I never trust a critic of this cdrama who brags that he/she can easily spot the murderer(s) from the get-go, as if racing the fictional characters, Shen Wan and Yan Chi, to identify the criminal before the big reveal scene is a sign of cleverness.
No.
A good critic is someone who can dissect the episodes, discuss characters and symbolisms, and explore the general message and themes. A good critic engages the viewers and readers to think how the plot/script, acting, direction, and cinematography all come together so next time they watch a show, they know what to look for.
That’s why, as far as I’m concerned, a drama write-up on this blog is a teachable moment, not a pissing contest. I take time to explain my impressions and theories in hopes that these can spark a deeper understanding or better appreciation in the readers.
Prizes aren’t given here to those who raise their hands and yell, “First!” Only to those who can show critical thinking and a wicked sense of humor.
Now, let me recap the symbols we’ve seen so far, and their significance to the plot as I think there’s a pattern here.
Case 1: Episodes 1 to 5: The mystery of the beheaded bride
Case 2: Episodes 6 to 10: Dark secrets in the purple bamboo grove
Case 3: Episodes 11 to 15: The monster of Samyuan village
Case 4: Episodes 16 to 19: The ballad of the Shuangqing Troupe
Case 5: Episodes 20 to 21: The mannequin in the bridal gown shop
Case 6: Episodes 22 to 24: The power struggles of crown princes
Case 7: Episode 25 to 30: The punishments of the Heavenly Way
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Case 1: Episodes 1 to 5: The mystery of the beheaded bride
Symbol: the missing head of the bride
Relevance (or message): it showed us Shen Wan’s mindset to solving mysteries. I’ll copy-and-paste what I wrote previously.
I think that, at the beginning of each mystery arc, the director/screenwriter gives us a hint as to the main issue or theme(s) of the mystery.
Just try to observe and guess what it is.
For instance, in the Mystery of the Headless Bride…it’s obviously the missing head.
But in the end, the head was the solid piece of evidence Shen Wan and Yan Chi needed to find the killer. Like a jigsaw puzzle, Shen Wan painstakingly pieced together the burned fragments of the skull she retrieved from the killer’s own hearth. And the shape of the hole from the stab wound matched the killer’s weapon.
So, the lesson here is that the dead can and do tell tales. Contrary to common assumption that hidden crimes die with the victim/witness, justice can still prevail through forensics. The mystery can be solved by analyzing the remains of the dead.
And that’s why — as I mentioned to @monmor — that I forgave the props director’s use of that ugly mannequin as corpse. The skull was re-fashioned with something that looked like flat wooden face (to cover the holes of the eyes and nose) which Shen Yan was then able to beautify into a semblance of the bride.
Replacing the head to the body was the way of humanizing the decapitated bride once again.
How *I think* it relates to the Overall Plot?
We can take this first solved mystery as a foreshadowing that the injustice done to Shen Wan’s father (and Prince Jin) can be similarly solved. Both Shen Wan and Yan Chi are both looking for the hidden “head” or “head honcho” who had both Shen Wan’s father and Prince Jin put to death.
I also pointed out in my thread about the shady nature of the emperor that it was he who ordered the marriage.
It was the emperor who ordered the marriage. He wanted to force an alliance between his crony, the Song family, and the Yue family. A connection with the Yue family would invariably hook in Yan Chi as he was a favorite of the Yue matriarch, the Grand Princess.
Case 2: Episodes 6 to 10: Dark secrets in the purple bamboo grove
Symbol: The bamboo branch (or internode)
Relevance: I wrote about this, too, so I’ll just give an abbreviated version.
For me, one of the big clues that the screenwriter put forth this mystery arc is the purple bamboo branch. The killer had deliberately placed the piece of bamboo in the dead maid’s dress to lure SW to investigate the grove.
I consider the purple bamboo branch as a symbol of:
a. manipulation. And Yan Chi correctly pointed out that all the coincidences are in fact connected, and that a mastermind was leading them to discover all the deaths in the purple bamboo grove.
b. the 3rd branch of the Qin family that CaiHe wanted to wipe out.
