sid_guardian | Guardian Episode by Episode: 16

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Guardian Episode by Episode: 16

Welcome to the rewatchalong! We are now at episode 16. The Imgur screencap album has 66 images. Please excuse the terseness; my brain has liquefied due to the heat.

Previously on:
Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15

This week, we continue with Zhao Xinci grilling the SID and taking care of the soil composition case while Zhao Yunlan runs around Dixing.

Introductions
We finally meet present Zhao Xinci in all his full force! The first things we learn are that he's here to insult his son, he does know who Guo Changcheng is, and Lin Jing's dark ennergy detector finds him a bit dodgy.

"Ah yes, only my son could say something this stupid."

When assigning tasks, Zhao Xinci hesitates a bit before saying Chu Shuzhi's name – was that just him having to think a little longer to figure out who the hell this dude was, or was this him subtly showing some dislike of Dixingians?

During a conversation in the library, Zhao Xinci tells Sang Zan that he, too, has someone he loves in this building – but then we get the handwriting switch. Of Zhao Xinci and Zhang Shi, one is left-handed and one right-handed; we don't know which is which. This whole episode also seemed to be one over-involved loyalty test for the SID crew; was that Zhao Xinci or Zhang Shi's idea, or did they both agree it was necessary?

I suspect that that is the dark energy revolver, which wouldn't do anything to Guo Changcheng anyway.

In addition to what we know his power to be, Zhang Shi seems to have some teleportation power he used to freak out Guo Changcheng at the end of the interview.

Characterization
Zhu Hong is still under the effect of Shen Wei's hypnotic suggestion to not use hypnotism on people. She just has a gut feeling she shouldn't be using it, even if it'd be useful to use it on the baddies.

Lin Jing teases Zhu Hong that shouldn't she feel avenged if Zhao Yunlan loses his job and gets thwacked on the head (Chu Shuzhi laughs); this is at the very least meant to imply that Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are an item, since the conversation would be out of place/play out much differently if Zhao Yunlan were still single.

Zhu Hong displays her propensity for violence, and Lin Jing continues being the butt monkey.

We get additional confirmation that Da Qing's memory troubles have gotten worse (due to the Hallows?) He knew how to speak cat in the 10 years he worked with Zhao Xinci – and was crucial to solving several cases than – but now he's forgotten. Zhao Xinci is baffled.

"Yo, could you please give this old man some language tutoring?"

Chu Shuzhi defends Zhao Yunlan in his absence! It was perhaps wise of him, as he's the one who's in the SID on the Black-Cloaked Envoy's recommendation, and thus Zhao Xinci can't fire him without causing a diplomatic incident. He was also very disturbed by Guo Changcheng thinking he might betray Zhao Yunlan and had to reflect/be shocked for a moment.

"Please excuse me, I must mope with my puppet."

Meanwhile in Dixing...
Shen Wei as the Black-Cloaked Envoy meets Ding Dun's replacement as 执事 (which I'll translate as Attendant), and immediately takes a disliking to him. The Attendant says outsiders aren't allowed, and that includes the Envoy's "friend" Zhao Yunlan. The Attendant is also part of a machination to leave Shen Wei out of Dixing decisionmaking; Shen Wei is very annoyed, but nature abhors a vacuum, and if one is willing to cede power by sodding off, one should not be surprised that others seize the opportunity.

Also, that staircase is traversable.

Zhao Yunlan redeems himself by defusing the situation between Shen Wei and the Attendant by saying that he knows the Envoy is a good guy who doesn't want to abuse his status, so Zhao Yunlan'll just go and search for the booklet with the Regent. He soon discovers just why Shen Wei dislikes the Regent.

"No need to cause an incident here on my behalf, my dear Envoy."

The set-up "big hero scene" was interesting, and Zhao Yunlan must've smelled something fishy right from the start, because he pushed the Regent in rather than intervene himself. (Alternatively, he really didn't like the Regent, and wished he hadn't interrupted Chu Shuzhi's choking session earlier.) The explanation of why he so quickly figured out it was a set-up was very good competence kink – all of that observation and calculation!

