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sid_guardian2023-07-21 01:12 am
trobadora) wrote in sid_guardian2023-07-21 01:12 am
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GUARDIAN REWATCH - Episode 27
Beginning of episode: Lao-Li apologises to Da Qing for what he did ten years ago
Ending of episode: Zhao Yunlan asks Sha Ya if Wang Xiangyang has more enemies he's pursuing
Important scenes/developments:
- Lao-Li explains his backstory with Da Qing; Da Qing forgives him
- Da Qing talks to Shen Wei about ending up with the SID
- the SID confronts Wang Xiangyang; Ya Qing takes him away
- Lin Jing dreams of Sha Ya calling him a traitor, and destroys the syringe from Kong Jing's place
- Sha Ya attacks the lab again
- Prof Ouyang visits Li Qian in hospital and decides on a dangerous course with their research
- Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei and Da Qing sneak into the lab; Shen Wei reconstructs what they've been working on
- Sha Ya says she's leaving soon; Lin Jing tries to bug her
- Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi happen on Guo Ying and Yu Jinlan being attacked by Sha Ya; she gets away but loses an earring
- Zhao Yunlan calls Cong Bo and tells him to investigate certain people, then discovers Shen Wei talking to Zhao Xinci
- Shen Wei and Zhao Xinci talk about the experiments at the lab and about Zhao Yunlan
- Zhao Yunlan confronts Shen Wei about keeping more secrets from him
- at the SID, Zhao Yunlan deduces that the attacker is Lin Jing's girlfriend
- Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan try to capture Sha Ya at the club
- Lin Jing confronts Sha Ya outside; she lets herself be captured
- Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan interrogate Sha Ya
Theme of the week: betrayal, doubt, trust
This is threaded through the episode in various ways and on various levels, mainly but not exclusively centred around Lin Jing and Zhao Yunlan:
- Lin Jing:
- Lin Jing vs. the SID: we haven't officially learned yet what's going on with him, but we do know that he's been shifty about the serum and the syringe found at Kong Jing's place, which he now actually destroys, hiding evidence from the SID despite his subconscious guilt coming out in his dreams. And he doesn't speak up, either, when he recognises Sha Ya's earring, hiding his knowledge of her from the SID. But when he does eventually confront her, his states reason for doing so is "I'm a member of the SID," choosing his loyalties after all. (A neat bit of foreshadowing, too!)
- Speaking of Lin Jing and Sha Ya: Lin Jing doesn't know her agenda and surely has reason to doubt her, but even at the point where he's about to ask, he lets her stop him and tells no one. He doesn't turn away from her - not when the bug gets zapped and he realises; not when Chu Shuzhi finds her earring after she attacked Guo Changcheng's aunt and uncle, not even when she attacks him with her powers. Even when he's actively opposing her, he never gives up on her, choosing to trust that there's more to her than simply an enemy who deceived him.
- Zhao Yunlan:
- On the other side of the SID traitor case, we have Zhao Yunlan, who really does not want to doubt his people, but upon discovering the missing syringe, has to face that there must be a traitor in the SID. And the connection with the discovery at the lab as well as the Haixing Inspectorate and the Xingdu Bureau being suspiciously well-informed about the SID's goings-on are enough of a hint for who this traitor is really working for - but then Lin Jing goes and hides Sha Ya's identity, so now there's doubt about his loyalties on that front as well ...
- Perhaps worse, on top of all of this, Zhao Yunlan discovers that Shen Wei of all people is going behind his back to meet with Zhao Xinci, who is after all not just Zhao Yunlan's estranged father, but also the very person in charge of one of the agencies behind the serum development. And Shen Wei keeping things from him has been a point of contention between them before - there is still much that Zhao Yunlan doesn't and can't know, and Shen Wei is not budging on that front. Zhao Yunlan admits to doubting Shen Wei many times - but this time again, as always, chooses trust in the end.
- Da Qing and Lao-Li also have a little arc around this theme, with Lao-Li going for distrust and betrayal in the past, knocking out an unsuspecting Da Qing, only to realise his mistake and work to make up for it, whereas Da Qing now after discovering all of this has to decide if he can still trust Lao-Li (and of course chooses to forgive him).
- Team Merit Brush meanwhile have their own problems, with tensions between Sha Ya on one side, and Ya Qing and Wang Xiangyang on the other. Sha Ya wants her revenge, and doubts Wang Xiangyang's commitment as he's going too slow for her; Ya Qing doubts Sha Ya's loyalty to the cause in light of her apparent feelings for Lin Jing; they even come to blows. And it remains unclear at the end of this episode just how much Sha Ya is still on board with their plans, but there's clearly little trust between them.
Quote of the week
"Hatred is no reason for a vendetta." - Chu Shuzhi
(He should know! And I love that point - regardless of whether Wang Xiangyang has cause, regardless of how valid his feelings may be, his course of action is still wrong.)
Fun with Dixing powers
- Chu Shuzhi's strings can be used like laser bolts!
- Sha Ya, boosted twice with the Merit Brush, can zoom off right into the sky!
More thoughts:
- Lao-Li originally thinking of shapeshifter Da Qing as a monster, and then regretting it and becoming one of Da Qing's closest friends really encapsulates the drama's main themes, and I love it so much. Same goes for his dedication to make up for what he did - one attack in the heat of the moment, and he spends years working on amends. He says he worked hard to join the SID; I wonder what he did to get there from where he started out as a homeless man - but we know there have to be about eight years between Da Qing's memory loss ten years ago and Lao-Li being hired by the SID, since that was already under Zhao Yunlan (as seen in a flashback in episode 37). ♥ ♥ ♥
- Da Qing and Zhao Yunlan are so similar in how they behave! When Lao-Li asks him if he forgives him, Da Qing performs the same kind of fake-out joke over something very serious that I'm not very fond of in Zhao Yunlan. I mind it less with the literal cat! *g* (I wonder which of them learned that from the other?)
- We talked about Da Ji being annoying and immature last week, but I find it really striking that here at the end, she stands there listening seriously and soberly to the whole Da Qing-and-Lao-Li reunion and reconciliation, not angry, not violent, even smiling happily when Da Qing says he'll give Lao-Li another chance. And when Da Qing tells them both why he's staying at the SID, she smiles and nods.
After that, she disappears from the episode - she clearly doesn't try to stop Da Qing from returning to the SID, nor does she cling to him any more. She is capable of acting more mature! So I wonder if her extreme behaviour in the previous episode really was largely a response to the trauma of being murdered by her husband. - I love the little Shen Wei-and-Da Qing scene so much! Da Qing with his memory restored is running to Shen Wei first! Da Qing figures he ended up with the SID for a reason - and concludes Shen Wei ended up there for the same reason! The way they smile at each other, aww. :D It's not said explicitly, but it looks to me like Shen Wei is so pleased to be remembered by Da Qing, to have someone who also understands the ways past and present entangle, with both their relationships with Kunlun/Zhao Yunlan. ♥
- The confrontation with Wang Xiangyang: last episode, Lin Jing said he'd found him, but we never hear how, or how that means they can confront him in some alley what must be hours later. Enquiring minds want to know!
My favourite bit from this scene is only seen for a moment through a cloud of black energy, not exactly prominently displayed but nonetheless so telling: when Ya Qing flies in, Shen Wei immediately moves to cover Zhao Yunlan, and further back, Chu Shuzhi does the same for Guo Changcheng. :D - Lots of meaningful looks between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan in this episode!
Of course this isn't unusual in any way - but I do find it striking that we get these both before and after their confrontation by the car, indicating nothing changes between them and they're in synch regardless. ♥ - Wang Xiangyang drawing the penultimate symbol with the Merit Brush causes something like an energy dome to appear in the sky, and in Dixing, black symbols show themselves in the air around the pillar (presumably counterparts to all the ones Wang Xiangyang has drawn), and energy runs over the chains that bind it. Very cool!
- A scene I entirely forgot happened: there's an assassination attempt on the Regent! The fourth this month, says a guard - and this has apparently made the Regent decide to take Ye Zun seriously as a threat now. He's decided to mobilise a siege squad to suppress the villains. (I presume this is what leads to the siege of the pillar the Shadow Man refers to later in episode 33.)
