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sid_guardian2019-07-19 07:59 pm
extrapenguin) wrote in sid_guardian2019-07-19 07:59 pm
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Guardian Episode by Episode: 20
Welcome to the rewatchalong! This week we do episode 20. We're at the halfway point! The Imgur screencap album has 102 images, a large number of which are of Zhu Jiu and Ye Zun.
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, Episode 19
This week, Zhu Jiu escapes, and we meet Ye Zun!
Introductions
We meet Ye Zunin the flesh in spectral energy form! The first time we see him, he's at the foot of the pillar, and he's not wearing his mask:
"Zhu Jiu, bring me another of those boxer dudes so I have enough energy to manifest my mask!"
Then we're informed that this isn't enough energy to break the seal (so he's still confined to the pillar, sort of), and he fucks off to Haixing. He's standing in the park near the entrance to Dixing – not enough energy to go further?
"Let's experiment – can I snort Haixing?"
On the topic of Zhu Jiu, Ye Zun says "He burned up so he could live in my blood forever", and given the lack of regrets, it is very megalomaniacal. Better take a few steps back.
"I'm a good guy. You, too, can live in my blood forever, and I don't even charge an entry fee! Get eaten today!"
Ye Zun is bitter about Dixing's treatment. He thinks humans have cut off Dixingians' desires and forced maintainance of the status quo, and says he wants to change this.
He also really wants those Hallows. When he doesn't get them, he turns violent, and when that doesn't work, he starts pouting.
We also get the first hints of his gege issues: when Shen Wei turns up to deal with Ye Zun and Zhao Yunlan's Hallows-involving battle, Ye Zun says "after all these years you're still the same" to gege; likely he's referring to the whole "In my heart, you have always come first, but in your heart, others are above me" thing he was thinking in the time travel segment and he's jealous of Zhao Yunlan.
Characterization
Let's start with Zhu Jiu, who got his final appearance! We got the rest of his tragic backstory: he got into trouble with his boss because of his weird behavior after meeting Ye Zun for the first time, ran back to Ye Zun, had some of Ye Zun's dark energy enter his head, and murdered his ex-boss. Then we see him have a confrontation with the Envoy, where he asks the Envoy about the treaty. The bit where the Envoy says that "Peace didn't come easy" might've actually even happened; the follow-ups of "So the centipede keeps on struggling even after it's dead" and then making references to Ye Zun and saying he must "nip evil in the bud" (by ... giving Zhu Jiu a dramatic scar across the cheek) are at the very least edited. Or some-years-back Shen Wei was being really strict as the Envoy, but that still doesn't make sense of the whole "nip evil in the bud" by slashing the cheek thing.
How much is it dream, and how much is it Shen Wei floundering his way through Envoy-ing in the modern era?
Being asked who his boss is made Zhu Jiu recall the whole suicide-by-energy-donation thingy. He really was quite dedicated to Ye Zun, though at least some of that must've been mind control. Given the suicide bottle and his reluctance to divulge knowledge of who his boss is, it seems like the plan was that he went upstairs to give the SID hell and find the Hallows, but commit suicide rather than tell anyone anything.
"So long, and no thanks for all the shit."
Zhu Hong keeps stuff just because it looks fun. Like stimulants from the snake tribe apothecary.
Also, this is NOT appropriate IV injection technique.
Da Qing put on a suit and impersonated a Department of Supervision official to go fetch Lin Jing and Cong Bo. (Minister Gao was incensed.) It seems Zhao Yunlan let him come up with his own plan for retrieval independently.
"H, I am the top of the Department of Supervision food chain."
Shen Wei casually healed Ye Huo and Guo Changcheng behind Chu Shuzhi's back. Other than that, we saw him be very concerned about Zhao Yunlan, bail Yunlan out of a situation, be very happy when Yunlan revealed that he still lived, and be dispirited when Yunlan's blindness was revealed.
By showing such cute teeth to Yunlan, surely Yunlan will give up the Hallows-groping!
