[SPOILER] If I got to rewrite one scene in A Dream Within a Dream…

[SPOILER ALERT EPISODE 23]

[SPOILER ALERT EPISODE 23]

[SPOILER ALERT EPISODE 23]

If I got to rewrite one scene in A Dream Within a Dream…

It would be that moment in episode 23 (at 12:30 mark) — you know, when Nan Heng rides in dramatically on his horse at night and finds Song Yimeng standing alone in the street, holding the imperial decree calling off their engagement.

Since this drama is supposed to be a romance — and Nan Heng is presented as someone in love — here’s how I imagined it instead.

Nan Heng (after seeing the imperial decree calling off their engagement):

“I’m happy for you — because you got what you wanted.
Even if calling off the engagement hurts me.”

(pauses, voice calm)

“I know we had a terrible start.
I tried to poison you. I tried to kill you.
That must have been terrifying.
Maybe it still is.
I’m really sorry.
And… honestly, I’m grateful I failed.”

(quietly)

“I also approached you with an agenda.
Used another name. Lied to you.
That was never fair.
You didn’t have the same power I did — and I took advantage of that.”

(deep breath)

“You have every reason not to trust me.
I get it. If I were you, I wouldn’t either.
I don’t expect you to forgive me.
I don’t even expect you to believe me.
But I want to be honest about who I am now.”

(softly, without pressure)

“I hope someday I can redeem myself.
But that’s not something I can ask for.
That’s entirely up to you.”

(pauses)

“If you ever need help — with anything —
you can reach out to Shangguan He or Fu Gui.
You don’t have to talk to me.
I won’t come looking for you unless you want me to.
You don’t owe me anything.”

(sincerely)

“I just want you to be safe.
To find peace.
Even if I’m not part of your story anymore.”

It’s a version of Nan Heng who practices emotional accountability, empathy, and respect for autonomy — all the things the actual scene in A Dream Within a Dream carefully avoids. 

If you’re curious about the deeper dynamics behind this moment, there is a psychological deep dive here:
👉 Romantic Tragedy or Narrative Gaslighting? The ‘Imperial Decree’ Scene

If you could rewrite one scene in A Dream Within a Dream, which one would it be — and why?
Let’s reimagine together.

 Mizuhira-san:

I love this 💓 

It shows his absolute devotion towards his beloved person despite her rejection (whatever reason she has). Although he's confused about why Yi Meng believes in something that has never happened before and events that may or may not happen in the future, this conversation highlights his pure love, in my opinion.

I’m really glad it resonated with you! 💓
The original scene felt deeply unloving to me.
When he reads the imperial edict, he doesn’t respond with sadness or dialogue —
he reacts with rage, violently throwing the decree to the ground.
What follows is intense, but to me, rage isn’t love.

What I was trying to explore with this rewrite was:
▪ Nan Heng calmly taking full responsibility for his past actions,
▪ Respecting Song Yimeng’s boundaries without trying to change her mind, and
▪ Showing love through empathy and emotional safety — not guilt or pressure.

That shift in framing — from coercion to genuine care — was what I wished the drama had done. ❤️

If Nan Heng reacted like this in episode23 I would doubt if he ever loved Song Yimeng. If he just accepted it and even offered help through Shangguan He I would doubt he is calculating something or keeping a close eye on her. If he quietly accepted it at episode 23 , it would make him more dangerous and strategic than emotionally mature.

A Thought on Love, Pain, and Emotional Narratives in Drama

Watching these comments, I notice something important.

Some are defending a worldview where intensity means love — and love equals pain.
They also romanticize the inability to respect boundaries, reframing obsession as love.
It’s not that they don’t see the toxicity.
It’s that they equate it with passion — and fear that without it, nothing remains.

There’s also a mistranslation of emotional regulation. Calmness and restraint get read as manipulation.
Why? Because many viewers have never seen emotionally mature conflict resolution — not in real life, not in media.
So they read self-regulation as coldness or calculation, not strength.

But maybe stories can also show us new ways to relate, heal, and grow — beyond the cycle where love equals pain.

Thanks for reading. 💛

 Playset9656:

A Thought on Love, Pain, and Emotional Narratives in Drama

Watching these comments, I notice something important.

