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sid_guardian2021-08-07 05:06 pm
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2021-08-07 05:06 pm
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Focus on: Shen Wei drinking for Zhao Yunlan in the Hanga Arc, episode 11
Episode 11, 15:56 to 17:33 (here on Youtube)
I've included roughly a bajillion screencaps. :-D (The full-sized versions are in this googledocs folder.)
Zhao Yunlan feels her forehead for a fever and asks if she’s okay. Just then Shen Wei appears on the landing upstairs and welcomes Zhao Yunlan back. Shen Wei is wearing Zhao Yunlan’s jacket and being very innocent. Zhao Yunlan looks suspiciously from Zhu Hong to Shen Wei (what’s going on? what did he do to her?), but then returns Shen Wei’s sweet pleased-to-see-him smile.
So: there are still reasons to be wary of Shen Wei. Strange things keep happening in his vicinity, potentially affecting Zhao Yunlan’s people. Can they really all be coincidence? But they’re all safe for now.
The show’s mischievous/comedic music starts up.
Round 1: Lang-ge and the village head are being good hosts. They cheerfully fill Zhao Yunlan’s bowl and encourage him to drink up.
Zhao Yunlan sighs and rubs his tummy lightly, obviously not feeling his best, but he drinks and laughs with his hosts as expected.
Shen Wei says he’ll drink water instead of wine, and their hosts accept this.
Shen Wei notes Zhao Yunlan's discomfort.
Round 2: Lang-ge compliments Zhao Yunlan on his drinking, refills his bowl and toasts him. Zhao Yunlan visibly steels himself and then gulps it down.
Shen Wei sips his water and resolutely doesn’t intervene, but I think this is when he starts planning to.
Round 3: Zhao Yunlan hides a grimace (and is clearly already feeling unwell) while Lang-ge obliviously refills his bowl. Lang-ge makes another, much less elaborate toast, and Zhao Yunlan agrees, but Shen Wei can’t take it anymore.
Shen Wei grabs Zhao Yunlan’s bowl out of his hand and stands up to make a toast: “Brother Lang and Village Head, thank you for taking care of us these past days. A toast to you from me and my students.”
Aside: Unverified, but I found a few websites (like this one) that say toasting or clinking glasses with water is considered bad luck. If that’s the case, by making the toast Shen Wei is giving himself an excuse to steal Zhao Yunlan’s bowl, since his own cup only contains water. Maybe stealing Zhao Yunlan’s cup seems eccentric but sort of logical?
Zhao Yunlan watches Shen Wei make the toast, then tries to intervene before he drinks, standing up and trying to grab the bowl back. “Since when did you start to drink--”
He’s too late: Shen Wei is already swallowing down the entire bowlful. (It’s very pretty to watch.)
Zhao Yunlan watches in bemused alarm, then laughs to cover. Their hosts drink too.
Shen Wei sits down again, adjusts his glasses, smiles, and then collapses unconscious onto his folded arm. (At which point the light-humour music stops, replaced with crickets or frogs.)
His hosts ask if he’s okay. Zhao Yunlan says, “Yeah, he’s fine. He can't drink. I’ll take him back to his room.” As he’s saying this, he puts his hand on Shen Wei’s arm, askdfaklsjdhfkldsjfa!
Zhu Hong turns around and peers at them suspiciously as Zhao Yunlan peels Shen Wei off the table. The plucked (heart)strings of emotional self-reflection start to play, leading into the next scene.
In fact, I feel like that warning kicks off a kind of power struggle from Zhao Yunlan’s side about who is protecting whom. Like, Shen Wei basically says, “I’m going to this place, but you shouldn’t even leave the city.” So Zhao Yunlan airily rejects Shen Wei’s advice, then gets Lin Jing to fix Shen Wei’s broken down car (helping by proxy), insists on joining forces on the way to the mountain, gives Shen Wei his coat to guard against the cold, and tells Zhu Hong to detain him so he can’t go wandering off into danger. Even using Shen Wei as a travel pillow is arguably a way of keeping tabs on him, so Zhao Yunlan will be there if they run into trouble.
Meanwhile Shen Wei is letting all this slip by him without reacting much. Protesting lightly but accepting the gestures -- without, of course, bending even an inch to the underlying “I want to protect you” message. If he pushed back too directly, it would raise questions about his identity -- why doesn’t this seemingly ordinary professor need protecting? So he can’t discourage Zhao Yunlan’s efforts. (Plus he doesn't really want to.)
And then this scene. Zhao Yunlan is caught in a trap of social convention -- drinking with your host is how you maintain good relations and be a good guest -- and he’s clearly already suffering for it. It’s a combination of all his weaknesses: the lying (this time about his enthusiasm for drinking), the physical ailment, and the lack of self-care. Shen Wei sees that, and at first he doesn’t intervene. This is Zhao Yunlan’s business, after all. But by the third round, Shen Wei can’t stand it anymore.
