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Placed side by side, these images become even more ridiculous.

Hak: “The day will come when you will understand the joy of being subjects of Princess Yona.”

Later: “To get here, we suffered bandit attacks, cracks in the ground, and rockslides. In any case, it took us a very long time. We thought we had sent enough supplies and personnel, but it wasn't enough. Meanwhile, in the remote regions, many people were looking for work and supplies, and discontent continued to mount. There has to be more… Some way to resolve this.”

Later, Yona: “When we traveled, I understood better how people lived.”

Excuse me, but Hak praises Yona based on what? On the newly discovered epiphany that reality exists outside the palace?

She comes from the following journey: Childhood in the palace: lives isolated and is unaware of the kingdom. Journey through Kouka: supposedly discovers hunger, corruption, slavery, abuse, and inequality. Return to the palace: in two months, she loses touch with everything again. Solemn reflection: she discovers that, from the palace, she doesn't see people's lives so clearly.

That's not political growth. It's going all the way around only to return to the starting point, only now wearing a ceremonial cape and with her hands clasped.

And what's lacking isn't abstract intelligence. It's applied learning. After having lived abroad, she should return knowing precisely that the palace distorts information. The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

But it seems that didn't occur to her until they had already miscalculated the supplies and discontent was growing. Fantastic administrative debut.

And the expressions make it worse, because the drawing shows no shame at having lost touch, no frustration at the system's failure, no sense of responsibility, and no fear of repeating the blindness of his childhood. She displays a kind of delicate contemplation, as if she had grasped a profound truth: “Outside the palace, you see things you can’t see from inside.”

Yes, Yona. You also notice the rain more when there’s no roof. Record that in the annals of the kingdom.

And Hak remembers it with that gentle, approving smile, without questioning a thing. He, who is traveling the roads, observing the needs and doing the fieldwork the government doesn’t know how to organize, decides that the moment demands admiration. Not analysis.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other.

He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.”

She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.”

No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies.

Au contraire, Yona needs also "abstract intelligence" as she does not need to invent the wheel again. There have been countless other rulers before her and their experience might also come in handy.

Right now, she is merely able to rule, because Soo Won and Keishuk took the MOST of her tasks from her.

Yona merely has to do 2000 of 10.000.

She needs to know everything from economy over law to political tactics, warfare, foreign affairs ect...Yona knows merely the basics and needs to learn much.

But yes, she does need information for a direct source...and this is, what Hak is already doing. He does collect information and will bring this information to Yona and co.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

Yona is right now struggling to rule at all. Currently she is not able to manage this job at all alone. This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

And Soo Won has already removed much of the corrupt officials to begin with, as we have seen with Kum Ji. Originally he had tried to get intel about this man, when he met Yona in Awa.

In fact, Soo Won is already trying to figure out, how to change the current system. Yona does not have to do everything alone. Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other. He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.” She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.” No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

Correct observation. It is indeed fate. Hak´s strength is his loyalty to people he loves. He isn´t critical of Yona and most likely never will. It is not in his nature.

I hope, that Zeno, who is at least talking with people, even if he suffers from severe depression it seems, might influence the story. Lily, who is visiting Ogi, the literal information broker, might be another source. It might lead to Soo Won visiting Ogi again, as he does need this kind of information.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies. Jesús, qué tropa.

Of course she has abstract intelligence. The wheel has already been invented, and besides, she's used it, but it seems she's only now becoming aware of its existence. What I mean is that she lacks the ability to apply that abstract intelligence.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

Poor thing. I'll say it again: she didn't have to accept the crown.

Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

Indeed, she's never done anything alone throughout her journey.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good...

This is Soo Won´s task. And the one of others. It seems as if Ogi, Lily, Zeno and Soo Won might play a little role as well.

Yes, but Yona has to learn how to "apply abstract intelligence". This is an ability. We learn how to "abstract" slowly in school.

This is Soo Won´s home turf, but Yona is still a baby chicken. She has most likely less knowledge than a common 16 year old due to her "lacking" education by King Il.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

You are right, she could have refused, but she could not bring herself to refuse Soo Won, who had nearly died. And he had promised to help her. The mistake lies more with him than her in that case. But Soo Won most likely couldn´t anymore after the events in the mausoleum.

She contributed like everybody else, but she has always been hailed for everybody´s common efforts. As if she was the sole source. But Yona has never been the sole source.

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Not a coincidence at all. In order to become a bird, in order to acquire a wide and great knowledge. In order to acquire wisdom, you have to sometimes go through hell. That is why those two are birds.

Soo Won and Zeno both hold contrary, but important wisdom. They acquired a wider point of view as everybody else. Without this wisdom everything goes to shit. Again. Like with King Il.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good…

No, he is not a fool. Though I agree, that he is blind. He is Yona´s significant other, so of course, he tends to be loyal, and nice and full of illusions. Yona had to literally break herself away from illusions...because she loves cushy dreams more than reality.

Yes, it always seems to be someone else's job.

That is precisely my point: Yona still has to learn how to apply what she knows to practical situations.

This is Soo-won’s home turf, but Yona is still a baby chicken. She most likely has less knowledge than an ordinary sixteen-year-old because of the education King Il denied her.

It is true that she lacks knowledge and education. However, there is at least one lesson she should already understand through direct experience: life inside the castle gives her a much poorer view of the country than life outside it.

She spent her childhood isolated inside the castle and then travelled through Kouka, however involuntarily at first. She should not need two months as queen before receiving this realization like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.

You are right, she could have refused, but she could not bring herself to refuse Soo-won, who had nearly died. And he had promised to help her. The mistake lies more with him than with her in that case.

I do not see it that way. That interpretation removes Yona’s agency precisely when responsibility is being discussed, only to restore it when she is presented as a legitimate and admirable sovereign.

Soo-won may certainly have been wrong to offer her the crown without arranging a sufficient transition. But Yona accepted it. She knew that he was gravely injured, that she would depend heavily on his assistance, and that she lacked the necessary education and experience.

Her inability to bring herself to refuse him explains her decision emotionally. It does not erase the fact that she made that decision.

And if Soo-won had just emerged from the mausoleum gravely wounded and perhaps unable to continue ruling, it seems rather unfair to place the full responsibility for choosing an unprepared successor on him as well. Apparently, even while abdicating after nearly dying, he was expected to arrange everything perfectly.

I think the fairest conclusion is that Soo-won made a mistake by offering her the crown without an adequate transition, and Yona made a mistake by accepting it while unprepared.

She contributed like everybody else, but she has always been praised for everybody’s collective efforts, as though she were the sole source.

I have nothing to dispute here. I completely agree.

Yona contributes, but the narrative repeatedly turns collective work into an extension of Yona. Other people provide strength, information, strategy, sacrifice, experience and administration. Afterwards, someone explains that everything happened because Yona inspires people, works harder than anyone else or will create a better world.

Not a coincidence at all. In order to become a bird, in order to acquire broad knowledge and wisdom, one sometimes has to go through hell. That is why those two are birds.

That may be symbolically true, but it does not answer the question of narrative injustice.

Suffering may produce wisdom. It does not require Soo-won and Zeno to receive the harshest endings, nor does it justify other characters benefiting from their wisdom while they themselves are left dispossessed.

Saying that they passed through hell in order to become birds is beautiful. It is also very convenient for those who inherit the nest, the kingdom and the applause.

Soo-won and Zeno both possess different but important kinds of wisdom. They have acquired a broader perspective than everyone else. Without that wisdom, everything goes wrong again, as it did under King Il.

Then Soo-won and Zeno remain indispensable, while the person who has been crowned does not yet possess what is required to prevent the same disaster from recurring.

No, he is not a fool.

That is fair. Calling him a fool was unnecessarily harsh, and I apologize for that wording.

He is Yona’s significant other, so of course he tends to be loyal, kind and full of illusions. Yona had to break away from illusions because she loves comfortable dreams more than reality.

Being someone’s partner does not require surrendering critical judgment. A partner can, and sometimes should, introduce friction when the other person is failing.

Loyalty does not require transforming governmental deficiencies into advance proof of greatness.

“Hak loves Yona, and therefore he cannot see reality clearly where she is concerned” may explain his behaviour. It does not make that behaviour healthy, admirable or romantic.

And if Hak knows that Yona prefers comfortable dreams to reality, his role should not be to wrap every new problem in another comfortable dream. Yet there he is, working overtime for the national department of illusion.

Soo-won understood that sometimes you need more people rather than boxes. He was as close to a perfect king as possible, but people want to help Yona. Even the most perfect ruler cannot defeat the will of the many.

A monarch does not need to be the most intelligent person in the room or perform every task alone. A good ruler must gather capable people, listen to them, coordinate their work and take responsibility for the outcome.

The problem is that the manga does not show Yona doing this particularly well. It shows other people solving problems while she receives their loyalty.

The fact that people want to help her is not automatically evidence of political competence. To turn that collective willingness into proof of good government, the story would need to show Yona distributing responsibilities, weighing competing advice, correcting mistakes, protecting the autonomy of those who assist her and accepting responsibility when the system fails.

Without that, we do not have collective leadership. We have collective labour attributed to a charismatic central figure.

Yona succeeding because people choose to help her could have been a compelling idea if the manga had said: “Yona is not the most capable person, but she learns to govern by listening to people who are better prepared than she is.”

But that is not what Hak proclaims. He says: “The day will come when you understand how fortunate we are to be Princess Yona’s people.”

There is also another problem. Much of Yona’s extraordinary authority during her journey came from travelling with the dragon warriors and from being identified with the Crimson Dragon. Those things gave her immense symbolic power, military power and an almost supernatural ability to draw people towards her.

Now the dragons are gone, and Yona is no longer being presented as the Crimson Dragon. What remains is a very young, poorly educated and inexperienced ruler. That does not mean she is doomed to fail. It means the manga must now demonstrate, rather than merely proclaim, what makes her capable of ruling without the divine authority and power that carried so much of her journey.

Indeed. But in the moment she is still pretty unexperienced. At the moment she needs pretty much help.

It is true that she lacks knowledge and education. However, there is at least one lesson she should already understand through direct experience: life inside the castle gives her a much poorer view of the country than life outside it.

As a queen she is more bound and cannot just walk out like she used to. Especially since everybody knows she is the queen. I guess she might color her hair, if she - sometimes - goes out.

Nevertheless she has now to care for a whole country, therefore she has to stay for a certain time at the castle. Especially now, as she is still soaking up knowledge.

She spent her childhood isolated inside the castle and then travelled through Kouka, however involuntarily at first. She should not need two months as queen before receiving this realization like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.

Why not? She is completely inexperienced as a ruler for a great country. She is 16 years old and is right now cramming her head with all the abstract knowledge she can get. Making mistakes is a given in that situation.

I do not see it that way. That interpretation removes Yona’s agency precisely when responsibility is being discussed, only to restore it when she is presented as a legitimate and admirable sovereign.

But Yona did not know, what it meant to be ruler. Soo Won had experienced it already. So he is in a better position to consider the given situation than Yona.

Yes, she has agency. She tries it with full force. He should still have considered, how young she still is. However, truth be told. Soo Won is himself also only 18 years old. We are speaking about very young adults to teenagers.

The former generation massively fucked up, so that merely half-children are left.

Actually, as an adult I am a little shocked how much responsibility this young teenagers to young adults have.

Soo-won may certainly have been wrong to offer her the crown without arranging a sufficient transition. But Yona accepted it. She knew that he was gravely injured, that she would depend heavily on his assistance, and that she lacked the necessary education and experience. Her inability to bring herself to refuse him explains her decision emotionally. It does not erase the fact that she made that decision.

You are right. It was naive of her to make this decision. But unfortunately Yona is naive. The greatest pain she experienced was losing her father and even then there was Hak, shielding her. Later she acquired a small army in the form of the dragon warriors. She could jump into a rain of arrows and she was fine.

So nothing ever happened to her. Zeno and Soo Won felt the consequences of their decisions. But well, sometimes Yona has to experience pain to get it.

That may be symbolically true, but it does not answer the question of narrative injustice.

I guess, it is a given that Yona was pampered while Soo Won and Zeno had to go through hell. Life is sometimes unfair. But these experiences, this pain also taught them important lessons.

Right now, Yona is slightly hurting, too. Without a little pain and learnt experience, you won´t acquire "wings".

Suffering may produce wisdom. It does not require Soo-won and Zeno to receive the harshest endings, nor does it justify other characters benefiting from their wisdom while they themselves are left dispossessed.

Yes, I fully agree. It is so unfair that Zeno and Soo Won had to suffer so greatly...that they had to go through hell. It is an injustice. But unfortunately they were part of horrifying systems that were prone to "produce" such sacrifices.

That these sacrifices were unnecessary might be one moral of this story.

Saying that they passed through hell in order to become birds is beautiful. It is also very convenient for those who inherit the nest, the kingdom and the applause.

Soo Won and Zeno - unfortunately - held some believes that turnt out horrifying for especially them. Only through some pain they could let go of these believes...but that is one reason they are currently "floating"...

For both core convictions crumbled in the last arc.

Being someone’s partner does not require surrendering critical judgment. A partner can, and sometimes should, introduce friction when the other person is failing.

Actually I tried to express that Hak resembles Yona in that point. They are very kind, but are dreamers and tend to see the world how they wish to see it. Unfortunately.

Loyalty does not require transforming governmental deficiencies into advance proof of greatness. “Hak loves Yona, and therefore he cannot see reality clearly where she is concerned” may explain his behaviour. It does not make that behaviour healthy, admirable or romantic.

I agree. Some people wouldn´t. And the behaviour is not healthy or admirable. But Hak is like this. He is not just loyal, he is absolutely loyal and unfortunately prone to fall for illusions. In a way he has changed "Soo Won the king" for"Yona the queen".

But an illusion it still is.

And if Hak knows that Yona prefers comfortable dreams to reality, his role should not be to wrap every new problem in another comfortable dream. Yet there he is, working overtime for the national department of illusion.

Great! Your insight is great. Indeed. I came to the same conclusion, that Hak easily falls into these traps, if he is left alone.

However, Hak confuses the dreams for reality himself. Therefore he is -blissfully- unaware of the statue of things.

A monarch does not need to be the most intelligent person in the room or perform every task alone. A good ruler must gather capable people, listen to them, coordinate their work and take responsibility for the outcome.

Indeed. Soo Won came to the same conclusion. However Yona is not - yet- able to perform this task. Therefore Keishuk and Soo Won take much of her responsibility.

The problem is that the manga does not show Yona doing this particularly well. It shows other people solving problems while she receives their loyalty.

Like in an illusion of grandeur, right? Indeed, this is a problem and I guess it might be solved. However, she might never be the great leader people wish her to be. But she might get people to help her on her way.

Like we both concluded. Yona has never solved a problem on her own. And she won´t be able to do it in the future. Without all the people she knows, she would not be able to do anything.

Soo Won is already trying to change the given system in order to take in more responsible people. As the monarch helds too much power in his eyes, now.

I have an inkling that the development goes in the direction of a democracy.

The fact that people want to help her is not automatically evidence of political competence. To turn that collective willingness into proof of good government, the story would need to show Yona distributing responsibilities, weighing competing advice, correcting mistakes, protecting the autonomy of those who assist her and accepting responsibility when the system fails.

She still has a long way to go...

Without that, we do not have collective leadership. We have collective labour attributed to a charismatic central figure.

Indeed. This is the trap the people are right now prone to falling. She is considered the reincarnation of the dragon god, after all. Her fame attributes too much of the success to her. Even though, strictly, speaking Yona is right now merely a charismatic figure, but not the central power. She needs to develop this.

And Soo Won has to really develop a backbone again, because he sometimes needs to go against her, challenge her again. Yona is not a really driven person.

Yona succeeding because people choose to help her could have been a compelling idea if the manga had said: “Yona is not the most capable person, but she learns to govern by listening to people who are better prepared than she is.” But that is not what Hak proclaims. He says: “The day will come when you understand how fortunate we are to be Princess Yona’s people.”

Yes! Yes! Yes! Completely delusional...Kusanagi himself mentioned something similar in an interview...even if the expression was not that strong.

There is also another problem. Much of Yona’s extraordinary authority during her journey came from travelling with the dragon warriors and from being identified with the Crimson Dragon. Those things gave her immense symbolic power, military power and an almost supernatural ability to draw people towards her.

Indeed. Indeed. This is a point. People would not attribute power to her, if she was not the reincarnation.

Determination and effort matter. They are not substitutes for knowledge, judgment, accountability and effective government.

Soo-won did not truly know what ruling a country meant until he actually became king either. The crucial difference was preparation: Soo-won possessed the necessary knowledge and could organize and make decisions. Yona does not yet possess that knowledge or demonstrate the same ability to organize. Other people perform much of that work, while the narrative often transfers the resulting credit to her.

Yes, she has agency. She tries with all her strength. He should still have considered how young she is. However, Soo-won himself is only eighteen. We are speaking about teenagers and very young adults.

Trying with all one’s strength is an exercise of agency, but it is not proof of competence, preparation or sound judgment.

Yona had the agency to accept the crown. That means she must also bear responsibility for accepting a position she was not prepared to hold. Effort does not make the decision wise, nor does it automatically make her capable of fulfilling the role.

And why must her youth excuse her whenever responsibility is discussed, while at other times the narrative presents her as the kingdom’s greatest warrior, future saviour and natural sovereign? That double standard is precisely what bothers me.

The former generation massively failed, leaving little more than children behind.

Yes. What a magnificent collection of responsible adults they were.

As an adult, I am rather shocked by how much responsibility these teenagers and young adults carry.

I agree that eighteen is extremely young for this degree of responsibility, at least from my own cultural perspective. Other societies and historical periods have drawn adulthood much earlier, so I would not treat our present standards as universal.

What bothers me is not simply their age. It is that age is used as an excuse selectively: Yona is a child when her errors require accountability, but an extraordinary leader when the story wants admiration for her.

It was naive of her to make this decision. Unfortunately, Yona is naive. The greatest pain she experienced was losing her father, and even then Hak protected her. Later, she acquired a small army in the dragon warriors. She could jump into a rain of arrows and remain unharmed.

The famous rain of arrows. Please do not remind me.

But yes, I see Yona’s naivety as a serious argument against her suitability to rule, not as a mitigating virtue. An ingenuous sovereign is extremely vulnerable. Either she learns quickly, or other people will manipulate her and the country will pay the price.

That these sacrifices were unnecessary might be one moral of the story.

I am honestly unable to derive that interpretation from the text. I do not mean that dismissively; it simply had never occurred to me. I would have to think about it.

Soo-won and Zeno held beliefs that proved horrifying, especially for them. Only through pain could they relinquish those beliefs, and that is one reason they are currently “floating.” Both of their central convictions collapsed in the final arc.

Soo-won and Zeno may be “floating,” but to me they appear to be floating in a sea of depression.

Their former convictions may have collapsed, and that can certainly form part of a meaningful character transformation. I still do not find their outcomes beautiful, fair or emotionally adequate. Losing a destructive conviction does not require being left emptied of purpose, identity and reward while others inherit the fruits of your suffering.

I was trying to express that Hak resembles Yona in this respect. They are kind, but they are dreamers and tend to see the world as they wish it to be.

Unfortunately, yes. They reinforce one another’s preferred reality and remain inside the same comfortable bubble. I do not regard that as a promising path for either a relationship or a government.

Hak is not merely loyal; he is absolutely loyal and inclined to fall for illusions. In a way, he has replaced “Soo-won the king” with “Yona the queen.” But it remains an illusion.

I agree. My problem is that the manga appears to present this as something beautiful.

Hak mistakes dreams for reality himself. Therefore, he is blissfully unaware of the state of things.

What a marvellous condition: moving through life without noticing what is happening around you.

I find it deeply sad rather than blissful. Hak’s loyalty has ceased to coexist with judgment and has begun to replace it.

Soo-won came to the same conclusion. However, Yona is not yet able to perform this task. Therefore, Kye-sook and Soo-won assume much of her responsibility.

The main story has ended, and only one gaiden chapter remains. At this point, I think it is fair to remove the word “yet.”

Yona is not currently capable of performing that role. What she might become later will depend entirely on each reader’s imagination, because the manga has almost run out of pages in which to show it.

This is a problem, and I suppose it might be solved. She may never become the great leader people expect her to be, but she may persuade people to help her along the way.

Or she may not. We cannot know unless the final gaiden chapter contains another two hundred pages and resolves everything still pending.

As the text currently stands, Yona lacks the education, demonstrated judgment and political character required to govern effectively without extensive support. Perhaps she will acquire them in two years. Perhaps she will not. Either answer now belongs to the reader, not to the completed narrative.

The manga can only be assessed by what it has actually shown.

She still has a long way to go.

She needs to develop this.

Yes. The small problem is that the story is over.

Soo-won really needs to develop a backbone again, because he sometimes needs to oppose and challenge her. Yona is not a particularly driven person.

What Soo-won should do is retire somewhere far from the palace and live whatever life he chooses. He could read, since he enjoys it, and plant potatoes if the mood takes him.

I do not see why his future must remain dedicated to guiding, challenging and educating Yona when the entire universe already seems organized around supporting her.

He has already surrendered his health, youth, reign and future to Kouka. He should not now be assigned the additional lifelong task of supplying its new queen with judgment and resolve.

Yona will probably learn this, more or less, if she is not prevented from doing so. So yes, Soo-won has a great deal of work ahead of him.

And we return to the same conclusion: the solution to Yona’s problems remains in Soo-won’s hands.

Yona may receive the crown, loyalty and public faith, but Soo-won must still provide knowledge, reform the system, challenge her illusions and help her become capable of governing.

Indeed. But Yona was not given the chance to prepare herself. Her father did not educate her like this, as she was not considered his heir.

So she started a lot later than Soo Won, who has been raised to be the Crown Prince and later king since he was basically a baby.

Trying with all one’s strength is an exercise of agency, but it is not proof of competence, preparation or sound judgment. Yona had the agency to accept the crown. That means she must also bear responsibility for accepting a position she was not prepared to hold. Effort does not make the decision wise, nor does it automatically make her capable of fulfilling the role.

