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sid_guardian2021-11-27 12:35 pm
thevetia) wrote in sid_guardian2021-11-27 12:35 pm
Entry tags:
Focus On: Zhao Yunlan's Mother's Death
This is actually a connected arc from episode 15 through episode 17, covering the introduction of Zhao Xinci (and Zhang Shi) and the origin of Zhao Yunlan’s hostile relationship with his father.
The sequences I’m interested in start in ep 15 when Zhao Yunlan persuades Shen Wei to take him to Dixing in an apparent effort to avoid being present for his father’s inspection of SID.
When Zhao Yunlan enters the portal to Dixing he is paused in the ‘portal space’ and looks with wonder at seeing or hearing his mother. 36:30
We see a wavey view of part of SID with Zhao Yunlan’s mom arguing with Zhao Xinci.
This is a truncated version of Zhao Xinci’s flashback we see later in episode 17. Child Zhao Yunlan is hiding behind the doorway overhearing his father’s rejection.
Any further questions about why Zhao Yunlan has a problem with his father are answered when we meet Zhao Xinci himself in ep 16, where he trashes his son’s management style and proposes to dismiss him as head of the SID. Although we learn that this was a test of the SID staff’s loyalty, some of his criticisms feel authentic.
After the wrap-up of the Bao Laosan case, Zhao Xinci gets an alarm on his phone, with the picture of his younger self, Shen Xi, and child Zhao Yunlan. 19:15
It seems likely that today is the anniversary of Shen Xi’s death. (It certainly says something that he choose that day to make a snap inspection of his son’s office!)
Cut to Zhao Xinci carrying flowers to a gravestone revealed to be that of Shen Xi 23:40
Zhang Shi appears as a doppleganger of Zhao Xinci (confusing!) to question Zhao Xinci’s actions. “Do you still think killing can solve any problems?” 难道你还认为以杀止杀能够解决问题吗
Zhao Xinci answers: “This is my mission and my destiny” 这是我的使命也是我的宿命
Then at 24:23 we get a flashback of Zhao Xinci’s memory of what happened at SID with child Zhao Yunlan, this time with his explanation to his wife.
“It’s just that this case right now is at its most critical stage. Also, I don’t have a choice.” ….
“I am not a good father and husband.”…
“But the problem is, it is my responsibility to preserve everyone’s stable and peaceful life.”…
Then it cuts to the hostage situation at 25:10.
Zhao Xinci and Zhao Yunlan leap out of the car,
Zhao Xinci from the front and Zhao Yunlan from the back, along with 2 subordinates, and 4 more exit from the car behind and take up positions with guns drawn. It doesn’t look as if any other police or officials are there before Zhao Xinci’s group arrive.
The bad guy is standing on a catwalk above them with Shen Xi. A subordinate restrains Zhao Yunlan from rushing forward. Shen Xi screams “Yunlan” and Zhao Yunlan screams “Mom”. Zhao Xinci says nothing to Shen Xi, and she doesn’t call out to him either. Zhao Xinci and subordinate hold back the screaming and crying Zhao Yunlan. (A trivial detail: even as a child Zhao Yunlan is wearing a nice leather jacket.)
“Save your wife first!” says the subordinate.
“No….He's a dangerous Dixing criminal. I believe my wife will understand the decision I make today.” It doesn’t seem as if Zhao Xinci’s words to his subordinate, the one holding Zhao Yunlan back, are meant to be heard by anyone else. But Zhao Yunlan is right there, and hears his father choose not to save his mother.
“Take him away,” Zhao Xinci says to the subordinate and wrestles himself free of Zhao Yunlan. With both hands he aims the magic gun at the Dixing criminal. It appears that Zhao Xinci does not actually fire the gun, but is clearly willing to try.
The Dixing criminal immediately yells,
好 既然这样 谁都别想活 “Okay, if that’s how it is, neither of us lives.”
The man holds dark energy in his hand and then waves it over Shen Xi’s head. There is an explosion and when the smoke clears, both are gone.
Everyone is shocked, including Zhao Xinci.
Zhao Yunlan rushes forward still screaming “Mom!”
and watches her coat, still intact, float sadly down to the ground.
Then cut back to the cemetery and child Zhao Yunlan bowing 3 times in honor to his mother’s grave, observed by Zhao Xinci.
