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sid_guardian2023-04-18 12:19 pm
trobadora) wrote in sid_guardian2023-04-18 12:19 pm
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GUARDIAN REWATCH - Episode 14
Beginning of episode: Zhao Yunlan reveals he was faking being hypnotised
Ending of episode: Cong Bo decides to investigate Shen Wei
Important scenes/developments:
- Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan confront Zhu Jiu; he escapes
- Zhao Yunlan experiences Awl visions
- the Envoy takes Zheng Yi away
- Zhao Yunlan sees Zheng Yi with Tan Xiao
- Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei have tea and a tense post-reveal conversation
- Zhu Jiu struggles with his injury and is snarked at by Ya Qing
- Guo Changcheng unknowingly encounters the Merit Brush
- Zhao Yunlan sings in the car
- Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan meet with Minister Gao and learn about Cong Bo; Zhao Yunlan reacts badly to his father being mentioned
- at the Haixing lab, research isn't going as well as Professor Ouyang would like
- Minister Guo invites Zhao Yunlan for dinner; Zhao Yunlan invites Shen Wei along
- awkward dinner conversation: Minister Guo calls Dixingren monsters, and Shen Wei drops his chopsticks
- Guo Changcheng convinces his uncle to let him stay at the SID
- Da Qing talks to kittens and asks about Kunlun
- Zhao Yunlan tries to feed Shen Wei street food and introduces him to the (SID) family
- Zhao Yunlan teases Shen Wei about being too excited to sleep
- Cong Bo recognises Shen Wei from the wedding, and decides to investigate him
Thoughts:
So many iconic scenes, I hardly know where to start! (Or where to stop, LOL.)
Because so much of it is so iconic, most of this episode has been talked about more than most. So I'll just pull out the things that particularly stood out to me this time.
- We get our first time of Shen Wei plainclothes-Envoying in front of Zhao Yunlan as he summons his dao to go after Zhu Jiu! But Zhu Jiu, using Zheng Yi as a distraction, gets away. (Those SID windows are a security hazard!)
- Zhao Yunlan touches the Mountain-River Awl again and gets visions of past and future again: shooting at Shen Wei (last episode), flowers on Shen Xi's grave (episode 17), the Envoy at the sonic lab (last episode), he himself as a young boy witnessing his parents arguing at the SID (more fully seen next episode), falling to the ground in Dixing after Ding Dun stabs him in the arm (episode 17), Shen Xi at the SID (another shot of the flashback from next episode).
Given the shot from Dixing, I don't think he's flashing back to his childhood per se: he's flashing forward to a time when he'll be experiencing those flashbacks. (Appropriately convoluted for a show with a time loop! *g*) - Da Qing says Zhao Yunlan single-handedly took back the Hallows - what happened in between Zhao Yunlan passing out and waking up again with everyone there and Shen Wei in his Envoy robes? It seems that when the rest of the SID arrived, Shen Wei gave out a false story - did he do it as Professor Shen (and then leave, only to return as the Envoy), or did he do it as the Envoy, leaving Professor Shen entirely out of the story? Either way, he clearly claimed Zhao Yunlan did it all on his own!
(I wonder what Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi, who after all were present for the whole thing, thought about that blatant lie ...) - Shen Wei just barely cuts Zhao Yunlan off when he starts asking out loud why Shen Wei is in Envoy robes, and makes it clear that even if Zhao Yunlan knows, the public separation between his identities must still be maintained. We see Zhao Yunlan visibly recalibrate - was he just catching up because he'd passed out, or did he not really understand the necessity? Because professional and private blur so much with the SID, he sometimes seems to treat the SID as a private context even when it can't fully be.
- Zhao Yunlan, as he says, doesn't understand what Shen Wei is thinking with Zheng Yi - but official policy is that Dixingren in Haixing must be deported. That's both the SID's job and the Envoy's - and neither side can just decide to stop; there's a treaty and politics Dixing/Haixing relations in general involved. They're not just acting on their own behalf! It matters that they're seen to enact policy, officially, whatever they may choose to do behind closed doors.
And Zhao Yunlan can't know Shen Wei will let Zheng Yi stay - he doesn't know Shen Wei has done such a thing before, after all - so he has reason to worry, but does he really expect him to just publicly go against the Dixing/Haixing treaty? (I feel like Zhao Yunlan often often doesn't seem to take into account the Envoy's obligations regarding his official role ... And I think him not understanding what Shen Wei is doing here must fuel some of Shen Wei's tension later.) - Visual foreshadowing, as extrapenguin called it! Shen Wei's hand outstretched - Zheng Yi's hand in his. Black and white, and all that:
- I wonder what happens in between the Envoy taking Zheng Yi away, and Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi waving at Zhao Yunlan. It's gone dark, by then. (How long did Tan Xiao stay at the SID?) Whatever Shen Wei said when he reunited them, he must have told them to make sure Zhao Yunlan saw them - I don't think they'd have dared if he'd told them to keep hidden! And of course Shen Wei wants to make sure Zhao Yunlan sees the difference between public judgment and private mercy, and the separation of roles that implies.
(Of course Zhao Yunlan promptly goes and tells the rest of the SID, as witnessed later by Xiao-Guo's diary! But I think by then Shen Wei knew to expect that.) - Tea scene! Shen Wei is so tense, and Zhao Yunlan is so pleased with everything! Shen Wei briefly tries deflecting ("I don't know what you're talking about"), but this time Zhao Yunlan just calls him "Hei-laoge" and tells him to drop the act unless he can erase his memories.
And Shen Wei smirks, and does drop the act: "How do you know I can't?" For which Zhao Yunlan is really not prepared! ♥ ♥ ♥ - Things actually go pretty well at first - Shen Wei is tense, but opening up a bit about his lying, and straight-up tells Zhao Yunlan when he can't answer something (for time loop reasons); Zhao Yunlan apologises a bit for some of his behaviour towards the Envoy. And even though Zhao Yunlan keeps poking at Shen Wei's secrets, things don't start going wrong until Zhao Yunlan poutingly, fake-flirtatiously ask Shen Wei for compensation. Shen Wei grows tense again, and the scene cuts off, to be continued later in flashback.
Where we find out that the flirting and the "for me" leading up to another request to join the SID - which Shen Wei has already turned down multiple times! - makes Shen Wei not just abruptly put down his cup and start to stand up, but also shake Zhao Yunlan's hand off his arm, seriously pissed off and unhappy. At which point Zhao Yunlan realises he's miscalculated and stepped in it, claims to have joked, and swerves into talking about maintaining the peace by working together. Only at that point does Shen Wei look at him again (and apparently agree). - We see the Merit Brush for the first time, being used to write a sign for Wang Xiangyang's shop! He says it's a family heirloom. Just like with the Sundial and Li Qian's family, and the Awl with the Hanga tribe, one has to wonder just how it ended up there ...
(And is this our first look at Bai Suxia, or have I forgotten something?) - There are so many excellent character moments in the car ride scene: Zhao Yunlan's exuberant glee, Shen Wei pointedly asking what he's so happy about, Shen Wei apparently on autopilot calling himself ordinary, Shen Wei talking about people being afraid of him, and him not fitting in ... Shen Wei is being serious and introspective, and Zhao Yunlan is very much not. And despite that mismatch, and Shen Wei badly needing Zhao Yunlan to take things seriously, it all culminates in "We can just not talk"/"You didn't say I can't sing", and Shen Wei unable to stop himself from smiling. ♥ ♥ ♥
- Is this our first look at Professor Ouyang's lab? Regarding the random giant skull, sef1029 suggested on discord that it's supposed to be a dragon skull, for Dragon City - which would at least make some symbolic sense! But what is it with the random robots/androids (or robot/android sculptures) behind glass?!
- The whole scene with Minister Gao where Zhao Yunlan's father is mentioned and Zhao Yunlan immediately goes tense! And Shen Wei not just noticing, but smoothly stepping in, distracting Minister Gao and changing the subject for him! ♥
- Possibly the best line of the episode is Minister Gao's "worse than Dixingren: paparazzi!" :D
- Cong Bo still somewhat confuses me here. Not only does he have no sense of proportion or focus on anything genuinely worth investigating, he also doesn't seem to have much of a reaction to anything out of the ordinary. He was at the wedding and saw Zheng Yi and Shen Wei use their powers! But he doesn't seem shocked, or later react much at all to seeing Lao-Chu exercise his powers. (He notes down "unusual power" but doesn't seem shocked by it.) He also later says he needs something big - and Chu Shuzhi's powers apparently don't qualify! Also, at the end of the episode when he recognises Shen Wei as "the hero from the wedding", he clearly remembers him having powers, but doesn't seem fazed by that at all, more interested in discovering Shen Wei is working with the SID. (Even though he already encountered them together after the wedding!) What's up with all that? I mean, this is in the same episode where Minister Gao (foreshadowingly) talks about the potential for social uprest if the SID's secrets are exposed!
