The Disguiser 伪装者 - Episode 31 (Recap)

Let's just pretend the second half of this episode did not happen, okay? Let's hope I have the strength to recap this and what is coming. Damn, show. Damn.
JoAnne: Nope. Now I'm pissed off. At everyfuckingbody.
Eleanor: Is it sort of weird that I've been looking forward to Jo's reaction ever since I watched this episode? 

Episode 31

Ming Tai has done the humanly impossible and jumped about 8 meters from one roof to another. He is now inside the bank and enters an office, where a clerk asks him what he wants. He pretends to be from a shipping company, sent to collect some agent's fee. When the clerk goes out to get the money, Ming Tai quickly steals a jacket (and tie, I think) and leaves. We next see him in the bank vault ... where he comes face to face with one of Manchun's men (who has gotten himself his own deposit box in the meantime to get access).
Just stand there and stare at each other like idiots, sure. Why not? 
Every time one of the Ming Brothers wears a suit, all I can think: bringin' sexy back. 

Ming Tai isn't dumb, as we know, so he does not go to the deposit box he actually wants to go to immediately ... as Manchun's man stares at him intensively non-stop (he has the face of an idiot, yes).
What's that supposed to do, Idiot Ming Tae? 'Oh, he's here for another box. So if he happens to not have a key but does have a key to the box I'm watching, he can't possibly be my guy, because he looked at a different box first.' Dumb ass.
Ming Tai, maybe you should quickly take this guy out before he can alert anyone to anything suspicious. 

But then ... wait, maybe Ming Tai is stupid after all?! ... he opens box No 12 with the two keys and when he turns around, the other guy has a gun pointed at him. Duh. He wants to know what's in the box. It's a microfilm! Ah, how modern. I thought they would actually deliver a real book :D Anyway, when dude's eyes leave Ming Tai's face to see, Ming Tai attacks and knocks the man out.
I was expecting a book as well, so I don't exclude myself from the list of idiots.
Ooh! That shot! So beautifully framed! And the filters! And costumes. LOVE! 

Outside, Manchun is getting restless. She decides it's time to go in. (Wait ... didn't Liang tell her not to do that? Tsts. Hotheaded. And sexy!) She is told they have a man in the vault, so she waits a little in the entrance hall... but only a little. The bank employees are trying to hold her back when one of them shouts from upstairs that someone is dying in the vault! They find the unconscious idiot and think the assailant is still in the bank, but he is not ... he flew across the chasm again and is on the other roof, then out on the street ... and gone.
I just do not think her clothes come from that time period.  they look SO modern in their retro-ness.
And now I want a full-length trench coat! 

At Scott Road, they raid the apartment and find the transmitter. And part of a badly burnt code book.

If you saw that book would you think 'oh this is clearly real, and I'm just lucky as a duck?' If you're an idiot, maybe. SPY 101: burn things to ashes, then scatter the ashes.

Well there's always the off chance that maybe the spies started burning it and had to flee - though of course I'd be suspicious. They would have to make sure though just in case it is real. 

Ming Lou sits there, head in hand, while Ah Cheng paces the office ... then, the phone rings. It's Crazy Wang. And he says: "Indigo is derived from indigo plant - I shall substitute myself in now". That apparently means that the student is taught by the teacher, but has now surpassed him (because the color is superior to the plant). That, in turn, means that now, Wasp is in charge, because Ming Tai got away at the bank. If he had not, Ming Lou's "proposal" would have come into effect. I think. Judging by their faces, this is bad news.
Stupid men and their stupid plans and their stupid faces looking all sad and stupid. You don't get to be sad when you create the situation. That is my rule now.  
Ming Tai! You're too good at being a spy. Idiot! Big Bro wanted you to get caught so you'd be safe! Noooooooooooooo! Also, I HATE THIS PLAN SO MUCH!!!! T____T

Wang loses no time: he approaches a road block, suitcase in hand. Looking nervous, slowing down ... that doesn't go unnoticed. They ask to check his luggage... at which point he pulls a gun and shoots. He kills several guards and starts running across the bridge... when they shoot him. But not to kill; they want him alive. For questioning. 
What do you think? Planned? I think planned. Here, let me throw myself to the wolves. Because I'm smart. Yeah. No.
I don't even know anymore. All these tricksy cobras and wasps and poison. Ugh. 

That's Manchun's favorite past time! She always looks happiest in her dungeons and with Ming Lou, doesn't she? She asks him where the codebook is, he claims he has come to Shanghai to further investigate the bombing of the drug-ship. She doesn't buy this in the least. She also does not want to have the Japanese informed about her prisoner.
Isn't it amazing how everyone who gets shot and lives is always shot juuuuuust above the lungs? So it's basically a flesh wound, allowing them to sit up right, carry on with conversations, not sound like they're gargling blood, just little things like that.
Haha. Sometimes it's better not to think too hard about such things. He might also have been wearing some extra layers of clothing to avoid being shot in all the vital places...maybe...

