American Perspectives: Prince Bo Seeing Concrete Consequences of His Words and Actions ("The Wolf" Ep. 20)

Now that Prince Bo and Ma Zhaixing are (momentarily) in a good place within their relationship, they are happily spending time together.  Remember, I say momentarily because both Prince Bo and Ma Zhaixing are being used as pawns by Emperor of Yang.  Prince Bo is being used as a killing machine (similar to the God of War in "Love And Redemption"), Ma Zhaixing is a bit of a mixed bag.  She is being used for the Ma Military power she has inherited, she's with Prince Bo so her power can be kept in check, and she's unwittingly being used to control Prince Bo.  However, the Emperor is testing Prince Bo's loyalty by having her ready for disposal at Prince Bo's hands any time with the expectation that he feels no remorse.  I'm telling you, Emperor of Yang is a sociopath.

Back to where we were.  Prince Bo and Ma Zhaixing are back in her hometown, enjoying themselves, just like they did when they were kids.  However, Prince Bo is disguised, because Ma Zhaixing thinks it would be more fun that way.  While there, Prince Bo learns the concrete consequences of what he has said and done through the behavior of a little girl named Hong.  Just before he had assassinated Ma Zhaixing's family, Hong had been expressing her admiration for Wolf Boy and Ma Zhaixing, and how it inspired her due to a permanent scar on her face.  Prince Bo had basically rained on her parade, and said some rather caustic things to her, which she internalized. Due to her scar, she was bullied by other children, and due to internalizing Prince Bo's comments, she used that to justify being cruel.  The influence of Ma Zhaixing made Prince Bo realize that being cruel to others is exceedingly over the top (but as we learn later on, old habits and agreements die hard).  Seeing Hong emulate him is like seeing your child repeat your unflattering behavior in public.  Yes, it's embarassing and eye opening.  Luckily, Ma Zhaixing is able to turn it all around by getting Hong to play games and include other kids.  Hong sees that not all kids are out to harm her, and the other kids are able to see that just because she has a scar doesn't mean she's a bad person.  It's a great step in the right direction for Prince Bo, but he still has a long way to go.