- Minister Gao speaks very familiarly of Zhao Xinci (always calling him Xinci-xiong), but they're clearly not as close as he pretends. He has no idea there's any tension between father and son. Does Zhao Xinci talk a good family game, or is Minister Gao just making assumptions based on what he knew about Zhao Xinci back when they were partners?
Also, Zhao Yunlan doesn't even know they used to be partners back in the day! Did Zhao Xinci never mention anyone from work at home, or has Zhao Yunlan just not put the two together? - Zhu Hong is being excellent, immediately catching on to Cong Bo being suspicious! And And it's Wang Zheng who realises there's a (giant) bug in the package. ♥
(Btw, when Zhu Hong goes back inside, there are a few lines that aren't translated in any of the English subs I have. Zhu Hong answering the phone says: 喂，您等等，我一会给您回电话。"Hello? Please wait, I will call you back in a moment." - I wonder who she's talking to! She's being very polite and using 您/formal "you".) - Minister Guo, who has apparently just realised about Xiao-Guo working for the SID, invites Zhao Yunlan to dinner to talk about it. Zhao Yunlan in turn rather shamelessly immediately includes Shen Wei, prompting him - and Shen Wei barely hesitates before he says he'll come along. He could easily have avoided it if he'd wanted, but he doesn't. :D
And during the awkward dinner conversation at the restaurant (the Versailles), I still entirely love Shen Wei's very deliberate chopstick drop when Minister Guo talks about how dangerous the SID is, and that they're fighting monsters! - On the car ride back to the SID, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei wonder who transferred Xiao-Guo to the SID. Then Shen Wei asks Zhao Yunlan about his reaction to Zhao Xinci being mentioned, and Zhao Yunlan suddenly discovers that actually, not wanting to answer when someone asks questions is perfectly fine. :p
- We learn Lao-Chu doesn't eat spicy food (which will become important later!). It looks to me as if the rest of them don't know that about him yet - he's still in the process of fully becoming part of the group. ♥
(Also, I always notice Lin Jing eating the same bite twice - 40:59 and 41:10. *g*)
Discussion starters:
- What's your favourite moment in this episode? It's almost impossible to choose, but I think I'll pick "Who says I can't [erase your memory]?" :D
- What's the most overlooked part of the episode? Which part doesn't get talked about enough?
- When Shen Wei says: "Every living being is poor and pitiful. If I start conferring extrajudicial favours, how can law and order survive?", Zhao Yunlan turns away and makes a face - and unlike previous times when Zhao Yunlan was displeased with the Envoy, this time Shen Wei calls him on it. Is that because the relationship between them has changed, or because unlike the incident with Lin Yusen, this time Shen Wei doesn't feel like Zhao Yunlan has cause to be annoyed?
- When Zheng Yi takes Shen Wei's hand, Tan Xiao suddenly stumbles back. Did she push him away with black energy? Why?
- Why does Zhao Yunlan want Shen Wei to join the SID so much? And why does Shen Wei eventually agree? Does it make things better, or more difficult, or both?
- As Guo Changcheng uses the brush, the other two Hallows in the SID lab start glowing. Lin Jing briefly wakes up and notices, but then promptly falls asleep again (rather than, you know, trying to track down the resonance the way he did with the Sundial, when they were looking for the Awl). Since he seems to wake up and fall back asleep multiple times in sequence: are the Hallows knocking him out, or did he just pulled an all-nighter with a webnovel or something?
- I'm always a bit annoyed with Zhao Yunlan's glee in the car because he seems to not at all pick up on just how serious all of this is for Shen Wei - both as the Envoy (who has to navigate an increasingly more complicated balance between political duty, public image and private mercy) and as Professor Shen (whose position at the university has already been endangered by his associating with the SID)! They have such a mood mismatch in that scene, and Zhao Yunlan just ignores it all. How do you feel about that?
- Zhao Yunlan really is shameless - he actually asked Shen Wei to write his self-criticism for him! Any theories (or fic recs for missing scenes) as to how that came about?
(presumenothing did a transcript/translation of parts of the self-reflection letter here, btw! Delightful. :D) - Shen Wei, left alone in the corridor at the Ministry, steps into a blind corner the surveillance camera won't catch, and starts searching with black energy. What is he searching for? Is he already suspicious about the lab, and trying to find out what's happening there? Or did he somehow sense Professor Zhou saying his name? :p
- Given Cong Bo's not-very-much-of-a-reaction when it comes to Dixing powers, did he already knew about Dixing and/or powers before the wedding, or is this all new to him?
Let's talk about episode 14!
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!
Links to episode 14 fanworks and meta go here!
- any other episode reactions or related meta
- fanworks, picspams, squee, etc, relating to episode 14 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 14 fanworks and meta go here!
Guardian Episode by Episode: 14 by
Scene discussions:
"Were you just pretending right from the start?", hosted by me
Zhao Yunlan persuades Shen Wei to join SID, hosted by
Singing in the car, hosted by
Shen Wei and ZYL's conversation with Minister Gao (mention of ZXC), hosted by
"I'm worried you'll be too excited to sleep", hosted by
And my very first Guardian fic took off from the post-reveal tea scene:
Dare to Hold (7603 words) [Mature]
Pairing: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Content tags: Getting Together, First Time, Missing Scenes, Episode Related, episode 14
Summary: Zhao Yunlan lifts an open palm, his smile turning into a grin. "Welcome to the SID!"
And then, because his brain-to-mouth filter is plainly broken, and upsetting Shen Wei to a previously unknown degree apparently calls for an encore, he adds, "Though I'm wondering, why do I get the impression you'd have been less upset if I'd asked for a kiss?"
no subject
Goddamn it Yunlan. He just can't help himself XD
We see Zhao Yunlan visibly recalibrate - was he just catching up because he'd passed out, or did he not really understand the necessity?
I think it's the former.
If Shen Wei was cool with the SID knowing, he had plenty of opportunities to reveal himself to them. Instead, he would rather let them interrogate and investigate him than break his flimsy cover. Even Chu doesn't know.
Zhao Yunlan might not understand Shen Wei's reasons, but he must know he has them. Their whole conflict before this was about Shen Wei keeping secrets from Zhao Yunlan specifically - telling the rest of the SID was never really on the table at this point.
Zhao Yunlan, as he says, doesn't understand what Shen Wei is thinking with Zheng Yi
He expects Shen Wei to make an exception - and he is ultimately right! The disconnect is that Shen Wei won't do this openly in front of the entire SID, while Zhao Yunlan apparently doesn't consider the audience an issue.
This ties back into the previous point, where Zhao Yunlan almost carelessly revealed Heipaoshi's identity. I think SW and ZYL just aren't quite on the same page as to how openly they should break the rules.
I personally completely agree that actively refusing to do his job would be a bad move for Heipaoshi. I take his side for this one :P
Shen Wei's hand outstretched
It's such a nice detail that he doesn't just grab her arm or something.
I wonder what happens in between the Envoy taking Zheng Yi away, and Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi waving at Zhao Yunlan
They must have stood around outside waiting the whole time. Hiding in the bushes?
"How do you know I can't?"
Yeees this line is so good!
Flaunt your powers Shen Wei!
The smirk!
Possibly the best line of the episode is Minister Gao's "worse than Dixingren: paparazzi!" :D
I guess he is not wrong? Lol
Cong Bo still somewhat confuses me here.
As a full-time paparazzo, he has seen some shit and now nothing can impress him anymore? Except for Shen Wei (understandable)
It probably makes sense to assume he already knew about Dixingren. But that only raises even more questions.
Does Zhao Xinci talk a good family game, or is Minister Gao just making assumptions
I can't imagine Zhao Xinci actively pretending to have amazing family bonds. He's more the type to keep his work and private life separate and tell neither Gao nor Zhao Yunlan much about the other.