She's resting to sharpen her metaphorical (and literal?) knives, when she gets word that Xiao Qin's body was found in the forest. At the site, she is handed a watch... Ming Tai's as we know. It's a collector's item, so finding out who bought it won't be too hard, she tells her men. And indeed ... not much later, they come back with the information that it has been purchased by Ming Lou. Oups. When braided double spy comes in to inform her about Scott Road and that they're checking with the landlord who rented the apartment, things click. Ming Lou, the watch, Lone Wolf talking about Scott Road and Ming Tai...
Yeah, go ahead and feel proud, Killer Wang. They're spoon feeding you this stuff and it still took you weeks. You're an idiot too.
I guess they have timed everything so that she can find out when they want her to find out. I don't think it makes her an idiot. 

She goes to see Ming Lou who is SO happy for her that she managed to catch Wasp! They're THIS close to capturing the entire KMT Shanghai base, which would of course mean that she could take over command for the whole of Division 76. She wants to tell him the details of her plan how to make Wang talk, but he interrupts her and says she shouldn't tell him too much. Not safe.
Actually he just hates you. Wise up.
I don't even know how Ming Lou keeps it together around her. He is soooooo freaking amazing at being a spy. Respect. 

She has something else to ask him though... did he buy a watch at a specific store? Yes, he probably did... for his little brother, who likes to collect watches. She asks whether that particular watch is still in Ming Tai's possession and Ming Lou immediately sends Ah Cheng home to check, shocked to hear that his little brother might be implicated in a murder. He stresses that she must not make any exceptions in the pursuit of justice, even if Ming Tai becomes a suspect.
Like anyone would ever say that. Just saying it makes you suspicious. Or it would if she wasn't an idiot. You're both idiots.
I dunno. If he were playing the role of a man dedicated to the Japanese, he would say a thing like that. People in real life betray family and neighbours all the time. 

Manchun has another go at Wang, thinking she has him figured out. She thinks he will never give up his life for his "career". To help his confession along, she prepared a (false) testimony of his, including his finger print, taken from him when he was unconscious. It is proof that he is a traitor to KMT and is behind the bombing of the ship. She'll put it in the newspaper. That'll be the sure end of him and his family once he gets out. The other option: he tells her everything and gets a new life afterwards.

Did he really get himself caught for this? What is his plan? Is he going to give her bad information?

I don't know. It would seem very uncharacteristic of Wang to betray his country, but then again, it's not like we necessarily know him that well or what he's capable of. He does seem like he wouldn't betray his country though from everything we've seen before. 

That makes him crack. Or should we say "crack"? He admits that there are two secret code books - and he knows their points of exchange. Oh no :((

Is this real? He set that whole thing up so he could then get caught and 'give' it away? And if people survive that's cool, the book/film gets through..but if people don't? What's THAT plan? Sounds like someone thought this up after a bottle of tequila.

I remember while watching that I thought I knew what the plan was at this point, but after watching I didn't. So I'm not going to say anything more because I'm afraid I'll spoil too much. 

Ming Tai and his team are getting ready at the flour factory. Guo will carry one copy of the code book - Manli the other. She is carrying the right one and will have to deliver it to Division 3. Ming Tai is feeling uneasy... that thing at the bank makes him think someone has betrayed them. But what can they do? They must follow orders. The least they can do is be extra careful.

He's just now considering the possibility that they're being watched? seriously.

Cue tears. Crap. I didn't think I would tear up again. Crap. Crap. Crap. 

And when Guo tells them he has a gift for them and it's their fake wedding photo, we know that things will turn out BAD, BAD, BAD.

You know what? Fuck EVERYBODY. All y'all can just go to Hell. Take your goddamn wedding photos with you, too.

Nooooooooooooooo!!!! Let's freeze things right here. Right now. And go no further. 

We get to see Ming Lou and Ah Cheng being very, very sad in the office, talking about the dark times to come and how they hope that Big Sis will be able to "take it" once she returns from a trip...

Oh, how thoughtful of you. Fuckers.

They tried to stop this. They tried. I know this is going to sound completely heartless of me, but we also have to remember all the people dying at the hands of the Japanese during occupation. They do have a goal to get rid of the Japanese so that they can regain some sort of semblance of peace for their country. I might not approve of this plan, but I do understand why they feel like their hands are tied. The Japanese were a force to be reckoned with and it's hard for guerrilla forces and the fractured relationship of the KMT and CPC to make things work. 

... and then Guo meets his contact at the rendezvous-point. It's Wang. And he shoots Guo. Several times. In front of the Division 76 people. It's ... utterly shocking.

