ExtraPenguin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
extrapenguin) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sid_guardian2019-07-12 08:37 pm
extrapenguin) wrote in sid_guardian2019-07-12 08:37 pm
Entry tags:
Guardian Episode by Episode: 19
Welcome to the rewatchalong! This week's topic is episode 19. The Imgur screencap album has 72 images, NONE of which have Youku logos!
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, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18
This week, SID members get kidnapped, Zhu Jiu attempts extortion and gets captured.
Characterization
Let's start by talking about our favorite purple-haired drama llama Zhu Jiu! He makes a car engine malfunction somehow, which doesn't seem to be in his wheelhouse but okay, and then he pauses his evilness to do a whole load of gloating and confesses that he murdered xiao-Jie.
"Let me pause my evil masterplan for a moment to gloat about how I murdered your brother! The boss pays me by the monologue."
Intriguingly, Zhu Jiu addresses Shen Wei as "Professor Shen" on the ransom video. Is this incidental/"I know your secret, Black-Cloaked Envoy!" or is he invested in preserving Shen Wei's double identity for the future drama?
Zhu Jiu claims to know nothing of first aid (despite having been a Dixing palace guard??)
The recruitment speech Zhu Jiu gives Chu Shuzhi is interesting – we know he knows he's dying; is he trying to recruit himself a replacement? His speech was also interesting re: Dixing's illumination levels – "forsake the darkness for the light" would to me imply getting the fuck out of Dixing and wholeheartedly embracing Haixing and maybe getting a job topside like Chu Shuzhi. Zhu Jiu also straight-up refuses to answer when asked who his boss is. Does he think Chu Shuzhi knows Ye Zun?
First, full of hope, but then rejected and dejected.That's what one gets for hitting on taken people.
I'd like your thoughts on Zhu Jiu's expression and body language when he hears that he'll be getting the Hallows from Zhao Yunlan. To me, it seems like he's almost sad/like he'd have preferred to not get that phone call, but idk if it's because of some masterplan stuff, because he's sad Chu Shuzhi turned him down, or whether I'm just imagining things.
Zhu Jiu's anti-Yashou prejudice turned out to be part of his downfall. Had he not been arrogant about being chosen personally by the boss and considered Ya Qing useless, she might've declined the invitation from the other Yashou elders and been there to bail him out again. Instead, he got captured. (If Ya Qing wasn't recruited by Ye Zun, then she must've been recruited by Zhu Jiu, which says interesting things about her and Zhu Jiu's recruitment strategies.)
"Nooo! This shirt cost me two months' salary!"
Guo Changcheng continues being a dumb puppy. He reassured Ye Huo's minions that Ye Huo would be OK and was cute in his utter faith in Zhao Yunlan, then screwed up by getting out of the car after specifically being told not to (thus causing their capture/being a part of the reason they were captured), and locking away the freezer shutdown switch. This is the episode where on the first watchthrough my annoyance turned to loathing.
Chu Shuzhi, on the other hand, isn't stupid! He's sort of vaguely mentioned learning stuff from Zhao Yunlan, and here we see him taunt Zhu Jiu out of murdering Guo Changcheng. Then Zhu Jiu gave his spiel of "come work for my boss" and Chu Shuzhi's expression was pure "look at this fucking idiot" until Zhu Jiu insulted the Envoy and Chu Shuzhi went into "hdu insult Envoy-sempai" mode.
And let's not forget him taking off his jacket to keep Guo Changcheng warm! (Ye Huo wishes he were anywhere else for a plethora of reasons.)
This is also the first time we hear about Chu Shuzhi committing taboo crimes in Dixing. The information does come from Zhu Jiu, yes, but Chu Shuzhi himself says he'll tell Guo Changcheng all about it once they get out. No hint as to what makes the crime taboo.
