Sunbath12

While this could have turned into a straightforward revenge story, "Against the Current" tells a more complicated tale of how a young woman in Ming Dynasty-ish times must survive after her entire family is destroyed by order of the emperor at the time (modeled after Zhu Di). From servant, to maid, to free woman and finally marchioness, Shen Jialan/Xu Lanxiang becomes entangled with her former betrothed Lin Jinqi, and throughout the story they learn to forgive, to love and to fight for what they believe in for themselves and their family.

The script does better than most in C period dramas in fleshing out the various characters (particularly female characters) that inhabit this world. Unfortunately, on a more technical level, it also resorts to some clunky exposition and head-scratching moments here and there. The direction, however, is fairly solid and elicits some true emotion and meaning in some key places: the opener is particularly memorable and tragic, and the depiction of the Ming court is nuanced and refreshingly does not hold back in its critique of power and how it corrupts.

The cast do a fantastic job of bringing their characters to life - although, I'd have to say that the leads' romance is a bit too constrained or even absent in the narrative (e.g. when they consummate their marriage, there is no build up). After the huge disappointment that was The Unclouded Soul, I am glad to see Tan Songyun much more engaged with this role. And finally, I think I found a drama where I can watch Liu Xueyi contentedly and not hate on the drama as a whole.