Everything I expected and more
Joy of Life season 2 didn’t disappoint. After waiting 4/5 years for season 2, it retained all the elements that I loved from the first season and more. All the actors did really well especially Zhang Ruoyun.For me, this is the best Chinese drama that I’ve seen and I’ve watched a lot of good and not so good.
I can’t wait for season 3. Hopefully we don’t have to wait another 4/5yrs and fingers crossed the writer and show runners keep all the elements that has made season 1 and season 2 great. It’s also my hope that all the main actors (of course Zhang Ruoyun) come back for season 3 especially, Song Yi as Ruoruo, Sizhe and the Fan family, Uncle Wuzhu, Emperor, Wang Qinian, Chen Pingping, second prince, crown prince, Lin Waner, okay I’ll stop…..I hope all the cast come back for Season 3. Please don’t let us wait too long but while I’m waiting patiently, I will enjoy the Joy of Life!
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Well written and well produced drama...
Episode 1-7: The meeting of 5 brothers was my favorite scene. Can't they get a hint that Fan Xian is not an outsider? The royal family are all lunatics. Lol.Old Man Jin story was too sad. Even in these modern times the poor are easily oppressed.
So Yan Bingyun and Ye Linger actors were changed. That is the problem if a series is done by season. There are bound to be actors who couldn't commit or continue playing their characters. Although I like the Yan Bingyun change of actor. No offense to Xiao Zhan.
Episode 10: Great episode. Fan Xian played everyone at the palm of his hands. Second prince was not able to retaliate.
Episode 11-15: The daughter of old man Jin's story was also as tragic as her father's. Guo Baokun and Fan Sizhe spy game is funny. These two naive guys thinks they're legit spies. Lai Ming Cheng is the most bravest and most foolish character of all. I bet he will die. We'll see. So a few minutes after I wrote my hypothesis, it happened. Lai Ming Cheng died of flogging for complaining about the emperor. Now FX has more resolve to change the system. He now understands more about what happens in court. Ahhh... This drama is killing all good people.
Episode 16-21: Imperial Exam arc. Shows the dirty system of those in power and the helplessness of poor scholars. Only Fan Xian cares. The emperor is diabolical. He manipulates everyone. He is also powerful in martial arts. The epitome of a villain. It's up to FX to be more cunning than him and he has a long way to go.
Episode 23: When Chancellor Lin retired, I remember the magistrate who retired and killed by the emperor and I was thinking about that. Then the black cavalry arrived. Thankfully, the chancellor was not killed. I like the First Prince. He is the most normal of all the princes including FX. Dabao and Waner's kowtow to their father was heartwarming. I cried.
Episode 25-26: The actress who played Grand Princess looks like Waner so they really played mother and daughter well due to their somewhat similar appearance. Finally the wedding we've been waiting for since Season 1 happened.
Episode 29: The highlight of this episode is Sizhe's growth and he became mature with dreams. He is a way better brother than FX's royal brothers. The emperor's assasination felt like the emperor's plan himself. I was worried than Fei Jie died. Thankfully not.
Episode 30: I have high respect to the Fan Family. They are the only ones who genuinely cares for FX aside from Waner and Dabao. Fan Jian became a father to Fan Xian even when he is not his real son. His stepmother became his mother. His brother became his business manager and his sister is a badass doctor and loyal supporter. The assasination as I thought is the emperor and Pingping's schemes.
Episode 31: The emperor spreading FX's true background is malicious. His life is now in danger more than before.
Episode 32: Two A.I. robots fighting. Crazzzyyyy. It was implicated that only a grandmaster can defeat Wu Zhu. So the emperor?! If I am the emperor I wouldn't burn the Divine Temple envoy, I will check inside what he was made of.
Episode 33: I cried when he hugged his father and stepmother and told them his surname will always be Fan. Epic moment. :')
Episode 35: The Ming family is true evil. They are also weird af.
