Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花 - Episode 1 (Recap)
kakashi: This drama's full title is Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (三生三世十里桃花). It also goes as Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms or, more prosaically, Eternal Love. I'm so in love with it. The first episode introduces many, many characters and I will give you a short introduction to each of them, as I start the journey into this delightful feast for the eyes, which is sure to break our hearts many times over.
JoAnne: For someone who wasn't very excited about this, watching very little of it changed my mind completely. And yay! We're recapping! Well, Kakashi the Lionhearted is recapping, and I get to comment!
PS. I very much like '3310' as the shorthand for this title, which I think our friend and learned reader coined?
Yes, it was Joyce :)
She is the youngest daughter of the Fox King. Because she was too mischievous and troublesome in her younger days, Zhe Yan (a powerful, but peace-loving immortal who is a friend of her family) catches her and brings her to Kunlun Mountain, to be schooled in Taoist Cultivation. Since only males can study there, Zhe Yan gives her the appearance of a boy. If you can't see it, it's because you're immune to Zhe Yan's magic. Si Yin is her "male" name.
She's adorable. Look at that cute little face. And cute, but not too cutesy. Thank God. I don't think cutesy sits well on someone who's approximately 20,000 years old.
Nobody notices she's a woman - except for the Master of Kunlun Mountains, who spots the illusion at first sight. He doesn't seem to care though and takes her as his seventeenth pupil. The main reason seems to be that a very powerful weapon he got his hands on the day she appears chooses her as its master right then and there.
I like him. He does 'vague air of melancholy' very well.
*Mo Yuan / The God of War and Master of Kunlun Mountains* (Main Character)
Gorgeous. Yum. But very, very stern and correct. He hardly ever smiles, but when he does, it's when he looks at Bai Qian. He is a son of Father Immortal (he is gone from the universe, I think), a victorious General in the previous Demon Wars, and the younger brother of Zhe Yan.
I fell for him immediately. Bam! Goner.
When Si Yin is unconscious after enduring torture at the hands of a lovesick Goddess, Mo Yuan stays with her and pats her back. Well, she's clinging to his hand like a drowning person, but he clearly doesn't mind. Later, he punishes Si Yin for her escapades by having her copy a scripture 30'000 times. Don't worry, these guys have time. At this point in time, Si Yin has been a pupil at Kunlun Mountain for 20'000 years already.
I didn't understand why she got punished. She was walking back to her room minding her own business and got kidnapped by the definition of crazy second lead, then tortured. How is that her fault?
She angered the goddess in the mortal realm, giving her a pretext to kidnap her, I thought it was for that.
*Zhe Yan*
An ancient immortal of the Phoenix Clan and elder brother to the Master of Kunlun Mountains. He is a good friend of the Bai Family (the Fox Nobility), especially with Bai Zhen, the fourth prince of the fox clan. You'll meet 4th Fox Prince later. He is the one who has planted the ten miles of peach blossoms and all he wants is to live a quiet life there, brewing his delicious peach blossom wine. Sadly, it looks like there might be a war soon.
Probably initiated by someone who wants to drive up the price of peach blossom wine. Hmmm...
*The Disciples of Kunlun Mountain*
Awww. I love them all! You know, what really endeared me to them immediately is that there is not a mean bone in any of them. They are not jealous of their Master's attention, they help each other when there is trouble, they take delight at each other's success, in short, it's everything no boy school ever was but everything you want your friends to be. They are often called by their numbers, which signify their rank in the school (or rather, the length of time they've been there).
They run around like a bunch of ghostly puppies, so adorable!
In particular, there is Nineth, real name Ling Yu (but we don't need to bother with those, let's stick to the numbers!). He in particular becomes a good friend (and partner in crime) to our heroine.
Those of you who inhaled Love O2O may recognize this guy. He played the guy who dumped Wei Wei initially, but turned out to be a decent human being in the end. I think I like him better with long hair and robes.
Then, we have the Senior Disciple, also called First, real name Die Feng. Before he became a student at Kunlun Mountain, he was the Second prince of the Eastern Seas. However, previous lives do not count here. He is very serious and I think despite taking great pride in being the eldest and most responsible among the students, it is also quite a burden for him.
This was the Second Prince I thought you meant but now realize it is not. I still haven't met the one you can't wait for me to meet.
Then, there is Sixteenth, real name Zi Lan, who arrives at Kunlun Mountains at the exact same time as our Fox Princess. He soon becomes the guy Bai Qian goes to the mortal realm with to pass the time. Thick as thieves, these two.
They're fun together. I think of them as fraternal twins, they seem that close (and because they arrived at the same time, but don't look alike.)
*The Heavenly Lord*
The Celestial Tribe consists of the Dragon Clan, the Phoenix Clan and the Nine-tailed White Fox Clan. I think only the Dragon Clan lives somewhere up in the heavens. The ruler over all is the Heaven(ly) Lord. He has many sons. In one of the upcoming episodes, he decides it would be a very good idea to marry one of them (the one to the very right, his 2nd) to the youngest daughter of the Fox King to forge an alliance.