The Hallows also count as characters! In this episode, Zhao Yunlan has no real reason to touch the Awl, but then the Awl starts glowing and he touches it. Wang Zheng earlier speculated about the Hallows being sentient; maybe they really are, and are pulling Zhao Yunlan towards them so that they can make him touch them? So: is Zhao Yunlan actually touching the Hallows of his own free will, or is he being mind controlled/mind influenced by the Hallows to do so whenever they have a message to tell or they want to screw with him?
I mean, this does not look healthy.
The vision was mainly about a potential future to avoid, but the Hallows made vision Chu Shuzhi laugh manically and say "This is just the beginning" – beginning of what? Is this a warning about Ye Zun, or a triumphant declaration of victory now that Zhao Yunlan has been corrupted by dark energy/the Hallows and they can beam visions straight into his brain whenever they feel like it?
This episode is basically a tour de force for Zhao Yunlan planning an operation. He figures out what he needs to do (lure Zhu Jiu out, cut the lights, put power-suppressing handcuffs on him), sets all the pieces in motion, and executes the plan. I loved it!
Zhao Yunlan's thinking face.
Shen Wei's way of displaying concern is fussing; in this instance, aggressively wiping Zhao Yunlan's nose with a handkerchief. He's also fucking pissed, at Zhao Yunlan, at himself, or at the Hallows. (And he has no clue why Zhu Jiu hates him.)
"No, Yunlan, I know you are perfectly capable of imagining me without clothes without getting a nosebleed and fainting. Sit still and let me wipe the Hallows-dust off your face."
There was a very blatant line when Zhu Hong and Shen Wei were going to Fourth Uncle's place. Zhu Hong wondered whether "any affection in the world can last forever", turned to Shen Wei, and gave Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan's friendship as an example of an affection that would/could last forever. It was hilarious. As was Shen Wei giving her the advice that the crush would go away within three years.
Lin Jing does appreciate Zhao Yunlan, despite the bonus-canceling: "If the sky was falling, boss would hold it up."
Canon details
Cinematography
A shot through a netting thing:
What is the secret the Hallows are hiding?
A bunch of shots from afar:
Interesting to note is that a lot of it is used as a visual language for waiting.
Then there's this shot from below:
There's this nice shot of Zhu Jiu's hand:
Also, I just realized that Zhu Jiu and the Envoy are IIRC the only people on the show who have back-of-the-hand protector/decoration thingies.
And this standoff:
And Shen Wei looks very appealing while using the Hallows as torches:
Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
Only one jacket, but it's different to last episode's one, so this one must happen the following day or a few days later:
Did Shen Wei take off his glasses?
No.
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, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18
This week, SID members get kidnapped, Zhu Jiu attempts extortion and gets captured.
Characterization
Let's start by talking about our favorite purple-haired drama llama Zhu Jiu! He makes a car engine malfunction somehow, which doesn't seem to be in his wheelhouse but okay, and then he pauses his evilness to do a whole load of gloating and confesses that he murdered xiao-Jie.
"Let me pause my evil masterplan for a moment to gloat about how I murdered your brother! The boss pays me by the monologue."
Intriguingly, Zhu Jiu addresses Shen Wei as "Professor Shen" on the ransom video. Is this incidental/"I know your secret, Black-Cloaked Envoy!" or is he invested in preserving Shen Wei's double identity for the future drama?
Zhu Jiu claims to know nothing of first aid (despite having been a Dixing palace guard??)
The recruitment speech Zhu Jiu gives Chu Shuzhi is interesting – we know he knows he's dying; is he trying to recruit himself a replacement? His speech was also interesting re: Dixing's illumination levels – "forsake the darkness for the light" would to me imply getting the fuck out of Dixing and wholeheartedly embracing Haixing and maybe getting a job topside like Chu Shuzhi. Zhu Jiu also straight-up refuses to answer when asked who his boss is. Does he think Chu Shuzhi knows Ye Zun?
First, full of hope, but then rejected and dejected.
