The following is a semi recap plus review plus opinion on the specific episodes, emphasising more on the review than the recap. Spoilers alert and highly opinionated. Read at your peril.
End of Episode 20 (uncut) is end of episode 20 (Hunan). Interesting. But Ep 20 (uncut) seems to have a few more scenes, just very short I suppose. I don't know, haven't done comparison. So I watched Ep 19 (uncut) and then switched to ep 18 (Hunan) up to ep 20 (Hunan). Ep 21 is back to uncut then.
Anyway most favourite scene is towards the end where I took the following quote ...
Xiao Gu, you have matured ...
- Bai Zihua
Or rather Xiao Gu, you have grown up. But matured is more of the intention in a way so I am sticking with it.
Some pictures of my most favourite scene, recaps to follow later...
Ok, recap....
I don't have much recollection of Episode 19 until I rewatched some of it and it is a significant episode. Summary wise, it is about Zixun finding out HQG is BZH's calamity and this episode explains why all the security in the world wouldn't have matter to this woman because she will use half her power cultivated over hundreds of years just to enter BZH's residence to get her hand on the life stone thing. Once she knew, she immediately went to look for HQG who was having lunch with Dongfang and Tang Bao (yes, Dongfang finally saw Tang Bao as a girl and pity, no scene of his reaction) and Dongfang in protecting HQG got seriously injured. Like so serious he could die in a matter of days and you know it is serious when BZH turned super serious to deliver this serious news. HQG naturally panics and Zixun, wrecked with a sense of guilt towards hurting a normal person who happens to be the Shu Emperor's top advisor offered to help but usually one who gives the poison doesn't really know how to cure it, so to speak. And HUGE revelation; one person can and that is SQM and Zixun used to be in SQM's sect (hence her affinity towards KILL KILL KILL apart from JEALOUS RAGE) until her loins for BZH.. I mean her love for BZH lured her away. Doesn't sound good. So Zixun went to see SQM only to be kidnapped and so HQG went and SQM said he will help ONLY IF he can have the harp for a few days and he will return the harp for reasons he will explain later. Of course Mo Yan the big brother of Chang Liu went berserk and of course BZH said no and yet conveniently was using the harp, told HQG to practice on it and HQG and Tang Bao stole the hard under his very eyes, and yes he knew. SQM got the harp and the reason he wanted it was because his dead sister (like died 80 years ago? 70 years? but body preserved in a coffin made of ice) loved all things harp, heard of this magical harp and went to Chang Liu only to fall for a guy who used her when he knew of her identity to hold her hostage in return of all the sacred items SQM had in his possession. When SQM was slow to react, she thought her brother didn't love her and so killed herself. And I thought she was having a hissy fit! Anyway wrecked with guilt, SQM once promised he will bring the harp to her for her to play hence he played for her. HQG volunteered to play (she reportedly looked like the dead sister) and I am not sure if it was his imagination or HQG didn't see because we never got to see her POV, SQM saw his sister's spirit rise up and said to him she only wanted to borrow the harp and advised him to not pursue the sacred items anymore and just live happily. Clearly one of them did not read the sect's manifesto. What's the point of being an evil sect if you don't do evil stuff? Like collecting all sacred items to release the demon king or something? Anyway he promised and then HQG appeared next to him as if she never saw the spirit. Did SQM just gone bonkers? Dongfang was saved and he was touched by HQG's concern. BZH got roasted by his big brother until HQG arrived to explain and well, all was well. For a sect leader, BZH really had to listen to naggy big brother. And I was left wondering did BZH ever thought perhaps SQM may not return the harp or was he taking a risk? Is BZH becoming human now? Because this is a man who won't save a mortal man using magic when in man's land and yet can just allow his student to carry a magical harp that the evil sect is looking for to their lair!
Episode 20 is more dramatic in every way. Life returns to normal, HQG realises she is falling for her shifu and avoids looking at him. He seems oblivious but of course he should know. Does he know she is lying when she said she is in love with Dongfang? I don't think so. I think he believes her, he has no reason to disbelieve her and moreover he knows she is distracted but not sure by whom. And he doesn't like Dongfang not because he is jealous but because he doesn't trust Dongfang. Anyway he advises HQG to not place too much emphasis on such stuff and decides to take her down the mountain and practice some cultivation. HQG realises she must push aside her feelings and just go with the flow. Cut to cute scenes like hot weather on a raft but Shifu doesn't sweat. HQG realises he is cool near her and to her he is like a walking air conditioner so she hid behind him to avoid the hot sun and to get some cool air.
Cute stuff. And one would wish their relationship is that way forever where expectations are low. Nothing romantic, just cute. Pity.
Anyway they went cultivating, meanwhile some strange shift to Xuanlang in the palace learning boring kunfu and Qingshui stalking him. If you're wondering how come Qingshui can walk in and out of Chang Liu, episode 21 will explain. Anyway back to cultivating. They saved a villager's life who came from HQG's village, they went back to her old mansion/bungalow (huge place!) and shifu even repaired the house, chop some woods, fed some CGI buns...
She began to have an inkling that maybe he is like her most missed friend, Mo Bing but she can never remember his face. Cut the long story short to which it is a MUST WATCH, BZH realised how important Mo Bing was to HQG and what a deep impression he left her. Moreover he also realised a sense of guilt for not saving her only living relative that was her dad and also leaving without saying bye bye and so he fessed up. He told her who he was and shocked, she ran into her house and hid. I need to state her that Zixun stalked BZH and suddenly remembered HQG as that young village girl whose father died when BZH could have saved him and taunted him that does she know and what if she knows and BZH had the last laugh when he walked away and said "I already told her".
Yeap! Score infinity to BZH!!
