The Problematic of the Unproblematic

kakashi: Many, many women are suddenly very interested in Zheng Qiu Dong. Oups. Not exactly a good thing for a man with a fake identity... SakiVI: He's terribly handsome. Panda: So handsome! JoAnne: I can't disagree with that, at least.

kakashi: I have a new favorite character and it's not Zheng Qiu Dong! Plus, we're getting started now. SakiVI: Yes, the next stage of weird stuff in Qiu Dong's life has begun. Panda: Drama picks up steam and I get a tad distracted by Qiu Dong's mop of hair. Literally a mop JoAnne:  Can I just push Qiu Dong off a cliff?  It would put us ALL out of our misery...

kakashi: Uh-oh, tragedy. Lies, broken hearts and a prison sentence... is it really worth it, Qiu Dong? Panda: Heartbreak, prison, New haircut!! Good times ahead SakiVI: What an awful life he leads.   JoAnne:  Why am I the only one laughing? Between old lady stockings and people sentenced to work in fast food uniforms, the hysterical crying and fainting...my sides hurt.

kakashi: There's a lot of potential for tragedy in this drama, that much is clear after the second episode! I still very much like the way this story is told, the many subtle interactions and chance meetings, and apart from a few 101-villains, our main characters are complex enough to intrigue me further. Actually, I am most intrigued by our female protagonist. I hope they continue to write her well. JoAnne: I sort of feel like I'm in the Upside Down right now. SakiVI: what's the Upside Down? Second episode was better than the first, but I'm still ambivalent about this show.   Panda: Is Upside Down from Stranger Things? Yes, Stranger Things.  It's like a dead version of the world that the kids live in. What their world will look like when the Demagorgs and that big black thing take over.

kakashi: Trying out a new format for this drama! I'll call them impression posts - no recaps, but thoughts and rambling about the episodes. This drama has 52 episodes... that's a lot. That said, the first one was unexpected, but captured me from minute 1 to minute 46. JoAnne:  While I spent the whole first episode thinking 'what the hell is this about...I thought it was a thriller, corporate espionage, high stakes business/govt intrigue kind of thing.' panda: I had the same first impression as Jo but once I settled into the fact that they wanted to show his journey from the beginning, I enjoyed it.  SakiVI: I thought what Jo thought. I was mildly irritated with getting two episodes of background, maybe even more.

kakashi: Tissues ready, my friends? Loads and loads and loads? We are at the end of this show, the end of our recaps of this show, and to top this, we also get an episode that shreds out heart to pieces. It is bitter-sweet, because Lin Shu gets to live his life to the fullest at the end, but the loss is almost unbearable. Never forgotten. Almost remembered. It is hard to forget someone who has given you so much. JoAnne: I don't think I can share my tissues this time, Eleanor. Eleanor: Don't worry Jo, I brought loads of my own T_________T

kakashi: The penultimate episode is slow, slow and absolutely excellent. It contains of basically two extended scenes - the first in which the people of the court, one by one, unite to force the Emperor's hand. The second in which a defeated man is made to look, to truly look at what he has done. Those two are connected through a middle part, in which the Emperor looks at a game of Go and realizes that the world around him has fundamentally changed and that he has lost a game he never knew he played. It's the victory episode. We waited a long time for it! JoAnne: It is glorious and very, very sad. For everyone.   Eleanor: This drama in many ways is like a long, mournful, and tragic dance, all leading up to this grand finale. It's so beautiful, it hurts. 

kakashi: The biggest victory of them all is won in this episode, but there is so much sadness ... with Lin Shu's time running out quickly, he is tying up loose ends and says his goodbyes quietly. It is very satisfactory, but also very sad. JoAnne: Watching Lin Chen prepare Fei Liu was hard. Eleanor: I'm not sure if I can handle the sadness *takes deep breath*

We get our Lin Shu-Jingyan reunion in this episode, but it's not a happy one. Did we ever believe it could be? We also finally get news of Xie Yu's death, which sets the final plan in motion. Only ... will Grand Princess Liyang find the courage it needs to force the Emperor's hand? I honestly believed that death was a fake-out. Damn. Eleanor: Well, we kind of need him dead so we can get the news out about what he did, so I'm glad that he did actually die. And oh my goodness gracious me! Prince Jing looks amazing here! 

kakashi: Things are working our for Lin Shu and his friends and in this episode, they sloooowly, slowly edge towards the final success. There are many funny and happy scenes in this with Lin Chen and Fei Liu, and Lin Shu is seen laughing a lot. But that laughter is tinged with sadness. The end is near. JoAnne: I hope this ends before he dies. I just want to go away imagining him enjoying his life with Nihuang, for however long he has. Eleanor: We are so near the end. This is making me sad. I love this story so much. 

kakashi: The truth wants out, always, and out it comes. Mei Changsu's identity is exposed as Lin Shu and it is almost a miracle that he survives this. But he has friends - very loyal friends, very stubborn friends, and now even powerful friends. This is Prince Jing's hour to show his father what is right and what is wrong and for the time being, he succeeds. JoAnne: I think the Emperor suspects but they've confused him enough that he can't be certain. Or maybe they just confused me about the Emperor. Eleanor: This is the episode that made me weep, uncontrollably, for about twenty minutes, maybe longer. I had to pause the video I was weeping so strongly. That screencap is about to make the waterworks start again. 

