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sid_guardian2023-06-23 01:55 am
trobadora) wrote in sid_guardian2023-06-23 01:55 am
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GUARDIAN REWATCH - Episode 23
Beginning of episode: Da Qing has been caught trying to sneak into the Dixing archives
Ending of episode: at the hospital, Zhao Yunlan is passive-aggressively overpolite to Shen Wei
Important scenes/developments:
- An Bai is revealed to be the next Dijun
- Da Qing warns Zhao Yunlan that Shen Wei is untrustworthy; Zhao Yunlan reveals his current strategy in dealing with Shen Wei's secrecy
- Da Qing spies on Shen Wei confronting Ye Zun, and makes him perform a pinky promise
- the Dijun is found murdered, and An Bai is missing
- Zhao Yunlan impersonates An Bai to expose Ye Zun's mole in the palace
- An Bai is forced to become the new Dijun
- Shen Wei explains the function of the Merit Brush
- Ye Zun suborns An Bai's friends
- Shen Wei stays with Zhao Yunlan for one more night; Zhao Yunlan sees a strange energy barrier
- Zhao Yunlan catches Shen Wei cutting his wrist and bleeding black energy
- Guo Changcheng visits his parents' graves, and we see Dong Nan for the first time
- Wang Xiangyang cries at his wife's grave and wants to avenge her death
- Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei give each other the silent treatment at the SID
- at the hospital, Zhao Yunlan is passive-aggressively overpolite to Shen Wei (beginning of scene)
(My apologies for posting this so late - my health hasn't been cooperating this week.)
Themes, structures, worldbuilding:
First off, the 执事 - the original and Viki subs call him the Deacon, but it also means attendant or official. I'm going with Attendant here.
- Themes:
- This episode is full of people sneaking around, deceiving each other, hiding things - Da Qing sneaking around, the Attendant as Ye Zun's mole, Zhao Yunlan disguised as An Bai, the Regent startling Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing by appearing like a ghost, but also Shen Wei's many secrets and sneaking around to cut himself in Zhao Yunlan's kitchen.
- But there's also sacrifice: An Bai's, the old Dijun's, the Attendant's on Ye Zun's behalf, and of course Shen Wei's already-made sacrifice healing Zhao Yunlan's eyes as well as his future, foreshadowed sacrifice to stop Ye Zun. These themes unify the two distinct parts of the episode, the Dixing and Haixing parts.
- And there's trust, and trust being tested - the major thematic push-and-pull between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, that stretches through much of the drama, but comes out particularly plainly here with Zhao Yunlan first explaining his current approach to Shen Wei's secrecy in Dixing, and then back in Haixing being confronted with something far worse than he'd thought when he discovers that one of the things Shen Wei is hiding is the cost to himself. Da Qing's mini-arc with Shen Wei belongs here as well, from confusing him with Ye Zun and warning Zhao Yunlan about him, to trusting him after all, even if he extracts a pinky promise first. *g*
- And one of the things that structures this episode is a sequence of confrontations: Da Qing confronts Zhao Yunlan about Shen Wei's secrets; Shen Wei confronts Ye Zun at the Pillar (and promises to stop him); Da Qing confronts Shen Wei (and extracts a pinky promise); Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan set up the Attendant; Chu Shuzhi clashes with someone at the Ministry; even Ya Qing confronts Wang Xiangyang about why he's suddenly supposed to be their new hope. And of course, in the most dramatic scene of the episode, despite Zhao Yunlan's best efforts at waiting Shen Wei out, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei have their big confrontation over some of Shen Wei's secrets in the kitchen.
- Worldbuilding: here's where we discover some fascinating and appalling things about Dixing governance. Some details:
- The old Dijun describes his office as being a tireless, ruthless, loveless administrative tool, and Shen Wei explains that from the moment he takes office he'll work ceaselessly until his last breath. A Dijun apparently is expected to last only a few years. (The Regent suggests An Bai might last four or five years, which would be shorter than the previous one.) They're literally being drained of their life force to fuel Dixing's administration.
- This is apparently not known in Dixing! An Bai seems to learn it from the old Dijun, and then explains to his friends. (You'd think they'd at least know how long the guy has been in office, but An Bai seems surprised when the Dijun says he's no grandpa, it's only been a few years!)
- However, even though the Dijun says he hasn't talked to anyone in a long time, and usually seems to communicate his orders only by ringing a bell, he clearly can speak up, and stand up from his throne; he does so to talk to An Bai. And he speaks when he confronts the Attendant - and is aware enough of the surroundings to catch the Attendant at stealing from the archives. His power is also significant - the Regent talks about qualifications for Dijun (noble birth, political integrity and ability), but the Dijun is able to easily override these.
- There's also more to becoming Dijun than just sitting down on the throne - we see Shen Wei sit on it once, to examine the murdered old Dijun!
- On discord, shadaras suggested that the rapid ageing is because the palace should be running on solar/Hallows power, and instead pulls from the Dijun in the absence of that, and that theory seems very plausible to me. The Regent says this system has been in place for thousands of years, but you'd think if it had existed so long, people would be aware of it. I think it's very plausible that this system - the interfacing of the Dijun with the palace and perhaps Dixing as a whole - worked very differently when the Hallows were still there and Dixing was fully powered!
- Perhaps that is why Dixing has a Regent in the first place - as shadaras said: "in the past, maybe the lord actually did rule, and the regent came to power because the lord became a cog in the machine who couldn't make any real decisions."
Further thoughts:
- I find it so fascinating that throughout this episode, Shen Wei is walking around in Dixing in Professor Shen civvies, glasses and all! Even though he's being the Envoy. He only takes off the glasses when they're back in Haixing, at home in Zhao Yunlan's flat.
- I had entirely forgotten about the lovely scene at the start of the episode where Da Qing has been caught trying to get into the archives: Shen Wei is about to step in, but Zhao Yunlan holds him back and steps in himself, thereby saving him from having to expend the Envoy's political capital on rescuing a Haixing associate. Shen Wei lets him take point, and Zhao Yunlan gets Da Qing out of it by chiding him for being such a cat. ♥ ♥ ♥
- I love the tension between the Attendant and Da Qing all through this episode: the Attendant knows very well Da Qing was up to something, and Da Qing knows very well the Attendant is trying to get in their way, and the way Da Qing looks at the Attendant after they're taken to the bedroom with the radio is definitely not conciliatory. Which makes it hilarious that Da Qing then accuses Zhao Yunlan of making enemies everywhere! Sure, Da Qing, it's just Zhao Yunlan the Attendant doesn't like, you have nothing to do with it! *g*
Later, the Attendant will attack Da Qing at the Pillar, and later again, Da Qing will step on his foot. These two are fascinating opponents. - In the flashbacks to An Bai and the old Dijun, it's very cool and thematically resonant how the Dijun remains a faceless blur for quite a bit until we actually get to properly see his face! I also love that An Bai calls him Dijun-yeye! :D
- The scene in the bedroom is one of my favourites: Da Qing's protectiveness, Zhao Yunlan's awareness of Shen Wei's secrets and his explanation of the destroyed recorder; Da Qing's confusion why Zhao Yunlan hasn't pulled back from Shen Wei because of it - and finally, Zhao Yunlan explaining his philosophy: 我只是想赌一把，赌他心里有苦衷。他这个人呀，个性太深沉，喜欢哑巴吃黄连。所以我之能等了，等到他苦到心头，苦到他自己说出来为止。
"I just want to make a gamble. I'm betting he has his own difficulties. He's too reserved; he likes to suffer in silence. So I can only wait - wait until he suffers so much he tells me about it himself." ♥ ♥ ♥
(This won't work, as he'll find out in this very episode - Shen Wei's suffering is in fact exactly what is being deliberately hidden! But then pushing Shen Wei for answers also wouldn't work, so ... *g*) - Ye Zun calls himself Shen Wei's benefactor, which of course makes me think of young Shen Wei calling Kunlun his benefactor. *g*
- Hilariously, Shen Wei (unmasked, but after all famous for his mask) taunts the Attendant for hiding behind a mask! :D
- My actual favourite scene of this episode: Shen Wei and Da Qing and the pinky promise! I love how aggressive Da Qing is initially - when Shen Wei asks him if he's okay, after saving him from the Attendant's attack, he slaps Shen Wei's hand away and demands to know what he's hiding. But when Shen Wei tells him there are things he can't explain yet, and promises he'll never do anything that harms Zhao Yunlan, on consideration Da Qing finds that he believes him. And makes him seal their agreement over protecting Zhao Yunaln with a pinky promise! I love Shen Wei's baffled and then fond expression and his little smile so much. :D
- Another lovely little scene: Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing lounging on some random stairs in the middle of the Dixing palace, Shen Wei standing next to them, and we casually discover Da Qing managed to sneak into the archives after all - except he discovered all the pages relating to the Merit Brush are missing, and this is how they find out there's definitely a mole in the palace, just before the Dijun turns out to have been murdered.
