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dangermousieYeah, the lovers.
I saved the best for last.
OMG. The OTP. The OTP is to die for. The great chemistry between the actors helps a lot, but seriously, everything about it rocks (and yeah, there is heavy-duty angst YAY).
Before I get into plot related details of things, I just want to mention at the fact that I love the way they fight: in perfect harmony, sync, unison (pick your own synonym). It’s like a gorgeous dance and they really move like one.
The need each other. XL is too unworldly, too unmoored without him (otherwise how would she fall for the lies of MHV?) YG is likewise directionless and runs wild (hello, joining Mongolians? BAD idea).
In a way, the scenes of him wandering through snowy mountains, looking for her or her floating down the river, Ophelia-like, are so mythic as to be Arthurian. He realizes he loves her after she leaves only (that is where the state of innocence comes in, of course) and I love the scene when they finally meet at the heroes’ tournament (btw, let me take out a moment to point out how surprised I am that her rape-by-trick (monk made her think it was YG) is a non-issue in the story at least in the sense of her being ‘damaged’ She is not viewed as such, though I am sure there will be hell to pay when they learn the truth).
But yeah, heroes tournament. It’s in the middle of a heated battle and he is watching it and then you see him straighten out and get uber-focused and he can smell her scent and he is pushing through the crowd, looking everywhere, and he sees her float down and oh Gosh. I was tearing up. And they are in the middle of the arena but they are oblivious to everything and he is holding on to her for dear life and is spinning her around and around and they leave for privacy because the evil opponent is bitching and YG is completely not caring. And then they are on a hill and she tells him he is so messy (he smeared his face earlier to fit with the crowd) and he smiles at her telling her there was no one to take care of him and…GUUUUUUH. And then she sees the rend on his clothes and she starts mending it, biting the thread (guuuuh, hot) and he tells her how in his heart he views her as his wife (and OMG, he is stammering it out, it’s adorable and adorable and ADORABLE) and she makes him repeat it.
And then the bad guy ruins her white dress so he goes and kicks butt. I just love how they are oblivious and glow when they are with each other.
And then of course HR and GJ are all ‘we are so glad his master is here. We want to marry him to our daughter, what is your opinion?’ In public, in front of a crowd. And YG tries to diplomatically refuse by saying his character is bad blah blah and you can tell HR is realizing something is majorly wrong and is telling her husband they should talk about it in private and then…OMG OMG OMG OMG.
XL says there is nothing to talk about as she does not approve as she and YG will get married. And the whole hall falls silent and people freak and I love the shots of YG turning around like a cornered animal, glaring at everyone as if they are his death enemies as he sees everyone react in horror and disgust and there is this awesome, tense scene and I love how in face of society’s prejudice, in face of total shunnment, in face of everything, in face of what is closest to family disowning him, he refuses to budge.
But of course later, Huang Rong persuades XL to leave by pointing out how everyone would look down on Yang Guo and XL loves him more than herself. I love her looking at him and weeping and leaving a note and going away. And he is like a mad person later, looking for her.
And then we get to my favorite part. Because she floats down the river, Ophelia-like, and gets rescued by the Master of Heartless Vale (MHV), a secluded, strange, mystical place. MHV appears to be kindly and thoughtful but he is the story’s true monster, a two-faced creature who cares for no one at all, not even his (grown-up) daughter. He sees XL’s distress and confusion, he hears her story and his suggestion is to marry him so that way she can forget about YG, to have armor against him. And XL, lost, confused, falsely trusting, agrees.
And for plot reasons awesome but complicated (and not coincidental either), the day before the wedding a party with YG arrives at the place. MHV invites them to stay for the wedding and YG, wandering around early morning…finds XL walking.
I love that scene SO much. It’s almost a dream and he rushes to her and he is ecstatic and she…tells him she doesn’t know him. Oh man. Cue major heartbreak.
And MHV and everyone is there and they surround him and insist he is mistaken but he keeps saying he knows who this is and he is so uncomprehending as to why she would reject him (he is thinking maybe she has a mental memory problem or similar). And MHV’s daughter arranges for XL to meet him by tricking XL and once again, she denies him (and I love that he is so secure, he says he knows her walk and her scent and her look) and there is a huge confrontation with MHV and he is kneeling and begging her and telling her that if she doesn’t want him, then please kill him because he will then be buried in the valley and keep his promise to be with her forever and the whole thing is angsty and awesome and she finally breaks.
