Icephoenix

I'm okay with the 2ml continuing to be a ruler if they find a way to make him redeemable and worthy of it.

For XWY, what he is doing with the reforms is still not a revelation of what choice he will make in the end. And honestly, at this point, he has more than earned the right to freely decide what he wants to be. Whatever choice he makes deserves to be respected because it comes after everything he has sacrificed, the noble principles he has stood by, and all the terrible experiences he has gone through for it.

As I said, maybe the point of the romance is that, after sacrificing so much for the nation, he will finally choose himself for once and freely roam the world with her.

Or maybe, since everything that has happened to him seems to have prepared him to become a worthy ruler, he will take the place that is rightfully his. With his abilities and his character, there is honestly no better choice.

Mao can be interesting, but surely not the better one. So the ending is still wide open.

Yeah, well, in rl find me a person as perfect as the ml, and then we can talk again. And sayings are not exactly 100% accuracy for how things actually work even in real life especially when legitimacy, politics, factions, and succession are involved all at once.

He sure is capable, for the 2ml there may be a twist. But for the ml, we don't even know if he will survive, and without an heir, it will be the same. If he survives, maybe the point of the romance can even be that, after having sacrificed so much for the nation, he will think of himself first.

Or maybe, since everything that has happened to him seems to have prepared him to be a worty ruler, he will take the place that is rightfully his, and they will both live happily while serving their country. That is a pick too.

He has the right to freely decide what he wants for himself at this point.

But why borrow trouble? Just watch it, endings are always complicated but that does not mean it will be bad with either choice.

You may not, but the politics and the people of that realm would not agree. A general suddenly taking the place of the ruler, or the real heir returning, is something that also need to be carefully considered.

As a ruler, reputation becomes a tool because he needs legitimacy, trust, and support from the people and other factions. A ruler's image can directly affect stability.

And not wanting the throne does not mean he does not deserve it. He is a noble character, as a leader the best in many ways. The fact that he has restraint, a sense of responsibility, and a willingness to serve rather than a desire to possess authority only makes him a more worthy ruler.

He has never been mean to her. He has continuously only protected her, even when her childish and immature behavior made it difficult for him to do so. If you talk of his teasing, it's playful and harmless, unlike her that instead is really mean to him, badmouthing him and really mean it even after watching the good he did.

If we had a slow burn for him too, it would have been a lot better.
Even for me it doesn’t make sense for him to fall for her.

His reputation does not matter to him as long as he is a general, his priority is protecting his people and winning battles, he is ready to die at any moment and sacrifice his life for his nation. His personal reputation is less important than the result.

He even said he was willing to play the villain if it meant allowing someone else to become the hero. But as a ruler, he cannot afford to have a bad reputation because public trust and political stability depend on it.

And if he wanted to be the ruler, he would be accused of being power hungry, because there would be no way for him to take the throne without raising doubts about his intentions, even if he is the best choice, not because there are no other options, but because he truly has the qualities of a ruler. Either way, whatever he does, there will always be complaints.

But between the two choices, his refusal to take the throne is the one that brings him closer to perfection. The person who does not want power may be the person most suited to handle it is the classic noble ml archetype
In this case XWY value comes from his restraint, responsibility, and willingness to serve rather than from his desire to possess authority.
As for the ending, if it turns out to be predictable, then the drama has not done a good job. We had our share of twist in this.

Mr. Perfection ML works his ass off to be like that and everything he does is taken for granted. It's exhausting just to watch, I can't even imagine what it's like to play him.

I'd say it must be incredibly difficult to portray such a noble character, one who constantly brings out the very best in himself. It must require incredible strength, focus, and dedication to embody such an ideal version of a person.

I sooo understand you. ZYZ wielding a sword on fire! 😍 He is my 1 but I am getting used to XWY, he is such an extraordinary character too. I hope to see a lot of him, he’s just too cool in everything he does, every step he takes is pure handsomeness.

He did not ask anything, he said sometime it looked like they started to develop feelings for each other, he said the same even for another couple of his dramas.
It was clearly meant as a compliment to their acting, and it was clearly out of place. Some people are so used to promoting real-life actors ship that they even forget to stop when it's not the case to do so (it is already bad in general to do this).
In china, they call them the bro-sis couple for the simple friendship they share.

Perfection isn't boring, lack of depth is.
And XWY has depth for days.

Mls must be too perfect, or they won't be liked. They are too easily criticized for every little flaw. In this case you can see that even though he does nothing to make her fall for him, even the opposite he is helping her and his best friend meet and live their story, despite loving her, but she is still falling for him (bc he's perfect, let's admit it), and you can still see people blaming him for that.

And this is happening with a character who's basically perfection. Imagine if he actually had flaws how much hate would he get :(

Did you just make him run away? 🤣 Amazing

Thanks for posting this in a forum too!

ZYZ wanted to keep XWY company. He knew he was sad. 😭

I wonder when his brother will find the letters that little XWY sent him from the battlefield asking him to join, only to discover that their mother stopped him from receiving them. XWY wanted him at his side since back then, the moment he knew he was ok to fight and even to easy the work on his father how sweet.😭

His brother spent all those years believing he was useless to XWY, when it was his mother who kept him from joining the battlefield. And XWY is taking the blame for that too. 😭

Half an hour for the new eps! I’m rewatching my fav parts to warm up, and once again how good are the plot and the characters.
Hmh is my fave tho, he is an expert with those expressions.

As far as I know prince is a title, it does not mean they are all related by blood.
Fl and 2ml are not blood related if that confuse you.

As for the rest, the story is complex. The hints are scattered throughout the drama, you piece them together little by little as the story progresses, but the complete revelation will eventually come. Where would the fun be otherwise? 😆

Thank you so much!