I'd like your thoughts on Zhu Jiu's expression and body language when he hears that he'll be getting the Hallows from Zhao Yunlan. To me, it seems like he's almost sad/like he'd have preferred to not get that phone call, but idk if it's because of some masterplan stuff, because he's sad Chu Shuzhi turned him down, or whether I'm just imagining things.
Zhu Jiu's anti-Yashou prejudice turned out to be part of his downfall. Had he not been arrogant about being chosen personally by the boss and considered Ya Qing useless, she might've declined the invitation from the other Yashou elders and been there to bail him out again. Instead, he got captured. (If Ya Qing wasn't recruited by Ye Zun, then she must've been recruited by Zhu Jiu, which says interesting things about her and Zhu Jiu's recruitment strategies.)
"Nooo! This shirt cost me two months' salary!"
Guo Changcheng continues being a dumb puppy. He reassured Ye Huo's minions that Ye Huo would be OK and was cute in his utter faith in Zhao Yunlan, then screwed up by getting out of the car after specifically being told not to (thus causing their capture/being a part of the reason they were captured), and locking away the freezer shutdown switch. This is the episode where on the first watchthrough my annoyance turned to loathing.
Chu Shuzhi, on the other hand, isn't stupid! He's sort of vaguely mentioned learning stuff from Zhao Yunlan, and here we see him taunt Zhu Jiu out of murdering Guo Changcheng. Then Zhu Jiu gave his spiel of "come work for my boss" and Chu Shuzhi's expression was pure "look at this fucking idiot" until Zhu Jiu insulted the Envoy and Chu Shuzhi went into "hdu insult Envoy-sempai" mode.
And let's not forget him taking off his jacket to keep Guo Changcheng warm! (Ye Huo wishes he were anywhere else for a plethora of reasons.)
This is also the first time we hear about Chu Shuzhi committing taboo crimes in Dixing. The information does come from Zhu Jiu, yes, but Chu Shuzhi himself says he'll tell Guo Changcheng all about it once they get out. No hint as to what makes the crime taboo.
The Hallows also count as characters! In this episode, Zhao Yunlan has no real reason to touch the Awl, but then the Awl starts glowing and he touches it. Wang Zheng earlier speculated about the Hallows being sentient; maybe they really are, and are pulling Zhao Yunlan towards them so that they can make him touch them? So: is Zhao Yunlan actually touching the Hallows of his own free will, or is he being mind controlled/mind influenced by the Hallows to do so whenever they have a message to tell or they want to screw with him?
I mean, this does not look healthy.
The vision was mainly about a potential future to avoid, but the Hallows made vision Chu Shuzhi laugh manically and say "This is just the beginning" – beginning of what? Is this a warning about Ye Zun, or a triumphant declaration of victory now that Zhao Yunlan has been corrupted by dark energy/the Hallows and they can beam visions straight into his brain whenever they feel like it?
This episode is basically a tour de force for Zhao Yunlan planning an operation. He figures out what he needs to do (lure Zhu Jiu out, cut the lights, put power-suppressing handcuffs on him), sets all the pieces in motion, and executes the plan. I loved it!
Zhao Yunlan's thinking face.
Shen Wei's way of displaying concern is fussing; in this instance, aggressively wiping Zhao Yunlan's nose with a handkerchief. He's also fucking pissed, at Zhao Yunlan, at himself, or at the Hallows. (And he has no clue why Zhu Jiu hates him.)
"No, Yunlan, I know you are perfectly capable of imagining me without clothes without getting a nosebleed and fainting. Sit still and let me wipe the Hallows-dust off your face."
There was a very blatant line when Zhu Hong and Shen Wei were going to Fourth Uncle's place. Zhu Hong wondered whether "any affection in the world can last forever", turned to Shen Wei, and gave Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan's friendship as an example of an affection that would/could last forever. It was hilarious. As was Shen Wei giving her the advice that the crush would go away within three years.
