DistantDream

Dang, what a disappointment that the ML and FL relationship/romance is like the worst thing about this show. Why do they have no chemistry? The crown prince and ML have more chemistry. That bridge scene with the yin-yang bird egg was golden.

Yeah.... I dont know why but I also feel the same way. It like almost every other couple seem better. Like the funny love triangle between Maid Kim Leader Jin and Master Lee is even better.... I think the problem is Seol Yul and Mu Deok back story... their "tragic romance backstory" You know they don't get together cause Seo Yul isnt the lead, so we lowkey rooting for the underdog. It also doesn't help their story is way more compelling then the two leads.

I think you kind of sum up how I feel about it, I never seen Yiran in any of his other drama. He pull the cold calculated morally questionable character off really good! but everything else just seem like a fever dream. It like when Cai Pingshu die, everyone had a mental breakdown dealing with the grief of her passing.

I mean at this point, I wouldn't doubt that he actually plan it all for the speech on his deathbed cause he know he wasn't gonna die. (I'm kidding, but it would fit his M.O).

It like darn the FL aunt die the same way he did cause she use disintegration. But when the ML use it ofc here come a voice over dialog of why he didn't die. (this whole thing didn't happen in the novel he didn't use disintegration.)

It almost like they plan all of this to give him the speech on his deathbed to redeem his character ..... haha

I actually like the ML and how Zhou Yi Ran portray the character, I think they could have write a better way for him to "redeem himself"

your comment make me chuckle, I know what you mean when you say Cai Pingshu caught on the ML so easily. you Meant Cai Zhao, this really show that the show should be unironically call Legend of Cai Pingshu. It like when she die everyone had a mental breakdown.

Dashing Youth and Blood River share the same universe and characters; they are prequels in that sense, but not direct.

I thought it was funny to see some Blood of Youth/Blood River actors/actresses while looking at the cast... then I started to see more and more familiar faces, so I decided to count 24!

BR is not connected to TBOY, BR was born out of the author interested/love when creating Su Muyu. Someone mention in an interview with the author, it was meant to be a stand alone novel/Timeline that just happen to share the universe.

The shows are not even strictly connected, and it was never meant to be that way.

I'm also not fully aware of the novel, but even the TV drama and donghua of DY and TBOY differ from each other.

This was the most hilarious thing about the ending: it's like Oooo, you thought it wouldn't be a happy ending. It's ok, script writer is here to save the day. I'm all for a happy ending, but come on, at least put more effort into it, don't make it. By heaven, he got lucky.

I know you didn't ask for this, so it's weird that it came up. But here, read the novel, and come up with your own conclusion between the novel and drama if you were curious about it in the first place. https://mydramanovel.com/shui-long-yin/.

A narrative inconsistency is ultimately a writing issue because the script determines the rules of the story world and how events connect. Viewers can only interpret what the drama itself shows on screen. When the script establishes certain facts about a character or the world, those facts create expectations for how the story should logically unfold.

To say I cannot criticize the script or the scriptwriters is naive, because they are the ones who included these elements in the drama.

I would implore you to stop being dismissive. Nothing I have said here is incorrect. You might dislike the interpretation, and that is fine, but that still does not change what was said and shown in the drama.

As for AS, you are just proving my point right with your interpretation of her character. It seems like a lot of people missed it, if they didn't think she eventually succumbed to her incurable heart disease!

Still weird, you think all of these people are me. But, hey, I'm still open for you to point out why what I say didn't happen about AS and why her implied death was not real.

I literally don't know you, and the point I made still solid, and back by what happen in the drama. But hey maybe you miss it, I'm glad to point the time stamp for you to rewatch it

Short Answer: Yes, but they would not have traveled to the other realm. YQYY and the Celestial Realm represent more than just evil; they basically represent human desires and greed for power, in their case, permanent immortality. TLC reverses time; it does not change this. As long as there are humans, these desires will exist, and maybe there will always be another YQYY and Celestial Realm. TLC himself might have transcended the Six Paths (It is open to interpretation, as to how you view the last Fox-dragon scene), but everyone else still remains in it.

Any form of time travel usually leads to these types of "what-ifs," which is why I generally dislike it and hope writers would stop using it.

I edited my post multiple times, even before you commented, to add more context to my claim. You interpret that as bad faith, but my argument itself has remained the same and has not strayed from it. Regardless of how it is interpreted, viewers can go back and watch the scenes I mentioned and come to their own conclusions.

"You want A-Shui to die for someone else to be worthy as per your claims."

She did die, actually. (The drama heavily implies that she did as a result of removing the fragment that is sustaining her life against her incurable heart disease. Again, I am making a narrative point based on what the drama itself suggests happened. You are claiming that I said something else, imposing a moral argument onto my statement, and then calling me bad faith for it...)

