the main lead, or equal lead as you said, rather than another one of those second leads meant as a plot device. (It’s not usually the case but in Love Forward on SETTV, the final pairings weren’t clear until the last third of the show.) It doesn’t help that I grew biased towards Chris Wu too after Autumn’s Concerto and want to believe that he is the leading role, though I do think James Wen is sweet after Year of Happiness and Love and a few BTS clips. I haven’t watched this show so I can’t pitch in my 2 cents but weird drama machinations aside between Terry and Liang Yan, Terry and Da Hua are cute together.

    • I had the same gut feelings as well. Terry and Da Hua have much more of a struggle to get their love to work. It would make more narrative sense for them to be OTP because there is just more story to work with.

      OH I love him too! Chris Wu just blows James Wen away. You can’t even compare the two. Chris can express the many emotions that Terry is feeling with just a look. And the way he stares at Da Hua. I melt every time.

    • Chris is acting circles around everyone in this drama. Not just James, but sadly James character gets overshadowed even more because they are co-male leads. And yes, Chris seems to have more screentime, and keeps getting more screentime. Unless the drama is looking to change up the initial projected OTP, I’m not sure why the story comes off that way.

      Heck, anything can happen, this is TW drama after all. I Love You So Much had the audience vote on which guy the girl would pick and the overwhelming majority said guy2 so the drama ended with the girl picking guy2.

      • It’s been so nice to see him grow as an actor since AC. I always thought he had really good potential but he really shines here. I think that the writers are subtly making him the lead. How can they spend so much time together and not end up together? That or they know he can handle heavy material and are giving him a lot to work with. But then again how can you spend so much time going through his struggles with him and have Terry NOT get the girl?

        It happened too in Love Forward. You didn’t really know who the couples were going to end up with. And they switched the original pairings.

  12. I must say though, while I have a major Chris bias (acting wise), I absolutely love James’ song here. I never knew that James sang? Either that or I just totally ignored it in the past. When I really paid attention to it was when it played during GJ and DH’s first separation scene, I could not stop replaying that short segment over and over. I recognized his voice instantly but was surprised to hear him singing. By voice alone, I would pick James. Not a great singer, but very easy on the ears and a nice song 🙂

    I have been trying to keep myself from turning this into a crack drama where I can’t wait from week to week. I will not admit to watching Terry & DH/LY scenes over and over. 😉 Although, I do really like Terry & GJ scenes too – where I actually think James is pretty good in those scenes. I think it’s the rest of scenes that are a little more blah – esp his character’s trajectory. Not too terribly interesting at all – no crazy stakes for him.

  13. I really really loved Chris performance in AC. Everytime I hear PinGuan’s song on the radio, I still think of Chris and his heartbreaking love for MuCheng. Am glad he’s steadily risen up the ranks to male lead material. Will try to watch this when I’m free…if only for Chris. Thanks for the recommendation 🙂

    • Oh I went ahead and watch episode 9 (I saw epi 1 previously but wasn’t hooked) and thanks to Miss Koala’s summary I managed to catch on to everything pretty quickly. Chris is awesome but I think James is pretty good as well. And I got a little worried when I saw how possessive Chris started to become so I had to come back and check that Terry is indeed a decent guy because too many times I’ve seen them turn a perfectly decent second lead to this scheming, manipulative bad guy and I’d HATE for that to happen to Chris as well.

  14. Thanks koala…i was waiting fr a good T-drama recommendation frm u….ur last one being office girls which has become one of my all time fav! I totally trust u with ur recommendation 😛 😛

  15. You are evil Ms Koala. I was just praising myself from getting rid of my TW run. Now look what happened? I think… okay, really, really think, might actually HAVE to start downloading this to keep. Ain’t not touching this till the end. Even your recap here is stressing me out. The girl DIED!!!

    I mean it’s not even as if there is a time jump ala Korean drama style. It’s kissing, a normal engagement, she dies and he falls for her look alike. Eish. I couldn’t even take Chris crying in Inborn Pair and you say he was even more emotional here???

    You are responsible for me watching every single TW I’ve seen by the way.
    :-p

    • Sorry for being an evil enabler, but this drama is so good it deserves to be pimped out for more to discover how underrated it is. Enjoy!

