** SPOILER WARNING: You’re probably watching this having seen the whole drama. Just in case you haven’t seen all of it, I sometimes make references or hints about things that happen later in the show. (I filmed reactions to this entire series months ago and started editing much later). **
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Join the E. Soup Discord: https://discord.gg/uUg9hUV49M
EPISODE 20 ON YOUKU OFFICIAL CHANNEL:
https://youtu.be/2GOOGhpT8h8?si=g7npJf0IW1-c0k2z
This reaction on Youtube: [forthcoming]
Please like, comment, and subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want to support me!
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DISCLAIMER:
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
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TVTranscript
00:00Hello! This is eSoup, aka Specific Soup, and I'm doing a reaction to episode 20 of Word of Honor.
00:09I can't believe I'm here at number 20 already, and not only do I have my emotional support
00:17pink snow leopard, I also have a beer with me just, you know, to get through this experience.
00:25Not that I can ever make an accurate prediction of an episode, but I feel like we might still be
00:29in emotional territory, and I'm also hoping that we get more confirmed backstory about Wen Kexing,
00:37because I still had certain questions, and I think we can develop certain things, but I think I saw
00:43where things were going, and I'm like 99% sure I know who his parents are and what was going on
00:49with that, but I just want to see what happens, you know, after this massive, like, backstory
00:56lore that we got. So, I'm just gonna get right into it, but without further ado.
01:06He might die right there!
01:27I certainly wish that were true. Obviously, that is what he's saying is the case for him,
01:35and I think the best way to put that would be all good parents want that. Yeah, it's unfortunately
01:41not always a situation, but it's definitely fitting here, and it seems to be maybe a thing
01:50that Wen Kexing needs to hear regarding his parents. I don't think he really had an issue
01:57with them besides just talking about not getting to, like, learn what he wanted to learn at certain
02:01times, but let's just... I'll shut up.
02:20Oh.
02:50Oh.
03:20Oh.
03:50Oh.
03:56Yeah, can you? Oh.
04:05Oh.
04:10That's... that's what he wants.
04:21Oh.
04:31Oof.
04:34Oh.
04:47This probably gives Wen Kexing even more complicated feelings for the current situation.
05:03Yeah, you gotta do it, man.
05:23You gotta do it.
05:34Oh.
05:38Huh?
05:42Him?
05:47Oh my- oh.
05:52Oh my god.
06:03Oh my god.
06:12Oh my god. Okay, so once he figured out who his parents were, he figured out who he was and he did
06:39know him. Oh my gosh. And I bet the name he goes by is a nickname or something given to him by one
06:45of his parents, like, after- with all the stuff- oh my god. Jesus. Okay.
07:04Oh my god.
07:09Ugh.
07:25He's kidding. Huh?
07:32Oh.
07:34Oh.
07:40Oh.
07:46Oh my god.
07:52Oh.
07:56Oh.
07:58Oh.
08:02Oh.
08:12Uh.
08:14Uh.
08:22Okay.
08:24Does he- wait. Because he would- because he would remember all this from when he was a kid and this
08:30stuff was happening, but did he- I wonder if he put together that he was Zhen Yan, like, just now,
08:39or if he's been wondering about it, but it would have to be pretty recently that he would have
08:46figured this out if it wasn't, like, literally right now, because it was not that long ago that
08:52he was asking him if Rong Xuan was his father. Oh, and he said- he says that the Zhen family escaped
08:59and was secluded in comfort and I think that he's just lying to not tell a more tragic story,
09:07or he's just kind of saying that and he doesn't really know what happened because I think we know
09:12that his parents both died tragically, right?
09:20I just-
09:24Okay, okay. This is such a, like, grandpa, like, meet my husband moment.
09:42Okay.
10:13Oh, my god!
10:20What happened after that?
10:31He had to leave at some point after that, right? Something happened. Oh!
10:42Oh, my gosh.
11:04They didn't- okay.
11:12I-
11:24Oh, man.
11:28Oh, my god.
11:42Oh, my god. I've been wondering- oh, I've been wondering what's been going on with her.
11:59Girl, you love this idiot.
