(or, how many different fucking coats does Wu Xie own?)
So we all liked Tibetan Sea Flower, I know we did, but DID YOU ALL PROPERLY ENJOY THE MANY COATS IN THIS SHOW?
Because I sure did. When Wu Xie wore 6 different coats in the first 4 episodes I'm afraid it did something to my brain, and the result was me cataloguing every coat the man wears in all 32 episodes of this show. (Discounting his baby self in episode 1 I guess, bc I was lazy.) I'm afraid I have missed many an important piece of dialogue because I was too distracted squealing over a new coat appearance.
Honestly with how the show started I expected the final count (18) to be higher, but I guess that's what happens when your MC spends three quarters of the show in the same underground spaces. (Wu Xie at least had the good sense to not bring any unneeded extra coats on those trips. Good for him.)
If nothing else, this coat counting adventure once more provides proof for Wu Xie's love of layering the fuck up, which, in the climate most of this show is set in, is actually a smart decision.
Anyway, I counted all the coats, and now you have to deal with it. Note that I watched the show at 720p, so my screenshots are... functional at best.
Coats 1 & 2
This is a set comprised of a sand-coloured/light brown (depending on the lighting and colouring of the episode) overcoat + a fleece undercoat/hoodie type situation. He wears this when he goes to Dejia in episode 2.
This is a nice set to start with. The overcoat has many pockets and a hood with one of those little flaps to keep the rain out of your face. The fleece undercoat has a zipper that only goes half the way down, which may lead some of you to ask "but Eru, is that still a coat?" And yes. Yes it is to me. I have suffered too long at the hands of the popular rich kids in school wearing their Napapijri coats that only zip half the way down to not call this one a coat too.
This set is in fact so nice that Wu Xie decides to wear it again in episode 31, when he and Pangzi go back to the Spiritual Retreat.
This makes it it the only coat set that is worn twice! (Discounting, I guess, technically, number 12, but we'll get to that.)
Also a shot where he only wears the undercoat, so you can properly appreciate it:
I like this bit of coat continuity. The outfit Wu Xie starts this adventure in is also the one in which he ends it. ✨symbolism✨
Coats 3 & 4
This is a set made for colder climates, which at the time I thought made sense for the trip to Mosang and the Retreat in episode 2, until Wu Xie decided to wear coats 1 & 2 there as well in episode 31... Ah well... This set is comprised of a nice brown undercoat and a very fetching long blue wintery overcoat.
The overcoat is puffy but functional and comfortable. It is a dark blue on the outside, but the lining on the inside is green. Here's a shot for you to properly appreciate the blue colour though:
Isn't that gorgeous? Especially in contrast with his sand-coloured backpack. In hindsight I could've probably counted those too, because he uses at least 3 different ones that I can remember over the course of this show.
The brown undercoat is nice too. it has a collar that can be zipped up pretty high for extra insulation, and some (what I assume to be) velcro straps to tighten the sleeves around the wrists.
This is probably my favourite set of coats he wears in the entire show, which is a crying shame because after Zhang Haike kills him in it in episode 3 (or does he?) he never wears it again.
Coats 5 & 6
I don't know if Wu Xie's entire backpack for trips like these is just filled to the brim with coats, or if he gets Wang Meng to send him more coats by mail whenever he decides he wants a different one... Honestly, neither is a reassuring answer. Poor backpack. Poor Wang Meng. Wu Xie, please don't forget to bring a water bottle on your tomb adventures.
Anyway, coats 5 and 6 form the set Wu Xie changes into after the whole fiasco with the heads and the not-actually-dying in episode 4. It's comprised of a blue and grey undercoat that he starts out wearing on its own but is later supplemented with a thiqq puffy green-ish grey wintercoat.
As you can see, the undercoat has zippers in various places that I am not entirely sure are practical places for pockets.
The overcoat he wears for the first time during the bug hallucination sequence in episode 6, and I was briefly convinced that coat itself was a hallicination too that died a valiant death in the battle against the bugs, but then it showed up again afterwards.
