disgracetoscholars | NIRVANA IN FIRE: EPISODE 4 (Reply)

Introduction

Hey guys!

lazulisong has emerged from work hell and is taking point on the episode the Collective lovingly refers to as "I choose YOU, pikachu". (Not mentioning any names but this was eventually the cause of some really cursed manips on Twitter. Thanks, Twitter!)

PLEASE BE AWARE: a major plot point of this episode and the next is attempted rape and flashbacks to rape and assault in the past! Be good to yourself and proceed responsibly.

Plot

lazulisong: The episode starts with our favorite Disney Princess Jingrui, fighting with the North Yan champion, Baili Qi. He gets thrown across the room and knocks over a table. Nihuang looks kind of unnerved. The emperor calls the fight off before more damage can happen, and Baili Qi throws the sword Jingrui was using to his feet, so hard that it sticks upright in the floor. Nihaung glances over at Mei Changsu, and does a double take.

arrghigiveup: Because Mei Changsu is happily nomming on orange slices with an obnoxious uncaring nonchalance. I love this man.

kitsunec4: if you’re thinking that Mei Changsu is looking extra deliberately smug and annoying with all the powers of a younger brat, you’d be right.

hollyberries: I mean, look at that face. He definitely sat next to major chaos of his own making while looking like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. Probably in this very room, tbh.

rageprufrock: The deliberate lack of attention is probably the powerful tool in any bitch’s toolbox, and I commend him on his strategic use.

tactless_yet_lovable: That is the face of a man who has pulled some shit in his day and then needed to fabricate an alibi real quick to get out of a paddling.

lazulisong: Meanwhile, Northern Yan Guy immediately starts bragging on Baili Qi, to the extent of saying 'when' and not 'if' they win. The emperor takes this as well as you might expect, and some other dude stands up to scold Northern Yan Dude. The Emperor happens to look over and catch Nihuang and Mei Changsu whispering to each other, and dryly invites them to share with the class.

rageprufrock: This is a little thing, but it telegraphs how deeply and intricately planned this is: MCS knows the emperor is plagued by paranoia, he knows he’ll be watched carefully throughout this exercise, he knows exactly how to casually capture the emperor -- and thus the court’s -- attention. It’s a small thing, but just underscores how carefully this show and MCS were plotting.

lazulisong: Nihuang stands up, slightly embarrassed, and says that Sir Su was just making some comments about the fight. The Emperor goes squinty eyed and makes a not terribly flattering comment about how here he thought that Sir Su was just a scholar... is he good at everything? Mei Changsu and Nihuang look at each other awkwardly

arrghigiveup: Just look at these two conspiring children

kitsunec4: Look at their beautiful “we are totally not plotting, nope,” faces. Really this should have been a warning to everyone present at this specific banquet dinner.

hollyberries: They, like Jingyan, had probably fallen out of practice with recognizing the signs.

arrghigiveup: They really were having entirely too much fun there.

lazulisong: honestly if this is what these two fuckers can do after twelve years apart and Nihuang not even realizing it's actually Lin Shu, I feel like the Emperor probably had a reason to be wary of them?????

tammaiya: Yeah, that’s what really struck me here— Nihuang has no real reason to trust Mei Changsu to this extent, but clearly she’s affected by both subconscious familiarity and the ease of falling back into old patterns, even after all these years and without actually actively recognising that it’s Lin Shu. They didn’t have the opportunity to plan this in advance, which means that based on a few minutes of hurried whispers, Nihuang was able to take whatever Mei Changsu had whispered to her and put into action as a plan.

hollyberries: Nihuang was 15 when the Chiyan case went down, and her father passed away the year after, meaning she took charge of the Mu dukedom and the associated armies - she’s had ten years of steering her family through the snakepit of imperial politics and numerous border wars. Mei Changsu likes to think that he’s the only one who’s sullied his hands with politics and manipulation but she’s done the same, and can keep up with him much better than Jingyan at this point.

rageprufrock: An enjoyable hallmark of this show is that everybody is as smart as they could possibly be at every moment of the plot -- unless they’re emotionally compromised. It means there’s not really ever an idiot ball, and it means the story can make these really complicated moves and not have it beggar belief.

arrghigiveup: As a random aside and callback to that note on the previous recap about pronouns and forms of address and whatnot that can get lost in translation, Dadperor is now referring to our Mr Su as 苏卿 (Sū qīng), the qīng being an emperor’s form of address for a minister or official.

lazulisong: Nihuang takes the initiative to say that Mei Changsu thinks that Baili Qi's technique is unbalanced. He relies too much on strength and he thinks that a few kids with agility training could beat him.

Northern Yan dude fake laughs and says that Sir Su ought to put his money where his mouth is, and Mei Changsu proceeds to expertly escalate the situation by anxiously assuring him he was just speaking idly, he would never do anything that would put Baili Qi's future in doubt ---

Northern Yan dude basically tells him that if he's going to talk shit in front of the Emperor, don't blame him if he gets hit. Mei Changsu, even more wide eyed, assures him he was just joking. It would take time to train the kids. He definitely --

arrghigiveup: I’m sorry to be spamming with so many screencaps at one go, but I cannot not include a picture of Mei Changsu’s cheerfully and unrepentantly fake smile while he delivers his utterly fake apology.

And it really is a transparently fake apology calculated to piss people off because what he says is “just take it that I was talking nonsense” with the implication that he was not, in fact, talking nonsense, but he’s sorry that you were offended =)))

rageprufrock: I want to slap him and I don’t even know him in real life. I assume when he was Lin Shu, the only person who didn’t want to slap him was Jingyan, who didn’t understand why everybody got so weird about Lin Shu’s smile. It’s a nice smile.

tammaiya: Actually I feel like Jingyan absolutely DID know how much of a little shit Lin Shu was being and was just so hopelessly into Lin Shu’s everything that he found it adorable instead of wanting to smack the grin off his asshole face.

hollyberries: As an aside, this is the same exact face Hu Ge makes whenever people corner him about his love life and he starts spewing nonsense while his PR team pops Xanax. This is Hu Ge becoming one with his character.

kitsunec4: Mei Changsu is so damnably infuriating, I’m now imagining how much more #extra he must have been as a spoiled cousin and want to lie down in despair. It’s that or the jet lag talking.

arrghigiveup: Probably a bit of both, because he would absolutely have been the most #Extra

tactless_yet_lovable: And he would have been so goddamn indulged.

