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sid_guardian2021-06-05 11:30 pm
melinoel616) wrote in sid_guardian2021-06-05 11:30 pm
Entry tags:
Focus On: Taxi Scene, Episode 8
Location: Episode 8, 22:44 - 25:36
(Note 1: Youtube, Viki, and fan subs share the same time codes as of this post.)
(Note 2: All pictures should be visible now!)
Context:
Before the taxi scene properly starts, we see Shen Wei helping Professor Zhou hail a ride home after having dinner together.
Professor Zhou, having consumed a wee too much alcohol, channels his inner parent and chides hisspiritually adopted son star pupil for not engaging in social drinking "even after all these years". As the Viki subs translate his inebriated argument, "Drinking is a refined habit of civilized people. You don't aim to get drunk, just to have some fun." While being the designated Responsible Adult™, Shen Wei reminds the closest person to a father figure his mentor with a smile that he and alcohol don't get along.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yunlan is suffering abdominal pain intense enough to stop walking and sit on a curb in the middle of a busy night. (Maybe it was a fashion god's divine punishment for the denim-on-denim?) Shen Wei doesn't notice this until Professor Zhou's cab has left. Once he does, we can see his face morph from surprise to confusion before settling on proactive worry.
At time code 23:39, when we -- through Shen Wei's eyes -- see a pained Zhao Yunlan curling in on himself, the OST track "Shen Wei" begins to play.
Responsible Adult™ Shen Wei approaches Denim Disaster™ Zhao Yunlan to save the day, although he still addresses him as "Chief Zhao". Hopefully he can drop the formalities sooner rather than later, because this just hurts to watch.
Despite trying to dismiss the professor's concerns and offer to take him to the hospital, Zhao Yunlan asks Shen Wei to take him home. He just needs rest and medicine that he already has, he says. Relenting, Shen Wei helps Zhao Yunlan stand back up, supports him, and hails another taxi. He does this because...his home is across the hall anyway. he hopelessly loves this disgrace of a human being. socialist brotherhood. it's the right thing to do.
The Scene
Now for the taxi ride.
They enter the vehicle and don't even bother with seatbelts. Given one of them is ill, neither man feels compelled to have a conversation. Shen Wei sits and looks out the window like a good passenger. Then at some point in the ride, Zhao Yunlan doses off and rests his head on Shen Wei's shoulder. Cue the almighty, intimidating, powerful Black Cloak Envoy internally screaming, "OH CRAP!".
^_^
Almost as if he's allergic to being loved in return (or thinks this was a cosmic prank), he props Zhao Yunlan back upright in his seat. Then he goes back to sitting as if physical contact never happened in the first place. Just... why, Xiao Wei. WHY.
:D
TT^TT
(┛✧Д✧))┛彡┻━┻
Alas, Zhao Yunlan's head returns to where it wants to be. And, like magnets or moths to flame, Shen Wei scoots closer to Zhao Yunlan so he doesn't have neck pain along with his stomach. He adjusts his head to better stay in its new home for the rest of the ride. There's a tender moment where Shen Wei looks upon the sleepy face ofhis disaster husband Zhao Yunlan and indulges in the quiet company.
:O
All of this is sweet, but that's not the best part. There is no dialogue here; just pure body language singing in tandem with the haunting, melancholic piano piece, “Shen Wei”.
That song was born for this scene. It embodies the tragedy of Shen Wei’s life - full of heartbreak, loneliness, - across an ocean of millennia that seems to engulf eternity. Everything that needs to be conveyed about Shen Wei as a character and his feelings in that moment is done with no dialogue.
>:D
Some shows and films rely too much on dialogue to carry a story rather than relying on the strengths of the music, the cinematography, and the actors. Storytellers harp on “Show, don’t tell” all the time, and Guardian lives by it several times throughout the production, especially right here. This scene feels like it belongs in an independent film, appealing to artsy or cerebral audiences who feel the creators trust them to understand what is happening without being talked down to.
I chose to focus on the taxi scene because it made me fall in love with Guardian. The first time I saw Zhao Yunlan lean against Shen Wei in his sleep, I cried. When Shen Wei caves and lets Zhao Yunlan past another layer of barriers, I cried. Watching the powerful, long-living Heipaoshi give in a little bit rather than repress and/or fight against his longing for Zhao Yunlan made me cry. Every time I rewatched this scene for this post, I cried.
