Analysis of the final scene of episode 30

It's important to always consider that mystique in Chinese civilization is a trait that manifests itself in its rites, philosophy, art, culture, symbolism, customs, and its very peculiar way of interpreting death.

The final scene is pungent, poignant and is full of poetic licenses, mystique, and symbolism, combining earthly reality with a supernatural touch, by bringing together the living and all those who had passed away in the same environment, co-celebrating the victory of love and justice. Some here have interpreted that the fact that YS comes down the stairs (holding hands with LZ and HY) and stands next to those who had already passed away would be a sign that he had also passed away. I don't see it that way. 

Let's remember YS's last sentence, before he goes down the stairs, he promises HY a beautiful future and gives HY the long-awaited kiss, caught by LZ, who was responsible for taking them down to the courtyard where everyone was already celebrating, only they were still apart, watching the scene, a true congregation. There is no reason to "kill" YX right after. The scene mixes visions of three universes: the supernatural, the transcendental and the surrealist, in addition to the realism that prevails, that is, despite these allegorical elements, what must be taken into account is their real life in the context of the feast. 

The vision offers two parallel worlds, but only the real world is concrete: he is alive, recovered, inspired by the hope of a happy future with HY and LZ. It would be a contradiction to show YS "dead" right after. It's important to note that everyone is interacting in that scene, without distinction. In general, this type of situation is portrayed with the living in their reality and those who have passed away just watching from a parallel reality, passively, without interacting with the world of the living and without touching them, in a reality of their own, separate from earthly life. But what we saw is that everyone interacts, touching each other in various situations. It's a moment in which life is celebrated together. We were surprised by the striking lyricism and mystique of the inclusion of those who had already passed away, a conception that provided the vision of a happy ending also for those who had suffered and perished at the hands of SY. It was like joining the two worlds, the earthly and the spiritual, showing what our earthly experience does not reach, does not see. The invisible curtain that separates these worlds was removed so that we could see all those who passed away free from pain, alive and happy with an afterlife consummated from the perspective of reincarnation, in the continuation of life and co-participating in the celebration in this world, but from the perspective of a mystical experience, situated between the transcendental and the supernatural. It is a moment in which life is celebrated together. 

From the point of view of poetic license, the scene is the materialization of our imaginary about the afterlife and the perception that those who have passed away are still close to us. But one detail really draws attention: why wasn't HA's older sister, who died of poisoning, also there, like Yu Chi was? Wouldn't it be perfect for her and Ling Zhi to meet in that vision? So the congregation was selective, she was excluded from the feast, do you know why? So as not to embarrass the earthly life of the couple HA and YX, which proves that he was not on the other side as a dead person. If YX had really died, she would be in the group. This detail is one of the holes in this conception. When we toast their memory, we pay tribute to the spirit of those who have passed away, we always imagine that they, in some way, see us in our daily lives and they toast with us... In this way, the scene has a conception that had the sensitivity to place everyone together in the courtyard. But there is one more detail that no one has yet commented on and is more significant than assuming that YX had passed away: the only way to keep ALL the women in the house together was to put YX aside. It is a clear highlight that sheds light on the central role that women played in the consummation of justice. The image of the fireworks that YX was responsible for lighting, repeats the experience he had with ZHY, by bringing back the scene of the two together, on the bridge, watching the fireworks in a first gesture of reciprocal love. 

As we can see, there are symbols everywhere, to understand them it is necessary to review the work and reflect...a lot! Nothing is random in cdrama productions, nothing is banal, they are full of culture, poetry, art, cuisine, incense, music. Watching a Chinese series is an exercise in learning and reflection, an opportunity to delve into the philosophical meaning of life, the inescapable death, the mystique of the rites, the deep respect for the memory and destiny of the dead in another life. But have no doubt: Han Yan, Yun Xi and the little butterfly Ling Zhi are destined to live happily ever after!

 demithinks:

Thank you for your beautiful and lyrical analysis! 👏👏👏

Hi, Demithinks! Thank you so much for reading and for your kind words! Let's celebrate every moment of life together with Han Yan, Yun Xi and the little butterfly Ling Zhi! 🦋🌸

 stardust:

