Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花 - Episode 28 (Recap)

kakashi: I'm a sadist. I am so enjoying Ye Hua's immense pain! And we get a lot of it in this episode.
JoAnne: Poor guy, he's absolutely devastated. It's not just the loss, either - it's that it's his fault.

Episode 28

Su Jin claims she has a way to save Su Su - and it seems she is willing to give the secret up just to see Ye Hua. The following shots are beautiful. There's always a visible barrier between them and if he can avoid it, he doesn't look at her at all. She looks ill, but not ill enough. You should have cut her deeper, Ye Hua.
Should have split her into two pieces and then walked away... but then if he did that, the lamp wouldn't be a possibility. Not that he knew that then.
She won't tell him right away how to do it though, but laments how they should be celebrating their wedding, how she has been longing for this day for thousands of year. Yes, this is what makes you insane, Su Jin. She cries and tries to move him. He's simply annoyed. What does she want? he asks abruptly. To live in Xiwu Palace! is her reply.
Oh my God, this woman. Your wedding happiness wasn't disrupted by some inconvenience. You are part of the reason Su Su is gone, so there's that - but it wouldn't have been a happy wedding regardless. Ever. He does not want you. More than that - he does not like you. More than that, even - he actively DISlikes you. Your attention is very unwelcome and always has been.
He has to use the Soul-Gathering Lamp to get Su Su back, she says. Fine, he'll just go asks Dong Hua Dijun about it, says Ye Hua. Nope, he doesn't know about this technique, about how to create a mortal body with it. "Even if you live in Xiwu Palace, I won't marry you", he says, it's his final word. And that is enough for her. Ah, she needs help, this one.
It's embarrassing. I feel embarrassment for someone I hate because she is so ridiculously clueless and desperate. That just makes me hate her even more.
Here is how you do it: you take an item that once had "a mortal's breath in it" and burn it with the Lamp. The Lamp can identify the mortal's breath and will create a copy of the mortal who died. Okay, creeeeeepy. Ye Hua leaves in a hurry after learning about this. Su Jin has a breakdown. Is she still expecting him to be nice to her? Yes, he'd prefer a copy of the woman he once loved to you, Su Jin.
And that creepy fucking sycophantic maid, ugh.
And that is her face when the guards tell her she can go live in Xiwu Palace now. But she'll never be his consort. She can only look at Ye Hua from a distance too.
I would require her to leave any room I entered, immediately.
Ye Hua goes and burns Su Su's old clothes. Blue smoke drifts out of his room and into the Heavens.
I wonder what happens if the mortal isn't dead. Well, the mortal is gone, but not dead exactly, since she's not really a mortal at all. So what happens?
Down in Peach Blossom Valley, a strong wind picks up, shaking the trees and making the blossoms dance, drifting up to the Heavens.
Oooooh, it's trying! It's trying to bring SuSu back to the Nine Heavens!
Only ash remains. There is no Su Su. Oh Ye Hua ... but why is it raining peach blossoms all of a sudden?
It's a HINT. Pay attention, Ye Hua!
It reminds him of his promise to her, to plant peach trees. Doesn't quite look like 11 miles yet, Ye Hua - keep going. Later, he takes baby A-Li with him and visits their hut on Mount Junji.
Oh, this is so sad.  

