Pursuit of Jade

[Drunk Monk]

I’m on episode 37 of 40 and like any good Chinese epic (this is based on a novel) everything is coming together in the most dramatic fashion. The payout. I see why this show has been so popular. Characters die so there are stakes. There’s a lot of punishment in the way of bestings and whippings. That’s been all through the series but it really popped out with Yan Zheng submitting to 108 strokes before his ancestral altar by his scheming uncle. And Yan Zheng and Chengyu exchange vows before that altar, solidifying their union by filial piety rules. Somehow through all the brutality, the show still retains its sense of humor.