Zhao Yunlan in turn rather shamelessly immediately includes Shen Wei
I love this moment <3
They're a package deal now
Lin Jing briefly wakes up and notices, but then promptly falls asleep again
I thought at first this was simply Jin Ling slacking off at work, but now I'm not sure. Is he really that irresponsible as to not check on the hallows?
I'm always a bit annoyed with Zhao Yunlan's glee in the car because he seems to not at all pick up on just how serious all of this is for Shen Wei
My interpretation was that he is just too giddy about settling The Disagreement. Caught up in the euphoria.
After all, he was right about Shen Wei! Shen Wei admitted to being Heipaoshi! They are on good terms!
Who wouldn't be in a good mood? :D
On a bit of a side note, I believe this scene might be an adaption of (or a reference to) a scene from the novel, which also takes place in the car. The dialogue goes like this iirc:
Zhao Yunlan asks Shen Wei why he is pretending to be human. Does he have an important mission?
Shen Wei replies: No, I’m being selfish, it’s all for one person (guess who :D)
In the drama, Shen Wei also tells Zhao Yunlan why he came to Haixing: To protect the hallows.
Although it sounds like this line was dubbed over? Hmm…
Shen Wei, left alone in the corridor at the Ministry, steps into a blind corner the surveillance camera won't catch, and starts searching with black energy. What is he searching for?
I was wondering that too. It's quite the risk to take for no particular reason (what if someone walks around the corner just a little too quickly? What if Shen Wei misjudged the angle of the camera?), so he must have some kind of suspicion. But why? Since when? And what exactly is he looking for?
no subject
At least this time he wasn't deliberately trying to give himself (useless) visions? *g*
(Seriously, did those visions come in handy even once? I can't remember anything!)
We see Zhao Yunlan visibly recalibrate - was he just catching up because he'd passed out, or did he not really understand the necessity?
I think it's the former.
If Shen Wei was cool with the SID knowing, he had plenty of opportunities to reveal himself to them. Instead, he would rather let them interrogate and investigate him than break his flimsy cover. Even Chu doesn't know.
Zhao Yunlan might not understand Shen Wei's reasons, but he must know he has them. Their whole conflict before this was about Shen Wei keeping secrets from Zhao Yunlan specifically - telling the rest of the SID was never really on the table at this point.
I was wondering how much Zhao Yunlan, in this moment, differentiates between no longer keeping things secret from him personally, and no longer keeping things secret from the SID as a group. As you say with letting Zheng Yi go, he seems to think the audience doesn't matter and Shen Wei should be doing it in front of the SID. But you're right, it's not as if Zhao Yunlan himself told anyone else - not even Da Qing! He does understand that part, even if he doesn't quite get the why of the secrecy.
He expects Shen Wei to make an exception - and he is ultimately right!
Yes! Ethically, they're on the same page - they agree on what's the right thing to do. They're just not on the same page about how it should be done.
I think SW and ZYL just aren't quite on the same page as to how openly they should break the rules.
This! Yeah, you put your finger right on it here. (I wonder why Zhao Yunlan doesn't seem to be concerned about his superiors finding out he's breaking the rules - not until the Department of Supervision turns against the SID. He seems very confident he can handle it.)
I personally completely agree that actively refusing to do his job would be a bad move for Heipaoshi. I take his side for this one :P
Same here!
It's such a nice detail that he doesn't just grab her arm or something.
Yeah, I really love that little moment - he treats her as a person who can make the right choice on her own. ♥
They must have stood around outside waiting the whole time. Hiding in the bushes?
I mean, it depends on where/how Shen Wei reunited them. They might just have arrived back at Guangming Road, for all we know. *g*
It probably makes sense to assume he already knew about Dixingren. But that only raises even more questions.
Or maybe just about powers, and not about Dixing in particular? There must be a lot of people in Dragon City who've seen something or met someone at some point but never got a proper explanation.
I can't imagine Zhao Xinci actively pretending to have amazing family bonds. He's more the type to keep his work and private life separate and tell neither Gao nor Zhao Yunlan much about the other.
Haha, yeah, good point! I can't imagine it either. Not even with Zhang Shi's best efforts. *g*
I thought at first this was simply Jin Ling slacking off at work, but now I'm not sure. Is he really that irresponsible as to not check on the hallows?
I don't think he's either that irresponsible or that incurious! Though it's the repeated starting awake and nodding off again that strikes me as the least natural bit. Why don't the Hallows want the Merit Brush to be found? (I mean, talk about a huge canon divergence point!)
My interpretation was that he is just too giddy about settling The Disagreement. Caught up in the euphoria.
After all, he was right about Shen Wei! Shen Wei admitted to being Heipaoshi! They are on good terms!
Who wouldn't be in a good mood? :D
Yeah, he can't seem to contain it! He's so happy. And Shen Wei can't help how fond he is of him, even though it's not nearly as joyful a moment for him.
On a bit of a side note, I believe this scene might be an adaption of (or a reference to) a scene from the novel, which also takes place in the car.
Oh, that's fascinating, thank you for sharing!
It's quite the risk to take for no particular reason (what if someone walks around the corner just a little too quickly? What if Shen Wei misjudged the angle of the camera?), so he must have some kind of suspicion. But why? Since when? And what exactly is he looking for?
Yeah, the "since when" is a particularly good question! He knew about Professor Ouyang's research from episode 1, and probably heard more from Professor Zhou in episode 8, but I can't see anything more recent to trigger this. Maybe he just thought he'd take advantage of actually being inside the building, and that was reason enough? But it feels flimsy - surely the Black-Cloaked Envoy could get into this building to investigate, if he really felt the need ...
Re: Links to episode 14 fanworks and meta go here!
Someone who holds out a hand (606 words)
Characters: Shěn Wēi, Tán Xiào, Zhèng Yì
Additional Tags: Missing Scene, POV Minor Character
Summary: A missing scene from episode 14 – what happened between Black-Cloaked Envoy taking Zheng Yi from the SID office and Zhao Yunlan seeing her and Tan Xiao later on the street. Tan Xiao’s POV.
And I have two fanfic recs:
a bad town for such a pretty face (1557 words) by china_shop
Characters: Original Female Character(s), Zhú Jiǔ
Additional Tags: POV Outsider, Community: fan_flashworks
Summary: When they’re playing chess, sometimes he gets so frustrated that a black cloud seems to gather around his fist, and Zhou Rui feels a quiver low in her belly and can’t tell if it’s fear or want.
Set the night on fire (1865 words) by yantantether
Rating: Mature
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: First Kiss, Episode 14 coda
Summary: Even Shen Wei’s self-control has its limits.
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That’s true, there must be quite a few people who know something is up; Cong Bo could easily be among them. Has he then just decided the details are not his business? A little unlike him to put it mildly.
I don't think he's either that irresponsible or that incurious! Though it's the repeated starting awake and nodding off again that strikes me as the least natural bit. Why don't the Hallows want the Merit Brush to be found? (I mean, talk about a huge canon divergence point!)
I just rewatched that bit again and it really does look like he’s struggling to wake up, but is forced to fall asleep. The hallows make the weirdest decisions; I don't get what's up with this.
Yeah, the "since when" is a particularly good question! He knew about Professor Ouyang's research from episode 1, and probably heard more from Professor Zhou in episode 8, but I can't see anything more recent to trigger this. Maybe he just thought he'd take advantage of actually being inside the building, and that was reason enough? But it feels flimsy - surely the Black-Cloaked Envoy could get into this building to investigate, if he really felt the need ...
Do you think he needs to be inside the building? Could he also stand right outside and reach his dark energy feelers inside?
There’s this obnoxious klaxon going off in the lab when their experiment fails – maybe Shen Wei heard that? XD
Re: Links to episode 14 fanworks and meta go here!
no subject
And Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi absolutely deserve a happy ending. ♥
no subject
Yeah, that doesn't sound like him at all! Either way I really can't figure out his priorities.
The hallows make the weirdest decisions; I don't get what's up with this.
They
read the scriptmake sure things happen so the time loop will close? Idk either.Do you think he needs to be inside the building? Could he also stand right outside and reach his dark energy feelers inside?
Oh, that's a very good question! Hm, we see him search across a distance outside in episode 4, but it's hard to tell how far it reaches. And in episode 13 when searching for Zhao Yunlan, he overextends himself. Maybe the lab is too deep inside the building - it doesn't seem to have windows, after all.
