This is an interesting episode. Lots of big things going down, but the episode itself spends much of its time on the things happening before, between, and after those major events. Not sure if it was just, “Oh man, we’re near the end of the season, we don’t want to run out of money!!”, but either way, they still create a pretty entertaining episode out of it.
Wai Siu-bo is on his way to Devine Dragon Island, with Sze Long leading the plan of attack on the dangerous sect. Siu-bo is caught between his desire to stay out of the fray and his anxiousness to help Fong Yee, who’s still being held by the Devine Dragons. The mission unfolds in unexpected ways and leads Siu-bo and Sheung Yee to a fortuitous turn of events.
We follow up a tiny bit on the Taiwan cliffhanger with Helmsman Chan in the last episode, but very briefly. Just enough to remind us that Chan is the noblest shifu in the game. He’s a guy who stoically intones lines like, “My personal suffering is nothing. I am worried that the people of this country are still suffering under the yoke of the Manchu rule.” Class act all around!
The emperor once again proves that, for all of Wai Siu-bo’s loyalty, he’s not afraid to play the emperor card at the slightest provocation. The moment Siu-bo expresses hesitation at the thought of going to Devine Dragon Island, it’s, “If you don’t put your whole heart into [this mission], I will have your head chopped off.” Sheesh! Fortunately, Siu-bo has Sheung Yee backing him up—over the last stretch of episodes, she’s been emerging as the most ride-or-die of his “wives.”
Other than a few scenes, we’re mainly sticking with Wai Siu-bo here, which means not actually seeing most of the battle between the imperial soldiers and the Devine Dragons. For his own safety as one of the emperor’s most trusted lords, he’s set up at “headquarters” on a different island while Sze Long commands the troops. As relieved as he is to be out of danger, though, he’s worried about Fong Yee and he doesn’t want anything to happen to her in the fight. Likewise, he quickly starts freaking out that he doesn’t know what’s happening, imagining all manner of catastrophes happening just beyond his reach.
This is a great episode for Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s physicality in this role, so many fun moments. He does an admirable job of teaming up with the shaky camera to create the illusion of being in a boat on choppy waters, stumbling and swaying all over the scene. There’s this awesome bit where he’s upset about something, and he yells as he spins around while walking along the wall. That’s not the best description, but I just love this little piece of business, which is a perfect physical expression of his anxiety in that moment. I also love it when Sheung Yee suggests he fake being hurt to get them out of a tight spot—Siu-bo brightly responds, “I am good at faking,” and immediately launches into the most over-the-top performance.
Finally, it’s of course not exclusive to this episode, since Wai Siu-bo spends plenty of time on this show running/fleeing, but I really do love the way he runs with his whole body. It’s not quite a full-on pinwheel-arms situation—it’s not as overt as that—but it’s always delightfully panicked and clumsy, especially compared to all the martial artists who regularly surround him.
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