sid_guardian | Focus on: "Were you just pretending right from the start?" from episode 13/14

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Focus on: "Were you just pretending right from the start?" from episode 13/14

Location of scene: episode 13, 38:03 to 42:27, and episode 14, 2:09 to 2:36

Description:

Last we saw Shen Wei, he was frantically searching for Zhao Yunlan, at least once spitting blood in the process. Now he arrives at the SID in a hurry. This is the scene that greets him:

(Lovely framing, and a great shot of the SID!)

A somewhat edited version of events

What we see initially is this: Shen Wei checks the fallen Zhu Hong; then Zhao Yunlan arrives, bland-faced, eyes unfocused. Shen Wei confronts him, he walks closer and grabs him by the lapels. "Snap out of it!"

Shen Wei grabbing Zhao Yunlan by the lapels

Shen Wei holds Zhao Yunlan by the lapels

Shen Wei tries to get through to Zhao Yunlan: "Zhao Yunlan... We haven't known each other for long, but I already consider you my best friend." (Holding him by the lapels the entire time, and speaking very urgently.)

Zhao Yunlan, still blank-faced, pushes him back and draws his gun as Zhu Jiu, Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi appear behind him.

Zhu Jiu taunts Shen Wei: "You think he's your best friend, but he sees you as his enemy." And he tells Zhao Yunlan to kill Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan fires his gun, and Shen Wei falls.

But then Shen Wei, having faked out Zhu Jiu, rises again; Zhao Yunlan pulls his gun on Zhu Jiu and shoots him, wounding his arm. A fantastic badass battle couple moment. ♥

Zhu Jiu tells Zhao Yunlan to shoot Shen Wei

Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan confronting Zhu Jiu

Zhu Jiu: "Impossible! Nobody can escape Zhen Yi's control."

Zhao Yunlan gives him the scientific explanation, and tells Shen Wei: "You guessed at once. Much smarter than Zhu Hong."

Flashback: what really happened

In flashback, we find out what happened: Shen Wei, who had been frantically searching for Zhao Yunlan, found Zhu Hong unconscious, with a graze on her neck - and between that moment and when he confronted Zhao Yunlan, he must have understood Zhao Yunlan was faking it, immediately and smoothly changed course from "rescue Zhao Yunlan" to "work with Zhao Yunlan to trick Zhu Jiu", and formulated a plan.

The first thing he says to Zhao Yunlan is, "Zhao Yunlan, you actually killed Zhu Hong" - in one brief sentence letting Zhao Yunlan know that he knows he's faking, without raising Zhu Jiu's suspicions at all. And when Shen Wei grabs Zhao Yunlan by the lapels, loudly telling him to snap out of him, the next he does is quietly tell him to pull his gun.

(This is an excellent performance, btw - Zhao Yunlan's eyes go from blank to alert in an instant, and then he winks at Shen Wei just before he pushes him away and pulls his gun on him.)

And on Zhao Yunlan's part, when Shen Wei arrives and lets him know he knows, he never for a moment falters in his blank-faced performance. The two of them smoothly and effortlessly fall into step, working in perfect synch. Seriously, they're both so amazing in this.

In the present, Zhao Yunlan asks after Zhu Hong, and Shen Wei tells him she is fine; she'll wake up soon.

Then Shen Wei finally confronts him with the question that must have been on his mind from the moment he found Zhu Hong: "Were you just pretending right from the start?"

Zhao Yunlan: "Yep! How else would I have got you to disclose your identity?"

Zhao Yunlan is entirely too pleased with himself, and Shen Wei is Not Amused. *g*

Shen Wei then goes Envoy at Zhu Jiu, summoning his blade as he strides forward. But Zhu Jiu pushes Zheng Yi away and jumps out of the window, where he is picked up by Ya Qing.

(And I'll end it here - what comes next, with Zhao Yunlan picking up the Mountain-River Awl and having visions - including one forward to episode 17), is a thing worth discussing on its own.)

Questions

So many excellent bits in this! What's your favourite thing about this scene?

If you can remember the first time you watched this scene, did the fake-out work for you? Did you think Zhao Yunlan had really shot Shen Wei?

