AHH! What an excellent post!!!! So much goodness to dig into here :D
Q1. Do you agree with this interpretation? I agree that SW is not one to be scared of violence or fights, in the whole fitefitefite sense of it, but that it's the whole letting the people who fight by his side down, which could lead to injury and/or death depending on the situation. That responsibility that Shen Wei is so good at shouldering and taking ownership of. Combine that with the Rebel leader being something of Darth Vader for him (sorry my brain is stuck in Star Wars land right now) as both proof of his failure to protect those he loves (Ye Zun), but also the mistakes he's made (not protecting Ye Zun as well as whatever perceived mistakes have been made in previous battles he's had with him) is like a constant running the gauntlet for young Shen Wei. My brain can't find better words but hopefully the above makes sense :D :D
Q2. There are lots of reasons why Shen Wei might have begun wearing a mask -- for example, to hide his youth and inexperience as well as his fear. If it was just about intimidating his enemies, why keep wearing it amongst his allies? Maybe he felt he needed to impress Fu You and Ma Gui so they would allow him to join their alliance. Maybe masks are part of Dixing culture, cf all the masked customers in the bar in ep 17. Do you have a theory for how it started? (Links to fanworks on this subject also very welcome!) - I like this a lot. Perhaps also to hide his own expressions from everyone as well. He's younger here and perhaps doesn't have complete control of hiding everything he feels behind what we see in present-day with the 'polite innocent professor' mask he deploys to throw people off his scent. And perhaps the masked scene in the bar became something because of Hei Pao Shi wearing one! Though my brain always felt that the masks were worn to give a subtle nod to the book, where from what I understand they were ghosts/demons (I have not read the book so I could totally be wrong here), but I'm down for YOHE HPS starting a new trend which gets incorporated into their culture/beliefs/etc.
Q3. If Kunlun hadn't arrived just then, when the Envoy was at his lowest, would the Envoy have stuck with his decision to continue on alone, even if it risked losing the war? Would his remaining soldiers, who were fighting because they believed in him and the cause, have just stood by while he tried to sideline them? Would Ma Gui and Fu You have attempted to persuade him to use every tool at his disposal to win? (I feel like ZYL being there and stepping up meant that none of these questions got answered, but some of the Envoy's men do turn up just as Shen Wei follows Ye Zun into the energy seal, so either the Envoy hadn't told them to stand down yet, or they were defying orders.) - My brain goes to it depends on the situation at hand-ish? XD Like perhaps if that was the only thing they had left to try to win the war, he'd go down the road of self-sacrificing, but I think with the people and the soldiers, and everything they're trying to do as a group Shen Wei wouldn't go off on his to do that. He's a general for a reason - smart, tactics, powerful, etc - and even though he's young, he surely knows that one person against an army rarely works, no matter how strong they are power wise.
Q4. How awful was it for Shen Wei to realise that Ye Zun had taken his enemy's place (and in some sense, literally become him, given Ye Zun ate him and absorbed his power?). - I think pretty devastating. I'm not sure my brain can put into words what it wants to right this moment, so let me ponder more and I will add a second comment :D
AHH this was such a great write-up/meta post!!!! I have more words but I must run to work, but I wanted to post a reply to this awesome post!!
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Q1. Do you agree with this interpretation? I agree that SW is not one to be scared of violence or fights, in the whole fitefitefite sense of it, but that it's the whole letting the people who fight by his side down, which could lead to injury and/or death depending on the situation. That responsibility that Shen Wei is so good at shouldering and taking ownership of. Combine that with the Rebel leader being something of Darth Vader for him (sorry my brain is stuck in Star Wars land right now) as both proof of his failure to protect those he loves (Ye Zun), but also the mistakes he's made (not protecting Ye Zun as well as whatever perceived mistakes have been made in previous battles he's had with him) is like a constant running the gauntlet for young Shen Wei. My brain can't find better words but hopefully the above makes sense :D :D
Q2. There are lots of reasons why Shen Wei might have begun wearing a mask -- for example, to hide his youth and inexperience as well as his fear. If it was just about intimidating his enemies, why keep wearing it amongst his allies? Maybe he felt he needed to impress Fu You and Ma Gui so they would allow him to join their alliance. Maybe masks are part of Dixing culture, cf all the masked customers in the bar in ep 17. Do you have a theory for how it started? (Links to fanworks on this subject also very welcome!) - I like this a lot. Perhaps also to hide his own expressions from everyone as well. He's younger here and perhaps doesn't have complete control of hiding everything he feels behind what we see in present-day with the 'polite innocent professor' mask he deploys to throw people off his scent. And perhaps the masked scene in the bar became something because of Hei Pao Shi wearing one! Though my brain always felt that the masks were worn to give a subtle nod to the book, where from what I understand they were ghosts/demons (I have not read the book so I could totally be wrong here), but I'm down for YOHE HPS starting a new trend which gets incorporated into their culture/beliefs/etc.
Q3. If Kunlun hadn't arrived just then, when the Envoy was at his lowest, would the Envoy have stuck with his decision to continue on alone, even if it risked losing the war? Would his remaining soldiers, who were fighting because they believed in him and the cause, have just stood by while he tried to sideline them? Would Ma Gui and Fu You have attempted to persuade him to use every tool at his disposal to win? (I feel like ZYL being there and stepping up meant that none of these questions got answered, but some of the Envoy's men do turn up just as Shen Wei follows Ye Zun into the energy seal, so either the Envoy hadn't told them to stand down yet, or they were defying orders.) - My brain goes to it depends on the situation at hand-ish? XD Like perhaps if that was the only thing they had left to try to win the war, he'd go down the road of self-sacrificing, but I think with the people and the soldiers, and everything they're trying to do as a group Shen Wei wouldn't go off on his to do that. He's a general for a reason - smart, tactics, powerful, etc - and even though he's young, he surely knows that one person against an army rarely works, no matter how strong they are power wise.
Q4. How awful was it for Shen Wei to realise that Ye Zun had taken his enemy's place (and in some sense, literally become him, given Ye Zun ate him and absorbed his power?). - I think pretty devastating. I'm not sure my brain can put into words what it wants to right this moment, so let me ponder more and I will add a second comment :D
AHH this was such a great write-up/meta post!!!! I have more words but I must run to work, but I wanted to post a reply to this awesome post!!