The film lacks prominent LGBTQ+ characters or narratives. Romantic arcs remain strictly within traditional heteronormative structures without exploring non-cisnormative identities.

Mei subverts passive female tropes by using her intellect and dance to navigate political danger. She drives the plot through strategic maneuvering rather than remaining a mere object of desire.

The film centers a non-Western perspective, avoiding the whitewashing often seen in Western period epics. It provides a culturally cohesive, historically grounded look at 9th-century China.

The narrative offers a sophisticated critique of authoritarian power through the Flying Daggers rebellion. It uses moral relativism to explore how identity serves as a tool for political survival.

There is no proactive inclusion of neurodivergent or physically disabled characters. However, the film avoids using disability as a simplistic plot device or a source of mockery.