tammaiya: He would have been the worst little shit. But it also occurred to me on this second watch, despite how smug Mei Changsu is and how much he’s playing all this up… as much as I’m sure he gets a kick out of being clever enough to plot rings around everyone, it must be really frustrating to know that it’s the only tool in his arsenal. From a purely martial abilities perspective, Lin Shu could have fought in the tournament himself and probably beat them all, but as Mei Changsu, he has to rely on his wits and trickery. I didn’t appreciate how much that must grate on him the first time I watched this, because you don’t have a deep enough understanding of who he is and what he’s lost at this point in the narrative to see beneath the surface of how satisfyingly clever he is.

rageprufrock: There’s a Chinese proverb that goes, “文武双全,” which Pleco translates as “versed in both pen and sword,” which is the classical Chinese construction of manhood -- I would say versus the Western construction where you’re generally expected to have brains or brawn but both isn’t necessarily the default expected. For someone like Lin Shu, the brightest talent of his generation, best beloved of his teachers and a brilliant archer, strategist, and a leader on the battlefield, to lose utterly one half of his identity had to be devastating.

lazulisong: Baili Qi jumps in and says that even if Northern Yan dude can put up with this crap, he can't, and accepts the bet. Mei Changsu, still radiating 'I am but a poor scholar', says he doesn't know where he'd find the kids. Northern Yan dude says he hears they have a good school of martial arts, and Nihuang, jumping in (seriously, these shitheads, I love them and I am terrified of them) where her gege has left off, says that would be cheating.

Mei Changsu admires her thoughtful grace, and agrees it would be ~*~unfair to Baili Qi~*~. Then Nihuang 'suddenly remembers' the prison kids, and Mei Changsu agrees that might work.

tammaiya: OOF, what a masterclass in fake polite ice-cold setdowns.

hollyberries: This banquet is single-handedly responsible for top shelf gossip in the next two months about how Princess Nihuang has found true love at last but cannot marry him because he’s a pale, weak scholar. Songs and poems are composed, and everyone is very pitying. Meanwhile, Mu Qing cross-stitches a number of ugly cushions for his future nephews/nieces.

arrghigiveup: That did not occur to me before, but you are absolutely correct

kitsunec4: Mu Qing is the source of half of the gossip.

ohbthr: To be fair, he's only half wrong. By about twelve years.

rageprufrock: Let’s not go too far: let’s all agree that 12 years ago, Mu Qing was also too invested in his sister’s romantic life.

kitsunec4: oh man, that would have been so cute. Tiny Mu Qing toddling along after his best sister!!!

arrghigiveup: Tiny Mu Qing probably tried to kick potential suitors whom he found unsuitable--which was practically all of them--in the shin.

lazulisong: Dadperor asks Meng-ge's opinion. Meng-ge says they might win, and at worst they'll wear Baili Qi out for someone else to deal with. The emperor agrees and starts to send someone to get the kids. Meng-ge stops him and says he will pick out the best of the lot.

tammaiya: To cut in here, I know we make a lot of gentle fun about Meng-dage’s various hilarious failures at keeping secrets, and also the fact that he’s more about action than tricky mental acrobatics, but this scene is so understated as proof of how good at this he is, and why Mei Changsu chose him of all people to confide in. He may not be great at lying directly to people—which I think is at least partially a function of not being entirely convinced about the necessity for keeping the secret, when it comes to concealing Mei Changsu’s identity from Jingyan—but he plays the Emperor like a fiddle here, diverting his obvious suspicion from Mei Changsu with tactical efficiency. He doesn’t oversell Mei Changsu’s abilities, which would only make the Emperor more suspicious; he merely accepts the possibility, and points out the tactical advantages, guiding the Emperor where they want him to go. He may have been briefed in advance about the plan, unlike Nihuang, but this scene showcases his pure competency as a double agent. Ugh, I love him so much.

lazulisong: Cut to the servants' prison. Rows of boys, in rough blue robes, are made to kneel in front of General Meng. He points at one, feels his muscles, and then puts him to the side. He picks another, and then hesitates -- before pointing at Tingsheng.

arrghigiveup: I love how Meng-dage manages to maintain this extremely serious and forbidding look on his face while he makes commanding “MM” sounds and squishes the kids’ shoulders a bit.

tactless_yet_lovable: He’s testing them for Peak Huggability. He’s ready and willing to do his duty as a fun-loving Big Brother/Uncle figure to a new generation. His pockets are full of candy and he is ready.

kitsunec4: Meng da-ge has a v v serious job rn ok

lazulisong: The boys are dragged to the Imperial Presence, terrified. The Emperor asks Mei Changsu if they'll do. Mei Changsu says they should be fine, but he'll need to take them home for a few days. The Emperor agrees and promises to give rewards for winning (pointedly NOT saying what would happen if Sir Su loses lmao) and MCS deliberately misunderstands him, saying that it's useless to give the boys, hereditary criminals, rewards. The Emperor points out he meant that Sir Su would get the reward. Mei Changsu pulls out the big doe eyes again and says he could never.

Northern Yan dude says it's a bit early to talk about rewards, and Dadperor agrees. He says in a totally non-threatening, non-creepy (ha) way that they'll see what Sir Su's ability is when the time comes.

On that ominous note, the scene cuts to Jingrui, Yujin, and Mei Changsu leaving the banquet. Jingrui asks if it's really going to be all right -- he tested all of the boys and none of them have any skills whatsoever.

Mei Changsu asks if Jingrui has heard of the Linxu sword style. Jingrui says he has, but he thought it was extinct. MCS is like, "don't you trust me" and both Jingrui and Yujin make the same face. Jingrui says that MCS knows so much more of the world, so how can he not trust him?

(

lazulisong: Pretty easily to be honest!!! VERY easily!!!! Not even Mei Changsu trusts himself any further than he can spit himself!!!!

tammaiya: I totally winced on Jingrui’s behalf watching this scene the second time. This poor boy, too good and pure for all this intrigue.

rageprufrock: On second watch this was pretty brutal. Also a kind of ugly reminder how deliberate MCS had to have been every step of the way, befriending Jingrui and sowing the manipulative seeds for the invitation back to the capital -- everything. Big yikes.

kitsunec4: it’s even more sort of, blatantly manipulative in the books because there’s one version/revision where we see how MCS introduces himself while Jingrui is very much Moping over his True Love. I mean, it’s also kind of hilarious because Jingrui immediately shifts the target of his visible from outer space crush onto Mei Changsu, who literally plays the qin for him and feeds his drunk ass tea like a good older bro.)

lazulisong: Yujin jumps in and says that if Sir Su has picked them, he must have confidence. Also, he's looking forward to seeing if Baili Qi has enough face to fight Nihuang-jiejie if he loses to kids.

