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Here’s my reaction to the last three episodes of the 1st season (because there will be the 2nd one, wheee!) – mainly a happy squee and a few confused questions. :)
Spoilers behind the cut
Episode 22 was creepy and hard to watch – it was mostly about mad scientist torturing children and experimenting on them to turn them into perfect soldiers. I think I’ll skip this one during the re-watch. At least there were a few cute scene with Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao playing parents for Yangyang, who’s an adorable boy.
But episode 23 and 24 were fantastic. So many good things:
• Cute domestic scene with Yangyang in the beginning of episode 23
• Zhao Zhen appeared after a long break. And it was nice to see his pretty face again, but I was dismayed at first because he didn’t interact with Bai Chi at all. But then all was forgiven – in episode 24 we find out that Bai Chi has been living with Zhao Zhen. Yay! I wonder when it started. Somewhere after episode 14, I think.
That whole scene with Bai Chi and Zhao Jue was golden. Bai Chi is so earnest and sweet here.
Bai Chi: “So I went to take care of him.”
Zhao Jue: “Do look after him. Zhen is a remarkable person.”
Awww, they’ve got his blessing. :D
Zhao Zhen waiting in the car in front of the SCI office and conveniently witnessing Zhan Yao’s kidnapping makes much more sense when we know that Bai Chi lives with him. He was just there to pick Bai Chi up after work. :)
• The talk between Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong about hypnotizing the suspect to get the information out of him. Zhan Yao basically manipulates Bai Yutong into agreeing. He’s so seductively convincing here, saying “If you don’t tell who’s going to know” and “It’s just 10 minutes. If we don’t do it something terrible will happen.” But still Bai Yutong gives in way too easily IMO. :)
Zhan Yao then goes to hypnotize the suspect and the suspect (in the reference to one of the previous episodes where Zhan Yao had to dress in white clothes) says:
“White still looks better. Black... Doesn’t look good.”
It’s so symbolic. :)
• Zhan Yao gets kidnapped and we get tropes galore: the bad guy knows he will hurt Bai Yutong the most if he tortures Zhan Yao.
Bad guy: “I have a better way to make you wish you were dead. Bai Yutong, he’s the most important person to you, right?”
Bai Yutong:“You dare touch him, just try it.”
The bad guy then talks about killing Zhan Yao in front of Bai Yutong.
Bad guy: “I need you to watch with your own eyes as your dearest brother dies in front of you.”
Bai Yutong: “I will never let get away with it! If you’ve got guts come over here right now and kill me! Kill me!”
• Ma Han being a badass sniper and shooting the kidnapper dead.
• Another talk about doing morally questionable thing and again Bai Yutong gives in. And Zhan Yao calls Zhao Jue for help. Wheee! That’s one of my favorite tropes – when good guys have no other option than to ask bad guy for help.
And then predictably my absolutely favorite moment from episode 23: the talk between Zhao Jue and Zhan Yao with Zhao Jue saying “You’re truly becoming more and more like me”.
And that ending – wow!!! Good thing I had to wait only one day for the finale. But after the finale I have more questions than answers.
Is Zhao Jue not a bad guy after all? He said to Zhan Yao in episode 21:
“What if I say to you... That back then I didn’t harm any people.”
And Zhan Yao replied:
“I’d believe that you didn’t harm any people. Because in your eyes those who were harmed by you didn’t count as people at all.”
Did Zhao Jue mean it literally, then? He didn’t really harm anyone, it was someone else? I loved Zhao Jue as a villain, but I have absolutely no objections to him being not really a villain, but more morally ambiguous guy. It won’t diminish my love for him or his relationship with Zhan Yao.
And who shot Bai Qingtang when she was a child? The translator posted a few notes about episode 24 here on tumblr and I don’t know - does she mean Bai Qingtang thinks her own father shot her? But that was really someone else entirely?
I would very much like if someone familiar with the novel spoiled me. I love spoilers, I want to know everything. Is Zhao Jue a good guy after all? Is he really Zhan Yao’s father? Who really shot Bai Qingtang? What happened in the past between Chief Bao, Zhao Jue and Zhan Senior? Just give me all the answers, people and give them to me now. ;)
But the biggest squee is for that last additional scene after the end credits with dark Zhan Yao… Here are two caps:
And here is that scene in gifs.
That was.... perfect. Just perfect. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Spoilers behind the cut
Episode 22 was creepy and hard to watch – it was mostly about mad scientist torturing children and experimenting on them to turn them into perfect soldiers. I think I’ll skip this one during the re-watch. At least there were a few cute scene with Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao playing parents for Yangyang, who’s an adorable boy.
