Hidden details after re-watching

EPISODE 1 Part 1

The background and story's premise:
Devil God is the incarnation of all sins who brings disasters and death to the world. His only weakness is the divine artifact, Mirror of the Past, which allegedly can end his life. Ten thousand years ago, all gods died to have finally killed the ancient Devil God (DG 1.0). Now, a new Devil God with unknown identity appeared abruptly from unknown origin. In this dire situation, the last immortals seek a way to kill Devil God. The divine artifact is their last hope. Mirror of the Past is hidden in Xiaoyao Sect, but eventually it was found by Devil God (DG 2.0).

This episode is an exhibition of power, divine artifacts and weapons. From Devil God, we saw All-In-Distress Array, the dragon float, Bone-Nailing Seal, Bone-Refining seal, the God-Slaughtering Crossbow, and Sky-Slashing Sword. And from the immortals: Xiaoyao Thump (that can even the fight with demon, later is used by CJM to fight Siying), the divine artifact Chongyu harp (that can hurt Devil God, which is created from the last power Space God), and the Mirror of The Past (which is created by Time God) as well as Light-Breaking Array.

Li Susu/ LSS unexpectedly activated it with her blood (it rises question about her real identity) and she traveled to another dimension for a brief of time. She met Jize, the Time God, and is presented with some shocking information. She is the Chosen One who can use the artifact to reverse the destiny.

Jize said, "Devil God wasn't born to be evil. His past is his only weakness (and it was full of torture). 500 years ago, he was a merely weak mortal. But as the evil fetus, he was already accumulating strength for the Devil God's revival." Jize made her the strategy: "Now, the Devil God has already appeared. But if he failed to become a devil back then, today's destruction wouldn't happen." Hengyang Sect leader (LSS's father) added: "If we return to the past and kill Tantai Jin before he turns evil, the Devil God won't come into being. Born as an evil fetus, TTJ has evil bones. If his body dies, his evil bones will wake up. Then immediately, he'll become a devil. The evil bones must be destroyed first to kill him completely."

LSS is the last immortal. After witnessing TTJ slaughtered all people dearest to her, she stated her purpose: to kill TTJ.

***

In dramatic writing, there is a principle called Chekov's gun. It suggests that details within a story  will contribute to the overall narrative. Every details included in the story (that readers/ viewers' attention are drawn to) should be part of plot trajectory, character development, etc.

Episode 1 showers us with so many details regarding weapons and divine artifacts. It is good to know, later in the the last arc, all of those are used to move the plot forward, till the end of the story. However, at the first time watching, I don't pay attention to those details, thinking it is just fancy things to show. I remember, I got a bit bored because the backstory is pretty long (about 25 minutes), but now I understand the purpose.

This drama is unique in comparison to other dramas. The backstory is usually presented in form of narration told by a narrator, and/ or only shows the resulted event, not the process lead to the climatic event (eg. In Love between Fairy and Devil, we never know how the goddess fought devil god and how the god of war fought the demon lord. Thus, we never know their true godly powers. What leverage does the goddess possess so she can defeat evil "easily"?) Also, the backstory usually stays in the back and explained through short flashbacks. 

 TTEOM sets the backstory as an event in the future, while the main story is happened in the past. It lets the main characters to tell themselves what has been happened to them. We get some action scenes through which the necessary initial impression about how fearsome and cool the DG is, is formed in our mind. We get an interesting mind game about causes and consequences, through the complete and balanced narration about the past (Mingye vs DG 1.0 arc), present (DG 2.0 and TTJ in mortal arc), and future (CJM arc and DG 3.0).

The first 25 minutes serves like a mirror to the last episode (40), but in an ironically reversed way. In episode 1: LSS lost everyone, and TTJ are left alive, alone. LSS stated she will be the one who kills TTJ. In episode 40: LSS saved everyone, but TTJ. LSS is the one saved by TTJ and TTJ killed himself. We can forsee the end from the beginning. The first and foremost question is: Will TTJ be died? (It is not, will TTJ be alive and happy?) So long as this question get the answer, it should be the end for the story, no more else.