He doesn’t reproach Zhao Yunlan for not taking better care of himself or embarrass him by mentioning his stomach condition, and he doesn’t undo any of the relationship-building work Zhao Yunlan has done. Instead, Shen Wei uses the custom of offering toasts to appropriate Zhao Yunlan’s bowl and drink it himself. This protects Zhao Yunlan twice: 1) it saves him from that particular drink, and 2) Shen Wei must know he’ll immediately fall unconscious, giving Zhao Yunlan an excuse to leave the table.
I have so many feelings about this gesture! It’s incredibly eloquent and meaningful in a multitude of ways; for example, it:
It also gives us some classic Shen Wei expressions, from concerned to sweetly sozzled.
Anyway, until now, Shen Wei has done Zhao Yunlan many kindnesses -- he’s claimed friendship and laughed with him, helped him with cases when he had no obligation to, rescued him from the gutter and made him breakfast-- He’s probably done more for Zhao Yunlan than anyone but Da Qing. But I think it’s this selfless, thoughtful, slightly dorkily enacted move that tips Zhao Yunlan into deciding he can trust Shen Wei (and in my preferred reading of the next scene, into admitting to himself that he’s in love).
What do you think happens between this scene and the next? Do Jiajia and xiao-Quan make a fuss about their professor falling unconscious, or are they too busy partying? Do any of the SID offer to help carry Shen Wei, and if so, does Zhao Yunlan take them up on it or does he carry him himself? By piggyback? Does he send xiao-Guo for the IV?
Other than that, I don’t have any questions beyond: How do you feel about this scene? Does it make you as squishy inside as it does me? Look at their faaaaaces!! :D :D :D
I've included roughly a bajillion screencaps. :-D (The full-sized versions are in this googledocs folder.)
Lead-in
Shen Wei’s drinking scene takes place at the end of the Hanga arc. Directly before it, Zhao Yunlan arrives back from the mountains to find Zhu Hong asleep at the table. He wakes her with some difficulty and asks after the others. She says they’re in their rooms, sleeping off Wang Zheng’s drug. Zhao Yunlan asks about Shen Wei specifically, and Zhu Hong gets a strange expression and echoes, “Shen Wei?” as if still half-hypnotised. Then she jumps to her feet, looking alarmed. “Shen Wei!”Zhao Yunlan feels her forehead for a fever and asks if she’s okay. Just then Shen Wei appears on the landing upstairs and welcomes Zhao Yunlan back. Shen Wei is wearing Zhao Yunlan’s jacket and being very innocent. Zhao Yunlan looks suspiciously from Zhu Hong to Shen Wei (what’s going on? what did he do to her?), but then returns Shen Wei’s sweet pleased-to-see-him smile.
So: there are still reasons to be wary of Shen Wei. Strange things keep happening in his vicinity, potentially affecting Zhao Yunlan’s people. Can they really all be coincidence? But they’re all safe for now.
The show’s mischievous/comedic music starts up.
The scene itself
It’s a simple scene. It’s night in the mountain village, and everyone is sitting around outdoor tables, drinking. Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are at one table with Lang-ge and the head of the village; the rest of the SID (minus Wang Zheng and Sang Zan) and Shen Wei’s students, Jiajia and xiao-Quan, are at the other table.Round 1: Lang-ge and the village head are being good hosts. They cheerfully fill Zhao Yunlan’s bowl and encourage him to drink up.
Zhao Yunlan sighs and rubs his tummy lightly, obviously not feeling his best, but he drinks and laughs with his hosts as expected.
Shen Wei says he’ll drink water instead of wine, and their hosts accept this.
Shen Wei notes Zhao Yunlan's discomfort.
Round 2: Lang-ge compliments Zhao Yunlan on his drinking, refills his bowl and toasts him. Zhao Yunlan visibly steels himself and then gulps it down.
Shen Wei sips his water and resolutely doesn’t intervene, but I think this is when he starts planning to.
Round 3: Zhao Yunlan hides a grimace (and is clearly already feeling unwell) while Lang-ge obliviously refills his bowl. Lang-ge makes another, much less elaborate toast, and Zhao Yunlan agrees, but Shen Wei can’t take it anymore.
Shen Wei grabs Zhao Yunlan’s bowl out of his hand and stands up to make a toast: “Brother Lang and Village Head, thank you for taking care of us these past days. A toast to you from me and my students.”
Aside: Unverified, but I found a few websites (like this one) that say toasting or clinking glasses with water is considered bad luck. If that’s the case, by making the toast Shen Wei is giving himself an excuse to steal Zhao Yunlan’s bowl, since his own cup only contains water. Maybe stealing Zhao Yunlan’s cup seems eccentric but sort of logical?
Zhao Yunlan watches Shen Wei make the toast, then tries to intervene before he drinks, standing up and trying to grab the bowl back. “Since when did you start to drink--”
He’s too late: Shen Wei is already swallowing down the entire bowlful. (It’s very pretty to watch.)
Zhao Yunlan watches in bemused alarm, then laughs to cover. Their hosts drink too.
Shen Wei sits down again, adjusts his glasses, smiles, and then collapses unconscious onto his folded arm. (At which point the light-humour music stops, replaced with crickets or frogs.)
