Reviews

My guilty pleasure, comfort show

I decided to give this a go, out of no where. Identify usually write review mid way through but I had to. Cause so far, I’m loving this show!

What I like:
- It’s really a simple, feel good, comedy, cliche romance drama. Some people will hate on it, but it’s just my cup of tea. It’s got me giggling for real 😂 I look forward to my evening, snuggling in bed and watching a new episode. Would definitely watch again…if they don’t ruin it 👀
- The actors are great. I’ve watched Miles Wei plenty of times and he always does well in these type of lovey dovey dramas. The actress, Liu Xie Ning, superb. I only realised half way through that she played the eldest daughter in Perfect Match! She played her character so well I forgot about her role in Perfect Match.
- The female lead is a bad ass. And of course I’m eating that up. She stands up for herself too. I liked that she is a strong independent girl and they show that we strong girls don’t always want to be strong. We deserve love and care too!
- The girl’s friendship is so cute ❤️ I love them and their dynamic. I hope the flight attendant lady also finds some good friends too and ditches that ugly pilot guy. Iykyk.
- I love this certain instrumental that plays. It’s so comical and I sing out loud too 😂 it’s so silly and my sisters looks at me confused
- Oh, I also love the pilot theme! I usually watch historical dramas but this is such a pleasant surprise and a theme I don’t remember watching before. It definitely adds to the feel good vibes. The colour scheme is really nice, chill and pretty. Like looking through rose tinted glasses. Even the friend’s pub is a really cute hang out spot with fairy lights.

What I don’t like:
- There’s not really anything I don’t like. Maybe I wish she kept her cold and strong appearance more so he’d have to do more to let’s say deserve to see her vulnerable. Like why she always drunk when she showing her soft side to him?? But because it’s a quite cliche kinda drama I’ll let it go.
- I just want to rant about that ugly pilot guy. That lady flight attendant deserves way more! Episode 13 when she apologised?!?! FACEPALM. literally, several times. Like are you for real girl!!! Get some good friends and ditch his stupid ass!!!

UPDATE! What I liked:
- Thank god that flight attendant ditched that pilot. I’m so glad she found new friends and that Ruan Si Xian didn’t push her away. That was really nice of her.
- I like how the group of friends which was originally three became bigger. Initially it did feel as if Ruan Si Xian is cold to others who aren’t her friend so I wasn’t sure if it would happen but I’m so glad she opened up to people around her.
- The chemistry is just phenomenal. It just felt natural and really cute. It felt like I was watching a real mature couple.
- I’m so glad that idiot pilot got what he deserved 😂 when Ruan Si Xian and the flight attendant left arm in arm I was so proud of them. Also him fainting from seeing blood from his nose bleed? Hilarious for someone like him. Nice one.
- I enjoyed seeing the actor play the mechanic. He was also in love for you and although his role was small I hope he gets more roles!
- I loved all the side characters and their relationships. The sister is so cute and I love her curly hair.
- I also enjoyed the music throughout. The instrumentals and songs were fit for the drama. It really is a cosy and warm show.

What I didn’t like:
- the break up felt a bit forced? Like I understood why it happened but…. Well I think they said 2 years had passed. 2 years?! They went that long, really? And then it took her a conversation with a senior from college to admit she loves him? That’s all it took? She really couldn’t figure it out herself all this time? Felt a bit silly but I’m glad it didn’t drag out for too long. I don’t think they had to break up. I mean she was still grounded anyway the whole time so might as well stay together. But I guess I could understand her reasoning?? Might need that one explained tbh😅

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Character Development what's that ?! Just drink alcohol all day to become adult and feel liberated

The show starts with Fl shown as shy introvert, has very low self esteem, low self confidence, bad dating experience, prone to persuasion and manipulation. Well nice start 👍🏻.

As we progress we expect to see some life events through which FL can learn and experience and progress further, improve herself. Well you wish. The FL IN THE END IS THE SAME CHARACTER SHOWN IN THE BEGINNING. No character progression.

Coming to her sister, same situation with her , I would say her character worsened. In the beginning She was a little desperate for relationship, other than this she was the normal adult with life problems but as we reach end , she completely changes into a low confidence women who needs someone to love her to feel good , she took all the abuse from the guy's crazy sister and spoiled daughter and lost all her charm and is reduced to a feeble women who cries on every thing. She doesn't feel good about herself.

The brother had a great progression, actual mental stability with maturity to realise that it's not the universe against him.

And how can we ignore the main male lead Mr.Gu
, wow what a character. lem me describe: drinks all day , daydreams all day , not much talkative,
the way the drama promoted alcohol needs to be studied because we are shown a character who drinks all day every day to forget his past and depression. You might say all this drinking and any retribution, nah just a hearing problem. Dull character who doesn't bring any excitement to the drama. At the end does anyone even remember how his character influenced and helped the FL.

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Men Are Selfish, And Will Make It Your Problem.

