This review may contain spoilers
Fasten your seatbelts. Turbulence ahead.
The pairing of the leads got me interested in this drama and the setting within the Chinese aviation industry hooked me.The meet-cute is fairly tropey. Ice king boss meets sassy female pilot. Totally works for me. :)
What is more challenging is the work environment. It is next level misogynistic. Initially, I thought it must be overstated for dramatic reasons then I found out that there are less than 1000 female pilots in China! There is definitely a glass ceiling.
To add to her woes, the main antagonist wants to drive her out of the company. She did well with the support of her mentor (ML aka GnT) and overcomes obstacle after obstacle. Her steady career progress is mirrored on the romantic front as well. The ML was initially cool and distanced, but he soon grew fond of the FL. The FL is definitely in the driver seat in this relationship. She made some bold moves in pursuing GnT. The Show is heading in the right direction and it looks to be a worthy contender for the top shows of 2023. Then episode 24 happened.
For reasons unknown, the writer decided to forego all the gains thus far and make the second half full on melodrama. So much angst . . so much. The ML ended up behaving irrationally when he is the most rational character in the show. He was a Noble Idiot and managed to hurt everyone close to him for zero gain.
If that trope is not enough, the Show added a poorly constructed mid-air medical drama to push the plot along.
When you consider international aviation is one of the most regulated industries in the world with many cross checks and rules, the use of this subplot is baffling. There are so many holes and discrepancies, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The show then doubles down on the perturbation by bringing FL's onerous mum into the fray. This unruly mess drags on for several episodes (too long) which adds to my growing dismay. Why Dear Writer? Is it to pad out the length or is it some kind of script crib sheet?
The Show finally starts to reverse course at the EP.35 mark. Everyone gets a redemption, Oprah Winfrey style.
Even though things are looking up, GnT still suffers from a bad case of confession-itis. The air is filled with expectations but nada on the action front. It is exhausting to watch the “will he, won’t he” line plays out once again.
We finally get the true confession in ep.37 but it was done in a weird setting. It made sense to him (and to the writer) so who are we to judge? My opinion of the Show is yo-yoing all over the place by now. It is hard to ignore the shambolic mess dropped on our laps between ep.24-36. We are given plenty of positive hints that things will get better but the spectre of the last few episodes haunts me.
Ep.38 is all about fan service. Hallelujah! However, I can’t help but feel like I'm watching a To-do list being ticked off. We have a bunch of unrelated clips tying up loose ends then a random time skip to the next event. It ticked all the boxes but a weak narrative, nevertheless. BTW, the skinship quotient went from 0 to 100 in one scene but fades quickly as well. The progress of the 2CP is on steroids and feels kooky.
The Show had a last go at an angsty subplot at the start of ep.39, but a HEA ending was never in doubt. To be honest, the ending is fluffy and innocuous but that's about it.
Two parting thoughts; I thought macular degeneration is incurable but I'm too tired to argue. The whole D191 (a thinly disguised C919) storyline is the biggest PPL I have ever seen! It was jingoistic and flag waving but you have to give them credit for trying. ;)
Acting from the leads are good. The FL is certainly given the more challenging role. The ML is handsome and a seasoned actor. He definitely has a workout on his stoic poses. The support cast are mostly one dimensional. There is “growth”, but it is fairly predictable and a means to an end.
I did enjoy most of the show. It has its moments, and the first half is certainly engaging and eye-opening. If it has stuck to the original aviation focused plot and office romance all the way through, it would be on a winner. Instead, it took us down a long and tortuous path which adds little to the proceedings. The fan service in the end might placid some viewers who just want to ship the CP’s and swoon at their belated sweet moments. To me, that’s a sneaky way to paper over the disappointing melodramas that came before.
It could and should have been better. Peace out.
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The drama gods deemed it so
Flight to You is a workplace romance drama. Our leading lady, Cheng Xiao, is one of the only female pilots in the company and she gets put with a flight instructor, Gu Nanting, who has a cold and emotionless exterior. while they get off on the wrong foot at first, Cheng Xiao slowly discovers that Gu Nanting is actually a warm and caring person through various workplace trials and tribulations, and falls in love with him. Gu Nanting struggles with his own past and must decide whether he will continue to shut out his growing feelings for Cheng Xiao or confidently walk towards her.Tan Songyun and Wang Kai have such stellar chemistry. even with the age difference and difference in positions, they made you believe that these two people really cared for each other. The cheek kiss in episode 24 and first kiss in episode 38 were sizzling! Wang Kai has certainly aged like fine wine and this type of slow burn romance suits him as his microexpressions are so on point.
