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ghost_valley2022-02-04 01:03 pm
shadaras) wrote in ghost_valley2022-02-04 01:03 pm
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[WoH Rewatch] Episode 33
Time for the Heroes Conference Round Two: Even More Drama!
List of Scenes
Xie-wang and LQQ talk about Zhao Jing, poison, and LQQ being freed
LQQ visits YQF and finally decides to leave him for good
The Heroes Conference begins
Discussion of how to choose the leader
MHY and ZJ begin dueling
ZZS arrives and starts listing ZJ’s sins
WKX arrives and proves his identity as ZRY’s son
Gao Xiaolian and Deng Kuan explain how ZJ puppeted Deng Kuan
WKX and ZJ duel; WKX wins
Xie-wang gives ZJ a magic pill
ZZS and WKX reunite
MHY doesn’t let them leave and forces WKX to admit he’s also the Valley Master
YBY arrives at the very end
Timeline or Something
This episode takes place over less than 24 hours. The night before the Second Heroes Conference, and then the day of the Heroes Conference itself.
Recap
Episode 33 picks up right where ep32 left off: in the middle of LQQ and Xie-wang’s conversation about what LQQ learned by disguising herself as DPJ and talking to Zhao Jing.
At the very end of ep32, LQQ told Xie-wang that Zhao Jing promised to kill Xie-wang after he was done using him. LQQ continues, informing Xie-wang that Zhao Jing said that he’d do this even without Tianchuang’s reputation on the line. Xie-wang, hurt, asks if Zhao Jing hesitated at saying this; LQQ asks why that even matters now.
Xie-wang doesn’t reply immediately. He turns away, I think calls himself(?) a fool (youtube treats 痴儿 [chi’er] as a name and doesn’t translate it) (netflix translates this as “Qianqiao”, though!), and is very bitter. LQQ kneels and apologizes, but Xie-wang doesn’t quite seem to notice. He’s too busy talking about gamblers (like himself) finding excuses and trying to cheat the odds again and again. He wants to give Zhao Jing another chance, even knowing that’s a terrible idea, and considers this another chance for himself too.
Xie-wang tells LQQ he’ll take one more superfluous action and hands LQQ a vial with a complete cure for his poisons (uh youtube and netflix both translate this as “slave voodoo” which is. a choice. the hanzi subs call this 奴蛊, nú gǔ, an enslaving gu [poison].). He gives her enough to completely cure two people, and then hands her the recipe for the monthly antidote.
When LQQ looks at him in surprise, Xie-wang says this is because she’d been begging him to cure Yu Qiufeng (whomst I’d forgotten might even still be alive/relevant); he’s now agreeing to do so. Xie-wang even says that if YQF agrees to leave his sect and marry LQQ, she should treat these cures as a wedding gift. He can’t be purely nice, though, because he tells LQQ that it’s her choice whether to completely cure YQF or keep him as a slave with the monthly antidote.
Xie-wang says LQQ’s suffered a lot, and he can’t simply stand by, so he’s giving her a chance to choose and she must cherish it. He says it sadly but also with a smile, and then turns and walks away before LQQ can say anything in response.
YQF wakes up. (I sigh because I Do Not Care but we’re in this space now.) LQQ comes to see him. He asks if she’s here for herself or Xie-wang, and she asks if he’s willing to leave with her. YQF’s like “but the heroes conference is tomorrow?” and says he’s willing to go with her but the nugu poison will kill them in a month. LQQ says they could still have that month.
YQF is still scared of this idea and not really willing to admit it. LQQ says she’s leaving tonight regardless and asks him to make a decision. YQF’s immediate reaction is to beg her not to leave because he thinks Xie-wang will kill him as soon as LQQ is gone. LQQ says she’s letting him choose, then covers his mouth and says she doesn’t want to know the answer.
When LQQ removes her hand, YQF catches a pill. LQQ tells him it’s a full cure for the nugu poison and tells him he should leave White Deer Town because it’s dangerous to fight Ghost Valley. She unfolds a fan that he’d once given her as a love token, then gives it back to him. YQF holds the pill out and asks her if she’s taken one herself, which is possibly the nicest thing he’s done this whole time. She gives him a hug and tells him that this action of his has made everything worthwhile.
Then she tells him their relationship is over, shoves him away, and rips the fan. She says she must forget about him and then departs. He takes the pill and picks up the torn fan, reciting the poem upon it that’s associated with their relationship. It would be moving if I cared about them.
The Heroes Conference (round two) begins!
The Shaolin Temple leader (Ci Mu-dashi) explains that they’re here to elect a leader who’ll guide them in conquering Ghost Valley. Shen Shen suggests Ci Mu-dashi be said leader. The assembled sects murmur amongst themselves, and then Ci Mu declines because he’s too Buddhist to lead a violent act like this.
Zhao Jing suggests Mo Huaiyang, who was the champion of the “Young Heroes Conference” twenty years ago and has shut himself up in seclusion to continue his practice since then. Zhao Jing sets up the idea that martial arts skills should be the most important leadership element during this. MHY responds by talking about general leadership skills, how hard it is to assault Ghost Valley, and that Zhao Jing’s intellect and knowledge of command means he should be the one leading them.
This causes a stir. People generally agree to this. MHY suggests a public duel between him and Zhao Jing to see who should be the overall leader. Everyone loves this suggestion for a show.
Zhao Jing accepts MHY’s challenge. They stand on a nice stage with everyone surrounding them and watching. It’s a very pretty and staged duel. Even the first time I saw this, it was pretty clear they’d staged this; it doesn’t look like a fight between two people of as different skill levels as MHY and ZJ should be.
ZJ looks too good and skilled during this fight and it doesn’t make any sense, see. People comment on how good his fighting looks. It’s mostly very flashing and flippy, but because MHY’s known to be very skilled, seeing ZJ match him like this makes ZJ look good.
