Quippe: Apparently, either Orchid or Devy is about to die again.
Dew: At this point, love is everyone’s weakness and no one’s strength.
EPISODE 35 RECAP
Ronghao takes Goddess Chidi away, but she isn’t getting any better. So he confronts the Evil Voice, who tells him that Chidi will always be dependent on him for energy and will never be normal again UNLESS Ronghao is open for another deal, which would be: letting the Evil Voice merge his spirit with Chidi’s.
Ronghao kind of considers it. Please don’t.
The next morning, Ronghao does Chidi’s hair. He tells her she still looks young and beautiful despite her vast age. Her response: Kill me.
And she means it literally. She can’t take the nightmares and the unpredictability any longer. She’s afraid that someday she might lash out and kill everyone.
They move on to talk about what’s going to happen next. Ronghao tells the truth about what he intends to let the Evil Voice do.
All of this on the basis that there’ll be no suffering afterward and yet all they’ve done is suffer. Just kill her and set her free please Ronghao!
Chidi is shocked and she thinks maybe now is the time for some truth, otherwise, this guy might just doom her and the whole world. So she tells him everything from the beginning.
Here we go:
Chidi traveled to the mortal realm once and saw Ronghao — who was then a boy — close to death in the snow. But despite the cold, he kept playing his flute, which moved her. The boy died in the end, but Chidi asked the Mistress of the Archive (Orchid’s teacher) to give him another chance at life, and she is willing to pay whatever price fate would ask of her.
I’m not an expert here so I can only guess that what happened is: she fell in love with the tragic flute tune, which embodies all the good and bad of the mortal life she did not fully understand until then. And that love extended to Ronghao when he grew up and became an immortal. Yeah? Maybe?
Anyway, now we know why Ronghao only plays one exact same tune for the entire drama.
We have to give it to him, the guy is nothing but consistent and persistent.
Ronghao hears this story and breaks down in understanding and joy because his love is not one-sided after all.
In two seconds, Ronghao switches from worship mode to romantic mode with Chidi. Pretty nice acting here, actually. They hug and he stabs Chidi in the back. This is what Chidi wants so she dies smiling; but dude, you think you could have given her a warning? She thought it was a hug!
It turns out that Ronghao planned this in advance, he pretended to agree to the deal with the Evil Voice to lure him out. And by taking Chidi’s and his own life, Ronghao significantly cripples the Voice.
Note to drama writers: If you’re going to make your lead couple sacrifice their lives to save the world, do it like this. Don’t trick people into crying then resurrect your characters 5 minutes later.
Orchid, Changheng and Devy pay their respects to Ronghao and Shifu’s graves. I can’t believe Ronghao had to die thinking he’s lost a lifelong friend in Changheng. At least Changheng promises him a wine-for-life card.
So, the Voice is still not dead, after all. Orchid and Changheng have a serious talk about what they are going to do. Orchid admits here that she did not lose her memory. She remembers everything that happened.
Changheng is stunned and asks why she still insists on marrying him if she still loves Devy. Could this mean she’s had a change of heart? His hopeful face is quite hilarious.
Orchid finally lets us in on her secret: She refuses to reunite with Devy because she knows she’s going to die in the upcoming battle. According to what has happened to the previous warriors who Fought the Evil Voice, her chance of surviving is non-existent. It’s also predicted that the Evil Voice would go for Devy next, so she wants to do what she can to protect him.
OK, a few things come to mind.
First of all — Orchid died once, came back and claimed that she has learned her destiny, which is to die again?
Secondly — when will these people evolve from the “I lie to my beloved because I love and want to protect him/her” chorus? Orchid is behaving just like Devy in the last battle, and as mature as she acts on the outside, I’m not sure she has grown up at all.
Here’s what I think, Orchid: You can communicate with Changheng, can work with him, and can even ask him to let you die. He agrees to try his best to help you because he respects your choice and wants to share the burden. Stick with this guy, please.
Seeing Changheng cry knowing he now has to send her to her death is heartbreaking. Orchid asks for his help. Girl, help is what he’s been giving you this whole series!
Next, Orchid meets Devy for a little chat. He says he is about to tie the love locks that he bought back then together to a bridge — as couples do at the Love Lock Bridge in Seoul — to cement his love for his “Orchid”.
Orchid asks Devy why he still loves the old Orchid so much when she was only an ordinary plant. He says it’s a love she wouldn’t understand. Neither do I, Devy, neither do I.
After weeping at the bridge for a while, Devy comes to bid Orchid farewell. It’s time he went back to his own home. Orchid is cool with it, but she asks him for a moment and moves on to pull his lips into a smile, like she used to do back then.
I don’t get it, what is she doing?
And then she acts all shy and guilty when Devy realizes she is the real Orchid. Erm… did you think he would NOT remember that move?
*Pulls hair* All that work to be reborn, convince everyone you have amnesia, and get poor Changheng to agree to go along with this for the greater good of the WORLD and we’re blowing the cover to V-sign Devy’s lips. Good lord, someone get me some dew water.
Devy runs back to his room, ignores Shangque’s reminder that they are well packed and ready to go, and pulls out Orchid’s Fate Leave. It shows him Orchid’s plan to die, and now he knows what Orchid’s teacher meant when she said only he could change her fate.