City of Devastating Love (Hua Xu Yin) Episode Recap Part 2

Episode 8-11

Mu Yan and Ye Zhen Arc

On the night before the wedding, Zi Yan (Yang Rui) visits Mu Yan (Kevin Cheng) to serve her master one last time till he becomes a married man. Unbeknownst to Mu Yan, Zi Yan actually has ulterior motives as she pours him tea and leaves for the night.

Mu Yan wakes the next day and realizes that everyone has left. Alarmed, he hurriedly rides for Wei only to be greeted by the remnants of a massacre. Reminiscent of the Red Wedding from Game of Thrones, the union was a mere guise by Mu Yan's father, the King of Chen, in order to conquer Wei.

In the span of hours, Ye Zhen (Lin Yuan) saw what should have been a joyous occasion transpire into a slaughter where her countrymen were killed left and right and she became the culprit who's naivety single-handedly destroyed the country. Devastated, Ye Zhen waited for Mu Yan to appear before plunging to her death, and Mu Yan could only cry in despair at the sudden turn of events.

Filled with hatred, Song Ning attempts to assassinate Mu Yan. However, he is captured by Zi Yan who was secretly working for the 2nd Prince and the Empress. She hands Mu Yan over to Tian Zi, Ye Zhen's former fiancee and the ruler of the nine kingdoms. 

Indignant over the tragic deception, Tian Zi punishes Mu Yan and locks him away to be tortured for life while on the other hand, devising a way to resurrect Ye Zhen.

Song Ning and Shen An Arc

Wei has been colonized by the country of Chen and to placate the civilians, yet another marriage alliance was proposed. Once Song Ning (Jiang Xin) learned that Shen An (Yuan Hong) was going to be the representative from Chen, she quickly volunteered to take the princess' place and offered her own hand in marriage.

Despite longing to be reunited with Shen An, Song Ning was afraid of how Shen An would react when he finds out that she was the one who defeated and saved him at the same time. She writes a letter baring her soul, admitting the truth and professing her love that has only grown stronger since the time that they have spent together. She gives Shen An a choice whether to accept the truth and wear the phoenix pendant or to return it to her should he reject her confession. Honestly, I knew he would never get the letter, but props to Song Ning for explicitly instructing the messenger to deliver the letter personally to Shen An.

Alas, Shen An receives the letter but never gets a chance to read it because Qi Qi, the mute person who is pretending to be Shen An's savior stole the letter along with Song Ning's phoenix pendant claiming it as her own.

Imagine Song Ning's surprise when on the night of their wedding, her blissful anticipation was met with derision. Shen An barges into the room in an accusatory tone asking Song Ning what he did wrong to deserve the misfortune having to marry her. Did she not know that he already had a fiancee whom he loved dearly? Without going into specifics, Shen An made it very clear that they never began and that there won't be a future. Song Ning is appalled to hear this and though a little confused, she takes it that Shen An has had a complete change of heart.

Months pass where Song Ning lives as a neglected wife and only later when she encounters Qi Qi and sees the pendant does she realize that her identity was stolen. Song Ning raises a sword to Qi Qi but in her defense, Shen An points the sword at Song Ning instead.

Fortunately, Song Ning's older brother witnesses the altercation and puts a stop to it. While the older brother is just a side character that is quite inconsequential to the story, I really appreciate how protective he is of his sister even going so far as to say that he can give up everything - their family's reputation, wealth and position as long as Song Ning says the word that she wants out from her sham of a marriage. If only Shen An could be half as caring as the older brother.

Yes, Shen An. You were literally blind before but now you are blind and deaf. I can't blame him entirely because technically, he doesn't know the truth but still. 

Shen An's father forces him to apologize to Song Ning in an effort to uphold political niceties.  I'm not sure when the heroic general from yonder years turned into a prick but like a child throwing tantrums, Shen An grudgingly went to his wife's quarters and words quickly escalated as his drunken self wanted to assert his grievances. Since she wanted him so badly, Shen An was going to give her a piece of himself, which naturally led to Song Ning threatening to kill herself if he doesn't stop.

