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sid_guardian2019-10-04 11:24 pm
extrapenguin) wrote in sid_guardian2019-10-04 11:24 pm
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Guardian Episode by Episode: 30
Welcome to the rewatchalong! This week we watch episode 30 – we're three quarters of the way through! The Imgur screencap album has 65 images. No rewatchalong next week.
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, Episode 28, Episode 29
This week, the SID faces a PR crisis and Shen Wei gets tied to a pillar.
Characterization
Let's start by finishing off the Sha Ya and Hua Yuzhu thing! Hua Yuzhu claims she was too ashamed to face Sha Ya and tell the truth, tries to give the earring to Sha Ya, and follows Sha Ya to Dixing. The earring thing felt like bribery to me – "Look, I got your crush killed, but please take this and forgive me!" – but she is one of my least favorite character types, so. Oh, and both Gu Ban and Sha Ya will have died protecting her.
"Please let me come with you to Dixing! Who else will step in front of bullets for me?"
Sha Ya says she has no romantic feelings for Lin Jing and is in general very awkward about the starry sky projector ring activation voice code (as is messenger Shen Wei), but she does enjoy the results! Let's hope she gets to use it at least one more time. Sha Ya also decided to bring her electric guitar to Dixing for some reason. Perhaps she brainfarted, perhaps there's a place in Dixing that has an electric outlet, perhaps she'll power it with her own electricity?
Lin Jing, OTOH, has a crappy day. First his crush gets taken away by the Black-Cloaked Envoy, then his boss discovers his double loyalties (and is significantly less forgiving about them in his case than in Chu Shuzhi's case). Though Lin Jing seems to have switched his heart's heart over to the SID and away from Professor Ouyang (who's growing increasingly erratic and demaning Wang Xiangyang's nonexistent body, and giving passionate speeches about how HE!!! will be the one to save humanity). Nevertheless, the day after he falls into Zhao Yunlan's trap, he gets the boot. (It was quite well cut, actually – Zhao Yunlan says "If you're my comrade I'll protect you with my life – but if you betray me or take advantage of my personality-" and then we cut to Lin Jing packing his bags after a change of jacket.)
"He may cancel my bonuses, but you don't even give me a bonus in the first place!"
The rest of the SID is very upset at one of their small number departing. Da Qing is mostly concerned about who'll make the popcorn, but others – especially Zhu Hong – are more personally distraught. Zhu Hong even suggests that they wait for Shen Wei to return so that Shen Wei can talk Zhao Yunlan out of this decision! (Wang Zheng might be less keen, though, as she offhandedly cites just how many times Lin Jing has been late, left early, or napped at work.)
Zhao Yunlan doesn't want to look at the camera like he's in The Office.
On the Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng front, Chu Shuzhi shows how protective of Guo Changcheng he is by immediately jumping to his feet to declare he agrees with Guo Changcheng when Zhao Yunlan tries to shut him up by saying he's not senior enough to talk right now. Guo Changcheng has also acquired at least one new brain cell over the course of the show, as when Chu Shuzhi shows him the faked note from the Envoy, he can tell that it's fake, based on handwriting analysis, and suggests going to Zhao Yunlan with the knowledge that Shen Wei is in trouble when Chu Shuzhi is pondering whether to charge to Dixing to help the Envoy or stay here like ordered.
"Congrats! You are only a 20% waste of oxygen now."
The final boss Ye Zun has progressed to doing Groke imitations in Haixing now! So he can be an eldritch mass of shadows in a park instead of in front of his pillar. Upcoming plan: destroy the SID first before the final assault. He continues making others his proxies via various manipulatory tactics; Haixing's populace via PR and he apparently also "fooled" Dixing's civilians into armed rebellion.
We get some other interesting stuff about Ye Zun, here: he states that his power is "devouring" for what IIRC is the first time, and he signs his letter to Shen Wei with "your fool brother Ye Zun", which is also IIRC the first time we the viewers are told about the family relation. Dixing's records also say that his mind control power only works on "small fry".