I always wonder why this drama ends this way (because the novel has the alternative happy ending and it is not hard to just follow it). I can only guess that maybe the director wishes to maintain the story symmetry (meaning: attempts to reveal the connections between the various parts of story, so that you can more easily build cohesive plots, characters, themes, and settings/ no internal contradictions.) Thus, the drama would be poetic and harmonious. IMO, for a fiction/ drama writer, being able to create a symmetrical story must be an amazing achievement.

EPISODE 1 (Part 2) & 2

LSS got a new identity as Ye Xiwu (YXW) and a new life as well. She lose her magical power and martial arts, but gains new social standing and great advantage as beloved and spoiled legal daughter of a general (a kind of soft power). In the past, YXW is so wicked and nasty to other people. But now, with LSS personality in her body, she changes drastically to be nicer and more reasonable. However, this situation brings out one difficulty: How will a noble purpose (to stop DG) be carried out by an evil character? As an immortal, she is a heroine. But as a mortal, she is swapped to be the villain.

LSS/YXW learned that DG is born from evil, but unexpectedly, she is the very factor of his revival. In the alternate past, she is the cause of TTJ's death. And now, she almost does the same. Even though the previous and the now YXW have different personality, they harbor the same intent to kill TTJ, but for different reasons. The old YXW hates him because of their forced marriage and his liking to Ye Bingchang (YBC), her sister. The new YXW hates him because he is the future DG. Her knowledge about the future and fear cloud her conscience and create prejudice.

Episode 2 shows us what is called dehumanization which is an important mechanism to justify evil doing. Basically, human being has sense of morality that prevents him/her to wrong other people. Unless you are a psychopath, doing evil will never be easy and simple business because we have self-conscious emotions like guilt and empathy. However, these emotions can be broken by rationalizing and justifying the wrong doing. Therefore, instead of guilty, a person would feel righteous in doing so.

YXW is the best case we have. She has everything needed to kill TTJ right away: righteous motivation, power at her hands, no control over her, and opportunity. At first, looking at how weak and delicate he is, YXW is in disbelief that he is the devil fetus and will be DG. His redish hair and thin body indicate malnutrition. His pale complexion indicates he is not well. His colorless simple clothing worse than servants indicates humiliation. And, his passivity indicates powerlessness. So, her superego said, "I can't kill innocent man."

But, she is trapped in her bias. She doesn't believe that TTJ is innocent. She wants to believe that he is evil. So, she asked Chuntao, "Why does nobody like him?" It is because he is so peculiar. It is not enough. She observed TTJ quietly, "Why does he do nothing and let himself suffer?" It is because TTJ is faking his weakness and just playing victim to make people feel bad and go soft on him. But, later she observes that people don't go soft on him. Her servants humiliate him, makes him suffer more.

Her guesses about TTJ are all wrong. So, her guilty feeling and compassion increases. She meet TTJ alone and offer him a help. TTJ refuses it, saying, "Many in this world want me dead." In other words, "I want to die. So, let me be."  So, YXW turns her back. "He is not a creature made of flesh and bone. You expressed sympathy for him. Yet he was sarcastically mean to you in return. He doesn't deserve your kindness. So, save the empathy and do something meaningful!"

Luckily, she is aware and quick to correct her mistake. If only she didn't remember her duty, TTJ would be died as destined. From this point onward, she sets a new short term goal: to not let TTJ die prematurely. How? By taking care of him, making sure he is well fed and dressed, not caught in accident, and get sick. She stops pursuing revenge and exerts more self-control.

The scenes from the first 15 minutes of episode 2 is so good to see. YXW's psychological dynamic is natural and on point, making her an interesting strong female character. To kill TTJ at first is just an imposed duty. But, she doesn't hesitate to accept it or doubt her ability to carry it out. She treats this duty as a challenge, with self-confidence and determination. This duty gives her a goal to pursue, and this goal plays important role in shaping the way she should behave, think, and feel, to be a better person herself.

This kind of development makes me think about how lame are those dramas which portrays female character as childish, stupid, naive, easily likeable with cliche reason, a damsel in distress, dependent to a man. Here we have a female character who has nobody but herself yet she is still capable and not losing her self. It is really empowering.

