Douluo Continent - Ending of S1

Feb 21, 2021 04:07 pm

This discussion is for those who have completed the drama!! Else, SPOILERS ALERT !!!

In the last few moments, there is a voice over by Tang San's mother. Subtitles are not available yet, but loosely translated as below:-

"Tang San, have you truly waken? What is real, which is your true self.... Tang San, wake up...."

At the moment, I have only 1 guess:- that Tang San was under the control of Shi Nian from the end of ep 38.... Tang San was talking to his teammates, but scene suddenly cut to him talking to Shi Nian, and the subsequent scenes, imagining seeing Tang Hao, seeing his teammates being hurt by Shi Nian, but all these were only an illusions (this part could be a dream within a dream).... and there's the weird discussion about what everyone would do after the tournament was over..... all these feel quite unrealistic. Especially how Bi Bi Dong was aware of the plot to kill her, and almost everyone else knew too, except for Ghost Douluo...?? This is my guess on the cliffhanger ending for now.

There are other possibilities on the beginning point of the illusions.... the ending did not cover on where are the missing contestants? Their mysterious disappearances, seems weird to be done by Ghost Douluo alone? Even if Ghost Douluo has the help of the other soul masters, why did he need to capture them? Hold all of them captive so that they could not help Bi Bi Dong and spoil his plan? Does not sound right too....

Probably need to re-watch ep1 and the eps 30 to 40 again.... -__-

What are your thoughts on the ending? Let's discuss §(*￣▽￣*)§

susuworld

Feb 21, 2021 09:35 pm

I finished ep 40 and before I even started this episode, I had a feeling it would be a cliffhanger. There was so much to uncover that I didn't felt 1 episode was going to wrap it all up. I never read th anime so I am confused as to what really happened in the ending. There was so major plot holes. TS has been portrayed throughout the series as the one with the brains yet, when it became obvious why it was XW who was able to enter through this portal with the dungeons- the reason was said right there in front of TS but he pick up on it at all. At least for me, that's when I realized how special XW was and what she really was. She was hinted all along that she wasn't an ordinary soul master. We never see her actually kill a soul beast yet, she has the soul rings through transfer.

At the very least, we find out who TS's mother was before she died and she is exactly like XW. Overall, some answers but still many questions.

Major

Feb 21, 2021 10:35 pm

I'm just hypothesizing so take this with a huge grain of salt, esp since I gave up on this halfway through, but his mother's words relate perfectly to a major event that happens to TS a few years after the drama ends. Directly related it his mother I might add. I won't spoil it. Personally, I think the screenwriter just added a bunch of dramatic garbage as a distraction, just as everything else was rewritten. But having read the novel I can assure you this line is a huge clue "Tang San, have you truly waken? But who knows..so much has been changed in the drama.

Becky

Feb 22, 2021 02:48 am

I haven't read the novel and am in the early part of the anime. But it sounds like screenwriter has mixed up a few major events and timelines.... Someone else familiar with the novel said the same as @Major. So I'm relief ^^". At least the ending shouldn't be a dream-within-a dream...

JCC

Feb 23, 2021 06:42 am

Never watch the anime or the novel - but now will go binge the anime. I'm curious since it actually echos the words of ep 1 - In his dream in ep 1, he had seen all of this. (I just happened to rewatch ep 1, and realize how much was shown in the opening dream sequence.) I wonder if any of this season actually happened as we thought it happened at all. I heard from internet that what's real may not be real and what's unreal may not be unreal. So, everything that has happened in ep 1 may not be "real" in the sense we understand it. But the writer has said that the reveal won't happen till near the series wrap - that's the thread that ties everything together... (My assumption is that this particular "trick" is not true to the novel, since there is no time jump allowed. So, it's a whole new "trick")

Deerview

Feb 23, 2021 07:18 am

These weird cliff hanger dream endings are a dime of a dozen, like in battle through heaven and princess agents. Even joy of life cliff hanger to the second season will probably end up something like this.

Becky

Feb 23, 2021 08:15 am

Yes, the beginning of ep 1 hint of dream sequence: the same voiceover asking TS to wake up, and when he woke up, he was chopping wood through the seasons... And him marking the days on wood. Ep 1 showed TS waking up twice. I wonder if there's extra meaning in this? Like 1 is a dream in a dream while the other is really waking up? Will try to bottle up my confusion until season 2.

