K-Drama 
2
This review may contain spoilers
Absolute Phenomnal and Poignant Drama!
Against the Current is definitely my favorite drama of 2026 thus far! I didn't expect to enjoy so much, it follows the life of Xu Lan Xiang aka Shen Jia Lan, which gives me a bit of nostalgia from the old cdrama days where we follow the main lead from beginning to end. Albeit there is many of them still around, it is just the feeling of this drama differs from it's competitors. There isn't much romance, but the subtle romance was very cute and sweet.
Instead of your typical revenge plot, this drama went a different route. Lan Xiang is quite intelligent and observant, she prefers to stay quiet and conform to society. She is always 10 steps ahead of her enemies, if not, she would outsmart them regardless. She didn't want luxury from the beginning, she just wants to survive and be free from servitude. Alas, that did not last long and what had happened really ticked me off. I like that she sticks to her political views despite her husband works directly under the king. Tan Song Yun did a wonderful job as Lan Xiang/ Jia Lan, her acting was quite natural in my opinion. Her subtle eye movements expressed a thousand words which matched well with Liu Xue Yi who played her male lead, Lin Jin Qi. Both had amazing chemistry honestly despite the miniscules romantic moments.
Speaking of Lin Jin Qi, siigh. I don't know what to say, because he was fine in the beginning as Lan Xiang's master until he started showing signs of romantic interest in Lan Xiang. It was cute when he kept visiting her house nearly every day just to see her and tried to provide for her subtlely, protect her, and what not. Then came the force marriage and all hell went loose for me. LOL I was so distraught with Jin Qi for doing that, the entire Lin family, Lan Xiang and her whole family were upset by this as well. I thought it couldn't get possibly worse from there, but it did! LOL I forgot what episode it was until I forgave him and Lan Xiang finally accepted him. Nonetheless, I do know he absolutely loves Lan Xiang to death, but also respects her intelligence. He's a really good sword fighter, I realy like his final 1v1 fight against one of the villains probably cause all that power came from anger and grief. Lin Jin Qi as a character wasn't too outstanding, but Liu Xue Yi's acting was amazing as aforementioned the subtle facial expressions! There was one scene when his face went from happy, sad, disappointed, anger, and jealous all within a few seconds. It was so good, I had to rewatch that scene a few times. LOL
In every drama these days, the male lead would always have a trustworthy brother or two who fights alongside him and they're usually men working under him. However, Jin Qi also have another brother of similar status, someone he could trust with his life until the end, not his servant. That's one of the many things I like about this drama. ^^
Another thing I like about this drama is the villains arcs were never truly over from their introduction to the initial ending. They tend to come back later in Lan Xiang's life. Every drama will have one arc with one villain and they're dead right then and there. This drama? They really put the word "drama" to work. Lin Family is full of chaos, especially the male lead, Lin Jinqi. Dude is a villainess magnet, the women he had attracted or were/about to be married to him were insane- except for Lan Xiang. Li Meng is the queen of villainess, girl did a wonderful job as Zhao XingTang, her character was so pitiful in the end. I am glad her ending was somewhat bittersweet, because she met Lan Xiang again. In the end, the one person that showed her even an ounce of care was Lan Xiang.
The second lead was surprisingly not annoying to me as oppose to some viewers. I enjoyed his presence with Lan Xiang and how they connected as friends. Lan Xiang didn't like him romantically, and if it weren't for the force marriage, I wouldn't oppose to Han Liang proposing to Lan Xiang. They were cute together!
Other highlists of this drama is that it also puts a spotlight on all the side characters. The're basically fighting against misogyny and the patriarchial system, ancient Chinese women didn't have a say in their marriage, nor did they inherit family properties and whatnot. I'm glad all the women got what they wanted in the end, even if it weren't, at least they were able to choose what they want for their children.
There were a lot of timeskips, honestly this drama could have gone longer like 60 episodes so it didn't have to skip so much. I would watch it all regardless of how many episodes there were.
