#ep 48

so yeah, i just made a huge post about how annoyed i am around all the choices regarding sima yi, and earlier i also complained about how i felt like neither ma tianyu or elvis han could keep up with gardner tse, but

ma tianyu impressed me very much with this bravura display of imperial might and anger in front of the court

yes, it's a bit of an act, but it's also a look at the rage inside this person who is normally so upbeat. he's so angry, but he's also making the most of the opportunity. (also finally ma tianyu is allowed to make a face that isn't a smooth, calm face)

(the shaking beads in front of his face are a huge plus in this scene)

and the fact that he then turned around, after all cao cao has done to sima yi and the sima family, and offered to work with cao cao still

now that is the courage of conviction. (although - as i complained earlier - i wish the show had done legwork to show us why he is convinced on this point)

another highlight in this episode was the cao cao / cao pi bedside scene

cao pi wakes up after being injured, sees his dad being so caring, and leans into his dad, sobbing

here's cao cao confused about why his son is crying and deeply uncomfortable lol

cao pi starts explaining why he's crying...

... and realizes it's not a good move. so he moves onto the 'proper stuff': assassins and politics

cao cao, back on comfortable ground, explains that he is moving to yecheng, and he's named cao pi as the person to manage the move. he gives us another of those cao cao manipulative moments where he says "you're the only one":

and now that the phrasing is like that, not just about 'you are the son most like me' but 'you are the only one', we realize, it's also the same phrasing cao cao used on guo jia, on director xun...

both actors were phenomenal in this scene, though gardner tse is still a class above. he leaps off the screen in a way no one else in this drama can

after cao cao leaves, cao pi clutches the decree that names him heir

what has him more emotional: finally earning his father's trust and a token of affection, or finally being named heir? i don't think he could tell you. it's all mixed up, being named heir symbolic of his father's regard and respect; his father's affection symbolic of future success.

The first two episodes are really important for Tai and Kari. When they were younger, Tai didn't fully understand what being sick meant and invited a feverish Kari to play soccer.

The dad crying is so sweet. But also, they said they've only been home for a year! That all happened in a year! Busiest year in the world. I feel like everyone needs like 5 years to recover from the last 12 months.