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sid_guardian2023-07-25 09:13 pm
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2023-07-25 09:13 pm
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GUARDIAN REWATCH – Episode 28
Beginning of episode: Zhao Yunlan asks Sha Ya if Wang Xiangyang has more enemies he's pursuing.
Ending of episode: Zhao Xinci tries to escape his kidnapping, and Sha Ya zaps him.
Important scenes/developments:
- Zhao Yunlan continues interviewing Sha Ya; she offers a trade.
- Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng search Dragon City for Hua Yuzhu.
- Lin Jing talks to Sha Ya alone, and we get her backstory.
- Lin Jing gives Sha Ya a ring, and she's happy for a moment.
- Hua Yuzhu and Sha Ya both separately hear news of a building development and run to the site. Zhao Yunlan recognises Hua Yuzhu's earring and follows her; Lin Jing takes Sha Ya to the site.
- More backstory: Sha Ya and Hua Yuzhu are in an Extremely Amicable Love Triangle. Ye Zun tempts all three to go to Haixing. Romantic misunderstandings. Then Gu Ban is shot, and Sha Ya thinks Zhao Xinci did it.
- Hua Yuzhu arrives in the forest, Sha Ya attacks her, and Lin Jing de-escalates.
- Sha Ya blows up a digger and burns the construction site and possibly also the construction workers. /o\
- The SID lose Sha Ya.
- Team Merit Brush kidnap Zhao Xinci, Minister Gao, and their driver.
- Wang Xiangyang decides to play another game with the SID.
- Vice Minister Guo brings news of the kidnapping to the SID. Zhao Yunlan is shaken; Shen Wei steadies him.
- Cong Bo and Lin Jing do hacking.
- Zhao Yunlan tries to induce a vision with the Sundial and collapses.
- At the flat, Shen Wei silently scolds Zhao Yunlan while he sleeps off the Dial's effects.
- Wang Xiangyang is dying. Flashback to him and Bai Suxia being cute in a phone box.
- Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan fight some Crow soldiers; Shen Wei doesn't immediately heal.
- They find the missing driver in the phone box.
- Zhao Xinci wakes up and tries to escape, but Sha Ya intercepts him.
Thoughts
I don't know if this episode has a theme. Happiness in the past? Betrayals? Misunderstandings? (Except that we don't know the full story of a lot of the setups yet).
- The episode opening backtracks a couple of lines to Zhao Yunlan asking Sha Ya if Wang Xiangyang has any more targets. (Presumably this was so they could book-end the episode with Sha Ya's silence at the start, and her zapping Zhao Xinci at the end.) (Man, I hope they've blocked off the crow-dart vent!! They should be concerned about detainee safety, especially if they believe Sha Ya is betraying Team Merit Brush!) Anyway, Sha Ya acts like she'll help if they find someone for her, but I don't believe her. (We later learn she knows where Hua Yuzhu's flower shop is, so asking the SID to find her is 100% delaying tactic
and to give Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng something to do this episode.) - Coincidences make good narratives, so while Chu Shuzhi and Changcheng are looking for Hua Yuzhu, Changcheng drops their papers, and she happens to help pick them up. (As Chu Shuzhi and Changcheng walk off, Chu Shuzhi ruffled Changcheng's hair for dropping the papers, aww.)
- Lin Jing and Sha Ya alone in the interview room. He brings her tea. She's practising air guitar, and he recognises the chords. (It's this piece.) She asks why he isn't angry, and he says she's brought him a lot of happiness, and he was honoured to be chosen as her mark. He asks about Hua Yuzhu, and we get a flashback. (We know Sha Ya is relating this, rather than just remembering it, because there's some narration.)
- Hua Yuzhu tries to teach Sha Ya her plant-growing/plant-healing power. (Is skills transfer a thing? I wonder if some people (other than Shen Wei) succeed at learning others' powers if they practise.) Sha Ya narrates: It's uncommon to see flowers and trees in Dixing, but with Yuzhu by your side, it becomes springtime everywhere.
- Sha Ya wants to see the stars; Hua Yuzhu wants to see more plants. They talk about running away Upstairs, and eventually do. We see them on a pretty Haixing bridge at night, but they're afraid of getting caught and deported.
- Cut to Hua Yuzhu's flower shop. She wants to stay; Sha Ya doesn't understand. Hua Yuzhu says, "We were the ones who broke the rules first," and "He wouldn't have wanted you to become like this," but she totally fails to set the record straight. Sha Ya feels betrayed and breaks up with her. In the present-day interview room, Sha Ya says, "I never saw her again."
- Sha Ya: I never saw her again after that day, but I will never forget her coldness and betrayal to me.
Lin Jing: Is this world just black and white? If it's not obedience, then it is betrayal? Could I have betrayed someone as well?
It's like he's felt uncomfortable about secretly reporting to Professor Ouyang all this time, but he's only now realising how bad it might look to Zhao Yunlan and the others. *pets him* - Sha Ya asks about the ring, and he gives it to her.
She's genuinely moved and happy for a moment, then:
Sha Ya: Once this is over, they'll send me back to Dixing.
Lin Jing: They won't. I will appeal to Hei Pao Shi.
Sha Ya: The crimes I have committed are too severe. It doesn't matter. It's fine this way.
She seems sincere. - Zhao Yunlan meets up with Chu Shuzhi and Changcheng in the street by the flower shop, but they haven't found Hua Yuzhu yet. Meanwhile, in the flower shop, Hua Yuzhu hears the radio news: "Now, broadcasting Dragon City's breaking news: today, Xingda Real Estate Project has officially started construction. The forest on the east side of the city will be cut down by Huang Group's construction team." (I'm not sure why this qualifies as breaking news, but okay. Also, I wonder if it's the same Huangs as the wedding.) Hua Yuzhu runs out of the shop. Zhao Yunlan recognises her earring and they give chase. (Didn't Zhu Hong say last episode that the earring was common in Dragon City?)
