Ep 1: Guo Changcheng arrives at the SID

[china_shop]

Episode 1, 7:00 to 10:47, and 11:17 to 12:18. Dragon City establishing shot, night.

Guo Changcheng trembles his way down Guangming Rd, clutching his notification letter. There's no one around and the lighting is bad, so I'm guessing it's not a great part of town? Dried leaves blow across the surface of the street. It's a Halloween-y vibe.

Xiao Guo reaches number 4, and a motorcycle roars up. It's Zhao Yunlan, of course, riding straight towards Xiao Guo, who holds up the letter like a shield.



ZYL: (still wearing his helmet) Who are you? 什么人啊？
GCC: (still hiding behind the letter) My name is Guo Changcheng, 24 years old. I am here to notify you. This is my report-for-duty letter. 我叫郭长城 今年二十四岁 我是来通知的 这是我的报到书
ZYL: What? 什么
GCC: (turns the paper to reveal the writing on the letter) I am here to report for duty. This is my notification letter. 我是来报到的 这是我的通知书

Zhao Yunlan takes off his helmet in slow motion as per the opening credits. Xiao Guo quails. 



Zhao Yunlan comes over, snatches the letter and looks at it.

GCC: Some... Someone told me to report for work. 有人通知我 让我来报到上班

Zhao Yunlan airily tosses the letter away (not so discreet for a secret agency!), grabs Xiao Guo by the sleeve? wrist? and drags him inside.



Lao Li is in the entranceway frying fish, in a very unscary way. Zhao Yunlan calls a greeting (Uncle Li | 老李叔) and, with an arm wrapped tightly around Xiao Guo's shoulders, takes out a lollipop and waves it in Xiao Guo's face.

GCC: (uncomfortable but polite) No, thank you. I don't eat sweets at night. 谢谢 不用了我晚上不吃糖
ZYL: Open it. 打开

Xiao Guo reluctantly takes the lollipop. Zhao Yunlan gestures at the building around them. "How is it?! Not bad, right?" 怎么样 还不错吧

 

Xiao Guo is about to obediently eat the lollipop when Zhao Yunlan grabs his hand and, holding eye contact, directs the lollipop to his own mouth. (/o\!!!) 

 

ZYL: (in an undertone, leaning even closer) I just quit smoking. I need to have something in my mouth. 刚开始戒烟 嘴里非得叼一点什么 He laughs.



In Xiao Guo's first act of assertiveness, he extracts himself from Zhao Yunlan's hold. Zhao Yunlan puts his free hand in his pocket.

GCC: Well, why must I report at midnight? 那个 为什么非得这个时候来报道啊
ZYL: Good question! (points his lollipop at the SID crest) If it's not a little special, how could we be called the Special Investigation Department? 问得好啊 如果不特别一点怎么能叫特别调查处呢
ZYL: (cont.) Since you were chosen to join us, you must be special, too. 能被选进这 说明你也很特别



GCC: No-No, I... I'm not special. I'm especially normal! 没有 没有 我一点也不特别 我特别一般
ZYL: Enough. You go in first. 行了 你先进去吧
(shouting into the main room) Hey, guys, the newbie's here! Treat him well! 里边的 新人报到 好好招待一下

Changcheng stumbles into the main room, where Zhu Hong is working at her computer.

Cue introductions to the team which, in the interests of length, I'm going to summarise.



Zhu Hong seems to either teleport or move superfast. She circles him, with a hissing noise, and when he takes her hand, he exclaims at how cold it is. Zhu Hong smiles and says, "Can't help it. I can't be compared to you warm-blooded animals." Xiao Guo looks down and sees her snake tail.



He screams and runs for the stairs.

At the other end of the room, human-form Da Qing slides down the circular staircase banister. "Where did this wimp come from?" He shifts into cat form at the bottom, and Xiao Guo peers across anxiously, trying to make sense of what's happening.

An explosion rocks the building, and Lin Jing stomps out of the lab in a cloud of smoke. Xiao Guo points and identifies him as a Saiyan. (Viki subs: a term for a group of aliens from the anime "Dragonball"; according to a Dragonball wiki, "In the series, the Saiyans from Universe 7 are a naturally aggressive warrior race who were supposedly striving to be the strongest in the universe, while the Saiyans from Universe 6 are protectors." Their names are plays on vegetables.)



Lin Jing brightens at the description and says, "I like that name!"

Zhu Hong: Your experiment failed again? You always screw it up at a crucial moment. 实验又失败了吧 总是关键时刻掉链子
Lin Jing: (defending himself) We can stay safe here because of the shield invented by this Pretty Man of Science to keep out Dixing people! 没错， 喂，你们现在能安心待在这个特调处里 就是靠我这个科技界的国民老公，发明了抵御地星人的护盾
Ling Jing: (cont.) Where's Lao Chu? I want to test my new invention. 老楚呢？我要找他试试我的新发明



Wang Zheng comes down the stairs, complaining of the noise. Xiao Guo smiles at her until he realises she has no feet/isn't fully corporeal, at which point he falls to the floor in a faint.



In cat form, from the table, Da Qing hmphs, "Coward." 胆小鬼

[cut to Li Qian practically sleepwalking on campus, then getting a fright, running, clutching her necklace and screaming, "Go away!"]



And then we have Xiao Guo trembling on the couch, and Zhao Yunlan sitting in a chair alongside. 



Da Qing is on the table, glaring and making a claw with his fingers. Zhu Hong is snacking.

ZYL: (speaking firmly and with confidence) I believe that through that brief contact with us, you have deeply felt the enthusiasm, composure, and friendliness of our team. Am I right?
相信经过刚才短暂的接触 你也能深刻的感受到我们特调处的热情，稳重，友好！对不对！
GCC: (faintly) Ye-Yes. 对对对



ZYL: (taking his hand and leaning in, schmoozing) From today onwards, we will be your family. 从今天开始，我们，就是你的家人
DQ (in cat form): Coward, so troublesome. 胆小鬼 真费劲
GCC: (flails) The cat! - The cat is talking! 猫！ 猫说话了！
Xiao Guo faints, as Zhao Yunlan says, "No! Come on, it's okay!" 别别别



Lin Jing giggles.

ZYL: Still laughing? This is Minister Guo's nephew! 还笑 这可是郭部长塞进来的外甥

Everyone turns to stare.



ZYL: (cont.) If we want a new offices next year, none of you can offend him. 为了明年的新住址， 你们谁都不能得罪他啊
You have to take good care of him, get it? 要好好照顾他，知道了吗？
DQ: *meows*



ZYL: (pointing) And you, you're not allowed to scare people as a cat unless you're out in the field. Otherwise I'll cut back on your dried fish. 还有你 以后除了出外勤，不准变猫吓唬人 否则扣你小鱼干
DQ: Understood. 知道了

What is Zhao Yunlan thinking?
Zhao Yunlan must be able to tell at a glance that Xiao Guo isn't joining the SID for thrills and adventure, and he later tells the team they need to be nice to Xiao Guo because of his connections. So why does he go out of his way to discomfit him, grabbing him, being wildly inappropriate via lollipop, and letting the team greet him in a way bound to terrify him? Is Zhao Yunlan trying to scare Xiao Guo into quitting before he's begun? Can he simply not resist teasing this youthful embodiment of ordinary respectable Haixing? We know from, eg, his getting angry about the sex doll on Wang Zheng's behalf in episode 9, that he can express concerned for the sensibilities of his team members, but he doesn't seem to care how uncomfortable Xiao Guo is feeling.

From writing this post and rewatching the scene, I think what's happening is Zhao Yunlan is observing Xiao Guo closely and testing his responses. He grabs him and drags him around, and almost immediately, Xiao Guo gets an elbow between them, trying to keep him at a distance without being rude. Zhao Yunlan waves a lollipop in his face, forces him to unwrap it and physically directs the lollipop, still in Xiao Guo's grasp, to Zhao Yunlan's own mouth. "I just quit smoking. I need something in my mouth," he confides, leaning in.

At last Xiao Guo is driven to extricate himself, and Zhao Yunlan's reaction to that is really interesting: he half-smirks, his arm hovers in the air for a moment before it drops, and he suddenly gets a lot less handsy. It's like the whole invading Xiao Guo's space/lollipop business was a performance to test Xiao Guo's mettle, to see if he's at all capable of standing up for himself, and yes, with enough pressure applied, he is. He has some small semblance of backbone – something to work with.

(From a storytelling perspective, I think they had to heighten Zhao Yunlan's behaviour to match the others', and also to get Xiao Guo off-balance so the rest of the introductions could have a stronger effect. But from Xiao Guo's pov, I feel like the bit with the lollipop is borderline sexual harassment, and I think it risks alienating the viewer... Or does it let the viewer feel superior: "I'd be so much cooler than that"? Either way, I'm really glad it didn't put me off Zhao Yunlan, and that's probably thanks to Xiao Guo's reaction of sticking up for himself and not holding a grudge.)

15 things established in this scene

This scene introduces most of the SID team members and their identifying characteristics (as well as the status of the team qua team), establishes tone, and conveys some world-building information. For example:

1. The tone of the show is comic, uncanny/eerie/light horror (including "scary" things that are not actually scary), sci-fi, and ensembly. There's a playful anime reference.


2. Guo Changcheng is Vice-Minister Guo's nephew (ie, respectable), a scared rabbit, nervous, anxious, polite, claims to be "especially normal", flailing and fainting out of fear -- but he does initially refuse the lollipop, and push ZYL away, and to his credit, despite his fear, he doesn't run or quit on the spot.


3. Zhao Yunlan is cool (he rides a motorbike!), eccentric, boundary-crossing, handsy, calculating and schmoozy -- all things we see in his interactions with Shen Wei, later on. And his behaviour is inconsistent: if he wanted a gentle introduction for Xiao Guo, why didn't he accompany him into the heart of the SID, or tell the others about Xiao Guo's connections in advance? As the chief of the SID, he manages via scolding and threats.


4. The lollipops are a thing, and there's a just-quit-smoking pretext for them. Also, the one he offers Xiao Guo has the same spiral pattern as the one in YOHE.


5. The SID team are self-aware about being a group of outsiders and "special" types. They take pride in their difference and see it as a badge of honour.


6. Lao Li... exists, cooks fish, and doesn't have much to do with the core team.


7. Zhu Hong is cold-blooded, snacks at work, and can (at least halfway) transform into a snake. (Her tail is proportional to her human-shaped form; it's unclear whether she'd be a normal-sized snake if she transformed completely.)


8. Da Qing is a fully shape-shifting cat, who can speak in cat form, likes fish, and has been forbidden from scaring people as a cat except in the line of duty. In other words, his shape-shifting is part of ordinary SID operations.


9. Lin Jing is a scientist whose experiments sometimes explode in his face, who gets little respect, and who refers to himself as a "Pretty Man of Science".


10. Lao Chu is name-checked; he's implied to be Dixingren, and his absence suggests he's not integrated fully into the team.


11. Wang Zheng is either invisible or incorporeal, and she spends time upstairs and works for the SID (she's carrying files).


12. We see some of the layout of the SID -- front door, entryway, main room, two staircases, the hallway to the implied lab. (My first time watching, I don't think I realised Zhao Yunlan had his own office until after the Hanga Arc.) It's both pretty (the wood! the chandeliers!) and full of odd touches (that big wheel seat, etc).


13. The SID wants new offices (or ZYL wants new offices for the SID).


14. Dixingren exist, and there's a science-based shield to keep them out of the SID.


15. Everyone is very matter-of-fact about their differences, but it's all new to Xiao Guo, and so frightening that he faints. In other words, Yashou and Dixingren are generally unknown in Haixing.

That's a lot of information to introduce!

Does it count as hazing?

I've always thought of this as the "hazing Guo Changcheng" scene, but the more I considered, the less I think that's right. If you compare it to the scene in the Firefly pilot where Mal tells Simon that Kaylee's dead, and the crew laugh together while Simon loses his shit -- that's hazing. Here, the SID team aren't tricking Xiao Guo, and they're not mean: they're just openly, unapologetically being themselves, and Xiao Guo freaks out due to ignorance and implicit normalised bigotry. True, the team may be being rather more themselves than usual, but I feel like that can be read as self-assertion/defiance against a mainstream that marginalises them. They know Haixingren see them as monsters, and they're coolly matter-of-fact about who they are, taking pride in their identities. I think when they laugh together at Xiao Guo's fear, they're mostly just agreeing the fear is undeserved.

I also think it's probably deliberate that the scene is interrupted by Li Qian being (we later learn) justifiably scared on campus. The contrast shows us that some threats are legit terrifying and dangerous, but the SID is just unusual and interesting.

Questions

1. What do you think of this scene? Do you identify with Xiao Guo, or more with the team?


2. Is Zhao Yunlan expecting an intern, or does Xiao Guo come as a complete surprise? The latter would explain his "What?" at the beginning, and not prepping the team in advance, but "The newbie's here!" sounds like he knows, and how would the person who sent Xiao Guo (Zhang Shi) know there'd be anyone at the SID at 10pm?


3. What if Chu Shuzhi had been there? Would he have played along with scaring the newbie? Would he have sat back and watched, sardonically?


4. Zhao Yunlan just leaves his bike in the middle of the street. Is valet parking motorcycles one of Lao Li's duties? (Does he enjoy it?)


5. This scene is a long one, and I've barely scratched the surface. Is there anything else that particularly strikes you about this scene?

Comments

[nnozomi]

My guess is that Guo Changcheng applied for an internship at the Department of Supervision, and Zhang Shi got wind of it and arranged/changed his assignment to send him to the SID. (How Zhang Shi knew that Guo Changcheng was pure of spirit, etc, I really don't know!) So Guo Ying assumed he was doing random office work?
Huh--I read that as Guo Ying knowing Changcheng was at the SID, but thinking Zhao Yunlan had brought him there for some reason (while Zhao Yunlan thought it was Guo Ying who had). The Zhang Shi part makes perfect sense to me!

(Was it Changcheng's cartoony behaviour that embarrassed you?)
Oh, everybody--Changcheng, Zhao Yunlan being so OTT, the others playing it the same way. But I knew there was good stuff coming up so I didn't worry about it :)

[china_shop]

Huh--I read that as Guo Ying knowing Changcheng was at the SID, but thinking Zhao Yunlan had brought him there for some reason (while Zhao Yunlan thought it was Guo Ying who had).

I thought the whole point of the dinner was Guo Ying had just found out Changcheng was working at the SID, and he wanted him to be transferred away to somewhere safer? ...Oh, maybe I think that because the original subs say, "I wouldn't know he is your subordinate if he didn't tell me this morning." Now I'm confused, though. Are the Viki subs more accurate?

♥

[sakana17]

For what it's worth, the solo subs say:
Chief Zhao, I have to say, I feel embarrassed that I haven't paid much attention to Changcheng's job. It was only this morning that I learned from him that he is lucky enough to have been transferred to your SID.

[china_shop]

Ahhh! Thank you! I can't believe I blanked on checking those, too. *facepalm*

[nnozomi]

I had to check that I was reading the Chinese right, but it looks like what he says is something like "If he hadn't mentioned it in passing this morning, I would still be under the misapprehension that he was very lucky to have been transferred by you to the SID," suggesting that Guo Ying knew he was there but thought it was Zhao Yunlan's idea? (Maybe it's that having now seen the SID at work and learned something about what they do and its risks, he's opposed to the idea?).

[china_shop]

That makes so much less sense to me, I'm having trouble adjusting. The whole scene (and what comes after) is different with that reading. Why would it matter to Guo Ying how Guo Changcheng ended up at the SID -- whether he was recruited or thrust upon them? /change resistance /dork

"If he hadn't mentioned it in passing this morning, I would still be under the misapprehension that he was very lucky to have been transferred by you to the SID... whereas now I know he was very unlucky..."? ;-p

Maybe it's that having now seen the SID at work and learned something about what they do and its risks, he's opposed to the idea?

I feel like that would make more sense if we'd seen Guo Ying witness something scary/dangerous?

(Actually, I think what I'd always half-subconsciously assumed was that when ZYL and SW showed up at the DoS that morning and ZYL nudged SW to say Guo Ying was GCC's uncle, in Guo Ying's hearing, that's when he worked it out, and maybe he called GCC to confirm, and whatever he's saying here is just a polite cover? But now I don't know if that works at all. (No wonder I got so stuck on the Guo Ying fic I tried to write! ;-p))

[nnozomi]

It's a good question! (I did check my Chinese understanding of the line in question with presumenothing just to be sure, it should be okay...)
Why would it matter to Guo Ying how Guo Changcheng ended up at the SID -- whether he was recruited or thrust upon them?
Mm, I don't think it does matter much to Guo Ying; I think this line matters in retrospect to Zhao Yunlan, because it's the first glimpse he gets of Zhang Shi's machinations.

that he was very lucky to have been transferred by you to the SID... whereas now I know he was very unlucky..."
As you say, I think the "lucky" part is just a polite cover, or not a cover exactly but like "he had the honor to be transferred by you," just a nice phrase; my impression is that Guo Ying is just going "oh, it wasn't you? huh, how about that."

I feel like that would make more sense if we'd seen Guo Ying witness something scary/dangerous?
Well, there was the wedding disaster? That was enough of a thing (if I'm remembering right) to get Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan called in to Minister Gao, and that may have been the first time Guo Ying heard about any of the deaths associated with the SID's work, plus it was a high-profile, wealthy person dying in broad daylight at a wedding, not something easy to brush off/victim-blame away.

when ZYL and SW showed up at the DoS that morning and ZYL nudged SW to say Guo Ying was GCC's uncle, in Guo Ying's hearing, that's when he worked it out, and maybe he called GCC to confirm, and whatever he's saying here is just a polite cover?
It's not impossible! (I'm just arguing this point because it's fun and interesting, I'm not wedded (as it were) to anything, no worries...)

[china_shop]

I think this line matters in retrospect to Zhao Yunlan, because it's the first glimpse he gets of Zhang Shi's machinations.

Yes, though... I feel like Guo Ying trying to take Changcheng away from the SID shows that it wasn't him who put him there in the first place? Idk. :-)

That was enough of a thing (if I'm remembering right) to get Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan called in to Minister Gao

Hmm, I thought they were called in so Minister Gao could formally meet the new consultant and discuss the problem of Cong Bo. I may be wrong! But they don't mention the wedding at that meeting, as far as we see. But good point that a high-profile person died there. I guess I just expected Guo Ying to know more about the SID (at a high level), including the general nature of their cases, especially after the events of the previous 13 episodes. It's all covered up for the public, sure, but Guo Ying works with Minister Gao, so I assumed he too was at least somewhat in the loop...

<3 <3 <3

[trobadora]

You know, this made more sense to me when I thought he'd just found out about his nephew working at the SID, but it does look like he's saying that. So the change is just that he now knows it wasn't ZYL's doing? And this means he thinks he now has some leverage to get ZYL to let him go, whereas previously he thought he couldn't? (Just like ZYL at the beginning thought he couldn't do anything about GCC's presence because it was Minister Guo's doing?) *scratches head*