Discussion of Episodes 15 1/2 to 18

Ahem. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT.

This revenge drama is being interrupted by our sponsors, Disney Chinese Renaissance Cos-Play Village. Our special village brings happy couples together. Feel free to put on your favorite Happy Villager costume and cosplay with us!

Awrighty, then. I just want to get that over with so you won't be too surprise at the sudden change of pace, genre and feel of our Revenge Drama. In the last segment, all was dark and our couple was in dire straights, almost dying from injury, hunger and cold. They were rescued in time by MRJH's trusty aid.

WHO KNEW THAT THESE ANGRY, REVENGEFUL ROYAL PEOPLE HAD A WHOLE VILLAGE OF HAPPY CITIZENS TUCKED AWAY IN THE MOUNTAIN IN SOME CONTAINED DISNEY PARADISE?!

Ahem. So our couple was rescued and we see them unconscious. MRJH woke up and was told that they were safe and that Mei Lin, sleeping by his side, had held his hands ALL this time, refusing to let go. Awwwww. How did they change our couple's clothes, I don't know, but they did. And who wiped them down? I mean, they were stinky from three or four days of fighting, crawling in water and dirt and stinky peepee. But I digress. We are in Happy Disney Chinese Village!

These short episodes were meant to showcase the world of darkness (revenge) vs the world of light (happy, normal people). This was Jing He's and Mei Lin's short escape from their reality into their romantic fantasy. The life in the village is idyllic--work in the day, happy feasting at night, happy couples holding hands and arguing. Our couple got to confess to each other about what they want for a spouse. Jing He got to confess AGAIN about his feelings, this time to the right audience--Mei Lin. The last time, his words, IMHO, had more romantic weight but he was telling rejecting Luo Mei and telling the latter what Mei Lin was to him (the "she is the wildflower, the Cannot-Die flower"). This time, it was much more normal romantic words--Mei Lin was "a warrior who was kind and true, whom he didn't mind losing to," etc. 

We see a different side of MRJH and Mei Lin--what they would have been like without the weight of revenge and royal responsibility on their shoulders and minds. We're invited to enjoy them being happy because we all know the angst is coming as soon as they leave this Disney Village of Lurv. The kiss between them was poignant and funny because MRJH warned her not to bite him before he bent down and captured Mei Lin's lips. 

Talking about kisses and romance, let's not forget the world outside the Disney Village of Idyllic Lurv. Whereas the cinematography had changed to all the pretty hues of green of the fields and blues of the mountains and our Jing He and Mei Lin were in couple-matching clothes, cooking, drinking, dancing and just having so. Much. Fun, the world at the palace was still dark and red.

MRXL, or our Clown Prince, was still searching for Jing He and Mei Lin. He had planted a defaced dead body to convince the world that Jing He was dead, but he understood that as long as our couple was alive, that truth would eventually come out.

But that didn't stop him from thinking about romance, though. He was going to get the girl of his dreams, Luo Mei, and he was going to achieve this by underhanded means. The Clown Prince, if nothing else, was very, very good at understanding people. He understood what his father wanted and gave him the kind of stoic, obedient, responsible son needed as heir to the throne. His only fear was that the Emperor would choose Jing He as the Crown Prince if Jing He were healed of both his mental and physical states. With Jing He seemingly well on his way to achieve the latter, Clown Prince figured his marrying Luo Mei, who had an entire army at her disposal, would guarantee his power. So he set about getting Luo Mei incapacitated by the infamous Chinese seducing incense and THEN, because he was the cunning guy who understood his opponents, he pretended to be noble while Luo Mei tried to ravish him, resisting her and stabbing himself with his hair thingy to ward off the effects of that incense. And Luo Mei fell for that whole noble act. She actually FELL FOR HIM and said she would choose him as her husband! Our Clown Prince smiled. Mission accomplished.

Meanwhile,  our XiyanGreenTeaPrince had also accomplished his mission back in Xiyan. He secured his position as Prince Heir (their version of Crown Prince) to the throne by getting his brother killed. Again, I want to emphasize how the XiyanGreenTeaPrince was just as cunning as the Clown Prince. He was actually sort of a mirror to the Clown Prince--he was the prince who had suffered because his father preferred another; he was obsessed with a woman who didn't love him. He, too, hid his cunning ways from the world, preferring to show the  sereneness of someone cultured and caring. He wanted to secure his position for one reason only--to get Mei Lin back by his side as Princess Heir. This was the weirdest way to get a woman one fantasized about for ten years, but oh well, maybe the Xiyan culture was like that. Anyhow, he convinced Daddy Dearest that his Other Half that would bring Daddy long life was in the Great Yan State and he'd go there to fetch her home.

Lastly, and so, so, odd because I cannot figure out what the writers were trying to do, we get a sorta-kinda fledgling romance (?????) between the Old Emperor and Concubine Yan (who would be around 18???). Some viewers had argued that she would be 15 because girl brides were sent off to marriage at that age, but remember XiyanGreenTeaPrince chose to be Hostage Prince in Yan so his sister wouldn't be married off that young. So, Concubine Yan actually had a few years of "freedom" before setting out on her marriage alliance. Anyway, this relationship was carefully depicted. The Emperor was not the lecherous type. He was very caring of his young wife and treated her cordially. But Concubine Yan's airheaded approach in life really made him happy, so ah well, whatever floated his Dragon Boat, I guess. She was very touched by his tender respect, that was for sure.

There was something very interesting revealed in Episode 18, though, and it concerned what the Emperor said about Jing He when he prayed to his dead Empress. He acknowledged that asking Jing He to come back to the capital had set off this chain of events and that HE was to blame for Jing He's death. He admitted that his action had made certain people insecure about their standings.

He did not mention the Clown Prince's name in front his dead wife's plaque but we know he meant that. His final words were also interesting: I gave Jing He a chance but he wasn't as capable as the Clown Prince. I had chosen correctly.

Meaning, he, the Emperor, in spite of loving the legal wife's son more, acknowledged that Jing He did now have the right stuff to be emperor. At this point, he appeared to still believe his younger son did that awful crime ten years ago. No matter. Jing He was dead and he, the Emperor, wasn't going to look for the truth any more--he did not want to know, he stated.

This was the first time we see that Go Player Emperor in action. He was not as benevolent, kind or loving as we had been led to believe. He had hinted about it here and there, telling his eunuch that he had walked the same path of sibling rivalry and yelling at the Clown Prince of getting entangled in emotions when the throne was at stake. But here, in front of his wife's plaque, the truth was out. So yeah, no Disney Palace Fun here indeed.

The interlude ended with our couple leaving the Village of Lurv the same way as they entered, holding hands. They still talked about love and marriage, of being together.

But everything was turning dark again. They arrived at the City Gate. Big Brother Clown Prince was searching everything and everyone to make sure they didn't sneak in. And who just arrived at the gate too? My, it was XiyanGreenTeaPrince in all his Prince Heir glory. Our couple hid in between, trying to figure a way back inside for revenge.

The interlude is over. Back to reality.