Quick verdict: This story gets high marks due to its mostly tight storytelling, outstanding cast, great character development, and strong portrayal of women. However, it tried to squeeze too much at the end, and the vague-ish ending didn't help matters. It is tragic, however, that due to the many negative comments on the ending on social media, many people would give this a pass. It is especially tragic because the interpretation of the ending may differ for the viewer.

In this review, I'll argue why it's worth watching, and that the ending may not be what many assume.

Note: I have a much longer and more detailed review up at my blog: http://tinyurl.com/7raa495d

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ENDING

*Quick summary:* The war left a toll on many; many of the Six Realms Halls men were wiped out, but Yuan Zhou and Ruyi survived, faked their deaths, and lived a quiet life in seclusion. Eventually they had two kids, Ning Shi San and Ren Lu.

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It's extremely weird to be a part of the minority who 100% believes A Journey To Love ended happily for Ruyi and Yuan Zhou.

Now, I didn't read spoilers when I watched the dropped episodes. When it dropped, I watched it almost immediately because I knew if I was spoiled I'd probably lose the motivation or heart to watch it, and I didn't want them to influence me too.

Anyway, when I saw the ending I was SO relieved. Oh phew, our leads survived and are now happy with their quiet, secluded lives. Then I came online. Oooh boy.

What a weird mind f*** it is to see people 100% believing the opposite.

I read all their reasons for believing that, and it didn't make sense to me at all. (PS: This doesn't mean I think you're dumb for believing that, by the way! Just that our brains are wired to see things differently.) So, I rewatched episode 40 thinking maybe I misinterpreted it.
Nah, I came back even more sure of my theory that they faked their deaths.

I think people are really hung up about how they died. But these things are very easily explained.

Yuan Zhou had a rather public death, being pierced by multiple spears. But to me his survival can easily be explained by:
- The "life preservation pill".
- The snake skin armor that the Pan assassins had worn in episode 20. They were so effective that Yuan Zhou had to instruct everyone to aim for the neck and head. Pretty sure our men would've taken some of this armour! Yuan Zhou, determined to fulfill the promise to Ruyi to "stay alive" would've worn this armour. It would've helped him survive the spears to a degree, but he'll probably be badly wounded.

The one hiccup I could see is Ruyi's internal dialogue when she bombed the Pan leaders. She said that life is empty without Yuan Zhou, when she bombed the bad guys. This could be explained by two scenarios:
- She wasn't sure that Yuan Zhou survived, and decided to kill herself, but changed her mind later. She did promise Yuan Zhou to stay alive, and she also told Yang Ying that she's not the type to kill herself. How did she survive? Uh, this is the same woman who could speed up to the leader of the Beipan troupe, rip out his throat, and return to cradling Yuan Zhou, in seconds. Her survival is easier to explain than Yuan Zhou's.
- It was her way of saying that she'll be joining him in seclusion. Even if there were vibrant cities to visit, life is lonely without Yuan Zhou. Remember, she didn't want to live in seclusion at first, and that was the reason for their break up.

If I were to stage my death, I'd do it this way - in the most dramatic and public way so that will be no doubt left of my demise.

And I think they did it SO WELL that even the viewers were deceived lol.

When it comes to wounds, we shouldn't judge whether a character can survive their wounds by our real-world standards. I know that our other Musketeers had less grave wounds and died, but they probably weren't as determined to stay alive like Yuan Zhou and did not plan for all kinds of contingencies - life preserving pill, snake skin armour etc.

I still remember in one wuxia I watched, a female heroine managed to survive numerous stab wounds because she took a pill that allowed her heart to beat super slowly so that she would not lose too much blood. So, who knows that pill could do for Yuan Zhao?

Some people say that I believe in this happier ending because it's a form of copium. Not really. I would've been fine if they did a "they all died and reunited in heaven" thing.

But based on clues, and the way the scenes in the last few minutes were laid out, it was just far more logical for me to believe that they faked their deaths than it was a dream/afterlife.

It is a far bigger stretch for me to believe that Chu Yue was guided by a random spirit kid to heaven. (For one, that's a rather Western view of the afterlife, and Chinese afterlife is a little different. As far as I know, unless you are an immortal, the dead can't have kids in the afterlife.) Also, the insinuation that she kinda lost her marbles towards the end was insulting to me. And why would she dream up a random kid instead of Shi San?

That scene with everyone on the grasslands riding away? Well, to me, it was Chu Yue's idealistic imagination of how the group was in the past as she yugged Ning Shi San. So, it made sense that scene was dream-like.

I would've been more convinced of the afterlife theory if they showed Chu Yue suddenly appearing in the CGI fields, looking dazed. But she arrived with her men, and we saw a shot of the school before that. Later, we learned that Ning Shi San lived next to the school with his parents. Why show us that unless to indicate that this rooted in reality?

I believe everything took place in the real world, and Chu Yue is about to meet our beloved couple.

Ruyi and Yuan Zhou began their "Journey to Love" coming out of hiding after faking their deaths. Now the story ends with them faking their deaths again. Ending a drama about spies and assassins this way was perfect for me.

It was Ruyi and Yuan Zhou's dream to lead a normal life. While Ruyi didn't want to leave a secluded life, she eventually came around and decided that the "world will be too lonely without him" and joined him in seclusion.

Using Chu Yue instead of Yang Ying in that scene was good, because Chu Yue wouldn't have known all these small details about their plan on how to live their lives in seclusion. Remember how Yuan Zhou said that in their new lives, he would keep Ruyi healthy by hunting and farming? And he did just that, growing grapes and making wine for her. They also named their children after two people whom they loved: Shi San and Yuan Lu.

Would I have preferred an ending where some of our men survived and we were shown Ruyi and Yuan Zhou alive having dinner with their kids? Of course. But well, the director decided to go down this route, perhaps for it all to be "stylish".

But the more I think about it, the happier I am with the ending. Of course I would've done anything to get our men back, but war is shit and awful, and people die. In the end, I thought the ending was poetic and very fitting.

PS: Anyway, if you believe, like most, that they're all dead, it's okay, but if you're going to argue with me that I'm wrong to believe what I believe, I won't respond to you.

I'm just sparing myself the energy because I've read through every single explanation of why the dream/afterlife ending "made sense" and none of the explanations hold water for me. No point arguing about something that can't be verified (yet) anyway!
It's a pity, however, that so many who were spoiled about the ending has said they won't continue with the drama. I think they would be missing out on a lot.