[TV Commentary] “The Journey of Flower” Episodes 1 to 3
The Journey Of Flower <花千骨>
Also known as : Hua Qiangu
2015 Mainland Chinese drama
Language : Mandarin
Number of episodes: 50
Cast: Wallace Huo, Zhao Liying, Andy Zhang, Jiang Xin
Some abbrevations
HQG – Hua Qiangu
BZH – Bai Zihua
SQM – Sha Qianmo
More similar posts at http://www.point2e.com/2015/06/o-journey-of-flower-hua-qiangu.html
EPISODES 1-3
I can’t decide who is more beautiful, Wallace Huo (as BZH) or Ma Ke (as SQM). I can’t believe someone can be more beautiful than Wallace and frankly it’s the make up. But the headgear wins and so Wallace!!
After 3 episodes, I have decided I like this series even though the story will turn so tragic you will wonder why I torture myself again like I did with Bu Bu Jing Xin. However right now at episode 3, our would be demon queen Hua Qiangu is so cute, so nice, so good, you just can’t believe she is a demon or has bad blood. Bai Zihua has such a feminine sounding name, forever in white and has a huge responsibility as the saviour of mankind and yet…. yet I find him rather malicious unintentionally. He knows HQG is his fated calamity star as in will get him killed so he did those small stuff to discourage her from joining his sect like well, making sure she fails her 3 tests miserably such as flesh eating flowers chasing her, induced coma and of course throwing her off cliff. But hey the girl doesn’t get the message and she battles on, as lovable as ever. I mean I love Wallace but his cactus up in his butt unsmiling pursed lips face is making me dislike him when looking at the lovely HQG. By the way he is the leader of the immortals. A deity? Immortal? Sorry I am not familiar with the story.
Anyway, the costumes are beautiful especially Wallace. But the version I saw looks overprocessed. The pictures looked so much better but the end product seems too unfocused, too dream like and cumbersome. The scenery is awesome and yet strangely not really highlighted. I love the headgear though, hair generally well done and make up is awesome. However the special effects is cringe worthy, especially that worm/caterpillar Tang Bao which differs in size in every frame. In fact I find the worm story redundant and should be cut out because it doesn’t add to the story but annoys me by being cutesy when nothing in this series should be cutesy. Everyone is so serious, subject is serious and suddenly there’s this baby sounding worm. This series has a lot of characters, already populated most aspect by episode 3 so the worm to me is redundant. The kung fu so far is mehhhhh.. more fantasy than anything and the flying isn’t worth remembering, yet.
But the worst, absolute worst is the sound and the dubbing.
The sound is too loud that it drowns out the dialogue and the dialogue is so loud it sometimes is difficult to hear. Maybe it is the youtube version. But the dubbing.. oh dear… some you know dubbed their own voice I think, like Jiangxin unless the same dubber dubbed her in Zhen Huan dubbed her here if not that’s her voice. Wallace is naturally dubbed and I believe with BBJX’s 4th prince voice but it doesn’t suit his face or BZH. It lacks that I suppose fairy like quality, I find it doesn’t match with Wallace’s more softer feminine look and I simply hate the dubbing. So is for Zhao Liying with this high pitch cutesy voice.
Other than that, so far the story is enjoyable; how BZH had to admit he has to face his destined cause of his downfall aka death even if he doesn’t want to eventhough he can just kill her and end it but his conscience drives him and he ain’t no hypocrite except when he wants to make her fall from the cliff. He is quite affected by her sincerity, her genuineness and surely will fall so deeply in love with her, he will fulfill his own prophecy. Which means what this author is inevitably saying is hey it’s destined man, whatever choice you make, the downfall is there. I find that very very tragic and frustrating. This won’t be your date movie ever.
No complaints on the acting. Generally well acted, am impressed with even the supporting cast. Of all Yu Zheng’s stable of actors, Zhao Liying is the cutest, prettiest and genuinely can act quite well eventhough there are always someone better than her. So she is cute without being annoying. Wallace has mastered the art of restraint to the point of explosion so frankly I love that man. He is so handsome in here. There are a few more impressive acting but I do not know their name yet except for Jiangxin who is really a very good actress but not much role in here.