Chu Shuzhi has learned nothing from the cold room debacle, and left Guo Changcheng in charge of Zhu Jiu. He also thinks it's okay to beat up prisoners, and punches a lying-down Zhu Jiu to shut him up.
"Insult the Envoy one more time, and I will punch you in the balls instead of the solar plexus."
On the other hand, Guo Changcheng is invested in the care and comfort of prisoners, and declares that he wants to give Zhu Jiu water and dumplings, so of course he assents to bringing Zhu Jiu to the bathroom. Then, because he's an idiot, he removes Zhu Jiu's handcuffs. Why???? As we can see from how Zhu Jiu pisses, he could've done the fly unzipping and aiming with his hands cuffed together just fine.
Too dumb to live.
Let's take a moment to talk about the politicians! Minister Gao is at first super duper incensed about Zhao Yunlan's stunt, but then Zhao Xinci turns up to plead on the SID's behalf and justifies the whole thing as them capturing a dangerous Dixingian, and we witness Minister Gao's opinion do an instant 180° turn.
"Please, at least wait five minutes for your views to evolve this much."
Zhao Xinci refers to Zhang Shi as an "old disease" and/or folds him into the heart troubles he's been having. He's also the one hurrying up a much more patient Professor Ouyang (but then Zhang Shi comes out to tell everyone to chill and do it right instead of fast). Oh, and Professor Ouyang looks at the dude accompanying Zhao Xinci before answering the progress question – who is that dude?
This dude. Who's he?
In Dixing, the Regent and the Attendant turn up to look at Ye Zun's pillar. The Attendant suggests they aid Ye Zun, while the Regent (predictably) advises him not to take sides so soon.
"Child, you must learn the number one rule of life: never pick a side unless your life depends on it. In that case, pick both."
When she finds Zhu Jiu's death bottle, Ya Qing seems a bit sad over his death, even if he was a racist at her. Somehow she also figures out where Ye Zun is waiting and brings Zhu Hong and Zhao Yunlan to see him.
You may note that I saved the best for last – Zhao Yunlan. In this episode's taxi scene, he hears his name said in Ye Zun's voice, despite Zhu Jiu still living and the fact that he's only been corrupted by the Hallows. As for the conversation with Shen Wei, I distinctly recall that somewhere we discussed it; a native speaker opined that the whole "Zhao Yunlan cannot love" thing was a mistranslation and it was more that he was last in love when love was handed out (and that in a different context, what he said would come across as very flirty). There's also some nice handsiness and care demonstrated between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan.
"Shen Wei, please go to the Ministry alone. This is totally because of the Hallows' message and not at all because my dad might be there."
The conversation with Ye Zun started with Zhao Yunlan exhorting him to remove his mask. (Now I'm stuck imagining an AU where Zhao Yunlan asks Ye Zun about why he's doing what he's doing and sticks a lollipop in his mouth and suddenly the jealous twin is Shen Wei. *g*) Zhao Yunlan also doesn't engage with Ye Zun's arguments at all and instead calls him out on his treatment of his fellow Dixingians. He also later remarks to Shen Wei that Ye Zun feels familiar somehow.
"Also, who turned the lights off?"
Canon details
There was also a very nice Reunion Festival dinner!
Cinematography
Shots from above!
Shots from below!
Obligatory hand close-up!
And some that are just in general nice!
Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
Same one as last ep, as it's the same day.
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, Episode 19
This week, Zhu Jiu escapes, and we meet Ye Zun!
Introductions
We meet Ye Zun
"Zhu Jiu, bring me another of those boxer dudes so I have enough energy to manifest my mask!"
Then we're informed that this isn't enough energy to break the seal (so he's still confined to the pillar, sort of), and he fucks off to Haixing. He's standing in the park near the entrance to Dixing – not enough energy to go further?
"Let's experiment – can I snort Haixing?"
On the topic of Zhu Jiu, Ye Zun says "He burned up so he could live in my blood forever", and given the lack of regrets, it is very megalomaniacal. Better take a few steps back.