12:04And I love this outfit. I just realized how similar it is. I mean, I know she wears purple
12:11all the time anyway, but it's an extra light purple for her and it's got, like, the florals on
12:16it and it seems very similar to, like, what- I don't even know what I should call him. Wen Kexing
12:24Zhen Yan? It really seems like Wen Kexing might be, like- oh.
12:31Is he- no. When he was a child, they would have been disguised and escaped, but I don't think
12:40Wen Kexing is, like, literally in a disguise, like, a mask style disguise now. I don't think so.
12:48I know there was a line early on where he talks about, like, having all these scars and stuff,
12:54but I really read that as metaphorical. But yeah, maybe that just- that was the fake name that he
13:00had to take on, but it seems like such a- like, when he says the meaning of it and it's, like,
13:06warm something, like jade, that seems very much, like, one of his parents. I'm still unclear if his
13:15dad, like, died right away or he was just injured and then he and his mom, like, went away, like,
13:21with his dad still injured. I think that might be what happened, but I think at some point we're
13:26gonna get the story on, like, everything that went down, especially after he had to leave the sect.
13:34Anyway, I was- I- I had been talking about the color choices for Wen Kexing's clothes and how he
13:44had been wearing this extra, like, light lavender purple, and it seemed like a- kind of like a softer,
13:52more innocent color for him, maybe, but I'm really not sure, like, what all the different colors mean
13:56exactly, but I feel like there's definitely something to them. And I had noticed this outfit
14:02on Gu Xiong and it's definitely, like, a very similar vibe. It's a very similar color and it has,
14:07like, florals, so I feel like both of them are at these points where they're supposed to be, like,
14:14you know, really softening up to the human world and, like, the people around them. So I'm- I'm gonna
14:20be kind of on the lookout for, like, more color stuff that they might do, but it does seem like,
14:25at least for them, the pinkish-purple has this kind of meaning, like, just more human, more,
14:32like, emotional, soft. Possibly being more vulnerable, I'm gonna see, like, how things are
14:39with Gu Xiong.
14:44They're so cute. I- I was just thinking as we left that scene, I was like, did the guy's son die? I
14:52don't think he was dead. They, like, threw him against a wall and obviously he can't get up and
14:56move somewhere else. And if no one, like, takes care of him, he's just gonna die there. And he is
15:04a very awful character, so I guess that's okay. I do, like, feel a little bad about it, but it's,
15:12like, yes, he was physically a lot more vulnerable, but he still did, like, really horrible things,
15:20including, I think the dad said, like, killing other friends or associates of his father
15:26at some point. So I'm- if it did- I'm slightly amused that, like, they pan away from the
15:31situation and it's like, oh wait, what happened to that guy? I guess he's just there, like, I don't-
15:37but I- we might come back to it and see what ends up happening with him.
15:50He just wants to know what's going on. That's kind of a serious-
16:20Go with him.
16:50Is her memory bad because of the being the ghost thing? Like, when they drink the soup that makes
16:58them forget, like, people or connections from their human life, does that affect their, like,
17:04short-term memory for, like, while they're a ghost or is that just her?
17:20Why did his chief run back?
17:50That's a good sign. That's a great sign for them. Sometimes the sign translation pops up and you're
18:14like, what am I reading? What does this have to do with anything? It can be really jarring because
18:19sometimes I don't realize they're just translating a sign and I'm, like, looking for it, but that-
18:23that one's great. That one's awesome.
18:36I don't know if he really cares about that anymore, but I don't know what he's going to do.
18:42Oh.
18:47God, this whole time I haven't even been able to tell that she has scars, like,
18:51a burn mark or something, and she kept talking about being disfigured and I was like,
18:55girl, where? But okay, I can see it now.
18:58But-
19:11We're getting a lot more of the ghosts, like, caring for each other.
19:25He means the-
19:29The least amount of peace they have.
19:39He's got a lot more issues than that.
19:59Mmm.
