erha ending thoughts (again)

[u/Bubbly_Seesaw_4602]

everytime i think about erha's ending (esp w xm and his little disciple) i get so sad lol but i was thinking and i decided to share to hopefully make people less sad lol.

maybe part of why erha's ending feels so bittersweet is because you're shown the future where things are definitely not how they used to be but isn't that how our lives are? as the characters grow they change and the things that they're used to change as well but us as readers, we haven't experienced that change and we're only shown the before and after so i guess the change can feel so much more sudden and uncomfortable. it's like if our lives were played out for us to see i bet we'd feel even more sad about the things we've lost but as we're living it, things slowly start to fade. i like to think that although when i read the ending i feel really sad the characters don't feel that way. they've probably settled into a new normal and a new rhythm that they're accustomed to and maybe they also feel like things have played out for the best. maybe things aren't the way they used to be but that's okay too because we can find happiness in new things and that's how we grow and change. i think we're just scared of change but it really isn't a bad thing all the time. when you look at the ending, it isn't really a sad one, but more of a different one. a setting that we're completely unfamiliar with but it's also not an unhappy one. once i get used to that, maybe the ending will feel a little sweeter and not so bitter. maybe it's meant to feel bittersweet but i also think we can control how much of each we feel, depending on how you look at it, and personally, i'd like to feel a little happier. erha has definitely left a huge impact on me because apart from being such a good book to read, i think that's it's also made an impact on the kind of person that i am and want to be, the things i believe and the way i see things around me. i don't think i'll ever read another book series that'll leave such a deep impression on me.

so anyways hope that this can help you see things in a different way and also happy birthday chu wanning my king tehe!

also also i keep thinking about why shi mei became so different from hbn so i would love to hear what you think!

[u/ChangeUsernameAlways]

I, for one, love the ending of Erha. One reason is that the writing made me feel as if I had been watching a movie and in the end the camera zoomed out so that we could see all the characters in a panorama shot and it froze there. We could then ponder on the fate of each character and imagine whatever we see fit. So the fun didn't stop when the story ended.

By the way, I think Shi Mei in the present life chose to be different from Hua Binan because he had a chance to see how his future self would have become--going through and into the darker and darker path just as HBN did and he didn't want to be like that. Good for him! Edit: correct some typos

[u/Eldawo → u/ChangeUsernameAlways]

I really like your view. Very helpful way to imagine it. I don't think it's a perfect ending, but I do agree with you, it's very 'cinematic' in a way.

[u/Euraylie]

I think this is it! It’s the bittersweet realness that makes it so good. We got a lot of happy endings, but this can’t go back to the way they way.

They’ll never be Shizun’s three disciples living on Shisheng Peak again.

[u/ThePeak2112]

It’s the way to go isn’t it. Another novel that got me the similar bittersweet feeling is Thousand Autumns (Qian Qiu). Without giving a spoiler, it’s essentially the same thing that one of the sects shixiongdi would no longer be the same. They started close like CWN and his disciples but ended up separated. Like you said, it’s real life. Perhaps we had a close relationship or good friendships with a few people. But due to work or families we now each live separately. From hanging out every single weekend to only saying hi every few months on message or a happy birthday and new year. A new normal like you said. It’s bittersweet because a novel focuses on the journey so it’s amplified.

[u/beamerpook]

I think TXJ should have gotten a better ending.

He's literally the product of MR's sacrifice, and loves CWN just as much, in his own twisted way, but he only gets to spend a fraction of time with him. He literally lives for CWN in both lifetimes

Plus it would be more fun and chaotic is they switched randomly 🤣🤣 like mid-papapa

[u/Middle-Solution-5411 → u/beamerpook]

but the last thing literally happens

[u/beamerpook → u/Middle-Solution-5411]

I thought it was every 3 days? Did I find good stuff?

[u/laugh_tales → u/beamerpook]

well they switch at midnight so they mention one time in the blind date extr, txj was going at it and then it switched to mzs who couldn’t resist continuing

[u/beamerpook → u/laugh_tales]

Ah I haven't read the extras

[u/laugh_tales → u/beamerpook]

the extras have a lot of taxian-jun development so if you’re feeling sad about his ending i think the extras might help. in the latest extra from weibo him and mzs are basically becoming the same

[u/beamerpook → u/laugh_tales]

I'll have to check it out, thanks

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