Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy 九州海上牧云记 - Episode 5 (Recap)

Panda: We get to meet Hot Princes and a character in Kakashi’s FF.
kakashi: That was a bit unexpected :D (It's Mr. Mo)
JoAnne: Is Mr. Mo a character or a pet name for an anatomical feature?
A fictional character loosely based on Mo Yuan in some, ehem, not quite youth-appropriate fiction written by a certain Wao Shan.
SakiVI: no idea who you are talking about.  
 

Episode 5

Han Jiang and Muyun Sheng finally meet and an immediate friendship is struck between the two. They bond over unhappy childhoods, both of them being victims of various prophecies. Poor babies. SideNote: Do you think they know they were both prophesied to rule the same Kingdom?
Are they? One is going to destroy everything if he holds a sword, one is going to rule a destroyed kingdom? Well, I hope this doesn't mean their lovely friendship is doomed. 
Along the lines of you can't stand in the same river twice, I think it's the same kingdom, but not the same kingdom.
One will rule and destroy, the other will conquer and rule. Or something.
A really cool golden wheel Astrology chamber indicates that the YuFei star now shines. The High Priest informs the Emperor that Calamity can thus not be averted and has in fact been accelerated. High Priest says he could sugar coat it but the Destiny has been set in stone and the next King will definitely be of Muru descent. The King says he believes and doesn’t believe it which surprised me cos I thought he was a blind follower of prophecies.
So, this High Priest. I'm still not sure whether to find him viciously sexy or whether to hate him. As for the Emperor, he is known to be a follower of prophecies, but I guess he is smarter than that. I say YAY! Of course, we all know prophecies take certain actions to be fulfilled.
I don't have a strong reaction to the High Priest either way.  He just kind of goes along doing his job.  I do like his hair, though.
He looks cool. I'm not into him, though.
The Queen hears about this from an eavesdropper (that scene with his bobbing made his feathers in his cap look like bunny ears. So funny) and immediately summons her son Muyun HeGe back to the palace.
Yes, I was greatly amused by his bunny ears too. 
I wonder if it was deliberate.
King summons his Princes to test them on their knowledge in order to choose a Crown Prince. He asks them all of them what it entails to rule and they all have different answers. In comes Prince HeGe and it’s clear the King doesn’t quite like him. He is also the only Prince that is the legal son of the Empress. He is brash, brutal - killed an official and displayed his head and brave - he speaks about the Charmers which is obviously an uncomfortable if not forbidden topic at court.
Did someone say the "Charmers" are the Wingkind in the other Novoland drama we recapped? Or something altogether different...probably what 6th Prince's momma was? I felt instant dislike for He Ge. Even though he is very sincere. 
I don't like him. He'll have absorbed his mother's resentment and sense of being owed something. I remember the comment you're talking about but I didn't think it was the Charmers that equated to the Wingkind.   have no idea where the comment was, though, so I didn't go to check.
Where are the Wingkind and Humankind from the other Novoland show while all this is going on? (another continent) I'm okay with Prince HeGe. He has his reasons to be as he is, which it become Emperor or die. Remember, he is the one legitimate son, and if any of the others become king, he will die.
Muyun Sheng also comes to court to the surprise and terror of everyone there except his dad. Eventually the session ends with King punishing HeGe for shouting in court but what truly hurts the Prince is that his dad doesn’t like him.
Yes, which made it hard to hate him, but I still do. Because he wants to hurt poor sad Muyun Sheng, who really did nothing wrong (and who is very poorly lit in this scene - I'm sure deliberately). 
I really like Muyen Sheng and I really dislike his brother, but even disliking the guy I can see that he genuinely wants his father's affection and respect.
After his punishment, the Empress basically tells him to forget about attaining his dad’s affections and instead focus on getting the throne. He asks for information about Yin Rong as he suspects she is still alive.
Dun Dun. Ah, poor Prince. He is unloved, just like his mother. Probably because of his mother. 
It's so unfair to blame the kids for their parents.  I always hate to see that, and it makes me feel sympathy for the most rotten people sometimes, which pisses me off.
