Rather simple, but well constructed plot that, thanks to the interesting cast of characters, serves as an entertaining watch.

The best thing about this show was for me Wang Zhi. While at first I was quite cautious about him, soon he became one of my favorite characters from all the shows I have seen in 2021. Loyalty, desperation, wits, drive - all fitted into this one, morally gray character. Whatever he said or did, I could not stop myself from thinking “he makes sense here”. Did I sell my soul to Wang Zhi? Maybe. He could be going around killing and torturing people and I’d be like: good for you honey, keep it up!

Even though Tang Fan and Sui Zhou were not as complex of characters, they still presented some nice nuances. On one hand, Tang Fan, in a quite refreshing way, combined reasoning brilliance and social stupidity. At the end of the day, a lot of problems he solved in a clever way, happened because of his social ignorance.

On the other hand, Sui Zhou represented both strength, emotional maturity, but also vulnerability and emotional struggles. It was interesting to see that the character who seemed the strongest, was the one that had to face his internal demons and tragic past the most.

The trio had an amazing dynamic, pushing each other to strive for better, while not ignoring each other's shortcomings. How it usually went, you ask? Tang Fan causes the problem, Sui Zhou tries to help Tang Fan, Wang Zhi actually does all the work to clean the mess - what a perfect group of friends, relatable af.

All the supporting characters had their place in the story, and none felt redundant. What's important, most did not just vanish after their cases were solved, and they've been brought back at the important plot points. This small detail of not removing characters from existence after they've done their part, made this whole fictional world seem more real.

Another aspect of the show I had to appreciate was the pacing. For some, it might have been slow - it took them quite a few episodes to deal with each case. For me, it was perfect. Watching crime related shows, I want to witness how the cases are solved, what actions and steps have been taken, and it’s impossible to achieve in the "one episode for one case" format.

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty presents the viewers with some amazing visuals - from the scenery, sets to beautiful costumes. Do you like food? You might want to prepare some nice snacks before watching the episodes - the cooking scenes will make you hungry even after eating dinner.

That said, the show is far from perfect. To be honest, I did not notice many flaws since I was preoccupied going crazy over Wang Zhi, but there are a few that caught my attention. First of all, there were not many characters that were just… normal people. Everyone was highly skilled in something, and me being a typical potato could not relate to the skills and brain power going on. At the same time, around episode 44-45 everyone’s brain collectively shuts down, to make room for the villains to try their schemes.

While I found Tang Fan being an idiot, cute and funny, I can see how he would make some people’s blood boil. Some mistakes this child made were on a whole new level of “I forgot to bring my brain to work today”.

Since this is an adaptation of a BL novel, it will not satisfy people who watch it for the bromance. Honestly speaking, the show has little “censored adaptation of same sex original work” vibes, to the point that these few scenes, giving the bromance feeling, actually felt out of place for me.

Overall, great directing and writing, good acting, nice soundtrack - everything making this story an addicting and fun ride. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me bang my head on the wall. I became obsessed with Wang Zhi, and had withdrawal symptoms right after I saw the last episode.