Final thoughts
-Zhang Ruoyun is a great actor. One of the best I have seen
-This drama is so well-written it will give you lasting impression
-I need Season 3 asap
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Wacky, suspenseful, humorous
Very often, sequel paled compared to the first season, but not for this drama. It carried on the momentum of Season 1. The drama was somewhat wacky, suspenseful and humorous .The bold and scheming Fan Xian more than matched his antagonists. Returning to the capital, he went on to expose the conspiracy he discovered in ShangJin, capital of the rival state. But the Qing emperor was not impressed and did not seem to pay much attention to the fact that his second son and his sister was amassing huge amount of money from the activities of the State Enterprise (Neiku). A huge conspiracy was awaiting Fan Xian on his arrival.
And yes, Xiao Zhan did not participate in season 2. I think his talent is best placed in drama where his acting skills could be better demonstrated like The Untamed. Yan BingYun was not that type of character for him. Even in Season 1, it was more of a special guest appearance.
Everyone loves a hero who is smart, bold, righteous and uphold justice and this was what this drama presented in Fan Xian. Also, there are great lessons to be learned - if everyone condones a shitty system and not intervenes, bad practices will continue. If you do not like a corrupt system, then do not participate in it. What I particularly like about this drama which set it apart from some other drama was that it was proactive. Instead of some up righteous capable hero who preferred to hide away, he took up his responsibilities and faced it head on and sought to improve the system.
As with the first season, the story was interesting. Suspense and mystery abound. Humour was funny. Cinematography, acting, costumes, backdrop were all great.
The story however were a couple of far-fetched illogical sub-plots. For example, Fan Xian pretended that he faked death because the envoy was ambushed by a Grand Master, in order to avoid punishment. Why would the envoy not already know that the someone had sent a dead squad and a death threat, and that Yan BingYun 'killed' Fan Xian. They were travelling together. Why not simply exposed the second prince? Afterall, Yan BingYun could be a witness and he was one who was stubborn and daring enough to do this for the country. And there was also the letters from the prince as evidence. The writer had a complicated mind and preferred to fabricate lies and cover-up. In this regard, the story in Season 1 was more coherent. Unless the intent was to illustrate how intelligent people could buy into bullshit.
The second was when Ruo Ruo was asked to operate on Fan Xian, when she had never done an operation. Furthermore, what was she supposed to operate on? It was said that poison had affected Fan Xian's organs. What organs? All organs? Sound like a lot to clean up with just one slice made by the emperor.
By this stage, I await future seasons where hopefully a lot of the questions would be answered. Aside from Fan Xian taking over the State Enterprise, I hope they would have a season on how his mother came to this age, where she was actually from and what happened before Fan Xian was born. We also knew from Season 1 that the rival state was actually masquerading an empress dowager - emperor conflict and was staging a fake alliance with Fan Xian - so it would be interesting to see how this unravel in future seasons.
It had been 5 years since Season 1. So, it would be good to rewatch that again if you don't have the best memory in the world as Season 2 made a lot of references to events in the previous season. And hopefully, we do not have to wait for another 5 years to watch Season 3. If this goes on, all the cast and audience would be old by the time the last Season comes along.
Finally, I say, if you had enjoyed Season 1, don't miss out on this Season 2. Enjoy...
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a lot comedic scenes - still love it
Ofc he is back and I am impressed on how they pulled it off. Season 2 was full of comedic scenes and I am okay with that as it distracted me from thinking it was getting drawn out. Don't get me wrong, it is good but the cliffhangers LOL.My first thought is why didn’t he go meet her after being in the capital so long? Also, why didnt they show her mourning? (even if she didn't) I was waiting on an update.
There is nothing you can say to make me like the emperor. I just cant stand him LOL.
I am so glad that Fan Xian and Madam Fan continued to have a great relationship.
Episode 27 was hilarious!!! where he was doing a “PowerPoint” presentation in that era.
I cant wait for season 3 to clear up all these cliffhangers!!!
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Worth the wait
Season 2 wasn’t as strong as Season 1 but still an amazing story and I’m looking forward to Season 3.The Good
The JOL is definitely a uniquely written story that keeps you on your toes. I found that there wasn’t much of any hiccups from the plot and acting from the long wait of the first season. The cast fell right back into place and delivered strong performances as expected. Even the change of Yan Bingyun’s character flowed nicely and he took the character to greater heights. Many twists and turns in the story and the action/plotting scenes definitely do not disappoint. The OST still remained relatively decent. The costumes and production quality were elevated and a welcome change in this season. I appreciated the pacing in this season as the story continues to unfold.