- In the interview room, Lin Jing breaks an awkward silence by reading out the same news item. Sha Ya says, "I won't allow this. Not even a leaf there can be touched!" She wants to go there and says Hua Yuzhu will be there. I like the little mystery of why this particular forest is special.
- Lin Jing calls Zhao Yunlan to say he's released the detainee. Lol, Zhao Yunlan is pissed off. It takes him a minute to hear the rest of what Lin Jing is saying.
- Sha Ya and Lin Jing seem to have run the whole way to the forest. (I feel old.) We get more of Sha Ya's backstory, with Gu Ban giving Sha Ya the earrings, and the most amicable love triangle in history. (Gu Ban is super boring; Lin Jing is definitely a step up.) (Hua Yuzhu is wearing heels, which makes me wonder about Dixing fashions and gravel streets.)
Sha Ya shares the earrings with Hua Yuzhu and tells her they're in a fair competition. Then the three of them are lost by the pillar, and Ye Zun tempts them into going to Haixing. Sha Ya thinks it's a great opportunity; Hua Yuzhu and Gu Ban think it's too risky. Ye Zun offers them a limited-time-only round trip. In the end, Gu Ban agrees, to make Sha Ya, happy; Hua Yuzhu agrees because Gu Ban is going. (This must be a while ago because, as we discover, Zhao Xinci is still working in the field.) Cut to Sha Ya overhearing her friends dissing her; she thinks they're hooking up. (It's unclear how the earlier nighttime bridge flashback with just Sha Ya and Hua Yuzhu fits in; that might have been a partial fabrication for Lin Jing's benefit?) Sha Ya says she'll stay in Haixing alone and runs into the forest to cry. She hears gunshots, then sees a stranger fleeing, pursued by Zhao Xinci with his gun. Then Sha Ya finds Hua Yuzhu crying over Gu Ban's body; Hua Yuzhu is distraught and completely fails to convey any salient information. Sha Ya swears vengeance on Zhao Xinci.
Aside: Interesting that the Dixingren don't change clothes or clothing styles when they move to Haixing. And the two who survive seem to have it pretty good: Hua Yuzhu runs her own business, and Sha Ya discovers(?) electric guitar and lives peacefully for years. It's a big contrast with fake Zhang Danni's homelessness and having to raid rubbish bins to stay alive. - Present day woods. Lin Jing gets Sha Ya's attention. Hua Yuzhu arrives (in sneakers, not heels), Sha Ya actually attacks her(!!), and Lin Jing de-escalates. Hua Yuzhu asks why Sha Ya can't just let it go, but she can't. Cue constructrion/machinery noises.
- Dixing women versus construction (which is mostly a few diggers and some men with shovels). Hua Yuzhu tries to calm Sha Ya down and reason with the construction workers. Neither works. Sha Ya zaps a chainsaw, and the construction workers attack with their spades, what? The SID arrives, but meanwhile Sha Ya has found Gu Ban's empty grave(??) and blows up a digger. "Humans! As expected, they don't deserve sympathy," she says, and lets off a rage bomb.
- The SID arrive to find the place deserted and everything on fire. (Oh, hey, did all the construction workers get barbecued? That's not good!) Zhao Yunlan tells Chu Shuzhi and Changcheng to put out the fire (uh, somehow), then he and Lin Jing split up to look for the women.
We see a close-up of booted feet striding through the smoky forest, and I don't know who that is. Is it Zhao Yunlan, who doesn't seem to be going anywhere, or someone else? Anyway, Shen Wei arrives via speedwalking. He can't find the others, maybe because of the Merit Brush. They hear a crow and run towards it. (Ya Qing would be much stealthier if she didn't caw all the time. *g*) - Ya Qing and Wang Xiangyang show up at Gu Ban's grave to tell Sha Ya they've found the target. Sha Ya and Wang Xiangyang bond over losing a loved one. They leave, and Hua Yuzhu runs away. The SID arrive too late and surmise that Sha Ya was just buying time all along.
Lin Jing: I'm sorry.
Zhao Yunlan: Forget it. You are also a victim. Being lied to time and time again. Are you a fool?
(This reminds me of Zhao Yunlan saying during the video game that he needs to train the SID's mental defences.)
(Also, I feel like Sha Ya-Gu Ban-Hua Yuzhu's extraordinarily amicable love triangle is being mirrored by Sha Ya-Lin Jing-The SID. I love that (except for Ye Zun) this show has so little interest in jealousy!) - Night time, a Haixing official car is dark-energy EMPed (by Ya Qing?) and faced down by Team Merit Brush.
Sha Ya zaps Zhao Xinci and Minister Gao. She asks Wang Xiangyang if the brush can keep making her stronger, and he says, "As long as I don't stop, it won't stop." And then there's my favourite minor-character exchange of the episode:
WXY: You might not remember who I am, but I remember you. I'll remember you forever.
Zhang Shi: Even if you get what you want, so what? Drowning in hatred, cutting yourself off from the world. This is quenching your thirst with poison, child.
WXY: You are not Zhao Xinci.
ZS: And you? Are you still the same person?
Sha Ya: *zaps Zhang Shi unconscious* Bunch of mystical nonsense.
