Guardian Episode by Episode: 11

[extrapenguin]

Welcome to the rewatchalong! We are now at episode 11. There's still some time to participate in round 2 (eps 11-20) of the Guardian icon battle, should you wish to. The Imgur screencap album has 67 images. As an important update to the rewatchalong concept, we won't have Shen Wei shoe watch sections unless his shoes actually get shown.


Previously on:
Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10

This week, we finish the Hanga arc and start the sounds of doom arc. This is also the episode of the toilet scene!

Introductions
We see Fourth Uncle! He acts in the most suspicious manner imaginable, makes clear he knows stuff he isn't telling, and poisons his niece.


Not a very nice thing to do. As far as we know, even Zhao Xinci hasn't descended into poisoning his "disappointing" junior relative yet.

Characterization
Shen Wei, like Chu Shuzhi, has been doing research on the Hanga, and mentions having his "own sources". Maybe this was the reason he was seeking all those old books a few episodes back? They might have had references to the local forgotten tribe.

This is the episode where Shen Wei realizes Zhu Jiu isn't working alone and must have someone behind him. However, he shies away from stating whom it might be when Zhao Yunlan inquires a bit.


He also grabs Zhao Yunlan when he's thrown back by the dark energy ropes.

We also get the manipulation by self-sacrifice! Brother Peng from episode 9 arrived at the village to have a meal with Zhao Yunlan, and poured a whole lot of alcohol for him (a suspicious quantity, in fact) so Shen Wei was reminded of the stomachache episode and went >:( internally and stole Zhao Yunlan's cup, knowing he'd fall unconscious.


Look at how he's allergic to ethanol.

IIRC this is the first episode the accusation "Sold his own kind to obtain status" gets so baldly levied at Shen Wei, but I might be forgetting something. The first time Zhao Yunlan hears it, at any rate.

Zhao Yunlan, after struggling with the gun, shoots it in this episode! Zhu Jiu reacts as if he were hit, but no lasting damage happens, unlike in future episodes where he gets hit, so idk. Zhao Yunlan also very responsibly waited to shoot until he got a clear shot at Zhu Jiu.

Then we get to the first bit of levity in this episode: Zhao Yunlan connects the dots that the Envoy must have someone whom he likes (based on the vehement remarks to certain bits of Sang Zan and Wang Zheng's story), sees Chu Shuzhi, makes the entirely reasonable assumption that the Envoy is into Chu Shuzhi, and then says what is very clearly meant to be "The SID is a homophobia-free workplace." We know that Shen Wei is into someone else entirely, but this is before Zhao Yunlan has his Shen Wei = Black-Cloaked Envoy epiphany.

As for the epiphany, it was very very well done, with Zhao Yunlan sniffing the jacket and then connecting the dots. Later we see him do some more comparing of the two ends of the string, even if he's second-guessing himself a little bit on some of it.


To think, if Shen Wei hadn't drunk the alcohol, his secret would've been safe for a bit longer!

Zhu Jiu's plan ... might make sense. He dodged the Envoy's strike to make the Envoy hit and crack the pillar, then he made a barrier (or the barrier Shen Wei couldn't pass "in this condition" was the pillar?), and tried to get the Awl out only to be subverted by and angry Sang Zan. Then the Awl flew happily into Shen Wei's hands. The plan is a bit overly complex, but I guess that using Wang Zheng to lure Zhao Yunlan in, who'd lure the Envoy in, was a good way of getting everyone maximally emotionally compromised so that the Envoy couldn't just kaboom his way through.


I even got a still of his fight with the Envoy, despite the darkness!

Chu Shuzhi's opinion on the shockrod does an 180° turn when Guo Changcheng accidentally stabs him with the electricity. He gets back at Changcheng, though, by stealing his diary and informing him about that in the most passive-aggressive manner possible in the other hilarious scene of this episode: the toilet scene. Words cannot give justice to how funny it was.


"Who's there?" "The big popsicle."

