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_guardian2019-09-19 08:31 pm
extrapenguin) wrote in sid_guardian2019-09-19 08:31 pm
Entry tags:
Guardian Episode by Episode: 28
Welcome to the rewatchalong! This week we watch episode 28. The Imgur screencap album has 52 images. Next week's post will probably be on the Thursday again.
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, Episode 26, Episode 27
This week, the Merit Brush endgame finally starts after a bunch of Sha Ya flashbacks.
Characterization
"Must we be sacrificed for the sake of the human race?"
Let's start with Sha Ya! We get her backstory of being part of the friendliest love triangle of all time, (seemingly) losing it, only for the dude to get himself shot, hence her desire to murder Zhao Xinci as the (presumed) gunman. Prior to that, however, she was remarkably rational, and handled Gu Ban picking Hua Yuzhu reasonably well.
The reason she wanted to go to Haixing was to see the stars! She was also the driving force behind them going to Haixing, since Hua Yuzhu wanted to see the flowers but was willing to let it be, and Gu Ban was too bland to have any opinions.
Note also her and Hua Yuzhu running around the scenic bridge with no Gu Ban in sight. He must've been offscreen being boring.
I'm pretty sure getting caught was part of a plot, and I think she was okay with it because she wanted to use the SID to track down Hua Yuzhu. After she's done that and chosen the villains' side, she sends Lin Jing the code for the message, either due to regrets or because she wishes for an audence. And she has no patience for Wang Xiangyang's villain monologues.
Lin Jing is still besotted with her (until he hears about Gu Ban) and is completely willing to forgive the murder attempt and give her a nice ring. And let her out of the SID so she can visit the forest of emotional significance. (As opposed to telling his boss Hua Yuzhu will be there and keeping his bonus for the next century.)
The episode also contains a brief appearance by Ye Zun. He claims it has been a long time since anyone visited, so he hasn't had a chance to apply his compassionate heart. And like any good fairytale being, he says his wish-granting function is only available for a limited time, so you better travel up to Haixing now or never!
"No, I swear they only stuffed me in here because my altruism made them all look bad! Honest!"
The award for the most metal line of the episode goes to Zhang Shi for "You're quenching your thirst with poison, kid." He's so obviously not-Zhao Xinci that even Wang Xiangyang cottons on! *g*
Wang Xiangyang wanted to do some Envoy cosplaying to make this look more legitimate and dramatic, but he couldn't make his papier-mâché polearm look like anything but a sad metaphor for his life so far.
Other cool conversations are Wang Xiangyang explaining that the point is not whether or not the SID can solve the thing, it's to lead them around, to which Ya Qing remarks "You sound more and more like boss." We also get Sha Ya demanding "Must we be sacrificed for the sake of the human race?" which is imo one of the throughlines of the show.
"Must we be sacrificed for the sake of the human race?"
Shen Wei is really into his responsibility and Envoy duties in this episode. He appeals to Sha Ya's reason and assures her it's possible to turn back (similarly to how he handled Da Ji), he teleports to Zhao Yunlan's side in the forest to help with the Sha Ya search, he gives a pep talk to Zhao Yunlan after Zhao Xinci gets kidnapped, and when some crows confront them, he pushes Zhao Yunlan out of the way. And offers no explanation for why his cut isn't healing, because of course.
Shen Wei, internally: "If only we could ignore your xenophobe dad and just be like this forever."
While he isn't concerned about Shen Wei's sudden affinity for keeping his cuts bleeding, Zhao Yunlan should rethink his personnel choices – leaving Lin Jing in charge of his girlfriend wasn't the wisest choice (just like leaving Guo Changcheng alone with Zhu Jiu wasn't the wisest choice). At least give Zhu Hong jurisdiction, y'know?
"Well, the good news is that we can fund the new building solely from the bonuses I've had to cancel."
He's also very concerned about his dad, and no matter how much of an asshole Zhao Xinci might be, he's still Zhao Yunlan's dad and Yunlan cares about him. Zhao Yunlan's upset enough about this that he actually kicks over a chair! And needs a pep talk from Shen Wei. And goes to touch the Longevity Dial, which doesn't give him anything useful, except a nap. (The Longevity Dial's thing is classic intermittent reinforcement – give something every time they're touched, and they'll only be touched in great need. Giving out something randomly if touched, OTOH, is the same mechanism some abusive relationships work and how scientists get rats addicted to pressing the "give food pellet" button.)
