MovieChat Forums > X+Y (2015) Discussion > Zhang Mei was a setup, the alternate end...

Zhang Mei was a setup, the alternate ending.

posted 9 years ago by submachine
18 replies | jump to latest

The Chinese team knew all about Nathan. They knew Zhang Mei was good at math, but not great. They planted her on the Chinese team, coached by her own uncle. They used her to get close to Nathan, learn what he knows, and then completely unbalance him. This was their strategy to win the competition.

Of course they had to remove her from the team, so the plan was that the uncle would "catch" them alone, together, in bed: the most traumatic experience they could legally give Nathan. Ultimately their strategy worked, Nathan completely crumbled during the final test.

It's a story done countless times, the undercover spy falls in love with the one they are spying on, and maybe that's why the film-makers decided not to reveal it. Or maybe because it would not be politically-correct to disparage China for cheating at the Olympiad (something they are known for doing at the Olypmics)

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[–] s0laris 9 years ago

Citation required.

[–] Prismark10 9 years ago

Why set him up?

He only just about got on to the team.

Its that man again!!

[–] submachine 9 years ago

Because he was the most likely to fall into the trap, that's why.

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[–] Jecht_Sin 8 years ago

Wait. Are you actually serious? If there was any conspiracy they would have put the girl with Isaac. Who apparently was the real genius. Other than the most easy going.

Nathan was the hardest target. Emotionally frozen, too much of a gamble.

[–] TheNewWitch 8 years ago

No way!!

Isaac could be mean when he wanted to and his personality would make him get cocky and do badly later on and life.
Plus Nathan was the only one who learned mandarin whilst in the aeroplane WOW and learned how to play the piano after watching that English chick playing only one time.
He was the real genius not only at Maths, he was also kind, thoughtful and considerate.
Considering his dad died in such traumatic circumstances and his mom didn't know how to connect and support him as well as his dad could, I think he done very well. Also, win the medal and the competition is not that important anyway. His new found way of seeing life and things will make him far more happier.

So yeah, the Chinese team did him a favour. I hope Zhang Mei move to the UK and they live happily ever after.

[–] TheNewWitch 8 years ago

Oh, ok.
Just realised that in RL she moved to UK, they get married and then she run back to China…
I bet Rebecca is involved in it too...

[–] BettyBo 8 years ago

Maybe you don't quite understand the magnitude of IMO. Nathan may look like a genius to you, but compared to Chinese IMO candidates he is really just average, sorry to say that. Chinese team maintain a long record of all six gold medals. I myself was from China and I was doing algebra problems at age six, college probability at age 9 and I went to a prestigious gifted college in China at age 15, along with my classmates who scored the highest college entrance exam in their province at age 13. But guess what, we were all among the IMO semi-candidates but couldn't even make the final IMO camp. The competition is fierce and those final six are really cream of the crop. I would say it's more believable the Chinese team think UK team sent someone who might get no medal to distract Mei, a highly likely gold medalist. And BTW my friend who disqualified for the Chinese IMO camp is now a Harvard full professor in math, compared to whom I think Daniel Lightwing isn't a mathematician at all, and probably will never be.

[–] submachine 8 years ago

China cheats, which is even more evidence for the alternative ending.

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[–] A-Checkered-Life 7 years ago

And BTW my friend who disqualified for the Chinese IMO camp is now a Harvard full professor in math, compared to whom I think Daniel Lightwing isn't a mathematician at all, and probably will never be.

Daniel James Lightwing is a co-founder of the London-based Internet business Castella Research. He was previously a web developer for the London offices of Google. In 2006, he represented the United Kingdom at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he won a silver medal. He attended Peking University where he studied computer science from 2009 to 2011 and the University of Cambridge where he received a Master of Arts degree in mathematics in 2009.

Lightwing’s professional career includes co-founding the London-based Internet business Castella Research. He was previously a web developer for the London offices of Google, and was recruited as an IT and marketing manager for the Chinese company Greenland Group. He is fluent in speaking Mandarin Chinese.

His time with Google, however, changed his opinion about workplace socializing. In 2015, he admitted that he had “a problem with office culture,” adding that he sometimes wants “to join in with other people,” but is too shy, and doesn’t know what to say when it isn't work-related

His experience at the IMO was described in the 2007 BBC Two British television documentary, Beautiful Young Minds, and the 2014 British dramatic film, X+Y (released in the United States as A Brilliant Young Mind).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Lightwing

Ms. Bo,

It appears, with the university degrees and the professions that Mr. Lightwing has, he probably is using his mathematical gifts everyday in the "real" world. There is that old saying that those who can, do; those who can't, teach.

Because I greatly respect teaching as a gift, it is not the same as assuming that people who are gifted and choose not to teach are less skilled than the people in a university.

Just a thought to consider. . .



A Checkered Life speaks of myriad diverse adventures being the rewards of endless curiosity.

[–] mplee23 7 years ago

If you were trying to prove Ms. Bo's assertion that her friend is more of a mathematician than Lightwing then you succeeded admirably, although I wonder why you bothered. Assuming her assertion is correct that he's a math professor at Harvard that certainly makes him more of a mathematician than someone how has an Internet startup and has only an MA in math.

Her assertion was not that he was more gifted, only more of a mathematician, i.e.,. someone who practices mathematics.

[–] rdhaun 8 years ago

The movie at first appears to be a sports movie-style: watch our hero as he struggles to succeed, hits the impossible obstacle, then at the last minute his team succeeds, the crowd cheers and then comes the credits. But the theme turns out to be Nathan, as an autistic kid, learning to feel and to relate to others. You can see that too in the subplots surrounding both his teaching and his mom. They too are learning to relate to others again and live happily in the world.
So when Nathan goes running off after Zhang Mei, he appears to be deviating from where I thought the movie was heading ("Math(s) whiz struggles but succeeds in the competition") but it fits quite nicely with the flow of his learning to relate to people (his Mom, his teacher, peers, Zhang Mei), to feel at ease in the world (e.g., learning to love Taiwan) and so on.
So if you're expecting him to come in first, he was a failure and Zhang Mei just a luring young lass (though if her task was simply to be a spy, it makes little sense for her to so much enjoy being with him on the train). But if it's a relationship movie about an autistic boy learning to succeed in the world of people, the pieces fit together nicely.

[–] submachine 8 years ago

if her task was simply to be a spy, it makes little sense for her to so much enjoy being with him on the train

It was an act to trick him, but ultimately she was betrayed by her true feelings for him...not exactly an original concept.

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[–] ChocolateButt 7 years ago

The only person convinced by your theory is you 

"What race are you? If you don't tell me I'll just...assume the worst."

[–] submachine 7 years ago

Keep bumping my thread, it's what you're good for. 

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[–] ChocolateButt 7 years ago

If being told you're wrong is some kind of win for you, go ahead and enjoy it 

"What race are you? If you don't tell me I'll just...assume the worst."

[–] submachine 7 years ago

Bump my threads again, puppet. 

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[–] ChocolateButt 7 years ago

https://media.giphy.com/media/x1kS7NRIcIigU/giphy.gif

There's your bump!

"What race are you? If you don't tell me I'll just...assume the worst."

[–] submachine 7 years ago

More 

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