Discussion post - episode 9

[yantantether]

Tang Yi and Chen Wen Hao face away from each other as Meng Shao Fei brandishes Tang Yi's birth certificate between them and we go into a FLASHBACK. Li Li Zhen and Tang Guo Dong are visiting Chen Wen Hao in prison. Li Li Zhen has obviously recently learned that her boyfriend didn't just pop out for some milk and never come back, but is in fact a convicted mobster. She angrily breaks up with him and claims to have had an abortion.

Back in the present, Meng Shao Fei seems to be trying to effect a family reunion between Tang Yi and Chen Wen Hao and unsurprisingly Tang Yi is unimpressed. Chen Wen Hao denies killing Tang Guo Dong.

Another flashback! Chen Wen Hao finds Li Li Zhen and Tang Guo Dong dead, but doesn't clearly see who shot them. He then shoots Tang Yi (by accident?) when he suddenly appears.

In the present, Tang Yi is desperate to kill Chen Wen Hao, but Meng Shao Fei tries to reason with him. Tang Yi shoves him pretty roughly and drives away. Meng Shao Fei follows him home and finds him sitting in the bath fully clothed (this made me giggle even though it's a serious moment. Sorry, Tang Yi!) Tang Yi kisses him desperately, violently. Kissing turns into crying and Meng Shao Fei cradles him.



Jack meets with his Interpol contact by the river. He hands over info on Xin Tian Meng and Chen Wen Hao, and then offers to go infiltrate Chen Wen Hao's drug-smuggling operation. I wonder why he does this right now when he's obviously so stupid over Zhao Zi. Does he genuinely think that Zhao Zi doesn't like him back so he may as well go and be dangerous in Cambodia?

Zhao Zi comes home in the rain and finds Jack waiting for him.



Zhao Zi is obviously worried about him, but when Jack asks him if he likes him back he doesn't reply and he ducks away when Jack tries to kiss him. (Jack! In this particular circumstance, maybe waiting till you're not right outside your shy, would-be boyf's front door in full view of any neighbours watching would have been a better plan.)

BUT THEN. Zhao Zi tells him, "When I saw you outside just now it already cheered me up... my heart felt warm."



Zhao Zi is smiling with his whole self and THAT is him making his declaration. They cook together and it's super sweet.



Next, Captain Shi and his daughter are wedding dress shopping. He cries when he sees her in the dress and it unexpectedly makes me teary (awwww, Captain Shi.) Then Jun Wei brings the news to the rest of the police department that the captain had turned himself in. Ah-Zhi leaves, sharpish. Zhao Zi (perceptive as always) works out that the captain's perfidy must have had it's origins in his daughter's need for a bone marrow donor, five years before.

Meng Shao Fei gets up to find Tang Yi cooking and being determinedly cheerful. Meng Shao Fei tries to make him hand over Tang Guo Dong's killer to the police, if he finds out whodunnit.

The cops set out looking for Ah-Zhi, who is currently in karaoke hell with a mobster who he's trying to persuade to help him leave the country. Next up doing unenthusiastic singing in a different room is Chen Wen Hao. Coming out of gangster karaoke central he runs into Ah-Zhi and recognises him as Li Li Zhen and Tang Guo Dong's killer. (Hilariously, I had completely forgotten about this plot point, so I was like "...ooh!" Don't ask me who I thought killed them, I have no idea.)

Meng Shao Fei runs into Tang Yi's house to find him beating up Ah-Zhi.



Ah-Zhi confesses, Tang Yi tries to shoot him, and Meng Shao Fei throws himself in front of the bullet!

Comments

[doctorskuld]

I have to go to bed now (boo, adulting) and it'll be forever until I get to respond because tomorrow is board gaming night at work, but I wanted to reiterate what a shit move it is to leave your buddy in jail for 24 years, raise his son as your own, and like...not even call him up to say hi when he gets out of jail. I am sad we will never know the reasons behind this. (Maybe he did have an on-again-off-again thing with LLZ?)

Also, I love this Jack and Zhao Zi interaction, because Jack does genuinely look like he's going to be the one that's heartbroken if ZZ doesn't reciprocate his feelings before he has to go, and that is such a cool role reversal for his character archetype.

My interpretation of his offer to go to Cambodia for Interpol is that that was the ultimate goal the whole time, that Xin Tian Meng information was just something along the way. And he just sort of went for it, because that's what he always does, that's what he's always done in the past, and it's not until afterward, when he realizes that he might lose a chance at ZZ, that it makes him think twice (as we see later).

