#shangque is fave | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

historicalasiandramas · 1 year

Text

CLJ Recaps

We start off the ep strong with Changheng getting captured, stripped of his title, and sentenced to imprisonment in Haotian Tower. I really liked seeing this side of Changheng where he didn't try to hide his feelings! He very clearly stated that he refused to turn back and that he was acting out of love for Orchid.

"I just want to save the person I love. What's wrong with that?!" He demands.

I don't support prisons in general but, like, throwing your own brother into Haotian Tower simply for wanting to save the woman he loves seems like overkill. His betrothed has been missing for 30,000 years at this point. I know it's Plot Important that CH has to stay engaged to her, but like maybe after the first 5,000 years Yunzhong could've been like "nm, just marry whomever you want."

At Silent Moon Palace, Shangque finds Jieli wandering around in the middle of the night. He discovers that, like him, she was also an orphan. She tells him how she drugged the people taking care of her in order to escape.

Shangque relates to this and says that the people pretending to be kind to him only wanted his dragon skin & bones to use as medicine. Fortunately, DFQC saved him!

After being deceived by humans, Shangque decided he didn't want to become that kind of person. Jieli literally laughs in his face after hearing that. She calls him stupid and says that everyone will trample on his sincerity. Shanque calls her cold-blooded. Jieli agrees.

Unlike SQ, no one came to save Jieli. "I've been saving myself since I was a kid." She doesn't trust others and prefers to cheat them first before being cheated herself. In Jieli's mind the only important things in the world are her life and money.

Shangque jumps to his feet in anger. He says she's wrong and ridiculous for thinking like that. Jieli leaps to her feet and throws the accusation back at him. SQ has had enough and orders Jieli to return to her quarters.

In Haishi City, Ronghao is so lost in thought that he doesn't even hear Die Yi approach.

He's stunning, he's cunning, he's my devious darling! At the very end of this episode I was like, "Oh he's evil, evil. Good for him!" On this blog we stan characters who love fiercely and to the point of world destruction!!

He asks Die Yi about Jieli, and she reports that the shopkeeper has escaped to Silent Moon Palace. Die Yi has stationed someone to be on the lookout for her, and the moment Jieli leaves, she'll be apprehended.

We switch back to Orchid and Jieli, planning to escape Silent Moon Palace.

For some reason, Jieli has the Heart Hidden Hairpin. It allows the wearer to store their emotions in the pin and be undetected. Other than the You Jade Ring, it's the only item in the three realms with this power.

According to legend, the Moon Tribe was betrayed by the fairies and expelled. Yannv, the ancestor of the Moon Tribe was in love with Chonghua, the first fairy. She created this pin so that he wouldn't have to feel her feelings.

INTERESTING! So that's why Moon Tribe people and fairies are forbidden from marrying. I'm sure that theme will not come back to bite us later :)))

Jieli agrees to lend it to Orchid in exchange for help escaping the palace. Since no one is allowed to stop Orchid, she's easily able to get to the Jade Forest. Unfortunately for them, Die Yi is waiting for them.

I am so obsessed with her. She is the moment and also my fave female character.

Die Yi also has the most unsettling theme. It reminds me both of an angry swarm of hornets and a cobra ready to strike at the same time. Orchid recognizes her from Haishi City and gives Jieli the bone orchid bracelet. With nothing left to protect herself with, Orchid stands between Die Yi and declares that she should be the one Die Yi wants.

The Heart Hidden Pin glows, storing Orchid's fear and blocking Moon Supreme from feeling it. Good thing the One Heart Curse isn't just linked emotions: it's physical, too! DFQC stops in his tracks as a bloody welt appears where Orchid was hit by Die Yi's whip.

JL has apparently run straight back to the palace and begs DFQC to save Orchid. She seems to realize the danger she's in and tries to remove the hairpin, but isn't fast enough. Die Yi knocks Orchid to the ground, making her drop the Destiny Book.

Die Yi notices it immediately and goes in for the kill, but her whip is literally disintegrated. Both Orchid and I were excited to see DFQC, only it's not him! It's Changheng! Orchid only has enough strength to say his name before passing out.