Unfortunately, while the Regent seems to be willing to act against Ye Zun now, he doesn't think of coordinating with Shen Wei at this point - things might have gone differently if he had ... - Also the Regent: "As I see it, the loss of the Hallows and dwindling of resources will eventually become known to the Dixing population and lead to discontent." - I'm pretty sure the population of Dixing is very aware of the lack of resources and the absence of the Hallows! (Or at least the absence of the Guardian Lantern.) But the Regent is right that Ye Zun is provoking discontent in Dixing, using those points in his favour.
- Just for fun, a comparison of Sha Ya's two lab invasions (episode 22 and here):
- After Sha Ya's second attack on the lab and Li Qian's anonymous email, Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei and Da Qing investigate; Minister Gao won't let them into the lab, but that doesn't stop them. The SID is investigating its own superiors now! And the Envoy is investigating a Haixing government agency.
I love the scene where Shen Wei reconstructs something on a whiteboard, and deduces what the lab is working on. (Excellent parallel to Li Qian correcting the whiteboard before she got hired at the lab, too!) "Impossible," Shen Wei says, clearly shocked - and then he and Zhao Yunlan promptly connect this to what happened to Kong Jing. ♥ ♥ ♥ - We also get two scenes emphasizing Da Qing's cat senses: his hearing when he listens in on Vice Minister Guo whispering to Minister Gao; his nose when he smells Dixingren on some glass shards.
- I'm really wondering what Li Qian is making of all of this. She seems to be serious about the research and not considering it suspect in itself; what does she know about the politics surrounding Dixingren? Possibly very little. Her main concern in her argument with Professor Ouyang is that he's taking a dangerous course by building on previous failed samples now that their current serum has been destroyed. (I presume that by "failed samples" they mean something like, "this sort of worked, but had side effects we didn't want, so we went in a different direction, which we can't now reconstruct in a reasonable time frame"?) Professor Ouyang insists that for the sake of all of humanity, they can't afford to worry about the danger.
(Also interesting that Professor Zhou, who was attacked by Sha Ya during her first lab invasion, has elected not to return.) - Meanwhile, Lin Jing and Sha Ya are on a date again, and we learn that she (like many people on this show :p) has a significant piece of jewellery, that she loves a starry sky, and that she's planning to return to a place with no sunny days and no starry skies. Lin Jing, for whom this must ring some sort of bell, elects to ignore it - until later, when her power flares and she (accidentally? deliberately?) destroys the bug he attempts to put on her. (Bad move, Lin Jing!) In that later scene, we also get to see Lin Jing conspicuously struggling with something in his pocket, and eventually (too late) withdrawing a ring. Already the starry sky ring we'll see later? I assume!
- I do think it's cute that Lin Jing - as seen repeatedly over the course of his dates with Sha Ya, and called out here - starts reciting factoids whenever he doesn't know what to say! :D
And also the way he lets Sha Ya shush him when he's about to ask her about who she really is, choosing to trust that she won't do anything he couldn't live with.
- When Zhao Yunlan, Da Qing and Sang Zan look for the syringe found at Kong Jing's place in SID evidence, they find it gone. (Sang Zan yawns, apparently having been woken up in the middle of the night. Energy ghosts need sleep!) The syringe was put into an evidence bag and documented, but now it's missing: there's a traitor at the SID - and Zhao Yunlan immediately looks at Lin Jing's desk.
Regarding the evidence list they're checking, there's a greatdragoncityinteriordesign post translating the visible text - thanks to
bladedweapons for the link! Here it is. (I expect the non-SID names refer to "regular" police officers who investigated cases eventually handed over to the SID; that makes the most sense to me. As satsuma pointed out on discord, a number of cases do get transferred to them from other divisions, some seemingly quite late in the process.) - Sha Ya attempts to intimidate Minister Guo into giving up the schedules for the top officials of Haixing Inspectorate and Xingdu Bureau. Both Guo Ying and Yu Jinlan prove themselves quite brave: he tells her he wouldn't turn traitor even if he knew, and she calls out to Guo Changcheng to warn him away. ♥
- Zhao Yunlan is in the middle of telling Cong Bo to investigate SID members (which Cong Bo is not happy about) when he discovers something else happening behind his back: Shen Wei meeting with Zhao Xinci. Things are just stacking up! Is everyone in league with the Xingdu Bureau/Haixing Inspectorate?!
- Regarding Shen Wei's conversation with Zhao Xinci: I wonder how Shen Wei feels, hearing that the serum project has been planned for a long time, seeing how unconcerned Zhao Xinci is with the potential fallout - and how unwilling to consider the possibility of peace. Zhao Xinci of course has a point that they can't rely on that possibility, but closer cooperation never once occurs to him as an option for averting the danger.
They come to an agreement; Shen Wei will keep the information about the serum from Dixing for now, and Zhao Xinci will keep Zhao Yunlan out of things. (How he's supposed to do that, I'm not sure, though! What concession does Shen Wei think he got here? I have no clue.) - Two things that strike me as extraordinary: Zhao Xinci casually referring to "the one we both care about" (!!!), and him equally casually admitting to his heart surgery, when he has previously .
- And when Shen Wei goes outside, of course Zhao Yunlan is right there. sakana17 suggested here that his presence is connected to Zhao Yunlan in episode 25 promising to visit his father, and china_shop suggested that Zhao Xinci might have deliberately set Zhao Yunlan up to run into Zhao Xinci's meeting with the Envoy. I never put these things together previously, but looking at it now, it makes so much sense that it's intentional. Zhao Yunlan arranges a visit with his father, and Zhao Xinci uses it to set a trap. Despite apparently acknowledging Shen Wei's feelings for Zhao Yunlan, Zhao Xinci seems to still be trying to drive a wedge between them.
- The entire scene between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan by the car is so intense! Lots of meaningful stares! Zhao Yunlan keeps looking away, then looking at Shen Wei, then looking away again! Banging his hand against the car!
Shen Wei remains quiet, says nothing for the longest time - and after Zhao Yunlan tells him he always considered him his best friend, he comes back with "How much did you hear?", making it sound as if he's putting together a cover story. But he knows how fraught Zhao Yunlan's relationship with his father is; everything else aside, it makes sense to me that he wouldn't want to bother Zhao Yunlan with this.
Zhao Yunlan: "Can I still trust you? To be honest, I doubted you many times. But I chose to believe in you every single time. I don't even know why."
He starts out looking looking to the side and down, then looks up but not at Shen Wei, and only faces him when he says he chose to believe in him. That sentence, IMO, is the turn-around - where he's letting go of the tension: his tone here reminds me very much of the scene at the hospital when he says, "Dage, we are a part of each other's lives now. If you were to die, do you think I'd be okay?" (episode 24) - very "of course this is how it is; you should know that already!" And then he turns away again, but with a small laugh. To quotesakana17 regarding the last sentence, it didn't seem to me that he's saying, "I don't know why I trusted you [because I shouldn't trust you]" but that he's saying, "I don't know why I trusted you [but I did and still do]. ♥ ♥ ♥
And after the phone rings, they head back to the SID, where they'll be behaving as usual, with nothing left of the tension between them. - Lin Jing immediately recognises Sha Ya's earring when Chu Shuzhi shows it, but he says nothing. He's zoning out, realising now exactly who he's fallen in love with. Meanwhile, Zhao Yunlan realises from Lin Jing's weird behaviour that the woman must be Lin Jing's girlfriend, gets a photo from Zhu Hong, and compares earrings. (You'd think he'd just show the photo to the Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng, who fought with Sha Ya just now! But nope, earring deductions are more fun, I guess. *g*)
- Love Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan's coordinated attempt at capturing Sha Ya! Very cool scene. But she's alerted when a waiter runs into Zhao Yunlan and drops something, and she uses her powers (interacting in very interesting ways with her electric guitar!) to escape. Only to be confronted with Lin Jing ...
I want to leave the discussion of what exactly Sha Ya is planning when she gets arrested for next week, but regardless of her ulterior motives in getting close to him, and his stalkerish tendencies, I think this scene makes it very clear they have genuine feelings for each other. They're both sad and close to tears - and then they actually start crying. She tells him to get out of the way for his own sake; he won't let her, and pleads with her not to repeat her mistakes. He doesn't seem to hold it against her at all when she attacks him with her powers. They're on opposite sides, and neither of them is willing to change that at this point - but they're also both hurt and clearly struggling with their feelings. When Lin Jing tells her this way she'll never find the starry sky she wants., that is when she actually stops, just before he passes out. And then Chu Shuzhi and Da Qing find her holding an unconscious Lin Jing in her arms.
