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sid_guardian2023-07-09 12:52 pm
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2023-07-09 12:52 pm
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GUARDIAN REWATCH – Episode 26
Beginning of episode: Shen Wei's flat has been torched.
Ending of episode: Da Qing regains his memories, and Lao Li kneels in apology.
Important scenes/developments:
- Shen Wei's flat is arsonated, so he and Zhao Yunlan retreat across the hall...
- ...where they work on the couch together (domestic! adorable!); Shen Wei cuts up oranges and watches Zhao Yunlan sleep. ♥ ♥ ♥
- Wang Xiangyang has found another recruit.
- Lin Jing and Sha Ya have a morning date, and Lin Jing overhears Da Ji's husband plotting to kill Da Ji.
- Da Ji's husband stages a romantic anniversary dinner during which he poisons Da Ji.
- Sha Ya's gig; Lin Jing has brought Zhu Hong for moral support.
- Da Ji's husband (and his girlfriend?) are arrested for fraud.
- Lin Jing puts on a slide show about Da Ji, and no one pays attention.
- Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng investigate Bai Suxia's accident.
- Lin Jing and Cong Bo research Da Ji, and Da Qing vaguely recognises her.
- Da Qing wears a terrible suit and goes undercover as Da Ji's blind date.
- The cats go for a walk and argue, and Da Ji starts choking Da Qing; Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei show up to watch.
- Zhao Yunlan intervenes in the choking, Da Ji attacks him instead, and Shen Wei accidentally kills her.
- Zhao Yunlan presents the evidence linking the Merit Brush cases to Bai Suxia and Wang Xiangyang.
- Da Qing absolves Shen Wei of Da Ji's death and quotes the Envoy from 10k years ago.
- Da Ji wakes up, knocks Da Qing out and escapes.
- Da Qing asks Dr Cheng for more memory treatment, but it doesn't work.
- Da Ji finds Da Qing and takes him for a tour of Memory Lane, which triggers some old memories incl. that she died saving his life.
- Everyone at the SID teases Da Qing about his "girlfriend".
- Da Ji attacks Lao Li, then knocks Da Qing out and kidnaps him.
- Da Ji tells Da Qing about his past with Lao Li.
- The rest of the SID search for Da Qing.
- Da Ji and Da Qing argue, but Lao Li intervenes and comes clean to Da Qing.
- Da Qing blocks Da Ji's attack of Lao Li and gets the rest of his memories back.
- Lao Li kneels in apology.
Thoughts
Theme: destruction/loss of past
The episode starts with Shen Wei's Haixing life in literal ashes, and his easy retreat to Zhao Yunlan's home. Da Ji's marriage and home life are also destroyed when her husband kills her (twice!), and she avenges herself, then tries to turn to Da Qing for love. We see in CCTV footage Wang Xiangyang's loss of his family, and learn how that has driven him to terrible lengths for revenge. But the episode ends, as it started, on a hopeful note: Da Qing remembers his past, including Lao Li's betrayal, which could easily have led to the loss of that relationship, but he still decides to stay at the SID and live an interesting life doing good. (Also, when Ya Qing sadly remembers Dong Nan, she isn't vengeful at all.)
Theme: one-sided dating
There are three couples on dates:
- Lin Jing and Sha Ya's daytime date, followed by her gig.
- Da Ji's romantic anniversary dinner, which ends with her husband murdering her twice.
- Da Ji and Da Qing's date, where Da Qing is super uncomfortable and only there to investigate Da Ji.
Mini-arc: Da Qing & Shen Wei
There's also the start of a lovely mini-arc about Da Qing and Shen Wei: first, Shen Wei is the one to stand up to Da Ji when she's choking Da Qing, and Zhao Yunlan won't intervene; then, when Shen Wei accidentally kills her, Da Qing absolves him, understanding that he was only trying to protect Zhao Yunlan; next Da Qing quotes the young Envoy from 10k years ago, giving Shen Wei a hit in the feels. IIRC, this mini-arc continues into next episode.