I love that a) rather than being unnerved, Zhang Shi understands what's going on, is philosophical, and patronisingly tries to teach Wang Xiangyang a better way; b) "quenching your thirst with poison" is a really great idiom(?)/metaphor; c) Wang Xiangyang immediately recognises this isn't Zhao Xinci (what kind of conversations have they had before?); d) Zhang Shi proceeds to use himself as a metaphor for Wang Xiangyang's turn to the dark side, lol; e) the LotR Isengard theme-esque villain music plays underneath; and f) Sha Ya's utter contempt for the whole business. :D (I think she zaps Zhang Shi because he's making too much sense, and she doesn't want to hear it.) Also, there's something pretty dark in Wang Xiangyang recognising that Zhao Xinci literally isn't himself but continuing on with the plan anyway; his revenge is a blunt instrument. - Wang Xiangyang tells Sha Ya to hide the hostages. He's going to play one last game with the SID. He pierces his palm with the glowing Merit Brush, ow!
- The SID team are working at the main table. Guo Ying comes in bearing a letter written in blood. He soberly explains about the kidnapping.
When Zhao Yunlan hears his father is a hostage, he sees his vision from the blindness arc again and connects the two, although one was a traffic accident during the day and this was a controlled interception at night. He's really shaken up. Shen Wei is actively supportive. Zhao Yunlan asks if there are any other clues? Guo Ying says no (though I kinda feel like Zhao Yunlan should verify that himself) and adds, "We're afraid they don't want anything and will just kill the hostages." Shen Wei thinks that's unlikely, given Wang Xiangyang's MO so far. Guo Ying leaves the matter in the SID's hands.
(This is an interesting twist in the SID's relationship with the DoS. I guess in the absence of Minister Gao and Zhao Xinci, the SID is the DoS's trusted crack team, to be relied upon in all supernatural matters. Guo Ying even departs while Zhao Yunlan is still visibly freaking out. I wonder if he knows Zhao Yunlan disobeyed a direct order and investigated the DoS lab.)
Lin Jing checks the blood letter: they have 24 hours from midnight to crack the code. Zhao Yunlan is spiralling, angrily lashes out at a chair. Shen Wei says, quietly, that Zhao Yunlan's father believes in him, and "You are the Chief of the SID, the Lord of the Guardians. If you are in disarray, the whole city will be as well."
Zhao Yunlan raggedly pulls himself together and, letter in hand, goes to sit in his time-out, having-difficult-feelings place, ie, the bottom of the stairs. - Cut to Lin Jing and Cong Bo doing hacks. I think they're checking CCTV.
CB: Say how do you think they get from place to place? I've checked all the monitors at each road section. Unless they grew wings, why can't I find them?
LJ: I forgot to tell you. One of them is Yashou and really does grow wings.
LOL. - Zhao Yunlan is alone in the SID. (Who left him alone, omg? What happens next is at least 50% Shen Wei's fault!) Lin Jing calls to say they have nothing. In the absence of leads and with the clock ticking, Zhao Yunlan decides to try for a Dial vision, but as soon as he picks it up, he falls to the floor unconscious.
- Daylight. The flat. Shen Wei watching Zhao Yunlan sleep.
There's a sloooow camera zoom on the midshot, and you can really feel the heavy burden of trying to keep Zhao Yunlan alive. ;-p HAND TUCK!!!
Shen Wei sends an incense messenger to the Regent. I don't think he's heard about the infestation of assassins. He says, "The safety of the world is tied to our generation," and my brain ties itself in knots trying to decide which generation Shen Wei qualifies as. Zhao Yunlan wakes. It's 6am. - Lin Jing and Cong Bo are still trying to decipher a code in the letter (having presumably been up all night). Lin Jing gets a text from Sha Ya (aww!) telling them not to bother; it's a distraction.
- Rooftop of villainy. Ya Qing tells Sha Ya to limit her screen time, and Sha Ya responds by throwing her phone off the roof. Wang Xiangyang is hacking up a lung: "I don't have much time left." There's a flashback to him and Bai Suxia being really cute and getting engaged at a red phone box. WXY promises never to ignore her calls.
- Lin Jing and Cong Bo analyse the blood on the letter.
Cong Bo: This kind of blood densimetric analysis, I remember that it's a patent of the Department of Supervision. You managed to learn this secretly?
Lin Jing: *looks shifty* - Lin Jing calls and helps Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan find the phone box. (Ha, it has little gold crowns on it.) As they walk towards it, Zhao Yunlan notices how serious Shen Wei is being (and is probably feeling a bit better himself, now they finally have a lead).
He casts a sideways, considering glance, then grins and says, "Hei-laoge, you won't blame me, right?" referring to the latest asking-the-Dial-for-visions incident. Shen Wei looks at him, unimpressed, and walks off without answering, leaving Zhao Yunlan a bit sheepish. (Fwiw, I think Shen Wei's reacting that way precisely because Zhao Yunlan's trying to make light of it, rather than taking his health seriously.) They're intercepted by two Crow soldiers. Skirmish. Shen Wei gets cut and doesn't immediately heal. He sends a message to Ya Qing that Ye Zun can't be trusted. - They find the third, unnamed kidnappee in the phone box.
- Rooftop of Villainy. Ya Qing says Wang Xiangyang's treasure hunt is too hard for the SID. Wang Xiangyang doesn't care so long as it keeps them busy. Sha Ya says she's going to check on Zhao Xinci.
- Zhao Xinci wakes up and tries to escape. Sha Ya stops him and confronts him about Gu Ban. He doesn't recognise the name.
I like how she's against a dark background, and he's on lighter shades of grey.
She zaps him to the ground. I'm holding Hua Yuzhu responsible for a lot of this!
Discussion starters:
- What's your favourite scene in this episode? Favourite line of dialogue?
- If Sha Ya had genuinely changed sides at the SID, and Lin Jing had appealed to the Envoy, do you think Sha Ya would have been allowed to stay in Haixing? For that matter, what would it have taken for Sha Ya to let her vengeance go and work with the SID?
