Reviews

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.

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Fortune-Telling, Fake Mystics, and Long Cons

A Prophet (2026) is a thriller that delivers a refreshing take on the classic revenge trope. For a C-Drama the story and concept is really new and praiseworthy.

Plot: The narrative centers on Shangguan Chengming (played by Li Xian), who goes undercover to dismantle the deceptive Tianxiang Sect—the shadowy organization responsible for his family's tragedy. The story tells how Shangguan Chengming navigates his way in this deceptive and corrupt sect.

Positive Sides
** The story unfolds like a high-stakes game of chess. Seeing the protagonists turn the manipulators' own tactics back on them keeps the momentum tight throughout the drama
** For a C-Drama the concept is really new and it stars with a blast.
** The Republican-era aesthetic, tight cinematography, and slick pacing create a gritty suspenseful atmosphere which makes you crave for more.

Downsides
** Even though the story and concept is refreshing but it feels something is missing.
** At the beginning the pace is good but it gets a bit draggy later.
** Revenge should be swift and decisive but in this drama it didn't feel that satisfying.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers, con-artist capers, or revenge dramas with strong, morally gray leads, A Prophet is definitely worth a spot on your watchlist.

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Worth the Watch!

Like many other reviewers here, I think this drama did a great job of not focusing only on romance at the expense of everything else. It also wasn't so realistic that it became dull. There were plenty of hooks to keep viewers from wanting to drop it.
On story alone, I'd give it an 8/10, but in my book it earns the other two points by:
The first point goes to the acting. I wholeheartedly believe the actors did an amazing job portraying their characters. I'd been wanting to watch a Liu Xue Yi drama for a while, but I couldn't finish his other works because I didn't feel the spark, not just in the romance but in the storytelling as a whole. I can say the same about Tan Song Yun. I wanted to watch something of hers, but nothing really captured my attention. I liked the storyline of her previous drama, Road Home, but once again, I couldn't feel the chemistry. This one hit different. I could see their chemistry from the moment adult Xu Lanxiang and Lin Jinqi started interacting, even before any romance began, and it kept me hooked and wanting to know what would happen next. I really hope these two work together again. The side characters were also great and brought so many different personalities to the drama.
The second point goes to the way the story was told, and honestly, the camera work. As I said, I'd rate the story itself an 8/10 because there were quite a few things I found unrealistic or unnecessary. But the storytelling was so well done that it always made me want to see what would happen next.
Overall, this is a good drama with A LOT of modern ideas set in ancient China, which honestly made it even more endearing to me. If you're on the fence about watching it, get ready for a long ride, but I think you'll like it in the end!

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An amazing portrayal of the lives of women in ancient time!

If you're looking for a deep story, great pace, women empowerment, amazing character development, nice depiction of the Ming Dynasty, good portrayal of supporting characters who are not use as props for most of the show but also have their deep story we get to hear and a slow burn romance looking like a one-sided love with amazingly talented actors that will make you feel all the emotions their characters are going through, you must watch this drama!

The cinematography and the costumes are to die for. The pace and the flow are on point! The storytelling is incredible because despite the drama being a lot of episodes, at no moment you will want to fast forward or will feel like you're watching a filler episode. On the contrary, you will keep on wanting more, lol. This drama gives you imperfect and complex characters as well as topics that will make you think and get you even more attached to the universe of the show. Matter of fact, you might even question yourself because somehow you may be rooting for someone that did a bad action. Nothing is black or white, simplicity does not have its place, everything serves a purpose. We have well crafted arcs.
Unfortunately, the final arc was not well brought up as the transition to it left a lot of people confused. You just have to accept that the vibe has changed and you just passed the peak point of the drama. The main flaw of the show to me was how to highlight the female lead competences and wisdom beyond her years, it seems the other characters got dumb down on the second part of the show, she is the one with a solution to everything for everyone. That was a major turn off and what made me not gave this show a perfect score. :/
Do not hesistate to check out comments because the show references a lot of chinese culture and history so there will be a lot of things you will miss because you are unaware. Reading about them in the comments will help you understand a lot of scenes better and give more depth to the drama too.
The OST and the music overall are beautiful and well placed in the show, it gets you even more in your feelings while your watching.

Honestly, this drama will become a classic of c-dramas if that is not already the case. JUST WATCH IT!!!

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Universe of Tragedy

Overall: that ending was not it. Looks to be a very indie series. 2 episodes about 50 minutes each. https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/11384e7fc9e7a745a7e85e957e869b91/universe-of-love-part-1 https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/c8d4b9e4a865ec669761edfd6326ab27/universe-of-love-part-2

Content Warnings: death (shown for a long time with blood), non con touching

What I Liked
- the story mostly made sense

Room For Improvement
- they needed to show more of the relationship development, maybe should have had 1 couple or cut the teacher scenes
- I normally overlook indie production quality but this is exceptionally poor, especially how many scenes dragged on for much too long
- the frantic intimacy was not enjoyable

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How to Lose Your Dignity Over a Man A Step by Step Guide

A disappointment. Well, where do I even begin...