"Tang Lici has made it clear he doesn't want anyone to die for him, which is why he keeps taking the biggest risks and protecting people such as Xiao Shi, Zhong Chunji, Shen Langhun, and Chi Yun. He also saved A-Shui at least once. How can you claim to have watched this drama and not realize this?"

(Yes, Tang Lici saves many characters throughout the story. However, that is not the point I was making. The distinction is that only a few characters actually sacrifice their lives for him. Those would be LY, AS, and arguably FZ. His mother could also be considered, depending on whether one interprets dying during childbirth as saving him.

I understand that you interpret AS’s fate differently, but in the drama, she removes the fragment sustaining her life and places it into the final pill for Tang Lici. If I missed something in the drama that clearly indicates otherwise, I would genuinely be interested in seeing that scene.)

So while Tang Lici clearly does not want anyone to die for him, the story still shows that several characters do make that sacrifice.

"But there you are with your comment under spoiler tag, jabbing at Tang Lici for his natural self-preservation instincts and the fact that his mother is his primary female influence for episode 40."

(Not sure why this was included. When did I criticize Tang Lici’s natural self-preservation? Also, what does his self-preservation have to do with whether AS dies or survives after leaving? That point seems unrelated to the argument I was making.

You also mention that his mother is his primary female influence in Episode 40. That may be true, but it does not change anything I said earlier in my post or in my comments.

To be fair, I will try to steelman your argument. My interpretation of what you might be suggesting is that I do not recognize that Tang Lici’s mother influenced the decision he made in Episode 40. However, that was never the point I was arguing about. My argument concerns the narrative setup surrounding AS’s illness and the implications of removing the fragment that was sustaining her life.)

Unless you literally have the problem of me saying that cause AS has an incurable disease, it undermines TLC's sacrifices. Which, again, is what the drama implies, narratively, her incurable disease doesn't vanish. You can say that it did, but I have as much evidence to say it does not. Hence why I say it might have been overlooked.)

"Your behaviour reminds me of one account that thanked me for my summaries and then tried to convince a new user on this page that I didn't know what I was talking about, by shifting goalposts and also misrepresenting what I said while dodging my questions. This was more than three months ago. I don't like this trend of dishonesty."

(I'm not sure why this is relevant to the discussion. Whether something happened with another account three months ago has nothing to do with what I wrote here. Rather than focusing on assumptions about accounts or intentions, it would be more productive to address the actual points I raised about the drama.)

"When someone sacrifices their life, it will make people who care for them very sad to know what happened. You don't have to die to be worthy of someone. We don't speak of life and death easily, especially from those of us who understand what that feels like. That is why we cherish people and want them to understand how to cherish life and protect what they love. Any inevitable sacrifices also respect the value of life and show how and why people are important to each other."

(Great, I agree with you. But again, I never argued about morals. My point is simply that, based on what is implied in the drama, AS dies as a result of removing the fragment sustaining her life. That is what makes her story tragic. The fact that you strongly disagree with that interpretation is fine, but it does not change what the drama appears to imply.)

"I'm glad A-Shui remembered her name and had a happy ending with the man she most needed and wanted, the moon that brought her back to herself, her white light. She's done enough, because she was never supposed to be part of all this. Just like the novel, she's been pulled into circumstances where she is way out of her depth. She tried to cope, but unlike the novel, she gets happiness with love and joyfully radiates it in episode 40."

(Hearing you say this actually reinforces why I brought it up in the first place. She dies, the drama strongly implies it. At most, this is your interpretation, but you have not pointed to anything in the drama that clearly suggests she did not die from heart disease.

Again, I am focusing only on what is shown in the drama, while the novel keeps being brought up for comparison. I accept your characterization of the novel. However, the changes in the drama lead to a different interpretation of her character. She is not a one-to-one adaptation.

I understand why, but again, I am focusing on very specific narrative elements in the drama, not on who AS is or is not in the novel. It seems we have reached an impasse on this point. I want to reiterate that I welcome anyone to point to scenes in the drama that would suggest a different narrative sequence. As I have said multiple times, I am not interested in interpreting the drama through the lens of the novel. They are separate media and should be treated as such.)

"You had posted a comment clearly targeting the screenwriters by then using the rest of your post to give the impression they don't seem to know what they are doing. When you do this as part of your overall approach, you will get an answer from people who read the novel."

("Don't know what they are doing" may be a harsher characterization than what I actually meant. My point was simply that the drama introduced a specific element — AS’s incurable heart disease and the celestial fragment sustaining her life. Given that setup, it raises a narrative question about what happens after the fragment is removed. Pointing out a potential inconsistency in the story is a critique of a writing choice, not a claim that the writers are incompetent.)

"Then why make a standalone forum post in the forum, and then edit it after I replied to you in a comment?"