…
The bamboo branch (scientifically, it’s called the internode) symbolizes the 3rd branch of the Qin family that CaiHe wanted cut down so she manipulated the precious son to do the dirty work for her.
How *I think* it relates to the Overall Plot?
Now that I’m currently watching Episode 30 of this cdrama, I believe this case is also a foreshadowing. If the Qin family has a confusing and messy family dynamic with the third branch vying for survival, what more the Yan Imperial Family? With all the Princes and heirs, it’s important to keep an eye on the principal branch that must survive and be protected from dying out.
Case 3: Episodes 11 to 15: The monster of Samyuan village
Symbol: The big wooden plaque above the doors of the mansion of the good doctor. It says, “Benevolent Heart, Benevolent Skills.”
Relevance: I also wrote about this.
By Episode 15, we realized that the much-beloved Dr. Sun was actually a monster. He didn’t have a benevolent heart. In fact, he was harvesting hearts to un-dead his wife. And he didn’t have benevolent skills. True, he had performed countless successful surgeries, but he crossed the line when he began killing people to search for a heart for his wife.
How *I think* it relates to the Overall Plot?
It’s a foreshadowing, too. The emperor appears to be benevolent: acting like a filial son to the Empress Dowager, allowing Shen Wan to practice her skills, showering her with gifts, adopting the fatherless Prince Li, acting fatherly to Yan Chi, etc. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s simply putting on an act, and he’s a monster like Dr. Sun, hiding a heinous deed. His own son is scared of him.
Case 4: Episodes 16 to 19: The ballad of the Shuangqing Troupe
Symbol: I said it was the ballad.
“The Dharma sees the child’s filial piety.
He tries to find and save his mother in hell.
Ride on the auspicious cloud, heading for Mount Lingshan.
Buddha’s compassion guides the way.
Buddha’s compassion guides the way.”
Relevance:
The victim Qing sang this as a warning that justice would prevail. She witnessed the massacre of her mentor and her mentor’s family and she bided her time to exact revenge and expose the real villains in an unsolved 10-year-old gold heist case.
How *I think* it relates to the Overall Plot?
I think the ballad is a warning, too, about the “long arm of the law.” Whoever masterminded the deaths of Prince Jin and Shen Wan’s family will have a day of reckoning, too. They can not hide from justice forever.
I also mentioned this in my thread about the Emperor’s shady nature.
It was the emperor who ordered a) Yan Chi to investigate the corruption, b) the Qins to attend Prince Yu’s party. I suspect that the emperor wanted to entrap the Qin family in a bribery/corruption scandal, and c) the Minister of Justice to investigate the corruption, too. The emperor probably hoped that the Minister of Justice, Mr. Li, would catch the Qin cousin in the act of selling appointments/positions in the Ministry of Personnel.
Fortunately, Yan Chi gave Shen Wan heads-up about the potential danger of associating with the corrupt trade commissioner. She then warned her cousin not to offer a position to the commissioner as this would embroil the Qin family in a corruption investigation.
Case 5: Episodes 20 to 21: The mannequin in the bridal gown shop
Symbol: the mannequin
Relevance: I wrote this.
Yan Chi says, “This tailor committed gruesome murders out of jealousy of women marrying up….This person was traumatized from being abused in childhood by his mother.” The mannequin was a representation of who the tailor wanted to be: a woman that could be dressed up, beautified with cosmetics, and “sold” in marriage to have a better life. His mother had despaired that she couldn’t do these things and pimped him out to men in the brothels.
He was committing murder out of jealousy for the women and frustration for being unable to possess what the women had: womanhood.
How *I think* it relates to the Overall Plot?
Look: I’m only beginning Episode 30, but if this cdrama is going where I think it’s going, then I’m going to guess that the emperor is like the tailor, too. He could have masterminded the death of Prince Jin and ordered the massacre of SW’s family out of jealousy/insecurity/frustration of not being able to retain the monarchy (or power?)
Case 6: Episodes 22 to 24: The power struggles of crown princes
Symbol: the hunt
Relevance:
As I wrote on the main thread, the hunt exposed the power struggles among the princes, both the foreign ones and the princes of Zhou empire.