So far so good. Exciting premise, exciting costume, exciting performances and Wallace Huo in long hair and white billowy robe… what more can you ever ask for than the image if utter beauty that is so beautiful it breaks your heart knowing it is a tragedy…
TVB, move aside. My nights now belong to this series. But I am not sure how I can stand the torture story.
By the way I am watching without the aid of English subtitles. My mandarin is 70% ok but still, some parts I have no idea why it happened though the story is easy enough to follow. But for Wallace, oh so beautiful, I shall persevere.
“The Journey of Flower” Trailer
[vsw id=”TCu8OJtcqZU” source=”youtube” width=”500″ height=”375″ autoplay=”no”]
This commentary is written by Funn Lim, a Contributing Writer at JayneStars.com and was originally posted at www.point2e.com.
So far, I love this series. It’s so dreamy. I am on episode 20 and I can’t wait till the next episode. Yes, Wallace is so handsome in here. How can you blame HQG to not fall in love with a Shifu like that?
The version I am watching is actually pretty good in terms of sound. https://www.youtube.com/user/ctnTVdrama/videos There’s two versions in that channel, one is the cut version and the other is uncut. Videos with [湖南衛視1080P版] is the uncut version.
@minyveg I saw the uncut version. First few episodes were loud but later on settled,down or maybe mu ear adjusted to the sound. Less echo.
People you are beginning to watch do settle for a version. There are 3 I think; human tv broadcast which is fastest as in half hour faster, the uncut which is viki version and the one at my blog and then there’s the see if I get the name right mango tv ver which is also slower. All are same number of episodes right now but contents slightly different. If you r impatient follow the tv ver.,the uncut ver which is best is now 1 ep behind due to broadcast reason.
@funnlim human version!! Ha ha!! I meant HUNAN version!! Yeah so unreal you need a human version. Wonder if there is a banana version rather than mango.
@funnlim Sorry guys and girls!! Mango IS hunan! Oh now there’s only TWO version. Ok, easier to follow.
@minyveg I am a bit confused.
[湖南衛視1080P版] says hunan satellite TV. Isn’t that the TV broadcast version? Which episode is released now? I will need to check. If it is at ep 20,then this is not the uncut version. Uncut version is at ep 19.
@minyveg
FYI:
I don’t think the 1080P is the uncut version. This is the uncut version. It’s only up to episode #19 right now:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkvG4EWPDB0mU2yd0foJAR5aIKyF448Wb
Oh Wallace, why thy so beautiful in here! XD I almost think he should’ve swap face with SQM. I like it thus far (only to eps 3) and watching with English sub on yt. My major complaints: 1) cringe cgi, 2) unreal/fantasy fight scenes and 3) HQG freaky ones sion over MO Bing (aka BZH). They should’ve just have her try really hard to stay on the Mt bc of promise made to her dad. Something like learn magic so she can defend herself and control demons. Then again, I hate to admit that her obsession on BZH is justified. Besides her dad, he was her first friend, the first person to be nice to her, the first guy to protect and teach her, he’s just her first overall. I suppose that can manifest into undying love…
I’m ready! Bring on the sappy unhappy ending for the couple. I can’t wait. Love me some tragic romance XD lol.
@jjwong He hates attention to his beauty which is why he has been downplaying his looks. I am sure in person he is small, slim AND very handsome. The thing is I am trying to crack my head open to recast this for TVB version. Actresses maybe I can find, even for HQG but BZH is a difficult one. Yet in China I am sure fans can think of at least 2 or 3, depending on popularity of the actors.
TVB who ah? Like how I had to crack my head to fill up the F4 HK version. I could find V4 (veteran 4) though.
@jjwong P/S SQM the actor in real is ok looking. But in here, the make up dept did an excellent job. He does look very pretty in a feminine way.
Wait, holy crap. What?!!! 50 eps????? Why so freaking long???? *faints* X_x
@jjwong Because a lot of things will happen and because I want to see Wallace more!
Ep 20 and still no sign of torture. Good.
@jjwong P/S Empress of China is longer and it repeats the story every 20 episodes. That was boring.