ZZS arrives in a flurry of sleeves by saying “Ridiculous!” He draws everyone’s attention, and ZJ and MHY stop their duel. ZZS decries Zhao Jing as not being intelligent and virtuous. ZZS explains how Zhao Jing was once a servant’s son, then became the foster son to Mount Tai Sect’s leader after the strange death of the leader’s only son. Then he says that Zhao Jing, like the rest of the Five Lakes boys, helped Rong Xuan build the armory.
That’s as far as he gets before Yueyang Sect disciples are called to attack him. ZZS deflects like a dozen men at once. Zhao Jing and MHY take this opportunity to return to their staged performance, but it’s only a moment later when ZZS jumps down to join them on the stage. Everyone draws their swords. MHY and Zhao Jing continue their duel. ZZS starts talking again.
ZZS tells everyone that Zhao Jing poisoned Gao Chong’s sword so that Gao Chong would fatally injure Rong Xuan. He says this is how and why all the five brothers became sad men, and that it’s all Zhao Jing’s fault, and such a man should not stand on a jianghu stage of authority like this because he’s not a good and honorable man.
There’s a pause in MHY and Zhao Jing’s duel. Then MHY goes tumbling back as a Scorpion knife hits his shoulder. Qing Feng Sword Sect hurry to MHY and draw him away from the stage; Zhao Jing turns to Xie-wang, who smiles. Zhao Jing is decried for a sneak attack. Zhao Jing blames ZZS and says he was set up, pointing out that ZZS is the accomplice of WKX-guzhu and therefore ZZS used the hidden weapon/did the sneak attack.
ZZS laughs and approaches Zhao Jing. He titles himself Zhou Zishu, the leader of Siji Manor, and draws Baiyi as he challenges Zhao Jing to a duel.
WKX chooses the silent moment before they face off to arrive in an even more dramatic entrance. He’s dressed all in white, and distracts everyone by simply existing. He calls ZZS shixiong, and says he’ll handle this.
While everyone is like “wtf it’s wkx” and ZZS is Processing (tm), WKX jumps down to the stage. He agrees that yes, he’s Wen Kexing, but he’s Siji Manor’s Wen Kexing and just happens to share his name with Wen Kexing-guzhu, so everyone must be mistaking him for someone else. Zhao Jing asks if WKX thinks they’re all fools and tells people not to listen to WKX.
WKX counters by saying that the ghost brochure was made by Zhao Jing, who could’ve been framing WKX. Shen Shen says there are some ghosts here, and they can surely recognise their master. Wuchang Gui, Happy Ghost, and Hei Wuchang are brought in. Xie-wang asks them to look at WKX and say whether or not he’s their master. They, of course, say he isn’t.
WKX says that WKX-guzhu died and his body is at the Alliance’s stronghold, then basically dares Zhao Jing to say that’s a lie. Zhao Jing is too busy staring at Xie-wang and thinking about this betrayal. Xie-wang doesn’t look at him.
WKX says he’s QHZ’s disciple. He asks ZZS if he can borrow Baiyi, and ZZS has just about recovered enough to, after WKX promises to explain later, offer him Baiyi. WKX takes it and, as ZZS walks offstage, asks if anyone remembers the Eighteen Moves of Qiuming (秋明十八式), a set of moves associated with Zhen Ruyu of Healer Valley. He then leaps into the air and demonstrates them, leading everyone to ask how he knows them.
WKX is like “oh good you haven’t forgotten him” and then demands to know where everyone was as his father suffered. Only at the end of that does he say he’s Wen Ruyu’s son, and explain that ZRY retook his name after Healer Valley kicked him out. The leader of Mount E’mei Sect (“Elderly Nun Zhi Yin”, Zhi Yin-shitai) is very upset that he’s claiming this relationship, and WKX needs to cite specific gifts E’mei sect sent before she accepts he’s telling the truth.
Zhao Jing’s still trying to tell people not to believe WKX, even (correctly) figuring that WKX instructed his ghosts to denounce him like this. Zhao Jing doesn’t think this should fool people, and considers this another trick of Ghost Valley to turn people against each other; he also still thinks this is about the glazed armor.
Shen Shen yells at Zhao Jing to shut up and tells him to stop using Gao Chong’s name. Zhao Jing, at this point, realises he might be a little screwed. He tries to draw the blame for Gao Chong’s death onto Shen Shen, which like… sure that’s how the show also sort of framed Shen Shen at the start but it doesn’t work very well now. Everyone sort of shakes their heads about this. WKX and Xie-wang both laugh.
Gu Xiang arrives with Gao Xiaolian. CWN and Deng Kuan (both veiled) follow them. Xiaolian says that thirty years ago, Zhao Wenda adopted Zhao Jing because Zhao Jing had so loyally taken care of him after his son’s death. This gave Zhao Jing an avenue to quick power. Zhao Jing calls this a lie; Xiaolian ignores him.
Xiaolian asks Zhao Jing why he hates her father so much, because Zhao Jing not only killed Gao Chong but discredited him and made him die full of regret for an act that was never his fault to begin with. She asks if it’s simply because Gao Chong saw Zhao Jing when he was weak; all the other witnesses to Zhao Jing’s early life are also dead.
Chengling steps forward, introduces himself, and holds up the letter his father had asked him to send to YBY. (Guess he retrieved it on the way here?) He tells everyone that ZYS wrote that Rong Xuan’s madness and death were caused by Zhao Jing’s poison. (Much of this is true. In ep11, when Chengling told WKX and ZZS about the letter, he couldn’t point at Zhao Jing specifically, though, so that bit is a very well-hidden lie.) Chengling says that all those who died at the Battle of Mount Qingya should revenge themselves upon Zhao Jing.
