Any way you slice it that was some tremendous drama right there.  It’s been a very good season for Kingdom on the whole, but this extended two-month run of episodes ranks right there with any in the anime.  I love epics, and I love that Kingdom is able to bring that spectacle and scope.  But again, it’s really at its best when the story goes small.  The core characters are here, the stakes couldn’t possibly be higher, and we’re getting a gripping look inside the emotional and physical battering a virtually hopeless battle inflicts.

First things first, which is Xin’s carryover battle with Fu Di.  As hinted, it’s a recollection of his sparring against Qian Lei than comes to his rescue.  Fu Di and she share a dependance on speed rather than power, and all those defeats carried with them a valuable lesson for Xin.  Once he knows the secret countering Fu Di becomes manageable, though I’m assuming to be such a hotshot at his age means Fu Di has a few more gears we haven’t seen yet.

Meanwhile, we see Diao break out the blowgun for the first time in forever, so you know things are desperate.  The arrival of Kaine (most of Kingdom’s major cast are based on historical figures but this one is a mystery to me – it’s an anachronistic name) puts a spanner in the works.  There’s an old bond between these two young women in a man’s world, enough to survive Diao trying to shoot Kaine.  Kaine elects to take Diao (who she’s just knocked out) as prisoner rather than take her head, but Xin rushes in to save the day before she’s gotten too far.  Neither woman wants to kill the other, so it ends in a rather outlandish standoff (dropoff), but both live to fight another day.

What we see here is the defense of Zui becoming more and more desperate – and it was pretty hopeless to begin with.  Li Mu may be puzzled at the fierce resistance he’s getting but he’s relentless, persisting in his night attacks (eventually actually attacking) in order to deprive the defenders of their sleep.  The King making the rounds to rally the flagging troops is a sign of just how desperate things are, but Zheng manages to maintain an air of dignity.  From the child soldiers to Biao’s hardened veterans the young king has just the right words for his audience – even stunning the civilians by patting some on the shoulder.  It’s truly inspiring, and a display of just how good this kid really is.

The highlight here and indeed of the whole episode for me is that speech Zheng gives Biao’s men, who’re determined to follow their lord into death at this battle.  This is a harder sales pitch even than to the civilians – to convince these broken men that there’s no shame in living on after their general has died.  It’s a beautiful moment, but Zheng is not blind to the reality of it.  He can offer words, but words are no substitute for sleep, or numbers.  All he’s really doing is propping these poor souls up long enough so that their deaths can slow down the inevitable.

Old friends Xin and Changwen have a quiet chat on the walls, since no one is sleeping anyway.  Xin shows great maturity in deferring to Changwen’s experience here, but the answer he gets offer no solace.  Changwen figures the defenders have to hold out for eight days – a hunch, seemingly, based on all that experience.  Eight days seems impossible, but the only alternative is surrender or death.  And on the fifth day, the civilians start dropping in their tracks – a testament to the limits of a king’s words against the brutality of Li Mu’s assault.

Zheng taking to battle himself is, in effect, a virtual surrender.  It’s an admission that things are so bad that there’s nothing more to lose.  If he dies all is lost – but all is virtually lost anyway, and he dies either way.  Having already saved Diao, Xin now rides in to save Zheng.  Xin is every bit as relentless as Li Mu, a young man who knows no surrender or capitulation.  But by the time he reaches Zheng the king has already fallen, and so has the secret of his presence (which Li Mu has basically deduced by now anyway).  Zheng’s wound may not be fatal, but his survival only delays the inevitable – and the course of this siege needs to be profoundly shaken up in some way (and soon) or that’s exactly what Zui’s fall is.