A Dumpling-Wrapping Ending?
Huo Yuhao changed his biological mother's surname to Dai, taking the surname of his father who had never cared for him.
Xiao Xiao repeated it to herself several times, and the more she repeated it, the more suffocated she felt.
She put herself in her mother's shoes and thought about how heartbroken her mother would be if she had worked so hard to raise her, only to have her end up taking the surname of a father who had never cared about her.
How could Huo Yuhao do such a thing? Xiao Xiao didn't know the whole story, but this outcome alone was enough to make her feel sad for Huo Yun'er for a long time.
I understand that after achieving success, someone might want to go back and clean up their past.
Huo Yuhao later recognized Dai Hao, and there were reasons for that.
Dai Hao was unaware of his existence, and by the time he found out, it was too late, but he wanted to make amends.
Each of these events, taken individually, makes sense. But the matter of changing the surname has a strange, unsettling quality to it.
Who has helped Huo Yuhao survive all these years? Huo Yun'er.
How did Huo Yun'er die? She died of illness in the Dai Clan's side courtyard. Before she died, she couldn't even afford to hire a doctor.
What did the Dai Clan ever give them, mother and son? A dwelling even more dilapidated than a woodshed, leftover scraps of food that never provided enough to eat, and more than a decade of contempt.
Once Huo Yuhao makes a name for himself, the Dai Clan won't have to pay any price; they'll just get a god-like son for free, and they'll even erase the Huo surname from their names.
There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Ironically, during Huo Yuhao's years in the Duke's Mansion, who truly tormented him and his mother? It was Dai Hao's legal wife, the Duchess.
That woman treated Huo Yun'er like a servant, trampling her and her son underfoot, and letting a living person die in the side courtyard.
Later, when Huo Yuhao gained power, he wanted to settle accounts with the Duchess, only to find that the woman had long since died of illness.
It's like someone who's been holding back for decades, wanting to stab their enemy until the blade is gleaming, only to find that the enemy has already breathed their last. With nowhere to vent their anger, they can only swallow it back down.
Can you just pretend it never happened if you hold it in? Huo Yuhao not only pretended it never happened, but he also treated Dai Hao Dai Hao with great respect and filial piety, like a father.
This can no longer be described as "broad-minded".
The Duchess is dead, Dai Hao is still alive. Doesn't Dai Hao bear any responsibility for what the Dai Clan did to Huo Yun'er?
Huo Yuhao could forgive Dai Hao, but what about Huo Yun'er? What can he offer to forgive on behalf of his mother?
The biggest problem with Huo Yuhao's recognition of his ancestors is that it undermines the core of the story's underdog story.
Why was Huo Yuhao so appealing in the early stages? Because he truly had nothing.
An illegitimate child, with Innate Soul Power at level one, can't even afford a full meal. When his closest relative dies of illness, he probably doesn't even have a copper coin in his pocket to buy medicine for his mother.
But he gritted his teeth and walked out of the Duke's Mansion's mansion, into the Star Dou Forest, to the Shrek Academy, and became the Spirit Ice Douluo who shook the continent.
Throughout this process, the Dai Clan did not provide him with any assistance whatsoever; every bit of his strength was earned at the cost of his life.
This is the core appeal of the character Huo Yuhao.
A person who grew out of the mud pried open the stone slab above his head with his own hands.
Such a comeback is more moving than any genius lineage.
In the end, he suddenly turned back to the Dai Clan, who had trampled him into the mud, and said, "I am still your son after all."
All the suffering of the previous ten years was for nothing; those nights of hunger and cold in the outlying courtyard became the prelude to going on stage.
This caused a major flaw in the core of the entire story.
If the ultimate goal is to acknowledge one's ancestry, then what about all that resolute severing of ties with the Dai Clan? After going through such a long and winding road, we've come full circle.
Ma Xiaotao had just returned to her dormitory, a blade of grass clenched in her mouth, gazing absently out the window.
She didn't pay much attention when the diary was transferred from Bei Bei to Huo Yuhao.
She felt she was already tired of seeing Huo Yuhao's affairs; Lin Ye had scolded him countless times.
But Lin Ye's angle of criticism this time was different from before.
Previously, people criticized Huo Yuhao for being an irresponsible father; this time, they're criticizing him for being a wrong son as well.
Ma Xiaotao bit off a blade of grass, spat it on the ground, and felt a jumble of emotions.
She didn't know why she was so annoyed.
What does Huo Yuhao's recognition of his ancestors and change of surname to Dai have to do with her? But she just can't help thinking about Huo Yun'er.
That woman, who had suffered her whole life in the secluded courtyard, couldn't even afford a doctor before she died.
Her son later became a god, capable of resurrecting everything, but he changed the surname she had given him.
Ma Xiaotao thought to herself, if it were her, she'd be turning in her grave even as a ghost.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she felt inexplicably aggrieved for Huo Yun'er.
Later, she suddenly understood why she was so angry.
What's most infuriating about Huo Yuhao in this matter isn't what he did, but that he wanted everything.
He wanted to be Huo Yun'er's son, and also Dai Hao's son; he wanted to retain Huo Yun'er's warmth, and also wanted to continue the Dai Clan line.
But you can't have it all in this world.
By choosing the Dai Clan name, you're essentially telling everyone that Huo Yun'er isn't that important.
Even if you don't think that way in your heart, your actions have already made your point very clear.
Ma Xiaotao's opinion of Huo Yuhao dropped even further. This guy really has a knack for making her get to know him all over again every now and then.
Of course, I'm not unaware of the intricacies behind Huo Yuhao's recognition of his ancestors. Human hearts are made of flesh and blood, and Huo Yuhao is inherently a sentimental person.
He probably felt that the past was the past, Dai Hao was getting old, so he should let it go.
I can understand all of this, but understanding doesn't mean the ending should be handled well.
What bothers me most is not that Huo Yuhao forgave Dai Hao, but that the original author wrote this forgiveness too lightly.
The enemy is dead, that's it. The victim didn't even get an apology, not even a scene of repentance.
Huo Yun'er was resurrected and stood beside Dai Hao, smiling contentedly.
Seeing too many of these scenes can create the illusion that as long as there's a happy ending, all the suffering beforehand was worth it.
But why? Those hardships were real, not just a prelude arranged for a reunion.
Just for the sake of a happy ending, they forced Huo Yuhao to acknowledge his ancestors and return to the clan.
So, I have a question: this original ending about making dumplings seems pretty good.
But what about the suffering in between? Although Huo Yun'er was indeed resurrected in the end, and the ending could indeed be considered a happy one.
However, the humiliation suffered by Huo Yun'er and Huo Yuhao, as well as all the grudges and affections they went through in between, were simply erased so lightly.
A simple sentence like "I resurrected my mother" or "I returned to my ancestral home" could be considered a happy ending. That's utterly absurd.
When Huo Yun'er was coughing up blood in the side courtyard, was she supposed to comfort herself by saying, "It's okay, my son will become a god, I will be resurrected, and our family will be reunited"? That's too cruel.