When we last left our Immune Target and His Hunter, A Lie saved Lin Zai from zombies!
This folksy music over A Lie slaughtering the zombies is A Choice
I think I dig the contrast? Anyway, the zombies are dead, so that’s good.
Li thanks A Lie, who notices Lin Zai’s bloody shoe. Lin Zai tells Chen it’s a minor injury, then screams when A Lie pulls the nail out.
Li pulls Chen aside to point out she’s injured, and he can’t carry the supplies and Lin Zai, so… Why don’t you just abandon him to die? That seems to be how you guys operate.
A Lie makes it easy, wordlessly dragging Lin Zai onto his back. Lin Zai thanks him, but A Lie was just returning the favor.
On their way back to camp, Lin Zai thinks about a fate worse than death, and clutches at the bite mark on his arm. He gets chatty with anxiety and ducks a branch, bringing his face VERY close to A Lie’s.
A Lie is efficient but maybe not gentle with Lin Zai’s injury
Lin Zai does a lot of (justified) whining during the process. Everyone not Lin Zai is impressed with A Lie’s medical skills. He says he’s used to it. Then he goes out to chop some firewood.
Li, Chen, and I admire his, er, skill with an axe.
Over dinner, Chen apologizes and thanks A Lie. He says they both got what they needed, so it’s okay. What does that mean?
The power goes out, and Lin Zai insists on going with A Lie so he can shine the flashlight on him and stare. He stops when the lights go on, and A Lie staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaares back.
The next morning, Lin Zai can’t sleep, so he puts his blanket on A Lie and leaves. A Lie, secretly awake the whole time, follows him out to put the blanket back on him. Lin Zai thinks he should rest, but A Lie finds being at their fortified camp restful.
Lin Zai thinks that says something about A Lie’s life so far.
Up the coast from where they’re sitting was where he lived with his family before the apocalypse. He has good memories, but with his family gone, he can’t go back.
He misses them, especially his brother, who took care of him. If he’d had A Lie’s skills, he could have protected him. A Lie tells him his brother’s death is not his fault. In the apocalypse, everyone did their best.
Poor Lin Zai tries to hide his tears. A Lie hesitantly squeezes his shoulder.
And the sun rises! SYMBOLISM
Lin Zai invites A Lie to stay with them. After a long pause, A Lie says he still has important things to do. Lin Zai gives A Lie the blanket and leaves.
A Lie maybe wanted to keep him there or help him back, but he stays, deep in thought, with the blanket.
Sometime later, Lin Zai can’t sleep because of COMPLICATED FEELINGS about A Lie. He gets up and is told A Lie left without even saying goodbye! Chen and Grandma Qiu… could have been clearer…
Lin Zai rushes to find him when A Lie comes through the gate and has to grab him to keep him from falling. He was just out with Li getting firewood.
A Lie then picks Lin Zai up. YES. He carries him over to the others and checks his injured foot. It’s healed well over the last few days.
A Lie is also having dreams of Lin Zai
Then he nearly kills him for getting near him while he’s sleeping. Oops. After waking him, Lin Zai worries that A Lie never gets enough rest. Well…
A Lie says he’s used to it, and Lin Zai wants to know more about his past and what important thing he has to do. But A Lie isn’t sharing. Lin Zai is hurt because he thought they were already friends.
A Lie can’t handle this conversation, so he leaves to catch fish. This means we get a shirtless, wet A Lie. And Lin Zai gets a little crab. Awww.
Lin Zai tells him the apocalypse has taught him to cherish people, and he thinks A Lie is trustworthy. Uh-oh. He wants A Lie to join his family, share his burdens, and not struggle or get hurt so much.
A Lie looks complicated. Lin Zai asks him to stay, and A Lie says no one can help him. He’s leaving once Lin Zai’s foot is healed.
Oh, his foot IS healed, so A Lie will leave tomorrow.
The group has a little farewell drinking party around the fire for A Lie. Lin Zai sings and plays the guitar as people drink and have feelings. There’s staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaring.
Then… Lin Zai wakes up, his mouth taped, seeing A Lie’s shoes as he carries him over his shoulder across a barren landscape
I’m super impressed by the ground this show is covering with its short episodes
Seriously, the plot is like a fast-moving zombie. It doesn’t waste time explaining things we don’t need explained (how most of this works). Instead, it focuses on the two leads and the complicated push-pull of feelings between them.
Lin Zai is so admirably straightforward. He doesn’t hesitate to express to A Lie that he wants him to stay and open up. A Lie’s refusal hurts and frustrates him, but it’s not like he can force him to do anything.
And this straightforward generosity and desire to help are making things SO complicated for A Lie.
I think the story, and the actor, are doing a great job of showing A Lie’s conflicted feelings. If he were just a cold-hearted whatever he is, Lin Zai would look stupid, and we wouldn’t like A Lie.
Clearly, despite whatever else is going on, A Lie WANTS to take Lin Zai up on his offer.
But he doesn’t. Which is great because then the story would be over. I’m excited to see Lin Zai’s reaction to this betrayal from someone he so sincerely tried to help. He’s going to keep making things hard on A Lie. As He Should
This show really has me by the feels. I’m all in.
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