True. In a position like Yona´s you can hardly say "I tried" and be done with. Effort does not count, if people are suffering or Yona makes horrible decisions.

Currently luckily she has counselors, who take over much of her work. Like she has merely 1/4 of the actual tasks of a ruler of Kouka.

And why must her youth excuse her whenever responsibility is discussed, while at other times the narrative presents her as the kingdom’s greatest warrior, future saviour and natural sovereign? That double standard is precisely what bothers me.

Yes, i agree, that it is unfair that she gets so much fame, but she is still 16 years old. This is awfully young for an uneducated person to be responsible for the lives of thousands of people.

It is therefore less of an "excuse", but a fact that she is awfully young and this girl would not be considered an adult in my country. She would not be able to drive or even vote. But she rules a whole country in this time line. There is a certain reason, why children are protected before they become adults, as they sometimes are not fully aware of the risks they take. Their brains have not yet developed fully.

But yes, I see Yona’s naivety as a serious argument against her suitability to rule, not as a mitigating virtue. An ingenuous sovereign is extremely vulnerable. Either she learns quickly, or other people will manipulate her and the country will pay the price.

One can hope, that she loses the naivety as she makes experiences.

Soo-won and Zeno may be “floating,” but to me they appear to be floating in a sea of depression. Their former convictions may have collapsed, and that can certainly form part of a meaningful character transformation. I still do not find their outcomes beautiful, fair or emotionally adequate. Losing a destructive conviction does not require being left emptied of purpose, identity and reward while others inherit the fruits of your suffering.

Indeed. Life is unfair and many of their pains are unnecessary. Unfortunately, if you break down or lose a very important conviction it often happens that depressive tendencies, the feeling of losing the ground beneath your feet, is an effect.

Unfortunately, I have experiences with this statue. It is therefore natural, that both feel like this.

And yes, I also think so much of this is unfair to both of them.

I am honestly unable to derive that interpretation from the text. I do not mean that dismissively; it simply had never occurred to me. I would have to think about it.

If you consider both systems - King Il and Yu hon´s - as some sort of cults, you might understand it better. There is a lot of "brain-washing", and manipulation involved that directly impacted both Soo Won and Zeno.

Unfortunately, yes. They reinforce one another’s preferred reality and remain inside the same comfortable bubble. I do not regard that as a promising path for either a relationship or a government.

Soo Won´s job is hard. I am truly not jealous of him for having to persuade those two.

I agree. My problem is that the manga appears to present this as something beautiful.

I think, I cannot completely disagree here. Yes, many love his devotion, but i am also not the greatest fan of it, honestly. But don´t you think, that not more people will realize in the latest chapter, that something isn´t right with Hak´s perception?

Yona is not currently capable of performing that role. What she might become later will depend entirely on each reader’s imagination, because the manga has almost run out of pages in which to show it.

Unfortunately, fair. I don´t understand it, why Kusanagi presented it like this. This is the second-to-last chapter, after all.

Or she may not. We cannot know unless the final gaiden chapter contains another two hundred pages and resolves everything still pending. As the text currently stands, Yona lacks the education, demonstrated judgment and political character required to govern effectively without extensive support. Perhaps she will acquire them in two years. Perhaps she will not. Either answer now belongs to the reader, not to the completed narrative. The manga can only be assessed by what it has actually shown.

I so hope for a spin-off or something along those lines. As I really don´t understand the decision of the mangaka. As you said, it would need a good of 200 pages to resolve every issue.

What Soo-won should do is retire somewhere far from the palace and live whatever life he chooses. He could read, since he enjoys it, and plant potatoes if the mood takes him. I do not see why his future must remain dedicated to guiding, challenging and educating Yona when the entire universe already seems organized around supporting her. He has already surrendered his health, youth, reign and future to Kouka. He should not now be assigned the additional lifelong task of supplying its new queen with judgment and resolve.

Do you honestly believe this? He would never do this. Unfortunately for him, fortunately for everybody else.

The entire country would fall into the next King Il era, if Soo Won was not there.

Though i believe, that he would fancy planting potatoes....

And we return to the same conclusion: the solution to Yona’s problems remains in Soo-won’s hands. Yona may receive the crown, loyalty and public faith, but Soo-won must still provide knowledge, reform the system, challenge her illusions and help her become capable of governing. That is precisely the imbalance I have been criticizing from the beginning.

Then I think the logical solution is fairly simple.

If Yona’s age, lack of education and immaturity are such serious obstacles, she should not retain full sovereign authority while the reader is asked to excuse her inability to exercise it. She could abdicate until she is properly prepared, just as Soo-won abdicated when he believed he could no longer continue. A regency could be established, or a council could be given genuine governing authority while Yona is publicly recognised as a sovereign in training.

That would also mean that immediate credit went to the people who actually administer, reform, decide and solve problems. Yona could receive recognition for her progress when she had actually made that progress. A revolutionary concept, apparently: credit after the work.

Currently, fortunately, she has counsellors who assume much of her work. She has perhaps only one quarter of the actual duties of a ruler of Kouka.

If Soo-won, Kye-sook and the others are carrying most of the workload, that already resembles an informal regency, with one peculiar arrangement: other people govern, Yona reigns, and the narrative transfers the credit upwards.

If that situation were formally acknowledged, it would at least be institutionally honest. The story could say plainly that Yona is not ready, that she is learning under a governing council, and that she will assume full responsibility when she has demonstrated that she can exercise it.

I agree that it is unfair that she receives so much fame, but she is still sixteen years old. That is extremely young for an uneducated person to be responsible for thousands of lives. It is therefore less an excuse than a fact.

Her youth explains her limitations. It does not justify allowing her to exercise an authority for which that same youth supposedly makes her unfit.

Yona also has the agency to conclude that she is not yet prepared to rule. Accepting the crown because she could not bring herself to refuse Soo-won, because she wanted to relieve his burden or because she had good intentions does not oblige her to remain on the throne once it becomes clear that other people are preventing the government from falling apart.

What I find inconsistent is the double standard.

When accountability is discussed, Yona is a poorly educated sixteen-year-old whose brain is still developing. When authority, obedience and praise are distributed, she becomes the legitimate, inspiring and extraordinary sovereign who will lead her people towards happiness.

She cannot be too young to bear responsibility while remaining old enough to retain all the power and prestige. Well, technically she can, because the manga allows it. Coherent it is not.

“She is too young” only works as a complete defence if it leads to a political consequence: she should not govern yet.

If the conclusion is instead that she is too young, so everyone else must perform most of the work while she remains queen and Hak proclaims how fortunate the people are to belong to her, that is not the protection of a minor. It is the protection of a protagonist.

And Yona never seems “awfully young” when praise is being handed out. At those moments she ages with miraculous speed.

One can hope that she loses her naivety through experience.

I hope for something more concrete: that she makes a serious mistake, that nobody immediately rescues her from it, that the mistake has real consequences, that she has to admit what she did, and that she learns because reality finally refuses to cushion the impact.

That would be growth to me.

Expecting her to lose her naivety through experience while Soo-won, Kye-sook, Hak and half the kingdom absorb every blow is rather like expecting someone to learn to swim without getting wet.

Life is unfair, and much of their pain was unnecessary. Unfortunately, when an important conviction collapses, depressive tendencies and the feeling of losing the ground beneath one’s feet can follow. I have personal experience with this state, so it seems natural to me that both of them feel this way.

Life can be truly awful. I can certainly attest to that. But it also contains a few very small good things, and I hold on to those tiny things to keep moving forward.

I am sorry that you have gone through such painful experiences. I sincerely hope you are doing better now.

If you consider both systems, King Il’s and Yu-hon’s, as forms of cults, you may understand it better. There was a great deal of brainwashing and manipulation that directly affected both Soo-won and Zeno.

I am sorry, but instead of thinking that “the unnecessary nature of these sacrifices may be one of the story’s morals,” my immediate thought was that the cult of King Il and the cult of Yu-hon have simply been replaced by the cult of Yona, now operating at full strength.

If the problem was the worship of Il, the worship of Yu-hon, blind obedience, faith placed above evidence and people being absorbed into a central figure, then the ending should have broken that pattern.

It does not break it. It recycles it with Yona at the centre.

Hak believes in her even when reality contradicts that belief. Collective achievements are attributed to her. Other people compensate for her limitations. Her charisma becomes legitimacy. Her youth excuses her failures, but her authority remains unquestioned. Criticism repeatedly dissolves into “she works very hard” or “she inspires people.”

That makes it difficult for me to read “the sacrifices were unnecessary” as the central moral, because the system that produces personal sacrifice around an idealised figure is still functioning.

Soo-won continues working. Hak continues dissolving into his function. Other people continue supplying knowledge, competence, experience and suffering. Yona continues receiving the symbolic centre.

The story does not seem to say, “Do not build cults.”

It seems to say, “Choose the correct person to worship.”

And naturally, the correct choice is Yona. How revolutionary.

Soo-won’s task is difficult. I do not envy him having to persuade those two.

But it is not Soo-won’s task.

Hak and Yona are responsible for leaving their own comfortable bubble. Soo-won may confront them because he cares about them or because their decisions affect Kouka, but he should not become their lifelong tutor in applied reality.

He has already done enough. He understood Il’s failure, seized power, rebuilt the kingdom, responded to wars and crises, endured the Crimson Illness, lost the throne and was left physically damaged. He should not now be expected to continue supplying the judgment and intellectual structure required by the people who receive the applause.

Let him grow potatoes. Let him discover whether he prefers turnips. Let him read for three days without anyone asking him how to save Kouka. Let Gulfan return to him and spend his time frightening crows, since the bird has apparently also been requisitioned for Yonistic messenger service.

If the kingdom collapses the moment Soo-won stops correcting the new queen, the conclusion is not that Soo-won owes Kouka another lifetime of sacrifice.

The conclusion is that Yona was not ready to receive the crown.

But do you not think that more readers may realise in the final chapter that something is wrong with Hak’s perception?

Honestly, I do not think the final chapter will cause most readers to interpret Hak differently from the way they have interpreted him throughout the manga.

I would be pleasantly surprised if the story finally introduced genuine criticism of his perception. But after years of presenting this devotion as the height of romance, I do not find that very likely.

I hope very much for a spin-off or something similar. I do not understand the mangaka’s decision. As you said, resolving everything would require around two hundred pages.

Please, no.

A spin-off would no longer feel like hope to me. It would feel like a threat.

In theory, it could resolve many of the abandoned issues. But that would require confidence that the manga intended to confront those issues rigorously. After the Chalice arc, that confidence is buried beneath the mausoleum alongside causality.

At this point, the prudent response seems to be to leave the story as it is.

I have already built my own version, one in which consequences exist and the characters retain their dignity.

Do you honestly believe Soo-won would retire? He would never do that. Unfortunately for him, fortunately for everybody else.

I do believe it. In fact, that is what will happen in my imagination.

Soo-won will retire. While Yona and her government discover whether devotion can replace administration, Soo-won will be drinking tea peacefully at his residence with his wife, Lili.

Who can prevent me from imagining that? The narrative cannot. It has nearly ended. The canon no longer has jurisdiction over my imagination.

Naturally, if the final chapter makes my imagined continuation impossible, I will have to invent another one. But that seems unlikely.

The entire country would fall into another King Il era if Soo-won were not there.

Then Yona cannot govern. It really is that simple.

If the survival of the kingdom requires the former king to continue thinking, reforming, correcting and challenging the new queen, then the abdication transferred only the title, not the work.

Soo-won probably would not retire voluntarily, because duty has held him by the throat since childhood. That is precisely why imagining his retirement feels reparative.

Yona’s inability to preserve the kingdom without him does not create an infinite moral obligation for Soo-won. It demonstrates that crowning her was a mistake. He does not owe the rest of his life to concealing that mistake.

The future was left open enough that my continuation remains compatible with what has been shown, unless the final chapter gives us a time-skip and explicitly establishes another outcome.

Given the gaiden’s pace, it seems more likely that Hak will say “Princess” fourteen times than that we will receive a detailed institutional reform.

Though I believe he might enjoy growing potatoes.

If the field is large, one ends the day with an aching back from bending down so much. Rather like the grape harvest.

Yes, this would be a rather good transition and maybe this would lead to maintain said council, which could someday mean real representatives of the people. In the case the council would be formed by voted politicians in the future. I mean, the system could be adapted, since I believe, that whoever takes the power wouldn´t want to give it up, even after Yona was ready.

Your solution sounds very good, though.

If Soo-won, Kye-sook and the others are carrying most of the workload, that already resembles an informal regency, with one peculiar arrangement: other people govern, Yona reigns, and the narrative transfers the credit upwards. If that situation were formally acknowledged, it would at least be institutionally honest. The story could say plainly that Yona is not ready, that she is learning under a governing council, and that she will assume full responsibility when she has demonstrated that she can exercise it.

Possible. It would also remove the god-like aura off her. I would be on board, but I am not sure, if most of her fans would not be utterly disappointed.

I am sorry, but instead of thinking that “the unnecessary nature of these sacrifices may be one of the story’s morals,” my immediate thought was that the cult of King Il and the cult of Yu-hon have simply been replaced by the cult of Yona, now operating at full strength.

The danger is there, you are right. If Soo Won does not take action, Yona will become basically a worse version of her father. People might even tolerate it more, since it is glorious Yona, after all.

I know, I know, that Hak and Yona could be better in that regard, but the truth is, this might be not the case. Soo Won, however, is reasonable in comparison. And reason has to reign in Yona´s glory or we will end up with fate.

Her youth explains her limitations. It does not justify allowing her to exercise an authority for which that same youth supposedly makes her unfit. Yona also has the agency to conclude that she is not yet prepared to rule. Accepting the crown because she could not bring herself to refuse Soo-won, because she wanted to relieve his burden or because she had good intentions does not oblige her to remain on the throne once it becomes clear that other people are preventing the government from falling apart.

You are still talking about the person, who has jumped in a rain of arrows; who does not know accountability, because she is prone to fall for illusions and was overprotected her whole life.

Everybody else has always rescued her, and Soo Won has promised to support her, so she thought it was alright.

Yes a normal 16 year old would have likely refrained from this. But this is the "darling of the heavens", so her point of view has been severly screwed by her great fame and the fact, that the dragon warriors were her sacrifices, bleeding in her stead.

Yona hardly reflects. Rarely. She is a more emotional person and reason is not exactly her best friend.

Therefore it is reasonable for Yona to be so naive, unfortunately.

If the problem was the worship of Il, the worship of Yu-hon, blind obedience, faith placed above evidence and people being absorbed into a central figure, then the ending should have broken that pattern. It does not break it. It recycles it with Yona at the centre. Hak believes in her even when reality contradicts that belief. Collective achievements are attributed to her. Other people compensate for her limitations. Her charisma becomes legitimacy. Her youth excuses her failures, but her authority remains unquestioned. Criticism repeatedly dissolves into “she works very hard” or “she inspires people.” That makes it difficult for me to read “the sacrifices were unnecessary” as the central moral, because the system that produces personal sacrifice around an idealised figure is still functioning. Soo-won continues working. Hak continues dissolving into his function. Other people continue supplying knowledge, competence, experience and suffering. Yona continues receiving the symbolic centre. The story does not seem to say, “Do not build cults.” It seems to say, “Choose the correct person to worship.” And naturally, the correct choice is Yona. How revolutionary.

Why do you think, the mangaka is showing this friction? If she was really persuaded, that you just need the "correct person to worship", then we would see no problems or Yona "magically" resolving it. However, we see Yona struggling now for 3 chapters.

We see a good part of the generals being unsatisfied: the former Geuntae (Kulifu has most likely hardly any opinion), General Kyoga, even General Tae Woo does not seem to be so sold on Yona.

(Tae Woo is is bright, reasonable, maybe it was just my impression; it appeared more that he was himself rather reluctant, while Mundoek the great believer was - of course- convinced) and Jon Gi does appear to favor Yona. Especially interesting that instead of Tae Woo (reason) his "other half" Hendai made an appearance. And Hendai is all feeling and motivation, but has little reason in comparison. Tae Woo was literally sick in that chapter.

Honestly I was fascinated how Tae Jun, the dumbest person in the entire manga (sorry if you should be a fan, but Tae Jun is really not the brightest light on the cake), was the first figure to appear in the first chapter of the gaiden: Tae Jun as the former pampered son of the former Fire General is such a clear mirror to Yona, while his brother (a mirror to Soo Won) appeared far more reluctant in the next chapter. Kyoga (reason) was horrified and worried. For a good reason.

What I do not understand is, if this were truly the 4 last chapters with 0 continuations, no spin-off ect...then I don´t understand the direction. Then I don´t understand, why the narrative collides with Hak point of view.

The narrative should approve and cement Hak´s point of view, not contradict him.

We are - like you said it- back at the beginning. Big problems have arisen. Reason should be stronger in order to avoid a next King Il, aka Queen Yona. But usually you do not show this until the second-to-last chapter.

But it is not Soo-won’s task. Hak and Yona are responsible for leaving their own comfortable bubble. Soo-won may confront them because he cares about them or because their decisions affect Kouka, but he should not become their lifelong tutor in applied reality. He has already done enough. He understood Il’s failure, seized power, rebuilt the kingdom, responded to wars and crises, endured the Crimson Illness, lost the throne and was left physically damaged. He should not now be expected to continue supplying the judgment and intellectual structure required by the people who receive the applause. Let him grow potatoes. Let him discover whether he prefers turnips. Let him read for three days without anyone asking him how to save Kouka. Let Gulfan return to him and spend his time frightening crows, since the bird has apparently also been requisitioned for Yonistic messenger service. If the kingdom collapses the moment Soo-won stops correcting the new queen, the conclusion is not that Soo-won owes Kouka another lifetime of sacrifice. The conclusion is that Yona was not ready to receive the crown.

If not him, who else? Can we let a whole country decline in another King Il´s era? Do you know, how many people would suffer again?

Also Soo Won cares too deeply for the wellbeing of the people, he would never run away from this task.

Hak can be "sharp" under Soo Won´s influence. His way of thinking has seaped into Hak as well. And he might lose a little bit of his delusional attitude.

And even Yona finds her drive and reason, if Soo Won pushes her.

Of course, Soo Won needs people who support him, as well. Handling Yona and Hak is not the most fun task I could imagine.

Honestly, I do not think the final chapter will cause most readers to interpret Hak differently from the way they have interpreted him throughout the manga. I would be pleasantly surprised if the story finally introduced genuine criticism of his perception. But after years of presenting this devotion as the height of romance, I do not find that very likely.

However, you mean, that his point of view is literally contradicted by the narrative...Don´t you think, that this would make a difference?

If we literally have a dissonance between "two stories" - Hak´s and the one of the objective truth?

Life can be truly awful. I can certainly attest to that. But it also contains a few very small good things, and I hold on to those tiny things to keep moving forward. I am sorry that you have gone through such painful experiences. I sincerely hope you are doing better now.

Thank you and I am sorry to hear, that you had similar experiences. Yes, right now my life goes in a better direction. Finally.

Please, no. A spin-off would no longer feel like hope to me. It would feel like a threat. In theory, it could resolve many of the abandoned issues. But that would require confidence that the manga intended to confront those issues rigorously. After the Chalice arc, that confidence is buried beneath the mausoleum alongside causality. At this point, the prudent response seems to be to leave the story as it is. I have already built my own version, one in which consequences exist and the characters retain their dignity.

The manga appears to have an overall pretty logical structure. Even the mausoleum arc was narratively a reasonable conclusion, even though it was not so spectacular like I would have desired.

Unfortunately I can only demonstrate this in a couple of weeks time, as I still need more time with my meta. It consoled me a little to adumbrate the meaning and structure a little, since I have followed this work for about 10 years.

I would appreciate a spin-off or further chapters as it could be solved. Maybe not all, but the most important issues at least.

I do believe it. In fact, that is what will happen in my imagination. Soo-won will retire. While Yona and her government discover whether devotion can replace administration, Soo-won will be drinking tea peacefully at his residence with his wife, Lili. Who can prevent me from imagining that? The narrative cannot. It has nearly ended. The canon no longer has jurisdiction over my imagination. Naturally, if the final chapter makes my imagined continuation impossible, I will have to invent another one. But that seems unlikely.

Fanfiction, ahoy! I wish him all the best.

Then Yona cannot govern. It really is that simple. If the survival of the kingdom requires the former king to continue thinking, reforming, correcting and challenging the new queen, then the abdication transferred only the title, not the work. Soo-won probably would not retire voluntarily, because duty has held him by the throat since childhood. That is precisely why imagining his retirement feels reparative. Yona’s inability to preserve the kingdom without him does not create an infinite moral obligation for Soo-won. It demonstrates that crowning her was a mistake. He does not owe the rest of his life to concealing that mistake. The future was left open enough that my continuation remains compatible with what has been shown, unless the final chapter gives us a time-skip and explicitly establishes another outcome. Given the gaiden’s pace, it seems more likely that Hak will say “Princess” fourteen times than that we will receive a detailed institutional reform.

Na, she cannot govern right now. But I doubt it, that Soo Won will ever give up. But one can imagine, what not is...

If the field is large, one ends the day with an aching back from bending down so much. Rather like the grape harvest. But it can be enormous fun, especially when the family works together. You laugh a great deal.

I agree with your character analyses, and I really enjoy the way you dissect them: Soo-won would not retire because he feels responsible; Hak behaves this way because he is loyal and idealistic; and Yona struggles because she is young and unprepared.

My concern, however, lies elsewhere. These personalities and circumstances were themselves written choices.

For example, “Soo-won would never abandon Kouka” explains his behaviour within the story, and I completely agree with your analysis on that point. What troubles me is why the author chose an ending in which he remains unable to rest and continues carrying the practical responsibilities of ruling, while Yona receives the title, authority and recognition.

Both readings can coexist, but I think this difference explains why we sometimes appear to be answering different questions.

Indeed. It makes no sense.

It is wonderfully strange, that she does show plainly that Yona is failing/has huge problems.

If I truly wished to end a manga and wished to make money with it, I would not waste the last 4 chapters on tension, but would show complete bliss after years. Give the fans, what they desire and start a new series.