There's this ancient Andalusian author whose name I've forgotten who wrote a book on love and how it affects people, and in it, he wrote how men love the children of the women they love the most out of all their children from different women. That the emperor is happy to throw this son to his death by letting a son of a concubine become the next ruler means he really hates the mother.
Back to our young heroes, Han Jiang explores the palace and chances upon the training Ladies in waiting (Scenery over the bridge he crosses is stunning). They are being lectured by the second prince Muyun Lu who assigns a task to Su Yun Ning in a move to get closer to her. This doesn’t sit well with Nanku niece who tries to weasel her way in but is shut down by the Prince. HA!
Hahahahahaaaaaaa. So, Muyun Lu knows Su Yun Ning will be the next Empress and thinks he will be Emperor if he wins her? That's kinda smart and kinda not
I did love the way little Miss Nanku got shut down.
HeGe and Sheng cross paths and HeGe basically plays power games until Sheng is forced to alight from his sedan. You bastard. HeGe also alights and tells his bodyguard to hit him. Gah! Han Jiang comes to the rescue before Sheng is hit. All the while, Sheng looked unflustered until HeGe tells him he knows where his mom is. He gives him a flower he plucked from Yong Yin Hall - a place he had gone earlier based on his mom’s information and tells him he will find her where the flower blossoms.
Do not like this He Ge AT ALL, he is so mean
Let's hope he dies a painful death.
He's going to die since he'll never be emperor. I wouldn't waste much energy on him.
Sheng immediately goes looking for Yong Yin hall and meets a woman who is friendly until he says who he is upon which she practically shoves him out.
...in panic, one should add. That woman was strange. She gave me witch vibes. 
Yeah, me too.  Meanwhile, my urge to hug Sheng just gets more strong.
The Crown Prince issue is still a hot debate at court with various officials presenting their favorites. The High Priest though says it has been set in stone that the Crown Prince will be Muyun Sheng and Calamity will fall once he wields a sword. The King simply looks very weary.
So each of the princes has an official as fanboy. Nice. 
Each official fanboy is their prince's uncle or grandad or dad or eldest male maternal cousin.  
Added to that is the fact that he hears voices of his beloved Yin Rong. A flashback shows a young King (I vastly prefer his older face) (sometimes, some facial hair makes a difference) and Yin Rong as he promises her to let Sheng live like a carefree boy free, from Princely duties and responsibilities.
So sweet. So pointless. 
Janine Chang is so beautiful.
Okay, so I was really disappointed after all they said about Yin Rong being so beautiful. I'm sure I'd find Janine Chang lovely normally, but after all the talk, I expected Fan Bing Bing.
The Queen (that headgear though!) interrupts his reverie as she comes to plead with him not to send HeGe away but he denies her stating her son is too calculative. She needles him that he favors Sheng out of guilt and implies that he did something to Yin Rong with his sword. (Too easy for Jo, I know). His eyes turn murderous and he threatens her to never bring up the topic again. He then immediately assigns HeGe to a distant barren place. The Queen protests but he ignores her.
Oh no. Sad, sad Emperor. Do not push him though, I think he can get very mean...
I look forward to that very thing. Perhaps he will punish her slowly with the tip of his sword.
HeGe however has started making moves and the episode ends with him going to plot with his relative - Nanku De and a mysterious man - Mister Mo (LOOOOOOOOL)
Luckily, they did not cast Mark Chao in this role :D 
Mark Chao is taking a much needed rest and asks that we not disturb his peace with comments or pictures.
 

Comments

Everyone is so nervy around Sheng, the poor boy :( It cannot be good for his psyche! No wonder he is so self contained. I love his budding bromance with Han Jiang. Why do they have to go to war against each other? TT__TT I thought the King was a blind believer in prophesies but I actually think his hands are tied and he is trying his best to mitigate future calamity. He seems damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. And, the King’s eyes when he held the Queen by the neck scared me. Did he actually kill the love of his life? Is that why he is so tormented???
Ah, this is getting better and better. These character ... so conflicted! Suffering! Heart break! And we haven't even gotten into the romance stuff yet........ (I do not expect a happy ending, in case anyone is asking)
There are so many people though. Maybe one of them will have a happy ending.
This wasn't the best episode for me. But fine, we now know which prince is the villain.