*One spoiler from episode 18.*
This episode takes a more expanded point-of-view than some of the other recent installments. Everything centers around the fight between Ming and the righteous sects, but within that, we catch up with a lot of different people and dive into a number of related subplots.
The righteous sects have launched their first assault. Ming isn’t the only Demon Sect to receive their ire, although in-fighting among the Demon groups means there’s less cooperation than there is on the righteous side. But the righteous side has their stumbling blocks too—when Zhang Wuji stands up against the Ermei priestess, he kicks off a lot of tension over the proper treatment of enemies who’ve surrendered. We also learn a lot more about the Five Wanderers, a group of martial artists connected to Ming who only partially maintain their ties with the sect.
We’ve seen at least some of the Five Wanderers before, but they take on bigger roles here and we’re introduced to more of their lore. Green Winged Bat King, so named because he’s afflicted with a poison that can only be treated with regular ingestion of human blood, disrupts some intense interpersonal stuff happening near the battlefield when he abducts Zhu’er. It’s not the worst thing in the world for Zhu’er, since she was captured by someone else at the time, and I laughed at one of her captors grumbling, “Green Winged Bat King is such a busybody.” Zhang Wuji’s search for her brings him into contact with another Wanderer, Cloth Bag Monk, and that encounter leads us to their inner sanctum.
Speaking of Zhu’er, we learned in the last episode that she’s actually the runaway disciple of Granny Golden Flower, the vicious poisoner who caused so much trouble for Master Hu. I hadn’t recognized her prior to that reveal, but I remember liking her interactions with Zhang Wuji in that storyline. Amid Zhu’er’s troubles in this episode, Granny Golden Flower comes back into the picture, and Zhu’er scrambles to come up with an acceptable excuse for leaving, one that winds up putting a couple other characters in grave danger. It’s clear that she’s having second thoughts about her mistress’s methods.
Like I said, Zhang Wuji gains a lot of attention during the battle against Ming, and while some admire him for it, it also creates some powerful enemies for him. Ermei Priestess, incensed by recent Ming crimes, is on the brink of slaughtering some disciples she’s disarmed from another Demon Sect when Wuji intercedes. “Priestess, how can you be so cruel to people who are helpless against you?” he asks.
His pleas for mercy aren’t just words; Zhang Wuji agreed to take three blows from the priestess, with the promise that she’ll spare her enemies if he can withstand them all. We get a very serene Wuji when he stands up to her, but during the fight that follows, we’re given a better look at how he’s affected, battered and bloody but refusing to step aside.
Later in the episode, Zhang Wuji tries to find Green Winged Bat King to rescue Zhu’er, which is how he meets Cloth Bag Monk. He explains to the monk that he’s trying to rescue his friend, the Wanderer observes, “Your friend must be a young lady, right?”, adding, “why would you risk your life if it wasn’t for a young lady?” And obviously, it’s true that Zhu’er is a young lady, but Wuji’s determination to rescue her isn’t because of the romantic interest Cloth Bag Monk is hinting at. Wuji’s feelings on that subject are complicated at the moment, but 1) he’s always going to try to help someone in need, because That’s Just Who He Is, and 2) he seems to be the only person around who actually cares what happens to Zhu’er. And okay, this is probably the aromantic in me talking, but I kind of hope he doesn’t end up with her romantically. I love that he’s doing everything he can to save her without really wanting anything from her.
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