How *I think* it relates to the Overall Plot?
It shows that the emperor is not above the fray.
For one, he became agitated when Yan Chi lambasted the prince of Beidan for usurping his brother/the CP’s position.
YC: You think too highly of yourself. A kingdom without unity, a ruler without benevolence, and people unable to survive. If you can’t bring the court closer to the people, and settle the people down, even killing 100 crown princes won’t help. Using the national interest to justify your greed and disloyalty, you’re nothing but a hypocritical schemer trying to steal the throne.
Emperor: Enough!!
I wondered if somehow he felt guilty as according to Yan Chi, his father, Prince Rui, was originally intended to be the Crown Prince by the Late Emperor, only Prince Rui ceded the throne to his brother.
For another, he called the attention of Yan Chi and Yan Li to the power struggle.
Emperor: The fight for the Beidai Crown Prince’s position occurred within their imperial family. It’s something upsetting for me to see.
Li: (immediately bowing) Your Majesty, please rest assured. Chi and I absolutely have no desire to be the Crown Prince.
YC: (concurring) We mean it seriously.
Emperor: It’s easy to say that when you’re not involved.
I wondered if he was speaking from experience or hinting at something else. I also wondered why he didn’t discuss this issue with the other two princes, the Crown Prince and Prince Cheng.
Case 7: Episode 25 to 30: The punishments of the Heavenly Way
Symbol:
Relevance:
Let me get back to you on this because I still have to transcribe the dialogue.
How *I think* it relates to the Overall Plot?
Shen Wan is beginning to suspect that the emperor may have a hand in all of this.
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Now, do you see what I mean about the vacuity of crowing about intuiting the murderer instantly? Seriously. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out whodunnit. And if means that much to know the killer’s identity, then the viewer can spoil it by going directly to the source material
For me, what’s more important is to see beyond the obvious, discern a pattern or methodology in the director’s or screenwriter’s work, and discuss the development of the plot (or lack of it, lol). I say that’s how one dissects a drama with a scalpel instead of a butter knife.
Hi @pkml3, thanks for doing the work of collating all the mysteries and symbols. I no longer have time to rewatch slowly in order to take notes, to transcribe more dialogue, etc.
What I do believe and agree with is that the different crimes are meant to illustrate or point towards 1 overarching plotline.
The killings by the masked leader of the cult of the Heavenly Way were his deranged meting out of punishment for immorality shown or ‘crimes’ confessed during unguarded moments by patrons/vendors of the Fengqi Brothel.
This might symbolise/indicate an indictment against the one who thinks he has the mandate of heaven (the emperor) to mete out justice, when he is actually merely committing murders to hide his own criminal activities.
As most of the crimes in this series have to do with violence either against innocent people or by victims against those who exhibit depravity, debauchery, or who committed heinous crimes, a theme that crops up repeatedly is that evil will earn retribution, but that victims who commit crimes out of revenge are themselves also acting unjustly, and are subject to the law.
Against this backdrop, Shen Wan stands out as a victim who chooses to get her revenge through the proper legal channels after due investigation. Since she goes against the tide with YC by her side, they are bound to be targeted by villains who are threatened by their righteousness.
The next few episodes will probably see them battling one challenge after another as attempts to assassinate their characters or bodies continue to be plotted.
These aren’t symbols, per se, but I’ve noticed a pervasive use, at the end of scenes, of mirrors and reflections on mirror-like surfaces. Also, the director likes to adjust camera focus at the end of scenes from the action in the middle distance to a focus on some object in the foreground, often a lit candle. Why mirrors and candles? I don’t know if there’s an idiom like “smoke and mirrors” in Mandarin, a reference to obscuring in order to mislead. The phrase comes from theatrical methods magicians use to make an illusion believable. This drama’s use (over-use, in my opinion) of characters juxtaposed with reflections not only confuses the eye, but raises the question of what is real. Is the mirror image the same, or different? Is the reflection showing the hidden self?
As for a focus on candles, it is a trope for a candle spontaneously extinguished to foreshadow death. When a scene ends with the camera focusing on a burning candle, I anticipate it going out, and when it doesn’t, tension is increased.