Not visible in these shots is that it is a relatively short wintercoat that only about reaches down to his hips. Regardless, it must be soft in its floofiness, because clearly Pangzi likes to pet it (and his boyfriend who is wearing it.)
Coat 7
This is a white coat that is such pristine white Xiao Hua could've worn it. Underneath it he wears a funky little hoodie that I really can't get away with calling an undercoat, because it just isn't. It's a hoodie.
Wu Xie changes into this white coat halfway through the meeting with the Zhang siblings and Feng and his crew of mercenaries in episode 7, for no apparent reason. Maybe he senses that they will be leaving soon and decides he wants to be cold in the meantime.
He wears this coat during his and Pangzi's daring not-escape attempt, and then at the Zhang's base of operations in Dejia in episode 10 and onwards. (Sorry imaginary Xiaoge I almost cropped you out there. You have a nice coat too, but neither of you can beat Pangzi's coat above. He is the coat king.)
This coat has a layer of soft grey lining that confused me for a little while. At first I couldn't quite tell whether it was a separate piece of clothing or just part of the coat, but I think it's the second.
According to this screenshow from episode 21, this coat is apparently from a Korean brand called Kolon Sports.
...Do with that information what you want.
Coat 8
This is a simple black raincoat that appears in episode 9.
Wu Xie has apparently brought this coat all the way up the mountain in his backpack with the single purpose of exchanging it for Xiaoge's coat on the statue that he couldn't have known would be there... He has never worn it in this show. No one will wear it ever again.
Coats 9 & 10
This is the set he wears for the entirety of the Nilaisi tomb adventure starting in episode 11. It's comprised of a denim undercoat/hoodie thingy and a sand-coloured weirdly textured overcoat that I can't believe actually looks good on him.
The undercoat only zips (or velcros?) part of the way down, and he never closes the overcoat for what I assume to be fashion reasons. In a tomb. This entire outfit was very fashion-over-function, what with the black chunky sneakers he wears in place of a good old pair of hiking boots. IN A TOMB.
Coat 11
This is the simple blue-ish raincoat Wu Xie wears to party with the Zhangs in their Dejia HQ in episode 17.
This coat has reflective strips on the sleeves, and he wears it over a gorgeous blue knit jumper. He promptly gets stabbed in this outfit, so we never see either of these clothing items again, and for all that it's a nice coat that I would've liked to borrow from him, it's probably better that he never wears it again, because he also has the most intense mental breakdown in it that any on screen Wu Xie has ever had:
I still can't believe they actually got away with filming the thing that comes after this shot.
Anyway, this scene paves the way for some more ✨symbolism✨in the form of:
Coat 12
Xiaoge's coat. The one Wu Xie nabbed off the statue. We never get shown how that coat ended up draped over the statue, but I assume Xiaoge must've left it there at some point, for some reason. (Did he have a Wang Meng to air-mail him a different coat afterwards too? Probably not. He must've been cold on the hike back down the mountain.)
This is the point at which I realized my coat obsession just became plot-relevant and consequently went even more nuts about it.
It's a very simple blue raincoat that fits him decently, for all that he and Xiaoge probably should've worn different sizes. The sleeves are a bit short on him maybe, which amuses me. Wu Xie truly out there living up to his most lanky boy potential! <333
For some reason it's a different coat than the one imaginary Xiaoge wore in episode 10, because that would have been too much symbolism I guess. But I gotta give NPSS credit for actually setting this up and following through on it. Kudos for achieveing a writer's bare minimum!
Coat 13
This is the long grey wintercoat Wu Xie wears from episode 21 onwards, when they go up the snowy mountain to the Yinshaluo shrine, the Second Bronze Door and the Zanghai Flower field.
It's floofy and nice and just alround a good wintercoat, and he wears this lovely warm jumper underneath it.
Oh yeah, what else did episode 21 teach us? Keep you plot-relevant coats on!