- What did Ye Zun gain by sending Sha Ya and co to Haixing? Was interfering just a hobby at that point?
- Hypothetically, could Hua Yuzhu have become a Flower-Yashou healer?
- Did Zhao Yunlan's vision actually warn of this kidnapping? If so, why are the circumstances so different?
- When Shen Wei tells Zhao Yunlan, "You are the Chief of the SID, the Lord of the Guardians. If you are in disarray, the whole city will be as well," is he speaking metaphysically, or is it more prosaic cause-and-effect deal (ie, we can't stop bad guys if you're freaking out)?
- How torn is Shen Wei about keeping the Hallows at the SID, given that ot1h, it's the safest place for them, but otoh, Zhao Yunlan has a reckless, self-sacrificial streak a mile wide and apparently never learns?
Let’s talk about episode 28!
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!
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Zhao Yunlan finds out his father has been kidnapped by
Shen Wei tucks Zhao Yunlan into bed again by
Focus on Bai Suxia and Wang Xiangyang by me
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What if Wang Xiangyang's bleached hair of evil is just them not having enough budget to do proper White Hair Of Power Overuse? We know that the Hallows can have draining effects on people who use them (see: every time we scream at Zhao Yunlan to stop touching them), Wang Xiangyang is certainly doing a lot with the Merit Brush, and white hair as a sign of lost vitality (and/or overusing magic) is a common trope in cdramas.
As discord folk pointed out, dramatic hairstyle changes due to dramatic life events is totally a thing! But in this case, I think there's a compelling argument to be made that Wang Xiangyang's changing hair color is more about how heavily he's using the Merit Brush. The way he talks about dying soon would match up with this theory as well, since he sure is using himself up.
the LotR Isengard theme-esque villain music plays underneath
It's so distracting to me but also it makes me laugh every time xD
When Shen Wei tells Zhao Yunlan, "You are the Chief of the SID, the Lord of the Guardians. If you are in disarray, the whole city will be as well," is he speaking metaphysically, or is it more prosaic cause-and-effect deal (ie, we can't stop bad guys if you're freaking out)?
I suspect he's speaking metaphorically, but it does make me want an AU where Zhao Yunlan is a city witch or otherwise has land magic where he's literally connected to Dragon City such that their moods influence each other.
Hypothetically, could Hua Yuzhu have become a Flower-Yashou healer?
Ooooh, I love this idea! :D
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Oooh! I don't know enough about the trope as a trope to have any real thoughts on this, but it makes sense! I'm thinking, too, of the way Ye Zun's hair went grey in a few seconds due to his power / trauma, so maybe something similar, but because Wang Xiangyang is human his "power" comes from/through the Brush?
It's so distracting to me but also it makes me laugh every time xD
Right? So bombastic and wonderfully evil. :D
I suspect he's speaking metaphorically, but it does make me want an AU where Zhao Yunlan is a city witch or otherwise has land magic where he's literally connected to Dragon City such that their moods influence each other.
A genius loci like in Rivers of London, maybe? But actually I was thinking it could have to do with the Guardian Treaty, like if being the Lord of the Guardians linked Zhao Yunlan to the city in a kind of symbiotic metaphysical relationship? Idk. I think you're right that Shen Wei is probably speaking metaphorically and/or prosaically here, though. (If the SID crumbles, Dragon City's defences against Dixing criminals crumble with it; that's just a fact.)
<3 <3 <3
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Yes, Ye Zun's hair suddenly turning white is an example of this trope! It's also why I managed to remain unspoiled for Ye Zun despite having seen images of him before watching the show—I assumed he was Shen Wei with a different hairstyle due to magical illness or something. :)
And yeah, I definitely think Wang Xiangyang is a channel for the Merit Brush's power, and that his human body isn't meant for that, and that's why it's draining/killing him, and the hair is simply a visible manifestation of that.
A genius loci like in Rivers of London, maybe? But actually I was thinking it could have to do with the Guardian Treaty, like if being the Lord of the Guardians linked Zhao Yunlan to the city in a kind of symbiotic metaphysical relationship?
Any of the above! They're all cool possibilities. <3
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Ha, that's awesome! :D
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Every time you mentinon this I'm delighted all over again! :D
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Yes! That fits perfectly! Including the way that unlike Wang Xiangyang, it turns out that Ye Zun can control/contain this sudden overflow of power, so he ends up incredibly powerful.
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I always thought him choosing to bleach his hair was weird, because he doesn't seem to be the type to go for that kind of image, nor does he really lean into it. But if we interpret it like this, suddenly it all makes sense! Thank you so much!
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When Zhao Yunlan notices Shen Wei isn't healing. The uneasy foreboding in such a small detail!
Did Zhao Yunlan's vision actually warn of this kidnapping? If so, why are the circumstances so different?
I think that was at least sort of the intended reading. That the two scenes don't actually match can be chalked up to Zhao Yunlan's vision being a dreamlike impression rather than literal: If he only got a feeling about Zhao Xinci meeting misfortune in a car, he might have assumed/supplemented the rest.
Sha Ya shares the earrings with Hua Yuzhu and tells her they're in a fair competition
Is fair competition what they call it these days? XD
Drowning in hatred, cutting yourself off from the world. This is quenching your thirst with poison, child.
WXY: You are not Zhao Xinci.
Love how it's immediately obvious Zhao Xinci has been replaced by an impostor because he is being peaceful and reasonable.
And quenching thirst with poison is a badass line. It seems to be idiomatic, I found some info on 飲鴆止渴 here
I'm holding Hua Yuzhu responsible for a lot of this!
Right? I love misunderstandings to death, but this whole I know the truth but somwhow never manage to say something thing isn't working. Open your mouth Hua Yuzhu!
anything else that strikes your fancy!