WHAT THE FUCK FOR? Is he really a traitor? Is this a long con to make it LOOK like he's a traitor? I HATE EVERYONE.

I don't even know how Wang could pull that trigger unless he's completely crazy. Oh wait, that is his name. He had better not be a traitor, or I swear I'll kill him myself. 

Ming Tai and Manli are on some wall, he is ready to help her rappel down. He runs her through the next steps, but she thinks it's about time to congratulate him on his engagement. She assures him she'll be fine. She had no right to make him feel uneasy. But she's crying.... our kitten is crying.

Why the hell are they there? Hey, let's start our mission from somewhere cool, instead of, you know, just walking out of a building on to the sidewalk like normal fucking people do. There is NO REASON for them to be on that wall. Idiots.

Pauses to cry some more. This scene. It's breaking my heart. You just know something awful is coming. I don't want to watch. 

She wants to be hugged ... and he does. Fiercely. SHITHEAD. She confesses her deep love for him again and that she's been feeling very uneasy, with nightmares every night. "Don't be afraid", he repeats, but she is not afraid of dying. She fears that after death, she won't be able to see him again. "Live and see me again", Ming Tai whispers.

Punch him in his stupid face, Manli. PUNCH HIM.

I'm not sure why you are so mad at Ming Tai right now...he's just as much a pawn in this as she is. My heart is breaking for both of them right now. (I do understand being mad at him later, but not at this moment in time). 

And then, it's time to go. He checks the knot one more time - and then he tells her he will be done with KMT after this operation. She will join him wherever he goes, she vows - life and death partner. She smiles through her tears... and then swallows the microfilm with the code on it. 

He tells her life and death partners, then in the next breath tells her he's leaving. She says she'll follow him, and his reply? Oh, yeah, they don't take just anybody, so... You know what? Fuck you. Fuck you and the watch you can't keep track of, fuck your rope, fuck your stupid ass Trainwreck, fuck everything.

Haha. I'm kind of enjoying Jo's rage here. I just went and rewatched the scene because I remembered it differently. He wants her to follow him and join the CPC. He was just warning her that it might be hard, but in a joking way. But yeah, I get that the hurt of this episode is terrible. 

And over the wall she goes! Down, down ... when suddenly, strong spotlights are shown on her. TT_________TT He tries to pull her up, but Division 76 opens fire, on her and on him, who breaks cover in his desperation to save her. It's pointless, of course. Smiling at the fond memories of her and Ming Tai, Manli cuts the rope. Though hurt badly from the long fall, she shoots many of them before she herself dies in a hail of bullets.

I hope she fucking haunts your ass, Ming Tai.

It's not his fault. She chooses to cut the rope to save his life. We have to respect her decision. She understood that he couldn't save her, and that it would be pointless for him to die as well. Wang and Ming Lou and Ah Cheng are more to blame for her death than Ming Tai. 

Manchun screams to catch the Scorpion alive - which shakes Ming Tai out of his grief. He jumps over the opposite wall and is gone before the sadness of what just happen in this horrible episode has a chance to sink in.

I refuse to acknowledge this exists. Manli took a little vacation.

Even though I knew what was coming, this episode still hurt like hell. 

Comments

I could probably watch this 100 times and still end up crying.

It's just a vacation. She'll be back.

Even just commenting I started crying. 

It's utterly shocking, this episode. I didn't expect any of it. Sure, we know Ming Tai is in danger, we know they're trying to make him look like a murderer on top of other things, but Wang sacrificing TWO members of this team just like that? And even shooting one personally?! Whatever the ultimate goal of this stupid Death Plan is, it better be worth it!!!!
Too late.
I hate this stupid, stupid, horrid plan. 

All those sweet scenes with Manli were utterly mean too. We haven't seen much of her for a long time, and as soon as we do, we realize that this must be an extended goodbye scene. Wow, what will this do to Ming Tai?!
Oh, he'll talk big about stuff but in the end he'll be fine. He's that kind of guy. If he had a brain he'd have changed the plan to begin with.
But Ming Tai had zero say in the plan. I don't think Ming Tai is going to be okay at all. He might not love Manli romantically but he loves her deeply. Remember riding back in the rain to save her from the firing squad? 

R.I.P., psycho kitten. And R.I.P Photographer Guo. You didn't have it easy with Ming Tai, but you were loyal until the end. R.I.P.
Nope. Come back as angry vengeful ghosts. In particular, follow Wang where ever he goes. If he's on a plane, sit on the wing. If he's on the toilet, when he stands up your face should be there. In the mirror, too, and on the pillow next to his. Be the face of every waitress, waiter, train conductor, and passer-by on the street from now until the day he dies, which is hopefully soon.  
I'm all for haunting that crazy Wang. Ugh. I do not like his stupid, horrid, awful plan. Manli will forever be one of my all time favourites. 

BTS of this episode!