She could have showed Yona as a competent ruler years later. Nobody would have said something, or almost nobody. Soo Won could have really retired and planted potatoes. The former dragon warriors with their families.

Then Yona could have married Hak. Their kids ect...

A little nice life at the end.

I also wonder, because this is supposed to be a shojo - so for relatively young girls. Should a work like this not have a happy end? Bitter ends or literal misery can be used in fiction for adults, but for young adults? And above else she demonstrates like this, that all the pain was completely in vain, if Yona is King Il 2.0

My concern, however, lies elsewhere. These personalities and circumstances were themselves written choices.

I can only come to 2 conclusions. If you have another possibility in mind, I am all ears:

This is not the end she actually wished for. She altered a part of the story for a reason. Either she had miscalculated how long the manga would be and she had literal no space left. Or editors were against something and this end is an act of defiance. Personally I don´t think, the last option can be true. Nobody would destroy their own livelihood for such a reason.

There is actually a continuation for this manga.

In any case, I genuinely enjoy discussing this with you, and I appreciate how thoughtful and respectful our conversation is.

A work aimed at young readers can have a bitter, painful or ambiguous ending. It does not need to end with weddings, children and happily cultivated potatoes in order to be valid.

It could have been sad and still magnificent. But it would have needed to confront the central issues it had developed: the cost of the dragon cycle, the Crimson Dragon’s responsibility, Soo-won’s fate, the dragons’ actual freedom, Yona’s maturity and Hak’s identity.

Misery is not automatically mature or profound. What matters is whether the ending meaningfully fulfils what the story has built.

Above all, this ending demonstrates that all the pain was completely in vain if Yona becomes King Il 2.0.

Exactly. The gaiden leaves open the possibility that the kingdom may repeat the same disaster, except that Soo-won remains nearby to prevent it.

That makes his ending even crueler. Soo-won overthrows Il, rebuilds Kouka, abdicates, and then must remain there to prevent Il’s daughter from reproducing the system he corrected.

Marvellous.

I can only reach two conclusions. If you have another possibility in mind, I am all ears.

I can think of several other possibilities, although naturally they are only hypotheses.

1. Kusanagi sincerely believes that this is a satisfying ending.

This is perhaps the most uncomfortable possibility, but I do not think it should be dismissed.

She may consider Yona’s coronation a sufficient reward; Hak serving her romantic; Soo-won continuing to assist her proof of reconciliation; and the former dragon warriors becoming human a complete happy ending for them.

She may also regard the political difficulties as evidence that Yona is working hard rather than evidence that she is unprepared, and she may consider the open future hopeful.

In other words, perhaps she simply does not perceive the contradictions that part of the readership sees. No editorial conspiracy or hidden continuation would be required. An authorial blind spot would be enough.

2. She changed direction near the end.

Perhaps she attempted to create a more “realistic” conclusion: ruling remains difficult, trauma does not disappear, nobody receives perfect happiness and reconstruction has only just begun.

That intention would not be inherently wrong. The problem is that an open or bittersweet ending only works after the story’s central conflicts have been resolved. Here, much of what feels “open” also feels unfinished.

3. Sixteen years of serialisation may have fundamentally altered the work and its author.

Sixteen years is an extraordinary length of time. It means constant deadlines, serial publication, editorial pressure, fandom expectations, physical exhaustion and the need to continue using popular characters.

After so many years, Kusanagi may simply have wanted to finish, even though important subjects remained unresolved. Perhaps she no longer wanted to construct the ideal ending, but merely to reach an ending without collapsing herself.

She may also no longer be the same writer who introduced certain mysteries sixteen years ago. Her interpretation of the characters may have changed. She may prefer a different tone now, or have developed a different understanding of love, power and sacrifice. She may have lost interest in some political plots while becoming more interested in emotional or mythical ones.

There is also the problem of serialisation itself. An author may introduce an element because it works in the moment without yet knowing its final consequences. Later, she may develop themes she had not originally anticipated or discover that an early idea leads somewhere morally uncomfortable.

But the published material remains fixed.

Unlike an unpublished manuscript, a serialised manga cannot be revised from the beginning whenever later ideas reveal weaknesses in the earlier structure. The present story must adapt to what has already been printed.

If Kusanagi’s perspective changed but she could not rewrite the previous sixteen years, she may have ended up trying to preserve two incompatible interpretations at once.

For example:

The dragon bond was coercive, but also genuine and beautiful.

The gods condemned generations to suffering, but were merely “rude.”

Soo-won performed the political work, but Yona deserved the crown.

Hak’s identity was absorbed into Yona, but this was presented as romantic fulfilment.

Placed side by side, these images become even more ridiculous.

Hak: “The day will come when you will understand the joy of being subjects of Princess Yona.”

Later: “To get here, we suffered bandit attacks, cracks in the ground, and rockslides. In any case, it took us a very long time. We thought we had sent enough supplies and personnel, but it wasn't enough. Meanwhile, in the remote regions, many people were looking for work and supplies, and discontent continued to mount. There has to be more… Some way to resolve this.”

Later, Yona: “When we traveled, I understood better how people lived.”

Excuse me, but Hak praises Yona based on what? On the newly discovered epiphany that reality exists outside the palace?

She comes from the following journey: Childhood in the palace: lives isolated and is unaware of the kingdom. Journey through Kouka: supposedly discovers hunger, corruption, slavery, abuse, and inequality. Return to the palace: in two months, she loses touch with everything again. Solemn reflection: she discovers that, from the palace, she doesn't see people's lives so clearly.

That's not political growth. It's going all the way around only to return to the starting point, only now wearing a ceremonial cape and with her hands clasped.

And what's lacking isn't abstract intelligence. It's applied learning. After having lived abroad, she should return knowing precisely that the palace distorts information. The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

But it seems that didn't occur to her until they had already miscalculated the supplies and discontent was growing. Fantastic administrative debut.

And the expressions make it worse, because the drawing shows no shame at having lost touch, no frustration at the system's failure, no sense of responsibility, and no fear of repeating the blindness of his childhood. She displays a kind of delicate contemplation, as if she had grasped a profound truth: “Outside the palace, you see things you can’t see from inside.”

Yes, Yona. You also notice the rain more when there’s no roof. Record that in the annals of the kingdom.

And Hak remembers it with that gentle, approving smile, without questioning a thing. He, who is traveling the roads, observing the needs and doing the fieldwork the government doesn’t know how to organize, decides that the moment demands admiration. Not analysis.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other.

He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.”

She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.”

No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies.

Au contraire, Yona needs also "abstract intelligence" as she does not need to invent the wheel again. There have been countless other rulers before her and their experience might also come in handy.

Right now, she is merely able to rule, because Soo Won and Keishuk took the MOST of her tasks from her.

Yona merely has to do 2000 of 10.000.

She needs to know everything from economy over law to political tactics, warfare, foreign affairs ect...Yona knows merely the basics and needs to learn much.

But yes, she does need information for a direct source...and this is, what Hak is already doing. He does collect information and will bring this information to Yona and co.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

Yona is right now struggling to rule at all. Currently she is not able to manage this job at all alone. This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

And Soo Won has already removed much of the corrupt officials to begin with, as we have seen with Kum Ji. Originally he had tried to get intel about this man, when he met Yona in Awa.

In fact, Soo Won is already trying to figure out, how to change the current system. Yona does not have to do everything alone. Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other. He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.” She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.” No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

Correct observation. It is indeed fate. Hak´s strength is his loyalty to people he loves. He isn´t critical of Yona and most likely never will. It is not in his nature.

I hope, that Zeno, who is at least talking with people, even if he suffers from severe depression it seems, might influence the story. Lily, who is visiting Ogi, the literal information broker, might be another source. It might lead to Soo Won visiting Ogi again, as he does need this kind of information.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies. Jesús, qué tropa.

Of course she has abstract intelligence. The wheel has already been invented, and besides, she's used it, but it seems she's only now becoming aware of its existence. What I mean is that she lacks the ability to apply that abstract intelligence.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

Poor thing. I'll say it again: she didn't have to accept the crown.

Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

Indeed, she's never done anything alone throughout her journey.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good...

This is Soo Won´s task. And the one of others. It seems as if Ogi, Lily, Zeno and Soo Won might play a little role as well.

Yes, but Yona has to learn how to "apply abstract intelligence". This is an ability. We learn how to "abstract" slowly in school.

This is Soo Won´s home turf, but Yona is still a baby chicken. She has most likely less knowledge than a common 16 year old due to her "lacking" education by King Il.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

You are right, she could have refused, but she could not bring herself to refuse Soo Won, who had nearly died. And he had promised to help her. The mistake lies more with him than her in that case. But Soo Won most likely couldn´t anymore after the events in the mausoleum.

She contributed like everybody else, but she has always been hailed for everybody´s common efforts. As if she was the sole source. But Yona has never been the sole source.

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Not a coincidence at all. In order to become a bird, in order to acquire a wide and great knowledge. In order to acquire wisdom, you have to sometimes go through hell. That is why those two are birds.

Soo Won and Zeno both hold contrary, but important wisdom. They acquired a wider point of view as everybody else. Without this wisdom everything goes to shit. Again. Like with King Il.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good…

No, he is not a fool. Though I agree, that he is blind. He is Yona´s significant other, so of course, he tends to be loyal, and nice and full of illusions. Yona had to literally break herself away from illusions...because she loves cushy dreams more than reality.

Yes, it always seems to be someone else's job.

That is precisely my point: Yona still has to learn how to apply what she knows to practical situations.

This is Soo-won’s home turf, but Yona is still a baby chicken. She most likely has less knowledge than an ordinary sixteen-year-old because of the education King Il denied her.

It is true that she lacks knowledge and education. However, there is at least one lesson she should already understand through direct experience: life inside the castle gives her a much poorer view of the country than life outside it.

She spent her childhood isolated inside the castle and then travelled through Kouka, however involuntarily at first. She should not need two months as queen before receiving this realization like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.

You are right, she could have refused, but she could not bring herself to refuse Soo-won, who had nearly died. And he had promised to help her. The mistake lies more with him than with her in that case.

I do not see it that way. That interpretation removes Yona’s agency precisely when responsibility is being discussed, only to restore it when she is presented as a legitimate and admirable sovereign.

Soo-won may certainly have been wrong to offer her the crown without arranging a sufficient transition. But Yona accepted it. She knew that he was gravely injured, that she would depend heavily on his assistance, and that she lacked the necessary education and experience.

Her inability to bring herself to refuse him explains her decision emotionally. It does not erase the fact that she made that decision.

And if Soo-won had just emerged from the mausoleum gravely wounded and perhaps unable to continue ruling, it seems rather unfair to place the full responsibility for choosing an unprepared successor on him as well. Apparently, even while abdicating after nearly dying, he was expected to arrange everything perfectly.

I think the fairest conclusion is that Soo-won made a mistake by offering her the crown without an adequate transition, and Yona made a mistake by accepting it while unprepared.

She contributed like everybody else, but she has always been praised for everybody’s collective efforts, as though she were the sole source.

I have nothing to dispute here. I completely agree.

Yona contributes, but the narrative repeatedly turns collective work into an extension of Yona. Other people provide strength, information, strategy, sacrifice, experience and administration. Afterwards, someone explains that everything happened because Yona inspires people, works harder than anyone else or will create a better world.

Not a coincidence at all. In order to become a bird, in order to acquire broad knowledge and wisdom, one sometimes has to go through hell. That is why those two are birds.

That may be symbolically true, but it does not answer the question of narrative injustice.

Suffering may produce wisdom. It does not require Soo-won and Zeno to receive the harshest endings, nor does it justify other characters benefiting from their wisdom while they themselves are left dispossessed.

Saying that they passed through hell in order to become birds is beautiful. It is also very convenient for those who inherit the nest, the kingdom and the applause.

Soo-won and Zeno both possess different but important kinds of wisdom. They have acquired a broader perspective than everyone else. Without that wisdom, everything goes wrong again, as it did under King Il.

Then Soo-won and Zeno remain indispensable, while the person who has been crowned does not yet possess what is required to prevent the same disaster from recurring.

No, he is not a fool.

That is fair. Calling him a fool was unnecessarily harsh, and I apologize for that wording.

He is Yona’s significant other, so of course he tends to be loyal, kind and full of illusions. Yona had to break away from illusions because she loves comfortable dreams more than reality.

Being someone’s partner does not require surrendering critical judgment. A partner can, and sometimes should, introduce friction when the other person is failing.

Loyalty does not require transforming governmental deficiencies into advance proof of greatness.

“Hak loves Yona, and therefore he cannot see reality clearly where she is concerned” may explain his behaviour. It does not make that behaviour healthy, admirable or romantic.

And if Hak knows that Yona prefers comfortable dreams to reality, his role should not be to wrap every new problem in another comfortable dream. Yet there he is, working overtime for the national department of illusion.

Soo-won understood that sometimes you need more people rather than boxes. He was as close to a perfect king as possible, but people want to help Yona. Even the most perfect ruler cannot defeat the will of the many.

A monarch does not need to be the most intelligent person in the room or perform every task alone. A good ruler must gather capable people, listen to them, coordinate their work and take responsibility for the outcome.

The problem is that the manga does not show Yona doing this particularly well. It shows other people solving problems while she receives their loyalty.

The fact that people want to help her is not automatically evidence of political competence. To turn that collective willingness into proof of good government, the story would need to show Yona distributing responsibilities, weighing competing advice, correcting mistakes, protecting the autonomy of those who assist her and accepting responsibility when the system fails.

Without that, we do not have collective leadership. We have collective labour attributed to a charismatic central figure.

Yona succeeding because people choose to help her could have been a compelling idea if the manga had said: “Yona is not the most capable person, but she learns to govern by listening to people who are better prepared than she is.”

But that is not what Hak proclaims. He says: “The day will come when you understand how fortunate we are to be Princess Yona’s people.”

There is also another problem. Much of Yona’s extraordinary authority during her journey came from travelling with the dragon warriors and from being identified with the Crimson Dragon. Those things gave her immense symbolic power, military power and an almost supernatural ability to draw people towards her.

Now the dragons are gone, and Yona is no longer being presented as the Crimson Dragon. What remains is a very young, poorly educated and inexperienced ruler. That does not mean she is doomed to fail. It means the manga must now demonstrate, rather than merely proclaim, what makes her capable of ruling without the divine authority and power that carried so much of her journey.

Indeed. But in the moment she is still pretty unexperienced. At the moment she needs pretty much help.

It is true that she lacks knowledge and education. However, there is at least one lesson she should already understand through direct experience: life inside the castle gives her a much poorer view of the country than life outside it.

As a queen she is more bound and cannot just walk out like she used to. Especially since everybody knows she is the queen. I guess she might color her hair, if she - sometimes - goes out.

Nevertheless she has now to care for a whole country, therefore she has to stay for a certain time at the castle. Especially now, as she is still soaking up knowledge.

She spent her childhood isolated inside the castle and then travelled through Kouka, however involuntarily at first. She should not need two months as queen before receiving this realization like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.

Why not? She is completely inexperienced as a ruler for a great country. She is 16 years old and is right now cramming her head with all the abstract knowledge she can get. Making mistakes is a given in that situation.

I do not see it that way. That interpretation removes Yona’s agency precisely when responsibility is being discussed, only to restore it when she is presented as a legitimate and admirable sovereign.

But Yona did not know, what it meant to be ruler. Soo Won had experienced it already. So he is in a better position to consider the given situation than Yona.

Yes, she has agency. She tries it with full force. He should still have considered, how young she still is. However, truth be told. Soo Won is himself also only 18 years old. We are speaking about very young adults to teenagers.

The former generation massively fucked up, so that merely half-children are left.

Actually, as an adult I am a little shocked how much responsibility this young teenagers to young adults have.

Soo-won may certainly have been wrong to offer her the crown without arranging a sufficient transition. But Yona accepted it. She knew that he was gravely injured, that she would depend heavily on his assistance, and that she lacked the necessary education and experience. Her inability to bring herself to refuse him explains her decision emotionally. It does not erase the fact that she made that decision.

You are right. It was naive of her to make this decision. But unfortunately Yona is naive. The greatest pain she experienced was losing her father and even then there was Hak, shielding her. Later she acquired a small army in the form of the dragon warriors. She could jump into a rain of arrows and she was fine.

So nothing ever happened to her. Zeno and Soo Won felt the consequences of their decisions. But well, sometimes Yona has to experience pain to get it.

That may be symbolically true, but it does not answer the question of narrative injustice.

I guess, it is a given that Yona was pampered while Soo Won and Zeno had to go through hell. Life is sometimes unfair. But these experiences, this pain also taught them important lessons.

Right now, Yona is slightly hurting, too. Without a little pain and learnt experience, you won´t acquire "wings".

Suffering may produce wisdom. It does not require Soo-won and Zeno to receive the harshest endings, nor does it justify other characters benefiting from their wisdom while they themselves are left dispossessed.

Yes, I fully agree. It is so unfair that Zeno and Soo Won had to suffer so greatly...that they had to go through hell. It is an injustice. But unfortunately they were part of horrifying systems that were prone to "produce" such sacrifices.

That these sacrifices were unnecessary might be one moral of this story.

Saying that they passed through hell in order to become birds is beautiful. It is also very convenient for those who inherit the nest, the kingdom and the applause.

Soo Won and Zeno - unfortunately - held some believes that turnt out horrifying for especially them. Only through some pain they could let go of these believes...but that is one reason they are currently "floating"...

For both core convictions crumbled in the last arc.

Being someone’s partner does not require surrendering critical judgment. A partner can, and sometimes should, introduce friction when the other person is failing.

Actually I tried to express that Hak resembles Yona in that point. They are very kind, but are dreamers and tend to see the world how they wish to see it. Unfortunately.

Loyalty does not require transforming governmental deficiencies into advance proof of greatness. “Hak loves Yona, and therefore he cannot see reality clearly where she is concerned” may explain his behaviour. It does not make that behaviour healthy, admirable or romantic.

I agree. Some people wouldn´t. And the behaviour is not healthy or admirable. But Hak is like this. He is not just loyal, he is absolutely loyal and unfortunately prone to fall for illusions. In a way he has changed "Soo Won the king" for"Yona the queen".

But an illusion it still is.

And if Hak knows that Yona prefers comfortable dreams to reality, his role should not be to wrap every new problem in another comfortable dream. Yet there he is, working overtime for the national department of illusion.

Great! Your insight is great. Indeed. I came to the same conclusion, that Hak easily falls into these traps, if he is left alone.

However, Hak confuses the dreams for reality himself. Therefore he is -blissfully- unaware of the statue of things.

A monarch does not need to be the most intelligent person in the room or perform every task alone. A good ruler must gather capable people, listen to them, coordinate their work and take responsibility for the outcome.

Indeed. Soo Won came to the same conclusion. However Yona is not - yet- able to perform this task. Therefore Keishuk and Soo Won take much of her responsibility.

The problem is that the manga does not show Yona doing this particularly well. It shows other people solving problems while she receives their loyalty.

Like in an illusion of grandeur, right? Indeed, this is a problem and I guess it might be solved. However, she might never be the great leader people wish her to be. But she might get people to help her on her way.

Like we both concluded. Yona has never solved a problem on her own. And she won´t be able to do it in the future. Without all the people she knows, she would not be able to do anything.

Soo Won is already trying to change the given system in order to take in more responsible people. As the monarch helds too much power in his eyes, now.

I have an inkling that the development goes in the direction of a democracy.

The fact that people want to help her is not automatically evidence of political competence. To turn that collective willingness into proof of good government, the story would need to show Yona distributing responsibilities, weighing competing advice, correcting mistakes, protecting the autonomy of those who assist her and accepting responsibility when the system fails.

She still has a long way to go...

Without that, we do not have collective leadership. We have collective labour attributed to a charismatic central figure.

Indeed. This is the trap the people are right now prone to falling. She is considered the reincarnation of the dragon god, after all. Her fame attributes too much of the success to her. Even though, strictly, speaking Yona is right now merely a charismatic figure, but not the central power. She needs to develop this.

And Soo Won has to really develop a backbone again, because he sometimes needs to go against her, challenge her again. Yona is not a really driven person.

Yona succeeding because people choose to help her could have been a compelling idea if the manga had said: “Yona is not the most capable person, but she learns to govern by listening to people who are better prepared than she is.” But that is not what Hak proclaims. He says: “The day will come when you understand how fortunate we are to be Princess Yona’s people.”

Yes! Yes! Yes! Completely delusional...Kusanagi himself mentioned something similar in an interview...even if the expression was not that strong.

There is also another problem. Much of Yona’s extraordinary authority during her journey came from travelling with the dragon warriors and from being identified with the Crimson Dragon. Those things gave her immense symbolic power, military power and an almost supernatural ability to draw people towards her.

Indeed. Indeed. This is a point. People would not attribute power to her, if she was not the reincarnation.

Determination and effort matter. They are not substitutes for knowledge, judgment, accountability and effective government.

Soo-won did not truly know what ruling a country meant until he actually became king either. The crucial difference was preparation: Soo-won possessed the necessary knowledge and could organize and make decisions. Yona does not yet possess that knowledge or demonstrate the same ability to organize. Other people perform much of that work, while the narrative often transfers the resulting credit to her.

Yes, she has agency. She tries with all her strength. He should still have considered how young she is. However, Soo-won himself is only eighteen. We are speaking about teenagers and very young adults.

Trying with all one’s strength is an exercise of agency, but it is not proof of competence, preparation or sound judgment.

Yona had the agency to accept the crown. That means she must also bear responsibility for accepting a position she was not prepared to hold. Effort does not make the decision wise, nor does it automatically make her capable of fulfilling the role.

And why must her youth excuse her whenever responsibility is discussed, while at other times the narrative presents her as the kingdom’s greatest warrior, future saviour and natural sovereign? That double standard is precisely what bothers me.

The former generation massively failed, leaving little more than children behind.

Yes. What a magnificent collection of responsible adults they were.

As an adult, I am rather shocked by how much responsibility these teenagers and young adults carry.