There’s this obnoxious klaxon going off in the lab when their experiment fails – maybe Shen Wei heard that? XD
Oh, good thought! Yeah, that could be it. He hears the claxon, realises something is happening, and tries to find out what.
Re: Links to episode 14 fanworks and meta go here!
Erasing memories:
Getting to Know You by
Nine times Zhao Yunlan found out Shen Wei’s secret identity. (Attempt #6 was the one with the bees.)
Too excited to sleep:
One Door Closes, Another Opens by
Zhao Yunlan accidentally spends the night with Shen Wei.
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Will come back in another comment to respond to your actual post (which is awesome)! :-)
no subject
at the Haixing lab, research isn't going as well as Professor Ouyang would like
LOL! Yeah. /o\
We see Zhao Yunlan visibly recalibrate - was he just catching up because he'd passed out, or did he not really understand the necessity?
Both, but I've always thought it was mostly because he'd passed out. Maybe I'm giving him too much benefit of the doubt. (Maybe he just really really wants to tease Shen Wei / cannot resist expressing his newfound knowledge for even a second? *g*)
And Shen Wei smirks, and does drop the act: "How do you know I can't?" For which Zhao Yunlan is really not prepared! ♥ ♥ ♥
BEST BEST BEST! :D (I've watched that link approximately 13 zillion times. I can't go past it without watching it at least three or four. *g*)
Where we find out that the flirting and the "to me" leading up to another request to join the SID - which Shen Wei has already turned down multiple times! - makes Shen Wei not just abruptly put down his cup and start to stand up, but also shake Zhao Yunlan's hand off his arm, seriously pissed off and unhappy.
(Should that be "for me"?) I really think Shen Wei is expecting something personal here. It must hurt so much to have this intimate echo twisted into a thing that's not only a parody of the memory in his heart, but is asking for something he's already refused so many times.
On Cong Bo not reacting to powers: he does say in the next episode that he investigates and exposes public figures. Maybe ordinary people in the street don't qualify as targets? (But with Chu Shuzhi, I thought he didn't get a clear look at his powers? You're right that he records the power in his notes, though, so idk. Maybe it wasn't conclusive?)
Minister Gao speaks very familiarly of Zhao Xinci (always calling him Xinci-xiong), but they're clearly not as close as he pretends.
I suspect they're as close as Zhao Xinci is to anyone outside his head. I feel like Zhao Xinci is intensely private, so he might well go drinking with Gao Jingfeng and talk politics and work and ask how Yunlan is doing at the SID (eg, "I hope my brat isn't giving you any trouble"). Gao Jingfeng (who is not the most perceptive person in the world) wouldn't know they're not as close as he feels they are. (Also, maybe Gao Jingfeng does most of the talking. *g*)
Also, Zhao Yunlan doesn't even know they used to be partners back in the day! Did Zhao Xinci never mention anyone from work at home, or has Zhao Yunlan just not put the two together?
That is weird! But family names are common, and his dad mentioning Lao Gao back in the day wouldn't necessarily mean anything to adult Zhao Yunlan?
And it's Wang Zheng who realises there's a (giant) bug in the package. ♥
Yes, I loved that!
Minister Guo, who has apparently just realised about Xiao-Guo working for the SID, invites Zhao Yunlan to dinner to talk about it. Zhao Yunlan in turn rather shamelessly immediately includes Shen Wei
Right?? I'd love more cultural context for this -- for example, does the fact that Vice-Minister Guo asks Zhao Yunlan in front of Shen Wei make the extension of the invitation completely normal and natural, or is it still !!!?? :D
Then Shen Wei asks Zhao Yunlan about his reaction to Zhao Xinci being mentioned, and Zhao Yunlan suddenly discovers that actually, not wanting to answer when someone asks questions is perfectly fine. :p
LOL!
We learn Lao-Chu doesn't eat spicy food
Ahh, I totally missed that! (It's not in the original subs. ;-p) :D :D :D
What's your favourite moment in this episode? It's almost impossible to choose, but I think I'll pick "Who says I can't [erase your memory]?" :D
Oh, yes, that one! (And that entire scene!) (And the entire episode. /cheats shamelessly)
Zhao Yunlan turns away and makes a face - and unlike previous times when Zhao Yunlan was displeased with the Envoy, this time Shen Wei calls him on it. Is that because the relationship between them has changed, or because unlike the incident with Lin Yusen, this time Shen Wei doesn't feel like Zhao Yunlan has cause to be annoyed?
I think it's precisely because Zhao Yunlan turns away, rather than pressuring the Envoy, that Shen Wei is prepared to discuss it further. And each of them are being very much themselves: Shen Wei presenting a very black-and-white front, as the Envoy, and Zhao Yunlan leading with his heart and not particularly caring about the rules. (In contrast, too, with Zhao Xinci who used the letter of the Treaty to justify some terrible actions.)
And it's Zhao Yunlan's implicit/implied disagreement with the Envoy's initial judgement that allows Shen Wei to reveal the merciful part of himself via Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi's joyful waving, I think. If Zhao Yunlan seemed perfectly happy for Zheng Yi to be taken away, then would he have done that?
When Zheng Yi takes Shen Wei's hand, Tan Xiao suddenly stumbles back. Did she push him away with black energy? Why?
Huh, for some reason I thought Shen Wei's energy had expanded to encompass her, partly to contain her powers maybe, and partly as a protective shield?
Why does Zhao Yunlan want Shen Wei to join the SID so much? And why does Shen Wei eventually agree? Does it make things better, or more difficult, or both?
I think Shen Wei has realised that coordinating with the SID is now a necessity (and the best way of keeping Zhao Yunlan out of danger, given his reckless tendencies). And Zhao Yunlan just, you know, wants Shen Wei close -- at the SID and in other ways too. *g* (I think partly also to protect him, too; Shen Wei facing all the dangers alone is not without its own risks.)
I'm always a bit annoyed with Zhao Yunlan's glee in the car because he seems to not at all pick up on just how serious all of this is for Shen Wei - both as the Envoy (who has to navigate an increasingly more complicated balance between political duty, public image and private mercy) and as Professor Shen (whose position at the university has already been endangered by his associating with the SID)! They have such a mood mismatch in that scene, and Zhao Yunlan just ignores it all. How do you feel about that?
I've already written a whole post about how much I love it, hee. In the end, though, I mostly love that neither of them are pretending to feel anything they aren't. Shen Wei isn't putting a polite face on his discomfort, and Zhao Yunlan isn't putting a polite lid on his cheer. It's very much Bring Your Emotions To Work Day.
Zhao Yunlan really is shameless - he actually asked Shen Wei to write his self-criticism for him! Any theories (or fic recs for missing scenes) as to how that came about?
See above re my not getting that before. (What I have said about this before, in the singing-in-the-car-scene post, is: This is a Shen Wei who’s been up half the night writing a probably quite cathartic account of things Zhao Yunlan did wrong -- the self-criticism -- on Zhao Yunlan’s behalf. I like to think he wrote a blistering twenty-page version to get the worst of it out of his system, then threw or tucked that away and wrote the official/helpful one, partly in an attempt to control the narrative as far as the Department of Supervision is concerned.
In terms of asking Shen Wei to write it, maybe after the successful recruitment, when they were arranging to go to the DoS together, Zhao Yunlan made some careless reference to how he should write a self-criticism to smooth the way with Minister Gao, "the brass like that kind of thing," but it was obvious he wasn't going to follow through, and Shen Wei ended up offering, to Zhao Yunlan's bemusement. Or something? It's hard to know how brazen Zhao Yunlan would be about it -- he didn't seem to expect it when Shen Wei produced it.
(And aahhhhhhh, thank you so much for linking to the translation! I missed that somehow. Priceless. :D)
Shen Wei, left alone in the corridor at the Ministry, steps into a blind corner the surveillance camera won't catch, and starts searching with black energy. What is he searching for? Is he already suspicious about the lab, and trying to find out what's happening there? Or did he somehow sense Professor Zhou saying his name? :p
I was wondering that too. He could be looking for Hallows, or dark energy, or seeing if there are any Dixingren in the building (either working or being used as experiment subjects)? I'm really not sure. Btw, he hears Zhao Yunlan coming through the door, right? I think he'd also hear if anyone was coming along the hall.