Ya Qing hears about Ye Zun's plans, which sound suspiciously close to "and then we commit genocide on the humans" to my ears, though that might just be foreknowledge or translation. We hear her doubts via voiceover, yet she's still on board the plan and applies her l33t haxx0r skillz to make everything about the SID public in the most negatively-slanted way possible, then appear momentarily in Zhao Yunlan's window to gloat and instill additional paranoia.
Unlike Professor Shen, Ya Qing has been keeping up with the times.
Minister Gao continues to be an asshole. He wants to suppress all the information about Ye Zun existing and not give civilians any chance to evacuate, despite his specialist on the topic of Dixingians telling him it'd be a good idea to go public. Then he threatens to abolish the SID because he's petty and can't stand people speaking up to him.
We also get some Zhao Xinci being a bit of an ass behind a smiling mask. He really wants to keep Zhao Yunlan in line and has some conflict about how the most rational thing might be to sacrifice him, but he doesn't wanna, because this is his son. (Also, there's Zhang Shi in there, a spanner in the works.)
Zhao Yunlan continues his brain usage! He sets a trap for Lin Jing and snares it! (He doesn't have that many employees, and could disregard Chu Shuzhi because that guy isn't a triple agent, plus his cat and the ghosts and maybe Guo Changcheng, if he has evidence the stuff started disappearing before Guo Changcheng was transferred in, which leaves him with Lin Jing and Zhu Hong. From there, it's pretty simple to start with the guy who was super dumb when his girlfriend was prisoner.) He also puts together his father's behavioral discrepancies and smells the fish that is Zhang Shi.
"You're not disappointed in me? Well, prepare to die, then, impostor."
We also get some more about his views on handling the public: Zhao Yunlan sees himself as a civilian first. He is a protector of the people, yes, but he is also a part of that people, not above them. Thus he wants to go public in a controlled fashion so that the civilians have some idea what is going on and can make an informed decision about evacuating this city where people succumb to dark energy corruption randomly. He's also proven right – had the officials gone public first, Ye Zun and Ya Qing's PR bid against the SID would have been much less effective.
He's also under a lot of stress, as his favorite alien isn't answering the incense calls anymore.
Then, we have Shen Wei. Who does smell a rat with the mind-controlled Palace Guards, but then brings a knife to a 6v1 gunfight. And gets shot. Oops! He didn't expect this, and the Regent rubs salt into the wound by pointing out the dramatic power loss. (The Regent also speculates upon it and hits upon the correct reason. One wonders whose information network – the Regent's or Ye Zun's – got hold of this, and how long the Regent has wanted the Envoy out.) Shen Wei, of course, claims that the difference in power levels between him and Ye Zun is just due to Ye Zun eating more people, but surely he must've noticed how much weaker he is now than he used to be, and how much weaker he is than he seems to have expected to be?
His glaive-waving form has also deteriorated.
Oh, and Shen Wei outright tells Ye Zun to eat him, so he either had the bomb plan set up by now, or he was feeling particularly emo about losing the 6v1. The noises of anguish were nice.
For your viewing pleasure.
Canon Details
Cinematography
Lots of shots from beneath, this episode: (Probably due to the Envoy's hood meaning a shot from beneath is one of the better prospects for catching the facial expressions.)
Ye Zun chatting with Ya Qing. Long time no see, Brother Black! Observing Ye Zun's pillar letter. Chu Shuzhi roughing up a crow.
One shot through a framing device:
Zhao Yunlan doesn't yet know Shen Wei is in serious shit.
And Zhao Yunlan shot from above to emphasize how helpless he's feeling:
The man deserves a nap with Shen Wei next to him.
Also this pretty cool shot with a mirror which is might be visual quasi-foreshadowing for Ye Zun walking out of the mirror to mind control Guo Changcheng:
Any ability to induce spontaneous twincest fantasies in people who are or are not Shen Wei is incidental.