I agree that eighteen is extremely young for this degree of responsibility, at least from my own cultural perspective. Other societies and historical periods have drawn adulthood much earlier, so I would not treat our present standards as universal.

What bothers me is not simply their age. It is that age is used as an excuse selectively: Yona is a child when her errors require accountability, but an extraordinary leader when the story wants admiration for her.

It was naive of her to make this decision. Unfortunately, Yona is naive. The greatest pain she experienced was losing her father, and even then Hak protected her. Later, she acquired a small army in the dragon warriors. She could jump into a rain of arrows and remain unharmed.

The famous rain of arrows. Please do not remind me.

But yes, I see Yona’s naivety as a serious argument against her suitability to rule, not as a mitigating virtue. An ingenuous sovereign is extremely vulnerable. Either she learns quickly, or other people will manipulate her and the country will pay the price.

That these sacrifices were unnecessary might be one moral of the story.

I am honestly unable to derive that interpretation from the text. I do not mean that dismissively; it simply had never occurred to me. I would have to think about it.

Soo-won and Zeno held beliefs that proved horrifying, especially for them. Only through pain could they relinquish those beliefs, and that is one reason they are currently “floating.” Both of their central convictions collapsed in the final arc.

Soo-won and Zeno may be “floating,” but to me they appear to be floating in a sea of depression.

Their former convictions may have collapsed, and that can certainly form part of a meaningful character transformation. I still do not find their outcomes beautiful, fair or emotionally adequate. Losing a destructive conviction does not require being left emptied of purpose, identity and reward while others inherit the fruits of your suffering.

I was trying to express that Hak resembles Yona in this respect. They are kind, but they are dreamers and tend to see the world as they wish it to be.

Unfortunately, yes. They reinforce one another’s preferred reality and remain inside the same comfortable bubble. I do not regard that as a promising path for either a relationship or a government.

Hak is not merely loyal; he is absolutely loyal and inclined to fall for illusions. In a way, he has replaced “Soo-won the king” with “Yona the queen.” But it remains an illusion.

I agree. My problem is that the manga appears to present this as something beautiful.

Hak mistakes dreams for reality himself. Therefore, he is blissfully unaware of the state of things.

What a marvellous condition: moving through life without noticing what is happening around you.

I find it deeply sad rather than blissful. Hak’s loyalty has ceased to coexist with judgment and has begun to replace it.

Soo-won came to the same conclusion. However, Yona is not yet able to perform this task. Therefore, Kye-sook and Soo-won assume much of her responsibility.

The main story has ended, and only one gaiden chapter remains. At this point, I think it is fair to remove the word “yet.”

Yona is not currently capable of performing that role. What she might become later will depend entirely on each reader’s imagination, because the manga has almost run out of pages in which to show it.

This is a problem, and I suppose it might be solved. She may never become the great leader people expect her to be, but she may persuade people to help her along the way.

Or she may not. We cannot know unless the final gaiden chapter contains another two hundred pages and resolves everything still pending.

As the text currently stands, Yona lacks the education, demonstrated judgment and political character required to govern effectively without extensive support. Perhaps she will acquire them in two years. Perhaps she will not. Either answer now belongs to the reader, not to the completed narrative.

The manga can only be assessed by what it has actually shown.

She still has a long way to go.

She needs to develop this.

Yes. The small problem is that the story is over.

Soo-won really needs to develop a backbone again, because he sometimes needs to oppose and challenge her. Yona is not a particularly driven person.

What Soo-won should do is retire somewhere far from the palace and live whatever life he chooses. He could read, since he enjoys it, and plant potatoes if the mood takes him.

I do not see why his future must remain dedicated to guiding, challenging and educating Yona when the entire universe already seems organized around supporting her.

He has already surrendered his health, youth, reign and future to Kouka. He should not now be assigned the additional lifelong task of supplying its new queen with judgment and resolve.

Yona will probably learn this, more or less, if she is not prevented from doing so. So yes, Soo-won has a great deal of work ahead of him.

And we return to the same conclusion: the solution to Yona’s problems remains in Soo-won’s hands.

Yona may receive the crown, loyalty and public faith, but Soo-won must still provide knowledge, reform the system, challenge her illusions and help her become capable of governing.

Indeed. But Yona was not given the chance to prepare herself. Her father did not educate her like this, as she was not considered his heir.

So she started a lot later than Soo Won, who has been raised to be the Crown Prince and later king since he was basically a baby.

Trying with all one’s strength is an exercise of agency, but it is not proof of competence, preparation or sound judgment. Yona had the agency to accept the crown. That means she must also bear responsibility for accepting a position she was not prepared to hold. Effort does not make the decision wise, nor does it automatically make her capable of fulfilling the role.

True. In a position like Yona´s you can hardly say "I tried" and be done with. Effort does not count, if people are suffering or Yona makes horrible decisions.

Currently luckily she has counselors, who take over much of her work. Like she has merely 1/4 of the actual tasks of a ruler of Kouka.

And why must her youth excuse her whenever responsibility is discussed, while at other times the narrative presents her as the kingdom’s greatest warrior, future saviour and natural sovereign? That double standard is precisely what bothers me.

Yes, i agree, that it is unfair that she gets so much fame, but she is still 16 years old. This is awfully young for an uneducated person to be responsible for the lives of thousands of people.

It is therefore less of an "excuse", but a fact that she is awfully young and this girl would not be considered an adult in my country. She would not be able to drive or even vote. But she rules a whole country in this time line. There is a certain reason, why children are protected before they become adults, as they sometimes are not fully aware of the risks they take. Their brains have not yet developed fully.

But yes, I see Yona’s naivety as a serious argument against her suitability to rule, not as a mitigating virtue. An ingenuous sovereign is extremely vulnerable. Either she learns quickly, or other people will manipulate her and the country will pay the price.

One can hope, that she loses the naivety as she makes experiences.

Soo-won and Zeno may be “floating,” but to me they appear to be floating in a sea of depression. Their former convictions may have collapsed, and that can certainly form part of a meaningful character transformation. I still do not find their outcomes beautiful, fair or emotionally adequate. Losing a destructive conviction does not require being left emptied of purpose, identity and reward while others inherit the fruits of your suffering.

Indeed. Life is unfair and many of their pains are unnecessary. Unfortunately, if you break down or lose a very important conviction it often happens that depressive tendencies, the feeling of losing the ground beneath your feet, is an effect.

Unfortunately, I have experiences with this statue. It is therefore natural, that both feel like this.

And yes, I also think so much of this is unfair to both of them.

I am honestly unable to derive that interpretation from the text. I do not mean that dismissively; it simply had never occurred to me. I would have to think about it.

If you consider both systems - King Il and Yu hon´s - as some sort of cults, you might understand it better. There is a lot of "brain-washing", and manipulation involved that directly impacted both Soo Won and Zeno.

Unfortunately, yes. They reinforce one another’s preferred reality and remain inside the same comfortable bubble. I do not regard that as a promising path for either a relationship or a government.

Soo Won´s job is hard. I am truly not jealous of him for having to persuade those two.

I agree. My problem is that the manga appears to present this as something beautiful.

I think, I cannot completely disagree here. Yes, many love his devotion, but i am also not the greatest fan of it, honestly. But don´t you think, that not more people will realize in the latest chapter, that something isn´t right with Hak´s perception?

Yona is not currently capable of performing that role. What she might become later will depend entirely on each reader’s imagination, because the manga has almost run out of pages in which to show it.

Unfortunately, fair. I don´t understand it, why Kusanagi presented it like this. This is the second-to-last chapter, after all.

Or she may not. We cannot know unless the final gaiden chapter contains another two hundred pages and resolves everything still pending. As the text currently stands, Yona lacks the education, demonstrated judgment and political character required to govern effectively without extensive support. Perhaps she will acquire them in two years. Perhaps she will not. Either answer now belongs to the reader, not to the completed narrative. The manga can only be assessed by what it has actually shown.

I so hope for a spin-off or something along those lines. As I really don´t understand the decision of the mangaka. As you said, it would need a good of 200 pages to resolve every issue.

What Soo-won should do is retire somewhere far from the palace and live whatever life he chooses. He could read, since he enjoys it, and plant potatoes if the mood takes him. I do not see why his future must remain dedicated to guiding, challenging and educating Yona when the entire universe already seems organized around supporting her. He has already surrendered his health, youth, reign and future to Kouka. He should not now be assigned the additional lifelong task of supplying its new queen with judgment and resolve.

Do you honestly believe this? He would never do this. Unfortunately for him, fortunately for everybody else.

The entire country would fall into the next King Il era, if Soo Won was not there.

Though i believe, that he would fancy planting potatoes....

And we return to the same conclusion: the solution to Yona’s problems remains in Soo-won’s hands. Yona may receive the crown, loyalty and public faith, but Soo-won must still provide knowledge, reform the system, challenge her illusions and help her become capable of governing. That is precisely the imbalance I have been criticizing from the beginning.

Then I think the logical solution is fairly simple.

If Yona’s age, lack of education and immaturity are such serious obstacles, she should not retain full sovereign authority while the reader is asked to excuse her inability to exercise it. She could abdicate until she is properly prepared, just as Soo-won abdicated when he believed he could no longer continue. A regency could be established, or a council could be given genuine governing authority while Yona is publicly recognised as a sovereign in training.

That would also mean that immediate credit went to the people who actually administer, reform, decide and solve problems. Yona could receive recognition for her progress when she had actually made that progress. A revolutionary concept, apparently: credit after the work.

Currently, fortunately, she has counsellors who assume much of her work. She has perhaps only one quarter of the actual duties of a ruler of Kouka.

If Soo-won, Kye-sook and the others are carrying most of the workload, that already resembles an informal regency, with one peculiar arrangement: other people govern, Yona reigns, and the narrative transfers the credit upwards.

If that situation were formally acknowledged, it would at least be institutionally honest. The story could say plainly that Yona is not ready, that she is learning under a governing council, and that she will assume full responsibility when she has demonstrated that she can exercise it.

I agree that it is unfair that she receives so much fame, but she is still sixteen years old. That is extremely young for an uneducated person to be responsible for thousands of lives. It is therefore less an excuse than a fact.

Her youth explains her limitations. It does not justify allowing her to exercise an authority for which that same youth supposedly makes her unfit.

Yona also has the agency to conclude that she is not yet prepared to rule. Accepting the crown because she could not bring herself to refuse Soo-won, because she wanted to relieve his burden or because she had good intentions does not oblige her to remain on the throne once it becomes clear that other people are preventing the government from falling apart.

What I find inconsistent is the double standard.

When accountability is discussed, Yona is a poorly educated sixteen-year-old whose brain is still developing. When authority, obedience and praise are distributed, she becomes the legitimate, inspiring and extraordinary sovereign who will lead her people towards happiness.

She cannot be too young to bear responsibility while remaining old enough to retain all the power and prestige. Well, technically she can, because the manga allows it. Coherent it is not.

“She is too young” only works as a complete defence if it leads to a political consequence: she should not govern yet.

If the conclusion is instead that she is too young, so everyone else must perform most of the work while she remains queen and Hak proclaims how fortunate the people are to belong to her, that is not the protection of a minor. It is the protection of a protagonist.

And Yona never seems “awfully young” when praise is being handed out. At those moments she ages with miraculous speed.

One can hope that she loses her naivety through experience.

I hope for something more concrete: that she makes a serious mistake, that nobody immediately rescues her from it, that the mistake has real consequences, that she has to admit what she did, and that she learns because reality finally refuses to cushion the impact.

That would be growth to me.

Expecting her to lose her naivety through experience while Soo-won, Kye-sook, Hak and half the kingdom absorb every blow is rather like expecting someone to learn to swim without getting wet.

Life is unfair, and much of their pain was unnecessary. Unfortunately, when an important conviction collapses, depressive tendencies and the feeling of losing the ground beneath one’s feet can follow. I have personal experience with this state, so it seems natural to me that both of them feel this way.

Life can be truly awful. I can certainly attest to that. But it also contains a few very small good things, and I hold on to those tiny things to keep moving forward.

I am sorry that you have gone through such painful experiences. I sincerely hope you are doing better now.

If you consider both systems, King Il’s and Yu-hon’s, as forms of cults, you may understand it better. There was a great deal of brainwashing and manipulation that directly affected both Soo-won and Zeno.

I am sorry, but instead of thinking that “the unnecessary nature of these sacrifices may be one of the story’s morals,” my immediate thought was that the cult of King Il and the cult of Yu-hon have simply been replaced by the cult of Yona, now operating at full strength.

If the problem was the worship of Il, the worship of Yu-hon, blind obedience, faith placed above evidence and people being absorbed into a central figure, then the ending should have broken that pattern.

It does not break it. It recycles it with Yona at the centre.

Hak believes in her even when reality contradicts that belief. Collective achievements are attributed to her. Other people compensate for her limitations. Her charisma becomes legitimacy. Her youth excuses her failures, but her authority remains unquestioned. Criticism repeatedly dissolves into “she works very hard” or “she inspires people.”

That makes it difficult for me to read “the sacrifices were unnecessary” as the central moral, because the system that produces personal sacrifice around an idealised figure is still functioning.

Soo-won continues working. Hak continues dissolving into his function. Other people continue supplying knowledge, competence, experience and suffering. Yona continues receiving the symbolic centre.

The story does not seem to say, “Do not build cults.”

It seems to say, “Choose the correct person to worship.”

And naturally, the correct choice is Yona. How revolutionary.

Soo-won’s task is difficult. I do not envy him having to persuade those two.

But it is not Soo-won’s task.

Hak and Yona are responsible for leaving their own comfortable bubble. Soo-won may confront them because he cares about them or because their decisions affect Kouka, but he should not become their lifelong tutor in applied reality.

He has already done enough. He understood Il’s failure, seized power, rebuilt the kingdom, responded to wars and crises, endured the Crimson Illness, lost the throne and was left physically damaged. He should not now be expected to continue supplying the judgment and intellectual structure required by the people who receive the applause.

Let him grow potatoes. Let him discover whether he prefers turnips. Let him read for three days without anyone asking him how to save Kouka. Let Gulfan return to him and spend his time frightening crows, since the bird has apparently also been requisitioned for Yonistic messenger service.

If the kingdom collapses the moment Soo-won stops correcting the new queen, the conclusion is not that Soo-won owes Kouka another lifetime of sacrifice.

The conclusion is that Yona was not ready to receive the crown.

But do you not think that more readers may realise in the final chapter that something is wrong with Hak’s perception?

Honestly, I do not think the final chapter will cause most readers to interpret Hak differently from the way they have interpreted him throughout the manga.

I would be pleasantly surprised if the story finally introduced genuine criticism of his perception. But after years of presenting this devotion as the height of romance, I do not find that very likely.

I hope very much for a spin-off or something similar. I do not understand the mangaka’s decision. As you said, resolving everything would require around two hundred pages.

Please, no.

A spin-off would no longer feel like hope to me. It would feel like a threat.

In theory, it could resolve many of the abandoned issues. But that would require confidence that the manga intended to confront those issues rigorously. After the Chalice arc, that confidence is buried beneath the mausoleum alongside causality.

At this point, the prudent response seems to be to leave the story as it is.

I have already built my own version, one in which consequences exist and the characters retain their dignity.

Do you honestly believe Soo-won would retire? He would never do that. Unfortunately for him, fortunately for everybody else.

I do believe it. In fact, that is what will happen in my imagination.

Soo-won will retire. While Yona and her government discover whether devotion can replace administration, Soo-won will be drinking tea peacefully at his residence with his wife, Lili.

Who can prevent me from imagining that? The narrative cannot. It has nearly ended. The canon no longer has jurisdiction over my imagination.

Naturally, if the final chapter makes my imagined continuation impossible, I will have to invent another one. But that seems unlikely.

The entire country would fall into another King Il era if Soo-won were not there.

Then Yona cannot govern. It really is that simple.

If the survival of the kingdom requires the former king to continue thinking, reforming, correcting and challenging the new queen, then the abdication transferred only the title, not the work.

Soo-won probably would not retire voluntarily, because duty has held him by the throat since childhood. That is precisely why imagining his retirement feels reparative.

Yona’s inability to preserve the kingdom without him does not create an infinite moral obligation for Soo-won. It demonstrates that crowning her was a mistake. He does not owe the rest of his life to concealing that mistake.

The future was left open enough that my continuation remains compatible with what has been shown, unless the final chapter gives us a time-skip and explicitly establishes another outcome.

Given the gaiden’s pace, it seems more likely that Hak will say “Princess” fourteen times than that we will receive a detailed institutional reform.

Though I believe he might enjoy growing potatoes.

If the field is large, one ends the day with an aching back from bending down so much. Rather like the grape harvest.

Yes, this would be a rather good transition and maybe this would lead to maintain said council, which could someday mean real representatives of the people. In the case the council would be formed by voted politicians in the future. I mean, the system could be adapted, since I believe, that whoever takes the power wouldn´t want to give it up, even after Yona was ready.

Your solution sounds very good, though.

If Soo-won, Kye-sook and the others are carrying most of the workload, that already resembles an informal regency, with one peculiar arrangement: other people govern, Yona reigns, and the narrative transfers the credit upwards. If that situation were formally acknowledged, it would at least be institutionally honest. The story could say plainly that Yona is not ready, that she is learning under a governing council, and that she will assume full responsibility when she has demonstrated that she can exercise it.

Possible. It would also remove the god-like aura off her. I would be on board, but I am not sure, if most of her fans would not be utterly disappointed.

I am sorry, but instead of thinking that “the unnecessary nature of these sacrifices may be one of the story’s morals,” my immediate thought was that the cult of King Il and the cult of Yu-hon have simply been replaced by the cult of Yona, now operating at full strength.

The danger is there, you are right. If Soo Won does not take action, Yona will become basically a worse version of her father. People might even tolerate it more, since it is glorious Yona, after all.

I know, I know, that Hak and Yona could be better in that regard, but the truth is, this might be not the case. Soo Won, however, is reasonable in comparison. And reason has to reign in Yona´s glory or we will end up with fate.

Her youth explains her limitations. It does not justify allowing her to exercise an authority for which that same youth supposedly makes her unfit. Yona also has the agency to conclude that she is not yet prepared to rule. Accepting the crown because she could not bring herself to refuse Soo-won, because she wanted to relieve his burden or because she had good intentions does not oblige her to remain on the throne once it becomes clear that other people are preventing the government from falling apart.

You are still talking about the person, who has jumped in a rain of arrows; who does not know accountability, because she is prone to fall for illusions and was overprotected her whole life.

Everybody else has always rescued her, and Soo Won has promised to support her, so she thought it was alright.

Yes a normal 16 year old would have likely refrained from this. But this is the "darling of the heavens", so her point of view has been severly screwed by her great fame and the fact, that the dragon warriors were her sacrifices, bleeding in her stead.

Yona hardly reflects. Rarely. She is a more emotional person and reason is not exactly her best friend.

Therefore it is reasonable for Yona to be so naive, unfortunately.

If the problem was the worship of Il, the worship of Yu-hon, blind obedience, faith placed above evidence and people being absorbed into a central figure, then the ending should have broken that pattern. It does not break it. It recycles it with Yona at the centre. Hak believes in her even when reality contradicts that belief. Collective achievements are attributed to her. Other people compensate for her limitations. Her charisma becomes legitimacy. Her youth excuses her failures, but her authority remains unquestioned. Criticism repeatedly dissolves into “she works very hard” or “she inspires people.” That makes it difficult for me to read “the sacrifices were unnecessary” as the central moral, because the system that produces personal sacrifice around an idealised figure is still functioning. Soo-won continues working. Hak continues dissolving into his function. Other people continue supplying knowledge, competence, experience and suffering. Yona continues receiving the symbolic centre. The story does not seem to say, “Do not build cults.” It seems to say, “Choose the correct person to worship.” And naturally, the correct choice is Yona. How revolutionary.

Why do you think, the mangaka is showing this friction? If she was really persuaded, that you just need the "correct person to worship", then we would see no problems or Yona "magically" resolving it. However, we see Yona struggling now for 3 chapters.

We see a good part of the generals being unsatisfied: the former Geuntae (Kulifu has most likely hardly any opinion), General Kyoga, even General Tae Woo does not seem to be so sold on Yona.

(Tae Woo is is bright, reasonable, maybe it was just my impression; it appeared more that he was himself rather reluctant, while Mundoek the great believer was - of course- convinced) and Jon Gi does appear to favor Yona. Especially interesting that instead of Tae Woo (reason) his "other half" Hendai made an appearance. And Hendai is all feeling and motivation, but has little reason in comparison. Tae Woo was literally sick in that chapter.

Honestly I was fascinated how Tae Jun, the dumbest person in the entire manga (sorry if you should be a fan, but Tae Jun is really not the brightest light on the cake), was the first figure to appear in the first chapter of the gaiden: Tae Jun as the former pampered son of the former Fire General is such a clear mirror to Yona, while his brother (a mirror to Soo Won) appeared far more reluctant in the next chapter. Kyoga (reason) was horrified and worried. For a good reason.

What I do not understand is, if this were truly the 4 last chapters with 0 continuations, no spin-off ect...then I don´t understand the direction. Then I don´t understand, why the narrative collides with Hak point of view.

The narrative should approve and cement Hak´s point of view, not contradict him.

We are - like you said it- back at the beginning. Big problems have arisen. Reason should be stronger in order to avoid a next King Il, aka Queen Yona. But usually you do not show this until the second-to-last chapter.

But it is not Soo-won’s task. Hak and Yona are responsible for leaving their own comfortable bubble. Soo-won may confront them because he cares about them or because their decisions affect Kouka, but he should not become their lifelong tutor in applied reality. He has already done enough. He understood Il’s failure, seized power, rebuilt the kingdom, responded to wars and crises, endured the Crimson Illness, lost the throne and was left physically damaged. He should not now be expected to continue supplying the judgment and intellectual structure required by the people who receive the applause. Let him grow potatoes. Let him discover whether he prefers turnips. Let him read for three days without anyone asking him how to save Kouka. Let Gulfan return to him and spend his time frightening crows, since the bird has apparently also been requisitioned for Yonistic messenger service. If the kingdom collapses the moment Soo-won stops correcting the new queen, the conclusion is not that Soo-won owes Kouka another lifetime of sacrifice. The conclusion is that Yona was not ready to receive the crown.