EPISODE 2 Part 1

Episode 2 shows us a major issue in society: social class system. Even though there is no full description of it, we can sense it from the family dynamic in Ye mansion.

Ye family practices a kind of parental favoritism. The parents treat and demand each child differently. From legal wife, we have Ye Qingyu as the most beloved son because he follows the respected father to have career in military. Ye Zeyu is mocked because of his carefree nature and lack of sense of responsibility. YXW is very egoistic, but she is the most beloved and tolerated (maybe it is because she is very good at winning the hearts of people and easy to get along with). Meanwhile, YBC has lower status because she is merely a daughter of concubine.

If we compare YXW relationship with people around her, everything looks good. She is respected (or feared) by all people in the house. Chuntao, her personal attendant, is open, friendly, and funny to her. Even Xiao Lin doesn't give a damn about her unruly behavior; he has only mild negative view, "She is just irrational (not evil)." Everyone tolerates her, her "harmless fun". Her one and only "enemy" is her step sister (and TTJ). After we know YBC and Pianran story later, we understand the reason why. YXW always suspects YBC's drastic personality change. She accused YBC for doing something unfair to win Prince Xiao Lin's heart (her crush). YXW is aware of YBC's fakeness and so brutal to make YBC pays for her loss.

The issue of social class is highlighted again and now is linked to the power relations among the nobles and the servants. TTJ is at the bottom of both parties. He has double unfavorable identities: a hostage prince (his social identity) and a weird one (his personality). Servants at Ye mansion are allowed to make fun of him so openly. "Some people may seem to be in a higher social class. But deep down, they are inferior. A broken-down noble. Even we are living better lives than he is. His life is absolutely pathetic. He may as well take his own life and free himself from all these miseries. He should just end his miserable life."

Everyone knows he is miserable and pathetic. Yet nobody cares because he is weird, and he never defends himself. When observing how bad the behavior of the servants toward TTJ, YXW thus learns the bitter lesson. Sometimes, evil things prevails because nobody cares to intervene, because people model the behavior of the higher-ups, and because of their own misfortune, they only feel good by finding more miserable others. 

YXW acts so fast to defend TTJ.  YXW is angry on behalf of him, stands for him and stops the abuse. YXW returns him to his place as a prince and her husband. When she shows respect to TTJ, people follow her and do the same. LSS/ YXW does justice to TTJ. "All human being are equal." She now acknowledges TTJ as a human. 

This part really gives us a strong moral message. Actually, there is a fine line separating goodness from evil. That line is how well you treat other human being.

 anitfa:

This drama is unique in comparison to other dramas. The backstory is usually presented in form of narration told by a narrator, and/ or only shows the resulted event, not the process lead to the climatic event (eg. In Love between Fairy and Devil, we never know how the goddess fought devil god and how the god of war fought the demon lord. Thus, we never know their true godly powers. What leverage does the goddess possess so she can defeat evil "easily"?) Also, the backstory usually stays in the back and explained through short flashbacks. 

Thanks for your insights anitfa! yes, episode 1 is unique, because I as the viewer was already pushed into the middle of something at the very beginning, and without noticing it, I have already been prepared about how this story will go because of all the details in the first almost half of the episode. 

The narration route, whether with a narrator narrating, or a character overexplaining, is almost always used, and yet it sometimes kills the pacing and the flow of the story, even if it is necessary to explain the backstory or the motivations of the characters. Good for this drama for being tightly paced in at least the first 1/4 of the story, with necessary details only flashbacked occasionally to emphasize some points but not affecting the flow too much.

The first episodes were a good study in story telling, and of course other lessons like what you said about societal system, etc.

I have to add, remembering how the prologue ended, when LSS disappeared in the array, we were left with the DG looking sort of confused (?) and then before the scene cuts to black, he looks at the camera directly as if challenging the audience or the fates if his destiny could really be altered, and that this devastation that we saw would never come to pass. (Setting aside personal feelings about how it is LYX meeting my gaze hahahaha) That was a great choice of action to keep the audience engaged and interested to see if really, that future could be changed by LSS.

I love this drama so much.