"Not sure if want."
Oh, and Zhao Yunlan sits on the table even when talking to Vice-Minister Guo.
Timeline of day
21:30 Zhao Xinci's car accosted
00:00 Vice-Minister Guo comes to the SID and the countdown starts
06:00 Zhao Yunlan wakes up after his Hallows groping nap
Canon details
ETA: Taiwan has 28 million people and about 4k people with the surname 华. Assuming a similar density of people with that surname in Dragon City and that all of them are called 华玉柱, we get a population of 826k for Dragon City. Now, since there must be people with the surname 华 who are not called 华玉柱, Dragon City is most likely a city with over a million inhabitants.
Cinematography
The "hold shot constant but change focus from one thing to another" technique is pretty common in cinematography, but this is the first time I recall seeing it in Guardian!
Sha Ya, Hua Yuzhu, a bridge, and a plant.
And the standard shots from above
Love rivals hold hands 100% platonically while dude gets left out. Zhao Yunlan goes to fondle the Hallows.
and below
Shen Wei teleports over to prevent Zhao Yunlan from fondling any Hallows. Ye Zun tries to talk a bunch of Dixingians into visiting Haixing.
And then ones that I just plain like and would like to highlight!
Sha Ya electrocuting a car while flanked by two people in black? Very metal.
Zhao Yunlan, alone in the SID, lit by a spotlight like the lone soul he is.
This one's here just because Sha Ya looks happy in it.
Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
Three! We continue from last episode and its leather item, then Zhao Yunlan goes home to change jackets into something that's not leather. On the day of the 24h countdown, he puts on a denim affair.
Did Shen Wei take off his glasses?
Yes, when he was watching over Zhao Yunlan sleep off his Hallows nap.
The face of a man who wishes Zhao Yunlan would fondle him in lieu of the Hallows.
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, Episode 26, Episode 27
This week, the Merit Brush endgame finally starts after a bunch of Sha Ya flashbacks.
Characterization
"Must we be sacrificed for the sake of the human race?"
Let's start with Sha Ya! We get her backstory of being part of the friendliest love triangle of all time, (seemingly) losing it, only for the dude to get himself shot, hence her desire to murder Zhao Xinci as the (presumed) gunman. Prior to that, however, she was remarkably rational, and handled Gu Ban picking Hua Yuzhu reasonably well.
The reason she wanted to go to Haixing was to see the stars! She was also the driving force behind them going to Haixing, since Hua Yuzhu wanted to see the flowers but was willing to let it be, and Gu Ban was too bland to have any opinions.
Note also her and Hua Yuzhu running around the scenic bridge with no Gu Ban in sight. He must've been offscreen being boring.
I'm pretty sure getting caught was part of a plot, and I think she was okay with it because she wanted to use the SID to track down Hua Yuzhu. After she's done that and chosen the villains' side, she sends Lin Jing the code for the message, either due to regrets or because she wishes for an audence. And she has no patience for Wang Xiangyang's villain monologues.
Lin Jing is still besotted with her (until he hears about Gu Ban) and is completely willing to forgive the murder attempt and give her a nice ring. And let her out of the SID so she can visit the forest of emotional significance. (As opposed to telling his boss Hua Yuzhu will be there and keeping his bonus for the next century.)
The episode also contains a brief appearance by Ye Zun. He claims it has been a long time since anyone visited, so he hasn't had a chance to apply his compassionate heart. And like any good fairytale being, he says his wish-granting function is only available for a limited time, so you better travel up to Haixing now or never!
"No, I swear they only stuffed me in here because my altruism made them all look bad! Honest!"
The award for the most metal line of the episode goes to Zhang Shi for "You're quenching your thirst with poison, kid." He's so obviously not-Zhao Xinci that even Wang Xiangyang cottons on! *g*
Wang Xiangyang wanted to do some Envoy cosplaying to make this look more legitimate and dramatic, but he couldn't make his papier-mâché polearm look like anything but a sad metaphor for his life so far.