More notes and observations:
- Shen Wei hardly reacts to the apartment fire, but oh man, all his things! Are his clothes burned up? Did he have books and other treasures there? (The remains of the Dijun's Register?) D: D: D: How dare!?! And what about his office at the university -- did Team Merit Brush torch that, too? (Zhao Yunlan says it's the same as what happened to the DoS lab, so presumably it was Sha Ya flinging electricity around.) Shen Wei theorises the arsonist was looking for Professor Zhou's research. Zhao Yunlan (who can hardly keep his eyes open) wants details of the research, but the lab outranks the SID. (Is this what plants the idea in Shen Wei's head to meet with Zhao Xinci and enquire? Or does that not happen until Da Qing smells dark energy in the lab experiment in a later ep?) Anyway, Zhao Yunlan links it to Team Merit Brush, and Shen Wei agrees, and this is all so quiet and serious and domestic. a;sdlkfa;sdlkfjas;ldfkjas;dlfkjasd;flkajd;flkdsj
(Shen Wei sits upright on the couch, which doesn't look super comfortable, but I think that's just his way.) - Ya Qing is sad about Dong Nan and actually confides in Wang Xiangyang. Meanwhile, he says he's found another candidate who shares his goal, but he's still observing. (I think he means Da Ji? More about that further down.)
- Shen Wei cuts up oranges!! Shen Wei covers Zhao Yunlan with his suit jacket and watches him sleep!! This scene is so lovely and indulgent that I have like three icons of it!! laireshi did a fabulous scene discussion post about it, too.
- SID the next morning: Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan arrive together, of course, because they're officially shacked up now. Zhao Yunlan asks where Lin Jing is (already suspecting him?). Zhu Hong says, "He said if you asked, he was representing the SID in a Spiritual Civilization communication meeting." Heh.
- Lin Jing and Sha Ya date. Lin Jing bores her with geology, then overhears(?) a conspiracy to murder while Sha Ya's gone to the toilet (possibly not a ruse, unlike every other instance of bathroom breaks on TV). By the time she comes back, Lin Jing has to get to work, but they swap phone numbers and she invites Lin Jing to her gig that evening. Lin Jing thinks he's charmed her, not realising she's using him.
- Da Ji's husband, Zheng Daqian, stages a romantic dinner, which seems pretty mean but I guess is part of his alibi. When Da Ji arrives home, she's pleased rather than suspicious, so either he's acting IC or she's overly trusting. They drink, and I wish he'd mixed up the glasses. Zheng Daqian makes a toast: "Thank you for leaving me early and giving me freedom." Asshole.
- Lin Jing brought Zhu Hong to Sha Ya's gig and is watching Sha Ya with a sappy expression. Zhu Hong: "What are you thinking, bringing a girl to listen to your love singing? Dimwit." He claims he's trying to play it cool, but he has zero chill.
- Da Ji's house: Zheng Daqian is angry at the bank -- I'm not sure what's going on, but please let Da Ji have cleaned out the accounts! Zheng Daqian assures his gf that Da Ji is dead. Vice Minister Guo shows up to arrest them. (I'm not sure why Team Merit Brush needed Da Ji for this? Couldn't they have tipped off the DoS anonymously?)
- At the SID, Lin Jing is putting on a Da Ji show using an old-fashioned projector. "This Zheng Daqian keeps insisting that he killed his wife." (Who uses murder as a defence? I don't think he's smart enough for a life of crime.) Da Ji has been in Dragon City for ten years, under various names. No one is listening to Lin Jing, lol. He gets no respect. Except Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are watching from the mezzanine, hee. Shen Wei connects the case to the Merit Brush, and Zhao Yunlan actually compliments Lin Jing on his work. (No bonus, though.)
- Chu Shuzhi and Changcheng are investigating, trying to identify the Master of the Merit Brush. I think they're outside Da Ji's place? I love the streetcart lady who talks to them -- she's so ordinary and nice.
- Cong Bo's place. He says, "I feel like I'll soon get incorporated into your SID. I am a great whistleblower, and you're just asking me to search this gossip?" Lin Jing talks him into it, while Da Qing reads a newspaper on the couch, hee! (Has Zhao Yunlan told DQ to keep an eye on Lin Jing, I wonder? And why is Lin Jing the one pushing this case? No one else seems to care much.) Cong Bo finds more old photos of Da Ji. She hasn't aged. Da Qing wanders over to look, and finds her familiar. His eye twitches. <3 Da Ji's on a marriage-seeking site, and Lin Jing says Da Qing is exactly her type and will have to go undercover. Da Qing looks troubled.