(And regarding Sha Ya's ulterior motives, she tells Ya Qing and Wang Xiangyang, about Lin Jing: "You know perfectly well that that I contacted him to extract information. But he played the fool. Didn't tell me anything." But I don't think we ever saw her actually attempt to draw information from Lin Jing. Am I forgetting something?)
Discussion starters:
- What is your favourite scene in this episode? (I'm having a hard time choosing between the Da Qing and Shen Wei memory scene and the Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei confrontation.) What's the best line? (I quoted my favourite above.)
- Which use of Dixing or Yashou powers in this episode was the most fun, or the most unexpected? I'm voting for Sha Ya zipping off into the sky! :D
- Anything you didn't remember? I had entirely forgotten about the Regent sending out a siege squad, and also about the ring Lin Jing already has in his pocket in this episode ...
- What is the point of Sha Ya's second invasion of the lab? She tells Li Qian she's there to destroy the research, but just like the previous time, she can't get into the safe, and that doesn't seem to bother her. How can they be sure she's destroyed everything?
- How do you think Zhao Yunlan suspects Lin Jing so quickly? When he discovers the syringe missing, he immediately looks at Lin Jing's desk ...
- When Sha Ya's power zaps the bug Lin Jing is trying to plant on her, he says: "Tell me the truth, are you ...", but she stops him with a finger on his lips. Is he about to ask if she's Dixingren? Or does he already have a suspicion about her electric powers and the connection to Team Merit Brush?
- When Zhao Yunlan tells Cong Bo to check out some people (plural), who do you think is included? Who else, apart from Lin Jing, is getting investigated? Everyone? Only some of them?
- What did Shen Wei hope to get from the meeting with Zhao Xinci? Do you think he got it?
- Why do you think, when Zhao Yunlan confronts him after the meeting with Zhao Xinci, Shen Wei stays silent for so long? What's his reasoning for keeping this particular secret from Zhao Yunlan?
- When Lin Jing confronts Sha Ya at the end, is he doing this on his own, or is he part of Zhao Yunlan's plan? That is, did Zhao Yunlan leave him out of the operation to capture his girlfriend, or did he, despite suspecting him of being a traitor, nevertheless bring him in on this?
- Interesting to me: during the confrontation in the alley, Zhao Yunlan accuses Wang Xiangyang of hiding behind others, goading them into avenging him - which is very similar to what Sha Ya says about him at the end of the episode when she's being interrogated. Is she doing that deliberately for subconscious appeal to Zhao Yunlan, or are they really on the same wavelength regarding Wang Xiangyang?
Let's talk about episode 27!
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 27 fanworks and meta go here!
- any other episode reactions or related meta
- fanworks, picspams, squee, etc, relating to episode 27 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 27 fanworks and meta go here!
Guardian Episode by Episode: 27 by
Episode 27 random notes by
Scene discussion:
Memories (Da Qing and Shen Wei in the street) by
Fic by me:
The Cat's Priorities (1829 words) [Teen]
Relationships: Dà Qìng & Shěn Wēi, Da Qing & Kunlun
Content Tags: Da Qing's Memories, time loops, Angst, Missing Scenes, Episode Related, Episode 27, episode 34
Summary: Da Qing has regained his memory, but he's still putting together the pieces.
Re: Links to episode 27 fanworks and meta go here!
The Time-Traveller's Cat -- Da Qing & Shen Wei & Zhao Yunlan, 2,797 words, a family dinner after Da Qing gets his memories back.
A Secret Assignment -- Da Qing & Shen Wei, Li Qian & Shen Wei, 748 words, Shen Wei sends Da Qing to check on Li Qian in the hospital.
Tea with the Envoy -- gen, 1,837 words, Zhao Xinci pov on his meeting with Shen Wei.
Re: Links to episode 27 fanworks and meta go here!
no subject
Da Qing and Shen Wei! ♥ ♥♥
They are both so happy!
How do you think Zhao Yunlan suspects Lin Jing so quickly?
Wasn't he already suspicious during the personality swap episode? Since apparently Lin Jing was unaffected because he is hiding something.
What did Shen Wei hope to get from the meeting with Zhao Xinci? Do you think he got it?
Confirmation of Zhao Xinci's involvement? And his reasoning for the whole project.
Tbh I don't think either of them got any tangible concession out of this; it's more an exchange of information.
Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi happen on Guo Ying and Yu Jinlan being attacked by Sha Ya
There is something I was wondering in regards to where Xiao Guo says "this wouldn't have happened if we cared more about the people around us": Does he mean a specific "we", as in himself and the SID? Or a general "we", essentially saying if everyone was nice to each other, these things wouldn't happen?
I can't tell if his line in chinese even allows both of these interpretations.
no subject
YESSSSSSSSSS it's delightful! :D
Wasn't he already suspicious during the personality swap episode? Since apparently Lin Jing was unaffected because he is hiding something.
Yes, that's definitely the connection he makes! But given that Zhao Yunlan himself was unaffected as well, I thought he might have hesitated more.
Tbh I don't think either of them got any tangible concession out of this; it's more an exchange of information.
Yeah, that sounds right to me!
There is something I was wondering in regards to where Xiao Guo says "this wouldn't have happened if we cared more about the people around us": Does he mean a specific "we", as in himself and the SID? Or a general "we", essentially saying if everyone was nice to each other, these things wouldn't happen?
I can't tell if his line in chinese even allows both of these interpretations.
I just checked, and it looks to me like the Chinese is just as ambiguous as the translation. FWIW, I thought he meant if people in general cared more. And he'd be a little bit right there, with the taxi driver's and Zheng Daqian's behaviour as well as the fruit stand trashing - those things did affect how that night went wrong. (Though of course Wang Xiangyang's blaming the hospital and Zhao Xinci is entirely misdirected.)
Btw, I just added another question to the post that I somehow managed to lose during c&p-ing yesterday:
When Lin Jing confronts Sha Ya at the end, is he doing this on his own, or is he part of Zhao Yunlan's plan? That is, did Zhao Yunlan leave him out of the operation to capture his girlfriend, or did he, despite suspecting him of being a traitor, nevertheless bring him in on this?
no subject
Thanks for checking!
I agree it does make more sense to talk about people in general here.
Although I wouldn't put it past Guo Changcheng to feel guilty for something that wasn't his fault.
Though of course Wang Xiangyang's blaming the hospital and Zhao Xinci is entirely misdirected
Ha, the one time Zhao Xinci wasn't doing anything, he gets blamed XD
When Lin Jing confronts Sha Ya at the end, is he doing this on his own, or is he part of Zhao Yunlan's plan?
I had assumed (baselessly) that this was Lin Jing acting on his own, but that's actually a good question!
Also, would leaving Lin Jing out make it obvious he is under suspicion, or can it be presented as a kindness?
no subject
Yeah, you're not wrong there. *g*
Also, would leaving Lin Jing out make it obvious he is under suspicion, or can it be presented as a kindness?
I think given how clearly out of sorts Lin Jing was in the scene where they figured out Sha Ya's identity from the earring, it could very easily be presented as a kindness.
no subject
*g* He gets blamed for the accidental shooting of Bao Laosan, too (and does nothing to clear up the misunderstanding). And Sha Ya blames him for shooting Gu Ban, which he didn't do. And for that matter, Zhao Yunlan holds him responsible for Shen Xi's death, when Zhao Xinci arguably didn't do anything to cause it...
/pedantry, sorry! :-)
no subject
no subject
no subject
That was my reading, too.
no subject
Oh, yes! Great catch!
Even when he's actively opposing her, he never gives up on her, choosing to trust that there's more to her than simply an enemy who deceived him.
