sid_guardian | Guardian Episode by Episode: 26

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type: episode discussion

Guardian Episode by Episode: 26

Welcome to the rewatchalong! This week we watch episode 26. The Imgur screencap album has 50 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, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, Episode 19, Episode 20, Episode 21, Episode 22, Episode 23, Episode 24, Episode 25

This week, we have Da Ji's case/Da Qing backstory and the team figures out the identity of the Master of the Merit Brush.

Introductions
Da Ji! She's not in that large a role for the rest of the series, but she turns up all innocent victim, then turns into the whiniest wannabe girlfriend for Da Qing. She objects to him talking to humans, any humans (despite the fact that she married at least one of them, though I suppose any hypocrisy might be caused by her ex trying to murder her because she's too much of a "freak"). The Master of the Merit Brush contacted her with details on Zheng Daqian's financial fraud so she could get her revenge on him. (The details of the financial fraud were likely uncovered by Ya Qing with her leet haxxor skillz.)

"Traitor! Only I am allowed to talk to the humans!"

Characterization
Our villain boss Ya Qing mourns Dong Nan. Apparently Dong Nan was an eccentric, and didn't want to travel with the crows.

She was eccentric, but with a good taste in park benches.

We also see Lin Jing's courtship of Sha Ya! They're now on a date, and Lin Jing does his best to woo her – by reciting stuff from the automated tour guide thingy. She calls him out and says she's more interested in the stars than the crust, but invites him to her concert later and gives him her phone number. It's also their third meeting as per Sha Ya. At the concert, Sha Ya actually waves at a besotted Lin Jing fondly, and in general seems ... as if she's actually interested, but shy/awkward about showing it.

Lin Jing also brings Zhu Hong to the concert (who soon leaves) because he doesn't want to be too blatant. Based on how she thwacks him often and their general interactions, I think they're actually pretty good friends.

Zhu Hong finds Lin Jing a good thwack target and hilarious when he's besotted.

Da Ji's crappy husband Zheng Daqian is a crappy murderer, but since he's rich (his name literally means "lots of money"), he probably thought he could buy his way out of the accusations.

This is a big episode for our favorite kitty, Da Qing! He gets sent to go on an undercover date with Da Ji and is so very uncomfortable the whole time (and has a terrible suit).

"Let's get married and have kittens!" "new phone who dis"

On the date, he has most of his memories – all of his YOHE memories – back. He treats the matter of lost memories as important, and is willing to hurry Doctor Cheng, but then very conveniently regains them after being hit between the shoulder blades. (This is actually one of the safest places to hit people.) (Charitably, perhaps he hit his head on the way down.)

Zhao Yunlan didn't want to interfere with Da Qing and Da Ji's conflict, since Da Qing was fighting a lady, but went to save his cat after Shen Wei's speech didn't work. He treated it kind of casually, but then again, he believes that Da Qing's one best skill is surviving.

Nevertheless, he later goes to search for a kidnapped Da Qing in the same place his mom died. Perhaps there's some catnip in the bushes?

These past few episodes, Shen Wei has turned up late and made the situation worse (bomb in the hospital), been no use and turned up late to be the very very last minute rescue except oops the rest of the cavalry turned up after another second (personality change virus), and now he accidentally killed Da Ji. Go take a nap, Shen Wei. Maybe do some science. You're not being very useful!

"These hands have killed, yes, but that was embarrassing."

We get a baby Shen Wei quote via Da Qing! "If I don't kill it's for the sake of humans; if I have to kill, it's for the sake of the whole world."

Plotwise, Zhao Yunlan has twigged that Wang Xiangyang is the Master of the Merit Brush and lead the rest of the team through his logic. On the other prong of Ya Qing's plans, the villain team was so desperate for Haixing Department of Supervision lab results that they broke into the apartment of one of the professors' prize students who a) hasn't even joined the research, and b) is the Black-Cloaked Envoy.

Alternatively, they just wanted to steal all his furniture so they could sell it. Only some crime pays!

