sid_guardian | Guardian Episode by Episode: 12

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Guardian Episode by Episode: 12

Welcome to the rewatchalong! We are now at episode 12. 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 72 images.

Previously on:
Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11

This week, we have the mind control girl plot in full swing, some set-up of the future Fight Club plot, and the scene in which Zhao Yunlan creeps on a napping Shen Wei, whose nipples Lin Jing has fastened electrodes to.

Introductions
We see Cong Bo for the first time at the wedding! He's a paparazzi with audacity, claiming that he's Minister Gao's personal bodyguard.

Smug and armed with a video camera.

Characterization
We get more snake stuff! We hear Zhu Hong swear she lives and dies with the SID, and her uncle says she's just like her dad. Then Zhu Hong executes the greatest escape plan of all time by counterpoisoning her uncle. Indeed, love and crushes will make even the most responsible snake boys look away when the crush object is escaping...

If a relative drugs you, counter-drug them in revenge.

Things Guo Changcheng did in this episode: 1. electrocuted himself by accident; 2. crossdressed at Zhu Hong's behest.

That is actually not that bad a wig for Guo Changcheng.

One of the victims was an upperclassman to Shen Wei, and apparently they sort of kept up with each other's research despite being in vastly different fields. Shen Wei wasn't there for the "Zheng Zhongyuan abused his daughter" story, so idk if he heard it, but the way he's a bit unnecessarily rough with Tan Xiao would imply he didn't. Letting Zheng Yi go would be a thing anyway, whether that be about guilt that he didn't stop the abuse or any other reason.

Shen Wei also used dark energy in front of Zhao Yunlan! He probably knew that Zhao Yunlan knew due to the hinting in the office, but: dark energy usage in the SID with Zhao Yunlan in his arms. He's kept evading the question, but we did see him dramatically clutch his emotionally significant necklace and consider confessing. However, he obviously didn't do it, and took a step backwards in closeness as his Envoy persona as very belated damage control.

Fondle the pendant for reassurance.

Zhao Yunlan has this whole episode been hinting that he knows the truth and just wants Shen Wei to say it. Then Shen Wei inevitably lies and Zhao Yunlan facepalms/in general makes some truly amazing expressions, then seizes the next opportunity to put him on the spot. (Speaking of which, in the "Did Dixing have a buy one get one free deal?" scene, I did not find it terribly flirty. Was it merely the eye contact that had Da Qing complain about excess flirting and Lin Jing go "Comrades!"?) He also let Shen Wei come to the SID while there was a Situation without any objections, and manipulated him into being the test subject in Lin Jing's experiment. Whether that was to force a dramatic confrontation, check how different Dixingians were to humans really, or just get a seizable opportunity to sniff Shen Wei to see if he smelled of Dixing is left to the viewer's imagination.

"Chief Zhao, I am totally a normal person, please believe me!"

With regards to the main plot, Zhao Yunlan is pretty good at getting people to fold, and doesn't find it too suspicious at first that Tan Xiao gives up the path of evil at the slightest push, but then he quickly twigs on what was happening really. (I also think he really didn't want Tan Xiao to be punished for trying to protect Zheng Yi, even when he thought Tan Xiao was responsible for the murders.) He's also very willing to believe that Zheng Yi just lost control of her powers, instead of it being intentional. He's become someone who believes the best of Dixingians.

"Hi."

Da Qing stuff: he wakes Zhao Yunlan up after Hallows splat by meowing in his ear (oh, Da Qing) and then at the end, we see him be mind controlled and destroy some vegetable stands in his abandonment-flashback-voiceover-induced fury. I can't recall offhand whether the dialogue here was repeated in the lao-Li sections later on. Does anyone remember?

Slapped in the face for waking up the boss, mind controlled by the little girl he was sent to comfort.

Chu Shuzhi left to pick up Zhu Hong and Guo Changcheng from snake land before Lin Jing and Da Qing did, but arrived around the same time/not that much earlier. Did he get lost on the way or did he just forget to take the car?

Lin Jing seems to have either worked longer with Dixingians than Zhao Yunlan. Either he was hired by Zhao Yunlan's predecessor or he did work on Dixingians during his academic career.

The Awl-induced visions are a bit fast, but pausing reveals them to be a flashforward to the wedding crowd in the next episode, drugged Zhu Hong from this episode, Sang Zan's pillar, and Zhu Hong lying on the SID floor after being shot (a few more episodes to go, IIRC).

