Forward Forever Episode 33 Recap, Plot

> Forward Forever
> Forward Forever Recap

The new army stopped Chongliming's carriage at the city gate for inspection. An officer from the new army questioned the guards about daring to check a "Bayerye's" carriage, but Chongliming's guards insisted it was routine, inquiring if there were "rebellious court members" inside. After a thorough search, a soldier reported that only clothes and luggage were found. With no anomalies, the carriage was allowed to proceed.

Chongliming's group then headed to a small forest outside the city, where Qian Kun, along with A Yi, Zhou Jue, and Yang Ming, was waiting. Chongliming had arranged for Qian Kun to help A Yi and Zhou Jue escape the city, as Chongliming's own presence would attract too much attention. Qian Kun, acknowledging the difficulty of escape, especially with injured people, offered to assist them out of the city.

Zhou Jue bid farewell to Chongliming, agreeing to meet again if fate allowed. A Yi shared an emotional farewell with Chongliming and the other Brilliant Situation members. Chongliming admitted he disliked goodbyes, yet he often found himself in such situations. A Yi reminded him that gatherings and partings were beyond their control, recalling a time in Japan when only Chongliming truly listened to his aspirations while others mocked him. Chongliming encouraged A Yi to strive for his future.

A Yi acknowledged the Revolutionary Party's current weakness but believed that with steady accumulation, they would eventually succeed and hoped they would meet again then. Chongliming simply replied, "I hope so." Yu Chu, tearing up, apologized to A Yi for keeping secrets from him. She observed he had grown up and she couldn't keep him by her side forever, especially in these chaotic times. She made A Yi promise to live well, no matter where he went. He agreed.

Chongliming then offered A Yi one last challenge, suggesting a fight, promising to let A Yi go if he won. A Yi, declining, expressed profound gratitude, stating that his time in Brilliant Situation was the happiest of his life, thanking Chongliming for letting him join. With heartfelt goodbyes, they each set off on their separate paths. Upon his return to the capital, Chongliming witnessed the clear decline of the Qing government.

Soon after, he and the other members of Brilliant Situation, including Wen Gou, were dismissed from their posts and stripped of their titles. Their days became aimless, spent gambling and drowning their sorrows in alcohol. 可颜辛 (Can Yan Xin) boasted about his winnings while Chongliming, roused from a nap, complained about the noise. Chongliming lamented his fate, heartbroken that his family's eight generations of nobility ended with him, feeling like an utter failure.

Wen Gou and others tried to cheer him up, reminding him they were all in the same boat, having lost their own titles. Later, Wagner excused himself from the card game to pick up Qing'er from school, prompting Chongliming to order Si San to bring more whisky. Yu Chu was distressed by Chongliming's decadent lifestyle. She confronted him by challenging him to a card game.

Chongliming, finding it boring, made an excuse about having lost all his money and walked away. Yu Chu couldn't stand by and watch him continue in such a drunken, aimless state, so she reprimanded him severely. When he ignored her, in a fit of frustration, Chongliming grabbed her and tried to force her onto the bed.

Enraged, Yu Chu slapped him hard, then threw a framed picture of their group to the floor before storming out, telling him to pick it up. Later, Chongliming confessed to Wen Gou that he knew Yu Chu meant well, but her kindness only made him want to escape, feeling like a "bastard" for feeling that way. He took full responsibility for the decisions made in Sichuan, which led to their dismissal and loss of titles.

He recalled their oath as Brilliant Situation members: "Loyal to the country to eliminate evil, uphold national prestige, value friendship, and share life and death." He declared he didn't regret his actions in Sichuan because Chongliming had led them. Wen Gou, loyal, said that in his heart, Chongliming could never be wrong. Chongliming then worried about 可颜辛 (Can Yan Xin)'s arm, which was severely injured, feeling it was his fault.

Wen Gou scoffed at his self-pity, urging him not to succumb to such thoughts. Chongliming expressed deep despair, feeling that sometimes it was better to be dead than alive. Wen Gou strongly rebuked him, reminding him that their brothers still looked to him. Chongliming questioned if they even had a future, admitting he could no longer see hope and wondering if A Yi's choice to leave them was the correct one.

Wagner continued to pick up Qing'er from school every day. Qing'er told him she had an exam the next day and wanted to go home early to study, skipping dinner with him to spend time with her grandfather. Wagner offered to help her study and even accompany her to dinner with her grandfather, but Qing'er teased him for acting like family.

He then surprised her with a gift: a rare, latest-edition British anatomical diagram, explaining that as a nursing student, she needed a good understanding of muscles and bones. He promised it would help her ace her exam. As they walked, they admired the scenery. Wagner reminded Qing'er of a painting he gave her before going to Sichuan. Qing'er revealed she'd asked her teacher about it and learned it was a pansy, a flower that could be used in medicine.

