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Events Are Not the Same as Narrative Uncertainty
By Episode 36, The Road to Splendor resolves virtually every major conflict in perfect symmetry.
The corrupt Yu family finally falls. Their assets are confiscated, and Madam Shu and her son are reduced to commoners. Peace is restored, the salt trade is stabilized, Zhao Ling gives up his imperial honors to live quietly with the woman he loves, and the surviving women finally break free and embrace their independence.
In other words:
Corruption: punished.
Injustice: corrected.
Villains: defeated.
The salt conflict: resolved.
The hero: gives up power.
The couple: together.
The women: independent.
It is an almost perfectly symmetrical resolution to the conflicts established from the beginning.
Of course, many things can happen along the way: betrayals, separations, persecutions, revelations, and life-threatening situations.
But events are not the same as narrative uncertainty.
If we already know where every piece ultimately has to fall, we may not know exactly how the story will get there...
but the destination was never really in doubt.
The corrupt Yu family finally falls. Their assets are confiscated, and Madam Shu and her son are reduced to commoners. Peace is restored, the salt trade is stabilized, Zhao Ling gives up his imperial honors to live quietly with the woman he loves, and the surviving women finally break free and embrace their independence.
In other words:
Corruption: punished.
Injustice: corrected.
Villains: defeated.
The salt conflict: resolved.
The hero: gives up power.
The couple: together.
The women: independent.
It is an almost perfectly symmetrical resolution to the conflicts established from the beginning.
Of course, many things can happen along the way: betrayals, separations, persecutions, revelations, and life-threatening situations.
But events are not the same as narrative uncertainty.
If we already know where every piece ultimately has to fall, we may not know exactly how the story will get there...
but the destination was never really in doubt.
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