*Episode premise spoilers, as well as some relevant spoilers for earlier episodes.*
Well, it’s a good thing that I took a break from A Little TLC(w) to get caught up on The Book of Rannells stuff, because Tony Leung Chiu-wai doesn’t appear in The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre until episode 12. IMDb entries for Hong Kong shows from the ‘80s don’t always have the most complete information, so I started the series flying blind. Leung was on the cover of the DVD, so I had to assume he was going to show up sometime, but I was surprised at how long it took. Let’s just say a lot of plot had to happen before he could make his entrance.
Before I get into this episode, I’ll give a brief overview on the show itself. The Dragon Sabre is a mythical sword of immense power, complete with its own prophecy about the person who wields it. At the start of the series, numerous martial arts sects clash over possession of it before the sword is ultimately lost. Xie Xun, the last warrior to claim the sword, is shipwrecked and ends up on a remote island with Fifth Brother of the honorable Wudang Sect and Yin Susu of the unscrupulous Heavenly Eagle Sect. The trio spends ten years on the island, during which time Fifth Brother and Susu have a son, Wuji. Eventually, the young family manages to return home while Xie Xun choses to remain on the island, but their return is immediately dogged by members of various sects demanding to know the whereabouts of Xie Xun—some seek him out over old grudges, but many are still after the Dragon Sabre.
There are old side plots that I’ll bring up as needed, but for now, those are the basics. In this episode, Master Zhang of the Wudang Sect journeys with young Wuji in search of healing for a severe poisoning he received in the previous episode. As I said, everyone is looking for Xie Xun and the Dragon Sabre, and that contributed to some devastating effects, including Wuji being poisoned and the tragic loss of both his parents. On their travels, Master Zhang saves a disciple of Demon Sect, who in turn offers to bring Wuji to a renowned doctor. But the healer is against treating anyone from Wudang.
Okay, so this is a lot of information thrown at you to start out with. The first eleven episodes cover more than ten years of ground, and this is a show with a ton of characters and plenty of interconnecting relationships. It can take a little time to sort out who’s who, which sects get along and which are enemies, but by now I can keep track of most of the major players so far.
Even though Master Zhang saves the Demon Sect disciple willingly enough, there is still a ton of animosity between the two factions, to the point where Zhang warns the disciple, “If Wuji becomes involved in Demon Sect, I’d rather see him killed by the poison.” And when the disciple brings Wuji to the doctor, this dude is totally prepared to let a literal child die in front of him because he’s affiliated with Wudang. Let’s face it, Wuji’s had a hard time of it—after spending most of his life on a deserted island and only knowing three other people, life back among society has been a near constant exercise in watching people hate and kill each other over reasons that have nothing to do with him.
Now, spoiler alert, the doctor does eventually treat Wuji, for his own reasons. He has to, because this episode ends with a time jump that reveals that the older version of Wuji is played by Leung! We get one solitary shot of him, with no dialogue, so there’s really nothing to say about him yet, but I’m glad that he’s finally appeared on the scene.
First impressions:
Recommend?
In General – Maybe, if you’re into martial arts sagas. There’s lots of fighting, lots of discussion of different styles/philosophies of kung fu, and lots of inter-sect politics. Some of the characters are pretty engaging.
Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Much too early to say. Again, he’s only been onscreen for a few seconds so far.
Warnings
Violence (including allusions to rape,) sensuality, drinking, thematic elements, and a few disabled characters played by nondisabled actors.
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