Coats 14 & 15
I'm putting these together because they are not coats in the stictest sense, but, as my good friend @programmedradly put it: "It keeps him warm and looks very fetching." These are the nice blue robes he is given by the Yinshaluo people after they save him and the others from the storm in episode 28 and 29.
The first set is a lighter blue with a brown belt and some nice floof along the bottom. (Note also Feng sitting there like the high fashion model (and apparently horse whisperer) he is.)
Meanwhile the second set is more of a warrior get-up. It's a darker blue with extra layers and protective parts at the elbows and shoulders.
I take it back, this is my favourite "coat" he wears in the show. It's beautiful and he looks great in it and it's probably the reason he doesn't die from grenade-blast-to-the-face #363 so yay!
Coat 16
The black raincoat he wears when he and Pangzi go to pick up Xiaoge from horrifically traumatic monster daycare or whatever I don't know the lore the Bronze Door in episode 32.
He wears a grey hoodie underneath it, and some sort of tactical vest over it that might just be part of the coat. Fashion!
Maybe the fashion is why he and Pangzi forgot to take their backpacks with them when they dramatically walked off towards the outside world with Xiaoge at the end of this scene.
Coat 17
Coat 17 I'm not entirely sure is a coat but i'm counting it anyway. It looks like a shirt but it's more of a jacket. The fabric is thicker than a shirt would be anyway. He wears this when the Iron Triangle arrive in Yucun in episode 32.
I'm counting this one mostly to have an excuse to show you Wu Xie's ridiculous pants. Is that black (faux) leather???? Silly man.
Coat 18
The last one! It's this little wispy thin raincoat thingy he wears when Xiaoge asks him and Pangzi to go for a hike in the mountains around Yucun in episode 32. I had a different screenshot of it that was taken two seconds before this one when Xiaoge was still in the frame, but I thought his pretty face would be too distracting, and this is a coat post after all!
Now I hear you thinking "but Eru how is this one a coat and not just a shirt?" Well you see, when you look at it closely you can tell that there's elastic in the hem at the bottom, with one of those little plastic nodules that can be used to tighten it, and the fabric is a little shiny. Classic rain coat features! (Even though it doesn't have a hood, so it's also a classic case of fashion over function, but we're used to that with Wu Xie occasionally. Looking at you there, chunky sneakers he wears in the Nilaise tomb...)
Anyway, if you've made it this far I applaud you! That's all the coats adult Wu Xie wears in Tibetan Sea Flower... or is it?
You may have noticed this post is is numbered #1... Alas I cannot put more screenshots in this post, so stay stuned for a second Coat Post!!
If you're wondering how I'm still sane after watching this show through this lens instead of literally any other one. I am in fact not.
In the wake of coat post #1 and #2 I promised I had more still, and I do, because lo and behold: Wu Xie is not the only one in TSF who wears nice coats. There are SO MANY nice coats in this show. Here's some of my personal favourites:
Coat 24
I've mentioned her before! One of the most glorious coats in this many-coated show: Pangzi's floofy, leather-and-fur wintercoat. He starts wearing this at the Retreat in episode 9, and he wears it for some time after that.
It's beautiful and amazing and gorgeous and it looks spectacular on him, and I WANT IT. (Or maybe I just want him to hug me?)
Coat 25
This is the robey coaty situation Xiaoge wears in the flashbacks of him visiting the Yinshaluo Shrine in episodes 20-21. It has furr lining the hood, and nice patches on the elbows and a red belt/sash to secure it around his waist.
It looks soft in a way his modern-day attire rarely does and it's an allround LOOK. Especially when paired with his fingerless gloves.
Coat 26
It's Yinshaluo and Second Bronze Door trip winter coat time!
First up: Zhang Haike. I grabbed this shot from episode 31, when he goes to the Spiritual Retreat to take on the position of Deren, because most of the other scenes it appears in were either too dark, too muted in colour, too snowy, or too fast-paced to get a decent screenshot at 720p, and maybe also because I only decided to include it at all when I realized by the end that I had nothing yet for ZHK for this post and I thought that was a little bit sad. He does have nice fashion, but rarely did this show allow me to screenshot it.