＼（♥ o ♥）／
That may not be the most logically sound reason to pick a scene, but it means enough for me to gush about Weilan in one of their most adorable and tender moments.
Other Observations
Firstly, I'd be a terrible fan if I didn't mention that this is one of a handful of confirmed improved moments in the show. Supposedly Zhu Yilong did not know Bai Yu deliberately intended to have the head-on-shoulder bit until he did it the second time. Kudos to BY for the idea and for Z1L rolling with it. This was one of the most memorable moments in the entire drama, and I'm grateful this made the final cut.
Secondly, while the show mostly left the details to be implied, the novel did not hold back on explaining that Zhao Yunlan has had many gastritis episodes due to his "incredible" lifestyle choices. He had schmoozed (aka tricked) his way into treating Shen Wei to dinner despite being poorly dressed (he had no socks!). Sadly there is no taxi scene in the book, but novel Shen Wei was freaking out internally just as much as his drama counterpart when dealing with a touchy Zhao Yunlan.
Thirdly, as for body language, note how Shen Wei handles Professor Zhou and Zhao Yunlan:
Despite him keeping some amount of physical and/or emotional distance from Zhao Yunlan in the taxi, he cannot help but be a dedicated protector. Anyone on the receiving end of Shen Wei's compassion are the luckiest people in the universe.
And lastly, Shen Wei's suit + ass chain ensemble is *chef's kiss*.
Fanfics, meta, et al.
Eirenical has a lovely meta on Tumblr regarding Shen Wei and Professor Zhou's relationship as well as brief commentary on Shen Wei's attire in this scene. (I didn't delve too much into this, just to stay on topic.)
Like the rest of Guardian's OST, you can listen to “Shen Wei” on Spotify and Amazon Music.
Music is subjective, but there are a few wonderful meta posts on "Shen Wei", like highpriestessofjogan's.
(Note 1: Youtube, Viki, and fan subs share the same time codes as of this post.)
(Note 2: All pictures should be visible now!)
Context:
Before the taxi scene properly starts, we see Shen Wei helping Professor Zhou hail a ride home after having dinner together.
Professor Zhou, having consumed a wee too much alcohol, channels his inner parent and chides his
Meanwhile, Zhao Yunlan is suffering abdominal pain intense enough to stop walking and sit on a curb in the middle of a busy night. (Maybe it was a fashion god's divine punishment for the denim-on-denim?) Shen Wei doesn't notice this until Professor Zhou's cab has left. Once he does, we can see his face morph from surprise to confusion before settling on proactive worry.
At time code 23:39, when we -- through Shen Wei's eyes -- see a pained Zhao Yunlan curling in on himself, the OST track "Shen Wei" begins to play.
Responsible Adult™ Shen Wei approaches Denim Disaster™ Zhao Yunlan to save the day, although he still addresses him as "Chief Zhao". Hopefully he can drop the formalities sooner rather than later, because this just hurts to watch.
Despite trying to dismiss the professor's concerns and offer to take him to the hospital, Zhao Yunlan asks Shen Wei to take him home. He just needs rest and medicine that he already has, he says. Relenting, Shen Wei helps Zhao Yunlan stand back up, supports him, and hails another taxi. He does this because...
The Scene
Now for the taxi ride.
They enter the vehicle and don't even bother with seatbelts. Given one of them is ill, neither man feels compelled to have a conversation. Shen Wei sits and looks out the window like a good passenger. Then at some point in the ride, Zhao Yunlan doses off and rests his head on Shen Wei's shoulder. Cue the almighty, intimidating, powerful Black Cloak Envoy internally screaming, "OH CRAP!".
^_^
Almost as if he's allergic to being loved in return (or thinks this was a cosmic prank), he props Zhao Yunlan back upright in his seat. Then he goes back to sitting as if physical contact never happened in the first place. Just... why, Xiao Wei. WHY.