Re: Links to episode 14 fanworks and meta go here!
such a space to cross -- Shen Wei's first day on the job from ZYL's POV; includes a meeting with Li Jiaqi, the bride from the wedding
every day closer -- the end of the team dinner and what came after from Shen Wei's POV; Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan's mismatched moods, mainly
Corroborating Evidence -- episode tag, the SID team wonder if Chief Zhao and Professor Shen are dating
ETA: Tactical Formation -- Zhu Hong's reaction to being shot at during Zhao Yunlan's fake kidnapping. (1,259 words, G-rated, Chu Shuzhi & Zhu Hong)
Related meta and picspams
Zhao Yunlan, glib charm, gauche charm and me
Picspam of Zhao Yunlan during the meeting with Minister Gao
Screencap and a tiny bit of meta/speculation about the wooden ramp Zhao Yunlan uses to ride his bike out of the SID
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The smirk!
asdkflsdkjfalkdsjhflakdjshfalksjdfhalsjdfalsd yessssssss! :D :D :D :D :D
On a bit of a side note, I believe this scene might be an adaption of (or a reference to) a scene from the novel, which also takes place in the car. The dialogue goes like this iirc:
Ooh, thanks so much for that!
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They showed CSZ, GCC and Ye Huo having been kidnapped, but that's later. Maybe all the visions to date are building up a picture of the Hallows' reliability? If they know all these things that ZYL knows for sure actually happened, then the other things they show must come true too?
As you say with letting Zheng Yi go, he seems to think the audience doesn't matter and Shen Wei should be doing it in front of the SID.
I guess the Envoy saved Wu Tian'en in front of the rest of the SID, and here GCC is quivering with the urge to defend Zheng Yi, so maybe it could be like that again. Maybe the Envoy could unbend a little and they could find a third acceptable alternative. It's really the splitting up of the two that's the concern, isn't it? (No one at the SID actually knows anything about Dixing except CSZ?) So... what if the Envoy offered to take Tan Xiao along, too? (I'm speaking from the SID's perspective, not from an objective standpoint.)
I wonder why Zhao Yunlan doesn't seem to be concerned about his superiors finding out he's breaking the rules - not until the Department of Supervision turns against the SID. He seems very confident he can handle it.
Maybe he was led to believe the SID chief role came with a certain amount of discretion, only ZXC didn't expect him to use the discretion in quite this way?! ;-p (After all, ZYL's other title is Lord of the Guardians -- that's pretty grandiose. It should come with some clout!)
I mean, it depends on where/how Shen Wei reunited them. They might just have arrived back at Guangming Road, for all we know. *g*
Are they in Guangming Road? I thought they were in the centre of town, for some reason.
surely the Black-Cloaked Envoy could get into this building to investigate, if he really felt the need ...
He's been quite busy lately... maybe he'd just grabbing this opportunity.
Or absolutely random speculation: maybe dead scientist guy (Zheng Yi's stepfather) knows someone in the DoS lab and let something slip during their phone call.
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Why does Zhao Yunlan want Shen Wei to join the SID so much? And why does Shen Wei eventually agree? Does it make things better, or more difficult, or both?
Quite a lot of different interpretations possible here, I think. I'm always shakier on Zhao Yunlan's motivations than Shen Wei's (oops, bias), but I think this may be part of his professional life entangling so much with his private life - maybe he wants to be able to have both more official access to Shen Wei (always coming by the university must be a time sink) and be able to really introduce him to the rest of the SID as one of them, which couldn't really happen with either the Envoy or Professor Shen. Shen Wei, meanwhile, is trying to juggle a lot of responsibilities and I think he ends up saying yes because of a mixture of a) being able to tell that Zhao Yunlan isn't going to let this go, and I think he does feel guilty about the lying/secrets and this is something he can do for Zhao Yunlan without too much risk, b) the closer they get in modern times, the harder he likely finds it to say no to Zhao Yunlan, and c) having less of an objection now that Zhao Yunlan knows he's the Envoy. It also allows him to keep a closer eye on the Hallows without anyone potentially making a fuss about it.
I tend to think that it makes things easier on the personal level, not just between Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei, but also between Shen Wei and the SID team, who're now getting to know him more before they end up having to try and save the world together (the more trust there's already there, the better), but perhaps not on the professional, at least for Shen Wei. It makes Shen Wei's position at the university more tenuous since he loses all plausible deniability that he isn't working a second job, essentially, whether he's being paid or not, and he must know that this is the first step to other people finding out about his Envoy identity. Keeping that separate would be much easier with less exposure to the SID. Then again, maybe this is one of those areas where his personal wants and what he thinks is necessary clash - I think he'd be quite happy to have the Envoy become less of a set-apart entity, but he also seems convinced that for general peace and stability he shouldn't let that happen.
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You mean the song in the opening credits? It doesn't sound anything like it to me. (It's an acoustic version of Chu Xin.)
Ahhhhh! *screams* The tea scene!! I can't get over how uncomfortable Shen Wei is -- it's such a stark contrast with the easy friendliness he's been showing Zhao Yunlan as Professor Shen. All the ease between them has vanished. And he's literally flashing back to Kunlun. It must hurt so much that present-day Zhao Yunlan knows him now, but their relationship is still nothing like his time with Kunlun. Zhao Yunlan is still glib about things that are intensely deep and personal to Shen Wei.
Yeah, it has to be so hard for him. In a way, I think the separate roles gave him some of the distance he needed - not because he wanted any distance between him and Zhao Yunlan, but because Zhao Yunlan was (and still is) so far from being Kunlun. And Zhao Yunlan is still not ready to be sincere and earnest when he can be joking, teasing and/or glib instead. *g*
I wonder how much Shen Wei is cross about/shaken by the kidnapping deception, how much terrified by the risks ZYL is willing to take, and how much it's just the discomfort of being seen as the Envoy and the potential dangers ahead.
I think a lot of it is that he's not sure Zhao Yunlan is taking any of it sufficiently seriously. And the discomfort you mention, yeah.
FWIW, I think some of Zhao Yunlan's glibness is bravado, some is trying to reassure Shen Wei that he can handle it, nothing's changed, and of course, some is gloating.
Oh yeah, all of that! And Shen Wei surely knows it, but it doesn't help at all. *g*
(What does the alarm mean? Dark energy leak? Failed experiments don't usually set off a siren!)
Oooh, good question! Yeah, possibly some unwanted manifestation of black energy ... that would make sense, given what they're working on.
Ah, I just got tripped up by different subtitles. I'm still using the original ones (see my change resistance in action), and in those, in the flashback to the compensation/recruitment, Zhao Yunlan says, "As long as we work together, we will be able to keep our city a peaceful and stabilised one." And I always wince a bit at "our city", because it's so presumptuous to think the Envoy shares his priorities like that. But it's not in either the Viki subs or Solo's.
I just checked the Chinese, and what he actually says is 可以守护现在的安定和和平, "we can protect the current stability and peace". No mention of the city!
(Similarly, I never got the impression from the original subs that Zhao Yunlan had asked Shen Wei to write the self-criticism, but it's very clear in both the Viki and Solo subs. Hmph.)
Checking the Chinese, it's 你托我帮你写, "you asked me to help you write". (Though the dictionary says 托 is more "entrust" than "ask".)
I really love that Shen Wei doesn't answer Minister Gao's "How did Chief Zhao persuade you?" question, and instead passes it to Zhao Yunlan like, your problem, you fix it!
Hee, yes, I love that too. That pointed look at Zhao Yunlan! Excellent! :D
(Because I'm pretty sure Minister Gao doesn't know Shen Wei is the Envoy, right??)
Yeah, he clearly has no idea. All he knows about Shen Wei is what he saw at the wedding, and his Haixing identity.
"[ZXC] is so serious, even at home." Does Minister Gao think that Zhao Yunlan still lives with his father (not an unreasonable assumption given Zhao Yunlan is single), or is this a figure of speech to mean "among family"?
I was wondering the same thing! No idea, but either would make sense.
I think it's very telling that the first threat we see Minister Gao take seriously is about public perception. ;-p
Ha, good point!
I don't think it's that he wants to get rid of him; I think it's that this is clearly a matter between family, and also he wants Vice-Minister Guo on side.
And also he probably (rightly) thinks that Xiao-Guo has a better chance of convincing his uncle! Because the uncle clearly does want what's best for Xiao-Guo. (LOL @ your parallel with Zhu Hong's uncle, great point!)