She wakes up and immediately begins apologizing, but CH only smiles and reminds Orchid of his promise to bring her back to Shuiyuntian. Orchid is too shocked to believe it and looks around.

Tbh so much happened since the beginning of the ep that I forgot that the last time we saw CH, he was captured and sentenced to incarceration. Like Orchid, I was fooled! She doesn't have time to be happy though, because she remembers dropping the Destiny Book. Good thing Changheng picked it up!

Orchid asks CH to check the Destiny Book to determine why it's so important. Who does it belong to and why do both DFQC and Haishi City want it?

He says that it's been damaged and that he can't get a read on it. In order to find out, they'll have to fix it. This time, Orchid readily agrees to do it, but CH says that she got hurt and should rest first. Orchid is determined to prove herself though.

Orchid gets started on fixing the Destiny Book and Changheng leaves. The camera zooms in on him making a sinister expression and that's when I was like "OHHH. Damn." It's all fake! Always has been! After emerging from the fabricated fairy realm, Die Yi asks her master why he bothered disguising himself as Changheng.

Rong Hao says that it was necessary to coax Orchid to willingly fix the book. And he was right! The way he pushed back against Orchid wanting to get started immediately after waking up is exactly what CH would've done. He knows his friend and Orchid well! I'm so obsessed with how Rong Hao observes his surroundings and plays the long game to get what he wants.

And I can already see how he's a narrative foil for DFQC :)

Speak of the devil! Look who's in Haishi City!

Also can we take a moment to admire Rong Hao's fit? The splashes of rainbow, the intricate woven pattern, the gold claws? A QUEER FASHION ICON

Die Yi rushes in to inform him that DFQC has arrived. Rong Hao wasn't expecting him so soon! She says he should leave, but RH is unwilling when everything else is going according to plan. Die Yi goes to stall DFQC, who demands that "she" be released. "I don't know who you mean. There's no one here," Die Yi claims.

Moon Supreme has 0 bullshit tolerance and burns the entire room with his hellfire before Die Yi transforms into a butterfly and escapes. DFQC storms the throne room and quickly finds the "koi pond" that hides Thousand Dreamland. When he enters, DFQC is presented with thousands of facets that all show Orchid fixing the Destiny Book.

RH appears and says that it's an illusion. Simply attacking the facets will only trap Moon Supreme. "You will never find that fairy," he taunts. Darling, moments ago you were panicking that he showed up earlier than expected. I know, I know - presentation is the most important part of being a supervillain.

Meanwhile, Orchid has finished repairing the Book.

While she's wondering why a mortal would be so important, Orchid notices something: her desk in intact. While he was staying at Siming Hall in the past, Orchid told DFQC about the customs in Shuiyuntian.

One festival in particular, The Moon Tribe Slaying Festival, celebrated the victory of the fairies over the Moon Tribe. Every day of the festival, all of Shuiyuntian celebrated Moon Supreme being sealed away. Hearing this enraged DFQC and he slammed his bowl down, breaking the stand on the table.

Orchid now realizes that this Siming Hall isn't real either, and that the man in front of her isn't Changheng. Before handing over the Destiny Book, she decides to test this imposter. She says that he sent fireflies to look for her after he left Cangyan Sea last time. "I was locked up by DFQC and unable to reply. Are you mad at me?" The real CH was badly poisoned by the concentrated evil spirit and wouldn't have had enough power to do that.

But in his impatience, Rong Hao makes a miscalculation. Rather than remember that he was literally by CH's side the entire time he recovered, RH answers that he's not mad, just worried. That is all the answer Orchid needs.

She tries to run but then confronts Rong Hao.

He's impressed that she was able to see through his disguise. He holds her by the throat with magic, demanding the Destiny Book. When she refuses, Rong Hao throws her to the ground.

Congrats! You have activated DFQC's sword!! After scanning all the illusions, DFQC spots the real Orchid and destroys the others in the most badass sequence.

