This will cover from Episodes 10 until where our couple was rescued and we see them sleeping on the pallet with their hands fused together in Episode 15
IMO, these five and a half episodes are the most tightly written and best of the drama. It's a well-balanced composition of light and dark moments, in which the characters are allowed to grow organically while we see suspense, romance and side characters' motivations all tightly woven.
First, the "fake" love has become real. MRJH cared about his assassin, Mei Lin. Mei Lin admitted that she couldn't read MRJH's character but just looking at the stuff he did for her, she could guess that he cared. Romance was in the air but this didn't sit well with the side characters.
XiyanGreenTeaPrince wasn't happy about this. His scheme to keep Mei Lin within his retinue was not working, so he must create conflict. He had been hiding his smarts for a long time, just playing GO with the Emperor but losing on purpose. This time, he must make long-term plans, if he were to get Mei Lin and "protect" her from the likes of Murong JingHe. Never mind that the girl he was after never expressed any desire for his protection or to leave with him, XiyanGreenTeaPrince was absolutely sure this was the best future for our girl.
His motivation was thus expressed in these episodes: He won his game of GO with the Emperor to make a point. He visited the Clown Prince to drink tea and express the desire to "sail on the same boat." All this to hurt JingHe's standing in Mei Lin's eyes. And he succeeded with faking the Ten Beauties' deaths and putting the blame on JingHe, showing Mei Lin that JingHe, for revenge, would hurt innocents without regard.
This shows XiyanGreenTeaPrince understood the mindset of his "opponents," like a GO game. He would not make a direct attack but would hit all the assets. Mei Lin was an asset to MRJH, so he would make sure Mei Lin take herself away as an asset. How? By making her angry with MRJH's methods. He achieved two things--weaken MRJH's influence and get Mei Lin from being in MRJH's company. The more she was away, the easier he could influence her, perhaps to leave with him, perhaps to love him.
The other person not happy about this was General Yin, the Robotic 2FL. She also harbored a ten year delusion of love (what is it with all these ten year delusions?!). But at least she had a background of growing up with MRJH, unlike XiyanGreenTeaPrince who just had one chance meeting/rescue with his BaiYueGong (White Moonlight, Chinese idiom for unaatainable lover).
The episodes go from brilliant GO chess moves between characters to poignant moments of romance. This is the darker version of love we see--the yearning and the unattainable. MRJH expressed his love for his assassin, knowing very well the secret he held would probably end it. He painted her. He sent her gifts to make her his concubine (and nearly got his wish, if not for the clever scheme by XiyanGreenTeaPrince). And his confession to General Yin Luo Mei of how he loved his never-die flower was the most romantic thing. Too bad Mei Lin wasn't around to hear it!
We see more of the motivations of Clown Prince--his desire for the crown, but he already had that--so what else? Ah, Luo Mei, who was in love with MRJH, his brother. He wanted her too. He wanted EVERYTHING. Crippling his brother wasn't enough because she still loved him, so now he must kill him too.
The suspense built to a crescendo when MRJH decided to get the ultimate clue--the man who was the chief designer of his downfall who was now imprisoned in a Mountain Prison with Xiyan prisoners (they sure look well-fed there when they were fighting in the camp, haha). MRJH was actually going to take all this on himself but Mei Lin, who had also decided on a lone mission saved him at a critical moment and TADA! Our couple, in spite of meddlesome people, was together again.
And here we see the excellent combination of suspense and romance writing--two fighters surviving mounting danger and getting over their misunderstanding. The acting was excellent and the moments of danger was not just building tension but also creating layers of character growth. The scene of MRJH's paralysis from the snake bite and his loss of bowel movement was incredibly done--his shame/embarrassment, Mei Lin's understanding and non-emotional aid; Mei Lin's grit in pulling and sustaining MRJH along; and those final scenes in the snow, where they almost dying from the cold.
This is the stuff of romantic suspense at its best. There is tension through inner and outer conflict. Our couples faced loss and through their fight for survival, we see their growth to being more than partners in revenge. Their coming-together is believable and the romance is not just an external plot armor. I certainly believe in MRJH's pain and inner conflict about how to go about revenge being "good." I certainly agree with Mei Lin's point about how pointless it would be to use innocent people indiscriminately to atone for 100,000 deaths of innocents. So where would be the balance for these two?
Let's find out ahead.
