CAST: Qin Lan as Guan Wen, Wang Yang as Ding Ning, Liu Yun as Chen Xuan Xuan, Shawn Wei as Lin Hao, Alina Zhang as Jing Zhi Qiu, Lawrence Wong as He Yi Fei, Wang Yi Zhe as Da Luo

DIRECTOR: Wang Ying

Adapted from the manhua The Year to 30 (奔三那年), Stand or Fall tells the story of three 30+ women, who are friends, their circumstances, their struggles, and the men in their lives.

Guan We, Jing Zhi Qiu, and Chen Xuan Xuan are best friends like sisters, yet all three have different personalities and aspirations. Guan We is a branding executive working with an agency that markets malls. She is smart, driven, and worldly-wise. However, she is direct, blunt and aggressive, making her hard to get along with. Her entire focus in life is her work. That leaves her no time or inclination to date or find a man. And she is not interested in that route for her life. The only thing that effects her balance is life is set backs at work.

Xuan Xuan lives with her husband Hao Hao, who wants her to be super dependent on him. She works as a legal assistant, but he seems to be embarrassed for her. Their relationship and, therefore, their marriage is hidden from Xuan Xuan’s family, and it seems at times that her love blinders cannot see that Hao Hao seems to be more interested in the connections her family can make happen for his career. Even when Xuan Xuan feels that she may not be as important to him, he covers it up with a story, and she buys it all the time ( Till Episode 8 streamed at the time of the writing of this review)

Jing Zhi Qiu had a career in acting, and now she is a trophy wife to a man who barely has time for her. She battles the expectations of her mother-in-law who tries to control everything she does, including how they will conceive their next child.

Zhi Qiu’s wife- radar catches her husband’s secretary’s interest in her husband ( he remains blissfully unaware), and she tries all methods to turn up at his work to make him feel closer to her and initiate sex.

But she yearns to have a handle on her career and her acting aspirations.

As their lives carry forward, Guan We meets her childhood classmate and now her most detested nemesis Ding Ning, who works for a mall that is one of the customers We got on board for her firm. The two lock horns whenever they meet, and sparks do fly – but neither of them is interested in initiating anything and carrying on their bitter relationship as uncivilly as possible.

Pushed out by office politics, Guan We and Ding Ning finally find themselves working with each other while challenging each other’s capabilities in Episode Eight.

The show is interesting and has a very modern woman premise. Guan We is strong, opinionated, and likes to be in control – quite the opposite of Chinese drama heroines. She got no chill.

Ding Ning is smart, manipulative and even though in flashbacks he has a soft corner for Guan We, he gives her a really hard time and does not stop to show any respect towards her even in the most compromising of her situations.

The first episode sees her drunk after an office setback, really painting his car with expletives. Ding Ning shows no sympathy to her except for taking her home.

It will be interesting to see how their hatred based relationship develops. Also – how Xuan Xuan realizes what the love of her life is up to and if Zhi Qui is able to get her life back in her control.

Streams on Tencent USA.