Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花 - Episode 3 (Recap)

kakashi: Do not make the mistake of getting on the wrong ship, people. There is only one guy in this drama who would take three lightning strikes for Si Yin (and survive it).
JoAnne: I'm going to sit on the sinking ship for now and when it's the last minute I'll jump to the lightning boat.
Look, he's so hot, he's smoking. 

Episode 3

The Ghost Lord has already sent out invitations to everyone in all the realms (yes, also to Kunlun Mountains and to the Nine Heavens) for the adoption ceremony with Nine. Poor Nine is so depressed about this matter he constantly tries to kill himself (so far in vain). Sheksy 2nd Prince helps Si Yin to get a message to him - it consoles the poor disciple for the time being. Awww, I'm glad. I really like Nine! 
Me too. And Sheksy. I think the contacts make you even hotter than normal, Vin Zhang.

Then, 2nd Prince assures himself that Si Yin is actually a woman - he wasn't sure, but he tricks her into admitting it. She agrees to be friends readily afterwards, despite them being from two opposing Clans. He in turn agrees not to tell his sister that Si Yin isn't a man - it's what Si Yin wants. Truth is, 2nd Prince is already burning with desire for Si Yin - all the other women he used to enjoy just anger him now. That's a problem, because everybody knows Celestials and Demons cannot be together. Or so he and his sister keep saying.
It's not like they're particularly good at behaving, so why is this a rule they can't break? Look at his face don't you want him to have what he wants? I do.

At Kunlun Mountain, the disciples have finally decided it's time to alert the Master about this hostage crisis. It's not even necessary to alert him though, because he had a vision of Si Yin crying for his help - or is this Si Yin's dream? Anyway, Master is back from seclusion and he tells them he'll go to the Ghost Realm alone. He knows they are a step closer to war now, and will be even closer when he returns, so he orders them to get ready to seal off the mountain as soon as he returns.
A man with a plan. Very reassuring. Very sexy.

2nd Prince and his sister have made arrangements for Si Yin and Nine's escape too (how did that ghastly Ghost Lord father two children like this?), but Master gets there first.
20,000 years of hugs. No wonder the guy goes into 'seclusion' all the time.
The life on an ascetic sure isn't easy. 

The Ghost Lord tries to stop the War God from taking his bait away (maybe he isn't trying really hard though, since the whole point was to get Mo Yuan here?) I absolutely love the fight scenes. At a certain point, 2nd Prince intervenes. That is ... noble, but extremely stupid, also because it wasn't necessary at all. He's not killed for it later though, just locked up. His father has a special (guilt) thing for his (dead) mother.
I like that they back off the scenes and give you room to watch. There's nothing I dislike more than being right up in it, visually, and you can't see any of it. Well there are things I dislike more, actually, but at the moment this tops the list.

All of a sudden, lightning illuminates the scene. Mo Yuan looks up, very concerned ... it means Si Yin's trial is nigh! It's a huge problem, because Si Yin is nowhere ready for it. Our God of War grabs his disciples and makes a quick exit. Back at Kunlun, he takes Seventeenth hand and runs to his seclusion cave with her.
Heh heh heh...so that's what 'heavenly ascension' is...

They're not quite there yet, when he takes the first lightning strike for her. Damn, this is the trial?! That's insane. I don't think I ever want to ascend towards godhood. Okay, Mo Yuan seems to know Si Yin cannot survive this, so he shoves her into his cave and seals it.
Oh.  Not as enjoyable as what I was imagining. Not at all.

Then he turns, and faces the skies. He takes all the lightning bolts for her and because the Heavens are blind, she ascends to her next level after it's done.
Sorry, that makes no sense. The heavens are blind but the strikes all hit him, and the ascension dust/magic happens to find her? Sloppy, show.
Must be some lightning bolt computer. At a certain time, it fires. Then, it checks for life-form below. If something lives, it sends fairy-powder. Since he is probably already full of it, it went to her. Or - the fairy powder is intelligent and knows where it has to go, the lightning isn't. 

