#fof ep 32

[kandadze]

Ep 32 loose thoughts

Oh hell that was a *bad* idea, WX! And why is she by herself? Was PSJ not in the dungeon after all?

Ahhh okay she still *is* in the dungeon, oh ffs

She at least has her brother when things get *real* bad... I spoke too soon. Hello there, another illusion! Get him, PSJ, punch that goddamn smirk off of his face!

I see this episode will be a montage of at least three fight sequences going on at the same time. Oof, I felt ZYZ taking that fireball in the back to protect ZYC right in my gut, how many times will they be each other's shield before one of them shatters?

Speaking of which. Can someone shatter this asshole already???

Come on, ZYC, you know there's no way WX and PSJ could be there for real! All of this is just another illusion feeding off your biggest fear!

....................

Right, it's an illusion within an illusion. I can't with this drama.

How many times did ZYZ let himself bleed on ZYC's blade at this point? I should go back and count. Look at me, I know that no matter how the end might break me, I *will* go back and rewatch the whole thing...

Fuckkkkk the way I cheered when the swirl of leaves appeared! (Also, ZYZ using his hand to protect ZYC's face... I repeat, how many times will they be each other's shield??? 😭)

Oh LL, joining the self-sacrificial idiots squad! And ZYZ's concern for him coming out of his cultivation too early. LL's smile in response! Fuck the things that could've been 😭

Ngl it's kinda funny how they're having those prolonged and emotional conversations while the villain just stands there, totally hearing every word even though he's way too far for it to be possible (unless he added some hearing related mcguffin to his demonic upgrade), and not really doing anything of substance. Not sure if it's intentional to show how much he believes in his own advantage, or is this a thing in xianxias in general, either way, thanks for the (choked, but still) laugh, now let's see if Qing Geng can help detoxify the poison in ZYC. (Seriously, what's with cdramas and poisons?)

Ah, fuck, I knew that they showed us the red glowing eyes on Fei for a reason. Seriously, I hope WZY *burns*.

OMG the sound of Bai Jiu's bell woke ZYC up enough for him to reach for the antidote!!! Team effort once more! I love how they show us again and again that our gang's strength comes from their love for one another! 😭😭😭 (And fuckkkk, Qing Geng used her inner core for the antidote! The scene in the MV, of these three watching golden dust dissipate in front of their eyes, was of her death... oh man, I know I said I'd prefer everyone to die if it meant no one was left behind to suffer, but it's as if they heard me and went, let's start with the secondary characters who gutted you the most the first time around, shall we? 😭)

Meanwhile, the villain is still alive and well, and LL's taking the brunt of his fire attacks, while being, y'know, a *tree* demon. *Both* ZYZ and ZYC reaching out to steady him!!! What a shot! No matter what happens next, this was *so* satisfying to see. (Also, can I just say how I love LL's hairdo here, and how all the adornments are made of things you can get or make out of various tree parts! A+)

Seriously, the piece of garbage does *not* deserve such a beautiful "true form". Please die already, you've wasted enough of everyone's time. Hopefully knowing where his inner core is will help in achieving just that.

The way I cheered when PSJ finally landed a killing blow on the lackey. And then I promptly choked at the candy bit (flashed way back to The Untamed lol). How dare they make me feel emotional like thissss!

And that's the end of the ep? I feel like the girls got seriously sidelined in this one, but at least we got some badass sequences (PSJ) and some aesthetic slamming against the pillars (sorry, WX). I'm also  afraid that sending Bai Jiu away, even though done for his immediate safety, is gonna backfire horribly... only one way to find out! (Ngl, I'm really scared for what's still to come.)

On to ep 33! (Will I get any sleep tonight? Probably not. I might post the rest of the commentary only tomorrow though, I'm getting really drained.)

[kandadze]

That little pearl of wisdom ZYZ offered WZY (not that the swine deserved or would understand it) reminded me of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince"... "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Episode 32 Comments

Spoilers

Sorry, but I can't help but laugh shamelessly at how gracefully they removed the heroine from the final scene.

FL is busy fighting with her possessed step father, and our gay couple can be romantic with each other without any distractions.

Like... this scene came straight out of a romantic dramas.

And this:

Yichen, who was afraid of nightmares all his childhood, ends up stuck in a nightmare that could actually kill him.

And even Yuanzhou can't get him out of there - because Yuanzhou is the beginning and the heart of this nightmare, the source of Yichen's despair, which this illusion feeds on.

