This review may contain spoilers
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will probably remember him the most because it's the first time a "villain" finds his roots in the fact that he has an outdated world view and not because he wants to control everything or make money.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.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Unique drama, not really romantic, but pretty costumes!
This was my first C drama that centered around flying and I have to say, it was pretty educational and different.I 100% picked up this drama because of the leading actress, Tan Song Yun, I basically watch everything she is in and after the disappointment of Master of my Own, I was really crossing my fingers for an epic romance with Flight to you.
Sadly Flight To you was not the epic romance c drama I was longing for, but despite that, there was a strong emotional connection between the leads. I felt like the leads had a more teacher / student relationship, than two people falling in love at work. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two of them at all.
I haven’t seen anything Wang Kai has been in, but judging from this drama, I feel like he could have done so much more. He was pretty much emotionless and cold. He was really good at acting as a male who knew how to fly and knew all the rules that goes into flying, but he didn’t really convey his affection towards the FL as much as I wanted when I watch C dramas.
I did like the costumes and the sets were pretty unique, you can’t get any more unique than airplanes right? I am really appreciative of the 1960’s inspired dresses for the flight attendants and the fitted pilot uniforms.
The drama was really informative and it was interesting to see what kind of storylines they could create focused on flying. I do think the pacing was a bit off at times. It was a little too center focused on certain arcs, where I felt like the script writers were just dragging it out.
The writers do address, sexism in the work force, sexual harassment on the job and other items that were interesting to watch. I know it’s a little different in China, you can totally hire someone based on weight and looks (nothing like America) so it still boggles my mind when they mentioned one of the flight attendants needed to lose weight (she is obvious model thin), but you take it for what it is.
Overall, I liked the first half of the drama more because it focused more on the relationship between the leads and it was like a cute little slow burn. You could feel the tension between the two. You were kind of rooting for a physical aspect to pop up, but it’s more emotional than anything.
The story arcs with the mom and the medical issues in the second half was just a drag and the relationship between the main leads kind of just fizzles in the back burner.
Overall, I would go into the drama for something different and pretty to watch, but not really a rom-com in my opinion.
Was this review helpful to you?
Solid drama to start 2023
1) I really appreciate how the focus was on character and professional development. When a drama tries to do too much, it just becomes a jumbled rushed mess. This one was not jumbled or rushed. The purpose and storyline were clear, pacing was good.2) I learned a lot about the commercial airline industry. Wow, kinda sucks to be female and trying to be an aviatrix. In the future, when I travel via plane, I will make it a point to thank pilots, flight attendants, ground crew, whoever I meet. It's hard work.
3) Family relationships were spot on! As an American born child of Chinese immigrants, I learned a lot about how I'm SUPPOSED to respond to family members, and how I've failed miserably at it. No wonder my grandmother and mom gave me such funny looks when I responded the way I did concerning professional career! Oops. Well, in the end, I guess I'm quite Americanized.
4) The music is gorgeous! To me, music is super important. If I don't like the music for a drama, I tend to not finish it.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Great Slice of Life Drama Inside an Airport
This drama was a great pick me up drama atm because I'm currently in a drama slump.It is more slice of life with hints of romance and some melodrama cause there were quite some tear jerkers. I loved how Chengxiao is a strong female lead, there was always something pinned against her and she always stood her ground and got through it all and I admired that about her. She also was incredible when it came to her love life- she indirectly confessed and flirted and teased the ML all the time and it was so cute to watch those scenes. And of course Tan Songyun is an amazing actress (one of my favs) so I expect nothing less of her performance.
The actor for the ML (Wang Kai) was honestly super handsome and looks so good for his age like wtf but he also did great in his role, but at the same time I felt like it was lacking a bit? Maybe it's just how his character is too. But I loved loved how supportive he was with Chengxiao and her career as a pilot.
I have never watched any dramas with a setting as an airport/pilots etc so this drama was pretty informative. Also I LAUGHED at the American scenes and actors- the part where they started clapping when they poured water on her ??? cringe tbh not sure where the writers got their information from...
Anyways the plot was great! Lots of good information, some drama, trauma, family issues, friendship issues etc etc everything you could want in a drama !!
The only thing that was annoying was the love story- they dragged way too long - like we want more cute scenes. So if your looking for a romance drama, this ain't it.
The cast was amazing, the main actors and all the side actors/characters were great. I'm happy they were able to wrap everything up nicely at the end and everyone got their redemptions.
Overall, a great watch with amazing actors and actresses'
Was this review helpful to you?
An easy watch
I haven't watched many dramas as the airport setting so I really enjoyed that the plot actually revolves around many issues and day to day lives of the various staff employed at an airport - from pilots (main focus), cabin crew, mechanics to ground handling staff. It's done fairly well. Would have loved to see more of that in fact. A lot of the story revolves around the office politics and struggles of our female lead much of which is the result of misogyny.The main plot is about a young enthusiastic female pilot, Cheng Xiao, who is transferred to flying commercial planes whereas she worked in the transport department thus has to go through a period of training. Unlike other male pilots, she faces harsher scrutiny at every stage and she pushes herself harder to prove her worth. Gu Nanting, is an experienced pilot who is one of the best at Luzhao Airlines. He is also in charge of training Cheng Xiao. He has also had a tragic experience which makes him a stickler for rules and safety.