And she says he is in her heart and there is hugging and I love it and MHV is all ‘you won’t marry me’ and she says no and so he says he will fight them. And XL, still unworldly, wants to explain the story to MHV and YG points out that will just give MHV time to send for weapons. And I love how once again, they are so absorbed with each other that the outside world ceases to exist (to MHV’s chagrin): she is one again sewing a rip on his clothes, and he is telling her of what happened in his absence etc etc.
And then MHV lets them go to the armory to pick up swords and I love that they want to kiss and the servants are ‘just only pick the swords and come out’ and she tells him he can kiss her after the fight and GUUUUUH.
But in the process of picking up the swords, she gets stung by ‘love flower.’ They are beautiful and grow in the valley but the closer you are connected to the loved one the more they hurt and so, she can’t fight after some time (she cannot look at him but she must for their style to work) and they lose. The condition was if they won, they leave and if not, MHV kills them both (I love how he was all ‘if you win, you marry me’ and she was ‘no, you’ll kill us both’)
But MHV of course, has no intention of keeping his word. He gets a magic net on YG and he is bound, helpless with ropes (that is where the awesome scene is from). And he has servants bring piles of those flowers and throw them all over YG so he is stung all over and it’s incredibly painful and he is writhing and MHV tells the frozen XL that these are incredibly fatal in such a quantity and a person who is stung like this would die in the most horrific manner imaginable in 36 days if they don’t get the antidote within the next 24 hours.
And he tells XL that he will give YG the antidote after she (XL) has the wedding night with him.
WHOA.
And that is totally horrible and YG is begging her not to do it, saying he is asking her to kill him instead and he’d rather die and she starts weeping and OMG OMG OMG she tells him she will kill him and then kill herself but she stops in mid-action and she runs full-tilt to him and hugs him tightly so the thorns pierce her flesh as well, the same pain and same poison hers, to share. And he is trying to push her away and this is AWESOME.
And then she tells the bad guy she will do it. And you know bad guy’s reaction? ‘You are in pain (because of the poison), I know. But if I give you the antidote, you’ll take it to YG, so you’ll just have to bear it.’
Whoa.
And she plans to sleep with him, get the antidote, give it to YG and then kill herself.
Meanwhile, the daughter of MHV goes to free YG and takes him to look for the antidote. Which is…missing. But the evil MHV sees her looking (YG is hiding) and he then hears YG (that whole scene is horribly creepy) and he asks her who she thinks he should kill, her or YG and she says ‘her’ (which, learning what we find out later about him, must gall him to no end). And so there is a trap under the floor leading to a chasm with beasties and as MHV attempts to kill his daughter, YG jumps to save her and falls in and then…MHV pushes his daughter in.
Did I mention the fact that MHV never was planning to give the antidote to YG as he wants him to die so XL won’t have hope (as YG figured out. Of course, even if she knew, XL would still take the chance).
Anyway, blah blah they are in cave, YG kills beasties, and discovers the antidote in his clothes (old guy they were chasing who stole stuff hid them in his clothes on purpose, really long story, OK?) And this is when the true depth of MHV’s villainy hits. Because as YG is about to take it, daughter mentions it’s the only antidote in existence (and OMG OMG he puts it away right away, because if there is only enough for one person, he will never save himself, but give it to XL) and it’s clear MHV knew it was stolen, so he knew XL would only live 36 days but he didn’t care, he just wanted to have her, in pain or no.
Ugh. I love YG’s bitter comment that even the crocodiles (that live in the chasm) have more of a conscience than her father.
I am now at the point where they found out MHV’s first wife (who he tortured and dumped into the cave) etc etc and XL is unswayed and YG is weak and I can’t wait to see what happens…
Also, I really like the secondary OTP of Mongolian general’s son and the girl who is trying to kill him to avenge her family. The guy promised her if she gets him to use his left hand she can kill him and she tricks him into it by holding a sword to her throat so to save her he has to use his left hand and at the last minute he is warned but he reaches anyway because he wants her to live more than anything and she can’t kill him after all and it’s awesome.