The Bad
Three things, I didn’t like the change in Ye Linger character as I feel as if they changed up her character arc. She seemed less independent and more tolerant than the first season and the same goes for Fan Xian. There were aspects of his character that changed in season 2 such as the constant bowing and being more tolerant to the royal family that made him more defiant and unique in the first season. I know it has to do with character growth but wished they could have maintained that throughout the show. Still didn’t care too much for the love story between Fan Xian and Lin Waner. It just doesn’t add much to the story but had a heavier focus this season. Still not sure how her character is considered a main character.
Either way. Loved this story!
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Joy of Life season 2 is a continuation from Season 1, a sequel that we have all been waiting for five years to watch. The bad thing about this is it has a third season with no definitive date of airing. I debated back and forth on whether to watch the whole thing after Season 3 is out, but what the heck, I can't wait that long :) Fan Xian is one of my favorite in this series, but I have to acknowledge the characters and acting of the more senior actors. Season 1 put a lot of focus on character introduction and development, while season 2 delves deeper into the plot. Looking forward to what Season 3 brings (Marcus Sim just said Tencent confirmed Joy of Life 3 :)). Was this review helpful to you?
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MENTALLY STIMULATING
Xiao fan da ren is back! AND HE LOOKING SEXIER?! dk i read somewhere that fan xian looked a little chubbier and looks like a potato in da first season cause he grew up in dan zhou, rural place, and in s2 fan xian has spent more time in the capital and has been dealing and playing mind games left and right so he lost weight and changed his style of clothing to match what ppl wore in the capital. alr alr fan xian in s2 is reminding me of someoneee that the actor has played, feng tian yi!!!Season 2 immediately picked off of season 1 and boom it was in the flow!
Storyline:
OMG this storyline has me intrigued and I'm waiting for season three. usually its always the original season that I felt like was the strongest but oh boi season 2 was js as strong as season 1. As the story continues, we learn more about new roles added and sneak peaks of the back history fan xian's parents. spoiler, fan xian also gets married but then also has problems later on when she finds out who was the killer of her brother. ALL I CAN SAY IS I FINISHED WITH EVEN MORE QUESTIONS THEN S1. chen pingping's chair?? emperors martial status (although i could guess), eldest princess's lover, incest maybe???? (love hate relationship with ye qing mei)?? WU ZHU'S EYES??? CROWN PRINCE'S PLAN?? SECOND PRINCE'S ENDING???? WHOS THE NEXT EMPEROR!?!? strong foreshadowing, seems like fan xian may oppose the emperor in the future. EVERYONE IS PLAYING THE GAME OF GO IN DIS SHOW WE AINT EVEN PLAYING CHESS NO MORE. yall sly foxes, manipulation at its peak.
Cast:
Im pretty satisfied with the casting even though some of the original cast members were replaced but I think the new characters still did a good job. OoOOoOoOooOoo CHEN DAO MING has me wrapped up for his emperor role, i know he's played emperor before but each one gives off different aura and IM LOVING THE AURA OF THIS EMPEROR EVEN THO HES THE VILLIAN. all the characters are compelling that I went to read the ori novel. I still luv the character wangqinian freakin hilarious, making all the jokes!
Music:
background music fits well into the events that are happening in the show.
overall. its been a really long time since ive seen a cdrama with compelling characters and an intriguing storyline that keeps my brain thinking.
Got me so curious that i headed on over to douyin for answers and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE CHINESE NETIZENS ARE DIGGIN IT. they analysising everything and coming up with scenarios faster then AI.
