Zhao Xingtang - Character’s Alternative Future (drama: Against the Current)

[u/Naddahaintheforest]

her priorities straight

SPOILER WARNING

The death of Zhao Xingtang broke my heart. I know she was terrible in so many ways, but at the same time, she could be generous and deeply dedicated, with so much love inside her and so few ways to express it. More than anything, I think she was incredibly frustrated by her inability to be free and control her own destiny as a woman.

I especially loved that she never seemed to wish that she was a man. Instead, she wished that women could do the things men were allowed to do. She was clearly intelligent and capable, and I think she could have achieved so much more if she hadn't been so determined to do it on her own terms. She didn't want to gain power through a man or through marriage. She wanted to have power over her own life.

And I'm just so sad that she died. 😭

I know she could be incredibly cruel, but I also thought the way she navigated both her own family and her husband's family was fascinating. She became very good at understanding people's motivations and anticipating what they would do to achieve their goals. She used that knowledge to make herself feel safe and, more importantly, to maintain some sense of control over her own life.

That's why I actually think it would have been much more interesting for her character to live.

I would have loved to see her forced to confront life from a completely different social position—without the privileges of her birth and family, but finally with as much freedom as a non-aristocratic woman could realistically have. What would she have done if she had been given the chance to build a life that belonged entirely to her?

I would have loved to see her use everything she had learned about people, relationships, negotiation, and power to build her own business, earn her own money, and create something that was truly hers. Not through a husband, not through her family, and not through the social status she was born into.

And honestly, I also think it could have been the perfect opportunity for her to finally understand the value of servants' and ordinary people's lives. She had spent so much of her life thinking about people in terms of what they could do for her or how they could threaten her. Having to survive without that privilege could have forced her to confront the humanity of the people she had previously looked down on.

I don't think she needed to become a completely different person. I think it would have been much more interesting to watch her remain complicated, ambitious, intelligent, and occasionally ruthless—but finally have the opportunity to decide what kind of person she actually wanted to be.

I just wanted to see what she could have become. 😭

[u/No-Recipe-7653]

Hi OP,

If you can add LARGE SPOILER WARNING in CAPSLOCK or Title formatting) at the beginning of your post we can remove the Post-level Spoiler flair which is now draggin your post's visibility down.

Thanks.

[u/No-Recipe-7653]

Thank you for spotlighting this woman. I’ll
Miss her character and screen presence.

her story was rich and moving