The Legend of Shen Li (2024) Episodes 19-24

In the wider narrative of Heaven’s will and man’s freedom to choose, there’s a fascinating question that’s emerged. It’s been there in lurking in the background but has really come to the fore in these early twenty-something episodes. Are there people who are “placed” in the world for a very specific purpose? It’s an age old question that has haunted humanity since time immemorial. It’s a loaded one with metaphysical ramifications undoubtedly. A few days ago I watched a fascinating exchange among atheists who accept the conclusion that human beings are a “religious animal”. Blaise Pascal has been credited for observing that there’s a God-shaped hole/vaccuum in every person. Whatever one’s faith commitments are, a show that has a strong streak of fatalism running right through it is bound to provoke such notions. It is true in C dramas that characters are almost always self-consciously aware of larger forces at play. Often they acknowledge that are merely supporting roles in a far bigger story than theirs. Xing Zhi knows it only too well and is holding back from making strong declarations of love lest it conflicts with his mission. Shen Li proves to be fiercely protective of her home world over and over again.

In a rather spectacular battle sequence with the villain, the spy and their minions, Shen Li demonstrates why not everybody can be or is a superhero. It isn’t her power or the red pearl that lives inside of her that makes her a superhero. In the same way, Spiderman is not a superhero because of his ability to scale walls or shoot web to swing from building to building. There is something intrinsic to a person’s character that makes them heroic — and that is self-sacrifice. That willingness to use their abilities for the benefit of others at a cost to themselves. All this is something to keep in mind in light of the issue that’s at the core of the spirit realm’s complacency. When push comes to shove Shen Li knows how to put her compatriots ahead of her own desires. Yes, she bemoans the fact that she and Xing Zhi can never be but she’s prone to reminisce of simpler times in the mortal realm.

The happenings of Episode 24 does lead one to inquire about Mo Fang and why he’s such a half-hearted (or from the perspective of his own tribe, a wishy washy) spy. He’s apparently a very important person in his camp from the sounds of things 少主 and yet he’s quite happy to be stabbed for all the troubles he has caused. He’s been planted beside Shen Li for a very long time so the timing is interesting. Why now? What’s also interesting is his lack of conviction for his cause. Is he doing what he’s doing under duress? He isn’t just set up as a romantic rival to Xing Zhi but as a contrast to Xing Zhi himself. He is a man with hostile commitments working against the immortal realm (I’m reaching for another Princess Bride quote here. “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.”) and yet on two occasions he had no qualms confessing to Shen Li. What was he thinking at the time? It’s one thing to fall for the enemy, it’s another to try to woo her with a certain amount of sincerity. Was he trying to have a bet each way? It make more sense to me if he was actively trying to seduce her to manipulate her but no… he was oddly… nice. So far he’s been behaving like an awkward teenage boy who has a crush on the smart girl in class.

It is concerning though that Mo Fang isn’t calling all the shots. It’s the dreaded Fu Sheng who’s got the life span of a cat. We thought he was dead when Xing Zhi blew up Fu Sheng HQ but apparently he has a way of coming back from the dead. Or cloning himself. Whatever his ability, he is a menace of the worst kind because he can replicate god spells and has an insatiable appetite for power. Mo Fang is supposed to be the young chief but he’s not exactly accorded that kind of respect from Fu Sheng and his zombie-like minions.

It also seems that the Fu Rong is a symptom of a problem rather a problem to be solved. In this universe the inhabitants of the spirit realm are the equivalent of a the idle rich. The leisured class. The sort of people we plebs despise for being completely out of touch, cocooned in their ivory tower and wanting to lecture the rest of us on how to live our lives. We sometimes call them “the elites”. They are water people and seem to have a lot of it on their planet. Fu Rong is fond of having baths. Sister Youlan has a nice spa pool. The satirization of the powers that be mocks them for their unpreparedness to deal with real crisis. I’m reminded of HG Wells’ The Time Machine here. The time traveller goes to a time in the future where the earth has been reduced to two different “races” — the Eloi and the Morlocks. I’m not an adherent of Wells’ political views but it is fascinating that the seemingly carefree Eloi were once humans now “devolved” into childlike beings who have lost their fighting spirit. Under the cover of darkness the Morlocks emerge from their underground dwellings to feed on the Eloi. Fu Rong and Youlan are the close equivalent of this because the spirit realm has relied on others, the immortal realm especially as the first line of defence. They have become soft and self-indulgent because others are doing all the heavy lifting while they drink tea, play chess and soak in baths.

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