We have dealt a lot in drama with dreams that require death to escape. But this dream is one that requires the courage and hope to live through despair to escape it.

That detail - how Yuanzhou holds this sword by the blade so that Yichen can't cut his neck, he literally puts his hand up as a barrier, and his hand is bleeding.

How great was Yuanzhou's despair and panic, that Li Lun feel it from his cave and interrupted his (course of therapy) the cultivation process.

But he is extremely cool at this moment.

What a look. What a look, ZYZ.

Li Lun flew to die for this look, and it seems he has no regrets.

These words are one of the mottos of the whole story:

And these words too:

That the true experience of loss and gain is not measured by formal events visible to the eye.

This relief and tenderness in Yuanzhou's eyes when Yichen wakes up. Tells a lot about gains and losses too.

[fqonly]

Okay so I won't be inviting Li Lun to the polycule, but I am now dreading him dying so that's good. Thanks, another death to devastate me.

[dearmyloveleys]

Times Ep 33 made me go (??) + some yaps about Ying Lei, Siheng, and Baijiu's.. if you've watched the last few episodes, you know what I'm referring to

apologies if this is on the neg/critical side but I'm rewatching it and there are things I picked up after emotions have subsided from the first time I watched it

spoilers!

Siheng died from... a torn arm? He literally got stabbed in the chest in Ep30 by Li Lun and disappeared into sparkles. I thought he was going to die in that Ep30 scene ngl

Since we're on Ep30, I get that Li Lun doesn't want to fatally harm Ying Lei. All his attacks are at Ying Lei's non-vital points, which checks out. And yet... Ying Lei... dies? The more I think about it the more I think that the writers don't want to villainize Li Lun completely, to justify his return and redemption in Ep 32/33. If Li Lun actually sent a clear, fatal blow, to Ying Lei, Ying Lei's death would have been more justified but at the cost of completely villainising Li Lun. The writers don't want that. So they go the non-fatal blow route and have Ying Lei die... from idk what, a stab through the shoulder and a few whips. Ying Lei dying for Baijiu checks out for his story arc, but the manner of his death could be done better. Then again, I'm thinking, the only other antagonist to mercilessly kill Ying Lei is WZY, but they need to save him for the boss battle. So it only leaves Li Lun to inflict the 'killing' blow beforehand. This said, I still cried a shit ton at his death scene.)

Back to Ep 33, the barrier at the mountain god temple: So ZYC can enter but not exit? If the barrier was truly made to protect WZY and has been erected since a while back, nobody should be able to cross it in the first place as a double assurance (no entrance, no exit)

And in Baijiu's flashback: It's telling us that the barrier has been set up since the time he was still hanging around in Chongwu Camp. Iirc didn't that second in command literally stand in that altar room in the first few episodes with WZY, and this is set I think after Baijiu has left Chongwu Camp?

Lol WZY waited an eternity for yuanyi to complete their soulmate conversation, with ZYC in his killing grasp. I know you're waiting for the reincarnation to complete the power up, but... you can still take the mortal route of snapping his neck right. He doesn't need ZYC as hostage. The classic scene of villain watches heroes deliberate whether to take action.

My issue isn't that the deaths of Ying Lei and Siheng weren't unjustified. In fact, I believe Ying Lei's death, though not needed per se, was earned in battle. He was always going to protect and bring back Bai Jiu no matter the cost. Siheng was always fated to die. He's already dead, he needs to be dead for Sijing to fully come back to reality. It's just the manner in which they have written their deaths doesn't quite hit the mark. It's only the sheer talent of the actors that pulled the punches.

And of course we can't skip Baijiu's death. Now this. This. *looks at the camera like I'm in the office, though my eyes are red and snot is running down my face* This sounds really weird in text, but I think it's perfect. Perfect in pacing, perfect in its place in the story, perfect in emotional damage. There are some who think it's stupid for him to die because Ying Lei died for him and so many people have sacrificed parts of themselves to bring him back, but the others don't hold a candle next to how much ZYC means to him. He isn't going to simply let ZYC die on the other side. And he finally finds the courage he always wants to have, while protecting ZYC. HE HOLDS THE FUCKING BELLS WHILE- I will stop crying :) Though I am upset he completes his arc in death, it is not farfetched.

Ep 33 (and Ying Lei's death) has its heart in the right place but once again, shows that FoF has its strength in writing about the heart but not really the body of the story. It was actually going decently, and I never had the urge to point out the '??' times since Ep 17. A pity this happens in the second last episode. But I must say Ep 34 is written decently. Will see again tomorrow.