Even when she tells him she only dated him because he was first to take the bait! I do like that he sees through that / doesn't care.
as well as the Haixing Inspectorate and the Xingdu Bureau being suspiciously well-informed about the SID's goings-on
I find this bit confusing. When have the DoS and the Xingdu Bureau known more than they should about the SID? Surely the SID is submitting reports and things anyway. So what have they been hiding from their superiors all this time that the superiors mysteriously found out?? (It might be Li Qian's connection with the Hallows, maybe, but does Zhao Yunlan know that the DoS lab knows about that?)
but then Lin Jing goes and hides Sha Ya's identity, so now there's doubt about his loyalties on that front as well ...
I don't read it that way. I think Zhao Yunlan immediately understands Lin Jing's reaction re Sha Ya and sees it as separate from his possible spying. They're completely different things. With Sha Ya, it's like Lin Jing implicitly recusing himself from the investigation due to a conflict of interest, but he does it openly enough that it's super easy to interpret, ergo not suspicious. He doesn't secretly obstruct or sabotage the case. And I don't think Zhao Yunlan holds his silence against him -- if he did, would he have let Lin Jing be present while they were interviewing Sha Ya? Wouldn't he be in disgrace? If anything, I think Lin Jing showing genuine feeling here probably makes Zhao Yunlan believe in him more, enabling him to trust Lin Jing enough to flip him later.
Perhaps worse, on top of all of this, Zhao Yunlan discovers that Shen Wei of all people is going behind his back to meet with Zhao Xinci, who is after all not just Zhao Yunlan's estranged father, but also the very person in charge of one of the agencies behind the serum development.
I wonder what Zhao Yunlan thinks is going on here. He's immediately accusatory, so he must have decided Shen Wei wasn't just gathering information on behalf of both of them. He doesn't start with "What did you learn?" But he can't think the Envoy would collaborate with the Xingdu Bureau. It's like just seeing Shen Wei and Zhao Xinci together has flipped a fury switch in Zhao Yunlan's head, and he's aware he's not being rational, and he's struggling with it, and that's why he doesn't let it break them again? But he needs Shen Wei to know that he saw and has ~feelings~ and suspicions about it -- which is kind of healthy communication? Much better than bottling it up and pretending everything's fine when it isn't. *pets him*
"Hatred is no reason for a vendetta." - Chu Shuzhi
(He should know!
Heh. That just made me think of him attacking the Regent. :D Has he grown since then, or is he a hypocrite? (I do agree it's a good sentiment, though!)
Sha Ya, boosted twice with the Merit Brush, can zoom off right into the sky!
LOL, that was so unexpected and silly. :D
We talked about Da Ji being annoying and immature last week, but I find it really striking that here at the end, she stands there listening seriously and soberly to the whole Da Qing-and-Lao-Li reunion and reconciliation
Yeah, her remorse about whacking Da Qing with that pole really shakes her out of her shouting-and-choking phase, doesn't it? *g*
Da Qing with his memory restored is running to Shen Wei first! Da Qing figures he ended up with the SID for a reason - and concludes Shen Wei ended up there for the same reason!
Yesssss! I'm never 100% sure if their reason is that the SID is the modern-day Allied Forces equivalent, or if Zhao Yunlan himself is the reason. After all, Da Qing joined the SID well before Zhao Yunlan did...
Lots of meaningful looks between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan in this episode!
Yes! I enjoyed that so much. *g*
A scene I entirely forgot happened: there's an assassination attempt on the Regent! The fourth this month, says a guard
I'd forgotten that, too! The "fourth this month" line made me lol -- love that it took FOUR attempts to make the Regent take it seriously and do something. So... I'm guessing the siege squad was an attempt to stop Ye Zun getting visitors? (When I googled "siege squad," I just got a bunch of game references. ;-p)
Unfortunately, while the Regent seems to be willing to act against Ye Zun now, he doesn't think of coordinating with Shen Wei at this point - things might have gone differently if he had ...
Interesting -- how do you think things might have gone differently? Shen Wei and the SID are already trying to stop Team Merit Brush, so what more do you think Shen Wei could have done to contain Ye Zun that he hadn't already tried?
I'm pretty sure the population of Dixing is very aware of the lack of resources and the absence of the Hallows! (Or at least the absence of the Guardian Lantern.)
Ha, yes! Unless he's made some obfuscating announcement about it being under repair, but I imagine rumours are rife -- especially since the Envoy sent a search party to Haixing. Surely those party members have families...
Just for fun, a comparison of Sha Ya's two lab invasions (episode 22 and here):
Ha, nice! I love her masquerade mask; I wonder if it's her drinking mask when she's in Dixing... I wonder if Hua Yuzhu has a matching one...
Minister Gao won't let them into the lab, but that doesn't stop them. The SID is investigating its own superiors now! And the Envoy is investigating a Haixing government agency.
This feels like a turning point to me. Zhao Yunlan seems to readily accept that the DoS officials are, if not antagonists, obstacles in the way of his mission, rather than his superiors with bureaucratic/political authority. But he doesn't know the serum experiment has been dangerously fast-tracked, and it's not like he has any right to know about the lab's research. That's not his job, and it's above his clearance level.
And sure, a syringe got out and caused trouble, but that wasn't actually the lab's fault -- it was the same kind of situation as Zheng Yi stealing the Hallows and Zhu Jiu causing chaos at the wedding. The lab's research may be dodgy, but Zhao Yunlan doesn't know that, and now it's contained again, it's not actually his business.
It's like he's taken it on himself to be the moral arbiter of the Haixing public sector, without having all the facts. (I love him!!! I just don't know that he's going about this the best way.) Meanwhile (jumping ahead a bit), Shen Wei goes through proper channels to find out what he can, and Zhao Yunlan gets mad about it. ;-p
I'm really wondering what Li Qian is making of all of this. She seems to be serious about the research and not considering it suspect in itself; what does she know about the politics surrounding Dixingren?
She's young, and she's been through a lot. She might well agree with Professor Ouyang (and Zhao Xinci) that the serum is vital to protect humanity, and they just have to work hard to minimise the costs. And maybe she thinks it won't be deployed unless there's an emergency? (I think she's also just, you know, enjoying the science.)
until later, when her power flares and she (accidentally? deliberately?) destroys the bug he attempts to put on her.
I thought that was deliberate. She's pretty sharp. :-)
Sang Zan yawns, apparently having been woken up in the middle of the night. Energy ghosts need sleep!
Hee! <3
Sha Ya attempts to intimidate Minister Guo into giving up the schedules for the top officials of Haixing Inspectorate and Xingdu Bureau.
I do like that she says she won't hurt them, and also that she pushes back against Ya Qing's suggestion of torturing info out of Lin Jing. Kudos to her for that!
Regarding Shen Wei's conversation with Zhao Xinci: I wonder how Shen Wei feels, hearing that the serum project has been planned for a long time, seeing how unconcerned Zhao Xinci is with the potential fallout - and how unwilling to consider the possibility of peace. Zhao Xinci of course has a point that they can't rely on that possibility, but closer cooperation never once occurs to him as an option for averting the danger.
I don't think Zhao Xinci is ruling out peace -- I think he feels he needs the serum (ie, a level playing field) for peace to exist. He says he's protecting the whole world. (And he's not actually wrong, in the end. Would Zhao Yunlan and the SID have been able to help Shen Wei defeat Ye Zun if Zhao Yunlan hadn't been juiced up with serum?)
I want to know how Zhao Xinci knows that Shen Wei cares so deeply for Zhao Yunlan. Is that a spy thing, or his own intuition?
Zhao Yunlan arranges a visit with his father, and Zhao Xinci uses it to set a trap. Despite apparently acknowledging Shen Wei's feelings for Zhao Yunlan, Zhao Xinci seems to still be trying to drive a wedge between them.
Or, alternatively, Zhao Xinci is using Shen Wei as a character witness for himself -- like, "see, your boyfriend is on cordial terms with me -- how about you give it a try, too? ;-p" maybe? *g*
he comes back with "How much did you hear?", making it sound as if he's putting together a cover story. But he knows how fraught Zhao Yunlan's relationship with his father is; everything else aside, it makes sense to me that he wouldn't want to bother Zhao Yunlan with this.
Yeah, plus this is diplomacy, right? Which requires discretion. The conversation with Zhao Xinci was quite literally above Zhao Yunlan's paygrade. But Shen Wei can't say that without putting distance between himself and Zhao Yunlan -- without essentially pulling rank himself. So I think saying, gently, "How much did you hear?" is a way of saying "That conversation wasn't for your ears" without invoking that hierarchical distance.