300 Years Later

A-Li is the cutest button ever. Ye Hua looks gorgeous but sad. They return to Mount Junji every year, to celebrate Su Su's birthday - they decided it is the day Ye Hua met her.
A-Li is adorable! And so smart! And Ye Hua, handsome man that he is...I will even forgive him for his feathers. But seriously, WTF is that?
Ye Hua has drawn pictures of Su Su and her son knows all about her and Mount Junji. He talks to her image and is waiting for her return. As is his father. The Soul Gathering Lamp has been burning all these years, he hasn't given up.
Just kill me now, this is so pitiful.
DEAD.
He loves his son very, very much. But there is a sadness in him that is heartbreaking. Poor Ye Hua.
They're so cute together. Ye Hua is a good father, very devoted - and they laugh and play together so A-Li has a happy childhood, I think, but yes, Ye Hua has a core of sadness that won't go away.
It seems it really is Bai Qian's birthday - Fengjiu is thinking about what to give her. Her and Mi Gu figure out a great present ... oh dear. This is not going to end well! That "guy in Yanhua Cave", isn't it Aunt's greatest wish that he wakes up? And Mi Gu has heard a rumor, about a lamp that was used to save the Crown Prince 300 years ago. Fengjiu: "I'll go borrow it!"
Oh, shit. You know, there are times when Fengjiu is irritating and this is going to be one of them. Also, why is she wearing red? Isn't a red dress a wedding dress in China?
And the crazy woman does! She change her appearance to Su Jin (ha! down to the dress!) and gains access to the Crown Prince's Hall. Ye Hua's bodyguard alerts him about it, but it's already too late. The lamp is gone!
I hope he kills Su Jin. I actually like it even more that she's not actually guilty this time.
Ye Hua heads straight for Su Jin's abode and gets very close to hitting her. It's unfair, it wasn't her, but it's still SO SATISFYING. God, he's hot when he's angry. *fans self*
Kill her! Kill her! Kill her maid, too!
When Third Uncle hears about the Lamp going missing, he knows it's trouble. "That's Ye Hua's life", he says to himself. It's true, Crown Prince does very poorly. It seems like he was able to keep the pain in check by holding on to the hope that Su Su would materialize through the Lamp. Now that the Lamp is gone, he is completely broken. He knows, in his heart, that Su Su won't return. But he does not want to acknowledge it. He's also feeling so, so guilty. "She won't even let me create a fake version of her", he says.
Look at his face, I say unnecessarily to all of you who are hanging on his every breath, same as me.
Fengjiu's Lamp adventure ends about five minutes after she has stolen it because her aunt catches her. Actually, less. She commands Fengjiu to return the valuable item.
Pssst, take it yourself! Go to the Nine Heavens!
The BIG problem is that the lamp is OUT. Ye Hua has been guarding it day and night for 300 years and now it's out. Si Ming, the first person Fengjiu meets when she goes up to bring it back says "you're done for". Dijun is in seclusion by now, he won't be able to help her. Fengjiu should thank him and Uncle Three on her knees for trying to help her.
I wonder what Ye Hua will do to her, though. Will it be bad enough to bring Dijun out of seclusion? Will it pit the two of them against each other? That won't be good.
"It's out" is the first thing Uncle Three tells Ye Hua when they unpack the Lamp. Oh dear, it totally destroys Ye Hua even more. It's kind of ... final now?
He has nothing left of hers? Why did he burn all her clothes at once?
Uncle Three manages to avert something bad by being the voice of reason, by repeating "let's not make Qing Qiu look bad". And Si Ming threatens to get Dijun out of seclusion if Ye Hua insists on making this a big deal. They implore him to forgive Fengjiu - and in the end, Ye Hua backs down. It costs him a LOT of willpower. He deserves two large, gorgeous pictures for this.
Look at his poor sad face, I just want to hug him and pat his hair.  Don't you? You know you do.
He is a bit disheveled here. Awwwww
But not for this!!! Ye Hua has burned all of Su Su things, but he wants to light the Lamp again. Using his own soul, the last thing that has anything to do with Su Su in the Heavens. Luckily, Uncle Three is there to prevent bad things.
No baby clothes from A-Li left? She touched those things even if she wasn't letting herself get too attached. Also - if he uses his own soul to bring her back, what's the point of that? She'd be there but he wouldn't be.
Pure desperation
And he lays into Ye Hua, to let go of this crazy idea that he can get his Su Su back. The Lamp would only create a copy. She would be fake! It is not worth it. I think it's Uncle Three's "What about A-Li" that ultimately brings Ye Hua to his senses. The little one is still in the mortal realm, waiting for his daddy. He needs him.
Poor guy, he just wants to die.
Oh god, this is hard...
I know I say this a lot but Jesus, look at him. I know SuSu suffered too so it's really just fair that he does... but it's so hard.
Down in the mortal realm, little prince A-Li has gone missing! He got lost in the forest, just like his mom. Some evil spirit assaults him, but he is saved by a woman! Who might it be?
Well she looks genuinely nice but... how convenient, huh?

Comments

Ouf, Ye Hua. I know the truth hurts more than anything, but your Su Su is gone. You messed it up and you have lost her. You cannot recreate her. That always was a crazy idea and you always knew it, too.
I can't blame him for trying, though, because he didn't ignore A-Li in the process. If he had made A-Li suffer it would be different.

Regardless of the outcome though, Fengjiu has to step meddling in other people's affairs. It is really starting to annoy me! Did she really think she could just waltz up there and get away with stealing a super valuable artifact? I think her Daddy did a truly lousy job in educating her properly.
I like Fengjiu but yes, there are times when she is very annoying and immature.