The slaughter of the Wen Remnants and Wei Wuxian's death is an incredibly good tragedy - It is heart-wrenching, horrific, and is arguably the biggest subversion in the book.
And the reason it works, the essence of what makes it such a good tragedy is that there seem like millions of moments where a single character could have made a different choice and everything could have ended up better but also, at the end of it, nothing could ever really stop this terrible end - it will happen, it is inevitable.
And it comes down to the other characters and the choices they make - the choices they have the power to make. At a million points starting right from the moment Wei Wuxian interrupts the Jin Banquets, asking for Wen Ning, every person in power had the opportunity, ability and moral obligation to do something - to do better. And not one of them takes the chance to.
Jiang Cheng could have chosen to protect the Wens, grant them a place to live and called upon his life-debt as an excuse to the other sects. Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen and any other sect leader could have looked into the matter, investigated beyond the gossip they shared in the golden halls of Koi Tower. Jin Guangshan could have chosen not to instigate the rumors and chase after power at the cost of human lives. They all could have done better, listened better, when they slaughtered two innocents and then swore to slaughter more.
But would they have?
Jiang Cheng, who wielded hatred like a sharpened blade, who was so driven by his raging need to win over Wei Wuxian, who cared little for debts when they did not benefit him? Nie Mingjue, who thought every Wen as reprehensible and criminal as Wen Ruohan himself? Lan Xichen, who was willfully blind and more bothered about holding up the ridiculous charades of politics than about human lives? Jin Guangshan, a man so wretched and power-hungry, that he cared not for his own son's death beyond how it may serve his agenda?
No. They would not have.
Would it have been different if it was Jin Zixuan leading the Jins, not a pinnacle of morality, but a nevertheless good man? If Jiang Yanli, who loved her shidi and offered a fierce corpse soup with her own hands led the Jiangs? If Nie Huaisang, who knew better than to listen to rumors, led the Nie? If Lan Wangji, who loved Wei Wuxian and sought him out. and saw why his love could not leave the path he chose and respected it, led the Lan?
Perhaps. Perhaps.
The tragedy of it all lies in this. It was not an impossible thing to ensure that the horrors would not happen - but the choices to be made to ensure it were in the hands of precisely the people who would never make those choices.
The ancient Greek playwrights used to have a saying, 'Character is Fate'. And this is what they meant.
These characters could have changed what happened. These particular characters would not have.
