Daughter's Daughter

Ai breaks her leg and is hospitalized, starting a period of limited mobility and emotional strain. Her mother Shen returns to Taipei from New York and visits her, accompanied by Ai's sister Emma. The hospital setting foregrounds the family tensions that thread through the story.

Shen, newly back from New York, visits Ai in the hospital with Emma by her side. The reunion exposes old resentments and reopens channels of communication among the women. The visit foreshadows the reassembly of the extended family.

Zuer, Ai's daughter from a later life, arrives in Taipei with her girlfriend Jiayi and meets Ai's long-lost daughter Emma for the first time. The siblings' meeting reveals the complexity of past choices and present loyalties. The moment redefines Ai's sense of family ties.

Five years pass and Zuer travels to New York with Jiayi to pursue intrauterine insemination. She faces Ai's opposition, who questions whether Zuer is ready to raise a child, while Emma offers tentative support. The trip marks a turning point as motherhood becomes a shared, contested goal across generations.

Right before the induction, Zuer calls Ai in tears, seeking her mother's blessing. Ai resists, arguing that Zuer is not ready to take on parenthood. The conversation highlights the gulf between generations and the different visions of family.

That evening, Zuer and Jiayi dine with Emma and her paternal father Johnny in New York. The meal is fraught with tension and mixed emotions as loyalties and futures hang in the balance. The dinner crystallizes the high-stakes nature of Zuer's plans.

On their way to New Jersey, the group is involved in a severe car crash. Jiayi dies at the scene, and Zuer sustains life-threatening injuries. The tragedy abruptly derails their plans and sets Ai on a painful path toward a new kind of motherhood.

Ai travels to America after learning of the accident, but Zuer dies before she can reach her daughter. Ai's grief is compounded by guilt and a struggle to accept the loss. The moment tightens the family's sense of unresolved longing.

Unable to accept the news, Ai wanders the streets and finds Emma in Chinatown. She resists Johnny's attempts to intervene and finally seeks solace with Emma. The encounter marks a shift toward leaning on Emma rather than on Ai's original family.

The next day, Ai and Emma go to a fertility clinic and learn that Zuer and Jiayi left behind a healthy frozen embryo, with Ai named as legal guardian. Ai is overwhelmed and initially contemplates terminating the embryo, fearing she can't manage motherhood while caring for her aging mother. The revelation kickstarts a debate about responsibility, time, and possibility.

Back at Zuer's Airbnb, the walls are covered in graffiti with messages left by residents. Emma searches for anything Zuer wrote, while Ai insists Zuer would not conform to the majority. The moment deepens Emma's heartbreak and reinforces Zuer's sense of being misunderstood.

Emma declares she wants to keep Zuer's baby by finding a surrogate. Ai confronts her, arguing that she is too old to take on another child while still caring for Shen. Emma counters that Ai has not fully supported her; the confrontation lays bare their wounded relationship.

After Zuer's funeral, Ai changes her mind and agrees to carry Zuer's child via a surrogate. The decision reopens hope and shifts responsibility into a new form of motherhood. The moment marks a pivotal turn in Ai's relationship with Emma and Zuer's legacy.

Before leaving America, Ai and Emma share one more dinner, with Johnny guiding the conversation. Ai admits she was frightened when she abandoned Emma years ago, and Emma thanks her for the honesty. They part with a hug, carrying a fragile reconciliation across the miles.

Two years later, Ai is raising Zuer's daughter in Taipei. Shen, now severely demented, mistakes the present for the past and tells Ai she is too immature for a child, urging her to abandon the granddaughter to a friend in Chinatown. Ai wrestles with the weight of her choices and the cycle of family obligation.