- After they examine the Dijun's body, Zhao Yunlan whispers something into Shen Wei's ear and then leaves. (I just realised there's a shot where they're so close, you can see Zhao Yunlan's eye through the glass of Shen Wei's glasses!)
We never discover what exactly he whispers, and this is a while before Zhao Yunlan ends up impersonating An Bai: there's a search, and a fight at the bar, and an arrest and almost-execution first. In the scene where the Attendant almost has An Bai and his friends executed in the street, but Shen Wei orders them to be taken to the palace instead, Zhao Yunlan is watching - this is still before the switch, but the next scene where Shen Wei tells "An Bai" to draw the person he saw sneaking around is clearly Zhao Yunlan.
But I assume the whispering in the throne room is about that plan anyway. When they go their separate ways, Shen Wei and Da Qing with the Attendant and Zhao Yunlan who knows where, they couldn't have known the Attendant would very quickly get An Bai and his friends arrested, throwing the murder of a guard in for flavour. But they knew there was a mole in the palace, and presumably neither of them thought An Bai was actually the murderer. Maybe Zhao Yunlan was supposed to pose as An Bai and get arrested in his stead, but the Attendant pre-empted that plan. - When Shen Wei, Da Qing and the Attendant are searching for An Bai, Shen Wei refuses the option to capture and torture An Bai's friends into confessing, the Attendant accuses him of being soft, and they turn to face each other. I love that Da Qing (partially in Shen Wei's defence, partially, I'm sure, out of sheer pettiness) pushes between them and steps on the Attendant's foot, thereby inadvertently uncovering a vital clue! When he complains about the Attendant's foot being too hard, Shen Wei immediately catches on. So now they already know who the mole is, but it still remains to expose him.
- I absolutely adore the scene at the Pillar when the Attendant takes "An Bai" there: "An Bai" lies there on the ground, hiding his face and shaking, giving his best "Guo Changcheng in episodes 1 and 2" impression. The Attendant moves to kill him, grabbing him by the hair; "An Bai" rolls away - and ends up lying there casually propped up on an elbow, grinning at him as black energy flakes off him, revealing him as Zhao Yunlan. The Attendant, meanwhile, is left holding a wig. :D
- In the resulting confrontation, Shen Wei uses his dao (in polearm form) in a lovely twirly move, striking him down. When the Attendant moves to attack again, Zhao Yunlan shoots him with the black energy gun. There's a fascinating little moment when Shen Wei vanishes his dao and turns around to Zhao Yunlan in seeming shock. Is this the first time Zhao Yunlan is using his gun so easily?
- Also very interesting contrast: The Attendant demands to know why they didn't kill him, and Zhao Yunlan tells him it's because he's also being manipulated - but Ye Zun says he failed, and should atone with his life. The Attendant immediately does as demanded, and uses his power on himself. I wonder how much free will he actually had.
- Back at the palace, Shen Wei says their priority has to be to reorganise Dixing as quickly as possible, and stabilise the administration. The Regent says they must let An Bai ascend the throne as soon as possible, and when An Bai (quite naturally) doesn't want to be forced to become a part of the machine, the Regent essentially blackmails him with the murder accusation against his friends. You can see a muscle jump in Shen Wei's face, but neither he nor Zhao Yunlan say anything, or attempt to stop this: they have no alternative to offer. (And Zhao Yunlan doesn't know yet just how bad this will be for An Bai. Later, back in Haixing, in Zhao Yunlan's office, Shen Wei will say he didn't expect the truth would be worse than the rumours. I'm not sure he knew the full extent of it either.)
We see An Bai struggle with himself - and then we see him beginning his work as Dijun. It's a sacrifice, and it's a tragedy, and poor An Bai never had one bit of choice about any of it. - Afterwards, Zhao Yunlan calls out to An Bai, and discovers the truth. It's Shen Wei who explains,
looking down, not meeting Zhao Yunlan's eyes: 地君的冠冕一旦戴上，就会不死不休地工作。
"The moment he puts on the crown, he will keep on working till his last breath."
The Regent adds: 这是我们地星的规则，一切都是为了让地星要高教地运转。
This is Dixing's rule. All of this is to ensure Dixing's more efficient operation.
Zhao Yunlan is not happy, but the Regent says it's been like that for thousands of years. It can't be changed. - And this is when Shen Wei turns around and abruptly walks out, leaving Zhao Yunlan to stare after him, startled. Eventually, Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing follow.
I'm convinced that the Regent's complacent "it can't be changed" is the moment when Shen Wei decides that no matter the cost, things definitely have to change. He was already willing to sacrifice himself if needed to stop Ye Zun (as he says in their conversation at the Pillar); here, everything suddenly becomes even more urgent. I think that's part of what drives him with the energy exchange, too. - When An Bai's friends encounter Ye Zun, he offers them to rule Haixing with him, and one of them asks: 不是说咱们因为地面资源不够分自愿留在地星的吗？
"Didn't they say we voluntarily stayed in Dixing because resources on the surface were insufficient?"
(Even if Ye Zun is wrong when he disputes the "voluntarily", this information is about 10,000 years out of date! Do people in Dixing know so little about conditions on the surface?)
Ye Zun then hooks them with the possibility of saving An Bai, and they end up parroting Ye Zun's words, clearly under his spell even though this time we don't see black energy entering them, the way we did with Zhu Jiu. - Things are already weird between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan in the scene back at Zhao Yunlan's flat even before Zhao Yunlan stumbles over the first weirdness: Zhao Yunlan first appears to be in a reasonably good mood, humming a little and taking a lollipop from the jar, but Shen Wei is standing there staring at him, much too tense - a marked change from the scene at Zhao Yunlan's office, and Zhao Yunlan clearly notices something is off. Some time in between, it seems like Shen Wei has made up his mind and decided on a course of action - on a contingency plan for defeating Ye Zun.
Why now? Perhaps there are physical side effects of using the Sundial that are manifesting more strongly in Haixing than in Dixing, and Shen Wei is being forced to act. Perhaps his confrontation with Ye Zun has settled the need for a contingency plan in his mind. And perhaps - I really do think this is the case - the situation with An Bai has given Shen Wei an additional sense of urgency doing something, right now, to make sure this conflict ends the right way, because the situation in Dixing really is untenable as it is. - When Shen Wei goes to make food, Zhao Yunlan follows him and sees a weird energy barrier between him and the kitchen, which vanishes when Shen Wei turns to look at him. He's very unsettled - but he says nothing, and doesn't tell Shen Wei what he saw. He returns to the bed, looks at Shen Wei again, and there's a lot of tension between them when Shen Wei looks back. Zhao Yunlan squeezes his eyes shut and opens them again, as if to blink away a remaining effect.
Honestly, I have no idea why he's seeing this barrier, and whether it's actually there, or why it would be there if it's real. (Does anyone have a theory? I haven't heard a convincing one so far.) - Zhao Yunlan wakes up and starts playing with his phone. He gets up, walks to the kitchen, and asks Shen Wei, fondly, if he woke up hungry - the tension seems to have dissipated. (Which seems to imply to me that while Shen Wei is in the habit of spending the night, they probably don't share the bed yet.) - Then Shen Wei startles and drops the knife he was cutting his wrist with ... and suddenly we're in tension overdrive. *g*
I won't recap this whole fantastic scene, but I do want to point out that Zhao Yunlan immediately catches on that what Shen Wei is doing is connected to curing his eyes, and that initially Shen Wei just shakes him off and starts walking away.