(I’m not sure how else to explain this, since it seems we are approaching the discussion from different assumptions, but the original forum post was written before your reply to me. The reason I made the post in the first place is that many viewers interpret A-Shui’s ending very differently. The intention of the post was simply to point out specific scenes in the drama that could lead to a particular conclusion about AS as a character. In a way, this discussion itself highlights that point, since it shows how differently people understand AS and her fate in the drama.)

I would genuinely be interested in seeing any scenes in the drama that might suggest a different outcome. Perhaps I missed something, and if so, I’m sure you would be happy to point those moments out.

Since the main point of my argument has not been addressed directly, I will briefly point out a few rhetorical techniques that shift attention away from the argument itself, some of which appear in your response and can easily be overlooked if one is not familiar with them.

Moral Positioning – framing oneself as the reasonable or ethical party while implying the other person is acting in bad faith.

Tone Policing – shifting the focus from the argument to the tone or behavior of the person making it.

Poisoning the Well – undermining someone’s credibility before readers evaluate their argument.

Strawman Argument – rephrasing a position into a weaker or exaggerated version that is easier to attack.

Even if a different actress plays AS who fits your emotional range and billing, it still doesn't change my points.

My post never argued for a romance between them. (I'm kinda getting tired of defending a point I never made)

Or about acting talents or who can bring character to life. The character is who they are in the drama; I'm simply pointing out a narrative thing in the drama. ( I clearly have not constructed my argument well enough if, after reading what I wrote, your reply is the takeaway.) So below is The Core of what I wrote.

What I actually said was that AS’s story should have ended with her death. Given the setup in the drama, her dying was narratively consistent. The problem is that the story resolves it off screen, which weakens the conclusion of her arc. ( If you don't believe AS died, I implore you to rewatch the specific scene I mention below. If there are people unsatisfied with just me saying she dies, then replace that with leaving.)

Can you imagine if AS had actually sacrificed herself on screen to save TLC, and TLC knew that removing the fragment would kill her? The implication would be that TLC now knows that not only did FZ die because of him, but also that the person FZ cared about most in the world, his sister, died for him as well. That would have been far more impactful. It would also give more weight to AS's last advice to TLC about when it's the end, it's better to let go and forget about the past.

And be consistent with what happens after episode 35, as more and more people leave him.

As for the ending in Episode 40, I still stand by my point. The drama establishes that AS has an incurable heart disease and is only kept alive by the celestial fragment placed in her body. As Shui Duo Po stated, she needs to take care of herself because if that energy disappears, it would be fatal.

I saw someone argue that the fragment is actually what caused her condition. I disagree because that contradicts SDP’s statement. The illness itself does not disappear simply because the timeline changes. Even in the new timeline, the disease should still exist.

If the counter-argument is that TLC becomes all-powerful and fixes it in the new timeline, that raises another issue: he never even knew she had heart disease in the original timeline. And if he truly is that all-powerful and all-knowing, then he could theoretically do anything. Why not simply bring himself back to life in the new timeline as well? (Just to be safe, these are example im giving to showcase the what-ifs and logical inconsistencies, and have nothing to do with the TLC character.)

You can see how this quickly leads to endless “what if” scenarios and logical inconsistencies. I just dislike time-travel elements when constructing a story.

I clearly stated: "I know the story is not centered on romance and does not focus on it. I also know that the novel definitely does not. But this is purely based on what can be interpreted from the drama itself. The scriptwriters most likely tried to build up some form of 'romance' between TLC and AS. I want to point out that they might have overlooked something that ultimately dooms AS, no matter what happens."

Then I explained why AS's story might be more tragic, citing specific scenes in the drama that would support that conclusion (i.e., she dying in the new timeline as well, due to her heart disease).

But yes, you guys might be so blinded by hate that you turn it into “AS needs to be with TLC,” when, again, I never said that. Whoever you guys hate might have said that, but apparently, I'm that person to you. I have no interest in talking about what the novel is or what actor or actress play what. Again, I'm talking about AS, the character in the drama. The whole point is about scriptwriters and the script. If they hadn’t included it in the drama, I wouldn't be talking about it.

It makes me wonder whether you actually read what I wrote, cause it's strange, almost like there's some prejudice.

Whether they intentionally did it or not would be a better topic for discussion, but again, I can see from what was written that you have zero intention to do so. So instead of virtue signaling, if you don't like my interpretation, you can move on with your day. And I hope you don’t carry so much hate.

I literally watched C-dramas for most of my life growing up. I don't write in the forum, cause again I don't want to. It just WoF was an amazing drama and still is. I just want to share some of my thoughts. It's amazing how tribalism is human nature. Seeing what happened here with your comments, the others' comments were directed not at the argument but at the person because of your assumptions.

