Even tho, there were a lot of elements I did not quite like about this show, overall, it was an extremely fun ride with some smart, well placed humor and amazingly written characters.

Truth to be told, Fan Xian ain’t exactly a likeable character. The more I thought about his actions, the more pretentious he seemed - to the point I was actually anticipating someone putting him in place, even if just temporarily. For someone who just wants to live a joyful life, he did not try to avoid the attention. For someone who wanted to fight the corrupt, he was too good at manipulating others and using them to his advantage.

Even tho I was not on board with him as a person, I still extremely enjoyed his character. I do believe the simping over him from other characters was a bit too much, but there is no doubt - he was that charming.

By the end of the show I had my favorites: Emperor, Ruo Ruo, Teng Zi Jing and Shen Zhong. Seeing how some of these characters are not even the mains, and add to the story for a limited period of time, it shows how much care was put into making even supporting and side characters 3 dimensional, with their own arcs and depth.

Character wise, I have only one complaint: Wan’er. It’s not that I disliked her, I was just painfully indifferent to what her story is. For the majority of the drama she was passive, playing more or less just the role of Fan Xian “kindergarten” like love interest. That said, her character was the center of one of my favorite scenes from Joy of Life so she gain few pints form me.

I’m sure I am not the only one who thinks the characters were the best part. With how well written they were, how unique and entertaining their interactions were presented, no scene felt redundant.

The story itself was truly well paced. Probably one of the best pacings from any Chinese show I have seen. The comedy bits were funny and well spread throughout the show. Joy of Life provides a few emotional scenes, but they never hit me hard - mostly because they were not set up well. It’s hard to get emotional, when literally seconds ago I was laughing on the floor coz of the over the top fighting choreography.

The fighting scenes themselves were another aspect that was either hit or miss. Some were perfect, some far from it. Overall, I liked them all, either because I was impressed or entertained.

The drama is full of plot twists, it’s hard to predict characters’ motivations and future plans. Some twists were brilliantly planned, with clues scattered throughout the plot, some came out of nowhere, being completely impossible to predict, only guess (the type I myself quite dislike).

Sadly, the ending left a lot to desire. It was just anticlimactic and infuriating to me as a viewer. More about it in the comment section under spoiler.

Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable ride that led to nowhere and doesn’t make me want to continue the journey - I am off this train. I feel like season 2 will clown me at the end too, leaving me annoyed and forced to watch last season, and I’m not up for it.