And that what really shakes Zhao Yunlan up and makes him shout at Shen Wei is not the cutting itself, not Shen Wei's horrible smile when he says he's "fortunately" used to being hurt, but it's Shen Wei saying, without a second's hesitation, that Zhao Yunlan is worth it. Zhao Yunlan really can't cope with that. ♥ ♥ ♥ - Shen Wei really looks awful, even his lips bloodless and pale, and he's struggling to close his wound. I don't think Zhao Yunlan ever imagined Shen Wei even could be hurt like that.
- One of my favourite lines: "This life is what I'm returning to you," a delightful time-loopy circle - after all, back in YOHE, Shen Wei promised to repay him some day, and Kunlun told him he already had.
And then Shen Wei walks away again, leaving Zhao Yunlan standing there angry and hurt, and entirely baffled. - We get our first brief glimpse at Dong Nan when Guo Changcheng visits his parents' grave! I love her, and her role in showing a different side of Ya Qing, and so on, but I'll leave that for after we've seen more of her. :)
- I love the way Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan sitting separately at the SID, far apart, the tension between them palpable. Shen Wei is looking straight ahead (and seems healthy again), Zhao Yunlan looks down. When they get a call about a situation at the hospital, Zhao Yunlan at Shen Wei in a way markedly different from their usual shared looks, then walks out without saying a word. After a second, Shen Wei follows, also without saying a word.
And at the hospital, Zhao Yunlan turns to passive-aggressive over-politeness in an absolutely delightful scene - but I'll leave that for episode 24, since we only see the very beginning here before it cuts off.
Discussion starters:
- What's your favourite scene in this episode? What's your favourite line? (I figure a lot of people will pick the kitchen scene, but my favourite scene - like I said above - is the pinky promise one.)
- Did you notice anything this time round that you didn't before, or that you'd forgotten? I didn't remember the bit at the start with Zhao Yunlan stepping in rather than letting Shen Wei rescue Da Qing! And I don't think I ever put Shen Wei's reaction in the aftermath of An Bai's ascension together with the kitchen scene before ...
- An interesting bit from Shen Wei's confrontation with Ye Zun: Ye Zun claims credit for returning Shen Wei to glory, but Shen Wei says it has nothing to do with Ye Zun, and his awakening is a joke the world is playing on him. What do you think Shen Wei means by that? And what exactly is he refuting?
- Ye Zun says that only because he's trapped in the pillar can Shen Wei go on with his life - does that imply something more than just that this is the only way Ye Zun won't interfere with Shen Wei's life? Ye Zun's conclusion is that therefore Shen Wei can't kill Ye Zun, and I don't think I understand his reasoning. Any thoughts?
- How does the Attendant's power work? Does he have other powers too? We see him use energy blasts (most notably the one he sends at Da Qing) and something like an energy-reinforced punch as well as the literal hardening of his body (such as when Shen Wei's dao hits his arm with a metallic clang, and when Da Qing steps on his foot), but he also suddenly vanishes after the first confrontation, and in the scene at the bar no one seems to notice this very conspicuous robed man walk past and stab one of the guards! Did Ye Zun interfere somehow in these cases?
- I'm still not at all clear about why the Regent apparently wanted Shen Wei at An Bai's ascension. In episode 22, the Regent told Shen Wei there might be information about the Merit Brush at the palace, luring him to Dixing - but for what purpose? Perhaps he suspects the presence of a mole, but he's clearly taken aback by the murder of the Dijun and by the Attendant's actions. And he certainly couldn't have known Shen Wei would bring Zhao Yunlan along again ...
- Any thoughts to what the Attendant's purpose was in attacking Da Qing, and in bringing An Bai to the Pillar? Just showing off for Ye Zun? *g*
- Shen Wei stays the night at Zhao Yunlan's place. Do you think they're sleeping together at this point?
- And why does Shen Wei decide to cut himself and bleed out his energy in Zhao Yunlan's kitchen? He clearly doesn't want Zhao Yunlan to know, and it would be easy to just go elsewhere for a few minutes.
(My feeling is that it makes emotional sense even if it's not practical - he wants to stay near Zhao Yunlan. and he doesn't expect Zhao Yunlan to wake up. Perhaps, since they've been essentially cohabitating since Zhao Yunlan first went blind about two weeks earlier, he knows Zhao Yunlan usually sleeps like a log? *g* - Impromptu poll:Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8
When do you think Shen Wei decides on exchanging his energy and turning himself into a potential white energy bomb?
View Answersimmediately after the exchange with the Sundial
3 (37.5%)during the confrontation with Ye Zun
2 (25.0%)after An Bai's ascension
0 (0.0%)not until the night he actually cut his wrist
2 (25.0%)at some other point (see comment)
1 (12.5%) - What did I forget to mention? I'm pretty sure there's something - there's so much in this episode!
Let's talk about episode 23!
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 23 fanworks and meta go here!
- any other episode reactions or related meta
- fanworks, picspams, squee, etc, relating to episode 23 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 23 fanworks and meta go here!
Guardian Episode by Episode: 23 by
Character spotlight:
Dong Nan by
Scene discussions:
Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing in a Dixing bedroom by me
the kitchen knife scene by
And two of my fics, both dealing with the aftermath of the kitchen scene - one canonical, one going AU:
Make a Gamble, Take a Gamble (7678 words)
What does Shen Wei see when he looks at him? It's not Zhao Yunlan; it can't be. It has to be someone else, something else, some secret Zhao Yunlan doesn't know. Something that makes him think Zhao Yunlan should be okay with Shen Wei being hurt.
Darkness Spilled Before Our Bed (6855 words)
"If you're going to do it, do it here," Zhao Yunlan demands. It's flung like a challenge, daring Shen Wei to ignore that, out of his mouth before he fully knows what he'll be saying. "Do it where I can see you."
Re: Links to episode 23 fanworks and meta go here!
Fic: the path of most resistance (the only way for us to go) -- a ficlet about planning out the An Bai disguise sting, 855 words, first kiss (for one of them)
Ep 23 picspam
Stuff by other people
The kitchen scene always makes me think of
Re: Links to episode 23 fanworks and meta go here!
Re: Links to episode 23 fanworks and meta go here!
Re: Links to episode 23 fanworks and meta go here!
no subject
It is indeed the kitchen scene. More specifically, I love how much of the novel shines through here. Please forgive me for going on a little excursion into novelverse :P
When Shen Wei says "I am used to being hurt" and "you're worth it", it has a more or less direct equivalent in the novel. His line there is
“Even my soul is black. There is only one place in my heart I have left for you, where the blood is still red. I am willing to use it to protect you.”
It's so good how they translated that into dramaverse!
We're halfway through the drama and despite all changes and divergences, we still get scenes with a 1:1 novel equivalent. It's impressive that they managed to keep so many story beats in the changed setting.
Did you notice anything this time round that you didn't before, or that you'd forgotten?
I can pinpoint a lot better now exactly when Zhao Yunlan replaces An Bai, and what their plan is in general.
Still confused about what pretty much everyone else is doing in this episode, though.
The regent's ways are once more inscrutable.
Shen Wei stays the night at Zhao Yunlan's place. Do you think they're sleeping together at this point?
Yes absolutely
My actual favourite scene of this episode: Shen Wei and Da Qing and the pinky promise!
Yeees so good ❤️
The world needs more epic Da Qing/Shen Wei friendship imo.
"An Bai" rolls away - and ends up lying there casually propped up on an elbow, grinning at him as black energy flakes off him, revealing him as Zhao Yunlan. The Attendant, meanwhile, is left holding a wig. :D
Zhao Yunlan is having so much fun with his little charade :D
no subject
Oh, that's very cool, thank you for sharing!
I do love both how much they managed to get into the drama from the novel, and how much they put into the things they came up with just for the drama. It really shows that everyone really tried their best to make it all work out, budget or no!