(This must be a cenotaph, not an actual grave, since we just saw that nothing was left of Shen Xi after the explosion.) Zhao Xinci is wearing the same blue jacket he wore during the hostage scene — which seems a bit insensitive — though Zhao Yunlan has changed to a cloth jacket.
When child Zhao Yunlan starts to walk away Zhao Xinci calls after him to come back but he snubs him and stalks off.
Returning from the flashback to the present, Zhang Shi's voice suggests that Zhao Yunlan's "way is better suited to this peaceful era more”. Zhao Xinci leaves the cemetery, just missing the arrival of Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei.
The coda to the arc is provided by Guo Changcheng writing in his diary at SID: “Although they are father and son, they act like two strangers”.
What is Zhao Xinci doing taking Zhao Yunlan to the hostage site? This goes beyond being “not a good father” and into being a recklessly negligent parent.
It seems most plausible that the Dixing bad guy had just contacted Zhao Xinci to announce that he had his wife as a hostage, perhaps saying something like “I have your wife, come alone with the means to get me safely away from here and I’ll let her go,” and then giving the location for the exchange. At any rate, Zhao Xinci has enough time, or is in the right place, to get two cars-full of subordinates to come with him. Since the Dixing guy never notices or references Zhao Yunlan it doesn’t seem as if he demanded that Zhao Xinci bring him along. It could have been Shen Xi who requested that Zhao Xinci bring their son to the site, though that raises more questions about why — does she think she’s going to die? does Zhao Xinci know that she thinks that? why should the Dixing criminal listen to her? could she possibly secretly be Dixingren herself???
It’s possible that Zhao Yunlan forced himself into the car — but which has three grown men in it too — just as his father took off to where his mother is being held. But that still argues a pretty brutal indifference on the part of Zhao Xinci to his son’s physical and emotional well-being.
Does Zhao Xinci know that the Dixing criminal has the ability to blow himself up? It seems likely, since the man isn’t otherwise armed and is believed to be a multiple murderer. But Zhao Xinci doesn’t even attempt to pretend to negotiate his wife’s release, nor even to ask the Dixing criminal to turn himself in. It seems that killing him is the only option he considers, regardless of the consequences to his wife and son, just as Shang Zhi referenced before the flashback.
I think we are meant to understand, if not sympathize with Zhao Xinci’s decisions - he expressly states that he is not a good husband and father but that he believes that it’s his “responsibility to preserve everyone’s stable and peaceful life”. This is actually a good Confucian position, a noble one even, to put the people/country/state ahead of family. It recalls the archetypal Chinese myth of Yu the Great who controlled the great floods, and who labored for 13 years refusing to see his wife and son as long as the people still suffered.
But we also see the story from the pov of Zhao Yunlan, a child who knows his father cares less for him than for his work, and who knows his father deliberately sacrificed his mother’s life.
Questions for thought:
What do you think is the drama’s view of Zhao Xinci? Good father? Trigger-happy xenophobe? Dedicated bureaucrat? Selfish spouse? Does putting them all together make for a plausible character?
Why do you think Zhao Xinci took Zhao Yunlan to the hostage site?
Is Zhao Yunlan’s adult hostility toward Zhao Xinci justified?
What do you think Shen Xi felt about her husband?
How interesting would it be if Shen Xi was herself Dixingren?
The sequences I’m interested in start in ep 15 when Zhao Yunlan persuades Shen Wei to take him to Dixing in an apparent effort to avoid being present for his father’s inspection of SID.
When Zhao Yunlan enters the portal to Dixing he is paused in the ‘portal space’ and looks with wonder at seeing or hearing his mother. 36:30
We see a wavey view of part of SID with Zhao Yunlan’s mom arguing with Zhao Xinci.
This is a truncated version of Zhao Xinci’s flashback we see later in episode 17. Child Zhao Yunlan is hiding behind the doorway overhearing his father’s rejection.
Any further questions about why Zhao Yunlan has a problem with his father are answered when we meet Zhao Xinci himself in ep 16, where he trashes his son’s management style and proposes to dismiss him as head of the SID. Although we learn that this was a test of the SID staff’s loyalty, some of his criticisms feel authentic.
After the wrap-up of the Bao Laosan case, Zhao Xinci gets an alarm on his phone, with the picture of his younger self, Shen Xi, and child Zhao Yunlan. 19:15
It seems likely that today is the anniversary of Shen Xi’s death. (It certainly says something that he choose that day to make a snap inspection of his son’s office!)
