neonlin

[neonlin]

The one thing that got Joke through the five years in hell... The goodness, the kindness, the words of assurance of a random stranger who believed in him more than anyone else in the whole world did.

The strange boy who wore his heart on his sleeves. The boy who in spite of having his dreams shattered that very day made sure that Joke did not give up on himself.

The boy who gave a part of himself to Joke that day, which Joke carried with him this whole time.

And everything Joke did from that day onwards to help that boy get back the goodness and kindness he had given away that day. The dreams, the hopes, the aspirations, the love.

But it was already too late! The white, pristine handkerchief was already spoilt with Joke's blood. And what a funny parallel it is because Joke had done the same with Jack's life and happiness. It could never go back to the way it was.

So, Joke does what he does best! Disappear, because he never wants to be a burden.

[neonlin]

I love them beyond measure ❤️

Jack saying these hurtful words to Joke, telling him to basically disappear from his life. Joke took the words to heart. Nevermind that these were said at the heat of the moment. Because, Joke had always believed that he is never good for Jack or for anyone—that he’s just a stain on everyone’s life bringing bad luck.

When Jack finally calmed—well as calm as he can be—Hope’s words gotten through to him just a tad. He cried for Joke, cried for the way they left things, cried for missing him, and maybe, cried for the hurtful things he said to Joke.

As we see the next day with the little gang, Jack’s reaction to Joke’s name when Hoy mentions him, is the kind who isn’t as mad as the first time. More like a mix of feelings. Annoyed that Joke is known to be the king of heist, annoyed he’s not there, annoyed that it’s most likely his fault. But maybe, part of him is relieved bc Joke won’t be in trouble anymore if he stayed away. Regardless, Jack truly underestimated Boss. Because as we can see, Boss knew to take Jack’s ultimate weakness. Because it’s not just grandma anymore, it’s Joke that has Jack’s whole heart.

We got a moment with Joke and grandma, he was so happy to see her only to remind them both that he’s not there to come back and stay. And catch his words, he asked for Ama to only tell Jack the words he wanted to say, only if Jack himself ever asks for him. He didn’t even try begging Ama to tell Jack and ask to reconcile, which he knew Ama would absolutely do. But rather, he’s giving the space Jack needs. Totally different when he first came out of prison asking for forgiveness. He’s giving Jack the space to breathe, to swallow what’s happening, all the while thanking him for everything—the things he wanted to tell Jack that from the beginning, Jack had Joke’s heart already. That he took Joke’s smile and made it for the world to see. That he was the reason Joke was ever truly happy. Joke’s only sorry that for being happy, he had to take away Jack’s smile many times.

Ama’s words “Fate is funny isn’t it? You gave Jack’s freedom in exchange of never seeing him again.” And she’s right.

Though, in Jack & Joke’s minds, this is the freedom that Jack wanted. But it’s not. Joke disappearing would not be Jack’s freedom. However, Joke doesn’t know that. Joke only ever believed he took it away. And in some parts, yes, but he was also the one to give it.

Joke didn’t know Jack would go to the ends of the earth to find him. That Jack didn’t even hesitate to believe Ama when she says he needs to save Joke.

Because if he truly felt that Joke was not worth his love, he wouldn’t be as upset and full of rage to go in a trap just to save him.

That Joke may believe disappearing for good would give everyone, Jack, a better life. But Jack would only dig the graves deeper for each body responsible to ever hurt Joke.

Jack may not have realized just how much his words affected Joke. He may have wanted to wait till they cool off, then come find Joke to talk but the world doesn’t ever give them the break. He may have said the words, but his heart still sees Joke as his boyfriend. Much said when he gives Carbon the kick he deserves for punching Joke right in front of Jack.

And at this, we may see Joke realizing that maybe they were both too haste in their actions trying to make each other feel better, apologizing & forgiving all the same. It was just one day, but it clearly felt like a lifetime to Joke, if he thought he should just say goodbye for good. But Jack proves him wrong as he came trying to save him. And even before that when he says he has to fix things at home. He has to fix what he broke with Joke.

It’s such a rollercoaster of emotions. One day Joke thought he had his future panned out, the next he has to leave his newfound family and disappear, and in another snap, his Jack is claiming him once again.

But isn’t that the beauty of this romance?

Reality isn’t as smooth sailing.

Joke & Jack’s love has been built with loops from fate trying to unravel for them to settle. They’ve yet to uncover what really makes them fated, and they have to work on that.