When Shen Wei says "I am used to being hurt" and "you're worth it", it has a more or less direct equivalent in the novel. His line there is
“Even my soul is black. There is only one place in my heart I have left for you, where the blood is still red. I am willing to use it to protect you.”
Ooh, that's where the "my soul is black" line originally comes from? Fascinating!
I can pinpoint a lot better now exactly when Zhao Yunlan replaces An Bai, and what their plan is in general.
Still confused about what pretty much everyone else is doing in this episode, though.
The regent's ways are once more inscrutable.
Haha, feeling you a lot on the Regent, yeah. I hope
Yes absolutely
♥ ♥ ♥
The world needs more epic Da Qing/Shen Wei friendship imo.
YES, it really does! I adore these two so much, and I want ALLLLLL of it.
Zhao Yunlan is having so much fun with his little charade :D
Right? He's made for this kind of dramatic reveal! :D
(Also, I really love that despite the black energy disguise, he also wore a wig! WHY? Solely for the drama of leaving the Attendant holding nothing but a wig, of course! :D)
no subject
LOLOL!
no subject
no subject
no subject
The world needs more epic Da Qing/Shen Wei friendship imo.
Yessss! All of it! :D
no subject
This episode is full of people sneaking around, deceiving each other, hiding things
Ooh, yes, great list! I'd add in Lin Jing at the DoS, too: he's there in his role for the SID but (I think) also aware of his own divided loyalties, though we the audience don't know that yet.
And yeah, the sacrifice is so present. Especially after Dr Feng's sacrifice to reverse his stolen energy in the previous episode, too. This show really does love having people nobly put their lives on the line for others.
This is apparently not known in Dixing! An Bai seems to learn it from the old Dijun, and then explains to his friends. (You'd think they'd at least know how long the guy has been in office, but An Bai seems surprised when the Dijun says he's no grandpa, it's only been a few years!)
Well, it doesn't seem to be a particularly public ceremony (unlike the threatened execution!), so maybe it all happens behind the scenes and no one bothers to keep up? It's not like it makes much difference who's "in power" when the Regent is running things.
His power is also significant - the Regent talks about qualifications for Dijun (noble birth, political integrity and ability), but the Dijun is able to easily override these.
I wonder how limited the scope of his power is. If he'd wanted to override An Bai & co's death sentence, could he have? Or does he only really get to have a say re his successor?
(I'm always intrigued by the implication that there's a Dixing nobility. How different are their lives from the ordinary person on the street, I wonder? And where were they during the showdown in eps 39/40?)
On discord,
Ooh, yes, that makes sense to me, too! Cool (and very creepy)! That also offers hope for An Bai post-canon. \o/
I find it so fascinating that throughout this episode, Shen Wei is walking around in Dixing in Professor Shen civvies, glasses and all! Even though he's being the Envoy. He only takes off the glasses when they're back in Haixing, at home in Zhao Yunlan's flat.
I wonder if there's some silent protest against these Dixing traditions/workings in that (though of course, he didn't know beforehand what was going on, so more on a thematic level than a conscious character level)?
but Zhao Yunlan holds him back and steps in himself, thereby saving him from having to expend the Envoy's political capital on rescuing a Haixing associate. Shen Wei lets him take point, and Zhao Yunlan gets Da Qing out of it by chiding him for being such a cat. ♥ ♥ ♥
And the Deacon (sorry, it's just easier) (and now I'm tempted to go back to calling the Regent the Justiciar, too ;-p) immediately sees right through it and extends a warning to ZYL not to push his luck. He's a very good villain -- astute and ruthless. ;-p
I also love that An Bai calls him Dijun-yeye! :D
That's Grandfather Dijun, right? (I think it's interesting that after the ceremony, ZYL calls out to An Bai by name and not by title. I guess it's hard to take him very seriously as head of state when their first meeting was that farce on the streets and the three of them chasing ZYL all over the place like Wile E Coyote and Road Runner.)
The scene in the bedroom is one of my favourites
It's so good!!! I always love their friendship: the comfort, and the ease of their communication is such a great contrast with the relationship between Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei, whose values and goals are aligned but for whom there are so many undercurrents of attraction and so many unresolved questions. (The pinky promise is also a super-adorable scene, though! And the "You're worth it / This life is what I'm returning to you"! Why do I have to choose? ;-p)
Hilariously, Shen Wei (unmasked, but after all famous for his mask) taunts the Attendant for hiding behind a mask! :D
Haha, yeah. Otoh, at least in Dixing, Shen Wei wears his mask and robes to reveal his identity, whereas the Deacon is very obviously hiding his here. ;-p
Another lovely little scene: Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing lounging on some random stairs in the middle of the Dixing palace, Shen Wei standing next to them
And palace guards dutifully lighting candles. :D (I just rewatched the opening shot of that scene a few times -- some lovely swoopy camerawork, and I never noticed there's lightning in the sky outside. I guess they do have weather after all? /really random observations)
I just realised there's a shot where they're so close, you can see Zhao Yunlan's eye through the glass of Shen Wei's glasses!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
We never discover what exactly he whispers
He has that sharply assessing expression when the Deacon is accusing An Bai -- I think he suspects him and is whispering his theory that this is all a setup.
and presumably neither of them thought An Bai was actually the murderer.
Well, he did have motive, sort of, and he was pretty disreputable when they first met him. But yeah, they both know there's something fishy going on, and the Deacon is clearly cruising for a bruising. I think the plan to disguise ZYL is probably devised later, though? It would require more back and forth.
Shen Wei refuses the option to capture and torture An Bai's friends into confessing, the Attendant accuses him of being soft
That is such a !!!!! moment, to me. Like, wow, do you know who you're talking to? And how much of yourself you're revealing with that accusation?
The public execution with people standing around impassively to watch is so disturbing. None of the spectators seem emotionally engaged at all. Interesting that it's the Deacon overseeing it, not the Regent, and that Shen Wei has enough authority to call a halt even though it's not (presumably) his jurisdiction.
The way not!An Bai picks up the brush is so ZYL -- I love it!! :D (I didn't realise about the wig. LOL! I wish we'd got to see them visit the wigmaker's shop/theatre department costume room.)
giving his best "Guo Changcheng in episodes 1 and 2" impression.
LOL, yes!! :D
There's a fascinating little moment when Shen Wei vanishes his dao and turns around to Zhao Yunlan in seeming shock. Is this the first time Zhao Yunlan is using his gun so easily?
I noticed that, too. I was wondering if it was Zhao Yunlan intervening before Shen Wei could deal a fatal blow, sort of like he did with Ya Qing during the blindness arc? (Because they're still not 100% on the same page about punishments like this, as immediately demonstrated by Zhao Yunlan making excuses for the Deacon's actions.[1]) And also wondering if Shen Wei's reaction was because he had a moment of "Kunlun fighting at my side" feels right then? I wish we'd got to see his face.
[1] I wonder if he's even more willing than usual to give the Deacon the benefit of the doubt because of Dr Feng, who initially seemed to be an antagonist but then was willing to step up.
The Attendant immediately does as demanded, and uses his power on himself. I wonder how much free will he actually had.
My impression was not much at all. (But I actually misread that scene the first time and thought Ye Zun had smote him. I had to rewatch to see he did it himself. So I might be misreading because of that.)
Later, back in Haixing, in Zhao Yunlan's office, Shen Wei will say he didn't expect the truth would be worse than the rumours. I'm not sure he knew the full extent of it either.
I was wondering if that was more about the coercion? Like, if he knew how the Dijun-ship works, but maybe among noble families there's always been some honour in it, or status/payoff for the rest of the new Dijun's family so people do it semi-willingly. Shen Wei could have understood that choice, I think? But seeing the Regent blatantly forcing this powerless kid into it with a misuse of exaggerated charges really emphasises how rotten the whole system is.
(Interesting that the Regent didn't use the old Dijun's death as an excuse to find another candidate. I think that speaks to him being more letter-of-the-law-abiding than we sometimes give him credit for.)