Zhao Jing is upset that Chengling is saying such things. WKX taunts Zhao Jing. Xiaolian says Zhao Jing slandered Gao Chong by telling only one side of the story, then unveils Deng Kuan to everyone’s surprise. Xiaolian reminds us of when we’d last seen Deng Kuan, and then Deng Kuan speaks for himself and says Zhao Jing set him up and he failed his master.
Xiaolian picks up the explanation of how Deng Kuan was captured and “compelled by occult tricks” to decry Gao Chong, and that they’ve been working to heal him since then. She then accuses Zhao Jing of being an evil manipulator. “If children cannot avenge their parents, what’s the difference between them and beasts?” Xiaolian asks, as the crowd starts decrying Zhao Jing, and then she asks everyone to uphold justice for her.
The crowd shouts for Zhao Jing’s death but doesn’t act to attack him. Zhao Jing laughs, looking far more deranged than WKX in his upright white robes. Zhao Jing picks up his sword and charges at Xiaolian, but WKX moves to block his path. They fight. Zhao Jing is clearly outmatched.
The first time I watched this fight I spent it thinking about The Princess Bride and Inigo Montoya going “No. To the pain.” WKX could kill Zhao Jing so easily, but instead he cuts at him, never enough to keep Zhao Jing from fighting but enough to make it clear that he could have extended a few more inches and killed him.
WKX knocks the guan off Zhao Jing’s hair and knocks him to the ground. He asks Zhao Jing to confess, and Zhao Jing refuses. Zhao Jing tries one more time to attack WKX, and WKX halts him with a blade to his throat but doesn’t kill him because he’s being a Good Person (tm) right now. He asks if it would be justified to kill Zhao Jing, the crowd agrees, and then WKX says that he “will let Zhao Jing suffer all the tribulations he had brought to [WKX’s] parents”.
Zhao Jing again tries to say that WKX has lost, and he’s won. He says he’s turned the jianghu upside down and he’s content; he lived a free and unrestrained life, and he’ll die a noble and heroic death. Zhao Jing says that if WKX kills him, they’ll all live under his shadow and laughs more.
WKX says he’ll make Zhao JIng wish he was dead. Then, as Zhao Jing attacks him, WKX slices all his limbs so that Zhao Jing cannot stand or hold a weapon, injuring him without killing him. He thinks to himself that this is the path his parents would’ve wanted him to take.
Zhao Jing lies on the ground, coughing up blood and unable to move. WKX stands over him and says he deserves this. Then WKX and ZZS make eye contact and smile at each other.
Zhao Jing continues laughing. Xie-wang comes over to him. He kneels and places a pill in Zhao Jing’s mouth, saying it’s good for him. Zhao Jing takes it at Xie-wang’s urging. Xie-wang says that Zhao Jing is good at talking, and that he can always be convinced by Zhao Jing. Therefore, he says, from now on Zhao Jing is not to speak. Zhao Jing attempts to, and then panics as he realises he cannot speak at all. Xie-wang tells his yifu, now controlled by the dugu poison, to have a rest.
WKX returns Baiyi to ZZS and says they should go home. At ZZS’s look, WKX says he’ll tell ZZS everything once they’re home. While shoving Baiyi’s hilt into ZZS’s hand, WKX tells ZZS that it’ll be up to ZZS how to take care of him at that point. ZZS reaches towards WKX’s face like he can’t decide whether to stroke it or slap it, and ends up just patting it hard. WKX says that this is the best day of his life, and that ZZS shouldn’t beat him here. ZZS finally speaks, agreeing to this.
Chengling runs up, and WKX says they should all go home.
As the three of them are trying to walk away, MHY stops them by calling WKX the Valley Master again. MHY is like “yes, Zhao Jing deserved that punishment, but that wasn’t the point of this gathering” as everyone gathers to listen to him call WKX the Valley Master and say they still need to deal with him.
Zhi Yin-taishi, leader of Mount E’mei Sect, is like “How can you call him that?” because she wasn’t around for all the previous shenanigans. MHY laughs and asks WKX what tricks he pulled to fake his death, and then if he feels ashamed for what he’s done.
WKX admits that he’s the chief of Ghost Valley and that he’d just been joking; he wanted the chance to judge Zhao Jing. Zhi Yin-taishi asks him if he really is ZRY’s son and how he ended up in Ghost Valley, so WKX says it’s because of everyone here not protecting his father. She doesn’t believe this. He doesn’t care, taking another chance to decry everyone for being so friendly to ZRY right up until ZRY was in trouble.
MHY says ZRY’s ending wasn’t about persecution but because ZRY helped Rong Xuan and hid the armory. MHY wants to settle that debt today. ZZS raises his hand (still holding Baiyi) in front of WKX and says that they’ll only fight WKX if they get past him first.
YBY then arrives, breaking the stalemate because everyone respects him. He’s asked to lead everyone in taking out Ghost Valley, and the episode ends with YBY staring at WKX while saying that every member of Ghost Valley will die.
General Commentary
I have a lot of emotions about the first bit where Xie-wang and Liu Qianqiao are talking, but I don’t know how to put them into words. But it’s interesting seeing them be in parallel to each other, and it’s fascinating (and kind of sad) that Xie-wang tells Liu Qianqiao she has this choice about how to use the cure he offers and then she chooses to free both Yu Qiufeng and herself, while Xie-wang actively takes Zhao Jing into his control as soon as he has the opportunity.
Liu Qianqiao getting confirmation that Yu Qiufeng cares more about saving his own skin than he does about her makes it so interesting that she still gives him the cure before fucking off to go drink Meng Po Soup. (It’s interesting, too, that she’s given two full cures and she still chooses Yu Qiufeng over giving that freedom to both herself and Luo Fumeng.)