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Tone & pace maintained from S1, engaging story & well acted
It's nice to see the tone & pace are largely the same as from S1, same superb performances from the veteran actors. Love the patient, close examination of finer details in both scene & conversation. I've read that there are many jokes which don't translate well. Although my Chinese is limited, I can tell that the dialogue is sharp & fast and, even from what is translated, some scenes can still be very funny to a Western trained eye simply because the acting is that good. The CGI is not up to Western standard, but the natural sets were stunning.Once again, Fan Xian schemes & this time makes a choice of who to align with, and characters continue to surprise, making the viewer guess what their next move might be. The crown prince became more cunning & surprisingly likeable. In fact, many characters now show a lighter, more casual side to themselves than in S1. Even Shadow is given not only a personality, but also aspirations, & presents more as a human being. Wu Zhu experiences self-doubt since he's been freed & on his own, & my suspicions of his identity from S1 were confirmed. Many characters returned from S1, although some were given very little screen time in S2.
S2, however, is less broad in scope as the story mainly centers on Fan Xian consolidating his influence within the capital, under his declared goal of weeding out government corruption. The romance takes a back seat to the political intrigue. Lin Wan'Er, who should be the most important person to Fan Xian, isn't even mentioned until Ep5. However, the development of their relationship was gripping as they reach new levels of understanding with each other. Wu Zhu doesn't show up until past the half-way mark at Ep26, but is involved in a drastic new development as he continues to be an important key to the mystery of FanXian'smother. FanXian's mission takes the story through the conventional settings of the imperial examinations, and the highly anticipated wedding with Wan'Er.
The season ends with Fan Xian one step further into taking control of his mother's assets, & without an agonizing cliff hanger as in S1. However, hopefully the wait won't be long for S3. The story remains highly engaging & I'm ready for S3.
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Superb acting, nicely developed characters and their growth, Not as good OST, a lot of intrigue...
I have attempted to complete the JoL novel 3 times and only on the 4th attempt, I managed to wrap it up. I find the novel of average quality, but it may be the translation I run into. But regardless of the translation and cultural differences, in my opinion, the novel suffers from genre focus: Is it court/palace, Wuxia, or Xianxia? I prefer all of it, but well balanced.Season one, in my opinion, was by far the best drama produced in the last 15 years. Everything, from music, cast, acting, and choreography was perfect in every sense of the word, perfect. The icing on the cake was the fact that all aspects were perfectly balanced. Palace intrigue and Wuxia/Xianxia were perfectly balanced.
Season two followed the most boring parts of the novel, palace intrigue and I'm not a fan of it. But! Almost all actresses and actors are back, and once again they have proven they are masters of their craft.
I was hoping Xin Zhilei (Norternt Qi Senintess DouDou) would get more screen time. Sadly This was not the case, but she did have a few appearances, following the slow and annoying novel's storytelling.
Music was changed and it's not nearly as good as in season one, but some songs were kept.
Is it worth your time to watch this drama? A clear and loud YES!
I hope we don't have to wait another 5 years for the final season. If all cast and behind-the-scenes team members stay the same, Season 3 should be just as good as Season One, if not better.
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A Good Enough Sequel
I can't say I loved this second season as much as the first but it was nice to see these characters again. It felt very familiar and pretty much a direct sequel despite the recasts and some of the actors obviously looking much older, bulkier or thinner because of the 5-year gap between seasons. I still enjoyed it but it doesn't have the magic of the first season. That was truly lightning in a bottle. And like most sequels that are used as setups for the final installment, it does feel like it doesn't have a beginning or an ending. There are some things that are introduced in preparation for the succeeding season. Thus, this should be taken as a transitional piece.More characters are introduced in this season and I'm glad I finally got to meet the other princes, the dashing eldest prince and the bumbling idiot that is the youngest prince. They are both likable to say the least. But I'm disappointed that some of them just came and went without much ceremony. Some of the older characters like Gao Da only appear in some scenes and never return, which is a shame because he was one of my favorites in the previous season. I guess they are there for fan service only, nothing more.