The main characters are wonderful people, and it's clear that they respect and are willing to learn from one another. The second male lead and second female lead bowed out gracefully, as it becomes obvious that Cheng Xiao and Gu Nanting do want to be with one another so it doesn't create unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts. My main gripe with the story is yet again, the FL's mom is written as a terrible human being, unable to deal with her own trauma so takes it out on her child (similar to Go Ahead, anyone?). And because the script writers wanted to wrap everything thing up with a happy bow, major plot points were debuted and resolved so quickly in the last three episodes (Cheng Xiao's mom's PTSD, Gu Nanting's macular degeneration, Song Song and Xia's relationship) without any true consequences that would happen in real life. The drama gods deemed it so.
CGI of the flight scenes were well done, production values were high. I would watch again just to follow Wang Kai and Tan Songyun's chemistry, though I might skip all the side character shenanigans.
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If you come for the romance, just be patient
The reason why I love this drama is because at the beginning, I didn't come for the romance but end up enjoying it altogether. XDI can see they put so much effort to create every scenes, although I can't justify the technical accuracy because I am not a person from airforce. Yeah.. there are still some scenes that make me question "do people really do it like that in the aircraft?"
After 15 episodes, it actually starts to change the direction into romance and drama.
But I admire the performance of natural reaction and acting from the cast. We don't see much slow mo or those type of kissing by accidents that's usually happening in drama XD. I love how they make the loveline slow burned. Those two make it quite convincing although they dont do much skinship. They just don't choose the easiest way possible to show it and that's what make us always 'wanting more'.
I like the way the main characters keep trying to solve their problems. It's not just done by miracle. Although she was a mess at the beginning and might not always has the perfect solution, CX doesnt give up easily but at the same time, let thing go quickly. I love the fact that the story doesnt push CX much to be the cure for Nan Ting's trauma, like most of other drama would do to create an unspoken fate between them. Nan Ting has figured it out and worked on the problem by himself and he likes her not because she is a replacement. They just unconditionally care for each other.
Not only the main leads, the supporting characters also show quite few development. What I like the most is everyone is always trying. It's not always about coincidence or luck or fate like any other drama would usually do. For example, the character of Yuheng who has a crush on Gu Nan Ting (male lead). This type of second lead really could make me worry that she could snatch him but at the same time admire her effort of not-giving-up-on-him. And that actually quite makes senses because the man is frrrreaking single and she knows him for a long time and also befriend with his family! Of course she would fight until the end.
I also appreciate the amount of focus on the negative attribute in every character. Well, we might see these many male leads that are stoic, handsome, cold and charismatic, but most of the time, it feels like they just exist in drama because the way they react. This time, I don't have that feeling. Gu Nan Ting's character makes me think that someone like him might exist in real life and yeah...he can be boring sometimes? But that's just him being himself.
Overall,you can see how much I end up enjoyin the slow romance part . Lol.
I love this show!
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Turbulence ahead so buckle up!
On paper, Flight to You has a lot going for it. With an ensemble cast led by Wang Kai and Tan Song Yun, directed by Wang Zhi and with an OST by Liu Yu Ning, 向风而行 became one of my most anticipated dramas of 2023. Unfortunately, it didn't quite manage to reach grand heights for me.Let's start off with the good and that's Tan Song Yun as Cheng Xiao. This story focuses on our female lead's journey from first officer to co-pilot to finally, captain. She's feisty, stubborn, brave and focused. She's also extremely impulsive and often times acts before she really thinks through her actions, and often times this leads to more issues for herself and others. The most endearing quality about Cheng Xiao is how hardworking she is and how she never falters in the face of adversity (and there are many obstacles...). She's truly one of the good ones; responsible and straight-forward. She does what she says she'll do and like a true captain, stands up for her own actions. TSY is truly one of the most natural actors. She breathes life into Cheng Xiao and makes her not just likable but someone you'll root for. As TSY said herself, Cheng Xiao is a character she looks up to and one that imparted great confidence to her.
