the book and the sword - end
I'm going to summarize the final episodes as a ONE ACT PLAY with pictures.
Zhou Qi: We will totally save your fiance!
Xu Tianhong: Wait, we're on a mission, let's not get distracted by HEY, GUY WHO KILLED MY FAMILY! I SHALL AVENGE THEM!
Zhou Qi: He got away.
Xu Tianhong: I SHALL RETURN TO THIS SUBPLOT!
Zhou Qi: I kind of think we won't.
Xu Tianhong: Okay.
Evil Emperor has defeated the Xiyu tribes and captured Kasili. He's set up a tent for her in the palace that looks a lot like her former home. When done for a pet this can be kind of cute. In this context it's seriously creepy, as Yang Kang's mother found out in another story.
Evil Emperor: Ha HA, you must be Kasili, who some call Princess Fragrance. Do you love me yet?
Kasili: You slaughtered my people. Offscreen, as it turns out, which is even more insulting.
Evil Emperor: I've loved you since I saw your portrait on this vase.
Kasili: That picture's like six inches tall.
Evil Emperor: It's totally love.
Kasili SMASHES VASE. Kills herself soon after.
Red Flower Society: I think this must be a clue.
BIG BATTLE between RED FLOWER SOCIETY and NINTH PRINCE ends rather more quickly than one would think.
Chen Jialuo: Are you going to keep your promise?
Evil Emperor: Seriously, this time I am completely trustworthy.
Chen Jialuo: So we'll come to your banquet then, and have a chance to kill you.
Evil Emperor: I will so be there.
Okay, so the Evil Emperor doesn't show up at the banquet. I don't remember anyone dying there. Then an exchange of hostages when I really expected half the cast would die... and they didn't.
Chen Jialiuo: Will we ever explain why the same actor is playing me and Fu Kangan?
Fu Kangan: No, let's just keep that a mystery.
Evil Emperor sits alone in Kasili's empty tent, playing a guqin. I don't know if this scene is supposed to be sad.
END
I enjoyed the part where they're figuring out that Chunhua is a traitor. There are no "Hey, I wonder if he's a traitor" scenes. Just them staring at him in distaste whenever he's not looking. And Jialuo and Tianhong communicating with each other silently.
I've heard this strays quite a bit from the book, and there were a lot of parts that didn't make sense to me. There were character moments that I wondered "Was this show written by a person who's met other people before?" But there were several characters I liked for whatever reason.
Call it a guilty pleasure and I'll just return to my Condor Hero rewatch.
Zhou Qi: We will totally save your fiance!
Xu Tianhong: Wait, we're on a mission, let's not get distracted by HEY, GUY WHO KILLED MY FAMILY! I SHALL AVENGE THEM!
Zhou Qi: He got away.
Xu Tianhong: I SHALL RETURN TO THIS SUBPLOT!
Zhou Qi: I kind of think we won't.
Xu Tianhong: Okay.
Evil Emperor has defeated the Xiyu tribes and captured Kasili. He's set up a tent for her in the palace that looks a lot like her former home. When done for a pet this can be kind of cute. In this context it's seriously creepy, as Yang Kang's mother found out in another story.
Evil Emperor: Ha HA, you must be Kasili, who some call Princess Fragrance. Do you love me yet?
Kasili: You slaughtered my people. Offscreen, as it turns out, which is even more insulting.
Evil Emperor: I've loved you since I saw your portrait on this vase.
Kasili: That picture's like six inches tall.
Evil Emperor: It's totally love.
Kasili SMASHES VASE. Kills herself soon after.
Red Flower Society: I think this must be a clue.
BIG BATTLE between RED FLOWER SOCIETY and NINTH PRINCE ends rather more quickly than one would think.
Chen Jialuo: Are you going to keep your promise?
Evil Emperor: Seriously, this time I am completely trustworthy.
Chen Jialuo: So we'll come to your banquet then, and have a chance to kill you.
Evil Emperor: I will so be there.
Okay, so the Evil Emperor doesn't show up at the banquet. I don't remember anyone dying there. Then an exchange of hostages when I really expected half the cast would die... and they didn't.
Chen Jialiuo: Will we ever explain why the same actor is playing me and Fu Kangan?
Fu Kangan: No, let's just keep that a mystery.
Evil Emperor sits alone in Kasili's empty tent, playing a guqin. I don't know if this scene is supposed to be sad.
END
I enjoyed the part where they're figuring out that Chunhua is a traitor. There are no "Hey, I wonder if he's a traitor" scenes. Just them staring at him in distaste whenever he's not looking. And Jialuo and Tianhong communicating with each other silently.
I've heard this strays quite a bit from the book, and there were a lot of parts that didn't make sense to me. There were character moments that I wondered "Was this show written by a person who's met other people before?" But there were several characters I liked for whatever reason.
Call it a guilty pleasure and I'll just return to my Condor Hero rewatch.