Deerview

Feb 23, 2021 04:52 pm

If this was a dream then I hope it's not by Shi Lian. That guy is a serious creeper. He's basically like a sex offender with what he did to his servants.

xbs81715cps

Feb 24, 2021 06:31 am

Folks. You are all overthinking the ending. Seriously, 唐三 is merely unconscious and as it has been demonstrated throughout the entire season, he always ends up in the magical space which his mother made for him whenever he is out. Plus, his mother’s spirit is always in his heart and will manifest itself whenever he is in the greatest of dangers. The bookending of dreaming/unconscious state at the end and beginning of the season is an utter stroke of genius. Very (David) Lynchian in inspiration and execution. And whether or not we actually get a second season — it’s all up to the unknowable whims of the Chinese now — it is clear that this first season was written as an expository one with intentional unanswered questions and unresolved threads LIKE the ending. Sometimes, things are exactly what they seem to be. (Which is kind of meta considering the questions that 唐三‘s mother keeps posing to him at the end there which is also what she asked at the beginning of the season...)

absurd

Feb 24, 2021 08:08 am

xbs81715cps:
Folks. You are all overthinking the ending. Seriously, 唐三 is merely unconscious and as it has been demonstrated throughout the entire season, he always ends up in the magical space which his mother made for him whenever he is out. Plus, his mother’s spirit is always in his heart and will manifest itself whenever he is in the greatest of dangers. The bookending of dreaming/unconscious state at the end and beginning of the season is an utter stroke of genius. Very (David) Lynchian in inspiration and execution. And whether or not we actually get a second season — it’s all up to the unknowable whims of the Chinese now — it is clear that this first season was written as an expository one with intentional unanswered questions and unresolved threads LIKE the ending. Sometimes, things are exactly what they seem to be. (Which is kind of meta considering the questions that 唐三‘s mother keeps posing to him at the end there which is also what she asked at the beginning of the season...)

I agree with you. That was exactly the impression I've got. The whole "Wake up" thing is like going full circle with the first episode. It would have been nice if they added a final shot of TS abruptly opening his eyes there, but oh, well.

Enigma05 VIP

Feb 24, 2021 10:14 am

Folks that are finished with drama, please don't forget to rate and review honestly here and IMDb. creating an account there is free and the drama has its own pg too. If you have access to Douban, try that one too but its credibility is shoddy at best.

Becky

Feb 24, 2021 12:27 pm

Enigma05:
Folks that are finished with drama, please don't forget to rate and review honestly here and IMDb. creating an account there is free and the drama has its own pg too. If you have access to Douban, try that one too but its credibility is shoddy at best.

Erm okay, but I do hope to keep this discussion on the drama finale and what is/are your thoughts on the ending? If you do spot something "unusual" or have some ideas on what the ending means, please share!

Thank You

emmagucci

Feb 24, 2021 01:18 pm

Major:
I'm just hypothesizing so take this with a huge grain of salt, esp since I gave up on this halfway through, but his mother's words relate perfectly to a major event that happens to TS a few years after the drama ends. Directly related it his mother I might add. I won't spoil it. Personally, I think the screenwriter just added a bunch of dramatic garbage as a distraction, just as everything else was rewritten. But having read the novel I can assure you this line is a huge clue "Tang San, have you truly waken? But who knows..so much has been changed in the drama.

Now I'm curious. Does that mean he has other powers linked more to his mother's nature? Anyway it sucks he repeats his father destiny (falling in love with a soul beast). I don't like this trope of sons having to repeat , but try to do better something that parents did in the past...

Major

Feb 24, 2021 04:35 pm

emmagucci:
Now I'm curious. Does that mean he has other powers linked more to his mother's nature?

That's an understatement LOL. And if you were to ask that about his great grandfather, it would be an even bigger one (you haven't seen anything yet XD). As I said, the unconscious/dream element is a complete distraction. He isn't really unconscious or dreaming; he's experiencing mental recall (of the events in DC) while a crucially important evolution (I won't spoil) is occurring to him . Personally I thought this adaptation was mostly a disaster, but this was one element that worked. It foreshadows a major event after training with his father, hints at the true status of his mother, and links directly to a HUGE change in his spirit power--which directly relates to this 'space' he inhabits. Having read the novel it's obvious what the SW is doing here, esp when it ended with "Tang San, what is your true self?" Honestly, I'd encourage you to watch the donghua, or better yet read the novel. The latter certainly isn't perfect--the last third borders on the ridiculous at times--but both of them put this drama completely in the shade.