I can't believe I never caught on to the connection between Wang Xiangyang's frosted tips and the energy drain turns hair white trope. Still enjoy the idea of him bleaching his hair to express a Rebellious Phase as a joke, but like this it suddenly makes a lot more sense in-universe.
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It's so fun to joke about! And it really looks like bleached hair, so it's harder to think about magically white hair at first glance, especially when that's not a trope that I associate with more modern-looking shows like Guardian. It's so much more common in wuxia/xianxia! (So it fits in better with YOHE, I guess, and that tracks with the Hallows being ancient objects...)
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I wonder if that's because the usual look is very strongly connected with long hair? So it looks very different when it's short?
But the wuxia/xianxia/YOHE connection also tracks!
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Ooh, yesss -- and how long it takes Zhao Yunlan to look away despite the enemy combatants being right there. :D
I think that was at least sort of the intended reading. That the two scenes don't actually match can be chalked up to Zhao Yunlan's vision being a dreamlike impression rather than literal: If he only got a feeling about Zhao Xinci meeting misfortune in a car, he might have assumed/supplemented the rest.
Ah, that makes sense! Like Chu Shuzhi and co being laid out as if they were in a morgue in Zhao Yunlan's vision of the zero-degree lab, but when Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei arrive, the others are just sitting around. Zhao Yunlan's vision brain was supplying "what death looks like." Cool!
Is fair competition what they call it these days? XD
Hee! <3
Love how it's immediately obvious Zhao Xinci has been replaced by an impostor because he is being peaceful and reasonable.
Haha, right? (And yay, thanks for the idiom link!)
Open your mouth Hua Yuzhu!
LOL! Exactly!
And ha, clearly I don't get out much, because I always associated Wang Xiangyang's hair change with his turn to the dark side. Zhu Jiu's purple, too, though I don't know if that's supported by canon. (Interesting that Ya Qing doesn't have a similar transformation, given she "drowned [her]self in darkness"... Maybe her Crow genes are too strong. *g*)
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Yeah, same here, but I always took it to be him symbolically bleaching his hair to signify the change, rather than something that happens to him because of the forces he's messing with ...
With Ya Qing, I wonder if she doesn't get a visual signifier of her fall into evil because she's not really changing sides in the same sense? She's always committed to her tribe; that remains consistent throughout. So she always looks like a Crow. Yes? No?
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Ha! Thinking about it again, I think I vaguely attributed it to either trauma or evil, or some combo of the two. I don't think it occurred to me that it could have been an intentional/deliberate move.
With Ya Qing, I wonder if she doesn't get a visual signifier of her fall into evil because she's not really changing sides in the same sense? She's always committed to her tribe; that remains consistent throughout. So she always looks like a Crow. Yes? No?
Maybe? I'm inclined to think it's largely aesthetics. She's Crow tribe -- she should be black! ;-p
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Yeah, probably. *g*
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Yeah, agreed! Honestly, it took me ages to realise they didn't match up; the first few times I watched I didn't actually notice. *g*
And quenching thirst with poison is a badass line. It seems to be idiomatic, I found some info on 飲鴆止渴 here
Oooh, thank you for sharing!
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Yeah, I'm not sure either. Perhaps something about being torn/pulled in different directions? At least, that applies to a lot of characters on the Sha Ya side of the episode, present and past, and also to Wang Xiangyang (though there it's more in the contrast between the direction Bai Suxia pulled him in the past vs. where he's going, on his own, in the present). Not sure how to fold Zhao Yunlan and Zhao Xinci into this theme, though.
Yeah, it's all a delaying tactic on her part, as we find out later, but I feel like it's set up very well to make it potentially believable here, with Lin Jing appealing to her better nature, and then Shen Wei speaking to her very seriously, telling her it's not too late to turn back, and (presumably taking his cue form Lin Jing on that front) treating her as someone who can be reasoned with.
And they're both wrong about her in this moment - she's set on her revenge - but they're right overall, in that she is torn, to the point of actively helping out Lin Jing with figuring out Wang Xiangyang's letter.
Hua Yuzhu is surrouonded by coincidences! Not just this one, but later, when she rushes off towards the forest, she runs right past Zhao Yunlan, giving him the chance to see her earring!
It's surprisingly sweet! I think she's being entirely genuine when she asks him why he's not angry at her for deceiving him. And he's very earnest when he tells her she ultimately didn't hurt him - which, uh, she very much did, what with all the electrocuting him last episode! - he's so in love and so generous about it all! And she tells him he was just the first that took the bait (and he looks a bit dejected after that), but - she never uses that association for anything. I can't think of a single instance where their association benefits her vendetta. Even right now, her delaying tactic doesn't actually depend on Lin Jing.
Yeah, I was wondering that too! It does look like she's trying to teach her, or like Sha Ya is trying to copy her, but their powers are so different, I can't see how it would work ...
Their conversation, with Sha Ya mentioning people going upstairs in secret, suggests that people not only go but also return, to tell tales, and commonly enough that it's something people know about. (So Ye Zun was probably telling the truth about being able to take them both ways, and possibly did this on the regular, or else there are other ways of bypassing the official portal's restrictions.)
I do wonder why neither the Regent nor the Envoy ever seem to have managed to put a stop to the illegal travel - my theory is that the Regent is complicit in it somehow. (I have a version of how it might work in this episode 33 fic.)
Yeah, and Hua Yuzhu at least recognises at the end that she was wrong for not talking about it, but I can't figure out what her thinking was. I mean, possibly Hua Yuzhu doesn't even know that Sha Ya is planning to go after the wrong culprit? But still, it makes very little sense to me, I don't understand her at all.
