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
Everything goes wrong fast. The crates are stopped and Li has to lure Ma’s men away. Jiu, Yang, and Mud discover Tian and Song have been moved. Li is caught, and Chan rescues her, but then they are both caught.
Yang and Jiu kill people and free Pao and the other workers. Pin sneaks them to her house for safety.
Chan and Li face Ma, who wants the antidote. The Japanese soldiers collapse from whatever poison they’ve been given and Ma is furious with Xiaotong. Chan and Li work together, tossing poison and fanning into the remaining men’s faces.
This allows most of the women to escape, but Li wants her son and husband back. Chan stays behind to support her, both holding guns on Ma and looking awesome.
Ma has Tian and Song unconscious under a table. Ma wakes them with water and Song tells the women to run. Song… Dude…
Ma uses the men to force the women to put down the guns and shoots Tian. Song does his first useful act and takes the bullet instead.
Li gives Ma the antidote, but he’s going to kill Tian anyway. But Jiu is here with his scissor knife! Chan gets the antidote back and Ma escapes with Tian still a hostage.
Bua shows up and takes care of Song while everyone else goes after Ma. He’s inside the warehouse and will only let Li in. Li gives him the antidote and unties Tian.
It’s not just the antidote, it’s a mix of antidote and Beetle Orchid. Ma makes Li taste it and she does, poisoning herself but convincing him to swallow it too. He shoots at Tian again and Li takes the bullet this time.
Li vomits blood and tells Ma he just took poison.
Yang, Jiu, and Chan break in right then for some reason. Ma sets the place on fire. Li tells Chan to take care of everyone and attacks Ma. She’s shot while Tian is dragged out. Li impales Ma on a piece of wood and tells him not to touch her son.
Song and Bua have showed up and Song grabs Li. Tian then carries her away. Song orders Pao to get a car so they can go to the hospital, but Li is already starting her dying monologue.
She asks Song and Chan to take care of Tian and thanks Bua and Yang for taking care of Tian. She apologizes to Tian and tells him not to let others treat him as she did. She then also asks Jiu to take care of Tian. Tian is well taken care of.
Then she dies and everyone cries.
Jia and Li are mourned, but Nuan is never mentioned. Yang and Pin get engaged. Tian moves out and lives with Jiu and his siblings. Jiu makes Tian candy flowers and they flirt. Jiu is happy with Tian and his siblings but Tian wants more. He wants everyone to be equal.
Tian’s family shows up for dinner. We get to see Mud and Xiaotong are doing well.
After dinner, Song asks Tian to come back and help him and Yang with the business. Tian is still worried about damaging the family. Song says the family will support him.
They are called outside to see a rainbow and a lot is made of the beauty of a rainbow after the rain. Without talking to Jiu, Tian decides he’ll rejoin the family. Jiu loves and supports Tian though, so it’s good.
The family smiles together as Tian declares the future will be better.
Thoughts
The ending is a bit much — like the rest of the show. It’s perfect.
The logistics of the prolonged battle with Ma don’t make a lot of sense. Why don’t they grab all the soldier’s guns and use them? Why would Ma have Tian and Song under that table except so he can reveal them at that moment? Why would Jiu check on Song before going to rescue Tian? Why does Ma drag only Li into the warehouse and why would the others let that happen? And why do Jiu, Yang, and Chan wait to rush in at that particular moment?
But none of that matters as much as seeing Li and Chan working together and brandishing blurry guns. They’re so much better together than they were fighting one another, too bad it doesn’t last.
Tian’s parents each take a bullet for him, finally protecting him in the way he needs rather than by making his life miserable. Li gets to atone for everything she’s done and apologize to her son. After doing so many horrible things, she accomplishes the good thing she truly wanted in the right way. Then dies.
Chan gets off easy, with just that beating from Ma. I guess because, despite all her scheming and attempts to kill Tian, she never succeeded. And her married life seemed pretty miserable.
I wish Xiaotong and Mud the best.
I don’t know why, but Jiu sitting with Tian’s family in just that white undershirt catches my attention every time. Shouldn’t he have something a little nicer on in front of in-laws?
Tian’s decision to work with his family again is interesting. Earlier in the show, he didn’t seem happy with being in charge and wanted Yang to take over. But he was also being controlled by his mother and trapped in his secret. Now that those pressures are gone, Tian wants more than his quiet life with Jiu. Jiu, meanwhile, will be happy just to support Tian.
Seeing Tian happy and making his own choices in life is the happiest ending possible. I hope he gets to take Jiu and Yang and Pin to the Chinese Opera frequently.