EPISODE 2 Part 2

Relationship between DG with his devil fetus:

DG 1.0 doesn't have material body. He is portrayed as a big fiery dark masked face with glowing eyes appeared in TTJ's deep unconsciousness. In front of him, TTJ looks small. TTJ acknowledged him the one who is "always there whenever death comes knocking." DG 1.0 resides in TTJ's soul like a ghost. That place (TTJ's soul) is like a stormy night. It is dark, cloudy, windy, thundering, and turbulent. 

This devil spirit is always inside TTJ like his alter ego, or this is a personification of evil bone (a kind of storage for DG's primordial soul?) His way of speak is calm, relaxed, and slow, yet full of confidence, enticing, and commanding. It is like nothing in this world can disturb him. TTJ listens to him submissively and takes everything he said seriously. 

In other words, TTJ has experienced dying several times and those moments are their usual opportunity to meet and have talk. It is creepy to have a ghost in your soul! This being His only purpose is TTJ's soul. But, he doesn't want it now.

There is a covenant between DG and TTJ. DG wants TTJ's soul for him to revive, meaning TTJ must die and it should be a big thing for TTJ.  However, TTJ shows indifferent attitude toward life and death. He presents his body and soul to DG like it is not important. Interestingly. DG refuses it.  Reason: it is not the time yet; because TTJ survived in the icy pond scene. Something is intriguing here. If DG wants his soul, it is easier to persuade him to kill himself. So, this business should be more than merely die. How TTJ dies matters, and it must not be through suicide, but through experiencing and enduring suffering. TTJ must be patient, and not easily give up.

It is such a hard to believe requirement. I wonder why.

In alternate past, the icy pond scene is the most important event resulting DG's revival. It is the most torturing; TTJ is frozen to death, no food for days, with extra humiliation. He is killed slowly by YXW. However, in the new timeline, he was saved by LSS/YXW. In scenario 1, if he was not survive, the revival of DG means that DG immediately accepts his offering. In scenario 2, he is saved, so the content of the talk with DG is changed. The DG refuses his offering knowing he will survive and thus, will go though different fate trajectory.

I got impression that the DG is somehow pitying and quite empathetic to TTJ. "Why? You've run out of patience (so you want to die)? But I don't blame you (for wanting to die since you can't do anything about your fate). For the past 20 years and more, this body (of yours) has done nothing but make you feel pain, hungry, cold, and humiliated. And made you helpless." DG thus told him some foreknowledge (perhaps so that TTJ would prepare himself to face the worse to come). "Tantai Jin, you have to be a bit more patient. You're going to go through all hardships of mortal life and be drowned in endless bitterness. You'll walk a dark and cursed path. There's no escaping the pain." Only through death, there will be eternal peace for TTJ. DG promises him that peace.

Since DG has been his closest companion , from different perspective, these sentences somehow feel like a consolation. And it is said rightly after TTJ told him: "It (eternal peace) doesn't matter (to me). My body and my soul, you can have both if you like. I couldn't care less." TTJ is so apathetic. Maybe, this apathy is unfavorable condition for DG's revival. A DG wants total annihilation of all realms, but this purpose cannot be based on apathy, but understanding of pain and suffering. Only by knowing suffering and wanting to stop it, the next DG would have the motivation to annihilate the realms.

Therefore, the DG reminds him. You should listen to this scene attentively, because surprisingly, the DG said these so gently (the background music at this part also is so hauntingly beautiful), "Tantai Jin, you have to be a bit more patient." Or in other words, "You must endure and survive (even though we have a covenant)." Only after all tribulation, if "You're in your hardest time (again) and approach the end of life (again), I will come for you and this time, will accept you offering." 

It is like DG is giving TTJ second chance. Because, if he doesn't care anything, the DG 2.0 wouldn't do things as wished by DG 1.0 (who himself has been longing for freedom and peace since the beginning of time). This peace thing is an important detail that is re-discussed near the ending (episode 39). When TTJ and DG 1.0 confront one each other, DG 1.0 told him the real purpose behind annihilation. It is just he is doing things wrongly to achieve his ultimate goal, so that he is stopped by Mingye and killed. This wish to have freedom and eternal peace is the reason behind his attempt. TTJ should have the same motive/ reason.

