Bi Zhi, a time traveler, seeks artifacts related to his friend's death while accidentally pulling Beilu into his adventures. The narrative unfolds through episodic arcs, showcasing bittersweet relationships across time. While emotional depth resonates in several stories, the pacing is uneven, with some arcs feeling disconnected. Overall, it's a quiet yet entertaining drama.

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https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2026/06/04/the-company-2025-review/

The Company (2025) review

Bi Zhi is a time traveler from the future on a mission to retrieve artifacts tied to the death of his close friend Ziyi, from ancient China.

After the time traveller Bi Zhi gets drunk, he accidentally drags a hapless young man, Beilu, through time. Both wake up thinking it was a wild dream. But Bi Zhi meets Beilu again, and is shocked by how the down‑on‑his‑luck vet‑in‑training is the spitting image of Ziyi.

The story has “episodic” story arcs. Some notable ones:

The General in the Mirror

Bi Zhi travels to the past to retrieve a mirror and finds it attached to a general’s armor. The general, Li Yansheng, has been talking to the mirror, through which he connects with Yao Yao, a disabled young woman in the present contemplating suicide. A bittersweet love affair blooms across time.

The Tianguang Market

Bi Zhi takes Beilu to the Tianguang Market, a purgatory‑like place outside time where people from different eras become trapped. There they encounter Lu Feng (from the present) and Xia Zhelan (from the past), who fell in love in the market and desperately seek a way to leave together.

The Mermaid Candle

In a war‑torn ancient era, a refugee girl named Chan’er discovers a magical candle. When lit, it summons A’nuan, a beautiful woman who claims to be a mermaid. A’nuan protects and provides for Chan’er for years, but her true nature is far more sinister, and the candle’s power may be something darker than simple wish fulfillment.

The Gu Family Escort Agency Mystery

Bi Zhi and Beilu search for a magical comb that belonged to Gu Huaijin, a woman from a family of security escorts. However, she is dead. But there’s more to the mystery …

Su Beilu’s Reckless Adventure

When Bi Zhi is drunk, Beilu gives in to the temptation to use his time‑traveling device to try to save his parents from their fatal 2005 car accident.

The Runaway Princess

Lu Feng returns, now remembering his time in Tianguang Market, and convinces Bi Zhi to take him back to Zhelan’s era.

The Game World

Chun Ge, feeling overlooked at work, stumbles into Bi Zhi’s shop and falls asleep on a mystical jade pillow. He wakes inside a wuxia‑inspired dream world where he becomes an instant martial arts hero.

What I like

If you’re a big fan of self-contained story arcs, you will like The Company. I really appreciate that the stories are neatly bundled up and tied up with no loose ends, making the drama easy to digest. You can watch story arc by story arc, and each one has interesting commentary on the cruelties of time and the human condition.

This is a quiet drama that doesn’t strain my brain too much. It has a definite beginning and end to each arc, and yet this format still manages to surprise me. It’s well-paced, fun, and digestible.

The show has emotional depth. I’m actually quite moved by some of the melancholy and bittersweet relationship stories. For example, in episodes two to three, “The General in the Mirror,” I’m really moved by this love affair between two characters literally separated by time. The only way they can communicate is through the mirror.

In episodes four and five, we discover a magical market that brings people from all time periods into this little dimension. I find the concept very cruel and wonderful at the same time. Two people fall in love in this place, but when they inevitably part ways, the impact of their time together still travels with them. This story is carried over more than one arc, and I find it the deepest, most moving story of the entire show.

I really like the originality of the show’s ideas. The Mermaid Candle story is actually my favorite—it’s extra creepy, with a lot of mystery surrounding the fairy of the candle. Eventually, it becomes a huge commentary on what people do when they are traumatized.

What I didn’t like

Unfortunately, the pacing isn’t great. The Game World arc feels like filler—one of the side characters gets his own adventure, but it doesn’t have the commentary or pathos of the other stories and worse, doesn’t connect to the main storyline in any way. It’s just about this guy who is insecure, then gains confidence in game mode. A very boring plot. You can totally skip it without missing anything, because his story doesn’t impact the main thread.

Conclusion

The stories are very good, and on the whole, The Company is entertaining. However, this drama probably won’t stir much conversation due to how contained and quiet it is. It’s moving at some bits, but it doesn’t grab you nor is it particularly memorable.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5