The bartender is a drama-only character. FYI, I got a bit carried away with the screencaps.
We first meet the bartender in ep 16, when Zhao Yunlan is on the run from An Bai and his friends in Dixing. ( Read more... )
When first we see the bartender, he’s a passive observer. He lets An Bai and his friends accost Zhao Yunlan and doesn’t contradict the vomiting man who claims to the Envoy that he's killed Zhao Yunlan. But meeting the Envoy and receiving advice and encouragement from Zhao Yunlan change the bartender's attitude. He tries to prevent the palace guards from entering his bar. He colludes with Zhao Yunlan and stands up to Ye Zun, and ultimately rallies the people to try to turn the tide of the crisis. (And okay, in the middle there, he misidentifies Ye Zun as the Envoy. Nobody’s perfect!)
The exterior of the bar is unprepossessing, but the bartender has decorated its interior with all kinds of whimsical things, including but not limited to: a fishing net, a mirror ball, masks, a shield, ropes, various sculptures, animal skins, fuzzy green balls, and twinkly red lights.
( Lots of pics. )
I couldn’t find any works about the bartender or the bar. If you know of any — or fanworks that explain why the patrons are wearing masks in episode 16 — please link in comments.
Feel free to answer just some (or none) of the questions and/or weigh in with your own thoughts. Share links to meta, picspams, and related fanworks, new or old! Self-recs whole-heartedly encouraged.
The Dixing bartender’s story
We first meet the bartender in ep 16, when Zhao Yunlan is on the run from An Bai and his friends in Dixing. ( Read more... )
tl;dr
When first we see the bartender, he’s a passive observer. He lets An Bai and his friends accost Zhao Yunlan and doesn’t contradict the vomiting man who claims to the Envoy that he's killed Zhao Yunlan. But meeting the Envoy and receiving advice and encouragement from Zhao Yunlan change the bartender's attitude. He tries to prevent the palace guards from entering his bar. He colludes with Zhao Yunlan and stands up to Ye Zun, and ultimately rallies the people to try to turn the tide of the crisis. (And okay, in the middle there, he misidentifies Ye Zun as the Envoy. Nobody’s perfect!)
Bar decorations
The exterior of the bar is unprepossessing, but the bartender has decorated its interior with all kinds of whimsical things, including but not limited to: a fishing net, a mirror ball, masks, a shield, ropes, various sculptures, animal skins, fuzzy green balls, and twinkly red lights.
( Lots of pics. )
Fanworks
I couldn’t find any works about the bartender or the bar. If you know of any — or fanworks that explain why the patrons are wearing masks in episode 16 — please link in comments.
Questions
- What does the bartender whisper in the Envoy’s ear, and why doesn’t he say it aloud?
- How does Zhao Yunlan convince the bartender to give him a shoulder rub?
- What’s the deal with the masks?
- Given all the boat paraphernalia in the bar, does Dixing have lakes/a sea?
- Where did the microphone/PA system come from? What is it usually used for?
- What happened to the bartender-led uprising?
- What do you think happens to the bartender after the showdown, in re-Hallowed Dixing?
Feel free to answer just some (or none) of the questions and/or weigh in with your own thoughts. Share links to meta, picspams, and related fanworks, new or old! Self-recs whole-heartedly encouraged.