Lin Jing does appreciate Zhao Yunlan, despite the bonus-canceling: "If the sky was falling, boss would hold it up."
Canon details
- According to the Lord of Dixing's palace's books, humans corrupted by dark energy can get "unstuck in time" and see visions of the future
- They have touchscreens on a random lab! This must be the future; modern labs have at best light switch type arrangements and more often stuff that's from the 80s. Also, the safety countermeasures on that cryolab are crap, and cold temperature labs don't work like that
- There has been no Yashou High Chief for decades
- It's the Reunion Festival (5th day of the 8th lunar month, so between 8 Sept and 7 Oct), and the Zhu Jiu vs the SID thing has been going on for over half a year
Cinematography
A shot through a netting thing:
What is the secret the Hallows are hiding?
A bunch of shots from afar:
Interesting to note is that a lot of it is used as a visual language for waiting.
Then there's this shot from below:
There's this nice shot of Zhu Jiu's hand:
Also, I just realized that Zhu Jiu and the Envoy are IIRC the only people on the show who have back-of-the-hand protector/decoration thingies.
And this standoff:
And Shen Wei looks very appealing while using the Hallows as torches:
Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
Only one jacket, but it's different to last episode's one, so this one must happen the following day or a few days later:
Did Shen Wei take off his glasses?
No.
no subject
I'm glad Ya Qing did the sensible thing there and stopped hanging out with the guy who did nothing but insult her.
The Guo Changcheng stuff is just... really really painful. So dumb. So useless. I mean, he essentially causes the deaths of those boxers everyone has been trying to save just because he couldn't follow one simple order. And don't even start me on the thing with the switch.
One thing I never quite got was why Fire guy is so useless in the lab. He can make fire! There's some flammable stuff there. Why not at least set that on fire to delay all the freezing a bit?
I like your theory that the Holy Tools are pulling Zhao Yunlan towards them. Given how curious and reckless he is, they wouldn't have to pull very hard, I think, but the idea that isn't just on Zhao Yunlan has some appeal and would explain the frequency of the touching.
This episode is basically a tour de force for Zhao Yunlan planning an operation.
THIS! It's just wonderful!
I will never get over how Shen Wei manhandles Zhao Yunlan after the Awl incident. Like, 'your body is mine, don't you dare be stupid with it.' No sense of personal space whatsoever. ♥
Someone said somewhere that Zhu Jiu's hand decoration thingie is actually a Final Fantasy fan item. I cannot verify this but it would say interesting things about Zhu Jiu. :)
Shen Wei with the Holy Tools: so beautiful!
no subject
I am a bit ??? that she would spend so much time hanging out with the racist, and also that she'd then continue being loyal to the racist's racist boss. Surely you can get better co-conspirators than these, Ya Qing!
I think he was supposed to be heavily injured by the explosion, as evidenced by him just sitting down and not doing anything the whole time + being sent to hospital afterwards.
Yeah, there are cases where he does think it's a good idea to touch them and it's reasonable, but other times, it's like his brain skipped straight to Plan Z, Touch the Hallows, and it's baffling, especially given that the situation is not urgent at all.
He is!
no subject
I think she never realized that the racist's boss was also racist until quite late one.
I can't help wondering what the whole 'revitalizing the Yashou Tribes' is meant to actually mean, anyway. What does she want to happen?
as evidenced by him just sitting down and not doing anything the whole time
That actor must have been so bored...
no subject
Maybe? I read her final disillusionment with Ye Zun (via Mi Lu) as being about "aw fuck, they think the Yashou are disposable"; she probably got the idea that Ye Zun wasn't all gung ho about the Yashou cause much before that. Though now I wonder whether they communicated at all before Ye Zun was released from his prison. Hmm...
I have no clue so far, but maybe there'll be another throwaway remark about it later on?
Hey, he got to turn up to work, take a nap, and collect a paycheck! That's better than nothing.