Nirvana in Fire rewatch: Episode Eleven
May. 5th, 2019 10:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kraitMore machinations! Also two of my favourite moments. Okay, I have one or two favourite moments in practically every episode, but I defy anyone to watch this show and not feel the same.
It's Consort Yue's turn to be in the center of the plotting again, with her son trying to overturn her demotion and Prince Yu, Nihuang, and Mei Changsu all having cause to object. The Marquis of Ning puts pressure on Minister of Rites Chen Yuanzhi to bring up Yue's status on a ceremonial pretext; the Minister's son has been accepting bribes, and all the Marquis wants is for Minister Chen to petition the Emperor about a question of protocol for the upcoming Year End ritual. The Marquis arrives "coincidentally" while the Emperor is considering his answer, and puts in his own cautious approval.
He rather neatly turns the Emperor's intial reluctance to offend Nihuang and the Southern army by overturning Yue's punishment for drugging her into concern that inflicting too much punishment on Yue might give Nihuang ideas above her station and place too much power in her hands.
Interestingly to me, the Emperor does not appear to know that the Marquis of Ning is affiliated with the Crown Prince! He's usually astute and quite well-informed about his sons' various allies, so it caught my attention when the Emperor refers to him as an uninvolved party.
Xia Dong, Nihuang and Qing have a three-way conference when they get the news! Nihuang listens to them, and then says, "Do you think I'm not angry? It's just that I've given up." She recognises the strategic principles at play: her troops have pacified the border, so they've lost their leverage and the politicians want to control them. I love that Qing's solution to his sister's resignation and his own lack of options is, "I'll go get Sir Su. He has many ideas, let him help you get back at them." A vengeful child! ♥
Okay so like look, I am as much in favour of Jingyan and Lin Shu pining at each other as anybody, okay, but this is one of those episodes that makes me really wish for more fic with Mei Changsu & Meng Zhi, or Mei Changsu/Meng Zhi, in it. The teasing! The banter. Meng Zhi calling him "xiao-Shu"! The cynical bitter truths Mei Changsu spits out. Meng managing to surprise him with information and having to explain things to him. (Fic seems sadly devoid of that last thing in particular, alas. Sometimes Meng has access to information that Mei Changsu doesn't!)
Mei Changsu and Prince Yu plan how to foil Yue's bid for power. The end result: the Emperor is railroaded into allowing a scholarly debate to decide the issue of placement in the Year End ceremony. Both sides amass scholars to argue in their favour, but the numbers and skills are evenly matched beween them. Mei Changsu sends Qing on an errand to fetch "old Master Zhou," whose opinion will be the most respected; Zhou is a recluse who avoids Court matters, but Mei Changsu draws him out.
The whole debate is beautifully filmed, with the shifts in perspective and the wonderful expressions. I'm no film critic and a lot of times this sort of thing passes me by, but I really noticed how masterfully done it was here. There are so many ways that "long, desperate legal debate" could become boring or convoluted, but we neatly avoid all that by staying focused on the tension of the main players. (Mu Qing is the most adorable! He bounces around Master Zhou like a puppy trying to play with an old warhorse! He's about three seconds from putting his hands on the old man's shoulders and pushing him across the floor like a potted plant.) :D
And then we wind down with two incredibly powerful scenes: Mei Changsu half-laughing, half-weeping at what he's lost ("You know, this pair of hands used to bend bows and tame horses, but now they can only hide in the dark and stir the pot.") and Jingyan solemnly informing his mother that he's entering the fight for the crown - on his own side, not in support of either of his brothers.
It's Consort Yue's turn to be in the center of the plotting again, with her son trying to overturn her demotion and Prince Yu, Nihuang, and Mei Changsu all having cause to object. The Marquis of Ning puts pressure on Minister of Rites Chen Yuanzhi to bring up Yue's status on a ceremonial pretext; the Minister's son has been accepting bribes, and all the Marquis wants is for Minister Chen to petition the Emperor about a question of protocol for the upcoming Year End ritual. The Marquis arrives "coincidentally" while the Emperor is considering his answer, and puts in his own cautious approval.