Cut to Zhao Xinci carrying flowers to a gravestone revealed to be that of Shen Xi 23:40
Zhang Shi appears as a doppleganger of Zhao Xinci (confusing!) to question Zhao Xinci’s actions. “Do you still think killing can solve any problems?” 难道你还认为以杀止杀能够解决问题吗
Zhao Xinci answers: “This is my mission and my destiny” 这是我的使命也是我的宿命
Then at 24:23 we get a flashback of Zhao Xinci’s memory of what happened at SID with child Zhao Yunlan, this time with his explanation to his wife.
“It’s just that this case right now is at its most critical stage. Also, I don’t have a choice.” ….
“I am not a good father and husband.”…
“But the problem is, it is my responsibility to preserve everyone’s stable and peaceful life.”…
Then it cuts to the hostage situation at 25:10.
Zhao Xinci and Zhao Yunlan leap out of the car,
Zhao Xinci from the front and Zhao Yunlan from the back, along with 2 subordinates, and 4 more exit from the car behind and take up positions with guns drawn. It doesn’t look as if any other police or officials are there before Zhao Xinci’s group arrive.
The bad guy is standing on a catwalk above them with Shen Xi. A subordinate restrains Zhao Yunlan from rushing forward. Shen Xi screams “Yunlan” and Zhao Yunlan screams “Mom”. Zhao Xinci says nothing to Shen Xi, and she doesn’t call out to him either. Zhao Xinci and subordinate hold back the screaming and crying Zhao Yunlan. (A trivial detail: even as a child Zhao Yunlan is wearing a nice leather jacket.)
“Save your wife first!” says the subordinate.
“No….He's a dangerous Dixing criminal. I believe my wife will understand the decision I make today.” It doesn’t seem as if Zhao Xinci’s words to his subordinate, the one holding Zhao Yunlan back, are meant to be heard by anyone else. But Zhao Yunlan is right there, and hears his father choose not to save his mother.
“Take him away,” Zhao Xinci says to the subordinate and wrestles himself free of Zhao Yunlan. With both hands he aims the magic gun at the Dixing criminal. It appears that Zhao Xinci does not actually fire the gun, but is clearly willing to try.
The Dixing criminal immediately yells,
好 既然这样 谁都别想活 “Okay, if that’s how it is, neither of us lives.”
The man holds dark energy in his hand and then waves it over Shen Xi’s head. There is an explosion and when the smoke clears, both are gone.
Everyone is shocked, including Zhao Xinci.
Zhao Yunlan rushes forward still screaming “Mom!”
and watches her coat, still intact, float sadly down to the ground.
Then cut back to the cemetery and child Zhao Yunlan bowing 3 times in honor to his mother’s grave, observed by Zhao Xinci.
(This must be a cenotaph, not an actual grave, since we just saw that nothing was left of Shen Xi after the explosion.) Zhao Xinci is wearing the same blue jacket he wore during the hostage scene — which seems a bit insensitive — though Zhao Yunlan has changed to a cloth jacket.
When child Zhao Yunlan starts to walk away Zhao Xinci calls after him to come back but he snubs him and stalks off.
Returning from the flashback to the present, Zhang Shi's voice suggests that Zhao Yunlan's "way is better suited to this peaceful era more”. Zhao Xinci leaves the cemetery, just missing the arrival of Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei.
The coda to the arc is provided by Guo Changcheng writing in his diary at SID: “Although they are father and son, they act like two strangers”.
What is Zhao Xinci doing taking Zhao Yunlan to the hostage site? This goes beyond being “not a good father” and into being a recklessly negligent parent.
It seems most plausible that the Dixing bad guy had just contacted Zhao Xinci to announce that he had his wife as a hostage, perhaps saying something like “I have your wife, come alone with the means to get me safely away from here and I’ll let her go,” and then giving the location for the exchange. At any rate, Zhao Xinci has enough time, or is in the right place, to get two cars-full of subordinates to come with him. Since the Dixing guy never notices or references Zhao Yunlan it doesn’t seem as if he demanded that Zhao Xinci bring him along. It could have been Shen Xi who requested that Zhao Xinci bring their son to the site, though that raises more questions about why — does she think she’s going to die? does Zhao Xinci know that she thinks that? why should the Dixing criminal listen to her? could she possibly secretly be Dixingren herself???
