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sid_guardian2021-10-16 09:26 pm
ishipallthings) wrote in sid_guardian2021-10-16 09:26 pm
Entry tags:
Focus on: Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan’s conversation with Minister Gao (mention of Zhao Xinci)
Location: ep 14, 22:31-24:32 (transcripts from Viki subs, screencaps from me.)
Hi everyone! This is my first scene discussion post on this comm, so I’m still kind of figuring out how this works :)
To provide some context, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are meeting with Minister Gao at his office (supposedly to discuss Zheng Yi’s case, as Zhao Yunlan tells Shen Wei on the car ride over, though that doesn’t really happen). Before they sit down to talk, Minister Gao asks Shen Wei how he was persuaded to join SID as a consultant and we get a delightful flashback :)
***
The Scene
We start off with the three of them moving to the couch to talk (and with Zhao Yunlan *guiding* Shen Wei with a hand on his back - he really has a hard time keeping his hands off Shen Wei, doesn’t he? :P)
Then Minister Gao brings up the topic of Zhao Yunlan’s self-criticism (written by Shen Wei, hehe), and they sort of exchange side-ways panicked gazes without full-on eye contact.
Zhao Yunlan is a little worried when Minister Gao doesn’t continue. He clearly doesn’t expect praise, but he gets it.
Minister Gao: Amazing! You wrote it so well! 好 写得太好了
Chief Zhao, I never thought you were so knowledgeable about our traditions and cultures. 赵处长 没想到你对传统文化 有那么深的造诣
Such flowing and high expressive self-criticism! 一篇检讨 写得是洋洋洒洒
Zhao Yunlan’s worry transforms into relieved laughter.
Shen Wei ducks his head and smiles too.
Zhao Yunlan claps Shen Wei on the shoulder at this, both in thanks and because again, he has trouble keeping his hands to himself, hehe.
Then Minister Gao brings up Zhao Xinci by saying (to Zhao Yunlan): You are indeed the son of Brother Xinci. 真不愧是心慈兄的公子
Shen Wei is immediately on his guard and you can see Zhao Yunlan’s face just fall a little at the mention of his father, even while he keeps a polite mask in place (SO MANY FEELS)
Minister Gao tells them that Zhao Xinci is a friend and role model of his, and that he was recently promoted to the position of Director-General of the Xingdu Bureau (星督局局长). Minister Gao goes on to explain more about the Bureau when Shen Wei asks.
As Minister Gao is explaining, we get a shot of Zhao Yunlan with his hands folded together on his leg, a far cry from his previously open and relaxed posture and body language when he was clapping Shen Wei on the shoulder.
Zhao Yunlan: He was promoted again? 原来他又高升了呀
Minister Gao: He didn't tell you? 怎么 心慈兄在家里 每根你说过
Zhao Yunlan: He doesn't talk much. 他老人家不大爱说话
As Minister Gao comments that Zhao Xinci shouldn’t be so serious at home, Shen Wei is glancing down at Zhao Yunlan’s hands, which are now clenched tighter and tighter.
Shen Wei clearly observes Zhao Yunlan’s reaction and his tight, withdrawn expression. We get a close-up of Shen Wei’s own expression and then a wider shot.
After seeing Zhao Yunlan's reaction, Shen Wei asks Minister Gao if has anything else to discuss with them.
Shen Wei: Minister, do you have anything else to say that's why you called us over here? 高部长 您今天叫我们过来是不是有什么事要交代?
Shen Wei’s question successfully changes the subject.
Minister Gao: Did you notice a strange man holding a camera in his hand 在黄朝阳家的那场风波里 你们有没有注意到
Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan exchange glances again, and Zhao Yunlan’s previously withdrawn expression has turned focused and speculative with this new topic. They go to discuss Cong Bo and the possible threat he poses to the SID, but I’ll end my scene recap here and move on to my observations.
***
Favorite Things about this Scene/Observations:
Questions:
I haven’t read any fanworks that focus specifically on this scene (although there are many wonderful Episode 14 codas!), but I’ve missed one or some, please do link me!
Hi everyone! This is my first scene discussion post on this comm, so I’m still kind of figuring out how this works :)
To provide some context, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are meeting with Minister Gao at his office (supposedly to discuss Zheng Yi’s case, as Zhao Yunlan tells Shen Wei on the car ride over, though that doesn’t really happen). Before they sit down to talk, Minister Gao asks Shen Wei how he was persuaded to join SID as a consultant and we get a delightful flashback :)
***
The Scene
We start off with the three of them moving to the couch to talk (and with Zhao Yunlan *guiding* Shen Wei with a hand on his back - he really has a hard time keeping his hands off Shen Wei, doesn’t he? :P)
Then Minister Gao brings up the topic of Zhao Yunlan’s self-criticism (written by Shen Wei, hehe), and they sort of exchange side-ways panicked gazes without full-on eye contact.
Zhao Yunlan is a little worried when Minister Gao doesn’t continue. He clearly doesn’t expect praise, but he gets it.
Minister Gao: Amazing! You wrote it so well! 好 写得太好了
Chief Zhao, I never thought you were so knowledgeable about our traditions and cultures. 赵处长 没想到你对传统文化 有那么深的造诣
Such flowing and high expressive self-criticism! 一篇检讨 写得是洋洋洒洒
Zhao Yunlan’s worry transforms into relieved laughter.
Shen Wei ducks his head and smiles too.
