yuranchia's Favorite

So, as many of you have, I stayed up all night to finish 114 chapters of this manga thus far. The characters frustrate the living shit out of me so much, but my love and appreciation for the plot has urged me to write a formal plot and character analysis as tribute to Hwaryun. After reading through the comments, I want to somewhat defend him because I think he’s a misunderstood character that’s getting a lot of unnecessary hate. I’ll start by saying that I think he is the most interesting and likeable character thus far and I will show you why. If you still disagree to the very end, then I understand your sentiments because I won’t deny that his actions are still problematic. Perhaps, I am looking at this character from a very realistic and worldly view, but let’s dive into this together. This is going to be very in-depth so buckle down and enjoy the show.

Now, I realize that Hwaryun is a very problematic and extremely confusing character. But, after really paying attention to him throughout the story, I think I understand him a bit. I think to really understand him, we will need to talk about his background. Growing up, you all know that he had a rough childhood. His mother practically abandoned him, his father threw him away, and all of his brothers tried to kill him because he possessed a very special power. He was always looked at as an object of power, an obstacle whose presence would be a clear obstruction to anyone’s waltz onto the throne. So, for as long as he lived, he was simply “the kid with a power to summon rain upon Rahan.” This also translates to Hwaryun being looked at as “the one true king.” So, everyone hated him for it and I’m pretty sure he hated himself for it too. But, it came to a point where he had enough people betraying him and throwing him away left and right. It came to a point where he decided that he wouldn’t be so pliant. At some point in time, most likely when his second brother tried to kill him, something inside Hwaryun made him committed to thinking that he would not let those at odds with him have what they want. In essence, I think this translates to: “I, myself, have not been able to have what I truly want, but I won’t bother anyone… but if someone chooses to cross me, then everyone else can suffer the same way.” It would also be safe to think of it as: "if me suffering and dying is what others wish of me, then I won't let that happen, even if it means inflicting that upon someone else."

These are some pretty dark outlooks and I will certainly say that they’re not healthy (from my modernistic standpoint), but in this plot and setting, the definition of being “healthy” in our modernistic views is very different from the definition of “healthy” in Hwaryun’s world and time. What is healthy in Hwaryun’s world is survival and stability, even if it means that it is at the cost of others. This is why betrayal is such a common scene in this story. You betray, betray, and betray some more in order to stay alive. And, this is especially common when you have nothing to truly live for or no one to be your strength. It’s not right, but do not look at this story based on what is right or wrong. You would be making all the wrong assumptions. When you read this story, read it for what it is and what is happening. There is no good guy or bad guy. There are just people who do the things they need to do in order to live.

Now that we’ve discussed where his mindset came from, let’s analyze how it affects his decision-making and actions. From first glance, Hwaryun is really what you would call a Machiavellian. He ticks all the checkboxes and then some. He is extremely pragmatic to a point of contention. So, let’s talk about what Machiavellianism for a bit. If you really do your reading, Machiavellianism is not evil by nature. Humans are evil by nature (as much as they are good by nature). There is a balance between both sides of the scale. Machiavellianism acknowledges (mostly from an ethically antagonistic perspective) the fact that certain things must be done in order to achieve power and maintain that power. It is simply a thought process that one would have to consider if they decide to pursue power and position. Now, you do things that are deemed cynical and evil or unfeeling in order to pursue and maintain power. Hwaryun can be seen in this light in that he will do anything the situation calls for as long as there is a reason. This is really unsettling to us, the readers, because it shows that he can’t be trusted, that he can sing a different tune the moment a line has been crossed. This is true. This is exactly what it is. It’s dangerous and he can be dangerous. And, while this is the reality of the situation, I think that it would be incorrect to go with the first glance assumption of seeing him as he an asshole who covets power and will do anything to secure his position. I do not think this is the case at all, which is why I would not call him a true Machiavellian.