I have watched Till The End Of The Moon, since you guys think I have an obsession with AS because of the actress? I'm gonna be honest, this is the first drama I've seen her in. I care not who plays whom in any drama; I only care for the stories being told and the characters in the drama. If you were to ask me to pick who stood out the most acting-wise, it would have to be Alen Fang as Liu Yan for his range of emotional expression and movement (even then, I don't care if it was played by anyone else; I'm sure another actor could have done the character justice). My posts have been about AS as a character in the drama, not about anything else.

The fact that you took what I said and turned it into “A-Shui needs to end up with Tang Lici” already shows a clear misunderstanding of my point. My post never argued for a romance between them.

What I actually said was that AS’s story should have ended with her death. Given the setup in the drama, her dying was narratively consistent. The problem is that the story resolves it off screen, which weakens the conclusion of her arc.

As for the ending in Episode 40, I still stand by my point. The drama establishes that AS has an incurable heart disease and is only kept alive by the celestial fragment placed in her body. As Shui Duo Po stated, she needs to take care of herself because if that energy disappears, it would be fatal.

I saw someone argue that the fragment is actually what caused her condition. I disagree because that contradicts SDP’s statement. The illness itself does not disappear simply because the timeline changes. Even in the new timeline, the disease should still exist.

If the counter-argument is that TLC becomes all-powerful and fixes it in the new timeline, that raises another issue: he never even knew she had heart disease in the original timeline. And if he truly is that all-powerful and all-knowing, then he could theoretically do anything. Why not simply bring himself back to life in the new timeline as well?

You can see how this quickly leads to endless “what if” scenarios and logical inconsistencies.

So the issue was never about romance or AS ending up with TLC. The issue is that the drama introduced a fatal condition that logically should still apply, yet the story never addresses it.

As for my account being new, that is a strange thing to focus on. People can create accounts at any time to join a discussion. It has nothing to do with whether the argument itself makes sense. Instead of speculating about accounts, it would be better to actually address the points being raised.

Comparing the novel to the drama is already a bad-faith argument because it creates a strawman. My analysis is based only on what the drama itself shows, as I stated: “But this is purely based on what can be interpreted from the drama itself.” If you want to treat the novel as the source of truth, then most of the events in the drama would not even exist. Using the novel to dismiss a drama-based interpretation does not really address the point being discussed.

I also do not care whether the author is a big fan of the show, whether LYT would play AS, or about the Buddhist themes of the show. What do those things have to do with my points about a character in the drama when I am using only the drama itself as the source?

Ultimately, it is still an interpretation of the material. There are clear discrepancies that I pointed out, and even after rewatching the show, they were never answered. Of course, you can argue that the new timeline is perfect and nothing is wrong, but that is still your interpretation.

I agree with you that AS’s story was poorly written. However, I feel the need to defend her a bit, because there is a lot of hate directed at AS as a character.

First, I want to say that I 100% agree that AS should have died; the problem is that the execution was poorly done.

But AS actually plays an important role in the story that many people miss. I had to rewatch multiple parts of the series to piece it together. These clues come from the drama itself. There are multiple flashbacks about AS and FZ, as well as FZ and TLC, scattered throughout the series, and they are not shown in chronological order.

I want to point out that when TLC wanted to save FZ, he asked him to practice the Rebirth Scroll. FZ refused multiple times. In the Episode 22 flashback, he finally agrees to do so and says that over the past few days he has been practicing and has discovered that there is no evil in the Rebirth Scroll. Then he says they should hurry before Liu Yan and Fu Zhu return. Of course, we know what happens when they touch it, and it backfires and kills FZ.

FZ’s change of heart about practicing the scroll and wanting to live is most likely because he has finally reunited with AS. In the flashback with AS and FZ, FZ tells AS that he finally has no regrets and will meet her at Zhoudi Tower in one month. If he is not around, TLC or LY will let her in. This shows that FZ already knew he was dying. Meeting AS again was what motivated him to want to live.

Thus, this becomes one of the biggest plot points between TLC and LY. If AS had never met FZ again, there is a chance that FZ would never have agreed to practice the Rebirth Scroll.

I agree with you that having her death happen off-screen was a bad choice.

Can you imagine if AS had actually sacrificed herself on screen to save TLC, and TLC knew that removing the fragment would kill her? The implication would be that TLC now knows that not only did FZ die because of him, but also that the person FZ cared about most in the world, his sister, died for him as well. That would have been far more impactful. It would also give more weight to AS's last advice to TLC about when it's the end, it's better to let go and forget about the past.

In that way, it would also be very poetic, because AS once told TLC that he could save the world, and she would save him.

I just do not like the amount of hate AS receives as a character, because she is one of the few people in the show who selflessly sacrifices herself for someone else, especially for someone she still believed had killed her brother.