But episode 23 and 24 were fantastic. So many good things:
• Cute domestic scene with Yangyang in the beginning of episode 23
• Zhao Zhen appeared after a long break. And it was nice to see his pretty face again, but I was dismayed at first because he didn’t interact with Bai Chi at all. But then all was forgiven – in episode 24 we find out that Bai Chi has been living with Zhao Zhen. Yay! I wonder when it started. Somewhere after episode 14, I think.
That whole scene with Bai Chi and Zhao Jue was golden. Bai Chi is so earnest and sweet here.
Bai Chi: “So I went to take care of him.”
Zhao Jue: “Do look after him. Zhen is a remarkable person.”
Awww, they’ve got his blessing. :D
Zhao Zhen waiting in the car in front of the SCI office and conveniently witnessing Zhan Yao’s kidnapping makes much more sense when we know that Bai Chi lives with him. He was just there to pick Bai Chi up after work. :)
• The talk between Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong about hypnotizing the suspect to get the information out of him. Zhan Yao basically manipulates Bai Yutong into agreeing. He’s so seductively convincing here, saying “If you don’t tell who’s going to know” and “It’s just 10 minutes. If we don’t do it something terrible will happen.” But still Bai Yutong gives in way too easily IMO. :)
Zhan Yao then goes to hypnotize the suspect and the suspect (in the reference to one of the previous episodes where Zhan Yao had to dress in white clothes) says:
“White still looks better. Black... Doesn’t look good.”
It’s so symbolic. :)
• Zhan Yao gets kidnapped and we get tropes galore: the bad guy knows he will hurt Bai Yutong the most if he tortures Zhan Yao.
Bad guy: “I have a better way to make you wish you were dead. Bai Yutong, he’s the most important person to you, right?”
Bai Yutong:“You dare touch him, just try it.”
The bad guy then talks about killing Zhan Yao in front of Bai Yutong.
Bad guy: “I need you to watch with your own eyes as your dearest brother dies in front of you.”
Bai Yutong: “I will never let get away with it! If you’ve got guts come over here right now and kill me! Kill me!”
• Ma Han being a badass sniper and shooting the kidnapper dead.
• Another talk about doing morally questionable thing and again Bai Yutong gives in. And Zhan Yao calls Zhao Jue for help. Wheee! That’s one of my favorite tropes – when good guys have no other option than to ask bad guy for help.
And then predictably my absolutely favorite moment from episode 23: the talk between Zhao Jue and Zhan Yao with Zhao Jue saying “You’re truly becoming more and more like me”.
And that ending – wow!!! Good thing I had to wait only one day for the finale. But after the finale I have more questions than answers.
Is Zhao Jue not a bad guy after all? He said to Zhan Yao in episode 21:
“What if I say to you... That back then I didn’t harm any people.”
And Zhan Yao replied:
“I’d believe that you didn’t harm any people. Because in your eyes those who were harmed by you didn’t count as people at all.”
Did Zhao Jue mean it literally, then? He didn’t really harm anyone, it was someone else? I loved Zhao Jue as a villain, but I have absolutely no objections to him being not really a villain, but more morally ambiguous guy. It won’t diminish my love for him or his relationship with Zhan Yao.
And who shot Bai Qingtang when she was a child? The translator posted a few notes about episode 24 here on tumblr and I don’t know - does she mean Bai Qingtang thinks her own father shot her? But that was really someone else entirely?
I would very much like if someone familiar with the novel spoiled me. I love spoilers, I want to know everything. Is Zhao Jue a good guy after all? Is he really Zhan Yao’s father? Who really shot Bai Qingtang? What happened in the past between Chief Bao, Zhao Jue and Zhan Senior? Just give me all the answers, people and give them to me now. ;)
But the biggest squee is for that last additional scene after the end credits with dark Zhan Yao… Here are two caps:
And here is that scene in gifs.
That was.... perfect. Just perfect. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
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Plus such great enemies to lovers potential between the two leads, obviously!
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Yay!!! :D
I like the vibe between the team - I loved that they were already gossiping about Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong in the briefing, and when Ma Han was telling off Wang Shao for eating snacks on their stake out :D
The team is great. And I love to watch their reactions to all the ups and downs in the relationship between Bai Yutong and Zhao Yao during the whole drama. :)
I just wish we had a few episodes more to fleshed them out. You already know that I love Ma Han and thankfully she gets a bit more time devoted to her later in the show. The same with Gongsung Zhe and later with Bai Chi. But the other three – Jiang Lin, Zhao Fu and Wang Shao are just there in the background basically.