- Two cats date. The sign says, "[Dragon City Blind Date; Early Spring]" 龙城相亲 初春 and I'm confused all over again about seasons. Didn't we just have the mid-Autumn festival? Da Qing (in a suit that rivals Shen Wei's terrible checked one) is on a date with Da Ji. Soft jazz music plays (lol, jazz cats). The restaurant is empty; maybe Da Ji booked it out with her newfound wealth? Anyway, he's super awkward and evasive; she is brimming over with happiness (and seems to only be drinking water, presumably because of the earlier poisoning *pets her*). He politely turns away to drink. She says it feels like they've known each other a long time, and he says, "Yes!" then immediately takes it back. Hee! He's so terrible at undercover.
They go for a walk, with her gripping him by the wrist. This is painfully one-sided. Da Qing is drawn to her as a person, but not the way she wants.
DQ: Why are you looking so happy?
DJ: I'm tired of pretending to be a mature woman. Smile when happy, cry when sad. That's what we cats are really like.
DQ: (excited) You like cats? So do I.
DJ: *hugs him* Are you coming to catch me? Come on! If you don't come catch me, I'll come catch you.
DQ: *pushing her away* Don't come closer.
She calls him dageda and says, "Don't you remember me?" and Da Qing hyperventilates as his memory refuses to cooperate. He pretends, but she sees through him and gets upset and violent. When his phone rings and he answers, she knocks it out of his hand and starts choking him. Just a teeny bit volatile. /o\ Also, Dragon City phones are not robust. - Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei show up somehow. Zhao Yunlan thinks it's hilarious and won't intervene because Da Ji is a girl. "Humans are not your friends. I am!" Da Ji tells Da Qing while violently choking him. Shen Wei says in Envoy tone, "Cats are rare among the Yashou tribes. This nonsense demeans you. Come back with us." (I do love how protective of Da Qing he's being. And how he immediately recognises Da Ji as a cat (right?).) She keeps choking. "Stop it," says Shen Wei. "I don't want to hurt you." Zhao Yunlan takes his cue and goes over to break up the fight... whereupon Da Ji attacks him instead, scolding him for interfering. She's very choke-y. She raises her Yashou energy claw to hurt him, and Shen Wei grabs her with dark energy and flings her away. She hits her head on the curb and dies.
Da Qing is upset and cradles the body. Zhao Yunlan runs over to check on her too. His chest is really red from the choking! He says stop shaking her, she's dead. Shen Wei has emotions and looks down at his hand like it's a weapon he didn't mean to draw. (I wonder what the politics of a Dixingren killing a Yashou are, and if it's different if it's the Envoy. Also, it's interesting that Shen Wei's go-to move is always pure dark energy, rather than, say, the ice he used in ep 1, or Chu Shuzhi's strings, which he can presumably do. I guess pure energy is faster.)
I really love how no one really holds a grudge about Da Ji's violence. She's just a very fighty cat who's been through some hard times. - SID main room. Lin Jing wants to check Da Ji over, but Zhao Yunlan says seriously that it's none of his business. Zhao Yunlan presents an array of video and file evidence linking all the Merit Brush cases. Changcheng gets increasingly distressed as he recognises Bai Suxia and eventually Wang Xiangyang.
Pushing Chu Shuzhi slightly aside with a very subtle (and cute) little nudge of his fingers (aww!), he says he's seen the Merit Brush before. Zhao Yunlan isn't surprised; he got Bai Suxia's file from Dr Cheng. It's kind of hilarious that Zhao Yunlan has single-handedly amassed all this evidence without involving his team of... investigators.
Cases and grudges: Zheng Daqian and his girlfriend stole Bai Suxia's taxi and have been arrested for financial fraud (but not murder? I guess that's hard to make stick without a body); Zhu Hao, the taxi driver who nearly knocked her over, was infected with personality switch energy and then crow darted; Dr Jin and Nurse Wei Lan, who didn't treat Bai Suxia at the hospital, were game victims; Wang Qun, a courier who delivered to Guangming Rd that night and was involved in the fruitstand bust-up, was the first aging victim (fatal); Kong Jing, who started the fight at the fruitstand, was the personality switch victim, later crow darted.
Zhao Yunlan says, "He uses the murder cases as cover for slyly punishing his own enemies. Selling fruit was such a waste of his talents." Which seems a bit snide given they've just seen his wife die on video, but okay, the revenge corpses are piling up. - SID lab. Shen Wei and Da Qing look at dead!Da Ji on the experimentation bed. (Is this SOP for dealing with corpses? Is this where they put Ding Dun before the Envoy took him away, too? It's a good thing Lin Jing isn't squeamish about having dead bodies in his workspace.) Da Qing has changed into his most falling-apart overalls, heh. Shen Wei says, regretfully, "I broke my own rule." Da Qing absolves him and quotes him from ten thousand years ago. (Oh! Does that mean they spoke back then? Or Da Qing overheard him speak?)
Shen Wei's faaaaaaaace! "You remember?" It means so much to him to be remembered!! ♥ ♥ ♥ And Da Qing looks so emotional and proud quoting Shen Wei. a;sdlkfja;sdlkfjas;dlfkjas;dlfkajsdf - Shen Wei leaves. Da Qing opts to stay with Da Ji's body. He tells her, "How come you just died like this after calling me Dageda? Stupid cat." He sits with his back to her, mourning, and I feel like his Da Ji feelings are much less ambivalent now she's dead. She wakes up, knocks him out, creepily caresses his face. (I guess at least she isn't cat-smooching him?) And she leaves.
- Hospital. Da Qing (still in his scruffy overalls) consults Dr Cheng, who advises him to take it slow and let his memories return naturally. He says he can't wait and, "I let a bad guy escape from my hands yesterday." Is that Da Ji? Is she a criminal now? (Is he counting her assaults on him and Zhao Yunlan?)
Cut to Da Qing and Dr Cheng on the street. The treatment didn't work, but Da Qing thanks her anyway. Da Ji comes and calls Dr Cheng a stinky human (so rude, lol). Da Qing encourages Dr Cheng to leave for her own safety, and backhugs Da Ji to stop her pursuing. The backhug means a lot more to her than to him! She takes him to a bridge overpass where he remembers her saving him from a car accident. It resulted in her death, and there's some great cat nuzzling of the corpse. /o\ We see her wake up alone in the dark after Da Qing left. That's when she started searching for true love. Da Ji's romantic history:- She and her first husband died in a gas leak; she revived.
- Second husband kicked her out when she came back to life after being killed by a falling flower pot. (Because her life is a cartoooon.) She didn't know she'd died.
- Zheng Daqian was husband #3, who poisoned her, then when she woke up again, violently suffocated her, yikes!
- Outside the SID. Everyone teases Da Qing about his girlfriend. He's really not into it (or her). He asks Da Ji about the Master of the Merit Brush; she knows him but has no new info. Lao Li comes out, and Da Ji attacks him. When Da Qing intervenes, she transfers her attack to Da Qing and knocks him out. Zhao Yunlan has a very hard time taking her seriously, but he tries to calm her. No luck. She kidnaps Da Qing.
- A Dragon City alley. Da Qing comes to (was he dead or just unconscious?) and scolds Da Ji. Flashback to her watching Zheng Daqian taken away ("Why is it so hard to find true love?" me: Because you can't tell when people aren't into you.). Wang Xiangyang and Ya Qing approach her: "Nice to see you again." (Again?) Wang Xiangyang gives Da Ji info about Lao Li assaulting Da Qing, and Da Qing working at the SID. From this and the alley, Da Qing gets his Lao Li memories back.
Da Ji is a separatist and wants Da Qing to stay by her side. He wants to stay at the SID. - Abandoned building. (Scene of Shen Xi's death? If so, Zhao Yunlan doesn't react.) The SID are searching for Da Qing. ZYL is genuinely worried by now. Lin Jing calls to say he's found them -- but wait, he doesn't mean the cats! He's located the Master of the Merit Brush.
- Back in the street with the cats. They stop near the SID to argue. Da Ji goes to slap Da Qing, but Lao Li catches her hand. He comes clean to Da Qing and apologises. Da Ji attacks with a wooden pole, but Da Qing jumps in to take the hit and falls semi-unconscious again.
