Against the Current episode 41 discussion
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The Marquis and Xuiru have a conversation while watching their relatives argue. The Marquis asks her, "So how do you feel watching the drama now?"
I really do want to slap him, but fortunately, Xuiru has far more restraint than I do.
I was a bit confused by the conversation that followed, but from what I can gather on Weibo and XHS, she is essentially telling him, "I used to be part of the audience, and they were watching me. But now I am the one watching them."
It's her subtle way of saying, "I am not watching the drama. I was the one who created the drama. I'm the puppet master."
That's why the Marquis looks so shocked.
What do you think he's shocked about?
A. That Xuiru was so cunning to have done this.
B. That she's not shattered having to accept a concubine.
C. That she may never have loved him at all.
D. That their marriage is just a business transaction now.
E. All of the above
Most probably to assuage his hurt male pride, he asked if she was ever upset about the concubine.
She tells him that yes, she did care that he was going to get a concubine, but what difference would that make? So why waste time fussing about it?
Xiuru's vibe be like:
https://i.redd.it/w9r5drj2ngth1.gif
Her coldness shocks him, but she matter-of-factly tells him that for their daughters' sake, she will be the best wife ever. She will throw the biggest welcoming party for the new concubine. Then she leaves.
A series of expressions flit across his face—shock, hurt, and then perhaps a tinge of pride towards the end. Too bad he realized that his wife is a badass too late.
We have an expression in Malaysia: Padan muka. Which roughly translates to "Serves him right" but the literal translation is "The face is wiped off". You know how "face" is so important to the Chinese? Well that dude's face is completely wiped off now. Gone.
Do you think their marriage would ever recover, or is it dead, gone, buried? Possibility of recovery:
A. 5%
B. 0.5%
C. -10%
D. A black hole
Marriage is best served cold
At least to Xuiru.
When First Madam speaks to Lan Xiang and Jinqi about how they had basically planned this from the start, she insisted that her daughters listen in.
First Madame tells them that this was Xuiru's idea. And Jinqi said, "Third sister is far too ruthless." I was wondering what he meant by that. But I agree—think about it. These girls are so young, and yet they are now being taught to basically be as ruthless as she is, to have their eyes wide open about the reality of men and how life really is for women.
For someone like Jinqi, who is a romantic at heart, he found it ruthless that Xuiru is squashing the hope of love in her daughters at such a young age. Xuiru is not giving them the opportunity to be kids, or to hope for a loving marriage—you know, the kind Jinqi and Lanxiang enjoy.
Personally, I don't think this is a good move, as I foresee her daughters growing up to be cynical and controlling; some may even do the opposite by rebelling and marrying a cad. Deny someone something long enough and they'll do exactly what you don't want them to.
But I can understand Xuiru's logic; now that they are literally heiresses, her daughters are going to be prey for everyone after their wealth.
Better be huntresses than prey.
A riot of weddings
Nanke is so handsome, the brides are so beautiful!
So now that there's news that a concubine will be taken from the Lin family, everyone is going to Lanxiang, asking to be married or not married. Nanke wants to marry Xiaolian, and Xiaolian's reaction is really on brand. Lol.
Not only was she clueless that Gan Tang was interested in her brother, she is also completely taken aback that Nanke is interested in her that way. But then again, knowing Nanke, he probably never showed any overt interest in Xiaolian, thinking he had all the time in the world (or trying to work up the courage to do so). This whole announcement must have alarmed him enough to come forward straight away. Well, good for him!
Then again, it is Xiaolian—he may have tried to hint his interest, but you know how she isn't the most clued-in person lol.
The marriage at the little village of the Lin servants was so beautiful. I think Xiaolian's mother must be beside herself to get both of her children married off into such good families! That lovely woman who used to pass messages between Lanxiang and the Xus deserves all the blessings!
Meanwhile, Jiugao's mother laments her son's singlehood. After the utter ruination of his reputation, she has lowered her standards a tad
Died laughing when she said this
And good news, Jiugao is also gonna get married. Looks like finally he makes his relationship with Yuchan official in front of his mother, who of course smacks him for not being truthful to her from the beginning. Poor him, he can never win.
(Nanny Wu's love language is, apparently, beating the shit out of people.)
Life happens, so does death...
So fourth sister is now with child, and First Madam says something cryptic—saying that she can now die happy, which of course made everybody say "Choi" to ward off the bad luck. (Alas, too late, as we later find out. Ugh.)
And at that moment, a maid rushes in, saying that Lanxiang is giving birth.
How progressive of him—Jinqi is actually right next to her, panicking and wrecking his nervous system.