"That's it? This video game's level planning requires some major overhauling."

Then the Regent disappears on him to do idk what, and the three actors come after Zhao Yunlan again. He tries to appeal to being a friend of the Black-Cloaked Envoy (but they don't like or respect him), he kicks one in the groin (but he had a Dixing power of being immune to descendant-ending kicks), and finally he actually uses "Look! Over there!" successfully. That is one twisty dude good at getting himself out of situations. (And it pays to mention that whereas Shen Wei is a skilled combatant and a soldier, Zhao Yunlan is a cop, whose fighting is more "kick to the groin if it gets that far" and talking people down. It's a very interesting contrast!)

In the meanwhile, I still can't believe that anyone fell for "He's right behind you!"

The reason he was there was because Ye Zun spotted Zhao Yunlan on the outskirts of the city and called out as if he'd eaten an electric guitar amplifier with his last meal. In his very suspicious pillar amidst a very suspicious field of mini-pillars, his spiel is "Your heart is open to no-one, you don't know what everything is for, you don't know if your actions are right or wrong." However, he gets interrupted before he can finish part B and say what he was going to teach Zhao Yunlan.

Big pillar with his baby pillars.

The Regent's ineptness and bad back were definitely faked, but did he actually lose the booklet accidentally or on purpose, and what the hell is his plan? (Well, self-interest, but it seems to be a more longterm self-interest.) I take it he's trying his best to erode the Envoy's power base and install himself at the top?

Canon details

The higher-ups don't seem to know of the Hallows, since Lin Jing is stuck claiming that they're his personal collection of stuff he collects
Guo Changcheng was born on the 10th of May, has the blood type O, his parents died in a car accident, and he's been at the SID for 3 months now
Guo Changcheng's aunt's name is 于金兰 Yu Jinlan; I have added her to the dramatis personae
Everyone except Da Qing joined while Zhao Yunlan was the chief of the SID. How the hell did Shen Wei deputize Chu Shuzhi's arrival so that his and Zhao Yunlan's first meeting would be in episode 1, instead of way before?
Da Qing and Zhao Xinci worked together for 10 years
Zhao Yunlan "doesn't look Dixingian", though that's probably due to habitus or wardrobe, rather than pure physical features
Dixing doesn't have schools or hospitals
Everyone in Dixing knows that if one opposes the Regent, one will come to harm
Zhao Yunlan is the third SID Chief. (Who was the second one?)
The euphemism du jour for Yashou and Dixingians is "risky identities"

Cinematography
A bunch of shots from afar, this episode!

Some interesting framings, too:

And a camera angle:

The Lord of Dixing is behind a screen:

Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
Just the one jacket the whole episode.

Paired very often with a WTF expression.

Did Shen Wei take off his glasses?
No.

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Why is Zhao Xinci so hot?! Like OMG he is so hot.

...because he's related to Zhao Yunlan, and you are secretly Shen Wei? *g*

LOL

I am not gonna lie; I find his dad way hotter than Zhao Yunlan.

*hides*

Zhao Yunlan had to grow on me.

~~Sacrilege!~~ Well, tastes vary. I'm sure Shen Wei is glad that he can have sole possession of Yunlan!

(Personally, I think the hottest people are Ye Zun and Zhang Ruonan, though Zhu Hong and a bunch of other women are also in the running, as is Professor Shen with his glasses. Say what you will about my tastes.)

I think Sha Ya is the hottest followed by Shen Wei, but most of the cast is really attractive to me. :)

I choose to believe it's Zhang Shi's influence, since I'd rather not be attracted to a jerk like Zhao Xinci.

I'm with you!

Also your icon is adorable.

RIGHT? Just god damn that is a fine, fine man.

I know!

I never know if it's cross-cultural expectations or not, but I was very surprised at how Zhao Xinci's conversation with Guo Changcheng went.