20:06I think that might give us at least a partial answer to what I was talking about, where I was
20:12like, it's interesting how many of the female ghosts have been, like, more humanized at this
20:19point than the male ghosts, but if it's a lot easier for, like, a woman to do something that
20:25is, like, looked down on or gets her, like, cast out from society, then there will be lots of women
20:32who are, like, in the ghost world and it's like, why are you even here? And I don't want to say
20:37that- and they're not even, like, deserving of being ghosts, because I think we're kind of
20:42supposed to question whether anyone, like, is deserving of being a ghost. Maybe that's the
20:48vibe I'm getting, that we're going towards, but at least for right now it's like, well, definitely
20:53it's a lot easier for a woman to, like, do something, get cast out, and like, oh, you have to
20:57be a ghost now. And they've brought up this point a few times now, so I- I think we're really getting
21:04into the part of the show where we look at, like, what is the deal with Ghost Valley and, like, what
21:11do you have to do to go there? And when I think about the last episode and what- I can't believe
21:18I'm saying this, because now we finally know what Wen Kexing's father was arguing for with Rongxuan
21:26is basically the, like, rehabilitation instead of, like, just a pri- a prison, or instead of
21:32exiling or throwing people away kind of, like, argument. And I feel like that's a strong enough
21:38theme that the show is going to go in that direction with how it's looking at Ghost Valley.
21:44But yeah, basically I do think they're especially focusing on, like, the things that these women get,
21:53like, criminalized for basically, and how there's a double standard. And I think that does affect
21:59the way that a lot of the male ghosts, like, so far have seemed, like, worse. Just more crass,
22:07they don't, like, take things as seriously.
22:44It's- it's possible that other people could have independently decided to make copies
23:13of glazed armor, like, so in this case it's possible that he could have been, like,
23:18I'm gonna make copies and then destroy them and make it look like I'm destroying the real thing.
23:22I- because Gao Cheng seemed very genuine, and just to genuinely not care about it and, like,
23:29want to destroy it in that situation. But whether it was him or someone else, someone could have
23:35made sure that he had copies and they still had the real thing. Um, especially Zhao Jing. I still
23:41feel like Shen Shen is suspicious. I think at early in the show we're, like, primed to see him
23:48as suspicious, and then all of these twists come out, and then we're like, maybe he's not. But I
23:54think he's still up to something. I think we've been shown he was up to things, but I honestly
23:58am at a point where I, like, don't remember slash understand what all that was. But my thinking now
24:04is he's up to something, just not- either not on the level that we thought before, or different
24:10from what we thought before. And Zhao Jing seems to be up to worse things, but they're both
24:17sketchy figures for me. I had this theory about what if Shen Shen was somehow the one who poisoned
24:26Rongxuan. That could be super, super, super off. But I just, like, had some thoughts about that
24:34when we were, like, seeing the flashback scenes of them. But let's- let's see what happens.
24:52I really like them together.
25:05I don't want him to be doing something that's- well, I think he's talking about the glazed armor
25:13right now and focusing on it because he thinks it's important to her, or would help her. So I
25:18think he's still thinking about her, ultimately. I want him to, like, be a- I don't know if good
25:24guy is the right term for his place in the story right now, but, like, you know, I'd want him to
25:30generally be a good guy in his way.
25:38Is she supposed to not know that Qianqiao talks to this guy? I'm not really sure.
25:46Well, if- if Tragicomic Ghost knows, I'm not sure how aware of things she is right now. I don't
25:51remember if she knew before, but if Tragicomic Ghost is, like, entrusted to know about that,
25:56I guess it would be okay for Gu Xiong to know too, but with the ghosts, I don't ever know,
26:02like, who they're trying to hide from what.
26:13This thing with Zhao Jing has been the biggest- the biggest whiplash in the show.
26:26I love that guy's laugh.
26:43I feel like, as a viewer, I ignored this before, or I didn't notice it before,
26:48but there is something about the robes that he wears that they do look kind of extra
26:54extravagant, and I don't think they're that different from the ones we saw him in before,
26:58when we thought he was, like, really trustworthy, but he does have this, like, extravagant aura
27:03that, like, maybe if I go back and look now, I'll be like, oh, there is something- this guy does
27:08look like he's up to something. He does look like- yeah, just, like, more- more extravagant
27:15than some of the other brothers in what he wears, maybe, and I'm- I'm curious to go back and see old
27:23scenes and see if I notice anything about his, like, expressions or anyone's expressions amongst
27:30the brothers, because I feel like there will be little details there about some of the stuff that
27:35was going on that we just, like, you know, didn't notice or didn't pay attention to before.
27:45I mean, those are beautiful robes.
