Just when things start to heat up our OTP (one true pairing) is split apart and a new dashing prince comes into the picture?  Will he win our, and Fuyao’s, hearts and start a shipping war?  Come find out as we begin our chatty recap for episodes 9-16

General Plot Overview Ep 9-16

We get a new character Zhan Bei Ye who is a prince from a neighboring kingdom.  All that you need to know about him is that he has a serious mane of glory.  He has a mysterious artifact bell that only his family can wield (which of course is stolen) Bei Ye is also the son of a royal concubine so his siblings are trying to kill him off.  And finally, we have nicknamed him Gaston.  For obvious reasons.

Fuyao becomes a traveling companion of Gaston, his stalker wannabe girlfriend, and his warriors.  Not voluntarily though.  She is forced to join them when her friend disappears along with Gaston’s magic bell.  They travel to the Water Kingdom’s capital and are under the protection (insert sarcasm) of the Prime Minister.  The Prime Minister is in cohoots with Gaston’s brother to kill him off secretly.  Assassination attempts are made and all of them have failed so far.

Fuyao faces off against her nemesis witchy princess many many times throughout these episodes.  Fuyao wants her servant/friend back and witchy princess uses him as bait (multiple times) to lure Fuyao into traps.  Fuyao continues to evade Witchy Princess and eventually, with the help of WuJi, retrieves her friend.

Talking about WuJi, he returns to the capital just as the old king dies (assassinated by Hot Doc) and claims the throne.  He continues to act inept while evading Prime Ministers suspicions and assassination attempts.  WuJi also continues to assist Fuyao anytime he can and I think our OTP (one true pairing) are finally starting to have feelings for each other.

#8 Poor Prime Minister.  You got so close.

Drama Geek: This could be one of my favorite villain moments of all time. My family is a huge fan of Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra and one thing I’ve always appreciated about both shows is that the bad guy has a story just as deep and nuanced as the heroes do. And they usually have a purpose beyond just gaining power. Now, I doubt Prime Minister wants more than just power, but it sure was awesome that they let us get a glimpse into what his ambitions were, then squashed them like a bug. The fact that they let him get that close to obtaining his dream and then ripped it away from him was perfection.

Clkytta: He’s the King of the World… except, he’s not. I loved how he turned around and realized it wasn’t his power. You could see all his hopes crashing down and I felt like karma did a great job there.

Kdrama Jen: I love that we get to see what he imagined compared to reality.  It’s kind of like that time I tried to make the Elmo cupcakes I saw on Pinterest.  I imagined all of my kids smiling in delight and clapping their hands as I painstakingly squeezed icing from the bag with the specially purchased cake decorating tip.  And then when I finished, I saw this big globby mess of tinted pinkish frosting with eyes.  It was so NOT what I imagined.  Yeah, I felt a brief moment of empathy when I saw the look on the Prime Minister’s face.  I am not saying it’s cool that he has assassinated all those people and all, but I did appreciate his own Elmo moment in a weird sort of way.

Kmuse: I might have burst out laughing and my kids looked at me like I was insane.  But, in my defense, watching Wu Ji supposed innocent smirking while he stole Prime Minister’s thunder was hilarious.  You also have to give it up to PM.  His plots keep getting derailed but he just flows with the punches and goes on to the next evil assassination.  He is the energizer bunny of bad guys.

#7 The best weapons involve militarized scorpions.

Drama Geek: I have to admit that Ya Lanzhu was cute, but a little annoying when she first showed up. As soon as she brought out her slingshot and started flinging what my nightmares are made of, I was totally hooked. I also noticed after that scene they toned down her clinginess and show that she has a close relationship with Gaston. You may know him as Zhan Beiye, but this is what we’re all calling him. Now you won’t be able to look at him without thinking he’s going to break into song. You’re welcome. They make a fantastic team and I’m sad he’s destined to fall for Fuyao only to be left out in the cold.

Clkytta: I love the little tomboy princess! I really want her and Gaston to have a future. I feel like they are made for each other. The way they worked as a team really impressed me. She’s so deceptively cute that I had no clue she was vicious too!