His coming is heralded by thunder, and Orchid exclaims, "It's Dongfang Qincang! He's come to save me!" RH scoffs and says that he's only after the Book. Before RH can leave with it though, he's stopped and cue the electric guitar! Moon Supreme says (again!), "How dare you capture one of my people?"

The miscalculation makes RH panic. How did DFQC find them in such a short amount of time? Rong Hao is detained so Moon Supreme can ask who he is and why he wants the Destiny Book. Rong Hao doesn't answer but the fear in his eyes is palpable.

Before he can be unmasked however, Die Yi appears as a distraction! She makes an attack on Orchid, disrupting DFQC's focus enough for RH to escape. Our heroes then leave themselves, but not before Orchid is reprimanded for running away.

He grabs her and demands why she would do such a thing when she's so weak. If he had been one minute later, she would have died. "You must tell me where you're going, understand?" Orchid says she understands but also seems a bit happy about DFQC's outburst.

He destroys the Cauldron and the snow and fog in Haishi City disappears. With the Soul Transformation Cauldron refining evil spirits every day there was nowhere for the grief and despair of the victims to go. Though I love the jewel tones of the previous Haishi City, this red-toned galaxy is pretty neat!

In order to cheer him up, Orchid presents the repaired Destiny Book. DFQC is curious why she was so quick to do it this time. Of course it was because she thought it was Changheng asking her, which annoys Moon Supreme. Orchid tells him that the reason she was able to see through Rong Hao's illusion is because DFQC broke her wooden stand in the past. "It's something only the two of us know!" D'awww.

Orchid then asks how DFQC was able to find her so quickly amongst the thousands of illusions. He said he'd even be able to find her if she was hidden among thousands of identical orchid flowers.

This makes her cry in happiness because her master said the same thing. We cut abruptly to a cave in Xishan called the Spirit-Shattering Abyss. Sounds cozy! Die Yi has brought the injured Rong Hao here to be healed, but she looks terrified. She kneels and asks for help from "Evil God", Taisui.

This god appears as a bunch of swirling black with red lightning. He says that Rong Hao is protected by evil spirits and demands to know who would dare hurt Rong Hao. Die Yi answers, "Dongfang Qingcang." Apparently this Taisui is interested and says that it (he?) hasn't had an opponent in the 3 realms since Taiyi. I don't remember that name so I'm interested in this lore!

What I'm assuming is more of Taisui's power floods RH and he thanks the god for saving him. And then he drops a juicy plot bomb:

He tells Taisui that he's found the reincarnation of the goddess Xiyun (Orchid). Several eps ago, he tested Orchid's powers and confirmed that she can purify and even resurrect things. My hunch is that this "evil god" is trapped in this cave - perhaps even banished to another realm. My question is: who is (was?) Taisui, and how did Rong Hao meet him? Also how much you wanna bet that by the end of the show, Rong Hao is fully possessed by it? That would make me sad because I want Rong Hao to choose evil on his own! :(

We then switch to Orchid waking up in a hunting camp in the woods. She comments that all the hunters are women but WE DON'T GET TO SEE ANY :( DFQC shoves roasted fish at her and mutters how useless she is for getting frightened and fainting immediately after fixing the Destiny Book. He asks where Orchid go the hairpin and she tries to brush it off as a gift from Jieli.

DFQC reaches for it, but Orchid pulls back and demands to know why someone as powerful as him needs something that belongs to her.

Unfortunately for her, Moon Supreme recognizes the hairpin!

"How can it be yours?" He demands. Orchid still refuses to give it up, so Moon Supreme asks that she at least not wear it. Because of the hairpin, he almost couldn't find her. Orchid refuses again and says that she doesn't want him to know what she's thinking and she doesn't want him trespassing in her heart.

INTERESTING! What is it that you want to hide from him, Orchid? Could it be that you're actually starting to find it fun to be with Moon Supreme? :3 I guess we'll have to find out!

#clj recap #clj #苍兰诀 #love between fairy and devil #lbfad #cdrama

13 notes · View notes