Love of Nirvana Characters' Analysis
I'm on my rewatch at the moment and I notice more things this second time around so I want to point out how amazing the characters are written in this drama and how the actors are playing them superbly to bring them alive.
We start with Ren Jialun as Wei Zhou. Wei Zhou is not really cold or aloof since he has no problem showing his emotions. He is calm, ruthless and very confident. But if you ask me one aspect that define him would be how restrained he is and Ren Jialun plays this to perfection. I never notice this but its more apparent as the drama progressed on how much he actually hide his feelings. He is so calm to a point that even Pei Yan can't guess what's inside his head since no matter what is the situations, despite he's being caught red-handed, he never shows any emotion -- he is always calm and steadfast. Take example even when he is having nightmares, all he did is just grab his blanket tightly. It becomes more apparent esp at Yueluo arc when he needs to make many difficult decisions and while he is making that decision, he is cold and emotionless but we know how he really feels when he is alone -- just like when he is putting the names of his fallen people in the box -- how heartbroken and lifeless he is in those scenes -- the bottomless grief and sadness was portrayed marvelously. He only truly cried when he is alone where you can actually see tears falling down from his cheeks. He did let his guard down during the swing scene when Jiang Ci caught him crying but for the rest of the show, you can see how restrained he is, ALWAYS. Like he wanted to stop her from going to Pei Yan but he only clutched his fist in that scene. Or after her master's death, we know how much he wanted to visit her but he only visits her secretly since he knew she didn't want to see him thus he's giving her space that she needed. He could hug her very tightly (like when he said sorry to her after capturing her master) when she reconciled with him during the last arc but knowing how he could die after the war, he always careful in showing his feelings towards her -- which very aligned with how the character is written in the whole drama. Notice how the many thoughtful things he did for Jiang Ci is secretly -- like taking care of her when she's sick, help her with her hiking equipment, the clay cat, bring Cui to visit her during her grief, the Lingjiu flowers or the house that he prepared for her where he remembers every details that she told him. 😭 Then you remember that even during his unhinged phase, how restrained he is -- he could make new wound on her but he didn't. He just poked on the same wound to remind her. All these restrained qualities made his character more heartbreaking somehow. Like the only shocked face he did is when Jiang Ci hugged him at the reunion scene or when she saved him during the war -- its like his life has always been full of disappointments but she surprised him in ways that show him the beauty of life which made him wanting to live even more. Ren Jialun brought this character to life through this subtle and heartbreaking portrayal that hits deep into your souls .I love how he grew out from his prejudice and how he is forced to keep making difficult decisions each time -- by the time the drama reaches its end, I probably never wanted a more happy ending for a character -- the writer shows it all in these little details. 😢
Then we have Li Landi as Jiang Ci. While Wei Zhou barely shows his feelings, Jiang Ci is the complete opposite. She wears her feelings on her sleeve. That is why Wei Zhou can read her as early as Episode 3 while she took 10 episodes to finally understand him. What I love the most about her character is that she did what she believes in her heart regardless of anything or anyone even when in reality she is being used as a pawn by these 2 male leads. But what made her great is despite she is being used as a pawn, she proved again & again how no one can control her as she will take control of her own destiny. The 2 male leads figured out the hard way how they can't use her and she proved them wrong every single time. Take example when she figured out Wei Zhou's deceit, she did not buy his excuse at all and left him even without saying goodbye. And she only comes back when she wants to save the Yueluo people -- her own decision -- not driven by 'love' but her own free will. The message of the drama is very clear, you can be used as a pawn, but it depends on whether you really a pawn or you move like a 'Queen' in a chess game. And Jiang Ci, until the last episode, even when Wei Zhou sent her away to protect her, she comes back to him regardless of that -- still doing what's her heart tell her to despite knowing his good intention. Her character arc is consistent and until the end the writer emphasizes how she's in control of her own destiny. The writer made her character such a kick- ass that she achieved all these using her intelligent, wits and her iron-clad determinations. Her kindness also knows no bound that she touched the lives of everyone that she met.
Then we have Pei Yan, from his tragic childhood to his conflict of filial duty to his family and loyalty to his country, we have this complicated man that is full of layers. What I find very interesting about him is that while he is using Jiang Ci, he knew how wrong it is, yet he still doing it while caring for her genuinely. The only 'love' he knew is from his mother so he is trying to use the same 'love' towards Jiang Ci which is trying to control her and clipped her wings. I also like how he always turned the table each time no matter how at disadvantage is his situations. If he wants something, he will get it on his own and he doesn't need his family support or anyone else to do it. Then we see how low can he go during the war at Yueluo, it adds to the depth of his character that he himself I believe do not know he's capable of. And since this drama like to do show instead of tell, during the stabbing scene on the boat, he is actually killing 3 birds at the same time. While we audiences see him as a man selfishly using Jiang Ci to further his political ambitions, he is actually did those act to save Jiang Ci from his mother -- to prove that she only pawn to him so his mother will lay off Jiang Ci. I find it brilliant on how he turned such an unfavorable situation around with that just 'one act' while achieving 3 goals which satisfy the Emperor, his mother and also protecting Jiang Ci at the same time. Then his amazing development during the last arc, I knew why Jeremy decided to act in this drama despite he is only a 2nd lead here -- this character gives him justice to his acting abilities and what he is actually capable of doing.