More when I get back tomorrow night from board gaming!

[clevermanka]

I'm with Skuld on why Jack does that...mostly bc nothing else would make sense to me. He's not used to being this person, so he does what he'd normally do and then realizes that wasn't maybe what he really wanted to do.

Re-watching this episode on Monday, I'm leaning more toward my interpretation that it's Lizhen keeping Chen Wenhao in prison--for his own "safety," for hers, or for their son, I don't know.

I like the circularity/cohesiveness of the mob boss that Ah-Zhi's been working with is the one who gets arrested in the first episode. I bet that dude wasn't feeling real friendly toward his contacts in Unit 3 after that.

The angry kissing/crying scene is so powerful. And then the calm-but-still-fraught tone of them in bed afterward. *heartbreak*

[bonibaru]

I may be in the minority but I loathe the angry kissing part of the breakdown scene. Loathe it. As a trope it's something that must be carefully managed around the non-con aspects of it and ... just, with the emotional gravitas of the moment, it just feels icky and awful and desperate and wrong-footed and disastrously creepy and OOC and I can't skip forward past it fast enough every time I rewatch. MSF trying to physically cocoon TY inside his body to soothe him, though, I am living for.

If ever there was a character deserving of the "X would take a bullet for you" - "X would take a bullet for FUN" meme ... it is Meng Shao Fei.

[doctorskuld]

I am super late back to the party, many apologies!

Zhao Zi comes home in the rain and finds Jack waiting for him.
This scene is so cute to me so many ways, like right from the very beginning. The way that Zhao Zi immediately shares his umbrella with Jack is so adorable, and Jack is very soft with him as they walk up to his front door.

And then Zhao Zi's concern that Jack didn't do a better job hiding himself! (OMG, ZZ, what did you think that Jack did?) My heart grew three sizes at that line!

...and then a little piece of it breaks when Jack asks, "Do you want me to leave satisfied, or with a broken heart" and ZZ doesn't answer, but Jack can tell that ZZ likes him back and is too afraid to say so.

(Jack! In this particular circumstance, maybe waiting till you're not right outside your shy, would-be boyf's front door in full view of any neighbours watching would have been a better plan.)
I am 110% certain that Jack has never gotten rejected multiple times by any person when he is this forward and this is completely new to him. I think he keeps falling back on, 'Okay, if I try it again for the fifth time, surely this will work,' and it just...doesn't. But he does get that much closer every time, so he keeps at it. (Hence why he doesn't leave, but sticks around to heat up some milk and cook?)

Zhao Zi is smiling with his whole self and THAT is him making his declaration. They cook together and it's super sweet.
OMG, that shy declaration from ZZ is like...EVERYTHING. (Also, it's Jack's everything.) And then the domesticity as they cook together? I AM DEAD. These two slay me every time with how perfect and adorable they are and I wanted more scenes of their quite domesticity. *cries over them in a corner*

The scene after this with MSF and TY in bed is super cute. It's the first time we see them possibly sleeping together, and the way that MSF goes to spoon TY is seriously one of the sweetest scenes between them. Like I said above, it's one of those scenes that really convinces the audience that MSF and TY are serious about their relationship, that this isn't just some fling.

Next, Captain Shi and his daughter are wedding dress shopping. He cries when he sees her in the dress and it unexpectedly makes me teary (awwww, Captain Shi.)
There is a surprising amount of complexity around Captain Shi, and I really like the way that the writers spent time around him as a complex character. I'm really sad that he doesn't get to spend time with MSF and ZZ anymore after turning himself in, but I like your idea that he goes to the same prison that TY does, and he and TY look out for each other there. That thought makes me feel less sad for him.

The cops set out looking for Ah-Zhi, who is currently in karaoke hell with a mobster who he's trying to persuade to help him leave the country.
I like that this is the mobster in the first episode (Lao Ke), who is also the head of the Shih-Ho Clan, who was TGD said was threatening CWH.

Coming out of gangster karaoke central
*dies* You know, it wouldn't surprise me if the mob owned karaoke bars and karaoke booths, TBH. I can see that as A Thing.

Ah-Zhi confesses, Tang Yi tries to shoot him, and Meng Shao Fei throws himself in front of the bullet!
Please, somebody tell me how the bullet managed to hit MSF in the shoulder when TY was aiming at Ah-Zhi on the floor. XDDDDDDDDD

Thank you so much for leading these rewatch posts, Yan, I can't believe we're almost done!