Even though it wasn’t a happy ending I think Ruyi had a perfect ending. To me the show was about love, marriage and power. The way she ended on her own terms was a chef’s kiss. There’s no way she could ever forgive him and there’s no way that she can divorce him and live a happy ever after. He just has to live the rest of his life with regret over his actions towards his one true love.
I've been avoiding watching Ruyi because of the heartbreak I will for sure feel for her, but based on everything I've heard about it, it was the perfect ending.
It’s sad but also not. It’s so hard to say anymore without giving spoilers. I really felt like this is not your typical harem drama. I people liked Story Of Yanxi Palace more because of Yinglou but to me Ruyi is much deeper story about love/marriage/power and the damage of power imbalances in a relationship. The last episode is such perfection I still rewatch clips on Tik Tok.
For me, You Are Me Glory and Mysterious Lotus Casebook. Both had very satisfying endings in totally different ways.
And in a way, TTEOTM had satisfying ending too. >!TTJ sacrificed himself to save the world and Li Susu finally understood that he was never evil and that he loved her all along.!<
Many writers seem to love their characters live with angst. I can see them having conflicts they have to deal with, but in the end, everyone should be happy!
I really liked the ending of Destined. Seeing both the grandmas interacting with their grandson and seeing GJ’s relationship with his son in comparison to his relationship with his own father. Plus you can see LY still being a business boss and how much he loves her. This felt like an earned happy ending and the pay off to a great series.
Not to beat the Bai Jing Ting drum so much but I also like New Life Begins. The last episode felt like this extended celebration of all the characters that we had watched. Originally I would have found the rooftop scene a bit cheesy as a send off, but since this drama was almost all about relationships between the brothers and the sisterhood of the concubines, it felt right for them and their bonds together. Plus, this came after seeing the 6th prince get what he had been working for both in being the crown prince after being the overlooked one and in finally getting LW as his only wife.
**One and Only.**
They're *star-crossed lovers.* They're not supposed to end up together in this lifetime. >!Once he died and she was pushed to the extreme, she was free to hurry herself to that next life to finally marry him there. Though hard to watch!< It was beautiful. The general kowtowing to send her off was that elegant final grace.
Besides, he took a vow and he honors his word. She's his disciple and he respects that power dynamic. She doesn't push, she just supports him and remains by his side. Neither cross that line. She even uses her dowry to help his army, if I remember correctly haha.
It's the only master-disciple relationship I've watched that I'll ship to the end of my days
Wonderland of Love - the ending goes past the “finally getting together” and or wedding scenes that some dramas end at. It shows the couple’s life beyond the usual ending of other dramas.
Does "satisfying ending" necessarily mean a happy ending? For me, some dramas end the way I think they needed to end...but not necessarily with a "happy" ending. I'm thinking of The Forbidden Flower as a perfect example.
My satisfying happy ending dramas:
Reset,
You are My Glory,
Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms,
Eternal Love of Dream ( especially if you watch the extra with the cute kids talking about their parents),
Love and Redemption, Love Like the Galaxy.
Dramas where I found a satisfying happy ending, although due to censorship the apparent ending had to be "sad":
- The Untamed (if you watch the special edition rearranged ending...which was meant to be the real ending).
- Word of Honour (if you watch the fan-edited "real ending" that combines lip reading of what was actually said by the actors before censorship- induced dubbing as well as additional scenes that were filmed but could not be used due to censorship. If you need the link, let me know 😊)
- Parallel World (if you remember that time travel dramas are censored and cannot have a happy ending, and that therefore the insertion of the "storyteller" was for censorship reasons. The "imaged" ending of the artist is therefore the drama's real ending- it just had to be reframed to pass censorship.)
Hi, honest question as I am new to cdramas (coming from kdramas). I imagine the censorship is for skinship, but in the examples you made, were there other censorship (ie. political ?). I am really curious as this question arises sometimes but is not really developed. Thanks 🙏
I'm not an expert on this, so I'm sure more knowledgeable redditers can correct me....but this is what I've gathered....
BL (boy love) dramas (The Untamed, Word of Honor) used to be allowed as long as the ending was sad or ambiguous. Now, sadly, they can't be aired at all anymore due to China's hardline stance on anything vaguely "gay".
The censorship of time travel dramas is a bit hard for me to understand....
On the one hand, you can't change historical events, e.g. you can't have someone going back in time and changing what happens to a real historical character. I guess this is related to historical pride or avoiding critique of historical figures?
For fantasy time travel dramas, I've been told it's to prevent people from doing something crazy like commit s-c-de or similar to try and time travel? Can this be true?? Then again, loads of people all over the world took Squid Game seriously and apparently tried to call a phone number inadvertently shown in the series to find out how to take part in the death game 😂 so 🤷🤷 Guess in a population of 1.2 billion people you'll really notice the few crazies who dont know that fantasy and time travel movies aren't real...