:D
TT^TT
(┛✧Д✧))┛彡┻━┻
Alas, Zhao Yunlan's head returns to where it wants to be. And, like magnets or moths to flame, Shen Wei scoots closer to Zhao Yunlan so he doesn't have neck pain along with his stomach. He adjusts his head to better stay in its new home for the rest of the ride. There's a tender moment where Shen Wei looks upon the sleepy face of
:O
All of this is sweet, but that's not the best part. There is no dialogue here; just pure body language singing in tandem with the haunting, melancholic piano piece, “Shen Wei”.
That song was born for this scene. It embodies the tragedy of Shen Wei’s life - full of heartbreak, loneliness, - across an ocean of millennia that seems to engulf eternity. Everything that needs to be conveyed about Shen Wei as a character and his feelings in that moment is done with no dialogue.
>:D
Some shows and films rely too much on dialogue to carry a story rather than relying on the strengths of the music, the cinematography, and the actors. Storytellers harp on “Show, don’t tell” all the time, and Guardian lives by it several times throughout the production, especially right here. This scene feels like it belongs in an independent film, appealing to artsy or cerebral audiences who feel the creators trust them to understand what is happening without being talked down to.
I chose to focus on the taxi scene because it made me fall in love with Guardian. The first time I saw Zhao Yunlan lean against Shen Wei in his sleep, I cried. When Shen Wei caves and lets Zhao Yunlan past another layer of barriers, I cried. Watching the powerful, long-living Heipaoshi give in a little bit rather than repress and/or fight against his longing for Zhao Yunlan made me cry. Every time I rewatched this scene for this post, I cried.
＼（♥ o ♥）／
That may not be the most logically sound reason to pick a scene, but it means enough for me to gush about Weilan in one of their most adorable and tender moments.
Other Observations
Firstly, I'd be a terrible fan if I didn't mention that this is one of a handful of confirmed improved moments in the show. Supposedly Zhu Yilong did not know Bai Yu deliberately intended to have the head-on-shoulder bit until he did it the second time. Kudos to BY for the idea and for Z1L rolling with it. This was one of the most memorable moments in the entire drama, and I'm grateful this made the final cut.
Secondly, while the show mostly left the details to be implied, the novel did not hold back on explaining that Zhao Yunlan has had many gastritis episodes due to his "incredible" lifestyle choices. He had schmoozed (aka tricked) his way into treating Shen Wei to dinner despite being poorly dressed (he had no socks!). Sadly there is no taxi scene in the book, but novel Shen Wei was freaking out internally just as much as his drama counterpart when dealing with a touchy Zhao Yunlan.
Thirdly, as for body language, note how Shen Wei handles Professor Zhou and Zhao Yunlan:
Despite him keeping some amount of physical and/or emotional distance from Zhao Yunlan in the taxi, he cannot help but be a dedicated protector. Anyone on the receiving end of Shen Wei's compassion are the luckiest people in the universe.
And lastly, Shen Wei's suit + ass chain ensemble is *chef's kiss*.
Fanfics, meta, et al.
Eirenical has a lovely meta on Tumblr regarding Shen Wei and Professor Zhou's relationship as well as brief commentary on Shen Wei's attire in this scene. (I didn't delve too much into this, just to stay on topic.)
Like the rest of Guardian's OST, you can listen to “Shen Wei” on Spotify and Amazon Music.
Music is subjective, but there are a few wonderful meta posts on "Shen Wei", like highpriestessofjogan's.
Questions to Consider:
The adventures of Zhao Yunlan’s Trash Stomach™ and Shen Wei’s Responsible Adulting™ will continue in a few weeks! Until then, please share your thoughts or highlight anything you noticed about this scene! :D
- Why do you think Shen Wei pushed Zhao Yunlan away the first time in the taxi? Why do you think he relented and let Zhao Yunlan lean on him the second time? (Besides the irl fun fact reason; that’s cheating. :P)
- Related to Question #1, what do you think what was going on in Shen Wei's head (and/or heart) while in the taxi?
- How do you feel about the use of “Shen Wei” from the OST in this scene? Did it affect you in any way?
The adventures of Zhao Yunlan’s Trash Stomach™ and Shen Wei’s Responsible Adulting™ will continue in a few weeks! Until then, please share your thoughts or highlight anything you noticed about this scene! :D