lunabee34

Episode 36

Lin Jing is not a traitor! HALLELUJAH! I am so fucking stoked. I shouldn’t really be surprised; Zhao Yunlan’s signature move is the sneaky plan, the clever bait and switch. I am so so so happy that Lin Jing is never really on the outs with Zhao Yunlan. And then Ye Zun kills him. OMG, I can’t believe it. Emma and I are in shock.

So clearly at least one of the Dixingians has the power to become a hologram since Ye Zun turns into one. The powers they manifest seem so random (which I suppose is partially because we only see a very small group of them). OMG, I hate his hair in this scene. That wig is so awful and does not even have the colorful sassiness of Zhu Jiu’s wig going for it. LOL I do like that the Ministry resists Ye Zun’s offer to take Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan in exchange for stopping the war; on the one hand, I think the Minister et al realize he’s probably lying, but I also think there’s an implication there that Zhao Yunlan hasn’t done anything wrong and shouldn’t be sacrificed in that way. But their alternate solution—the serum—is clearly a bad one and not just because the lead scientist is rushing its development and implementation. How is fundamentally altering humans an appropriate way to deal with this problem?

And, of course, the lead scientist turns himself into a monster with the serum. It’s hard not to make comic book analogies with this series, and this time, it’s to the Hulk. He’s turned himself into an illogical and irrational rage monster, which is the ultimate horror for a scientist. I mean, on the one hand, I think a lot of people would be down for magic powers, and the serum has some pretty awesome fic potential. Using it, a writer can give any human character any power she wants to. But on the other hand, in the show the serum works just like the Dixingian biology. It’s unpredictable in terms of what power it will give. And, frankly, Little Guo’s forced power (and OMG the horror of forcing the serum on him) is pretty horrible. I know that he’s shown using it for good, and that his desire to pass on the last thoughts of the dead to their relatives is evidence of his moral character. But damn, what a burden. :(

Li Qian is such a badass. I am so glad she comes back into the show. She’s integral in saving the world.

I love Zhao Yunlan’s broadcast to the whole world—the Dixingians are people just like us and not monsters. Even with the subtitles and the cultural divide, I can tell that Zhao Yunlan is a really effective speaker. I’m moved.

Fire! Yay! I love that all the characters from previous episodes keep coming back.

I like that we see where Old Chu’s loyalty to the Black Cloaked Envoy comes from—Shen Wei saves him from life in prison and brings him to the SID.

Episode 37

I’m sad about Old Li, and I’m sad that Little Guo has to relive his final thoughts even though that’s portrayed as a good thing. It also looks to me like using his powers is painful and/or tiring for him as the episode progresses to the war zone scenes.

Lin Jing’s posthumous message broke me and Emma. It’s so sad. I’m so glad that everyone gets to know that he’s always been faithful.

I love that Little Guo gives Zhu Hong the favor that Ya Qing gave him and that he’s convinced that she still has the capacity to be good. I like that he’s right, that ultimately Ya Qing realizes that Ye Zun would destroy the Crow Tribe and thus acquiesces to Zhu Hong’s leadership.

I love that Zhao Yunlan introduces alcohol to the ancient world LOL (and this is another indication of the length of time he spent in the past; alcohol isn’t made in a day or two).

I don’t like that Ma Gui’s crush on Fu You goes nowhere. Since pretty much every romance in this show is doomed (except maybe the couple that gets married, but even that is marred by death at the wedding), it feels like a pretty strong commentary on the futility of love.

Lin Jing is still alive!!!!!!!!!!!! In Ye Zun’s stomach. Bleck. But this means he’s probably going to survive the whole shebang. Yay!

Episode 38

We finally figure out how Ma Gui and Fu You know who Zhao Yunlan is; I do think the message across time and space is a cool one. A lot of the end of this show seems to be about delivering messages, whether that’s Little Guo delivering the last thoughts of the dying to their loved ones or Zhao Yunlan speaking with the distant past.

I love the doctor leaving the hospital and going out to help the wounded.

Zhang Shi reveals he is 9900 years old and was Ma Gui’s apprentice.

I wrote he has white energy—heart and virtue—to save the world; I think this is referring to Little Guo and his potential to be the wick for the Lantern (which is a totally dropped plot point; I don’t get why they made such a big deal out of that unless the point is that Zhao Yunlan knows it will kill Little Guo and would rather die himself than condemn Little Guo to death IDK).

The Regent continues to be a slimy, squirrely, self-serving douchebag.

How awesome is Li Qian getting Little Guo’s uncle to countermand the army’s orders? I love her so much.

And then the whole mess going sideways, everybody getting beaten up and hypnotized. :(

Not sure to whom to attribute the dialogue I wrote down (this is the problem with waiting so long to type up my notes LOL): “Who hurt you? I will kill him?” and “If I have to die for you and others you’ll have your answer.”

Shen Wei doesn’t regret sharing his life force with Zhao Yunlan. Of course, he doesn't. :)

I've finished watching the whole series, so no worries about spoilers. I wanted to review the last episodes together, so I arbitrarily stopped here.