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Guardian of the Dafeng is a male-centric drama about Xu Qi'An, originally known as Yang Ling in the modern world, who transmigrated into the Dafeng world via a murder mystery game. He had to use his knowledge and wit from the modern world to navigate successfully, solve cases, gain connections, family and loyal friends -- though, of course, there were some enemies.

PROS:
- Good acting chops : Wang Hedi gave his all to the show and I was thoroughly impressed. It felt like a walk in the park for him and while watching this, I could feel he was relaxed and I couldn't imagine a better person to pull off Xu Qi'An. These kinds of male leads in male-centric dramas can be a hit or miss, especially as the character has everything going well for them, but Dylan was able to make the audience connect with and like the character. His performance shined even more with the last two episodes, you just had to watch it to see! I hope he gets more comedy drama as well, cause he is so good at delivering the lines. Tian Xiwei is an emotional powerhouse, so I was not surprised she nailed the role, from a spoiled, naive Princess to a well developed character. I must commend her crying scene, it really tugs at your heart and it was one of the my fav performances in the show. The rest of the cast were also excellent, they all embodied their role, even new characters would pull you into their story.
- THE COMEDY!! Yes its in capital letter cause this was my favourite thing about the show, it was sooo funny and relatable. I can't count how many times I burst out laughing in almost every episode. Every supporting cast nailed it, cause they had good comedic timing. The family dynamics (my best) is something I can't describe,  you just have to watch it! 😂 I might be a bit biased here but I love shows which can give me a blend of comedy and drama, and GOTD delivered. Good comedy embedded in such drama, is the kind of dynamic that really makes a show entertaining.
- Same pacing to the end: It didn't get boring at any point. Even the latter half matched the first half in momentum
- The chemistry: Xu Qi'An had chemistry with literally everyone in the cast list. Even though romance is barely part of the show, Dylan and Xiwei had good chemistry in the latter part of the drama. Then, his chemistry with every member of his family, Wei Yuan, his friends, the Sect, literally everyone.
- Supporting characters were interesting: This is one of the few drama that you will find yourself not skipping scenes of side characters cause they were all entertaining and well written. You literally can't pick a favourite cause there are very strong interesting characters such as Princess Huaiqing, Caiwei, Yang Yan, Wei Yuan, his family (each member is crazy and funny), his buddies, Simu etc .. I really can't name them all, and I commend the writers for this 👏

CONS:
- Transmigration is not done right : The way Qi'An forgot the modern world and easily adapted to the world of dafeng within a few episodes, was unrealistic. There could have been more inner push and pull, even if he didn't enjoy his life in the modern world, or at least they could have shown us his past life much earlier so we could understand why he almost immediately decided to settle down in an entirely novel place. It would have also been interesting see more of his struggle in adapting to life in the historical era, as that transition shouldn't have been easy. Maybe due to censorship, they didn't want to dwell much and hint that it was transmigration. The only exciting part was seeing him bring in modern elements to Dafeng such as the poems, earbuds, bar etc
- Few action/fight scenes : I was craving more fight scenes, however, they were very minimal and when it occurred, it was so short that it leaves you feeling unsatisfied and almost like an appetiser that you have to go rewatch the scene again to feel full.
- Romance : I expected this to be a con cause normally in male-centric dramas, the romance is watered down as it's not supposed to be a major part of the story, which is fine. However, the path they took with the romance starting with a misunderstanding almost turned people away from it, especially as the misunderstanding lasted for quite a long time and they also had few scenes. Luckily, Tian Xiwei and Dylan had good chemistry and were able to save the romance; thus, when the misunderstanding was cleared, their connection became cute and endearing.

In general, GOTD is an interesting drama that I enjoyed to the end and I'm glad [SPOILER ALERT]... there will be a season 2. I hope it doesn't take years before it comes though.