@jjwong
I heard it was 54 eps. 54 eps is not too bad if the story is good and necessary and does not drag.
TVB recast..
Jiang Xin (蒋欣) as Xia Zixun (夏紫熏)
TVB : FALA CHEN
Zhang Danfeng (张丹峰) as Dongfang Yuqing(东方彧卿)
Ma Ke (马可) as Sha Qianmo (杀阡陌)
TVB : SAMMY SHUM
This drama is special to me. Since I love the novel, I was very excited to see an adaptation. Thankfully, the stars aligned in the sky for this drama because it’s a good adaptation with a wonderful cast!!!
Also, it’s because of this drama that I fell in love with Wallace Huo. Have known about him for years but never liked his looks or acting. Then one day last year, I happened to see a pic of Wallace as BZH in white lholding a sword behind him (the pic you posted up top, Funn) and BAM!!!! I fell head over heels in love. My world was changed in that second just because of that beautiful pic or rather, beautiful face?? From that moment on, you’ll always have my heart, Wallace Huo, whether you want it or not!! lol
@lidge Knew zero about this story but again saw a picture of Wallace as BZH and I was anticipating this since. Moreover I like Zhao Liying so it is double treat. You see, the power of pictures.
I fell for him as Liu Liancheng and I never even liked that Durian City. And I credit Ruby Lin for paying special attention to his costume. Thank you Ruby.
@funnlim
Not the power of pics but more like the power of Wallace’s face, lol. I saw Durian City but didn’t pay attention to Wallace. Was too busy hating the plot.
@lidge
A good example of how important the plot is. I see that many these days just blindly go for the cast and not care about other more important factors until it becomes very bad.
@lidge P/s he wants it. Just don’t go stalking him. And don’t look at his modern day pictures. I am afraid he is trying very hard to de-hot himself, more so now. I can’t believe he was well fed a year ago, now he is even thinner.
Chinese authors, for god’s sake, stop writing about super thin leading men ok?
@funnlim
Can have my heart whenever he wants!!!
He should be very thin in Close Your Eyes because supposedly his character has just escaped from a serial killer. I’ve a weakness for men in white/black shirts and suits, and I think that’s what Wallace will mostly wear in the drama. Not sure if concentration is possible if he waltzes back and forth across the TV screen in my favorite men’s wear!!!
@lidge Oh I see! You mean serial killer (hu ge issit?) imprisoned him for long and tortured him and all that? O I get it. But should be fattened up in 1 week. He is just too thin that it is painful.
My weakness is vests and suits. Hence Galileo and my Masha. However I do not feel his suits in that series is well cut unfortunately.
But yes now I know why he had two bowl of soups in a single frame for that Close Your Eyes series.
@funnlim He as in Wallace in that Close Your Eyes series. The suits doesn’t suit his body, could be better cut.
@lidge
Is this really a good adaption? I heard that many who claimed to have read the novel said that this series is not accurate to the novel. I love this series as well and have been waiting so long for it. I hope that it will be uncut when it comes out on DVD.
You are a new fan of Wallace? I have liked him for many years. I first saw him in Tian Xia Di Yi and loved him as Gui Hai Yi Dao. His performance was great and it was an important turning point in his career. I saw a number of his older Taiwanese series and enjoyed some of them,but some were not so great. Have seen his other works? I have seen a number of them and enjoyed most of them. I aim for the ancient series more since I love those. I especially love these fantasy Xian Xia type of series as well so it was a big reward for me to finally be able to see this series. His character in here sort of reminds me of his character in Xian Jian 3.
@hetieshou
In my opinion, this drama is not just good but a great adaptation because the plot and cast fit perfectly. The author of the novel Fresh Guo Guo also wrote the script for the drama. Sure the drama doesn’t match the novel exactly, but I feel the important events of the novel are still in the drama so can’t complain. And sometimes, it’s not necessarily “changes” but the events in the novel are just rearranged in a different order in the drama.
I’ve known Wallace for a long time but never liked him for some reason. I love Xian Jian 3 but only because of Hu Ge and Yang Mi, who I thought made an adorable and funny bickering couple. I know lots of people like Wallace and Tang Yan’s story, but I thought their love story was boring.
