Episode Summary
Xiao Lüzi's attempt to find his brother leads to his capture and the revelation of Er Lüzi's heroic, tragic death. As the Japanese occupation intensifies in 1941, Tang Deyuan recovers from his illness only to witness their brutality, while Tian Xiaogui escapes a suspicious official. By 1942, Lu Changshan and his comrades are retrained as elite paratroopers in a Soviet-backed brigade.Finally, Tang Deyuan joins an old ally, Xiao Tielin, but discovers he is corrupt, setting up a major moral conflict.
Spoiler Alert
The Long Way Back: Episode 21 Recap
This episode was a heavy one. It jumped around in time to fill in some brutal backstories. It also set up some major conflicts for the future.
A Brother's Desperate Plan
The episode kicks off with Xiao Lüzi. He's desperate to get back across the river to China. He wants to find his brother, Er Lüzi, and fight the Japanese together. He steals a gun from the Soviet supply depot and tries to swim for it.
He doesn't make it. The current is too strong, and he passes out. Some nearby villagers pull him from the water, but the gun is gone. Losing a Soviet weapon is a huge deal. Xiao Lüzi is arrested and sentenced to death for desertion.
Just when it looks like it's over for him, Lu Changshan steps in. He takes full responsibility for the kid's actions and is thrown in jail himself. Fuqing and Gao Yunhu spend a whole day searching the river. They finally find the missing rifle. Instructor Wang then has a long talk with the Soviets. They agree to release both Lu Changshan and Xiao Lüzi.
The freedom doesn't last long for Xiao Lüzi. Instructor Wang has to tell him the truth. His brother, Er Lüzi, is dead. The shock is too much, and Xiao Lüzi collapses.
The Truth About Er Lüzi
We flash back six months to see what really happened. Er Lüzi was on a mission to rescue captured soldiers in a village called Datuziling. It was a trap. The Japanese ambushed his team and captured them all.
To break the villagers, the Japanese did something horrific. They dragged one of the captured soldiers out in front of everyone. They sawed off his leg to force the people to inform on the anti-Japanese forces.
Er Lüzi couldn't let the villagers suffer for them. He stood up and confessed he was part of the resistance. He told the Japanese he was there on a secret mission. He then made a final request. He asked for a pistol. The Japanese gave it to him. He shot his captured comrades to spare them more torture. Then, he turned the gun on himself.
Back in the present, another soldier gives Xiao Lüzi his brother's last possessions. Xiao Lüzi builds a small memorial mound for him. He buries a can of meat that Er Lüzi had been saving. It's a gut-wrenching scene. He just stands by the river, screaming across to the homeland, asking his dead brothers to show him the way home.
Hard Times Under Occupation
The story jumps to 1941. The Japanese Kwantung Army needs a massive amount of charcoal.They force the puppet government to get it, and the burden falls on the common people. Life in the northeast gets even harder.
We catch up with Tang Deyuan. He's been sick at home for half a year but is finally getting better. He wakes up one morning and sees Japanese soldiers marching people through the street. A broadcast announces that the anti-Japanese forces in the Sanjiang Plain have been completely destroyed.
A Japanese soldier sees Tang Deyuan standing empty-handed. He demands his charcoal contribution. The village chief rushes over to explain Tang Deyuan has been sick. The soldiers don't buy it. They accuse him of faking it to be lazy and arrest him. The chief has to use a letter from Xiao Tielin to get him released. Tang Deyuan sees the cruelty of the Japanese firsthand, and it clearly shakes him.
More Bad News and a Narrow Escape
Lu Changshan gets his own share of bad news. Instructor Wang tells him that Zhao Youwang is dead. He was killed while covering his comrades. Before he died, he passed on a message. He never found Tian Xiaogui or Tang Deyuan. He also confirmed that Xiao Baima and Hua'er were killed.
Elsewhere, Tian Xiaogui has escaped from his home. He ends up working as a laborer for a local official, Ma Baozhang. Ma takes him hunting one day. Tian Xiaogui's expert shooting makes Ma suspicious. He asks him to shoot again, and Tian Xiaogui deliberately misses.
The trick doesn't work for long. Ma is convinced Tian Xiaogui is with the resistance. He gathers men to capture him. Tian Xiaogui overhears them coming, hides, and then escapes into the mountains.
A New Kind of Soldier
The timeline moves to August 1942. The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army Training Brigade is officially formed.It's given a Soviet designation: the 88th Independent Infantry Brigade.This is a major turning point. Lu Changshan and the other soldiers begin intense training. They learn military theory, Russian, and how to operate a telegraph.
Then comes their most important task. They have to learn how to parachute from high altitudes. This will allow them to drop back into China for missions. By 1943, they've mastered the skill. We see Lu Changshan, Wan Fuqing, and others on their first real jump. Lu Changshan is nervous, but they all make the leap from a thousand meters.
A Corrupt Ally
The episode ends with Tang Deyuan. After recovering from his illness, he goes to Mudanjiang to work with Xiao Tielin. Xiao Tielin gives him a position with real responsibility.
It doesn't take long for Tang Deyuan to find a problem. He discovers that Xiao Tielin is smuggling opium inside the grain shipments. He confronts him immediately. Xiao Tielin isn't sorry. He basically says he's powerful in the city and is just taking care of his men. He tells Tang Deyuan to get over it.