In episode 2, it is interesting to see there are two different kinds of patience, talked by two oppositional characters. For LSS/YXW (the heroine), her patience is to not kill/ revenge TTJ right away despite her hate and rage. She reminds herself to have compassion toward TTJ. For TTJ (the villain), his patience is to endure and to not give up life easily despite the hardship and pain. Compassion and perseverance are important keys to fight evil. Compassion is needed by those who are about to be the perpetrator of evil deeds. Perseverance is needed by the victims of evil. These symmetries are wonderful.

Another thing, DG 1.0 never comes to TTJ as planned. Unexpectedly, he is revived not through TTJ's offering, but Di Mian. We know that TTJ/CJM later experienced the hardest time again and almost died again. But, he is not willing to die and fights for his fate so fiercely against those who wrong him. So, when finally he reaches his end, it is truly a freedom and peace that he gets. For DG 1.0, freedom and peace are only to be achieved by destroying everything. For TTJ/ DG 3.0, those are achieve by self-sacrificing to protect everything.
 

 chsaf:

I like your insight. It's true every time we rewatch the story, there's some detail that we missed out the 1st or 2nd round of watching. That's what I like about TTEOTM, it's well-written despite some deviation from the novel, it still has depth and an engaging storyline. Noticing the tiny details make us appreciate and understand the story more.

Cannot agree more! This drama has so much to reveal!

EPISODE 3

A dive into TTJ's personality:
It is wonderful to have a drama that invests quite a lot of time to deeply explain a character. Commonly, personality is only explained limitedly to "what has happened in the past", but not "how it affects character's psychology, personality, behavior, and growth." We are used to be given a simple formula: a troubled character is the result of troubled past. But, in TTEOM, troubled past does not necessarily cause a troubled character or a troublemaker. Because, human can learn. 

This drama is like a full biography of TTJ. It is not a slice of life. TTJ is described very satisfyingly as a grey and intriguing character.

1. He chats with animals. Crows, sparrows, flies, mosquitos, bees, butterflies, frogs, etc. He is isolated from the world, but he is not so lonely because of the companionship of these little friends. He talks about his problem with them, gets connected to the world through them, makes use and even commands them. Animal is the only creature that accepts his existence, wills to befriend him, cares, and defends him. For people, this ability is weird. But, we can say it is a kind of intelligence as compensation of his inability to feel emotions.

2. He doesn't harbor evil intent/ ill feeling to people who have wronged him. Surprisingly, it is because he understands the reason, his capacity, and his priority. He is self-reflective and level-headed. "You all insult me not because of what I've done, but simply because you enjoy it. I can't change all of you. As for whether I hold resentment or grudges, none of it matters. I'm just a hostage prince. To be alive is exhausting enough. I can't afford to think about anything else." He has capacity to let go things, but it can also be seen as apathy because he wants no more than live peacefully.

3. He is reclusive and self-reliant, but not necessarily anti-social. "No one will ever like me. And I don't need to be liked." If he doesn't need to be liked by people, then he doesn't need anything else from people. If he doesn't need anything from others, he doesn't ask anything, he doesn't feel gratitude/ owed anything to others.

4. He has capacity to manage his relationship with people. He usually doesn't associate himself with people to avoids troubles, and won't harm/ cause trouble to them without reason. He doesn't have ambition to power, "To be able to breath is enough for me." And he has a sense of right and wrong. But, wait until his significant others are threatened or he is betrayed/ hurt wrongly or he is put into danger. He surely would make them pay. He is decisive; not afraid to inflict them pain or even death. He can be merciless and heartless.

Because the positive and negative are balance, this creates conflict. He is very likable, but also disliked. Would he be a hero, or a villain? Should we support and cheer on him, or feel sorry? What will he be in the future? It is hard to predict. Our understanding about him is so changeable along the course of the story. His behavior continuously can be perceived/ interpreted differently as we change our perspective and gain more knowledge about the events and people around him.

Watching him is like following a person to develop from time to time, and the actor (Luo Yunxi) is so careful at delivering the personality transitions. At beginning (episode 1), he is so passive, depressed, and powerless. Later, gradually he becomes to be more open and having initiative to do things on his own. And when he finally experiences the taste of power, he starts to have ambition and make plans.