  16. omg koala you totally make me feel less guilty for shipping terry and da hua. initially i thought terry would set up to be kind of a jerk, but surprisingly he’s very decent. not perfect but who is? it doesn’t help that chris is acting like his life depend on it. oh gosh he make me swoon~ sunday sunday gotta get down on sunday

  17. I jumped in at ep 6 or 7 and am now hooked. I love James Wen and was so happy that he was finally the lead… or is he? Like the rest of you, I’m torn. I think I’ll be okay with whoever she ends up with, but I guess I will have to wait and see. While I don’t find Chris attractive, the guy can certainly act. His face can tell a story like no other. Come on Sunday!

  18. This drama is one of my crack dramas right now so I couldn’t read the post past the first few lines, for I’m one ep beind. I can’t risk spoilers!! And I’m banking a few eps so I can OD in a few weeks.
    And Chris Wu is amazing! I love that man. My drama buddy and I, lovingly call him Cray Cray Chris in this project cause he’s a little bi-polar but in many ways for all the right reasons. At first, I was skeptical about his chemistry with Nikki as Da Hua but now, I’m beginning to believe he could create sparks between he and a wet blanket in the Himalayas! Which makes it even harder to choose between the pairings.
    I am also pretty taken with James for the first time EVER! I remain in shock every ep that I look forward to seeing his growth as a character. Unfortunately, I’m certain he’ll turn all Jamesy (reproduction of every character he’s played to date), I think the process won’t be as worn out here. And though it’s apparent he doesn’t get equal screen time, I’m fine with that for now, given the narrative. This may be Taiwan but I’d rather avoid silly machinations to get Nikki and James in the same frame.
    All in all I’m grateful to see others watching the drama, unabashedly hooked on the pipe like me 🙂

    Oh and when did Zhao Jun Ya get so hot?! Qin Mo may be insane, but he’s the sexiest Frankenstein I’ve ever seen!

  19. been holding back to watch this because i have so many to watch right now.. and I really liked Nikki as a deaf girl in Die Sternaler(is this spelled right?) anyways.. Maybe i will wait till its over to watch it at once.. too tempting to start now! 😀 but Thanks for the quick synopsis on the drama .. now i’m really DYING to watch it.. 🙂

  20. I don’t really understand why Da Hua insisted on staying and fulfilling the contract. I feel like it would have been better for Terry if he just confessed what he did and faced the consequences immediately. What can Da Hua do for Terry by pretending to be Liang Yan for another year? It’ll just dig him into an even deeper hole. It’s not like she can pretend to be Liang Yan forever, and she’s not really qualified to do LY’s job either. =/ oh well, it IS a drama…there’d be no story otherwise huh.

  21. Been looking for a new drama to watch these days. Thanks for this Miss Koala. I didn’t read the rest of your blog post because I don’t want to consume a lot of spoilers. Will watch this right NOW! Xie xie!

  22. I admit it…the only parts I watch in King Flower are the Terry x Da Hua scenes. >_____> I SHIP THEM SO MUCH, OMG!!!!!! I love the scene after Da Hua ‘saves’ Terry in the pool, when Terry & Da Hua have a loooong heart to heart talk. The best part was the LOOK OF LONGING AND LOVE IN TERRY’S EYES when he reached out his hand to stroke Da Hua’s hair!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! And then he makes the excuse ‘oh there was something in your hair’. :'( TERRY!!!!!!

  23. OMG, I also love this drama. I’m so glad I’m not the only Terry- Da Hua shipper. At first I didn’t like Terry, but after seeing how he treat his wife and not forcing Da Hua to stay with him after his wife died, he just makes me melt. He thinks for the better of other people, even though at work he’s a totally different person. It gets me right in the heart.

    I feel like Guan Jun is acting very prematurely about this. He say he’s saving her from Terry, but I think he’s just doing it for his own benefit. He sees her getting close and smilely with another guy, so he’s trying to break them apart by “buying” her back. I don’t like this type of male character, because obviously Terry is treating her well and Da Hua is being treated well too. If he really waned to help her, he can just be there for her and help her with the one year. It doesn’t help that he goes to the Mob Boss for this… Da Hua will not be happy he has to get into the wrong crowd. Hahaha my little rant.

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