Ice Fantasy 幻城 - Episode 13 (Recap)

kakashi: If you're not on the Yan Da - Shi ship yet, this episode will sure get you there. They both seem puzzled by the depth of feeling for each other, but there is no denying it: they have a very strong bond, sealed by saving each other's life. It may not be love, but it's a sort of friendship that comes once in a lifetime. 
SakiVI: And even if they don't end up as lovers, I'll accept them as besties, even if I'm crying in a corner over their missed chance to love and marry and have little fire-ice babies. 
JoAnne: What to do, though, if a prince is willing but his icicle melts?

Episode 13

Yan Da may have saved Shi from the mean fires of the Fire Prince, but our poor, poor Prince is gravely hurt. Spitting blood and stuff. The Fire Princess cries and cradles his lifeless body in her arms. "You are not allowed to die!", she cries over and over. It's actually quite touching.
She's actually quite sweet in her way. 
He was fine when he was tied up, though, so what's all this? From that weak-ass whipping that only drew 'uh' from him?
You must have forgotten about the Heart Scorcher Wood? He is dying because bro roasted him over it - and because she fed it to him in the first place. 

Yan Da decides to unleash her inner fire goddess to save him - at great cost for herself. She has completely drained herself and collapses. I wonder what this fire bath will do to his Ice Prince self? 
Give him life again.
This is like bad sixties science fiction movies. Or Star Trek.

In the meantime, the Bears continue their fight for leadership outside. It doesn't look too good for Liao Jian, Hei Feng is definitely stronger - but is he also meaner? In the end, Liao Jian gains the upper hand and kills his rival (despite him begging for mercy).
Never give traitors mercy, Liao Jian. They'll just betray you again.
Besides, he wasn't even trying to look like he wasn't lying.

Shuo Gang chooses that exact moment to ride through the city gates. Baaaaad timing, MoFo. He quickly retreats. The Bear Tribe has its old king back!

Shuo Gang is a total coward. And he knows Yan Da is there, and he leaves her. Worst brother ever.

He's a fire ant. They hurt like a bitch but you can step on them, after all.

Somewhere in the mortal realm, Princess Lan Shang has touched land. Her borrowed legs (as we know, only marriage will give them permanent legs) are helluvalot sexy and her extremely short skirt would probably be judged improper even today. Frankly, she looks like a fish out of water. Good one. Plus, she carries her own little "wanted" poster of Kasuo with her and she smiles at his image fondly. Girl.... it's hard to dislike her though.

Yep, I like her, even if she does keep interrupting my ships. Can we pair her off with someone not an Ice Prince or Fire Prince already?

Why is it that 'fantasy' clothes often look like they came from a sale rack of party clothes from the disco era?

I thought disco party clothes were supposed to look like fantasy clothes?

Mermaids cannot perform magic well when in the mortal realm. Also, when water splashes on them, their tails grow back immediately. Lan Shang sees a vendor cooking noodles (there's no escaping them!!) and would really like to try some, but the Mermaid Saint warned her against mortal food and the weird spices in there. It's dangerous! Because it will make them fat and no longer beautiful.

That was hilarious.

Honestly, the less time we spend with the Mermaids, the better. I don't like any of them.

No spicy noodles for Lan Shang then. But she has to come to the rescue of some baby crabs anyway! Another vendor puts them in wine even though they're not of age! Lan Shang is outraged and freezes time to return the crabs to the sea.

Okay THAT was funny.

Now that she has performed magic, she'll soon have no powers left. Ditz. Next, she comes across a slave auction and the cruelty of it makes her cry. Oh! Her tears turn into pearls! She has a bag full of them and hands it to the slave auctioneer to buy a man and his mother (she gives them a handful of pearls immediately after and lets them go). A super-gross nobleman pays quite a bit of attention.

I really feel someone should've warned her about behaving in a way that wouldn't attract a ton of attention instead of just warning her about ramyun.

In someone's defense, this is kind of obvious.

Lan Shang feels exhausted after all this ... borrowed legs are a pain. Who did she borrow them from? But what is this? She hears someone scream for help! It's the gross nobleman, who claims he was robbed (a concept that needs to be explained to Lan Shang). In truth, he only wanted to lure her under a bucket of water that he dumps on her! Oh no!

She is basically kind. And I watched the actress in a BTS where she acted all normal and like someone not dippy, and it was refreshing because no matter how cute I find her, the dippy gets irritating.

He's so gross. What's with the nose? (dipped in wine?) But does he remind anyone else of the Cowardly Lion from Wizard of Oz?

I had trouble watching these scenes because of him.

Cut to Kasuo and Li Luo. Awww, missed you guys. He is puzzling over things once again. He wonders how different mortal men and immortal men would act when they meet a lady they like. Awwww, you dork. She says mortal men give flowers and small gifts. And if the ladies feel the same, they return the favor by bestowing a unique wine on the man. That wine is made by the parents when they receive a girl and aged until she makes her choice. 

So, how would immortal men act? Also, how annoying if the guy just takes off with that wine and marries elsewhere.

What if the parents suck at wine making? What happens if he drinks it and it's vinegar?

