Good beginning, laggy middle, decentish happy ending.

TLDR: Good beginning, laggy middle, decentish happy ending.
Favorite couple: Snake (Shi Zi Xun) x Cat (Wang Lu Qing).
Pet Peeve: ML's (Chen Zhe Yuan) werewolf makeup is amazing except for his slapped-on elf ears. Why didn't they put makeup on those? He is gorgeous but those ears don't match his skin tone at all.

The beginning episodes are trope gold. They hit every trope and respond to them in a comedically predictable way. It's almost as if they are making fun of the tropes they are embodying. This goes on for a while, and it's great. You get secret passages, yakety sax chases, cross-dressing, and more.

But then, things start to get very redundant around episode 16. The tropes were funny, but the plot isn't progressing. The entire show is centered on the ML & FL romance. There is a rebellion brewing, but it gets very minimal attention. (All of the "investigations" end quickly or are completed off-screen.) Liu Jun repeatedly suggests telling the FL/queen the truth, and Kui Mulang gives lame excuses each time. Meanwhile, the FL is stuck on the same goal without any character growth. Everything feels stagnant. The side couples' adorable romances were not enough to save the laggy plot. I fast-forwarded through most of episodes 16-22.

Episodes 22-30 contain most of the important plot pieces that should have been scattered throughout the show. The more you think about it, the more you're left scratching your head. So many missed opportunities to build up characters, especially the villains. On top of that, there are so many plot holes and unnecessary time jumps. While the ending is happy, it's weird. (Like, how did the costume team manage to put Chen Zhe Yuan in an ugly suit? Why didn't they brush his hair?)

The best part of the ending was Liu Jun & Hong Xiu getting together. They had amazing chemistry, and their kiss was the best in the show. I want to see more of Shi Zi Xun and Wang Lu Qing.

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Ranty Critique (with time stamps): Villain Wu Huan & Plot Holes

First, I'd like to state that this show is worth watching. Most of the characters are beautifully written and portrayed. The sets and CGI are breathtaking. The romances are interesting and engaging. The sad scenes crush your soul while the friendships make you laugh. However, I'd like to highlight some of the flaws (with examples and timestamps) in detail that other reviewers have been complaining about, namely the plot progression around the main villain, Wu Huan.

Wu Huan's character arc is a twisted Cinderella/rags to riches to story. She starts as a lowly phoenix serving girl and becomes the queen of the heavens. This is where her story should've ended, but it doesn't in a strange string of events. Although she had a dark secret of killing the Goddess Yuemi, Wu Huan is the only one (believed to be) alive from the incident for tens of thousands of years. Tianqi, the only person who witnessed the killing, disintegrated into water and petals when Bai Jue stabbed him with his spear (episode 14, 16:08). ** Wu Huan has achieved nearly supreme power as one of the three remaining gods in the Three Realms following the fall of gods. She had nothing to fear. Her position was not endangered, especially after becoming queen. Muguang, her wishy-washy husband/heavenly king, lets Wu Huan do anything she wants. She had no reason to continue down the path of destruction and spark wars until her position might have been threatened when the true gods started returning some 60,000 years later. Her motive to be a villain is extremely weak.

The only good part of Wu Huan is the actress (Jenny Zhang) did a great job. I really enjoyed her expressions and regal appearance despite my confusion the whole time about why her character was so poorly written. Her character's villainy was only possible due to the misuse of powers and plot devices. The two most obvious plot hole problems are: Bai Jue's mind-reading ability and Puhua's Natal Chart viewing room.

In the first episode, Bai Jue demonstrates his mind-reading ability with Shangu. Bai Jue asks if Shangu is sincere in studying with him. Shangu lies and says she is the most sincere while internally mocking Bai Jue. Bai Jue comments on her personal thoughts. Shangu angrily replies: "You used mind-reading on me? How shameless!" (32:20). Bai Jue is unphased and counters: "You say you respect me, but curse me in your heart" (32:27). Bai Jue's flippant use of mind-reading demonstrates both how easy it is to cast plus his views on sincerity and truthfulness. This ability would add to his impartiality which is routinely brought up throughout the drama.

However, Bai Jue /never/ uses the mind-reading ability again in the series. This is particularly irksome regarding the murder of Goddess Yuemi by Wu Huan. In episode 14, Wu Huan returns after accidentally killing Yuemi and tells the Big Lie: "The Demon God killed Goddess Yuemi and used her God blood to fuel the formation" (9:31). Everyone says that's impossible, especially considering Tianqi and Yuemi's relationship. Bai Jue says: "How did Yuemi die? If you lie to me, I won't forgive you" (9:42). From episode one, we know that Bai Jue can use mind-reading abilities without casting and has little reservation in doing so. There is no reason why he couldn't have read her mind and figured out the situation OR at least deduced that she was not telling the whole story.

Considering the circumstances of Wu Huan's faulty testimony to Bai Jue, Bai Jue may have been too focused on the battle and forgot to read her mind. It would be understandable (albeit a little off character).

But there's no excuse for the second plot hole: Puhua's Natal Chart. As explained in episode 4, Puhua, god of matchmaking, has celestial Natal Charts of every being, recording their entire lives. (Puhua's Natal Chart is a plot device that allows ready access to flashbacks.) At the beginning of episode 15, Bai Jue goes by himself to view Tianqi's Natal Chart to figure out why Tianqi wanted to destroy the Three Realms and learns the truth of the Tribulation of Chaos from Tianqi's recording (2:30). Bai Jue could've watched to the end of Natal Chart to figure out how Yuemi died. This was not only something Bai Jue could've done but any mentally strong god or Puhua himself. They could've cross-referenced accounts between Tianqi, Yuemi, and Wu Huan to see the entire event from different perspectives.

The murder of Goddess Yuemi by Wu Huan was an accident, goaded by the already corrupted Goddess of Snow to kill Tianqi. If things had come to light when they should've (by episode 15), Wu Huan would've been lightly punished for being greedy and the Goddess of Snow probably executed/imprisoned for co-masterminding the murder with the devils. I imagine Yuemi's story would've continued in a similar fashion, with Muguang forgiving her and getting together sometime later.

From episode 15, it is clear that the writer is desperate to keep Wu Huan as the budding villain and it doesn't matter if people have the ability or resources to confront her. The rest of the season continues in this fashion. Any time there's an investigation around any of Wu Huan's shady business, the investigation is stalled or poorly covered up. No one reinvestigated Yuemi's murder. No one investigated why the wars with the demons/immortals keep restarting. No one questioned why Wu Huan kept attacking Houchi and her home. No one did a thorough investigation of the Feng Clan genocide (despite Bai Jue knowing it was her but couldn't prove it???). Lord Dong Hua started figuring things out but it was positioned so close to the end to be pointless. It was supposed to be the grand dramatic irony reveal but it was extremely lackluster. But kudos to Muguang for finally attacking Wu Huan in episode 46 (23:13).

The best villain in this series is the first Devil God, Xuanyi. His hate and rage are more than justified. As the True God of Chaos, he did not want to be sacrificed for the Tribulation of Chaos, so he rebelled against the Ancestral God. He is understandable, relatable, and scheming. All he wants is a chance to live -- and to tear down the world that built him to destroy him. If his god bones hadn't been destroyed, I think the Devil God could've returned like the rest of the True Gods.

** Tianqi's Death. There are some inconsistencies here. If you compare how true gods die/dying at the end of the series to this point, the same celestial events do not happen (ex: heavy rains for Tianqi). I'm guessing that this was a change in screenwriting between episodes.

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