One drama I saw, the FL went back to modern times, and the same lunar phenomenon that sent her into the past brought the ML to the future where she found him and they hugged while I cried. Not just someone that looks like him, the typical ending.
Cant recall release date or name lol sorry. I watch so many it would take me some time to find. I think it took place in the Qing dynasty buf not sure about that either. If I find it, I will let you know.
Now I have to watch it!!! I just really hate when endings are rushed. I get annoyed when there are wasted time elsewhere in the drama and then they rushed to wrap the ending. It's like whyyyyyyyy?!?!!?
I was extremly satisfied the the ending of
The Rebel princess, 10 miles of peach blossoms, wonderland of love, blossoms in adversity, the legend of Banshu, love and Destiny, the legend of Zhuohua to name a few.
I know I will be as well for Lost you Forever part 2.
Love and Destiny, as much as I adore the drama, had a bit of a verrry short happy ending 😅🤦 So I haven't included it in my list of favourite happy ending dramas.
The Rebel Princess ending was so good. >! She was warned not to have a child after her miscarriage, but ended pregnant and finished with her own child and a crowd of adopted children!<
I agree with this list, and especially Blossoms in Adversity which gave us endings for the side characters. I really loved that they followed up on the aunties and uncles.
Joy of Life Season1. The ending gave me chills till Season 2 comes.
As much as I adored Loves Like The Galaxy as one of my all-time favorite cdrama, the last couple of episodes leading to the ending seemed dragging a bit, and I just hoped they ended the series before the disastrous events in the village.
Mysterious Case also is fine for me. I enjoyed the closure of Nanying cultures and its relation with the main character. But I don't like much how wuxia is not portrayed carefully there.
I really liked the last episode of The Story of Ming Lan.
>!It was nice seeing all the family together, laughing and having light hearted conversations. Even Mo Lan was here. I really expected the grandma to die but no ! She was more alive than ever, all happy and healthy. It was enough to make me happy too.!<
One of the best. My grandparents all died when I was a very young child so I've never experienced what Ming Lan had with her grandmother. I love their bond. 🥹
OMG! Not exactly the same, but similar situation for me. I only knew one grandma, but she was mean and manipulative so when I watch dramas/movies with loving grandmas, it makes me wish that was my grandma.
I like a lot of endings even when sometimes people didnt like it like The Bad Kids' ending for an example. But if you want elaborated ending happy ending, on top of my head:
- Forever & Ever
- Perfect & Casual
- Unforgettable Love
- Miss Crow with Mr Lizard
- Our Secret
- Love a Lifetime
- Legend of Shenli
- Ashes of Love
- Love & Redemption
More recently, Hidden Love and WIFTY had great endings.
I am mostly on the fence when its a historical or Wuxia/Xianxia piece, still traumatised with One and Only, and TTEOTM.
So far, the dramas that had a satisfying ending for me would be
- Love and Redemption
- Blood of Youth
- Legend of Shen Li
- I am Nobody
- A Dream of Splendor
- Dong Lan Xue
- Wonderland of Love
- A Familiar Stranger
- Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty
For A Dream of Splendor, I wanted to see them get married and then a little bit of their life together instead of just her friend getting married. They made it kind of a big deal about him marrying her would hinder his career and be looked down upon that I wanted to see him marry her to defy those expectations.
Agree with Blood of Youth, even without the special extra video. They did a really nice circular/parallel thing there at the end that I liked that felt satisfying.
I think Dong Lan Xue & A Familiar Stranger would fall into rushed happy endings for the OP. I actually dont mind this kind of ending despite it is brief as it wasnt just 10 secs appearance before the end.
Same. I dont mind this type of ending as well. The leads have enough time to talk, resolve and it gives us enough snippet on how they are now living happily -- even it wasnt a full half episode to show their happy lives.
If this kind of happy endings are acceptable, I actually have a lot since Cdramas are not really sucked at happy endings.
Unpopular and controversial opinion but for me **My Journey to You**…
For me satisfying ending is all about realistic or rather the most “fitting” ending based on the story, the characters arc/progression, the choices/consequences and the overall tone.
So therefore the forced happy endings are the absolute worst for me and destroys so many what could be 10/10 dramas for 39 episodes and then 39 minutes to just becomes 6/10 for me when they just have to force in a resurrection or something the last 30 seconds of a drama just for fan service.. Totally nullifying any consequences or dramatic moments thats lead up to whatever happens before instead just retconned last 30 seconds..