Another plus is Wang Kai. I may be extremely, extremely biased but the man is handsome and charismatic, and oozes charm. Add a captain uniform and there's truly something to be said for a man of certain age. If you're a fan of Wang Kai's hands, then you won't be disappointed. Director Wang seems to know what's up because there are very lovely shots of Wang Kai's very lovely hands in every single episode. Thank you Director Wang! Now as a character, Gu Nan Ting will be polarizing. He carries quite a lot of emotional baggage that is revealed early on and as a result, he's rather closed off emotionally and does everything by the book. He has a life very carefully set up in which he wakes at a certain time, sleeps at a certain time and he won't allow for any variables. As an instructor and captain, Gu Nan Ting is all about safety. He seem like a hard-ass but he's actually the biggest softy. Gu Nan Ting is a reliable man (for the most part) and someone you always want on your side because he'll have your back no matter what. (And did I mention he's handsome????)
Now for the bad...basically everything else, lol. The script is truly mind-boggling. There are moments when the drama is good and when the script works. But there exists more moments where the script is awful and the drama, despite the best effort of the cast and crew, fails. The pacing is all over the place and the drama is so heavily melodramatic at times that if it ended last minute with one of the leads diagnosed with cancer, I wouldn't have been shocked.
But to end on a high note, the absolute best part of this drama and the only reason I managed to get through all 39 episodes is the chemistry between Tan Song Yun and Wang Kai. It's not a sizzling hot type of chemistry but one that flickers from the very first episode and simmers and grows until it's too much to handle. It's the slowest of slow burns and many might argue that romance shouldn't even be tagged here but the chemistry cannot be denied. It is truly delightful to watch our spirited and brave Cheng Xiao flirt her way into Gu Nan Ting. And it is all the more delightful that our male lead is a panicked, shy and bumbling inexperienced fool when it comes to romance. If flustered male lead is your thing, this will be right up your alley.
As a drama billed to be aviation-themed, the drama will probably let a lot of people down. Flight to You focuses on the lives of those involved in the aviation industry from the pilots to the flight attendants to the ground and maintenance crew. It's also very clear why this drama aired on CCTV with it's obvious mentions of the first China-built commercial airplane. Despite the many faults of the drama, I enjoyed it. My advice is to keep your finger on the ffwd button and use it as often as you like. I would re-watch this because TSY and WK are gems in this. And I promise that the angst-filled ride to our CP getting together is absolutely worth it. Thirty something seconds will truly soothe the pain and be the best of balms. (Ning-Ge and his OST skills say that this is worth a watch.)
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How To Get A Promotion (and get demoted while you're at it)
I want to start by saying that I watched this drama on-going (2 episodes per day) and would strongly advise anyone against trying to binge this drama. If anything it's only watchable slowly - in my personal opinion.This is the first chinese aviation drama I've seen and after loving American pilot dramas I was ready for emergency landings, heavy storms and many at-the-edge-of-my-seat moments but this drama is NOT that.
To put it simply "I was expecting a drama, but what I got was reality"
Essentially this drama is a career focused story of a young ambitious female pilot aiming for a promotion to become a captain. - and if you see it as JUST that it's alright.
The positive:
- very ambitious FL that has rational thinking and actually is qualified for her job and acts professional
- realistic portrayal of working at an airline and how decisions are made upstairs
and one more, maybe controversial take: a good antagonist.
Often c-dramas have comically bad villains that are corrupt from head to toe and seem to have no other goal in life than to make the MC life miserable and make lots of (dirty) money. And while I hated him as much as the next person I will probably remember him the most because it's the first time a "villain" finds his roots in the fact that he has an outdated world view and not because he wants to control everything or make money. Although he does get more villainous later on, we always see the human side of him too and I don't ever see him as truly "evil" in the sense of a TV Show villain.
The negative:
- the second FL (the friend of the FL) felt very out of place. I skipped many of her scenes, I know it's superficial but to me she just looked like a young boy(?)
- the love triangle and ultimately the decline of character writing of the SML in the finale few episodes, which made him just unlikeable enough to push the audience to root for ML instead.