This one was just nice with the balance inherent:
Symmetry! Stability! Every line horizontal or vertical!
Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
Two! There's his Haixing Inspectorate jacket and his blue trenchcoat.
Did Shen Wei remove his glasses?
No, he was too busy being tied to a pillar.
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, Episode 28, Episode 29
This week, the SID faces a PR crisis and Shen Wei gets tied to a pillar.
Characterization
Let's start by finishing off the Sha Ya and Hua Yuzhu thing! Hua Yuzhu claims she was too ashamed to face Sha Ya and tell the truth, tries to give the earring to Sha Ya, and follows Sha Ya to Dixing. The earring thing felt like bribery to me – "Look, I got your crush killed, but please take this and forgive me!" – but she is one of my least favorite character types, so. Oh, and both Gu Ban and Sha Ya will have died protecting her.
"Please let me come with you to Dixing! Who else will step in front of bullets for me?"
Sha Ya says she has no romantic feelings for Lin Jing and is in general very awkward about the starry sky projector ring activation voice code (as is messenger Shen Wei), but she does enjoy the results! Let's hope she gets to use it at least one more time. Sha Ya also decided to bring her electric guitar to Dixing for some reason. Perhaps she brainfarted, perhaps there's a place in Dixing that has an electric outlet, perhaps she'll power it with her own electricity?
Lin Jing, OTOH, has a crappy day. First his crush gets taken away by the Black-Cloaked Envoy, then his boss discovers his double loyalties (and is significantly less forgiving about them in his case than in Chu Shuzhi's case). Though Lin Jing seems to have switched his heart's heart over to the SID and away from Professor Ouyang (who's growing increasingly erratic and demaning Wang Xiangyang's nonexistent body, and giving passionate speeches about how HE!!! will be the one to save humanity). Nevertheless, the day after he falls into Zhao Yunlan's trap, he gets the boot. (It was quite well cut, actually – Zhao Yunlan says "If you're my comrade I'll protect you with my life – but if you betray me or take advantage of my personality-" and then we cut to Lin Jing packing his bags after a change of jacket.)
"He may cancel my bonuses, but you don't even give me a bonus in the first place!"
The rest of the SID is very upset at one of their small number departing. Da Qing is mostly concerned about who'll make the popcorn, but others – especially Zhu Hong – are more personally distraught. Zhu Hong even suggests that they wait for Shen Wei to return so that Shen Wei can talk Zhao Yunlan out of this decision! (Wang Zheng might be less keen, though, as she offhandedly cites just how many times Lin Jing has been late, left early, or napped at work.)
Zhao Yunlan doesn't want to look at the camera like he's in The Office.
On the Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng front, Chu Shuzhi shows how protective of Guo Changcheng he is by immediately jumping to his feet to declare he agrees with Guo Changcheng when Zhao Yunlan tries to shut him up by saying he's not senior enough to talk right now. Guo Changcheng has also acquired at least one new brain cell over the course of the show, as when Chu Shuzhi shows him the faked note from the Envoy, he can tell that it's fake, based on handwriting analysis, and suggests going to Zhao Yunlan with the knowledge that Shen Wei is in trouble when Chu Shuzhi is pondering whether to charge to Dixing to help the Envoy or stay here like ordered.
"Congrats! You are only a 20% waste of oxygen now."
The final boss Ye Zun has progressed to doing Groke imitations in Haixing now! So he can be an eldritch mass of shadows in a park instead of in front of his pillar. Upcoming plan: destroy the SID first before the final assault. He continues making others his proxies via various manipulatory tactics; Haixing's populace via PR and he apparently also "fooled" Dixing's civilians into armed rebellion.
We get some other interesting stuff about Ye Zun, here: he states that his power is "devouring" for what IIRC is the first time, and he signs his letter to Shen Wei with "your fool brother Ye Zun", which is also IIRC the first time we the viewers are told about the family relation. Dixing's records also say that his mind control power only works on "small fry".