I really wish that there had been time to give the Second Heroes Conference more politicking and/or lead-up. Like, I wanna know what other factions might want to lead and need to be dismissed before we get to Mo Huaiyang and Zhao Jing’s mutual grandstanding!
I know I’ve been told that the Shaolin Temple and Mount E’mei are common wuxia sects and therefore can be easily used as shorthand for people familiar with the tropes. I do think that helps make this work at all.
I’m still very amused by how showy the fight between Zhao Jing and Mo Huaiyang is. None of the other fights I can recall in this show felt quite so showy; even the flirty fights that Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing had in episodes 2 and 6 had some level of “wtf” or “maybe this will cause harm”. (The fight in ep36 has some of this same showy quality but it’s not a performance for anyone else; it’s just Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing delighting in each other and their own abilities.)
The distinction between flourishes and showy is also the difference between Zhao Jing fighting Mo Huaiyang (who’s letting him look good) and Wen Kexing fighting Zhao Jing (who’s trying to stay alive and maybe get a hit in). It’s really well-done fight choreography for showing who’s in control at any given point in time and how/why they’re in control. Kudos to whoever created those fights! It works really well!
I eternally wish we’d been able to see the pieces of Wen Kexing’s plan be laid in place. The ghosts “defecting” to the side of good so they could be brought out to decry him! Is that done with the nugu poison? Was that just their loyalty to Wen Kexing?
Getting Deng Kuan back! Did Xie-wang have him in storage? Was Xiaolian speaking the truth about them having recovered him and been trying to heal him this entire time? Who knows! Not us, because this really is the first time he’s appeared since he appeared to die!
I think we get a little bit of Wen Kexing and Xie-wang talking about setting this whole thing up, but their collaboration is something I just want so much more about. It’s so fascinating to me and there isn’t enough of it.
Also, speaking of Xie-wang, I adore that he’s wearing light blue for this. It’s very pretty and also such a fun choice to have him dressed like a classy young master when he performs this betrayal. It’s not quite saying he’s on the side of good in this one scene, but it’s at least very marked that he’s not wearing his more typical Scorpion robes, which draws attention to his actions from the beginning.
Zhou Zishu’s absolutely ready to end them all over Wen Kexing’s death and then Wen Kexing just shows up Like That. I kind of wonder if, at this point, Wen Kexing did plan his entrance around assuming that Zhou Zishu would arrive to fuck things up first.
I do love that Zhou Zishu just doesn’t say anything until after the whole stage play is done. Wen Kexing assures him that he’ll explain things, and Zhou Zishu just accepts that this is not the time to have the conversation I’m sure he desperately wants to have, and it’s really quite nice to see even as I am still like “Wen Kexing you could have warned him”.
Ye Baiyi’s entrance at the end is also very dramatic. Three drama boys trying to compete for the best dramatic entrance. Wen Kexing probably wins just on the “I thought you were dead!” factor, but they’re all pretty solid.
Discussion Prompts/Questions
Please don’t feel limited to these. They’re starting points for anyone who wants them, not the only things to talk about!
1. What are your feelings about the Liu Qianqiao parts of this? The script places an emphasis on her ability to choose for herself; how well do you think that was shown? (Was she too kind to Ye Qiufeng?)
2. The stage-play nature of the Second Heroes Conference is endlessly fascinating to me. What are your thoughts about the two different plays being acted how, and how successful they each are?
3. Wen Kexing’s use of his father’s identity in this episode allows him to pull all this off. His argument hinges on reputation: his father’s good reputation, and the acts he can lay upon Zhao Jing to show that Zhao Jing’s reputation should be bad. What thoughts do you have about reputation, both in SHL in general and this episode in particular?
Next Time: The calm before the storm. YBY ensures WKX won’t be imminently killed. WKX explains himself to ZZS (and the viewers) over dinner with some flashbacks. Xie-wang has a nice Zhao Jing toy now. Gu Xiang and Cao Weining prepare for their wedding.
List of Scenes
Xie-wang and LQQ talk about Zhao Jing, poison, and LQQ being freed
LQQ visits YQF and finally decides to leave him for good
The Heroes Conference begins
Discussion of how to choose the leader
MHY and ZJ begin dueling
ZZS arrives and starts listing ZJ’s sins
WKX arrives and proves his identity as ZRY’s son
Gao Xiaolian and Deng Kuan explain how ZJ puppeted Deng Kuan
WKX and ZJ duel; WKX wins
Xie-wang gives ZJ a magic pill
ZZS and WKX reunite
MHY doesn’t let them leave and forces WKX to admit he’s also the Valley Master
YBY arrives at the very end
Timeline or Something
This episode takes place over less than 24 hours. The night before the Second Heroes Conference, and then the day of the Heroes Conference itself.
Recap
Episode 33 picks up right where ep32 left off: in the middle of LQQ and Xie-wang’s conversation about what LQQ learned by disguising herself as DPJ and talking to Zhao Jing.
At the very end of ep32, LQQ told Xie-wang that Zhao Jing promised to kill Xie-wang after he was done using him. LQQ continues, informing Xie-wang that Zhao Jing said that he’d do this even without Tianchuang’s reputation on the line. Xie-wang, hurt, asks if Zhao Jing hesitated at saying this; LQQ asks why that even matters now.
Xie-wang doesn’t reply immediately. He turns away, I think calls himself(?) a fool (youtube treats 痴儿 [chi’er] as a name and doesn’t translate it) (netflix translates this as “Qianqiao”, though!), and is very bitter. LQQ kneels and apologizes, but Xie-wang doesn’t quite seem to notice. He’s too busy talking about gamblers (like himself) finding excuses and trying to cheat the odds again and again. He wants to give Zhao Jing another chance, even knowing that’s a terrible idea, and considers this another chance for himself too.