Kdrama Jen:  I have watched a lot of dramas.  I have seen a lot of unique ways to foil the bad guys, but slingshotting scorpion balls might be the most awesome.  I adore Ya Lanzhu.  I think she could have a chance with Gaston.  There is way more substance beneath that clingy exterior.  I am all for Team Scorpion Balls.  No, wait.  We need a better couple name…  I’ll work on it.

Kmuse: Am I the only one concerned that she might be the person who dies just as the one sided love becomes real on Gaston’s side?  I could totally see her sacrificing herself to save his life and then it all is tragedy and tears.  But until that possible moment I will sit back and enjoy the scorpion slinging.

#6 The trials of Witchy Princess continue

Drama Geek: Can she please be dead already? Seriously, she is so unbelievably annoying. They’ve reduced the number of times we have to see to ex, but it’s still not few enough for me. Why can’t they both fall into the pit of annoyingness and disappear forever?

Clkytta: I’m so over this character. I don’t really understand her place and why everyone kowtows to her. She’s horrible and the combination of her and coward ex are perfect. I really hope they make each other so miserable they die.

Kmuse: I laughed out loud when she accidentally overheard her beloved husband and father in law plotting her death.  While I enjoy her and Fuyao fighting it out, the show has been a bit too liberal with her as a plot device to move along the action.  I’m OK if she kicks the bucket sooner than later.

Kdrama Jen: I am counting on Chinese drama karma to serve her some much-needed justice.  Dropping her off a cliff or maybe a well-placed scorpion down her back is what is needed here.

#5 Royal hunting trip is really code for assassination attempts

Drama Geek: There are only two things that happen on Cdrama hunting trips. Skinship and an attempt on someone’s life, preferably with the ability to blame the death on a good guy. This trip we get an added bonus of two people whose lives are in danger. Seven is released as bait for Fuyao (and of course she takes it) and Prime Minister tries to kill Smirky Prince who is now Smirky King…. so maybe we should just start calling Wuji.

Clkytta: Poor Seven, I wonder if he’s called Seven because he has seven lives? This poor guy goes through so much. Watching him hanging in the water gave me so much anxiety, how did he not drown?

Kdrama Jen:  Cdrama hunting trips are just perfect for assassination attempts and perfectly choreographed fight scenes that lead to skinship and squee-worthy moments.  I love that we have a foe that might be a true challenge for smirky prince/king.  While I love the way he swoops in to handle situations, I am thrilled that it was Fuyao who saved him this time.  I think it is important for them to have a balanced relationship.  Some couples split chores like laundry and dishes, but this is not an ordinary couple.  I love them!

Kmuse: I love hunting trips.  It means that all the politicking heads outdoors for a while and we get a chance for some serious action.  In this case floating CGI leaf monsters of doom.  And if you end up defeating the leaf monsters and having some sexy skinship on their leaf corpses all the better.

#4 Ethan gets Machiavellian

Drama Geek: I still have no idea what Wuji and Hot Doc’s end game is at this point. They’ve orchestrated it so he can be king, but how long with that last without his ability to manipulate water? He does manage to convince the Prime Minister that the girl Fuyao is pretending to be is worthy of being a concubine. Yeah… Fuyao is totally NOT on board with that. I mean, she saved his life so she cares about him, but she also just managed to escape being a slave. Why would she want to become a concubine stuck in the palace of a king who isn’t even supposed to be there?

Clkytta: I love how she fights being “the little woman”, she’s going to control her own destiny thank you very much!

Kdrama Jen:  Yeah.  Fuyao is not the typical simpering and accommodating concubine type.  But, I am kind of looking forward to how she might stir up a typical harem.  Why do I picture her organizing a women’s lib group from deep inside the palace?  I think it will be fun to see how she might shake things up!

Kmuse: Ethan’s ability to manipulate people is truly stellar.  I love it even more that he shifts his manipulations around her plans.  If she gets in trouble he just adds saving her into his fake persona, all while letting her be her own person.  You know the plot to get her to marry him is more for him than her.  The boy is in love.