27:46Beautiful robes.
27:51Sure.
28:10Just the purple, and the gold, and the birds.
28:17Hmm.
28:22God, I feel like I forgot about Xiao Lian. We have not seen her in a minute.
28:28I- yeah.
28:36They're using the word secular a lot now that I feel like I hadn't really seen much before. I don't
28:42know if I missed it, but I'm trying to gather the meaning, because I don't know if it really means,
28:47like, secular as opposed to religious, or secular- does it mean, like, secular as in the world of
28:54sects?
29:03Mystery man.
29:12Hmm.
29:21Hmm.
29:34I- I don't say that! Oh, no! That's messed up, you got a little- okay. Okay, I see now,
29:42that guy is, like, definitely one of his, like, underlings, and he's so used to that language,
29:48and saying suspicious stuff, and he got way too over excited, and spoke without thinking,
29:53and he's probably going to be in trouble now with Mr. Zhao Jing.
30:00Hmm.
30:12Yeah!
30:32Yes! That's it!
30:42Hmm.
30:54Okay, so they depended on the master, that being
30:58Tragicomic Ghost, and they depended on the valley chief, Wen Kexing.
31:08Hmm.
31:09I don't think she knows where he is.
31:13Mm-hmm.
31:17Hmm.
31:38Hmm.
31:53Hmm.
32:09Hmm.
32:36Hmm.
32:39See, she's totally, like, um, the- the beauty ghost is like,
32:43you're such a hypocrite for criticizing me with this man,
32:47and here you are doing all this stuff for this human man.
32:52Ah.
33:09Mm-hmm.
33:19Ooh, they're really hammering that point home.
33:26Mm-hmm.
33:31Just appreciate every day.
33:33Hello!
33:38Mm-hmm.
33:38Yeah.
34:08Mm-hmm.
34:13Doty?
34:15Doty? Doty?
34:25Mm-hmm.
34:29I- ooh, I can- don't- sir, don't say that!
34:39I don't- I don't think it's like that!
34:48I don't think it's like that!
34:51Ayy.
34:55Mm-hmm.
35:09Mm-hmm.
35:23Hold on, who is he talking about?
35:25I got very distracted.
35:32Do we know who that is?
35:39He's so excited to have a task to actually kill someone.
35:46Mm-hmm.
35:51Mm-hmm.
36:03Okay.
36:06Uh-oh.
36:08Ayy, okay.
36:12Okay, I think we're gonna have some follow-up of what's going on over here.
36:15I was just- I felt like it was funny how they like pan away and it looks like,
36:19well, everyone's walking away except Wen Kexing who's just like having his moment.
36:25But I was thinking are they gonna walk away and like leave this cave system
36:29and just leave the guy Long Xiao there?
36:32But it seems like the scorpion people might show up looking for him?
36:42Okay.
36:43Ooh, okay.
36:45Where do we go now?
36:48Oh, they've got him!
36:50Okay.
36:55Jeez.
37:02Oh my god.
37:15Oh, man.
37:29Wow.
37:33Huh?
37:33What is that?
37:34What are you doing?
37:37What is the bell for?
37:39Are they all gonna eat him?
37:42He really was self-hating, huh?
37:47I guess they were hoping to get information from him.
37:50Hmm.
38:01We still see the disconnect in how Zhou Zishu is like thinking about people's lives and mercy now
38:10versus how Wen Kexing is thinking.
38:12At least like when someone does something that like hurts him
38:15or like the list of important people he has then he's like,
38:18okay they can die.
38:23Hmm?
38:24Oh, okay.
38:26That that zoom out at first it made it look like the cliff walls we were looking at were like
38:30massive and like we were like over a really large like you know mountain escape
38:36and then it like zooms out more and it's like oh it's just like the wall they're looking at.
38:40Oh.
38:41Okay, the master longed to it and his wife.
38:57That's how he'll be kind of the disciple to him even after he's dead.
39:02That's really cool that he's going to learn about the mechanical stuff.
39:06It's interesting that he's going to learn about the mechanical stuff.
39:08It's interesting they're kind of defining it as like part of martial arts but it's like
39:13like yeah that's that's really cool.
39:16I'm glad then that someone else is gonna like carry on that tradition.