hollyberries: I mean, it’s already a huge mark of dishonour that Baili Qi has to seriously fight three kids, in front of an international audience.

kitsunec4: reputation, wreckt.

lazulisong: Dadperor and Meng-ge have basically the same conversation, except Dadperor asks if it's possible to do or if Mei Changsu is talking out of his ass to piss Northern Yan off. Meng-ge says that it's true that Baili Qi's technique is too strength-based, and bullshits something about how there's a lot of weird crap in this world and maybe Sir Su can do something -- and even if he can't, he can at least wear Baili Qi out.

arrghigiveup: Meng-ge’s probably swearing internally at the amount of bullshit he just had to come up with.

lazulisong: We cut to the inner palace, and see a consort -- Hui -- walking through a courtyard and trying not to cry. Jingmom (dressed in white, as usual) sees her and asks what's wrong. Consort Hui says that the Empress is mad at her for not copying texts well enough (query: is this something they would do as a religious thing or are they actually sent out like a monastery?) and not only chewed her out, but ordered her to go to the Dowager Empress's empty palace to burn 30 sticks of incense to prove her sincerity. (The Empress is ahhhhh not a great person obviously.) Consort Hui is TERRIFIED of the empty palace. Jingmom says she'll go with her -- I think that Consort Hui's maids are not allowed in the building? Anyway, Consort Hui starts crying again because she's so relieved.

hollyberries: There's a fairly common tradition of gifting elders with copied religious texts as a sign of filial piety and well-wishing? Doing this for an elder who's already dead is also very common, and a mark of respect for those who have passed on. It’s also a common way to punish women in the inner court, by keeping them busy. The filial chinese version of copying lines, if you will.

lazulisong: Another cut, to a head maid in indigo blue robes hurrying stealthily to a small house in the palace complex. She enters and calls for Wu-momo, the elderly maid that lives there.

The scene cuts back to Jingmom and Consort Hui. Consort Hui is lighting candles while Jingmom holds a respectful pose of prayer. She finishes lighting them, and Jingmom, in a motherly way, says they should go get back to their entourages. Jingmom supports Consort Hui out the door and suggests a short cut. (Hilariously, Jingmom acts like her mom the entire time despite technically being Consort Hui's junior.) On the way there, they hear Wu-momo talking to the maid, Zhen-guniang.

arrghigiveup: Cutting in here for more title-babbling: Earlier, Jingmom greeted Consort Hui as 惠妃姐姐 (Huì fēi jiějiě), while Consort Hui addresses Jingmom as 静嫔妹妹 (Jìng pín mèimei).

hollyberries and/or

moggiesandtea could say far more than I ever could about the differences between a fēi versus a pín--some of those differences actually become the basis of a minor plot point in a few episodes--but for now, just know that the former outranks the latter.

Meanwhile, jiějiě is literally “older sister”, but can be used as a polite way of addressing someone older, more senior, or higher-ranking than you, while mèimei is “younger sister”, or a nice way of addressing someone younger/more junior/lower on the totem pole.

The entire point of which is to say, Jingmom is definitely of lower rank--and possibly younger--than Consort Hui, but she sees Consort Hui crying and straight up Big-Sisters/Moms her (shut up, it’s a verb). I WOULD DIE FOR JINGMOM.

tammaiya: I love this woman so much. She is such a great example of how a character can be kind and gentle and bend without breaking, but still have a core of steel. Also she’s such a good mother, in really awful circumstances.

kitsunec4: She’s really the best and I’ll fight anyone who tries to imply otherwise!

rageprufrock: She’s phenomenal. Her sense of stillness is something I genuinely carry internally and try to access on a daily basis. I am successful about 2% of the time.

lazulisong: Apparently Wu-momo was a maid to the Dowager Empress and still lives in her courtyard. Zhen-guniang asks her if she's found the thing that 'the Lady' was looking for. Wu-momo says that in the entire inner place, she's the only one who still has any of this drug, Qing Si Rao, left. The two consorts pause and listen as Zhen-guniang asks if it's really the same stuff that the Empress Dowager used on the Princess Liyang. Wu-momo assures her that it is, and that half a cup will be effective for the purpose.

Consort Hui wants to hear more, but Jingmom, not being an idiot, drags her off by the ear as quickly and quietly as possible. Zhen-guniang says that if it's the real stuff and, and if it works, they'll arrange for Wu-momo to see her family, but nobody must find out about it it. (

lazulisong, a cynic: They gonna kill her, aren't they?)

arrghigiveup: (PROBABLY)

hollyberries: Yes. Wu-momo’s family too. (Also Jingmum is so hugehearted, she takes anyone she can help under her wing?)

lazulisong: When they get out of hearing range, Consort Hui exposition-dumps that Qing Si Rao is a aphrodisiac that causes the victim to think that they're with the person they like the best, and because of that, when they come to themselves, they think they've actually asked for it. She says they need to do something, but Jingmom tells her very clearly that they also need to not get themselves killed, thanks, and drags her off.

Back at the Xie residence, the three boys are practicing. They go around a yin-yang circle marked in chalk, repeating the movements over and over as Mei Changsu watches them.

He tells Fei Liu that he needs to make sure the three boys can do the movements as fast as he can. Fei Liu begins to train them again and Mei Changsu looks down at a bamboo scroll.

arrghigiveup: Fei Liu’s idea of training is apparently simply yelling “Have to be faster!” but, whatever works I guess?

lazulisong: He’s still reading it when he hears Nihuang’s voice. He looks up to see her and Jingrui’s brother walk up. MCS asks what she’s doing, and she says since the boys are fighting in her honor of course she has to check on them. Nihuang tries to send off Jingrui’s brother, but has to give him a Very Strong Hint to leave before he realizes he’s a third wheel.

rageprufrock: This was excruciating to watch.

lazulisong: yeah like the entire time you're like "honey I know ur spying for your faction but also - R E A D T H E R O O M"

Nihuang asks to see the formation again and the scene ends with Jingrui’s brother watching them from the corner of the courtyard.

Nihuang critiques the formation as unique but unlikely to, you know, actually work. Mei Changsu says to give it a few days, and Nihuang says that she’s kind of worried about this, thanks. Unless Sir Su has something up his sleeve …..? Mei Changsu will neither confirm nor deny.

Nihuang says she hopes he knows what he’s doing and Mei Changsu assures her that he will settle things ‘appropriately’. Nihuang says she doesn’t know why, but she believes him.

By the way, this entire scene is played to romantic qin music.

