EmiLayo

The long nails were a nod to how upper class Chinese kept their natural nails.

Upper-class ancient Chinese men and women grew their fingernails very long—sometimes up to 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm)—to signal that they were wealthy and did not perform manual labor.

Very helpful. Thank you!

At least place your comment under spoiler or remove it, all together. We don't want these sites to be removed.

"What bothers me and the others in your comment, and I made it clear from the beginning in my comment, is that you are belittling people for seeing their bond as romantic."

That was your interpretation of what I wrote. I wrote, exactly, what I meant. "Anyone who's never had the privilege of experiencing such a bond will never understand this type of love." If you'd never tasted a mango, could you truly understand its taste?

On my part, there was no belittling intended, and I won't accept your judgment of my actions as factual.

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"Either you have comprehension and reading issues or you are of bad faith."

So, you've descended into unveiled insults. Typical MDL combative discourse.

You just lost my interest. There will be no further interactions between you and me.

"Nobody here said it was a big deal...?"

Are you quite sure? I would think, considering the dialogue going on beneath my initial comment, you would understand that subtext is king. Yes, no one here outright stated, in writing, that this is a big deal to them, yet your comments to each other, and to me, a week after the show concluded, reveals that, yes, this is a big deal to you. I'd just concluded the series and dropped a quick comment to express my initial feelings (with the intention of returning to flesh said comment out), and I find that you and others had jumped on with the type of comments that made it evident you'd all been doing the same to others who didn't perceive the bond between Pi-o and Jeong-yo the way you do.

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"So no need to answer with such condescension."

Condescension? For me, it's honesty. My version of being polite and succinct can be perceived as condescension/overly blunt, but this is entirely dependent on who I am in communication with. I enjoy my style of communication, as do all my friends (in the real world) and so I have zero interest in changing it to make incidental internet strangers like me.

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"You made a comment about a drama on its comments section and we just answered your comment about said drama, that’s kinda the point of a comment section yk..."

Yes, you did reply to my comment in a comment section. That much is true.

But, you're being disingenuous here, aren't you? You and the others quickly bonded over your annoyance with viewers, like myself, who don't see the boys' romantic bond as sexual. You claimed that none of you are saying this is a big deal, yet your lively discussion shows otherwise.

Your motivation shifts and tangles, so let me ask you point blank:
What, exactly, are you after in your dialogue with me?

My dears, none of you needed to reply to me to argue your points. I returned to my initial comment, to flesh it out more after I had time to digest the series, and I found you all going on and on about the boys/men being in love and how I and others didn't understand... yadda, yadda, yadda. Really?

The depth of this series goes so deep, yet here you are, arguing about whether or not there's boy romantic love present. There's classical music resounding all around us, yet you're stuck listening to cheesy pop music through tinny earbuds.

Don't misunderstand me. I am pansexual. I know, for a fact, that love is not limited to that which is, currently, acceptable. But, there's a time and place for all of that and, for me, this wasn't it. There are some love bonds that simply go so deep, they bypass the animal drive to bump pelvises and suck on each other's tongues.

Yes, the characters of Pi-o and Jeong-yo were initially written to be romantic partners, but then the story was changed to make them two people who had a complicated love for each other that didn't cross into the sexual. THAT'S THE STORY. This is not a boy love story. It's a human love story.

In the end, these are all fictional characters. This is not that important, in the grand scheme of things, except to maybe help you to identify who your precious ones-- platonic and romantic-- may be, now and in the future.

So, please, can you give the arguing a rest and move on with your days?

***MILD SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE YET TO WATCH THE SERIES**
I loved this drama. Yes, it eventually began going a little off the rails with the melodrama, but its portrayal of love, in all its myriad complexities, was well worth the time it took me to watch from beginning to end.

• 3 children's love of music (2 in a state of obsession with that music and 1 in great appreciation of it), and where that love would take them over the course of their lives
• 3 children's loving connection to each other, and what they'll do to each other, for each other, and because of each other, over the course of their lives
• 2 hurting children, both with an obsessive love for music, somehow kept finding each other over the course of their lives, and finding shelter, with each other, from the raging storm of that all-encompassing love of music
• A mother's unhealthy obsessive love of her child and her rageful protection of him
• A grandfather's unhealthy obsessive love of music and his rageful protection of it
• A friend/lover/manager's deep and radiant love of the person she chose to stand by no matter what
• All the other lovers of music circling the main characters and remaining transfixed by the tumultuous concerto being played out before their eyes and within their hearing

The characters Pi-o and Jeong -yo are soulmate friends. Yes, such bonds do exist without any sexual tension. Anyone who's never had the privilege of experiencing such a bond will never understand this type of love. For Pi-o and Jeong -yo, their deepest romantic love is with music itself. Only those who can tap into such an electrifying current can stand by them (or sit on a piano stool with them).

As for Hong Jae-in, she is the premium friend, wife, manager everyone needs. If such a woman walks into your life, that would be a blessing. She never gave up on Pi-o, because her loving support went above and beyond the superficial. It's heart deep and Pi-o was lucky, beyond belief, to have her by his side.

So, you're an all around a**hole-- it's not just immaturity? How NOT surprising! 😆

And, in case you believed otherwise, I will mind whatever business I choose to, while also making the effort to not deliberately spoil the joy of others. I will ask, first, before dropping a load of spoilers on them. And, I will, going forward, block inconsiderate a-holes like you.

