Old Nine Gates 老九门 - Episode 19 (Recap)
kakashi: While Fo Ye et al. are in the tomb, the evil forces left in Changsha start to flock together. I don't like it one bit, especially because all the Hendry/Chen Pi and Lu scenes bore me considerably. I want undisturbed tomb-action!
SakiVI: It was disturbing to see that the real puppet master is Hendry. He's like a General Secretary of villains. On a brighter note, Xinyue both impressed and amused this episode. Ba Ye, too. Lt Zhang looked positively lovely, and we finally see Huo Niang, or, as we knew her in The Lost Tomb, Granny Huo. She's a villain in this, but she's a favorite character of mine overall.
I did wonder...
Hilarious.
Is someone just letting them down from above?
It's some CGI gone terribly wrong. Look at Ba Ye!
They get to the chamber and find their dead comrades, who have become "victims of Er grand-uncle's mechanism". The one he had time and materials to make while trapped in a tomb and dying of hair disease. Fo Ye shouts a warning - not a second too late! One of the soldiers almost triggered another trap! The room is full of almost invisible silk threads (the equivalent of laser beams, just less technologically advanced)
In that they trigger missiles, but otherwise nothing dangerous. Ba Ye's movement under them was exactly how I'd have gone.
Er Ye, looking marvelous:
They leave the room like this:
and like this:
Meanwhile, Chief Lu happens to visit the Zhang Mansion. Does he know that Fo Ye isn't around? He suspects, at least. A soldier lies that Zhang Qi Shan is "out for an inspection". While the guard is busy talking to Lu, Chen Pi climbs over the walls, in search of Fo Ye. So popular, our Zhang Da Fo Ye. But there's no Fo Ye. He happens upon our Miss in her room though, who is doing her nails. She's zero afraid of him despite his murderous reputation (well, she might be, but she's not showing it) and tells him to kindly come through the main door if he wants anything from Fo Ye.
She's so cool and sassy, I love it!
Chen Pi smirks and decides to kill her first, as a "present" to Fo Ye. Chen Pi didn't exactly show his intelligence here. Chief Lu, who has entered the mansion too, watches from the door, like the friggin idiot that he is. Xinyue goes into a martial art stance which leaves Chen Pi is impressed - and happy to be able to test out her particular style. He was so dumb! We all know she knows no martial arts, right? To cover that up, she says: "You're a man, we shouldn't have any physical contact, get lost." Haha. It was liking watching two kids at play. She also pulls the "do you know who my daddy is" card. Probably the Pi doesn't, no.
Chen Pi however loses his patience and pulls his knife. She? Quickly sits down at her dress-up table. With her back towards him. That's really the bravest thing anyone could do in this particular situation!! She has a mirror to watch him in. She also stays perfectly calm until he really gets serious! Enough chatting, eh? When he wants to knife her, she throws powder into his face then and her brushes, oh woman :) Clever!
Now Lu Idiot intervenes (and I guess saves her, still IHATEHIM because he waited so long). Chen Pi flees, and Xinyue is outraged to find another stranger in the mansion. They're in the private area of the mansion, so yes. After he has introduced himself and they've exchanged a few more or less polite words, she dismisses Chief Lu. She orders some men to guard her and to specifically keep these two people away from her. Thank god for your wits, girl.
She may not have learnt any martial arts, but she certainly learnt a lot of common sense.
In the mines, Fo Ye at al. have come to a passage full of cobwebs. They look familiar! Indeed, it's the moths! They're poisonous, says Er Ye. They cannot touch the silk threads nor the moths. Good thing they have hazmat gear! bwahahahahahaaha, yeah. They walk on and constantly touch the webs, but hey, as long as the moths don't care?
No one could avoid those webs. Correction, maybe Little Master could've because in the second Lost Tomb book, he's shown knowing how to compress and lengthen his bones.
They reach the temple, which is in a gigantic cave. Wow, the scale of things!
It's hard to believe this is all just underground a few feet from the surface.
Er Ye wants to step forward, to go to the temple, but Fo Ye holds him back. He pulls his gun and... shoots into the cave. Something (an illusion mirror, actually) shatters and instead of a temple, razor sharp rock is revealed. They would have died, had they stepped forward.
Amazing scenery, though.
They decide to go back where Ba Ye disappeared and try that route. They step through the wall one by one and come out in another tunnel. Where Ba Ye is (but not that soldier, everyone's forgotten about him, even the drama). Ba Ye is lying on the floor. Everybody steps on him. Hahahaaa, why is this so funny?
Just is. And the way they all just walked away as Ba Ye started on his "Let Me Tell You" was very funny.
Cut to the Chamber of Commerce (*gagging noise*). Chen Pi comes for a visit, which Hendry expected because he knows things. Sigh, Hendry has creep skillz. They bond over their mutual hate for Fo Ye. Hating someone in common is a quick way to make friends - until one person can't be bothered to hate anymore. Then, Mr. Cox suggests Chen Pi should go bond with Chief Lu - temporarily at least. Chen Pi on the other hand tells the American to forget about Ba Ye and Jiu Ye, since they are Fo Ye's people - the one he should try is Huo San Niang (Gate No 7 from the lower gates).
Sheesh, Hendry is pulling strings for all the villains!