In the Inner Palace, Jingmom is staying up late, embroidering for dear life. One of her maids, Xiao Xin, tries to get to her to go sleep. Jingmom says she wants to give the sachet that she’s making to the Grand Empress as soon as possible, and dismisses her from duty.

rageprufrock: We’ll end up coming back to this later in the series -- a lot -- but Consort Jing is the smartest, most strategic person in this entire series. I’m including MCS here. Her ability to maneuver despite her incredibly limited resources and her wildly restrictive life are staggering, and Jingyan is lucky as hell she’s his mother.

tammaiya: Absolutely agreed. MCS is so sharp he could cut himself— and he ultimately DOES cut himself. There are times when he misjudges things because he’s emotionally compromised, and a lot of his plans are also only achievable through the assistance of others, including Consort Jing. Consort Jing is working under so much physical and emotional constraint, with so little outside assistance, and she is so cool under pressure. She lacks even half the resources that MCS can command, but what she does have, she wields with perfect precision, without ever letting herself buckle under all the stress she’s under. I love MCS, but Consort Jing is straight up AMAZING and who I would aspire to be more like if I thought there were a sliver of a chance that would be even remotely achievable.

hollyberries: I think part of this is due to upbringing - Lin Shu was raised the pampered only son of an influential general and an imperial princess while Jingmum grew up the persecuted daughter/disciple of country healers. She learned as a child to handle difficult, life-threatening situations with little or no power on her side, with her opponents holding all the advantage, whereas Lin Shu grew up more or less facing his opponents from level or higher ground. In conclusion: have you accepted the love of our lady and savior Jingmum into your heart today?

lazulisong: The next day, Grandma Empress, the Empress, Consort Yue, and Grand Princess Liyang are all smelling sachets. Grandma Empress likes one especially well, which turns out to have been made by Jingmom.

Grandma Empress realizes she hasn’t seen Jingmom for a while. Consort Yue says that Jingmom can’t enter the Presence unless she’s specially invited, and Grandma Empress calls her in.

arrghigiveup: This is one of the consequences of being pín, by the way. Jingmom’s rank is too low for her to pay respects to the Grand Empress in person unless summoned. This is a reminder of the previous episode, where Jingyan similarly could not enter the palace due to lack of rank and had to wait on a summon from the Worst Dadperor.

lazulisong: Jingmom comes in and kowtows, getting up when Grandma Empress tells her to. Grand Princess Liyang praises the sachet and Jingmom says she’s not very good at much but she made the sachet as well as she could. She hands another one to Grand Princess Liyang -- I’m not sure what happens there but she somehow conveys that there is some sort of message in the sachet.

arrghigiveup: My guess is she stuck a letter in the sachet, and Grand Princess Liyang could feel it crinkle when Jingmom squished Liyang’s hands around the sachet when handing it over. Which, again, she stayed up embroidering all night just so she could do this: I WOULD DIE FOR JINGMOM.

hollyberries: She had maybe a few moments to consider her plan of action and then set out to accomplish it. This woman is a force of nature.

lazulisong: Grandma Empress is spacing out (btw Meg was pretty impressed at this actress -- she did a good job with the dementia thing) and when she focuses again she thinks it’s 20 years ago. She asks Consort Jing if she’s doing all right in the palace, and reminds her that she came to the palace to help Consort Chen, who got sick after the birth of her son, Jingyu. Everybody stares at each other in that awkward “who tells mom what happened in realityworldland” way and the Empress finally reminds the Grand Empress that Consort Chen died because her son was a rebel. This is exactly the wrong thing to say, because Grandma Empress proceeds to have a meltdown and demand to see her favorite grandson, Jingyu. In the chaos, Consort Yue kicks Jingmom out, and the scene cuts again to Consort Jing’s courtyard.

hollyberries: This is a nice character note, by the way, because you get to see why the Empress would not be in favour with her husband, who loves it when people tell him what he wants to hear - not the truth. Separately, Great-Grandma loved Jingyu and Lin Shu best, and when the emperor ordered them killed, she took her hair down, got down on her knees, and begged her grandson to reprieve Lin Shu - he promised to do so, only to turn around and reinforce his previous order to make sure Lin Shu was dead. Great-Grandma saw everyone as family, but Dadperor could only see politics. (Also Dadperor is a paranoid dick.)

rageprufrock: NOT INCLUDED IN THE TELEVISION SERIES SO THANKS FOR THAT NOVEL ONLY SACK OF AGONY,

hollyberries.

arrghigiveup: ...WEH.

ohbthr: *crying forever about Great Grandma*

tammaiya: My heart just… breaks so much for this woman. She’s lost so much, her granddaughter as well as her great-grandsons, not to mention everything she must have been through when her grandson took the throne from her son. And now she’s old and confused and essentially has to relive that moment of being told her beloved great-grandsons are taken from her. Dementia is already cruel enough as a disease, but this is just… so sad.

lazulisong: Jingmom is pounding herbs for medicine with one of her ladies-in-waiting when Princess Liyang is announced. Liyang smilingly makes an excuse that she has a terrible itch on her back that her medics haven’t been able to fix and that she can’t (because of social rules about male/female contact) ask an Imperial physician to look at.

hollyberries: Rules about physical contact is why imperial physicians (all men) usually make diagnoses from the safety of a silk screen and/or a silk kerchief. Really improves the accuracy of their treatments.

kitsunec4: probably also for the #aesthetics let’s not kid ourselves about the exact kind of ridiculous things are always.

arrghigiveup: Remember how Grandma Empress said that Jingmom entered the palace to help take care of Consort Chen? The above is probably why.

lazulisong: Jingmom dismisses everybody so she can look at the imaginary itch on Liyang's back. In Jingmom's room, Liyang says that Jingmom put an awful lot of effort to get her a secret message. Jingmom tells her about the Qing Si Rao, saying that she isn't trying to hurt her, but Liyang, of all people, ought to know what a horrible thing it is. Liyang goes pale.