The person who left the initial comment didn't ask you, nor anyone else, to drop a potential spoiler reply under their comment. Don't be that person who takes pleasure in robbing others of their own joy of discovery. They're watching the series and will learn all details as the series unfolds.

For good and ill, love continues to grow. A Leh's love for Lin Zai is a beautiful flower unfurling in the midst of the apocalypse, while the doctor's love continues to spread like a toxin.

This drama continues to surprise me with its depth as the story draws to its conclusion.

The mind is powerful. How we perceive ourselves to be determines our limitations.

Love you, too, man. 🌺

By deducting from its overall score, because you don't like cheating, you were, indeed, criticizing the show. This is something you claimed you weren't doing.

To be clear, criticism, as in applying judgment, can be positive, negative, or neutral. Yours happens to be negative.

Let me help you with this one, dear internet stranger. Your entire comment thread, here, came about BECAUSE you expressed criticism of the show. Because of your person dislike, you admitted that you "Would [have] rated this higher if their girlfriends didn't [exist]."

The explanation of what a criticism is, is below:
"To criticize means to express disapproval, find fault with, or point out the real or perceived flaws of a person, action, policy, or creative work."
-Cambridge Dictionary

And yet, you chose to focus on the least egregious aspect of the story to criticize. "Next," indeed.

I believe that's either a 300mL or 500mL syringe. They're used for industrial purposes. That's not even the largest. 1000mL also exists. Scientists use them to transfer large volumes of fluid.


**SPOILER**
That the doctor was willing to withdraw that large a volume of blood from Lin Zai, after days of sizeable blood withdrawals, meant he was willing to take Lin Zai's life. The safest amount of blood that can be withdrawn, from a human, is 550mL (or 10.5 mL/kg of body weight) over the course of 8 weeks.

I believe that's either a 300mL or 500mL syringe. They're used for industrial purposes. That's not even the largest. 1000mL also exists. That the doctor was willing to withdraw that large a volume of blood from Lin Zai, after days of sizeable blood withdrawals, meant he was willing to take Lin Zai's life. The safest amount of blood that can be withdrawn, from a human, is 550mL (or 10.5 mL/kg of body weight) over the course of 8 weeks.

A. Lin Zai is deeply unwell, as the doctor has been slowly killing him with the amount of blood he's been withdrawing. His mind's cloudy and his thoughts are tangled.

B. Lin Zai knows that he needs to push A Lie away or there won't be a chance of A Lie leaving him behind. A Lie already took him away from people he cares about, and no matter how much A Lie loves him, he knows that A Lie's mission is to deliver him to scientists who may end up killing him for purpose of developing a vaccine to the zombie virus. He doesn't know that A Lie's love goes so deep that he's no longer willing to take him against his will.

C. He's likely scared that if A Lie finds out about his brother, A Lie will kill him, as A Lie already said that zombies can't be turned back to human. A Lie exterminated zombified Brother Li Ming without a second's hesitation.

Yes, he's ripping A Lie's heart to shreds, but isn't not as though he has no valid reasons to do so. It's all complicated.

Real love is complicated, man.

• Lin Zai will do anything to save his brother.
• A Lie will sacrifice his pride to save Lin Zai.
• The doctor will sacrifice anyone to save the person he loves.

Lin Zai saw, with his own eyes, that A Lie will exterminate a dangerous zombie without a second thought, regardless of who that person was before they got bit; so, of course, he keeps A Lie in the dark about what he's doing to save his brother. He also believes that A Lie won't choose him over his mission, which is to deliver him, like a guinea pig, to scientists trying to find a cure. A Lie already took him away from the people he loves and, until he's delivered to the scientists, A Lie's behavior makes it clear that he wants Lin Zai completely to himself. Because of how A Lie grew up, he's uber self-sufficient, and never learned how to share with anyone other than the person he loves above all things. If Lin Zai is in danger, Lin Zai believes that A Lie won't bat an eye to leave Grandma Qiu and Sister Chen to fend for themselves. He does love A Lie, but should he be expected to only choose him, when A Lie's purpose is to eventually hand him over to others? Real love's complicated, man.

A Lie finally found, after a life of being unloved and undervalued as a human being with a heart, someone he loves and is deeply connected to-- he finally found his person; but, that person doesn't only have A Lie, he has others he finds joy in, loves and values, as well. For A Lie to willingly choose to leave Lin Zai behind, regardless of his mission, speaks to how deeply he loves Lin Zai. For him to return with the medication Lin Zai may have a need for, in the future, shows how deeply he cares for Lin Zai's well-being. Pride be damned. Real love's complicated, man.

The doctor... oh, the doctor. He's deeply devoted to his adopted brother-- has loved him, romantically, since childhood. His love is a combination of Lin Zai's for his brother and A Lie's for Lin Zai. He's desperate to save the life of his person and is willing to do anything, such as feed him his own blood or take the blood of another's and risking that person's life to do so. Yes, his behavior is unethical and selfish; but, he's in love. And, once again, real love's complicated, man.

Of the three men, only Lin Zai has demonstrated the ability to choose more than one person's well-being over his own self-interest. He keeps trusting others, because he's not singularly focused. Lin Zai's the type of person needed in a healthy society, but he doesn't fare well in a world stripped of clean choices, where the majority of people are left only with the option to keep themself and their most precious ones alive at all costs.

Life and love are complicated, man, and that complexity is an integral part of the human condition.

Real love is complicated, man.... THE LAST OATH is proving itself to be a beautifully written human drama about the power and complexities of love, and what it takes to not only survive, but to live as someone who loves.