[neonlin]

I see a lot of frustration that Jack has let Tattoo, Hoy, and Arun off the hook for their part in the heist. And for how easily he forgave Save and Hope, and I am right there with you all, but here's the thing (imo).

Jack was always going to forgive Joke.

He knew that Joke had a mistake to confess, and told him he would wait to hear it. And capped it off with "I love you".

He lashed out at Save and Hope, too. Even telling Hope that if he didn't want Save dead, he should make sure he never sees his face again.

But you know what else happened in that conversation?

Hope, planting the seed of reason.

Save us a victim of the same system that has the rest of them trapped. The same system that has Jack doing things he hated. The same system that killed Sis Oh.

(while we all know Save went above what was asked of him, did more harm than asked for, and I personally don't think he's anywhere near earning forgiveness, but this fact is still true)

Jack is quick to lash out -- partly a symptom of having to be calm and level headed and play the optimist for so long, and partly due to being so violently aware of the realities around him. Honestly, lashing out is a luxury for Jack, and though it isn't a great way to handle pain, it makes sense.

Later, we get this conversation with Save.

Another reality check. Power is there that needs to be taken, or else someone else will take it. Power abhors a vacuum.

You can see Jack thinking, connecting pieces.

This whole time, his friends have been advocating for Joke. They miss him. They want him back. Jack hasn't been responding to it, but he has been hearing it.

Yes, Jack has treated them all differently than he had Joke, but you can't ignore that Joke lying hits him differently. He needed time. And, he knew Joke would forgive him. Knew he could be the worst version of himself, and still be able to come home after.

(please let's remember how hard Jack pushed Joke's dad about letting Joke come home)

And the next part of the conversation with Save?

A reminder that forgiveness is earned. It's a work in progress.

And then?

What they plan to do next. Save is going to rest (sorry my guy 🙃). And Jack?

At home, you say?

[neonlin]

Jack giving up his dignity in exchange for Lompran's help was a power move actually. Like.

Look at his face even at his supposedly most humiliating moment. Of course he's not happy about this but look! at that steely determination, the challenge in his eyes. Oh Yin the actor that you are!!!

Jack has finally realised no one can "give" him his dignity. It is his and his alone. The smirk he flashes Lompran, even the smiling offer to act like a Shiba — it's not degrading to him no matter how much Lompran and his guards laugh; it's degrading for Lompran.

Jack's said "bring it on, bitch" and everyone listened.

[neonlin]

Jack was always going to come back to Joke. He was always going to go back home for Joke.

It's his turn to apologize (for his anger, for not listening to an explanation -- not that Joke was ready to offer one, because he was too busy blaming himself), and to chase after Joke a little. To fight for them.

Now, because of the world they live in, it's a little more of a literal chase and fight than anticipated. But they built a home together, they made a life and a family, and that means the world to both of them.

Jack is terrified. Joke has been taken, and he hasn't gotten to fix it, and he's so scared. And you know what else is there? Regret.

Determination.

He's going to get his man back.

(in the preview for 12, he says "don't touch my boyfriend", because that's who joke still is; he did not cut joke off forever, it was a reaction to trauma and he was never going to let them stay apart.)

[neonlin]

Another week where I want to kiss the writers of Jack and Joker. They understand what makes a tragic character. It’s someone who makes imperfect choices because they don’t have all the information. If Joke had any idea that stealing that ring would unleash all this, he wouldn’t have done it. He thought he was rescuing Jack. Instead he’s created a new hell and he can only scream ‘if only I hadn’t…if only I knew…’ over and over in his head.

And you have Jack’s fury with the added horror that he trusted Joke. He gave his heart to Joke. I truly appreciated that Joke didn’t hide this, but owned up to his mistake.

And Joke is devastated because he never wanted to hurt Jack. This is his worst nightmare.

So painful, but so well executed. Every thread pulled together to this moment.

[neonlin]

JACK’S CHARACTER BREAKDOWN PART -3

JACK -A SOPHISTICATED LOVER

After finishing my first 2 parts on Jacks Character analysis ,I thought to wait how the narrative is gonna go in 11th episode cause after seeing the spoilers for the week ,I was almost confirmed that they are gonna do Jack's character dirty and make Joke look like a pathetic lover who once again ask for forgiveness. I am actually thankful to the show writers that they din't , and instead surprised me with his angsty/angry /hero side . Here is what I want to highlight about Jacks another character trait-He is always subtle in his ways of expressing love . He was never vocal about it ,the only time that we see him expressing was when he tells Joker that he will have his eyes only for him(EP 10) . Not only Joke but me who was watching the show sounded it so cheesy and cringe and I felt like Jack doesn’t do this but being in love he made a good attempt . At the same time when we saw Joke doing the same thing on the swing -I didn’t feel it like cringe -it was just a cute moment that made everyone shy. Here is the stark contrast between Jack and Joker,Joker is a lover boy who is expressive and Jack is the exact opposite . (They compliment each other so well here !!!!) .