Literally, before the story even starts this man is fucked up. “You will never have kids. You’ll never be a good mother.” WHO TF SAYS THAT???? WHATS HIS DEAL WTF. And then his ex is living her own life, and then Mr. Attention seeker over here has to “kidnap” her which is literally so weird hello??? why are romanticizing that… but yeah I’ll stop you get my point that he’s so annoying. The only reason why people find it attractive or ‘relationship goals’ or whatever is because the actor is hot that’s all. Also free my sister she’s always doing the sad depressing roles 😭

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Don't be too emotional with the series :)))

The series was quite a ride to watch. Sure it had it's plot holes and also deviations from the novel it was based on, but it was still really good.

Big Jane and Little Jane, their chemistry was insane. I loved every moment they were together, even though it was short time frames because the writers just didn't want them to be together for more than 1 episode.

The way the series trailer really made me expect a lot, the show didn't deliver that but it was still quite good to watch, specifically due to the chemistry Big and Little Jane have and ofc Tee and Heng have with one another.
The visuals were enough to make me rewatch the series over and over again.

There were a lot of things in the novel that I would've liked in the series, like Big Jane actually doing shady shit that made Little Jane so suspicious, or Big Jane telling Little Jane the whole Harvard story. It would've really made the whole story come together.

Tee as Big Jane is just amazing. He is sooo handsome, knows how to act, can depicit his emotions so well. You really feel sad when you see Tee crying as Big Jane. (Specially when they break up the first time :(() Love him soo much <3

Heng as Little Jane was also interesting. I felt like his acting of being more mature after the 5 year seperation was not as good as when he played 18 yr old Little Jane. His mature vibe grew on me slowly. His depiction of Little Jane was really on par with the novel, the way LJ is supposed to be confused and easily swayable, Heng really showed it well. Love him ;)

TeeHeng together are sooooo good. I just love them together. The plot was so all over the place, the only reason I watched it and followed it for so long is because of this pairing!!!!!!

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Not a romance

I am disappointed with Against the Current because I went into it expecting a romance, but instead I feel like I was given a bait and switch.

This is primarily a story about women overcoming her circumstances, fighting for independence, finding their place in society, to decide their own future. There is absolutely nothing wrong with telling that story. My problem is: call it what it is.

For me, a romance requires two people emotionally moving toward one another. There can be conflict, misunderstandings, separation, anger, and obstacles, but underneath all of that I still need to feel mutual longing, attraction, tenderness, or some kind of emotional spark from BOTH sides.

That is what has been missing for me 38 episodes in.

I don’t mind strong female-centered dramas or stories about women’s independence and personal growth. But I do mind when “romance” appears to be used as the drawing card for a drama whose real focus is somewhere else.

Chinese dramas need to stop doing this bait and switch. If the story you want to tell is primarily about female growth, independence, family, politics, or social issues, tell that story proudly. But don’t lead romance viewers into a long drama expecting a strong central love story when that isn’t what you’re actually giving them.

For me, this may be a good female growth drama, but it has not been a satisfying romance.

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Too ambitious a plot for this type of production . . .

I like more campy, overacted and cheaper made C Dramas. They are a fun, low-stress way to pass some time. But this one just didn't work for me.

The initial love triangle was addictive: two "opposite of a coin" male friends obsessed with the same girl. One openly, the other secretly. One nice on the surface but deeply insecure and envious underneath, one scary and blood thirsty on the surface but deeply kind underneath. The female lead was endearing as a neurodivergent engineering type smart, competent, but sometimes can't read the room and gets in all sorts of trouble. And the love triangle made sense in this context that she'd really not understand what was going on.

The real down side is the screen time spent on mediocre, terrible plots that are separate and apart from the love triangle. There's court intrigues, hidden heirs, wars with opposing kingdoms as if this was one of the biggest dramas of the year. Given the basic script, and overacting, it was just painful to wade through these parts.

I just couldn't maintain interest - I'm dropping.

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Good entertainment with a good cast

This turned out to be a pretty good series. It's a bit slow at the start, until you understand that each episode will have a main story solved by the end of the hour episode. There is, however several sub stories that carry over throughout all nine episodes.
Just stay with it and everything is connected by the finale.
The only thing I wish, was that Gordon Maeda had a bigger role in the series. He's had great past performances, and this felt like it was kind of a waste of his talent not seeing him as the main character. That said, Shuri gave a great performance, and all the supporting cast each add something to each story. The acting is very well done and there are some good unexpected surprises along the way.
It shows us that nothing is as it appears to be. Don't trust appearances, because we're shown how that can be very deceiving.

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Messy? Yep. Chaotic? Absolutely. Could the script be better? For sure. But I loved it. If a show starts with a disclaimer that it’s all imagination and full of surreal, unrealistic stuff, that’s a clear sign it’s not meant to be taken seriously. And that’s exactly what I enjoy about it.

It’s a parody, with a good dose of satire aimed at traditional dramas, and I laughed a lot. The show is cute and funny, with some hilarious twists that actually start to make sense as the story moves toward the end.