Xie-wang tells LQQ he’ll take one more superfluous action and hands LQQ a vial with a complete cure for his poisons (uh youtube and netflix both translate this as “slave voodoo” which is. a choice. the hanzi subs call this 奴蛊, nú gǔ, an enslaving gu [poison].). He gives her enough to completely cure two people, and then hands her the recipe for the monthly antidote.
When LQQ looks at him in surprise, Xie-wang says this is because she’d been begging him to cure Yu Qiufeng (whomst I’d forgotten might even still be alive/relevant); he’s now agreeing to do so. Xie-wang even says that if YQF agrees to leave his sect and marry LQQ, she should treat these cures as a wedding gift. He can’t be purely nice, though, because he tells LQQ that it’s her choice whether to completely cure YQF or keep him as a slave with the monthly antidote.
Xie-wang says LQQ’s suffered a lot, and he can’t simply stand by, so he’s giving her a chance to choose and she must cherish it. He says it sadly but also with a smile, and then turns and walks away before LQQ can say anything in response.
YQF wakes up. (I sigh because I Do Not Care but we’re in this space now.) LQQ comes to see him. He asks if she’s here for herself or Xie-wang, and she asks if he’s willing to leave with her. YQF’s like “but the heroes conference is tomorrow?” and says he’s willing to go with her but the nugu poison will kill them in a month. LQQ says they could still have that month.
YQF is still scared of this idea and not really willing to admit it. LQQ says she’s leaving tonight regardless and asks him to make a decision. YQF’s immediate reaction is to beg her not to leave because he thinks Xie-wang will kill him as soon as LQQ is gone. LQQ says she’s letting him choose, then covers his mouth and says she doesn’t want to know the answer.
When LQQ removes her hand, YQF catches a pill. LQQ tells him it’s a full cure for the nugu poison and tells him he should leave White Deer Town because it’s dangerous to fight Ghost Valley. She unfolds a fan that he’d once given her as a love token, then gives it back to him. YQF holds the pill out and asks her if she’s taken one herself, which is possibly the nicest thing he’s done this whole time. She gives him a hug and tells him that this action of his has made everything worthwhile.
Then she tells him their relationship is over, shoves him away, and rips the fan. She says she must forget about him and then departs. He takes the pill and picks up the torn fan, reciting the poem upon it that’s associated with their relationship. It would be moving if I cared about them.
The Heroes Conference (round two) begins!
The Shaolin Temple leader (Ci Mu-dashi) explains that they’re here to elect a leader who’ll guide them in conquering Ghost Valley. Shen Shen suggests Ci Mu-dashi be said leader. The assembled sects murmur amongst themselves, and then Ci Mu declines because he’s too Buddhist to lead a violent act like this.
Zhao Jing suggests Mo Huaiyang, who was the champion of the “Young Heroes Conference” twenty years ago and has shut himself up in seclusion to continue his practice since then. Zhao Jing sets up the idea that martial arts skills should be the most important leadership element during this. MHY responds by talking about general leadership skills, how hard it is to assault Ghost Valley, and that Zhao Jing’s intellect and knowledge of command means he should be the one leading them.
This causes a stir. People generally agree to this. MHY suggests a public duel between him and Zhao Jing to see who should be the overall leader. Everyone loves this suggestion for a show.
Zhao Jing accepts MHY’s challenge. They stand on a nice stage with everyone surrounding them and watching. It’s a very pretty and staged duel. Even the first time I saw this, it was pretty clear they’d staged this; it doesn’t look like a fight between two people of as different skill levels as MHY and ZJ should be.
ZJ looks too good and skilled during this fight and it doesn’t make any sense, see. People comment on how good his fighting looks. It’s mostly very flashing and flippy, but because MHY’s known to be very skilled, seeing ZJ match him like this makes ZJ look good.
ZZS arrives in a flurry of sleeves by saying “Ridiculous!” He draws everyone’s attention, and ZJ and MHY stop their duel. ZZS decries Zhao Jing as not being intelligent and virtuous. ZZS explains how Zhao Jing was once a servant’s son, then became the foster son to Mount Tai Sect’s leader after the strange death of the leader’s only son. Then he says that Zhao Jing, like the rest of the Five Lakes boys, helped Rong Xuan build the armory.
That’s as far as he gets before Yueyang Sect disciples are called to attack him. ZZS deflects like a dozen men at once. Zhao Jing and MHY take this opportunity to return to their staged performance, but it’s only a moment later when ZZS jumps down to join them on the stage. Everyone draws their swords. MHY and Zhao Jing continue their duel. ZZS starts talking again.
ZZS tells everyone that Zhao Jing poisoned Gao Chong’s sword so that Gao Chong would fatally injure Rong Xuan. He says this is how and why all the five brothers became sad men, and that it’s all Zhao Jing’s fault, and such a man should not stand on a jianghu stage of authority like this because he’s not a good and honorable man.
There’s a pause in MHY and Zhao Jing’s duel. Then MHY goes tumbling back as a Scorpion knife hits his shoulder. Qing Feng Sword Sect hurry to MHY and draw him away from the stage; Zhao Jing turns to Xie-wang, who smiles. Zhao Jing is decried for a sneak attack. Zhao Jing blames ZZS and says he was set up, pointing out that ZZS is the accomplice of WKX-guzhu and therefore ZZS used the hidden weapon/did the sneak attack.
ZZS laughs and approaches Zhao Jing. He titles himself Zhou Zishu, the leader of Siji Manor, and draws Baiyi as he challenges Zhao Jing to a duel.
WKX chooses the silent moment before they face off to arrive in an even more dramatic entrance. He’s dressed all in white, and distracts everyone by simply existing. He calls ZZS shixiong, and says he’ll handle this.