Canon details

Ways Da Ji has died: hit by a car to save Da Qing, gas leak, hit by a flower pot, poisoned wine, (possibly strangled after she woke up after the wine?), blasted by Shen Wei so she hit her head on the ground – so she's on life 6/9 at least
Da Qing hit on head by Li 10 years ago

Cat Tribe Yashou powers look like this:

Claw manifestation!

Cinematography
We get some hands close-ups:

I have highlighted these because 1. feels, and 2. cool.

We get a nice shot from below when Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are chilling on the upper balcony, returning from some private consultation:

I especially like the latter one for the difference in the ways they interact with the railing.

And, of course, shots from a distance:

In the former, spot how Da Ji is drinking water out of her wine glass as a response to having her wine poisoned.

Also just some plain nice shots:

Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
He wears the leather one two days in a row, then puts on his green trench. Notorious jacket thief Shen Wei uses one of his jackets as a blanket for Zhao Yunlan, which I shall count in the Zhao Yunlan jacket watch.

Shen Wei shoe watch
Stepping on light bulbs.

Did Shen Wei take off his glasses?
Yes, in Zhao Yunlan's apartment after his own was broken into.

Observe one happy xiao-Wei.

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Man, Shen Wei leaves nothing to chance when defending Zhao Yunlan. Just straight up kills her.

Also that is a very cool close-up of the cat tribe claws!

TBF, I think it was an accident on Shen Wei's part – he wanted to push her off with his powers, but she bashed her head on the curb's edge and died. Cue shocked expression and angst.

I love Da Qing's suit! Of course, I'm generally fond of statement suits. (It needed some tailoring adjustments, though, those sleeves are just a bit too long.)

I don't really understand Da Ji. I'm not sure why she does anything she does, honestly.

I don't think he expected her to be so fragile.

The suit is large and loud, and it makes Da Qing look like he's swimming in it. Tailoring it could help, but the pattern is loud and doesn't help.

I don't really understand Da Ji. I'm not sure why she does anything she does, honestly.
I suppose she's in the middle of some mental crisis over being murdered by a dude she liked enough to marry and pretend to be a mature woman for, but ... please chill, Da Ji. She's also personality-wise a bit of a brat. I guess she just wants love and romance and decides that Da Qing won't throw her out for being a freak?

Oh no, the Da Ji episode. Talk about one of my least favorite characters... Still, there were some good moments. This is about the most depth we see out of the Crow Tribe, which isn't much (but I'll take it). Ye Huo's hangout, and the place where Zhao Yunlan's mom died and they look for Da Qing in this episode, and Zhu Jiu's warehouse all look like they're filmed in the same area (maybe the same block), which is neat. A lot of pretty shots and sweet moments, as long as you avoid paying attention to anything that has Da Ji present. (Cough.)

This episode also demonstrates why Da Qing wears overalls all the time; that suit is hideous. I like Shen Wei's bold plaid suit but not this one, at alllllll.

Edited 2019-09-07 15:24 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure they went to look for Da Qing in the exact same spot Zhao Yunlan's mother died, though Ye Huo's hangout was in a different spot. Can't comment on the warehouse, as that was filmed from the inside only, though it looked to be on the ground floor.

This episode also demonstrates why Da Qing wears overalls all the time; that suit is hideous. I like Shen Wei's bold plaid suit but not this one, at alllllll.
He also has a different, non-hideous suit! He wears it when he busts Lin Jing and Cong Bo from detainment in episode 20!

I really want more cat tribe. I bet their tribe meetings are amazing. Da Qing probably shows up every thousand years or so and is greeted with "what brings you back so soon".

The last time I watched this episode, I started it out wondering why I had such a bad impression of Da Ji, because she really seemed okay. And then she started strangling Da Qing. After that, absolutely everything she does is terrible. Bad cat, stop knocking your boyfriend out!

But there's a lot of cute in this episode. Da Qing's interaction with Shen Wei after Shen Wei kills Da Ji is really sweet. They've come a long way since the pinky promise. I get a kick out of Zhao Yunlan being the most embarrassing dad about Da Qing's girlfriend situation. And, of course, the jacket thief makes amends! It's GREAT to see Shen Wei holding his pendant and looking genuinely happy, even if it's only once. The baddies have accidentally done him a favor, "forcing" him to stay over at Zhao Yunlan's place.