- the whole Romance aspect and the entire character of the ML (enough said)
- the dark blue color palette that made every episode look so much like the last that it became hard not to drop the drama
- the drama ends with an uneven number of episodes. It ends at ep38, with the story fully finished.
Ep39 feels more like they forgot one part of the plot and decided to add it at the end instead of squeezing it in somewhere in the middle. I'd say this drama has 38 episodes and a season 2 with one episode only.
... all in all I scratched my head a lot thinking this drama tastes like cardboard but stayed for the rise (and sometimes fall) of the FL and her career. Admittedly, I do regret watching this drama simply because it added nothing to my life nor will I revisit this drama.
Watch it if you want to see a professional female pilot work her way through a male dominated industry but stay away if you want to see a great love story or good entertainment.
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It took quite a few detours for them to reach the destination.
Flight to You is a drama that somehow manages to be both amazingly realistic and painfully ridiculous at the same time. How? The characters represent the realistic part, while the plot, especially in the last 8-10 episodes gets a little bit too close to a mental circus you just have to accept and not question the logic behind.The best aspect of the drama is how the characters have real flaws which have real consequences. Cheng Xiao might be smart, driven and friendly, but she is also impulsive and overconfident which affected her career quite a few times. Gu Nan Ting might be patient, fair and hardworking, but he is also closed off and too strict. Similar descriptions can be written by other characters, even the “bad guys” - no one is just good and pure, or evil and flawed.
Speaking of which - I loved Jiang Tao (or loved to hate him would be more fitting). What a well written antagonist. He was just a normal man that was painfully sexist and too power driven - something we see in real life more often than we should. At some point I even started to feel bad for him - his old fashioned and full of prejudiced worldview was simply limiting - both for him and for the company he cared so much about.
I also appreciated how the supporting characters felt both familiar, as many followed well established tropes, and fresh, by adding small twists to their characterization. The whole show is truly driven by how likable and relatable these characters are.
Onto the plot. Romance was so slow at times it felt like we were walking backwards. It was all in the hands guys, all the romance, love, frustration, pinning, doubt. Pay attention to the hands (not like you can miss it with all the close ups…). Truth to be told, I was completely fine with this snail pace. I appreciated and enjoyed the relationship between Gu Nan Ting and Cheng Xiao not only for the sparks, but also the partnership and friendship they built. How much they influenced each other and grew to be better pilots and better people because of it.
As for the airport related plots - you gotta close one eye and ignore some illogical aspects of it. Closer to the end you might need to close two, since the show just gives up the realism as it struggles to keep up with the plots and give them all a proper closure. That said, by then I was so in love with the characters, I was not even frustrated, but rather amused by some of the developments.
The performances were strong. Wang Kai can deliver any role and make it believable. He makes any character seem like a real life person. Tan Song Yun also aced her portrayal of Cheng Xiao - she was literally THE center of the whole drama and she carried the show on her back with no issue. Each and every supporting cast member did a fantastic job and I honestly have no complaints.
The production value was on the high end of the drama/slice of life workplace c-dramas. Something I want to compliment the show on were the transition scenes - the sped up shots of the sceneries showcasing different times of the days were beautiful.
Overall, a great show that focuses on self-improvement, fairness or lack of it in the workplace, taking on responsibilities and dealing with the aftermath and consequences of both the achievements and failures. It tackles the issues of mental health (at times in a questionable manner) and sexism and how hard it is to fight against it in a workplace. It’s easy to binge watch and surprisingly engaging.
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A makjang hidden in "life-genre" clothing
The beginning plot seems very promising. However, it was starting to shift from mid to end episodes. The overall plot's premise is to portray the difficulty of a woman surrounding a male-dominated job. Not only FL experienced bias and discrimination because of her gender, she also has to face her mother, who disapproves her career choice. In short, it is a story of a modern-time female warrior against prejudice and insane challenges throughout her career.Starting off by the main characters:
The FL who is hard-working and strives to be the best at her job. She doesn't take any bullshit from anyone and extremely confident - as it shows in her sassiness.
The ML is your typical icy-god male lead, who seems perfect on the outside, but also have flaws (as seen in his mental trauma regarding his ex-girlfriend's death).