As for Zheng Yi's age: some of Zhu Jiu's remarks/Tan Xiao's responses to them make more sense if she's actually 15, since otherwise Tan Xiao is being suspiciously defensive against accusations of pedophilia/taking on a child bride. (Zhu Jiu's remark was vagueish.) Then there's also the flash of an alternate violin player – is this meant to be the mother, or some future vision of Zheng Yi, or what?

If Zheng Yi was meant to be 15, why couldn't they just get the second girl to play her all the time, instead of this little flash that goes nowhere?

Meanwhile, Wang Zheng has been teaching Sang Zan to write.

Canon notes

The SID has a hidden crossbow system.
Shen Wei's "field of consciousness" doesn't fluctuate, as if he were already dead. This might be a Dixing thing or it might be a dirt nap thing. A "field of consciousness" is not a real-world thing (I checked the hanzi).
Relatedly, apparently the field of consciousness is stored in the pectoral region. Or Lin Jing just wanted to fondle Shen Wei's boobs and used electrodes as the excuse.
Snake tribe boys have a little mark between the eyebrows. On men, this sort of thing generally signals the supernatural character of the man. (On women, it's just "she pretty".)
Weak-willed Dixingians can accidentally turn on their powers.
The Hallows have been "absorbing the energy of extraterrestrial asteroids" (physicist side note: ????? HOW – is there a fucking neutrino gun or wtf) according to Snake Uncle, which I guess is foreshadowing for the fact they've actually been made from a meteorite.

Cinematography
As a curiosity, the bit where Shen Wei as the Envoy drags Tan Xiao out to the fields is shot as if he were levitating significantly above the ground. I guess the resident drama llama had to do some drama llamaing.

Also, a nice shot of the dark energy sfx.

The camera swoops overhead to show as much of the space as possible

...and goes in close to show small items.

Shots come from below

and above.

Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
It's still the same day as last episode for all the scenes we see Zhao Yunlan in, so he's still in his vest and dotted shirt ensemble.

Did Shen Wei take off his glasses?
Yes.

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I read the dark energy usage at the SID as a kind 'I really desperately want to tell him but of course I can't but this is an emergency so that justifies the possible exposure even though I'll still lie about it... of course'. Terribly conflicted Shen Wei.

Yes, Zhao Yunlan's exasperated expressions are golden.

I can't recall offhand whether the dialogue here was repeated in the lao-Li sections later on. Does anyone remember?

There was a discussion of that somewhere else recently. Basically no, it doesn't reappear; maybe the censors got the corresponding scene.

I never even noticed they had two girls in there. (I'm very unobservant.) Now I wonder... could it be that older actresses are more expensive than younger actresses?

As soon as Zhao Yunlan is in danger, all Shen Wei's principles about secrecy go in the trash! Or he just instinctively reacted with Dixing power against Dixing power. (In the end, he just violated the treaty, first here and then in choking Tan Xiao. This means he should technically deport himself...) Shen Wei is very conflicted, but it is hard to break out of the rut of denial.

Basically no, it doesn't reappear; maybe the censors got the corresponding scene.
Sometimes I wonder whether they were still writing when they were filming, or whether they just didn't do even the slightest of continuity checks. Ah well. Da Qing has been around for 10k years, this scene fits perfectly with my theory that the Hallows periodically amuse themselves by mind-wiping him and screwing with his brain!

Re: actress age, kids are harder to direct than teens, so if anything I'd have guessed that they would've grabbed someone *older* than stated! (See: all the teens played by 20somethings ever.)

The older girl is a flashback to Tan Xiao's sister, who died. (There's a whole thing where he's sitting next to a dead body in a hospital bed, also in flashback.)

I'm pretty sure the other violinist is Tan Xiao's little sister who died? Weren't there some more scenes where they show him having lost a sister?

...y'know, that does sort of ring a bell, but ... they look so similar from that angle! Similar hairstyle, white shirt, exact same set of neck, etc! They look more similar than Zhao Yunlan and kid Zhao Yunlan do to my eye.

The other girl was Tan Xiao's little sister, who was first seen piggybacking on TX in his flashback right after Zhu Jiu's vagueish remarks. She had long cascading hair, whereas Zheng Yi's is always in a ponytail. The whoosh-whoosh flash-overlay violin-playing scene was done rather poorly. They should've at least blurred/changed the background in shots of his sister to signal flashbacks.