Either Wang Zheng is very fast at storytelling, or she left Guo Changcheng an essay with her backstory for his overnight reading that he only just discovered, because that is a lot of conversation in a short time. Or Zhao Yunlan and the Envoy had a looooong one-on-one chat that everyone else was loath to interrupt.

Am I wrong in interpreting Guo Changcheng's remarks on Lin Jing taking the sex doll as jealousy? What were you going to do with that doll, Changcheng? Bring it home to your uncle?

We get to hear Lin Jing explain about the Hallows' function! Apparently, the Longevity Dial "links genes together in a chain to share pheromones" (yes, "pheromones" was in the Chinese hardsub) and the Montain-River Awl "turns the body into an immortal quantum form made of energy". Caveat: while my Chinese is better than that of Google Translate, I am rather reliant on dictionaries here.

Then Lin Jing makes the mistake of implying that the reason Zhu Hong doesn't understand his explanation is because a snake's pineal gland is smaller than a human's. She cows him into submission with threats of violence.


Ah, Zhu Hong.

At the start of the hypnotism girl plot, we see Tan Xiao make what is probably the dumbest stand ever. You embarrassed her dad who is also your boss in public, wtf were you thinking? And he'd just make her play the violin anyway.

Additional notes: Zheng Yi is supposed to be 15, but she does not look like she's started puberty yet. She was also brought in by a mom who married the boss, so either the mom is from Dixing, or there was some further adoption hijinks going on.

Canon notes

• The Awl can peel off a person's "essence" but also make a vanished one whole. (It also really likes putting people in pillars.)
• The Hallows have bad effects (Chinese mentions backlash) on Dixingians, too, so Shen Wei better practice what he preaches and not fondle the Hallows too much.
• Hypnotism, even from the snake tribe, can be turned against its user.
• The ghost beasts are sentient enough that Shen Wei bothers to read their sentence out loud before executing them.
• Dixingians use the toilet. (Chu Shuzhi goes to use the toilet and no-one finds the toilet use itself remarkable.)

Cinematography
We see people shot from a distance


Note how the snakes are also touchy about being called monsters.

and lots of Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan in the same frame, standing close


Also, Shen Wei's magical girl transformation.

Spot the left shot's strong diagonal framing and how it's shot from the bottom.


Requisite shot through blinds that follows conversation about the Envoy's secrets.

In general, I suspect that the show would have liked to do wide, sweeping shots more often, but small budget meant smallish sets, so the cinematography stayed as it was.

Architechture time! Our troop is walking from Zhao Yunlan's office towards the main room.


The lab can be seen behind them. To our left, there's also a door to a side region that's *not* the lab. Maybe the interrogation room? IDK. Thoughts?

Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
The same ensemble of the prior few episodes, but then the day changes and so does Zhao Yunlan's jacket!


Did Shen Wei take off his glasses?
Zhao Yunlan took them off for him.

Comments

[trobadora]

Zheng Yi's actress seems to have been born in September 2005, so when Guardian was filmed she'd have been 11? Very strange.

[teaotter]

In my personal headcanon, Zhen Wei wears Zhao Yunlan's jacket up the mountain because he can't bear to leave it behind. Otherwise, it makes no sense to me why he doesn't. He doesn't need a jacket! But it's like a hug from Zhao Yunlan!

I really like Fourth Uncle in this arc, even if he starts by drugging Zhu Hong. People in this show are really happy to cross boundaries if it's for their loved one's own good. Or "own good," as the case may be.

Considering Zhu Jiu's "Lolita" comment, I'm just as happy they declared Zheng Yi to be 15, even if I don't actually believe it.

Ha! Of course Zhao Yunlan takes off Shen Wei's glasses for the unmasking sequence!

[lynndyre]

I love this episode so much!! Shen Wei poisoning himself on purpose to protect Zhao Yunlan's stomach is so much fun, from so many angles- the protectiveness, the h/c, Zhao Yunlan having a chance to do the tucking-in and the watching him sleep~~ And the identity reveal! Bai Yu's facial expression shifts through that scene are really good.