Where did Da Qing hear the name Kunlun? Did it just come to him? (Idk why Cong Bo thinks talking to cats is strange or noteworthy. That is perfectly normal behaviour!)
I thought it just came to him with the Kunlun flashback he had when he was hypnotised - that he woke up remembering that little fragment, and the name of the person in it.
Agreed on talking to cats being normal! Cong Bo is the strange one for finding it weird!
Zhu Hong is so pouty. I always love who does and doesn't applaud Shen Wei's appointment. *g*
The non-applauders are Zhu Hong, Chu Shuzhi and Lin Jing, right? What's your theory about Lin Jing?
And then in the hallway, Zhao Yunlan saying to Shen Wei, "Hei-laoge, we're family now." This is what he's wanted, and why he's so damn happy: the SID is family, and Shen Wei is part of it!
Yes! From Zhao Yunlan's POV this is great! Except that they still have so far to go, and Shen Wei knows it. I just wish Zhao Yunlan picked up on Shen Wei's mood a little more ...
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I think because he's so sharp and quick on the uptake most of the time, it's easy to read both too much and too little into it when he misses a step. *g*
BEST BEST BEST! :D (I've watched that link approximately 13 zillion times. I can't go past it without watching it at least three or four. *g*)
Hee! :D
(Should that be "for me"?)
Oops, yes, typo corrected now!
I really think Shen Wei is expecting something personal here. It must hurt so much to have this intimate echo twisted into a thing that's not only a parody of the memory in his heart, but is asking for something he's already refused so many times.
Yeah, I think he's initially wary because he expects something personal but isn't sure how to respond - and then he's just hurt and angry and frustrated about what it actually turns out to be.
I suspect they're as close as Zhao Xinci is to anyone outside his head. I feel like Zhao Xinci is intensely private, so he might well go drinking with Gao Jingfeng and talk politics and work and ask how Yunlan is doing at the SID (eg, "I hope my brat isn't giving you any trouble"). Gao Jingfeng (who is not the most perceptive person in the world) wouldn't know they're not as close as he feels they are. (Also, maybe Gao Jingfeng does most of the talking. *g*)
Yeah, that makes sense to me. Also Zhao Yunlan not knowing that his father's partner Gao is the same as Minister Gao does work if Zhao Xinci never used his given name back in the day!
Right?? I'd love more cultural context for this -- for example, does the fact that Vice-Minister Guo asks Zhao Yunlan in front of Shen Wei make the extension of the invitation completely normal and natural, or is it still !!!?? :D
Yeah, that's a very good question, I have no idea! I just love that Zhao Yunlan doesn't even consider going alone, and that Shen Wei (who at that point could easily have extricated himself) immediately agrees. As
Ahh, I totally missed that! (It's not in the original subs. ;-p) :D :D :D
Hee! The benefit of watching with different subs!
I think it's precisely because Zhao Yunlan turns away, rather than pressuring the Envoy, that Shen Wei is prepared to discuss it further.
Didn't Zhao Yunlan turn away (even walk away) when it was about taking Lin Yusen's body? He certainly wasn't pressuring the Envoy.
And it's Zhao Yunlan's implicit/implied disagreement with the Envoy's initial judgement that allows Shen Wei to reveal the merciful part of himself via Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi's joyful waving, I think. If Zhao Yunlan seemed perfectly happy for Zheng Yi to be taken away, then would he have done that?
Yes, that's a good point - and ouch, the very idea! It would have hurt something awful if Zhao Yunlan had seemed happy to have Zheng Yi taken away.
Huh, for some reason I thought Shen Wei's energy had expanded to encompass her, partly to contain her powers maybe, and partly as a protective shield?
Huh, that never occurred to me! It really looks like it's Zheng Yi's doing to me.
I think Shen Wei has realised that coordinating with the SID is now a necessity (and the best way of keeping Zhao Yunlan out of danger, given his reckless tendencies). And Zhao Yunlan just, you know, wants Shen Wei close -- at the SID and in other ways too. *g* (I think partly also to protect him, too; Shen Wei facing all the dangers alone is not without its own risks.)
Yeah, all of that makes sense! It just feels like Zhao Yunlan gets very stuck on the "officially join the SID" thing, given how often he brings it up or hints in the direction of it. What
It's very much Bring Your Emotions To Work Day.
Ha, that is a great description!
It's hard to know how brazen Zhao Yunlan would be about it -- he didn't seem to expect it when Shen Wei produced it.
Yeah, that's a good point - he doesn't seem to expect it! Maybe he did bring it up more or less facetiously, and didn't think Shen Wei actually would.
I was wondering that too. He could be looking for Hallows, or dark energy, or seeing if there are any Dixingren in the building (either working or being used as experiment subjects)? I'm really not sure.
I'm not sure either, but given I theorised above that the siren at the lab may have been due to black energy manifestation, maybe he sensed that!
Btw, he hears Zhao Yunlan coming through the door, right? I think he'd also hear if anyone was coming along the hall.
Yeah, he does clearly hear Zhao Yunlan through the door! Agreed, he'd likely notice anyone coming down the hall long before they had a chance to see him.
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Ohhh, yes, that's amazing!
maybe he wants to be able to have both more official access to Shen Wei (always coming by the university must be a time sink)
True, but the alternative is making Shen Wei come to him, passing off the time cost. That's not very considerate! (So I don't think it can be that. I really don't think Zhao Yunlan wants to make Shen Wei's life worse.)
and be able to really introduce him to the rest of the SID as one of them, which couldn't really happen with either the Envoy or Professor Shen.
Hmm, except that he does introduce Shen Wei as Professor Shen, at the team dinner, and the SID all call him that, I think?
I think he ends up saying yes because of a mixture of a) being able to tell that Zhao Yunlan isn't going to let this go, and I think he does feel guilty about the lying/secrets and this is something he can do for Zhao Yunlan without too much risk, b) the closer they get in modern times, the harder he likely finds it to say no to Zhao Yunlan, and c) having less of an objection now that Zhao Yunlan knows he's the Envoy.
Oh, yes! Those are all really excellent points, and I love how you express them. :D :D :D
I think he'd be quite happy to have the Envoy become less of a set-apart entity, but he also seems convinced that for general peace and stability he shouldn't let that happen.
And also, as you say, for the sake of his job security at the university... I think it's not just that he has a second job, but that the job is with a covert government department. The chancellor seemed pretty stuck on that?
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Oooh, those are both excellent moments! I always love the way he holds out his hand for her, and waits for her to come to him. ♥ And 100% agreed about shaking off Zhao Yunlan's hand - that such a strong and immediate reaction, and it's so unusual for someone as self-contained as Shen Wei to show it! He's really on his last straw.
I think this may be part of his professional life entangling so much with his private life - maybe he wants to be able to have both more official access to Shen Wei (always coming by the university must be a time sink) and be able to really introduce him to the rest of the SID as one of them, which couldn't really happen with either the Envoy or Professor Shen
Yes! All of this makes a lot of sense to me. That's definitely all part of it. (In a comment above I also wondered if the reason for Zhao Yunlan bringing it up or hinting at it again and again might also be because once he asked and Shen Wei turned him down, it also became a thing about winning Shen Wei over, so the more he got turned down, the less he could let it go ...)
Shen Wei, meanwhile, is trying to juggle a lot of responsibilities and I think he ends up saying yes because of a mixture of a) being able to tell that Zhao Yunlan isn't going to let this go, and I think he does feel guilty about the lying/secrets and this is something he can do for Zhao Yunlan without too much risk, b) the closer they get in modern times, the harder he likely finds it to say no to Zhao Yunlan, and c) having less of an objection now that Zhao Yunlan knows he's the Envoy. It also allows him to keep a closer eye on the Hallows without anyone potentially making a fuss about it.
Yeah, those are all good reasons! I think a big part also has to be the disaster at the wedding, which was definitely due to them working at cross purposes and Shen Wei unnecessarily keeping things from Zhao Yunlan. Shen Wei realises at this point, I think, that they're better off working more closely together. So that's half-way there, even if it takes the rest of it to make him actually officially join the SID. *g*
(I'm not sure how hard he finds it to say no to Zhao Yunlan, but it definitely becomes harder the less of a good external reason he has to keep his distance. *g*)
I tend to think that it makes things easier on the personal level, not just between Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei, but also between Shen Wei and the SID team, who're now getting to know him more before they end up having to try and save the world together (the more trust there's already there, the better), but perhaps not on the professional, at least for Shen Wei.
