Episode Summary
In 1940 Shanghai, a small-time actor named Ding Yi impersonates the brilliant but arrogant cryptographer Joseph Needham, who is selling his unbreakable codes to the Japanese. Joseph Needham's old rival from Harvard, Gu Yangshan, appears, trying to convince him to stop. Gu is forced to knock Joseph Needham out and coerces the terrified Ding Yi into helping him escape. After a tense getaway from a hotel and a car chase, they hide in a theater's prop room. Trapped in a cabinet with Japanese soldiers closing in, a struggle over a gun results in Joseph Needham's death. The theater's manager hides Gu, Ding Yi, and the body in a prop tree on stage just as the soldiers arrive.
Spoiler Alert
The Blind Genius and His Stand-In
The show kicks off in 1940 Shanghai, deep in the middle of the war. The Japanese military has a new secret weapon. His name is Joseph Needham, a cryptographer whose codes are unbreakable. The Chinese forces are taking heavy losses because of him.
The Japanese bring him in to give a lecture, but there's something off. This Joseph Needham is supposedly blind, yet he seems to see everything. He's also arrogant and difficult, deliberately stalling his own lecture. It turns out, this isn't Joseph Needham at all. It's a small-time actor named Ding Yi.
The real Joseph Needham hired Ding Yi to be his public face. Back at the hotel, Ding Yi tries to pocket some of the payment. The real Joseph Needham, who is very much not blind, calls him out on it. He explains he left parts of the lecture out on purpose. He knew the Japanese would have questions, forcing a situation where it looked like a demand for more money. Joseph Needham is brilliant but also baffled. He can't understand why his enemies haven't cracked his latest code.
An Unwelcome Reunion
After Ding Yi leaves, a man named Gu Yangshan slips into Joseph Needham's room. These two go way back. They were rivals at Harvard. Gu is now working for the Chinese military, and he's here to stop Joseph Needham. He tells him people are dying every day because of his codes.
Joseph Needham couldn't care less. For him, this isn't about war. It's a personal battle of wits between him and Gu. He's bitter because Gu once one-upped him at school, and he's been obsessed with getting revenge ever since. He sees the war as just another battlefield for their private rivalry.
The Worst Possible Timing
Ding Yi, having second thoughts about something, decides to return to the hotel. He walks right into the middle of this tense standoff. As he knocks, Joseph Needham makes a move, and Gu is forced to knock him unconscious. Ding Yi is terrified. Gu quickly takes control of the situation. He injects Ding Yi with a substance and tells him it's a poison. He says Ding Yi has six hours to live unless he helps him get Joseph Needham out of the hotel.
The Suitcase Problem
Gu shoves the unconscious Joseph Needham into a large suitcase. The plan is simple. Ding Yi will continue his act as the blind genius, and they'll just walk out. But as they reach the lobby, they run straight into Takeda, the Japanese officer in charge. Takeda is there to apologize for the classroom incident. He sees them with their luggage and offers to have his men carry it for them.
Thinking fast, Ding Yi politely refuses. He has to protect the suitcase holding a very much alive person. He introduces Gu as "Charlie," a friend visiting from England, to cover his presence.
From Bad to Worse
They manage to get out of the hotel, but they quickly realize the Japanese are tailing them. Gu drives them to a theater where Ding Yi apparently works. They ditch the car and run to the prop room, hoping to hide.
Trapped in a Cabinet
They think they're safe for a moment, but the Japanese are closing in. Gu and Ding Yi hide inside a large prop cabinet with the suitcase. In their haste, they make two mistakes. Ding Yi leaves his blind-man's cane outside. And Gu, who was injured in the earlier struggle, is bleeding, leaving a trail for the Japanese to find.
Inside the cramped cabinet, things fall apart. Joseph Needham wakes up and starts struggling and shouting. Gu tries to reason with him one last time, pleading with him to think about the country, not their personal feud. Joseph Needham refuses. He lunges for Gu's gun. In the chaos, the gun goes off, and Joseph Needham is shot. With his dying breath, he tells Gu that his code will be his nightmare forever.
Hiding in Plain Sight
The gunshot and the commotion attract the attention of Xian Biyun, the woman who runs the theater. Just as Takeda and his soldiers burst into the prop room, she makes a decision. She doesn't know who these men are, but she won't let her theater be torn apart. She quickly hides Ding Yi, Gu, and Joseph Needham's body inside a giant prop tree. The tree is then wheeled out onto the main stage, hiding them in the last place anyone would think to look.