He's going to need to see Dr Cheng for other neurological problems at this rate! BUT he remembers Kunlun, awww! And Da Ji actually looks remorseful this time. Da Qing cheers her up. He has his memories back! He wants to stay at the SID: "I want to make this clear. Lao Zhao, Lao Shen, Lao Chu and the others, and this old man [Lao Li]—they're foolish and lazy, but they laugh when they're in love, cry when they're in pain, and would die for their loved ones. They're a really interesting bunch."
Lao Li kneels to Da Qing and apologises.
Discussion starters:
- What's your favourite scene in this episode? Your favourite line?
- How does Da Qing feel about Da Ji? What do you think of her? How about Sha Ya and Lin Jing?
- Dr Cheng says to Da Qing, "I am quite curious. At your young age, how come you have so many memories so deeply buried? You come across like an experienced old man." It doesn't sound to me like she'd connecting this to Zu Ma's condition -- why not?
- What did Team Merit Brush need Da Ji for? Does the Merit Brush, under Wang Xiangyang's control, feed on revenge energy? Or is using other people's revenge part of Wang Xiangyang's covering his tracks? Or something else?
- What Da Qing says the people at the SID "laugh when they're in love, cry when they're in pain," it echoes Da Ji's, "Smile when happy, cry when sad. That's what we cats are really like." Do you think Da Qing is saying the SID are like cats? Or that everyone's just people?
- Do you think Shen Wei is worried about what else Da Qing might have remembered and what he might say to Zhao Yunlan?
- How much do you think Shen Wei lost in the fire? Most importantly, when they arrive at the SID the next morning, is he wearing Zhao Yunlan's underwear?
Let’s talk about episode 26!
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!
no subject
Don't remember the exact phrasing but there's a line where he's like "my wife withdrew???" so yeah I think Da Ji did clean him out (or clean herself out, possibly)
Not sure it's a defense so much as him being super freaked. Which is you know, probably how most people would respond to watching someone resurrect themselves twice
Well, we know from the webnovelist arc that Lin Jing reads horror webnovels and can get quite fannish about them. A ~mysterious woman~ who can't die and doesn't age might be right up his alley
I think it offends ZYL's sense of justice, plus he's frustrated at how long its taking the SID to shut him down. But yeah not his finest moment for sure
I think Da Qing really wants to hang out with other cat Yashou but doesn't have any interest in her specifically. And also doesn't want to hang out with other cats enough to be willing to put up with her poor behavior (even in the flashback to her death, he seems notably uninterested imo, so its not just a lack of memories thing) As for me, she's definitely not my favorite side character! We don't get enough pleasant interactions between her and well, anyone, for me to really see her as anything more interesting than Da Qing's stalker tbh
no subject
Excellent! :D
Not sure it's a defense so much as him being super freaked. Which is you know, probably how most people would respond to watching someone resurrect themselves twice
Ha, true. (I still think it's not a smart thing to say to the authorities. *g* But yeah, understandable. I just have a grudge.)
Well, we know from the webnovelist arc that Lin Jing reads horror webnovels and can get quite fannish about them. A ~mysterious woman~ who can't die and doesn't age might be right up his alley
Hee! Excellent point! Maybe he should start a Creepy Dragon City True Crime podcast? Except that's probably prohibited by his employment contract with the SID...
I think Da Qing really wants to hang out with other cat Yashou but doesn't have any interest in her specifically.
He does spend a lot of time talking to the alley kittens, doesn't he? So yeah, agreed, he's hungry for feline company, but she's really not his type (if he has a type). (Now I want some other, better behaved, cats to show up and divide his loyalties. ;-)
Da Ji's behaviour is really bad. You're right, even in the flashbacks she's clingy and not willing to take no for an answer. I wonder whether, if she were just a shade less volatile, hanging around with the SID would help her chill and learn better social skills.
(I guess I'm in the "the Cat Tribe is rare; I want to rehabilitate them where possible" camp; I wrote my way into liking her. But I totally understand why generic-and-specific-you might not! :-)
no subject
Oh yeah, I mean, he and his girlfriend do also plan the murder in public so definitely not the smartest criminal regardless!