I do find it interesting that Sha Ya was originally the one who wanted to stay in Haixing, and now she's accusing Hua Yuzhu of betraying their friendship because she's desperate to stay. That ties in well with all her talk about going back to Dixing soon - she seems to see being arrested and taken back there as the price she'll pay for having her revenge, and she's made her peace with that - or thinks she has. (I feel like she's trying hard to ignore her doubts!)
Btw, visually, I love the image of Sha Ya shouting at Hua Yuzhu through the glass door, visualising the barrier between them.
It's like he's felt uncomfortable about secretly reporting to Professor Ouyang all this time, but he's only now realising how bad it might look to Zhao Yunlan and the others. *pets him*
Yeah, all the talk of betrayal is getting to him! *g*
And I feel like Sha Ya picks up on his mood and actively distracts him by asking about the ring.
I wonder why they're meeting in the street like this - is this accidental or planned? And where did Shen Wei go?
I think they are, yeah.
Honestly, I never picked up on this before despite the lampshading last episode, but this time round I'm loving Lin Jing's pattern of spouting random trivia in awkward moments!
The entire thing about the forest doesn't seem to be part of her plan - she seems genuinely surprised and shocked, and later she thanks Lin Jing for taking her to the forest and even goes behind Wang Xiangyang's and Ya Qing's back to help him out in thanks, so it wasn't something she'd expected to happen. I wonder how she'd originally meant to get out of the SID after being arrested ... She couldn't have counted on Lin Jing getting her out, surely?
He says he's taking her to the forest, which isn't quite the same as releasing her? But yeah, Zhao Yunlan is so angry with him until it gets through that Hua Yuzhu is also going there, and his lost trail has been found for him again! Then he just tells Lin Jing to wait for him there. *g*
And once again Ye Zun is all, "oh, no one's talked to me in so long" - that seems to be part of his usual spiel!
Also, even though people going upstairs is apparently pretty well known, it seems like there are no rumours going around about the talking pillar, at least not at this point, which is fascinating!
Yeah, there was a bit of talk about this on discord, too. RJ and
The dialogue in the bridge scene sounds very like this is their first (and possibly only) trip to Haixing, though, despite Gu Ban not being in it. Perhaps Sha Ya edited him out for Lin Jing's benefit, or perhaps he was right there, just off screen, watching them?
Yeah, great point! I suppose part of it is that both Sha Ya and Hua Yuzhu are attractive women, whereas fake Zhang Danni was badly scarred ...
Yeah, and once again Hua Yuzhu doesn't take the opportunity to say anything actually useful, like what actually happened back then!
This bit was interesting to me, because it's Hua Yuzhu who starts struggling with a guy with a chainsaw, and when he knocks her down, Sha Ya attacks him - almost like she's defending Hua Yuzhu, despite attacking her earlier. Complicated feelings!
Was it meant to be his grave? Honestly, I can't figure out what's going on with the digging. (Weren't the workers supposed to cut down trees?!)
There aren't any corpses either. Maybe they just ran away? I hope!
They look like Zhao Yunlan's boots to me - I guess it's meant to imply that he does move around, especially since just before this he and Lin Jing split up to search for Sha Ya and Hua Yuzhu.
Wu Tian'en's power! :D
And he says. "Perhaps it's because of the Merit Brush, but I can't sense where they are," implying that he normally could.
LOLOLOL, too true!
1) Ooooh, you're right about the mirroring, that is excellent! and 2) yeah, 100% agreed on the jealousy!
I don't know who does it - it could be Ya Qing, or it could be Sha Ya with a general application of black energy. But I like the consistency - Zhu Jiu does something similar to Lao-Chu's car in episode 19. (Or, I mean, it could have been Ya Qing back then, too. But she's not in that scene, so I always assumed it was Zhu Jiu.)
Lin Jing isn't the only one who keeps being lied to!
Hee! Yes, on all those points! :D
And as an aside, I always figured Zhao Xinci actually got knocked out, and Zhang Shi came out while he was unconscious.
Yeah, Zhao Yunlan concludes that the vision was about this, but he doesn't know the details don't line up at all, so from his perspective that makes sense. And despite the differences in detail, I do think it makes sense to interpret the vision to be related to the kidnapping. (More on that below.)
Oooh, yes, great point! I have no idea how much he even knows about the lab. (And if he does know, given his later attempt to stop Minister Gao from going too far, I wonder if he might feel Zhao Yunlan was doing the right thing, even if he was going against Minister Gao's orders ...)
I thought the bit about CCTV was just an aside. and that they were trying to crack the code in the letter? That's what the gist of their conversation seemed to be.
I want to know where everyone is! Wang Zheng is around, as we'll see when Zhao Yunlan passes out, but other than that, everyone seems to be gone. And he's so out of sorts - yeah, he shouldn't have been left alone. Thats not just on Shen Wei; if he had stuff to do elsewhere, someone else should at least have kept an eye on Zhao Yunlan. They must all have seen how badly he was dealing. Where is Da Qing?!
But more importantly, I want to know why Zhao Yunlan is at the SID, when everyone else is apparently elsewhere! If they're all investigating/searching, which might make some sense, why is Zhao Yunlan of all people the one staying behind?
To be continued ...
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It's interesting that he picks the Sundial this time, after the Awl gave him visions last. He does spend a moment looking between the two Hallows, apparently choosing - maybe he goes for the Sundial because it's actually proved useful twice recently, as defence against Ye Zun and then healing Zhao Yunlan's eyes?
♥ ♥ ♥
Yeah, but for the viewer, him saying he hasn't received a report from Dixing in a while is a hint that the Regent's attempt to contain Ye Zun, which we heard about last week, did not go well ...
Love this bit that shows off Ya Qing's philosophy: "Now that you've chosen your side, you should be loyal for life." She's not opportunistic in her alliance; she's committed. Which makes it harder for her to turn back on it, even as things get more and more unpalatable to her later ...