"I'm a good guy. You, too, can live in my blood forever, and I don't even charge an entry fee! Get eaten today!"
Ye Zun is bitter about Dixing's treatment. He thinks humans have cut off Dixingians' desires and forced maintainance of the status quo, and says he wants to change this.
He also really wants those Hallows. When he doesn't get them, he turns violent, and when that doesn't work, he starts pouting.
We also get the first hints of his gege issues: when Shen Wei turns up to deal with Ye Zun and Zhao Yunlan's Hallows-involving battle, Ye Zun says "after all these years you're still the same" to gege; likely he's referring to the whole "In my heart, you have always come first, but in your heart, others are above me" thing he was thinking in the time travel segment and he's jealous of Zhao Yunlan.
Characterization
Let's start with Zhu Jiu, who got his final appearance! We got the rest of his tragic backstory: he got into trouble with his boss because of his weird behavior after meeting Ye Zun for the first time, ran back to Ye Zun, had some of Ye Zun's dark energy enter his head, and murdered his ex-boss. Then we see him have a confrontation with the Envoy, where he asks the Envoy about the treaty. The bit where the Envoy says that "Peace didn't come easy" might've actually even happened; the follow-ups of "So the centipede keeps on struggling even after it's dead" and then making references to Ye Zun and saying he must "nip evil in the bud" (by ... giving Zhu Jiu a dramatic scar across the cheek) are at the very least edited. Or some-years-back Shen Wei was being really strict as the Envoy, but that still doesn't make sense of the whole "nip evil in the bud" by slashing the cheek thing.
How much is it dream, and how much is it Shen Wei floundering his way through Envoy-ing in the modern era?
Being asked who his boss is made Zhu Jiu recall the whole suicide-by-energy-donation thingy. He really was quite dedicated to Ye Zun, though at least some of that must've been mind control. Given the suicide bottle and his reluctance to divulge knowledge of who his boss is, it seems like the plan was that he went upstairs to give the SID hell and find the Hallows, but commit suicide rather than tell anyone anything.
"So long, and no thanks for all the shit."
Zhu Hong keeps stuff just because it looks fun. Like stimulants from the snake tribe apothecary.
Also, this is NOT appropriate IV injection technique.
Da Qing put on a suit and impersonated a Department of Supervision official to go fetch Lin Jing and Cong Bo. (Minister Gao was incensed.) It seems Zhao Yunlan let him come up with his own plan for retrieval independently.
"H, I am the top of the Department of Supervision food chain."
Shen Wei casually healed Ye Huo and Guo Changcheng behind Chu Shuzhi's back. Other than that, we saw him be very concerned about Zhao Yunlan, bail Yunlan out of a situation, be very happy when Yunlan revealed that he still lived, and be dispirited when Yunlan's blindness was revealed.
By showing such cute teeth to Yunlan, surely Yunlan will give up the Hallows-groping!
Chu Shuzhi has learned nothing from the cold room debacle, and left Guo Changcheng in charge of Zhu Jiu. He also thinks it's okay to beat up prisoners, and punches a lying-down Zhu Jiu to shut him up.
"Insult the Envoy one more time, and I will punch you in the balls instead of the solar plexus."
On the other hand, Guo Changcheng is invested in the care and comfort of prisoners, and declares that he wants to give Zhu Jiu water and dumplings, so of course he assents to bringing Zhu Jiu to the bathroom. Then, because he's an idiot, he removes Zhu Jiu's handcuffs. Why???? As we can see from how Zhu Jiu pisses, he could've done the fly unzipping and aiming with his hands cuffed together just fine.
Too dumb to live.
Let's take a moment to talk about the politicians! Minister Gao is at first super duper incensed about Zhao Yunlan's stunt, but then Zhao Xinci turns up to plead on the SID's behalf and justifies the whole thing as them capturing a dangerous Dixingian, and we witness Minister Gao's opinion do an instant 180° turn.
"Please, at least wait five minutes for your views to evolve this much."
