The final chapter of akayona. I have so many feelings. I loved it kjwnkjngkjreg (Spoilers for 276)
Okay there were some things I wanted to see that I didn't (group photo of Su-won with the DDHHB, Su-won&Yona&Hak conversation, DDHHB all ending up in the same place), but like.... Those were all pure self-indulgence things so I definitely don't hold them not being in the final chapter against the series. I think this may have focused on wrapping up the more serious plot points, and hopefully the extras will give more of the silly happiness with everyone as a final bit of closure when it comes out in February. Still channeling getting some silliness with Su-won and DDHHB...
But on a serious note, I love Su-won stepping down and letting Yona ascend the throne and switching to the role of advisor. I was initially kind of ??? at his "I only killed King Il out of personal resentment" while downplaying the genuine good he'd done for the country, but then. I thought about it for two seconds. And realized this is just how Su-won operates. He always tends to talk about himself in the worst light when it comes to Hak and Yona, and he seeks out "punishment" for himself, with the way he suggests that Yona should probably execute him. And I adore Yona's immediate rejection of this, and her reminder that Su-won is Yong-hi's son, that he is kind and gentle even if he refuses to admit it. It's the contrast of Su-won's "The Su-won you knew never existed" vs. Yona's "I want to believe the kindness he showed us wasn't fake." He won't play up the good he's done in his apology because he's seeking punishment, but Yona offers him forgiveness instead. Because I think she also recognizes that for him, to admit he also killed King Il out personal resentment and that he just couldn't bring himself to discard his affection for Hak and Yona, is just a big thing for Mr. "I'm going to pretend I don't have feelings" Su-won. I think, since he's been raised to be a king/leader essentially since he was young and deny his own personhood over it especially, him stepping down and getting to finally breathe free of the role and support Yona instead is actually a really good ending for him. I loved it <3
(Re: Su-won's apology, after thinking on it more throughout the day, and also reading this post which points out that Su-won isn't necessarily apologizing for saving the country in his own way but for how he went about it, for choosing a path that satiated his own personal resentment while causing Yona and Hak so much personal pain. And I think that's really neat. Su-won admits he was wrong to place all the blame of the country's problems on King Il's head alone, which makes sense because although King Il was the head honcho and thus does bare responsibility for the general mismanagement, he was still a good person just trying his best. I think Su-won's apology acknowledges this, and acknowledges that his judgement that King Il deserved death was motivated by a personal grudge--that he wasn't as objective as he liked to pretend he was. And I think that makes sense, because Su-won had to immediately repress his own anger and grief to stave off a coup and protect King Il after his father's death and go comfort his mother. He wasn't allowed to just be a grieving kid who'd lost the father he adored. He's probably got a lot of trauma and repressed grief he never dealt with, so it made it impossible for him to approach King Il objectively, and it was only after he'd killed him and really had to endure the pain and suffering he'd thrust on those dear to him that he started to really rethink his actions. And it makes me really happy that Yona accepted his apology, recognized how much this marks his growth/healing, and acknowledged how much she appreciated him putting himself at such great risk to help her and her friends.)
I'm also kind of glad someone stayed chronically ill/disabled. Not a huuuuge fan of the "disability as punishment" thing that Su-won ending up disabled/chronically ill in a way that wasn't established before can be argued to play into (what with the dragon gods just refusing to heal it, though Kye-sook's annoyance with them over it was funny and iconic), but I do like that after teasing so much disability and chronic illness that not everyone was magically cured of everything by the end.
And as much as I'm a sucker for "the DDHHB stays together forever" thing, given how much has been decided for them, I think them getting to choose their own paths forward is actually good. There would be something unsettling about them feeling obligated to stay at Yona's side forever, but I do like that they still care about her and I'm sure they plan to visit. <3 And if they don't make their homes back in their villages (Jaeha and Shinah definitely won't, I think) or just travel indefinitely, they'll have Kija's village and Hiryuu Castle to return home to whenever they want. <3 That Yun, Hak, and Su-won are all going to stay in the palace with her is already really sweet
Anyway I adored the ending <3 I started this series in 2014, watching the anime shortly after it came out, and started following the manga around then, too. I found it at a turbulent time in my life where I was dealing with a lot of trauma, and I've always found something very comforting and healing about the series. After 11 years of following it, I'm really happy all these characters got a happy ending. I can't wait for the second season and upcoming extra, and I'll be here with my writing to spend more time with all the characters <3
andulkaphoto
izzy806
jbbartram-illu
gummygunk
romaincrisis
