Is Hua Jin Xiu Evil In The Twin Flower Legend?

The Twin Flower Legend (长相守) is a costume drama with a few main characters. But different people seem to relate to these characters very differently. Of particular interest is the Hua Jin Xiu character which some viewers deem as evil while others find her pitiful. In fact, they would have loved her to have a happy ending after what she had been through. Her elder twin sister, Hua Mu Jin, is equally controversial. It is indeed rare to have a drama with a few debatable characters such as these where viewers cannot seem to agree if they should fall under the good or bad category.

Hua Jin Xiu – Evil Or Pitiful?

Jin Xiu started off as a happy and innocent young lady. But she was raped and continuously harassed by her mistress’ trusted aide. Jin Xiu tried to ask her twin sister to leave their employer but was turned down. Her mistake was she didn’t tell Mu Jin exactly what happened while Mu Jin was blissfully ignorant of Jin Xiu’s plight. To make matters worse, she fell in love with a man whom she thought was the 3rd master of the Yuan family, Yuan Fei Bai. But the man was actually Fei Bai’s identical twin brother who was barred from revealing his existence and hence, was always assuming Fei Bai’s identity.

After some twists and turns, she ended up marrying Fei Bai’s father, Duke Yuan. In a way, it was a self-survival decision because she thought she could avoid being harassed and bullied by being the duke’s woman. But the duke’s true love was his late concubine and Jin Xiu was merely a substitute. Fei Bai and Mu Jin also fell in love which compounded Jin Xiu’s pain. Then, Mu Jin faked her death because she was hunted by Duke Yuan and disappeared for 3 years. Jin Xiu thought her beloved sister had died and grieved for her. She even injured Fei Bai because she thought he was the killer and got punished as a result. Finally, Jin Xiu found out that the man she loved was not Fei Bai but his twin brother.

Tragic Life

Towards the end of the drama, Jin Xiu herself felt that her life was one big tragedy. Not only she was raped but she was also misled by the man she loved. This pushed her to marry a man old enough to be her father. Jin Xiu also felt abandoned by the person closest to her which is her sister. You can say Jin Xiu had the worst luck among the 5 sworn siblings. Even Song Ming Lei’s luck wasn’t as bad although he had to witness his family being wiped out in one night. At least, he had Yuan Fei Yan’s undying love for him.

Therefore, Jin Xiu gradually turned evil. She got sucked into the game just to survive initially and then it was all about attaining power and revenge. I also think Jin Xiu is a pitiful character and it is perfectly understandable why she turned out that way. She felt betrayed, abandoned, and had her dignity trampled upon.

However, I think she also has to shoulder part of the blame because she made the decision to marry Duke Yuan. The man had offered her freedom but she chose to stay with him. Mu Jin had also asked her to leave together at one stage and again, she made the choice to remain. So, in a way, she has to be responsible for her own decisions rather than blaming others entirely for her fate. If she had been contented with what she had, she could have led a pretty good life as Duke Yuan’s concubine.

Jin Xiu’s Ending

Perhaps having her killed would be a little too cruel given her bitter experiences. So, I guess sending her back to the temple is the most ideal ending for Jin Xiu. Some would like to have her end up with Sima Ju. But I think that would be awkward. She was his father’s concubine and had a son with him. Furthermore, it would be more realistic if she continues to hate him because what he had done was close to unforgivable.

Personally, I think Jin Xiu is evil and I don’t like some of her actions. For instance, she didn’t need to kill Qi Fang. But I can’t bring myself to hate her either when I watched The Twin Flower Legend because the pathway leading to her evilness was paved with a lot of cruelty and bitterness.

Hua Mu Jin – A Good Or Bad Sister?

Mu Jin is another controversial character in The Twin Flower Legend. Some people argue that she should have reached out to her sister more rather than indulging in her own happy life. But I tend to disagree with this argument simply because no one can be a mind reader. Jin Xiu asked Mu Jin to leave the place after she got raped but she never told her sister the reason. Yes, maybe Mu Jin could have probed deeper and paid more attention to her. But they are both adults and Jin Xiu should know better that her sister wouldn’t neglect her if she had just told the truth.

To me, if Jin Xiu needed help, the onus is on her to find a good opportunity to tell her sister her problem. If she had found it hard to talk about her ordeal, it is also unfair to blame Mu Jin for not having a clue. At most, Mu Jin can only be faulted for being imperceptive to me.

Faking Her Death

Now, when it comes to Mu Jin faking her own death, then it becomes a little more controversial to me. It is common sense that Jin Xiu would feel aggrieved once she finds out that Mu Jin has died. So, it is cruel to Jin Xiu to keep her in the dark. However, nobody would have predicted that she would be so impulsive as to hurt Fei Bai which resulted in her being sent to the temple as punishment. Fei Bai was equally guilty for keeping quiet.

However, if we look at it from another angle, it can also be argued that Mu Jin and Fei Bai needed to keep her existence a secret. Duke Yuan wanted Mu Jin dead. If he were to discover Jin Xiu is in the know, her life could also be in danger as Mu Jin is her sister. Thus, I guess it makes sense why the secret is a necessity at that stage.

Not A Simple Good Or Bad

Overall, I don’t think of Mu Jin as a bad or selfish sister. She left Fei Bai once because of Jin Xiu. By the time, Mu Jin got back together with Fei Bai, Jin Xiu had long married Duke Yuan. In actual fact, I think of Mu Jin as someone who is at a loss of what to do with her sister. She can’t indulge Jin Xiu who obviously was going down the wrong path. But neither can she sit back and do nothing as Jin Xiu was trying to pull down Fei Bai. Basically, the whole story is a mess as these characters have been boxed into a common predicament of damn if you do and damn if you don’t.

The drama tries to project Mu Jin as someone pure-hearted with a brain. While she is righteous, she also had her own personal agenda at times. This is especially true when it comes to Fei Bai. For instance, she asked Duan Yue Rong and Duke Zhang Zhi Yan to engage in a battle just to save the love of her life at one time. The consolation is she was upfront about it. But Mu Jin is certainly not a totally selfless heroine in The Twin Flower Legend either.

Duan Yue Rong Is The Most Sincere

If I have to choose, I would pick Yue Rong as my favorite character. Jin Xiue has a streak of evilness in her which wouldn’t fit a typical heroine. Mu Jin tries too hard to appear pure. Fei Bai played a role in misleading the twin sisters. He never bothered to even give a hint that he has a twin. They found it out themselves.

But Yue Rong is different. He has always been sincere towards Mu Jin. He has never tried to act like he is a good guy. In fact, he is pretty sneaky especially when it comes to keeping Fei Bai away from Mu Jin. But what you see is what you get best describes Yue Rong’s character to me. Yes, he can be annoying. He stuck to Mu Jin like a leech and doesn’t seem to understand that no means no.

However, Yue Rong’s loyalty is also hard to match. He just wants the best for Mu Jin. In the end, he even wrote Fei Bai a letter to vouch for Mu Jin’s innocence when he knew that they were getting married. So, to me, I like Yue Rong best despite his annoying persistence towards Mu Jin. I can stomach that in return for his straightforward character. There are no mind games and secrets in his affections towards Mu Jin.

I know different people will have a different perspective on the various characters in The Twin Flower Legend. So, which one would be your favorite?