I’ve heard and seen bits and pieces of Wallace in various dramas over the years. For example, the drama with Michelle Ye, the infamous Swordsman with YSS and Joe Chen, Durian City with Ruby lol and that masked drama with LSS that a lot of people say is good but I dropped after a few eps.
I don’t know why, but for some reason I didn’t like Wallace until TJOF. I love the novel and to be honest, I was disappointed at first when I learned that Wallace would be BZH. Then pics of Wallace as BZH were released and OMG!!! there’s one pic where Wallace held a sword behind his back looking just all shades of wonderful, lol. I felt it was as if BZH had stepped out of the pages of the novel. That’s the pic that made me fall in love with Wallace, lol.
@lidge I never doubted looked wise. He was perfect just bu description. I was worried he would move his head too much but in here absolute stillness. Thank you! But his walk is still lacking the 300 year old very tired immortal walk. So frankly he can improve but looks wise his is perfect. Strange heroes was very enjoyable but too much head shaking.
@lidge “(the pic you posted up top, Funn) ”
I saw an old post of mine and I posted the same pic on 13.08.2014. Never expected waited almost a year for this. How time flies.
Yes. Wallace Huo is so handsome. He does deserve the name the most handsome wuxia male actor. I love this drama. I’m anxiously waiting for the new episodes every week. I saw on Facebook that the author was in tears when she saw Wallace Huo dressed as BZH for the 1st time. She said her BZH character came to life. He also mentioned that he refused the role at 1st, but the production company waited six months before he accepted it. He was touched by their effort.
@dramas4me You know Wallace is not errrr very good at errrr choosing his projects. He is always forced upon to choose certain projects that turn into huge hits. Those he really wanna do is like errrr… well not many watching.
@funnlim
Hi. I didn’t know that. I’m learning more things about him. If that is the case. They should force more good projects on him so we all can enjoy them. Thanks for the information. 🙂
So while everyone above is fighting over Wallace, I can have Ma Ke and Zhang Dan Feng all to myself! =D Dong Fang is all mine! Mwuhahahaha!
@elizabeth You can have Dong Fang the Destroyer to yourself!!! Ma Ke is errrr not into women, not in the series anyway. But you can all share make up tips.
@elizabeth
Dong Gang’s character is really sweet but has a motive behind there. In the end,it seemed like his love for Qian Gu was what changed him into a better person.
@hetieshou
Meant to say Dong Fang. Gosh,what happened to the edit button?
@hetieshou DFYQ’s motive is quite apparent from the beginning. You know he is more than what he appears but nevertheless, he is very sweet. I don’t believe that 100% of his feelings towards HQG is faked. He did what he could in the end and he would be a shoulder that I would like to cry on. I liked the guy in the novel and I am liking him in the series so far.
@elizabeth
I agree he is very sweet and I have always enjoyed ZDF’s acting so it was great to see him in here again. The scene when he died was so sad.
@hetieshou I’ve read the book and it is very sad when dies. But whatever BZH was going through was sad as well.
Anyway, I find ZDF very endearing in real life as well. He has this genuine friendly look. I like him very much.
@hetieshou but not before he laid the foundation for the hurt later on. Will never forgive him!!!
I am so happy so any comments for this post. Even if just few of us, I am hoping with each commentary posted there will be more and more. I am aware a lot of TVB fans don’t really watch Mainland series, well some do but most aren’t attracted to the slow pace, dubbing, etc. So I hope I am contributing to this series’ success by having non china series watcher to watch.
Please roll on the Wallace love and all the love for everyone. This series will turn tragic so let us wrap ourselves in warm fuzzy total love to brace ourselves for the winter that will be coming.
As Jon Snow says; Winter is coming.
And as we all shall say; so is heart break and tragedy.
*sob**sob**sob*
P/s I have posted a lot of pictures, fan arts, questions, character summary, future plot, hubba hubba pictures, general Wallace-BZH love, other musings, etc in my original blogpost. So if you want more do check that post out. If the link is dead, try the general link http://www.point2e.com because I forgot the link is dynamic and changes everytime I update the date hence dead links.
I am not sure if I should repost the character summary here.