Zhao Yunlan has this whole episode been hinting that he knows the truth and just wants Shen Wei to say it. Then Shen Wei inevitably lies and Zhao Yunlan facepalms/in general makes some truly amazing expressions, then seizes the next opportunity to put him on the spot.
Can't lie, I would've watched an entire episode of just that conversation. God I love the face acting from both of them.

Also I know I've said it before (and I will say it again) I love your writing style for these entries. The slight snark amidst overarching love is perfection.

Can't lie, I would've watched an entire episode of just that conversation. God I love the face acting from both of them.
IKR? We get some truly hilarious fail-evasions from Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan has the best "I want to hit my head on a brick wall" expressions!

I love your writing style for these entries. The slight snark amidst overarching love is perfection.
Aw, thank you! ♥

Then Zhu Hong executes the greatest escape plan of all time by counterpoisoning her uncle.

I don't really get why she didn't take GCC with her. Just because that would have made it harder to get past the Snake guards? I guess she's still transitioning from office worker to field agent, and her first instinct is still to go call for help, but it didn't look like getting him out of there would have been any harder than walking out on her own.

Shen Wei also used dark energy in front of Zhao Yunlan!

I read that as his gauging that ZYL was sufficiently out of it from Awl whammy that he wouldn't notice (which was accurate, I think?), plus it was an emergency and the only weapon Shen Wei had to hand.

The Da Qing abandonment-flashback-voiceover was discussed here recently. (In short, the woman's voice and the crying is from passersby on the street, and the "If you keep being like this, I'll leave" was Kunlun saying goodbye to Da Qing in Ye Olde Haixing Era.)

Lin Jing seems to have either worked longer with Dixingians than Zhao Yunlan.

Ooh, I didn't pick up on that. What are you basing it on?

The flash of the alternate violin player was so confusing. It made me wonder if Zheng Yi was concealing her real age at her stepfather's insistence or something (which would, you know, make sense of the age thing), except that that's not her power so she can't be.

I love this episode. I could watch ZYL beat his head against Shen Wei's flimsy-yet-implacable denials all day! And I adore everything about ZYL's cartoon sketches of Professor Shen and the Envoy -- possibly my favourite part is the fact that the cartoon Envoy is about twice as tall as cartoon Professor Shen.

Also, there's been so much drugging/mind-control/hypnotism of Zhu Hong in the last few episodes, I'm really glad Snakes have a superior metabolism!

I don't really get why she didn't take GCC with her. Just because that would have made it harder to get past the Snake guards? I guess she's still transitioning from office worker to field agent, and her first instinct is still to go call for help, but it didn't look like getting him out of there would have been any harder than walking out on her own.
I guess so, but also it might just be that she's resentful of Guo Changcheng for some reason/thinks this will be an excellent learning experience for both him and her uncle or something?

the woman's voice and the crying is from passersby on the street, and the "If you keep being like this, I'll leave" was Kunlun saying goodbye to Da Qing in Ye Olde Haixing Era
Ah, thanks! So it's a combo of several actually-happened things.

Ooh, I didn't pick up on that. What are you basing it on?
Lin Jing tells Zhao Yunlan that it's (somewhat) common for some Dixingians to be overwhelmed on the surface and lose control of their powers. Zhao Yunlan responds to this as if it's completely new information for him.

I love this episode. I could watch ZYL beat his head against Shen Wei's flimsy-yet-implacable denials all day! And I adore everything about ZYL's cartoon sketches of Professor Shen and the Envoy -- possibly my favourite part is the fact that the cartoon Envoy is about twice as tall as cartoon Professor Shen.
I know! Shen Wei keeps dodging less and less artfully and Zhao Yunlan's patience wears more and more thin! And then the cartoon sketches – though Professor Shen is a bit taller than the Envoy due to wearing shoes with a heel on them, so the height gap should be the other way round. Or maybe Zhao Yunlan has picked up on the Envoy's foreboding presence and added a few dozen centimeters to account for the attitude? :P

Or maybe Zhao Yunlan has picked up on the Envoy's foreboding presence and added a few dozen centimeters to account for the attitude? :P

It's a subconscious sign of respect / awe that he would never cop to! ^_^

I love the idea of Lin Jing just randomly putting electrodes everywhere, even though he's just scanning the brain. And the amazing no heterosexual explanation scene, where Zhao Yunlan leans over and almost kisses Shen Wei, but actually, he's just blowing dust off of him. XD

Perhaps Lin Jing was trying to help his boss ogle by attaching some extra electrodes to the chest, Professor Shen please move your shirt out of the way so that ~~Chief Zhao can ogle~~ science can happen, etc?