If you're really testing someone, you tell them that one of the others has already spoken up, so it's okay if they tell you how they really feel about Zhao Yunlan. It lowers the apparent consequences, AND it gives a bit of social pressure as well (you're already getting a new boss, don't you wanna suck up now?).

I do really love Zhao Yunlan's Dixing Adventure, though. It's fun to watch him when he's completely out of his depth and trying to figure things out as fast as he can.

I guess it could be manipulating Guo Changcheng into passing the loyalty test and declaring (and thus bolstering) his eternal loyalty to Zhao Yunlan, instead of a test per se? I suppose "One of you hates the boss" might introduce too many divisions within the team/start a witch-hunt, too.

Zhao Yunlan's Dixing Adventure is amazing! Though it just makes me wish we could get a sequel of sorts where Shen Wei showed him the sights, such as they are.

Bai Yu's cartoon face is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. I love when makes expressions like in that pic with the Regent and I really appreciate how his physical acting contrasts to Zhu Yilong's.

I know! It's all ????? and as a genuine reaction from someone who so often conceals his, it's amazing. Dixing truly is a weird place for him!

"Please excuse me, I must mope with my puppet."

LOL. Lao Chu's backstory in a nutshell.

I love Zhao Yunlan's fun journey through Dixing, even though I'm sure it stressed Shen Wei out to no end.

I think the stressing-out didn't come in properly until a bit later, when he realized Yunlan had ditched the Regent and gone putzing off by himself/hadn't returned on time! I suppose he figured the Regent would just lead him on a makework of a search and Zhao Yunlan would return eventually to the palace for "gathering more clues" or something.

*as if he'd eaten an electric guitar amp*
lol, Ye Zun u dramatic bastard. Maybe he's using the inside of the pillar for reverb.

The Regent is SUCH a slimy cockroach, but I still spent the whole ep hating Zhao Xinci more than him.

I love Zhao Yunlan's cop instincts, especially every time they run up against Shen Wei's ancient soldier mindset or Dixing's... everything. XD It's so good watching him catch the Regent out.

lol, Ye Zun u dramatic bastard. Maybe he's using the inside of the pillar for reverb.
That would be very Ye Zun, yes! :D He is a drama llama like his brother.

It's so good watching him catch the Regent out.
Yes! Zhao Yunlan is so smart, and I love him for it! :D And his culture shock when confronted with Shen Wei and Dixing is also lovely.

As for the Regent, well, he is slimy and on a detached level probably worse for the world, but Zhao Xinci is personally mean to our protagonists, and in a personal way. It's also annoying to see him be so disapproving of Zhao Yunlan, whom we know to be the author of little reforms and reinterpretations of the treaty that make life better for everyone.

and Lin Jing's dark ennergy detector finds him a bit dodgy.

I really feel for that poor dark energy detector, man! It works so hard, but keeps getting told that it's not working properly! It's the gaslighting of the dark energy detector!

Zhu Hong's hypnotism hang-ups is such a nice bit of continuity, I love it.

this is at the very least meant to imply that Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are an item, since the conversation would be out of place/play out much differently if Zhao Yunlan were still single.

Or it's a tease relating to the fact that he turned her down despite her being pretty obvious. He's also just not that into her.

This thing aside, this is actually once of my favourite scenes for Chu, who, like, never smiles, but Zhu Hong hitting Lin JIng over the head with vigor gives him an extended fit of mirth. I love it.

I find it kind of amazing, given what a stickler and jerk he is, that Zhao Sr. doesn't give anyone in the SID crap about their fashion choices.

Thank you for the Chu/puppet still! The full glory of the puppet joining in in the moping had escaped me!

Chu Shuzhi defends Zhao Yunlan in his absence!

This is a really good episode where IMO it subtly becomes clear (in a way I can't recall coming back until right at the end) that Chu has a really deep appreciation for Zhao Yunlan, even if he enjoys being gruff and disrespectful to his face. (Which is emphasised by the fact that Guo totally doesn't get that Chu likes Zhao Yunlan, either.)

