If you’re lost on any of the characters, I did a quick rundown of them at the top of episode 1 that you can consult.
Recap
Jiu wakes up, finds his sister, and nearly stabs Pin. Once he puts the knife down, Pin tells Jiu everything, including that his sister is addicted to opium. Jiu blames himself for what’s happened, including hurting Tian.
Li tells Tian that if he announces his marriage at the association meeting, no one else will get hurt. Looking grim, she vows she’ll do anything to see him as head of the association. They both cry.
Not hurting people is a lie. She checks with Jia about Jiu, worried because he didn’t get the Beetle Orchid in the face. Jia says he’ll still die, just slower.
Jiu asks Pin to help him get in touch with Tian so he can tell the truth. She brings Yang, then has to stop him from attacking Jiu. Jiu gets on his knees and apologizes, vowing he loves Tian. Jiu’s sister shows up and Yang starts to figure it all out.
Pin explains the rest, but Yang feels there are too many obstacles between Jiu and Tian. Pin points out that the two of them have obstacles as well, seeing as she was engaged to Tian first. Yang concedes her point.
Mud is startled to discover Li is going to marry her to Tian. After she leaves, Jia and Li talk about killing Ma. So how many more people are dying now?
Song is also shocked about the marriage. Chan shows up to start a fight with Li and Song collapses.
Xiaotong gets the news from Mud and is also perplexed. She remembers seeing Jiu and Tian together and laughs as it hits her. Xiaotong wants to use this knowledge to increase her own power.
Another lovely family dinner starts with Song yelling at Yang. Tian announces his marriage and gets to enjoy a few minutes of everyone eating in harmony. Yang isn’t happy though.
Yang brings Tian a letter from Jiu that might change his mind about the marriage. Tian reads it in his room. Jiu promises to explain everything and asks Tian to run away with him still. He signs it with his love.
Instead of meeting with Jiu the next day, Tian sends Yang with a letter. Tian writes that he loves Jiu and understands, but they can’t be together because of his duty to his family.
Jiu cries but will leave with his siblings and without Tian. He leaves to rescue his brother, but while he’s sneaking around he overhears Ma plotting against the Song family with Japanese soldiers. He’s discovered but manages to get his brother and run.
Out in the forest, the Beetle Orchid poisoning weakens Jiu. He sends his brother off alone and then hides from Ma’s men. He’s looking poorly when we see feet walking towards him.
Tian goes to the police about Dong, but we don’t see what’s said. Yang finds him outside the station and wants to know what he’s doing. Then Jiu’s brother runs into them.
They bring him back to Pin’s, where he announces to his sister that Jiu is dead. Tian is heartbroken. Yang hugs him and reassures him that Jiu knew he loved him. Tian asks Yang to take care of Jiu’s siblings, he won’t be able to himself because of his duty.
Ma’s subordinate reports they haven’t found Jiu or his body. Ma is going ahead with his plans anyway.
It’s the big day, but before it even starts Li pretends to faint. Bua orders tea. Jia takes care of Li and sends everyone else away.
This is so they can dress in disguise and ambush Ma together. They cut off two of his fingers and Li accidentally reveals her face. Then they stab him in the eye with a stick before finally getting the Beetle Orchid in his face.
Tian rereads Jiu’s letter and cries. Then he opens a little box of… Beetle Orchid? He declares that everything must end today.
Thoughts
This is a lovely Tian and Jiu episode even though we don’t get to see them together except in flashback. There’s also a nice payoff to the fact that Tian has taught Jiu to read and write so that they can send each other these letters. Fittingly, Jiu’s is short and Tian’s is longer.
It’s not surprising that once he has a moment to recover, Tian understands Jiu’s motivations. His reply teeters close to noble idiocy but is still honest with Jiu. He loves him, he understands him, but because of his family, he can’t be with him.
I’m more happy that Tian realizes his mom was lying, and Jiu does really love him. Considering what she’s put him through, that’s big.
The nice thing about this show is all the good characters communicate well and are as honest as they can be with one another. Besides Tian and Jiu, Yang is willing to listen to Pin and Jiu and come to better understand the entire situation rather than just sticking to his own initial thoughts.
Meanwhile, Li is deluding herself about her own goals and lying to Tian.
Tian’s own thought process and actions are less clear in this episode. Except for ‘Tian’s Secret’ (which he never wanted to keep) he’s been the most honest character this entire show, but now he’s plotting something and not telling anyone, even Yang. It’s sad to see him pushed to this point but I think it’s well earned. His mother is an unstoppable nightmare and all his efforts to get her to understand or change her mind or run away from her have only led to her escalating until she might just kill everyone to keep his secret. He doesn’t want to be at this point, but he’s dealing with it.
The fight with Ma was epic. All show long I’ve been admiring the physical fights, not because they look great but because they don’t. They’re rough and violent and awkward. No one is an unstoppable fighting machine. Even Jiu, probably the best fighter of the bunch, has gotten hurt multiple times, including in a fight with Jia. Jia’s fighting method is this untrained, brutal bashing (often with blocks of wood) that fits with her backstory and personality.
And while Pin and Li, who are smaller framed and have no reason to know anything about fighting, sensibly avoid physical violence, they’ve shown that they’re willing to give it their all when they have no other choice.
Finally, the women in this show continue to be rock stars. Whether it’s Xiaotong putting together Tian’s secret on her own, Pin taking care of Jiu and his sister and doing what she thinks is right, or even Li and Jia’s evil teamwork, they all have agency and drive the plot forward. I love all of them.