The writing this season is a little bit all over the place. While the dialogues, political machinations, and plot twists are still superb, the plot progression is kinda slow, some scenes are dull and lackluster without the fight choreography from the first season, and there are subplots that just go nowhere. There are more illogical and you-must-suspend-your-disbelief aspects as well. I really don't get Fan Xian's motivations sometimes and why the overarching plot about the divine temple, androids, futuristic knowledge, and other sci-fi elements are barely mentioned and seemingly abandoned. I blame the original writer for this because even in the book, it is never fully explained. Again, why put science fiction elements into a story but never fully explore them??? From a writing standpoint, that is a complete waste of a concept and just lazy writing, period! He obviously excels at writing political dramas, so why not just write exactly that? Why introduce science fiction at all? Methinks this writer just wanted to set himself apart from the many Chinese authors that write historical novels, hence the ice age and advanced nation plot. But he may not be well-versed in this field and could not be bothered to actually do some research and incorporate science into his book. Such a travesty!
The music, just like in the first season, is hit or miss with me. If the first season had latin music, this one has a yodeling theme that reminds me of The Sound of Music. If you've seen The Sound of Music and are familiar with its soundtrack, then you'd know what I mean. Just horrible horrible choice in music! The costumes this season are better, though. At least they look more organic and worn unlike the plasticky costumes from the previous season. The cinematography is still excellent. But while the cast is one of the best I've seen in any drama, there's one I would rather not see again. Gina Jin is an awful choice for Ye Ling Er. They should've never recasted that role. And then there's the yogurt product placement that just takes me out of the drama every time it appears on screen. They even keep talking about it, too. Word of Honor did the same thing but they did it in a way that was hilarious, thus I was able to forgive it.
As a whole, this was a fun second season and probably better than expected considering it's the middle season and that most sequels are not as good as the original. I just hope I won't have to wait more than 2 years for the finale.
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Seamless continuation from Season 1 but over does it...
I still think it keeps what makes JOL great in the new season. However, I don't have a scene to point to in this season that will be the masterpiece. It doesn't have a '100 poems in one night' legendary scene. I think the scene between Fan Xian and Zi Ye was compelling though, and the scene at court when FX is accused of bribery or when the Censorate makes a complaint about the emperor. I feel like they went a little over the top with the humor and keeps trying to make the second prince a crass villain when I'm not convinced. All of his schemes fail, and yet he tries a new one. The second prince was almost cartoonish in this season. The CP's character also drastically changes from S1, in which I'm not sure whether he's a good guy or the show is trying to make him a good guy because of FX's influence, but then he burned a whole town, and callously tells his mother to forget about the slaughter of her entire clan. I'm actually not sure why the CP was made the CP, when compared with the emperor who is hard to read and whose plans reveal themselves when the deed is done, it's hard to see how a guy who is an open book can lead the country. I keep thinking that the emperor wants FX to be CP instead, what with making him a 'lone subject'. Others have complained about Ye Ling Er so I won't add on to it. I just don't get why she is making eyes at the 2nd prince whom she knows has no regard for human lives and keeps falling for his lies. Then again, this show has a problem with writing female characters, especially our female lead who is on all the posters yet I can count on two hands how many times I saw her in the whole show. The source material is a male fantasy so there's not much to improve on. I totally forgot that the whole point of the show was the Divine Temple and all this futuristic stuff, which seems to me like it was cut down to avoid censorship. It was so out of place in the latter half of the show. Despite my complaints, I'll watch season 3, I think we won't see Fan Si Zhe in the next season since his send off was made such a big thing.Was this review helpful to you?
Anyway, This s2 moved at a much slower pace than s1, cant say much about that because even in the novel, the arc after Fan Xian’s return from Northern Qi until before his wedding was indeed pretty boring. I love the fight at Xuankong Temple though.
I really loved the book, i think its one of the best that ive read so far. And the fact that its a sci fi in a wuxia premise made it a thousand times better cuz i definitely did not expect this plot twist when i was reading the novel. As i was reading, i tried to imagine how would it look if it were made into a tv show it wouldve been so gooood. The action in this book is aplenty and very satisfying. Cant wait to see them materialize on screen in s3. Thats where all the heartpounding actions are. Special Kudos to the screenwriters for smoothing out the Fanxian character into a loyal lover. I love everything about novel fanxian except how he constantly cheats on Wan er. Glad the fanxian on screen is nothing like the novel’s in the love relationship department.
So far the production has done a tremendously well done job on this show. The actors have given their top notch performance. A must see for a court politics/wuxia fan. U wont regret it.
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