People like Jack who always used to consider duty as love , never really expresses what's in their heart ,they may act or do shitty things spontaneously/impulsivily but may never intend bad things to happen.

So in Episode 10 -Jack was having one of the worst days of his life -probably the most tragic since his parents death /also the day he was fooled by Joker and was forced to join the Boss .Everything was in shambles ,there was chaos everywhere, his daughter was injured and he learns that the love of his life has broken his trust and did things behind his back which indirectly lead to some of the mishaps of the day.

This was his breaking point -he cannot do it any longer .It was so over for him.  His body, mind , heart and soul din't know what to do -there was Joke standing in front of him sobbing , crying ,unable to look straight into his eyes, defenseless ,with hands by his side and tears rolling down his eyes. Jack dint know what to do ,he felt empty ,defeated ,cheated and what not ??!! and all he could do was raise his voice and pull Jokers collar and question him for his actions. He wanted to punch him so badly, he even raised his hand to do so but couldn’t make himself to hurt the man in front of his eyes who was his  partner ,his family ,his faen .

So when the events of the day got over ,all Jack could think of was hurrying back to his home and fix things up. Good Lord !!!! and that is when we realize the whole fucking shit that he din't mean a single WORD he said to Joker at hospital. He wanted to get back to his man = his home and make things right. Don't you see ? He din't even know the whole fucking truth of why joke stole the ring , he din't want to know it either ,he just wanted to get back to his home .

But fate had different plans .....

Once Jack gets to know Joke was taken away ,It triggered the shit out of him.His face was trembling with anger , terror, regret for not coming earlier ,for having said all the wrong things, for not apologizing .It was so evident in his face. Yes that’s Jacks Character breakdown part 3 for you.!!!!!

P.S I hope the final episode brings justice to their love .And of course  I am waiting for that ‘donot touch my boyfriend ‘ scene too badly.....See he didn’t even hesitate to blurt it out loud. That my JACK !!!

[neonlin]

Jack telling Save he has to go home because he has to fix things.

I do believe Jack was gonna go home and reconcile with Joke. Either he knew that Joke was going to visit Ama, or he would ask Ama for advise how to fix things with Joke. With the way he hurt Joke, he knew he was gonna have to reach out first & knows he has to reach out first. Jack was regretful.

But not as regretful as when he heard that Joke was taken.

He didn’t have the chance to make things right. And Joke, who probably might die, might die believing that Jack never wanted to see him again. That what Jack said was the truth. That he may die believing Jack didn’t love him.

Jack was out to put that to rest, and save him, all the while letting Joke know he’s indeed love. And to bring him back home.

[neonlin]

The parallel shots of Jack being beaten up by Boss' underlings and Joke hurting himself was genius, not just because of the cinematic value but also because it highlights the difference between their characters so beautifully!

We have Jack who has always been let down by the society and sees the world as his biggest enemy on one side. His poverty, his parents who died leaving the debt on him, Boss who he had to work for, leaving behind his dreams, the organisations of the society who refused to give him loan because of his lack of credentials. He was full of life and had a positive outlook towards his future before society trampled it down.

So, we see the outside forces physically beat him down because he sees the world as his hell.

Then we have Joke, who is his own biggest enemy. His wish had always been to not be a burden on his loved ones because that's how he sees himself, a burden, a good for nothing fellow. Someone who always brings bad luck with him wherever he goes. Someone who would never think twice about his own life if any of his loved ones are in danger because he does not value his own life.

He does not need anyone to tell him that he did wrong! He feels guilty as is. He punches himself, berates himself for having hope that things would be different this time. All because he is his own hell.

