Shen Wei's decision not to tell Zhao Yunlan

[riventhorn]

 I'm putting this discussion behind the cut because it contains spoilers for Episodes 38 through 40. 

I'm interested in how others feel about Shen Wei's decision not to tell Zhao Yunlan about his end-game plan for stopping Ye Zun, i.e. turning himself into a bomb. 

Personally, I think it was the right decision--or perhaps it is more accurate to say, the best choice of many bad options. Regardless of whether he told Zhao Yunlan or not, I don't think Shen Wei would have changed his decision to sacrifice himself to stop Ye Zun. If he had told ZYL much earlier, say when he first conceived of the plan or during the famous kitchen scene, it would only have resulted in a lot of fighting, anger, and sorrow, because ZYL would certainly have tried to stop Shen Wei or done something drastic himself to try and stop Ye Zun. I mean, just look at ZYL's face in these moments in Ep 38 when Shen Wei is hurt and how absolutely devastated he is: https://youtu.be/V2dUtbSz4hQ?t=1823

By not telling ZYL, Shen Wei is able to be with him without Shen Wei's looming death hanging over them. Shen Wei, of course, knows what is coming and has to bear that, but I consider it more an act of kindness and love not to tell ZYL as opposed to looking at it as a selfish act. 

Beyond this moment, it raises the interesting question of when it is appropriate to keep secrets, to keep people in the dark, to hide bad news, etc. I know I've read this somewhere, although I can't remember where, but it was something to the effect of how a strong and lasting relationship may not necessarily depend on the parties involved sharing everything with each other. 

Comments

[trobadora]

Chiming in: I dislike the Dixing/Haixing separation, too. But I feel like, since Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are of course going to find each other again, they're going to need some problem to deal with, and that can be part of the plot. *g*

(Totally agreed about Ye Zun and the "incomplete information" theme, btw!)

[riventhorn]

lol, yes, SW and ZYL will need some sort of problem--they could never have a dull existence!

In a future meta post, I'd be interested in exploring the whole "incomplete information" theme too. I wonder if it is there in the novel at all or if it is drama-specific?

[trobadora]

I know I've said this before, but what I want most of all isn' a fix-it, it's a sequel. *g*

And I'd love to read that meta post! It's such a consistent throughline for the drama, and I don't recall hearing it mentioned in relation to the novel. But I haven't read enough of it to be able to say whether it exists there.

[riventhorn]

what I want most of all isn' a fix-it, it's a sequel.

ME TOO.

How would you want their reincarnated selves handled? Would they still look like ZYL and SW or would have new bodies/appearances?

[trobadora]

Honestly, I'm not really a fan of reincarnation in the drama-verse - I'd like some other solution best. (But no matter what, I'd always want them to look like themselves. I just can't imagine them as played by anyone but Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu.)

[riventhorn]

So something like "restored to life as themselves"--sort of more like the idea of King Arthur sleeping on the island until it's time for him to awake?

And yes, I can't imagine them as anyone but Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong either.

[trobadora]

Yes, something like that! Like Shen Wei's dirt nap, maybe, or Ge Lan/Wang Zheng suddenly popping up as an amnesiac ghost 100 years after her death.

[xparrot]

Ahhh, see for me a sequel would be a "fix-it," at least how I conceive of them! My issues with the Guardian drama ending are primarily because it's the ending. If the storylines were part of a larger narrative, I wouldn't have nearly as much trouble accepting them.

E.g. The Dixing-Haixing separation wouldn't bother me so much if in the end they'd mentioned it as a problem -- that the SID was trying to get the portals open or something, to reunite families separated and such. But instead it's treated like it's the solution -- everyone's got their own sun, we don't need to cooperate any longer, whew! And that's frustrating to me.

[trobadora]

You know, I think this conversation just clarified something for me. I suppose I see the final scene between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan as such a blatant "this is NOT the ending; the story will keep on going!" that I'm not taking things for that final ... which definitely affects how I react to them.

(But yeah, even then I really don't like the Dixing/Haixing separation and choose to believe it won't last for very long.)

[xparrot]

Heh, yeah, that's my sister; she doesn't find the ending especially tragic at all, because she's so sure they'll come back/be reincarnated/whatever...

And I can see it that way sometimes, but I needed a bit more for it to really work for me (okay, I needed a hug, dang it, there's all that glorious angst and torture and whump at the end but I'm an h/c fan, I can't enjoy it properly without some comfort! ;_;)