While everyone is like “wtf it’s wkx” and ZZS is Processing (tm), WKX jumps down to the stage. He agrees that yes, he’s Wen Kexing, but he’s Siji Manor’s Wen Kexing and just happens to share his name with Wen Kexing-guzhu, so everyone must be mistaking him for someone else. Zhao Jing asks if WKX thinks they’re all fools and tells people not to listen to WKX.
WKX counters by saying that the ghost brochure was made by Zhao Jing, who could’ve been framing WKX. Shen Shen says there are some ghosts here, and they can surely recognise their master. Wuchang Gui, Happy Ghost, and Hei Wuchang are brought in. Xie-wang asks them to look at WKX and say whether or not he’s their master. They, of course, say he isn’t.
WKX says that WKX-guzhu died and his body is at the Alliance’s stronghold, then basically dares Zhao Jing to say that’s a lie. Zhao Jing is too busy staring at Xie-wang and thinking about this betrayal. Xie-wang doesn’t look at him.
WKX says he’s QHZ’s disciple. He asks ZZS if he can borrow Baiyi, and ZZS has just about recovered enough to, after WKX promises to explain later, offer him Baiyi. WKX takes it and, as ZZS walks offstage, asks if anyone remembers the Eighteen Moves of Qiuming (秋明十八式), a set of moves associated with Zhen Ruyu of Healer Valley. He then leaps into the air and demonstrates them, leading everyone to ask how he knows them.
WKX is like “oh good you haven’t forgotten him” and then demands to know where everyone was as his father suffered. Only at the end of that does he say he’s Wen Ruyu’s son, and explain that ZRY retook his name after Healer Valley kicked him out. The leader of Mount E’mei Sect (“Elderly Nun Zhi Yin”, Zhi Yin-shitai) is very upset that he’s claiming this relationship, and WKX needs to cite specific gifts E’mei sect sent before she accepts he’s telling the truth.
Zhao Jing’s still trying to tell people not to believe WKX, even (correctly) figuring that WKX instructed his ghosts to denounce him like this. Zhao Jing doesn’t think this should fool people, and considers this another trick of Ghost Valley to turn people against each other; he also still thinks this is about the glazed armor.
Shen Shen yells at Zhao Jing to shut up and tells him to stop using Gao Chong’s name. Zhao Jing, at this point, realises he might be a little screwed. He tries to draw the blame for Gao Chong’s death onto Shen Shen, which like… sure that’s how the show also sort of framed Shen Shen at the start but it doesn’t work very well now. Everyone sort of shakes their heads about this. WKX and Xie-wang both laugh.
Gu Xiang arrives with Gao Xiaolian. CWN and Deng Kuan (both veiled) follow them. Xiaolian says that thirty years ago, Zhao Wenda adopted Zhao Jing because Zhao Jing had so loyally taken care of him after his son’s death. This gave Zhao Jing an avenue to quick power. Zhao Jing calls this a lie; Xiaolian ignores him.
Xiaolian asks Zhao Jing why he hates her father so much, because Zhao Jing not only killed Gao Chong but discredited him and made him die full of regret for an act that was never his fault to begin with. She asks if it’s simply because Gao Chong saw Zhao Jing when he was weak; all the other witnesses to Zhao Jing’s early life are also dead.
Chengling steps forward, introduces himself, and holds up the letter his father had asked him to send to YBY. (Guess he retrieved it on the way here?) He tells everyone that ZYS wrote that Rong Xuan’s madness and death were caused by Zhao Jing’s poison. (Much of this is true. In ep11, when Chengling told WKX and ZZS about the letter, he couldn’t point at Zhao Jing specifically, though, so that bit is a very well-hidden lie.) Chengling says that all those who died at the Battle of Mount Qingya should revenge themselves upon Zhao Jing.
Zhao Jing is upset that Chengling is saying such things. WKX taunts Zhao Jing. Xiaolian says Zhao Jing slandered Gao Chong by telling only one side of the story, then unveils Deng Kuan to everyone’s surprise. Xiaolian reminds us of when we’d last seen Deng Kuan, and then Deng Kuan speaks for himself and says Zhao Jing set him up and he failed his master.
Xiaolian picks up the explanation of how Deng Kuan was captured and “compelled by occult tricks” to decry Gao Chong, and that they’ve been working to heal him since then. She then accuses Zhao Jing of being an evil manipulator. “If children cannot avenge their parents, what’s the difference between them and beasts?” Xiaolian asks, as the crowd starts decrying Zhao Jing, and then she asks everyone to uphold justice for her.
The crowd shouts for Zhao Jing’s death but doesn’t act to attack him. Zhao Jing laughs, looking far more deranged than WKX in his upright white robes. Zhao Jing picks up his sword and charges at Xiaolian, but WKX moves to block his path. They fight. Zhao Jing is clearly outmatched.
The first time I watched this fight I spent it thinking about The Princess Bride and Inigo Montoya going “No. To the pain.” WKX could kill Zhao Jing so easily, but instead he cuts at him, never enough to keep Zhao Jing from fighting but enough to make it clear that he could have extended a few more inches and killed him.
WKX knocks the guan off Zhao Jing’s hair and knocks him to the ground. He asks Zhao Jing to confess, and Zhao Jing refuses. Zhao Jing tries one more time to attack WKX, and WKX halts him with a blade to his throat but doesn’t kill him because he’s being a Good Person (tm) right now. He asks if it would be justified to kill Zhao Jing, the crowd agrees, and then WKX says that he “will let Zhao Jing suffer all the tribulations he had brought to [WKX’s] parents”.
Zhao Jing again tries to say that WKX has lost, and he’s won. He says he’s turned the jianghu upside down and he’s content; he lived a free and unrestrained life, and he’ll die a noble and heroic death. Zhao Jing says that if WKX kills him, they’ll all live under his shadow and laughs more.