What I dislike about the drama in general:
- As I said, the plot seems very promising in the beginning, but the writers started to drift the drama genre to melodrama. The melodrama genre is a double-edged sword, while it's fine for a drama to have melodramatic moments for a touch of thrill, it can also create a draggy plot line - especially where the drama contains 39 episodes and slow-paced.
- The romantic story is minimal and not in a pleasant way. It felt somehow lacking in chemistry and the relationship felt forced and rushed. Sure, there are some "eyes flirting" or sparks along the way, but the couple somehow fit more as co-workers/mentor-student.
- I also don't appreciate how draggy this mother-daughter conflict with dead-ends. After all the drama writers bring to us, the best excuse they can come out with was "your mother was afraid of losing you". Excuse me? This is the mother who sided with her own daughter's harasser. Not only that, when her superior decided to drop the blame on FL, FL's mother decided to work against her daughter. It's very contradicting to the excuse. She could've gone to jail if something went wrong, or she could've spent her life blamed for someone's death. It's basically the same - if not - worse than losing her daughter. FL's mom is either written badly by the writers, or just plain dumb for a lawyer/mother.
- The ending is too rushed as it felt like the writers gave what the viewers wanted on the last bits of episodes. It felt ingenuine, unconnected, and unrealistic. Even in the last episode, the writers chose to put conflict between the two main leads, which somehow felt like the writers are trying too hard to grab opportunity till the last bits.
- I think it's happening too often, where the writers put the most important plot at the end of the drama, and they rushed it till the end. Yes, this could've been prevented if they follow the basic "beginning, climax, ending" rule. But this drama is more beginning-------dragy---------climaxend.
What I like about the drama:
- The FL's character is refreshing, always love actress' works as she's excellent at portraying her characters. I've been a fan of her since "Go Ahead".
- ML is charming and good looking, and I also love how he implicitly turned explicitly cares about FL. Too bad his character is not written in the best way.
In conclusion, the drama could've been better if they focus more on FL's inspiring journey as a pilot. Instead, they chose to focus on creating a makjang out of a drama that is supposed to be empowering.
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Who i relied on to get promoted,i will tell U,I relied on my Own strength>Cheng Xiao (FL)
First of all thanks to come here to read my review.. ?I'll guide u guys & try to explain u why i watched this drama on going & what is my actual emotion after it has ended..I'll chose a easy word to make it convenient, won't spoil u guys that much..To b very honest i would give this drama 8.5/10..But (+1) is a gift from me to the Actor/actress for their outstanding chemistry & obviously for the effort of Director.. They deserve it..?
⭕Story/Plot:
75% were in Track then lost it's direction,nd finally rushed to the end.. ✴️Does it has more romance???- - U can't call it a Full Romance..just liking each other started after few epsiodes,then it was like a spark between the leads When they finished talk about work...its kinda mature romance not a puppy types..Caring silently, supporting, admiring etc..
✴️Does it focused on Aviation story?✈️--There r some subplots about what kind of obstacles & hazards could happen in flight dept,with flight attendents, Mechanical engeering dept like this..The duties & responsibility of pilots,flight attendents,Ground floor employees etc..Has some PTSD issues..
? Main theme :: A hardworking,confident Female pilot who was supposed to b promoted to Captain in her own Cargo dept suddenly due to company's decision their dept. decided to demolished & transferred the pilot to Flight dept. where there is a Strict Deputy director aka Senior captain who always stuck in Rules & regulations(ML) and a Boss who is sexist doesn't favor female pilot (Main Antagonist not a evil type fully)...Because Freight dept is not as strict as passenger dept, they mainly transported Animals,sudden exposure to so many rules FL become uncomfortable somehow turned into an arrogant one,Having a issue with ML for few episodes...There is also a boss who tried so hard to make her resign cz he thought female pilot is a loss to the company... But due to her consistency with stubbornness inspite of demoting many times with the burden of her mother extreme opposition she succeeded to survive & become a Captain. During getting along with ML she Realized how important Passenger safety Is & it can't b ignored.& That's how her respect towards him increase,eventually she fall in love..This all r happening between some workplace, or family subplots..
