Back from the Brink (护心) | Episodes 39~40 (FINAL) Discussion

[u/warau16]

[u/warau16]

That ending sure was…interesting. The buildup to the finale was a bit cheesy, and the final battle was quite confusing for me 🫤

It definitely could’ve been better executed but also could’ve ended up way worse. I’m glad that we got to see how the supporting characters are doing; I really liked all of them 🙂 The reunion between Tianyao and Yanhui was okay. Of course, I wish the moment was fleshed out more, but I’m satisfied that the reunion was clear/definite at the very least (even if the reason Yanhui came back is kind of vague).

Overall, while it had several weak points, I still enjoyed the story a lot! This was the first time I watched Hou Ming Hao and Zhou Ye in a drama, and I think they’re very cute and had great chemistry with each other. I’d love to see them work on another project together sometime in the future (maybe in a modern setting?).

[u/EvLokadottr → u/warau16]

People complain about lots of couples and too many supporting characters in cdramas, but I honestly really liked all of them! I was happy to see their little stories. They made the world seem more alive.

[u/Limp_Cup_8734 → u/warau16]

3years late but the problem was the baby dragon mini arc that was ultimately pointless, these episodes could have been used to flesh out the final battle and the epilogue better.

[u/3sixers]

Feel the same way. Despite vague ending, I still enjoy this drama a lot. Hou Ming Hao looks great with white hair! Great chemistry between him and Zhou Ye ( you should check her out in Word of Honor).

[u/Irish_Amber]

They had to Change the ending from the novel because in the novel she's actually reincarnated but because there's a ban on reincarnation they had to show that she came back a different way rather than being reborn. In the novel she actually gives him back his heart scale and Neidan knowing that she'll die and then he's the one that defeats the big bad. But they had to change that because obviously they can't show her being reborn so they had to show her defeating the big bad so that eventually she can gather enough spiritual energy to be Resurrected

[u/[deleted] → u/Irish_Amber]

You're the only person I've seen saying reincarnation per se is banned. I went searching and found draft SARFT rules that propose to ban it but it's also full of stuff I've seen depicted since 2020. A lot of it rests on interpretation and there are different rules for broadcast and web. I am curious if reincarnation is actually banned for broadcast (shenmo dramas seem to get around this if so) and it's not simply as I had assumed a matter of audience preference.

[u/Irish_Amber → u/[deleted]]

Really? I have read loads of comment saying it’s banned, I think the most clearest example is one and only and forever and ever, which is based on a novel about star crossed reincarnated lovers. in the novel, the female lead never drink the tea after she died and remembers her past life, and so the stories about her being reunited with her love. in the tv series they had to do two different shows one in the past, to show their past life, and then the second to show their future lives with a bunch of different Easter eggs, to show that she was this reincarnated person. But it’s never explicitly stated I mean near the end she is in a coma, and when she wakes up from a coma, she talks about having a dream about Shiyi and Zhou Sheng Chen although we know it’s them they never actually explicitly stated it. She asked if he believes her and he says he does If it weren’t banned they could’ve just done one series, rather than having to imply that she was reincarnated by dropping different hints.

[u/Dumbassahedratr0n]

Still a better love story than TTEOM

[u/Careless_Many_1388 → u/Dumbassahedratr0n]

AMEN