Despite almost giving up, the warrior in Song Ning refused to be unjustly defeated by Qi Qi and she sums up the courage to give the marriage one more try. She makes a deal with Shen An to start with a clean slate. If he doesn't fall in love with her, only then will she back out.

As they travel as a group to Wei where Shen An will take his post as the new governing official, we are treated to by far the most short-lived happy times where Song Ning and Shen An ride on horseback along the coast but not without some nuances. Qi Qi and her maid Rong Min created drama throughout the journey. From being petty about which carriage to use to self-administering poisonous herbs just to accuse Song Ning. Thankfully, Song Ning was smart enough to uncover the ruse and Shen An finally realized for the first time, the conniving side of Qi Qi and Rong Min who was the real instigator.

The group finally reaches Wei and it is becoming clear that Song Ning and Shen An were made for each other. They have common ideals, interests that compliment each other and were beginning to establish a newfound sense of trust. Even if Shen An takes Qi Qi's side as she cuts her own wrist to gain sympathy, the victory was never completely hers. In an effort to help Qi Qi, Rong Min masterminds a treacherous ploy to get rid of Song Ning once and for all.

On a night when Song Ning was practicing with her spear, Rong Min dressed as a masked assassin to lure Song Ning to Shen An's quarters. At the same time, Shen An had just drank the wine given by Song Ning. He stumbles out of the room severely poisoned and Qi Qi conveniently arrives to help him while the guards surround Song Ning. To make matters worse, Qi Qi sucks the poison out from Shen An's hand and has fallen into a coma.

See Hua Xu Yin Episode Recap Part 1.

City of Devastating Love (Hua Xu Yin) Episode Recap Part 1

I enjoy drama recaps because sometimes there's just not enough time to watch everything and it's much easier to read, or rather, it's interesting to see a different take on the same story. I have always wanted to write one but there's a proliferation of drama recaps lately so I ditched my last attempt. But if I'm already taking screenshots, I might as well make the most out of it.

Episode 1-3

Hua Xu Yin begins with a voiceover by Ye Zhen (Lin Yuan) saying that many years ago, she used to be a princess who fell in love with the enemy. She betrayed her country causing its demise and leaped to her death. Yet what hurt the most is that her beloved deceived her. Is it because she was destined to be the dreamweaver? Judging from the introduction, I can tell we are in for a world of pain.

We get a glimpse of the internal strife within the palace walls of the Country of Chen as the Empress fails at her ploy to poison the King. She is imprisoned and we see the impending rivalry between her son, the 2nd prince and the eldest prince Mu Yan (Kevin Cheng). The King secretly assigns Mu Yan a mission to bring back the dreamweaver in hopes that he will succeed in the fight for the throne.

The drama rewinds to the beginning when Ye Zhen was still a bubbly princess from Wei trying to escape the palace to attend a festival. Her repeated attempts are foiled by Song Ning (Jiang Xin), a female warrior who is like a sister to her and she only succeeds after drugging the soldiers left to guard her.

Mu Yan and Ye Zhen cross paths when Mu Yan and his trusty tiger, which we see for only about an episode, were being chased by the 2nd prince's assassins. To protect Ye Zhen, Mu Yan decides to leave her behind so that she doesn't get caught up in the turmoil. Along the way, Ye Zhen meets prankster Tian Zi, who unbeknownst to her is by birthright, the figurehead ruler of the nine kingdoms.

Meanwhile, Song Ning gets into an altercation with the city officials in her search for Ye Zhen. This is where she meets Shen An (Yuan Hong), a general of Chen who is intrigued by her fighting prowess. I'm most excited for this pairing especially since I have seen both actors in other dramas and was looking forward to seeing them again.

Ye Zhen finally makes her way to Yong An City where it is bustling with life. The heads of state including her father, gather around for the once in 5 years ritual and Ye Zhen suddenly feels an unmistakable force drawing her in. Her arrival disrupts the ritual and the fact that she is the dreamweaver is exposed. Princess Yun hypnotizes Ye Zhen in order to propel the Hua Xu Yin but upon learning that the process will lead to her death, Mu Yan interrupts and literally flies to save her.

