The Long Season 1.08

Episode 8

Hualin, 1998. Wang Xiang finds Wang Yang with some help from another young man who was looking for him. Xiang convinces his son to come home. He confronts him with the evidence he found, the bloodstained hazmat suit. Xiang demands to know what's going on. Wang won't tell him. He asks his father for a couple days to sort some things out before he will tell him.

Xiang gets his hands on a note that Fu Weijun left for him. He reads it and responds by calling for Luo Meisu. Together they tackle hold their son down and tie him up. They tell him that it will be better for him if he turns himself in to the police. Luo Meisu goes to bed. Xiang goes to the kitchen, reads the note again, and then destroys it.

The message on the note read: Take the birch transportation line on the evening of the 17th.

Xiang goes to see Song Yukun, the factory director. He tries to explain how and why his son was caught in the finance office but Song doesn't want to hear about it. Xiang runs into Liru as he is leaving the factory. She says that she's there to see someone without naming them.

Hualin, 1997. Shen Mo's boss tries to talk her into thanking Lu Wenzhong, a client who has bought lots of flowers for her. She doesn't want to and threatens to quit. Her boss backs off.

Shen Mo helps Yin Hong, one of the hostesses at Victoria, the hotel where they both work. Hong meets Fu Weijun after Shen Mo takes her back to the building where Fu Weijun and Sui Dong hang out. She catches Weijun's eye. She is polite to him.

Yin Hong spend time with Lu Wenzhong. She thinks that she is making progress with him only to learn that he is interested in Shen Mo.

Someone starts to spread a rumor that Shen Mo used to work as a prostitute. She gets called into the office of the director of the nursing school. They want to know the truth. She tells them that she only plays piano at Victoria.

The episode ends with Shen Mo and Yin Hong going out for dinner together. They drink while they share a meal and commiserate over their past and present problems. Yin Hong leaves the restaurant alone. There's a car waiting for her. Shen Mo is passed out drunk.

Thoughts

Gong Biao and Ma Desheng are not in this episode. There are no scenes that take place in 2016. 

I have to admit that I'm getting a little confused as to when the scenes that take place soon after the murder are taking place. I am labeling them as taking place in 1998 but I'm not 100% sure that's correct.

I'm pretty sure that Shen Mo is making a mistake in thinking that Yin Hong is her friend. Yin Hong has made it clear that she wants money. It is also pretty clear that she's angry that Lu Whezhong is more interested in Shen Mo. It is worth noting that Yin Hong looks a little bit like Shen Mo.

Did Shen Mo really work as an escort? I'm not sure. It doesn't help that the subtitles are frequently confusing. I was pretty sure before that the rumor was something her uncle started but now I'm thinking that maybe there was some truth behind the rumor.

I assume that some of the next episode will take place in 2016. It feels as though there are still things to be gone over in that time period. 

I'm about 2/3 of the way through the show. This is still very good. I don't want to stop watching.