The dubbed dialogue and the narration of the characters’ inner thoughts gave the series its personality, even if sometimes they overlapped. The actors really gave it their all, and they’re a big reason I liked it, especially Kokliang Parinya as Mamuang and Ellfa Weeravich as Inn.

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Beautifully haunting…a masterpiece of music and storytelling.

With only two episode left…where does it ges from here?

On one hand, Jeong Yo achieves his ultimate revenge and Bi O continues spiraling until there is nothing left to save. On the other, Jeong Yo discovers what Edmond Dantès eventually learned…revenge may bring satisfaction, but it can never return what was stolen. Perhaps redemption can only come through forgiveness.

From the beginning, music has been the invisible thread binding these two men together. It gave Jeong Yo a dream. It taught Bi O how to feel. It created their friendship, became the source of their rivalry, and eventually became Jeong Yo’s weapon through “Nemesis.”

Some may see their relationship as a bromance, but I think it goes much deeper than that…and not in a physical or romantic sense. They are kindred spirits whose connection has always been emotional. Almost like twins who somehow understand what the other is feeling without needing the words. One fills something missing in the other.

That is what makes Jeong Yo’s revenge so tragic. To destroy Bi O, he may have to destroy a part of himself.

And what a beautifully made drama this has been. The cinematography has an almost cinematic quality, from the intimate scenes around the piano to the beautiful locations in Prague. The acting has been superb, the writing intelligent and layered, and the direction knows when to let silence speak. But above everything else is the music…not simply a soundtrack, but another character telling the story when words no longer can.

And perhaps that is where these final two episodes will circle back to the beginning…four hands, one piano, two souls connected by music.

Music brought them together.
Revenge tore them apart.

Will forgiveness allow them to play together again?

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Invested, But Not Obsessed - updated review

Oki folks SOTB is one of those dramas where I can see what it's trying to do, I can appreciate a lot of what I'm watching, and yet I'm constantly left with this little feeling of “hmm... something isn't quite hitting.”

The plot itself isn't particularly unconventional, which isn't necessarily a problem, but the execution leaves me feeling a little detached at times.

I liked the FL quite a lot in the beginning. She was initially giving me much more of the capable, badass energy the trailer promised, but somewhere along the way she started needing to be rescued by the ML a little too often for my liking. 😭

The ML took some time to grow on me, but he eventually did, and I really like watching these two together. Their chemistry is great, and their scenes together are probably what keep me most invested.

What I'm struggling with is the emotional impact. I'm usually a massive crybaby when a drama gets things right, but so many of the heavier scenes here just haven't hit me with the intensity the drama seems to be aiming for. There's so much buildup, dramatic music and THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MOMENT energy, yet I sometimes find myself more aware of what the scene is trying to make me feel than actually feeling it. The story keeps telling me something is epic, while I'm sitting there thinking... ''is it though?'' 😂

And the Xie family? Brooooo....What a rotten place. I hate that father. That household has enough dysfunction to carry its own reality show.

The wedding fiasco in episode 24 was another moment where I found myself slightly at odds with the general reaction. I know a lot of people loved how romantic the proposal was, but for me, the whole thing was more frustrating than romantic (and avoidable, but I guess they needed to manufacture some angst between the leads).

Overall, though, this is far from unwatchable. I enjoy the leads, I like their chemistry, and there are definitely moments that work for me. I just don't find the drama particularly gripping. If you're looking for something with stronger tension, more emotional intensity and more satisfying payoffs, there are other dramas that have done that much better for me.

For now, Spring of the Blade sits somewhere in that ordinary middle ground: enjoyable enough to keep watching, but not quite compelling enough to make me count down the hours until the next episode.

And I have to give a tiny side-eye to the comment section too. 😂 I don't mind people loving a drama - that's literally what we're all here for - but the occasional “how dare you have a different opinion” energy does make discussion considerably less fun. I don't have many people IRL who watch cdramas, so I do enjoy having MDL as a place to discuss them, and I wish different opinions could just... exist without needing to be defended like a constitutional right.

Anyway, I'm still invested.
Just not obsessed.
And that's probably the best summary I can give it so far 🫶

✨UPDATE✨

Finished the remaining 6 episodes today and... yeah, it somehow got less interesting. 😭

The romance fizzled out, the reveals and twists had the full EPIC SOUNDTRACK™ treatment but absolutely no impact, and the revenge/justice plot was very much... meh. The soundtrack in general was a massive miss for me — so much dramatic music, so little emotional damage. 😂

Honestly guys, idk what happened. These leads sound amazing on paper, but on screen? Bland af in the second half.
And some of the creative choices had me sitting there like wtf am I supposed to feel here when apparently even the characters don't know? LMAO.
I know I'm sounding like Negative Nancy™ but... how many dramas like this have we seen already? I just wanted this one to have something — something different, special, gripping. Instead, the execution fell flatter than my interest by the end.

They leads got their happy ending though, so at least someone got something out of this. 🥹

Still not unwatchable. But y'all consume at your own risk. 😂

Invested, not obsessed.
And apparently, that was generous of me.

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