Now that all the countries know about Ye Zhen's true identity, the King of Wei decides to marry off his only daughter Ye Zhen to Tian Zi to form an alliance that will stabilize the country. As a 21st century woman, I'm never for arranged marriages but the way Ye Zhen adamantly refused to marry even if it will save her people came across as utterly selfish. As her argument goes, "Is my happiness not as important as the country?" all whilst her closest friend Song Ning bravely rides out to defend the country.

Episode 4-7 

Chen launches an attack on Wei but due to inner conflicts with the 2nd prince and his lackeys, Mu Yan must fight with only 5000 men while Shen An stands at the helm of the main army to act as a distraction until reinforcements arrive.

Shen An once again meets Song Ning but this time as enemies. Despite being on opposite sides, the chemistry between the two is undeniable. Unwilling to spill blood, Shen An wagers the outcome of the battle via a duel, where he was defeated twice. Realizing that Song Ning is indeed formidable, Shen An gives his all during the 3rd and final duel and he wins. He spares Song Ning's life but his army is obliterated by a surprise attack from the Wei soldiers as they hurled wild fire (ahem Game of Thrones reference) at the hapless Chen soldiers. 

Having developed an affinity for Shen An, the man who spared her life and the most courageous and upstanding person that she has ever met, Song Ning does everything in her power to save the gravely injured Shen An, dragging him through snow and helping him heal, all while pretending to be mute because she didn't want the blinded Shen An to realize that the person who saved him was none other than herself. I daresay things will go terribly wrong when Song Ning leaves Shen An under the care of a real mute person named Qi Qi without telling him the truth. 

I've sort of skipped through Mu Yan and Ye Zhen's story but to backtrack a little bit, Ye Zhen, the eternal damsel in distress escapes the palace to avoid being married off and instead gets captured by the Chen soldiers that were rounding up civilians for execution. Mu Yan rescues her once again but she stabs him on impulse after discovering that Mu Yan is a Prince of Chen. It's a rash and idiotic move and she immediately regrets her actions.

Regardless, Ye Zhen has made up her mind to leave Mu Yan for good and to return home. But of course she changes her mind again after Mu Yan is injured from saving her for the nth time. Fortunately, Tian Zi, her other knight in shining armor arrives in the nick of time. 

Tian Zi uses his magic beans to revive Mu Yan at the expense of his own health while Ye Zhen remains oblivious to everything. I really like Tian Zi. Blame it on the second lead syndrome but he is probably one of the best people in the entire series, yet we all know he will never get the girl.

It was during this time that Ye Zhen and Mu Yan hear about the good news that the King of Chen, Mu Yan's father, has decided to call for a truce and instead propose a marriage to Ye Zhen thereby granting the couple the happily ever after that they've always wanted. Unfortunately, all is not what it seems.

Comments:

Holy cow, drama recaps are really difficult to write and I don't have the knack for this. I have the utmost respect for all the recappers out there. I knew it was hard but not this hard.

Rating: Pretty Darn Good with a caveat. I will decide after I finish the drama.

The CGI is a crap chute, the costumes horrid. If you've seen the god-forbidden gypsy skirt(s), you'll know what I'm talking about. The plot is outrageous and then some magic beans and a sporadic growth spurt of wings to add to the outlandish. Thus far, I'm most annoyed with the main lead Ye Zhen though she seems to mature a lot more as the story progresses. Furthermore, Jiang Xin and Yuan Hong really make the drama and I'm dreading the fallout.

Despite all the negatives, I actually found the TV series inexplicably addicting. Even though I can see the angst coming from a mile away, I wanted to see the tragedy unfold. Hence, the pretty darn good rating because it's engaging enough yet objectively speaking it's really just another drama.

I think another reason why this drama is predictable is one, the title spells it out for you that bad things are bound to happen, second, I see hints of reused plots from other dramas like Ja Myung Go (part of my top 10 historical kdramas) which is also about a princess who brought her country to ruin and there's also the Return Of the Condor heroes subplot where the blind woman mistook her loved one for another. I'm just not sure who copied who or maybe I have just seen one too many dramas.

On a side note, no offense to actor Kevin Cheng but he's a 46 year old playing the role of a young prince!

See Hua Xu Yin Episode Recap Part 2.

Source: 3Lian