It’s possible that Zhao Yunlan forced himself into the car — but which has three grown men in it too — just as his father took off to where his mother is being held. But that still argues a pretty brutal indifference on the part of Zhao Xinci to his son’s physical and emotional well-being.
Does Zhao Xinci know that the Dixing criminal has the ability to blow himself up? It seems likely, since the man isn’t otherwise armed and is believed to be a multiple murderer. But Zhao Xinci doesn’t even attempt to pretend to negotiate his wife’s release, nor even to ask the Dixing criminal to turn himself in. It seems that killing him is the only option he considers, regardless of the consequences to his wife and son, just as Shang Zhi referenced before the flashback.
I think we are meant to understand, if not sympathize with Zhao Xinci’s decisions - he expressly states that he is not a good husband and father but that he believes that it’s his “responsibility to preserve everyone’s stable and peaceful life”. This is actually a good Confucian position, a noble one even, to put the people/country/state ahead of family. It recalls the archetypal Chinese myth of Yu the Great who controlled the great floods, and who labored for 13 years refusing to see his wife and son as long as the people still suffered.
But we also see the story from the pov of Zhao Yunlan, a child who knows his father cares less for him than for his work, and who knows his father deliberately sacrificed his mother’s life.
Questions for thought:
What do you think is the drama’s view of Zhao Xinci? Good father? Trigger-happy xenophobe? Dedicated bureaucrat? Selfish spouse? Does putting them all together make for a plausible character?
Why do you think Zhao Xinci took Zhao Yunlan to the hostage site?
Is Zhao Yunlan’s adult hostility toward Zhao Xinci justified?
What do you think Shen Xi felt about her husband?
How interesting would it be if Shen Xi was herself Dixingren?
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OKAY THAT SAID
> Although we learn that this was a test of the SID staff’s loyalty, some of his criticisms feel authentic.
When Zhao Xinci trotted out this excuse for his behaviour in the SID it just felt really hollow to me. I had the very strong impression that that was just a line he was saying to "justify" his actions - I think if any of the SID team had expressed concern about Zhao Yunlan's leadership in any way Zhao Xinci wouldn't have hesitated to tear down everything Zhao Yunlan had built.
> What is Zhao Xinci doing taking Zhao Yunlan to the hostage site? This goes beyond being “not a good father” and into being a recklessly negligent parent.
I think there's some very minor justification - if the Dixingren criminal could have kidnapped Shen Xi, then where is it safe to leave Zhao Yunlan? Zhao Xinci might consider the safest place to be with him and his subordinates, where at least Zhao Xinci himself can ensure bb!Yunlan's safety.
(Another option could be - with Shen Xi mysteriously not arriving to pick up bb!Yunlan from school, perhaps Zhao Xinci was forced to collect him - and then receiving the hostage phone call in that scenario didn't have time to do anything but sweep additional subordinates into the car and drive straight there.)
Either way, I can construct a scenario in my mind where bb!Yunlan is in the car knowing something has happened to his mum, they pull up and see her being held hostage and the subordinate in the back doesn't have enough time to grab him before he's out of the car and running. (Kids are slippery, and fast!)
> he expressly states that he is not a good husband and father but that he believes that it’s his “responsibility to preserve everyone’s stable and peaceful life”. This is actually a good Confucian position, a noble one even, to put the people/country/state ahead of family.
Ah, thank you for laying out a cultural context I hadn't been aware of! I can't help but see Zhao Xinci's actions through Zhao Yunlan's eyes - and Zhao Xinci is right, he's not a good husband or father - but I do believe that Zhao Xinci firmly believes that Dixingren are a huge threat to Haixing/Dragon City and will seemingly do anything at all to stop them - even if that means sacrificing civilian lives in the process. It's a very extreme position but one that he perhaps sees as necessary given his own involuntary possession by a Dixingren? IDK IDK IDK I don't have a lot of good feelings about Zhao Xinci but I'm trying not to close the door on everything positive until I finish watching the series and can make my own decisions on his later actions!
> Is Zhao Yunlan’s adult hostility toward Zhao Xinci justified?
