Poor Diaochan!

Wang's scheme has been revealed in episode 8: he desires nothing else but to put Diaochan between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, hoping that the latter, upon such unfortunate circumstance, will kill the rightless ruler. But is Wang mistaken, we cannot help to wonder? Diaochan's words might strike us as very sensitive:

Diaochan: "Father, you wish to give me to that beast?"
Wang: "In order to get rid of the beast, one must be sacrificed to him."
Diaochan: "Father, how is your action any different from that of a beast?"

The scene in itself is rather tragic and terribly well made. It seems that Wang has not noticed the fact that Diaochan's feelings for Lu Bu seem to be authentic indeed. That is to say that she has truly fallen in love with Lu Bu, and does not pretend to do so on behalf of her father's decisions. The watcher might find him/herself attached to Diaochan's tragic story and wonder, will she be saved by Lu Bu or will she not? General Lu Bu's words still sing in my ears, "As long as I live, you will too" as being incredibly devoted and romantic -if he is more a man of action than anything else, he might take it upon himself to either take revenge or save his lady from the immediate danger (it's quite obvious that Dong Zhuo doesn't care an ounce for the little emperor's future, and who knows if he will actually make Diaochan the imperial consort; he, naturally, desires her for himself, as he is well known to be a lascivious, greedy man. Her becoming an imperial consort is, in this case, only a disguise; a poor one, since everyone knows the truth. And Lu Bu knows it perhaps better than any other).

We witness a heartfelt scene between Lu Bu and Diaochan -and the first's pleading to his adoptive father to give Diaochan to him. But, naturally, Dong Zhuo finds a way out and refuses him under the pretense of law and appearance. "You can have any woman at court, except Diaochan," he says (not exactly the same words, but the message is the same), and we can read the desperation upon Lu Bu's face. I can't help but wonder what his decision shall be: kill Dong Zhuo? Commit suicide? Run away with Diaochan? There are a few possibilities, as I see it, the most hoped and expected to be the first I mentioned. However, I am not quite sure he will succeed since all the plans to take Dong Zhuo's head have been utterly hopeless until now (after this episode, his adoptive father might be rather cautious of Lu Bu's whereabouts; though Lu Bu is extremely skilled in the art of war/and fighting, what can he do if there is no auspicious moment to take the chance? Also, I have thought that there is a possibility that Dong Zhuo will be killed with the Seven Stars dagger he had given as present to his adoptive son at the beginning of the series (at least, that's what I'm hopeful for).

I felt sorry for Diaochan, naturally, but I have also admired her strength (for I think she has both strength and wisdom). I do hope, for her good, and for the good of the nation (for the moment, of course) that Lu Bu will take aciton. Meanwhile, I ought to say this has been an exceptionally heartfelt episode (very tragic, indeed, but quite beautiful in its flood of emotions).

Read More