Oluja_dream

This is the first C-Drama in a long time that kept me captivated every second of the way - yes, even during the fifteenth feminisim speech. It was still THAT good. Characters you truly cared for. Well-rounded and beautiful storytelling. Deaths were not used as a shock value plot device, but carefully thought out, immersive, and reflective. Love was everywhere, as was hate. Villains were well structured and you could literally feel what they felt during their breakdowns and actions. There are a few sore spots that unfortunately rob this important and legendary drama from a score of ten, for me personally. First of all. us cdra,a fans are used to sprinkles of buddhism, taoism and daoism in our dramas. That is to be expected. Other religions were present in ancient China but CCP regulations oppress those religions so you will not see any representation of them. That said, Against the Current is overtly Buddhist. I mean, Buddha was an unpaid cast member and you have to suspend your belief that much mroe when Buddha is supposedly making all these moves in th ebackground. The Buddhism is heavy handed, and a constant worldview. If you have any discomfort with Buddhism or take any issue with Buddha, it does impact your ability to enjoy the drama. The scriptwriter is clearly a devout Buddhist and wants the audience to follow suit. Second, the romance is unbalanced to the point of feeling painful. The lead actress is amazing, and the main character has lots of internal growth but her POV is rarely divulged; we are left to infer what she thinks and feels. She is an acts of service gal but thirty plus episodes of the male lead preaching his devotion and love to her and we cannot get even ONE SINGLE whipser of a kind word in return, that is very frustrating. This could have been an epic romance (besides 'not being a romace', it was marketed as one) if she even matched half his energy. She would cry, she would hug, she would run, but the dialogue was nonexistent from her. This was really HER story, but we grew with the ML instead. We were indifferent, then laughed at him, then hated him, then loved him. There is speculation that the feminist undertones prevented her from ever expressing love for him, but other couples had it, so why can't she? That was the biggest letdown and prevented me, in clear conscience, from awarding a 10. However, the cast was stellar, the performances were memorable, and I laughed, cried, and reflected on life. This is a very special drama.