Liyang has a flashback to the night that her own mother dosed her with Qing Si Rao, leading to her marriage to the Marquis of Ning, Xie Yu.

arrghigiveup: Crime upon crime piling up on the Marquis, and it’s only going to get worse. Dude can fucking die in a fire. Also, the late Dowager Empress truly was a piece of work eh.

hollyberries: The worst thing is that Liyang was her biological child, while the current emperor and Lin Shu’s mother, Princess Jinyang, were both children of a consort. Of all the people who should have had Liyang’s back, the previous dowager empress was definitely one of them.

lazulisong: Liyang asks who the wine will be used on, and Jingmom says there's only one person that it would be used on, here and now, and begs her to help Nihuang.

arrghigiveup: Just look at how Jingmom managed to figure out this whole thing and how passionately and desperately she pleads for Nihuang. I would die for Jingmom.

tactless_yet_lovable: AS WOULD WE ALL.

lazulisong: Cut back to Snow Cottage, the boys are still training. They're already doing much better. Mei Changsu comes out and praises them, and Fei Liu stares at him expectantly until Mei Changsu praises him too.

arrghigiveup: It’s honestly delightful how much happier and more confident those kids look after just a few days out, like they all look straight ahead and one even pops an open smile at the praise. Fei Liu is an adorable killer puppy.

tammaiya: Such an adorable killer puppy. And Mei Changsu is the most indulgent puppy father completely spoiling him. The way Fei Liu presents himself for compliments and Mei Changsu gives him an exaggerated “yes you’re a good boy too” is just, uuuurgh, so cute.

hollyberries: I wonder if Mei Changsu’s parenting of Fei Liu is a model of how he was raised by his parents? Imagine high-spirited indulgent Princess Jinyang and gruff, strict Linpapa praising a tiny Mei Changsu for doing his drills properly.

lazulisong: A servant appears and announces Prince Jing -- who is following directly behind him. (Rude, bro.) Mei Changsu sends the boys off, but Tingsheng pauses to look at Jingyan before he goes.

tactless_yet_lovable: MY LITTLE PEANUT! wailing like I’m in goddamn Wuthering Heights

hollyberries: Seriously, did Jingyan just throw away everything he was ever taught about courtesy after the Chiyan incident. What would Jingmum say, Jingyan??

kitsunec4: She’d probably say more except what are the odds that Jingyan often wasn’t able to make it back for the few days a year he was able to enter the palace and see his mother??? And I’ve just made myself sad again.

ohbthr: TOO SALTY FOR MANNERS

tactless_yet_lovable: assumes a David Attenborough voice Here we have a half-feral prince dragged from the wild and thrust into a strictly-enforced environment dictated by closely observed etiquette.

lazulisong: Inside the building, Mei Changsu, serving tea, says that it's clear that Jingyan didn't trust him enough to not come check on Tingsheng. Jingyan says that Mei Changsu must have expected him to come, and that he's heard of his impressive act at the Palace banquet.

Jingyan says he's looked into Mei Changsu's background and Mei Changsu, looking demurely pleased, asks what Jingyan found out.

(Item: this scene has the ominous music instead of the romantic music but wow, are these two flirty.)

Jingyan says he didn't know before he started asking that Mei Changsu has relationships with the Crown Prince and Prince Yu, and sarcastically apologizes for being impolite to him.

arrghigiveup: Jingyan’s brand of dry wit is severely underappreciated; he is so cuttingly sarcastic lmao.

rageprufrock: He’s very funny, and very, very mean. The ultimate cynic, and so deeply distrustful -- and you can’t blame him! Not at all! Also echoing what

lazulisong said, this scene is incredibly intimate, tension overflowing.

lazulisong: He toasts Mei Changsu with his teacup. Mei Changsu, even more demurely, tells him that the Crown Prince and Prince Yu aren't his friends. They just want him for his brain. Jingyan says that Nihuang says he has many talents and he (Jingyan) didn't think such a talented person would become a strategist. Mei Changsu, to paraphrase, says there's no shame in being a whore if you get paid for it. You might even get in the history books. Jingyan says nothing and just looks at him again.

tammaiya: Mei Changsu is bottling up so much, which you can see when you look for it, because Hu Ge’s acting in this role always delivers. There’s irony layered in his rhetorical question about who would not choose to be a strategist; Lin Shu was destined to be a general, and the way Mei Changsu speaks here, he’s taking a dig at himself in a way Jingyan would take simply as his usual self-effacing manner.

lazulisong: Finally, Jingyan asks who he means to work for -- the Crown Prince or Prince Yu?

Mei Changsu looks him dead in the eyes, serious as the grave, and says: "I wish to choose you."

(

tactless_yet_lovable: This is the moment I’ve been anticipating from the start of this rewatch. The best video to dramatically re-enact my feels for this moment is Rest in FUCKING PIECES, Mr. Darcy.)

tammaiya: this scene is SO GOOD. you know the straight line meme? This is both a gay line AND an iconic line. And there are just… so many feelings here, because for Jingyan this is coming out of nowhere, this is pure shock, but for Mei Changsu, he would never have made any other choice.

rageprufrock: This is the scene where I lost my mind. I made a noise and it was inhuman.

lazulisong: Jingyan stares at him.

Mei Changsu smiles and calls him by his title. "Prince Jing."

Jingyan starts laughing. He says Mei Changsu must not have much foresight after all -- Jingyan's mother is a 2nd ranked concubine without family connections (compared to the Empress or Consort Yue, both of whom have rank and influential families). He's 31 and still technically a Grand Duke and not a Prince. He only knows generals and has no connections in the palace. What's the point of pretending to choose him?

Mei Changsu says he knows that Prince Jing is in an "unfortunate situation" but that he doesn't have another choice.

arrghigiveup: This Grand Duke and Prince thing is yet another title thing that doesn’t come through very well in the subtitles. Again, I’ll let the others give a more in depth explanation, but while Jingyan is a son of the emperor, much like the consorts and pín versus fēi, there is a difference between 郡王 (jùnwáng) and 亲王 (qīnwáng), with the latter outranking the former. Jingyan says here that he has yet to be named qīnwáng, and we’ve already seen some of the practical implications of this, such as the waiting outside the palace until summoned thing, and also, not being able to see his own mother whenever he wishes (as not everybody gets ready access to the inner court). It’s part of why, to himself and almost everyone else, he’s extra, super not part of this race for the throne. Everyone except this one white-robed lunatic, anyway.

hollyberries: Jingyan might be useful for his military connections, because he’s spent 10 years being moved around the country in positions of leadership (and he must be a good one or the emperor wouldn’t give him thankless but necessary jobs, or keep moving him to prevent entrenchment in the local army staff). In the context of political ruling, Jingyan is a non-starter.

ohbthr: Can we also talk about just how hysterical Prince Jing sounds when laughing about this? The subtext is absolutely “this crazy fucker what the fuck is he talking about”

lazulisong: my paper draft actually says "jingyan is like ARE YOU FUCKING HIGH"

arrghigiveup: Yeah he doesn’t just scoff; he full on throws his head back and laughs out loud like “some divine talent you are you’re INSANE.”

hollyberries: It’s a very characteristic laugh in historical dramas? The deep manful belly laugh of a Strong Male Character.

lazulisong: The scene cuts to Liyang going to Mu Manor. She's informed the two siblings are out and says she will see them later.

