dangermousie | Yang Brothers

1. I am no mathematician but even I can count to eight and I can't help but notice that one of the eight Yang kids is missing. Brothers 5-7 are very much present, and so is sister 8. I have been informed that the nameless background brothers with wives are brothers 1-3. Which leaves the mysterious brother 4. I know Yangs lost a kid out on the battlefield once (normal families mislay kids at the supermarket, but that is clearly not cool enough for the Yangs - they lose theirs in the middle of battle. Harcore. Are they the most awesome family ever or what? They take them on the most fascinating field trips). But I sort of assumed they recovered him the next day or similar. Apparently not unless he's gone on a walkabout.

2. Whoever was taking bets that I would choose Yelu Xie over a Yang Brother - I am sorry to say but so far you are losing. In fact, YX has joined my list of "needs to be run over by a truck three times in a row and then fed to sharks" characters. What kind of an evil, useless loser kidnaps a small girl as means of revenge on her father who has beaten him in battle fair and square? Ugh. Go die already! Nothing he does will ever make it right for me now - as a mother of a toddler I am irrational about these things and just contemplating the scenario makes me want to pull out his intestines through his nostrils. Thankfully, since I know Peter Ho plays 4th Yang brother, I don't have to worry about Yelu Xia actually turning to be the long-lost Yang. Now that would be a nightmare scenario.

3. Other people keep deck furniture in the basement, YX keeps sage old guys.

4. Crazy hat city. Seriously, they are all uniformly horrifying.

5. They are adorable!

6. So far my favorite character is 6th brother. What a surprise! :P But seriously, I sort of like seeing how he will grow up - he certainly has a lot more imagination than his brothers.

7. I kind of like that at any point in the Yang household, two of its members are engaging in practice battles. That would be a fun if unrestful place to live.

8. I loved this scene so very much. I also loved that he put up a good fight but did not kick their butt - of course he needs more experience.

9. He is such a puppy! I wonder if the drama will have him eventually discover his father is right when he says in so many words war is hell and he doesn't have to hurry.