#3 Hot Doc Has Some Serious Birth Secrets

Drama Geek: I felt so bad for Hot Doc. I had a feeling he was closer to the central conflict than even Wuji was, but when they showed that he is the son of the last heir apparent I was shocked. And his scene where he kills the king was fantastic! Maybe we should start calling him Hot Assassin. I do have tons of questions now. Is Wuji just holding his place why they clear out all the corrupt people in the palace? Is anyone else thinking the Prime Minister’s guard with the flawless skin and fabulous ponytail is Hot Doc’s younger brother? Will Hot Doc get a love interest too?

Clkytta: Hot Doc is an onion, he’s got many layers. I haven’t been this invested in a historical secondary figure (also a Doc!) since Faith.

Kdrama Jen:  Hot Doc is a really interesting character.  From the moment he was introduced, I was never sure if he was a good guy, an evil assassin, or maybe a good-guy assassin?  I have been so conflicted because I have kind of fallen for the way he like patches everybody up and gives them mysterious elixirs to make them feel better and looks at them with those cold, yet somehow caring eyes…  He must be a really good doctor.  Don’t you feel better just looking at him?  I agree with you, Drama Geek, I think we might have a genetically-supported bromance in the future.  I think the guard might be his little bro too.

Kmuse: Who knew that Hot Doc turning into the acupuncture assassin would be so sexy.  I approve of his new backstory and look forward to seeing him inflict some kick ass revenge on those that killed his family.

#2 No one fights like Gaston!

Drama Geek: I’m pretty in love with Gaston as a character. I don’t really ship him with Fuyao because Wuji is a force to be reckoned with, but I love his ridiculously flowing hair and the fact that he immediately jumped in to help Fuyao even though he had problems of his own. I have a feeling he will be an important part of their team once things go full-scale war.

Clkytta: I don’t ship him with Fuyao either, I like him with Tomboy/Scorpion Princess. His hair and his headbands are the best though.  He makes battle armor look really good.

Kdrama Jen:  Oh, Gaston!  I think his stoic and steely facade hides a big squishy heart inside.  It took me a while to connect him with the white-haired wizardy-guy from Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms.  I loved him in that, but Gaston is worming his way into my heart.  I think there might be heartbreak in his future, though.

Kmuse: I blame you all that the Disney song about Gaston starts playing through my head ever flipping episode.  You guys are horrible friends to inflict that upon me.  Also, does anyone else wonder if every inch of this Gaston is covered in hair?  Can we request a shirtless Gaston scene just for scientific purposes?

#1 Sexy fighting & flirting

Drama Geek: Hot, sizzling, deathly, and oh so perfect together. When the leaves started attacking Wuji I had a feeling we’d get a great duo fight. I loved that after Fuyao made sure Seven was okay, she ran straight back to help Wuji. This is my favorite fight so far. They worked in perfect unison, and still had time to flirt. And that end! She threw herself on him to save is life. WOOT! They were hot, hot, hot when she was lying on top, and you could tell if he had his way they probably would have rolled around in those leaves a little longer.

Clkytta:  My enjoyment started before the real fight. As she was helping Seven, she told Wuji not to die. That’s pretty much the equivalent of saying “I love you” right? The leaf fight was pretty fantastic. I loved how they seemed so in sync, it was more of a dance than a battle.

Kmuse: The way they stared at each other post fight made my heart totally flutter.  The only thing better than a flirty Wu Ji is a I think I am falling in love and want to kiss you Wu Ji.

Kdrama Jen:  I am not sure if it is the smirky smile, knowing glances, or the fight-dance flirting that has me deliriously pushing play for each new episode.  I would like to say I am drawn in by the sophisticated plotting and political manipulation, and I am watching this show purely because it is keeping me intellectually engaged, but…it is totally the flirt-fighting that is more addictive than Starbucks keeping me glued to my screen.

There you have it.  All our important thoughts and feelings regarding the second week of the Chinese drama Legend of Fuyao.  Did we miss any super important moments that you think should have been added?  Share in the comments and if you somehow missed our first week recap you can find it HERE!

Til our next sizzling moment of skinship,

The Fangirls

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi