GUARDIAN REWATCH – Episode 2

[china_shop]

Beginning of episode: Li Qian and Zhao Yunlan, leaning over the edge of the roof looking for Professor Shen
Ending of episode: The Envoy and Chu Shuzhi's first rendezvous in the park, then Lin Jing studying the Longevity Dial (which Zhao Yunlan comes in and casually activates), and Zhu Jiu playing ominous solo chess and talking about putting the next piece into play.

Warnings for suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, and actual suicide.

Important scenes/developments

• Shen Wei heals the gouges on his shoulder. (The first overt confirmation that he's Dixingren, I think?)
• First scene with Zhu Jiu.
• Li Qian contemplates suicide and is startled into falling off the parapet; Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei save her.
• The "are you married?" conversation in the hospital hallway.
• Shen Wei shows up at the hospital with food for Li Qian and tells Guo Changcheng to be gentle with Zhao Yunlan, because he's a young leader under a lot of stress.
• Zhu Hong identifies the Longevity Dial.
• A Dixingren attacks at the hospital, and Guo Changcheng valiantly but ineffectively throws himself on that grenade!
• Zhao Yunlan accuses Li Qian of murdering her grandmother. Li Qian doesn't deny it.
• The hospital attacker snatches Li Qian from the car, and the spirit of Li Qian's grandmother comes out of the Dial to save her.
• Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan talk under the tree at Li Yufen's funeral. *points to icon*
• Zhao Yunlan summons the Envoy to discuss the Dial.
• The Envoy and Chu Shuzhi meet to gossip conspire behind Zhao Yunlan's back.

Thoughts
I was planning to write a super short post, but then I made eight pages of notes and 104 screencaps. This is why I shouldn't watch by myself. Please forgive my rambling -- I don't have time to make it shorter.

• I love that it's Jiajia who helps Shen Wei out of the bushes, aw! I wonder what she saw/deduced.


• Shen Wei's injury from the Shadow Man's claws obviously really hurts him. He's shaking and sweaty even before he starts healing himself. (Maybe infected?) It's amazing he managed to be so mild-mannered nothing-to-see at Zhao Yunlan in the previous scene. (Every time I watch the end of the self-healing scene, when the camera pulls back to reveal the fish tank, I wonder about fish Yashou. ;-)


• Note: Zhao Yunlan arriving on campus and wondering to himself where he's seen Shen Wei before. Also, he says it's two days since the show started.


• Li Qian stands on the roof parapet, considering ending everything. Zhao Yunlan startles her into falling, but he catches her. Then he loses his footing, but Shen Wei arrives in time to help them both.
  
  While Li Qian is dangling, Zhao Yunlan scolds her ("Sister, I didn't go to the trouble of saving you just so you can jump off a building!"); after the rescue, Shen Wei starts to tell her off ("No one has the right to disregard life, that includes you.") and Zhao Yunlan joins in. I guess this is how adults express concern and caring for kids -- plus they must both be awash with adrenaline after the near-tragedy.


• Zhao Yunlan sprawling at Li Qian's hospital bedside! He's fed up -- he doesn't even bother to get up to talk to the doctor, whereas Shen Wei stands and is conciliatory, speaks for both of them. (The doctor is terrible! I never ever want to be treated by him.) I feel like Zhao Yunlan gets better at people-ing in the next few episodes.


• The conversation in the hospital corridor!! Zhao Yunlan is testing Shen Wei out, not at all subtly; Shen Wei's being very direct.
  
  I'm a bit confused by Zhao Yunlan's line, "No wonder last time at the hospital, and when you went against that shadow man, you were so calm." 怪不得之前你在医院还有对付那个影子的时候 能那么镇定 It seems like a continuity error, since I'm pretty sure this is the first hospital scene. Maybe they shuffled some scenes around in editing?
  
  I love how Zhao Yunlan raises Dixingren and science (what's the progress on decoding their genes?) and Shen Wei counters with "Rather than probing into their origins, why don't we contemplate their future?" and raises concerns re the present. That is, nudges him from scientific othering to considering the incursions as a social problem. ♥ Zhao Yunlan flatters ("Sure enough, a scholar's way of thinking is different from crude folks like us." 果然这读书人跟我们粗人的想法就是不一样啊) and tries to catch Shen Wei out.
  
  SW: Chief Zhao, what do you want to ask? Be direct. 赵处长 你想要问什么 不妨直说
  ZYL: If I ask, will you be open with me? 如果我问的话沈教授可以坦诚相对吗 (Q. Is this a double entendre in Chinese, too?)
  SW: If it's not against my principles, I will try my best to give you an acceptable answer. 在不违反原则的情况下我会尽量给出让赵处长满意的答案
  ZYL: *fake laugh and feint back*
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhao Yunlan is so suspicious of Shen Wei and more serious here than I remembered! Then Shen Wei tells him to be careful of Dixingren's great destructive power (very Envoy mode). They make a date for lunch, which I think is largely Shen Wei going, "I'm not going to just disappear from your life once this case is over," and Zhao Yunlan going, "Yeah, no, I'm definitely going to figure you out." :D


• Wang Zheng is the one who calls Chu Shuzhi an Envoy fanboy.


• Da Qing runs downstairs and transforms into cat form to jump onto the table and tell tales to Zhao Yunlan about the others slacking off. (Was he listening to the others in the lab from the mezzanine?) Zhao Yunlan is sleeping on the couch with a car magazine over his face. He's low energy and dispassionate about his team, says, "They're considered to be among the best, but each one behaves like a busybody." 也都算是个人中龙凤了怎么个个跟个三姑六婆似的 and adds that he can only count on the newbie, which made me go, "Really? I thought you'd written him off as useless already!" Maybe he just means in terms of diligence?


• ZYL to GCC: You've already been here a week. I believe you've completely adjusted to our work intensity. 你来咱们处呢 也有一个星期了吧我相信你已经完全适应我们部门的工作强度了 (LOL.)
  
  Guo Changcheng is totally pumped to get an assignment. (It's unclear to me why they need to guard Li Qian at night and not during the day.) I wonder how Da Qing feels about being scooped up into the useless newbie's arms.
  
  
  Given this smile, you'd think Zhao Yunlan was looking up at Shen Wei, but no, it's Xiao Guo and his nervous determination to be of use.


• Hospital, and I'm taking way too many notes. Shen Wei arrives and talks with Changcheng. It's kind of hilarious that Da Qing is prioritising this interpersonal stuff over his assigned role of helping Xiao Guo protect Li Qian; if he thinks Shen Wei is suspicious, shouldn't he hang around?
  
  And then it's snacks with Li Qian and Xiao Guo, and Xiao Guo's tragic backstory, which illustrates why he was so nice to Li Yufen in the street, and why he's so determined to protect people in general -- as a proxy for his grandmother. I'm sure Shen Wei can't relate at all.


• Meanwhile, at the SID, Zhao Yunlan, Zhu Hong and Lin Jing are spying on the hospital trio, which seems like a total breach of privacy. Did anyone sign off on this?
  
  
  
  ZYL: "That Professor Shen is perfect... for ideological work." Zhu Hong scolds him and tells him to be suspicious. Zhao Yunlan hastily covers and changes the subject. They notice Li Qian's necklace, and Zhao Yunlan waxes metaphysical about time. Zhu Hong IDs it as the Longevity Dial. (Lin Jing has a schematic on his computer.) ZYL: Surely, that doesn't mean this thing can steal another person's life force? 难道说这东西可以夺取别人的生命能量 He immediately assumes the worst of Li Qian. Plus then, oh no, a Dixingren intruder at the hospital!


• Xiao Guo insisting on confronting the attacker to protect Li Qian and Shen Wei will never not be awesome. He has zero skills and 300% heart, and I love him for it a lot. (I also really love how the hospital attacker seems unwillingly impressed by his tenacity; I actually really like the hospital attacker and kept meaning to do a character post on him when we were doing the supporting character series. His name is Gao Tianyu.)


• My current theory about Zhao Yunlan abandoning the pursuit is that his strategy is to chase the attacker towards Chu Shuzhi, and the guy was going that way anyway, so it didn't matter that Zhao Yunlan got distracted by Shen Wei's butt.


• Outside, the attacker comes up against an energy membrane stretched across the street. awanderingcoyote was theorising a while back that this is one of Chu Shuzhi's strings stretched out/widened, which I love as a theory.
  
  
  
  The attacker recognises Chu Shuzhi, either by his face or his power. They fight using their powers, but the attacker gets away.


• Zhao Yunlan's office. Zhao Yunlan reads Li Yufen's outpatient card/health record and has three flashbacks:
  1. Him and Zhu Hong talking with Li Qian about how the Dial is a family heirloom her grandmother gave her.
  2. Li Qian's terrible doctor talking about Li Yufen's stroke and miraculous recovery a year ago.
  3. Shen Wei saying, "Dixingren have vanished for many years. Why are they suddenly appearing so frequently? What are they looking for?" 地星人已经消声匿迹这么多年了 他们为什么会突然频繁地出现 他们到底在寻找什么 -- a) Shen Wei totally planted that seed on purpose to lead Zhao Yunlan to the correct conclusion, and b) this is the same advice Zhao Xinci gives in the "find the dog" scene (ep 29): the key is in the motivation!
  Zhao Yunlan puts the pieces together and feels very clever.


• Uni rooftop. Li Qian is there with the Dial. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei arrive together! (Did Zhao Yunlan bring Shen Wei along on purpose?) Zhao Yunlan pretends to be a grown-up, all "kids these days", lol. I love his voice when he's being serious. ♥ Also, !!! Shen Wei's jumper looks like it has a mourning armband knitted into the sleeve. (Are those a thing in China?)
  
  
  
  Li Qian says a lot of things that hit Shen Wei where he lives.
  
  
  
  Zhao Yunlan accuses Li Qian of murdering her grandmother. Li Qian doesn't deny it, just digs herself in deeper.
  
  Li Qian says, "I saw her every day, but she couldn't recognise me." I wince on Shen Wei's behalf. "Something that I paid dearly for is just a stranger who looks like her." More ouch! Zhao Yunlan is moved, but it's still murder.


• Random Dragon City street. The hospital attacker attacks Zhu Jiu, who fights back and wins. Hospital Attacker begs for another chance.


• Night, car. Li Qian says, "Professor Shen, do you think it's really not too late to turn back?" 沈教授 你说亡羊补牢真的为时未晚吗 Shen Wei, who is stewing in his own stuff, forgets to be consoling/reassuring and says, "Those that were hurt and betrayed... perhaps it's impossible to return to the past." 伤害过 背叛过或许就真的回不到从前了
  
  


• Hospital Attacker yanks Li Qian out of the car with his powers, then kills the car electrics. Shen Wei is trapped. The spirit of Li Qian's granny comes out of the Dial to protect her and absolve her of murder. H.A. gives up in extreme frustration, I like him so much. (I wonder what his deal is!?) Li Qian cries. The Envoy comes and throws H.A. around fiercely. Zhao Yunlan calls the Envoy "Hei-laoge" and they talk like business associates. The Envoy takes H.A. away, and Zhao Yunlan helps Li Qian up. Shen Wei finally makes it out of the car, and Zhao Yunlan dismisses him as nearly as hapless as Xiao Guo and tells him to get back in, hee.


• Li Yufen's funeral.
  
  
  (I zoomed in to ask whaaaaat is Da Qing wearing?)
  
  
  Zhu Hong comforts Li Qian. *waves flag for tiny ship*
  
  Flashback to Li Yufen seeing Li Qian contemplating suicide by pills and not interrupting, what? Li Yufen seems to understand what's going on, too! And then kills herself with the same pills. /o\
  
  
  Also, I had to put these pics side-by-side. It can't be a coincidence that Xiao Guo and Shen Wei are both wearing blue with white stripes and Chu Shuzhi and Zhao Yunlan are both in black, can it? I'm not sure what parallels they're trying to imply, though. That Xiao Guo and Shen Wei are both grieving by proxy? That Chu Shuzhi and Zhao Yunlan are both guarded and cranky?


• SID. The team minus Lin Jing sit around the table and discuss the Dial. Zhu Hong and Da Qing bicker in Yashou. ♥!! And omg, Zhao Yunlan's seating posture for a team meeting! And Da Qing snuggling up next to him! So much goodness! Da Qing says to ask the Envoy about the Dial. (This kind of advice is why he's Deputy.) Cue first Envoy summoning. Time (or at least, the smoke from the incense burner) stops, lights flicker, smoke everywhere.
  
  
  Zhao Yunlan's grin when the Envoy arrives, and then that little wave! After the Envoy's less dramatic appearance at the car, he knows the theatrics are optional extras.


• Zhao Yunlan's office. Zhao Yunlan and the Envoy discuss the Dial and Li Qian. Zhao Yunlan defends his jurisdiction, and then turns to self-deprecation: "us weak office workers". Ominous warnings about the Dial. (Lin Jing is investigating control of life force permutation: why? and what does that even mean?)
  
  
  The iconic shot!


• The Envoy meets with Chu Shuzhi in the park. Chu Shuzhi feels free to ask outright when he has a question, is respectful but not overawed.
  
  
  Shen Wei describes Dixing as "a prison of torment" to Chu Shuzhi of all people!! That seems a teeny bit tactless.
  
  CSZ: Sir Envoy is baiting fish. 尊使大人是要钓鱼
  SW: Rather than coveting fish near the pool, it's better to start weaving the fishing nets.临渊羡鱼 不如退而结网
  SW: (cont.) Why do you laugh? 你笑什么
  CSZ: Zhao Yunlan likes to fish as well. Between the two of you, I don't really know who the one plotting against the other is.
  赵云澜刚好也喜欢钓鱼真不知道你们两个到底是谁算计了谁
  SW: I hope that we each take what we need. 但愿 我们各取所需吧
  
  I feel like Shen Wei has deliberately/consciously lowered his expectations, here.


• FTR, I think there are seven scenes from this episode represented in the opening credits.

Discussion starters

• What's your favourite moment/scene in this episode?
  
  For me, it's a toss-up between the hospital corridor conversation between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, with Zhao Yunlan being so very suspicious, and Guo Changcheng single-handedly trying to see off the hospital attacker.


• Do you think the show has 100% confirmed yet that Professor Shen is the Envoy? When did you work it out?


• When the Envoy appears in the SID, he fritzes the lights and computers, and they come back on as soon as he's left.
  
  
  illustrative screencaps

  
  
  
  When Zhao Yunlan and the Envoy come back into the main room of the SID, the lights and computers are still out. Everyone's sitting around in the dark. (I think Chu Shuzhi actually has his hand on his mouse.)
  
  
  It gets even darker when the portal opens, as if the portal itself absorbs light.
  
  
  Afterwards, the electricity comes back on.
  
  
  Similarly, the hospital attacker actively kills the engine, lights and other electrics of the car. Do you think this has anything to do with Shen Wei's avoiding using electronic technology?


• What do you think Shen Wei is thinking/feeling when he sees the scrape on Zhao Yunlan's arm? Visual aid:
  
  


• When Li Qian is unconscious in hospital, and Shen Wei says, "A life stolen is indeed hard to maintain." 偷来的名的确是难以长久的 what is he referring to/thinking of?


• Who would Zhao Yunlan have sent to guard Li Qian at the hospital if he didn't have Xiao Guo? Da Qing clearly can't be relied on to stay on task.


• In the flashback where Zhao Yunlan and Zhu Hong first talk to Li Qian about the Longevity Dial, Zhao Yunlan says, "But you have to know, some things are never meant to be yours. They're just being kept at your place temporarily." 但你得知道 有些东西它原本就不属于你 只是暂时放在你这保管而已. To me, this sounds overtly thematic, but I can't quite figure it out. Any thoughts?


• When the hospital attacker snatches Li Qian out of the car, Shen Wei tries the car door handle but finds himself trapped. But what would he have done if he had been able to get out? Would he have blown his cover to protect Li Qian and Zhao Yunlan?


• When the Envoy tells Zhao Yunlan that he's worried about a backlash for Li Qian, does he mean a political backlash, a metaphysical one, or more Dixingren coming after her? (Ohh, or could this maybe be foreshadowing for the Chancellor encouraging Li Qian out of the university?)


• If you've rewatched this episode just now, did you notice anything you never thought about before?


• What's your favourite fanfic or fanart relating to this episode?

Let's talk about episode 2!
Come and talk about this episode – anything from favourite scenes or lines of dialogue to notes/questions about continuity or translation, most gorgeous (or angsty) smile, or anything else that strikes your fancy! And share links to your own and/or others’ episode-related meta, picspams, and fanworks, new or old!

Comments

Links to episode 2 fanworks and meta go here!

[china_shop]

Please reply to this comment with links to:

• any other episode reactions or related meta
• fanworks, picspams, squee, etc, relating to episode 2 generally or to specific scenes, characters, or events in this episode

Link to your own works and/or others'. Help us build as comprehensive a collection of links as possible!

Re: Links to episode 2 fanworks and meta go here!

[china_shop]

Previous episode reactions/discussions/meta
Guardian Episode by Episode: 02 by extrapenguin
sakana17's episode 2 rewatch notes from 2019
mekare's annotated picspam of episode 2, also 2019
shadaras' episodes 1 & 2, 2021

Scene discussions on this comm:
SID team review video of the Envoy, hosted by china_shop, 14 Nov 2020
Shen Wei and Xiao Guo's conversation in the hospital by ishipallthings, 11 April 2022
two scenes by awanderingcoyote, 17 June 2022

[shadaras]

Every time I watch this episode I long for more meetings between Chu Shuzhi and Hei Pao Shi, because it's so fun watching them interact. I just want more of Chu Shuzhi's loyalty! <3

Also, I love Chu Shuzhi with his hood up. <3 It's a good look! Wish we saw him like that again!

In the discord group rewatch, folk were discussing whether he stopped doing wearing his hood up after HPS started coming around the SID and why that might be. Something about not wanting to make it so obvious that his loyalty is first and foremost to HPS? Not wanting to be seen as closet-cosplaying HPS? Something else?

[china_shop]

Oh, good question! Both of those explanations make sense, or maybe Changcheng commented on the likeness, and Chu Shuzhi decided it was presumptuous or disrespectful or something for him to keep wearing the hood, if it made people draw that connection?

Every time I watch this episode I long for more meetings between Chu Shuzhi and Hei Pao Shi

They're so good! Do they only meet twice? The only other one I can think of is at the end of episode 4.

[trobadora]

I want more of Chu Shuzhi's loyalty! It's so good!

(I don't ship them, though, and I wish there was more gen loyalty kink!)

The hood is such a lovely detail that you can read so much into. I really like the idea that he stopped because he didn't want to be seen as cosplaying the Envoy! :D

(Also, I need another Chu Shuzhi icon, but this one is still my only one ...)

[bladedweapons]

Zhao Yunlan's grin when the Envoy arrives, and then that little wave! After the Envoy's less dramatic appearance at the car, he knows the theatrics are optional extras.

I love the little wave!!

a) Shen Wei totally planted that seed on purpose to lead Zhao Yunlan to the correct conclusion, and b) this is the same advice Zhao Xinci gives in the "find the dog" scene

I never paid enough attention to that line to realize he was doing that there - great observation!!

Zhao Yunlan says, "But you have to know, some things are never meant to be yours. They're just being kept at your place temporarily." 但你得知道 有些东西它原本就不属于你 只是暂时放在你这保管而已. To me, this sounds overtly thematic, but I can't quite figure it out. Any thoughts?

It sounds thematic to me, but unclear how as well. I searched in the Chinese version of the novel (well, one of them) for several of the phrases but didn't find anything either. (My thought on searching there is that there are a number of other times the show used direct quotes as callbacks to the book, though in changed context - like young SW's line about "if I don't like it," and the verses from the old book, etc. But anyway - I didn't find anything that way, either.)

[china_shop]

The wave is great! He's such a dork. *noogies him*

> I never paid enough attention to that line to realize he was doing that there - great observation!!

Yeah, I only noticed this time because I was listing the flashbacks there, and it suddenly seemed very deliberate. :-)

> I searched in the Chinese version of the novel (well, one of them) for several of the phrases but didn't find anything either.

Oh, thanks so much for looking there! Good idea, even if it didn't pay off. (And I didn't know that about "if I don't like it" -- that's cool!)

[trobadora]

Thank you for looking it up! It does feel thematic, yeah, and if it's not from the book then it should tie in more closely with the drama ... but I'm not seeing it clearly either. Hopefully someone will have a brainwave!

[trobadora]

This is a great post! :D

My notes are already getting too long, I'll just post these first before I continue with your questions:

• I love that it's Jiajia who helps Shen Wei out of the bushes, aw!
  
  Yes, I love the tiny glimpse of her! These recurring minor characters really make the drama's world feel so much more real.


• Shen Wei's injury from the Shadow Man's claws obviously really hurts him. He's shaking and sweaty even before he starts healing himself. (Maybe infected?) It's amazing he managed to be so mild-mannered nothing-to-see at Zhao Yunlan in the previous scene.
  
  Yeah, it hits me again every time, that he had those bloody claw wounds all through the rooftop scene, and never so much as winced.
  
  And it takes him significant effort to heal them, even though he is at peak power here. Just because they're injuries caused by black energy, rather than mundane wounds? satsuma suggested on Fridaythat instead the reason might be that the claws might have anti-black energy properties, like the gun, so they can't easily be healed with black energy. That would be cool, and I like the idea of the gun not being unique, but based on other existing powers ...


• Also, this scene gives us our first glimpse of Shen Wei's pendant, though mostly we see the string.


• Zhao Yunlan musing about where he might have seen Shen Wei before is great because it shows that there is something genuine in there, whether Hallows-caused or due to something glimpsed in childhood, or footage of the Envoy, or whatever.


• I love that intense stare when Shen Wei sees Zhao Yunlan's scraped arm! He so wants to get his hands on him and heal him. (And I love that he later gets a chance to do exactly that after the mugging!)


• I feel like Zhao Yunlan gets better at people-ing in the next few episodes.
  
  Haha, he really isn't great here, is he? Zhao Yunlan is noticeably impatient, and it's Shen Wei who smooths things over and gets the doctor to cooperate by being polite and diplomatic. Shen Wei is very good with that sort of thing, in a completely different way from Zhao Yunlan!
  
  (Can you tell I really dislike it when fandom treats Shen Wei as socially inept? *g*)


• When Shen Wei rubs his previously injured shoulder here, it's either that he's using a previous injury to more convincingly make himself appear hurt after the fall from the rooftop, or there's genuinely still lingering soreness. But either way, even this early in the drama, thanks to the rooftop scene we know that he doesn't show such things unless he wants to, so this is still deliberate.
  
  Also, if is still something lingering after the healing, that would support the theory that there's some kind of anti-black energy thing involved ...


• I'm a bit confused by Zhao Yunlan's line, "No wonder last time at the hospital, and when you went against that shadow man, you were so calm." 怪不得之前你在医院还有对付那个影子的时候 能那么镇定 It seems like a continuity error, since I'm pretty sure this is the first hospital scene. Maybe they shuffled some scenes around in editing?
  
  That was my thought initually, too, but looking at the continuity, I think the only other place where it would fit (with their clothes, and Zhao Yunlan's bandaged arm) is immediately after the attack in the hospital, where the phrasing ("back then at the hospital") would be just as weird. So maybe it's more like an artefact of a previous version of the script?


• That is, nudges him from scientific othering to considering the incursions as a social problem. ♥
  
  Yes this! :D


• I really love the bit where Shen Wei goes, "I'm sure you won't treat me like a criminal!" and Zhao Yunlan immediately recognises what he's doing ("Now I can't ask you anything, or I'll be interrogating you like a criminal!"). I love this push-and-pull, cat-and-mouse stage of their relationship.


• They make a date for lunch, which I think is largely Shen Wei going, "I'm not going to just disappear from your life once this case is over," and Zhao Yunlan going, "Yeah, no, I'm definitely going to figure you out." :D
  
  Agreed! I also want to know if that post-case meal ever did happen. Does anyone know about fic where it does?


• and adds that he can only count on the newbie, which made me go, "Really? I thought you'd written him off as useless already!
  
  I thought it was supposed to be mocking everyone else's uselessness by calling them worse than Xiao-Guo. *g*


• I wonder how Da Qing feels about being scooped up into the useless newbie's arms.
  
  Idk, but Xiao-Guo picking up Da Qing in cat form is progress already! He did not react well to a speaking cat at first, but he seems to be totally over it. Which, fair. KITTY!!!!! :D


• Xiao-Guo is the one who first says the line, "I'm willing to exchange my life for hers", and Shen Wei gives him a look ... Shen Wei looks so touched! And then he repeats that line, very memorably, to Li Qian on the rooftop. ♥


• Li Qian stuffing her face with her grandma's favourite food ... *pets her*


• The bit about zooming in on the sundial, and Lin Jing calling ZYL a pervert, always cracks me up.


• Yay for Zhu Hong recognising the Sundial, but how do the SID have computer models of the Hallows? Zhang Shi's doing, maybe? (I know we've talked about this before, but I'd forgotten about it in the mean time!)


• Regarding the Sundial not looking very much like a sundial: it's meant to open! We never do see it opened in the drama, but there is official art of the Hallows that shows it:
  
  
  (People sometimes think they hold it the wrong way round in the drama, but they don't! I think that confusion may come from it floating upside down in the opening credits, and in Lin Jing's computer model. Almost like whoever created the CGI didn't know how it worked either. *g*)


• He immediately assumes the worst of Li Qian.
  
  Right? But this whole thing hangs together so well - his suspicions here lead directly to the rooftop scene, and then the scene on the road with the energy ghost. Frist there's Zhao Yunlan's thought about Li Qian potentially stealing her grandma's, then on the rooftop, the way he talks about the pills is already very much accusing ("who left these pills that killed her at home?") even before he directly accuses her of murder. And of course she (falsely) confesses to killing her grandma ... because she already feels responsible, and suicidal, and of course she's not fighting back against these accusations. All the hugs for Li Qian!


• Something I had forgotten, or didn't realise in those terms before: this episode shows conclusively that Shen Wei can sense black energy at a distance, even without deliberately searching. (Though at what distance remains unclear.) When the attacker at the hospital knocks someone out with black energy in the corridor, Shen Wei clearly notices.


• I love Shen Wei's expression when facing the attacker, eyes lowered and standing there unmoving, simply letting the attack fizzle out, and only then looking up to meet the guy's eyes. Such a great moment!


• My current theory about Zhao Yunlan abandoning the pursuit is that his strategy is to chase the attacker towards Chu Shuzhi, and the guy was going that way anyway, so it didn't matter that Zhao Yunlan got distracted by Shen Wei's butt.
  
  Hee! Yeah, that makes sense to me.


• awanderingcoyote was theorising a while back that this is one of Chu Shuzhi's strings stretched out/widened, which I love as a theory.
  
  It makes perfect sense to me, especially since it looks like to me that the attacker, after only seeing the energy barrier, already recognises it as a Chu puppet string technique.


• The attacker is very strong and versatile with his black energy, on top of his actual specific power (telekinesis), I wonder who he was in Dixing, and what brought him to the surface.
  
  (The cast list says his name is Gao Tianyu - is that ever mentioned in the drama itself? Because if it is, it's not in this episode.)


• I want more about Dixing powers potentially running in families, and whether powers can be inherited! bladedweapons suggested not actual inheritance/families, but guilds instead, so powers might be passed down through teaching. Which makes me think of cultivation sects, so that might make sense! Very cool interpretation of the Puppet Masters of Chu.


• a) Shen Wei totally planted that seed on purpose to lead Zhao Yunlan to the correct conclusion, and b) this is the same advice Zhao Xinci gives in the "find the dog" scene (ep 29): the key is in the motivation!
  
  The first one I'd already noticed, especially since Zhao Yunlan realises it through the flashback - and then Shen Wei, not knowing it has already paid off, reinforces it again later at Li Yufen's gravesite, asking again why these Dixingren appeared now. But the second hadn't occurred to me. Great observation! :D


• Shen Wei is still visible in the car when the grandma appears from the Sundial. Very interesting. He must have been half a second away from acting when she did.


• SW's portals are so gorgeous. I love that they look like amethyst geodes.


• The Envoy leaves with Gao Tianyu, and Professor Shen comes out of the car, and where is the captured Dixingren in the mean time? I was already thinking of this last week - the Envoy appears on the rooftop, takes away the Shadow Man, and then pops up immediately as Professor Shen in the bushes below. So what happens to the Shadow Man? There's not enough time to take either of them to Dixing, especially since we know he'd need to go to the locust tree to open the passage to Dixing first.
  
  "I feel like HPS must have a bin where he tosses bad dixingren that he comes back to later," oracularmayhem said on Friday. 100% agreed - Shen Wei must have some in-between place to stash people ... either a hiding place elsewhere in Haixing, or maybe the space behind the portal is actually a pocket dimension, or can be expanded to be one. (We do see him once hovering inside the portal and listening before he hops out - in episode 35) - so that might be it!)


• It can't be a coincidence that Xiao Guo and Shen Wei are both wearing blue with white stripes and Chu Shuzhi and Zhao Yunlan are both in black, can it? I'm not sure what parallels they're trying to imply, though. That Xiao Guo and Shen Wei are both grieving by proxy?
  
  Maybe blue/black switcheroo for Dixingren and Haixingren switching places/being interchangeable/being the same?


• Da Qing says to ask the Envoy about the Dial. (This kind of advice is why he's Deputy.)
  
  Haha, yeah. I love that it's Da Qing who prompts Zhao Yunlan to summon the Envoy.


• After the Envoy's less dramatic appearance at the car, he knows the theatrics are optional extras.
  
  Hee! Yes, this. :D


• Zhao Yunlan accusing Shen Wei of meddling upstairs - well, soon he'll be doing the opposite in Dixing! *g*


• The bit about the Hallows being scattered after the war 10,000 years ago makes no sense with later info.


• Shen Wei describes Dixing as "a prison of torment" to Chu Shuzhi of all people!! That seems a teeny bit tactless.
  
  Idk, maybe he means that Chu Shuzhi's experience used to be unusual, and now it no longer is.


• Love that the Sundial randomly grows, and then nothing like it ever happens again. These things are weird! *g*


• The last bit with Zhu Jiu - looks like like this is the first time he really becomes aware of the SID.

[trobadora]

Answers to questions!

What's your favourite moment/scene in this episode?

The hospital corridor conversation!

Do you think the show has 100% confirmed yet that Professor Shen is the Envoy? When did you work it out?

I knew in advance, but also I don't think it was ever supposed to be even mildly mysterious. It's just assumed that the viewer knows.

When the Envoy appears in the SID, he fritzes the lights and computers, and they come back on as soon as he's left. (...) Similarly, the hospital attacker actively kills the engine, lights and other electrics of the car. Do you think this has anything to do with Shen Wei's avoiding using electronic technology?

For the Envoy appearance, the smoke stops for a moment, too, and a giant mist rises briefly and then vanishes! So dramatic! These are all special effects, IMO. Black energy can disrupt electronics, but I think it has to be deliberate. For example, Lin Jing's mobile phone records the Envoy's rooftop appearance without any issue, despite the time-stopping.

What do you think Shen Wei is thinking/feeling when he sees the scrape on Zhao Yunlan's arm?

See above comment re: urge to get his hands on Zhao Yunlan. *g*

When Li Qian is unconscious in hospital, and Shen Wei says, "A life stolen is indeed hard to maintain." 偷来的名的确是难以长久的 what is he referring to/thinking of?

I don't know, but I would really like to!

Who would Zhao Yunlan have sent to guard Li Qian at the hospital if he didn't have Xiao Guo? Da Qing clearly can't be relied on to stay on task.

If Lin Jing is meant to keep monitoring from the lab, then that really only leaves Zhu Hong or Da Qing, since Chu Shuzhi is already on site. Zhu Hong has no field experience. I think it would have fallen to Da Qing.

Zhao Yunlan says, "But you have to know, some things are never meant to be yours. They're just being kept at your place temporarily." 但你得知道 有些东西它原本就不属于你 只是暂时放在你这保管而已. To me, this sounds overtly thematic, but I can't quite figure it out. Any thoughts?

The only thing I can think of is Shen Wei getting to have Kunlun for a while and then losing him again, and now probably wondering if he only gets to have Zhao Yunlan for a while, too, before he disappears into the past and possibly doesn't come back. But since Shen Wei isn't present in this conversation to react to this line, idk.

When the hospital attacker snatches Li Qian out of the car, Shen Wei tries the car door handle but finds himself trapped. But what would he have done if he had been able to get out? Would he have blown his cover to protect Li Qian and Zhao Yunlan?

He might have reprised his rooftop performance and let the attacker throw him somewhere conveniently out of sight!

When the Envoy tells Zhao Yunlan that he's worried about a backlash for Li Qian, does he mean a political backlash, a metaphysical one, or more Dixingren coming after her? (Ohh, or could this maybe be foreshadowing for the Chancellor encouraging Li Qian out of the university?)

I think he means pretty literally backlash from using the Sundial - weird Hallows energy stuff.

If you've rewatched this episode just now, did you notice anything you never thought about before?

This time round, I paid more attention to Zhao Yunlan suspecting and accusing Li Qian, and it hangs together so well!

Also, several things I'd noticed before but had forgotten, like Shen Wei sensing the hospital attacker once he uses black energy. I think I mentioned it all above.

[trobadora]

And I forgot something!

Night, car. Li Qian says, "Professor Shen, do you think it's really not too late to turn back?" 沈教授 你说亡羊补牢真的为时未晚吗 Shen Wei, who is stewing in his own stuff, forgets to be consoling/reassuring and says, "Those that were hurt and betrayed... perhaps it's impossible to return to the past." 伤害过 背叛过或许就真的回不到从前了

I have thoughts about this that need to percolate for a little longer, but that last bit, where he says "伤害过，背叛过" ... my Chinese is minimal, but I think that may actually be meant as "Having harmed someone, having betrayed someone ..."

[china_shop]

This is a great post! :D

Thanks! It's only ten times longer than I intended. *g*

These recurring minor characters really make the drama's world feel so much more real.

Agreed! Like the way Wang Xiangyang is part of the furniture of the world before he takes a significant role, too, and Changcheng's uncle is mostly background to start with.

Yeah, it hits me again every time, that he had those bloody claw wounds all through the rooftop scene, and never so much as winced.

Oh good point. I wonder if it made him sterner. He must be at [Control = 110%] at that point.

satsuma suggested on Fridaythat instead the reason might be that the claws might have anti-black energy properties, like the gun, so they can't easily be healed with black energy.

Oh, you're right, that's a great thought! It makes him even more dangerous, too.

Zhao Yunlan is noticeably impatient, and it's Shen Wei who smooths things over and gets the doctor to cooperate by being polite and diplomatic. Shen Wei is very good with that sort of thing, in a completely different way from Zhao Yunlan!

Yes, exactly. And it's not that Zhao Yunlan is testing Shen Wei there or anything -- he's just being a ratbag. (Ha, I just rewatched that scene and nearly got sucked into rewatching the whole episode.)

it's either that he's using a previous injury to more convincingly make himself appear hurt after the fall from the rooftop, or there's genuinely still lingering soreness. But either way, even this early in the drama, thanks to the rooftop scene we know that he doesn't show such things unless he wants to, so this is still deliberate.

Good point. He is very conscious of what signals he's sending and super controlled about it. ... and okay, I did just rewatch that scene, and Shen Wei gives an adorable little turn of the head at the end of "I trust you won't interrogate me like a criminal." Very eloquent and almost teasing, like "the ball's in your court now, Chief Zhao."

Which tangentially reminds me that it's not just that Zhao Yunlan is more guarded than Kunlun; Shen Wei must be very aware that he himself is holding back, guarding multiple secrets, and there's no way around that. Even if Zhao Yunlan more closely resembled the Kunlun he knew, Shen Wei couldn't be the open, confiding man he used to be; he has to protect the timeline. So their relationship is hampered on both sides.

I think the only other place where it would fit (with their clothes, and Zhao Yunlan's bandaged arm) is immediately after the attack in the hospital, where the phrasing ("back then at the hospital") would be just as weird. So maybe it's more like an artefact of a previous version of the script?

True, good point!

I also want to know if that post-case meal ever did happen. Does anyone know about fic where it does?

I can't think of any. It couldn't be the tea shop scene in ep 4, could it? *hopes someone else can think of a fic*

I thought it was supposed to be mocking everyone else's uselessness by calling them worse than Xiao-Guo. *g*

Ha, it might well be.

He did not react well to a speaking cat at first, but he seems to be totally over it. Which, fair. KITTY!!!!! :D

Ha, yeah. I think he's completely adjusted to that side of things. He isn't flummoxed by the hospital attacker either; just determined.

Xiao-Guo is the one who first says the line, "I'm willing to exchange my life for hers", and Shen Wei gives him a look ... Shen Wei looks so touched! And then he repeats that line, very memorably, to Li Qian on the rooftop. ♥

Excellent catch! I always wonder if Shen Wei's reaction at Li Qian's bedside is related to the Hallow, and how Li Qian had literally given part of her life for her grandmother. But the fact that he repeats it suggests it's more than that.

Li Qian stuffing her face with her grandma's favourite food ... *pets her*

Right?? Da Qing should have stayed (in cat form) and snuggled her. *pets her too*

but how do the SID have computer models of the Hallows? Zhang Shi's doing, maybe?

There's some discussion about that in the comments on this old poll, fwiw. (And thanks for the Hallows pic. There was something on dcid_feed about it recently, wasn't there?)

And of course she (falsely) confesses to killing her grandma ... because she already feels responsible, and suicidal, and of course she's not fighting back against these accusations. All the hugs for Li Qian!

Seconded! More hugs for Li Qian!!

I love Shen Wei's expression when facing the attacker, eyes lowered and standing there unmoving, simply letting the attack fizzle out, and only then looking up to meet the guy's eyes. Such a great moment!

Yesssssss, that's so good. It's like on the rooftop with the Shadow Man, but even more stubborn and implacable! :D

The attacker is very strong and versatile with his black energy, on top of his actual specific power (telekinesis), I wonder who he was in Dixing, and what brought him to the surface.

I think the attacker is in Haixing to help or protect someone. He doesn't seem to me like he's acting out of selfish motives, and Zhu Jiu clearly knows how to manipulate him/has something over him. Actually, he's a bit like Tan Xiao, now I come to think of it. (No idea where extrapenguin got his name from, no.)

(I don't know anything about cultivation sects, but yeah, guilds seem possible -- though we don't actually see anyone learning a power except for Shen Wei. People generally seem to come into their specific powers, with greater or lesser degrees of control, and that's it, I think?)

and then Shen Wei, not knowing it has already paid off, reinforces it again later at Li Yufen's gravesite, asking again why these Dixingren appeared now.

Oh he does, doesn't he? Awesome!

So what happens to the Shadow Man? There's not enough time to take either of them to Dixing, especially since we know he'd need to go to the locust tree to open the passage to Dixing first.

Yeah, maybe leaves them restrained in the portal dimension? It might have different time properties too...

Zhao Yunlan accusing Shen Wei of meddling upstairs - well, soon he'll be doing the opposite in Dixing! *g*

LOL! Excellent point! (But it's different when he does it!! *g*)

The bit about the Hallows being scattered after the war 10,000 years ago makes no sense with later info.

Everyone has a theory, but no one really knows?

Idk, maybe he means that Chu Shuzhi's experience used to be unusual, and now it no longer is.

Idk, I feel like he's speaking metaphorically to someone who's experienced literal torture while imprisoned. I mean, I don't think Chu Shuzhi cares or thinks anything of it, but still. *continues to side-eye a little*

Love that the Sundial randomly grows, and then nothing like it ever happens again. These things are weird! *g*

LOL, right?

[elenothar]

When Shen Wei rubs his previously injured shoulder here, it's either that he's using a previous injury to more convincingly make himself appear hurt after the fall from the rooftop, or there's genuinely still lingering soreness. But either way, even this early in the drama, thanks to the rooftop scene we know that he doesn't show such things unless he wants to, so this is still deliberate.

Also, if is still something lingering after the healing, that would support the theory that there's some kind of anti-black energy thing involved ...

Hmm, my reading of this was definitely more the former precisely because I don't think Shen Wei would show it if it were actually still hurting, much like he didn't show it earlier. And it's a fairly large motion, rather than something small that might pass below notice.

[shadaras]

"When Li Qian is unconscious in hospital, and Shen Wei says, "A life stolen is indeed hard to maintain." 偷来的名的确是难以长久的 what is he referring to/thinking of?"

I'm not sure where I get this association from (the novel?), but it makes me think about Li Qian's grandmother. Her life is stolen (in that she should've died) and it's hard to maintain (in that she has dementia).

I don't recall right now whether or not they've talked about the sundial explicitly by that point, but even if Shen Wei isn't allowed to recognise it I'd expect HPS does, and has some thoughts about it.

[china_shop]

Yeah, I think that's what he means, too. I was just wondering, given he sounds so certain about it, whether he's also referring to something from his own experience. Like, whether he considers his present life stolen (snatched from the jaws of the energy seal), or something to do with Ye Zun or Kunlun? Idk.

[trobadora]

When the hospital attacker snatches Li Qian out of the car, Shen Wei tries the car door handle but finds himself trapped.

I just rewatched this bit, and the attacker deliberately sends black energy to the car at that moment, so it's a deliberate action, not a side effect.

Also, looking at it in more detail, Shen Wei seems to interfere from the car, so maybe that was his original plan! At 29:36, the attacker has Li Qian in the air with one hand, the other outstretched towards the car, black energy in both. ZYL tells him to let her go; the attacker turns both hands on Li Qian. We cut to Shen Wei very conspicuously and intently narrowing his eyes - and then suddenly there's a brief blue shield effect flash, the attacker's hold on Li Qian breaks, and he's thrown back. This is before the sundial starts glowing.

[china_shop]

*rewatches* Oh true. All good observations! (This is probably worth a whole scene discussion.)

Actually, rewatching that scene makes me want an AU where Li Yufen is permanently in the Dial and keeps popping up in the lab (or whenever the Dial gets used) to be all grandmotherly and occasionally impart Hallows-related info. *g*

[facethestrange]

[First time watcher, still excited about this show just as I was last week. :D :D]

Um, so that went from ridiculous and adorable to really frakking sad but still adorable.

My number one favorite scene in this episode (and also 'DAMN this was heartbreaking' scene) is Li Qian crying while eating, I didn't expect THIS many EMOTIONS out of this show okay.

And in general this entire scene is my favorite thing, with Guo Changcheng going from a terrified dork to the softest and bravest dork.

"And then it's snacks with Li Qian and Xiao Guo, and Xiao Guo's tragic backstory, which illustrates why he was so nice to Li Yufen in the street, and why he's so determined to protect people in general -- as a proxy for his grandmother."

"Xiao Guo insisting on confronting the attacker to protect Li Qian and Shen Wei will never not be awesome. He has zero skills and 300% heart, and I love him for it a lot."

♡♡♡ Just YES, all of this.

"Zhao Yunlan is moved, but it's still murder."

LMAO, but honestly I was like "... okay, guess that's valid" because Li Qian is my saddest blorbo but then I was so happy it turned out to not be true, and then her Grandma actually showed up and it was the sweetest, and it's basically ALL THE FEELINGS, like five different feelings all in one story.

"I wonder how Da Qing feels about being scooped up into the useless newbie's arms."
I would LOVE to hear his comment OMG, but also the newbie is not afraid of him anymore either so I guess they're both okay with that now. :D

Also I may be developing a crush on Zhao Yunlan with his lollipop, LMAO, I'm not even sure if it's like an ~important~ lollipop or not but either way UNF PRETTY. :D

[trobadora]

My number one favorite scene in this episode (and also 'DAMN this was heartbreaking' scene) is Li Qian crying while eating, I didn't expect THIS many EMOTIONS out of this show okay.

♥ ♥ ♥

Seriously, Li Qian stuffing her face with her grandma's favourite food while bawling her eyes out! SUCH a scene. ♥

And Li Qian confessing to a murder she didn't commit, because she's that broken up ... MY HEART.

[china_shop]

[First time watcher, still excited about this show just as I was last week. :D :D]

Yayay!

Um, so that went from ridiculous and adorable to really frakking sad but still adorable.

Right? Poor Li Qian, they really put her through the wringer. *hugs her*

LOL, I was totally thinking of that Peralta gif. *high fives you*

and it's basically ALL THE FEELINGS, like five different feelings all in one story.

I'm so enjoying your reactions! *g*

Also I may be developing a crush on Zhao Yunlan with his lollipop, LMAO, I'm not even sure if it's like an ~important~ lollipop or not but either way UNF PRETTY. :D

I'm right there with you (and I was the first time around, too)! Zhao Yunlan is my favourite!

[nnozomi]

Excellent writeup <3 Comments on your post only because I haven't had a chance to go back and rewatch myself.

I love that it's Jiajia who helps Shen Wei out of the bushes, aw! I wonder what she saw/deduced.
Jiajia is everywhere (why hasn't anyone written a fic consisting of the events of the series from her perspective yet? Would read.)

If I ask, will you be open with me? 如果我问的话沈教授可以坦诚相对吗 (Q. Is this a double entendre in Chinese, too?)
As far as I can tell, sadly no.

Xiao Guo on the other hand is the personification of 坦诚相对 (openness?), telling Li Qian all about his own difficult family history, just as he does later with Ji Xiaobai. I really like the idea that he and Li Qian become friends at this point.

Also a nice sympathetic moment for Lin Jing (I think extrapenguin pointed this out first), when he refuses to zoom in on Li Qian's necklace because he thinks Zhao Yunlan wants to look at her breasts.

Poor Li Qian, her unhappiness is based in such understandable, ugly real-world concerns, being chased around by shadows is the least of her problems.

Zhao Yunlan says, "But you have to know, some things are never meant to be yours. They're just being kept at your place temporarily." 但你得知道 有些东西它原本就不属于你 只是暂时放在你这保管而已. To me, this sounds overtly thematic, but I can't quite figure it out.
I never thought about that before, it's an interesting question! (I'm tempted to say that "they're just temporarily stored with you" is a hint about the Lantern up in its cardboard box, but probably not...)

[china_shop]

Thanks! Someone should definitely write the show from her POV -- that would be amazing! How much does her grandfather know? What does she find out over the family dinner table? So many possibilities!

As far as I can tell, sadly no.

Ha, I thought it was too much to ask. Thanks for checking. <3

I really like the idea that he and Li Qian become friends at this point.

Me, too. I love that idea. (I think I got it from you, but it's well on the way to being headcanon by now.)

Also a nice sympathetic moment for Lin Jing (I think extrapenguin pointed this out first), when he refuses to zoom in on Li Qian's necklace because he thinks Zhao Yunlan wants to look at her breasts.

Oh, yes, I remember that.

(I'm tempted to say that "they're just temporarily stored with you" is a hint about the Lantern up in its cardboard box, but probably not...)

Yeah, I'm not sure it quite works, sadly (because of the sense of them feeling like they're yours, which Zhao Yunlan doesn't have). So close, though! ♥

[trobadora]

Jiajia is everywhere (why hasn't anyone written a fic consisting of the events of the series from her perspective yet? Would read.

Oh, yes please! Someone totally should. :D

[kate]

So I am rewatching episodes 1 and 2 on the way to #3, which I actually have an observation on, and I forgot that the first time I saw this, this is when I realized Shen Wei was the Black Cloak Envoy. HIS SHOES! When they called him with the incense, they had a shot of his shoes, and I was like "oh, those are the professor's shoes!" I noticed because I really like them. :)

[china_shop]

Hee, excellent spotting! :D

Have you watched it all before, or just the start?