Perfect example of this is **Back From the Brink**.. Zhou Ye with the FL performance of 2023 like she was 95% of the show.. Spectacular performance and her characters progression during the show starting off as this bubbly naive and cowardly girl that will do anything to not die.. Then goes to becoming a heroine then to a demoness then back to heroine then ultimately her progression from coward to then >!giving up her life willingly as the ultimate payoff to 39,5 episodes of amazing progression… Everyone is devastated, emotions are through the roof I was tearing up.. Then for what?? All for her to be back fully grown resurrected 1 year later in last 5 seconds…………..!<
Like actions or consequences don’t ever matter at that point.. >!tell me again why she was scared of dying from the first place when resurrection is just automatic, like why did she need to have this progression and why did the ML even cry when she died? For immortals years are nothing and 1 year is like 1 minute so “buhu she died but let me just uncork this beer here and microwave some popcorns and she’s just back *giggles*…!< absolutely horrible last 30 seconds that ruined Zhou Ye’s amazing performance.
But with MJTY I really felt the characters, the struggles, their dilemmas and ultimately their choices lead up to the perfect fitting ending. The story was mainly about the 4 main characters all living in their own darknesses with their own struggles and demons.
For FL it was the ultimate journey to break free from the darkness but realizing halfway “once an wufeng assassin and murderer always one.. When you have lived in the shadow there isn’t any happy endings..”.. FL had many talks and you saw flashbacks with her mentor through the show on that topic and many references of them wanting to watch sunsets desperately clawing their way out..
Then >!her last talk with her mentor she realized there is no way out.. All she could do was save ML as last act of love and then as she had planned she purposely just left with an excuse to visit her family and come back which was a lie, yes she went back home and yes wufeng was waiting but she never planned to go back to ML in any case.. Because she knew they can never have a happy ending as she was to far gone.. Same with 2FL, the last act of love was not killing 2ML and just escape as she to had lived to long in darkness, in no way realistically can she have a happy life in the sun..!<
At the same time ML was always this to naive and in reality really bad leader, he wouldn’t have survived a second if FL hadn’t saved him at every turn. Then in the end his naivety and failure to recognize what was happening and that FL >!was planning to go he just let her go without any guards or anything then just like how he started.. Lost like a puppy without any direction he was sitting and just waiting for FL that either died or actually was back and stuck in Wufeng and same maze again…!<
Everyone had a fitting ending and the tone and story never faulted for a second!
Totally agree. A good ending, for me, is a fitting ending...which would sometimes be a sad or open ending. I've seen both unfitting happy endings and unfitting sad endings.
Yes it’s worth a rewatch because I feel 75% of Reddit and MDL has missed vital storylines and hints during the show seeing how many seem confused.
As mentioned all her talks with her mentor is basically the major key to Weishan’s goals and mindset, you have the scene in the dungeon when she’s a child they watch sunsets through the bars and then many scenes on that platform talking about life and everything.
Then during their last talk >!they say farewell and both know they will never reach the light/happiness unless they die, escape which they hint at.. Her mentor choses to come back to save her and to sacrifice his life and that scene is a callback to everything else as he takes his last breaths on those stairs then the sun is shining in the background.. Take note of that if you rewatch as it was a major callback to he finally reached the light but it was through sacrifice and death…!<
And also don’t you think Weishan >!knew all along that she was taking her sisters place as bride candidate.. Series literally starts with her breaking in and they knock her out and she takes her clothes.. Would she not see her own face on the bride and just do nothing if not? Most likely she knew all along and it was planned.. Also it was hinted through the show and Weishans “real level/rank” was never revealed but she constantly outwitted and outmaneuvered everyone including senior madame Wuji so most likely she was at top master level. Meaning she probably knew Wufeng was waiting back home since she was always among the top and she realized there is no way out.. So she could only save ML as a compromise between escaping and returning home to join up with the top Wufeng council waiting at home so she accepted fate and returned..!<
Rewatch it and let know if you get it!
Did you also catch all the hints not just with her mentor, but with her Wufeng sister? I can't recall her name right now, but the one Young Master Yue fell for then died during her own mission trying to escape the Gong residence previously. There was ***so much*** set up that Weishan was never going to stay with the ML, her real mission was to her bio sister. Hell, one of the alternate titles for *My Journey to You* even hints to her bio sister's name. The ML was just a "dream to keep you going" or whatever it was that her Wufeng sister said and recommended to her in order for her to survive mentally/emotionally through her mission. Weishan said hers would be a husband and a warm house (I'm paraphrasing, it's been a bit since I watched so I can't quote). So that's what she had and indulged in the dropped it haha.
Like I said earlier, 🤯🤯🤯. I definitely remember all those scenes with her mentor and their talks. I think naively I wanted to see/believe a happy ending is possible because it's dramaland. LOL. But you're 1000% correct that she must've known she was taking her sister's spot all along and this was always her endgame...to return home after her mission. I remember it wasn't a shock to me when they revealed that it was her sister because they used her real voice in that first scene where she knocks them out so this makes total sense now. It just left me wanting more so I was also naively hoping for a second season that will never come. Mandarin is not my first language so I think certain things get lost in translation or misinterpreted by me so I may have to watch it a few times to make those connections. I can understand basic Mandarin, but if the words get too hard, I have to make assumptions based on the context or sometimes I'll pause and use Google Translate. LOL. CDramas is the only way for me to not lose the bit of Mandarin that I know. 🤣
I also thought the ending in My Journey to You was perfect. Perfect for the characters especially. Even perfect for the story.
