This article
includes spoilers for the “Solo Leveling” story. Reader discretion is advised.
After several years in serialization, “ Solo Leveling ”, the
webtoon that swept the world for its epic action sequences and fantastic art
style, came to an end. Sung Jinwoo, the protagonist of the
franchise, was forced to fight against everything unimaginable, reaching the
gods of his universe. In the finale of “Solo Leveling,” Sung Jinwoo
faced his toughest battle to date against Antares, the Monarch of Destruction.
Sung Jinwoo, who was not willing to allow more people to
die, bore the burden of defending the entire world, but he was not alone: he had his entire powerful Shadow Army behind
him. While for many the epic final battle of the webtoon “Solo
Leveling” was a satisfying ending, others ended the series with conflicted
emotions. The series has a legion of fans who classify “Solo
Leveling” as the best story ever created, but even among them there are many
who still question the way the story closed.
One of the biggest criticisms was the final
battle against the Monarch of Destruction, Antares. For all
intents and purposes, it started out as epic as was customary in “Solo
Leveling.” In a climactic moment, Sung Jinwoo used a special ability to
momentarily render Antares' dragon army powerless, forcing them to take refuge
on a deserted island in Japan, away from everyone else.
What followed was a battle of Monarch against Monarch; an army
of shadows against an army of dragons. For a moment, Sung Jinwoo was
able to defend himself, but Antares soon cornered him and offered him a deal.
He would spare the world and disappear if they both worked together to destroy
the Rulers. However, Jinwoo saw through his lies and knew that Antares
would not hesitate to kill him when he had the chance. Immediately,
Antares transformed into a huge dragon and resumed combat. Since Jinwoo's
weapons could not penetrate his tough armor, he decided that he needed to
create his own armor, based on darkness and shadows.
It's definitely a symbolic moment to see flashes of Ashborn,
Jinwoo's father, and images of his past self as he dealt the final blow to
Antares, using the same dagger as his father. Although the panels of this fight
are clearly the best of the entire webtoon, the glory is diminished by
the appearance of the Rulers at the last moment , as if it were a deus
ex machina, and the death of Antares with one last attack . This made
all of Jinwoo’s efforts useless, one of the main criticisms at the end of “Solo
Leveling.”
Another major reason for criticism at the end of
“Solo Leveling” is Jinwoo’s decision to use the Reincarnation Cup. After
Jin-Woo's initial fight against the Rulers, they thanked him for saving
humanity, but Jin-Woo was not satisfied . Sure, Antares was
gone, but the Monarchs had not been defeated forever. More importantly, he had
lost many people he cared about: his father and Adam were the most recent
losses, not to mention the trauma his sister, Jinah, suffered from being
attacked at school. Although he did not show it, these deaths and the
effects that the war with the Monarchs had on his family caused a great impact
on Jinwoo.
To fix things, Jinwoo decides to go back in time
to save everyone and prevent the Gates from opening. The
Reincarnation Cup turned back time, bringing back the Monarchs who died,
including Antares, and keeping their memories intact. Jinwoo locked
himself in the dimensional gap with the rest of the shadows that still existed
in the past. From there, at the end of “Solo Leveling” the aforementioned Cup
was activated and Jinwoo returned to his school days.
The reason this entire sequence of events was so
controversial to fans was that it seemed like a contrived way of allowing
Jinwoo to fix everything and make it perfect in the end. All
the events of the series were now inconsequential, especially since Jinwoo
didn't show much personal conflict at the end. This is part of a larger
criticism of “Solo Leveling” in general, because it has always been criticized
for the characters being flat and superficial. However, since “Solo
Leveling” had always been a power fantasy series from the beginning, Jinwoo
gaining godlike powers that prevented anything from going wrong was perhaps
always one of the cards available.