You have to understand that Hwaryun is the product of his surroundings and past experiences. His pragmatism is a strength that is fitted for a king, but he is not someone who wants to be king (for now). He grew to understand, based on his environment, that you cannot afford to be nice and kind in all situations. Sometimes, you have to cut someone’s head off or scheme the demise of an enemy in order to protect something. This explains why he broke Suu’s ankle so easily but can afford to be lovey-dovey with him when they are alone. Yes, you can argue that he is a terrible person for breaking Suu’s ankle and that he’s calloused as fuck, but it doesn’t change the fact that his childhood also played a role in shaping him into the person he is. When you’ve seen enough blood in your life, you start becoming immune to it. It’s not okay for him to break Suu’s ankle of course, but I understand why he did it: it’s a power move to ensure that people know their place. Even Suu should be aware of that because the fact of the matter is that Hwaryun’s position as crown prince doesn’t change. This is the world they live in and it’s different from the real life world that we, the readers, live in so you need to keep this in mind as you go through the story.

I want to talk about Hwaryun’s personality now. I think his personality is really off-putting to a lot of readers and I can see why. But, after really thinking about how this dude works, I can’t help but feel sorry for him and that I actually really like this character as a whole. He’s super relatable in so many ways that it’s not even funny. Hwaryun comes off as pragmatic, manipulative, calloused, insincere, inconsiderate, and secretive. He is definitely pragmatic and calloused and he can definitely be manipulative, but only when the situation calls for it. Remember: he’s a crown prince and there are many political games that are played in high court so you need to be cunning and manipulative if you want to survive. No one gives a shit about good, honest people in high court (lol). Being good and honest is not going to get you what you want or where you need to be. We’ve been over this, though, so let’s move on. I don’t think he’s insincere or inconsiderate. He’s definitely secretive (for reasons you should understand by now), but I’ve never once thought that he was ingenuine or inconsiderate. When you look at this interactions with Suu or with Sahara, I’ve never sensed any amount of fakeness from him. He is true to his emotions and will act out as such, especially when he is alone with Suu. Suu really brings out the warm and tender side of Hwaryun, which is 100% real. The reason why one would think that he is ingenuine is because of, again, his pragmatism. Different situations call for different actions and Hwaryun cannot afford to be loving and tender in all situations. More often than not, the situation calls for him to be calculating and cold, but it does not mean that he is putting on a show. It just means that he has different aspects to his personality.

So, I think this also needs to be discussed, but what are Hwaryun’s goals for the throne? I don’t think this topic can be discussed without also mentioning Sahara. My whole interpretation of Sahara is that Sahara is a manifestation of all of Hwaryun’s indecisiveness, doubts, and hesitations. I think Sahara has even mentioned it himself in a quote when speaking to Hwaryun alone. But, what the hell are Hwaryun’s reservations on the throne even about? Let’s back track and look at Hwaryun’s power as a child. When he was a child, he saw everyone lose their shit over the fact that he had such an amazing regenerative power, which is essentially the power to be king. Honestly, I’m going to go ahead and say that his power haunts him in a way that makes the idea of becoming king off-putting and scary. At the same time, I think Hwaryun is overall a good enough person who wants the best for Rahan because, perhaps, he sees Rahan as the people he could not save back in his childhood. Perhaps, his inability to help those people (like his mom) can be redeemed by bringing down rain upon Rahan. I get that he has an angsty side where he doesn’t want any rain to fall upon Rahan and that he just wants to destroy everything, but I don’t think that’s where his heart truly lies. He seems to just be hurt from all his past trauma and projecting these types of thoughts into his mind seems to be the only coping mechanism that he has other than spending time with Suu. I pity the dude, honestly. However, back to topic, I think the important and interesting part of his character is that he is not a person who wants and seeks power. He just wants to live normally where he can be happy. He just wants love and affection from his mother and father and siblings. He also wants to love Rahan in the same way as the affection he longed to receive, I suppose if you really think poetically. The scene with the rice cake millets tells a lot more than it lets on. The scene where he wished for rain upon Rahan when speaking to Suu is also very telling of where his true feelings lie when you look for the holes in his heart. Unfortunately, we only get very few of these scenes, but that’s to be expected because Hwaryun is not meant to be a character who reveals things so easily.