kakashi: In this episode, the shit hits the fan. Never has Su Zhe's death been so palpable. Thanks to his good friend Lin Chen, he may make it a bit longer - but it's no longer a secret that his time is running out. And of course, at this most vulnerable time, Xiajiang strikes again. And it's a huge blow. JoAnne: Well, it's still a secret to Nihuang, apparently. And good old Jing still has no clue. XiaJiang. Xiajiaaaaaaaaaaaang *shakes fist at sky...picture Stephen Colbert screaming Raiiiin* That snake of a Consort Xian needs to go, too. Eleanor: I think Nihuang's in denial. Her long lost love has returned, there's no way she can face the idea of his death. So she's clinging to straws. I think deep down she knows though. 

kakashi: This is another brutal heartbreaker of an episode! One of those that pretend everything is well and then BAM! You cry buckets.  Eleanor: This show knows how to make me weep.  Jin Dong's hair also makes me weep . 

kakashi: It gets harder and harder to keep the truth from Prince Jing. But they really have to, do they, until the path to the Iron Throne (shakes fist)  is completely secure! The party returns to the Capital, which means Prince Yu's judgment day has come. How deep you have fallen, Prince. JoAnne: He should have just accepted it back then, and not gone for this final push toward the crown. I wonder if he realizes that yet. Eleanor: I think though that in some ways this brings him peace. He knows who he is now. He might regret it and the pain he will cause his wife and family, but he seized the day and it was a bad idea and he has to live with that. 

kakashi: OMG, they capture the beast in this episode! The beast! And the beast's true identity is a major turning point in the story, setting in motion many things nobody could have foreseen. During all this, Prince Jing is bitter over the secrets that he knows people are hiding from him and his sullenness is almost comical. Almost, because I really feel for him. He knows something big is up but nobody lets him in on it! JoAnne: It is very cute, yes. But I feel sorry for him - it must be very frustrating to feel like everyone is in on something and keeping you out. At least there's no hint of it being mean, and he doesn't take it that way. Eleanor: The Beast!!! I really feel for Jingyan. I know why they don't tell him, I really do, but it's also very difficult for him. On the plus side, Wang Kai pouts really well... so there's that. 

kakashi: So far, this show was not very much like Game of Thrones, even though it has been called the Asian Game of Thrones (Eleanor! Don't get angry! Joyce, Moonlil and Miao ... you neither!). This episode is quite a bit like it though: Long (and sadly beautiful) battle scenes! Blood! Gore! Deaths! Defeat! Okay, but there's a big difference too: in this drama, all the main characters survive for now, for what I am grateful. JoAnne: I was close to rioting there for a few minutes, watching our Sunshine Boy and Fei Liu. Eleanor: *grumble grumble* I think I would be less grumbly about inaccurate comparisons if people who had seen it wrote pieces instead of people who didn't even check the synopsis...oh well. That Meng shot is AWESOME!!!

Oh goodness. All of a sudden, things are moving super fast! And our friends on the mountain find themselves in mortal danger. Also, Mei Changsu's true identity is THAT close to being found out by Prince Jing. Maybe General Meng is right and he should just tell him. Seriously, stop torturing the poor water buffalo! JoAnne: I think at this point he probably SHOULD just go ahead and tell him, but my big question this episode is who actually did poison Mei Changsu with the Bitter Flame? Is it relevant to the story? I want to know anyway, though. Eleanor: I won't answer your first question Jo, but yes, the poison is very much relevant to the story, so don't worry, we will find out soon enough what the big deal with it is. And my little water buffalo looks so very lovely there - his IQ is loading up a little in this scene ;)

Revelations! Horrible, sad, exciting and dangerous revelations! Also: the Spring Hunt. Dammit, everybody we care for is there and the baddies are planning something big... *bites nails* JoAnne: Prince Yu doesn't get to go to the Spring Hunt because he's still grounded. Sucks to be Yu! Eleanor: LOL very punny. I love it. 

Mei Changsu is no longer bedridden and that's always a pleasure because he has among the best lines in the whole drama. There is no immediate crisis for our guys, which is a good time for some strategizing. If only those evil creatures all around them wouldn't strategize as well! Shoo! Go away! JoAnne: Look at him being all pretty and strategic.  Eleanor: He mostly just looks annoyed that someone woke him up from his nap. But yes, oh so handsome. 

Once again it looks like the Prince Jing supporters have won an important battle and things are moving into the right direction. After the acute crisis, it is time to get some high running emotions in order. The one hit hardest by what is revealed is Prince Jing, who realizes that his mistrust almost cost him his most important ally. Ahhhh, this was him in the secret passage, looking at the bell he cut down and feeling horribly embarrassed by his fit of temper...on behalf of Mei Changsu, I deeply appreciated this moment. Eleanor: *fans self* I know this moment is really serious, but ladies, Wang Kai is fiiiiiiiiiiine!!!