[neonlin]

JACK 'S CHARACTER BREAKDOWN

PART 2

JACK -WITH GOOD ETHICS AND WORK PRINCIPLE

Jack is a person who always abides by the book of rules or the code of conduct if at all such books exist . No matter how worse the situation is he would never bent his morals for anybody or anyone. Even while working under Boss he made sure that his actions never caused anyone permanent distress or harm . When he was put in a position to fool around with Rose ,he had to do it due to obligation. Eventhough he had his opportunity to take advantage of Rose ,to use her for her money and beauty, he stood along like a true friend in all her activities. I loved the scene where Rose brings Jack to play the ladder game where he stood up for her when she was belittled by Lompran .Later on he realizes that Rose was actually getting serious with him and therefore he couldn’t carry the act any longer that he finally turned her down with all due respect. If I might say ,only rarest of rarest gentleman do that with such honour . One other scene which I have to point out is where Tattoos mother became broke after playing the game -Jack actually tried his level best there to resolve the matter .I have seen many people asking Why not ask Rose for money ? He knew Rose might lend him money even without interest if he asked but he didn’t want to be that guy who uses other people to his advantage just like Boss.

Another contradictory incident in the show so far was when Safe falsely accuses Joker of the robbery in Rose office as well as her Home. (Though partly correct ) ,We see a confused Jack not wanting to believe it and at the same time a part of him considered it to be possibility as he sensed Joker was hiding something behind his back given the past actions of the man .The conflict was so upfront that his moral behaviour dominated and he told them he might have to kill him if so , and immediately adding to it Joker has turned a new leaf and its least bit likely . What we see here is the clear conflicting/Contradicting thoughts that were going through his heart . Jack wanted to think with his heart but he eventually give into his brain.

[neonlin]

this is the second time jack is getting slandered unjustifiably and unreasonably by the fandom and i am tired of it.

jack’s had a pretty rough couple of hours prior to the hospital scene. he saw smn he knew get thrown off a building and die, he found out a person whom he considered his friend was backstabbing him all this time and all hell is loose on his neighborhood for whatever reason he has no clue about. and now a literal child, a girl he considers his daughter is at the hospital, in surgery and he is losing his mind because he doesn’t know why all of these atrocities are happening back to back just when things were getting better. so when he hears that his boyfriend is the one that -unknowingly- caused all of these to start happening, understandably he cannot react calm and collected. and yes joker did betray jack’s trust, he did what jack told him not to do and he agreed he wasn’t going to do like literally hours later jack reminded him of it again.

what differentiates jack’s lie and joker’s is that first they weren’t in a relationship back then and second they hadn’t agreed to be honest with each other from then on and lastly joker had no external pressure to do what he did. jack had to save his grandma somehow and while that did force him to lie and hide the truth from joker it was because he was trying to protect joke from boss. but joker decided himself that he was gonna steal the ring in exchange for jack’s freedom. so an obligation and compulsion is not the same thing as a decision to go behind the person you love even though it is because you want to help them. and given the multiple outfit and location changes throughout the ep we can assume some time has passed between joker stealing the ring and tao ting ending up at the hospital meaning joker had time to tell jack the truth before it blew in all of their faces and its repercussions came to mess up everyone’s lives.

and i know joker meant well and i don’t think he should have been thought the lesson of his actions having consequences through tao ting. but saying jack should just ignore everything, show no reaction and emotions to being deceived is absurd. the jack hate train is so ridiculous.

[neonlin]

JACKS CHARACTER BREAKDOWN SERIES

PART 1 :

ACTS OF KINDNESS

Jack at a very young age had to take the burden of his family sustained by his grandma . The earnings from grandma 's chive dumplings added but it was difficult to meet both ends meet considering her hospital expenses and Jacks schooling fees. So he always felt responsible for his family and worked partime to help grandma .

When Joke reentered his life begging for his forgiveness, he saw that Joke’s actions had good intention though his methods were incorrect. Inspite of being his biggest enemy he showed kindness towards joke by letting him escape with the ring and also letting him in his house .He provided him with food ,shelter and safety . He didn’t want boss''s men to catch him .Some may interpret this as some sort of romantic affection ,but it was not .It was simply Jack showing his kindness to people who are haunted by boss 's men .This included joke now .He always considered it as his duty to protect people from Boss if its possible for him .He never wanted /wished others to suffer in Boss’s arm like he did.

[neonlin]

This is my first ever tumbler post and I wanted to dedicate it to Jack the character who is easily misunderstood by everyone and is hearing slander from all direction and will continue to hear once episode 11 airs also . According to me Jack is a perfect gentleman, a definition of a man written by women in fictional books , the one who is a green flag with good looks , charisma , talent , kindness and a man with a heart of gold who always considers others needs just above his own .But the only thing that stops him from pursuing his dreams is his never ending cycle of misfortunes , countless bills to pay , people to care for and problems to solve . I will be attempting to break down Jack's characters in parts in the coming posts .