If not him, who else? Can we let a whole country decline in another King Il´s era? Do you know, how many people would suffer again?

Also Soo Won cares too deeply for the wellbeing of the people, he would never run away from this task.

Hak can be "sharp" under Soo Won´s influence. His way of thinking has seaped into Hak as well. And he might lose a little bit of his delusional attitude.

And even Yona finds her drive and reason, if Soo Won pushes her.

Of course, Soo Won needs people who support him, as well. Handling Yona and Hak is not the most fun task I could imagine.

Honestly, I do not think the final chapter will cause most readers to interpret Hak differently from the way they have interpreted him throughout the manga. I would be pleasantly surprised if the story finally introduced genuine criticism of his perception. But after years of presenting this devotion as the height of romance, I do not find that very likely.

However, you mean, that his point of view is literally contradicted by the narrative...Don´t you think, that this would make a difference?

If we literally have a dissonance between "two stories" - Hak´s and the one of the objective truth?

Life can be truly awful. I can certainly attest to that. But it also contains a few very small good things, and I hold on to those tiny things to keep moving forward. I am sorry that you have gone through such painful experiences. I sincerely hope you are doing better now.

Thank you and I am sorry to hear, that you had similar experiences. Yes, right now my life goes in a better direction. Finally.

Please, no. A spin-off would no longer feel like hope to me. It would feel like a threat. In theory, it could resolve many of the abandoned issues. But that would require confidence that the manga intended to confront those issues rigorously. After the Chalice arc, that confidence is buried beneath the mausoleum alongside causality. At this point, the prudent response seems to be to leave the story as it is. I have already built my own version, one in which consequences exist and the characters retain their dignity.

The manga appears to have an overall pretty logical structure. Even the mausoleum arc was narratively a reasonable conclusion, even though it was not so spectacular like I would have desired.

Unfortunately I can only demonstrate this in a couple of weeks time, as I still need more time with my meta. It consoled me a little to adumbrate the meaning and structure a little, since I have followed this work for about 10 years.

I would appreciate a spin-off or further chapters as it could be solved. Maybe not all, but the most important issues at least.

I do believe it. In fact, that is what will happen in my imagination. Soo-won will retire. While Yona and her government discover whether devotion can replace administration, Soo-won will be drinking tea peacefully at his residence with his wife, Lili. Who can prevent me from imagining that? The narrative cannot. It has nearly ended. The canon no longer has jurisdiction over my imagination. Naturally, if the final chapter makes my imagined continuation impossible, I will have to invent another one. But that seems unlikely.

Fanfiction, ahoy! I wish him all the best.

Then Yona cannot govern. It really is that simple. If the survival of the kingdom requires the former king to continue thinking, reforming, correcting and challenging the new queen, then the abdication transferred only the title, not the work. Soo-won probably would not retire voluntarily, because duty has held him by the throat since childhood. That is precisely why imagining his retirement feels reparative. Yona’s inability to preserve the kingdom without him does not create an infinite moral obligation for Soo-won. It demonstrates that crowning her was a mistake. He does not owe the rest of his life to concealing that mistake. The future was left open enough that my continuation remains compatible with what has been shown, unless the final chapter gives us a time-skip and explicitly establishes another outcome. Given the gaiden’s pace, it seems more likely that Hak will say “Princess” fourteen times than that we will receive a detailed institutional reform.

Na, she cannot govern right now. But I doubt it, that Soo Won will ever give up. But one can imagine, what not is...

If the field is large, one ends the day with an aching back from bending down so much. Rather like the grape harvest. But it can be enormous fun, especially when the family works together. You laugh a great deal.

I agree with your character analyses, and I really enjoy the way you dissect them: Soo-won would not retire because he feels responsible; Hak behaves this way because he is loyal and idealistic; and Yona struggles because she is young and unprepared.

My concern, however, lies elsewhere. These personalities and circumstances were themselves written choices.

For example, “Soo-won would never abandon Kouka” explains his behaviour within the story, and I completely agree with your analysis on that point. What troubles me is why the author chose an ending in which he remains unable to rest and continues carrying the practical responsibilities of ruling, while Yona receives the title, authority and recognition.

Both readings can coexist, but I think this difference explains why we sometimes appear to be answering different questions.

Placed side by side, these images become even more ridiculous.

Hak: “The day will come when you will understand the joy of being subjects of Princess Yona.”

Later: “To get here, we suffered bandit attacks, cracks in the ground, and rockslides. In any case, it took us a very long time. We thought we had sent enough supplies and personnel, but it wasn't enough. Meanwhile, in the remote regions, many people were looking for work and supplies, and discontent continued to mount. There has to be more… Some way to resolve this.”

Later, Yona: “When we traveled, I understood better how people lived.”

Excuse me, but Hak praises Yona based on what? On the newly discovered epiphany that reality exists outside the palace?

She comes from the following journey: Childhood in the palace: lives isolated and is unaware of the kingdom. Journey through Kouka: supposedly discovers hunger, corruption, slavery, abuse, and inequality. Return to the palace: in two months, she loses touch with everything again. Solemn reflection: she discovers that, from the palace, she doesn't see people's lives so clearly.

That's not political growth. It's going all the way around only to return to the starting point, only now wearing a ceremonial cape and with her hands clasped.

And what's lacking isn't abstract intelligence. It's applied learning. After having lived abroad, she should return knowing precisely that the palace distorts information. The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

But it seems that didn't occur to her until they had already miscalculated the supplies and discontent was growing. Fantastic administrative debut.

And the expressions make it worse, because the drawing shows no shame at having lost touch, no frustration at the system's failure, no sense of responsibility, and no fear of repeating the blindness of his childhood. She displays a kind of delicate contemplation, as if she had grasped a profound truth: “Outside the palace, you see things you can’t see from inside.”

Yes, Yona. You also notice the rain more when there’s no roof. Record that in the annals of the kingdom.

And Hak remembers it with that gentle, approving smile, without questioning a thing. He, who is traveling the roads, observing the needs and doing the fieldwork the government doesn’t know how to organize, decides that the moment demands admiration. Not analysis.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other.

He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.”

She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.”

No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies.

Au contraire, Yona needs also "abstract intelligence" as she does not need to invent the wheel again. There have been countless other rulers before her and their experience might also come in handy.

Right now, she is merely able to rule, because Soo Won and Keishuk took the MOST of her tasks from her.

Yona merely has to do 2000 of 10.000.

She needs to know everything from economy over law to political tactics, warfare, foreign affairs ect...Yona knows merely the basics and needs to learn much.

But yes, she does need information for a direct source...and this is, what Hak is already doing. He does collect information and will bring this information to Yona and co.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

Yona is right now struggling to rule at all. Currently she is not able to manage this job at all alone. This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

And Soo Won has already removed much of the corrupt officials to begin with, as we have seen with Kum Ji. Originally he had tried to get intel about this man, when he met Yona in Awa.

In fact, Soo Won is already trying to figure out, how to change the current system. Yona does not have to do everything alone. Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other. He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.” She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.” No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

Correct observation. It is indeed fate. Hak´s strength is his loyalty to people he loves. He isn´t critical of Yona and most likely never will. It is not in his nature.

I hope, that Zeno, who is at least talking with people, even if he suffers from severe depression it seems, might influence the story. Lily, who is visiting Ogi, the literal information broker, might be another source. It might lead to Soo Won visiting Ogi again, as he does need this kind of information.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies. Jesús, qué tropa.

Of course she has abstract intelligence. The wheel has already been invented, and besides, she's used it, but it seems she's only now becoming aware of its existence. What I mean is that she lacks the ability to apply that abstract intelligence.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

Poor thing. I'll say it again: she didn't have to accept the crown.

Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

Indeed, she's never done anything alone throughout her journey.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good...

This is Soo Won´s task. And the one of others. It seems as if Ogi, Lily, Zeno and Soo Won might play a little role as well.

Yes, but Yona has to learn how to "apply abstract intelligence". This is an ability. We learn how to "abstract" slowly in school.

This is Soo Won´s home turf, but Yona is still a baby chicken. She has most likely less knowledge than a common 16 year old due to her "lacking" education by King Il.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

You are right, she could have refused, but she could not bring herself to refuse Soo Won, who had nearly died. And he had promised to help her. The mistake lies more with him than her in that case. But Soo Won most likely couldn´t anymore after the events in the mausoleum.

She contributed like everybody else, but she has always been hailed for everybody´s common efforts. As if she was the sole source. But Yona has never been the sole source.

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Not a coincidence at all. In order to become a bird, in order to acquire a wide and great knowledge. In order to acquire wisdom, you have to sometimes go through hell. That is why those two are birds.

Soo Won and Zeno both hold contrary, but important wisdom. They acquired a wider point of view as everybody else. Without this wisdom everything goes to shit. Again. Like with King Il.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good…

No, he is not a fool. Though I agree, that he is blind. He is Yona´s significant other, so of course, he tends to be loyal, and nice and full of illusions. Yona had to literally break herself away from illusions...because she loves cushy dreams more than reality.

Yes, it always seems to be someone else's job.

That is precisely my point: Yona still has to learn how to apply what she knows to practical situations.

This is Soo-won’s home turf, but Yona is still a baby chicken. She most likely has less knowledge than an ordinary sixteen-year-old because of the education King Il denied her.

It is true that she lacks knowledge and education. However, there is at least one lesson she should already understand through direct experience: life inside the castle gives her a much poorer view of the country than life outside it.

She spent her childhood isolated inside the castle and then travelled through Kouka, however involuntarily at first. She should not need two months as queen before receiving this realization like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.

You are right, she could have refused, but she could not bring herself to refuse Soo-won, who had nearly died. And he had promised to help her. The mistake lies more with him than with her in that case.

I do not see it that way. That interpretation removes Yona’s agency precisely when responsibility is being discussed, only to restore it when she is presented as a legitimate and admirable sovereign.

Soo-won may certainly have been wrong to offer her the crown without arranging a sufficient transition. But Yona accepted it. She knew that he was gravely injured, that she would depend heavily on his assistance, and that she lacked the necessary education and experience.

Her inability to bring herself to refuse him explains her decision emotionally. It does not erase the fact that she made that decision.

And if Soo-won had just emerged from the mausoleum gravely wounded and perhaps unable to continue ruling, it seems rather unfair to place the full responsibility for choosing an unprepared successor on him as well. Apparently, even while abdicating after nearly dying, he was expected to arrange everything perfectly.

I think the fairest conclusion is that Soo-won made a mistake by offering her the crown without an adequate transition, and Yona made a mistake by accepting it while unprepared.

She contributed like everybody else, but she has always been praised for everybody’s collective efforts, as though she were the sole source.

I have nothing to dispute here. I completely agree.

Yona contributes, but the narrative repeatedly turns collective work into an extension of Yona. Other people provide strength, information, strategy, sacrifice, experience and administration. Afterwards, someone explains that everything happened because Yona inspires people, works harder than anyone else or will create a better world.

Not a coincidence at all. In order to become a bird, in order to acquire broad knowledge and wisdom, one sometimes has to go through hell. That is why those two are birds.

That may be symbolically true, but it does not answer the question of narrative injustice.

Suffering may produce wisdom. It does not require Soo-won and Zeno to receive the harshest endings, nor does it justify other characters benefiting from their wisdom while they themselves are left dispossessed.

Saying that they passed through hell in order to become birds is beautiful. It is also very convenient for those who inherit the nest, the kingdom and the applause.

Soo-won and Zeno both possess different but important kinds of wisdom. They have acquired a broader perspective than everyone else. Without that wisdom, everything goes wrong again, as it did under King Il.

Then Soo-won and Zeno remain indispensable, while the person who has been crowned does not yet possess what is required to prevent the same disaster from recurring.

No, he is not a fool.

That is fair. Calling him a fool was unnecessarily harsh, and I apologize for that wording.

He is Yona’s significant other, so of course he tends to be loyal, kind and full of illusions. Yona had to break away from illusions because she loves comfortable dreams more than reality.

Being someone’s partner does not require surrendering critical judgment. A partner can, and sometimes should, introduce friction when the other person is failing.

Loyalty does not require transforming governmental deficiencies into advance proof of greatness.

“Hak loves Yona, and therefore he cannot see reality clearly where she is concerned” may explain his behaviour. It does not make that behaviour healthy, admirable or romantic.

And if Hak knows that Yona prefers comfortable dreams to reality, his role should not be to wrap every new problem in another comfortable dream. Yet there he is, working overtime for the national department of illusion.

Soo-won understood that sometimes you need more people rather than boxes. He was as close to a perfect king as possible, but people want to help Yona. Even the most perfect ruler cannot defeat the will of the many.

A monarch does not need to be the most intelligent person in the room or perform every task alone. A good ruler must gather capable people, listen to them, coordinate their work and take responsibility for the outcome.

The problem is that the manga does not show Yona doing this particularly well. It shows other people solving problems while she receives their loyalty.

The fact that people want to help her is not automatically evidence of political competence. To turn that collective willingness into proof of good government, the story would need to show Yona distributing responsibilities, weighing competing advice, correcting mistakes, protecting the autonomy of those who assist her and accepting responsibility when the system fails.

Without that, we do not have collective leadership. We have collective labour attributed to a charismatic central figure.

Yona succeeding because people choose to help her could have been a compelling idea if the manga had said: “Yona is not the most capable person, but she learns to govern by listening to people who are better prepared than she is.”

But that is not what Hak proclaims. He says: “The day will come when you understand how fortunate we are to be Princess Yona’s people.”

There is also another problem. Much of Yona’s extraordinary authority during her journey came from travelling with the dragon warriors and from being identified with the Crimson Dragon. Those things gave her immense symbolic power, military power and an almost supernatural ability to draw people towards her.

Now the dragons are gone, and Yona is no longer being presented as the Crimson Dragon. What remains is a very young, poorly educated and inexperienced ruler. That does not mean she is doomed to fail. It means the manga must now demonstrate, rather than merely proclaim, what makes her capable of ruling without the divine authority and power that carried so much of her journey.

Indeed. But in the moment she is still pretty unexperienced. At the moment she needs pretty much help.

It is true that she lacks knowledge and education. However, there is at least one lesson she should already understand through direct experience: life inside the castle gives her a much poorer view of the country than life outside it.

As a queen she is more bound and cannot just walk out like she used to. Especially since everybody knows she is the queen. I guess she might color her hair, if she - sometimes - goes out.

Nevertheless she has now to care for a whole country, therefore she has to stay for a certain time at the castle. Especially now, as she is still soaking up knowledge.

She spent her childhood isolated inside the castle and then travelled through Kouka, however involuntarily at first. She should not need two months as queen before receiving this realization like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.

Why not? She is completely inexperienced as a ruler for a great country. She is 16 years old and is right now cramming her head with all the abstract knowledge she can get. Making mistakes is a given in that situation.

I do not see it that way. That interpretation removes Yona’s agency precisely when responsibility is being discussed, only to restore it when she is presented as a legitimate and admirable sovereign.

But Yona did not know, what it meant to be ruler. Soo Won had experienced it already. So he is in a better position to consider the given situation than Yona.

Yes, she has agency. She tries it with full force. He should still have considered, how young she still is. However, truth be told. Soo Won is himself also only 18 years old. We are speaking about very young adults to teenagers.

The former generation massively fucked up, so that merely half-children are left.

Actually, as an adult I am a little shocked how much responsibility this young teenagers to young adults have.

Soo-won may certainly have been wrong to offer her the crown without arranging a sufficient transition. But Yona accepted it. She knew that he was gravely injured, that she would depend heavily on his assistance, and that she lacked the necessary education and experience. Her inability to bring herself to refuse him explains her decision emotionally. It does not erase the fact that she made that decision.

You are right. It was naive of her to make this decision. But unfortunately Yona is naive. The greatest pain she experienced was losing her father and even then there was Hak, shielding her. Later she acquired a small army in the form of the dragon warriors. She could jump into a rain of arrows and she was fine.

So nothing ever happened to her. Zeno and Soo Won felt the consequences of their decisions. But well, sometimes Yona has to experience pain to get it.

That may be symbolically true, but it does not answer the question of narrative injustice.

I guess, it is a given that Yona was pampered while Soo Won and Zeno had to go through hell. Life is sometimes unfair. But these experiences, this pain also taught them important lessons.

Right now, Yona is slightly hurting, too. Without a little pain and learnt experience, you won´t acquire "wings".

Suffering may produce wisdom. It does not require Soo-won and Zeno to receive the harshest endings, nor does it justify other characters benefiting from their wisdom while they themselves are left dispossessed.

Yes, I fully agree. It is so unfair that Zeno and Soo Won had to suffer so greatly...that they had to go through hell. It is an injustice. But unfortunately they were part of horrifying systems that were prone to "produce" such sacrifices.

That these sacrifices were unnecessary might be one moral of this story.

Saying that they passed through hell in order to become birds is beautiful. It is also very convenient for those who inherit the nest, the kingdom and the applause.

Soo Won and Zeno - unfortunately - held some believes that turnt out horrifying for especially them. Only through some pain they could let go of these believes...but that is one reason they are currently "floating"...

For both core convictions crumbled in the last arc.

Being someone’s partner does not require surrendering critical judgment. A partner can, and sometimes should, introduce friction when the other person is failing.

Actually I tried to express that Hak resembles Yona in that point. They are very kind, but are dreamers and tend to see the world how they wish to see it. Unfortunately.

Loyalty does not require transforming governmental deficiencies into advance proof of greatness. “Hak loves Yona, and therefore he cannot see reality clearly where she is concerned” may explain his behaviour. It does not make that behaviour healthy, admirable or romantic.

I agree. Some people wouldn´t. And the behaviour is not healthy or admirable. But Hak is like this. He is not just loyal, he is absolutely loyal and unfortunately prone to fall for illusions. In a way he has changed "Soo Won the king" for"Yona the queen".

But an illusion it still is.

And if Hak knows that Yona prefers comfortable dreams to reality, his role should not be to wrap every new problem in another comfortable dream. Yet there he is, working overtime for the national department of illusion.

Great! Your insight is great. Indeed. I came to the same conclusion, that Hak easily falls into these traps, if he is left alone.

However, Hak confuses the dreams for reality himself. Therefore he is -blissfully- unaware of the statue of things.

A monarch does not need to be the most intelligent person in the room or perform every task alone. A good ruler must gather capable people, listen to them, coordinate their work and take responsibility for the outcome.

Indeed. Soo Won came to the same conclusion. However Yona is not - yet- able to perform this task. Therefore Keishuk and Soo Won take much of her responsibility.

The problem is that the manga does not show Yona doing this particularly well. It shows other people solving problems while she receives their loyalty.

Like in an illusion of grandeur, right? Indeed, this is a problem and I guess it might be solved. However, she might never be the great leader people wish her to be. But she might get people to help her on her way.

Like we both concluded. Yona has never solved a problem on her own. And she won´t be able to do it in the future. Without all the people she knows, she would not be able to do anything.

Soo Won is already trying to change the given system in order to take in more responsible people. As the monarch helds too much power in his eyes, now.

I have an inkling that the development goes in the direction of a democracy.

The fact that people want to help her is not automatically evidence of political competence. To turn that collective willingness into proof of good government, the story would need to show Yona distributing responsibilities, weighing competing advice, correcting mistakes, protecting the autonomy of those who assist her and accepting responsibility when the system fails.

She still has a long way to go...

Without that, we do not have collective leadership. We have collective labour attributed to a charismatic central figure.

Indeed. This is the trap the people are right now prone to falling. She is considered the reincarnation of the dragon god, after all. Her fame attributes too much of the success to her. Even though, strictly, speaking Yona is right now merely a charismatic figure, but not the central power. She needs to develop this.

And Soo Won has to really develop a backbone again, because he sometimes needs to go against her, challenge her again. Yona is not a really driven person.

Yona succeeding because people choose to help her could have been a compelling idea if the manga had said: “Yona is not the most capable person, but she learns to govern by listening to people who are better prepared than she is.” But that is not what Hak proclaims. He says: “The day will come when you understand how fortunate we are to be Princess Yona’s people.”

Yes! Yes! Yes! Completely delusional...Kusanagi himself mentioned something similar in an interview...even if the expression was not that strong.

There is also another problem. Much of Yona’s extraordinary authority during her journey came from travelling with the dragon warriors and from being identified with the Crimson Dragon. Those things gave her immense symbolic power, military power and an almost supernatural ability to draw people towards her.

Indeed. Indeed. This is a point. People would not attribute power to her, if she was not the reincarnation.

Determination and effort matter. They are not substitutes for knowledge, judgment, accountability and effective government.

Soo-won did not truly know what ruling a country meant until he actually became king either. The crucial difference was preparation: Soo-won possessed the necessary knowledge and could organize and make decisions. Yona does not yet possess that knowledge or demonstrate the same ability to organize. Other people perform much of that work, while the narrative often transfers the resulting credit to her.

Yes, she has agency. She tries with all her strength. He should still have considered how young she is. However, Soo-won himself is only eighteen. We are speaking about teenagers and very young adults.

Trying with all one’s strength is an exercise of agency, but it is not proof of competence, preparation or sound judgment.

Yona had the agency to accept the crown. That means she must also bear responsibility for accepting a position she was not prepared to hold. Effort does not make the decision wise, nor does it automatically make her capable of fulfilling the role.

And why must her youth excuse her whenever responsibility is discussed, while at other times the narrative presents her as the kingdom’s greatest warrior, future saviour and natural sovereign? That double standard is precisely what bothers me.

The former generation massively failed, leaving little more than children behind.

Yes. What a magnificent collection of responsible adults they were.

As an adult, I am rather shocked by how much responsibility these teenagers and young adults carry.

I agree that eighteen is extremely young for this degree of responsibility, at least from my own cultural perspective. Other societies and historical periods have drawn adulthood much earlier, so I would not treat our present standards as universal.

What bothers me is not simply their age. It is that age is used as an excuse selectively: Yona is a child when her errors require accountability, but an extraordinary leader when the story wants admiration for her.