I really like your analysis and not to be a pessimist, but why does FYX have the sparkles too in the ending scene along with the dead characters 😭 

Hi, Stardust! Thank you very much for not only reading the analysis but also for raising this very question that I was hoping someone would ask. I say in my text that the scene intentionally sets some traps, offers easy bait, through the non-narrative and symbolism (through only misleading, biased images) that lead to doubt and generate noise in the message, an annoyance, all in favor of destabilizing the 100% certainty of our comfort zone: we have a vocation for perfection and for that there are fairy tales feeding us with "...and they lived happily ever after!". And we also have a vocation for dreams and an everlasting life. But these vocations are also our weaknesses.

Since ancient times, human beings have needed and loved stories because they are allies of our dreams. And there are countless stories with an open ending that allow the beginning of another to be born from this ending and that therefore captivate us, such as One Thousand and One Nights (told by Scheherazade), whose origins date back to the 9th century, translated into hundreds of languages, and does not have a single author, but brings together several anonymous narrators. To this day, we love listening to/reading the stories of One Thousand and One Nights, which has already been adapted into several film versions (Sinbad the Sailor, the most famous).

But, objectively speaking, leaving doubts or an open ending is a narrative technique allied to the market strategies and interests of the cinematographic industry, so recurrent in an infinity of Chinese dramas whose objective is exactly this, to generate commotion, speculation and the permanence of fans and watchers who, reluctant to abandon the series, spend a considerable period discussing and creating theses. Talking/quoting/searching on the web and apps about the series generates profitable algorithms. It is good for the industry, for the actors, agents, producers, directors... 

The sparkles issue is very poorly designed, I saw and rewatched, SEVERAL times, exactly this scene, a few seconds before the transition, when EVERYONE had sparkles and mixed up with each other. UNEXPLAINABLY there is an ABRUPT cut, very poorly done, and suddenly everyone appears lined up, in two distinct wings: 1st trap and, I must say, mediocre. If you do the same, review the scene seconds before the transition, you will have exactly the perception I had. The development of the scene lost connection with the narrative, broke with any coherence and fluidity. This abrupt cut does not explain why, suddenly, all the living appear without their sparkles. The fluidity of the narrative is literally cut short to serve the purpose of doubt. It is a failure in the way of showing, at the very least, how this sudden transition occurs, generating much more confusion than actual doubt. This way of dealing with the audience demonstrates how much directors/scriptwriters underestimate the perceptive capacity of this audience.

Now I answer your question. Why does YX also have sparkles?The answer is absurdly simple (and I will explain later, which is also a technique): someone needed to light the fuse of those fireworks, strategically placed in front of YX. How would it light without sparklers?? Without those fireworks, I ask you, would there have been that celebration? Another question: were the fireworks seen by the so-called "living" or only by the supposedly reincarnated? If the living saw them, it is a clear sign that YX was there, alive, in a concrete act and action of the REAL WORLD in space and time. I also see a series of contradictions and incoherencies that weaken the message that one wants to convey... or not... So I am led to the conclusion that without YX no one would have seen the fireworks... I said that this action is also a narrative technique: it serves to divert our rational discernment and throw our perception into the emotional pit. It's a purposefully wrong track, like a counterintelligence technique.

I tell you with all sincerity, I hadn't even noticed that YX was separated from the other group because the message that scene conveyed to me was that all the women were together, with their resentments transformed into strength and unity, giving coherence to the centrality of the plot to women. But I saw, in the comments, one or another watcher who was sad because they saw in this scene the possibility that YX had died. Before this perception contaminated everyone, I thought I could contribute with my vision. This made me watch and rewatch the scene to, in a detailed way, bring to light all the elements that are in that scene and base my analysis from the point of view of Physics__time and space__ combined with the semiotic aspects (symbology), philosophy, in addition to the aspects linked to the rites and mystique of Chinese culture, and even showing the gross errors of the cutting of scenes and the rupture of the narrative to dishonestly force a doubt. All of these elements are worked together in a subtle way, and it is a minefield of traps that throw the viewer into a swamp of doubt. 

