Good start . . . disappointing finish . . .

I found this series off to a good start but got really annoyed with the last 5 to 6 episodes. Once the focus changed from the protagonist to the antagonist, it got almost painful to watch. I finished this series only because I was invested in some of the characters and wanted to find out how it ends for them . . . but even the character 'development' was lacking.

At first I was amused by the portrayal of Lu Chi, but I quickly found it annoying and contrived. His wide-eyed, maniacal, teeth-exposed grin and gimmicky 'devil-hand' were almost enough to make me give up on this series. During those last few episodes, I also started to get a little exasperated with and tired of Zhong Kui's constant "All we can do is wait" mantra and his insistence on not sharing the burden of resolving this trial with Lady Meng.

Although I was okay with the ending in general, the solution itself felt like it was coming completely out of left field, ironically staying true to the series' "Heavenly" topic, by presenting almost a Deus-ex-machina solution.

Although I do not plan to re-watch this series, I was pleasantly surprised to see two of my favorite actors, Amanda Chou and Johnny Yang in this series and I may try other series by one or two of the lead actors in this series.

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