I still find it utterly weird that the SID chief is expected to just sit in the office. It would make sense to me, of course, if this was a big department and then of course the captain shouldn't go on away missions, but the SID has literally one field agent. Even from a bureaucracy POV, never mind a successfully-tracking-down-criminals POV, I can't see how there'd be a whole supervisor position with no hands-on work in his portfolio. *g*

The explanation of why he so quickly figured out it was a set-up was very good competence kink – all of that observation and calculation!

I love Zhao Yunlan in this whole sequence! He's so clever, and not at all getting suckered in. (And the punching wasn't bad either.)

On the topic of Zhao Yunlan, it's a very interesting moment when Ye Zun obviously manages to get under his skin with the 'you don't love anybody, you don't even know what you're doing is right or wrong'. He has the kind of reaction to it that implies to me this really hit close to home, both in the sense of, this is stuff he wonders about himself, and in the sense that he doesn't really expect anyone else to know this about him (because he's such a great obfuscator). It of course foreshadows the taxi conversation a few episodes down, but the 'you don't know if what you're doing is right or wrong' doesn't really (AFAIK) come back that explicitly. (It makes me want to give him a hug, if I'm honest, but also poke him with a fic stick. *g*)

The woman crying over her husband's medical bills is when I ask myself questions about Chinese health care...

The higher-ups don't seem to know of the Hallows, since Lin Jing is stuck claiming that they're his personal collection of stuff he collects

Interesting observation!

How the hell did Shen Wei deputize Chu Shuzhi's arrival so that his and Zhao Yunlan's first meeting would be in episode 1, instead of way before?

One of the great, great questions of Guardian...

The thing with the loyalty test, I found quite bizarre, as there was literally zero suspense to me regarding what Guo would do. For future plot developments, it does seem really very clear in this episode that Guo was supposed to be the wick...

Or it's a tease relating to the fact that he turned her down despite her being pretty obvious. He's also just not that into her.
IDK, it feels like the door has closed a bit more permanently than if Zhao Yunlan had just turned her down (again). The creators definitely intended this to be the point where the romance started, even if censorship hit them later on.

Chu Shuzhi is definitely the target audience of comedy films that consist entirely of slapstick! He probably uses his technology skillz to watch them on his phone, but if he has a TV at home, I think he'd prop up his puppet to watch them with him.

I find it kind of amazing, given what a stickler and jerk he is, that Zhao Sr. doesn't give anyone in the SID crap about their fashion choices.
Hm, maybe he simply gave up? Or he thinks everyone's fashion choices are not that bad, considering they're incapable of wearing suits.

This is a really good episode where IMO it subtly becomes clear (in a way I can't recall coming back until right at the end) that Chu has a really deep appreciation for Zhao Yunlan, even if he enjoys being gruff and disrespectful to his face. (Which is emphasised by the fact that Guo totally doesn't get that Chu likes Zhao Yunlan, either.)
Yes! Zhao Yunlan likely had to earn that respect, but Chu Shuzhi does approve of him. (In a greater amount that pre-series, though how much the approval increased with the improved attitude towards Dixingians is a bit of an open question I think.) He's so sad and betrayed when Guo Changcheng thinks he might turn on the Boss! Poor thing.

I still find it utterly weird that the SID chief is expected to just sit in the office. It would make sense to me, of course, if this was a big department and then of course the captain shouldn't go on away missions, but the SID has literally one field agent. Even from a bureaucracy POV, never mind a successfully-tracking-down-criminals POV, I can't see how there'd be a whole supervisor position with no hands-on work in his portfolio. *g*
Same! I guess Zhao Xinci had a much larger department? (Or at least he had lots more field agents.) I suppose Zhao Xinci's departure saw the budget cut, and Zhao Yunlan prefers handpicking people who fit into his department of dealing with weird shit.

I love Zhao Yunlan in this whole sequence! He's so clever, and not at all getting suckered in. (And the punching wasn't bad either.)
Yes! I love Zhao Yunlan's cleverness! He knows what dodginess is, and thinks quickly on his feet.