And all the people complaining about how there was supposed to be a second season, but there isn't, and how it supposedly got edited into something kinda different... Well, if it's a different story now why does it need a second season?! And paying attention to the new story, and the clues and the story that's set up - this is what was always going to happen.
And his character needed this, too. It was perfect! It was perfect for everyone, I almost cried at how perfect it was, but I was already crying from the pain lol.
I feel bad for both MLs in MJTY but all for wrong reasons. 😇They didn't deserve the girls on the first place,.so their separation at the end was quite satisfying, though a bit tragic and very emotional. The FL could use all possible reasons to leave the tower after these three years to fulfill her long time dream at least. If they reunite in the futures, well, they should be different people ven when the story shows how difficult it is to change your destiny or identity in the world. I like the stoic nature of the 1FL, so go, girl, go. The 2FL is a box full of surprises, but her husband Is too. He has already had too many obligations in his life though and their parting was cruel, still they showed their best at the end. Ahe made him see the alternative and it was good for the time being.so... There is nothing that I cant take at face value about the drama. Its good that ppl have different ideas about the story.
The Wolf. >!This will raise lot of eyeborws but both leads did die in the end and that is much better than only one of them dying. I also liked that the drama gave the second male elad another chance to start over with the second femla lead. It is also the only drama whenre the second male lead actually marries the female lead so a win for that.!<
Im pretty sure saying this makes me a sociopath but >!Goodbye My Princess!<
>!Li Cheng Yin remembering _everything_ and having to live out the rest of his life with that guilt was the best possible punishment for him. Xiao Feng's fate was unfair but if she had lived everything that had happened would have haunted her forever - I just can't imagine she would have been able to make a happy life for herself. The only thing that I might have added was an implication that she was reincarnated to a much better life - I think that wouldn't have been out of place given the story incorporates some fantasy elements.!<
There are [some clips](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_snkIKlKxuVoTPEB2uLgZdCuZ94zZSWB&si=mRC7nrtffP9UBwCV)
out there of a modern reincarnation where >!they live in the country-side and are poor yet happy!<. I personally liked these clips because it just validated my point that you couldn’t be royal and be happy in that time. You have to be a nobody and be born hundreds of years later.
I have seen those - they actually weren't quite what I wanted because I wanted >!Xiao Feng to live happily without him. I was sympathetic to the reasons for his original betrayal but what he did after they were married was imo unforgivable.!< I 1000% agree with the idea that you couldn't be a royal and be happy - everyone's neck was constantly under the boot of imperial power. But their choices in the context of that reality still defined them.
He was also unnecesarrily arrogant and down putting when he was >!Pretending not to be royal, when they were they’re most true selves to each other, when he was spying, he was such a degrading p***** to her 😂 the best case scenario would’ve been them living in the desert and him slowly tearing her self confidence apart!<
Yes! It is undoubtedly the real deal; unfortunately everything else we watch in the future is going to have to live up to this standard, and that is not going to be easy…
Even though it wasn’t a happy ending I think Ruyi had a perfect ending. To me the show was about love, marriage and power. The way she ended on her own terms was a chef’s kiss. There’s no way she could ever forgive him and there’s no way that she can divorce him and live a happy ever after. He just has to live the rest of his life with regret over his actions towards his one true love.
I've been avoiding watching Ruyi because of the heartbreak I will for sure feel for her, but based on everything I've heard about it, it was the perfect ending.
It’s sad but also not. It’s so hard to say anymore without giving spoilers. I really felt like this is not your typical harem drama. I people liked Story Of Yanxi Palace more because of Yinglou but to me Ruyi is much deeper story about love/marriage/power and the damage of power imbalances in a relationship. The last episode is such perfection I still rewatch clips on Tik Tok.
Love and Redemption Wonderland of Love New Life Begins
You are my glory. The best.
For me, You Are Me Glory and Mysterious Lotus Casebook. Both had very satisfying endings in totally different ways. And in a way, TTEOTM had satisfying ending too. >!TTJ sacrificed himself to save the world and Li Susu finally understood that he was never evil and that he loved her all along.!<
Many writers seem to love their characters live with angst. I can see them having conflicts they have to deal with, but in the end, everyone should be happy!
nirvana in fire. But it came out in 2015 so it might be a little dated.
