"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Thursday, October 24, 2024

A Little TLC(w): The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre: Season 1, Episode 35 (1986)

*Spoilers from episode 34.*

I’ll be honest: shortly after I watched this episode, I went out of town for a week before I had a chance to write this post. I’m back now, but my memories of the episode might be a little hazy—I’ll do my best with my notes.

When Zhao Min interrupted Zhang Wuji’s wedding, it was for a good reason. More so than just being about her feelings for him, she had important info to share: she’s discovered what happened to Xie Xun. Wuji’s godfather is being held by Shaolin sect, and with the monks spreading word of their upcoming “lion-killing event,” time is of the essence. Now, as Wuji and Miss Zhao search for him, they start to reckon with their feelings for one another. Meanwhile, the jilted Zhou Zhiruo has returned to Ermei sect, where Master Song of Wudang is desperate to speak with her.

I’ll start with Zhou Zhiruo and Master Song. He’s the Wudang traitor who conspired with Beggar sect against them. He was jealous of Zhou Zhiruo’s feelings for Zhang Wuji, but he was also being blackmailed, and by the end of his time with Beggar sect, he was feeling pretty conflicted about it. As such, he’s not exactly on my “standup guy” list. But while he did some pretty bad things and let his jealousy lead him astray, I think his remorse is sincere and he wants to do right by those he wronged. That said, if we’re on our way to Zhou Zhiruo marrying him as a consolation prize, I don’t know how I’ll feel about that.

At this point, Zhao Min has thrown her lot in entirely with Zhang Wuji. After breaking up his wedding, she was disowned by her family for her association with him, so she’s currently a free agent dealing with a lot of complicated feelings. She wants to do everything she can to help Wuji save Xie Xun, even if she knows he balks at some of her less honorable methods. And despite everything that’s happened between them over the last few episodes, she’s still not sure where she stands with him. She can’t help but worry that she’s still in a losing race against Zhou Zhiruo.

When they first set off on this latest quest, Zhang Wuji kept a little more distance between him and Zhao Min, but they’ve gotten quite a bit closer over the last few episodes. He feels for her, both because she was injured when they left the wedding and because of everything that went down with her family, and even though his own feelings remain complicated, he can’t really deny that he’s drawn to her. There’s some cute, albeit sad, flirting between them, playing off the way Wuji’s friends and family call Miss Zhao a “demoness.” Because Ming is a Demon sect, they reason that perhaps they can be damned together. “All right,” Miss Zhao jokes, “you are sentenced to be a happy couple and go to hell together in your afterlife!”

I enjoy where the quest takes them in this episode. Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min learn more about what’s happened to Xie Xun, and they make some new allies who might help them maneuver their way into the lion-killing event.

Only five episodes left! We’ll see where we go from here.

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