Chiming in to agree: I also like the suit! I can see why it's an, erm, controversial choice, but I think the pattern is supercute on Da Qing.

Hmm, we do see a bit of the warehouse exterior during Zhu Jiu and Ya Qing's ~~argument~~ discussion in Episode 17, though looking at it again, it's really generic. And it looks like Wang Xiangyang's hideout was a different warehouse (from the exterior shot in Episode 28), so that doesn't help either.

Ah yes, that's a good suit! And it looks like it wasn't borrowed, so now I'm confused why he didn't wear it on his date. Maybe it was too professional? Or maybe he was trying to scare her off...

After that, absolutely everything she does is terrible. Bad cat, stop knocking your boyfriend out!
Yeah, she starts out reasonable enough (albeit a bit clingy), but ... um. No, Da Ji! That is not how you woo a kitty!

It's GREAT to see Shen Wei holding his pendant and looking genuinely happy, even if it's only once. The baddies have accidentally done him a favor, "forcing" him to stay over at Zhao Yunlan's place.
Theory: Ya Qing ships it! She thinks that if Shen Wei is too busy going !!! at ~~having~~ getting to share a living space with Zhao Yunlan (complete with "and there was only one bed!"), they'll be preoccupied with other things and not be at 100% catching the baddies!

I think we're meant to think only Da Qing and Da Ji exist, but yes, more cat tribe would be nice! There wouldn't be many of them, and with Da Qing's memory issues, he probably forgets he's not the ony one half of the time. The perfect excuse for not turning up to tribe meetings!

Theory: Ya Qing ships it!
I want to say this wouldn't work because they're even better together, and that's true overall, but Shen Wei is prone to get...distracted. Short-term. Regardless, I appreciate her contribution to the cause!

I don't hate the suit as a suit but it's too much suit for Da Qing (or the actor), and so poorly tailored! It's a classic case of the suit wearing him.

Da Ji bugs me so much I have a hard time rewatching parts with her. What a horrible person! Da Qing deserves SO much better! Seriously, by the time she dies I was kinda starting to sympathize with her husband for trying to kill her.

She objects to him talking to humans, any humans (despite the fact that she married at least one of them, though I suppose any hypocrisy might be caused by her ex trying to murder her because she's too much of a "freak")

I like Da Ji, though I agree with everything you're saying here about the hypocrisy. My most frequent reaction to her is "girl, CHILL!!!" but the fact that she's a cat really works in her favour here, as I can really see her as a traumatized and psychotic kitten with a lot of irrational impulses.

She also has the most terrible luck with men.

She was eccentric, but with a good taste in park benches.

LOL! Hey, good benches are important in Guardian!

At the concert, Sha Ya actually waves at a besotted Lin Jing fondly, and in general seems ... as if she's actually interested, but shy/awkward about showing it.

💔 I'm honestly getting fonder of the Lin Jing/Sha Ya romance on every rewatch. I wish they'd worked out. 💔

Lin Jing also brings Zhu Hong to the concert (who soon leaves) because he doesn't want to be too blatant. Based on how she thwacks him often and their general interactions, I think they're actually pretty good friends.

I kind of love that he brings Zhu Hong. (I also love her pink leather jacket.) It's such a weird choice for a date he's been angling for forever, but he does have a bad case of the nerves (and also Zhu Hong saves him from sitting there like a lonely stalker for most of the night).

OMG Da Qing's suit! EYE BLEEDING.

"Let's get married and have kittens!" "new phone who dis"

LOLOL!

Nevertheless, he later goes to search for a kidnapped Da Qing in the same place his mom died. Perhaps there's some catnip in the bushes?

Were we actually supposed to take this as the same place? Or is this a case like The Rock of Haixing, which stands in for every Rock that any Guardian character at some point might come across? I almost can't imagine Zhao Yunlan not having more of a reaction to that place if that really was where his mom died.

