#Dou Ming

[academyofbrokenhearts]

Okay, but the scene where Dou Ming lies injured in the courtyard, slowly bleeding to death, while her husband is carelessly partying, and her mother is praying while her subordinates strangle her devoted nanny to death? Cinematic excellence.

[waterlilyvioletfog]

Okay, just watched ep. 23 of Jiu Chong Zi/Blossom, the episode where [spoiler] dies and I have some thoughts! Caveats: I have only seen up to episode 23, and I am not familiar with the original IP the show is based on, so I will be treating the show’s writers as creative decision-makers although I AM AWARE that this may be a simplistic or erroneous view.

Dou Ming’s death is a very obvious boundary marker within the show, launching us, I think I’d argue, into the show’s third act, after the second act moved lots of pieces around and swept a few off the board. I’m gonna use the death of Song Mo’s mother and the resultant fight between him and his dad as the turning point for Act 1, for reference.

First, there’s the karmic aspect of Dou Ming’s death, which I’d say is consistent with the show’s overall themes. I think there’s a very direct parallel to be made between Dou Ming’s death and Dou Zhao’s mother’s death. Both are sympathetic relatives of Dou Zhao who are killed due to the Dou family’s dysfunction. They both die because of Wang Yingxue’s actions. Within the larger narrative, their deaths are clearly meant to be lessons for their loved ones, punishments for those who most wronged them (although obviously neither character held that kind of malice). Dou Zhao’s mother’s death is a punishment for Dou Zhao’s dad, and Dou Ming’s death is a punishment for her mother (this is very obvious). Additionally, Dou Ming herself highlights the karmic nature of her death when she is dying, reminding Wei Tingyu of the oath he’d sworn to only paint her upon pain of sword to the heart, saying that her death is the answer and the resolution of that oath. He has been a terrible husband and the consequence is an unjust death for his wife that could have been prevented by him just not sucking so bad.

Dou Ming’s death also resolves the initial story conflict. In Dou Zhao’s first life, her enemies were her husband, her sister, and her stepmother. I could be wrong about what the story holds in the future, but I don’t expect to see much more out of either WTY or WYX, unless either one goes on a redemption arc (unlikely), or goes full supernova supervillain. This is still more unlikely for me. WTY and WYX are consistent parts of Dou Zhao’s rogue’s gallery, but they aren’t smart enough to really be threats, as Act Two has repeatedly proven. Dou Ming’s death is knelling out the end of their status as important antagonists, cutting them off at the knees in time to introduce the actual villains of the show.

In addition to moving minor villains out of the way so Dou Zhao &co can more directly fight the Evil Brigade, the bandit plot effectively introduces the Evil Brigade’s qualifications for being major antagonists. Dou Ming’s death is the final proof of this. Although the principal goals of the bandit plot (kill Dou Zhao, get Song Mo killed or in trouble) ultimately failed, Dou Ming died, which proves to a watching audience that a) these are the BAD bad guys, because anyone whose actions kill off one of the few likable characters not already in the Song Mo-Dou Zhao camp is clearly not great, and b) even if they were foiled this time, they might have better luck next time, and they’ve already killed off a major secondary character and nerfed two more through their actions. The stakes have been raised! Dou Ming’s death particularly highlights the villainy of Evil Uncle Dou (I cannot. For the life of me. Keeps his and the dad’s names straight. And for like the first half of the show they were both in the bad guys corner so it didn’t matter to me anyways). He’s been terrible the entire time, but Dou Ming has done nothing wrong to anyone ever in this life and he’s like 🤷‍♂️ about it. It is GALLING to see him react so calmly to his niece’s death, placing all the blame for everything squarely on his sister-in-law, when we the audience know that he orchestrated the bandits getting in, resulting in Dou Ming’s death!!! Well. He wanted his niece dead and he got a niece dead!!

And I want to elaborate a little further on the stakes-raising bit. Killing off a sympathetic character to raise the stakes prior to the third act is a classic writing choice. For instance, in Blood of Youth, Li Xinze’s character (he plays WTY in jcz) is killed off at the end of the second act which I fucking hated but like it was a thing that happened. But unfortunately no one would care if his character died atp in Blossom because WTY sucks! So it’s gotta be someone the audience cares about, a character set that’s fairly thin on the ground. Song Mo already lost Lu Zhen at the end of act 1/start of act 2, so you couuuuulllldddd theoretically kill off one of the advisor guys or one of the maids for like, symmetry, but this lacks any narrative thrust. Dou Ming’s death, on the other hand, is suitably tragic for an act turn, affects a maximum portion of the cast, and carries thematic weight, making her an ideal candidate from a story perspective.

Overall, rip Dou Ming. You wronged no one! Everyone in your life disappointed you! In a kinder story you’d have gotten a nice divorce and lived with your dad or your jiejie in peace 💜

[tytangfei]

dou ming doesn't deserve this. Please, divorce wei tingyu 😭

[academyofbrokenhearts]

I love that he's not begging for the right to marry her but for her right to be free.

Words cannot express how much I love this.

Because it shows that his love is genuine; he puts her wishes above his, and values her independence and her right to choose way more than his wants.

They are truly made for each other.

I love that he's not begging for the right to marry her but for her right to be free.

AAAAAA

And clearly, emperor does not agree but he shows up at the wedding anyway, ready to interrupt.

And then he sees the veiled bridge clutching the man and I love smart people - he realizes DZ never would so it's not her!

Those two, I can't!!!!

[therukurals]

know that after episode 23 i will be making a set of dou zhao with monaleo lyrics

[littlewriter19]

The Boondocks Season 3 Huey & Ming Kick Ball Story Moments

[stoopidpencil]

[aresgodofwar23]

[starseed-awakening]

And she really had to die in the arms of her useless husband. I don't really care that they both really loved each other she deserved better than that.

Dou Ming was so innocent and naïve, and her whole life was so miserable. She deserved so much better. All the more reason why Wei Ting Yu needs to die. Wang Ying Xue as well.

[da-man-si]

The evil stepmother ordered Dou Zhao to copy the scriptures ten times, so Dou Zhao's squad—Dou Ming, Wu Shan, Ji Yong and Song Mo wrote it and sent the papers to Dou Zhao so she doesn't have to waste her time and energy on a task like this! Dou Ming and Wu Shan's handwriting is different from Dou Zhao and cannot be used to trick the evil stepmother so she doesn't use theirs. Ji Yong's is similar to hers but then she sees Song Mo's papers and—

I'm giggling. I'm kicking my feet. And her reaction!!!!

I'm losing my mind you guys. This is soooooo sweet.

[academyofbrokenhearts]

Thank fuck Dou Zhao escaped this nest of vipers in life 2.

Also, since Dou Ming is, unlike in the series, vindictive, jealous and petty, I don't think I will shed any tears in case she meets her maker.

[thefeastandthefast]

The express episodes have dropped so soon I will be put out of my misery and know exactly what the hell is going on with Ji Yong.

But before I dive in, jotting down these thoughts as of episode 29 to see if I'll be eating my words later.

SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY:

His line about Song Mo one day understanding his true intentions (after expounding on what were supposedly his intentions in front of all of Prince Qing’s hidden troops just a moment earlier) makes it clear to me that there’s more to his actions than self-professed naked political ambition.

Plus, we know from episode 25 that he is probing into the Duke of Ding’s case and even leveraging his services as advisor and strategist to bargain for information from Prince Qing. There is little to no reason for him to care about this or put himself and his ambitions on the line, so why go to all the trouble?

One of my favorite aspects of this show is Ji Yong as foil to Dou Zhao, each representing a different attitude and approach to the problem of fate and will. I see why some may read Ji Yong as being in unrequited love but to me he reads more like DZ's platonic soulmate (even Granny, who introduced them with an eye for matchmaking, couldn’t see them as a couple!) After all, she is the only other person who is aware, as far as he knows, that they’re in Life 2.0, with the opportunity and burden of choosing differently.

Most importantly he doesn’t see himself in that light- in episode 26, he explicitly laments that friendship never takes precedence over romantic love. The feeling I got from his little monologue is not bitterness about the inability to “upgrade” to romantic love with Dou Zhao, but disappointment in his hope that Dou Zhao would value their special platonic love in the same way he does. As @therukurals reminded me- Ji Yong was pleased when Dou Zhao and Song Mo got together; it's only after Song Mo started going down the same path of Life 1.0 that he began to persuade DZ to leave her doomed husband to save herself.

He also keeps using the term 知己 (one who knows the self) to describe her, which is usually a word for friends of implicit mutual understanding, not romantic partners. But this pragmatist who doesn’t believe he can change much of anything also doesn't hesitate to throw his small stones into the river behind the scenes, perhaps hoping that the tiny ripples that result might alter Dou Zhao’s trajectory just a little before they are subsumed by the river of fate's overwhelming current, to shift her ending away from tragedy again. (Remembering his at-all-costs approach to pushing Dou Ming and Wei Tingyu together...)

I think he believes in the unforgiving immutable larger framework of fate, where the set and story remain but the players can change, whereas Dou Zhao hopes to rewrite the story altogether. In this light, it makes sense that he throws his lot in with Prince Qing once again in Life 2.0 even knowing the ending for himself if he does. He thinks he's found the key- when fate doesn't concern itself with intentions, only actions and consequences, then the greatest advantage is being in a position to place the players and direct the action.

