Link Click – Season 1 Episode 5.5 Recap & Review

Marrying by Contesting

Link Click Season 1 Episode 5.5 follows a young man up a mountain’s worth of stairs. He ponders the most difficult thing about love.

A quick cut brings us to what looks like a middle school with girls gathered talking of star signs and finding one’s destined love. Siwen escapes their giggles to find himself walking those stairs. And then recalling memories of his first love – a girl who seems to have defended him from bullies. The most difficult thing is the unexpected problem before him. The man at the top of the stairs.

Zip to the Studio where Xiaoshi loses to Qiao Ling in a video game. Lu Guang loses even more quickly, so they owe her a favor. She wants to help someone who fell in love with a woman from a martial arts family. Despite multiple confessions, her father will only accept him if he can defeat him. But he’s beaten every time as the Master has an incomprehensible set of skills.

Xiaoshi dives to figure out the Master’s trick, bringing him to Siwen’s girl who reminds him of his first embarrassing attempt. Not from a martial arts family and younger than his intended, he’d been instantly rejected. His girl notes that another suitor has entered the scene, one with the right family history.

Lu Guang reminds Xiaoshi that a photo can only be used once, so he has to get it right. As Xiaoshi climbs those endless stairs, Lu Guang has ice cream, a nap…

Finally arriving, Xiaoshi approaches the father who reminds him why he’s not a suitable match. Lu Guang tries to direct his defence but it doesn’t work. Xiaoshi takes over with Lu Guang noting the direction of each incoming hit but in the end, he’s still defeated. Flash to his competitor, a man from a martial arts family who is also overpowered. Xiaoshi makes one more attempt only to be conquered as well.

Back at the Time Photo Studio, Qiao Ling relays the story. She’d entered a dojo and spoken to the elderly owner. He’s been training and challenging the Master annually for decades, failing each time but continuing to mount those stairs; whereas the other guy gave up long ago.

Taking a different tack, Xiaoshi, Lu Guang and Qiao Ling help the elderly man up the mountain again. He persists because he’d promised his girl. However this time, without a punch thrown, the Master admits defeat to his son-in-law. He’s the father of the Master’s grandchildren, after all. So the team helps them celebrate.

The Episode Review

We nearly missed Episode 5.5 – a little bonus shot that doesn’t open automatically when you’re bingeing your way through the series. It’s sweet and a bit of relief after the last few tragic chapters, however, it doesn’t follow the timeline. Instead, it assumes a few key points: that Xiaoshi and Lu Guang are on speaking terms. That Qiao Ling knows how the time travel works. And that Xiaoshi is willing to dive again.

All these pieces seem likely at some point in the future, but it’s not where we are in the storyline now. Additionally, it’s missing the closing song, Overthink – but perhaps I’m the only one bothered by this. Is it a throw-away or a bumper? Perhaps it would work better at the end as a special episode rather than wedged in the middle. While it’s a fairly stress-free break, for us and for Xiaoshi, it just feels too out of tune with the series’ progress.

Speaking of tune, while the ending number is completely compelling, the opening jam, Dive Back in Time, feels a little jaunty for the subject matter with the exception of a couple of episodes, including this one. Yet a couple listens later, the voices seem to match the American dub voices, which you can check out for free in episodes 1-3 on Crunchyroll.

It feels like something from a musical, however, it’s actually performed by Chinese rock band Bai Sha Jaws (you may be able to find a live performance on YouTube). Now several listens in, I’m nearly convinced – what’s your take?