English Dub Review: Raven of the Inner Palace: “Blue Swallow”

Overview: Shouxue (Alexis Tipton) assists a eunuch of the palace and a friend of Jiujiu (Bryn Apprill), Yi Siha (Hayden Daviau) with a ghostly dilemma in helping free the spirit of an adolescent eunuch passage. 

Our Take: A woman asks Liu to reanimate a lost loved one, before being cut short after realizing it is not in her capabilities, teasing an intriguing storyline. But, for now, a tale of a ghost boy takes its place, with him being seen by Jiujiu’s eunuch friend, Yi Siha

Yi’s caning, as a result of detailing his spiritual account, is a brutal attribute of how eunuchs were treated by their superiors in ancient China. While inexcusable, it does paint a grim picture of the pain and retribution the eunuch heads, themselves, fear from their superiors when faced with the thought of merely discomforting them, in the case of the Swallow Consort. Speaking of the Swallow Consort, Chang Huangying’s appearance is brief, but she is an absolute sweetie pie in her innocence and love of flowers, making for a nice new friend for Shouxue. Hammering home the deep-seeded pain eunuchs faced is how fearful they are of someone as gentle as Huangying.  

Further delving upon the cruelty castrated loyal servants receive is how Shouxue must step in to take care of Siha to keep him from a severe punishment that is most likely death. Thankfully, his suffering wasn’t all for naught in Shouxue being able to help to set the young eunuch’s spirit free, who was executed for killing a blue swallow after trying to woo the previous Swallow consort. It is a harsh tale about the boy being murdered for his naivety and innocence as a kid. It also does allow for a nice character moment in Shouxue consoling his friend, helping him move on from his guilt, like she did with her mother. 

Gaojun’s advice makes for a compelling case for Liu to keep Yi. Experiencing the same love her master got from teaching her how to read and write by passing those skills onto Yi. Shouxue pushing past her fears and reservations about allowing more companions into her life is an organic path of progression she is slowly but surely walking. 

Wen Ying also receives a touching moment, reminiscing of the  scaring injustice and abuse he was dealt in becoming a eunuch, similarly to Siha. It is a rejuvenating, emotional weight lifted off of his shoulders in his heartfelt admiration for Liu as well as solace in Yi having a savior when he did not with him, pleading with her to keep the young eunuch. It is yet another powerful ripple of the Raven Consort’s kindness in how it helps and changes people for the better.