Zhao Xinci refers to Zhang Shi as an "old disease" and/or folds him into the heart troubles he's been having. He's also the one hurrying up a much more patient Professor Ouyang (but then Zhang Shi comes out to tell everyone to chill and do it right instead of fast). Oh, and Professor Ouyang looks at the dude accompanying Zhao Xinci before answering the progress question – who is that dude?
This dude. Who's he?
In Dixing, the Regent and the Attendant turn up to look at Ye Zun's pillar. The Attendant suggests they aid Ye Zun, while the Regent (predictably) advises him not to take sides so soon.
"Child, you must learn the number one rule of life: never pick a side unless your life depends on it. In that case, pick both."
When she finds Zhu Jiu's death bottle, Ya Qing seems a bit sad over his death, even if he was a racist at her. Somehow she also figures out where Ye Zun is waiting and brings Zhu Hong and Zhao Yunlan to see him.
You may note that I saved the best for last – Zhao Yunlan. In this episode's taxi scene, he hears his name said in Ye Zun's voice, despite Zhu Jiu still living and the fact that he's only been corrupted by the Hallows. As for the conversation with Shen Wei, I distinctly recall that somewhere we discussed it; a native speaker opined that the whole "Zhao Yunlan cannot love" thing was a mistranslation and it was more that he was last in love when love was handed out (and that in a different context, what he said would come across as very flirty). There's also some nice handsiness and care demonstrated between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan.
"Shen Wei, please go to the Ministry alone. This is totally because of the Hallows' message and not at all because my dad might be there."
The conversation with Ye Zun started with Zhao Yunlan exhorting him to remove his mask. (Now I'm stuck imagining an AU where Zhao Yunlan asks Ye Zun about why he's doing what he's doing and sticks a lollipop in his mouth and suddenly the jealous twin is Shen Wei. *g*) Zhao Yunlan also doesn't engage with Ye Zun's arguments at all and instead calls him out on his treatment of his fellow Dixingians. He also later remarks to Shen Wei that Ye Zun feels familiar somehow.
"Also, who turned the lights off?"
Canon details
- Zhu Jiu has been in Dragon City for years, as per Zhao Xinci
- Zhao Yunlan's blindness was caused by the Hallows corrupting him
There was also a very nice Reunion Festival dinner!
Cinematography
Shots from above!
Shots from below!
Obligatory hand close-up!
And some that are just in general nice!
Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
Same one as last ep, as it's the same day.
Did Shen Wei take off his glasses?
No.
no subject
But the darkness wasn't a bug, it was a feature-True! But the context of the line was defeating Ye Zun, so it'd have been nice if human ingenuity had been what brought him down.no subject
But the context of the line was defeating Ye Zun, so it'd have been nice if human ingenuity had been what brought him down.
Not actually disagreeing with you, just elaborating why for me the connection works. Ye Zun, for all his personal trauma and revenge agenda, does dress up his villainy as a way for the Dixing people to get revenge on humans treating them badly, shafting them with the peace agreement, etc. So to me, even in the context of Ye Zun, that making things right for Dixing comes from a human making the sacrifice, not Shen Wei, fits and actually is a pretty good fuck you / prove-him-wrong to Ye Zun.
(Ye Zun's actual beef was IMO much more personal, and it was pretty much exclusively Dixingren who treated him badly or 'betrayed him', so him personally being taken down in a much more personal way by Shen Wei also works for him.)
Not that I would at all object to Zhao Yunlan getting a chance to take Ye Zu down, but that's where I was coming from with that!
no subject
Nodnod! Indeed, it does work that Ye Zun be brought down by his brother, even if I wish we could've gotten an ending where Ye Zun realized that all the anti-human and anti-gege stuff was implanted by the one guy who actually treated him badly, and he'd then maybe stop his vendetta, but alas, that was not to happen. Alternatively, Zhao Yunlan accidentally talking him into reconciling with Shen Wei. Then again, I am a sucker for happy endings and reconciliations and redemption, plus Zhao Yunlan being competent and saving the day...