I didn't read the 'the Envoy is into somebody' exchange as implying that Zhao Yunlan thought he was into Lao Chu, just that he's talking about the Envoy's love life and Chu will glare the fuck out of people who don't respect the Envoy's untouchable authority. (and Shen Wei's just biting his tongue not to go YES IT IS YOU, YOU DUMMY)

Lin Jing's attempted scientific BS to justify the Hallows as sci-fi artifacts amuses me way too much. (and I love that shot of Zhu Hong)

[clevermanka]

Your commentary is, as always, a gift.

I didn't remember that Zhao Yunlan removed Shen Wei's glasses, here, but of course he did. For all its faults, this show really does deliver on so many things.

[lunabee34]

OMG that toilet scene. I died laughing.

I really like that in the midst of all the angst, this show can really bring the laughs.

[jo_lasalle]

Not a very nice thing to do. As far as we know, even Zhao Xinci hasn't descended into poisoning his "disappointing" junior relative yet.

He probably only refrained because Zhao Yunlan would have been disappointingly unable to handle it. Zhao Yunlan flunked out of the How To Test My Child class after the lost puppy incident.

To think, if Shen Wei hadn't drunk the alcohol, his secret would've been safe for a bit longer!

Indeed. I have to say, the booze thing is so adorable, but also so WTF oh Shen Wei. It's pretty clear to me from that table's dynamic that as long as that cup gets emptied, it's going to get refilled, so to take the cup and empty it isn't actually all that helpful. Unless the point was to make himself pass out so Zhao Yunlan would have an excuse to leave the table, but "I want to spare you from one more cup of booze so I'll make myself pass out and make you lug my 6 foot body around and wonder if I've been poisoned, with no actual way for me to interfere the rest of the night" is such a cray-cray plan... Oh Shen Wei.

Then we get to the first bit of levity in this episode: Zhao Yunlan connects the dots that the Envoy must have someone whom he likes (based on the vehement remarks to certain bits of Sang Zan and Wang Zheng's story), sees Chu Shuzhi, makes the entirely reasonable assumption that the Envoy is into Chu Shuzhi, and then says what is very clearly meant to be "The SID is a homophobia-free workplace."

LOL! Okay, THANK YOU. In all of the angsty Zhao Yunlan/Envoy interactions, I always managed to miss that. I had to go, '... what?' at your post and went to check the episode, and THIS IS HILARIOUS. "A kind and loving place!" indeed. Oh Zhao Yunlan. ILU.

I confess that the toilet scene is where I kind of turn into a grouch. I love Chu, and by this point I still mostly want to strangle Guo, but tearing pages out of someone's diary is BAD AND WRONG. So I mostly cringed through that. ("The big popsicle" is admittedly hilarious, though.)

I love the shot of Shen Wei transforming and the angles they use for it. <3

Zhao Yunlan took them off for him.

Awwwwwww!

On first watch, I screamed so hard at the jacket reveal. I don't think I expected them to Superman/Clark Kent this forever, especially given some stuff in the credits, but that was earlier than I expected and both the set-up and Zhao Yunlan were SO SMART. <3

Also memorable:
- the Envoy's A THOUSAND STABS speech. He really is an adorable little drama llama in his own way.
- Zhao Yunlan's hardcore puppy eyes deployment as he wants the Envoy to help Sang Zan and Wang Zheng to stay together.

Zhao Yunlan had no more fancy jackets to swap out because his Second Day Jacket had to be his all-the-time jacket because of thieving professors.

Additional notes: Zheng Yi is supposed to be 15, but she does not look like she's started puberty yet. She was also brought in by a mom who married the boss, so either the mom is from Dixing, or there was some further adoption hijinks going on.

The age of the girl is so weird. Did they think it would look less creepy for the grown man to befriend the little girl if they said she was 15 even if she looked 10, or something? Not that I think it is creepy, I actually think they set this up very well and believable as a big brother / younger sister thing. Just, why cast that actress and then make the age sound so implausible?

Or is this more Dixing ageing whackiness and that's what that's supposed to fit into?