Some are defending a worldview where intensity means love — and love equals pain.
They also romanticize the inability to respect boundaries, reframing obsession as love.
It’s not that they don’t see the toxicity.
It’s that they equate it with passion — and fear that without it, nothing remains.

There’s also a mistranslation of emotional regulation. Calmness and restraint get read as manipulation.
Why? Because many viewers have never seen emotionally mature conflict resolution — not in real life, not in media.
So they read self-regulation as coldness or calculation, not strength.

But maybe stories can also show us new ways to relate, heal, and grow — beyond the cycle where love equals pain.

Thanks for reading. 💛

If you’re fully aligned with Song Yimeng, you might interpret every small act of kindness from Nan Heng as a trap. You might downplay signs of change, because trusting him — even in fiction — feels like letting your guard down..

Line by Playset9656 (why some defend him and others fear him -the Nan Heng Debate unpacked )

https://kisskh.at/discussions/70247-jiang-dui-dui-chong-sheng-ji/142724-why-some-defend-him-and-others-fear-him-the-nan-heng-debate-unpacked

 Playset9656:

A Thought on Love, Pain, and Emotional Narratives in Drama

Watching these comments, I notice something important.

Some are defending a worldview where intensity means love — and love equals pain.
They also romanticize the inability to respect boundaries, reframing obsession as love.
It’s not that they don’t see the toxicity.
It’s that they equate it with passion — and fear that without it, nothing remains.

There’s also a mistranslation of emotional regulation. Calmness and restraint get read as manipulation.
Why? Because many viewers have never seen emotionally mature conflict resolution — not in real life, not in media.
So they read self-regulation as coldness or calculation, not strength.

But maybe stories can also show us new ways to relate, heal, and grow — beyond the cycle where love equals pain.

Thanks for reading. 💛

Your reply seems to be reframing critique as a want of toxic passion, yet none of the other comments actually endorse that.

Nan Heng is flawed, so is Yimeng. They both have their faults, and their own reasons for behaving as they do, which doesn't excuse the way they behave, but it does make them consistent as characters.

Nobody in here seems to be discounting that. No one in this thread said that "intensity is love and love is pain" or such. The fact is, each of the cast has their core characteristics, their own story flow, and your snippet doesn't align with what Nan Heng stood for at the time.

His character development was underway so he could say something similar later. The romanticism in this story doesn't come from Nan Heng being in love and pining after Yimeng obsessively.  It comes from the fact that over the course of the story Yimeng and Nan Heng display their flaws, and that obsession he has gives way as he slowly gains understanding of how she works and what she wants, and in turn she chooses to trust him. They work on changing themselves, but the changes come slowly. This breathes life into them. 

This is purely about story pacing, the writing, the character, the portrayal and the display of what they stand for at a time, their consistency in their behavior.

Nan Heng's development feels pretty natural throughout the series. With your version, that development wouldn't be as smooth. It would be cut short and become a pretty much an instant change. And while small inconsistencies in character aren't always a bad thing, this scene was important to establishing where we are at. A hard switch up of his demeanor when confronted with this much emotional turmoil and you know what he must be feeling, and thinking. This would make everyone question his motives, and make him seem duplicitous. (Which he sort of is, but not trying to be in this case.) 

It's not because he's calm and controlled, and wants to resolve the conflict like a mature person, but because actual Nan Heng has no clue how to resolve conflicts like a mature person. Nan Heng doesn't know how to be honest and inform his partner about anything he's doing for 90% of the series. He's not communicative. He's instead used to ordering people around, scheming and acting without giving any proper insight into what he thinks to others.

This is why it would seem manipulative or out of character. 

He would also have difficulties keeping his word on it, considering Yimeng later tried to keep distance and he sent Shangguan He to spy on her, invaded her bedroom despite it, etc. He was still not mature enough for this sort of apology or to respect her boundaries at that point. So if he said that, he would break his promise (one that actually is significant) and that would make Yimeng more disinclined to trust him. 

Taking it all into account, he doesn't have much diegetic reason to say any of this yet, unless he's planning something.

TLDR: It's not about not having seen mature conflict resolution. It's just that it would be out of character for Episode 23 Nan Heng to be this understanding and willing to give up in regard to this, to be this calm and controlled in this situation. This snippet is more akin to a fanfic than how it could have been, but it's not a bad thing at all. It's a sweet thought, but would be nicer if you didn't try to take digs at people who disagree with your outcome.