Speaking of: what actually happened when Zhao Yunlan shot at Shen Wei? Did he deliberately miss? (Wouldn't one of the three people watching have noticed, at point blank range?) Did he graze him, the way he did Zhu Hong? He never hesitates - is that because he's not shooting him, or because he's that confident in Shen Wei's ability to handle it?

How sure is Shen Wei that Zhao Yunlan really is in control of himself, before Zhao Yunlan winks at him? He never hesitates either, but is part of him still gauging the situation?

What would Shen Wei have done if Zhao Yunlan hadn't had his gun?

Or if he'd found Zhao Yunlan actually mind-controlled, or only partially resisting? (Would he have attempted to surreptitiously send a surge of black energy through ZYL's body to disrupt the mind control?

For that matter, what would Zhao Yunlan have done if Shen Wei hadn't turned up at that point? How much further would he have let things progress, given that he already had Zhu Jiu, Tan Xiao, Zheng Yi and the Hallows all in one place, and didn't act?)

Was Zhao Yunlan actually faking out Shen Wei in particular, or did he just grab the opportunity to fake out Zhu Jiu when it arose, and deceiving Shen Wei came with it?

Just how annoyed is Shen Wei with Zhao Yunlan's risk-taking - and his gleeful gloating at the end? *g*

Links

I didn't have time to really search for links, so the only thing I have to offer here is this gorgeous art of Guardian moments by 噫！. I hope someone else can provide!

So, come and have your say! Share links to meta, picspams, and related fanworks, new or old! Self-recs are wholeheartedly encouraged. Basically, this is the place for anything you want to say or link to about this scene.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

But then Shen Wei, having faked out Zhu Jiu, rises again; Zhao Yunlan pulls his gun on Zhu Jiu and shoots him, wounding his arm. A fantastic badass battle couple moment. ♥

Oh yes, this is fantastic moment. And when I was watching this episode for the first time I guessed pretty quickly that Zhao Yunlan was faking being controlled. I wasn’t sure at first. But I remembered thinking “there is no way that Zhao Yunlan killed Zhu Hong, so he must have missed deliberately and she was just pretending”.

But Shen Wei raising and them both turning against Zhu Jiu still was such a beautiful ‘hell yeah’ moment for me, because I didn’t know how it would be resolved and when. So that surprise still worked.

Speaking of: what actually happened when Zhao Yunlan shot at Shen Wei? Did he deliberately miss? (Wouldn't one of the three people watching have noticed, at point blank range?) Did he graze him, the way he did Zhu Hong? He never hesitates - is that because he's not shooting him, or because he's that confident in Shen Wei's ability to handle it?

My impression was that he did shoot Shen Wei for real, and yes, he was confident that Shen Wei could handle it and would heal himself right away.

And oh that pleased smile on Zhao Yunlan’s face at the end and Shen Wei’s glare... Yes, Shen Wei was not amused at all. There was probably a lecture later. :D

Yeah, there's no way they'd have had Zhao Yunlan really kill Zhu Hong! I don't remember what I thought the first time I watched, but I think Shen Wei claiming she was actually dead is a pretty big clue to the audience that the scene that follows is not all it seems.

My impression was that he did shoot Shen Wei for real, and yes, he was confident that Shen Wei could handle it and would heal himself right away.

Yeah, that was my impression too - and then I started thinking about it and wondering if he'd really risk it ...

Seriously, I love this whole scene so much. ♥

I'm on the fence about whether or not Zhao Yunlan actually shot Shen Wei. We don't know enough about the lethality of the dark energy gun to Dixingren. It can kill them, it can wound them only (Zhu Jiu), and Zhao Yunlan thinks it can kill Shang Zhi at point blank range, but could it kill, or even wound the Black Cloak Envoy? Personally, I don't think Zhao Yunlan would risk it, since he has, so far, little knowledge of all the BCE's abilities. Since the weapon leaves no visible wound (sometimes!) he could easily just fire and miss.

I'm going with Zhao Yunlan faking out Zhu Jiu when the necessity arose. He was clearly prepared for something - the earplugs - but he had no advance knowledge that Zhu Jiu would show up at the same time as he was confronting Shen Wei. I don't think ZYL is so manipulative that he planned to get 'mind controlled' by Zhu Jiu just to make Shen Wei reveal himself!

