Wu 1×08 Review: Episode 8

Now that Niran is out of the hospital, the gang turns their attention towards taking down Qi Rong. Again. But of course, it’s not going to be easy.

After seven episodes of being a largely mysterious antagonist, this week’s installment opens with a bit of backstory for Li Puo. And honestly, after seeing what he went through as a teen, I can kind of see where he’s coming from. You know how the most compelling villains are often the ones who don’t consider themselves to be villains? That’s the case with Li Puo, who witnessed his friends being murdered by police for no reason and feels that Heaven abandoned him in his time of greatest need.

Unfortunately, he swung too far in the wrong direction. Serving Qi Rong only resulted in perpetuating the cycle of violence that made him a victim when he was younger. In trying to bring down the system, he ended up being consumed by it.

I was legitimately shocked that we lost Bao Cheng and Li Puo in this episode, primarily because I expected at least one of them to make it until the end. Bao Cheng ended up being a whole lot of nothing, and I’m not at all surprised that Li Puo took him out; he always seemed like a means to an end for Li Puo, and someone who was clearly not a believer in the supernatural element. But given his connection to the Prime Minister, which is the entire catalyst for the protests, I was hoping there would be something more with him.

And I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Qi Rong cared nothing at all for Li Puo, despite the man having served him faithfully for like twenty years at that point. When Li Puo gave him a body to possess, Qi Rong was so displeased that he slaughtered everyone in the room. Which is what demons do. Wu is once again making the point that those in positions of power tend not to care about the common people, only about maintaining their power.

This is an ongoing theme of this show. We’ve seen it in all of the various institutions: the government, the Wu, Heaven, and the yao (even, to a lesser extent, Pete’s martial arts coach). None of them are fair; none of them care about the people and their well-being. Li Puo, angry at Heaven for not helping when he needed, sides with the yao and loses his life because of it. Fei chooses the government and was willing to sacrifice Ploy and the others to seal Qi Rong, a demon that was brought forth specifically to punish the man she works for.

(Let’s not forget that, despite being confronted with literal riots because people are righteously upset over something this man one hundred percent did, the Prime Minister refuses to resign? He accuses the other politicians of caring more about the party than the country, but my man, you are the one people are protesting. Not the party itself. Maybe have a long think about that.)

So far, only Niran has genuinely shown any concern for people, and he was ostracized for it. But I think we can make the argument that Niran is definitely coming out of this whole ordeal in a better position than he was going into it. He has a greater understanding of the world, he has more confidence in himself and his abilities, and he has a person who trusts him and believes in him without question. He seems happier, lighter, after the Life Spirit Realm; he even meets his grandfather and seems to be able to commune better with nature.

Niran even gives grace to Li Puo, in his final moments. The way he comforted the man as he was dying, even though this person had literally just tried to kill him, is a level of empathy I don’t think many of us would be able to achieve. (I wonder… Niran tells Li Puo that he should let his mind be a mirror, so that evil cannot take hold. Is that why he’s always in the mirror honeycomb?) And later, when the others are sort of trashing Li Puo for his involvement, Niran tries to give him a little understanding, remarking that he was simply misguided. He’s probably thinking that he could very easily have been like Li Puo, if his grandfather hadn’t drilled into his head that Heaven doesn’t play favorites.

That was a pretty heavy conversation that Niran and Li Puo had. I know that the opening title card likes to emphasize that this show does not represent any particular religion, but it’s still a huge statement to say that Heaven does not empathize and will ignore people’s pain, yet it still sees itself as righteous and tries to make the rules. Thirteen-year-old Jamie is adding that to her list of reasons why she isn’t going to church anymore.

Much of this episode seems to be set before the coda for last week’s episode – aka the scene where Pete essentially proposes to Niran, and Niran basically accepts. Niran is still in the hospital; I’m sure part of it is that he was in a coma and still needs to recover, but another part is that he is hiding from Li Puo. I mostly bring this up because I really was hoping someone would react to the ring. But I also understand that it’s probably best that it’s treated as no big deal; they’re already soul-bonded, so really, what does it matter?

Also, let’s face it, these two are already married. That scene where Pete was trying to “unplug” Niran’s brain so that he would actually get some rest? Adorable. (Wrestling in the hospital bed? Yes, please.) Pete busting Niran out of the hospital to go for a joyride on his bike? Love it. Welcome back, Saint and Shin. Pete is Niran’s connection to give him energy when his soul is weak. (No, I’m not crying, I’m sweating, it’s so hot here.)

I cannot get over the scene on the roof when Pete asked if Niran remembered what happened to him in the Life Spirit Realm. Niran claimed that he didn’t, but he was clearly lying. I suspect that he was overwhelmed by the depth of Pete’s feelings for him and was very carefully not dealing with it. However, when he saw how upset Pete was, he hedged a bit and said that he remembered how it felt. This isn’t the first time he has changed course after seeing Pete’s reaction to something, and I’d wager it won’t be the last.

I really appreciate that they aren’t sweeping that under the rug. By having Niran flashback to that moment, they are acknowledging it in a way they could very easily have avoided.

And then, of course, there’s this week’s coda scene, which is set during their daring hospital escape. Niran thanks Pete for risking his life to save him, insisting that he didn’t have to do that. Pete says that he would do that for anyone he loves, very obviously implying that he loves Niran. This is something that I don’t think is up for debate, though we can argue the whys and wherefores until the cows come home. (But also, they are literally soul-bonded. If Niran died, so would Pete.)

Here is yet another instance of where I wish I could speak Thai, because the subtitles translated Pete’s sentence as “friend, family, buddy”, and I’m wondering what he actually said. In English, “friend” and “buddy” are similar enough in context that the repetition makes no sense, and I may not understand what he was saying, but I can tell that it was not the same word. I wonder if it was meant to mean, like a close friend versus an acquaintance, or something. I really wish they had just used “partner” instead, not just because that’s clearly what these two are, but because I think its absence in that list is notable.

I’ve rambled a lot, but I have to give props for some of the technical elements of this episode. The scene of Li Puo in the woods, coming face-to-face with Qi Rong? That was one hell of a shot. And the talisman reveal during the mafia dinner was sufficiently terrifying. The cinematography in this series is really quite spectacular.

And now, we have but one episode left. I cannot wait to see Niran’s confrontation with the Prime Minister. I want to learn more about what was going on. I want to see how Fei handles things. I am just so excited to see how it all goes down. But at the same time, I could have another ten episodes of this show; I would love to see Niran and Pete hunting yao in a monster-of-the-week kind of deal.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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