Another criticism related to the use of the
Reincarnation Cup came at the end, when Jinwoo defeated all the Monarchs and
met Antares again. Unfortunately, the ending of the “Solo
Leveling” webtoon didn't go into detail about how the fight unfolded, which was
a little disappointing, but not surprising. On the one hand, “Solo
Leveling” had already offered fans a pretty epic fight in the previous
chapters, so a second fight would be repetitive. On the other hand, it
is unlikely that the Rulers would intervene a second time to make the battle
between Jinwoo and Antares even more spectacular.
After turning back time with the Reincarnation
Cup, only two years passed in the real world during Jinwoo's fight against the
Monarchs. However, in the dimensional gap, Jinwoo had been fighting for 27
years. Throughout that conflict, Jinwoo not only saved
humanity, but also the Rulers. Had it not been for him, the Rulers would have
been cornered by the strengthening Monarchs, continuing the endless cycle of
war between Rulers and Monarchs for all eternity. By deciding to go
back in time and kill all the Monarchs alone, Jinwoo restored peace and freed
the Rulers from their endless war.
However, the Rulers were not as grateful to
Jinwoo as he would have expected. Since Norma Selner came
into contact with the other world, her ability to predict the future had
increased and the Rulers panicked when they heard that the God of Death
would descend upon Earth with his army . This, of course, was proven
when Jinwoo appeared on Earth alone after finally defeating the Monarchs
single-handedly.
In an iconic scene at the end of the webtoon,
the Brightest Shard sat down with Jinwoo and gave him two options: move away
from Earth or be sealed away. Fans have considered this
pressure from the Rulers totally hypocritical, considering everything Jinwoo
did for them. After all, they are no different from the Monarchs, who tried to
get rid of Ashborn because they feared his overwhelming power. However,
this propensity to turn against those who have power over them is not new to
Rulers.
As deplorable as the idea of the Rulers turning against Jin-Woo was, it was
not lost on Jin-Woo himself. He merely stared menacingly at
the Brightest Shard, as if he dared the Rulers to test him. Of course, the
Rulers immediately back away, intimidated by Jinwoo's new power. In
some ways, Norma Selner's premonition wasn't entirely wrong, it just didn't
happen as it seemed. Jinwoo was, of course, the God of Death, and his
arrival marked the end of the world as everyone knew it. However, it also meant
the beginning of a new world of peace.
Norma Selner's prophecy and Jinwoo's destructive power had
an interesting effect on Jinwoo himself. Although he was angry with the
Rulers, he began to question his existence: with his work done, was it
necessary anymore? He went so far as to compare its sheer power to
that of a nuclear weapon, capable of destroying the entire world if used
without restrictions.
What's more, the Reincarnation Cup not only
turned back time, but also erased Jinwoo from everyone's memory. No
one would ever remember the sacrifices he made to save the world. All
the friends and allies he made as a world-famous Hunter would no longer
remember who he was. It's a little bittersweet to see Jinwoo reunite
with his family and have a brief respite. When he confesses that he feels like
he's had a nightmare, there's a hint of longing in his voice because, as strong
as Jinwoo is, all he wants is to be a normal young man. There was a
sense of vulnerability in Jinwoo's monologue as he seemed to plead with himself
that putting off the battle with the Monarchs a little longer wouldn't hurt
anyone.
Throughout “Solo Leveling,” Jinwoo leveled up
and became stronger because he had a purpose, which was to protect everyone.
With the conflict finally over, he had to find a balance between his
overwhelming power and having the humility to not use that power for the wrong
reasons. However, perhaps Jinwoo didn't need a heroic and
grandiose reason to have power: perhaps the reason could be as simple as him
wanting to live with his loved ones and protect them.
Despite the controversial ending of “Solo
Leveling,” it wasn't all bad. The series ended with Jinwoo being the strongest
and founding his own family. It was a happy ending,
even if there were some plot holes and inconsistencies. Luckily, new media from
the “Solo Leveling” franchise continues to be released, which could help retroactively
resolve some of fans' concerns.
Source: Reddit