Kasuo, terrified:

But do not fear, sweet prince: she never even had a "wine of Happy Returns" because she's an orphan, remember? Feeling sorry for her, he summons a magic wine bottle his father has given to him for his 100th birthday and gives it to her. Thank you, daddy, she says to him. Lol.

He protests he is not that old ... but she reminds him he is at least 100 years older than her. That topic again... his face falls.

Dun-dun-DUN...

Shi awakes in a nice bed and fully clothed ... and immediately becomes aware of Fire Magic within himself. Juicy. Ha, is that what they call it there? We have another name for it here... He finds an exhausted Yan Da in prison. They're so cute (yaaassssss!)....... He pretends he only helped her before with the disgusting Bear because he wants the antidote to the Heart Scorcher. That dampens her bright smile a little, but still: She thinks only him and "Peng Peng" care about her. Who is Peng Peng?! Tell us already! Oh, she does: he is dead. (I think he might've been her messenger owl which that PeeWee Jerkman killed.) But he used to be her dearest friend. Now, Shi is the only friend she has left.

I do wonder at him...he has to know that this can't end well.

Still, he likes her, and he knows she has been captured because of saving him.

He promises he will repay her for saving his life and she laughs at the arrogance of a mortal man. But then, she waves him closer... and closer... and sucks the Heart Scorcher out from him. It's an air-gap technique, sorry, shippers.

His expression, though, hahahahaha.

Thank God he's pretty.

"You're now free", she says. It both pleases and pains her, it seems. Shi walks out, deeply moved. And then, he turns around, overpowers the guards and frees her. Well, they don't get far - the bears have all gathered to stop them. Shi makes a stand and tells Bear King he won't leave without her - and uses ice magic to enforce his wish. Oups. Now that secret is no longer a secret.

So now he can use ice magic? Weird, considering all the blatant hints he's not really an Ice Prince by birth.

Hey, right... we kept saying he was both, but if Mom is a mermaid and Dad is a fire guy...then he should be a good swimmer with fire magic. Not someone with ice and fire magic.  He has no connection to Ice Tribe.  But he was all Ice Boy up there, so what gives?

Osmosis, maybe.

BIIIIG Birthsecret. 

It changes everything. The bears step down - and Yang Da feels betrayed. (A little irrational considering he was a captive.) Alone in the forest, they come to the conclusion that they cannot be friends, being from mortal enemy tribes and all. She tries to fight him but is super weak, still ... he says they're even now, he'll let her go. She vows to kills him when they next meet and walks away. Both remember their moments together. It's sad - and they're sad. TT___TT

I was really sad.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was sad.

In the Peach Blossom Valley Village, Princess Chao Ya is forgiven for luring mortals into a musical maelstrom and our Eagle Sprite looks at her from the side, a bit scared and a bit tender, when suddenly, the Bear King appears, with a new hairdo, screaming "I am here, Chao Ya!" Oh no... these two are a couple. Eagle Man is heartbroken.

I prefer Eagle to Bear here. 

Oh I like the bear. Quite a bit.

For Kasuo, it's a happy occasion though: he receives two more ice crystals!

Less happy: Lan Shang, who is caught in a diamond net at the gross nobleman's. He knows exactly who she is (cause of Fire King's search warrant) and he wants to milk her of tears/pearls before going to collect his reward.

Ewww.

To make her cry, he has captured the slave woman/mother and son - and plans to feed them to  thousand year old fire snakes. It works! She sheds pearls.

Has she no magic?

Used it all up for crabs in wine.

I'd call crying pearls pretty magical.

Elsewhere, Shi and Kasuo reunite. Aw. Their love gets me.

It's a little over-intense, though.

They're reaaaaaaaaally close.

Comments

As always, lots of things happened in just one episode. I keep repeating this because it's quite amazing - especially if you compare this show to other shows I have recently recapped. It's so action-oriented! Not much talky-talky. Hey, Old Nine Gates: you could learn something here. 

Seriously. This show has many eps to go, but as someone who has watched up through the latest to episode 34, they don't waste much time on repeating things back and forth or generally wasting time in any way.  

Action and forward movement is this show's saving grace.

This was a weirdly touching episode, mainly because of Shi and Yan Da. Now that she knows who he is (and he knows that she knows), it seems unlikely they will be able to ever go back to being friends. And yet, when they separate, the both deeply regret this. 

I am so sad right now. Somehow, some way, this has got to get fixed.

Yeah, I'm not real worried about it.

There are so many couples that are star-crossed in this show and I want all of them to be happy! Kasuo and Li Luo, always threatened by the issues between mortals and immortals. Shi and Yan Da, from enemy tribes. Chao Ya and Eagle Man Pian Feng, whose backstory we don't know, but I'm guessing they used to be a pair before Bear Man came along. And not to forget the Fire King and Shi's mother, separated by the Mermaid Saint's cruelty and the Ice King's greed.

I don't like the Ice King. He really ruined things for Lian Ji.  And Shi has his own personality, so I think he would still have been a good brother to Yan Da if he'd been born and raised in the Fire Kingdom.

What about Turnip?  Doesn't Turnip have anyone?

There are virgins everywhere. Turnip will be fine.