LayarHijau — Streaming platform Youku on Tuesday (Nov. 3) gave members an early look at the finale of Where The Mask Ends (嫁金钗). The drama, starring Tian Xiwei and Yan An, wraps up with a happy ending, but the story takes a different path from the novel by Xiao Jiaren. Several of the changes have drawn criticism from viewers online.
SPOILER WARNING: The section below discusses the ending of Where The Mask Ends in detail. If you have not finished the drama or read the novel, you may want to stop here.
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In Episode 29 and 30, the major victory won by the army led by Lu Zhuo (played by Yan An) comes with a tragic cost. Lu Zhuo is said to have not returned alive.
Wei Rao (played by Tian Xiwei) grieves her husband’s “death.” But she looks ahead and realizes that her life, her mother’s, and her younger brother’s are in danger. She even predicts a rebellion that will threaten the empire, and begins preparing to fight back.
Then it turns out her husband has risen from his coffin. The two join forces to fight their enemies and survive the struggle for the throne.
Here are the three differences between the drama’s ending and the novel’s.
Post-marriage intimate scenes are cut
In the novel, Lu Zhuo was indeed reported dead on the battlefield. Wei Rao spent three years as a widow. When Lu Zhuo reappears, the misunderstandings between them no longer matter. They confess their love, with several kissing and bedroom scenes that readers loved.
The drama cuts nearly all of those scenes. More of the story goes to political scheming at court and the battle over the throne. That has disappointed viewers who wanted to see the lead couple’s sweet married life.
Lu Zhuo and Wei Rao’s daughter does not appear
In the novel, the couple has a daughter named A Bao. She is described as lively and adorable, and often helps her mother tease her father. Their family moments get plenty of space in the closing chapters.
In the drama, every part about A Bao is removed. Fans of the novel who hoped to see the family of three together were let down.
The drama adds palace intrigue
The second half of the novel focuses mostly on the daily lives of Wei Rao and Lu Zhuo after they settle at the border, as well as the news of Lu Zhuo’s death on the battlefield. In the drama, the power struggle dominates the second half of the story instead.
In the novel, Wei Rao receives the title of princess because the emperor is keeping a promise he made to Wei Rao’s mother, Zhou Fu. The title is granted when Wei Rao divorces Lu Zhuo.
Wei Rao first meets the fourth prince when her mother and younger brother are “exiled” to the Cold Palace. The prince is only 3 years old at the time. By the end of the novel, he is probably around 10 or 11.
The story of Wei Shu, Crown Prince Duan, the fourth prince’s rise to the throne, and the power struggle that comes with it do not exist in the novel. In the drama, Lu Zhuo and Wei Rao are instead drawn into palace intrigue and take sides in the fight for the throne. Wei Rao even rises to become Grand Princess Protector of the Nation, with full control over imperial power. The difference is vast from the light, sweet tone of the novel.
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