⭕Acting:
??✈️ML(Gu Nang ting)-- Wang Kai > Such a brilliant & proficient actors...He potrayed his character so well...sticking to the Rules all the time,Making a Stern face,Feeling shy when FL started Flirting, Secretly admiring her,express emotion through eyes,❤️Small Hand gestures❤️..His every emotion expressed Way were so prominent & trust me u will hooked up in their Chemsitry..He has also a past truama issues..
??✈️FL(Cheng xiao)--Seven Tan> To b very honest my first reason to choose this drama was her..cz in her every previous work she never disappointed me..Same goes for this also...CX is Strong headed,Confident, Bold,energetic,Doesn't know how to twist word or emotion,too honest to her feelings ,straightforward but yes CX had also flaw bt her best part is She admit her mistake immediately nd apologized, felt guilty that's how her character has grown.. As for acting,TSY emerged in character she potrayed every quality of CX very well...CX was inspiring & very courageous..
?? My view: ❤️For their chemistry they deserve 100/10❤️?
♦️Supporting character : All were equally Good...This drama avoided some typical plot,thats a good side..like making rival Bitch or Evil..too evil or corrupted Antagonist.. Some good Character growth like ✅Yuheng: She admitted that ML doesn't like her then she moved on after trying few times.. Observing FL she took inspiration from her & make her Rival as her IDOL..so rare in any drama bt good one..✅Jiang Tao: He somehow for his greddiness messed up,but ultimately it has shown that He was not that bad internally.. ✅Ni zhan: A straightforward character like FL,,liked her,confessed, get rejected, focused on Job,,Businessminded,maintained Friendship with ML in the end.. Except them all r equally good..
?Now,What I liked?
(1)?❤️? Outstanding Chemistry Between the leads..?
(2)The acting of the Leads..?
(3)The direction by director ?
(4)Doesn't put so much cliche scene..Some issues i felt personally realistic can relate with myself..Example : In Workplace Female workers has to bear so many rumours plus face gender discrimination etc.?
(5)I liked their BGM...?
? What i disliked?
(1)The screenwriting...?
(2)The unnecessarily plot dragging..? Although Chinese drama r lacking in those aspects compared to K drama..They drag too much..It could b a 30 ep decent drama..
(3)They should review the script again..In the middle they kinda going to make ML a coward,like her but couldn't tell her types...this dragging was unnecessary... ?
(4)I disliked FL mother's till the end & every screen she shared i just fast forwarded...?
??MUSIC?➡️ i liked all the 3 OST of this drama they were so soothing to hear ♥️ Theme song Sung by Liu YuNing ★★★ ♥ "'Like shining Star"'--Sung by FL (TSY) So motivating.. ? ♥ "'Nian Feng Ji Ni"'---Sung by Hu Xia--So emotional & Loving voice..
?? Rewatch Value:: (8.5/10)--The thing Which made me hooked up till the end was "'The Chemsitry "between the leads.i wanted to see more of them everyday...to b very honest,i didn't have any interest in Aviation bt i enjoyed few aviation plot though.. I will obviously Rewatch some of my favourite epsiodes like Ep:1-22, & the Hot French kiss ?epsiode.. their lovey dovey last ep... ?
?I m not a Scholar i watched & continue drama where leads r well acted & plot is convincing in first 5 episodes.. The one flaw that this drama has is Screenwriting..I say that again otherwise everyone gave their 100%..My (+1) Rate is also for the ML&FL..I want them to work together again?..
? The Dialogue in the headline is given by the FL' Cheng Xiao.. It was one of my favourite scene & Dialogue..That scene somehow inspired me.(Its personal) ?
?Do i recommend it?-- Yes,i do...Cz It would b Easy watch for u guys..& i can't deny the fact that i also enjoyed it watching during on going.i m not a serious drama watcher..i watched drama to calm my mind & rejuvenate my emotion.. It was worthy of my time
Thank you
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The cast performed satisfactorily, despite the characters not being captivating, the actors impregnated their marks in the composition of the characters.
The direction managed to produce good scenes, didn't make big mistakes in editing.
The soundtrack isn't bad.
