Season 2: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Wei Wuxian: Back then I was so arrogant that I didn't even believe what you said. That's why I was set up.
Lan Wangji: Wei Ying — [kneels in front of him] — you didn't want it to happen either. I know you did your best.
Wei Wuxian: [smiles] Yeah, mistakes have already been made, there's no point regretting things.
Lan Wangji: Wei Ying — [kneels in front of him] — you didn't want it to happen either. I know you did your best.
Wei Wuxian: [smiles] Yeah, mistakes have already been made, there's no point regretting things.
Nie Huaisang suddenly appears before the protagonists and explains the real story behind the Man-Eating Castle. He accompanies them there to help resolve their problems, but mysterious cultivators ensure this doesn't go smoothly. Having found more of the Demonic Left Arm's missing limbs, the protagonists plan their next step.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji first encounter the masked cultivator in this episode, whereas they encounter him later on in the novel and first see his Hundred Holes Curse scars in a separate incident.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: This adds one unique detail to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's childhood and history together, by showing that their first meeting was actually when they were children. Neither of them remember it, however.
- Adaptation Expansion: In the novel the only thing that happens at the Man-Eating Castle is the protagonists and Nie Huaisang finding the two legs of the demonic arm stitched to the corpse. In this episode, the trio also get attacked by mysterious cultivators and have to fight them off with the help of Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao.
- Ascended Extra: While they're absent from the events of this arc in the novel, Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao get involved in this episode and help Nie Huaisang and the protagonists deal with the mysterious enemy at the Man-Eating Castle.
- Continuity Nod:
- The protagonists' Forgotten First Meeting almost mirrors their first proper meeting as teens. While Wei Wuxian was the one to hold out a jar of Emperor's Smile to Lan Wangji at the Cloud Recesses, as children it was the latter that held out his rattle drum to him.
- In The Stinger, Wei Wuxian investigates a corpse and finds the sword Frostwork's mark on it, which Lan Wangji had told him about several episodes ago.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: None of the masked assailants stand a chance against Lan Wangji, who knocks them back with a single strum of his guqin.
- Foreshadowing: There's a brief moment of hesitation when the timid Nie Huaisang refers to Wei Wuxian as "this... young master".
- Forgotten First Meeting: Wei Wuxian is revealed to have met Lan Wangji when they were children, which explains his attachment to rattle drums since the latter gave him one in the past. The two don't appear to remember this meeting, given how they didn't recognise each other at the Cloud Recesses as teens and Wei Wuxian doesn't understand how he became fond of the toy.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Inverted. Before giving a heavy exposition to the protagonists about the man-eating castle, Nie Huaisang takes a big gulp of tea.
- Kneel Before Frodo: Lan Wangji, a cultivator of high rank, kneels to Wei Wuxian while reassuring him he understands that the latter didn't intend for the events in Nevernight (and everything before that) to happen. The reason why he kneels is to make it clear to Wei Wuxian that he's not opposing him or talking down on him — which Wei Wuxian mistook him to be doing before.
- Last Episode Theme Reprise: The first ending song of the donghua plays during the Forgotten First Meeting flashback, giving the Season 2 finale a sentimental finish.
- Lens Flare Censor: In the one shot viewers have of Lan Wangji's full profile when he was a child, the glare from the sun obscures his face.
- Non-Answer: When Lan Wangji asks Wei Wuxian exactly how he died, Wei Wuxian dodges the question by stating that it doesn't matter anymore.
- Ominous Fog: Yi City looks like a ghost town, complete with being shrouded in mist. This adds to the unsettling atmosphere when the protagonists enter there, topped off with the appearance of a sinister-looking Xiao Xingchen.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Defied when Jin Guangyao remarks on how "Mo Xuanyu" has taken up another form of cultivation. Wei Wuxian keeps the interaction to a minimal, to avoid the risk of acting out-of-character and exposing himself to someone who personally knows the real Mo Xuanyu.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: As kind and highly-respected clan leaders, Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao don't look down on "Mo Xuanyu" for practising demonic cultivation. The Lan Clan leader has no qualms with him helping Lan Wangji in his investigation and sincerely thanks him for his assistance, and the Jin Clan leader simply advises (who he thinks is) his half-brother to follow Lan Wangji's guidance and that he should be fine as long as he still has a good heart.
- The Reveal:
- Nie Huaisang explains that the Man-Eating Castle is actually the Nie Clan's Tomb of Blades, a grave built for the ancestor's saber spirits. Without its owners to suppress its resentful energy, the clan collects corpses so the sabers can feed off their evil energy in their tomb rather than cause trouble for any nearby civilians. Trying to remove the corpses disrupts the balances and causes the sabers to go after living bodies instead, which is how rumours of a Man-Eating Castle came about and is why the place is sentient.
- One of the corpses is discovered to have the demonic arm's missing legs sewn to it in disguise. This explains why the protagonists were led to Qinghe and why Wei Wuxian's Devil's Mark reacted strongly to the Man-Eating Castle.
- Slasher Smile: In The Stinger, Xiao Xingchen gives a sinister grin upon seeing the protagonists.
- The Stinger: Two post-credits scenes are presented, as teasers for the next season.
- Jin Guangyao is shown in a secret chamber while looking at the self-sacrificial summon ritual. He mutters Wei Wuxian's name in confusion while glancing towards the latter's very sword that's displayed in the room.
- Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji stop by a deserted city and find a corpse with Frostwork's mark on it, before running into Xiao Xingchen.
