Blossoms Shanghai‘s previous episodes looked at Miss Wang’s (Tang Yan) one sided conflicts with Mei Ping (Wang Ju). It’s one-sided in that she keeps forgetting that Mei Ping exist and partners up with Mr. Wei (Ryan Zheng). While their partnership is going relatively well, Ah Bao (Hu Ge) returns, which brings back her old feelings. And speaking of old feelings, Ah Bao’s second of four women is Ling Zi (Ma Yili), who wants to move on from him. She starts renovating Tokyo Nights with the help of a mysterious friend from Japan, Mr. Qiang (Huang Je). he also happens to be Ah Bao’s Shenzhen rival, who went broke because of the former’s maneuvers. He also may be getting help from Li Li (Xin Zhilei) as he tries to destroy Ah Bao, a risky move.

Asian dramas like this exist to capture emotions at their highest in a high stakes world. Characters look through windows, the ones here looking out at Shanghai’s Huanghe Road. Sometimes they see the vastness of that road, one with businessmen and their madames. And at other times, like with Mr. Wei, they look out into nothing, getting advice from elders. He likes doing things his way though, and these episodes give him the nuance he needs. The same goes from Miss Wang, who, despite getting a Cadillac and earrings, has to endure a lot and grow up faster than Mr. Wei. And growing up she does, as she reenters Huanghe and The Grand Lisbon as a new woman. Blossoms Shanghai shows her as capable of acting normally around Ah Bao to an extent.

Blossoms Shanghai, like any TV show, can be tedious, especially as it reveals its complex web of relationships. Just like most soaps, many of its main characters have interconnecting back stories like the ones Ling Zi has. These back stories, like they do in real life, govern their present day, especially as they try to forge new paths. One hopes, especially in Ling Zi’s case, that her mystery man isn’t gonna mess things up despite the red flags. If anything, Miss Wang and Ling Zi have new or rekindled partnerships with different risks. Add Li Li to the mix, who has her loyalties with her people back in Shenzhen despite being newly successful. A man from back home is reminding her of where her loyalties should lie.

Blossoms Shanghai‘s focus is on the glamorous people in a country learning to be a capitalist one. Ah Bao and Li Li are on that glamorous level, making their money through the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Ling Zi and Miss Wang, as the show depicts, belong to Shanghai’s middle class, climbing their way up. These block of episodes also remind us of the working class people who fell changes on their level. It shows the people who Ah Bao and Li Li hire to move their stocks depending on their will. And it also shows some working class people who go all in on stocks, perhaps to their detriment. Li Li’s rival, Lu Meilin (Fan Tiantian) calls her husband Mr. Jin a gambler for stock trading and for once she’s right about something.

The Criterion Channel is releasing the new episodes of Blossoms Shanghai this Monday.