But it's entirely within his character to boast to Shen Wei that he had it all planned, rather than admit that the whole sequence of events depended on some quick thinking by everybody concerned. It's his way of lightening the aftermath of a very fraught situation, similarly to how he teased Shen Wei when his blindness was cured by the Longevity Dial.

Yeah, that's a good point about the gun - we don't really know much about it. My original impression was that Zhao Yunlan had actually shot Shen Wei, confident that since Shen Wei himself came up with the idea of using the gun, it would be safe - but then I had second thoughts, because as you say, would Zhao Yunlan really take that risk?

But it's entirely within his character to boast to Shen Wei that he had it all planned, rather than admit that the whole sequence of events depended on some quick thinking by everybody concerned. It's his way of lightening the aftermath of a very fraught situation, similarly to how he teased Shen Wei when his blindness was cured by the Longevity Dial.

Yes! That's the perfect way to describe it. I don't think he was thinking about Shen Wei at all when he got those earplugs, just about having a defence against the mind control, and when the moment happened, he took advantage of it to fake out Zhu Jiu. Shen Wei then promptly revealing himself as the Envoy was just the cherry on top. *g*

I don't think he was thinking about Shen Wei at all when he got those earplugs, just about having a defence against the mind control, and when the moment happened, he took advantage of it to fake out Zhu Jiu.

Yeah, agreed. He had an opportunity to find out more about the other side and possibly manoeuvre Zhu Jiu into a trap, and he took it.

(Just catching up...)

I don't think ZYL is so manipulative that he planned to get 'mind controlled' by Zhu Jiu just to make Shen Wei reveal himself!

I'm so relieved by this statement, because you've come a long way since the first time you watched this episode...

But it's entirely within his character to boast to Shen Wei that he had it all planned, rather than admit that the whole sequence of events depended on some quick thinking by everybody concerned. It's his way of lightening the aftermath of a very fraught situation, similarly to how he teased Shen Wei when his blindness was cured by the Longevity Dial.

Yes, this is a great observation! And adding in

china_shop's point below about Zhao Yunlan probably not knowing exactly how the shot would affect Zhu Hong -- I can see Zhao Yunlan being invested in playing it as a seamless plan on his part, instead of a dangerous, risky move. What I mean is, I see Zhao Yunlan's smugness here as not just an outward thing to annoy Shen Wei or whatever, but also a personal thing where Zhao Yunlan is "playing Zhao Yunlan" on the outside while inside he's coping with how it all could've gone wrong.

That being said, I don't believe Zhao Yunlan is cavalier about either Zhu Hong's life or Shen Wei's. That Zhao Yunlan is an excellent shot is more likely to me, and I can imagine he might've believed the graze to Zhu Hong would affect her like a graze to a human and she would be clever enough to play along. (He has faith in his team.) Instead, she falls unconscious, but he can't do anything about that in the moment because he has to maintain his mind-control act. Wow, the angst for Zhao Yunlan!

For Shen Wei, I feel he didn't shoot him but aimed close enough to be convincing to the onlookers, while knowing Shen Wei was going to play along. I love the fake-out so much!

Edited (ETA because I forgot to finish my thought, lol) 2020-11-30 03:34 (UTC)

How sure is Shen Wei that Zhao Yunlan really is in control of himself, before Zhao Yunlan winks at him? He never hesitates either, but is part of him still gauging the situation?

Hmm, this is a good question. It's hard to tell, but I think it's like you said. Shen Wei realises that Zhao Yunlan is faking as soon as he figures out what happened to Zhu Hong. And he confirms it with the "You've actually killed Zhu Hong" line. What follows is my favourite bit: the "Pull your gun" and wink exchange. In a scene filled to the brim with awesome moments, this one stood out to as a great moment of them working together.

I don't know whether Zhao Yunlan actually shot Shen Wei, though, and I can't really tell what we're supposed to think happened there. On the one hand, Shen Wei does tell Zhao Yunlan to pull his gun and there's a shot. On the other hand, it's meant to be a fake-out, and actually injuring Shen Wei would put a damper on that. Also, could Shen Wei have healed an injury from the dark energy gun that fast?