What we need to keep in mind is that... we will all die at some point in the timeline, and everyone there will also die. YX's death is the most likely in his context, but in that space-time he is still alive and is a participant in earthly life. The scene allows for several interpretations. It is not a consummate and unquestionable decree. It is totally questionable from several points of view, such as the ones I present. The writer could have granted YX a complete cure, but he clearly left a hint of doubt about his cure to lead to a provocative and reflective ending, very much to the taste of Eastern culture. However, he preserved the hope that plays a fundamental role in our self-preservation. Hope is the dynamo of life and everyday endeavors. Without hope, we succumb to pessimism and shrink our ability to dream, create, find new solutions, find and dig the infinite wells of knowledge and wisdom. And armed with this understanding, we see that the first premise of the final scene is that YX had his life extended, he is alive there, interacting with everyone. And if we assume that he dies, we have to assume that all the living will have the same end. There is no specification of time there, it is up to our own personal vision to shed light on other theses, such as the one I present.

My motivation in writing the analysis was to contribute to everyone feeling happy, as I felt when I saw that poetic happy ending. I hope with all my heart that you are now 100% happy! Thank you very much for this opportunity to expand on the theme and my conviction that The Glory gave us a Happy Ending!

 VelvetLady852:

Hello!  Glad that you created a forum thread for this 😃.  Otherwise, it will just get buried in the comments section. 

Hi, my friend VelvetLady852! First of all, thank you so much for your comment! It's so good to see you here and talk to you again! When you read this analysis in the comments and suggested that I post it here, I replied that I was so distressed by the increasing criticism that was being made of HY, labeling her an evil character, a villain, that I decided to first post it there and then post it here. And so, soon after, I fulfilled my promise, I went back to your comment and posted "Done!", it was a thank you and recognition for your emphatic gesture. I'm taking this moment, then, to thank you twice: for having suggested it and for being here sharing your satisfaction that I accepted your precious suggestion!! Now I'm waiting for Legend of the Female General and Serendipity, which will air at the end of April. I hope to see you there, it will be amazing to continue exchanging perceptions with someone as sensitive and sagacious as you! 💕🌸

 VelvetLady852:

Hi Regina de Sá, I don't think I was the one who suggested that you create this thread (though it did cross my mind), but thanks for your kind words 🥰!  Yes, see you in "Legend of the Female General"!

Hi, VelvetLady852! True! As soon as I replied to you I realized, and I was going to make a comment to correct it, but you were quicker 😅. I checked your comment, which I copy and paste here: "Good exposition! I too firmly believe that is a happy ending not an open one. I feel like I need to rewatch this (at least certain episodes) to catch details that I may have missed, since I binge-watch many episodes." The profile that suggested I post here is in the same conversation, in fact I got confused, anyway, your emphatic way of sharing the same feeling of a happy ending, added to my motivation to post this analysis here! I'm glad you'll also be on the same pages! Once again, thank you very much! 🥰🌸

 Chen Li:

I love your explanation and how you took your time to look for every detail in it. I'm in your team, Fu Yunxi didn't die (at least not that soon, in the novel he aged a bit due to the treatment done by doctor Tan, but it was some white hair, sure he will be as athletic as ever. It would have been a nice touch if they incorporated that on the drama too). 

But also I think he is in that zone because he is mainly the reason why Hanyan could let go of the deep rooted hatred she hold. He is the one to make her think twice, to plan even more and to bring justice to those people who died unjustly without sacrificing herself. Even thanks to his support she could have a nice relationship with concubine Zhou and her sister. He is the one that gave her a complete home.

Hi, Chen Li! Thank you so much for reading the review and for your kind and rewarding words! In these exchanges that we have, each one has a little piece of the great mosaic that we want to unravel. You brought your contribution to a better understanding of the mosaic. It's a shame that the adaptation didn't at least keep the ending that you describe, more human and coherent. We all hope for the moral of the story. It's frustrating for a character to suffer and fight so much and not achieve lasting peace with the one they love (like in the series The Story of the Pearl Girl, for example). I think that series need to innovate, to turn this recurring poisoning page, it compromises the quality of the narrative because it forces irrational, repetitive arguments. The Double, for example, is one of the few exceptions. The plot is impeccable, elegant, credible, balanced, and avoided this cliché.

