Everyone but the fire tribe is inept.

This series, I think, is going to be highly episodic because of the number of side stories that illustrate bigger themes.
Short Summary:
1.tuo (healer tribe prince) escapes from the city with the help of Li Luo and Ka Suo.  He shares that the reason he wants out of the marriage isn't bachelor vibes but because he is in love with another woman--someone he has only seen once.  
2.Yu Shen, the baby sister of his bride to be, arrives to collect him and we learn that she is in fact the object of his affection....Yu Shen rejects him coldly
3.They are brought before the healer chief who yells at his son.  Yan Da arrives (Fire Princess) and chaos ensues.  Yu Shen runs off with Tuo to show him what has become of her sister--she has been poisonoed and looks like an old woman
4.Yan Da arrives and explains that she knows about the poison and will provide the antidote in exchange for the crystal (she is prioritizing that over Ka Suo) plus the crystal is the antidote
5.Yu Shen sniffs out some answers (literally)and discovers Shi is the one who poisoned her sister.  She wants him dead but tuo intervenes.  He is a diplomat.
6.Yan Da force feeds Shi heart burning fruit which will put him in awful pain if he ever betrays her.  Incidentally, Shi can now use magic.
7. Using his own nose and a lock of hair, Ka Suo tracks down Shi
8.After a reunion, they catch up with Yu Shen, Tao in tow, and are unable to deal with the traps set by the rat demon.  Yu Shen is injured protecting Tao.  The girls take refuge in a cave without telling the men....
Long Summary:

We open up to Tuo (Healer Tribe Prince) being snuck out of the city.  They manage to achieve this by making up a story that there was a sulfur attack and his face is melted.  Outside the city Ka Suo and Li Luo learn that the reason he is fleeing the marriage is because he fell in love at first site with a woman and wants to find her.  Li Luo (unsurprisingly) thinks this is a dumb reason to abandon your tribe but Ka Suo is supportive and states that he deserves freedom (ah, me thinks this is personal for Ka Suo).  For thanks, Tuo gives them a special jade that will grant them the much  needed entrance to the herb temple

The Li healer, Yu Shen, and baby sister of Tuo's marriage partner, shows up and states that she basically isn't a fool and know they have Tuo.  Tuo recognizes her voice and reveals that this is the woman he is in love with. Apparently  many moons ago he spied her training while collecting  herbs and fell in love (he sounds like some guy in a Greek myth spying on Diana training).  We then have a flashback of his love at first sight moment.  

Yu Shen spurns his love and instead accuses him of breaking her sisters heart.  She essentially rejects and hates him.  Then the healer chief arrives looking great with a really bad wig.  He drags his son home and Tuo, clearly dejected over having been rejected, seems ready to give in.  Li Luo seems to judge him heavily for giving up so easily, and that is when Fire Princess Yan Da shows up LIKE A BOSS with Shi in tow.  Unfortunately, Ka Suo does not recognize his brother, now called Yun Fei.

Chaos ensues.  Shi causes a fight and Yan Da immediately rushes to his side (love is in the air?)  Instead of focusing on Ka Suo, Yan Da instead leaves to find the crystal because she recalls that with it Ka Suo would be powerless.  Yu Shen runs off with Tuo (Healer Prince) in order to prevent a diplomatic disaster.  He takes her to her big sister who has been poisoned--she has been made to age into an old woman.  Tuo tells Yu Shen that they need drugs from the divine tribes.  And I wonder who can provide them.....?  Yan Da!

Yan Da explains that she has been poisoned with a special rare flower that will kill her sister in three days.  Yu Shen demands the antidote.  But Tuo is more level headed and asks her pollitely.    Yan Da agrees--in exchange for the crystal which can also be used to cure the poison.  Yu Shen wants to find the poisooner--she uses her nose (healers have sensitive noses) and discovers that Shi is the poisoner.  

Tuo believes that fire princess is correct.  That the crstal can be used.  Yu Shen wants to kill Shi but Tuo intervenes.  He is about diplomacy.  He also seems to be smarter than he acts.  And here I thought he was a moron!  I think he is one of those characters who just seems worthless but is actually really smart when he tries.  

Shi is incredibly flat and unemotional throughout all of this.  Yan Da forces him to eat something and promises to train him but she needs to test his loyalty.  She says that as long as he witnesses the bride drinking the soup she will get the crystal.  He apparently gave him something called 'heart burning crystal'.  If he betrays her then he will be in incredible pain (how the HELL did the ice tribe  manage to be in charge when the fire tribe is just light years smarter than them??)

Apparently Shi can do magic now.

Meanwhile, Yu Shen's sister is dying.  Her hair starts to fall out.  Yu Shen seems convinced that the healer chief has the crystal but his father says he doesn't have it and that there is a long story behind it.  It seems 18 years ago the rat demon went after their tribe and caused an awful plague.  People were dying left and right.  Left with no choice, Healer Chief Huang Mao went to confront him using the ancient relic.  So it seems he has it.  Yu Shen immediately leaves to go after the demon.  Tuo wishes to go with her, but his father forbids him since he knows no martial arts.  Yu Shen tells him to stay with his fiancee.  

Li Luo and Ka Suo overhear all of this.  They speculate on the rat demon's location.  Incidentally, at this same time, Ka Suo learns that Shi planted some of his hair on him during the fight before (Somehow i just don't get their relationship. i mean people are dying left and right and they only seem to care about finding one another. is this a BL story?)

Ka Suo discovers the source of the scent--a grown up Shi!  Reunion!  They embrace one another and Shi looks enough like a chic that I think this could qualify as BL.  But I digress.

In a scene that  makes no sense, Li Luo and Ka Suo catch up to Yu Shen.  Readers, Yu Shen is riding fast on horseback.  They are pulling a cart because they have the dopey Tuo with them.  COME ON.  We all know that makes no sense.  

They arrive at the 'spot' a foggy spot in the woods with not a lot growing.  He seems  more interested in gathering plants....is he an idiot?  Before he can pick it the plant dies.  And a shadow fogt shows up.  Yu Shen alas is in charge of the bumbling Tao who just gets in the way.  And she is hurt saving him.  They are clearly over their heads.  

They get to a water source, which allows Ka Suo to use his magic and construct a protective ice shield.  (Li Luo just seems to look angry all the time).  

Back in healer land, the guards are looking for Tuo (they are just as inept as the ice tribe it seems).  Yu Shen meanwhile is not doing well.  A wandering stranger tells them to leave to avoid the rat demon, but also gives them a welcome gift.  They decide to trust this stranger who will bring them to the cave (REALLY???)  they decide to hide there without telling anyone.  



Review:
The show could benefit from better direction.  They are also using a very dated form of pushing plot forward--but then this came out around the same time as Eternal Love and Eternal Love was just so well done---I think it was just bad timing.  IF this show had come out a couple years ago I think it would have had higher reviews.

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I blame Ka Suo's smile.

Somehow I've become attached to the characters. I personally blame Ka Suo's gorgeous/playful smile. Because the writers really haven't done much to elevate the plot or characters. (Not to mention dialogue.)

It's time to admit that despite my interenal warnings to drop this drama I'm gonna keep going.

I can't help it!! There's just something . . . addicting about it. Not to mention where things went with Ka Suo's brother!! However, what about all of the other character??? The prisoner's of the King of Fire, so on? There's so many character left behind, as more and more are introduced.

The overtop cheesiness of Ice Fantasy has grown on me. Yes, I still mourn for what could have been. Looks like I will be in for the cheese fest. Not to mention I really like the Poison warrior/healer. She's so bad@$$!

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