I saved the best for last.
OMG. The OTP. The OTP is to die for. The great chemistry between the actors helps a lot, but seriously, everything about it rocks (and yeah, there is heavy-duty angst YAY).
Before I get into plot related details of things, I just want to mention at the fact that I love the way they fight: in perfect harmony, sync, unison (pick your own synonym). It’s like a gorgeous dance and they really move like one.
The need each other. XL is too unworldly, too unmoored without him (otherwise how would she fall for the lies of MHV?) YG is likewise directionless and runs wild (hello, joining Mongolians? BAD idea).
In a way, the scenes of him wandering through snowy mountains, looking for her or her floating down the river, Ophelia-like, are so mythic as to be Arthurian. He realizes he loves her after she leaves only (that is where the state of innocence comes in, of course) and I love the scene when they finally meet at the heroes’ tournament (btw, let me take out a moment to point out how surprised I am that her rape-by-trick (monk made her think it was YG) is a non-issue in the story at least in the sense of her being ‘damaged’ She is not viewed as such, though I am sure there will be hell to pay when they learn the truth).
But yeah, heroes tournament. It’s in the middle of a heated battle and he is watching it and then you see him straighten out and get uber-focused and he can smell her scent and he is pushing through the crowd, looking everywhere, and he sees her float down and oh Gosh. I was tearing up. And they are in the middle of the arena but they are oblivious to everything and he is holding on to her for dear life and is spinning her around and around and they leave for privacy because the evil opponent is bitching and YG is completely not caring. And then they are on a hill and she tells him he is so messy (he smeared his face earlier to fit with the crowd) and he smiles at her telling her there was no one to take care of him and…GUUUUUUH. And then she sees the rend on his clothes and she starts mending it, biting the thread (guuuuh, hot) and he tells her how in his heart he views her as his wife (and OMG, he is stammering it out, it’s adorable and adorable and ADORABLE) and she makes him repeat it.
And then the bad guy ruins her white dress so he goes and kicks butt. I just love how they are oblivious and glow when they are with each other.
And then of course HR and GJ are all ‘we are so glad his master is here. We want to marry him to our daughter, what is your opinion?’ In public, in front of a crowd. And YG tries to diplomatically refuse by saying his character is bad blah blah and you can tell HR is realizing something is majorly wrong and is telling her husband they should talk about it in private and then…OMG OMG OMG OMG.
XL says there is nothing to talk about as she does not approve as she and YG will get married. And the whole hall falls silent and people freak and I love the shots of YG turning around like a cornered animal, glaring at everyone as if they are his death enemies as he sees everyone react in horror and disgust and there is this awesome, tense scene and I love how in face of society’s prejudice, in face of total shunnment, in face of everything, in face of what is closest to family disowning him, he refuses to budge.
But of course later, Huang Rong persuades XL to leave by pointing out how everyone would look down on Yang Guo and XL loves him more than herself. I love her looking at him and weeping and leaving a note and going away. And he is like a mad person later, looking for her.
And then we get to my favorite part. Because she floats down the river, Ophelia-like, and gets rescued by the Master of Heartless Vale (MHV), a secluded, strange, mystical place. MHV appears to be kindly and thoughtful but he is the story’s true monster, a two-faced creature who cares for no one at all, not even his (grown-up) daughter. He sees XL’s distress and confusion, he hears her story and his suggestion is to marry him so that way she can forget about YG, to have armor against him. And XL, lost, confused, falsely trusting, agrees.
And for plot reasons awesome but complicated (and not coincidental either), the day before the wedding a party with YG arrives at the place. MHV invites them to stay for the wedding and YG, wandering around early morning…finds XL walking.
I love that scene SO much. It’s almost a dream and he rushes to her and he is ecstatic and she…tells him she doesn’t know him. Oh man. Cue major heartbreak.
And MHV and everyone is there and they surround him and insist he is mistaken but he keeps saying he knows who this is and he is so uncomprehending as to why she would reject him (he is thinking maybe she has a mental memory problem or similar). And MHV’s daughter arranges for XL to meet him by tricking XL and once again, she denies him (and I love that he is so secure, he says he knows her walk and her scent and her look) and there is a huge confrontation with MHV and he is kneeling and begging her and telling her that if she doesn’t want him, then please kill him because he will then be buried in the valley and keep his promise to be with her forever and the whole thing is angsty and awesome and she finally breaks.