His hosts ask if he’s okay. Zhao Yunlan says, “Yeah, he’s fine. He can't drink. I’ll take him back to his room.” As he’s saying this, he puts his hand on Shen Wei’s arm, askdfaklsjdhfkldsjfa!
Zhu Hong turns around and peers at them suspiciously as Zhao Yunlan peels Shen Wei off the table. The plucked (heart)strings of emotional self-reflection start to play, leading into the next scene.
Thoughts
Although the scene is played for laughs, I think it (and the one that follows, where Zhao Yunlan puts Shen Wei to bed with an IV and gazes at him, then sniffs the jacket and laughs incredulously) is the culmination of a mini-character-arc that’s about more than just the Envoy identity reveal. It’s about Zhao Yunlan having inadvertently exposed his soft underbelly to Shen Wei and feeling incredibly vulnerable. Shen Wei has seen through his lies (the failed book con), seen his physical weakness (the gastritis), and seen his lack of maturity and self-care (the apartment). Zhao Yunlan, who for various reasons still doesn’t entirely trust Shen Wei, has no way of knowing yet if Shen Wei will use those weaknesses against him. Shen Wei already tried to sideline him with the warning about not leaving the city, the morning after the gastritis -- and that’s not on!In fact, I feel like that warning kicks off a kind of power struggle from Zhao Yunlan’s side about who is protecting whom. Like, Shen Wei basically says, “I’m going to this place, but you shouldn’t even leave the city.” So Zhao Yunlan airily rejects Shen Wei’s advice, then gets Lin Jing to fix Shen Wei’s broken down car (helping by proxy), insists on joining forces on the way to the mountain, gives Shen Wei his coat to guard against the cold, and tells Zhu Hong to detain him so he can’t go wandering off into danger. Even using Shen Wei as a travel pillow is arguably a way of keeping tabs on him, so Zhao Yunlan will be there if they run into trouble.
Meanwhile Shen Wei is letting all this slip by him without reacting much. Protesting lightly but accepting the gestures -- without, of course, bending even an inch to the underlying “I want to protect you” message. If he pushed back too directly, it would raise questions about his identity -- why doesn’t this seemingly ordinary professor need protecting? So he can’t discourage Zhao Yunlan’s efforts. (Plus he doesn't really want to.)
And then this scene. Zhao Yunlan is caught in a trap of social convention -- drinking with your host is how you maintain good relations and be a good guest -- and he’s clearly already suffering for it. It’s a combination of all his weaknesses: the lying (this time about his enthusiasm for drinking), the physical ailment, and the lack of self-care. Shen Wei sees that, and at first he doesn’t intervene. This is Zhao Yunlan’s business, after all. But by the third round, Shen Wei can’t stand it anymore.
He doesn’t reproach Zhao Yunlan for not taking better care of himself or embarrass him by mentioning his stomach condition, and he doesn’t undo any of the relationship-building work Zhao Yunlan has done. Instead, Shen Wei uses the custom of offering toasts to appropriate Zhao Yunlan’s bowl and drink it himself. This protects Zhao Yunlan twice: 1) it saves him from that particular drink, and 2) Shen Wei must know he’ll immediately fall unconscious, giving Zhao Yunlan an excuse to leave the table.
I have so many feelings about this gesture! It’s incredibly eloquent and meaningful in a multitude of ways; for example, it:
- demonstrates attentiveness and caring without criticising Zhao Yunlan or taking a scolding adult position
- proves that Shen Wei won’t use Zhao Yunlan’s vulnerabilities against him
- Shen Wei is low-key taking a bullet for Zhao Yunlan (which is basically their love language, I think?)
- without breaking Shen Wei’s cover (until you factor in the jacket).
- It’s a display of Shen Wei’s own weakness wrt alcohol
- and it leaves Shen Wei vulnerable, ergo, it’s also a show of trust / “I know you’ll take care of me.”
It also gives us some classic Shen Wei expressions, from concerned to sweetly sozzled.
Anyway, until now, Shen Wei has done Zhao Yunlan many kindnesses -- he’s claimed friendship and laughed with him, helped him with cases when he had no obligation to, rescued him from the gutter and made him breakfast-- He’s probably done more for Zhao Yunlan than anyone but Da Qing. But I think it’s this selfless, thoughtful, slightly dorkily enacted move that tips Zhao Yunlan into deciding he can trust Shen Wei (and in my preferred reading of the next scene, into admitting to himself that he’s in love).
Questions
Do you think Zhao Yunlan being relatively young for a leadership role feeds in to his determination to keep up with the drinking? Or is it just who he is, good at the social side of things and networking while neglecting his own well-being?What do you think happens between this scene and the next? Do Jiajia and xiao-Quan make a fuss about their professor falling unconscious, or are they too busy partying? Do any of the SID offer to help carry Shen Wei, and if so, does Zhao Yunlan take them up on it or does he carry him himself? By piggyback? Does he send xiao-Guo for the IV?
Other than that, I don’t have any questions beyond: How do you feel about this scene? Does it make you as squishy inside as it does me? Look at their faaaaaces!! :D :D :D
no subject