Joy of Life Review: Palace Intrigue With a Wicked Sense of Humour
★★★★☆ 4/5
A hugely entertaining costume drama that balances scheming, action and genuine comedy — one of the most purely enjoyable Chinese series in years.
Intrigue with a wink
Where many costume epics take themselves gravely, Joy of Life is refreshingly playful. Its hero navigates assassinations and court conspiracies with an anachronistic, modern sensibility, and the series mines real comedy from the gap between his wry outlook and the deadly seriousness of everyone around him. That tonal balance — high stakes played with a light touch — is the source of its broad appeal.
A sprawling, satisfying world
The show builds an expansive empire of rival factions, hidden lineages and long-game schemes, and it doles out its mysteries with the confidence of a story that knows where it’s going. The plotting is dense but propulsive, rewarding attention without punishing casual viewing, and the ensemble is deep enough to sustain the scale.
Star power and craft
Zhang Ruoyun makes an engaging, quick-witted lead, and veterans like Chen Daoming lend the intrigue genuine gravitas. The production is handsome and confident, the action sequences staged with real flair — a costume drama with blockbuster polish.
The cost of ambition
A story this sprawling occasionally strains under its own mythology, and its serialised structure leaves threads for future seasons rather than resolving them. But the ride is so enjoyable that the open ends feel like a promise rather than a cheat.
Verdict
Joy of Life is costume drama as crowd-pleaser — witty, propulsive and richly entertaining. One of the most-loved mainstream Chinese series of its era, and an easy recommendation.