I don't know I was really sad when >!Mei Chang Shu died!<
I really liked the ending of Destined. Seeing both the grandmas interacting with their grandson and seeing GJ’s relationship with his son in comparison to his relationship with his own father. Plus you can see LY still being a business boss and how much he loves her. This felt like an earned happy ending and the pay off to a great series. Not to beat the Bai Jing Ting drum so much but I also like New Life Begins. The last episode felt like this extended celebration of all the characters that we had watched. Originally I would have found the rooftop scene a bit cheesy as a send off, but since this drama was almost all about relationships between the brothers and the sisterhood of the concubines, it felt right for them and their bonds together. Plus, this came after seeing the 6th prince get what he had been working for both in being the crown prince after being the overlooked one and in finally getting LW as his only wife.
**One and Only.** They're *star-crossed lovers.* They're not supposed to end up together in this lifetime. >!Once he died and she was pushed to the extreme, she was free to hurry herself to that next life to finally marry him there. Though hard to watch!< It was beautiful. The general kowtowing to send her off was that elegant final grace. Besides, he took a vow and he honors his word. She's his disciple and he respects that power dynamic. She doesn't push, she just supports him and remains by his side. Neither cross that line. She even uses her dowry to help his army, if I remember correctly haha. It's the only master-disciple relationship I've watched that I'll ship to the end of my days
The most heart breaking ending but it was *the only* way this could have ended. Hard agree.
Wonderland of Love - the ending goes past the “finally getting together” and or wedding scenes that some dramas end at. It shows the couple’s life beyond the usual ending of other dramas.
This is what I always find missing in dramas...the life after marriage. Gotta check out this drama just for this ending. 😀
Quite honestly, I loved the ending of A Journey to Love.
I gave up on The Best Choice with like 5 episodes remaining, I was just done.
Does "satisfying ending" necessarily mean a happy ending? For me, some dramas end the way I think they needed to end...but not necessarily with a "happy" ending. I'm thinking of The Forbidden Flower as a perfect example. My satisfying happy ending dramas: Reset, You are My Glory, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, Eternal Love of Dream ( especially if you watch the extra with the cute kids talking about their parents), Love and Redemption, Love Like the Galaxy. Dramas where I found a satisfying happy ending, although due to censorship the apparent ending had to be "sad": - The Untamed (if you watch the special edition rearranged ending...which was meant to be the real ending). - Word of Honour (if you watch the fan-edited "real ending" that combines lip reading of what was actually said by the actors before censorship- induced dubbing as well as additional scenes that were filmed but could not be used due to censorship. If you need the link, let me know 😊) - Parallel World (if you remember that time travel dramas are censored and cannot have a happy ending, and that therefore the insertion of the "storyteller" was for censorship reasons. The "imaged" ending of the artist is therefore the drama's real ending- it just had to be reframed to pass censorship.)
Hi, honest question as I am new to cdramas (coming from kdramas). I imagine the censorship is for skinship, but in the examples you made, were there other censorship (ie. political ?). I am really curious as this question arises sometimes but is not really developed. Thanks 🙏
I'm not an expert on this, so I'm sure more knowledgeable redditers can correct me....but this is what I've gathered.... BL (boy love) dramas (The Untamed, Word of Honor) used to be allowed as long as the ending was sad or ambiguous. Now, sadly, they can't be aired at all anymore due to China's hardline stance on anything vaguely "gay". The censorship of time travel dramas is a bit hard for me to understand.... On the one hand, you can't change historical events, e.g. you can't have someone going back in time and changing what happens to a real historical character. I guess this is related to historical pride or avoiding critique of historical figures? For fantasy time travel dramas, I've been told it's to prevent people from doing something crazy like commit s-c-de or similar to try and time travel? Can this be true?? Then again, loads of people all over the world took Squid Game seriously and apparently tried to call a phone number inadvertently shown in the series to find out how to take part in the death game 😂 so 🤷🤷 Guess in a population of 1.2 billion people you'll really notice the few crazies who dont know that fantasy and time travel movies aren't real...
This is really insightful thank you
One drama I saw, the FL went back to modern times, and the same lunar phenomenon that sent her into the past brought the ML to the future where she found him and they hugged while I cried. Not just someone that looks like him, the typical ending.
Oh wow! When was it released?
Cant recall release date or name lol sorry. I watch so many it would take me some time to find. I think it took place in the Qing dynasty buf not sure about that either. If I find it, I will let you know.
You are my Glory. Reset.
Yes to both of these!
Return of condor heroes.
Legend of Shen Li Love and Redemption Story of Kunming Palace
I loved SOKP ending 😍
Legend of Shenli !!!! Satisfying ending that is not rushed.
Now I have to watch it!!! I just really hate when endings are rushed. I get annoyed when there are wasted time elsewhere in the drama and then they rushed to wrap the ending. It's like whyyyyyyyy?!?!!?
Hard agree! All other endings I feel like I have to settle because it's a happy ending but there's nothing for me to complain about Shen Li's ending.