The pace of the series is decent but can feel a bit slow at times. If you're main focus is romance, then you are in for a long haul flight. This will be the slowest of slow burn romances ever. But the writers depict a good build up of chemistry between the leads despite their contrasting personalities. We also have a very strong contender for the second lead syndrome - Ni Zhang, who works as the chief engineer. He is also a long time friend of Gu Nanting and probably understands him best. The show depicts a very mature version of bromance. It's subtle but you can feel it.
Among a lot of the other characters, I also enjoyed the character of the pilot, Song, who is a colleague and friend of Cheng Xiao.
Probably the most frustrating characters on the show is the FL's mother. I simply could not stand her. She actually made some of the episodes unbearable for me.
Overall, I genuinely enjoyed the show. I'm glad I picked it up.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
Meh...
OVERALLWatch if you're into LOADS of work drama. Skip if you're not. This drama doesn't have much more to offer.
THE STORY
These days Chinese romance dramas are NOT romance dramas haha This one in particular was essentially a work drama. On the good side, it really manages to get your attention. I kind of liked seeing all the issues pilots and flight attendants go through - which is a first, I usually don't care for work drama. The series makes the ordeals they go through realistic and gripping. Another thing I like with Flight to You is that Female lead is the one that does the chasing for a while (and openly too), which is refreshing, while Male lead is the one that is shy and awkward. Male lead also has a bit of depth, with a backstory that makes him a complex character, and he's into gender equality, which is nice.
On the bad side, that's basically all there is to Flight to You. The romance is subpar, the typical twenty episodes of veeeryyy slow burn followed by 10+ episodes of utter and complete stagnation, and ending with 2-3 episodes of rushed resolution, topped with the most archaic of all tropes: miscommunication between the leads, who don't know how to TALK and seem to compete for worst bad decision of the year. Also, the secondary characters are not too annoying, but I couldn't really care about them or their storylines. Female lead is not unbearable, but she's still ditsy and borderline childish at times. The villain is a villain for NO reason, which is just bad writing. And then there's the mom, the typical devil that magically is redeemed by the end of the drama (even though she clearly does not deserve it). And then the drama gifts you with an unnecessary, hateful cliche in the last episode too.
Bottom Line: I don't recommend...unless you're into the secret lives of pilots and flight attendants.
THE ACTING
Cool. I like both Wang Kai and Tan Songyun, especially him. No chemistry though.
THE MUSIC
What music?
REWATCH VALUE.
Low.
Was this review helpful to you?
Story was about the aircrew and flight attendant
Story about the challenges faced by the pilots and air attendants at different stages of life especially when they stuck in dilemma where they have to take tough decision.Drama wants us to draw our attention how these people stuck in a situation where they need to take a decision and sometimes their decision made many angry and sad.
This drama also showed us for the some passenger to reach on time on their destination is necessary and they cannot afford delay if flight has delayed for them it will die situation in do or die condition and sometimes they behave very badly towards the attender . Not a single passenger understand their dilemma.
I think through the drama if we be a passenger of the flight and air attendants stuck in such situations where they have to take decisions which are in not in favour .we should understand their problems also and with patience handle the situation.
Was this review helpful to you?
An outstanding story on a serious take about people working in the field of aviation
This drama was created in perfection. Literally, I can’t point out any disapproving things about it. The story was brilliantly written. Whenever I watched a drama, I would start rating it after the first episode and this one already got a rating scale of ten (10) from me instantly. It was consistent all throughout the entire episodes unlike other dramas that would start nicely but a disappointment in the end or the other way around.Great acting!!! I am praising Wang Kai’s performance here in particular though Tang Song Yun is one of my favorite actresses; he emerged as the one who played the role with the most conviction. The romantic facet in this drama was something else also, it was less but more. Who says less physical intimacy and not being a couple would not make you flutter and your heart skips a beat? Well, this drama proved it that way. I have watched Tang Song Yun paired with other actors but she was perfectly suited with Wang Kai. You would see here that there was a natural chemistry between them.
This drama was well-researched. I guessed it could influence someone who has an eye for any career in the aviation industry. It not only shows the visual representation of an aircraft, an airport, and the hangar but also reflects the reality of the life of the people working with passion, dedication, and value-oriented.
Sometimes I tend to connote a drama depicting a serious subject to be boring but “Flight To You” dismissed that idea. I ended up watching this after seeing a posted review about it on this platform, otherwise, I would have missed a quality drama.
You better watch this as well.
Was this review helpful to you?
Cute Romance Story and China's Pride
I don't know what it takes to make a good film, production values and technology and such but... The main stars and supporting cast were all wonderful. I started watching this drama because it looked mildly interesting and I didn't see anything else at the moment. As I watched the story became richer and more interesting. The progression of the love story was extremely satisfactory and learning about the Chinese civil air industry was fascinating. A side note to the Chinese: Congratulations on your new Chinese designed and built airliner.I'm glad I caught this drama and it was well worth my time to watch it. Wang Kai and Seven Tan were an excellent pair together.
Was this review helpful to you?