Alas yeah I doubt ZYL would approve, even if it is well precedented in the storied tradition of detective novel framing devices (ala Sherlock Holmes, tho you know Lin Jing would make himself out as the Sherlock rather than the Watson 😆)
Yeah thats the thing like, I do want to like her! I love the idea of having more cat Yashou, and Da Qing having friends, and doing more stuff with Da Qing's time between Ye Olde Haixing and the present but like...as its actually written in canon I find her very uncompelling. (It's not just "she's a bad person" to be clear, I love a lot of the guardian villians for their villianyness I just don't get a lot of...depth? from it. Things to latch onto fannishly)
I do love your idea of a 3rd cat Yashou showing up! Maybe it'd snap her out of her "why are you choosing the humans, when I'm the only one who understands you??" loop and force her to actually evaluate her own actions a bit and have some character growth. Which could make for a pretty interesting fic!
no subject
LOL!
Alas yeah I doubt ZYL would approve, even if it is well precedented in the storied tradition of detective novel framing devices (ala Sherlock Holmes, tho you know Lin Jing would make himself out as the Sherlock rather than the Watson 😆)
Haha, he absolutely would. And I feel like Lin Jing could disguise the podcasts as fiction... but yeah. Probably too much breach of privacy and risk of people joining the dots...
Re Da Ji, yeah, she needs a bigger field of focus that just Da Qing (especially since he's not into her) and true love. That would make her a lot more interesting. I'd love Zhu Hong to take her under her
wingscales, actually. And maybe Changcheng, once Da Ji has got over her anti-human prejudice. Or yeah, another cat. (I was actually thinking of the third cat for Da Qing, though. It would be interesting to see how he reacted -- whether he really wants another cat friend just because they're a cat, or whether he'd find he preferred the SID team anyway. Cats aren't famous for their intra-cat sociability, after all. *g*)no subject
Yeah, this is really it, she's so focused on finding love (and looking for it in all the wrong places), she's kind of stuck. To get some character development, she'd need to get over that.
And I would be all for Da Qing and other cats! I think he'd like to have some around, just not, you know, clingy. *g*
no subject
no subject
Zhu Hong big-sistering her could definitely be fun! And give her an opportunity to show (or develop) a more rounded personality. Changcheng's unrelenting niceness would probably baffle her haha
Ah yeah I was just thinking that even if Da Qing wouldn't prefer a new cat to, say, Zhao Yunlan, it wouldn't be hard for him to prefer them to Da Ji. Which she'd presumably find upsetting, in the way that she finds all of his relationships upsetting. But no "you can't trust humans" rejection of reality there!
Hee true! And maybe why we see so much fewer of them in canon (besides their supposed rareness) if they're all spread out in their own territories. Though housecats are actually at the high-end of the cat sociability scale (sisters often coparent! and some form clowders!) so it doesn't feel like friends at least is too much of a reach? And Da Qing does seem to be pretty good at making friends
no subject
LOL, true.
Ah yeah I was just thinking that even if Da Qing wouldn't prefer a new cat to, say, Zhao Yunlan, it wouldn't be hard for him to prefer them to Da Ji. Which she'd presumably find upsetting, in the way that she finds all of his relationships upsetting.
Oh yeah, good point. She really just wants a world where she and he are the only people (like Lin Jing's joke about Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan last episode). *gives her a hobby*
And Da Qing does seem to be pretty good at making friends
That's true. He's definitely not a "Zhao Yunlan and no one else" kind of cat. He even attaches to Da Ji to some extent, despite her behaviour. Hmm. *ponders a possible new kitty character* :-D
no subject
Will be v interested if you end up writing anything with more cat tribe kitties (or even just have further thoughts to share about kitty oc's)
no subject
no subject
Yeah, agreed. He's already completely frazzled before he gets arrested!
I think Da Qing really wants to hang out with other cat Yashou but doesn't have any interest in her specifically.
I think he'd like her as an occasionally hanging-out buddy or little sister, but he has zero romantic interest in her.
no subject
I'm very much team Da Qing reads as aroace, so yeah agreed! It's hard to say for me, from the flashbacks, how well they actually knew eachother which is part of why I'm somewhat ambivalent about what he thinks about her past that
no subject
My impression is that they haven't known each other for long, and he does say back then, "I was so happy to meet another cat; who knew she'd be so annoying," which makes it sound like it's fairly recent. But yeah, difficult to say.