Hm, in context, I interpreted "you don't know if what you're doing is right or wrong" as being mostly about his enforcing the treaty that keeps the Dixingians away from the surface. That's come up before, and Zhao Yunlan has now seen (some of) the squalor of Dixing, and sees them as people, so I expect he'd be doubting the purpose of the SID. Had Ye Zun not escalated the situation, I think he'd have quietly asked Shen Wei about the possibility of treaty reform. It is very pokable with fic sticks.

The woman crying over her husband's medical bills is when I ask myself questions about Chinese health care...
Same.

The thing with the loyalty test, I found quite bizarre, as there was literally zero suspense to me regarding what Guo would do. For future plot developments, it does seem really very clear in this episode that Guo was supposed to be the wick...
I guess it might've been an impromptu "is Guo Changcheng good enough to be the wick" test, especially since it only comes after he makes notes about a book titled "Collection of Secrets from Ancient Times" – ie, makes Hallows notes. There's also the matter of how much is Zhao Xinci, how much is Zhang Shi, and how much is them interfering with each other's plans.

This whole episode also seemed to be one over-involved loyalty test for the SID crew; was that Zhao Xinci or Zhang Shi's idea, or did they both agree it was necessary?

I really wonder about that. On the face of it there would seem to be absolutely no reason to suddenly test the team's loyalty - Zhao Xinci doesn't even know that something major will come along soon.

Also, when he arrived, he must have expected Zhao Yunlan to be there; he didn't know in advance that Zhao Yunlan had buggered off to Dixing. So he didn't come with any loyalty test in mind already, he must have improvised that. I do wonder if he was actually, initially, really trying to turn the team against Zhao Yunlan, and then claimed it was a loyalty test after it didn't work.

But even though he's an asshole, that might go a bit far?

Then the Regent disappears on him to do idk what

I think his main aim is simply to disappear and not constantly be expected to find that booklet. I think what you say makes sense, the Regent wants to be at the top, though it puzzles me then that he wouldn't want the booklet for himself; it contains very useful information, after all.

Zhao Yunlan's expressions in this episode are golden!

Also, when he arrived, he must have expected Zhao Yunlan to be there; he didn't know in advance that Zhao Yunlan had buggered off to Dixing. So he didn't come with any loyalty test in mind already, he must have improvised that. I do wonder if he was actually, initially, really trying to turn the team against Zhao Yunlan, and then claimed it was a loyalty test after it didn't work.
Hm, true! Though the loyalty test doesn't come until after he goes to the library and reads up on the secrets of olden days, plus he did see two of the Hallows in Lin Jing's lab right at the start, so he might've suspected something was coming up?

I think his main aim is simply to disappear and not constantly be expected to find that booklet. I think what you say makes sense, the Regent wants to be at the top, though it puzzles me then that he wouldn't want the booklet for himself; it contains very useful information, after all.
I think the Regent might've had his fingers in the soup of Ding Dun and hoped that Ding Dun might be useful for him. I also suspect he ran off partially to test Zhao Yunlan – after all, he's one of the only people who knew Zhao Yunlan was from the topside. Maybe he wanted to create a diplomatic incident? IDK. It feels like his more complicated motivations got rearranged out of the show at some point.

Given that Zhao Xinci knows Shen Wei has just started consulting for the department, I wonder if his surprise visit was initially to find out what's going on there.

Is the book he puts (back) on the library shelf the same one that Zhu Hong later podfics? It looks the same to me.

Given that Zhao Xinci knows Shen Wei has just started consulting for the department, I wonder if his surprise visit was initially to find out what's going on there.
Ooh, this is an interesting theory!

Is the book he puts (back) on the library shelf the same one that Zhu Hong later podfics?
Yes, it is. It's also implied that it wasn't in the library before/that Zhang Shi brought it there for some express purpose.

It's also implied that it wasn't in the library before/that Zhang Shi brought it there for some express purpose.

*nodnod* I got that impression too.

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Guardian Episode by Episode: 16

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