(When Zhao Yunlan says, "I wouldn't stand here if I'd heard any," what does he mean? What would he have done if he'd overheard??)
And then Shen Wei concedes/reaches out by telling as much as he can about his recent interactions with Zhao Xinci and giving an excuse for why he didn't say anything sooner.
I think there's actually a little resentment in Zhao Yunlan's "But I choose to believe in you every time." And then he says, "Even I don't know the reason," and laughs and drops his head, and I think he's thinking something like, "I'm a fool for you because I love you." And Shen Wei drops his gaze to give him privacy, because Shen Wei knows he's trading unfairly on Zhao Yunlan's trust/love, but he doesn't have a choice.
You'd think he'd just show the photo to the Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng, who fought with Sha Ya just now!
LOL, right? I notice that every time.
she uses her powers (interacting in very interesting ways with her electric guitar!) to escape. Only to be confronted with Lin Jing ...
I love that she openly displays her powers, and he doesn't react at all -- no alarm, no recoiling; he just quietly shows her his scientific countermeasure, the gloves. *hearts* (The gloves remind me of Wang Yike and Zhang Ruonan.) I really wish I cared more about these two. I don't know why I don't. (Btw, I note they don't get the Just Cared Too Much theme, like some of the other couples.)
But I don't think we ever saw her actually attempt to draw information from Lin Jing. Am I forgetting something?
I think you're right (what info does Team Merit Brush want, anyway?) -- so it may have happened off-screen, or she may have decided not to implicate him in her revenge after all.
What is your favourite scene in this episode?
Da Qing and Shen Wei, I think. I love that they've re-found this connection that's so important to both of them, and I love how few words it takes to re-establish it.
What's the best line?
Zhao Xinci acknowledging Shen Wei's claim on Zhao Yunlan. as;dlkfjasdlfkas;ldkfasdkfjasdf
What is the point of Sha Ya's second invasion of the lab? She tells Li Qian she's there to destroy the research, but just like the previous time, she can't get into the safe, and that doesn't seem to bother her. How can they be sure she's destroyed everything?
I'm really not sure. Could Team Merit Brush be deliberately drawing the SID's attention to the DoS research, to cause dissension in the Haixing bureaucracy and distract the SID? Because that's pretty much what they achieve...
How do you think Zhao Yunlan suspects Lin Jing so quickly? When he discovers the syringe missing, he immediately looks at Lin Jing's desk ...
Well, his desk is right there... He has the means to destroy the syringe, he has a connection with Professor Ouyang (which ZYL should be aware of, if he's seen Lin Jing's resume), and yeah, the personality switch thing, too. Mostly the personality switch thing, tbh, because I read his phone call with Dr Cheng differently from you.
Is he about to ask if she's Dixingren? Or does he already have a suspicion about her electric powers and the connection to Team Merit Brush?
I think he's asking if she's Dixingren. I don't think he realises about her work for Team Merit Brush until the earring scene at the SID. *pets him*
When Zhao Yunlan tells Cong Bo to check out some people (plural), who do you think is included? Who else, apart from Lin Jing, is getting investigated? Everyone? Only some of them?
Huh, I didn't realise this was plural! In that case, maybe Zhao Yunlan gets him to check on the whole SID team, just to cover his bases, and also so Cong Bo won't know what ZYL suspects. Thoroughness and discretion?
What did Shen Wei hope to get from the meeting with Zhao Xinci? Do you think he got it?
Aside re the serum itself: in the prologue we learn that when the aliens arrived on Haixing, they genetically modified themselves. I don't really see how this is much different? Unless the DoS is planning to force people to receive the serum, would the (safely developed, freely chosen) option be de facto morally bad? (It might be! I might be thinking about this all wrong -- if so, please tell me.)
Anyway, Shen Wei knows from Kong Jing that the serum as it stands is highly dangerous, and he's very aware of the risk of acquiring unpredictable powers. As someone with an epoch-spanning perspective on the history of Dixingren, and who's witnessed the pain uncontrollable powers can bring, Shen Wei is uniquely well-placed to warn/advise the Xingdu Bureau, hence the meeting with Zhao Xinci, I think. I don't think Shen Wei is trying to get concessions for Dixing's sake -- I think he's making sure the Haixing authorities know what the lab is doing (is it official policy, or is it science run amok? that's basically his first question) and have thought through the risks.
Why do you think, when Zhao Yunlan confronts him after the meeting with Zhao Xinci, Shen Wei stays silent for so long? What's his reasoning for keeping this particular secret from Zhao Yunlan?
See above. And keeping info from Zhao Yunlan might be part of a (conscious or unconscious) strategy of stopping him running full tilt into danger, too. ;-p
When Lin Jing confronts Sha Ya at the end, is he doing this on his own, or is he part of Zhao Yunlan's plan?
Ooh, good question! I don't know -- I can see it either way. Though I feel like if Lin Jing were acting officially, he should have backup. ;-p
Is she doing that deliberately for subconscious appeal to Zhao Yunlan, or are they really on the same wavelength regarding Wang Xiangyang?
The latter, imo. I think that's just a fact about Wang Xiangyang, and since Sha Ya and Zhao Yunlan are both bold and direct, they both see this MO as a moral failing.
no subject
Some more notes.
Hands without blood, hiding in the dark,
egged others to seek revenge for you,
and even led us by the nose.
(Right?) The Master of the Merit Brush.
To my ignorant ear, it even sounds like it rhymes. *hearts*
YQ: Till now, all things are still under control.
WXY: I just hope she can delay it for a while more.
So I think she's deliberately being taken in to distract the SID and stall for time.
no subject
Yeah, agreed! Reasons not entirely dissimilar from Zhao Yunlan. *g*
In the alley confrontation with Wang Xiangyang, Zhao Yunlan's lines sound like a poem [...] To my ignorant ear, it even sounds like it rhymes. *hearts*
手不沾血，隐藏背后， shǒu bù zhān xuè, yǐncáng bèihòu
不着痕迹地怂恿别人替你报仇， bùzháo hénjìde sǒngyǒng biérén tì nǐ bàochóu
还牵着我们的鼻子走， hái qiānzhe wǒmen de bízi zǒu
不是吗，功德笔主？bùshì ma, gōngdé bǐ zhǔ?
Definitely some rhyming going on! And the first line has that classic four-character/syllable pattern. Maybe established expressions? Idk.
Does WXY write real characters with the Brush? Does anyone know what they are?
I can't read Chinese handwriting, so I have no idea, but I'd love to know!
When Da Qing overhears Vice Min Guo whispering to Min Gao, I think Shen Wei's super hearing should pick it up, too. But he probably doesn't want to highlight his own powers...
Yeah, there's nothing saying Shen Wei doesn't hear ... though do we know for certain he has super hearing? I feel like I'm forgetting something.
And then the bureaucrats depart, foolishly leaving the SID people wandering free in the building. How did Minister Gao think that was going to go? ;-p
There has to be some time in between that encounter in the corridor and the break-in at the lab - it's evening by then, IIRC, and also they've had time to tidy things up. Did they sneak into the building again, or did they somehow manage to hang out in there until everyone else had left the lab?
Prof Ouyang at the hospital sounds surprisingly controlled and reasonable, even if he is making a mad-scientist plan.
Yeah, he's nowhere near as irrational yet as he'll get!
Presumably LJ was trying to cheat re clocking in? LOL.
Yeah, that's what it sounds like!
Team Merit Brush: does Ya Qing have a grudge against Zhao Xinci, too, or is she just going along with this for the greater good?
It looks to me like she doesn't care about him personally, no. She's just letting the others have their revenge.
I really don't like Shen Wei's suit during the meeting with Zhao Xinci and fight with ZYL. It fits him so badly.
Huh, it looks normal to me ...
At the SID, ZYL is sprawled longways on the couch, and Shen Wei is in a chair, effectively behind him, but still close. <3
It's the way they usually sit, isn't it? ZYL on the sofa, SW on a chair next to it.
So I think she's deliberately being taken in to distract the SID and stall for time.
Yeah, the next episode confirms that, now that I've seen it again!