Yeah, 100% agreed - it's good in a lot of ways, but it also complicates things for Shen Wei in ways that Zhao Yunlan doesn't seem to consider.
Then again, maybe this is one of those areas where his personal wants and what he thinks is necessary clash - I think he'd be quite happy to have the Envoy become less of a set-apart entity, but he also seems convinced that for general peace and stability he shouldn't let that happen.
Yes, all of this! And conversely, of course he wants to protect his job at the university, but at the same time that's not a priority he can or will allow himself ...
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Oh, the CSZ, GCC and YZ vision, that's a good point! The Hallows show them dead, and the previous visions give that potential future weight, but then we also learn that future visions can be averted ... *ponders*
So... what if the Envoy offered to take Tan Xiao along, too?
Oooh, I love that idea! I mean, Shen Wei wouldn't, but what if Tan Xiao asked the Envoy to take him along? Or if Xiao-Guo brought it up before Chu Shuzhi shushed him?
Are they in Guangming Road? I thought they were in the centre of town, for some reason.
We see Zhao Yunlan ride his bike out of the SID door, that's what made me think so! But you're right, he's coming through a different street when he sees them.
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Yeah. I just played the video you linked, and my partner said, unprompted, "Is that the Guardian theme?" so I feel vindicated. *g* He reckons it's the same melody. (He has a much better ear for these things than I do.)
In a way, I think the separate roles gave him some of the distance he needed - not because he wanted any distance between him and Zhao Yunlan, but because Zhao Yunlan was (and still is) so far from being Kunlun.
I feel like maybe he did want distance from Zhao Yunlan, especially to start with? He was protecting his secrets, plus the closer they get, the harder it is to make his own decisions and operate independently, and Zhao Yunlan as well as being glib, doesn't really demonstrate the same maturity and wisdom as Kunlun a lot of the time, either. He's smart, and his heart is good, but he does a lot of growing up in the next twenty episodes.
I think a lot of it is that he's not sure Zhao Yunlan is taking any of it sufficiently seriously.
Yeah, he's so much more comfortable in the car after the Guo dinner when Zhao Yunlan has stop bouncing around and being in his face. Which is entirely fair!
I just checked the Chinese, and what he actually says is 可以守护现在的安定和和平, "we can protect the current stability and peace". No mention of the city!
That's much better! *g* Thanks!
Checking the Chinese, it's 你托我帮你写, "you asked me to help you write". (Though the dictionary says 托 is more "entrust" than "ask".)
Ahh, thank you again. <3 "You entrusted me to write" sounds very Shen Wei, and also I think supports the idea that he volunteered and Zhao Yunlan casually agreed, maybe as a joke (or just handwaved it away).
And also he probably (rightly) thinks that Xiao-Guo has a better chance of convincing his uncle! Because the uncle clearly does want what's best for Xiao-Guo.
Yeah, but it must make Xiao Guo feel a bit cut adrift, I think. Like, he already has self-confidence issues, and here's Chief Zhao not even making a token show of fighting for him.
I thought it just came to him with the Kunlun flashback he had when he was hypnotised - that he woke up remembering that little fragment, and the name of the person in it.
According to my subtitle file, "Kunlun" only appears before this alley kitten scene once, in Shen Wei's flashback in episode 1. (But my subtitle file is original subs, so it might have been skipped over.) I can't find it in the Viki subs in eps 12 or 13.
The non-applauders are Zhu Hong, Chu Shuzhi and Lin Jing, right? What's your theory about Lin Jing?
Just being cool? Worried about having his SID's Top Scientist position threatened? Or maybe he's concerned Shen Wei will mention him to Professor Zhou, who will make the connection between Lin Jing and Professor Ouyang and out Lin Jing as a spy?
Yes! From Zhao Yunlan's POV this is great! Except that they still have so far to go, and Shen Wei knows it. I just wish Zhao Yunlan picked up on Shen Wei's mood a little more ...
He can't keep it in! But yeah, he's still calibrating. I guess the upside of his getting it wrong here is seeing how quickly he adjusts and figures it out? (I've started ep 15, and I'M FLAILING ALL OVER AGAIN. *g*)
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Haha, so true. One moment he's making genius connections, and the next he's blinking dumbfounded at Shen Wei and almost putting his foot in it. Maybe the critical ingredient in the dumbfounded scenarios is Shen Wei? *g* (I'm thinking of that scene where the SID team is watching the footage of the mugging, too.)
> > > Zhao Yunlan turns away and makes a face - and unlike previous times when Zhao Yunlan was displeased with the Envoy, this time Shen Wei calls him on it. Is that because the relationship between them has changed, or because unlike the incident with Lin Yusen, this time Shen Wei doesn't feel like Zhao Yunlan has cause to be annoyed?
> >
> > I think it's precisely because Zhao Yunlan turns away, rather than pressuring the Envoy, that Shen Wei is prepared to discuss it further.
>
> Didn't Zhao Yunlan turn away (even walk away) when it was about taking Lin Yusen's body? He certainly wasn't pressuring the Envoy.
But that was a totally different dynamic, right? Zhao Yunlan had been cuttingly furiously formal (with some justification), and the Envoy couldn't allow the decision to be up for discussion anyway (and was alllllmost taking Lin Yusen's body under false pretences, since his reason wasn't what he claimed). I feel like that turning away was Zhao Yunlan unable to contain himself and ceding because he had no choice, and this time he's turning away precisely in order to contain himself and be tactful, because he could try wheedling/persuading but he's respecting Shen Wei's authority, even if he doesn't like his decision. So yes, the relationship has changed from Zhao Yunlan's side, and that gives Shen Wei space to act differently from his side. You know? [Including all the context because I lost the thread of it.]
It really looks like it's Zheng Yi's doing to me.
Would she have knocked him back like that? It happened when Shen Wei's hand closed on hers, so I connected it with that. (Tan Xiao's look at her could have been about the fact she was going voluntarily.) Anyway, I think it's open to interpretation...
But, idk, maybe once he asked and Shen Wei turned him down, it also became a thing about winning Shen Wei over, so the more he got turned down, the less he could let it go?
Hm, maybe? I feel like it's more genuine than that, though. Remember his grin when he rhapsodised to Da Qing about working with Shen Wei in episode 8? I think he really wants to be partners and to have Shen Wei under his roof, as it were. And as he said in the caves, "All the people in No. 4 Guangming Road are mine."
Btw, I was thinking more about Shen Wei's dark energy scan of the DoS -- in retrospect, it's interesting that he pointedly stands out of range of the security camera. The scene could easily not have had a security camera in it, you know? So it feels to me like foreshadowing of the Cong Bo blackmail, and also makes it clear Shen Wei isn't clueless about CCTV or anything -- he just didn't know about that one particular hidden camera, possibly because he trusted Zhao Yunlan not to plant such a thing. :-/
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That's so weird! I know zero about music, but they really sound nothing alike to me.
I feel like maybe he did want distance from Zhao Yunlan, especially to start with?
Well, yes, want but not WANT, if you take my meaning. He wanted it in this situation for this moment, but not in general. He needs to act independently, and Zhao Yunlan needs to go through some character development, but also, I'm sure Shen Wei very much wishes all of that wasn't necessary and he could just have Kunlun back, RIGHT NOW.
Yeah, he's so much more comfortable in the car after the Guo dinner when Zhao Yunlan has stop bouncing around and being in his face. Which is entirely fair!
Yeah, whenever Zhao Yunlan gets more serious, Shen Wei starts relaxing more. *g*
Ahh, thank you again. <3 "You entrusted me to write" sounds very Shen Wei, and also I think supports the idea that he volunteered and Zhao Yunlan casually agreed, maybe as a joke (or just handwaved it away).
Haha, right? I was totally thinking that too, how very Shen Wei a turn of phrase that is. ♥
According to my subtitle file, "Kunlun" only appears before this alley kitten scene once, in Shen Wei's flashback in episode 1. (But my subtitle file is original subs, so it might have been skipped over.) I can't find it in the Viki subs in eps 12 or 13.
Yeah, it's not in the episode, that's not what I meant - he doesn't hear the name in that fragment of memory that comes to him in that moment. But I thought that given that he then asks about Kunlun in the talk-to-kittens scene, I thought that the memory came with an attached sense that the speaker was "Kunlun", so now he's trying to figure out who that actually is.