First of all, not much actually happens. I have nothing against slow-paced slice-of-life dramas, but this one keeps trying to sell us situations as realistic when they often feel completely random and nonsensical. Some things come out of nowhere, and the characters' reactions are sometimes difficult to understand. Apparently, "that's just real life" has become an excuse to justify absolutely anything.

But my biggest issue is still the FL. I genuinely have no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has no goals, no ambitions, no real sense of direction. You almost have to wonder why she's even in university when her studies seem to be the least of her concerns. Her entire world revolves around the ML, as if getting his attention has become her sole purpose in life.

She clearly has low self-esteem, but that doesn't make her particularly sympathetic. If anything, her insecurities affect the way she behaves and make her downright frustrating to watch. She keeps chasing a man who has rejected her THREE times. Girl, PLEASE. At some point, focus on your studies, find some goals, and get a life outside of this man. There are literally so many more interesting things to do in this world.

As for the main couple, I find their relationship forced and downright illogical. There's absolutely no chemistry between them, and the romantic scenes, kisses included, fall completely flat. We're supposed to buy into this romance when their relationship is so underdeveloped that there's barely anything to root for.

The episodes also go around in circles. The two leads barely interact, the plot hardly moves forward, and most scenes feel like filler. The dialogue doesn't help either. It's just as hollow, with characters sometimes sounding like they're talking simply for the sake of filling the silence.

I was expecting a lot more depth, especially when it comes to disability and how it affects the characters' lives. So far, it feels more like a minor background detail than an actual subject the drama wants to explore. I honestly struggle to understand what this story is even trying to say...

The characters are supposed to be in their mid-twenties, if not early thirties, yet they sometimes act like middle schoolers trying to figure out human relationships for the first time. There's nothing wrong with feeling lost at that age, but surely there's more to say than watching grown adults go around in circles, constantly unsure of what they want.

Anyway, with such a thin plot and so little substance, I'm calling it quits. nine episodes was more than enough, and I have absolutely no regrets. At this point, watching this felt like subjecting myself to a never-ending humiliation ritual.

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disheartening

I found the story promising at first, but it went steadily downhill, eventually becoming exasperating and disheartening. The female lead is a strategic and interesting character, yet she remains extremely cold and devoid of affection toward the male lead right up to the very end. Their marriage was consummated hastily after four or more years of total indifference. Secrets were dragged out to the point of absurdity. I feel the male lead endured far too much, despite having no direct or obvious fault. All in all, I derived no satisfaction from watching this drama; it left me feeling deeply bitter and disappointed.

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Boring

Im sorry to say this because i wanted better for al involved with this show. It is a boring story... but i have to ask myself, is there even a story? Thres no plot to speek of. I dont even know what this show is about.
Its supposed to be about philandering man slut, who sleeps around and a stuck up prude, whose bestie is secretly in love with him. The prude knowing his bestie is in love with him, devises a plan to pretend to date the man slut..... and there is supposed to be highjinks ensuring from there, but there isn't.
They hang out, flirt around , occasionally have sex, argue, make up. lather. rinse. repeat. Nothing else happens or at least nothing happens up until i dropped the show at episode 6.
I will say, i was more interested in the second couple, but they barely had screentime.
And thats it. End of show for me. I wanted to like it so bad, because William and Est were so good in their debut show, but after falling asleep multiple times throughout different episodes, ive decided to wave my white flag. 🙃

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Wth is this?

I gave it 4 eps which is two more than what wifey gave it. Even if you allow leeway for the *Kdrama logic*, it's a mess and there's too many things that distract a viewer from w/e the story is supposed to be~
(Forgive my crappy comparison but) If this Kdrama and it's Klogic was a pizza, I'd say it tried to sell itself as a supreme with everything on it but the toppings also have Skittles, M&Ms, gummy bears, etc....and you realize after a couple bites it's not a pizza. So what is it? Good question~
Body swap, time travel, gender swap(eww), family (siblings) swap, murder, mystery, suspense, etc........SOUNDS good ya? But nope. Can't just throw anything together and expect it to work. I could vet no interest or curiosity with any character and the huge mash of tropes that's been thrown together~
I don't pay too much attention to Korean domestic ratings because if I like something I'll watch it regardless and vice versa. But it's absolutely abysmal down there. I've been told the highest rating so far has topped at 0.6%. 😶 This is a Sat/Sun drama in SK ppl. Peak primetime. That is LESS than the equivalent of watching commercials during the downtime of something you're actually viewing~
If you like than watch. It might improve. I didn't like, so I will not~

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Not Your Typical Sugarcoated Female-Centric Drama Favoring Romance Over Women’s Struggles

This is not a romance drama, nor is it a female-centric drama that shows the FL being strong in the beginning, then heavily relying on her husband/ML later to build romance. There weren't many swoon-worthy moments either! The drama shows us real-life occurrences that women from back then and even up to today have had to go through. It showed us a female lead who relied on her own skills and knowledge without having to undermine others or stoop lower than they should. There was no sugarcoating; this drama stayed true to itself until the last fleeting moment.

