American Perspectives: Using the Eclipse to Her Advantage ("The Wolf" Ep. 31)

At the moment, when it comes to getting an alliance with Qitan, Ma Zhaixing is at a huge disadvantage, as the King of Qitan is strongly favoring Prince Bo.  Fortunately for Ma Zhaixing, due to the way the fish were flopping around in the pond, she could tell that an eclipse was coming.  Because the Qitan viewed an eclipse as a bad omen, she decides to use it to her advantage.  (And that, my friends, is why we leave religion out of politics.  It is way too easy to manipulate the vulnerable with this tactic).

So, she takes the King of Qitan outside and tells him to observe the sky.  He is initially impatient, as nothing is immediately happening, and Prince Bo is using that moment to be a dick.  But, within a few moments, the sky darkens as the moon begins to cover the sun.  The mass fear among the Qitan tribe begins to escalate.  Drums are banging, horses are fleeing.  

That is, until Prince Bo uses his wolf like hearing to hear the distant howls of the wolves, which signify the eclipse about to end.  He turns the tables and uses that to his advantage.  He shoots an arrow at the eclipse, and the moon moves away from the sun.  This in turn makes Ma Zhaixing look bad, as Prince Bo uses the opportunity to accuse her of spreading false rumors about him.  It's like the woman can't catch a break (but she does later on).

Prince Bo is really making himself look like a jerk, but as the show progresses, you'll see he's doing it to pay for the assassination of Ma Zhaixing's family.  He wants her to hate him so much that she'll kill hiim, and then his debts to her will be cleared.

Not only is Ma Zhaixing furious, Ji Chong and Princess Bao Na are also furious.  Princess Bao Na encourages Ma Zhaixing to shoot Prince Bo with her bow and arrow, but she can't get herself to do it.  While she is very angry at Prince Bo, and had thoughts of revenge while they were apart, she can't get herself to take it all the way.  I'm not disappointed in her at all (some viewers get really impatient and judgmental during these moments, I used to, but I don't anymore).  Love is a complicated emotion, and killing Prince Bo may feel good in the moment, but it won't solve anything in the long run.