@funnlim
Thanks for the commentary Funn. I think the dubbing is not too bad but I honestly wished that they can use all of the actors and actresses real voices. But sadly,many mainland series always dubb. At least in some cases, they can dubb their own voice.
I wonder how accurate this will be to the novel? I am too lazy to read the novel and want to enjoy this series first,then maybe read the novel to compare. I am enjoying the series so far and am watching with many YouTube fans that are foreigners so am helping them to answer questions until English subs come out. I am very happy to see sooo many foreigners liking this series. Boy is this series popular and I am glad that Wallace and ZLY agreed to this series. Now I wonder which ending they will use? I heard the author felt sorry for the main couple so added an alternate happy ending. Let’s see which one they used…
@hetieshou Its not very close to the novel. But it is still good despite the changes. I think they will still use the original ending. I think sometimes a little tragedy makes the story more memorable than a happy happy ending.
@elizabeth
Thanks and I do not mind changes as long as they are reasonable. I agree that at times tragic endings are more memorable rather than the typical happy endings that can get so redundant. My mom for example does not mind tragic endings as long as it makes sense and she hates open endings! Open endings can be a pain and makes us ponder and think for ourselves which is something the older folks just do not want to do.
@hetieshou I think since there is a greater emphasis of fate and predestination in the series, the original open ending from the novel is quite suitable.
@hetieshou I thought from reading the original ending is good enough because it is what bzh could give. I feel a wedding and all is too much after so much hurt and pain and betrayal and what nots. Read there are minute but significant changes however the core is there.,I feel the changes made the series tighter and I wish certain characters are cut because they are meaningless. Anyway move away from the book. See them as separate like games of thrones.
@funnlim That picture where BZH hugs HQG in the end on the grass is so sad just to look at it! I think I will cry when it gets to that point in the series.
I think both Wallace and ZLY have really captured the moment in the stills with their eyes and body language. Very tragic yet beautiful to look at. Such irony!
Anyways, back to mourning my Dong Fang! Waaaaaaaah!
@elizabeth “That picture where BZH hugs HQG in the end on the grass is so sad just to look at it! I think I will cry when it gets to that point in the series.”
Which one?
By the way, I am glad that this mainland series is so popular and getting so much recognition. I hope the rest of the series will be good and will not drag. Hopefully, people will look at mainland series with a different viewpoint instead of always saying they are bad and draggy.
@hetieshou this series was highly anticipated. Because it was based on a very popular novel. I heard the ratings are in the billions. Wow. Anyone has links to ratings report? Combined for tv and online ver.
@hetieshou Sadly, the majority of Chinese series are still boring and draggy and embarrassing to watch. And the SARFT restrictions aren’t helping either. But the overall quality is rising and hopefully there will be more improvement in the future! Add oil!
Oi yoi yoi, I need to stop reading the comments from you guys because I haven’t read the book and only started to watch the series… It can’t be help…
@funnlim Ah, only the good looking can afford to hate attention to their good looks and downplay it. Well too bad, I can’t help it, I must pay attention to his beauty! Lol. For what little time I’ve seen SQM (I’m only up to eps 5), I wonder if the role is more effective with someone who’s more feminine looking. Right now, buddy, BZH is taking the “most beautiful man” trophy. Yay, for the power of Wallace’s face!!! Wait, that’s not Wallace’s voice in Mando???
As for TVB cast, no one (vet and newbies) fits for HQG or BZH. Look wise, Cilla Kung can pull it off as HQG. I’m not confident on her acting though. For BZH, no one! No one can be as elegant as our current BZH. I think William Chak can pull the SQM look. Again, acting? Not so much. Sammy Shum can play either DFYQ or the guy who loves XZ. Oh, speaking of her, I think Charm make a good XZ.
@hetishou Glad they cut 4 eps, but maybe they should’ve cut more. I agree if the story is good and not draggy, then I stand it being long. But, I have yet to see anything that’s more than 30 eps is NOT draggy. I give up on a lot of Chinese series because of it. If the extended trailer captured everything that’s gonna happen in series and book, then dang, 50 eps are freaking long! Though, I’m confident that I’ll finish this one. Like many, I just watch just to watch Wallace xD This will be my first Chinese series ever from beginning to end.