39:24Hello, buddy.
39:31He's feeling upset too.
39:32I don't know what exactly is going through the immortal guy's mind
39:36but he was getting really upset at one part of that story.
39:57He might- I wonder if he's gonna be okay.
40:02I wonder if the immortal is gonna run into the scorpion people before they do.
40:10I kind of want to know too but let's...
40:21He's just like my two dads.
40:32He...
40:40What is he doing? Is he really feeling...
40:45Oh.
41:02They're just talking about retirement.
41:12Oh.
41:14Oh.
41:18Yeah.
41:32Yeah.
41:45Yeah.
41:47Fill me in, bro.
42:02Yeah.
42:33Oh my god. Oh my god. Okay, because I think at first like he didn't think he didn't really like
42:40that because there's still too many painful memories behind everything but when he just
42:46said, and I got you back, that's exactly how he had been thinking about Zhou Zishu.
43:01No.
43:02No.
43:04No.
43:06What is happening? Oh wait.
43:09Their- their window of-
43:12Oh.
43:14Okay.
43:16So he saved them.
43:20Okay.
43:21Oh and that's why- and that- and that's how Wen Kexing knew that sword.
43:32Oh.
43:34Okay.
43:37Okay.
43:38So he survived that initial attack but something later happens and it kills the parents and we
43:45don't know what that is yet but initially they all escaped and were able to be taken care of by
43:53Four Seasons' manner.
44:02Okay.
44:15Oh.
44:17Oh, he's really scared of anything happening.
44:32Yeah.
45:02Right, there was something else at play which I guess was about the- the glazed armor, right?
45:12They talked about how, oh this wasn't just about Rong Xiuan but he was a convenient scapegoat.
45:19So when all this stuff was happening there was stuff that had to do with
45:23the glazed armor, I think, and then they were just saying it was because of Rong Xiuan going mad.
45:32Oh.
46:02Oh.
46:33Oh.
46:33Oh.
47:01No.
47:04No.
47:11I've seen that shot in the intro and I accidentally, like,
47:16actually looked at parts of it and I was like, that's them, right?
47:20But it's still different in context.
47:24Oh.
47:33Oh.
47:43So when he's thinking about how there's- he's talking about how there's no one left at Four
47:49Seasons, does that mean he thought that Zhen Yan was killed?
48:01Oh.
48:03What are they doing?
48:26He's- is he sick now?
48:28Oh.
48:34Oh.
48:42Cause I- I know one thing is he said he learned martial arts from his father.
48:58Oh.
49:17Wait, he's sick.
49:28Oh.
49:51Oh.
49:58I think- I think he's really afraid to go back.
50:08Oh.
50:18Oh.
50:28Oh.
50:35Oh.
50:43Oh.
50:58Oh.
51:00Oh.
51:02Oh.
51:08Okay.
51:10Oh.
51:16Oh my god.
51:28He knows, like, he- he realizes when he has to, like,
51:32change his tune or, like, stop pursuing a certain subject and just, like, let him go,
51:38be traumatized, basically.
51:40Oh.
51:54So- so Kexing- well, Kexing- something to do with the character from his given name and he-
52:03he did- it's like- maybe it's like the two- maybe it's like two parts of that character,
52:08but, like, each one is its own or something like that, I don't know,
52:12it resembles his other name somehow.
52:14And then Wen- we know that it means warm.
52:17I- I wonder if we'll learn any other significance to him picking the name Wen.
52:22I'm sure we will.
52:24I'm sure that's going to come up.
52:38Oh.
52:47Why?
52:56Oh my god.
53:03Oh.
53:06Okay.
53:07Okay, well, that was- that was an episode.
53:10I think I'm gonna do one more and I'm really hoping it ends a little bit more positively.
53:16I think the things that happened in this episode,
53:19it's not like that was a negative ending per se, like,
53:23there's, like, a lot of growth and just, like, dealing with things happening,
53:27but it's also really hard to take that.
53:31And I think he's saying it's too late because Zhou Zishu is going to die,
53:35but I don't know if there's another element of, like,
53:39all my, you know, Demon Valley schemes and plans are going on,
53:43and I can't really take it back or reverse it,
53:47and that's gonna mess things up.
53:49Maybe it's a little bit of both.