He rather neatly turns the Emperor's intial reluctance to offend Nihuang and the Southern army by overturning Yue's punishment for drugging her into concern that inflicting too much punishment on Yue might give Nihuang ideas above her station and place too much power in her hands.
Interestingly to me, the Emperor does not appear to know that the Marquis of Ning is affiliated with the Crown Prince! He's usually astute and quite well-informed about his sons' various allies, so it caught my attention when the Emperor refers to him as an uninvolved party.
Xia Dong, Nihuang and Qing have a three-way conference when they get the news! Nihuang listens to them, and then says, "Do you think I'm not angry? It's just that I've given up." She recognises the strategic principles at play: her troops have pacified the border, so they've lost their leverage and the politicians want to control them. I love that Qing's solution to his sister's resignation and his own lack of options is, "I'll go get Sir Su. He has many ideas, let him help you get back at them." A vengeful child! ♥
Okay so like look, I am as much in favour of Jingyan and Lin Shu pining at each other as anybody, okay, but this is one of those episodes that makes me really wish for more fic with Mei Changsu & Meng Zhi, or Mei Changsu/Meng Zhi, in it. The teasing! The banter. Meng Zhi calling him "xiao-Shu"! The cynical bitter truths Mei Changsu spits out. Meng managing to surprise him with information and having to explain things to him. (Fic seems sadly devoid of that last thing in particular, alas. Sometimes Meng has access to information that Mei Changsu doesn't!)
Mei Changsu and Prince Yu plan how to foil Yue's bid for power. The end result: the Emperor is railroaded into allowing a scholarly debate to decide the issue of placement in the Year End ceremony. Both sides amass scholars to argue in their favour, but the numbers and skills are evenly matched beween them. Mei Changsu sends Qing on an errand to fetch "old Master Zhou," whose opinion will be the most respected; Zhou is a recluse who avoids Court matters, but Mei Changsu draws him out.
The whole debate is beautifully filmed, with the shifts in perspective and the wonderful expressions. I'm no film critic and a lot of times this sort of thing passes me by, but I really noticed how masterfully done it was here. There are so many ways that "long, desperate legal debate" could become boring or convoluted, but we neatly avoid all that by staying focused on the tension of the main players. (Mu Qing is the most adorable! He bounces around Master Zhou like a puppy trying to play with an old warhorse! He's about three seconds from putting his hands on the old man's shoulders and pushing him across the floor like a potted plant.) :D
And then we wind down with two incredibly powerful scenes: Mei Changsu half-laughing, half-weeping at what he's lost ("You know, this pair of hands used to bend bows and tame horses, but now they can only hide in the dark and stir the pot.") and Jingyan solemnly informing his mother that he's entering the fight for the crown - on his own side, not in support of either of his brothers.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-08 01:14 am (UTC)It's totally one of the reasons I wish there was more slashiness out there; Jingyan pines very nobly and all, but there's such potential in After twelve years I unexpectedly saw you, from fifty feet away, in disguise, with every reason to believe you dead, and I knew you instantly.
They're like two soldiers preparing to enter battle together.
Yesssss, this is it! They're extremely solemn, and they keep their voices low and hardly look at each other for most of the conversation, as though they're pretending not to have it. It reads so well as them each realising what they're asking of the other and hesitating to take on such a hard battle, but knowing they need to win it.
that moment when Mei Changsu tips the "Ministry of Rites" tile into the fire
The whole colour-coded name-tiles thing is great, honestly - we get lots of good moments with those! The first time I watched it I was kind of nervous about Mei Changsu keeping physical evidence of his schemes (it would seem pretty obvious, if you found a box full of ministers' names and the ones missing were the ones recently deposed) but it's visually very satisfying to watch their number diminish. They make for good metaphors, too, as with Mei Changsu holding the Ministry of Rites tile poised over the fire until the debate concludes.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-08 01:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-08 03:33 am (UTC)But he does let Meng Zhi know and brings him into all his plans, and that's such a high level of trust
Yesss, this is part of what captured my interest early on! Meng seems like an unlikely choice of co-conspirator in many ways, given he's not adept at subterfuge dishonest dealing, but something prompted 'Mei Changsu' to take Meng into his confidence.
Perhaps he just needed Meng's knowledge and cooperation in his position as head of security, but I don't quite believe it. :D