Episode 39: It's Going Down In Coffin Town

[wshaffer]

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Brooding Stares: 9

Intense Eye Contact: 5

Facial Twitch: 0

Fist Clench: 0

 

Xue Yang is one creepy-ass motherfucker. What does Wei Wuxian mean, if he wanted revenge, he should have executed Lingchen on himself? I guess that he has created his own problems. 

 

Xue Yang throws some nails at WWX, but Wen Ning catches them. 

 

Oh, poor Jing sacrifices herself, allowing Lan Zhan to locate Xue Yang in the fog. 

 

This guy just won't die. I'm half expecting the characters to start shouting, "Your arm's off!" "No it isn't. It's only a flesh wound!"

 

Here comes mask guy! He takes the amulet and disappears. I see your friend has shown you all the loyalty you deserve, Xue Yang. 

 

Lan Zhan says mask guy has Lan clan sword skills, but also Jin clan sword skills. Hmm. I had been  wondering if mask guy might be Su She, since he was trained in Lan Clan skills. Except that mask man is a powerful cultivator and Su She kinda sucks. But would Su She know any Jin clan techniques? Would Su She know anything? 

 

Song Lan gets his revenge. Xue Yang is finally dead. 

 

We get a flashback to Xiao Xingchen stabbing Xue Yang. See! This guy is hard to kill. Xue Yang tells a story about how his hand was crushed when he ran after a cart full of candy when he was a child. And the cart was driven by someone from the Chang Clan. 

 

At this point, Daniel rolled his eyes and left the room. (To be fair, he has not really been watching The Untamed straight through, so he missed a lot of the earlier scenes that justified this. Personally, I think it's a bit over the top, but it mostly works.)

 

So that was why he wiped out the entire Chang Clan. This reminds me of the story of Kullervo in the Kalevala, and Vainamoinen's little speech at the end which basically boils down to how you shouldn't abuse children because they'll grow up to do messed up stuff. We can all pause and be thankful that Xue Yang apparently does not have a sister. 

 

Now poor Xiao Xingchen finds out the truth. And he can't take it, so he cuts his own throat. Oh, Xue Yang wasn't expecting that. Xue Yang seems very upset that he's lost his playmate. So much so that he then waited around for years (?) with Xiao Xingchen's spiritual cognition in a bag hoping that someone would come along who could restore it. Did he really enjoy messing with Xiao Xingchen that much, or is there more going on? Well, whatever it is, Xue Yang is not going to get to bring those plans to fruition. 

 

They have a little funeral for Jing. Jingyi and Zizhen are so upset, they're straight up ugly crying. I forgive you for everything rude you've said about ladies, Jingyi. For now. 

 

Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian head back to Coffin Town. They give Xiao Xingchen's spiritual cognition to Song Lan. Song Lan heads off to be a mute wandering cultivator fighting evil with two swords. Spinoff series, anyone? I feel kind of bad for Song Lan - in some other series, he might be the biggest badass around, but in this one, he doesn't even make the top five. 

 

Meanwhile, Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian open a coffin that is lined with talismans but otherwise empty. The music gets very strident. The coffin slides back to reveal a slab with red writing on it. 

 

And under the slab is a body and the ghostly image of a cleaver like sword. Is it Mingjue? I think it's Mingjue, but I can't quite tell.  

 

Meanwhile, back in town...the juniors are shopping. Legolas tries to give Sizhui crap for liking toys, but Jingyi tells him to piss off. 

 

Sizhui wants to know if Jingyi remembers life before he was 3. Okay, we're building up to a moment of revelation here.  

 

Oh, Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian have made it back to town as well. What happened with the ghost? 

 

We see little Yuan in flashback. Awwww.  

 

Then Wei Wuxian suggests to Lan Zhan that they buy a rabbit lantern, and Lan Zhan does not declare the idea boring. This feels like a milestone. 

 

But Zewu Jun has arrived to ruin their date. They confirm that they did find Nie Mingjue's body (sans head, which explains why I couldn't be sure it was him) in Coffin Town. 

 

Oh. Oh crap. I see where this leading. Mask man is Jin Guangyao. Yeah, that makes sense. If there's one Jin man who's definitely handled a Lan Clan man's sword...it's Jin Guangyao. 

 

Said Lan Clan man says that it can't be Guangyao because they've been planning a Cultivator's Conference together for the past month. Which is a delightfully nerdy alibi. Oh, and they went night hunting together a few days ago and Zewu Jun would totally have been able to tell if Guangyao had been using portal spells. 

 

Now the juniors are having an argument about Wei Ying, because Lan Sizhui apparently said that maybe he wasn't an utterly terrible person and Jin Ling pitched a fit. That eyeroll from Lan Zhan as he heads off to deal with them is precious. You know he's like, "Lan Qiren, I know how you felt all those years ago."

 

Heh. Zewu Jun has recognized Wei Wuxian as well. You can't fool Zewu Jun. Unless you have dimples and a stupid hat.