the highs (cooking competition) were so so high and the lows

(volyu’s betrayal)

were so so low and yet somehow every important moment - high and low and everything in between - feels so earned because nothing comes easy to anyone. every advantage, every invention, every battle won is won because a bunch of people worked hard as fuck to pull it off, not knowing if they would die in the process but believing that it was worth the risk. 

the slow reveal of jia's machinations and her absolute refusal/inability to trust anyone...the increasing tensions between unredeemed dara and dara proper...thera's long journey and gradual understanding of the ukyu culture and peoples...zomi's attempts to overhaul the education system without acknowledging/addressing the people who will be effected by it....every character, every storyline is so distinct and yet the themes and questions that arise for each are so connected to all the others because that is what life is! a series of connections! an ever-expanding web of people, history, culture, language, family, tragedy, innovation, life!