Zhao Yunlan is not happy, but the Regent says it's been like that for thousands of years. It can't be changed. - And this is when Shen Wei turns around and abruptly walks out
I think it must make it even worse for Shen Wei to see Zhao Yunlan's reaction to this. Shen Wei is one of the leaders of Dixing, and to have Zhao Yunlan see its ugliness must feel awful and really pull that ugliness and his own unwilling complicity into sharp focus.
(Is it too much of a stretch to liken An Bai to the light energy in Shen Wei: forced into position and put to use?)
I'm convinced that the Regent's complacent "it can't be changed" is the moment when Shen Wei decides that no matter the cost, things definitely have to change. He was already willing to sacrifice himself if needed to stop Ye Zun (as he says in their conversation at the Pillar); here, everything suddenly becomes even more urgent. I think that's part of what drives him with the energy exchange, too.
Oh, that's such an interesting thought! I like it, but I'm not sure about conflating constitutional reform with stopping Ye Zun. Does the latter automatically lead to the former? Surely if Shen Wei dies, that also means he won't be around to advocate for better politics?
Do people in Dixing know so little about conditions on the surface?
How would they know? I expect there are some rumours from people who've come back, but probably also official efforts to quash those rumours (a Great Firewall? ;-p), because if everyone knew the wealth Upstairs, that could cause big domestic problems, couldn't it?
Zhao Yunlan first appears to be in a reasonably good mood, humming a little and taking a lollipop from the jar
Huh, I can't hear any humming, and I thought he was actually pretty serious while taking out the lollipop. He's not making light of the situation, imo, just busying himself (and maybe processing what happened?).
Some time in between, it seems like Shen Wei has made up his mind and decided on a course of action - on a contingency plan for defeating Ye Zun.
Oh, yes, that makes so much sense. I think you're right.
Honestly, I have no idea why he's seeing this barrier, and whether it's actually there, or why it would be there if it's real.
What if it's not a barrier, but an aura/cloud of dark energy that's filling the whole kitchen? I think it might be a sign that something is wrong with Shen Wei's dark energy, that it's pushing out too far, too full, disrupted by the light energy? And Zhao Yunlan is just really confused that he can see it. He's not sure if something's wrong with Shen Wei or whether the exchange with the Dial has changed his own eyes so he can see things that used to be invisible to him, I think? (And that latter suspicion would explain his not mentioning it to Shen Wei, because he doesn't want to worry him, and they're both hypocrites. ;-p)
Zhao Yunlan wakes up and starts playing with his phone.
I thought he was just checking the time, but he does take a moment. Some reflexive email checking, maybe? *g*
Which seems to imply to me that while Shen Wei is in the habit of spending the night, they probably don't share the bed yet.
Not unless Shen Wei doesn't use a pillow, yeah. That's a shame. (*attributes it to censorship* ;-p)
And that what really shakes Zhao Yunlan up and makes him shout at Shen Wei is not the cutting itself, not Shen Wei's horrible smile when he says he's "fortunately" used to being hurt, but it's Shen Wei saying, without a second's hesitation, that Zhao Yunlan is worth it. Zhao Yunlan really can't cope with that. ♥ ♥ ♥
Yeah, in my comment on that scene post, I say, "from Zhao Yunlan's POV, Shen Wei isn't expendable, and Zhao Yunlan very much is. [...] So his "I'm not worth it" is, like, his deepest truth. And when Shen Wei contradicts it, Zhao Yunlan has a kind of cascading system failure, because Shen Wei is so sure and so obviously wrong. So I think Zhao Yunlan's outburst is actually "I'm not worth it" all over again, but he can't just repeat himself, so he's lashing out with it this time. "I'm not worth it. Why the hell would you go to these lengths for me? You treat me like I'm precious, but YOU WON'T TELL ME ANYTHING or let us handle things like partners!" And it's couched in transactional terms to kind of push Shen Wei away, because it hurts too much to hear, and the consequences of Shen Wei's being wrong about this are too horrifying.
(And then the cold anger later on is a deliberate punishment/pushing away, both of that statement and of Shen Wei who will let himself get injured for him as if it's nothing and smile about it, just no.)"
But I also really love what
One of my favourite lines: "This life is what I'm returning to you," a delightful time-loopy circle
Yesss! And it's such a risky thing to say, from Shen Wei's pov -- it reveals too much. But he can't not. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
And at the hospital, Zhao Yunlan turns to passive-aggressive over-politeness
He did that at the Envoy at the end of ep 4, too, I think.
(Omg, this is already so long. /o\ I'll post this and then come back to look at the discussion starters and add my own notes.)
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ZYL: *immediately gets up*
me: LOL
Also, I heard a line in another Cdrama that I had to make a note of because it reminded me of this scene: "In your heart, I can only share prosperity and not hardships, right?" It's a reproach from one friend to another for being reluctant to let them help shoulder a burden, and it immediately made me go: this is why I'm on Shen Wei's side during this scene! ;-p
My favourite line is "This life is what I'm returning to you." There are too many good scenes to choose.
Ye Zun says that only because he's trapped in the pillar can Shen Wei go on with his life - does that imply something more than just that this is the only way Ye Zun won't interfere with Shen Wei's life? Ye Zun's conclusion is that therefore Shen Wei can't kill Ye Zun, and I don't think I understand his reasoning. Any thoughts?
I think it's like Shen Wei says when he explains why they can't break the pillar and kill Ye Zun? I'm a bit hazy about it, though.
I'm still not at all clear about why the Regent apparently wanted Shen Wei at An Bai's ascension.
My theory is that it fulfils the propriety of having the Envoy present at the ceremony without giving him any warning or chance to interfere. I think it's a power play, a balancing of the scales after Shen Wei berated the Regent at the SID in ep 15. The Regent is rubbing Shen Wei's limited jurisdiction in Dixing in his face -- probably particularly in light of the fact that Shen Wei keeps petitioning to influence sentencing, cf, the Shadow Man and Wu Tian'en's son (and those are just the ones we hear about). Does that work?
Any thoughts to what the Attendant's purpose was in attacking Da Qing
Was he punishing him for spying? Or perhaps he just really isn't a cat person.
Shen Wei stays the night at Zhao Yunlan's place. Do you think they're sleeping together at this point?
I can go either way on that. I would have said they were at least sharing a bed, but the pillow arrangement isn't corroborating and idk if that's just because of the limitations of the production. (So where is Shen Wei supposed to be sleeping?? The couch is too short, isn't it?)
When do you think Shen Wei decides on exchanging his energy and turning himself into a potential white energy bomb?
I'm not sure, but I think he's definitely decided or deciding when he's standing at Zhao Yunlan's bedside, while ZYL is getting the lollipop. I think the formality of "I'll attend to you for one last night" is very ominous!
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Yeah, they must have to some degree! I wonder what Zhao Yunlan told Shen Wei - presumably about the set-up with the fake assault, but I don't think he said anything about having encountered Ye Zun's Pillar.
So I guess all that lying around on couches in the first quarter of the show was showing ZYL as super lazy? And hypocritical for criticising Lin Jing for the same? *g*
Yeah, I think that makes sense! (And given that there weren't that many cases before episode 1, ZYL being lazy wouldn't have been a problem. So why not? He was raised by a cat. *g*)
SW to YZ: "My awakening is a joke this world played on me." I'm so curious about this. Isn't he glad to be here? He doesn't sound bitter, just matter-of-fact.
Yeah, I'm not sure what he means by it either, and I'd really love to know if anyone has any theory!
And the Regent tells ZYL: "Now that the new Dijun has been crowned, this farce has come to an end. Haven't you people gotten what you wanted? Shouldn't you go back to deal with your important matters?" How does that read in Chinese? Because in English it sounds like "you people can fuck right off now, nothing more to see." Wow.
I think it's a pretty literal translation, and yeah, that's the vibe I'm getting too ...
And awww, ZYL breaks off from talking about An Bai to spare Shen Wei's feelings. <333 I bet ZYL is already trying to figure out a way to improve things Down There, because he's a born meddler.
Haha, yeah! I think it's also interesting that neither of them brings up Dixing during that conversation at all - it's Da Qing who does.
