Okay so I'm putting this here since it was requested (contains spoilers for the ending), here u go:
Throughout the show, Zhao Yuanzhou's character was always described as morally gray. This will be an attempt to try nd explain why that might be the case, how it connects to the overall story nd what it signifies for the ending.
We all know that ZYZ is kind, but kind doesnt mean fair, morally upright or just. He has always struck me as the type who cares more about reasons over consequences. Even if its a serial murderer, he'd prolly let them go if he finds their feelings or reasonings valid or if they promise not to do it again, even if it means being unfair or unjust to the victims. Like the case with ran yi, even li lun, if he cultivated for 100 years nd turned over a new leaf, zyz wud prolly forgive nd become friends again. Its also why he had no semblance of grudge or even annoyance towards bai jiu, coz not only is he younger nd more inexperienced than his fingernail, but he also empathized with him, so he nicely explained what happened instead of being mad. This i believe is largely shaped by his own experience of having to deal with unintented consequences, he's so torn up over the results of his own malicious energy controlled actions, that he gives a lot of leeway to consequences of every other kind if the emotions behind it feels valid to him. In short, what i mean is, even if the end result is horrible, the intent behind it meant more to him than what happened coz of it.
Now here's how it ties to the story, the drama has been focusing a lot on choices nd consequences, but over all of it is an inexplicable hold of fate. Zhuo Yichen once said its like a book with a prewritten ending, u can read over nd over but the ending never changes. So ultimately, it looks like yinglongs prophecy came true once again, history repeated itself, cycle of tragedy continues, ending remained the same. But did it really? Doesn't it somehow look like fate is 'correcting' itself? It took thousands of years but if u consider the tragedy with yinglong nd bingyi, they were the 2 great ancient demons protecting the world, due to some mishap one had to die nd they were such a pair that if one goes, the other goes too. Bcoz of that, the 2 great protectors were both basically gone. Bingyi created a bloodline to pass on his duty nd sword to them coz he couldnt bear to do it alone forever. Nd the malicious energy been choosing a new vessel that wud suffer yinglongs fate ever since. Later the history of demons nd in turn, their subsequent futures got altered negatively nd stuck in a cycle of tragedy. ZYZ suffered so much torment over the years due to bearing a fate he never wanted nd sought death under the bingyi clans sword to end it all. But, throughout the show we saw 2 major things happening, zyz coming alive bcoz of wen xiao, nd zyc being forced to walk zyz's road. (Both of which affected not just those 2 but also the way zyz saw his own life. Sometimes u cant get over ur self hate nd loathing without seeing it happening thru a different perspective i.e, of ur loved ones. In fiercely protecting zyc during his demonization, in encouraging wx to live nd fight for her life, he was essentially having a different angle to view his own situations, even if he didnt notice it consciously)
This trio, its like destiny connected them this way to fix the cycle. Yinglong despite having every chance to come back, didnt do so coz he didnt have a tether, nothing for which he'd come back for. Despite ZYZ's soul being extracted the same way, the difference is that he has a tether, he did NOT want to die nd thus would be fully willing to come back coz his reason for living still exists in the world. Wen xiao existed to ignite nd reignite every emotions nd passions that would make him alight with life nd seek to live. She was his anchor, the one grounding him nd tying him to the world. Her love for him made him love the world not just as an outsider but as a living breathing part of it who also deserves to exist in it nd be loved equally for it.
Meanwhile yichen's journey involved so much parallel nd forced reconstruction of his lifestyle that it feels like fate had him exist to understand ZYZ, nd not just an understanding born outta feelings of love or sympathy, but the kind of thorough understanding that only comes with actually experiencing the same equivalent road. Fate rebuilt him in a way so that he takes up the position bingyi once did by yinglongs side (as a greater demon as he was originally meant to be, thus reforming the long lost pair), so that they can develop similar feelings nd make the same choices again due to their one of a kind bond.
So as we have the story, the ending remained the same, their choices remained the same, they all chose the greater good but the difference was that this time they also chose each other. They loved each other enough to promise to live together in different variations of it nd each chose their burdens in a way that'd actually allow them to do so, undoing the toxic cycle they've been stuck in since the time of their ancestors. Much like ZYZ's core belief in intents making all the difference despite the tragic outcomes, the show's predetermined ending failed to mean the same bcoz of the feelings of the people involved in it. Almost like if the story itself were a character, it'd be embodying ZYZ's philosophy; making him the truly perfect protagonist for the show. The past nd present came full circle with ZYZ's soul finding its way back to his loved ones nd altho destiny remained looking the same as ever, everything in it, including their potential futures changed, thus subtly reversing nd altering what was always thought to be irreversible and absolute.
Link to the og comment:
https://mydramalist.com/755301-the-story-of-mystics#comment-19622564
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