So this Heavenly Lord, he must come from one of the clans, right? Which?
I think they're dragons.
Also... for those of you just tuning in, 'youngest daughter of the Fox King' is Bai Qian/Si Yin.
*Dong Hua Dijun aka The Emperor Lord*
He used to be the Ruler of All, but got tired of it and passed his power on to the (now) Heavenly Lord. Now he just lazes around and is slightly annoying because bored people can be that. He does give council to the Heavenly Lord though and it's not bad advice.
So... there ARE good white wigs in China, despite what we may have been led to believe?
With him is the Star Lord Si Ming. We will meet him later. He is in charge of the life and fate of the human realm and I hear he likes to gossip.
Have him sit next to me, then.
*The White Goddess Yao Guang*
She and Mo Yuang fought together during the last War against the Demons. She is very much in love with him, even moves her whole estate to Kunlun Mountains, but he won't look at her. That drives her crazy enough to kidnap and torture Si Yin, to force him down from his school. She is not the only one who has noticed that he dotes the most on his youngest pupil.
Okay, sure, take the kid. But put her in the water and basically drown her? Isn't that a little overboard? I get the frustration of unrequited love, sure, but damn, woman. You lost me with this.
If it's true she only did it to be recognized by him, it works in so far as that he challenges her to a duel on the mountain top. He wins. She doesn't bear grudges, which is a good thing - they will need her and her troops once the war starts.
I love that he flat out tells her she was wrong about him. What was it he said? 'You read too much into this.' something like that. I sort of wish he'd killed her, but if they need her later I guess it's okay.
*Xuan Nu*
A fox lady and childhood friend of Fox Princess Bai Qian. She is someone's sister-in-law's younger sister and therefore somewhat but very remotely related to Bai Qian, but that doesn't matter. She is jealous of her beauty and, as we learn later, she learns how to temporarily change her appearance to look exactly like the Fox Princess. She runs away from a marriage with a Bear Spirit, and Bai Qian's 4th brother sends her to Kunlun Mountain to hide. The Master has her quartered with Si Yin (since he knows Si Yin is a woman too). Xuan Nu is surprised that Si Yin looks so much like her childhood friend, but she doesn't realize it's her.
I was laughing when they kept saying how much they look alike when they do not, at all, but now I understand why. This girl looks familiar. It's not Bi Anhua from Novoland, is it?
Nope.
*The Artifact(s)*
Behold the very powerful Jade Purity Fan of Kunlun. It's the first such powerful magical weapon that has graced Kunlun Mountains for quite some time. Mo Yuan gives it to Bai Qian - or rather, the fan chooses her as his master.
I wonder what that fan can do? Side note: I absolutely love that little squiggle on his hat.
We also hear of a Bell, but we won't see it for a while. Later, Zhe Yan mentions a Fuxi Zither that he sealed under Kunlun Mountain. There is a Golden Lotus though in the school's Lotus Pond. It was given to Mo Yuang by his father (Father Immortal), to cultivate carefully until it "takes on human form".
The plastic flower industry is alive and well, I see.
I was looking forward to this recap to make sure I had the folks cemented in my head. Good job!
It only took this one episode for me to tell me that I will absolutely love this show though. All of it.
You know what, me too. I was very happily surprised with the relatively non-cheesy scenery, with the touches of humor, with the fact that he clearly cherishes her from the start, with her cuteness, with there being a few familiar faces, with the world-building, all of it.
JoAnne: For someone who wasn't very excited about this, watching very little of it changed my mind completely. And yay! We're recapping! Well, Kakashi the Lionhearted is recapping, and I get to comment!
PS. I very much like '3310' as the shorthand for this title, which I think our friend and learned reader coined?
Yes, it was Joyce :)
We made full list of characters here
Episode 1 - A Character List
*Bai Qian / Si Yin* (Main Character)She is the youngest daughter of the Fox King. Because she was too mischievous and troublesome in her younger days, Zhe Yan (a powerful, but peace-loving immortal who is a friend of her family) catches her and brings her to Kunlun Mountain, to be schooled in Taoist Cultivation. Since only males can study there, Zhe Yan gives her the appearance of a boy. If you can't see it, it's because you're immune to Zhe Yan's magic. Si Yin is her "male" name.
She's adorable. Look at that cute little face. And cute, but not too cutesy. Thank God. I don't think cutesy sits well on someone who's approximately 20,000 years old.
I like him. He does 'vague air of melancholy' very well.
*Mo Yuan / The God of War and Master of Kunlun Mountains* (Main Character)
Gorgeous. Yum. But very, very stern and correct. He hardly ever smiles, but when he does, it's when he looks at Bai Qian. He is a son of Father Immortal (he is gone from the universe, I think), a victorious General in the previous Demon Wars, and the younger brother of Zhe Yan.
I fell for him immediately. Bam! Goner.