I'd never noticed before that Wang Xiangyang finds it embarrassing when Bai Suxia wants to take a pic with him in front of the phone box, but she's unapologetically geeking out over it and having fun, and it draws him in. She's good for him!
And regarding him promising her to always pick up within five rings, even if we didn't know what was coming, this would be VERY blatant foreshadowing. *g*
(Aside: every time I hear this line, I think about my mum - when I call her, sometimes it rings ten times on my side until she picks up, and she says it only rang two or three times on her end!)
Lin Jing: *looks shifty*
Yes! More foreshadowing the reveal of his spy role, more showing his uneasy feelings.
Yeah, he seems to be in much better spirits now that they're actually doing something! And he's cocky and confident in the confrontation with the Crows - but when there are no immediate clues at the phonebox, he kicks it in frustration. He's still pretty volatile. *pets him*
(Incidentally, I love that his frustrated kick makes the receiver fall down and draws their attention to the phone. And that clear shot of the number pad and its worn numbers, foreshadowing for the deduction next episode!)
Yeah, 100% agreed.
Love the whole confrontation with the Crows:
The Crow saying Ya Qing is working hard towards the revival of the Yashou - they follow her because they believe in her.
The fight sequence, with Shen Wei immediately pulling Zhao Yunlan back and shoving him behind him when the Crows attack, and how easily he pushes them back with both fists and black energy.
The Crow dart cutting Shen Wei, and Zhao Yunlan immediately zooming in on that and ignoring everything else, while Shen Wei just pulls his hand away and ignores the issue.
Shen Wei sending a message to Ya Qing, warning her about Ye Zun - looks like by this point, he does know what she thinks she's doing.
Seriously, excellent scene! :D
I thought his reaction was deliberately ambiguous, so we couldn't immediately tell whether he remembered or not ...
Also, Zhao Xinci saying his life is dedicated to the protection of humanity and he knows no fear - great speech, but maybe don't antagonise the violent Dixing kidnapper?!
Oooh, yeah, that's an excellent shot!
This is so hard to decide! How do I choose between the SID scene where Zhao Yunlan reacts to his father being kidnapped, the scene by Zhao Yunlan's bedside, and the Crow confrontaiton????? I can't!
I think if she'd genuinely changed sides and been willing to help the SID, she'd have been allowed to stay.
The only thing that would have made Sha Ya let go would have been Hua Yuzhu actually telling her what happened, and since I don't understand her silence at all, I have no idea what might have made her speak.
Since this must have been years ago and was already ongoing at the time, I think he was just trying to get his hooks into as many people as possible and trying to find someone who could actually help him/whom he could manipulate and brainwash into becoming his lackey. Presumably his goal was finding the Hallows, since they seem to be what imprisoned him in the first place and therefore can be expected to be able to free him as well.
I expect interfering and causing trouble in Haixing that Shen Wei would have to deal with was just a side benefit. *g*
Oooh, I love that idea! Yeah, that sounds brilliant. :D
I think this is similar to the future vision he had the time Zhu Jiu kidnapped Chu Shuzhi, Guo Changcheng and Ye Huo - reality and vision didn't line up then either, and they concluded they'd averted that future. But there have been other future flashes that did happen exactly as seen (that were actually from future episodes). The future isn't written in stone - visions aren't facts; events may happen that way, but they don't have to; things can change.
So my interpretation is that the vision Zhao Yunlan had was about Zhao Xinci being kidnapped - but under different circumstances: a different way it might have happened, with a staged car accident while Zhao Xinci was at the wheel.
I always took it to be prosaic; I'm not really fond of the metaphysical reading.
Haha, OMG, SO much! Poor Shen Wei. *g*
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But it's never actually given him visions, has it? I'm not sure what he's thinking. It's interesting that the effects are so much worse than at the start, too -- I wonder if that's his body reacting more, or if the Dial itself is growing in power (maybe now it's around other Hallows? it did grow in size as soon as they brought it to the SID, maybe in response to being in the general vicinity of the Lantern and the Brush?).
Yeah, but for the viewer, him saying he hasn't received a report from Dixing in a while is a hint that the Regent's attempt to contain Ye Zun, which we heard about last week, did not go well ...
I don't quite get that. How so? Do you mean it implies the Regent is inundated with Ye Zun's forces and can't get to the fax?
Love this bit that shows off Ya Qing's philosophy: "Now that you've chosen your side, you should be loyal for life." She's not opportunistic in her alliance; she's committed. Which makes it harder for her to turn back on it, even as things get more and more unpalatable to her later ...
It makes sense that the deeper in she is, the harder it is to stop. All that darkness has to be worth it to justify itself.
but she's unapologetically geeking out over it and having fun, and it draws him in. She's good for him!
And in return, he's a moral centre (telling her they can't STEAL A CAR ON THEIR WEDDING DAY, lol). They work together so well. *sniffles along with Xiao Guo*
And regarding him promising her to always pick up within five rings, even if we didn't know what was coming, this would be VERY blatant foreshadowing. *g*
I think that might be a standard promise of devotion? I heard it in another drama too. But yes, definitely foreshadowing, too.
(Aside: every time I hear this line, I think about my mum - when I call her, sometimes it rings ten times on my side until she picks up, and she says it only rang two or three times on her end!)
Ha, technology, man!
Wang Xiangyang puts the ring on Bai Suxia's right hand. Is that where engagement rings go in China? (Here, they go on the left hand; wedding rings go on the right.)
Oh, really? In NZ they both go on the left hand. Engagement and wedding rings share a finger. (Idk about China.)
Shen Wei's explanation of the code goes entirely over my head.
Hee! Me too. I absolutely take their word for it.
