Just a reminder: The future of LiA is very much in doubt, and it’s up to you to decide what happens next.  Thank you for all your support!

Make mo mistake – Kingdom’s ability to pivot from an episode like last week’s to this and have both be equally superb is testament to its greatness.  This series has never neglected the political side of history or the military side in favor of the other (the personal has been rarer in the spotlight, but often brilliant).  That balance has rarely been demonstrated so unmistakably as in these last two weeks, though.  A truly great story is often many great stories, and Kingdom is one such example.

The intellectual dispute between Lu Buwei and Zheng is certainly not put to bed, though ultimately – as Lu says – what matters here is the battle for Xianyang.  Lu Buwei respects Zheng, no question about it.  In fact I’d go so far as to say he’s proud of him – this is the son of the woman he loved (and maybe still does) after all.  But in the end, I think these are two strong-willed men operating under the premise that the end justifies the means.  Zheng surely feels that his way is more “honorable”, and by most measures it is.  That doesn’t change the fact that the odds say it’ll likely end up causing more death than Lu’s approach.

When the two of them are litigating geopolitics in the quiet of a former palace, it’s easy to get caught up in Lu Buwei’s persuasive arguments.  Once the camera returns to Xianyang, though, it’s impossible not to see him as the bad guy.  He’s engineered what we’re seeing here, the sacking of his own capital and the slaughter of its citizenry, and done so quite gladly.  And because he has endless sets of eyes throughout the inner palace, Zheng’s family have no escape.  Their ministerial watchdog’s plan to escape to secret underground passages is undone by his carelessness in allowing his own movements to be spied upon.

I still don’t understand why Zheng wouldn’t have gotten his family out of the capital, knowing this was coming.  Splitting up his children was a deliberate ploy, I suppose, but I don’t know why any of them were still in harm’s way.  Yang does her best to sacrifice herself for her mistress’ sake when Liuji and his escort track them down, but Xin arrives at the last possible moment (as is his wont).  That blush on Yang’s face suggests Xin made quite an impression on her, and it’s a reminder that Xin has a side of his story that still very much remains to be told.  Qian Lei is a long way away at the moment, in more ways than one…

Xin is an honorable and heroic man, no question – as different a general from Liuji as one could find.  But it doesn’t change the fact that both of them kill people for a living, and this contradiction is something that’s never far from the mind when watching Kingdom.  You can’t tell this story – with Xin and Zheng as its protagonists – without glorifying war.  It’s literally impossible.  Hara Yasuhisa’s challenge is how to do that while reminding us of its horrors at the same time, and it’s no easy task at any time.  It’s yet another balancing act that Kingdom manages to get right most of the time – including here.

All of that kind of takes a back seat, though, when one looks at the hard practicalities of this situation.  It’s just a few brave men and women trying to stand their ground against the fruit of treachery, in the name of love or what they see as a higher cause.  Xin and his squadron arrive quickly enough to get Xianyang and the princess (and Yang) to safety, for the moment.  But if the massive army outside the walls makes it inside, it’s game over and he knows it.  And outside Diao faces the hopeless task of trying to find a way for Shang Lu’s beleaguered and outnumbered army to hold out, preventing Rongdi’s army from entering the city and sealing the gates.

The arrival of a thousand man cavalry from Yong – and their conch – is certainly welcome, but what can a thousand men do against these odds?  It seems hopeless, but Changping riding into battle is something we haven’t seen before.  Changwen rides beside him – at this point no one is exempt from battle – but it’s with Changping that any hope resides.  Chengping (with the youngest Meng, Meng Yi, as his strategist – will Diao blush?) on the battlefield is a mystery.  He’s going to have to be a miracle worker to turn the tide of battle here, but I wouldn’t sell him short – his entire role in the series has been building up to this moment.