I would absolutely reocmmend this drama if you enjoy intelligent and strong willed female leads, but don't mind the slow pace and lack of romance.
If you're looking for a romance-focused drama, Against the Current is not your drama to watch.
Instead of your typical revenge plot, this drama went a different route. Lan Xiang is quite intelligent and observant, she prefers to stay quiet and conform to society. She is always 10 steps ahead of her enemies, if not, she would outsmart them regardless. She didn't want luxury from the beginning, she just wants to survive and be free from servitude. Alas, that did not last long and what had happened really ticked me off. I like that she sticks to her political views despite her husband works directly under the king. Tan Song Yun did a wonderful job as Lan Xiang/ Jia Lan, her acting was quite natural in my opinion. Her subtle eye movements expressed a thousand words which matched well with Liu Xue Yi who played her male lead, Lin Jin Qi. Both had amazing chemistry honestly despite the miniscules romantic moments.
Speaking of Lin Jin Qi, siigh. I don't know what to say, because he was fine in the beginning as Lan Xiang's master until he started showing signs of romantic interest in Lan Xiang. It was cute when he kept visiting her house nearly every day just to see her and tried to provide for her subtlely, protect her, and what not. Then came the force marriage and all hell went loose for me. LOL I was so distraught with Jin Qi for doing that, the entire Lin family, Lan Xiang and her whole family were upset by this as well. I thought it couldn't get possibly worse from there, but it did! LOL I forgot what episode it was until I forgave him and Lan Xiang finally accepted him. Nonetheless, I do know he absolutely loves Lan Xiang to death, but also respects her intelligence. He's a really good sword fighter, I realy like his final 1v1 fight against one of the villains probably cause all that power came from anger and grief. Lin Jin Qi as a character wasn't too outstanding, but Liu Xue Yi's acting was amazing as aforementioned the subtle facial expressions! There was one scene when his face went from happy, sad, disappointed, anger, and jealous all within a few seconds. It was so good, I had to rewatch that scene a few times. LOL
In every drama these days, the male lead would always have a trustworthy brother or two who fights alongside him and they're usually men working under him. However, Jin Qi also have another brother of similar status, someone he could trust with his life until the end, not his servant. That's one of the many things I like about this drama. ^^
Another thing I like about this drama is the villains arcs were never truly over from their introduction to the initial ending. They tend to come back later in Lan Xiang's life. Every drama will have one arc with one villain and they're dead right then and there. This drama? They really put the word "drama" to work. Lin Family is full of chaos, especially the male lead, Lin Jinqi. Dude is a villainess magnet, the women he had attracted or were/about to be married to him were insane- except for Lan Xiang. Li Meng is the queen of villainess, girl did a wonderful job as Zhao XingTang, her character was so pitiful in the end. I am glad her ending was somewhat bittersweet, because she met Lan Xiang again. In the end, the one person that showed her even an ounce of care was Lan Xiang.
The second lead was surprisingly not annoying to me as oppose to some viewers. I enjoyed his presence with Lan Xiang and how they connected as friends. Lan Xiang didn't like him romantically, and if it weren't for the force marriage, I wouldn't oppose to Han Liang proposing to Lan Xiang. They were cute together!
Other highlists of this drama is that it also puts a spotlight on all the side characters. The're basically fighting against misogyny and the patriarchial system, ancient Chinese women didn't have a say in their marriage, nor did they inherit family properties and whatnot. I'm glad all the women got what they wanted in the end, even if it weren't, at least they were able to choose what they want for their children.
There were a lot of timeskips, honestly this drama could have gone longer like 60 episodes so it didn't have to skip so much. I would watch it all regardless of how many episodes there were.
I would absolutely reocmmend this drama if you enjoy intelligent and strong willed female leads, but don't mind the slow pace and lack of romance.
If you're looking for a romance-focused drama, Against the Current is not your drama to watch.
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