Nirvana in Fire Rewatch, Episode 12
May. 14th, 2019 11:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kraitThis one's attempting to punch me in the emotions! There's no excuse for opening with that conversation between Master Zhou and Mei Changsu except to hit me where it hurts most. Between the humourous contrast of Mei Changsu saying he was a poor student to Master Li and then skillfully arguing for his involvement in politics, and the tearjerker moment when Zhou tells Mei Changsu about another student of Li's, with "you and he would have been a glorious pair" and quietly lamenting that they'll never meet that person again, I am wrung out already and we're only five minutes in!
And then Nihuang shows up to batter my heart some more! She argues and builds verbal traps and rips Mei Changsu's clothing off and cries on his shoulder, and he pretty much has to admit his real identity. I love her calm certainty in the face of his wavering, and also her growing horror at the differences in him: "How have you become like this? [...] What kind of cruel things can wipe away all the traces of a person?" Plus that ominous silence and change of subject from Mei Changsu when she tells him she can wait until he becomes Lin Shu again...
This episode is really, really kind to my id, delivering me tearful recognitions, Mei Changsu revealing his identity, Mei Changsu suffering tragically in the cold and coughing up blood, Doctor Yan being snippy to everyone (and Li Gang saying that only Doctor Yan can stop the Chief from overexerting himself) and Mei Changsu being stuck in bed with his hair down while Fei Liu sits at his side. ♥ ♥ ♥
While showering me with everything beautiful in the universe (see above), this episode is also ramping up the tension around the smuggled gunpowder plot! The missing quantities are finally traced to their destination: an illegal firework factory backed by Lou Zhijing, former Minister of State Revenue and the Crown Prince's supporter.
Just in case you thought we were resolving this plot, the Empress becomes mysteriously ill! Several people suspect poison, but nobody can explain why, if an enemy got to her, they didn't finish her off. The Empress is aware of her rivals; it would be difficult for any enemy to get past her precautions even once, so a non-fatal attack doesn't make any sense. Mei Changsu is troubled, and sends word for Nihuang to visit the Empress and do a little spying.
After his initial concern, Prince Yu seems relieved that the symptoms aren't life-threatening and is dismissive when Banruo tells him that every illness has a cause. He doesn't seem to believe that the Empress was poisoned - I suspect because Yu is precisely the sort of person that Mei Changsu is considering when he says that an enemy wouldn't waste an opportunity on a nonfatal poisoning. :D
The Identity Reveal Count is now 1 !
And then Nihuang shows up to batter my heart some more! She argues and builds verbal traps and rips Mei Changsu's clothing off and cries on his shoulder, and he pretty much has to admit his real identity. I love her calm certainty in the face of his wavering, and also her growing horror at the differences in him: "How have you become like this? [...] What kind of cruel things can wipe away all the traces of a person?" Plus that ominous silence and change of subject from Mei Changsu when she tells him she can wait until he becomes Lin Shu again...
This episode is really, really kind to my id, delivering me tearful recognitions, Mei Changsu revealing his identity, Mei Changsu suffering tragically in the cold and coughing up blood, Doctor Yan being snippy to everyone (and Li Gang saying that only Doctor Yan can stop the Chief from overexerting himself) and Mei Changsu being stuck in bed with his hair down while Fei Liu sits at his side. ♥ ♥ ♥
While showering me with everything beautiful in the universe (see above), this episode is also ramping up the tension around the smuggled gunpowder plot! The missing quantities are finally traced to their destination: an illegal firework factory backed by Lou Zhijing, former Minister of State Revenue and the Crown Prince's supporter.
Just in case you thought we were resolving this plot, the Empress becomes mysteriously ill! Several people suspect poison, but nobody can explain why, if an enemy got to her, they didn't finish her off. The Empress is aware of her rivals; it would be difficult for any enemy to get past her precautions even once, so a non-fatal attack doesn't make any sense. Mei Changsu is troubled, and sends word for Nihuang to visit the Empress and do a little spying.
After his initial concern, Prince Yu seems relieved that the symptoms aren't life-threatening and is dismissive when Banruo tells him that every illness has a cause. He doesn't seem to believe that the Empress was poisoned - I suspect because Yu is precisely the sort of person that Mei Changsu is considering when he says that an enemy wouldn't waste an opportunity on a nonfatal poisoning. :D
The Identity Reveal Count is now 1 !