Jingyan is Very Skeptical. He says it's clear that one of his two brothers will end up with the throne, so why bother? Mei Changsu says that the easiest things to do are also the most boring. Jingyan snorts and says he didn't know wandering scholars were all this weird.

rageprufrock: LIKE I SAID: VERY FUNNY. VERY MEAN.

kitsunec4: and all of it delivered in that swoon-worthy voice. A+

lazulisong: Mei Changsu straight up asks him if he would be willing to see either of his brothers on the throne -- a question Jingyan can't answer. Instead, he points out that Mei Changsu must have done his research before he picked Jingyan, and he ought to know what sort of person Jingyan is. Jingyan says that his chances of getting the throne are like the chances of pigs flying -- but he's willing to do a lot to block his brothers' paths to the throne.

Mei Changsu says he saved Tingsheng to prove his sincerity (uhhhhhh….Chinese cultural thing Meg isn't getting?) to Jingyan, which genuinely pisses Jingyan off. He says that he hates all strategists and that even if they make it, it's unlikely he'll reward Mei Changsu. Mei Changsu says he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it.

tactless_yet_lovable: Let’s be real, he’ll burn that bridge when he comes to it. While coughing blood. From emotions.

arrghigiveup: Mei Changsu says that he saved Tingsheng as a first meeting gift (见面礼 jiànmiànlǐ, literally “meeting-courtesy”). You know how, if you’re meeting your SO’s parents for the first time you bring a small gift like fruits, or--if you’re Chinese--something with birds’ nest in it or whatever? Yeah, that. It’s meant to be a basic courtesy, but obviously the expense and extravagance of the gift changes depending on who you are, who the person you’re meeting is, what their station is, and whether you’re trying to curry favour with or court them (recall the levels of Extra that the Crown Prince and Prince Yu went to with their gifts). That’s why our dear stubbornly upright Prince Jing gets so offended: Mei Changsu’s just straight up told him that he’s used a person Jingyan cares for as a means of winning Jingyan’s favour.

kitsunec4: This is so baked into the culture still, lololol, the meeting gifts, I mean.

hollyberries: To the people who lived in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the slave children and adults were commodities, property that could and did change hands, sometimes as registered sales, other times as casual gifts. Jingyan is offended because to him, Tingsheng represents the remnant of his family, and here MCS is, treating him like an item to be bartered at a market.

tammaiya: The expressions and eye contact say so much in this scene, which honestly is a constant in this entire drama, but it’s something I pay particular attention to in the more meaningful interactions between Jingyan and Mei Changsu, because there are so many layers of feelings. Jingyan is completely outraged and offended, especially so because Mei Changsu has brought Tingsheng into this, but that’s just the final straw that tips him over into a hot anger, rather than a cold one. Jingyan genuinely hates schemers, because he associates those kinds of political manoeuvres with the death of his beloved older brother and Xiao Shu. A good part of the reason why he’s totally out in the cold is his refusal to hide his feelings or play the game at all. And here is Mei Changsu, treating someone’s life as a playing piece, a bribe to persuade Jingyan to his side. It’s the kind of move that was always going to disgust Jingyan, but when that playing piece is Tingsheng… it’s pouring salt into an open wound.

Which Mei Changsu absolutely knew it would be. It’s the most believable reason he could give in his current guise, and he has calculated it knowing that it will both protect his identity from Jingyan while also persuading him that Mei Changsu is serious. The perfect means of putting his plans in motion while keeping Xiao Jingyan at an emotional distance, ensuring that he is predisposed to seeing Mei Changsu as an unsavoury but necessary tool. But at the same time, it clearly hurts. Mei Changsu maintains eye contact with Jingyan for most of this scene, but his gaze drops down when Jingyan speaks so harshly to him. His move was deliberate, and he considered it necessary, but Jingyan’s scathing disdain for him still takes an emotional toll.

rageprufrock: This is a show designed for people who like pressing on bruises.

lazulisong: Jingyan wants to know why Mei Changsu picked him specifically -- they haven't met, so how can Mei Changsu be sure of his choice? Answer: Crown Prince and Prince Yu are definite nos (Crown Prince is not only an idiot but controlled by his mother ...and his libido…., and Prince Yu is not interested in actually ruling, more in winning), and the other princes are either handicapped, not ambitious, or minors.

"Just treat it as a bet of mine," lies Mei Changsu.

In Marquis of Ning's study, a subordinate reports on Liyang's trip to the Mu Manor. Xie Yu looks thoughtful, but dismisses his subordinate.

This doesn't really come up but it's a short character point to make it clear that Marquis Ning, despite repeatedly claiming that Liyang is the love of his life, still wants to know everything she's doing. He claims to love her, but he doesn't trust her any further than he can see her. THIS FUCKING ASSHOLE, Y'ALL

kitsunec4: 100% would set him on fire, what a dick.

rageprufrock: These two are fucking fascinating, and their relationship will be revisited -- in depth -- later in the series. I’m obsessed with them.

lazulisong: That evening, Meng-ge examines a sleeping Tingsheng, before looking at Mei Changsu and nodding, as if to confirm something. (Interesting choice of set up here -- Tingsheng is actually about two feet away from the other two boys on the kang bed.) They leave the boys and go to Mei Changsu's room.

Meng-ge asks if Mei Changsu is really sure that Tingsheng is Prince Qi's posthumous child. Mei Changsu says that the timing is right, and Jingyan seems very concerned about him, so the chances are pretty good. Meng-ge points out that all the boys in Prince Qi's household were killed and all the girls were sent to the servant's prison, and all of the girls were forced to die within a year of Prince Qi's death. Mei Changsu says that the Princess Consort of Qi was a woman of great wits and it's quite possible she risked everything to preserve "Jingyu-gege's" bloodline.

kitsunec4: Before anyone freaks and wonders if Mei Changsu is a kid of Worst Dadperor at the way he calls Prince Qi “gege,” we should probably note that in Chinese it’s common to call cousins you’re particularly close to brother or sister. (And then people you aren’t actually related to your cousins because they’re children of close family friends, look, it’s a thing ok).