It's an interesting scene overall. I was sure Zhao Yunlan was faking as soon as he shot Zhu Hong, more because of narrative conventions than anything else, but it was still very satisfying to see him and Shen Wei working together to fool Zhu Jiu. The scene works very well even without being surprised by the fake-out.

Yes! That gun/wink exchange is amazing. And the whole thing is so smooth, they just move together as if they'd planned it all in advance. I love that so much. ♥

Yeah, we don't know if Shen Wei could handle a shot by that gun - and he's ridiculously overpowered and has so many different powers; I'd totally buy that he'd be immune, but Zhao Yunlan has no way of knowing that. So he'd probably not risk it? Except Shen Wei practically told him to, and that would also be an awesome show of trust, taking that risk with nothing more to go on than that ...

Agreed, it had to be fake as soon as Zhu Hong was shot! But they could have resolved it differently - Zhu Jiu told Zhao Yunlan to shoot her, but IIRC we'd never before seen the gun used on Yashou, so it might not actually have worked on her. And they do play it as if Shen Wei hadn't seen through the ruse, before we get to see the flashback. It's a really well-constructed scene, and it's great regardless of whether you know exactly what's happening or not. So good!

It's a wonderful scene and your writeup is great. (That view of the SID--I am IN LOVE with that set. To die for.) I love the double view of the whole thing provided by the flashback, and the absolutely seamless way they work together as soon as Shen Wei knows what's going on. On that point, I wonder if Shen Wei did some dark-energy cheating to make it appear that Zhao Yunlan had actually shot (at) him? (Zhao Yunlan points the gun in the right direction, Shen Wei does the visual/sound effects...) That might have taken a little more advance collusion than they had time for, but then again given how they fall into step together...
Poor Shen Wei. "We haven't known each other for very long" must have hurt to say, even if it's true from Zhao Yunlan's perspective.
(I have a surprisingly long list of scenes I'd like to talk about, one of which is the cuddly-sweater and tea talk that comes, I think, shortly after this one? Even more relationship development.)

Thank you! ♥

The SID set is so gorgeous, I'm sort of side-eyeing Zhao Yunlan for wanting a new SID location. *g*

On that point, I wonder if Shen Wei did some dark-energy cheating to make it appear that Zhao Yunlan had actually shot

That never even occurred to me! Hm. *ponders* I think you're right, that would need some advance planning - I'd think it more likely that Zhao Yunlan would have "shot" Shen Wei the way he shot Zhu Hong, and trusted that Shen Wei could handle it.

Poor Shen Wei. "We haven't known each other for very long" must have hurt to say, even if it's true from Zhao Yunlan's perspective.

Yes! That whole speech while he's pretending to be trying to snap ZYL out of it is just - it rings true, you know? No wonder Zhu Jiu bought it.

The tea scene is not much later in episode 14, yes - just after the scene where the Envoy takes Zheng Yi away, IIRC. And I have a lot of feelings and opinions about it!

(I want to talk about ALLLLL the scenes!)

Now that everyone is talking about it, I'm really curious about the gun. I assumed that Zhao Yunlan shot to miss, since even if Shen Wei could heal that kind of wound, it seems like healing himself usually takes some time, at least if it's a serious injury. And I assume it would be fairly serious -- even Ye Zun doesn't seem to be able to heal the wound he gets from the dark energy gun's bullet, although it also doesn't kill him. It seems to do some real damage.

Also, Zhu Jiu is looking the other way when Zhao Yunlan fires, which I assumed was relevant... though it's true that probably someone else should have noticed. :P But if Zhao Yunlan is a good enough shot, he can probably just aim really close to Shen Wei so that it will look like a hit, like he does with Zhu Hong. (Zhu Jiu was even watching when he "shot" Zhu Hong, and still believed it.)

