Does a happy ending always mean the ML and FL end up together? While watching Love and Redemption, Zhu Xuan Ji (FL/God of War) said something that stuck with me: what is good or bad, what is right or wrong? We grow up hearing, reading, and watching so many stories that we all develop our own idea of what a happy or sad ending is.
For me, if there was romance, the ML and FL had to end up together. If it was a revenge drama like The Double, the protagonist should survive after getting justice. That was my definition.
But then I watched Immortal Samsara. Was it really a sad ending (excluding the special episodes)? They were together in both life and death, they promised to stay with each other no matter what. If I had watched this a year ago, I would have expected the FL to wait for the ML to come back, just like Ancient Love Poetry where Bai Jue returns.
But if Bai Jue hadn't come back, would that make it a sad ending? They weren’t together in the end, but they fulfilled their duties as gods, saved countless lives, that has to mean something too, right?
If I had seen a post like this last year, I would have been upset, maybe even argued with the OP. But after watching more dramas and hearing that quote from Love and Redemption, I started questioning; what really makes an ending good or bad?
In the Condor Trilogy, Guo Jing and Huang Rong also die in Return of the Condor Heroes, leaving behind their youngest daughter, who goes on to start the Emei Sect (at least in the book, as I heard; correct me if I’m wrong). Does that make it a sad ending?
There are so many examples. We all have our own definition of a happy or sad ending. If someone asks me whether Immortal Samsara had a happy ending, I would say yes. But if I replied that way on MDL, I know some people would criticize me, maybe even question if I really watched the ending. And that’s fine too.
A year ago, I couldn’t handle it when an ML or FL died at the end. Now, it still gets to me, but those tears feel different. They’re not as painful as they used to be. Maybe, in the end, a happy or sad ending is just how we choose to see it.
Look at it this way, if you all downvote this or I get zero notifications after constantly reloading like a clown, should I be sad? Maybe, but instead of seeing it as a loss, I’ll take it as a sign to improve and write something better next time. I'm trying to shift how I see what's good or bad, and that quote from the God of War in Love and Redemption really stuck with me; it's pushing me to think in a deeper, more mature way.
Now, I'm finally gonna watch the drama I’ve been putting off and dreading the most: Till the End of the Moon.