Please, I'm begging y'all not to come and start this drama only to downvote it when you realize it's not a heavily romanticized story. Instead, I hope a lot of us young women and girls were able to watch and take a lesson or two from this show. I'm already in my late twenties, and I've learned and opened my eyes even more to so many new things through this series. I hope others are able to do the same and not be hellbent on coming here searching for romance in a drama that set the tone since episode one with the mass suicide.

I could go on and on about the dramatic aspects and events of this show, but then I think I would've missed the message the series was trying to convey. BTW, this isn't only about women's struggles; there are also takeaways for men too, especially those living in and growing up around bigoted environments.

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STOP AI SLOP

there's SO MUCH ai in the drama it's actually painful. this is not acceptable. we have to stop normalizing it. whole scenes just wasted because it's fully ai. it's not even funny at this point. i think i would love this series if not for the constant slop, plus it doesn't even look good!! it's messy and feels lazy. it's actually undermining the actor's performances. i don't care if you call me dramatic but i will NOT stand for this bullshit. it's sad to see this slop being integrated into art. we have to put a stop to this.

wake up people, change can only come from you.

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Super Slow Burn Might be a reason to watch for some but not for others

8.75/10

This is a VERY slow burn, so know what you are getting into. My daughter dropped it because the first few episodes were too slow and she didn't find the work storylines interesting enough to keep going. I completely understand that. For me, though, I enjoyed simply hanging out with these characters and watching a longtime friendship slowly evolve into love. It took until around episode 20 for the romance to really gain traction, but I thought the wait was worth it.

Jiang Shiyan and Tang Yang were an extremely cute couple, and their love felt earned because we actually got to see years of friendship behind it. I loved how well the drama developed its characters and friend group. The three founders of Jiang Shiyan's company were especially fun together, and Cheng Hui was one of my favorites. That quiet, brilliant IT-guy personality who notices everything and barely says anything was perfect.

Tang Yang's banking job was not particularly exciting to me, although I appreciated how seriously she took ethics and how she stood up to workplace pressure and harassment. Jiang Shiyan's food-related business was more interesting, and I loved how food was woven throughout his relationship with Tang Yang.

I also really liked Cheng Hui and Sheng Nina and wish we had gotten much more of them. I could have watched a whole drama centered around their romance. That desire for more of the second couple is something other viewers have mentioned too.

Overall, this is much more slice-of-life than plot-heavy. Some viewers found that too slow, while others loved how natural the friends-to-lovers progression felt.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but only to someone who is okay with a VERY slow burn.

Would I rewatch it? Probably not. It is simply too slow for me to want to go through the buildup a second time.

For me, the payoff was worth the wait.

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Exceptional premise, increasingly disappointing as the story progresses.

A drama with exceptional premise, but somehow i found the story to be increasingly disappointing as it progresses. I actually prefer the end to be more of a tragedy. I think it would suit the story building and would make a better impression on the viewer as well. But they make it a happy ending, which is also okay, it’s just such a wasted potential lol.

The acting by pi-o mother and jeong-yo is top notch. Pi-o character is actually my favorite one and very beautifully written in a devastating way, unfortunately i don’t think song kang acting can picture this very well.

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Why did I finish this?

Because I apparently have nothing better to do than watch brain rot.

First off, I watched this series because I love Tutor and Yim & was excited for them to get another series. Goodness, this series was a disappointment. I couldn't finish The Middleman's Love & I think it was better than this series. At least they looked like they were having fun filming this train wreck of a series. Why have the 2 DMD series that I've either disliked or DNF'd been their series? I love this couple! They deserve a good series.

The acting was fine, while everything else was garbage. Not counting the music, because I didn't pay attention to it, I barely paid attention to the show. I watched it at 2x speed & it still felt like a slog to get through. Not helped by the fact that the script & translations weren't good, Yim's character was cringy, & there wasn't a plot to be found.

It was mostly the lack of plot that bothered me & in the summary they make it seem like the bar is going to be a main focal point when, in reality, they barely have anything to do with it other than a mention here and there, & then it's only open for one episode before it's burned down. The drama around the ex-boyfriend and the bar being burned down was also handled with a snap of a finger. Why create drama if you're going to fix it without actually having to do anything? They don't even really explain half the connections between the characters.

Specking of characters, I'm convinced this was just a thrown-together series to give all these characters a guest role to play in while they are working in their other series. None of them served a purpose.

There were also way too many flashbacks & the series itself was too long. What was even the point of those last 2 episodes? They could have condensed the last 3 into one because nothing happened. To be honest, nothing happened in this series. What was the point of it?

The only thing I liked about this series was that it made me want to make a couples notebook with my next boyfriend. To be clear, I liked the idea; I didn't care for the last 10ish minutes of the show being snippets from the journal. That was a waste of time; it just went over things we had already seen.

As much as I love TutorYim, I can't recommend this show; it was completely pointless and wasn't even enjoyable to watch.

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