Love & Destiny 三生三世宸汐缘 - Episode 8 (Recap)

kakashi: An annoying new character, a Ding, and many explosions. This was an episode that felt like it set up the next stage for this drama.
JoAnne:  I did feel like we got a lot of information in these couple of episodes.
Bunny: I just like seeing Grumpy Uncle make new faces.

Episode 8

Spirit Queen Ling Yue is sad over a flute. A flashback reveals it belonged to her lover/husband Mo Huan. Her daughter, the princess Bao Qing comes to visit. She worries about her mother, who isn't eating properly according to the servants. Ling Yue lies she's fine but thinks about her real daughter who would be the same age. This one she adopted (she found the girl on the back of a turtle, yeah, I guess that happens sometimes)
Oh yes, this must be that other chick who will make Ling Xi's life hell. You can just tell sometimes you know.
Did not like little Miss Turtle, though it took a minute to decide.

Because mothers are like that, the next topic is a man for the princess. The princess has her eyes set on Jing Xiu! That's a complete no-go for the Queen though. So she knows her advisor might have a bone to pick with her? Indeed, there seem to be some trust issues. The Princess seems to be a piece of work. What's up with chaining up the turtle that carried her until it dies?! And hurting innocent birds? 
I guess that spider on her head is a clue to her nature.

Yun Feng has a brief conversation with her on his way to You Du Mountain. She tells him it's not at all dangerous to go there anymore, the Demon Qi doesn't harm people anymore... a total lie! The Demon Qi has gotten much stronger than before.
So she would just casually send a friendly stranger to his death for...what?  kicks?  It's a whole 'shot a man in Reno just to watch him die' vibe.
I wonder how she got this way. I mean that Queen seems like a good mom who probably gave her enough hugs as a kid. 

The Princess runs straight to Jing Xiu's houseboat and pricks her fingers on one of his blood drinking plants. It's called Ghost Ivy and produces a charming toxin that'll make you suffer like hell. It attacks the weak but can be controlled by the strong. Jing Xiu is waaaaay more crazy than I thought. 
Have we decided if he meant to have his father killed or not?
I don't know, but these two are perfect for each other. One's a total sadist in the making... and the other apparently likes giving his blood to a plant so...

At the Peach Grove, Ling Xi has a run in with Cheng Yan, Qing Yao's younger brother, who is studying under Le Bo. I've managed to ignore him so far and do not feel the urge to talk much about him. He's a very sidey side character. Yes, extremely forgettable. Oh, so actually came her to ask her father to make medicine for GoW? But Daddy ain't around, he is likely somewhere drunk. We learn about the Water Moon Ding, a magical tripod vessel that can restore anything, even if it has been burnt to ash. It is at the South Pole Magical Continent, ready to choose its true master. And it's the BIGGEST secret. This idiot knows about it because the Lord of the South Pole lost a drinking contest with Le Bo and told him. 
Ah yes, Exposition Brother.  Only shows up when we need to know something but the writer doesn't want to actually do it organically.
I feel like they could have made better use of him. Give him a more significant relationship with Ling Xi (but also with a different actor because the face on this one just does nothing for me).

Up in the Heavens, GoW and friends are getting nervous: Yun Feng still isn't back from the Demon Mountain. It seems to Jiu Chen he has to go himself! He orders Si Ming and Kai Yang to guard his body while he spirit travels. Weren't you told not to use your powers by the Lady Doctor, hm, God of War? Rebel, rebel. He has a short chit-chat with the Demon King who has awakened (oh no!) and then returns - maybe better, God of Lightning is cooking up the next move against GoW.
His suspicious/worried faces amuse me.
Gahhhhhh I just wanna kiss it. 

Under the pretense that she craves pancakes from some immortal, Ling Xi manages to get Cheng Yan to leave the house. Once alone, she packs a lot. At the Heavens' Gates, she runs into the Heavenly Douche Bros who promptly bully her. They spill all her belongings on the floor, then step on her hand when she wants to recover the items. GoW's spirit is right there to witness it. And then, he punishes them. Grumpy Uncle is the best when he is like this!!!
Someone feed them to something.  Soon.
Ling Xi's little head shake kills me here, I can't stop laughing. And Uncle shouldn't have been so stingy with those slaps. Only two? 

Jing Xiu is warned by the tribe's Witch Doctor to let go of his unhealthy obsession. Instead of ascending to High God as he should, his inner devil is making him regress! Yeah, shit. Jing Xiu also seems to respect the Queen, for all it's worth... or is he just lying? That annoying princess comes pestering him again, this time with ginseng soup she made for him. He learns from her that the Queen is looking for her birth daughter again.
I like this guy...I want him to stay on the good side of things.
"inner devil" pfffffft. I'm sorry. I really wanna like Baldy. I do. I found him intriguing in the beginning. Now I can't take him seriously for the life of me. Not that he doesn't have potential, it's just hidden under the tats, and all the black, and the repetitive traumatic childhood flashbacks, and the confusing AF alliances.

Flashback time! Jing Xiu had hair! He's kinda hot. The Queen sent him to look after her child that she left on a mountain, with an Enchantment Mask around her. When Jing Xiu with hair finally found her, there was a rockslide and it looked like the baby died.
Well that was unfortunate.
But as we know, that is one durable baby.

Qing Yao meditates on a river bank when a plant magically grows on the stones. She smiles. Ha! Bi Fang appears, he wants the plant too? He gets quite vicious, but then Yun Feng zooms in, yay, and chases the bird away for her, getting burnt in the process. She's like, thanks, I don't care about you, bye, I just came for the plant.
He was so puzzled at the end, I had to laugh. Such a cutie, this one.
Cute and hopeless. You're knocking on the wrong door, sweetheart.

Ling Xi gets permission from Jiu Chen to turn her room into a medical lab. Well... no one is born a master.
His faces make laugh entirely too hard.
OMIGAWD I LOVE HIM SO FREAKING MUCH

Comments

Man, how crafty the writers smuggled the information about that Water Moon Ding in! Hahahahaaaa, NOT. What was that about?!
It's like PPL but for plot points.
A lot of things have been just a little too overly convenient so far. 

Ling Xi is the biggest liar alive and GoW totally knows it. I like that part of his character the best: he's very laid back about many things. I think "suit yourself" is one of his favorite phrases. He doesn't care that she's basically blowing up his palace. And I bet you he has a pretty good idea why she suddenly turned pill-making doctor. Or maybe he just can't say no when she asks?
I'm gonna go with the latter. He proves to be absolutely useless at denying her anything. It only gets worse from here :D

I still like Jing Xiu, all the more now that I have seen him with hair. He's a looker!
Like I said, I want him to stay good.  Or at least not-bad.
He lost me. ((I think it's because I only have eyes for you know who))