Then again, the general backdrop to that place looks rather downtrodden, so maybe in-universe, this is the "bad" part of town, and it would be an in-universe reason that both the Dixing dude who killed the mom retreated there, and that they might look for stray low-level criminals like Da Ji there?

Go take a nap, Shen Wei. Maybe do some science. You're not being very useful!

AWWWWW. Harsh, Penguin, harsh. 💔 (But, LOL, okay, I laughed at the list you have there of his recent fails. *g*) He really didn't mean to kill her, so I'm glad for him he got a reprieve there, but I also liked that this brought some emotional oomph to what a couple of other scenes, where Shen Wei much more casually kills or is ready to kill as soon as someone threatens Zhao Yunlan, were building up to.

I have highlighted these because 1. feels, and 2. cool.

:DDDDD

I keep being confused by what actually happened to Shen Wei's apartment. Was it totally burned? Ransacked and a little... singed? Is the furniture gone or does that shot just incorporate an area that doesn't have a lot of furniture? (This confusion is not helped by the fact that we don't really see it again after this.)

Notorious jacket thief Shen Wei uses one of his jackets as a blanket for Zhao Yunlan, which I shall count in the Zhao Yunlan jacket watch

jklödfökljdsafjködfajladsfölkjadfsö That is an excellent point!

(How much do I love the jacket covering? I mean, they're in Zhao Yunlan's apartment, I'm sure there were blankets? But! öjkladsljkdajklöfajökla)

The ending of this episode also might still be the weirdest cliffhanger the show has done yet!

Da Qing's interaction with Shen Wei after Shen Wei kills Da Ji is really sweet.

I love that part!!! <3

💔 I'm honestly getting fonder of the Lin Jing/Sha Ya romance on every rewatch. I wish they'd worked out. 💔
Tbh, same, though I think they both needed a break to think at the point Sha Ya was taken to Dixing. But they totally should've met again and maybe gone on a few exploratory dates to see how it went without everything weighing on them!

Were we actually supposed to take this as the same place? Or is this a case like The Rock of Haixing, which stands in for every Rock that any Guardian character at some point might come across? I almost can't imagine Zhao Yunlan not having more of a reaction to that place if that really was where his mom died.
I mean, it might be like The Rock of Haixing, but it could also be a seedy place of town, and there's no indication of why they go there of all places. Maybe there's a large patch of catnip in the vicinity? *g*

He really didn't mean to kill her, so I'm glad for him he got a reprieve there, but I also liked that this brought some emotional oomph to what a couple of other scenes, where Shen Wei much more casually kills or is ready to kill as soon as someone threatens Zhao Yunlan, were building up to.
Yeah! He is very protective of Zhao Yunlan. (And given that Zhao Yunlan doesn't object, he seems to like the murderiness?) Though his cited reason for not wanting to kill Da Ji was a bit – I'm sure there are other people whom Shen Wei killed who also weren't killers yet? But I'd have to rewatch. Maybe he's very into the Cat Tribe conservation project?

I keep being confused by what actually happened to Shen Wei's apartment. Was it totally burned? Ransacked and a little... singed? Is the furniture gone or does that shot just incorporate an area that doesn't have a lot of furniture? (This confusion is not helped by the fact that we don't really see it again after this.)
He did have a desk and an uncomfortable couch, IIRC! The couch and table he served tea on after his identity was revealed were gone. I suppose he just moved into Zhao Yunlan's apartment full-time after this. ~~And there was only one bed!~~

The ending of this episode also might still be the weirdest cliffhanger the show has done yet!
Cdrama pacing seems to be that they know how many minutes of runtime they have, then they edit their footage to fit that, and chop it up into episode-sized chunks with zero regards for cliffhangers, episode arcs, or logical transitions. Even the most prestigious of the lot (Nirvana in Fire) do this.

I don't hate the suit as a suit but it's too much suit for Da Qing (or the actor), and so poorly tailored! It's a classic case of the suit wearing him.
I guess this might be to cater to Da Ji's "I want a dude younger than me" by making Da Qing look like a teenage boy being worn by an ill-fitting suit?

Well in that case Mission Freakin' Accomplished!