Other cool conversations are Wang Xiangyang explaining that the point is not whether or not the SID can solve the thing, it's to lead them around, to which Ya Qing remarks "You sound more and more like boss." We also get Sha Ya demanding "Must we be sacrificed for the sake of the human race?" which is imo one of the throughlines of the show.
"Must we be sacrificed for the sake of the human race?"
Shen Wei is really into his responsibility and Envoy duties in this episode. He appeals to Sha Ya's reason and assures her it's possible to turn back (similarly to how he handled Da Ji), he teleports to Zhao Yunlan's side in the forest to help with the Sha Ya search, he gives a pep talk to Zhao Yunlan after Zhao Xinci gets kidnapped, and when some crows confront them, he pushes Zhao Yunlan out of the way. And offers no explanation for why his cut isn't healing, because of course.
Shen Wei, internally: "If only we could ignore your xenophobe dad and just be like this forever."
While he isn't concerned about Shen Wei's sudden affinity for keeping his cuts bleeding, Zhao Yunlan should rethink his personnel choices – leaving Lin Jing in charge of his girlfriend wasn't the wisest choice (just like leaving Guo Changcheng alone with Zhu Jiu wasn't the wisest choice). At least give Zhu Hong jurisdiction, y'know?
"Well, the good news is that we can fund the new building solely from the bonuses I've had to cancel."
He's also very concerned about his dad, and no matter how much of an asshole Zhao Xinci might be, he's still Zhao Yunlan's dad and Yunlan cares about him. Zhao Yunlan's upset enough about this that he actually kicks over a chair! And needs a pep talk from Shen Wei. And goes to touch the Longevity Dial, which doesn't give him anything useful, except a nap. (The Longevity Dial's thing is classic intermittent reinforcement – give something every time they're touched, and they'll only be touched in great need. Giving out something randomly if touched, OTOH, is the same mechanism some abusive relationships work and how scientists get rats addicted to pressing the "give food pellet" button.)
"Not sure if want."
Oh, and Zhao Yunlan sits on the table even when talking to Vice-Minister Guo.
Timeline of day
21:30 Zhao Xinci's car accosted
00:00 Vice-Minister Guo comes to the SID and the countdown starts
06:00 Zhao Yunlan wakes up after his Hallows groping nap
Canon details
- There are 119 Hua Yuzhus in Dragon City, from which we can probably come to some conclusion about the population. How common is the name 华玉柱 in China?
- Flowers and trees not common in Dixing
- There's a forest on the east side of Dragon City
- Zhao Xinci recommended Zhao Yunlan for SID Chief
- The Regent isn't sending reports on Dixing to Shen Wei, but he should be.
ETA: Taiwan has 28 million people and about 4k people with the surname 华. Assuming a similar density of people with that surname in Dragon City and that all of them are called 华玉柱, we get a population of 826k for Dragon City. Now, since there must be people with the surname 华 who are not called 华玉柱, Dragon City is most likely a city with over a million inhabitants.
Cinematography
The "hold shot constant but change focus from one thing to another" technique is pretty common in cinematography, but this is the first time I recall seeing it in Guardian!
Sha Ya, Hua Yuzhu, a bridge, and a plant.
And the standard shots from above
Love rivals hold hands 100% platonically while dude gets left out. Zhao Yunlan goes to fondle the Hallows.
and below
Shen Wei teleports over to prevent Zhao Yunlan from fondling any Hallows. Ye Zun tries to talk a bunch of Dixingians into visiting Haixing.
And then ones that I just plain like and would like to highlight!
Sha Ya electrocuting a car while flanked by two people in black? Very metal.
Zhao Yunlan, alone in the SID, lit by a spotlight like the lone soul he is.
This one's here just because Sha Ya looks happy in it.
Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
Three! We continue from last episode and its leather item, then Zhao Yunlan goes home to change jackets into something that's not leather. On the day of the 24h countdown, he puts on a denim affair.
Did Shen Wei take off his glasses?
Yes, when he was watching over Zhao Yunlan sleep off his Hallows nap.
The face of a man who wishes Zhao Yunlan would fondle him in lieu of the Hallows.
no subject