An intriguing new character has entered the field, offering up some good interactions with Zhang Wuji. It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.
While investigating the attacks they’re being framed for, Zhang Wuji and Ming sect encounter Zhao Min of Green Willow Manor. Leading a formidable group of warriors, Miss Zhao is a woman disguising herself as a man. Ming notice that she’s carrying the Heaven Sword, but when she invites them to stay with her, she raises more questions than she answers.
Much of the focus of this episode is on Zhao Min, as the other characters puzzle over who she is and why she does what she does. I find it interesting that Zhang Wuji and Ming all realize right away that she’s disguised as a man and make zero pretense to go along with that. But at the same time, there’s no moment of, “We know your secret—the jig is up!” Instead, when they’re brought to Green Willow Manor, Wuji addresses her as Miss Zhao from the outset, both polite and deferential.
There’s a lot we don’t know about her yet, but she’s certainly a slippery character. Despite everyone knowing that the invitation to Green Willow Manor may be a trap, Zhao Min draws them in. She’s by turns subtle and transparent, and her identity is far from the only question about her. She may have some connection to Zhao, Master Yang’s shackled servant girl—apart from their shared surname, Zhang Wuji notes something in her home that’s from Zhao’s homeland. There are still some big questions surrounding Zhao as well, so I hope this storyline will provide an avenue to explore her a little more.
Some nice moments for Tony Leung Chiu-wai today. As I said, Zhang Wuji’s interactions with Zhao Min are interesting. In some respects, she has his number, but she also underestimates him. I’m looking forward to seeing more of them—honestly, there are quite a few women in this show who have a good dynamic with him, in a variety of ways. To that end, I like when Miss Zhao brings up an unexpected hit Wuji took from Ermei sect. She nonchalantly remarks, “Miss Zhou Zhiruo must be very pretty, mustn’t she?”, and Wuji denies that that had anything to do with it before immediately spilling wine on himself. Hee!
Here are a couple other little moments I like that show what kind of person—and what kind of leader—Zhang Wuji is. Tony Leung Chiu-wai is good at this, tiny things that add to his characterization. First, when they’re invited to Green Willow Manor, Wuji’s is the only deciding voice on the matter, but before he answers, he quickly glances as Master Yang to affirm his support. Also, there’s a scene where Wuji does what he must to get himself out of a tight spot, which in turn will allow him to save multiple people’s lives. As he secures his win, he turns to the person who attacked him and very politely says, “I am leaving. Please forgive my offensiveness today.” Love it!
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