I didn't understand why she got punished. She was walking back to her room minding her own business and got kidnapped by the definition of crazy second lead, then tortured. How is that her fault?
She angered the goddess in the mortal realm, giving her a pretext to kidnap her, I thought it was for that.
*Zhe Yan*
An ancient immortal of the Phoenix Clan and elder brother to the Master of Kunlun Mountains. He is a good friend of the Bai Family (the Fox Nobility), especially with Bai Zhen, the fourth prince of the fox clan. You'll meet 4th Fox Prince later. He is the one who has planted the ten miles of peach blossoms and all he wants is to live a quiet life there, brewing his delicious peach blossom wine. Sadly, it looks like there might be a war soon.
Probably initiated by someone who wants to drive up the price of peach blossom wine. Hmmm...
*The Disciples of Kunlun Mountain*
Awww. I love them all! You know, what really endeared me to them immediately is that there is not a mean bone in any of them. They are not jealous of their Master's attention, they help each other when there is trouble, they take delight at each other's success, in short, it's everything no boy school ever was but everything you want your friends to be. They are often called by their numbers, which signify their rank in the school (or rather, the length of time they've been there).
They run around like a bunch of ghostly puppies, so adorable!
Those of you who inhaled Love O2O may recognize this guy. He played the guy who dumped Wei Wei initially, but turned out to be a decent human being in the end. I think I like him better with long hair and robes.
This was the Second Prince I thought you meant but now realize it is not. I still haven't met the one you can't wait for me to meet.
They're fun together. I think of them as fraternal twins, they seem that close (and because they arrived at the same time, but don't look alike.)
*The Heavenly Lord*
The Celestial Tribe consists of the Dragon Clan, the Phoenix Clan and the Nine-tailed White Fox Clan. I think only the Dragon Clan lives somewhere up in the heavens. The ruler over all is the Heaven(ly) Lord. He has many sons. In one of the upcoming episodes, he decides it would be a very good idea to marry one of them (the one to the very right, his 2nd) to the youngest daughter of the Fox King to forge an alliance.
So this Heavenly Lord, he must come from one of the clans, right? Which?
I think they're dragons.
Also... for those of you just tuning in, 'youngest daughter of the Fox King' is Bai Qian/Si Yin.
*Dong Hua Dijun aka The Emperor Lord*
He used to be the Ruler of All, but got tired of it and passed his power on to the (now) Heavenly Lord. Now he just lazes around and is slightly annoying because bored people can be that. He does give council to the Heavenly Lord though and it's not bad advice.
So... there ARE good white wigs in China, despite what we may have been led to believe?
Have him sit next to me, then.
*The White Goddess Yao Guang*
She and Mo Yuang fought together during the last War against the Demons. She is very much in love with him, even moves her whole estate to Kunlun Mountains, but he won't look at her. That drives her crazy enough to kidnap and torture Si Yin, to force him down from his school. She is not the only one who has noticed that he dotes the most on his youngest pupil.
Okay, sure, take the kid. But put her in the water and basically drown her? Isn't that a little overboard? I get the frustration of unrequited love, sure, but damn, woman. You lost me with this.
I love that he flat out tells her she was wrong about him. What was it he said? 'You read too much into this.' something like that. I sort of wish he'd killed her, but if they need her later I guess it's okay.
*Xuan Nu*
A fox lady and childhood friend of Fox Princess Bai Qian. She is someone's sister-in-law's younger sister and therefore somewhat but very remotely related to Bai Qian, but that doesn't matter. She is jealous of her beauty and, as we learn later, she learns how to temporarily change her appearance to look exactly like the Fox Princess. She runs away from a marriage with a Bear Spirit, and Bai Qian's 4th brother sends her to Kunlun Mountain to hide. The Master has her quartered with Si Yin (since he knows Si Yin is a woman too). Xuan Nu is surprised that Si Yin looks so much like her childhood friend, but she doesn't realize it's her.
I was laughing when they kept saying how much they look alike when they do not, at all, but now I understand why. This girl looks familiar. It's not Bi Anhua from Novoland, is it?
Nope.
*The Artifact(s)*
Behold the very powerful Jade Purity Fan of Kunlun. It's the first such powerful magical weapon that has graced Kunlun Mountains for quite some time. Mo Yuan gives it to Bai Qian - or rather, the fan chooses her as his master.
I wonder what that fan can do? Side note: I absolutely love that little squiggle on his hat.
The plastic flower industry is alive and well, I see.
Comments
Very often, the first couple of episodes of epic Asian dramas are really complicated to get through. It is worth it though, let me tell you! In episode two, we will meet more central characters, but the story starts unfolding as well.I was looking forward to this recap to make sure I had the folks cemented in my head. Good job!
It only took this one episode for me to tell me that I will absolutely love this show though. All of it.
You know what, me too. I was very happily surprised with the relatively non-cheesy scenery, with the touches of humor, with the fact that he clearly cherishes her from the start, with her cuteness, with there being a few familiar faces, with the world-building, all of it.