ZYL making Da Qing provide "cat therapy" to Zheng Yi is one of my favorite parts in the whole show. The cat's expressions are just priceless--WHY ME??????

When I first watched the ep, Zhao Yunlan leaning down so close to Shen Wei when he's on the table with the electrodes only struck me as ZYL wanting solid proof that Shen Wei was a Dixingren and being curious about what would happen. It wasn't until a few beats after that alternative readings of the scene occurred to me, lol. But then, I am often oblivious to those sorts of cues.

Shen Wei's continuing refusal to admit he's the Envoy tugs at my heart because he obviously wants to trust ZYL but is afraid and anxious and worried. And I love how ZYL is obviously frustrated, but it also doesn't make him give up on Shen Wei or become truly angry with him.

Honestly, the cat deserves some sort of award for its acting. *g* (Zhao Yunlan's expression there is also priceless.)

I, too, am not necessarily that great at catching subtext (see: me not getting how Zhao Yunlan asking Shen Wei about Dixing powers counts as flirting), but the way Zhao Yunlan acts so guilty about it afterwards was definitely no heterosexual explanation.

Shen "I'm totally not the Envoy" Wei is heart-tugging, it's true. He's agonizing over whether to tell, and whether telling would place Zhao Yunlan in more or less danger! (Meanwhile, Zhao Yunlan has pretty much figured it out already. Just confirm it already!) He's been hiding himself so long in so many ways that the reflex is hard to break. Zhao Yunlan knows at least some of that, plus general anti-Dixing sentiment in people who know about them, so he perseveres.

When I first watched the ep, Zhao Yunlan leaning down so close to Shen Wei when he's on the table with the electrodes only struck me as ZYL wanting solid proof that Shen Wei was a Dixingren and being curious about what would happen.

I still think that's primarily what is going on - I don't think Zhao Yunlan was planning to smooch him there on the lab table with Lin Jing around. He just then catches himself with more fascination than a Dixingren check might have warranted and is aware what it looks like when Shen Wei catches him! Is my take anyway. *g*

That is indeed viable, but ... how is he supposed to be able to figure out whether or not Shen Wei is from Dixing by staring at his face intently? *g* Or was it just fascination at what the Envoy might look like up close?

Or was it just fascination at what the Envoy might look like up close?

I don't find that so weird. I mean, 'how was I never actually able to tell' is a pretty naggy question. I'm not saying it's not about attraction too - the fact that he finds Shen Wei attractive is probably a serious factor in how... entranced... he gets - Im just saying he has other reasons to stare, and also reasons not to be thinking of smooching him right there. *g*

I actually wanted to rewatch that episode before the rewatchalong came... along... because I was so fuzzy after a long holiday, but alas, the 520 exchange deadline is upon us.

It's interesting remembering how URGH an intro Cong Bo got - I really found him so thoroughly unlikeable in this, they didn't pull their punches with the paparazzi introduction. (And then they still managed to bring him around IMO.)

Zhao Yunlan has this whole episode been hinting that he knows the truth and just wants Shen Wei to say it.

I really wanted to slap Shen Wei upside the head in this bit. I mean, gently, because he is clearly suffering, and clutching his emotional support necklace and being all nervouscakes, but seriously, Zhao Yunlan KNOWS, and he's actually being, like, 'I already know, I'm just giving you a chance to come clean so I won't even be mad at you for lying', and Shen Wei is still... lying extremely badly. And it's clearly so important to Zhao Yunlan to hear the truth from Shen Wei even though he already knows. GAH! Silly emonemo Envoy!

Speaking of which, in the "Did Dixing have a buy one get one free deal?" scene, I did not find it terribly flirty. Was it merely the eye contact that had Da Qing complain about excess flirting and Lin Jing go "Comrades!"?

It's not just you, I remember being a bit like, 'they have been wayyy flirtier than this'. But I'd have to rewatch for a proper assessment on why I think that.

