Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 20, part 1

[china_shop]

Hi, and welcome back to the Guardian drama Slo-Mo Rewatch. Watch half an episode a week, at your leisure, and then come and chat about it here in comments. Or you can just jump into the comments without rewatching, of course!

Here are the previous weeks' rewatch posts.

Episode 20, up to 22:26

Summary
Zhu Jiu's backstory of workplace bullying. Under Ye Zun's influence, Zhu Jiu murders the bully, and Hei Pao Shi punishes him for this violence by slicing his cheek. Back at the SID, Zhu Jiu is unconscious and so can't be interrogated about the lab's location. Meanwhile, the Inspectorate are detaining Lin Jing and Cong Bo for turning off the city's power. Zhu Hong injects Zhu Jiu with Snake revivification juice, and it works but not quickly enough, so they go back to the one piece of evidence they have: the video message from the lab. They find a lead.

The three at the lab wake to find the power outage has reset the lab's temperature controls. Meanwhile, Da Qing arrives at the Inspectorate in a good suit to retrieve Lin Jing and Cong Bo.

Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan break into the zero-degree lab, where everyone is alive and well, though Guo Changcheng is faint with hunger. Minister Gao is furious about the whole stunt, but Zhao Xinci arrives to back the SID's play. Minister Gao settles for summoning Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei to reprimand them.

In the lab, Professor Ouyang shows off his pretty serum but says safety concerns are slowing the project down. Zhao Xinci tells him it's urgent. Zhang Shi tries to reinstate the safety concerns but is suppressed.

The Reunion Feast! Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan tease each other delightfully at the head of the table but then are called away to see Minister Gao. As Zhao Yunlan gets into the taxi, he hears Ye Zun calling him, and once they're on the road, he tells Shen Wei that he's always known that he (Zhao Yunlan) isn't built for love.



Quote
Minister Gao: I do personally appreciate Yunlan. But he has boundless imagination and loves to employ surprising ideas. This is totally unlike you, Brother Zhao.
Zhao Xinci: Yes, he's not like me. He is too obstinate.

Detail
By the time the rescuers arrive, Chu Shuzhi has not only retreated to the front of the lab, but taken his clothes back from Guo Changcheng as well.

Questions
Do you have a favourite scene or line of dialogue from this half episode? What do you make of Shen Wei's part in Zhu Jiu's backstory? How good is Da Qing's suit (and did he tie his own tie, or did Lao Li do it for him)? Why does Chu Shuzhi withdraw from the others in the lab, once the danger has passed? Do you enjoy the little fake-out about Changcheng being dead? Any sympathy for Minister Gao? On a scale of 1 to 10, how lovely is the Reunion Festival feast? What does it mean that Zhao Yunlan can still hear Ye Zun calling him? Any thoughts about what Zhao Yunlan says in the taxi?

Did you see any parallels in these scenes with other parts of the drama? If you're familiar with the novel, any thoughts about how the drama adaptation compares, if at all?

(As usual, these are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the rewatch to join in. We'd love to hear your thoughts!)

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