This is still really damn extra here though, Mei Changsu is: 1) using Prince Qi’s personal name, 2) calling him older brother, 3) AND using the cute form, generally used by little kids and someone out to be deliberately cute and be coddled, in 4) A CONVERSATION ABOUT PRINCE QI BUT NOT ADDRESSING HIM DIRECTLY.

tammaiya: Also worth noting— the Viki subs refer to “the Crown Princess”. What he ACTUALLY says is 王妃嫂嫂 (wángfēi sǎosao), the first part being "prince's wife/consort", and the second being the title for sister-in-law (or cousin-in-law, in this case). This is important for two reasons— first of all, we have seen nothing in the show so far to suggest that Prince Qi was ever the Crown Prince. Secondly, it’s just as completely cutesy and extra as calling Prince Qi “gege”. THIS BOY.

tactless_yet_lovable: In case you’ve all managed to forget Lin Shu was a spoiled brat who got coddled big time, here’s that unnecessary reminder.

lazulisong: Meng-ge comments that Tingsheng's life as an orphan in the servant's prison must have been incredibly hard -- which leads him to think about how hard Mei Changsu's life must have been. He says when he was contacted 5 years ago he could barely believe it was even possible, and looking at the changes in Mei Changsu's face and body, he knows that Mei Changsu must have suffered much, much more than he would ever be willing to admit to Meng-ge.

Mei Changsu says quietly, almost grimly, that since he survived, he won't waste his life.

hollyberries: WEH.

Sidebar - Hu Ge was in a very bad car accident in 2006, while he was filming the remake of the Condor Heroes. He was badly injured, and the right side of his face required extensive plastic surgery to reconstruct - for a while there were serious doubts as to his return to the entertainment world. (You can see traces of the accident on Mei Changsu’s face, which the makeup crew emphasized on purpose.) In interviews and memoirs on the press tour for Nirvana in Fire, Hu Ge has reiterated that sentiment as his own, and it’s a poignant way for his personal journey to come full circle in this drama.

lazulisong: In the Mu Manor, Nihuang is looking through old letters when her brother comes in to announce he's done studying and to ask if there's anything else he needs to do. Nihuang says he should wash up and go to bed, but instead, he drops down to sit beside her and says he's worried about the Baili Qi thing. Does jiejie really think Sir Su can win?

Nihuang is like "lmao no way in hell is it possible" and her brother jumps up, declaring he'll go straight to Sir Su and demand an explanation. Nihuang tells him to chill out -- anyway, even if she fights Baili Qi, it's not a forgone conclusion that she'll lose, is it?

rageprufrock: Again, Mu Qing is the only person in this whole series who is appropriately concerned about Nihuang’s future marital happiness and status.

lazulisong: Meng-ge asks if Mei Changsu really wants to help Prince Jing get the throne. Mei Changsu just looks at him. Meng-ge points out that not only does Jingyan hate strategists, he's as stubborn as hell -- and also he doesn't have the right temperament to stand up against the ruthlessness of his brothers' factions. How is he supposed to win?

"He has me," says Mei Changsu. "I'll do every bloody, evil thing that he can't." If innocent people have to suffer, he'll do it. He'll bear the sin for Jingyan.

rageprufrock: At this point, the inhuman noise I made when Mei Changsu said he chose Jingyan for the throne had transfigured into a high pitched keening noise I was making around the fist jammed in my mouth.

(

lazulisong, stuffing snacks into her mouth, watching raptly: this is the gayest thing I've seen in three years, China.)

arrghigiveup: “This kind of suffering and wrongdoing, if Prince Jing can’t bear them, then let me take up this burden.” GAAAAAAAAAAAY.

kitsunec4: I’ve heard marriage vows less devoutly devoted.

ohbthr: don't mind me just crying over MCS and his self sacrificing streak as per usual.

hollyberries: I’m wiping tears away at his love and devotion but also - such a drama queen, MCS.

tammaiya: He hates himself and loves Jingyan in about equal measure, I think, that measure being FATHOMLESS AS THE OCEAN. I have such a bulletproof kink for this level of unhealthy devotion and self-sacrifice, but also, WEH.

lazulisong: In Liyang's courtyard, two of her maids dress her in a heavy hooded cloak. She asks where Xie Bi is and one of them says he isn't home. She tells them that if her sons come to tell her goodnight, to tell them that she's already asleep, and heads out of her courtyard toward Snow Cottage. (That is a baller lantern she has, by the way.)

arrghigiveup: This is not relevant to anything, but since I’ve been pointing out title things the whole damn episode, I may as well finish the job: The subtitles I have show her as asking “Where’s Xie Bi?”, and that is in fact who she’s asking for, but because she’s talking about him to servants, she refers to him by the title 世子(shìzi), which is the heir of a noble house (because of the confusion around Jingrui’s birth, Xie Bi is the heir despite Jingrui being older). When she talks about what to do if her sons come to pay respects, she refers to them as 大公子(dà gōngzǐ) and shìzi, the former being “eldest son (of a noble house)”, i.e. Jingrui. I just find the levels of formality interesting.

hollyberries: There’s the feeling that Liyang never quite let herself love her children by Xie Yu (understandable) the same way she loves Jingrui, though she tried to do her best by them.

arrghigiveup: Also, here, have another screenshot, cos it is a pretty baller lantern (though it’s clear from the shape that they used a different one for the scenes outside):

lazulisong: Meng-ge and Mei Changsu hear her arrival. When she asks to come in, Meng-ge hides and she sits with Mei Changsu, telling him what Jingmom told her. Mei Changsu asks her why she came to him for help -- surely she has more resources than him?

Liyang smiles bitterly and says she's trapped. Doesn't have direct evidence, so can't accuse anybody. Can't go to the Emperor. Won't involve her husband or sons. Can't just hang out at the Palace waiting for something to happen, or nothing will happen until she leaves. Her identity as a Grand Princess is absolutely useless.

Mei Changsu asks her what she wants him to do. Liyang says that if he warns Nihuang, she is smart enough to avoid any traps.

rageprufrock: This is actually a theme I find continuously fascinating within Nirvana in Fire. The show does take a lot of liberties with regard to the status of remit of women in the rough historical period it takes place -- ie: Nihuang and Xia Dong -- but it’s in the female characters inhabiting the traditional roles I have the most interest for this: Consort Jing and Grand Princess Liyang. Liyang isn’t wrong that her status as Grand Princess is utterly useless, but even as she says this she’s in the act of exercising her agency with tremendous courage. Her ability to maneuver is severely restricted, and while she feels it keenly, she’s still doing something, she’s still using whatever power she has as best as she can. It’s the same thing that Consort Jing does, and I find it hugely interesting.

tactless_yet_lovable: Liyang is quietly like, the saddest fucking character in all of Nirvana and I’d fight for her as much as I’d fight for Jingmom.

tammaiya: Liyang has been completely fucked over by life— by her mother, by her brother, and then been chained for life to her rapist, who is by turns controlling (needs to know where she is, and the only reason she got away with barring him from her presence for ONE NIGHT was her maid hitting him in the sore point of his guilty conscience) and wheedling and emotionally manipulative (the kind of guy whose “apologies” are calculated to make you feel sorry for him). She has been downtrodden enough that for the most part, she has clearly given up fighting. And yet, she is still willing to go to these lengths to try and protect Nihuang from the fate she suffered. I truly do love Liyang, she deserves so much better.

arrghigiveup: Ugh yeah, agreed.