"Ya Qing said they were conducting serum experiments or something, which is helpful for Ye Zun's grand plan." Is that true? How would the serum help Ye Zun's plan (other than the revenge on Kong Jing, but Sha Ya broke in again after that)?
Honestly, I have no clue. She might be making it up? Idk how the serum project would be useful to Ye Zun.
Also, Zhao Yunlan is practically sitting in Shen Wei's lap. <3 <3 <3
I love that! :D :D :D
no subject
Thanks for the Chinese/pinyin! <3
Yeah, there's nothing saying Shen Wei doesn't hear ... though do we know for certain he has super hearing? I feel like I'm forgetting something.
There have been subtle hints (suggestions that he's heard the other end of other people's phone calls, and so on), but nothing definitive.
Did they sneak into the building again, or did they somehow manage to hang out in there until everyone else had left the lab?
LOL! I'm imagining them hanging out in the men's room for hours: Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan talk and occasionally make out; Da Qing keeps complaining that's he's hungry, and periodically shifting form so he can go and check if the coast is clear. :D :D :D
It's the way they usually sit, isn't it? ZYL on the sofa, SW on a chair next to it.
I feel like usually these days Zhao Yunlan sits on the sofa, rather than lying, so he can exchange meaningful looks with Shen Wei whenever he feels like it. I may be imagining it, though.
no subject
Hee! :D :D :D
I feel like usually these days Zhao Yunlan sits on the sofa, rather than lying, so he can exchange meaningful looks with Shen Wei whenever he feels like it. I may be imagining it, though.
Someone should rewatch and document this! *g*
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Yeah, I really like that too! He's just all in, emotionally. ♥
I find this bit confusing. When have the DoS and the Xingdu Bureau known more than they should about the SID?
Yeah, I was wondering about that too - it's really not something that's demonstrated on screen, or at least not in any way I can point to. I guess we have to take Zhao Yunlan's word for it. *g*
It's especially hard to say because we don't know what exactly Zhao Yunlan kept out of the paperwork, other than the Hallows - and we only know that for sure because Lin Jing tries to pass them off as a private project during Zhao Xinci's "inspection" ...
(It might be Li Qian's connection with the Hallows, maybe, but does Zhao Yunlan know that the DoS lab knows about that?)
I don't think there's any way he can know!
I don't read it that way. I think Zhao Yunlan immediately understands Lin Jing's reaction re Sha Ya and sees it as separate from his possible spying. They're completely different things.
I don't really mean that Zhao Yunlan believes it - I'm sure he sees through Lin Jing on that front. But with apparently everyone going behind his back, he has to be wondering if he's missing something, if maybe he's not distrustful enough, even if only for a moment. *pets him*
And I don't think Zhao Yunlan holds his silence against him -- if he did, would he have let Lin Jing be present while they were interviewing Sha Ya? Wouldn't he be in disgrace?
I think even if that was the case, if we read Lin Jing as confronting Sha Ya on his own rather than being part of the official plan, then that would go a long way to make up for it in Zhao Yunlan's eyes.
If anything, I think Lin Jing showing genuine feeling here probably makes Zhao Yunlan believe in him more, enabling him to trust Lin Jing enough to flip him later.
Yeah, I'm not sure it's necessarily Lin Jing's reaction to the earring, but I think the whole Sha Ya episode, and Lin Jing getting knocked out by her when he confronts her, helps Zhao Yunlan trust he has his heart and his loyalties in the right place. ♥
I wonder what Zhao Yunlan thinks is going on here. He's immediately accusatory, so he must have decided Shen Wei wasn't just gathering information on behalf of both of them. He doesn't start with "What did you learn?" But he can't think the Envoy would collaborate with the Xingdu Bureau. It's like just seeing Shen Wei and Zhao Xinci together has flipped a fury switch in Zhao Yunlan's head, and he's aware he's not being rational, and he's struggling with it, and that's why he doesn't let it break them again? But he needs Shen Wei to know that he saw and has ~feelings~ and suspicions about it -- which is kind of healthy communication? Much better than bottling it up and pretending everything's fine when it isn't. *pets him*
Yeah, 100% on all this! I think he's initially lashing out because he has to vent his frustrations, because a) Shen Wei's secrets are a really REALLY sore point, and b) things are just piling up right now with traitors and secrets and all, and Shen Wei is someone he can safely lash out at. He knows by this point Shen Wei won't be put off by it. And maybe that knowledge, that memory, helps him rein it in, because he knows on a fundamental level they're in this together, even if he doesn't understand the need for all the secrets. ♥
Heh. That just made me think of him attacking the Regent. :D Has he grown since then, or is he a hypocrite?
I was actually thinking of that scene too! And I believe Lao-Chu has lived by this motto for a long time, actually. Lashing out in the heat of the moment, after provocation, is very different from carrying out a vendetta. He's building his life on something better, not spending his days planning on how to get back at the Regent.
Yesssss! I'm never 100% sure if their reason is that the SID is the modern-day Allied Forces equivalent, or if Zhao Yunlan himself is the reason. After all, Da Qing joined the SID well before Zhao Yunlan did...
I think it's Zhao Yunlan himself - for Da Qing, I don't think he's necessarily talking about his personal reasons for joining the SID, but more like something like fate at work. The reason he found his way to the SID is so he could be there when Zhao Yunlan arrived on the scene. ♥
(I don't think of the SID as the modern-day Allied Forces equivalent, not until Zhao Yunlan meets Shen Wei, anyway - and especially not under Zhao Xinci. Zhang Shi notwithstanding, it's an anti-Dixing department.)
So... I'm guessing the siege squad was an attempt to stop Ye Zun getting visitors?
I'm not sure what the actual goal was, but we know from the Shadow Man lots of people died. We'll need to talk about that again when it comes up next, because I'm none too clear on any of it!
Interesting -- how do you think things might have gone differently? Shen Wei and the SID are already trying to stop Team Merit Brush, so what more do you think Shen Wei could have done to contain Ye Zun that he hadn't already tried?
From what little I remember, it feels like the Regent tried to brute-force the Ye Zun problem, and predictably failed. If he'd talked to Shen Wei and planned with him, they might have come up with a different way. Maybe a containment strategy? A way to keep people away from Ye Zun and monitor what's coming out? Between Shen Wei's powers and the Regent's resources and guards, they might have managed it. Or a way to identify who's been affected by Ye Zun's powers. Idk.
This feels like a turning point to me. Zhao Yunlan seems to readily accept that the DoS officials are, if not antagonists, obstacles in the way of his mission, rather than his superiors with bureaucratic/political authority. [...] It's like he's taken it on himself to be the moral arbiter of the Haixing public sector, without having all the facts. (I love him!!! I just don't know that he's going about this the best way.)
Yeah, agreed, this is not a small thing!
I think it's at least in part because he's decided that the SID shouldn't be the Haixing authorities' tool - that the SID including Shen Wei should be its own thing separate from both the Haixing and Dixing governments. He knows by now the Envoy isn't on best terms with the Regent, that he isn't just acting for the Dixing government either ...
What you said about the SID and the Allied Forces starts applying here, I guess - he wants this to be a force for justice for everyone, and that won't work if there are superiors who can tell the SID not to investigate when it suits them. I don't know if that's a good enough reason, but I think that's a huge part of it.
The other thing is that he's probably pretty sure this is connected to Team Merit Brush, through the attacks on the lab. And he knows better than anyone else in Haixing just how dangerous that is. If his superiors are underestimating the risk, that's potentially fatal, and they can't afford to let it go ...
She's young, and she's been through a lot. She might well agree with Professor Ouyang (and Zhao Xinci) that the serum is vital to protect humanity, and they just have to work hard to minimise the costs. And maybe she thinks it won't be deployed unless there's an emergency? (I think she's also just, you know, enjoying the science.)
Yeah, the most likely interpretation is that she's just not aware of the political complications, or the risks, or Zhao Xinci's pushing ... (And she's definitely enjoying the science!)
I do like that she says she won't hurt them, and also that she pushes back against Ya Qing's suggestion of torturing info out of Lin Jing. Kudos to her for that!
Yeah, she's working with Team Merit Brush, but she has her own limits and ethics, and she's only willing to go so far. Meanwhile, Ya Qing, too, has her limits and her own sense of honour, but she's willing to go a LOT further than Sha Ya is! I love that so many of the villains are complicated like that.