It was naive of her to make this decision. Unfortunately, Yona is naive. The greatest pain she experienced was losing her father, and even then Hak protected her. Later, she acquired a small army in the dragon warriors. She could jump into a rain of arrows and remain unharmed.

The famous rain of arrows. Please do not remind me.

But yes, I see Yona’s naivety as a serious argument against her suitability to rule, not as a mitigating virtue. An ingenuous sovereign is extremely vulnerable. Either she learns quickly, or other people will manipulate her and the country will pay the price.

That these sacrifices were unnecessary might be one moral of the story.

I am honestly unable to derive that interpretation from the text. I do not mean that dismissively; it simply had never occurred to me. I would have to think about it.

Soo-won and Zeno held beliefs that proved horrifying, especially for them. Only through pain could they relinquish those beliefs, and that is one reason they are currently “floating.” Both of their central convictions collapsed in the final arc.

Soo-won and Zeno may be “floating,” but to me they appear to be floating in a sea of depression.

Their former convictions may have collapsed, and that can certainly form part of a meaningful character transformation. I still do not find their outcomes beautiful, fair or emotionally adequate. Losing a destructive conviction does not require being left emptied of purpose, identity and reward while others inherit the fruits of your suffering.

I was trying to express that Hak resembles Yona in this respect. They are kind, but they are dreamers and tend to see the world as they wish it to be.

Unfortunately, yes. They reinforce one another’s preferred reality and remain inside the same comfortable bubble. I do not regard that as a promising path for either a relationship or a government.

Hak is not merely loyal; he is absolutely loyal and inclined to fall for illusions. In a way, he has replaced “Soo-won the king” with “Yona the queen.” But it remains an illusion.

I agree. My problem is that the manga appears to present this as something beautiful.

Hak mistakes dreams for reality himself. Therefore, he is blissfully unaware of the state of things.

What a marvellous condition: moving through life without noticing what is happening around you.

I find it deeply sad rather than blissful. Hak’s loyalty has ceased to coexist with judgment and has begun to replace it.

Soo-won came to the same conclusion. However, Yona is not yet able to perform this task. Therefore, Kye-sook and Soo-won assume much of her responsibility.

The main story has ended, and only one gaiden chapter remains. At this point, I think it is fair to remove the word “yet.”

Yona is not currently capable of performing that role. What she might become later will depend entirely on each reader’s imagination, because the manga has almost run out of pages in which to show it.

This is a problem, and I suppose it might be solved. She may never become the great leader people expect her to be, but she may persuade people to help her along the way.

Or she may not. We cannot know unless the final gaiden chapter contains another two hundred pages and resolves everything still pending.

As the text currently stands, Yona lacks the education, demonstrated judgment and political character required to govern effectively without extensive support. Perhaps she will acquire them in two years. Perhaps she will not. Either answer now belongs to the reader, not to the completed narrative.

The manga can only be assessed by what it has actually shown.

She still has a long way to go.

She needs to develop this.

Yes. The small problem is that the story is over.

Soo-won really needs to develop a backbone again, because he sometimes needs to oppose and challenge her. Yona is not a particularly driven person.

What Soo-won should do is retire somewhere far from the palace and live whatever life he chooses. He could read, since he enjoys it, and plant potatoes if the mood takes him.

I do not see why his future must remain dedicated to guiding, challenging and educating Yona when the entire universe already seems organized around supporting her.

He has already surrendered his health, youth, reign and future to Kouka. He should not now be assigned the additional lifelong task of supplying its new queen with judgment and resolve.

Yona will probably learn this, more or less, if she is not prevented from doing so. So yes, Soo-won has a great deal of work ahead of him.

And we return to the same conclusion: the solution to Yona’s problems remains in Soo-won’s hands.

Yona may receive the crown, loyalty and public faith, but Soo-won must still provide knowledge, reform the system, challenge her illusions and help her become capable of governing.

Indeed. But Yona was not given the chance to prepare herself. Her father did not educate her like this, as she was not considered his heir.

So she started a lot later than Soo Won, who has been raised to be the Crown Prince and later king since he was basically a baby.

Trying with all one’s strength is an exercise of agency, but it is not proof of competence, preparation or sound judgment. Yona had the agency to accept the crown. That means she must also bear responsibility for accepting a position she was not prepared to hold. Effort does not make the decision wise, nor does it automatically make her capable of fulfilling the role.

True. In a position like Yona´s you can hardly say "I tried" and be done with. Effort does not count, if people are suffering or Yona makes horrible decisions.

Currently luckily she has counselors, who take over much of her work. Like she has merely 1/4 of the actual tasks of a ruler of Kouka.

And why must her youth excuse her whenever responsibility is discussed, while at other times the narrative presents her as the kingdom’s greatest warrior, future saviour and natural sovereign? That double standard is precisely what bothers me.

Yes, i agree, that it is unfair that she gets so much fame, but she is still 16 years old. This is awfully young for an uneducated person to be responsible for the lives of thousands of people.

It is therefore less of an "excuse", but a fact that she is awfully young and this girl would not be considered an adult in my country. She would not be able to drive or even vote. But she rules a whole country in this time line. There is a certain reason, why children are protected before they become adults, as they sometimes are not fully aware of the risks they take. Their brains have not yet developed fully.

But yes, I see Yona’s naivety as a serious argument against her suitability to rule, not as a mitigating virtue. An ingenuous sovereign is extremely vulnerable. Either she learns quickly, or other people will manipulate her and the country will pay the price.

One can hope, that she loses the naivety as she makes experiences.

Soo-won and Zeno may be “floating,” but to me they appear to be floating in a sea of depression. Their former convictions may have collapsed, and that can certainly form part of a meaningful character transformation. I still do not find their outcomes beautiful, fair or emotionally adequate. Losing a destructive conviction does not require being left emptied of purpose, identity and reward while others inherit the fruits of your suffering.

Indeed. Life is unfair and many of their pains are unnecessary. Unfortunately, if you break down or lose a very important conviction it often happens that depressive tendencies, the feeling of losing the ground beneath your feet, is an effect.

Unfortunately, I have experiences with this statue. It is therefore natural, that both feel like this.

And yes, I also think so much of this is unfair to both of them.

I am honestly unable to derive that interpretation from the text. I do not mean that dismissively; it simply had never occurred to me. I would have to think about it.

If you consider both systems - King Il and Yu hon´s - as some sort of cults, you might understand it better. There is a lot of "brain-washing", and manipulation involved that directly impacted both Soo Won and Zeno.

Unfortunately, yes. They reinforce one another’s preferred reality and remain inside the same comfortable bubble. I do not regard that as a promising path for either a relationship or a government.

Soo Won´s job is hard. I am truly not jealous of him for having to persuade those two.

I agree. My problem is that the manga appears to present this as something beautiful.

I think, I cannot completely disagree here. Yes, many love his devotion, but i am also not the greatest fan of it, honestly. But don´t you think, that not more people will realize in the latest chapter, that something isn´t right with Hak´s perception?

Yona is not currently capable of performing that role. What she might become later will depend entirely on each reader’s imagination, because the manga has almost run out of pages in which to show it.

Unfortunately, fair. I don´t understand it, why Kusanagi presented it like this. This is the second-to-last chapter, after all.

Or she may not. We cannot know unless the final gaiden chapter contains another two hundred pages and resolves everything still pending. As the text currently stands, Yona lacks the education, demonstrated judgment and political character required to govern effectively without extensive support. Perhaps she will acquire them in two years. Perhaps she will not. Either answer now belongs to the reader, not to the completed narrative. The manga can only be assessed by what it has actually shown.

I so hope for a spin-off or something along those lines. As I really don´t understand the decision of the mangaka. As you said, it would need a good of 200 pages to resolve every issue.

What Soo-won should do is retire somewhere far from the palace and live whatever life he chooses. He could read, since he enjoys it, and plant potatoes if the mood takes him. I do not see why his future must remain dedicated to guiding, challenging and educating Yona when the entire universe already seems organized around supporting her. He has already surrendered his health, youth, reign and future to Kouka. He should not now be assigned the additional lifelong task of supplying its new queen with judgment and resolve.

Do you honestly believe this? He would never do this. Unfortunately for him, fortunately for everybody else.

The entire country would fall into the next King Il era, if Soo Won was not there.

Though i believe, that he would fancy planting potatoes....

And we return to the same conclusion: the solution to Yona’s problems remains in Soo-won’s hands. Yona may receive the crown, loyalty and public faith, but Soo-won must still provide knowledge, reform the system, challenge her illusions and help her become capable of governing. That is precisely the imbalance I have been criticizing from the beginning.

Then I think the logical solution is fairly simple.

If Yona’s age, lack of education and immaturity are such serious obstacles, she should not retain full sovereign authority while the reader is asked to excuse her inability to exercise it. She could abdicate until she is properly prepared, just as Soo-won abdicated when he believed he could no longer continue. A regency could be established, or a council could be given genuine governing authority while Yona is publicly recognised as a sovereign in training.

That would also mean that immediate credit went to the people who actually administer, reform, decide and solve problems. Yona could receive recognition for her progress when she had actually made that progress. A revolutionary concept, apparently: credit after the work.

Currently, fortunately, she has counsellors who assume much of her work. She has perhaps only one quarter of the actual duties of a ruler of Kouka.

If Soo-won, Kye-sook and the others are carrying most of the workload, that already resembles an informal regency, with one peculiar arrangement: other people govern, Yona reigns, and the narrative transfers the credit upwards.

If that situation were formally acknowledged, it would at least be institutionally honest. The story could say plainly that Yona is not ready, that she is learning under a governing council, and that she will assume full responsibility when she has demonstrated that she can exercise it.

I agree that it is unfair that she receives so much fame, but she is still sixteen years old. That is extremely young for an uneducated person to be responsible for thousands of lives. It is therefore less an excuse than a fact.

Her youth explains her limitations. It does not justify allowing her to exercise an authority for which that same youth supposedly makes her unfit.

Yona also has the agency to conclude that she is not yet prepared to rule. Accepting the crown because she could not bring herself to refuse Soo-won, because she wanted to relieve his burden or because she had good intentions does not oblige her to remain on the throne once it becomes clear that other people are preventing the government from falling apart.

What I find inconsistent is the double standard.

When accountability is discussed, Yona is a poorly educated sixteen-year-old whose brain is still developing. When authority, obedience and praise are distributed, she becomes the legitimate, inspiring and extraordinary sovereign who will lead her people towards happiness.

She cannot be too young to bear responsibility while remaining old enough to retain all the power and prestige. Well, technically she can, because the manga allows it. Coherent it is not.

“She is too young” only works as a complete defence if it leads to a political consequence: she should not govern yet.

If the conclusion is instead that she is too young, so everyone else must perform most of the work while she remains queen and Hak proclaims how fortunate the people are to belong to her, that is not the protection of a minor. It is the protection of a protagonist.

And Yona never seems “awfully young” when praise is being handed out. At those moments she ages with miraculous speed.

One can hope that she loses her naivety through experience.

I hope for something more concrete: that she makes a serious mistake, that nobody immediately rescues her from it, that the mistake has real consequences, that she has to admit what she did, and that she learns because reality finally refuses to cushion the impact.

That would be growth to me.

Expecting her to lose her naivety through experience while Soo-won, Kye-sook, Hak and half the kingdom absorb every blow is rather like expecting someone to learn to swim without getting wet.

Life is unfair, and much of their pain was unnecessary. Unfortunately, when an important conviction collapses, depressive tendencies and the feeling of losing the ground beneath one’s feet can follow. I have personal experience with this state, so it seems natural to me that both of them feel this way.

Life can be truly awful. I can certainly attest to that. But it also contains a few very small good things, and I hold on to those tiny things to keep moving forward.

I am sorry that you have gone through such painful experiences. I sincerely hope you are doing better now.

If you consider both systems, King Il’s and Yu-hon’s, as forms of cults, you may understand it better. There was a great deal of brainwashing and manipulation that directly affected both Soo-won and Zeno.

I am sorry, but instead of thinking that “the unnecessary nature of these sacrifices may be one of the story’s morals,” my immediate thought was that the cult of King Il and the cult of Yu-hon have simply been replaced by the cult of Yona, now operating at full strength.

If the problem was the worship of Il, the worship of Yu-hon, blind obedience, faith placed above evidence and people being absorbed into a central figure, then the ending should have broken that pattern.

It does not break it. It recycles it with Yona at the centre.

Hak believes in her even when reality contradicts that belief. Collective achievements are attributed to her. Other people compensate for her limitations. Her charisma becomes legitimacy. Her youth excuses her failures, but her authority remains unquestioned. Criticism repeatedly dissolves into “she works very hard” or “she inspires people.”

That makes it difficult for me to read “the sacrifices were unnecessary” as the central moral, because the system that produces personal sacrifice around an idealised figure is still functioning.

Soo-won continues working. Hak continues dissolving into his function. Other people continue supplying knowledge, competence, experience and suffering. Yona continues receiving the symbolic centre.

The story does not seem to say, “Do not build cults.”

It seems to say, “Choose the correct person to worship.”

And naturally, the correct choice is Yona. How revolutionary.

Soo-won’s task is difficult. I do not envy him having to persuade those two.

But it is not Soo-won’s task.

Hak and Yona are responsible for leaving their own comfortable bubble. Soo-won may confront them because he cares about them or because their decisions affect Kouka, but he should not become their lifelong tutor in applied reality.

He has already done enough. He understood Il’s failure, seized power, rebuilt the kingdom, responded to wars and crises, endured the Crimson Illness, lost the throne and was left physically damaged. He should not now be expected to continue supplying the judgment and intellectual structure required by the people who receive the applause.

Let him grow potatoes. Let him discover whether he prefers turnips. Let him read for three days without anyone asking him how to save Kouka. Let Gulfan return to him and spend his time frightening crows, since the bird has apparently also been requisitioned for Yonistic messenger service.

If the kingdom collapses the moment Soo-won stops correcting the new queen, the conclusion is not that Soo-won owes Kouka another lifetime of sacrifice.

The conclusion is that Yona was not ready to receive the crown.

But do you not think that more readers may realise in the final chapter that something is wrong with Hak’s perception?

Honestly, I do not think the final chapter will cause most readers to interpret Hak differently from the way they have interpreted him throughout the manga.

I would be pleasantly surprised if the story finally introduced genuine criticism of his perception. But after years of presenting this devotion as the height of romance, I do not find that very likely.

I hope very much for a spin-off or something similar. I do not understand the mangaka’s decision. As you said, resolving everything would require around two hundred pages.

Please, no.

A spin-off would no longer feel like hope to me. It would feel like a threat.

In theory, it could resolve many of the abandoned issues. But that would require confidence that the manga intended to confront those issues rigorously. After the Chalice arc, that confidence is buried beneath the mausoleum alongside causality.

At this point, the prudent response seems to be to leave the story as it is.

I have already built my own version, one in which consequences exist and the characters retain their dignity.

Do you honestly believe Soo-won would retire? He would never do that. Unfortunately for him, fortunately for everybody else.

I do believe it. In fact, that is what will happen in my imagination.

Soo-won will retire. While Yona and her government discover whether devotion can replace administration, Soo-won will be drinking tea peacefully at his residence with his wife, Lili.

Who can prevent me from imagining that? The narrative cannot. It has nearly ended. The canon no longer has jurisdiction over my imagination.

Naturally, if the final chapter makes my imagined continuation impossible, I will have to invent another one. But that seems unlikely.

The entire country would fall into another King Il era if Soo-won were not there.

Then Yona cannot govern. It really is that simple.

If the survival of the kingdom requires the former king to continue thinking, reforming, correcting and challenging the new queen, then the abdication transferred only the title, not the work.

Soo-won probably would not retire voluntarily, because duty has held him by the throat since childhood. That is precisely why imagining his retirement feels reparative.

Yona’s inability to preserve the kingdom without him does not create an infinite moral obligation for Soo-won. It demonstrates that crowning her was a mistake. He does not owe the rest of his life to concealing that mistake.

The future was left open enough that my continuation remains compatible with what has been shown, unless the final chapter gives us a time-skip and explicitly establishes another outcome.

Given the gaiden’s pace, it seems more likely that Hak will say “Princess” fourteen times than that we will receive a detailed institutional reform.

Though I believe he might enjoy growing potatoes.

If the field is large, one ends the day with an aching back from bending down so much. Rather like the grape harvest.

Kija was raised in a cult so I can't really see him questioning Yona very soon. Maybe after few years around Jaeha he would be able to break free of his brainwashing.

Shin-ah wouldn't be mad on his own behalf at first, Yona took him out of a dark cave etc. But he should still be furious on the behalf of Ao. His only father figure suffered so much only because of Hiryuu.

That means his life had ceased to be a life and had become an inherited biological sentence. Ao is not afraid of disappearing. He longs for it. He laughs, he cries out in relief, and then he weeps as he apologises to Shin-ah. Not because he does not love Shin-ah, but because he can no longer bear to continue existing under those conditions. It is horrifying.

And the worst part is that the scene is written with enough force for us to understand the full extent of the damage. No theory is needed. The manga itself forces us to confront the isolation, the compulsory transmission of power, the blindness, the physical deterioration, the hatred and fear of the village, and an existence so unbearable that death is experienced as liberation.

After showing us that, you cannot resolve the divine conflict with the equivalent of: “Sorry for behaving rudely.”

Rude is speaking with your mouth full. This is condemning entire generations to be born as vessels, weapons, and links in a chain they never chose.

I can imagine how I would want to murder Hiryuu if this was my father, you know...

Naturally.

From Shin-ah’s perspective, Ao is not a piece of a prophecy. He is the person who raised him, protected him, and suffered until death came to him as an act of mercy. If someone told him, “All of this happened because a deity wanted to be reunited with his warriors again and again,” the morally logical response would not be gratitude. It would be fury.

Because Hiryuu’s supposed love was built with other people’s bodies, other people’s descendants, other people’s pain, predetermined lives, and generations that were never able to consent.

From the god’s point of view, it may be called love. From the point of view of those who pay the price, it is possession.

I know that many people would resort to the automatic defence here: “But Yona did not do that. She does not remember being Hiryuu.”

Yona, as a young woman, did not consciously design the system. That is true. But canon insists on presenting her as Hiryuu’s reincarnation, the continuation of the Crimson Dragon, the natural centre of the warriors, the recipient of their devotion, the beneficiary of the cycle, and someone who wants to keep them beside her.

It cannot use divine continuity to grant her authority, love, destiny, and power, only to discard that continuity when the time comes to accept moral responsibility. What a curious arrangement: all the metaphysical benefits are inherited, but the debts simply expire.

The truly courageous choice would have been for Yona to understand: “Even though I did not consciously begin this, my existence and my desires perpetuate a system that has destroyed lives like Ao’s.”

And then to choose to free the warriors, even if doing so meant losing them. That would have been growth. That would have forced the story to confront its own moral centre. But canon wants to preserve all of the following at once:

Yona’s innocence;

Hiryuu’s greatness;

the beauty of the bond;

the dragons’ devotion;

and a resolution with no one truly to blame.

It cannot be done. Ao exists. His tears exist, as does his relief at finally being able to die. Someone caused that, even if the story would rather dissolve responsibility into heavenly lights and feeble apologies.

That is why I cannot stand Yona.

It is not simply that I find her dull, naïve, or irritating. It is that the story places the glory of the system upon her while refusing to make her look its victims in the face.

Ao makes the issue personal and unbearable. We are no longer talking about “the dragon warriors” as a fantasy concept. We are talking about a man who was used from birth, suffered for years, loved a child, and left that child behind while weeping because death was the only freedom he had ever known.

And then the manga expects us to welcome the Crimson Dragon with tenderness and applaud Yona as a source of salvation.

Placed side by side, these images become even more ridiculous.

Hak: “The day will come when you will understand the joy of being subjects of Princess Yona.”

Later: “To get here, we suffered bandit attacks, cracks in the ground, and rockslides. In any case, it took us a very long time. We thought we had sent enough supplies and personnel, but it wasn't enough. Meanwhile, in the remote regions, many people were looking for work and supplies, and discontent continued to mount. There has to be more… Some way to resolve this.”

Later, Yona: “When we traveled, I understood better how people lived.”

Excuse me, but Hak praises Yona based on what? On the newly discovered epiphany that reality exists outside the palace?

She comes from the following journey: Childhood in the palace: lives isolated and is unaware of the kingdom. Journey through Kouka: supposedly discovers hunger, corruption, slavery, abuse, and inequality. Return to the palace: in two months, she loses touch with everything again. Solemn reflection: she discovers that, from the palace, she doesn't see people's lives so clearly.

That's not political growth. It's going all the way around only to return to the starting point, only now wearing a ceremonial cape and with her hands clasped.

And what's lacking isn't abstract intelligence. It's applied learning. After having lived abroad, she should return knowing precisely that the palace distorts information. The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

But it seems that didn't occur to her until they had already miscalculated the supplies and discontent was growing. Fantastic administrative debut.

And the expressions make it worse, because the drawing shows no shame at having lost touch, no frustration at the system's failure, no sense of responsibility, and no fear of repeating the blindness of his childhood. She displays a kind of delicate contemplation, as if she had grasped a profound truth: “Outside the palace, you see things you can’t see from inside.”

Yes, Yona. You also notice the rain more when there’s no roof. Record that in the annals of the kingdom.

And Hak remembers it with that gentle, approving smile, without questioning a thing. He, who is traveling the roads, observing the needs and doing the fieldwork the government doesn’t know how to organize, decides that the moment demands admiration. Not analysis.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other.

He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.”

She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.”

No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies.

Au contraire, Yona needs also "abstract intelligence" as she does not need to invent the wheel again. There have been countless other rulers before her and their experience might also come in handy.

Right now, she is merely able to rule, because Soo Won and Keishuk took the MOST of her tasks from her.

Yona merely has to do 2000 of 10.000.

She needs to know everything from economy over law to political tactics, warfare, foreign affairs ect...Yona knows merely the basics and needs to learn much.