—–
Back on the actual series, I agree that the worm shouldn’t even be in the series (even if he’s in the book). He’s pretty useless, annoying and horribly CGI.
Character rant: BZH is a sect leader, how can he be so wishy-washy? He doesn’t want HQG because she’s his bad-fate but then he’s still intrigued by her. So he just strings her along. Man, man up! Show your authority, kick her out (even without a cause, even maybe BEFORE she does the test, it’s still justifiable because you’re a freaking sect leader). Instead, he just gave her little tests here and there. Then he curses fate but glad but not really glad that she has made it. Dude, maybe he needs to walk on that 3 colorful pool of humanity thingeemajiger. Shouldn’t a sect leader be firm and stand by his choice. So far, he’s doing a poor job. /End rant. Don’t worry Wallace, I still love you and will continue to drool over you 😀
@jjwong I changed my mind about the worm who is a she by the way.
And no BZH is not wishy washy but romantic love is not his priority. Watch on and you will get him.
“Wait, that’s not Wallace’s voice in Mando???”
No, he doesn’t sound so old. For his real voice try Battle For Changsha. A bit of taiwanese accent but is gentle.
Or for his “bedroom” voice, try this one;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypuNOnQZl00
@jjwong I don’t think BZH is wishy-washy at all. He is just too kind or compassionate to do what his teacher ordered him to. Its not the right thing to do as they are both unwilling particpants in this game of fate and he feels some guilt/pity towards HQG so he looks out for her. And the pool of three lives won’t affect him at that point because he doesn’t crave any of those three desires. But Zi Xun should take a dip.
@elizabeth
I agree with you 100% here.
@funnlim Oh my, you got me going at “bedroom” voice xD I do like his real voice. I don’t think his dub voice is all that bad either. I like how it does make him sound older. Is everyone dubbed? I thought they’re all Mando speakers.
/POS SPOILER Shouldn’t the mask man hate the guy who actually killed his father instead of BZH who just said “right is right, wrong is wrong”? I’m sure there’s more to it right? I’m sure they’ll explained it later. They’ve been pretty good closing some loopholes.
They flying sword technique is too funny! Did Wallace sing that song in eps 6 where he flies with HQG Funnier than the CGI worm, I still don’t understand her. Though I remember reading somewhere the worm becomes human to help HQG. So she’s not all that useless I suppose. /END
Random thought: this totally reminds me of an old anime Fushugi Yugi. The men are all working, protecting and fighting for an affection of one girl who happened to be different and special in one way or another. She’s bubbly and naïve, and wants to help everything and thinks everyone is good at heart. There’s a man she loves and who loves her back but they can’t love and go through many obstacles. There’s a beautiful cross-dresser because of his sister. There’s an emperor. There’s a bad guy who turns good because of the female lead. There’s a set of good/bad twin. It takes place in China. Ha, hrm…
@elizabeth I have yet see him the way you do xD I’m sure soon enough though lol.
@jjwong all are dubbed but question is with own voice or not. I suspect ma ke used his own,voice. Jiangxin always because she speaks beautifully. The two main leads are dubbed. China wants standardized accent.
@funnlim standardized accent? Really??? Why? That sounds silly.
For the longest time, I’ve been scratching my head wondering Funn and other people kept on bringing up “Durian City”… Then I realized – Liu Lian Cheng!!! LMAO. XD
PS: I’m so happy there are so many comments on this post. I’ve been OBSESSED with this drama and I’m glad others share my addiction. I was never huge fan of Wallace, I was more into Nicky Wu cause of Si Ye. But after I saw the pictures of Wallace as Bai Zi Hua, I fell head over heels for him…
The numbers for this series is staggering. Online views is 8 billion and that is for the repeats. The original time slot broadcast has lready beaten last years biggest hit and usul numbers now whether tv or online is triple the numbers. And that is for a show ghat broadcasts at 10pm onwards every sunday and monday when originally weekdays.
I am in shock with the numbers. Series heading towards biggest hit this year and some years before. Not bad for a story about a 16 year old demon queen to be and the hottest 300 year old expressionless immortal.