I don't think Zhao Xinci is ruling out peace -- I think he feels he needs the serum (ie, a level playing field) for peace to exist.
Yes, agreed - I meant he seems to be ruling out the possiblity that even without the serum, open conflict won't happen. He seems very sure that it will.
Would Zhao Yunlan and the SID have been able to help Shen Wei defeat Ye Zun if Zhao Yunlan hadn't been juiced up with serum?
Honestly, I don't think it would have made very much of a difference ...
I want to know how Zhao Xinci knows that Shen Wei cares so deeply for Zhao Yunlan. Is that a spy thing, or his own intuition?
Very good question! I'm not sure either. I rather doubt he's taking Zhao Yunlan's word for it! *g*
Or, alternatively, Zhao Xinci is using Shen Wei as a character witness for himself -- like, "see, your boyfriend is on cordial terms with me -- how about you give it a try, too? ;-p" maybe? *g*
Seems unlikely to me. *g*
Yeah, plus this is diplomacy, right? Which requires discretion. The conversation with Zhao Xinci was quite literally above Zhao Yunlan's paygrade.
True. That's definitely not something Shen Wei wants to say to Zhao Yunlan!
(When Zhao Yunlan says, "I wouldn't stand here if I'd heard any," what does he mean? What would he have done if he'd overheard??)
I think he means that if he'd heard, he'd have known for sure how to react - either to confront them or to let it be. But since he didn't, he can't.
I think there's actually a little resentment in Zhao Yunlan's "But I choose to believe in you every time." And then he says, "Even I don't know the reason," and laughs and drops his head, and I think he's thinking something like, "I'm a fool for you because I love you." And Shen Wei drops his gaze to give him privacy, because Shen Wei knows he's trading unfairly on Zhao Yunlan's trust/love, but he doesn't have a choice.
It doesn't quite read that way to me? I feel like the "I chose to believe you every time" is reaffirming his choice, and reminding Shen Wei of it. And there's a bit of resentment in the "even I don't know the reason", but he's putting it aside even as he says it. They both know it's not fair, but that's how it is.
I really wish I cared more about these two. I don't know why I don't.
I never much cared about them, but I actually care more this time round! Lin Jing is so gone on her, OMG.
I love that they've re-found this connection that's so important to both of them, and I love how few words it takes to re-establish it.
Yes! That is excellent!
Could Team Merit Brush be deliberately drawing the SID's attention to the DoS research, to cause dissension in the Haixing bureaucracy and distract the SID? Because that's pretty much what they achieve...
Huh, that's an interesting thought! *ponders*
Mostly the personality switch thing, tbh
Yeah, I don't disagree on that!
Huh, I didn't realise this was plural! In that case, maybe Zhao Yunlan gets him to check on the whole SID team, just to cover his bases, and also so Cong Bo won't know what ZYL suspects. Thoroughness and discretion?
I like that, yes! That's going to be my headcanon now. :D
Aside re the serum itself: in the prologue we learn that when the aliens arrived on Haixing, they genetically modified themselves. I don't really see how this is much different? Unless the DoS is planning to force people to receive the serum, would the (safely developed, freely chosen) option be de facto morally bad?
Of course people choosing to modify themselves isn't bad. The problem with this project, aside from the unethical shortcut-taking and neglecting safety, is that it's specifically a defence project. It's meant to defend Haixing - this is not about giving people the option to mutate, and then go off and have fun with their lives. It's genetic alteration as a weapon. Even if it's only used on volunteers, these people will be under pressure to volunteer for the sake of Haixing's safety, and to use their new powers (whatever they might be) as weapons rather than as simply a part of who they are. They want to turn people into weapons, not just into people with powers.
(And we know that plenty of powers aren't useful for military use - see for example Xiao-Guo's serum powers! How many volunteers/"volunteers" will they have to recruit, to get something useful out of it? What happens to the people whose powers aren't useful, given that all this is top secret? Even if they were allowed to leave, would they have to hide for the rest of their lives?)
I don't think Shen Wei is trying to get concessions for Dixing's sake -- I think he's making sure the Haixing authorities know what the lab is doing (is it official policy, or is it science run amok? that's basically his first question) and have thought through the risks.
Yeah, that makes sense!
I don't know -- I can see it either way. Though I feel like if Lin Jing were acting officially, he should have backup. ;-p
Yeah, that's what tips me over to the interpretation of Lin Jing acting on his own initiative - I don't think they'd have let him face her all on his own ...
I think that's just a fact about Wang Xiangyang, and since Sha Ya and Zhao Yunlan are both bold and direct, they both see this MO as a moral failing.
That works for me!
no subject
> I don't think there's any way he can know!
He could have heard through the grapevine that she'd been brought in for testing and subsequently got a job there -- that's not too big a stretch. But I feel like if the show were relying on that as a plot point, we would have heard about it. Maybe it's tangled up with the Kong Jing case somehow, instead. Hmm.
and Shen Wei is someone he can safely lash out at.
That's an excellent point, but ouch, poor Shen Wei! Just because he can weather that storm, doesn't mean it's any fun for him!! /o\ (I don't think Zhao Yunlan has really started to grasp yet how much emotional weight his actions have for Shen Wei.)
And I believe Lao-Chu has lived by this motto for a long time, actually. Lashing out in the heat of the moment, after provocation, is very different from carrying out a vendetta. He's building his life on something better, not spending his days planning on how to get back at the Regent.
True! Good point!
I don't think of the SID as the modern-day Allied Forces equivalent, not until Zhao Yunlan meets Shen Wei, anyway - and especially not under Zhao Xinci. Zhang Shi notwithstanding, it's an anti-Dixing department.
Ha, true. It's really Shen Wei joining the SID that starts to give it that feel. And agreed about Da Qing's sense of fatedness.
From what little I remember, it feels like the Regent tried to brute-force the Ye Zun problem, and predictably failed. If he'd talked to Shen Wei and planned with him, they might have come up with a different way. Maybe a containment strategy? A way to keep people away from Ye Zun and monitor what's coming out? Between Shen Wei's powers and the Regent's resources and guards, they might have managed it. Or a way to identify who's been affected by Ye Zun's powers. Idk.
Idk either. I feel like Shen Wei already has his hands full with Team Merit Brush -- he can't fight (or even consult or supervise) on every front at once. And I don't think it's unreasonable for the Regent to think it's his own responsibility to deal with it. But there's plenty of room for speculation...
I think it's at least in part because he's decided that the SID shouldn't be the Haixing authorities' tool - that the SID including Shen Wei should be its own thing separate from both the Haixing and Dixing governments. He knows by now the Envoy isn't on best terms with the Regent, that he isn't just acting for the Dixing government either ...
Ohhhhhhh, that's so interesting. I hadn't thought about it that explicitly -- and it's super tricky when, you know, it's the Haixing authorities who are paying the bills. But yeah, he really wants to set his own policy and stand by his own (newly developed) moral code. And rather than trying to convince his superiors this is the right way (an obviously pointless approach, given Zhao Xinci is the top of the ladder), he's just going rogue and taking the whole SID with him. Hmm.
I need to pay attention to this thread. It would make the DoS shutting down the SID pretty reasonable on their part, I think? Before, I think I've felt like it was a strange overreaction, given the SID has an important role to play in trying to quash the developing threat.
The other thing is that he's probably pretty sure this is connected to Team Merit Brush, through the attacks on the lab. And he knows better than anyone else in Haixing just how dangerous that is. If his superiors are underestimating the risk, that's potentially fatal, and they can't afford to let it go ...
Sure, but if he wanted to play by the rules, he should be going over Minister Gao's head here, because if there's one thing Zhao Xinci can be relied on to do, it's to take a Dixing threat seriously... (I wonder if/when ZXC hears about the break-in and what he thinks about it. Sitting back and doing nothing doesn't seem like his style... Oh, this is why the DoS gets all militarised, isn't it?)
Anyway, this makes me think part of what's going on here is that Shen Wei is no longer operating as Professor Shen, consultant, and now that the SID is more definitively working with the Envoy himself, Zhao Yunlan feels empowered to do what he thinks is right and follow his own nose. Like the SID chief is the mirror of the Envoy's role. You're right -- this is the modern Allied Forces. (I wonder what happens to it after the finale; does Zhang Shi go back to submitting to the DoS and following the letter of the law?)