This is much to the dismay of Second Aunt, who says that it's bad luck that he's even there—or rather, that it's bad luck for him to be there.
Fun fact: Chinese people consider period blood dirty, and as a kid—and this could be TMI for some of you—I was told by my mom not to hang underwear too high, lest my father walks underneath them by accident, because it's considered bad luck. Wait, it's bad luck for men, but not for us women? Well, how frail of them!
Yes, these silly superstitions about women's bodily functions being unlucky and inauspicious is indeed a thing, and Xuiru has a point. What's so inauspicious about witnessing the birth of a new life?
Anyway, I just think that superstition exists only because men are actually afraid to see the birth of their child, and they needed some "plausible" excuse not to be in that room.
Hilariously, Jinqi passes out.
https://reddit.com/link/1wxhin8/video/lrj28dyzngth1/player
But not before freaking out all the women outside who thought that Lanxiang was the one who fainted lol.
The Lin family is trending in Jinling again
Apparently, men passing out during the birth of their kids is a very common thing. I remember reading a Reddit post from a man who passed out when he saw his kid being born, saying that seeing the baby pulled out from his wife was like watching something from an alien movie. Well, bless his little heart.
I love how Jinqi is so happy that he cries over his kid, and a teardrop falls on his/her blanket. Oh Jinqi, aren't you glad you resigned and became a house husband? You get to spend quality time with your wife, saw your kid coming into the world (okay, you missed the most important part, but it's okay—a baby popping out of a vagina is indeed like something out of an alien movie, and we forgive you for lack of constitution).
Honestly, it's so lovely everyone is waiting here.
Outside, when they find out that it's a girl, we can see that Lan Xiang's mother was super worried. But third aunt quickly reassures her, and that First Madam doesn't care about the whole daughter thing. So she visibly relaxes.
Anyone noticed that she never seems comfortable in the Lin mansion? Lanxiang and Jinqi, heck most of the household, go to great lengths to include her in their household, but she has never fully relaxed there.
So, I was really touched to see First Madam taking her hand, implying that they are now fellow grandmothers and are of equal standing.
Later, we see that First Madam has a festering wound. Oh no, she's been hiding it because she didn't want to make her children upset. First, Lan Xiang is about to give birth, and she didn't want to stress Lan Xiang out. She also didn't want to upset her fourth daughter, who was just getting married. So she hid her growing illness. It appears to be cancer. :(
Nanny Wu is already mourning :(
Jinqi finally realizes Lanxiang isn't ... Lanxiang.
Lanxiang's mother says that she labored for half a day only before she gives birth. But Lan Xiang told Jinqi earlier that her mother labored day and night to deliver her.
This proved to be the breaking point for Jinqi, who takes out his little box of Lanxiang merch (you keep Lanxiang souvenirs, da ye??).
He brings the box to her, and you can see her slowly realizing that he has discovered that she has a secret identity.
"Now that we have children together, shouldn't you tell me where they come from?" He asks.
I think he's asking: Shouldn't you tell me where our kids really come from?
I love Liu Xueyi's eye acting here. So full of shock, worry and fear at the same time.
My Thoughts
You know, most dramas end after our main couple marries. If we are very lucky, we get to see them with their kids for a few seconds, and if we're extremely lucky, we get an entire episode that is a epilogue, and we get to see them have a life together.
Some people have been commenting that they wouldn't have minded if Against the Current had ended at episode 38 or episode 39. And in a way, I agree. It would have been a neat ending because it would have been a great way to cling on to a happily ever after.
I consider the episodes after episode 39 like an extended epilogue after our characters finally come together as one.
Even after our couple's union, they will still go through ups and downs, and for the first time in a long time, a Chinese drama dared to explore that and say, "After marriage, there's no happily ever after. After marriage, life continues on, but you know you have someone at your side to weather its ups and downs."
How often do we see our male leads welcome their kid to the world, hang out with their in-laws, and spend time with their wives and such? Not every moment is happy—in between the happy moments are illnesses, betrayals, disappointments, and sadly, death.
Against the Current is really unique because we get to see that, and that's why I firmly believe that this is not really just an ordinary romance drama, and it'll be remiss to treat it as such or expect the plot to deliver the same highs and lows.
This is a women's drama (like women's fiction, but the drama version).
I know that a lot of people think that episode 39 stumbled. To me, it was just told differently, and after rewatching episode 39, I grew to appreciate it more.
I look forward to a new episode of Against the Current every day, and I am gonna miss this show desperately once it goes. I have not seen a drama—a long drama—that made me think deeply about living my best life, about being a woman, for a long, long while.
This is how long dramas should be made. And if we have more of these, I'll be the luckiest CDrama viewer in the world.