Just in general, though, I keep wondering about what kind of damage that gun actually does. Zhao Yunlan says it won't harm humans, and is "specifically used against dark energy," but it clearly works on more than just Dixingren... It leaves at least a slight injury on Zhu Hong, and it also seems to work against the Hanga energy-being people (when Zhu Hong takes the gun from Zhao Yunlan and shoots one of them). Do Yashou and energy-beings also rely on dark energy? And then the gun has no effect on Professor Ouyang at all. Also, Zhu Jiu gets shot in the arm, and it doesn't kill him right away, but it seems to gradually drain his energy, and apparently he can't heal the wound (I guess just because he doesn't have healing as a power). But if I remember, I think Zhao Yunlan also shoots the rebel leader in the arm when he travels back in time? And then the rebel leader is just fine the next time we see him. I guess maybe one of his followers has healing as a power, and healed him?

Anyway, though, the fact that Shen Wei does have healing as a power would make him a bit of a different case from any of the other people who get shot, so maybe he really could take a bullet just for show. I just can't really see Zhao Yunlan risking it, since he surely doesn't know much about Shen Wei's healing abilities yet.

(This comment got kind of long, but I also just wanted to say I really like the layout of this post, with the nicely aligned screencaps and everything!)

Yeah, I think Zhao Yunlan would at most have shot him the same way he shot Zhu Hong. Even though I'd totally buy Shen Wei being able to prevent a shot from that gun injuring it if he was prepared for it! Without even needing to heal himself. But I doubt Zhao Yunlan would take the risk.

Also, Zhu Jiu is looking the other way when Zhao Yunlan fires, which I assumed was relevant...

Yes, that's an excellent point!

Zhao Yunlan says it won't harm humans, and is "specifically used against dark energy," but it clearly works on more than just Dixingren... It leaves at least a slight injury on Zhu Hong, and it also seems to work against the Hanga energy-being people (when Zhu Hong takes the gun from Zhao Yunlan and shoots one of them). Do Yashou and energy-beings also rely on dark energy?

It also affecting Yashou makes sense, since they share common ancestors with Dixingren, and their powers seem to work with dark energy. For the energy beings, I don't know, but I didn't think the gun actually harmed them, more like disrupted whatever allowed them to manifest? Which could easily be a dark energy effect - they're energy beings because of the Mountain-River Awl, and that thing does emit dark energy on occasion ...

(Heh. Can you tell I love speculating about these things? *g*)

Zhu Jiu does heal from that injury eventually, so maybe in the past, a lot of time passed between the moment we saw the rebel leader being shot and when we saw him again afterwards? It's ambiguous how much time passes while Zhao Yunlan is in the past, so that would make as much sense as anything. Or, as you say, he has someone with healing powers to take care of him!

(And thanks muchly, I'm happy you like the post!)

Even though I'd totally buy Shen Wei being able to prevent a shot from that gun injuring it if he was prepared for it!

Oh, that's true -- I hadn't thought about it, but Ye Zun dodges those bullets no problem (except the one from the Lantern), so presumably Shen Wei would also be able to do it. I still think that would have been more noticeable than Zhao Yunlan just barely missing the shot, though.

since they share common ancestors with Dixingren

Huh... yeah, I guess they probably do, at least in some distant evolutionary sense (or maybe not that distant, who even knows), since they all landed on the same spaceship. The show never really makes it clear whether Yashou powers are dark-energy based or not, but I think I'm going to assume they are, based on what little evidence we've got here...

I didn't think the gun actually harmed them, more like disrupted whatever allowed them to manifest?

I like this! I was confused about the gun harming them, since I think it's implied that energy beings aren't dark-energy based, but the scene with the gun seemed to contradict that. But yeah, if Zhu Jiu is the one allowing them to manifest, then it could be his dark energy that's getting disrupted, or if it's the Mountain-River Awl, then that's also dark energy, so... one way or another it can still make sense.

(I'm also very into speculating! XD )

Zhu Jiu does heal from that injury eventually

Does he? I was under the impression that it kept draining his energy and he couldn't heal it, and that was why he finally put himself into a bottle for Ye Zun, because he was going to die anyway. I may have misunderstood what was going on there though!

According to the opening narration in episode 1, Dixingren and Yashou only diverged after they arrived on Haixing. So it would make sense that they're pretty similar in a lot of ways.

The way I remember it, Zhu Jiu puts himself into the bottle because he's mortally wounded when Shen Wei takes him down on that rooftop during the blackout (when they capture him). I rechecked the ending just now, and the wound he clutches is the one where Shen Wei cut him, not his arm. But now that you say it, I'm actually not sure if/how much the bullet wound gets better ...