But yes, she does need information for a direct source...and this is, what Hak is already doing. He does collect information and will bring this information to Yona and co.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

Yona is right now struggling to rule at all. Currently she is not able to manage this job at all alone. This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

And Soo Won has already removed much of the corrupt officials to begin with, as we have seen with Kum Ji. Originally he had tried to get intel about this man, when he met Yona in Awa.

In fact, Soo Won is already trying to figure out, how to change the current system. Yona does not have to do everything alone. Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other. He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.” She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.” No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

Correct observation. It is indeed fate. Hak´s strength is his loyalty to people he loves. He isn´t critical of Yona and most likely never will. It is not in his nature.

I hope, that Zeno, who is at least talking with people, even if he suffers from severe depression it seems, might influence the story. Lily, who is visiting Ogi, the literal information broker, might be another source. It might lead to Soo Won visiting Ogi again, as he does need this kind of information.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies. Jesús, qué tropa.

Of course she has abstract intelligence. The wheel has already been invented, and besides, she's used it, but it seems she's only now becoming aware of its existence. What I mean is that she lacks the ability to apply that abstract intelligence.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

Poor thing. I'll say it again: she didn't have to accept the crown.

Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

Indeed, she's never done anything alone throughout her journey.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good...

This is Soo Won´s task. And the one of others. It seems as if Ogi, Lily, Zeno and Soo Won might play a little role as well.

Yes, but Yona has to learn how to "apply abstract intelligence". This is an ability. We learn how to "abstract" slowly in school.

This is Soo Won´s home turf, but Yona is still a baby chicken. She has most likely less knowledge than a common 16 year old due to her "lacking" education by King Il.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

You are right, she could have refused, but she could not bring herself to refuse Soo Won, who had nearly died. And he had promised to help her. The mistake lies more with him than her in that case. But Soo Won most likely couldn´t anymore after the events in the mausoleum.

She contributed like everybody else, but she has always been hailed for everybody´s common efforts. As if she was the sole source. But Yona has never been the sole source.

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Not a coincidence at all. In order to become a bird, in order to acquire a wide and great knowledge. In order to acquire wisdom, you have to sometimes go through hell. That is why those two are birds.

Soo Won and Zeno both hold contrary, but important wisdom. They acquired a wider point of view as everybody else. Without this wisdom everything goes to shit. Again. Like with King Il.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good…

No, he is not a fool. Though I agree, that he is blind. He is Yona´s significant other, so of course, he tends to be loyal, and nice and full of illusions. Yona had to literally break herself away from illusions...because she loves cushy dreams more than reality.

Yes, it always seems to be someone else's job.

That is precisely my point: Yona still has to learn how to apply what she knows to practical situations.

This is Soo-won’s home turf, but Yona is still a baby chicken. She most likely has less knowledge than an ordinary sixteen-year-old because of the education King Il denied her.

It is true that she lacks knowledge and education. However, there is at least one lesson she should already understand through direct experience: life inside the castle gives her a much poorer view of the country than life outside it.

She spent her childhood isolated inside the castle and then travelled through Kouka, however involuntarily at first. She should not need two months as queen before receiving this realization like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.

You are right, she could have refused, but she could not bring herself to refuse Soo-won, who had nearly died. And he had promised to help her. The mistake lies more with him than with her in that case.

I do not see it that way. That interpretation removes Yona’s agency precisely when responsibility is being discussed, only to restore it when she is presented as a legitimate and admirable sovereign.

Soo-won may certainly have been wrong to offer her the crown without arranging a sufficient transition. But Yona accepted it. She knew that he was gravely injured, that she would depend heavily on his assistance, and that she lacked the necessary education and experience.

Her inability to bring herself to refuse him explains her decision emotionally. It does not erase the fact that she made that decision.

And if Soo-won had just emerged from the mausoleum gravely wounded and perhaps unable to continue ruling, it seems rather unfair to place the full responsibility for choosing an unprepared successor on him as well. Apparently, even while abdicating after nearly dying, he was expected to arrange everything perfectly.

I think the fairest conclusion is that Soo-won made a mistake by offering her the crown without an adequate transition, and Yona made a mistake by accepting it while unprepared.

She contributed like everybody else, but she has always been praised for everybody’s collective efforts, as though she were the sole source.

I have nothing to dispute here. I completely agree.

Yona contributes, but the narrative repeatedly turns collective work into an extension of Yona. Other people provide strength, information, strategy, sacrifice, experience and administration. Afterwards, someone explains that everything happened because Yona inspires people, works harder than anyone else or will create a better world.

Not a coincidence at all. In order to become a bird, in order to acquire broad knowledge and wisdom, one sometimes has to go through hell. That is why those two are birds.

That may be symbolically true, but it does not answer the question of narrative injustice.

Suffering may produce wisdom. It does not require Soo-won and Zeno to receive the harshest endings, nor does it justify other characters benefiting from their wisdom while they themselves are left dispossessed.

Saying that they passed through hell in order to become birds is beautiful. It is also very convenient for those who inherit the nest, the kingdom and the applause.

Soo-won and Zeno both possess different but important kinds of wisdom. They have acquired a broader perspective than everyone else. Without that wisdom, everything goes wrong again, as it did under King Il.

Then Soo-won and Zeno remain indispensable, while the person who has been crowned does not yet possess what is required to prevent the same disaster from recurring.

No, he is not a fool.

That is fair. Calling him a fool was unnecessarily harsh, and I apologize for that wording.

He is Yona’s significant other, so of course he tends to be loyal, kind and full of illusions. Yona had to break away from illusions because she loves comfortable dreams more than reality.

Being someone’s partner does not require surrendering critical judgment. A partner can, and sometimes should, introduce friction when the other person is failing.

Loyalty does not require transforming governmental deficiencies into advance proof of greatness.

“Hak loves Yona, and therefore he cannot see reality clearly where she is concerned” may explain his behaviour. It does not make that behaviour healthy, admirable or romantic.

And if Hak knows that Yona prefers comfortable dreams to reality, his role should not be to wrap every new problem in another comfortable dream. Yet there he is, working overtime for the national department of illusion.

Soo-won understood that sometimes you need more people rather than boxes. He was as close to a perfect king as possible, but people want to help Yona. Even the most perfect ruler cannot defeat the will of the many.

A monarch does not need to be the most intelligent person in the room or perform every task alone. A good ruler must gather capable people, listen to them, coordinate their work and take responsibility for the outcome.

The problem is that the manga does not show Yona doing this particularly well. It shows other people solving problems while she receives their loyalty.

The fact that people want to help her is not automatically evidence of political competence. To turn that collective willingness into proof of good government, the story would need to show Yona distributing responsibilities, weighing competing advice, correcting mistakes, protecting the autonomy of those who assist her and accepting responsibility when the system fails.

Without that, we do not have collective leadership. We have collective labour attributed to a charismatic central figure.

Yona succeeding because people choose to help her could have been a compelling idea if the manga had said: “Yona is not the most capable person, but she learns to govern by listening to people who are better prepared than she is.”

But that is not what Hak proclaims. He says: “The day will come when you understand how fortunate we are to be Princess Yona’s people.”

There is also another problem. Much of Yona’s extraordinary authority during her journey came from travelling with the dragon warriors and from being identified with the Crimson Dragon. Those things gave her immense symbolic power, military power and an almost supernatural ability to draw people towards her.

Now the dragons are gone, and Yona is no longer being presented as the Crimson Dragon. What remains is a very young, poorly educated and inexperienced ruler. That does not mean she is doomed to fail. It means the manga must now demonstrate, rather than merely proclaim, what makes her capable of ruling without the divine authority and power that carried so much of her journey.

Indeed. But in the moment she is still pretty unexperienced. At the moment she needs pretty much help.

It is true that she lacks knowledge and education. However, there is at least one lesson she should already understand through direct experience: life inside the castle gives her a much poorer view of the country than life outside it.

As a queen she is more bound and cannot just walk out like she used to. Especially since everybody knows she is the queen. I guess she might color her hair, if she - sometimes - goes out.

Nevertheless she has now to care for a whole country, therefore she has to stay for a certain time at the castle. Especially now, as she is still soaking up knowledge.

She spent her childhood isolated inside the castle and then travelled through Kouka, however involuntarily at first. She should not need two months as queen before receiving this realization like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.

Why not? She is completely inexperienced as a ruler for a great country. She is 16 years old and is right now cramming her head with all the abstract knowledge she can get. Making mistakes is a given in that situation.

I do not see it that way. That interpretation removes Yona’s agency precisely when responsibility is being discussed, only to restore it when she is presented as a legitimate and admirable sovereign.

But Yona did not know, what it meant to be ruler. Soo Won had experienced it already. So he is in a better position to consider the given situation than Yona.

Yes, she has agency. She tries it with full force. He should still have considered, how young she still is. However, truth be told. Soo Won is himself also only 18 years old. We are speaking about very young adults to teenagers.

The former generation massively fucked up, so that merely half-children are left.

Actually, as an adult I am a little shocked how much responsibility this young teenagers to young adults have.

Soo-won may certainly have been wrong to offer her the crown without arranging a sufficient transition. But Yona accepted it. She knew that he was gravely injured, that she would depend heavily on his assistance, and that she lacked the necessary education and experience. Her inability to bring herself to refuse him explains her decision emotionally. It does not erase the fact that she made that decision.

You are right. It was naive of her to make this decision. But unfortunately Yona is naive. The greatest pain she experienced was losing her father and even then there was Hak, shielding her. Later she acquired a small army in the form of the dragon warriors. She could jump into a rain of arrows and she was fine.

So nothing ever happened to her. Zeno and Soo Won felt the consequences of their decisions. But well, sometimes Yona has to experience pain to get it.

That may be symbolically true, but it does not answer the question of narrative injustice.

I guess, it is a given that Yona was pampered while Soo Won and Zeno had to go through hell. Life is sometimes unfair. But these experiences, this pain also taught them important lessons.

Right now, Yona is slightly hurting, too. Without a little pain and learnt experience, you won´t acquire "wings".

Suffering may produce wisdom. It does not require Soo-won and Zeno to receive the harshest endings, nor does it justify other characters benefiting from their wisdom while they themselves are left dispossessed.

Yes, I fully agree. It is so unfair that Zeno and Soo Won had to suffer so greatly...that they had to go through hell. It is an injustice. But unfortunately they were part of horrifying systems that were prone to "produce" such sacrifices.

That these sacrifices were unnecessary might be one moral of this story.

Saying that they passed through hell in order to become birds is beautiful. It is also very convenient for those who inherit the nest, the kingdom and the applause.

Soo Won and Zeno - unfortunately - held some believes that turnt out horrifying for especially them. Only through some pain they could let go of these believes...but that is one reason they are currently "floating"...

For both core convictions crumbled in the last arc.

Being someone’s partner does not require surrendering critical judgment. A partner can, and sometimes should, introduce friction when the other person is failing.

Actually I tried to express that Hak resembles Yona in that point. They are very kind, but are dreamers and tend to see the world how they wish to see it. Unfortunately.

Loyalty does not require transforming governmental deficiencies into advance proof of greatness. “Hak loves Yona, and therefore he cannot see reality clearly where she is concerned” may explain his behaviour. It does not make that behaviour healthy, admirable or romantic.

I agree. Some people wouldn´t. And the behaviour is not healthy or admirable. But Hak is like this. He is not just loyal, he is absolutely loyal and unfortunately prone to fall for illusions. In a way he has changed "Soo Won the king" for"Yona the queen".

But an illusion it still is.

And if Hak knows that Yona prefers comfortable dreams to reality, his role should not be to wrap every new problem in another comfortable dream. Yet there he is, working overtime for the national department of illusion.

Great! Your insight is great. Indeed. I came to the same conclusion, that Hak easily falls into these traps, if he is left alone.

However, Hak confuses the dreams for reality himself. Therefore he is -blissfully- unaware of the statue of things.

A monarch does not need to be the most intelligent person in the room or perform every task alone. A good ruler must gather capable people, listen to them, coordinate their work and take responsibility for the outcome.

Indeed. Soo Won came to the same conclusion. However Yona is not - yet- able to perform this task. Therefore Keishuk and Soo Won take much of her responsibility.

The problem is that the manga does not show Yona doing this particularly well. It shows other people solving problems while she receives their loyalty.

Like in an illusion of grandeur, right? Indeed, this is a problem and I guess it might be solved. However, she might never be the great leader people wish her to be. But she might get people to help her on her way.

Like we both concluded. Yona has never solved a problem on her own. And she won´t be able to do it in the future. Without all the people she knows, she would not be able to do anything.

Soo Won is already trying to change the given system in order to take in more responsible people. As the monarch helds too much power in his eyes, now.

I have an inkling that the development goes in the direction of a democracy.

The fact that people want to help her is not automatically evidence of political competence. To turn that collective willingness into proof of good government, the story would need to show Yona distributing responsibilities, weighing competing advice, correcting mistakes, protecting the autonomy of those who assist her and accepting responsibility when the system fails.

She still has a long way to go...

Without that, we do not have collective leadership. We have collective labour attributed to a charismatic central figure.

Indeed. This is the trap the people are right now prone to falling. She is considered the reincarnation of the dragon god, after all. Her fame attributes too much of the success to her. Even though, strictly, speaking Yona is right now merely a charismatic figure, but not the central power. She needs to develop this.

And Soo Won has to really develop a backbone again, because he sometimes needs to go against her, challenge her again. Yona is not a really driven person.

Yona succeeding because people choose to help her could have been a compelling idea if the manga had said: “Yona is not the most capable person, but she learns to govern by listening to people who are better prepared than she is.” But that is not what Hak proclaims. He says: “The day will come when you understand how fortunate we are to be Princess Yona’s people.”

Yes! Yes! Yes! Completely delusional...Kusanagi himself mentioned something similar in an interview...even if the expression was not that strong.

There is also another problem. Much of Yona’s extraordinary authority during her journey came from travelling with the dragon warriors and from being identified with the Crimson Dragon. Those things gave her immense symbolic power, military power and an almost supernatural ability to draw people towards her.

Indeed. Indeed. This is a point. People would not attribute power to her, if she was not the reincarnation.

Determination and effort matter. They are not substitutes for knowledge, judgment, accountability and effective government.

Soo-won did not truly know what ruling a country meant until he actually became king either. The crucial difference was preparation: Soo-won possessed the necessary knowledge and could organize and make decisions. Yona does not yet possess that knowledge or demonstrate the same ability to organize. Other people perform much of that work, while the narrative often transfers the resulting credit to her.

Yes, she has agency. She tries with all her strength. He should still have considered how young she is. However, Soo-won himself is only eighteen. We are speaking about teenagers and very young adults.

Trying with all one’s strength is an exercise of agency, but it is not proof of competence, preparation or sound judgment.

Yona had the agency to accept the crown. That means she must also bear responsibility for accepting a position she was not prepared to hold. Effort does not make the decision wise, nor does it automatically make her capable of fulfilling the role.

And why must her youth excuse her whenever responsibility is discussed, while at other times the narrative presents her as the kingdom’s greatest warrior, future saviour and natural sovereign? That double standard is precisely what bothers me.

The former generation massively failed, leaving little more than children behind.

Yes. What a magnificent collection of responsible adults they were.

As an adult, I am rather shocked by how much responsibility these teenagers and young adults carry.

I agree that eighteen is extremely young for this degree of responsibility, at least from my own cultural perspective. Other societies and historical periods have drawn adulthood much earlier, so I would not treat our present standards as universal.

What bothers me is not simply their age. It is that age is used as an excuse selectively: Yona is a child when her errors require accountability, but an extraordinary leader when the story wants admiration for her.

It was naive of her to make this decision. Unfortunately, Yona is naive. The greatest pain she experienced was losing her father, and even then Hak protected her. Later, she acquired a small army in the dragon warriors. She could jump into a rain of arrows and remain unharmed.

The famous rain of arrows. Please do not remind me.

But yes, I see Yona’s naivety as a serious argument against her suitability to rule, not as a mitigating virtue. An ingenuous sovereign is extremely vulnerable. Either she learns quickly, or other people will manipulate her and the country will pay the price.

That these sacrifices were unnecessary might be one moral of the story.

I am honestly unable to derive that interpretation from the text. I do not mean that dismissively; it simply had never occurred to me. I would have to think about it.

Soo-won and Zeno held beliefs that proved horrifying, especially for them. Only through pain could they relinquish those beliefs, and that is one reason they are currently “floating.” Both of their central convictions collapsed in the final arc.

Soo-won and Zeno may be “floating,” but to me they appear to be floating in a sea of depression.

Their former convictions may have collapsed, and that can certainly form part of a meaningful character transformation. I still do not find their outcomes beautiful, fair or emotionally adequate. Losing a destructive conviction does not require being left emptied of purpose, identity and reward while others inherit the fruits of your suffering.

I was trying to express that Hak resembles Yona in this respect. They are kind, but they are dreamers and tend to see the world as they wish it to be.

Unfortunately, yes. They reinforce one another’s preferred reality and remain inside the same comfortable bubble. I do not regard that as a promising path for either a relationship or a government.

Hak is not merely loyal; he is absolutely loyal and inclined to fall for illusions. In a way, he has replaced “Soo-won the king” with “Yona the queen.” But it remains an illusion.

I agree. My problem is that the manga appears to present this as something beautiful.

Hak mistakes dreams for reality himself. Therefore, he is blissfully unaware of the state of things.

What a marvellous condition: moving through life without noticing what is happening around you.

I find it deeply sad rather than blissful. Hak’s loyalty has ceased to coexist with judgment and has begun to replace it.

Soo-won came to the same conclusion. However, Yona is not yet able to perform this task. Therefore, Kye-sook and Soo-won assume much of her responsibility.

The main story has ended, and only one gaiden chapter remains. At this point, I think it is fair to remove the word “yet.”

Yona is not currently capable of performing that role. What she might become later will depend entirely on each reader’s imagination, because the manga has almost run out of pages in which to show it.

This is a problem, and I suppose it might be solved. She may never become the great leader people expect her to be, but she may persuade people to help her along the way.

Or she may not. We cannot know unless the final gaiden chapter contains another two hundred pages and resolves everything still pending.

As the text currently stands, Yona lacks the education, demonstrated judgment and political character required to govern effectively without extensive support. Perhaps she will acquire them in two years. Perhaps she will not. Either answer now belongs to the reader, not to the completed narrative.

The manga can only be assessed by what it has actually shown.

She still has a long way to go.

She needs to develop this.

Yes. The small problem is that the story is over.

Soo-won really needs to develop a backbone again, because he sometimes needs to oppose and challenge her. Yona is not a particularly driven person.

What Soo-won should do is retire somewhere far from the palace and live whatever life he chooses. He could read, since he enjoys it, and plant potatoes if the mood takes him.

I do not see why his future must remain dedicated to guiding, challenging and educating Yona when the entire universe already seems organized around supporting her.

He has already surrendered his health, youth, reign and future to Kouka. He should not now be assigned the additional lifelong task of supplying its new queen with judgment and resolve.

Yona will probably learn this, more or less, if she is not prevented from doing so. So yes, Soo-won has a great deal of work ahead of him.

And we return to the same conclusion: the solution to Yona’s problems remains in Soo-won’s hands.

Yona may receive the crown, loyalty and public faith, but Soo-won must still provide knowledge, reform the system, challenge her illusions and help her become capable of governing.

Placed side by side, these images become even more ridiculous.

Hak: “The day will come when you will understand the joy of being subjects of Princess Yona.”

Later: “To get here, we suffered bandit attacks, cracks in the ground, and rockslides. In any case, it took us a very long time. We thought we had sent enough supplies and personnel, but it wasn't enough. Meanwhile, in the remote regions, many people were looking for work and supplies, and discontent continued to mount. There has to be more… Some way to resolve this.”

Later, Yona: “When we traveled, I understood better how people lived.”

Excuse me, but Hak praises Yona based on what? On the newly discovered epiphany that reality exists outside the palace?

She comes from the following journey: Childhood in the palace: lives isolated and is unaware of the kingdom. Journey through Kouka: supposedly discovers hunger, corruption, slavery, abuse, and inequality. Return to the palace: in two months, she loses touch with everything again. Solemn reflection: she discovers that, from the palace, she doesn't see people's lives so clearly.

That's not political growth. It's going all the way around only to return to the starting point, only now wearing a ceremonial cape and with her hands clasped.

And what's lacking isn't abstract intelligence. It's applied learning. After having lived abroad, she should return knowing precisely that the palace distorts information. The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

But it seems that didn't occur to her until they had already miscalculated the supplies and discontent was growing. Fantastic administrative debut.

And the expressions make it worse, because the drawing shows no shame at having lost touch, no frustration at the system's failure, no sense of responsibility, and no fear of repeating the blindness of his childhood. She displays a kind of delicate contemplation, as if she had grasped a profound truth: “Outside the palace, you see things you can’t see from inside.”

Yes, Yona. You also notice the rain more when there’s no roof. Record that in the annals of the kingdom.

And Hak remembers it with that gentle, approving smile, without questioning a thing. He, who is traveling the roads, observing the needs and doing the fieldwork the government doesn’t know how to organize, decides that the moment demands admiration. Not analysis.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other.

He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.”

She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.”

No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies.

Au contraire, Yona needs also "abstract intelligence" as she does not need to invent the wheel again. There have been countless other rulers before her and their experience might also come in handy.

Right now, she is merely able to rule, because Soo Won and Keishuk took the MOST of her tasks from her.

Yona merely has to do 2000 of 10.000.

She needs to know everything from economy over law to political tactics, warfare, foreign affairs ect...Yona knows merely the basics and needs to learn much.

But yes, she does need information for a direct source...and this is, what Hak is already doing. He does collect information and will bring this information to Yona and co.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

Yona is right now struggling to rule at all. Currently she is not able to manage this job at all alone. This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

And Soo Won has already removed much of the corrupt officials to begin with, as we have seen with Kum Ji. Originally he had tried to get intel about this man, when he met Yona in Awa.

In fact, Soo Won is already trying to figure out, how to change the current system. Yona does not have to do everything alone. Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other. He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.” She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.” No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

Correct observation. It is indeed fate. Hak´s strength is his loyalty to people he loves. He isn´t critical of Yona and most likely never will. It is not in his nature.

