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sid_guardian2021-11-27 12:35 pm
thevetia) wrote in sid_guardian2021-11-27 12:35 pm
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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?