[neonlin]

But why does Tattoo still think he has no feelings for Aran? Is my man that dense?!!!

Hold on, hold up, hold everything! Why are you calling Tattoo dense? Why do you think he doesn't know his feelings? I'm going to defend my boy!

Tattoo Knows His Feelings

Tattoo stopped to stare at Aran AFTER he stole the necklace.

Tattoo joked around with Aran even though Aran had kidnapped him!

Tattoo was the only one who responded to Aran in the chat, and he responded with hearts.

Tattoo let Aran stay with him.

Tattoo rolled over in his sleep and pulled Aran closer.

Tattoo thought Aran was talking about his dick instead of his inventions, so his mind is very much on sex . . . with Aran.

Tattoo is always next to Aran or Aran is always next to Tattoo, but either way, Tattoo never moves away.

Tattoo always acknowledges Aran.

Tattoo tried to comfort Aran even though he sucks at it.

Tattoo physically separated Hoy and Aran when Hoy was trying to comfort Aran.

Tattoo immediately included Aran in the group when Aran pouted.

Tattoo ran to Aran and calmed Aran down by putting his hand on him.

Tattoo was happy with Aran holding him in celebration.

Aran is the one who moved away.

And Tattoo was bothered by that.

Tattoo liked the matching heart buttons and gave Aran a compliment about them.

Tattoo appointed Aran his assistant for his experiment.

Tattoo has shown several times that touching Aran is second nature to him. He doesn't even think about it.

Tattoo won't let Aran leave.

Once again, the man who claimed Aran couldn't stay with him won't let him leave now.

Aran's dad threw him away without a second thought, yet Tattoo doesn't let Aran slip away because he has slowly realized that even though Aran was rich, he never experienced love.

Aran is the son of a man who is violent and heartless, yet somehow, despite his pretentious exterior and cold upbringing, Aran is a kind man.

How could Tattoo not fall for him?

He knows his feelings.

[neonlin]

YinWar Hidden Gems Sorrows

It took me a bit to get to this because . . .

Backstory

War struggled (struggles?) with depression.

This interaction was filmed in 2021 for Yin's YouTube channel. War was explaining that he was struggling with depression because of the pandemic, lack of work, and, overall, feeling worthless. He was distant and withdrawn, but Yin checked in on him.

Yin commented that he struggled with figuring out what to do because he was worried that he was depending too much on War (like needing him too much and as a working relationship since they are a branded pair), and the way he deals with *feelings* is by throwing himself into work, but he noticed that was stressing War out more.

So even though he noticed War was growing more distant, he didn't want to flat out tell War he needed him in case it caused War even more stress.

And it boiled down to War, without work, didn't feel valuable, in life or his working relationship with Yin, but that caused him to not work at all, and he thought Yin would be better without him.

Yin, realizing how rough the conversation was for War, didn't want to continue to focus on it.

So that's why he said he wouldn't comfort him so they could move on because if he did, War would keep crying.

And that brings me back to the Aran x Tattoo scene.

I believe that all the guys are hiding parts of themselves in Jack and Joker, and if so, I read this scene not as Tattoo not wanting to deal with Aran's emotions, but as Tattoo not wanting to see Aran in pain over something he shouldn't be taking the blame for and clearly wasn't ready to discuss.

Aran is carrying a lot of guilt for not being the son his father wanted and missing his dad, so even though he shouldn't feel guilty,

He does.

And I think that's something Tattoo, a fictional character, and Yin, a real person, didn't want the other person to experience.

Which aligns with what Perth Nakhun just mentioned on his YouTube channel about branded pairs and the pressure of being responsible for another person's career.

So, yeah. That's it. That's the hidden gem sorrow.

Basically, shit's rough, but people shouldn't feel worse for things they can't control.

[neonlin]

Petty, I have a wild ass Jack and Joker theory, and I need to know what you think because we often end up in the clown car together, lol.

There's been a lot of talk/fears about Joke (and Toi Ting), now that we know character death is on the table - I'm not worried Joke will die (I am terrified they will gut us with Toi Ting but oh I hope not). I'm not saying that Joke isn't about to feel so responsible for what has happened that he's gonna get reckless with his life, because I absolutely think he will.

I think he's absolutely about to do some very stupid shit that could be his life in real danger as penance.