Zhao Yunlan claps Shen Wei on the shoulder at this, both in thanks and because again, he has trouble keeping his hands to himself, hehe.
Then Minister Gao brings up Zhao Xinci by saying (to Zhao Yunlan): You are indeed the son of Brother Xinci. 真不愧是心慈兄的公子
Shen Wei is immediately on his guard and you can see Zhao Yunlan’s face just fall a little at the mention of his father, even while he keeps a polite mask in place (SO MANY FEELS)
Minister Gao tells them that Zhao Xinci is a friend and role model of his, and that he was recently promoted to the position of Director-General of the Xingdu Bureau (星督局局长). Minister Gao goes on to explain more about the Bureau when Shen Wei asks.
As Minister Gao is explaining, we get a shot of Zhao Yunlan with his hands folded together on his leg, a far cry from his previously open and relaxed posture and body language when he was clapping Shen Wei on the shoulder.
Zhao Yunlan: He was promoted again? 原来他又高升了呀
Minister Gao: He didn't tell you? 怎么 心慈兄在家里 每根你说过
Zhao Yunlan: He doesn't talk much. 他老人家不大爱说话
As Minister Gao comments that Zhao Xinci shouldn’t be so serious at home, Shen Wei is glancing down at Zhao Yunlan’s hands, which are now clenched tighter and tighter.
Shen Wei clearly observes Zhao Yunlan’s reaction and his tight, withdrawn expression. We get a close-up of Shen Wei’s own expression and then a wider shot.
After seeing Zhao Yunlan's reaction, Shen Wei asks Minister Gao if has anything else to discuss with them.
Shen Wei: Minister, do you have anything else to say that's why you called us over here? 高部长 您今天叫我们过来是不是有什么事要交代?
Shen Wei’s question successfully changes the subject.
Minister Gao: Did you notice a strange man holding a camera in his hand 在黄朝阳家的那场风波里 你们有没有注意到
Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan exchange glances again, and Zhao Yunlan’s previously withdrawn expression has turned focused and speculative with this new topic. They go to discuss Cong Bo and the possible threat he poses to the SID, but I’ll end my scene recap here and move on to my observations.
***
Favorite Things about this Scene/Observations:
- I picked this scene because I love how in tune Shen Wei is with Zhao Yunlan’s reaction and body language when Zhao Xinci is mentioned. His reaction is subtle but it says so much (protective and pained on Zhao Yunlan's behalf). The way he distracts Minister Gao with his question towards the end of the scene so they can move on to a less emotionally fraught topic gives me all the feels <3 In an email to china_shop, I highlighted this part of the scene as a parallel to Shen Wei noticing that Zhao Yunlan doesn’t want to drink in ep 11 so he swoops in to drink on Zhao Yunlan’s behalf (and then faints :P). This moment is a little less obvious, but I really enjoy the similarities.
One of my favorite Weilan things is how aware they are of each other and this scene is a
great example of that. - I’ve mentioned this already, but I LOVE that Zhao Yunlan guides Shen Wei to the couch with a hand on his back (it’s so unnecessary and yet we have it), and the little happy shoulder clap is so great too.
- There’s also quite a bit of eye contact in this scene between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, both when Minister Gao brings up the self-criticism) and later on when the topic moves on to Cong Bo, and I always love that.
- Shen Wei smiles when Minister Gao says he never expected Zhao Yunlan to be so knowledgeable about traditions and cultures. Obviously, he’s smiling because they successfully got Minister Gao believing Zhao Yunlan wrote the self-criticism but I like to think he’s also smiling because when it comes to knowing Zhao Yunlan well, Shen Wei is an expert :D
- When Minister Gao first mentions Zhao Xinci, Shen Wei’s expression and demeanor transforms from relieved (about the self-criticism) to careful, and I’d say protective (8th screencap). I think Zhao Yunlan hasn’t yet mentioned his father to Shen Wei when we get to this scene - I could be remembering wrong though. It’s a detail I really like.
Questions:
- Do you think Shen Wei asked about Xingdu Bureau as a way to keep the Minister’s focus on him and away from Zhao Yunlan, or did he also want more information about the Bureau?
- What do you think Shen Wei is thinking about Zhao Yunlan’s reaction to the mention of Zhao Xinci given his own professional history with ZXC?
- What do you like about this scene? :)
I haven’t read any fanworks that focus specifically on this scene (although there are many wonderful Episode 14 codas!), but I’ve missed one or some, please do link me!
no subject
In thinking about Shen Wei witnessing Zhao Yunlan's reaction to the mention of Zhao Xinci, one thing that came to mind was Shen Wei's relationship with Ye Zun. Not that it's the same as Zhao Yunlan's experience with his father, but it's still a complicated, messy, uncomfortable family dynamic. Definitely not the kind of thing one wants to discuss in that kind of setting.
I interpreted the shift as Shen Wei witnessing Zhao Yunlan's obvious discomfort about family and going into protect mode. I'm sure he'd like to get more info on the Bureau, but he didn't have to step in at that specific moment to get information. he could probably have learned a lot just by listening to Minister Gao and Zhao Yunlan talking.
I really enjoyed reading your take on this scene!
no subject
Oh, that's a good point. Shen Wei very much understands the kind of reticence and need for privacy that comes with ~complicated family relationships, especially in a work setting!
and going into protect mode
Yesss, I love that! :-)