Ah, you're right on both counts. I'd forgotten about Zhu Jiu getting injured again on the rooftop, and was just thinking of when Ya Qing told him "The bullet didn't hit anything vital, but it still depletes your power." But I just realized that right after that, she says he won't be able to do much "for a while," which does definitely imply that he'll eventually heal from that injury, even if it may take some time. So the injury he got from Shen Wei probably was the more serious one, as you say.

And I somehow totally missed the fact that Dixingren and Yashou didn't diverge until after they arrived in Haixing. I think the subtitle translation of "the other aliens chose to settle deep underground" is what made me think there were already different kinds of aliens before they made that choice, but you're right, the opening lines definitely seem to be saying there was just one alien species when the spaceship arrived. Thanks for telling me where to check!

Oh, thanks for tracking down that quote form Ya Qing! You're right, "for a while" definitely implies he'll recover. I wonder how long it would have taken - Zhu Jiu still seems to have trouble with his arm during the fighting ring case, so it seems to be healing very slowly.

For all that it's crammed into a minute at the start of the show and only exists because of censorship, I kind of really love that opening narration and its worldbuilding implications ... *g*

(Just catching up on the scene discussion posts...)

For all that it's crammed into a minute at the start of the show and only exists because of censorship, I kind of really love that opening narration and its worldbuilding implications ... *g*

THIS.

♥ ♥ ♥

This is definitely one of the defining scenes of the show. *swoons*

My favourite bit is that moment when Shen Wei rises again, all intent, and the whole situation turns around. That couple shot!!!

If you can remember the first time you watched this scene, did the fake-out work for you? Did you think Zhao Yunlan had really shot Shen Wei?

I vaguely remember being deeply uncertain whether the Zhu Hong thing was real or not (and I'm still not sure what's actually going on there, I was surprised that the graze resulted in her unconsciousness: it looks pretty harmless!) but I was pretty sure he hadn't shot Shen Wei. I was... confused but hopeful?

Regarding shooting Shen Wei, I always assumed he missed/aimed a bit high so he'd miss as Shen Wei was already going down. Impeccable timing type thing. Or he might just have aimed very close to him, just beside his neck or some such, we know he's a good shot. I don't think he'd risk shooting Shen Wei with a dark energy gun, he's seen what it can do to Dixingren.

As for Zhu Hong and the graze, I guess it was safe to shoot her because dark energy guns don't hurt Yashou the same way? But

How sure is Shen Wei that Zhao Yunlan really is in control of himself, before Zhao Yunlan winks at him? He never hesitates either, but is part of him still gauging the situation?

I think he is pretty confident, because of the Zhu Hong thing, but can't really be certain until he's put it to the test. If he'd been proven wrong, then I guess he'd have had to change plan quickly.

If Zhao Yunlan hadn't had the gun, he might have tried to make Zhao Yunlan distract Zhu Jiu so he himself could attack? Maybe a fake fistfight or some such, or Zhao Yunlan suddenly 'fainting' or acting weird in some other way...

For that matter, what would Zhao Yunlan have done if Shen Wei hadn't turned up at that point? How much further would he have let things progress, given that he already had Zhu Jiu, Tan Xiao, Zheng Yi and the Hallows all in one place, and didn't act?)

I don't think he could really absolutely expect Shen Wei to turn up, so he must have had a backup plan. Or... some general idea that as long as Zhu Jiu didn't know he wasn't acutally being controlled, there'd have to be an opportunity to take advantage of that eventually. I think that's all his initial plan was really about.

I'm also pretty sure it was only about Zhu Jiu, what happened with Shen Wei was just a bonus. He's just being his usual smug self when he claims that was his plan all along, and maybe saying it to annoy Shen Wei. In which he succeeds, for the time being. But Shen Wei should be able to figure out that Zhao Yunlan really had no way to predict how all this would go down, and that his plan was actually a pretty clever one. He can be angry that Zha Yunlan didn't tell him about it beforehand, though. #pot-kettle

Edited 2020-11-02 08:03 (UTC)

It's such an excellent scene! :D

(and I'm still not sure what's actually going on there, I was surprised that the graze resulted in her unconsciousness: it looks pretty harmless!)