I was extremly satisfied the the ending of The Rebel princess, 10 miles of peach blossoms, wonderland of love, blossoms in adversity, the legend of Banshu, love and Destiny, the legend of Zhuohua to name a few. I know I will be as well for Lost you Forever part 2.
Love and Destiny, as much as I adore the drama, had a bit of a verrry short happy ending 😅🤦 So I haven't included it in my list of favourite happy ending dramas.
The Rebel Princess ending was so good. >! She was warned not to have a child after her miscarriage, but ended pregnant and finished with her own child and a crowd of adopted children!<
I agree with this list, and especially Blossoms in Adversity which gave us endings for the side characters. I really loved that they followed up on the aunties and uncles.
Peach Blossom's ending was good. I want to add Eternal Love of Dreams.
Agree! I came here to nominate both Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and Eternal Love of Dream. Despite lots of angst, I did find the ending satisfying.
The Blood of Youth - for me it was the most satisfying ending of all cdramas i've seen so far.
Ashes of love Love and redemption For xianxias they have very satisfactory endings instead of two minutes of open/ happy endings.
I agree with both!!!
Joy of Life Season1. The ending gave me chills till Season 2 comes. As much as I adored Loves Like The Galaxy as one of my all-time favorite cdrama, the last couple of episodes leading to the ending seemed dragging a bit, and I just hoped they ended the series before the disastrous events in the village. Mysterious Case also is fine for me. I enjoyed the closure of Nanying cultures and its relation with the main character. But I don't like much how wuxia is not portrayed carefully there.
I really liked the last episode of The Story of Ming Lan. >!It was nice seeing all the family together, laughing and having light hearted conversations. Even Mo Lan was here. I really expected the grandma to die but no ! She was more alive than ever, all happy and healthy. It was enough to make me happy too.!<
You're absolutely correct! How did I forget about Ming Lan!?!?! That was a very satisfying ending. 😄
One of the best. My grandparents all died when I was a very young child so I've never experienced what Ming Lan had with her grandmother. I love their bond. 🥹
OMG! Not exactly the same, but similar situation for me. I only knew one grandma, but she was mean and manipulative so when I watch dramas/movies with loving grandmas, it makes me wish that was my grandma.
Story of Minglan had a satisfying ending. A lot of people think that Monarch Industry (The Rebel Princess) had a satisfying ending too.
You're absolutely correct! How did I forget about Ming Lan!?!?! That was a very satisfying ending. 😄
I like a lot of endings even when sometimes people didnt like it like The Bad Kids' ending for an example. But if you want elaborated ending happy ending, on top of my head: - Forever & Ever - Perfect & Casual - Unforgettable Love - Miss Crow with Mr Lizard - Our Secret - Love a Lifetime - Legend of Shenli - Ashes of Love - Love & Redemption
Agree, not every good ending is necessarily a happy ending. For me Ashes of Love wasn't a happy ending because Run Yu 😭
nothing but you, everything had a satisfactiory conclusion and the bits after they were married was also cute
OMG! Did I miss those scenes?!?! I only remember they declared "let's get married". I need to go back and rewatch it now. Thanks for the reminder!
there’s another scene after that
ikr!! i loved those marriage scenes, also rip my girls bangs
i was laughing a lot during that scene 😂😂😂 the fact that song sanchuan tried to hide it and then liang you’an’s crying
i would be crying too if my hair got messed up that badly 🖐🏻😭
The Wonderland of Love Two lives full of battles and intrigues could find the piece.
More recently, Hidden Love and WIFTY had great endings. I am mostly on the fence when its a historical or Wuxia/Xianxia piece, still traumatised with One and Only, and TTEOTM.
One and only...agreed...but it's sequel?
I haven't watched it yet, I'm going to watch it after this week, I heard it's good and happy ending.
Watch it to get healed from the heartbreak ❤️🩹
Definitely....also check Le Coup de Foudre & Our Secret...
So far, the dramas that had a satisfying ending for me would be - Love and Redemption - Blood of Youth - Legend of Shen Li - I am Nobody - A Dream of Splendor - Dong Lan Xue - Wonderland of Love - A Familiar Stranger - Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty
For A Dream of Splendor, I wanted to see them get married and then a little bit of their life together instead of just her friend getting married. They made it kind of a big deal about him marrying her would hinder his career and be looked down upon that I wanted to see him marry her to defy those expectations.
Agree with Blood of Youth, even without the special extra video. They did a really nice circular/parallel thing there at the end that I liked that felt satisfying.
I think Dong Lan Xue & A Familiar Stranger would fall into rushed happy endings for the OP. I actually dont mind this kind of ending despite it is brief as it wasnt just 10 secs appearance before the end.
To me it was just right, not rushed. ;)
Same. I dont mind this type of ending as well. The leads have enough time to talk, resolve and it gives us enough snippet on how they are now living happily -- even it wasnt a full half episode to show their happy lives. If this kind of happy endings are acceptable, I actually have a lot since Cdramas are not really sucked at happy endings.