Ya Qing hears about Ye Zun's plans, which sound suspiciously close to "and then we commit genocide on the humans" to my ears, though that might just be foreknowledge or translation. We hear her doubts via voiceover, yet she's still on board the plan and applies her l33t haxx0r skillz to make everything about the SID public in the most negatively-slanted way possible, then appear momentarily in Zhao Yunlan's window to gloat and instill additional paranoia.
Unlike Professor Shen, Ya Qing has been keeping up with the times.
Minister Gao continues to be an asshole. He wants to suppress all the information about Ye Zun existing and not give civilians any chance to evacuate, despite his specialist on the topic of Dixingians telling him it'd be a good idea to go public. Then he threatens to abolish the SID because he's petty and can't stand people speaking up to him.
We also get some Zhao Xinci being a bit of an ass behind a smiling mask. He really wants to keep Zhao Yunlan in line and has some conflict about how the most rational thing might be to sacrifice him, but he doesn't wanna, because this is his son. (Also, there's Zhang Shi in there, a spanner in the works.)
Zhao Yunlan continues his brain usage! He sets a trap for Lin Jing and snares it! (He doesn't have that many employees, and could disregard Chu Shuzhi because that guy isn't a triple agent, plus his cat and the ghosts and maybe Guo Changcheng, if he has evidence the stuff started disappearing before Guo Changcheng was transferred in, which leaves him with Lin Jing and Zhu Hong. From there, it's pretty simple to start with the guy who was super dumb when his girlfriend was prisoner.) He also puts together his father's behavioral discrepancies and smells the fish that is Zhang Shi.
"You're not disappointed in me? Well, prepare to die, then, impostor."
We also get some more about his views on handling the public: Zhao Yunlan sees himself as a civilian first. He is a protector of the people, yes, but he is also a part of that people, not above them. Thus he wants to go public in a controlled fashion so that the civilians have some idea what is going on and can make an informed decision about evacuating this city where people succumb to dark energy corruption randomly. He's also proven right – had the officials gone public first, Ye Zun and Ya Qing's PR bid against the SID would have been much less effective.
He's also under a lot of stress, as his favorite alien isn't answering the incense calls anymore.
Then, we have Shen Wei. Who does smell a rat with the mind-controlled Palace Guards, but then brings a knife to a 6v1 gunfight. And gets shot. Oops! He didn't expect this, and the Regent rubs salt into the wound by pointing out the dramatic power loss. (The Regent also speculates upon it and hits upon the correct reason. One wonders whose information network – the Regent's or Ye Zun's – got hold of this, and how long the Regent has wanted the Envoy out.) Shen Wei, of course, claims that the difference in power levels between him and Ye Zun is just due to Ye Zun eating more people, but surely he must've noticed how much weaker he is now than he used to be, and how much weaker he is than he seems to have expected to be?
His glaive-waving form has also deteriorated.
Oh, and Shen Wei outright tells Ye Zun to eat him, so he either had the bomb plan set up by now, or he was feeling particularly emo about losing the 6v1. The noises of anguish were nice.
For your viewing pleasure.
Canon Details
- Haixing Inspectorate was created a long time ago and has a portrait of Ma Gui on the wall, so some predecessor organ probably dates to 10 000 years ago
- Lin Jing has been at the SID for 3 years and was recommended by Professor Ouyang
- Lin Jing has been late 99 times, left early 44 times, and napped at work 27 times (Wang Zheng counted)
- There are records of Ye Zun's prior attempts at exiting the pillar
- Fourth Uncle gives the SID 3 days to solve the problem before he's bringing Zhu Hong back to the forest (on Day 2 of the episode)
- Shen Wei could make notes appear in Chu Shuzhi's pocket
- If the dark energy gun's bullets hit a normal person, they suffer no damage
Cinematography
Lots of shots from beneath, this episode: (Probably due to the Envoy's hood meaning a shot from beneath is one of the better prospects for catching the facial expressions.)