Yes, agreed - I meant he seems to be ruling out the possiblity that even without the serum, open conflict won't happen. He seems very sure that it will.
I think he's very sure it could, and he's someone who needs to have contingency plans in place. And to be fair to him, relying on diplomacy, the tiny ragtag department of the SID, and hope when the threat is as great as the one Ye Zun poses is kind of a stretch. Given Zhao Xinci doesn't really trust Shen Wei, it makes sense for him to feel he has to do something. (I'm surprised he doesn't try to blow up the gateways, but then, they don't really know how people are getting through,
and also, it's not really Zhao Xinci's story.) ETA: Oh, and Zhao Xinci doesn't know about Shen Wei's contingency plan -- I wonder if he'd have behaved differently if he had.Honestly, I don't think it would have made very much of a difference ...
I do. He had to weaken Ye Zun and get the Awl in just the right place, and he was already incredibly bashed around when Da Qing brought out the syringe. Things were already desperate. Maybe he would have found another way, but it definitely helped. (This is a conversation for ep 40, though.)
> > Or, alternatively, Zhao Xinci is using Shen Wei as a character witness for himself -- like, "see, your boyfriend is on cordial terms with me -- how about you give it a try, too? ;-p" maybe? *g*
> Seems unlikely to me. *g*
Or a power play: "see, the Envoy is playing by the rules -- you need to, too!"?
I think he means that if he'd heard, he'd have known for sure how to react - either to confront them or to let it be. But since he didn't, he can't.
*nodnod* That makes sense.
Lin Jing is so gone on her, OMG.
He really is!!
The problem with this project, aside from the unethical shortcut-taking and neglecting safety, is that it's specifically a defence project. [...] They want to turn people into weapons, not just into people with powers.
Okay, yeah, that makes sense. And even if the SID doesn't know that yet, it's not an unreasonable leap to make, and no doubt it's one of the questions Shen Wei wants answered at the meeting with Zhao Xinci. (I don't think it necessarily has to stay secret once the project is complete, though. Keeping the development classified makes sense for precisely the security reasons they're facing now, but once it's done and working, it could be public and official. Idk. We can't know how it would have gone if Ye Zun hadn't turned up the heat when he did, and Zhao Xinci hadn't responded by taking the safety brakes off. I like to think Professor Zhou and Professor Ouyang weren't being evil the whole time (and trying to recruit Shen Wei to their evil lab)...)
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Entirely agreed!
I don't think Zhao Yunlan has really started to grasp yet how much emotional weight his actions have for Shen Wei.
Yeah, and I don't think he fully will until after YOHE. Missing too much context.
And rather than trying to convince his superiors this is the right way (an obviously pointless approach, given Zhao Xinci is the top of the ladder), he's just going rogue and taking the whole SID with him. Hmm.
Yeah, Zhao Xinci being the head of Xingdu Bureau has to be a big part of why he feels he can't trust them ... both justifiably (because Zhao Xinci is a bigot) and not so much (because personal feelings).
It would make the DoS shutting down the SID pretty reasonable on their part, I think?
Yes, that's true! I hadn't thought of it in those terms before either, but it would make sense - from their perspective, they'd have very good reason if they saw the SID as having gone rogue like that!
(I wonder if/when ZXC hears about the break-in and what he thinks about it. Sitting back and doing nothing doesn't seem like his style... Oh, this is why the DoS gets all militarised, isn't it?)
Another thing I hadn't put together before, but now that you say it, yes, this seems like it must have played a part! Of course there's also the kidnapping of Zhao Xinci and Minister Guo, to make the threat more immediate and personal ...
Shen Wei is no longer operating as Professor Shen, consultant, and now that the SID is more definitively working with the Envoy himself, Zhao Yunlan feels empowered to do what he thinks is right and follow his own nose. Like the SID chief is the mirror of the Envoy's role. You're right -- this is the modern Allied Forces.
♥ ♥ ♥
(I wonder what happens to it after the finale; does Zhang Shi go back to submitting to the DoS and following the letter of the law?)
Yeah, good question! I would hope not. But I guess it's a bit of a different matter while the portals are closed? Still, Zhang Shi is Dixingren and has always had his own agenda, so I can't imagine he'd suddenly become an obedient follower.
Oh, and Zhao Xinci doesn't know about Shen Wei's contingency plan -- I wonder if he'd have behaved differently if he had.
Oooh, that is a fascinating thought!!!!!!
He had to weaken Ye Zun and get the Awl in just the right place, and he was already incredibly bashed around when Da Qing brought out the syringe. Things were already desperate. Maybe he would have found another way, but it definitely helped. (This is a conversation for ep 40, though.)
Yeah, let's talk about it again then, but I absolutely believe that serum or not, Zhoa Yunlan would have found a way. Shen Wei was confident that he would, and he didn't know the serum was an option.
Or a power play: "see, the Envoy is playing by the rules -- you need to, too!"?
Hee! Now this, I can completely see! :D
I like to think Professor Zhou and Professor Ouyang weren't being evil the whole time (and trying to recruit Shen Wei to their evil lab)...)
Yeah, I don't think they were evil! But I do think any kind of government-sponsored defence research that involves human experimentation (which this must, sooner or later) is kind of inherently sketchy to some degree, even if everyone involved has the best intention. It has a very high risk of turning bad.
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Maybe during YOHE? Like, that bit where Shen Wei thanks him and says no one else tries to know him?
Yeah, Zhao Xinci being the head of Xingdu Bureau has to be a big part of why he feels he can't trust them ... both justifiably (because Zhao Xinci is a bigot) and not so much (because personal feelings).
Zhao Xinci is a bigot, but until recently, so was Zhao Yunlan. If it weren't for the personal baggage, I feel like Zhao Yunlan should at least have tried to teach him better (because Zhao Xinci can do a lot of harm to regular Dixingren living in Haixing, and could potentially do much good, if he could be persuaded). Sadly, their relationship doesn't allow for that (plus the whole "children should listen to their elders; elders know best" general attitude).
Of course there's also the kidnapping of Zhao Xinci and Minister Guo, to make the threat more immediate and personal ...
True! *anticipates* (I'd forgotten Minister Guo gets taken too. That's more of an after-thought, plotwise, isn't it?)
> > (I wonder what happens to it after the finale; does Zhang Shi go back to submitting to the DoS and following the letter of the law?)
> Yeah, good question! I would hope not.
I mean, I feel like he should be accountable to someone. Otherwise that's a lot of power to have in one person's hands. There needs to be an international council or something.
> > Oh, and Zhao Xinci doesn't know about Shen Wei's contingency plan -- I wonder if he'd have behaved differently if he had.
> Oooh, that is a fascinating thought!!!!!!
Hm, how could he find out, hypothetically? I can't imagine Shen Wei would voluntarily tell anyone!!
But I do think any kind of government-sponsored defence research that involves human experimentation (which this must, sooner or later) is kind of inherently sketchy to some degree, even if everyone involved has the best intention. It has a very high risk of turning bad.
Ha, now I'm imagining Professor Zhou writing endless protocols and failsafes and so on, and Professor Ouyang getting more and more impatient with the whole rigmarole. Maybe that's when Professor Zhou started bemoaning Shen Wei's absence. *g*
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Yeah, I should have said after he goes to YOHE. Definitely during his conversation with Shen Wei!
(I'd forgotten Minister Guo gets taken too. That's more of an after-thought, plotwise, isn't it?)
There's a third guy who also gets taken, who's even more of an afterthought! *g*
I mean, I feel like he should be accountable to someone. Otherwise that's a lot of power to have in one person's hands. There needs to be an international council or something.
Yeah, honestly, that's the ideal future for the SID - shared oversight by all three species.
Hm, how could he find out, hypothetically? I can't imagine Shen Wei would voluntarily tell anyone!!
Time travel? :p
(No, I don't have any idea either!)
Ha, now I'm imagining Professor Zhou writing endless protocols and failsafes and so on, and Professor Ouyang getting more and more impatient with the whole rigmarole. Maybe that's when Professor Zhou started bemoaning Shen Wei's absence. *g*
Awwww! Love it. :D