Oh, Da Ji. She never really grew on me, though for Da Qing's sake I would have liked her to stay alive. He did seem to have feelings for her, and having another cat yashou around would have been nice, too. I don't like her personality, though, she's a nuisance.

Lin Jing and Sha Ya are just cute together. ♥

Da Qing's suit is an abomination that should be burned.

While I want to defend Shen Wei and be all 'but neither of them knew the bomb would do that, and he did come in time in the personality change ep, and all he did was remove Da Qi and her claws from Zhao Yunlan and it's her own fault for attacking him...' ... while I want to say all that, I think in Shen Wei's own mind it would all look rather more like you describe it! Poor guy.

But re Da Ji, Shen Wei has form in focusing on 'rescue Zhao Yunlan' rather than 'ensure attacker stays alive'. It's unfortunate here because attacker is a friend (well... it may not have looked like that) of Da Qing's, but Shen Wei's approach is not out of character.

Given that her ad said she wanted someone younger than her, perhaps they were making him look like a teenage boy being worn by his suit? IDEK.

for Da Qing's sake I would have liked her to stay alive. He did seem to have feelings for her, and having another cat yashou around would have been nice, too. I don't like her personality, though, she's a nuisance.
I agree on her personality, and would have preferred to have some other cat yashou around – or perhaps multiple ones. She could have found love with another kitty entirely, etc.

While a lot of Shen Wei's actions are defensible, he really hasn't been on top form, and with Da Ji it almost feels like he misestimated his strength, so the light energy corruption has been getting to him and perhaps making his energy levels unstable.

And given that Zhao Yunlan doesn't object, he seems to like the murderiness?

Hmmmm. I think he likes the protectiveness (basis for that statement: he seems to object a lot less to it than I would expect your average genre hero to, and there's at least one scene where Shen Wei physically shields him and Zhao Yunlan totally leans into it), but I don't think I'd deduce either from Ding Dun (serious bad guy) or Da Ji (Shen Wei didn't mean to kill her, there was an inconvenient curb, he was quite remorseful) that Zhao Yunlan likes the murderiness as such. He steps in hard when Shen Wei goes after Ya Qing with actual intent to kill.

He did have a desk and an uncomfortable couch, IIRC! The couch and table he served tea on after his identity was revealed were gone.

OIC! I found the original scene very murky and don't remember how much of the apartment we were actually shown post-burglary.

Cdrama pacing seems to be that they know how many minutes of runtime they have, then they edit their footage to fit that, and chop it up into episode-sized chunks with zero regards for cliffhangers, episode arcs, or logical transitions. Even the most prestigious of the lot (Nirvana in Fire) do this.

I started wondering if that approach is simply down to censorship. Basically, if you never know what scenes you might suddenly have to cut, there's little point writing perfect 46-minute-arcs that end in the ideal cliffhanger, if you're then told you need to lose a minute here and two minutes there...

the light energy corruption has been getting to him and perhaps making his energy levels unstable.

That is totally my head canon now!

I think he likes the protectiveness, but I don't think I'd deduce either from Ding Dun or Da Ji that Zhao Yunlan likes the murderiness as such. He steps in hard when Shen Wei goes after Ya Qing with actual intent to kill.
Hm, true! So Zhao Yunlan likes his growly boyfriend who has his back, but isn't into the murder bit. (He was also likely too out of it to notice Shen Wei murdering Ding Dun/be sure that Ding Dun died.)

I started wondering if that approach is simply down to censorship. Basically, if you never know what scenes you might suddenly have to cut, there's little point writing perfect 46-minute-arcs that end in the ideal cliffhanger, if you're then told you need to lose a minute here and two minutes there...
Huh, that's an interesting thought! (Though IDK if Nirvana in Fire had that concern – they were just trying to pack in as much as possible. Apparently they subtly sped up all the walking scenes to maximize stuff in the runtime?)

Apparently they subtly sped up all the walking scenes to maximize stuff in the runtime?

WHAAAAAAAT? Mind/blown.

I mean, ok, I can see it, I can't really think of another show that has this little extra fat, but, wow.

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Guardian Episode by Episode: 26

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