Flight to You (2022)

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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