Ye Zun chatting with Ya Qing. Long time no see, Brother Black! Observing Ye Zun's pillar letter. Chu Shuzhi roughing up a crow.
One shot through a framing device:
Zhao Yunlan doesn't yet know Shen Wei is in serious shit.
And Zhao Yunlan shot from above to emphasize how helpless he's feeling:
The man deserves a nap with Shen Wei next to him.
Also this pretty cool shot with a mirror which is might be visual quasi-foreshadowing for Ye Zun walking out of the mirror to mind control Guo Changcheng:
Any ability to induce spontaneous twincest fantasies in people who are or are not Shen Wei is incidental.
This one was just nice with the balance inherent:
Symmetry! Stability! Every line horizontal or vertical!
Zhao Yunlan jacket watch
Two! There's his Haixing Inspectorate jacket and his blue trenchcoat.
Did Shen Wei remove his glasses?
No, he was too busy being tied to a pillar.
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That one really got to me. Coercing someone into saying "I love you" never ends well, and that scene dropped my opinion of Lin Jing into the gutter (where it has stayed ever since).
Perhaps she brainfarted, perhaps there's a place in Dixing that has an electric outlet, perhaps she'll power it with her own electricity?
That last one would be my guess - we know from her introductory scene in episode 21 that she has fine control over her power.
* Lin Jing getting fired - meh. Necessary for his part of the plot, and he ends up never doing a face-heel turn, but I still don't have a lot of sympathy.
* The idea of Guo Changcheng fanboying over Professor Shen's handwriting all this time is kinda funny.
* That scene with Zhao Yunlan pointing his gun at Zhang Shi at the end of the episode was amazing; Shen Wei's fight with the guards in the palace earlier was just heartbreaking. Both were very well shot, and very powerful.
Overall, a lot of plot-relevant events happened to set up the endgame, which is a nice bookend to ground the two episodes of mindfuckery that come next.
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How does the incense work, anyhow? It's not some magic to yoink Shen Wei to his location. Does Shen Wei just smell it wherever he is? He's got a mystical connection to the incense? Is it just this incense or could they substitute any in a pinch? Is this is the same incense as when he calls the regent? Does each every high ranked person in Dixing have their own signature scent? Does Zhao Yunlan have incense if the regent (because the envoy could just teleport) wants to call him and he's not at home to get the magic messages on his voicemail?
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I can't help feeling much sorrier for Zhao Yunlan than for Shen Wei, even though the former is not actually risking his life; he still has to cope with betrayal and bureaucracy and team sadfaces and Ya Qing's adroit meddling and his dad, all on his own. Shen Wei just has to stand there and suffer peacefully in one place.
Speaking of which
For your viewing pleasure.
NO KIDDING. Sorry not sorry, Shen Wei, but really...
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Zhao Yunlan always looks TINY next to Lin Jing, and he is not short. That is a gigantic nerd.
Even though Zhu Hong obviously hasn't really gotten over her crush at this point, her trump card against Zhao Yunlan firing Lin Jing is "Wait till Shen Wei gets back! He'll make you stop being an idiot!" and that says a lot. I feel like she didn't spend very long hating Shen Wei out of jealousy. Maybe it's just because he's the Envoy, but still, I appreciate how relatively chill she is about the whole thing.
I don't think I'd noticed before how the chains on Ye Zun's pillar are ignoring gravity. The ones that go from the top to the anchors at the corners of the dais have loops of finer chain hanging off of them that (in the shots from a good distance away) are not doing what you'd expect hanging loops of chain to do. Clearly the pillar has a strong magnetic field!
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Thanks for putting that into words. I love this aspect of his character. He really is quite self-aware and very good at his job. He's a super competent smartass who occasionally makes terrible decisions.
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