Quippe: War is coming. Give me something good!
Dew: Let’s get to it!
*Devy = Devil = Dongfang Qingcang
EPISODE 30 RECAP
Devy and Orchid have a little heart-to-heart. He tells her the truth about the war that’s coming their way. Good, that’s one step in the right direction. Orchid is worried, but she tries to cheer him up by mentioning that they still have a wedding to enjoy before then. She also measures him for new outfits and realizes he has lost weight.
That is so glass-half-full that I’m honestly more worried. We need a plan! One that doesn’t involve Devy’s body measurements!
Orchid has a nightmare that night. She keeps dreaming about Lady Chidi, who wants to show her some secret. Devy doesn’t sleep any better, the Evil Voice has now invaded his head and won’t stop telling him he’s going to let everyone down because he has lost Hellfire.
The next day, Changheng comes. Still wearing those axolotl-style head pieces, I see. He says he wants to take Orchid away. Orchid, who probably still assumes that he’s madly in love with her, reacts to him in a less than friendly manner.
Yes, Changheng still has hope, but that is not why he’s here. A bloody war is coming, Devy is not capable of defending his people anymore, so Changheng is thinking he should just get Orchid the heck out of there.
Despite her protests, he takes her to the ruin that used to be Xilan Tribe.
When Orchid touches the remains of a sacred statue, it sends magic through her hand and lets her facetime with the Godly Voice (not the evil one). He tells her about her real family and identity. He also says it is her destiny to save the world in this war. She gets frightened and throws all kinds of questions at him: Why can’t I love both Dongfang and the world? Why do I have to choose one? Why? Why? Girl, calm down, he didn’t say you’d have to give up your guy for the world. He just said you are MEANT for something bigger.
When she comes back, she tells Changheng that she doesn’t care about “destiny”, she only knows that the love between her and Devy is real. O… kay…
This really supports the idea that instead of getting locked in a cave and getting shot at until you call mercy, you should be forced to read the Art of War to help rule a country close to war. This is too big to disassociate Orchid, please!
When Orchid gets back to the Moon Realm, let’s just say they don’t exactly give her a warm welcome. Xunfeng has Orchid locked up and destroys all the flowers in the place Devy built for her. And surprise: he’s doing this on Devy’s order.
Xunfeng also shows Orchid a fully forged Chengying Sword, telling her that Devy has always planned to use it to kill her. That’s not true, of course, just a plan Devy made with Xunfeng to piss Orchid off. Maybe he’s hoping it will make her hate him enough to run away.
Alone in the throne room, Devy is visited by the Evil Voice again, which tells him to come over to the dark side, it’s his only choice anyway. He resists but kind of lets a little bit of dark magic get into him. He acts all weird and evil when Orchid and Xunfeng run in. Xunfeng recognizes the Evil Energy immediately and tells Devy to stop. You know it’s too much when even Xunfeng is freaked out by it.
Devy starts throwing mean remarks at Orchid. I’ve never loved you; I’m the supreme Moon Lord who kills for fun; it’s all been fake; only my good fashion is real — that kind of thing.
Is his act believable? Not at all. Orchid calls him out for lying and reminds him of all the things they’ve been through. She dares him to look her in the eyes and tell her he doesn’t love her.
Well, this must be awkward for Xunfeng.
COMMENTS
Long rant ahead.
As much as I appreciate how Orchid has developed so far, in this episode, the drama has blocked that development on its track for the sake of a supposedly romantic declaration.
I have to agree. Their first obstacle as a married couple and rulers of a kingdom and their collective solutions are to disassociate, lie and hide instead of using each other’s strength. Even when they’re on the same team, we can’t see them working together when the time clearly calls for it.
This drama has always emphasized on Orchid’s secret identity, her whole character hinges on it. But when she has a chance to discover who she is, she claims that being Dongfang’s wife is enough.
She treasures the present and doesn’t let a secret past get in the way, that is fine. But the problem here is the drama doesn’t give her a lot to do as Dongfang’s wife.
We don’t see her bond with the Moon People, or put forth any ideas to rebuild the Moon kingdom or neutralize their relationship with her former home. So what exactly does “being Dongfang’s wife” mean?
Her identity as Goddess Xishan is not ideal — just a convenient device to boost up a female lead’s value, more or less. But at the very least, it gives her the chance to ask questions and to be something more than following Dongfang’s lead. Her kindness and compassion, which are her core values, could have been extended into a real solution to resolve this war.
On one hand, Orchid refuses to think beyond her trust in Dongfang. On the other, Dongfang does nothing to prepare for the war except sulking about how he’s been maneuvered into a corner by “fate”. Together, they kind of look like a pair of emo teenagers who are convinced that the whole world is against them while ignoring the people who are trying to help them.
All I can say at this point is: Thank god we still have Changheng, Xunfeng, and Dayin.
Scoot over, I’m with Team Axolotl on this ride.