SW (to ZYL): "I will attend to you for one last night." (Is that what they're calling it these days? ;-p) (But so formal! He has such a weight on his shoulders.)
According to the dictionary, 陪护 (péihù) means "to attend to the needs of (an invalid, disabled person etc)". I have no idea how formal it is in the original, though.
Also, I heard a line in another Cdrama that I had to make a note of because it reminded me of this scene: "In your heart, I can only share prosperity and not hardships, right?" It's a reproach from one friend to another for being reluctant to let them help shoulder a burden, and it immediately made me go: this is why I'm on Shen Wei's side during this scene! ;-p
I'm not quite following you, can you elaborate on this a bit?
Graveyard: awwww, Changcheng visits all the dead people -- foreshadowing his power?
Tying his power into established characterisation? *g* Yeah, I think they do a great job making it something that fits him, by working things like this into earlier episodes.
My theory is that it fulfils the propriety of having the Envoy present at the ceremony without giving him any warning or chance to interfere.
Oh, good point! Yeah, that would make sense. Maybe he doesn't think he can get away with leaving the Envoy entirely out of the ascension, but springing it on him without any preparation does minimise his ability to interfere.
Was he punishing him for spying? Or perhaps he just really isn't a cat person.
LOL! I can imagine he's petty enough to attack him for no particular reason. But yeah, given that this is the second time he's catching Da Qing sneaking around somewhere he doesn't want him, maybe the spying itself is the reason.
(So where is Shen Wei supposed to be sleeping?? The couch is too short, isn't it?)
Presumably the couch, yeah. I think this is one of those things where we're not supposed to think about the practicalities. *g*
I think the formality of "I'll attend to you for one last night" is very ominous!
It definitely sounds ominous! But it might also just be him being unwilling to stop staying at ZYL's flat, but also not yet comfortable admitting he's staying just because he wants to, so the formal/ominous phrasing is the result of him trying to justify something that doesn't really need justification. *g*
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I meant more how it would read to a Chinese person in context. It's very blunt, but maybe there are situations where that kind of bluntness is appropriate? (Not the impression I've got, but I know nothing.)
To be reluctantly fair to the Regent, he has just lost his right-hand man and confidant, and even though it wasn't Shen Wei and ZYL's fault, they were involved in his death. So it's reasonable for the Regent to be in a mood.
I think it's also interesting that neither of them brings up Dixing during that conversation at all - it's Da Qing who does.
Yeah, I think it's too painful for Shen Wei to talk about.
> > Also, I heard a line in another Cdrama that I had to make a note of because it reminded me of this scene: "In your heart, I can only share prosperity and not hardships, right?" It's a reproach from one friend to another for being reluctant to let them help shoulder a burden, and it immediately made me go: this is why I'm on Shen Wei's side during this scene! ;-p
>
> I'm not quite following you, can you elaborate on this a bit?
I mean, as far as ZYL is concerned, he's spent the entire show trying to get closer and closer and closer to Shen Wei, but he has a meltdown at Shen Wei taking on the negative consequences of that closeness. That's a distancing thing, imo. It's like the reverse of a fair-weather friend: we can spend the good times together, but when there's pain and difficulty, I don't want you involved. When you choose to express your caring by taking on a burden, that's where I'm (furiously) drawing the line.
It definitely sounds ominous! But it might also just be him being unwilling to stop staying at ZYL's flat, but also not yet comfortable admitting he's staying just because he wants to, so the formal/ominous phrasing is the result of him trying to justify something that doesn't really need justification. *g*
When it's combined with the tension in his manner and bearing, it feels to me like he's preparing to not be around much longer, and making the best of the time they have left. :-/ I think Zhao Yunlan reads it the way you say, though.
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Yeah, he's not having a good time! He's also just found out that his supposed right-hand man was working for someone else all along, and he didn't know. (I don't think he can have known?) No wonder he's pissed off.
I mean, as far as ZYL is concerned, he's spent the entire show trying to get closer and closer and closer to Shen Wei, but he has a meltdown at Shen Wei taking on the negative consequences of that closeness. That's a distancing thing, imo. It's like the reverse of a fair-weather friend: we can spend the good times together, but when there's pain and difficulty, I don't want you involved. When you choose to express your caring by taking on a burden, that's where I'm (furiously) drawing the line.
Oh! Yeah, I see what you mean, this is 100% true and an excellent point.
When it's combined with the tension in his manner and bearing, it feels to me like he's preparing to not be around much longer, and making the best of the time they have left. :-/ I think Zhao Yunlan reads it the way you say, though.
I don't think at this point he's actually expecting to not be around any more soon, but the possibility has to be on his mind - and if he's literally just decided on his plan, no wonder it weighs heavily ... (But I think the other reading is definitely also a part of what he's thinking.)
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Oh, good point! Yeah, I don't think he knew, though he's probably putting the pieces together in retrospect. No wonder he's in a shoot-the-messenger kind of mood.
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Ooh, yes, great list! I'd add in Lin Jing at the DoS, too: he's there in his role for the SID but (I think) also aware of his own divided loyalties, though we the audience don't know that yet.
Yeah, I left it out because unlike the others it's not clear from the scene itself, but you're completely right, it fits!
This show really does love having people nobly put their lives on the line for others.
It really does! ♥ ♥ ♥
Well, it doesn't seem to be a particularly public ceremony (unlike the threatened execution!), so maybe it all happens behind the scenes and no one bothers to keep up? It's not like it makes much difference who's "in power" when the Regent is running things.
Given the whole thing about resources being diverted to the palace for the inauguration, and the archives being closed until the next Dijun can take office, there seems to be at least some public aspect to the whole thing ... and if no Dijun lasts longer than a few years, you'd think people would be aware even if they don't particularly care or pay attention. But it does seem to come as a surprise to An Bai and friends.
I wonder how limited the scope of his power is. If he'd wanted to override An Bai & co's death sentence, could he have? Or does he only really get to have a say re his successor?
He promises the Attendant clemency for stealing from the archives, so he has some sway at least. Hard to say how far it goes, but it's not limited strictly to things relating to his own office.
(I'm always intrigued by the implication that there's a Dixing nobility. How different are their lives from the ordinary person on the street, I wonder? And where were they during the showdown in eps 39/40?)
Very good question! Who are they, what do they do? Is their nobility relevant for anything other than this? Maybe some of the people we see (like the Attendant, or some of the palace guards) are nobility, but we don't have any hint ...
That also offers hope for An Bai post-canon. \o/
Yeah, agreed! I think with the Hallows in place, things might end up very different for the Dijun.
I wonder if there's some silent protest against these Dixing traditions/workings in that (though of course, he didn't know beforehand what was going on, so more on a thematic level than a conscious character level)?
I didn't get that vibe from it, but it might be.
That's Grandfather Dijun, right?
Grandpa, yeah. :D
I guess it's hard to take him very seriously as head of state when their first meeting was that farce on the streets and the three of them chasing ZYL all over the place like Wile E Coyote and Road Runner.)
LOLOLOL!
and I never noticed there's lightning in the sky outside. I guess they do have weather after all? /really random observations
There are several scenes where there's lightning in the sky, and there are always clouds. So I think Dixing does have weather, yeah!
He has that sharply assessing expression when the Deacon is accusing An Bai -- I think he suspects him and is whispering his theory that this is all a setup.
That would make sense!
Well, he did have motive, sort of, and he was pretty disreputable when they first met him. But yeah, they both know there's something fishy going on, and the Deacon is clearly cruising for a bruising.
Yeah, things just don't add up at all. An Bai is pretty disreputable, but not stupid enough to not know he wouldn't get away with this. And the Attendant is way too eager to put everything on An Bai.
I think the plan to disguise ZYL is probably devised later, though? It would require more back and forth.
It would require more communication, yeah. But if all ZYL does here is voice his suspicions, why do you think he leaves at this point, and Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are separate during the search for An Bai?
That is such a !!!!! moment, to me. Like, wow, do you know who you're talking to? And how much of yourself you're revealing with that accusation?