Wagner explained that the pansy was his favorite flower during his studies in Europe, beautiful when growing in large patches. He then revealed the flower's deeper meaning: "eternal missing and silent love." Qing'er seemed to understand his unspoken feelings. Meanwhile, Chongliming, after deep reflection, tidied his room, wanting to start a new life. On the street, 可颜辛 (Can Yan Xin) was asking for directions to Shenji Camp when he encountered Master Wu.

Master Wu revealed that he had a letter for Chongliming, a farewell from Fang Er, who was dead. Fang Er, he explained, could not bear to see Tan Tianming and the new army brutally arresting members of the Micro-League. She had feigned surrender to Tan Tianming and fatally shot him before being gunned down herself. Concerned about Chongliming's fragile state, 可颜辛 (Can Yan Xin) convened Yu Chu, Si San, Wagner, and Wen Gou to discuss how to tell him.

Yu Chu insisted on honesty, believing he had the right to know. Others worried about him relapsing into his former despondent state or feeling betrayed if they hid it. Yu Chu volunteered to deliver Fang Er's final letter. As Chongliming read Fang Er's letter, his eyes welled with tears. Fang Er wrote that Chongliming's parting advice had once made her hope for life, and she owed him much.

However, she felt compelled to sacrifice herself, for after Chongliming's departure, the new army had become unchecked, indiscriminately killing people under the guise of eradicating traitors. She couldn't watch her friends die one by one. She hoped her death, by taking Tan Tianming's life, would end the bloodshed. She expressed that she had no regrets, only gratitude for Chongliming, with whom she shared the most beautiful memories of her life. She wished him peace and happiness.

Overcome with grief, Chongliming asked Yu Chu to accompany him for a walk. During their walk, Chongliming blamed himself for Fang Er's death, regretting giving her a gun for self-defense, which ultimately led to her demise. Yu Chu tried to reassure him that it was Fang Er's choice and he couldn't have foreseen it. But Chongliming insisted he should have known Fang Er better.

He lamented the failure of the railway project, the unrecovered stock capital for the common people, and the countless lives lost. He questioned if he had done something wrong, but Yu Chu affirmed that the fault lay with Tan Tianming and the new army, not with him. Elsewhere, A Yi accompanied an injured Yang Ming, who, knowing his time was short, sought to return to the capital to recover his memories.

Yang Ming recounted how he had sought revenge on A Yi, but his friend "Big Fool" had urged him to find his mother, who was supposedly a wife in a wealthy Beijing family. Yang Ming remembered being with her as a child until she was taken from their "horse thief village," a place later "slaughtered" by A Yi's Brilliant Situation. A Yi, identifying himself as the former leader of Brilliant Situation, conceded he must have done many wrongs.

Yang Ming, however, suggested that since A Yi had lost his memory, he was a different person now and didn't hate him. A Yi then pushed Yang Ming in a wheelchair to old horse head's lamb soup restaurant. The old horse head warmly greeted them, recognizing A Yi as having grown into a young man. A Yi introduced Yang Ming as his friend.

The old man asked about Chongliming, and A Yi explained that they hadn't seen him in a long time. A Yi observed that many shops were closed, and the restaurant was empty. The old horse head sighed, remarking that the Qing Dynasty was clearly nearing its end, with everything from the court to the fields in decline. He also mentioned that Qing'er was attending a foreign-run nursing school, influenced by Wagner, despite his initial disapproval.

A Yi viewed it positively, believing such skills would be useful in these turbulent times, helping others and accumulating merit. The old horse head, however, worried about the revolutionary army, fearing that if the fighting reached Beijing, the common people would suffer greatly. A Yi expressed a different perspective. A Yi also reminisced that this restaurant was where he first met Chongliming, who helped him resolve a conflict and later brought him into Brilliant Situation.

Chongliming, still distraught, brought 可颜辛 (Can Yan Xin) to the Shanglin Xianguan, a place for drinking, and made the courtesans sing revolutionary songs. 可颜辛 (Can Yan Xin) felt that Brilliant Situation had no future. But Chongliming, though inebriated, swore he would carve a new path for them, determined to stay together. Drunkenly driving, Chongliming accidentally crashed his car into the sedan chair of the newly appointed official, Xie Daren.

Xie Daren, enraged, called Chongliming a "turtle bastard" and began to kick him, mocking him for having lost his rank as "deputy commander-in-chief of Shenji Camp" and his status as a "Bayerye," daring to cross a "top-rank officer." 可颜辛 (Can Yan Xin) tried to intervene, explaining Chongliming was drunk, but Chongliming asserted he was not. Xie Daren demanded Chongliming kneel, reminding him that as long as the Qing Dynasty stood, he must abide by the rules. Chongliming refused, staring defiantly. 可颜辛 (Can Yan Xin) quickly fired a warning shot into the air, startling Xie Daren, who immediately fled with his retinue.

Episode 32 Recap

Episode 34 Recap