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extrapenguinWell these were a couple of wham episodes. Then again, which ep isn't.
On the worst birthday party, pt 2: Liyang was wow-worthy, twice over. The bridge was a well-chosen chokepoint by MCS. Xia Dong is well-prepared (the signal firework) and sharp ("I feel like a pawn") – she's one of my favorite characters. Yujin's father arriving to help was heartwarming, especially since Yujin thought he'd not come. The conversations in the aftermath between the Zhous, Liyang, Jingrui, and Gong Yu were alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking. Sister Qi dying in childbirth was :/
The Marquis Ning has now lost everything except his life. The sequence in the prison, with MCS coming to see him and Jing and Xia Dong listening in, was damn excellently acted. The reveal that he was merely an agent in the Chiyan Army massacre was interesting; somehow I doubt that Xia Jang was the only player. Did it come from the Emperor himself, or some other group? Indeed, what is Xia Jang's agenda? Who else is involved? (Is Xia Jang an agent of a foreign power?)
Jing continues being a good egg. His crying over his dead friends in the Chiyan Army, his refusing to let the dead lie dishonored, his turning up on his mom's birthday. He's beginning to suspect that MCS is Lin Shu, I think – he'll probably figure it out/almost figure it out by himself at the end. I also suspect that the commoner he wanted pardoned was not actually his mother's teacher of medicine, but rather a Chiyan-related witness, in which case good save, Consort Jing. (Did our Jingyan get called Prince Jing because his mother is Consort Jing, or because all the princes' names start with Jing- and the Emperor was lazy?) (This is just going to end up with someone pointing out that they're all spelled with different characters and also have different tones, isn't it?)
On the worst birthday party, pt 2: Liyang was wow-worthy, twice over. The bridge was a well-chosen chokepoint by MCS. Xia Dong is well-prepared (the signal firework) and sharp ("I feel like a pawn") – she's one of my favorite characters. Yujin's father arriving to help was heartwarming, especially since Yujin thought he'd not come. The conversations in the aftermath between the Zhous, Liyang, Jingrui, and Gong Yu were alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking. Sister Qi dying in childbirth was :/
The Marquis Ning has now lost everything except his life. The sequence in the prison, with MCS coming to see him and Jing and Xia Dong listening in, was damn excellently acted. The reveal that he was merely an agent in the Chiyan Army massacre was interesting; somehow I doubt that Xia Jang was the only player. Did it come from the Emperor himself, or some other group? Indeed, what is Xia Jang's agenda? Who else is involved? (Is Xia Jang an agent of a foreign power?)
Jing continues being a good egg. His crying over his dead friends in the Chiyan Army, his refusing to let the dead lie dishonored, his turning up on his mom's birthday. He's beginning to suspect that MCS is Lin Shu, I think – he'll probably figure it out/almost figure it out by himself at the end. I also suspect that the commoner he wanted pardoned was not actually his mother's teacher of medicine, but rather a Chiyan-related witness, in which case good save, Consort Jing. (Did our Jingyan get called Prince Jing because his mother is Consort Jing, or because all the princes' names start with Jing- and the Emperor was lazy?) (This is just going to end up with someone pointing out that they're all spelled with different characters and also have different tones, isn't it?)