When she wakes up in her bed after this, Master has gone into seclusion again. It takes time to recover from lightning bolts, but war is near, so he is concerned and everybody else is, too. Si Yin goes to cry in front of the cave, she is so damn sorry she never tried hard enough and he had to endure this for her (well, that's gonna change now - she works really hard after this).
I wonder what the logic behind the timing of the ascensions are? Has everyone before her done it? Why wasn't anyone bugging her about the likely result given her poor study habits?

She has him smiling at "I'll stew myself in a soup for you", but the poor guy is in a lot of pain. Let him be!
I don't even mind the scraggly facial hair. I love his quiet affection for her.

Oh, someone looking exactly like Mo Yuan without facial hair but glowing golden appears behind Si Yin, telling her exactly that: to leave him alone. What is this?! (*Hint, hint, what else glows golden?*)
Oooooh. (And I think I actually like him better WITH the facial hair, which is odd.)  Right there he kind of reminds me of Snape. I think that's why.

Ghost Princess frees her brother from his prison and he travels straight to Kunlun Mountain (after making his horns disappear, JoAnne will be happy). (I was thrilled!) Up in the Heavens, Lord Emperor Dijun suggests they need a new Ghost Lord if they want peace after this war, which they all consider inevitable - and it has to be the 2nd Prince. They don't say that because they like 2nd Prince though - they say it because they consider him weak. >.< Stop bullying 2nd Prince!
My feet are getting wet on this ship but I don't care, I'm going to stay here a little bit longer. I already see where this is going, though. Sigh.

2nd Prince's Phoenix mount is quite concerned for him, because the Celestial energy at Kunlun Mountain isn't good for demons. (Oh that's why they can't be with Celestial Beings! I didn't quite catch on that they were demons, despite the horns. In fact I kept wondering what ghosts and horns had in common.) Like our lovelorn fool cares! Little Phoenix was right though, 2nd Prince gets attacked by magic swords and wounded as soon as he starts walking up.

That's just rude.

Still looking mighty good there.

Damn straight, he does. Let's do a remake of Novoland and try him on as WKE.

Sixteenth comes to check out the disturbance and courteously takes our Ghost Prince to see "A-Yin". He tells her he understands now and he wants to be with her. He is willing to give up everything. He cannot stop thinking about her! Oh boy. 

And! Broken heart in three...two...one...

 

Comments

*Sigh* .... 2nd Prince. He is so impulsive and so emotional! It's like he's the polar opposite of Mo Yuan. The two remind me of Papageno and Tamino from the Magic Flute, actually. One who acts on impulses and basic instinct and the other who cultivates himself carefully and will never act rashly. I've always liked Tamino much better and here, too, I like Mo Yuan much more than 2nd Prince.
Well yes, especially since he has a bad drunk habit of being a bit too forceful with her...but since I know he's not the one, I have to enjoy him while I can. On the other hand, since it's a fantasy drama, why can't she just have both?

It's just clear it won't end well with him. If he had stopped to think for one second, he would have realized that barging into Kunlun Mountains (the very essence of enemy territory) and professing his love to a woman disguised as a man student there isn't such a good idea. Especially since that woman hasn't exactly encouraged such crazy action.
She definitely hasn't encouraged this, but I certainly recall some pleased giggles at his earlier attentions... she wasn't hating his attentions.

Contrast this with Mo Yuan's selfless actions and you know who will win Si Yin's heart and who will come second. One love is eternal, the other is impulsive and short-lived. Bring the heartbreak, drama. Bring it.
Excellent points. So, like I say, enjoy the pretty boy while we can, since we know the mature handsome man is end game regardless.

Last but not least: I am stunned by how beautifully most of this is shot.
It's really gorgeous, isn't it? The production values (for the most part) are quite high. Ignore that tiger and the phoenix.