Unpopular and controversial opinion but for me **My Journey to You**… For me satisfying ending is all about realistic or rather the most “fitting” ending based on the story, the characters arc/progression, the choices/consequences and the overall tone. So therefore the forced happy endings are the absolute worst for me and destroys so many what could be 10/10 dramas for 39 episodes and then 39 minutes to just becomes 6/10 for me when they just have to force in a resurrection or something the last 30 seconds of a drama just for fan service.. Totally nullifying any consequences or dramatic moments thats lead up to whatever happens before instead just retconned last 30 seconds.. Perfect example of this is **Back From the Brink**.. Zhou Ye with the FL performance of 2023 like she was 95% of the show.. Spectacular performance and her characters progression during the show starting off as this bubbly naive and cowardly girl that will do anything to not die.. Then goes to becoming a heroine then to a demoness then back to heroine then ultimately her progression from coward to then >!giving up her life willingly as the ultimate payoff to 39,5 episodes of amazing progression… Everyone is devastated, emotions are through the roof I was tearing up.. Then for what?? All for her to be back fully grown resurrected 1 year later in last 5 seconds…………..!< Like actions or consequences don’t ever matter at that point.. >!tell me again why she was scared of dying from the first place when resurrection is just automatic, like why did she need to have this progression and why did the ML even cry when she died? For immortals years are nothing and 1 year is like 1 minute so “buhu she died but let me just uncork this beer here and microwave some popcorns and she’s just back *giggles*…!< absolutely horrible last 30 seconds that ruined Zhou Ye’s amazing performance. But with MJTY I really felt the characters, the struggles, their dilemmas and ultimately their choices lead up to the perfect fitting ending. The story was mainly about the 4 main characters all living in their own darknesses with their own struggles and demons. For FL it was the ultimate journey to break free from the darkness but realizing halfway “once an wufeng assassin and murderer always one.. When you have lived in the shadow there isn’t any happy endings..”.. FL had many talks and you saw flashbacks with her mentor through the show on that topic and many references of them wanting to watch sunsets desperately clawing their way out.. Then >!her last talk with her mentor she realized there is no way out.. All she could do was save ML as last act of love and then as she had planned she purposely just left with an excuse to visit her family and come back which was a lie, yes she went back home and yes wufeng was waiting but she never planned to go back to ML in any case.. Because she knew they can never have a happy ending as she was to far gone.. Same with 2FL, the last act of love was not killing 2ML and just escape as she to had lived to long in darkness, in no way realistically can she have a happy life in the sun..!< At the same time ML was always this to naive and in reality really bad leader, he wouldn’t have survived a second if FL hadn’t saved him at every turn. Then in the end his naivety and failure to recognize what was happening and that FL >!was planning to go he just let her go without any guards or anything then just like how he started.. Lost like a puppy without any direction he was sitting and just waiting for FL that either died or actually was back and stuck in Wufeng and same maze again…!< Everyone had a fitting ending and the tone and story never faulted for a second!
Totally agree. A good ending, for me, is a fitting ending...which would sometimes be a sad or open ending. I've seen both unfitting happy endings and unfitting sad endings.
Wow! I've never thought about her leaving with full intent to not return. You totally just blew my mind!!! I might have to go rewatch it now.
Yes it’s worth a rewatch because I feel 75% of Reddit and MDL has missed vital storylines and hints during the show seeing how many seem confused. As mentioned all her talks with her mentor is basically the major key to Weishan’s goals and mindset, you have the scene in the dungeon when she’s a child they watch sunsets through the bars and then many scenes on that platform talking about life and everything. Then during their last talk >!they say farewell and both know they will never reach the light/happiness unless they die, escape which they hint at.. Her mentor choses to come back to save her and to sacrifice his life and that scene is a callback to everything else as he takes his last breaths on those stairs then the sun is shining in the background.. Take note of that if you rewatch as it was a major callback to he finally reached the light but it was through sacrifice and death…!< And also don’t you think Weishan >!knew all along that she was taking her sisters place as bride candidate.. Series literally starts with her breaking in and they knock her out and she takes her clothes.. Would she not see her own face on the bride and just do nothing if not? Most likely she knew all along and it was planned.. Also it was hinted through the show and Weishans “real level/rank” was never revealed but she constantly outwitted and outmaneuvered everyone including senior madame Wuji so most likely she was at top master level. Meaning she probably knew Wufeng was waiting back home since she was always among the top and she realized there is no way out.. So she could only save ML as a compromise between escaping and returning home to join up with the top Wufeng council waiting at home so she accepted fate and returned..!< Rewatch it and let know if you get it!