Honestly, I think so. I think it must feel to Zhao Yunlan like his father never really cared for him and his mother - bb!Yunlan was right there when he heard his father - without even trying! - just say flat out that he was going to sacrifice Shen Xi. IMO the one thing that children should always know without a doubt is that their parents love them, and I think that security of emotional feeling was just not there in Zhao Yunlan's life. We already know that Zhao Xinci was an absent father even before Shen Xi's death and I can't imagine him relaxing his stance on the dangerous nature of Dixingren afterwards. I think if Zhao Yunlan wasn't obliged to speak to Zhao Xinci because of their work relationship, that he wouldn't speak to him at all.
> What do you think Shen Xi felt about her husband?
I think by the point of the argument at the SID Shen Xi must be feeling very resigned to having a husband she never sees and doesn't seem to care about her son. She must feel helpless to watch how his neglect is affecting bb!Yunlan and not know what she can do or say to make things better. It's an awful position to be in :|
> How interesting would it be if Shen Xi was herself Dixingren?
This is an excellent question and I feel like I should state for the record that I actually have a fic idea in my WIP queue where this is the case and consequently the events after her death go... very differently :3
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Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Keep him close to keep him safe.
I feel like I should state for the record that I actually have a fic idea in my WIP queue where this is the case and consequently the events after her death go... very differently :3
Ooh! :-)
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What do you think is the drama’s view of Zhao Xinci?
I feel like Zhao Xinci is presented as a man with strong, traditional views that he sincerely believes are morally right, but that the viewer is not really encouraged to agree with. I think your point about the "nobility" of valuing the welfare of the people above one's own family is really important for his character. It seems like he believes he's made very serious personal sacrifices (i.e. his wife) in the name of the greater good.
I think the drama views his principles as misguided, because he chooses to sacrifice someone else for the greater good, whereas our heroes only (constantly) sacrifice themselves. It seems pretty clear that Zhao Xinci would also be willing to sacrifice himself, but the difference between him and his son is that Zhao Yunlan would never choose to sacrifice anyone else (or even let them sacrifice themselves, for that matter). Not that it doesn't sometimes happen anyway, but Zhao Yunlan doesn't let it happen, if he can prevent it.
I feel there's a strong similarity between the two of them, though, in their fixation on sacrifice as the means to save others. They both understand that individuals may need to be sacrificed for the greater good. But in Zhao Yunlan's case, he will always try to find a way to make sure the individual being sacrificed is himself. (Which... is hard to do when Shen Wei is there trying to make sure it's him, Shen Wei, who gets sacrificed instead. :P )
Why do you think Zhao Xinci took Zhao Yunlan to the hostage site?
Honestly I just write this off as a setup they needed for the sake of drama. Realistically, I can't see any reason why Zhao Yunlan would have been there, and I don't really think the aftermath would be any different if he hadn't been there. The show needed to convey that Zhao Yunlan knows his father deliberately chose to risk his mother's life rather than risk letting the criminal escape. The most economical and emotionally affecting way to convey this is to have him be on-scene when it happens. So I guess I read this scene as more of a poetic-license representation of Zhao Yunlan's trauma than as something that necessarily happened literally exactly this way.
Is Zhao Yunlan’s adult hostility toward Zhao Xinci justified?
I think it's... inevitable? It seems like Zhao Xinci had to know, or at least suspect, that his son would never forgive him for what he chose in that moment. In a way, that's another sacrifice he made. He has to know his son is never going to feel the same way about him after that.
(I feel like this is a really classic setup for animosity where both parties feel justified because of their different perspectives. Like, as a corollary I'm thinking of the Greek story of Agamemnon, who is told by the gods that he has to kill his own daughter. Killing her is justified because it's what the gods have demanded, but his wife never forgives him, and later she takes a lover who murders Agamemnon -- and that seems justified, too. And then his son, Orestes, is morally obligated to avenge the murder of his father, even though he knows his father also murdered his sister... everybody's moral position is conflicted, and the myths never really give you a sense of who was objectively "right." There are just different viewpoints and experiences, and people's behaviors come out of that. Though in the case of Guardian we're pretty clearly intended to see Zhao Yunlan as the one with the better/correct moral sense.)
What do you think Shen Xi felt about her husband?
I mean, she's obviously unhappy about his neglecting the family, so presumably she has different views about what his obligations should be. I assume it's true that she understands why he makes the choice to risk her life, in that I assume she knows exactly how he would explain/justify it. I'm not so sure she would agree with his justification, though.