Yeah, he clearly has NO clue who Shen Wei is or what he stands for! Or else his understanding has been twisted by Ye Zun - after all, in Ye Zun's eyes, no matter what Shen Wei does, it's all evidence that Shen Wei is wrong. :p
The way not!An Bai picks up the brush is so ZYL -- I love it!! :D
Yeah, the actor is really great conveying a completely different body language!
And also wondering if Shen Wei's reaction was because he had a moment of "Kunlun fighting at my side" feels right then?
Oooh, I love that interpretation, that makes a lot of sense to me!
I was wondering if that was more about the coercion?
Yeah, it could be. It's hard to say how much he knew, but even if he did know how it works, seeing An Bai forced into the "sacrifice" must have been awful, especially since there was nothing Shen Wei could do about it.
(Interesting that the Regent didn't use the old Dijun's death as an excuse to find another candidate. I think that speaks to him being more letter-of-the-law-abiding than we sometimes give him credit for.)
Yeah, I agree about the Regent's characterisation - I do think that at least to some degree he does take his job seriously, despite all his self-serving sliminess and his evident cruelty. He's REALLY angry about the old Dijun being murdered right under his nose, too.
I think it must make it even worse for Shen Wei to see Zhao Yunlan's reaction to this.
Yeah, entirely agreed! :(
Oh, that's such an interesting thought! I like it, but I'm not sure about conflating constitutional reform with stopping Ye Zun. Does the latter automatically lead to the former? Surely if Shen Wei dies, that also means he won't be around to advocate for better politics?
I don't think it's about constitutional reform - it's about resources. If the Dijun (or someone in his position) is necessary for the function of Dixing in some way, and that necessity can't be done away with (which I think is a plausible read on the existence of that interface), then they really need to get the Hallows back to Dixing, so Dixing has a chance to sort itself out without resorting to such measures. But if they don't stop Ye Zun first, bringing the Hallows to Dixing would essentially deliver them into his hands instead.
How would they know? I expect there are some rumours from people who've come back, but probably also official efforts to quash those rumours (a Great Firewall? ;-p), because if everyone knew the wealth Upstairs, that could cause big domestic problems, couldn't it?
Yeah, good point about quashing the rumours. People have come back from Haixing, and not all of them have ended up in prison (see: Wu Tian'en), but the truth may not have had a chance to get around much.
I guess where I stumble is that that makes sense for the current situation - but if Dixing's general knowledge of Haixing is that out of date, that means there was also minimal contact over the course of those 10,000 years. I'd always figured there were at least some eras with more contact.
Zhao Yunlan first appears to be in a reasonably good mood, humming a little and taking a lollipop from the jar
Huh, I can't hear any humming, and I thought he was actually pretty serious while taking out the lollipop. He's not making light of the situation, imo, just busying himself (and maybe processing what happened?).
The humming is very brief, at 31:02. I don't think he's making light of the situation either, and the humming fits with busying himself IMO.
What if it's not a barrier, but an aura/cloud of dark energy that's filling the whole kitchen? I think it might be a sign that something is wrong with Shen Wei's dark energy, that it's pushing out too far, too full, disrupted by the light energy?
That could make sense as something that might happen to Shen Wei, but ot just looks like a barrier to me, not like an aura, so I can't buy it as an explanation. Sorry!
He's not sure if something's wrong with Shen Wei or whether the exchange with the Dial has changed his own eyes so he can see things that used to be invisible to him, I think? (And that latter suspicion would explain his not mentioning it to Shen Wei, because he doesn't want to worry him, and they're both hypocrites. ;-p)
I don't think he suspects anything being wrong with Shen Wei - he doesn't give me that impression at all. But yeah, he's definitely wondering whether something happened to his eyes, given how he's scrunching them up and apparently testing whether he's seeing anything else weird. Totally agreed on them both being hypocrites. *g*
I thought he was just checking the time, but he does take a moment. Some reflexive email checking, maybe? *g*
Could be! It's definitely more than just checking the time.
Not unless Shen Wei doesn't use a pillow, yeah. That's a shame. (*attributes it to censorship* ;-p)
Also because Zhao Yunlan isn't surprised to wake up without Shen Wei in bed!
from Zhao Yunlan's POV, Shen Wei isn't expendable, and Zhao Yunlan very much is. [...] So his "I'm not worth it" is, like, his deepest truth. And when Shen Wei contradicts it, Zhao Yunlan has a kind of cascading system failure, because Shen Wei is so sure and so obviously wrong.
Yeah, 100% agreed with this!
But I also really love what
Awwwww!!!! Thank you for bringing that here, it's a lovely read! So many layers! ♥ ♥ ♥
Yesss! And it's such a risky thing to say, from Shen Wei's pov -- it reveals too much. But he can't not. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
And also, Kunlun said it first! I think they're both taking their cue from each other with the time loop, to some degree, and it leads to stuff like this. :D
And at the hospital, Zhao Yunlan turns to passive-aggressive over-politeness
He did that at the Envoy at the end of ep 4, too, I think.
Not quite? That one is dismissive in tone, because their relationship is so different at the time. But they do have the fake politeness in common!
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Thanks! It's by
Given the whole thing about resources being diverted to the palace for the inauguration, and the archives being closed until the next Dijun can take office, there seems to be at least some public aspect to the whole thing ...
I imagine there are some Dixingren who follow politics, but most people are just getting on with their lives and sometimes things happen at the palace for no obvious rhyme or reason. I'd absolutely expect An Bai and friends to be in the second group (though that said, they have opinions about the Envoy, hm). By analogy, sometimes when there's a noon gun salute here, I know what it's for, and sometimes I have to google or ask someone. ;-p
[The old Dijun] promises the Attendant clemency for stealing from the archives, so he has some sway at least.
Or that could be an unofficial "I won't tell"?
Maybe some of the people we see (like the Attendant, or some of the palace guards) are nobility, but we don't have any hint ...
Maybe the robes are a marker of nobility?
An Bai is pretty disreputable, but not stupid enough to not know he wouldn't get away with this.
Idk, he's also young and desperate, and people don't necessarily think things through. But I absolutely agree the Deacon is being super obvious about pointing the finger.
But if all ZYL does here is voice his suspicions, why do you think he leaves at this point, and Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are separate during the search for An Bai?
Oh, good question! It does look deliberate, and the next time we see him is at the execution. In the interim... maybe he's looking for a wig shop? ;-p Searching for the murder weapon? Other investigatey stuff?
It's hard to say how much he knew
When Zhao Yunlan asks about it, it's Shen Wei who says, "The moment he puts on the crown, he will keep on working till his last breath. This is Dixing's rule." So I think he must have known that much.
I don't think it's about constitutional reform - it's about resources. If the Dijun (or someone in his position) is necessary for the function of Dixing in some way, and that necessity can't be done away with (which I think is a plausible read on the existence of that interface), then they really need to get the Hallows back to Dixing, so Dixing has a chance to sort itself out without resorting to such measures. But if they don't stop Ye Zun first, bringing the Hallows to Dixing would essentially deliver them into his hands instead.
Ahh, that makes sense! I like it! Though it does seem like a pretty intricate logic chain to expect the viewer to figure out, especially on a casual watch. Maybe it doesn't matter...
The humming is very brief, at 31:02.
I had to turn the sound riiight up to catch it, lol.
That could make sense as something that might happen to Shen Wei, but ot just looks like a barrier to me, not like an aura, so I can't buy it as an explanation.
That might be an effects thing? Either way, I feel like narratively it has to be related to Shen Wei's energy corruption in some way. If it was just plot-neutral, then there wouldn't have been all that tense music and Zhao Yunlan's disturbed reaction. I think we're supposed to think something weird and worrying is happening. And I guess because Zhao Yunlan can't imagine Shen Wei weakened, he attributes it to his own eyes?
Also because Zhao Yunlan isn't surprised to wake up without Shen Wei in bed!
True, he doesn't even check for him. *sadface* *checks again* Oh, Zhao Yunlan's arm starts off across the other side of the bed, so maybe Shen Wei was using that as a pillow, so when Zhao Yunlan wakes, Shen Wei's absence is already obvious. And ZYL thinks it must be morning already because Shen Wei is up, so he checks his phone?