Anyway, it's grey and darker grey, and it's exactly the kind of coat you'd expect this brooding old man to wear on his secret missions into the mountains.
Coat 27
Zhang Haixing's white wintercoat! It's a white wintercoat. It looks good on her. She's ready to go skiing with the girls. Idk what else to say about it. It has furr and pockets!
She manages to keep it clean for a surprisingly long time... until she doesn't anymore.
Coat 28
THE MOMENT WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! It's Feng's incredibly in character and on point bright orange wintercoat. Just look at it, isn't it amazing? (See also ZHK in the only other clear shot I managed to get of his grey coat.)
Anyway, Feng's fashion sense has been on point for the whole show, and he proves it again by pairing this orange monstrosity with a babyblue jumpsuit, which you can see here as he is standing there thinking 'well, damn, if it isn't the consequences to my own actions...' Can you tell I have come to love him deeply as the show went on?
Feng is also clearly the only person in this godforsaken party who wants to be saved should an avalanche occur, wearing a bright colour that will not camouflage him right into the backdrop of the mountain, a strategy that is almost undone in the first episode that all of these coats appear in, when they collectively decide to take them all off.
So, kids, what have we learned from episode 21? Keep your plot-relevant coats on!
Coat 29
This is baby!Zhang Haixing's incredible blue trenchcoat. She wears this in the sad flashback in episode 27.
Look, I don't have anything to say about this other than OMG LOOK AT HER SHE IS SO PRETTY. It deserves to be said okay.
"Coat" 30
Speaking of pretty, remember how I said I love Feng? Because I love him. He is ridiculous, a surprisingly compelling character despite also being this DMBJ installment's #1 resident white guy, and a walking model. Which brings me to: his blue robes from episode 28 at the Yinshaluo village.
"But Eru," you say, "none of these shots actually show his outfit." And yeah, I couldn't get a good shot of it, sorry, but it looks good okay. Trust me. These pictures of him being stupidly pretty and apparently a horse-whisperer will just have to suffice.
Coat 31
This is ridiculous leather coat Zhang Haixing wears when she goes to visit her big brother at the Spiritual Retreat in episode 31.
This monstrosity with its straps and lines and incredibly not functional off-the-shoulder slab of furr should not be allowed to look good on anyone and yet somehow she makes it work. Kudos ma'am. Also I am so sorry that your brother didn't hug you. He should've fucking hugged you, the absolute bastard. You deserved that much from him. Alas it wasn't meant to be.
Coat 32
Now we are getting towards the end. I've shown you in coat post #1 what Wu Xie wears on the trip to Yucun in episode 32. Now it's Pangzi's turn:
He wears something that is maybe technically also a shirt, but it's got a green pattern and I don't care I just wanted you to see him once more. Look at him. Isn't your heart healed now? I thought as much.
Coat 33
Xiaoge's Blue Coat™️ Is it really THE blue coat? Is this the one Wu Xie nabs off the statue and wears in a thematically meaningful way for a couple episodes? Is it THE blue coat returned to its rightful owner??? I don't know. The show doesn't allow me to look at it too closely. But it may well be.
I'm choosing to interpret it as such. If you want a closer look: see the final screenshot in this post, and decide for yourself.
Coat 34
Another Xiaoge coat. This the black one he wears on the mountain hike where they find the fisherman, and also when he steals a chicken from their poor neighbour. Oopsie.
Is it a coat? Is it a vest? Does it really matter? He looks soft and warm and happy, and isn't that all we ever wanted for him? The black is a nice return to his roots, though I personally have LOVED the visual shift to blue as his primary coat colour since Reboot came out.
I know for a fact he wears multiple different blue coats during the show, and maybe one day I will piece together another post in which I try to figure out how many different blue Xiaoge coats show up in this show.
For now though, I am leaving you with the Iron Triangle in Yucun, alive and happy and together. Who knows what (coats) the future still has in stall for them? (Sssst, don't tell them yet.)