mdzs could so easily have been a story about the terrible/wonderful things people do for romantic love, but so many of the most consequential moments, terrible and wonderful, are actually the result of the love between siblings, both biological and not.

wangxian changes the course of their own lives, but the big sacrificial moments are generally between blood siblings or people who have chosen to have that bond. it’s so fascinating in retrospect, especially when you think about jgy and nhs.

the presence and absence of the support and love of siblings has such far reaching consequences. interestingly wwx has the support of a circle of siblings in the jiangs and the wens, but ultimately loses both.

and so many siblings end up as sacrifices: wq and wn for wwx, jyl in attempting to reach him, even jzx, who’s trying to fit into the sibling circle that jyl has.

so maybe it’s completely deliberate then that the biggest character turned plot device is nmj, the one who has the title of Great/First Brother.

jgy is ultimately undone by his sworn brother, nhs manipulates others’ brotherhood even as he’s slave to his own feelings towards nmj.

and then you have jc and wwx, who’s sibling bond we see the most intimately, and for whom the reset to neutral ground and the barest possibility of reconciliation is perhaps the kindest outcome any sibling bond in the series gets.

jun guangshao’s terrible crimes are compounded by the fact that his children are robbed of their siblings and the relationships between them are perverted as a result.

and wei wuxian, the lynchpin, is one of the only characters who doesn’t have any biological siblings (who can’t) and yet seems to so steadily seek out those bonds but ultimately finds his happiness and fulfillment elsewhere.

every character who doesn’t have siblings is looking to fill that gap of loneliness and acceptance— wwx, mxy, jgy, jzx. and those who have siblings bonds and lose them are left bereft— jc, nhs.

and mxtx seems to pass over deliberately the parent-child relationship— they’re present, they mean something, but these characters aren’t looking back to their parents for acceptance or love they know they won’t or can no longer get.

but ultimately relying on the sibling bond also doesn’t solve these people’s insecurities or misgivings. wangxian find their happiness in each other, in their child and the promises of the future.

i don’t know if mxtx’s point is that that’s the only workable solution to the emotional void so many people feel, but she’s certainly got something to say about new bonds versus the ones you’re born into.

or maybe these characters only get halfway, knowing they can’t rely on their parents (who are either dead or can’t move past their own hang ups or are just terrible) for unconditional love, so they look to the sibling bond, even though that’s ultimately also going to fall short.

so like maybe wwx still needs the love of his found siblings, but his ability to move forward and also love his husband and son and others keeps him from falling into that pit of too much dependence.

and i haven’t even touched on lxc, ostensible perfect brother to both lwj and the other 3zun, who suffers so terribly for it.

in conclusion: mxtx which siblings bond in your life hurt you i need to know