I think Hwaryun may also have reservations on the throne because he knows just how lonely his current standing is. This wouldn’t change and would most likely worsen if he were to rise as king. Hwaryun has said something along the lines of, “you’re putting me into this position again.” And, I think he really says this when he is about to be betrayed or when he’s getting betrayed, but I take this as a sentiment of loneliness and exhaustion from having to continuously fight others. The throne is an extremely lonely seat. Hwaryun has mentioned that he could not completely trust those who were very close to him, despite him implying that he would like to (as seen when he said he didn’t want to have to doubt Suu as well). It’s a really difficult chair to sit on, considering that you have everyone wanting to slit your throat at the very chance of obtaining the crown. So, knowing this best, Hwaryun probably feels wary about the position that he would potentially put himself in if he whole-heartedly pursued the throne. In one scene, he says as he stands alone in an empty desert, “I feel so empty. So much that I want to fill the void even if it’s with sand. Everything is…” This is a clear indication of how lonely he already feels in his current position and, probably, how he’s felt his entire life. The boy just wants love, but he knows it will be even harder to obtain if he decides to become king. That’s probably why thinking about things with a “burn it all down” mindset helps with coping with the sad reality that he’s in an extremely lonely position.

When Hwaryun summoned Sahara, Sahara was born as manifestation of Hwaryun’s doubts, like I mentioned before. I consider Sahara to be less of his own person (for now) and more as an extension of Hwaryun. The things that Hwaryun desires and wants to do most can be expressed by Sahara. The destruction and chaos that Hwaryun wants to bring upon his world can be executed by Sahara. The hunger and affection that Hwaryun wants can be mirrored by Sahara. For example, the way I interpreted Sahara's words like, "there won't be any rain for Rahan. Not a single drop. Hwaryun is a bad man because he killed everyone around him." I think this has less to do with Sahara's views/opinion on Hwaryun and has more so has to do with Hwaryun's view of himself. When you think symbolically of a dragon and especially the dragons described in this story, they are depicted as wise entities. The dragon, however, is bonded to its summoner, the king, and they form some sort of pact to ensure the betterment and longevity of the various nations. If this bond between the dragon and the king is so great that the dragon gives his life in the process to bring rain while taking the life of the king (Sahara feeding on Hwaryun through Suu), then just imagine the sheer complexity of their relationship and how connected they are. It would make sense that Sahara would act as a mirror and extension of Hwaryun and, for now, we should consider Sahara's actions and words as a reflection of Hwaryun's inner thoughts. The bond between the two definitely has to do with how intertwined their thoughts and actions are. They’re different beasts, but they’re also one in the same and coexist via a symbiotic relationship. I’m not really going to talk about how these two will turn out in the future because I simply don’t know, but I’m pretty certain that once Hwaryun receives major character development, Sahara will follow in his footsteps.

I really don’t intend on professing my favor for a specific ship in this manga, but I hope that Hwaryun can really grow his character and overcome his demons to become the great man that I see he can become. I hope that his character development will make him a more appealing character to advocate for in the eyes of readers. Hwaryun definitely has a lot of flaws, but I do not think he is a bad guy. He’s a good guy who was given a poor hand of cards and is doing his best to work with his circumstances, which is partially why I really like him as a character. This form of reality is something that a lot of us can relate to and, perhaps, for that reason, he is a very unappealing character because he reminds us of our own demons. I hope that as he receives more character development to become a strong person, he will also become a more suitable love interest for Suu. But, as things stand now in the story, I don’t think anyone is suited for anyone because everyone needs to do some growing. Regardless of whether or not Suu and Hwaryun are canon in the end, I hope that Suu will choose to become a great source of strength for Hwaryun so that man can get on his feet and kick ass because all I really want to see is Hwaryun succeed. Anyway, thank you for reading this essay, this concludes the end of my TedTalk.