It has to be a black energy effect. But why it knocks her out, when it doesn't other people - no idea!

I don't think he'd risk shooting Shen Wei with a dark energy gun, he's seen what it can do to Dixingren.

Yeah, all in all I think he probably made sure to just miss him, though I also like the idea of him taking that risk because Shen Wei basically told him to, and having that much faith in him. *g*

As for Zhu Hong and the graze, I guess it was safe to shoot her because dark energy guns don't hurt Yashou the same way?

Huh. I thought the graze and its effect on her proved that the dark energy gun did affect Yashou in the same way! And it makes sense, since they're descended from the same ancestors as modern Dixingren.

or Zhao Yunlan suddenly 'fainting' or acting weird in some other way...

Haha, I like the fainting idea! :D

I don't think he could really absolutely expect Shen Wei to turn up, so he must have had a backup plan. Or... some general idea that as long as Zhu Jiu didn't know he wasn't acutally being controlled, there'd have to be an opportunity to take advantage of that eventually. I think that's all his initial plan was really about.

Yeah, agreed. And I don't think he'd have let Zhu Jiu walk out of the SID with the Hallows, not without trying to do something.

He's just being his usual smug self when he claims that was his plan all along, and maybe saying it to annoy Shen Wei.

LOL! Yep, completely agreed. :D

He can be angry that Zha Yunlan didn't tell him about it beforehand, though. #pot-kettle

And that Zhao Yunlan took such a risk with himself! #pot-kettle still applies. :D

It has to be a black energy effect. But why it knocks her out, when it doesn't other people - no idea!

Oh! Ha! This made me realise that I've always thought (from second viewing onwards) that Zhu Hong was faking unconsciousness (I give her mental kudos every time I watch Shen Wei checking her vitals and she doesn't react). Like, I've been assuming that the shot barely grazing her made her realise what was going on, so she played along to help maintain ZYL's cover.

If she's literally unconscious (which I now realise seems Very Likely), then she has even more license to punch ZYL forever for what he did! She should be much crosser than SW!

Wow! It never even occurred to me she mighit be faking. I do think the gun genuinely knocked her out, and yes, she has VERY good reason to punch Zhao Yunlan in the face!

But then, see, if she's not faking, what ZYL expected to happen? Did he know that grazing her neck with a dark energy bullet would knock her unconscious? (How?) Or did he expect her to play along? And either way, it's SUCH a risky shot to take, vis-a-vis arteries. (Now I want him to have ongoing freakouts where he dreams about missing and actually killing her. :-p)

No one goes to check on her after Zhu Jiu runs away either, and when she says, "How dare you shoot me?" he doesn't even react!!

(I realise I'm focusing on entirely the wrong aspect of the scene here. Sorry! I will come back and have thoughts about the rest of the post soon.)

He must have been very sure to take the risk - who knows, maybe that gun came with a manual after all? :p

But I'm all here for the ongoing freakouts. More ZYL angst!

(At least he does ask Shen Wei, even before Zhu Jiu escapes, before the "were you just pretending from the start" exchange. And Shen Wei tells him she's fine and will wake up soon. And not reacting seems pretty him if he's trying to play down something serious.)

(Ah, I only rewatched the part of the scene in ep 14 before I commented, and I'd forgotten that. Thanks! I feel better now. I still want the aftermath from Zhu Hong's pov, though. ;-)

So many excellent bits in this! What's your favourite thing about this scene?

I love both readings of the scene. Like

solo, on first viewing, I was deeply uncertain about the Zhu Hong thing. I couldn't discount the possibility it was real (partly because I try to be "in the moment" when watching and not overthink, but also, what if Cdrama narrative conventions work differently? or: this is SF -- maybe they could bring her back with tech! or angst over her and avenge her! nooooo, they killed Zhu Hong, those bastards! Zhu Jiu made Zhao Yunlan kill Zhu Hong! that takes the drama up to a whole nother level!! the most reassuring thing was that the camera didn't linger on her fallen body)[1] which makes the first reading of the scene deliciously angsty and dramatic and OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?! right up until Shen Wei rises up again. It also makes Shen Wei's trying to snap Zhao Yunlan out of it just amazingly angsty, which was awesome. And then the reframing that makes it clear they're on the same page/super in synch, which also made me flail. So. Double win! :-)

[1] And I can't help reiterating that Zhu Hong has every right to punch Zhao Yunlan into next Tuesday for that stunt, if he insists on downplaying the seriousness of the predicament! OMG!