Then there's also the flash of an alternate violin player – is this meant to be the mother, or some future vision of Zheng Yi, or what?

I think that's supposed to be Tan Xiao's sister who died.

As a curiosity, the bit where Shen Wei as the Envoy drags Tan Xiao out to the fields is shot as if he were levitating significantly above the ground. I guess the resident drama llama had to do some drama llamaing.

YES!!!! I think he is levitating to make himself look Impressive! *g* And put the fear of the Envoy into the dude. Which actually makes a good deal of sense, since he's letting this one go, and really needs to stick the landing on 'scaring sense into him'.

The screencap of Shen Wei's hand with the teacup is gorgeous...

I am biased against Zhao Yunlan's dotted shirt. It's maybe the one ep where Shen Wei is generally better dressed than him? Especially in that tank top?

A great post as always! I wish I was more with it and had been able to actually watch the ep before.

It's interesting remembering how URGH an intro Cong Bo got - I really found him so thoroughly unlikeable in this, they didn't pull their punches with the paparazzi introduction. (And then they still managed to bring him around IMO.)
I guess it's one half a repeat of how Shen Wei got a villain intro/the theme that people aren't necessarily what they seem, and one half that they want to be good showrunners and make some commentary on how paparazzi and whistleblowers are ~misguided~ or something.

Zhao Yunlan KNOWS, and he's actually being, like, 'I already know, I'm just giving you a chance to come clean so I won't even be mad at you for lying', and Shen Wei is still... lying extremely badly. And it's clearly so important to Zhao Yunlan to hear the truth from Shen Wei even though he already knows.
Yuup! Shen Wei, I understand it's hard to open up after keeping the secret for over a decade at least, but ... please. 1. He already knows. 2. You're not protecting him by denying it – quite the opposite! Get your act together and your emotional support necklace out, you have a confession to make.

I am biased against Zhao Yunlan's dotted shirt. It's maybe the one ep where Shen Wei is generally better dressed than him? Especially in that tank top?
I must admit to preferring Shen Wei's wardrobe in general, save certain instances, but the dotted shirt was definitely a case of me wiping my screen only to discover the dark splotch was on Zhao Yunlan's shirt. Repeatedly.

A great post as always! I wish I was more with it and had been able to actually watch the ep before.
It's OK, next episode is where the fun's at. Zhao Yunlan corners Shen Wei into revealing himself!

I guess it's one half a repeat of how Shen Wei got a villain intro/the theme that people aren't necessarily what they seem

Tbf, Cong Bo actually was a paparazzi who messed around with people and their privacy, and Zhao Yunlan went for him hard over it. He just got to redeem himself / see the error of his ways.

Cong Bo actually was a paparazzi who messed around with people and their privacy, and Zhao Yunlan went for him hard over it. He just got to redeem himself / see the error of his ways.
Well, yeah, but it sort of fits with the show's themes: "This person might be framed and portrayed as 100% ebul, but with time, you can see they're actually good/they can become good." (I don't think I recall this happening in the other direction, interestingly enough! Some sort of tolerance-related commentary and a lack of inclination towards paranoia?)

Hmmmm, Merit Brush Guy might count? He was a pretty sweet guy who got eaten up by a need for revenge (granted, with fiddling by supernatural people / devices)....

Mm, true! Though IIRC people are still more prone to either staying good/evil or becoming good, either in truth or in narrative presentation. It's interesting, especially considering how so much other media I've consumed generally likes doing its shocking morality reveals the other way.

Shen Wei isn't wearing his necklace while being experimented on. I'm not quite sure what to make of that. Actually does Zhao Yunlan see to the necklace onscreen before the very end? Sometimes it seems like Shen Wei is hiding it form him.

I think he's just hiding the lollipop wrapper in it, because Zhao Yunlan might realize Too Much from it. By the time Zhao Yunlan has come back from the past and Shen Wei could show it to him without worrying, it's too busy for both of them. I suppose whether or not Zhao Yunlan has seen it depends on one's interpretation of how much they've been taking off their clothes offscreen. :P

That would make sense.

The scene that most gives me hiding it vibes is actually the one in episode 26 where Shen Wei covers Zhao Yunlan with his jacket then watches him sleeping. Which is well after a lot fandom thinks clothing removal has been happening offscreen.

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Guardian Episode by Episode: 12

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