lilybit
USA
Joy of Life is now my whole personality
It's not like this show needs anymore reviews talking about how good it is, but Joy of Life has completely taken over my brain and I have THOUGHTS.
First of all, this doesn’t pertain to anything, but I’ve been waiting to watch this drama for over a year because my sister watched it, loved it, and told me there was a huge cliffhanger at the end. So I didn’t want to watch it until we had some idea of when the second season would be out. So I waited…and waited…and then heard rumors about filming and then about possible release dates. Until last week I saw it finally confirmed that the second season would come out in a little over ONE WEEK. I despaired thinking there was no way I could watch 46 episodes in a little over a week while having a job and you know, being an adult. Boy was I wrong. It’s exactly a week later and I’m done.
Not only is this a testament to my lack of social life but it’s also a testament to how excellent Joy of Life is. The plot grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go for the entirety of the show. I tend to skip scenes in most cdramas, and usually I’m not missing much, but whenever I tried to skip something in this show, I realized that I’d just skipped something important and had to rewind. That’s the whole show; you need to be paying attention or you’ll miss something.
Plot aside, this drama could’ve fallen on its face if it didn’t have the actors that it did. All of the older actors are really excellent, but it’s Zhang Ruo Yun who carries this whole thing on his back. Without him, I don’t think the show would work. For the audience to root for a character like Fan Xian the actor has to be charismatic and engaging and not smug or arrogant, and Zhang Ruo Yun pulls it off perfectly. He’s acting circles around some of the younger actors in here (no disrespect to any of them).
Yeah, so while I’m sad that I didn’t watch this masterpiece sooner, I’m also happy with my choice to wait until the new season was about to drop. That way I didn’t have to wait in anticipation for years for the payoff to the cliffhanger.
First of all, this doesn’t pertain to anything, but I’ve been waiting to watch this drama for over a year because my sister watched it, loved it, and told me there was a huge cliffhanger at the end. So I didn’t want to watch it until we had some idea of when the second season would be out. So I waited…and waited…and then heard rumors about filming and then about possible release dates. Until last week I saw it finally confirmed that the second season would come out in a little over ONE WEEK. I despaired thinking there was no way I could watch 46 episodes in a little over a week while having a job and you know, being an adult. Boy was I wrong. It’s exactly a week later and I’m done.
Not only is this a testament to my lack of social life but it’s also a testament to how excellent Joy of Life is. The plot grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go for the entirety of the show. I tend to skip scenes in most cdramas, and usually I’m not missing much, but whenever I tried to skip something in this show, I realized that I’d just skipped something important and had to rewind. That’s the whole show; you need to be paying attention or you’ll miss something.
Plot aside, this drama could’ve fallen on its face if it didn’t have the actors that it did. All of the older actors are really excellent, but it’s Zhang Ruo Yun who carries this whole thing on his back. Without him, I don’t think the show would work. For the audience to root for a character like Fan Xian the actor has to be charismatic and engaging and not smug or arrogant, and Zhang Ruo Yun pulls it off perfectly. He’s acting circles around some of the younger actors in here (no disrespect to any of them).
Yeah, so while I’m sad that I didn’t watch this masterpiece sooner, I’m also happy with my choice to wait until the new season was about to drop. That way I didn’t have to wait in anticipation for years for the payoff to the cliffhanger.
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