Speaking of: what actually happened when Zhao Yunlan shot at Shen Wei?

Another vote for him aiming wide. I think Shen Wei's instruction was to repeat what Zhao Yunlan had done to Zhu Hong.

Also, when Zhao Yunlan shoots Zhu Jiu, the wound leaks dark energy, and we don't see anything like that, and whenever he shoots Ye Zun, later in the show, Ye Zun has to actively catch the bullets. Shen Wei is very powerful, but he's not invulnerable, so I don't think Zhao Yunlan would risk it (especially given his issues with the gun & his parents).

For that matter, what would Zhao Yunlan have done if Shen Wei hadn't turned up at that point? How much further would he have let things progress, given that he already had Zhu Jiu, Tan Xiao, Zheng Yi and the Hallows all in one place, and didn't act?)

He must have known Shen Wei/the Envoy would show up at some point. I suspect he was just stalling until that happened.

Just how annoyed is Shen Wei with Zhao Yunlan's risk-taking - and his gleeful gloating at the end? *g*

I think Zhao Yunlan gave him a hell of a scare, and Shen Wei is cross about that (and tired), but mostly he's trying not to give a single iota of positive reinforcement to these kinds of life-risking tactics! *pets him*

There may also be some chagrin on Shen Wei's part that he can't openly reproach Zhao Yunlan for not confiding his plan because that would be hypocritical in the extreme. :-)

My only quibble with the scene is that I feel like Zhao Yunlan tips his hand/takes the earplug(s) out too soon. They should have caught Zhu Jiu, taken measures to protect against Zheng Yi, and then taken out the earplugs. What if Zheng Yi had joined forces with Zhu Jiu, and she hypnotised him for real?

It also makes Shen Wei's trying to snap Zhao Yunlan out of it just amazingly angsty, which was awesome. And then the reframing that makes it clear they're on the same page/super in synch, which also made me flail. So. Double win! :-)

Right? So good! :D

I think Shen Wei's instruction was to repeat what Zhao Yunlan had done to Zhu Hong.

Yeah, that makes sense to me.

Also, when Zhao Yunlan shoots Zhu Jiu, the wound leaks dark energy, and we don't see anything like that

All we see of Shen Wei being shot is him flinching at the impact, and falling out of view. He might have a wound somewhere that we don't see - we don't see Zhu Hong's neck injury either when Zhao Yunlan shoots her. (I don't think Shen Wei has a wound, or if he does it's a very minor one that he can heal quickly. But it's clearly shot in that ambiguous way for the sake of the fake-out.)

Shen Wei is very powerful, but he's not invulnerable, so I don't think Zhao Yunlan would risk it (especially given his issues with the gun & his parents).

Yes, agreed. I think Shen Wei might be able to block the bullets in a way Ye Zun can't, especially if he's prepared for them - they don't have all the same powers, after all - but Zhao Yunlan wouldn't risk it.

but mostly he's trying not to give a single iota of positive reinforcement to these kinds of life-risking tactics! *pets him*

Awww! :D

There may also be some chagrin on Shen Wei's part that he can't openly reproach Zhao Yunlan for not confiding his plan because that would be hypocritical in the extreme. :-)

LOL, yes. Pot, kettle. They're two of a kind. *hearts them*

My only quibble with the scene is that I feel like Zhao Yunlan tips his hand/takes the earplug(s) out too soon. They should have caught Zhu Jiu, taken measures to protect against Zheng Yi, and then taken out the earplugs.

Yeah, and I feel like they should have been able to make sure Zhu Jiu didn't escape. But they don't even manage that the second time round! Someone should put some security measures on those windows, LOL.

Someone should put some security measures on those windows, LOL.

Haha, definitely! They're pretty good at keeping people out, but not so good at keeping them in.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Focus on: "Were you just pretending right from the start?" from episode 13/14

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