Side note: I find his nickname for her super interesting (which unfortunately isn't translated in the subs) but haven't yet formulated coherent thoughts about it. He calls her Zhuang Zhou aka Zhuangzi aka the philosopher who dreamed he was a butterfly and wondered if in fact, it was a butterfly dreaming it was the philosopher.

[academyofbrokenhearts]

Not gonna lie, as much as I disliked Wei Tingyu, his death was really heartbreaking, just as heartbreaking as Dou Ming's death one episode before. And how sad and fitting that he died utterly alone, abandoned by everyone, clutching the remains of the painting representing Dou Ming.

I loved what the drama did with Ming and her husband.

Because the stepmom - she is made human but she's clearly a villain. And Song Mo's father or Dou Zhao's uncle are evil with not even much humanity.

So when they get (or will get) their bad endings, it feels just and clear cut but it's not like that with Ming and WTY.

Ming was a sweet, innocent, loving young woman in this life. She was naive but that is not a deathly sin. And WTY was useless and weak but he was not evil or malicious. They truly loved each other.

And yet...

What this storyline really shows is pitfalls of period marriage and how razor thin the margins of survivability are in that society.

WTY was not abusive but he was feckless. And in that society, that is as much a horror show for a wife as if he were running around beating her.

Stepmom was happy that Ming got to marry a man who adored her unlike she herself but it's so clear that in that world love without capability to protect is worthless.

Was it always destined to end in disaster? Yes. Unless WTY grew up or Ming left him and married someone more with it, both of them were gonna end badly at some point. Perhaps if WTY was a second son offspring of powerful and wealthy family that cosseted him, he could have lived to foolish old age in peace together with his spouse. But he was not. And this is a cutthroat society with terrible stakes. In modern day, this would have been yet another unsatisfying marriage where Ming has to do everything at home and her husband barely brings in any money at a dead end job as he talks about the world not understanding his genius. But this is not a safe modern world.

It also shows the dangers of a woman being too sheltered. Ming in life 1 brought up from the cradle by scheming stepmom was a bad bad seed but she was clearly gonna do well in life. Ultimately, if time didn't reset, she'd have married WTY as his legitimate wife and the fam had money thanks the DZ management. I mean sure they all could have died in the insane free for all that was going to ensue since both of emperor's sons are dead at the end of the OG timeline but barring a dynasty-ending disaster, she'd have been fine. This Ming is loving and sweet and as equipped for real life as a kitten. WTY was particularly useless but she'd have had a tough time in any noble household because she'd be oppressed by concubines, elders, whoever. Unless she married a husband who both doted on her AND wanted to meddle in inner household affairs (and that's a unicorn) she was destined either for misery or a brutal and quick growing up experience. (Ironically, stepmom knew what she was about when she wanted to marry her to WS, the ray of sunshine that he was. He was so decent and even if he didn't love her, he'd treated her well, and he was capable enough to at least not to get into messes, and he had spine. But man WAS a unicorn)

Anyway, I found WTY's death so fitting - in a happy dream as he's freezing and bleeding to death - the man was utterly unequipped for real world. And the same for Ming - she was sweet and fragile and the fact that she ended tragically just shows that this is not a kind gentle universe at all. It's an interesting parallel with DZ's mom - who also died for a man who did not deserve it.

[gizkasparadise]

moodboard of me watching dou ming & wei ting yu's Grand Romance:

[poachedeggssocool]

The pacing of the drama is so good that I honestly didn't expect to never think about dropping it at all.

Love the duality of Song Mo/Yantang being unhinged and so in love with his wife

Love the whole trope of getting lovey dovey and cozy after marriage. Man sign me up if we have trope like this. There's nothing sweeter than having a married couple that is so much in love with each other, actively supporting and protecting each other. Their marriage is mirrored to that of Dou Ming and Wei Tingyu.

Lastly, love Dou Zhao/Shogu so much. I honestly didn't expect more layers of her character other than independent, smart, resourceful woman. When she explained to Song Mo why she doesn't want to get married, it transports back to the current timeline of how a lot of women now choose to lead a single life after witnessing men's incompetence and being the reason for women to not being able to move forward/grow in life. I cannot explain how much her character resonates with female audiences. She really knows what she wants and settles with Song Mo because she knows deep in her heart, Song Mo would be the man who will not hinder her growth. Sure she loves him. But as what we have seen with Dou Ming, love alone wouldn't be enough to guarantee a peaceful life as a woman in that era.

So far I think it's best to say this is one of the best drama in 2024. I am still at episode 24 and I could see given the pacing of the story so far, I have faith that it will not be disappointing for the last 10 eps (Life happens and I can't finish the entire drama during my year end breaks 😞. Suck so much. Have to push it to this weekend)

The drama is just the perfect balance of everything. I love it.

[aresgodofwar23]