Mirror Characters
So I finished watching another Chinese drama, this one called Fated Hearts1, and by the end it became very clear the male lead and the ultimate villain had many parallels in their lives. Both were the oldest prince of a nation, both had a younger brother who got the throne instead, both were treated poorly by their step-mothers, both were in charge of large military forces for their nations, and both commanded strong loyalty from their men. They even had roughly the same goal of revenge against "family", the lead for his mother's death and the villain for his abuse, that they both ultimately succeeded at. And lastly, they both loved the female lead.
The major difference between the two characters, however, is one is the villain of the story, while the other is the hero, and their actions and choices reflected that distinction. If the hero had lived through the villain's trauma, would he have made the same monstrous choices? If the villain had lived through the hero's life, would he have been able to come out the righteous winner? The answer to both, I think, is no. Because the hero was fundamentally kind and a staunch protector of the citizens even when it put himself in danger. The villain was the opposite; selfish to his core and willing to sacrifice even the woman he loved in pursuit of his revenge2.
But it's the mirroring of the two characters that made the story so interesting, and it's one of my favorite narrative devices in storytelling. It shows two sides of the same coin. It makes you appreciate the hero's goodness more, because if he been a little less kind, a little more consumed by revenge, perhaps his would have turned out like the villain. And it makes you hurt for the villain, because if he had been a little more kind, less willing to sacrifice the innocent, then perhaps he wouldn't have lost everything in the end.
I'll be honest. The villain was perhaps the most interesting character and he kept me guessing throughout the whole series. There were many moments I thought he was softening, letting go, realizing his mistakes, only for him to double down and make it worse. And his final point of no return was heartbreaking because it ruined so many lives. The enemies-to-lovers romance was good, the male lead was fantastic, and the female lead was good, though her actor was a bit boring3. But it was the villain who I keep thinking about after the show is over.
Anyway, watching this and realizing all the parallels made me want to write something with that kind of thought-provoking mirroring between hero and villain. I guess I'll add it to my never-ending list.
With the same male actor (Chen Zhu Yuan 陈哲远) as the previous drama, because that's how I do. Also he is a phenomenal actor.↩
A true sign of his selfishness was after this, he thought he could explain everything and she would just accept him back again like he hadn't tried to murder her to protect his plan.↩
Which is odd, because she's been great in other things. I think it might be the character itself was a bit boring, and there wasn't much to work with. This happens frequently when the male lead or villain has a more interesting story-line and more to do with the overarching plot.↩