I'm skipping the last question because I've never thought about it before (it's certainly an interesting idea!), and this comment is already super long. But, tl;dr, I enjoyed the topic and your recap! :D
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ah, this is a really elegant way to put it!
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Yes, this! And also, Zhao Yunlan has made a point of not having a family so there won't be anyone left behind when he inevitably gives his life to save someone else (and then he goes and acquires a found family after all, oops!).
I assume it's true that she understands why he makes the choice to risk her life, in that I assume she knows exactly how he would explain/justify it. I'm not so sure she would agree with his justification, though.
Ha, yes! Especially since it meant leaving Yunlan behind. Poor Shen Xi. :-(
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re: if Zhao Yunlan's hostility is justified or not.. considering these scenes here and then the fact his dad just let him, when blind, crash into that gate (and that his father letting/not minding/not doesn't seem affected by him getting hurt) is not the foundation of a good relationship. Hostility makes a lot of sense.
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And add to that the number the whole Wossname!Demon thing must have done on Zhao Yunlan. So you have this largely indifferent, hostile dad, and some days he's miraculously nice to you, and then... not, and then again yes... seriously, for Zhao Yunlan's own sanity he had to remove himself from that as quickly as possible, and keep the man at arm's length from then onward.
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I'm not sure Zhang Shi spoke much to younger Yunlan. After all, later on, Zhao Yunlan accuses Zhao Xinci of not sounding like himself, so he must sound unfamiliar then, I think?
From Zhao Yunlan's pov... First his dad is never around. Gets annoyed when Zhao Yunlan visits him at work. Then the mom happens. And later... even now we constantly see Zhao Xinci at odds with his son, trying to undermine him, refusing to help him, threatening him, being an arsehole to him. All that on top of being a xenophobic dickhead.
Yes, from Zhao Yunlan's POV, all of that! (Well, early-canon Zhao Yunlan might not have identified xenophobia as one of Zhao Xinci's faults, given Zhao Yunlan has internalised that himself to some degree, but all the rest, YES.) Criticise, criticise, undermine -- this is who Zhao Yunlan is suppose to display filial piety to? Nuh-uh!
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I have A LOT to say about Zhao Xinci, and have said it in various places around here, so I’ll try not to be too long—most of this is just me babbling. I think that—in contrast to, for instance, the Regent of Dixing—he’s a man of considerable physical and moral courage who always tries to do what he believes is the right thing, regardless of how hard on him personally it might be; it’s just that his idea of what the right thing is is sometimes really, really wrong.
I also think that you can’t really talk about his family relationships without talking about the influence of Zhang Shi. We know that until Zhang Shi entered him, while he still probably overworked, his young son had no hesitation about calling him at work to ask when he would be home, and he responded with gentleness rather than “get off the phone, don’t disturb me when I’m working” or similar. It’s my theory that in order a) not to let Zhang Shi’s presence be discovered and b) not to give Zhang Shi access to his family, Zhao Xinci actively spent more time away from them and could only cite “busy at work” as a reason, and that this secret was actively bad for family relationships, not surprisingly. Nor did it help that Zhang Shi’s stance seemed to be less “get Zhao Xinci to be a better dad himself” and more “take over and be the good dad to ZXC’s bad one.” I think Zhao Xinci and Zhao Yunlan share the tendency to keep emotional (and physical) strain entirely within themselves, without sharing their pain or struggle with anyone else—a tendency perhaps exacerbated by Shen Xi’s death—but Zhao Xinci has a narrower and more inflexible point of view, without Zhao Yunlan’s wide-ranging sense of fundamental decency.
I don’t think Zhang Shi’s presence and various associated stress excuses all Zhao Xinci’s bad behavior, as husband, father, or SID chief, but I do think it has to be taken into account from his perspective—although of course not from Zhao Yunlan’s, who has every right to feel abandoned and alienated by his father.
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This is a really interesting point! I often think about how it would've been for Zhao Yunlan to have a father who reacts to him so unpredictably, but I hadn't considered the full implications of Zhao Xinci keeping Zhang Shi a secret.
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I think that—in contrast to, for instance, the Regent of Dixing—he’s a man of considerable physical and moral courage who always tries to do what he believes is the right thing, regardless of how hard on him personally it might be; it’s just that his idea of what the right thing is is sometimes really, really wrong.
