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GUARDIAN REWATCH - Episode 40
Oct. 31st, 2023 09:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trobadora
Beginning of episode: Zhao Yunlan injects himself with the serum
Ending of episode: Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei make a bet in Hallows-space
Important scenes/developments:
- Zhao Yunlan injects himself with the serum
- Ye Zun needs to consume more and more, and makes everyone in Dragon City (in Haixing?) pass out
- Zhao Yunlan tries various things against Ye Zun:
- he asks what Ye Zun even wants, letting Ye Zun explain his worldview
- once his serum power strength enhancement kicks in, he physically fights Ye Zun
- aided by Guo Changcheng and Da Qing, he uses the Mountain-River Awl on Ye Zun
- With the use of the Mountain-River Awl, Shen Wei has the moment he has been waiting for - he makes Lin Jing drive the icicle all the way into his chest, then saves Lin Jing, the Regent and An Bai
- Zhao Yunlan's hopes are briefly raised as he sees three dead people come back to life, but the spark is immediately snuffed out again
- Shen Wei releases his energies all at once -Ye Zun realises Shen Wei's energy is white, and Zhao Yunlan realises this was Shen Wei's plan
- Ye Zun and Shen Wei reunite post-death, and clear up the misunderstanding between them
- before leaving, Shen Wei sends his pendant to Zhao Yunlan, who opens it and recognises the lollipop wrapper
- People in Dragon City wake up
- Zhao Yunlan has one last conversation with Ma Gui and Fu You before gives himself to the Guardian Lantern to save the planet from the destruction Ye Zun left behind
- in flashback, Zhang Shi explains how to light the Lantern with sacrifice if the/a wick can't be found
- the Dixing clock strikes, and light comes to Dixing
- the remaining SID members return to Haixing with Zhao Yunlan's body
- One year later:
- Cong Bo flirts badly with Cheng Xinyan
- Minister Guo is now Minister; Li Qian is is director of the lab; Zhao Xinci's health is much improved
- Xiao-Guo has an awkward arranged date; Lao-Chu drags him away
- Zhu Hong meets with the Yashou tribe leaders "Zhao Yunlan" speaks in front of a crowd
- in flashback, Zhao Yunlan asks Zhang Shi to take his place in Zhao Yunlan's apartment, Da Qing and Lin Jing grieve for Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei
- at the SID, Xiao-guo greets many new faces
Hello and welcome to the final episode! The drama's ending is controversial, but I've always loved it, and have only come to love it more over the years (five years now, wow!). So this post is essentially a love letter to Guardian's ending.
( Thoughts )
Discussion starters:
- How do you feel about the final episode? Which part is your favourite? Which line?
- Those dementor-like black energy swirls that seem to make everyone in Dragon City pass out are also seen in Dixing. Do you think all of Dixing passed out, too? How close did Ye Zun come to just swallowing everyone?
(If the same thing happened in Dixing, that might explain why the people storming towards the palace with the bartender never seem to arrive ...) - If Shen Wei had known about Ye Zun's reasons for hating him, do you think there would have been a way to make him listen and actually believe the truth?
- How do you think Shen Wei feels about Ye Zun, at the end? After everything Ye Zun did, can he really just forgive him? And does Ye Zun regret any of it?
- What do you think happened at the palace after Ye Zun died, to separate Lin Jing and Zhao Yunlan from the others?
- "You'll die," Da Qing says when Zhao Yunlan injects himself with the serum. Is that just worry, or would he really have died? He's definitely not doing great before his sacrifice, spitting blood and all ...
- Do you think what Zhang Shi says about what happens to the person who sacrifices themselves to the Lantern is true? How can he know?
- How do you think the SID team copes with Zhang Shi impersonating Zhoo Yunlan? Can they even stand to be around him?
- Zhao Xinci, relieved of the burden of sharing his mind with Zhang Shi, seems so much lighter, despite his son being dead. How do you think he copes with everything?
- Do you think Haixing and Dixing are truly separated? Will the passages open again?
- How do you think Dixing copes with the change the light brings? It can't all be celebration ...
- And in Haixing - what happens to the Dixingren trapped there, unable to go back? The ones who were already there, and the ones who were sent by Ye Zun? And the people who were given the serum? How does society change, now that the secrets about black energy powers and Dixing and so on are all out in the open? What effect does all of this have on the position of the Yashou?
- Any theories about why the SID has so many new members? What is their mission, if Dixing can no longer be reached?
- Finally - what's your favourite way of letting Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan find each other again? There are so many possibilities!
Let's talk about episode 40!
Come and talk about this episode - anything from favourite scenes or lines of dialogue to notes/questions about continuity or translation, most gorgeous (or angsty) smile, or anything else that strikes your fancy! And share links to your own and/or others' episode-related meta, picspams, and fanworks, new or old!
