AleksandraSucur

oh, I can't agree more, those two are fantastic. So well written and delievered main and support characters.
How they've jumped out of joy ("you not gonna die!") on XQ and him screaming: "idiots, you two are gonna kill me now!" Hilarious

yes, I still feel that ptsp.
But this one can't end as AJTL, because the protagonist is inside the game, independently how the game ends (and for the time being, we've haven't seen certain dark vibes AJTL had or any slaughter), Ying Lang can't die, he can only return to the reality

yup, I've thought the same, with only one difference, this one is white, the other was black :)))

If your sister is only interested in romance, don't recommend this drama to her. ML can be shipped with multiple women (and in the novel, he is actually entangled with more than one woman, which I doubt will happen in the drama). Imo, the tag "romance" above is not correct because even if he ends with FL, he is inside a game, the Dafeng world is a fantasy game scenario, not the reality, so, it's irrelevant even if he ends up with FL.
But if your sister is interested in a GOOD drama, I'll definitely recommend to watch this one, because this drama is just GREAT under every aspect: engaging plot, with "pieces of the puzzle" slowly dropping in the right place, excellently written main and side characters (and their mutual relationship), all impeccably delievered and directed, whether we talk about comedy, action, special effects, sudden twists, thrills and angst... everythings is on point. Even the music (rap) and costume department totally fit the vibe and the story.
I personally don't like transmigration stories and am not interested in video games, yet imo, this drama is one of the best C-productions I've ever seen

well, not exactly, Wei Xiaobao is more mischievous, XQ resembles him only for talk, talk, talk and flattery (but this is reasonably connected with Ying Lang's profession: he's a salesman, and a good one).
People who read the novel say XQ has multiple wives, so he resembles him in that aspect, at least in the novel.
The drama (I don't know for the novel) pays duly homage for these similarities to Jin Yong's The Deer and the Cauldron, when XQ presents himself as Chen Jinnan, ie. Wei Xiaobao's shifu in The Deer and the Cauldron

well, I have no idea which transmigration dramas you refer to, this drama is similar to Romance on The Farm with the same lead actress - in that case, she was testing a game in which she was sucked, with the new identity (of a neglected grandaughter) and a goal to earn credits and fulfill tasks given by "the (gaming) system". In GoTD, the system of the game doesn't give tasks directly, they are only indirectly implied by the scenario which YL slowly discovers, as the various "pieces of the puzzle" (who is a friend, who is foe, who's good, who's bad, what are the intrinsic relations between characters etc) drop in the right place. The progress of the game is also shown more discretly, not as an account of totalized credits or points, but as XQ's breaking through various strenght/skill/energy levels.
That's why I've said those "olympic medals" serve the purpose to remind the audience YL is inside the game. Of course he will return one day to his original reality, as all other protagonists of similar stories do. But what makes a plot (and in this case, very well written) interesting is the story inside the game, not the reality

everything looks better with the angst of ep 15!
While various pieces of the puzzle continue dropping in the right places

YL is sucked into the game's world where he acts as Xu Qian, the game's character who looks exactly like him (well, with longer hair and a bit of martial arts, at "essential stage"), but he totally keeps his YL's (practical, merchant and fan-of-the heroes) mind, while only vaguely remembering XQ family (and practically nothing from XQ's past). So, he plays the game as XQ (well, sometimes re-taking his real-life name, when going to the brothel, where everybody takes another identity for obvious reasons).
He cannot return to the reality (at least not before the game ends: after winning it or "dying" while trying to win it, as in every game, I suppose), he can only continue playing, dealing with the general scenario and settings of the game, cracking the misteries and who is who in it, gathering useful tools and connections, rising in levels... etc. I am not much into the video games, but I've played a few in my life, this is how any game functions.

I actually like that scoring and ranking (A+, B+...), it constantly reminds us he is in the Dafeng game and he must play that game, gaining scores, special fighting tools, passing to another level etc. We are watching a salesman Ying Lang playing an interesting video game via his avatar Xu Qian.
That's why I don't understand why so many people bothers with FL and who would be a better match for him. Who is who is set by the author of the game and not impacted by reality variables, except for one: a hero Xu Qian is still very alike real Ying Lang's personality

To me, he's firstly a bad, narcissistic Minglan's father.

the narcissistic Minglan's father remains imprinted in our memory.
The actor delievered that role too perfectly to forget

Minglan's father could only be a no good 😂

the reason why he has chosen that name is not as related with the content of the novel as with what kind of literature he is familiar with. Jin Yong was (and still remains) the most famous HK/Chinese novelist for youth (Legend of Condor Heroes, Fox Volant, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils...) translated in almost all languages of the world (even as a European, I've read most of his novels as a kid). Tnx to Jin Yong, wuxia genre became popularized in China and worldwide, and the most famous stories were all adapted in movies or dramas multiple times.

Ying Lang is a salesman, not a literati, his culture is a pop culture, common to all young people, but it still gives him sufficient base and added gear to rise up the ranks in the imaginary Dafeng.

No, it is not a random name. Chen Jinnan is the Tiandihui sect leader and shifu of the protagonist in the famous Jin Yong's novel The Deer and the Cauldron

that's fine, too, espc if you don't like the genre, it's not a minor thing

Tbh, I don't stand this actress's voice, her (literal) bleaking is worse than Ren Min's high pitch timbre or Esther Yu's child-voice whispering. But these actresses can't change their voice and can't be discriminated for it, so we should only focus on if they deliever their characters or not.
Tian Xiwei performed well in New Life Begins and, with this role, she is in a way, in her comfort zone, because she can replicate that character who minds her own buisness more than anything else.
Thus, I don't doubt this character will grow on Sukorra user, too

Lol, I was joking, but Jin Lian is a lynx, falidae family, ofc, you're right it's a cat, a felix, but the cgi adapted Lynx lynx isabellinus, a dangerous predator but very rare and endangered animal of Tibetan plateau - as other lynxes - for the lack of pray

I think Guardians have inside problems. We see the extreme competitiveness among people of the same rank (XQ experienced that in "real life", as Yang Ling, he knows how to cope with that), the lack of flexibility, especially, the Silver Gong XQ's superior is rigid in applying the rules but sways in front of Wei's authority and the competition of his equals and all other things XQ listed in his booklet How To Improve the Guardians (and we take that for granted).
Basically, they are unfit to cope with real great dangers, they obviously need some "internal restructuring". On the other hand, the chief of realm sect chose XQ to enter his team as a mediator between Guardians and his sect's members (who are probably highly skilled and have high morals), so I suppose they will act together (maybe, after Guardians drop immoral people) when real great dangers are revealed.

For now (ep 12), it's funny and engaging

Me too, but it's a lynx, not a cat 😂
More dangerous than cats