Or maybe he's concerned Shen Wei will mention him to Professor Zhou, who will make the connection between Lin Jing and Professor Ouyang and out Lin Jing as a spy?
Oh, that's an interesting idea!
I guess the upside of his getting it wrong here is seeing how quickly he adjusts and figures it out?
Yes! That is definitely an upside, and I love him figuring out what doesn't work, and then adjusting his approach. (Once he's over the "cannot help but BOUNCE WITH GLEE" phase. :p) ♥ ♥ ♥
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♥ ♥ ♥
But that was a totally different dynamic, right?
Yes, the dynamic is completely different! And that's partly because the situation is different, and partly because their relationship has changed, and I was wondering which of those was more responsible for Shen Wei confronting Zhao Yunlan.
(And there are some relevant parallels as well as fundamental differences - in both cases, Shen Wei is taking someone away under somehwat false pretences, Lin Yusen's body because of the bomb, and Zheng Yi in order to perform his duty, but in the first case the entire point is to not let Zhao Yunlan know the truth, whereas with Zheng Yi, Zhao Yunlan knowing is fine so long as the public performance happens.
I feel like that turning away was Zhao Yunlan unable to contain himself and ceding because he had no choice, and this time he's turning away precisely in order to contain himself and be tactful, because he could try wheedling/persuading but he's respecting Shen Wei's authority, even if he doesn't like his decision.
Hm, I didn't quite see it that way. He is trying to be tactful to some degree, unlike the time in episode 4, but he also doesn't think he has a choice this time either. What can he do if the Envoy insists? IMO he believes, in that moment, that the Envoy has made the decision to take Zheng Yi to Dixing and won't be swayed on it, so there's no point in arguing.
Would she have knocked him back like that? It happened when Shen Wei's hand closed on hers, so I connected it with that. (Tan Xiao's look at her could have been about the fact she was going voluntarily.) Anyway, I think it's open to interpretation...
It's open to interpretation, yes! But we never see anything like this happen with Shen Wei anywhere else that I remember. And in that moment, Tan Xiao is clinging to Zheng Yi, but she makes the decision to take Shen Wei's hand and leave with him anyway, rather than being dragged away. To me, it's her choosing to go with dignity, willingly, and that's why she makes Tan Xiao let her go.
But, idk, maybe once he asked and Shen Wei turned him down, it also became a thing about winning Shen Wei over, so the more he got turned down, the less he could let it go?
Hm, maybe? I feel like it's more genuine than that, though.
I didn't mean it in a not-genuine way? He really wants to have Shen Wei with him, as close as possible, and he wants to convince Shen Wei to agree to that. And when Shen Wei initially doesn't agree, he just becomes more determined to convince him it's a good idea (because he is convinced that it is, for both of them!).
Btw, I was thinking more about Shen Wei's dark energy scan of the DoS -- in retrospect, it's interesting that he pointedly stands out of range of the security camera. The scene could easily not have had a security camera in it, you know? So it feels to me like foreshadowing of the Cong Bo blackmail, and also makes it clear Shen Wei isn't clueless about CCTV or anything -- he just didn't know about that one particular hidden camera, possibly because he trusted Zhao Yunlan not to plant such a thing. :-/
Oooh, excellent point about the spy camera foreshadowing! That hadn't occurred to me before, but it makes a lot of sense!
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Oh, I just thought: maybe Shen Wei asks after Zhao Yunlan's reaction to make up for the stiffness and non-chattiness at the hospital when he took Tan Xiao away? Maybe it's a public(!) concession that they need to work more closely as SID chief and Envoy, as well as (potentially, at this stage) as Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei?
IMO he believes, in that moment, that the Envoy has made the decision to take Zheng Yi to Dixing and won't be swayed on it, so there's no point in arguing.
Huh, I've always read it as his respecting the Envoy's authority and giving him space to make his own judgements, but rewatching, I do see what you mean. (I think it's telling that Xiao Guo has already objected, and Lao Chu shut him down, so the Envoy has already expressed his resolve and the reason for it.) It's when the Envoy asks what he's thinking that Zhao Yunlan restrains himself and chooses to trust/not step on the Envoy's toes. I got the order of things wrong. :-)
But we never see anything like this happen with Shen Wei anywhere else that I remember.
Or with Zheng Yi, though. And I don't think we ever seen Shen Wei take anyone anyone else so gently, especially when someone else is clinging to them. Oh... *checks* it's a bit like the effect that knocks the kidnapper away from ZYL in ep 25, which ZYL identifies as Shen Wei's protection, I think?
He really wants to have Shen Wei with him, as close as possible, and he wants to convince Shen Wei to agree to that. And when Shen Wei initially doesn't agree, he just becomes more determined to convince him it's a good idea (because he is convinced that it is, for both of them!).
Yeah, maybe. This is making me think that Zhao Yunlan's motives evolve as he gets to know Shen Wei better. To start with, I think the element of protection is much stronger (he first asks after the mugging scene). As well as liking working together, he suspects Shen Wei is Dixingren, and he really wants an excuse not to hand him over to the Envoy, right? And then the closer they get, the more it becomes about family/togetherness/wanting? I mean, it's basically making their relationship official (is it too much of a stretch to make the analogy with marriage? *g*).
Aaand now I'm wondering whether one reason for Shen Wei's refusal is because if his Dixingrenness became known, Zhao Yunlan would inevitably have to report such a hire to the Envoy, and that would be yet another layer of awkward lies and bordering-on-farce that Shen Wei doesn't want to face.
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I was thinking of all those feelings Li Qian expressed about her grandmother: "I saw her every day, but she didn't recognise me. She'd never call my name, hug me or love me! She wasn't my Grandma! She wasn't. Something I paid dearly for was just a stranger that looked like her." I think Shen Wei's reaction to that that speaks to ambivalence on his part?
he doesn't hear the name in that fragment of memory that comes to him in that moment. But I thought that given that he then asks about Kunlun in the talk-to-kittens scene, I thought that the memory came with an attached sense that the speaker was "Kunlun", so now he's trying to figure out who that actually is.
Oh, right! Yeah, that makes sense!
(Once he's over the "cannot help but BOUNCE WITH GLEE" phase. :p)
Hee! I can't help it -- I love that phase. :D :D :D (And I'm sure the fact that Shen Wei isn't putting on a polite face is part of the happiness, too.)
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Hm, it doesn't read as a concession to me, but the contrast with the scene at the hospital, where he pointedly didn't stop to talk at all, is an excellent point!
I think it's telling that Xiao Guo has already objected, and Lao Chu shut him down, so the Envoy has already expressed his resolve and the reason for it.
Yes, agreed, that's part of why he reads to me as convinced Shen Wei has already drawn a line and won't budge on this.
Oh... *checks* it's a bit like the effect that knocks the kidnapper away from ZYL in ep 25, which ZYL identifies as Shen Wei's protection, I think?
It's similar, I guess. It still looks to me very much like Zheng Yi's doing in that scene. *shrugs*
This is making me think that Zhao Yunlan's motives evolve as he gets to know Shen Wei better. To start with, I think the element of protection is much stronger (he first asks after the mugging scene). As well as liking working together, he suspects Shen Wei is Dixingren, and he really wants an excuse not to hand him over to the Envoy, right? And then the closer they get, the more it becomes about family/togetherness/wanting?
Yes to all of that! The more he gets to know Shen Wei, and the closer they get, the more he wants that closeness in a personal way, and the more all the external reasons fall away. ♥
I mean, it's basically making their relationship official (is it too much of a stretch to make the analogy with marriage? *g*).
I think Zhao Yunlan does think of it a bit that way! (Shen Wei doesn't, though, which breaks the marriage analogy.)
Aaand now I'm wondering whether one reason for Shen Wei's refusal is because if his Dixingrenness became known, Zhao Yunlan would inevitably have to report such a hire to the Envoy, and that would be yet another layer of awkward lies and bordering-on-farce that Shen Wei doesn't want to face.
That would make sense! And Zhao Yunlan wouldn't just have to report it; the Envoy would have to okay it as well, since he has jurisdiction over Dixingren in Haixing. So he'd be in the position to have to personally grant himself an exception, which, awkward. *g*
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Yes, absolutely! And Li Qian also absolutely wants to have her grandma! She just can't, not the way she wants to. *pets her*