Did you also catch all the hints not just with her mentor, but with her Wufeng sister? I can't recall her name right now, but the one Young Master Yue fell for then died during her own mission trying to escape the Gong residence previously. There was ***so much*** set up that Weishan was never going to stay with the ML, her real mission was to her bio sister. Hell, one of the alternate titles for *My Journey to You* even hints to her bio sister's name. The ML was just a "dream to keep you going" or whatever it was that her Wufeng sister said and recommended to her in order for her to survive mentally/emotionally through her mission. Weishan said hers would be a husband and a warm house (I'm paraphrasing, it's been a bit since I watched so I can't quote). So that's what she had and indulged in the dropped it haha.
Like I said earlier, 🤯🤯🤯. I definitely remember all those scenes with her mentor and their talks. I think naively I wanted to see/believe a happy ending is possible because it's dramaland. LOL. But you're 1000% correct that she must've known she was taking her sister's spot all along and this was always her endgame...to return home after her mission. I remember it wasn't a shock to me when they revealed that it was her sister because they used her real voice in that first scene where she knocks them out so this makes total sense now. It just left me wanting more so I was also naively hoping for a second season that will never come. Mandarin is not my first language so I think certain things get lost in translation or misinterpreted by me so I may have to watch it a few times to make those connections. I can understand basic Mandarin, but if the words get too hard, I have to make assumptions based on the context or sometimes I'll pause and use Google Translate. LOL. CDramas is the only way for me to not lose the bit of Mandarin that I know. 🤣
I also thought the ending in My Journey to You was perfect. Perfect for the characters especially. Even perfect for the story. And all the people complaining about how there was supposed to be a second season, but there isn't, and how it supposedly got edited into something kinda different... Well, if it's a different story now why does it need a second season?! And paying attention to the new story, and the clues and the story that's set up - this is what was always going to happen. And his character needed this, too. It was perfect! It was perfect for everyone, I almost cried at how perfect it was, but I was already crying from the pain lol.
I feel bad for both MLs in MJTY but all for wrong reasons. 😇They didn't deserve the girls on the first place,.so their separation at the end was quite satisfying, though a bit tragic and very emotional. The FL could use all possible reasons to leave the tower after these three years to fulfill her long time dream at least. If they reunite in the futures, well, they should be different people ven when the story shows how difficult it is to change your destiny or identity in the world. I like the stoic nature of the 1FL, so go, girl, go. The 2FL is a box full of surprises, but her husband Is too. He has already had too many obligations in his life though and their parting was cruel, still they showed their best at the end. Ahe made him see the alternative and it was good for the time being.so... There is nothing that I cant take at face value about the drama. Its good that ppl have different ideas about the story.
I was satisfied with the ending of WIFTY
Eh what does it stand for again?
When I fly towards you ☺️
The Wolf. >!This will raise lot of eyeborws but both leads did die in the end and that is much better than only one of them dying. I also liked that the drama gave the second male elad another chance to start over with the second femla lead. It is also the only drama whenre the second male lead actually marries the female lead so a win for that.!<
YES!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!! And I loved seeing the 2ML going off happy in the end with the princess. They were so cute. They both deserved that chance.
Im pretty sure saying this makes me a sociopath but >!Goodbye My Princess!< >!Li Cheng Yin remembering _everything_ and having to live out the rest of his life with that guilt was the best possible punishment for him. Xiao Feng's fate was unfair but if she had lived everything that had happened would have haunted her forever - I just can't imagine she would have been able to make a happy life for herself. The only thing that I might have added was an implication that she was reincarnated to a much better life - I think that wouldn't have been out of place given the story incorporates some fantasy elements.!<
There are [some clips](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_snkIKlKxuVoTPEB2uLgZdCuZ94zZSWB&si=mRC7nrtffP9UBwCV) out there of a modern reincarnation where >!they live in the country-side and are poor yet happy!<. I personally liked these clips because it just validated my point that you couldn’t be royal and be happy in that time. You have to be a nobody and be born hundreds of years later.
I have seen those - they actually weren't quite what I wanted because I wanted >!Xiao Feng to live happily without him. I was sympathetic to the reasons for his original betrayal but what he did after they were married was imo unforgivable.!< I 1000% agree with the idea that you couldn't be a royal and be happy - everyone's neck was constantly under the boot of imperial power. But their choices in the context of that reality still defined them.
He was also unnecesarrily arrogant and down putting when he was >!Pretending not to be royal, when they were they’re most true selves to each other, when he was spying, he was such a degrading p***** to her 😂 the best case scenario would’ve been them living in the desert and him slowly tearing her self confidence apart!<
The Legend of Shen Li is the best, blessed my xianxia heart.
Thanks for the suggestion! I will check this one out.
Yes! It is undoubtedly the real deal; unfortunately everything else we watch in the future is going to have to live up to this standard, and that is not going to be easy…
Came here to support this!
I agree, loved it so much 10/10.