But I've been thinking for a while - since your initial posts about Hope and Save and their names - that Save is going to die. And now that I just skimmed a post that basically said that Joke and Save are the same character in different fonts and Save's guilt in episode 10, I'm absolutely positive.

Save is going to die.

Hope will live, because he has too. Without hope, we have nothing. (I also have a tangential theory that Save will die to save Hope, so...)

Thoughts?

Why not a third secret option? Why can’t everyone live? Since the show killed Jennie’s character, and the man who tried to run away with his few dollar bills died too, let’s just believe everyone remaining will survive! Even more, if Boss survives, then everyone BETTER live because no shitty father should survive when the possibility of a child dying is on the table. So I'm going to aim high because

Fortune Favors the Monkey King

Move over, Kitty! I'm driving this clown car straight to the opera house.

Because this is a Chinese opera.

We already know there is a Chinese influence in this story, as @veemark pointed out about the meal Joke ate with Jack and his grandma.

So with that in mind, in the fourth episode, when Nang punished the men for hurting her people, she drew the "09" stick (but she said nine-zero), which meant the men had to perform the Chinese opera of the Monkey King, which people in the tags thought was sooooo ridiculous!

In that same episode, Jack received his fortune, which was number 9 and stated, "When the fool changes black to white, the fate of the forgiver will change"

Now, skip to episode 9 when Joke gets "The Fool" card and changes the fate of Jack, the person who forgave him, so Jack's fortune was right.

Now, in episode 9, we also get the iconic team name "The Four Little Pigs"

And this is where the light bulb turned on because this is Journey to the West.

Journey to the West is an epic Chinese story that is 100 chapters long about a group of heroes having to complete a certain amount of tasks to achieve enlightenment.

The main character is Tang Sanzang who is basically a saint who wants to bring good to all the land and who everyone is in love with and wants to marry. We are introduced to him in chapter 9 of the story. He is the heart.

The first person he meets on his journey is the Monkey King, aka Sun Wukong, who was so great at being the best trickster that he became overconfident and ended up getting put in heavenly jail for 500 years. The first chapters of the story are actually about him. He is foolish, but he is also the mastermind.

He has a daughter, Yuebei Xing. She has her own story, Journey to the South. She is a badass. She fights monsters and lives to tell the tale.

The Monkey King is easily the most powerful of the bunch, but Tang Sanzang doesn't like the Monkey King's methods because they are immoral, so there is a gold ring involved that keeps him in check.

Or maybe it's this ring.

I think it's the second ring because a goddess, who keeps helping them along the way, helps them with the ring too. She is also cool.

Along the journey, they meet Zhu Wuneng, aka Pig. He is a smart fighter but he is greedy and selfish so he keeps taking shit he isn't supposed to, which constantly gets them in trouble. He is human nature (the world).

There is Sha Wujing aka Sandy, who was once a god, but shattered a crystal and ended up banished to earth to be a mortal. He is conformity without thought (the moon).

And finally, there is Bai Long Ma, who is a horse that they ride for transportation. He is human will (the star).

There is also a princess somewhere in there who must be saved from a marriage.

The group meets obstacles along the way, and lots of crazy shit goes down, but after 14 YEARS they finally come to the end of their journey.

And on their journey to achieve enlightenment they meet a squire whose loved one is kidnapped with the possibility of murder and another squire who is murdered and his wife is pissed about it because she did everything to make sure he wouldn't be harmed.

Now, if you gasped because you think Hope (or Save) will die, well . . . the number 14 fortune was Hope's.

The fortune was given in episode four which is the same episode Jack got his fortune, but it seemed like Hope's fortune played out in the same episode when he found Joke right across the hall staying with Jack.

But the thing is, in the Chinese story, regardless of which squire it is, they don't just need the Monkey King; they need the Monkey King's help.

So the Monkey King goes to the underworld to get the loved one back and succeeds (both times). But he still needs to save our saint!

Remember, the group has to do a certain number of deeds to bring peace to the land, so the group goes in to save their leader, and the ONLY reason they make it out is because all of the people they have helped along the way (especially the people the Monkey King has helped) return the favor and save them.

By saving others, they saved themselves.

So . . . I don't think anyone else is dying. However, it's been YEARS since I read a very condensed version of this story in Asian Rhetorics, and @journeytothewestresearch's blog helped me piece some of what I forgot together.

So I could be wrong, and everyone dies.

But I don't think so.

*fingers crossed that fortune favors the bold Monkey King*