Also, just to recap, Jingmom got the info, but isn’t sufficiently high-ranking to talk to Nihuang. Wasn’t sufficiently high-ranking to actively seek out Liyang either, so had to resort to elaborate scent-pouch secret messages to get Liyang to visit her. Liyang can visit Nihuang, but was unsuccessful in getting ahold of her, and probably doesn’t want to try again because multiple visits for no obvious reason looks dodgy, and so goes to Mei Changsu (at night, because it’s extra dodgy for her to be seen visiting him), because he’ll be seeing Nihuang soon at the Baili Qi vs Kids showdown and will have a chance to pass the message on.

This is the most elaborate and high-stakes games of Telephone, y’all.

lazulisong: Marquis of Ning goes to his wife's courtyard as her maids panic. They can't let him in, but equally cannot refuse him entry. An older maid says they are weak like little babies and to watch and learn.

She stands in front of the door as Xie Yu comes up. He asks her if Liyang is asleep, obviously still meaning to enter, and Qi-momo stops him, saying that the Princess does not want to see anybody.

"Even me?"

"Forgive me, my lord, but especially not you," says Qi-momo, who has balls of steel.

Xie Yu hisses angrily and Qi-momo says that Liyang went past the Dowager Empress's memorial and "got sad" while "thinking of the past". Both she and Xie Yu know what she really means is "she was triggered and is having PTSD flashbacks to when you and her mom, you know, conspired to drug and rape her, asshole". Xie Yu backs off.

arrghigiveup: I fucking love this scene and this woman. “Momo” can be used to address either a very elderly woman, or a wetnurse. Regardless of which it is, it’s very clear that Qi-momo has been with Liyang for a very, very long time, long enough to see Liyang grow up and probably see Liyang almost like her own daughter. She knows about the Qing Si Rao, which, given that Jingmom mentioned earlier that everyone talks about Liyang’s marriage to Xie Yu as a match made in heaven, the truth is clearly not even a common rumour. Which means Qi-momo has to be very close to Liyang to be in the know. And she very calmly and fearlessly wields that knowledge as a weapon against Xie Yu, the master of the household, so as to aid her mistress. This woman is badass.

kitsunec4: Every character in this show is just, so interesting, on first watch it took me a long time to understand this implication and then I cursed out loud at the sheer fucking BALLS of Qi-momo’s tactical nuke strike of a conversational move.

ohbthr: also she's SO SMOOTH about it. “Step aside little children, I'll show you how it's done.”

rageprufrock: So many different kinds of female agency -- all being exercised to their maximum limit within the parameters they can be. So, so interesting.

lazulisong: Liyang goes back and Mei Changsu comes back from seeing her off. Meng-ge reappears from where he'd been hiding, and asks who would do such a horrible thing? (Hu Ge's acting is really good here, by the way, he basically just leans against against a pillar for three seconds and you SEE Mei Changsu's blistering, impotent rage and horror) Mei Changsu says who else could it be but the Empress or Consort Yue? But they'll definitely find out tomorrow.

Character Beats

tactless_yet_lovable: I fucking LOATHE Xie Yu. I loathe him as much as I quietly love Liyang and Jingmom (special mention to Consort Hui for recognizing they needed to do something).

The women of this episode stood out big time. Before rewatching, if you’d asked me who gave the fewest fucks of this episode, I would have said Jingyan. And I would have been so wrong. Qi-momo punched up so hard, God got a nosebleed from her.

tammaiya: This episode just showcases how amazing all of these women are, especially Liyang and Consort Jing, who have both been dealt really shitty hands and played their best cards to protect Nihuang. It is amazing to watch them use the incredibly narrow spaces they are given with all the restrictions they are under to try and get that warning out, in whatever way they can.

This is also a great episode, in a more subtle way, to appreciate Meng da-ge’s loyalty and understated competence, because so much of Mei Changsu’s machinations rely on Meng as the man on the inside, whose opinion the Emperor will give weight to.

hollyberries: In the past of the show canon itself, you have Great-Grandma using her position as imperial matriarch to try to save her beloved great-grandson. Prince Qi’s consort somehow ensured Tingsheng’s survival when Qi’s entire household, her maternal family, and any ministers/scholars supporting their position were condemned to death. Princess Jinyang could have lived given her position as sister of the emperor, but in order to protest the Lin family’s innocence, she killed herself with one of her husband’s swords in front of the emperor’s morning court session on the footsteps of the grand audience hall. Ladies are fierce.

Production Choices

lazulisong looking back at it, everything happens either at night or in a unsaturated cool palette which, uhhhhh… seems fitting all around.

tammaiya: This show almost always has amazing costumes, sets, cinematography and choreography. The two things that jumped out to me the most in this episode were the scenes with the children training—the use of overhead shots to show the symmetry of their movements against the yin-yang symbol chalked on the ground was a nice visual touch—and the way the flashback scenes zoomed close in on the pouring of the Qing Si Rao, placing it and every terrible thing it represents at the centre focus of the scene.

Final Thoughts

lazulisong: despite the nominal plot of the bet, this episode is basically one big discussion about how women can choose to tear each other down or help each other, especially when you compare the behavior of Wu-momo and Qi-momo.

arrghigiveup: And Grand Princess Liyang, who clearly went “I cannot let what happened to me happen to another person.” And of course Jingmooooooom.

kitsunec4: I know we scream about it being the I choose you pikachu episode, but on recap and discussion, there’s so much more. God. So so much more.

tactless_yet_lovable: God I forgot this ep is like ... 30% gay, 70% women are terrifying powerhouses who will go to the mattresses for or against each other. All I remembered of this episode was the hella gay “Pick Your Prince” scene and then got blindsided by all the women.

rageprufrock: THIS EPISODE IS A GIFT.

tammaiya: This episode is where NIF really starts to pick up steam and never looks back. SO GOOD.