Haha! Yes. And he's so inflexible, it's almost impossible for him to accept that. (Love that comparison with the Regent!)
while he still probably overworked, his young son had no hesitation about calling him at work to ask when he would be home, and he responded with gentleness
*cries* This.
Nor did it help that Zhang Shi’s stance seemed to be less “get Zhao Xinci to be a better dad himself” and more “take over and be the good dad to ZXC’s bad one.”
I'm not sure about this, though. Given Zhao Yunlan's incredulity when Zhang Shi starts talking to him as an adult (and Yunlan's eventually identifying him as "not my father"), I think Zhang Shi can't have spoken to him much growing up. You know? I suspect he was a silent observer.
I think Zhao Xinci and Zhao Yunlan share the tendency to keep emotional (and physical) strain entirely within themselves, without sharing their pain or struggle with anyone else—a tendency perhaps exacerbated by Shen Xi’s death—but Zhao Xinci has a narrower and more inflexible point of view, without Zhao Yunlan’s wide-ranging sense of fundamental decency.
Oh, I love this -- the overlap and the contrasts! <3 <3 <3
I don’t think Zhang Shi’s presence and various associated stress excuses all Zhao Xinci’s bad behavior, as husband, father, or SID chief, but I do think it has to be taken into account from his perspective—although of course not from Zhao Yunlan’s, who has every right to feel abandoned and alienated by his father.
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
(Did I just quote your entire comment back at you? Oops! But deserved!!)
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It seems likely that today is the anniversary of Shen Xi’s death. (It certainly says something that he choose that day to make a snap inspection of his son’s office!)
Giving him the extreme benefit of the doubt, maybe he wanted an excuse to see him on that date? (I think he was also nosing around because he'd heard through official channels about the SID's new consultant.)
Shen Xi screams “Yunlan” and Zhao Yunlan screams “Mom”. Zhao Xinci says nothing to Shen Xi, and she doesn’t call out to him either.
Benefit of the doubt again, maybe he didn't want to give the kidnapper the impression that he'd make any concessions based on the identity of the hostage?
With both hands he aims the magic gun at the Dixing criminal. It appears that Zhao Xinci does not actually fire the gun, but is clearly willing to try.
Yeah, I got the impression he was going to try to shoot the Dixingren -- so risking Shen Xi's life in that sense -- but not expecting the kidnapper to take such sudden conclusive action. /o\ He looks really shocked and upset by Shen Xi's death.
What is Zhao Xinci doing taking Zhao Yunlan to the hostage site? This goes beyond being “not a good father” and into being a recklessly negligent parent.
Maybe there have been threats against his family generally, and he's not sure the kidnapper is working alone. He might not feel safe leaving ZYL on his own. *reads other comments* What they said. :-)
I think we are meant to understand, if not sympathize with Zhao Xinci’s decisions - he expressly states that he is not a good husband and father but that he believes that it’s his “responsibility to preserve everyone’s stable and peaceful life”. This is actually a good Confucian position, a noble one even, to put the people/country/state ahead of family. It recalls the archetypal Chinese myth of Yu the Great who controlled the great floods, and who labored for 13 years refusing to see his wife and son as long as the people still suffered.
Ohhh, thanks so much for that! Yes, I always felt we were supposed to take Zhao Xinci's actions as an understandable (if outdated) moral stance -- while still sympathising with Zhao Yunlan's pov and critique of those actions. It's really useful having that philosophical context. *appreciates hugely*
What do you think is the drama’s view of Zhao Xinci? Good father? Trigger-happy xenophobe? Dedicated bureaucrat? Selfish spouse? Does putting them all together make for a plausible character?
I think the show explicitly makes Xinci out not to be a good father. But definitely a dedicated bureaucrat, a trigger-happy xenophobe, and a stickler. And a hypocrite, who decries any right of Dixingren to living in Haixing, while housing and collaborating with one in his own body. I'm not sure about the selfish side of things -- from Xinci's POV, he has sacrificed pretty much everything (except his career, I guess).
Is Zhao Yunlan’s adult hostility toward Zhao Xinci justified?
What everyone else said -- absolutely emotionally justified.
What do you think Shen Xi felt about her husband?
I think she doesn't understand why he's suddenly so distant and weird, and she just wants him back in the family, being a good husband and father. Not that she doesn't understand the importance of his work, but... ouch!
Thanks again for this excellent post! <333