(Also, I just noticed the hourglass in the foreground, which someone (presumably Shen Wei) has just turned for Important Thematic Reasons. Heh.)
Thank you for bringing that here, it's a lovely read!
It's from the comments on the Kitchen Scene post, FTR. Sorry, I should have linked that.
I think they're both taking their cue from each other with the time loop, to some degree, and it leads to stuff like this. :D
Yess, so good! *wriggles*
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Yeah, they're plugged in enough to have opinions on the Envoy! And negative opinions with a distinct Ye Zun inflection at that. They must have heard people under Ye Zun's sway talk - why did this stick, and not other things they might have heard?
(I know, I know, I'm taking this too seriously, *g*)
Or that could be an unofficial "I won't tell"?
I guess it could be.
Maybe the robes are a marker of nobility?
You know, that could be an explanation for the extremely different styles of clothing in Dixing!
maybe he's looking for a wig shop? ;-p
LOLOLOL!
When Zhao Yunlan asks about it, it's Shen Wei who says, "The moment he puts on the crown, he will keep on working till his last breath. This is Dixing's rule." So I think he must have known that much.
But that's after An Bai's ascension - we don't know what he might have learned from that. (I do think he knew that much, too. It's just not really clear to me in the episode.)
Ahh, that makes sense! I like it! Though it does seem like a pretty intricate logic chain to expect the viewer to figure out, especially on a casual watch. Maybe it doesn't matter...
There's a lot in this show that's all there that the casual viewer presumably isn't expected to figure out - all the foreshadowing, all the detail put into Shen Wei's side of things that only makes sense in retrospect. I think in the moment, all that matters for the casual viewer is Shen Wei's expression of disapproval, and the fact that Dixing really, really needs things to get better.
Either way, I feel like narratively it has to be related to Shen Wei's energy corruption in some way.
It definitely has to be related to the aftereffects of using the Sundial, and as a lead-up to the kitchen scene it definitely should be connected to that in some way. I just wish I had a theory that fully worked for me, rather than several interesting ideas, all of which have somehting going for them but none of which 100% convince me. :p
Oh, Zhao Yunlan's arm starts off across the other side of the bed, so maybe Shen Wei was using that as a pillow, so when Zhao Yunlan wakes, Shen Wei's absence is already obvious. And ZYL thinks it must be morning already because Shen Wei is up, so he checks his phone?
I guess that would work! Either way, he's used to waking up alone, even if that's because Shen Wei tends to get up before him. *g*
(Also, I just noticed the hourglass in the foreground, which someone (presumably Shen Wei) has just turned for Important Thematic Reasons. Heh.)
Heh. Yeah, the hourglass is very conspicuous! Oh, Shen Wei. ♥
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Theory: they've been chatting with
anti-vaxxersanti-Envoy conspiracy theorists at the pub, but they don't have a cohesive theory of anything, and they're not paying attention to actual current events (and probably think any official announcement is a front for something shady). That doesn't seem inconsistent to me?I think in the moment, all that matters for the casual viewer is Shen Wei's expression of disapproval, and the fact that Dixing really, really needs things to get better.
Yeah, agreed.
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anti-vaxxersanti-Envoy conspiracy theorists at the pub, but they don't have a cohesive theory of anything, and they're not paying attention to actual current events (and probably think any official announcement is a front for something shady). That doesn't seem inconsistent to me?Yeah, that works!
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Not sure how convincing mine is going to be, but I love the idea of Shen Wei always using the barrier when he is cooking/doing something loud so he doesn't disturbs Zhao Yunlan and only because of their link can Zhao Yunlan see it now.
Shen Wei chopping carrots loud af behind that silencing barrier
Zhao Yunlan: wow he is so quite
Second idea is that it's kind of more symbolic, like there is now a physical barrier between them, that carries over the next episode
And why does Shen Wei decide to cut himself and bleed out his energy in Zhao Yunlan's kitchen?
That scene honestly never made sense until I connected it with the book. Kinda feels like they went eith the let's make this popular scene adapted, either it make sense or not.
My guess, in the show setting would be Shen Wei either wanted to relieve pressure or check how much time he has, aka, how well his already limited powers above ground function with the added layer of light energy mixing in.
Ye Zun and his actions early on doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. And I love him as a character. In hindsight, kinda does, but we don't know what he has to do to stay alive in the Pillar yet so....
He credit himself because of his troublemaking can Shen Wei still play the role of HeiPaoShi. Sure, there were already a few above ground before Shen Wei arrived but he took care of them (also, who sent them up? Prolly Ye Zun, to look for the Hallows.) So without him, Shen Wei could hang the coat up and maybe he wouldn't have to opportunity to help Zhao Yunlan etc. All of Ye Zun’s actions come from his desire to be free and to mess with Shen Wei.
It's actually hilarious that An Bai and his friends been to Ye Zun’s Pillar before and stuff. They put a Ye Zun supporter on the throne. No wonder things escalated after that. It never going to fail to amuse me. In ep 17, I think, they are the ones chasing Zhao Yunlan around. I think. Gotta love how they made a criminal the king.
Dixingrens have no clue about anything. Which is probably why Ye Zun can manipulate them.
I hope you are feeling better and it wasn’t anything serious. 🫂💖
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Ooh, yeah, excellent point! He might well be checking how it's progressing -- or he might have intended to, anyway. He's so weakened afterwards that, if it was deliberate, something must have gone terribly wrong, I think.
It's actually hilarious that An Bai and his friends been to Ye Zun’s Pillar before and stuff. They put a Ye Zun supporter on the throne.
Hm, I don't think An Bai and friends were converted to Ye Zun's side that first time? They didn't actually speak to him then -- they were too busy chasing Zhao Yunlan. (And Da Qing manages to lurk around the pillar without being converted, so that must be possible.) I think the friends were converted later on in this ep, when they started chanting about revering the night, and An Bai never was. The Regent knew An Bai was a criminal, though -- it was his and his friends' death sentences that were used as leverage to get him onto the throne.
Ye Zun is waaay too good at mind-control. To me, that's the creepiest thing about him. /o\
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To me, the creepiest bit is that we never quite know how much his minions are under his control, and how much their actions are their own choice/responsibility.
(I mean, Ya Qing clearly never ends up under his sway, so ... who knows?!)
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Oh, that's a cool idea, and it would make some sense for Shen Wei to do that! So do you think the Sundial linked them in a permanent way, or is it a temporary effect?
Second idea is that it's kind of more symbolic, like there is now a physical barrier between them, that carries over the next episode
Yeah, 100% agreed with that - that element is definitely in there, no matter what in-story explanation there is for the thing. A great visual representation!
My guess, in the show setting would be Shen Wei either wanted to relieve pressure or check how much time he has, aka, how well his already limited powers above ground function with the added layer of light energy mixing in.
So he might not have been intending to drain his energy, but only checking, and didn't expect things to get out of hand, so didn't think he had anything much to hide? That's a fascinating theory!
He credit himself because of his troublemaking can Shen Wei still play the role of HeiPaoShi.
That's a good point! Yeah, he's providing the villains for the Envoy to fight and defeat, which reinforces the importance and necessity of the Envoy's role ...
It's actually hilarious that An Bai and his friends been to Ye Zun’s Pillar before and stuff. They put a Ye Zun supporter on the throne.
I don't think he supports Ye Zun - IIRC the three of them do spout some Ye Zun-style rhetoric during their earlier appearance, but during their previous visit to the Pillar, when they're chasing Zhao Yunlan, they ignore the Pillar entirely, which I don't think they would if it had any effect on them. And An Bai's two friends only get suborned later in this episode. The way Ye Zun talks to them also seems to be a first meeting.
An Bai is a thug, though. Definitely fascinating that he ends up on the throne!
I hope you are feeling better and it wasn’t anything serious. 🫂💖
Thanks muchly! It's chronic stuff, but I'm feeling better at the moment. :)
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Such a clean-cut, neutrally dressed thug! Zhao Yunlan looks more disreputable than An Bai does. *g*
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