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Office romance at it´s finest + Girl Power since Men are Evil
This could have been a solid 9,5 or a 10 if not for a dip or maybe a few wrong tunes towards the end that just took this otherwise very enjoyable drama and just cluttered it with propaganda (not that there wasn't any before that but it just became too much), anticlimactic endings to well built up side plots and a bunch of meeh.That said the first 35 episodes or so where packed with frustration of the best kind, romance, gazes, humour, cold vs hot... discrimination, friendship, fight the bad guy spirit... handsome male leads, gorgeous female leads, playfulness and so on. Yes there where a few annoying characters and situations but they did not take away from the amazing job the leads did in this.
The main villein of this drama is a man who is as shallow, two faced as it gets he will stab you right in the back while smiling warmly and making you trust him. He hates women for som reason, not really sure why and is cheered on by mostly silent men who just do not say anything and other men who also hate women. He is so bad I kept wondering what he had on the CEO of the company as that guy seemed pretty decent so why on earth did he keep such a jerk around?
The villains sexism and actions made way for a whole lot of feminist lines, an interesting speech, some important dialog and observations and female lead who shows how f*** hard it is to survive in a workplace where men are the norm. As our female lead is indeed portrayed as s super natural force of bad ass, yes she may be vulnerable at times too but overall she admits to her mistakes, takes the way, way, way to harsh punishment thrown her way, breaks down for a moment and then gets back up and fights over, and over, and over again... As her sense of justice may need to be toned down a bit... This could of-course have become repetitive and boring but nope, it had me captivated interested and MAD oh so MAD most of the time (in a good way) . The way she handles the male lead, her family, our villain and the western jerks of Australia with confidence is hilarious and I dare say she is probably my favourite c-female lead at the moment (I am just going to pretend those last 5 episodes or so never happened).
The male lead is cold, he has a lot of control issues and had me 80% frustrated 20% smiles an he has great presence on screen and with all the frustration there was also tension and a build up that was phenomenal. So if you watch this be were the romance is slow paced and frustrating but good and rewarding with one h*** of a kiss when you pretty much are ready to give up on them... So hang in there you will get the reward you want, after that things may go to down the drain again and so on... But you will at one point of this drama get one h*** of a kiss that will have you screaming watch out, and wonder if the two getting enough oxygen?
The male leads best friend is solid SLS material. The female leads mother is the type you will want to shove off a cliff and is probably 90%of the reason I had to lower the score. Though her presence does make way for some good old frustration, as well as some good scenes, my over all take on her is that the show would have been a lot better without her. The male leads mother on the other hand is a sweetheart. And so are the more mature pilot and flight attendant in this show.
So all in all I loved this drama, highly binge-able, Tan Song Yun is an amazing actress and if you have not fallen for her yet you will probably fall for her here. So be-were of the last few episodes but I do hope you enjoy the rest of this drama.
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Flying to his heart❤️
[First Impression (Ep1-6)] I like looking at Wang Kai more than I thought. (And he’s a Gu!) His micro-expressions induce my macro-expressions. My eyes dilate whenever I catch the flicker in his eyes or the twitch in his lips because of love. Let’s not talk about the silly grin I have for this man. Tan Song Yun is difficult to watch though only because her character is suffering too much from a misogynistic boss and she thinks it’s our ML’s fault. Nooooo!I don’t think there’s anything special about the story. I’m shamelessly in this for Wang Kai and Tan Song Yun. It is better than I thought though. Not boring, basically, lol. And not overly dramatic. So far, there's zero patriotism. You may get hypertensive at the blatant misogyny.
[Actors/Actresses] It’s interesting watching these two. I’m not sure there’s natural chemistry between them, but I feel it and I think it’s because they’re carrying it by pure acting skills. Or I’m just biased. I can admit that.
[CP Name] It’s Rare That the Quarrels Stopped
Gu Nan Ting + Cheng Xiao = Nan De Xiao Ting Le
顧南亭 + 程霄 = 南得霄亭了
南得霄亭了→ 難得嘵停了 = It’s Rare That the Quarrels Stopped
[Glossary]
凡心 Fán xīn – Mortal heart. The mundane desires of humans e.g. love. (Ep15)
以身相許 Yǐ shēn xiāng xǔ – To devote one’s life/body to / To give one’s heart to (Ep16)
[Ending] Happy.
[A Highlight] For whatever reason my memorable scene is..... Ep12’s amusingly awkward badging moment.
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