And she says he is in her heart and there is hugging and I love it and MHV is all ‘you won’t marry me’ and she says no and so he says he will fight them. And XL, still unworldly, wants to explain the story to MHV and YG points out that will just give MHV time to send for weapons. And I love how once again, they are so absorbed with each other that the outside world ceases to exist (to MHV’s chagrin): she is one again sewing a rip on his clothes, and he is telling her of what happened in his absence etc etc.
And then MHV lets them go to the armory to pick up swords and I love that they want to kiss and the servants are ‘just only pick the swords and come out’ and she tells him he can kiss her after the fight and GUUUUUH.
But in the process of picking up the swords, she gets stung by ‘love flower.’ They are beautiful and grow in the valley but the closer you are connected to the loved one the more they hurt and so, she can’t fight after some time (she cannot look at him but she must for their style to work) and they lose. The condition was if they won, they leave and if not, MHV kills them both (I love how he was all ‘if you win, you marry me’ and she was ‘no, you’ll kill us both’)
But MHV of course, has no intention of keeping his word. He gets a magic net on YG and he is bound, helpless with ropes (that is where the awesome scene is from). And he has servants bring piles of those flowers and throw them all over YG so he is stung all over and it’s incredibly painful and he is writhing and MHV tells the frozen XL that these are incredibly fatal in such a quantity and a person who is stung like this would die in the most horrific manner imaginable in 36 days if they don’t get the antidote within the next 24 hours.
And he tells XL that he will give YG the antidote after she (XL) has the wedding night with him.
WHOA.
And that is totally horrible and YG is begging her not to do it, saying he is asking her to kill him instead and he’d rather die and she starts weeping and OMG OMG OMG she tells him she will kill him and then kill herself but she stops in mid-action and she runs full-tilt to him and hugs him tightly so the thorns pierce her flesh as well, the same pain and same poison hers, to share. And he is trying to push her away and this is AWESOME.
And then she tells the bad guy she will do it. And you know bad guy’s reaction? ‘You are in pain (because of the poison), I know. But if I give you the antidote, you’ll take it to YG, so you’ll just have to bear it.’
Whoa.
And she plans to sleep with him, get the antidote, give it to YG and then kill herself.
Meanwhile, the daughter of MHV goes to free YG and takes him to look for the antidote. Which is…missing. But the evil MHV sees her looking (YG is hiding) and he then hears YG (that whole scene is horribly creepy) and he asks her who she thinks he should kill, her or YG and she says ‘her’ (which, learning what we find out later about him, must gall him to no end). And so there is a trap under the floor leading to a chasm with beasties and as MHV attempts to kill his daughter, YG jumps to save her and falls in and then…MHV pushes his daughter in.
Did I mention the fact that MHV never was planning to give the antidote to YG as he wants him to die so XL won’t have hope (as YG figured out. Of course, even if she knew, XL would still take the chance).
Anyway, blah blah they are in cave, YG kills beasties, and discovers the antidote in his clothes (old guy they were chasing who stole stuff hid them in his clothes on purpose, really long story, OK?) And this is when the true depth of MHV’s villainy hits. Because as YG is about to take it, daughter mentions it’s the only antidote in existence (and OMG OMG he puts it away right away, because if there is only enough for one person, he will never save himself, but give it to XL) and it’s clear MHV knew it was stolen, so he knew XL would only live 36 days but he didn’t care, he just wanted to have her, in pain or no.
Ugh. I love YG’s bitter comment that even the crocodiles (that live in the chasm) have more of a conscience than her father.
I am now at the point where they found out MHV’s first wife (who he tortured and dumped into the cave) etc etc and XL is unswayed and YG is weak and I can’t wait to see what happens…
Also, I really like the secondary OTP of Mongolian general’s son and the girl who is trying to kill him to avenge her family. The guy promised her if she gets him to use his left hand she can kill him and she tricks him into it by holding a sword to her throat so to save her he has to use his left hand and at the last minute he is warned but he reaches anyway because he wants her to live more than anything and she can’t kill him after all and it’s awesome.
