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, she started off as epic as she was already accustomed to 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 for this fight are clearly the best in the entire webtoon, glory is diminished by the appearance of the Rulers at the last momentas 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 Jinwoo’s initial fight against the Rulers, they thanked him for saving humanity, but Jinwoo was not satisfied. Sure, Antares was gone, but the Monarchs had not been defeated forever. More importantly, she had lost many people she cared about: her father and Adam were the most recent losses, not to mention the trauma her 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 on 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 simply stared menacingly at the Brightest Shard, as if daring 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 he necessary anymore? He even compared its great 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 grandiose, heroic reason to have power: perhaps the reason could be as simple as 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.
Fountain: reddit