[qikiqtarjuaq]

Shen Wei's magical girl transformations are fantastic. I always love seeing Zhao YUnlan and the Black Cloaked Envoy interact and have conversations. The part where the Envoy is so clearly talking about/thinking about Zhao Yunlan... *sighs*

[china_shop]

and poured a whole lot of alcohol for him (a suspicious quantity, in fact)

I assumed that's just what hospitality looks like in those parts: don't let your guest's cup lie empty.

Zheng Yi is supposed to be 15, but she does not look like she's started puberty yet.

*nodnod* She doesn't behave as if she's started puberty yet, either.

The ghost beasts are sentient enough that Shen Wei bothers to read their sentence out loud before executing them.

\o/!

Also, FTR, Gelan's bodyguard survived the various coups and uprisings in the Hanga tribe, despite Gelan's complete disregard for his safety in episode 10. I was glad to see that.

I feel very cheated that we didn't get a "ZYL piggybacks unconscious Shen Wei back to his room" scene. (If this had been a Kdrama, there would have been several minutes of comedy in that!)

So... the turns-out-to-be-absusive stepdad is a long-time friend/colleague/classmate of Shen Wei's? I kinda wish that wasn't the case... :-/

[jo_lasalle]

ACTUALLY! The transformation thing in this particular ep just brought another question to my mind: how does the stinky jacket fit in with "what happens to Shen Wei's day clothes when he transforms into the Envoy?"

I've seen people make a convincing argument that he can fix his clothes as he materialises and dematerialises them, but if he could rematerialise them in a fixed/clean state, surely he wouldn't deliberately go for bringing back the smelly blood?

[china_shop]

Also, I just need to flail about the bit just before ZYL sniffs the jacket, when he's sitting, watching Shen Wei sleep/being-passed-out and having ALL THE FEELS SO MANY FEELS AAAAHHH. It's such a delicious, luxuriously paced moment. (And he took Shen Wei's shoes off!)

[solo]

IIRC this is the first episode the accusation "Sold his own kind to obtain status" gets so baldly levied at Shen Wei

I was just working on ep 35 and practically the moment the Envoy reappears, the Regent's sidekick is all 'we're only living in misery because the Envoy was a coward', so I wonder if that whole thing originated with him - or if Ye Zun had gotten to him by then.

I adore your Envoy/Chu insights! Poor Shen Wei, he must be all WTF I don't deserve this! I have to re-watch that scene, that's for sure!

Bai Yu's acting when Zhao Yunlan figures it all out is just great. You literally see him thinking but none of it seems artificial. And that happy grin at the end!

The start of the toilet scene always makes me cringe because Changcheng's cry of despair is so terribly overacted. But the popsicle... oh Chu, you're learning humour.

I thought Changcheng's thoughts on the doll were more like, why isn't it okay that he has the doll, it's too pretty to be thrown out (and also too pretty for me to be docked my salary). @@

We get to hear Lin Jing explain about the Hallows' function! Apparently, the Longevity Dial "links genes together in a chain to share pheromones" (yes, "pheromones" was in the Chinese hardsub) and the Montain-River Awl "turns the body into an immortal quantum form made of energy". Caveat: while my Chinese is better than that of Google Translate, I am rather reliant on dictionaries here.

Oh wow. I'd love to get a good translation of that, because it's important that we are absolutely clear that Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are exchanging PHEROMONES! ^^

The ghost beasts are sentient enough that Shen Wei bothers to read their sentence out loud before executing them.

Which Zhao Yunlan just goes 'bang, you're dead'. :)

Thank you for this, a joy as always!

[mekare]

Thanks for pointing out that thing in the cave with Yunlan‘s assumption about Chu and the Envoy! It makes everything more hilarious.

Zhao Yunlan, after struggling with the gun, shoots it in this episode! Zhu Jiu reacts as if he were hit, but no lasting damage happens,

Yeah, I thought it was strange he was able to teleport out with no apparent trouble...l

Then Lin Jing makes the mistake of implying that the reason Zhu Hong doesn't understand his explanation is because a snake's pineal gland is smaller than a human's. She cows him into submission with threats of violence.

I really liked that moment and how it was shot slightly from below.