I hope, that Zeno, who is at least talking with people, even if he suffers from severe depression it seems, might influence the story. Lily, who is visiting Ogi, the literal information broker, might be another source. It might lead to Soo Won visiting Ogi again, as he does need this kind of information.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies. Jesús, qué tropa.

Of course she has abstract intelligence. The wheel has already been invented, and besides, she's used it, but it seems she's only now becoming aware of its existence. What I mean is that she lacks the ability to apply that abstract intelligence.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

Poor thing. I'll say it again: she didn't have to accept the crown.

Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

Indeed, she's never done anything alone throughout her journey.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good...

This is Soo Won´s task. And the one of others. It seems as if Ogi, Lily, Zeno and Soo Won might play a little role as well.

Yes, but Yona has to learn how to "apply abstract intelligence". This is an ability. We learn how to "abstract" slowly in school.

This is Soo Won´s home turf, but Yona is still a baby chicken. She has most likely less knowledge than a common 16 year old due to her "lacking" education by King Il.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

You are right, she could have refused, but she could not bring herself to refuse Soo Won, who had nearly died. And he had promised to help her. The mistake lies more with him than her in that case. But Soo Won most likely couldn´t anymore after the events in the mausoleum.

She contributed like everybody else, but she has always been hailed for everybody´s common efforts. As if she was the sole source. But Yona has never been the sole source.

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Not a coincidence at all. In order to become a bird, in order to acquire a wide and great knowledge. In order to acquire wisdom, you have to sometimes go through hell. That is why those two are birds.

Soo Won and Zeno both hold contrary, but important wisdom. They acquired a wider point of view as everybody else. Without this wisdom everything goes to shit. Again. Like with King Il.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good…

No, he is not a fool. Though I agree, that he is blind. He is Yona´s significant other, so of course, he tends to be loyal, and nice and full of illusions. Yona had to literally break herself away from illusions...because she loves cushy dreams more than reality.

Yes, it always seems to be someone else's job.

That is precisely my point: Yona still has to learn how to apply what she knows to practical situations.

This is Soo-won’s home turf, but Yona is still a baby chicken. She most likely has less knowledge than an ordinary sixteen-year-old because of the education King Il denied her.

It is true that she lacks knowledge and education. However, there is at least one lesson she should already understand through direct experience: life inside the castle gives her a much poorer view of the country than life outside it.

She spent her childhood isolated inside the castle and then travelled through Kouka, however involuntarily at first. She should not need two months as queen before receiving this realization like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.

You are right, she could have refused, but she could not bring herself to refuse Soo-won, who had nearly died. And he had promised to help her. The mistake lies more with him than with her in that case.

I do not see it that way. That interpretation removes Yona’s agency precisely when responsibility is being discussed, only to restore it when she is presented as a legitimate and admirable sovereign.

Soo-won may certainly have been wrong to offer her the crown without arranging a sufficient transition. But Yona accepted it. She knew that he was gravely injured, that she would depend heavily on his assistance, and that she lacked the necessary education and experience.

Her inability to bring herself to refuse him explains her decision emotionally. It does not erase the fact that she made that decision.

And if Soo-won had just emerged from the mausoleum gravely wounded and perhaps unable to continue ruling, it seems rather unfair to place the full responsibility for choosing an unprepared successor on him as well. Apparently, even while abdicating after nearly dying, he was expected to arrange everything perfectly.

I think the fairest conclusion is that Soo-won made a mistake by offering her the crown without an adequate transition, and Yona made a mistake by accepting it while unprepared.

She contributed like everybody else, but she has always been praised for everybody’s collective efforts, as though she were the sole source.

I have nothing to dispute here. I completely agree.

Yona contributes, but the narrative repeatedly turns collective work into an extension of Yona. Other people provide strength, information, strategy, sacrifice, experience and administration. Afterwards, someone explains that everything happened because Yona inspires people, works harder than anyone else or will create a better world.

Not a coincidence at all. In order to become a bird, in order to acquire broad knowledge and wisdom, one sometimes has to go through hell. That is why those two are birds.

That may be symbolically true, but it does not answer the question of narrative injustice.

Suffering may produce wisdom. It does not require Soo-won and Zeno to receive the harshest endings, nor does it justify other characters benefiting from their wisdom while they themselves are left dispossessed.

Saying that they passed through hell in order to become birds is beautiful. It is also very convenient for those who inherit the nest, the kingdom and the applause.

Soo-won and Zeno both possess different but important kinds of wisdom. They have acquired a broader perspective than everyone else. Without that wisdom, everything goes wrong again, as it did under King Il.

Then Soo-won and Zeno remain indispensable, while the person who has been crowned does not yet possess what is required to prevent the same disaster from recurring.

No, he is not a fool.

That is fair. Calling him a fool was unnecessarily harsh, and I apologize for that wording.

He is Yona’s significant other, so of course he tends to be loyal, kind and full of illusions. Yona had to break away from illusions because she loves comfortable dreams more than reality.

Being someone’s partner does not require surrendering critical judgment. A partner can, and sometimes should, introduce friction when the other person is failing.

Loyalty does not require transforming governmental deficiencies into advance proof of greatness.

“Hak loves Yona, and therefore he cannot see reality clearly where she is concerned” may explain his behaviour. It does not make that behaviour healthy, admirable or romantic.

And if Hak knows that Yona prefers comfortable dreams to reality, his role should not be to wrap every new problem in another comfortable dream. Yet there he is, working overtime for the national department of illusion.

Soo-won understood that sometimes you need more people rather than boxes. He was as close to a perfect king as possible, but people want to help Yona. Even the most perfect ruler cannot defeat the will of the many.

A monarch does not need to be the most intelligent person in the room or perform every task alone. A good ruler must gather capable people, listen to them, coordinate their work and take responsibility for the outcome.

The problem is that the manga does not show Yona doing this particularly well. It shows other people solving problems while she receives their loyalty.

The fact that people want to help her is not automatically evidence of political competence. To turn that collective willingness into proof of good government, the story would need to show Yona distributing responsibilities, weighing competing advice, correcting mistakes, protecting the autonomy of those who assist her and accepting responsibility when the system fails.

Without that, we do not have collective leadership. We have collective labour attributed to a charismatic central figure.

Yona succeeding because people choose to help her could have been a compelling idea if the manga had said: “Yona is not the most capable person, but she learns to govern by listening to people who are better prepared than she is.”

But that is not what Hak proclaims. He says: “The day will come when you understand how fortunate we are to be Princess Yona’s people.”

There is also another problem. Much of Yona’s extraordinary authority during her journey came from travelling with the dragon warriors and from being identified with the Crimson Dragon. Those things gave her immense symbolic power, military power and an almost supernatural ability to draw people towards her.

Now the dragons are gone, and Yona is no longer being presented as the Crimson Dragon. What remains is a very young, poorly educated and inexperienced ruler. That does not mean she is doomed to fail. It means the manga must now demonstrate, rather than merely proclaim, what makes her capable of ruling without the divine authority and power that carried so much of her journey.

Placed side by side, these images become even more ridiculous.

Hak: “The day will come when you will understand the joy of being subjects of Princess Yona.”

Later: “To get here, we suffered bandit attacks, cracks in the ground, and rockslides. In any case, it took us a very long time. We thought we had sent enough supplies and personnel, but it wasn't enough. Meanwhile, in the remote regions, many people were looking for work and supplies, and discontent continued to mount. There has to be more… Some way to resolve this.”

Later, Yona: “When we traveled, I understood better how people lived.”

Excuse me, but Hak praises Yona based on what? On the newly discovered epiphany that reality exists outside the palace?

She comes from the following journey: Childhood in the palace: lives isolated and is unaware of the kingdom. Journey through Kouka: supposedly discovers hunger, corruption, slavery, abuse, and inequality. Return to the palace: in two months, she loses touch with everything again. Solemn reflection: she discovers that, from the palace, she doesn't see people's lives so clearly.

That's not political growth. It's going all the way around only to return to the starting point, only now wearing a ceremonial cape and with her hands clasped.

And what's lacking isn't abstract intelligence. It's applied learning. After having lived abroad, she should return knowing precisely that the palace distorts information. The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

But it seems that didn't occur to her until they had already miscalculated the supplies and discontent was growing. Fantastic administrative debut.

And the expressions make it worse, because the drawing shows no shame at having lost touch, no frustration at the system's failure, no sense of responsibility, and no fear of repeating the blindness of his childhood. She displays a kind of delicate contemplation, as if she had grasped a profound truth: “Outside the palace, you see things you can’t see from inside.”

Yes, Yona. You also notice the rain more when there’s no roof. Record that in the annals of the kingdom.

And Hak remembers it with that gentle, approving smile, without questioning a thing. He, who is traveling the roads, observing the needs and doing the fieldwork the government doesn’t know how to organize, decides that the moment demands admiration. Not analysis.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other.

He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.”

She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.”

No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies.

Normally, it is not a king's job to act as a roaming inspector or vigilante, same for their personal bodyguard, but Kusanagi keeps reusing the same template, and to me, the reason is a mix between Kusanagi's ignorance of certain aspects of governance (in this case, the importance of local officials and information networks) as well as her deliberate choice of downplaying these aspects to create a more compelling storytelling. Because be fair, it IS compelling to watch Soowon travel through the kingdom and investigate its problems personally. Fans see it as evidence of his sense of duty and commitment to his people. The same applies to Yona. She might not be making these journeys herself anymore, but sending out her personal bodyguard (who also happens to be the man she loves) is proof of her earnestness and a way to maintain that direct connection between the throne and the common people. It is also proof of Hak's personal investment in his country's well-being. If this man revolved solely around Yona, instead of spending two months away from her, he would've prioritized his job as her personal bodyguard and entrusted this mission to someone else. Instead, he is racing to Awa to secure supplies of Senjutsu for the remote towns that suffer from medicine shortage, which also affects the health of his sick little brother.

Soo-won also traveled, but his narrative showed him gathering information, interpreting it, and acting upon it. Here, Hak observes and proposes; Yona worries and receives admiration.

She might not be making these journeys herself anymore, but sending out her personal bodyguard, who also happens to be the man she loves, is proof of her earnestness and a way to maintain that direct connection between the throne and the common people.

Sending Hak may demonstrate that Yona is concerned. It does not demonstrate that she has learned how to govern effectively.

She could have recognized this problem two months earlier. Yona had already lived outside the palace. She should have learned that power filters information. Instead, she returns to the palace and, after two months, solemnly rediscovers the same fact. Only then does she respond by sending her personal bodyguard to gather information, rather than establishing a reliable system that does not depend on one man walking across the kingdom.

Hak’s absence from Yona does not prove independence from her. He did not choose this mission instead of remaining her bodyguard; Yona sent him, and he obeyed. Physical distance is not narrative autonomy when the journey itself is an extension of her orders.

He may care about the people he meets and think seriously about the problems he finds, but that is different from initiating the journey for Kouka on his own. His observations and ideas belong to Hak; the decision that sent him there belongs to Yona.

The dimensions of Kouka kingdom remain unclear. It looks big on the map, but seeing how characters move quickly between cities without needing transportation, it might not be as large as we think.

Placed side by side, these images become even more ridiculous.

Hak: “The day will come when you will understand the joy of being subjects of Princess Yona.”

Later: “To get here, we suffered bandit attacks, cracks in the ground, and rockslides. In any case, it took us a very long time. We thought we had sent enough supplies and personnel, but it wasn't enough. Meanwhile, in the remote regions, many people were looking for work and supplies, and discontent continued to mount. There has to be more… Some way to resolve this.”

Later, Yona: “When we traveled, I understood better how people lived.”

Excuse me, but Hak praises Yona based on what? On the newly discovered epiphany that reality exists outside the palace?

She comes from the following journey: Childhood in the palace: lives isolated and is unaware of the kingdom. Journey through Kouka: supposedly discovers hunger, corruption, slavery, abuse, and inequality. Return to the palace: in two months, she loses touch with everything again. Solemn reflection: she discovers that, from the palace, she doesn't see people's lives so clearly.

That's not political growth. It's going all the way around only to return to the starting point, only now wearing a ceremonial cape and with her hands clasped.

And what's lacking isn't abstract intelligence. It's applied learning. After having lived abroad, she should return knowing precisely that the palace distorts information. The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

But it seems that didn't occur to her until they had already miscalculated the supplies and discontent was growing. Fantastic administrative debut.

And the expressions make it worse, because the drawing shows no shame at having lost touch, no frustration at the system's failure, no sense of responsibility, and no fear of repeating the blindness of his childhood. She displays a kind of delicate contemplation, as if she had grasped a profound truth: “Outside the palace, you see things you can’t see from inside.”

Yes, Yona. You also notice the rain more when there’s no roof. Record that in the annals of the kingdom.

And Hak remembers it with that gentle, approving smile, without questioning a thing. He, who is traveling the roads, observing the needs and doing the fieldwork the government doesn’t know how to organize, decides that the moment demands admiration. Not analysis.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other.

He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.”

She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.”

No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies.

Au contraire, Yona needs also "abstract intelligence" as she does not need to invent the wheel again. There have been countless other rulers before her and their experience might also come in handy.

Right now, she is merely able to rule, because Soo Won and Keishuk took the MOST of her tasks from her.

Yona merely has to do 2000 of 10.000.

She needs to know everything from economy over law to political tactics, warfare, foreign affairs ect...Yona knows merely the basics and needs to learn much.

But yes, she does need information for a direct source...and this is, what Hak is already doing. He does collect information and will bring this information to Yona and co.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

The logical thing would have been for her to organize from day one: liaisons with each tribe; independent local officials; verified reports; regular tours; channels for receiving complaints; unannounced inspections; people whose job wasn't to tell her she was trying incredibly hard.

Yona is right now struggling to rule at all. Currently she is not able to manage this job at all alone. This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

And Soo Won has already removed much of the corrupt officials to begin with, as we have seen with Kum Ji. Originally he had tried to get intel about this man, when he met Yona in Awa.

In fact, Soo Won is already trying to figure out, how to change the current system. Yona does not have to do everything alone. Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

The two feed off each other, and that is perhaps the most irritating aspect. Hak promises the people that they will be happy under Yona. Yona accepts that faith as something natural. Yona states the obvious with solemnity. Hak receives it as proof of wisdom. Neither introduces friction into the other. He doesn’t say to her: “Then the system you have isn’t working.” She doesn’t say to him: “You can’t travel the entire kingdom alone doing my job.” No. She thinks. He smiles. Then he sets off on a walk of another 500 kilometers without a horse.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

And the propaganda slogan comes across even worse: “The day will come when you will understand how fortunate we are…” This demands enormous confidence in Yona’s abilities. But the gaiden itself is showing that she is unaware of the magnitude of the needs, has sent insufficient resources, lacks reliable information, discontent is growing, and depends on Hak to find out what’s happening.

Correct observation. It is indeed fate. Hak´s strength is his loyalty to people he loves. He isn´t critical of Yona and most likely never will. It is not in his nature.

I hope, that Zeno, who is at least talking with people, even if he suffers from severe depression it seems, might influence the story. Lily, who is visiting Ogi, the literal information broker, might be another source. It might lead to Soo Won visiting Ogi again, as he does need this kind of information.

And is Hak already proclaiming future national happiness as dogma? This isn’t reasoned confidence. It’s faith. And that’s why he seems brainwashed: the reality he himself observes doesn’t alter his preconceived notion. Yona will be a magnificent queen because she is Yona. The facts will be incorporated later, when they have some free time.

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

A ruler who rediscovers the existence of the people every two months, and a bodyguard who turns every governmental deficiency into early proof of greatness. The kingdom is in magnificent hands. They just need a network for information, transportation, administration, self-criticism, and maybe a shared brain for emergencies. Jesús, qué tropa.

Of course she has abstract intelligence. The wheel has already been invented, and besides, she's used it, but it seems she's only now becoming aware of its existence. What I mean is that she lacks the ability to apply that abstract intelligence.

It is impossible for her to do everything alone, but other people are there, who will help her. Without their help it would be impossible for her to rule.

Yona could have refused to ascend the throne until she felt ready, and she didn't. Girl, take responsibility for your actions. We're back to the same old story: she gets into trouble that others get her out of. But the credit is always hers, because she's the one who puts in so much effort. The others just sit back and watch time go by, it seems.

This girl is still learning. It has been 2 months since she has taken on the hardest job of all: Being a good Queen Regnant.

Poor thing. I'll say it again: she didn't have to accept the crown.

Actually, she has never managed everything alone during her whole journey.

Indeed, she's never done anything alone throughout her journey.

Neither Hak nor Yona would have left the castle entirely on their own. The driving factor for change have always been Soo Won (and Zeno).

I completely agree. And it's precisely Soo Won and Zeno who have the worst endings. It must be a coincidence, right?

Hak was a person, who trusted King Il. He is great at believing, but does not wish to see the truth. He is the kind of guy, who thought that a marriage between Yona and Soo Won would have worked even after him and Yona have become a couple.

Hak is willfully blind and a delusional fool. And many other things, none of them particularly good...

This is Soo Won´s task. And the one of others. It seems as if Ogi, Lily, Zeno and Soo Won might play a little role as well.

After the courtain kiss. But I don't see a happy look on her face, to be honest.

The Hak x Yona wedding feels like the most likely send off we're getting... love triangle between Su-Won/Kurif/Lili is impossible lmao.

The political side of the story is the real tragedy. It fell apart a long time ago and never recovered... the author gave up.

So much buildup for basically nothing. North Kai, an entire big bad empire built as a looming threat, never existed. Magical lake never existed. All epic geopolitical tension gone.

Prophecy never explained. Yona damning the dragon warriors over generations never explained. Yona standing at the cliff with her sword... no pay off for that. No information about Kashi. Iksu never appeared. Titia never returned. Hak's origins never explored. Hairpin making a last minute cameo (if we're lucky).

But it’s also true they were about…nothing really? We got two new characters, a good deal of Meinyan’s pointless yapping, saw Yona run around the castle and get beaten up, saw Soo-won drink honey, Lili appeared, Hak travelled a bit. But for Christ’s sake three chapters and they didn’t tell us anything clear or resolve any of the plot holes when there are so many! We have not “moved” anywhere in the story.

I enjoyed the Gaiden chapters too, mainly because the pacing was slow enough that it felt like the series had never ended. If there were 1-2 more major arcs like there should have been, the gaiden's pacing was fine.

But we're only getting 4 chapters for the Gaiden. FOUR. The absolute last thing I care about are Kija-Hak banter or Su-Won drinking Sin-ha's honey fluff. That's filler energy. I needed actual story progression.

Politics. Drama. Battles. Mystery. Timeskips. Real romantic payoff.

Imagine instead: Yona at the Kai summit. North Kai being what it should have been. The lake being relevant. Su-Won shaken because Nene looks just like Kashi. Lili and Su-Won falling in love. Show the hairpin mattering again and appearing at a dramatic moment. Hak screaming at Su-Won for giving Yona the hairpin, and Su-Won finally breaking. Hak and Yona's marriage and having children. Mundok's death. Yona visiting Il's grave. Su-Won explaining the details of his coup to Hak and Yona at last. Etc. etc.

Once again, I do think the dragon god resolution was garbage, and shouldn't have been wrapped up so neatly and early in a bow as it was.

You know, at the pace we’re at I’m starting to doubt Hak and Yona are even getting married lol.

I mean yeah but devastatingly the main story already finished so no gaiden would ever have that. We got Yona dancing towards the sunlight with a crown on her head after not contributing at all to her own battle with the dragon gods (don’t even get me started on the mausoleum arc, it’s the most miserable sh^t I’ve read in my life). That unfortunately was the end of the plot according to the author, so I didn’t expect to have massive political discussions anymore.

I expected character plot holes to be filled in, at least the major ones. I really fail to understand why the author did not make a properly final arc after the mausoleum one. The gaiden shows she didn’t stop imagining stuff, brought in new characters and has ideas, why didn’t she just take the break she needed and write a few more volumes? Beats me.

What beats me even more now is why does she keep bringing in new characters if she can’t make proper endings for existing ones? We have one chapter left and what do we have? Yona and Hak didn’t even get officially engaged, for about 10 chapters now Yona has been spending more time with Soo-won than she does with Hak. Soo-won is being shown a sad, lonely cripple, when is he recovering and becoming a true counselor? What the hell is going on with Lili (why was he waiting for her), and he still didn’t go see Ogi. Where’s the Hak and Soo-won talk? Where is the hairpin??? Is Zeno staying as a pet in the castle or what is he going to do with his new life now? No good old timeskip for us?

Politically speaking, what’s going to happen to South Kai really? Chagol is dead, who’s ruling now? Kouka won the war, is it not benefiting from it in any way?

I think what I described above is the bare minimum we should’ve gotten in the finale, preferably more stuff to make it full.

I guess if even the wedding doesn't happen, even the Hakyona shippers will think this is a bad ending.

"What a waste that the gaiden doesn't tie up all the loose ends."

And then I remember how the arc of the chalice was completed:

-a prophecy its own creators forgot;

-the living sightseeing among the dead;

-Hak dead, a ghost, a transparent wall, and a body housed within a god;

-divine blood used as a resuscitation spray;

-four dragons departing while the Crimson remains missing;

-apologies for having been "rude" after two thousand years of harm;

-Soo-won becoming an ontological punching bag;

and all resolved with love, light, and winged whales.

Then suddenly, Soo-won drinking honey starts to seem like a prudent narrative choice. Let him drink two cups. Let Kija and Hak argue about nonsense. Let Meinyan talk for eight pages about the price of wheat. No one dies, no cosmic rules change retroactively, and no corpse gains premium divine protection. A modest blessing.

Hak is such a sub for Yona and I love this and I need to read/write fics about it cause it's so blatant and it is one of my favourite ship dynamics EVER

But since this manga isn't that deep, they maybe just didn't have time to make or shorten one for Yona, and she took Soo-won's robe instead. It was 4 days though; they definitely didn't have time.

Which is maybe a good thing from the writer too — that she took care of these small details. There was a war, the country was weak, and no one was free to make that.

But for me, in my personal opinion it's a symbol that the position is too big for her.