We don't deal well with sad endings, but we are capable of applauding tragedies as long as they preserve the quality of the plot with arguments that do not offend intelligence and reasonableness. The best example of this is Romeo and Juliet, performed around the world since 1597, in addition to countless films, with adaptations for the contemporary context. There is no sadder ending than that of Romeo and Juliet, but we love to watch it over and over again, we cry at the tragic end of the couple, but we accept this sad ending because the logic of the plot does not offend intelligence. The Glory, or better, When the Wild Geese Return (such a beautiful title and unfortunately erased by the English title, I wrote about it, too) could have had it. Even though there is a policy from the NRTVA (National Radio and Television Administration) to guide productions to deal with more realistic scripts, we often see productions changing happy endings of well-known novels, such as Hei Yan's (黑颜) "Chun Hua Yan" (春花厌)__loosely translated as "Withered Flowers of Spring"__novel on which Kill me, Love me is based. The producer/director simply removed the original happy ending and made us swallow tears with a stupid ending. This is not the NRTVA's guideline, but to balance certain fictional situations as a simulation of our real life in which certain human situations are more realistic, but there is no guideline to embitter the audience with recurring sad endings. Just as we are enchanted by Romeo and Juliet, despite a tragic end, we also seek satisfaction in the world of fiction. Dealing with real life also means having happy experiences that are a motivational trigger to deal with the harshness of life.

But in relation to TG, despite the lyricism of the scene, it is confusing in the messages it wants to convey, because by placing three distinct dimensions in a courtyard__ the real, the mystical and the surrealist (or even the ouniric)__, the director was unable to delineate the boundaries. I confess that at first, after HY and YX kiss and LZ takes them both by the hand and they go down to the courtyard and then the ones who passed away enter, I thought that the entire cast and production were about to fraternize there, because for me the series has its happy ending in the kiss and the promise of a beautiful future. This final scene did not give me the notion, in the first moments, of a mix of dimensions, the combination of the three dimensions I mentioned above, is not convincing, it did not give the idea of HY's mere imagination, of a spiritual "ecstasy" in which she had a supernatural vision, or an ouniric scene: these dimensions were pasteurized, poorly conceptualized, and the abrupt cut literally removing the sparkles from the living and placing them all on one side, while at the same time placing all the others on the other, it became too "symmetrical", seemed to me worthy of an inexperienced director, without taking care of the details, the common thread was broken in the name of the desire to force a doubt about YX's life. Very confusing. Another flaw is Xi Wen in the wheelchair, it was an absurdity, an involution of her story, a total incoherence, since in life she had fully recovered the movement of her legs, it was a conception that contradicts the previous plot itself, it was a forced movement with the sole intention of causing an emotional impact and drawing tears, but it sacrificed our rational perception of the story, the dots don't fit together, and you're being pushed into a trap.
The Double, for example, deals with the supernatural dimension and surrealism in a balanced way and establishes boundaries that allow us to distinguish between these states. By the way, if you are interested, I will leave a link to the article "The Presence of Arts in The Double". I sign the text and Cho Na, MDL writer, signs the wonderful visual design and the accurate preliminary edition. You can also read it in the "Articles" section of the kisskh. 

In any situation in life, when everyone is rushing one way, driven by emotion, my reaction is to look the other way, rationally, my mind is drawn to the side that no one is going, and only then, investigating paths that seem remote, do we realize that the world is not dichotomous "light-shadow", "cold-hot", "happy-unhappy": between these states there are other universes and solutions that deserve to be seen and experienced and that have the mission of broadening and amplifying our vision of the world, space and time. So, in short: it was a happy ending sealed with a kiss. What happened afterwards was mere rhetoric to amuse the eyes. Thank you very much for your valuable, sensitive and kind comment. Forgive me for taking so long to respond. I never respond pro forma, I always delve deeper into my answers. You are always very welcome, Chen Li!

https://kisskh.at/article/the-presence-of-arts-in-the-double

Is it algebra? Words like XY YX YS SY HY LZ

Whats are these 

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