WKX says he’ll make Zhao JIng wish he was dead. Then, as Zhao Jing attacks him, WKX slices all his limbs so that Zhao Jing cannot stand or hold a weapon, injuring him without killing him. He thinks to himself that this is the path his parents would’ve wanted him to take.
Zhao Jing lies on the ground, coughing up blood and unable to move. WKX stands over him and says he deserves this. Then WKX and ZZS make eye contact and smile at each other.
Zhao Jing continues laughing. Xie-wang comes over to him. He kneels and places a pill in Zhao Jing’s mouth, saying it’s good for him. Zhao Jing takes it at Xie-wang’s urging. Xie-wang says that Zhao Jing is good at talking, and that he can always be convinced by Zhao Jing. Therefore, he says, from now on Zhao Jing is not to speak. Zhao Jing attempts to, and then panics as he realises he cannot speak at all. Xie-wang tells his yifu, now controlled by the dugu poison, to have a rest.
WKX returns Baiyi to ZZS and says they should go home. At ZZS’s look, WKX says he’ll tell ZZS everything once they’re home. While shoving Baiyi’s hilt into ZZS’s hand, WKX tells ZZS that it’ll be up to ZZS how to take care of him at that point. ZZS reaches towards WKX’s face like he can’t decide whether to stroke it or slap it, and ends up just patting it hard. WKX says that this is the best day of his life, and that ZZS shouldn’t beat him here. ZZS finally speaks, agreeing to this.
Chengling runs up, and WKX says they should all go home.
As the three of them are trying to walk away, MHY stops them by calling WKX the Valley Master again. MHY is like “yes, Zhao Jing deserved that punishment, but that wasn’t the point of this gathering” as everyone gathers to listen to him call WKX the Valley Master and say they still need to deal with him.
Zhi Yin-taishi, leader of Mount E’mei Sect, is like “How can you call him that?” because she wasn’t around for all the previous shenanigans. MHY laughs and asks WKX what tricks he pulled to fake his death, and then if he feels ashamed for what he’s done.
WKX admits that he’s the chief of Ghost Valley and that he’d just been joking; he wanted the chance to judge Zhao Jing. Zhi Yin-taishi asks him if he really is ZRY’s son and how he ended up in Ghost Valley, so WKX says it’s because of everyone here not protecting his father. She doesn’t believe this. He doesn’t care, taking another chance to decry everyone for being so friendly to ZRY right up until ZRY was in trouble.
MHY says ZRY’s ending wasn’t about persecution but because ZRY helped Rong Xuan and hid the armory. MHY wants to settle that debt today. ZZS raises his hand (still holding Baiyi) in front of WKX and says that they’ll only fight WKX if they get past him first.
YBY then arrives, breaking the stalemate because everyone respects him. He’s asked to lead everyone in taking out Ghost Valley, and the episode ends with YBY staring at WKX while saying that every member of Ghost Valley will die.
General Commentary
I have a lot of emotions about the first bit where Xie-wang and Liu Qianqiao are talking, but I don’t know how to put them into words. But it’s interesting seeing them be in parallel to each other, and it’s fascinating (and kind of sad) that Xie-wang tells Liu Qianqiao she has this choice about how to use the cure he offers and then she chooses to free both Yu Qiufeng and herself, while Xie-wang actively takes Zhao Jing into his control as soon as he has the opportunity.
Liu Qianqiao getting confirmation that Yu Qiufeng cares more about saving his own skin than he does about her makes it so interesting that she still gives him the cure before fucking off to go drink Meng Po Soup. (It’s interesting, too, that she’s given two full cures and she still chooses Yu Qiufeng over giving that freedom to both herself and Luo Fumeng.)
I really wish that there had been time to give the Second Heroes Conference more politicking and/or lead-up. Like, I wanna know what other factions might want to lead and need to be dismissed before we get to Mo Huaiyang and Zhao Jing’s mutual grandstanding!
I know I’ve been told that the Shaolin Temple and Mount E’mei are common wuxia sects and therefore can be easily used as shorthand for people familiar with the tropes. I do think that helps make this work at all.
I’m still very amused by how showy the fight between Zhao Jing and Mo Huaiyang is. None of the other fights I can recall in this show felt quite so showy; even the flirty fights that Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing had in episodes 2 and 6 had some level of “wtf” or “maybe this will cause harm”. (The fight in ep36 has some of this same showy quality but it’s not a performance for anyone else; it’s just Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing delighting in each other and their own abilities.)
The distinction between flourishes and showy is also the difference between Zhao Jing fighting Mo Huaiyang (who’s letting him look good) and Wen Kexing fighting Zhao Jing (who’s trying to stay alive and maybe get a hit in). It’s really well-done fight choreography for showing who’s in control at any given point in time and how/why they’re in control. Kudos to whoever created those fights! It works really well!
I eternally wish we’d been able to see the pieces of Wen Kexing’s plan be laid in place. The ghosts “defecting” to the side of good so they could be brought out to decry him! Is that done with the nugu poison? Was that just their loyalty to Wen Kexing?
Getting Deng Kuan back! Did Xie-wang have him in storage? Was Xiaolian speaking the truth about them having recovered him and been trying to heal him this entire time? Who knows! Not us, because this really is the first time he’s appeared since he appeared to die!
I think we get a little bit of Wen Kexing and Xie-wang talking about setting this whole thing up, but their collaboration is something I just want so much more about. It’s so fascinating to me and there isn’t enough of it.
Also, speaking of Xie-wang, I adore that he’s wearing light blue for this. It’s very pretty and also such a fun choice to have him dressed like a classy young master when he performs this betrayal. It’s not quite saying he’s on the side of good in this one scene, but it’s at least very marked that he’s not wearing his more typical Scorpion robes, which draws attention to his actions from the beginning.