Hendry makes this face:
That's because he already knew that. He didn't expect Chen Pi to be this smart. Besides, the mines that Fo Ye is at? They're Huo territory. It won't be hard to bring Miss Huo over to their side. Like an obedient doggy, Chen Pi goes and strikes a deal with Chief Lu - not that these two like each other, but once again, a common enemy works wonders. The arrest warrant is retracted.
Chen Pi needs a new shifu, and he now has Hendry filling that role.
In the tomb, our Ye's (that should really be spelled Yes, right? Yes, but it looks weird, because "yes" and "Yes," so I added the apostrophe.) are now on an infinite spiral staircase. Damn, I get vertigo from just a screencap.
Fo Ye is worried about the situation in Changsha, seeing how long their absence will be (infinite staircase and all). Yeah, you better be.
In Changsha, Chief Lu has gone to see Huo San Niang (Wang Meiren) also known as Huo Jinxi. She is weirdly flirtatious. She knows to play it soft, I guess. And dismissive at the same time. Yes, well, Chief Lu. Until he mentions that Fo Ye has entered a tomb in the territory of the Huo Family. Without asking, as we all know.
You've got her attention, Lu. But ... why the fook did he try to touch her hair?! What a freak! Let's see whether we find out in episode 20.
He started perving, that's why. Plus, she's an attractive, single woman, so he automatically thought of her as a target for flirtation and more.
OMG, I hate him so much.
Something I just realized after re-watching this: she has blades in her hair. Lu could've just asked her that, though.
Yes, you are right. Okay, I'll like her. If I can.
Like her, like her. She's a complicated character, and it's boring if everyone agrees with Fo Ye.
Okay, ready for more tomb-action!
Yay!
SakiVI: It was disturbing to see that the real puppet master is Hendry. He's like a General Secretary of villains. On a brighter note, Xinyue both impressed and amused this episode. Ba Ye, too. Lt Zhang looked positively lovely, and we finally see Huo Niang, or, as we knew her in The Lost Tomb, Granny Huo. She's a villain in this, but she's a favorite character of mine overall.
Episode 19 - Secret Room of Moths
The screams of the soldiers down in the large chamber alert Fo Ye and the rest in the cave above. He orders two people to stay back and goes down immediately. No, people. This is NOT what it looks like when you climb down a rope or when you rappel down.I did wonder...
Is someone just letting them down from above?
It's some CGI gone terribly wrong. Look at Ba Ye!
In that they trigger missiles, but otherwise nothing dangerous. Ba Ye's movement under them was exactly how I'd have gone.
 |
| See that Ba Ye face? That would've been me, much as I would've loved to have been Lt. Zhang. |
She's so cool and sassy, I love it!
She may not have learnt any martial arts, but she certainly learnt a lot of common sense.
No one could avoid those webs. Correction, maybe Little Master could've because in the second Lost Tomb book, he's shown knowing how to compress and lengthen his bones.
They are walking towards a temple, built for warding off evil, as Ba Ye knows. He assumes the entrance to the tomb is going to be there. However, before they manage to get that far, Ba Ye stumbles, hits a wall and ... is sucked in. Bye, Ba Ye.
Aw, poor Ba Ye. Also, creepy wall.
They do try to get the wall to spit him out again, but the wall doesn't want to. Yummy Ba Ye. The moth are all starting to get rather pissed as well. Suddenly, a second soldier is eaten by the wall. And the rest panics and runs! Right into the cobwebs. That triggers some silk thread attack! Three soldiers get cocooned! Er Ye, Fo Ye and Visual Zhang fight off the silk as best as they can, but it takes Er Ye's quick wits to save them all. He throws salt! Which turns the silk into water.
News to me that salt turns silk into water.
Only in Changsha, Saki, only in Changsha.
It's hard to believe this is all just underground a few feet from the surface.
Amazing scenery, though.
Just is. And the way they all just walked away as Ba Ye started on his "Let Me Tell You" was very funny.
Sheesh, Hendry is pulling strings for all the villains!
Hendry makes this face:
Chen Pi needs a new shifu, and he now has Hendry filling that role.
After this, Chief Lu turns up at the Zhang Mansion again. How dare he! >.< He comes bearing gifts. Expensive ginseng, in fact - for "brother Zhang Qi Shan". Lu Idiot feigns concern over Fo Ye's health and pressures Xinyue to let him see him. Dream on, idiot. Our Madame tells him to get lost, but very politely.
Her handling of him was so impressive!
 |
| Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to the center of the Earth we go! |
He started perving, that's why. Plus, she's an attractive, single woman, so he automatically thought of her as a target for flirtation and more.
OMG, I hate him so much.
Something I just realized after re-watching this: she has blades in her hair. Lu could've just asked her that, though.
 |
| Swirly! |
Comments
It's too early to say anything about Miss Huo, but if she's on Lu-Idiot's side, I won't like her. I hope she's a bit more exciting though. He just bores me so much. As does Chen Pi, who is simply stupid. Hendry knows exactly how to manipulate him and I don't think Chen Pi is in the least aware of being manipulated.
I think she's only on her own side. As we know from The Lost Tomb, she ends up with a rich antique business in Beijing with lots of clout.Yes, you are right. Okay, I'll like her. If I can.
Like her, like her. She's a complicated character, and it's boring if everyone agrees with Fo Ye.
Okay, ready for more tomb-action!
Yay!