Anyway, Zixun blasted into the house and taunted her as HQG was sorta angry why Zixun and her shifu never bothered to save her dad and Zixun rightly pointed out BZH wanted his sect leader seat, Zixun didn't want to go against BZH and HQG should really blame the villagers who made her life hell in the first place. HQG left to be alone whilst BZH wished for HQG to forgive him for what he couldn't and didn't do. HQG was kidnapped and was to be burn on stake and she flew into a rage, captured one villager and wanted to BURN HIM ALIVE. Yeah! Zixun was in her head urging her to release her inner rage when shifu flew in and just stared at her as she told her shifu;
"Shifu, don't stop me! I will kill these people, they killed my father! I want to avenge my father!!"
but shifu just stared, she stared back, Zixun urged her and suddenly the power of staring worked and she dropped the fire stick, Zixun disapppointed, left and BZH followed and the man begged to be released and his young daughter tried to save him and HQG let him go.
Meanwhile BZH met with Zixun and very gently told her to stop torturing HQG and if she wants to torture someone, let it be him. She taunted him and said she may have promised not to kill her (she did) she didn't promise to let her go. BZH asked does she really want to see HQG and him suffer and she kinda said yes when she taunted him with all the lies and his failure to save her dad, his relationship with his disciple is most certainly over and she laughed as she said HQG will leave her shifu soon.
And you and I know that will never happen, not even when Zixun starts wearing black.
HQG was alone, thinking she is all alone until she remembered, Mo Bing was but a distant memory, the past, her shifu was the present. So she ran in search of her shifu and there he was, walked out of the house and she excitedly ran to him and hugged him, but not hard enough. She should have slammed into his embrace and rubbed her face into his chest and all that. Anyway, she hugged him as he said "You forgive shifu?" and she said (not verbatim);"If I could forgive those villagers, why can't I forgive my magnanimous shifu? Zixun was wrong. In life, there can be love, there can be compassion, there can be forgiveness and acceptance. I have shifu, I will never part with shifu again"
Hence,
"Xiao Gu, you have matured".
My heart was like leaping and all that. I mean wow, wow, wow...she forgave him. In a way it was her right to forgive and his fear that she won't. Well she did. The end.
Episode 21 is all about Xuanlang. Brother finally begins a coup and takeover the palace and and poor Xuanlang, no army, even Dongfang seems to be working for his brother.
Ok, let us not pretend not to know who the guy behind the mask is. Wait.. is it that twin with 2 similar names there? I don't care. And how come Qingshui can walk in and out of Chang Liu? Well BZH knows. Qingshui is the Princess of Zhou, a more powerful neighbouring country who is willing to send in their army to aid MXL on the condition MXL marries Qingshui. He is not willing. Talking about getting priorities straight! So Dongfang told HQG to steal his imperial seal, how she did it, don't know. Dongfang wrote the letter and so army is ready. Qingshui lied that he dad was willing to help without conditions and MXL was naive enough to believe.
In all these, the real war is between evil sect led by eyebrow guy (and where is SQM??) assisting the traitor brother and BZH for MXL but BZH won't assist unless necessary. Why the sects are involved is because MXL's brother has the royal sword which is one of the sacred items and no one knows until the sword flew up and glowed red. No one was keeping record who is keeping what. Anyway, two sides met, and I was left wondering why does the brother look like a drug addict ...
And then some harsh words were exchanged and war begin with 2 emperors fighting man to man and in the end...
War was fought between these few people. The rest were standing there doing nothing, not even cheering. The brother was killed by eyebrow guy who wanted the sword but hey, BZH is there man and guess what? He flew in and took the sword and that was it. Shortest war, EVER. Kingdom restored, MXL gave the sword to BZH and Qingshui sought permission to leave Chang Liu and stay with MXL much to his surprise and he only stared at HQG.
And all these while, the entire fight between 2 emperors is only meant to facilitate the story of identifying and collecting the sacred items and no more. The whole struggle was rushed and too few people and it felt half baked and unconnected to our BZH and HQG love story. The entire story about the sacred items was touched at the start of the series, disappeared, came back full force and gone again. Absolutely no explanation what is the significance, maybe there was but not coherent explanation and it felt disjointed. I feel the sacred items story serves no purpose except to make HQG a demon later on just to drive our two lovers apart. I wished it was tighter, better told and at least a better background given. Until now the significance of HQG as the last god's reincarnation is still lost to me even if I do get why it is significant later on but again it means nothing more than to just lead to the inevitable tragic end and nothing more. Perhaps the novel had more time for this but for this series, do we really need Qingshui and Meng Xuanlang? Really really need them? The so called 5 immortals also not emphasised and so do we really really need the cut of 5 immortals? I'd rather BZH had no immortal friends, that he was all alone. The sudden revelation that Zixun belonged to the evil sect was to be a WTF moment, maybe I missed it in the beginning but that was the first I heard it and again no background. I wished less on others and more on.. who is BZH? Who was HQG? The rest really didn't matter.
Anyway last scene was a weird but satisfying one. We see BZH early in the morning before make up...
He looked great. Anyway he looked gloomy until HQG rushed in to comb his hair, he felt more relaxed and even smiled a little and so we have this simple but very pleasing to watch scene; she combing his hair as they talked about MXL and all that. I don't know; I wish the series trimmed the characters and make it more intimate. Right now episodes 20 and 21 (uncut) seems messy. I really don't care about everyone else.
By the way, epic eyebrow!! Will there be a scene of HQG drawing on his eyebrow? Like eyeliner and such? Please???? And notice how HQG is now in total white colour like her shifu.
Gorgeous couple. Great costumes! Story shaky. But at least back to basics.
Next stop, Shou Shan!!
Still a tremendously entertaining series and no complains on the acting. Absolutely zero complains on the attractiveness of dear beautiful gorgeous Wallace as Bai Zihua.
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