Zhou Zishu’s absolutely ready to end them all over Wen Kexing’s death and then Wen Kexing just shows up Like That. I kind of wonder if, at this point, Wen Kexing did plan his entrance around assuming that Zhou Zishu would arrive to fuck things up first.
I do love that Zhou Zishu just doesn’t say anything until after the whole stage play is done. Wen Kexing assures him that he’ll explain things, and Zhou Zishu just accepts that this is not the time to have the conversation I’m sure he desperately wants to have, and it’s really quite nice to see even as I am still like “Wen Kexing you could have warned him”.
Ye Baiyi’s entrance at the end is also very dramatic. Three drama boys trying to compete for the best dramatic entrance. Wen Kexing probably wins just on the “I thought you were dead!” factor, but they’re all pretty solid.
Discussion Prompts/Questions
Please don’t feel limited to these. They’re starting points for anyone who wants them, not the only things to talk about!
1. What are your feelings about the Liu Qianqiao parts of this? The script places an emphasis on her ability to choose for herself; how well do you think that was shown? (Was she too kind to Ye Qiufeng?)
2. The stage-play nature of the Second Heroes Conference is endlessly fascinating to me. What are your thoughts about the two different plays being acted how, and how successful they each are?
3. Wen Kexing’s use of his father’s identity in this episode allows him to pull all this off. His argument hinges on reputation: his father’s good reputation, and the acts he can lay upon Zhao Jing to show that Zhao Jing’s reputation should be bad. What thoughts do you have about reputation, both in SHL in general and this episode in particular?
Next Time: The calm before the storm. YBY ensures WKX won’t be imminently killed. WKX explains himself to ZZS (and the viewers) over dinner with some flashbacks. Xie-wang has a nice Zhao Jing toy now. Gu Xiang and Cao Weining prepare for their wedding.
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On my first watch I'd totally assumed Deng Kuan was dead until he showed up here, tbh (I think TYK!Deng Kuan did die)
Besides generally injuring ZJ without killing him, I believe WKX hamstrings ZJ the same way his father was.
1) I love the emphasis the script puts on LQQ’s ability to choose for herself! LQQ was kinder to YQF than I would’ve been, but I think it works (and serves as a nice contrast to Xie’er and ZJ).
I’d kinda forgotten LFM also dealing with the poison - now I’m kinda curious if she’d gotten the full cure via WKX and Xie’er’s offscreen negotiations, if LQQ gave her the other full cure, or if she was given the recipe for the monthly cure.
2) It’s fascinating! (and very satisfying to see WKX and co. upset ZJ’s play by basically doing what he did at the first conference)
That reminds me of the fact that while characters Basil Rathbone played usually lost swordfights, he was one of the best swordsmen in Hollywood and knew how to make the other person look good.
They really did an awesome job! (I wish they could’ve done more fight scenes – I’m still kinda sad LFM didn’t get a cool one)
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There is! He's got a cool green jade(?) staff, too.
On my first watch I'd totally assumed Deng Kuan was dead until he showed up here, tbh (I think TYK!Deng Kuan did die)
Right? There was no set-up for Deng Kuan returning here! I wish there had been! Even just a single shot proving that he was alive!
Besides generally injuring ZJ without killing him, I believe WKX hamstrings ZJ the same way his father was.
Yes, I believe so. :)
I’d kinda forgotten LFM also dealing with the poison - now I’m kinda curious if she’d gotten the full cure via WKX and Xie’er’s offscreen negotiations, if LQQ gave her the other full cure, or if she was given the recipe for the monthly cure.
Maybe WKX did bargain for her cure! I just wish it were made explicit, y'know?
That reminds me of the fact that while characters Basil Rathbone played usually lost swordfights, he was one of the best swordsmen in Hollywood and knew how to make the other person look good.
Yes! That's what I was thinking about while writing that bit. :) (And yeah, I also wish LFM had gotten a fight scene...)
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My assumption was bamboo (I think that's what whoever's in charge of the Beggar's Sect usually has), although his looks much nicer than Huang He's (which may be intentional, now that I think of it).
Same here! (it's definitely part of my headcanon)
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It looks too smooth/shiny/single-colored to be bamboo to me!
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WKX chooses the silent moment before they face off to arrive in an even more dramatic entrance. He’s dressed all in white, and distracts everyone by simply existing. He calls ZZS shixiong, and says he’ll handle this..
That is a pretty spectacular entrance, even for WKX...
It make me so happy to see WKX finally getting his revenge. Plus, the contrast between this WKX and the Ghost Valley master is intriguing - I love both.
I eternally wish we’d been able to see the pieces of Wen Kexing’s plan be laid in place. The ghosts “defecting” to the side of good so they could be brought out to decry him! Is that done with the nugu poison? Was that just their loyalty to Wen Kexing?
I wish we could have seen that too.
I do love that Zhou Zishu just doesn’t say anything until after the whole stage play is done. Wen Kexing assures him that he’ll explain things, and Zhou Zishu just accepts that this is not the time to have the conversation I’m sure he desperately wants to have, and it’s really quite nice to see even as I am still like “Wen Kexing you could have warned him”.
Same. ZZS is quite mature about it all here.
1. To LQQ ability to choose for herself comes across nicely, though I have to admit I don't really care for the whole storyline with Ye Qiufeng. She's a lot nicer to him than I would be. Plus I would have loved to see her using one of the two cures for Luo Fumeng. But perhaps LFM's cure was port of the deal WKX made with Xie Wang, so that she and LQQ can both be free of the poison.
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Yes! I love any time these characters get to show off. :)
I was just nodding along with the rest of what you said! :D