Love the whole confrontation with the Crows:
Yesss, all those things!
Zhao Xinci isn't even tied up. He just wakes up and walks out. If the others had been more distracted, could he just have waltzed right out?
Ha, maybe! Not exactly a crack team. Maybe they're overconfident because of their powers...
Also, Zhao Xinci saying his life is dedicated to the protection of humanity and he knows no fear - great speech, but maybe don't antagonise the violent Dixing kidnapper?!
LOL, it's astounding that he has a role that involves diplomacy! *g*
The only thing that would have made Sha Ya let go would have been Hua Yuzhu actually telling her what happened, and since I don't understand her silence at all, I have no idea what might have made her speak.
That makes sense.
I expect interfering and causing trouble in Haixing that Shen Wei would have to deal with was just a side benefit. *g*
Oh, ha, I hadn't put this together with the purse snatchers Shen Wei stops when he first comes to Haixing... but I probably should have, huh?
Haha, OMG, SO much! Poor Shen Wei. *g*
*pets him forever*
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Nope, no visions, but in the Hanga caves it led them to Wang Zheng and the Awl. Maybe he thought it could serve as a tracker here as well? I mean, Wang Xiangyang has the Merit Brush - if it can lead them to one Hallow, why not another?
It's interesting that the effects are so much worse than at the start, too -- I wonder if that's his body reacting more, or if the Dial itself is growing in power (maybe now it's around other Hallows? it did grow in size as soon as they brought it to the SID, maybe in response to being in the general vicinity of the Lantern and the Brush?).
I always thought the effects being worse was because ZYL was more sensitive after already being healed from black energy corruption once. But that's a great point about the Sundial growing when it's in proximity to other Hallows!
Yeah, but for the viewer, him saying he hasn't received a report from Dixing in a while is a hint that the Regent's attempt to contain Ye Zun, which we heard about last week, did not go well ...
I don't quite get that. How so? Do you mean it implies the Regent is inundated with Ye Zun's forces and can't get to the fax?
I mean it implies something's gone wrong in Dixing, since I think the Regent is generally likely to send "reports" that don't really say anything other than "business as usual" - and he wouldn't stop that without a reason, given that not being in touch is practically guaranteed to make Shen Wei enquire more closely into what's going on. And since the last thing we heard happening in Dixing was the Regent deciding to try and contain Ye Zun, the connection seems obvious.
It makes sense that the deeper in she is, the harder it is to stop. All that darkness has to be worth it to justify itself.
Yeah, agreed!
And in return, he's a moral centre (telling her they can't STEAL A CAR ON THEIR WEDDING DAY, lol). They work together so well. *sniffles along with Xiao Guo*
I have stuff to say about that scene! Next rewatch post! *g*
In NZ they both go on the left hand. Engagement and wedding rings share a finger.
Fascinating! Now I want an international survey! *g*
(I'm sure it exists somewhere online ...)
Oh, ha, I hadn't put this together with the purse snatchers Shen Wei stops when he first comes to Haixing... but I probably should have, huh?
Oh yes, good point! Absolutely!
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Oh, that's an excellent point! Last time he used the Merit Brush, it didn't turn out so well and Shen Wei got mad, so try the other one. And yeah, if it can track, that's actually more helpful than a cryptic vision with no directional data! ;-p
I mean it implies something's gone wrong in Dixing, since I think the Regent is generally likely to send "reports" that don't really say anything other than "business as usual" - and he wouldn't stop that without a reason, given that not being in touch is practically guaranteed to make Shen Wei enquire more closely into what's going on. And since the last thing we heard happening in Dixing was the Regent deciding to try and contain Ye Zun, the connection seems obvious.
Oh, right. Yeah, that makes sense. *nodnod*
I have stuff to say about that scene! Next rewatch post! *g*
\o/!! :D
Wedding ring facts. :-)
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Haha, yeah, true. *g*
And thanks for the wedding ring link!
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Yeah, it's all a delaying tactic on her part, as we find out later, but I feel like it's set up very well to make it potentially believable here
Yes, very true. And she's not actively hostile to the SID, really. Prepared to use them, but not just out of spite, if that distinction makes sense?
Oh cool, thanks!
And he's very earnest when he tells her she ultimately didn't hurt him - which, uh, she very much did, what with all the electrocuting him last episode!
LOL! Physical assaults don't count at all, apparently; only his heart!
Their conversation, with Sha Ya mentioning people going upstairs in secret, suggests that people not only go but also return, to tell tales, and commonly enough that it's something people know about.
True! Though not necessarily everyone. It could be like the existence of Dixingren in Haixing -- there are rumours, but lots of people haven't heard them, and some of those who have don't believe them?
I do wonder why neither the Regent nor the Envoy ever seem to have managed to put a stop to the illegal travel - my theory is that the Regent is complicit in it somehow.
Or they don't realise at that point that Ye Zun is involved, and both of them are determinedly ignoring him (for very different reasons)? But also, smuggling, I'm sure. (I need to re-read that fic of yours! :-)
Yeah, and Hua Yuzhu at least recognises at the end that she was wrong for not talking about it, but I can't figure out what her thinking was. I mean, possibly Hua Yuzhu doesn't even know that Sha Ya is planning to go after the wrong culprit? But still, it makes very little sense to me, I don't understand her at all.
I get the impression (for all my saying the show isn't interested in jealousy) that as much as she loves Sha Ya, she's also, despite herself, jealous that Gu Ban chose her. And I think that jealousy kind of poisons her a little and makes her unable to acknowledge either truth: that he didn't love her <em>or</em> what happened to him. Like she's sub/semi-consciously punishing Sha Ya for winning their "competition"? But we don't really get her POV, so it's hard to tell for sure.
I do find it interesting that Sha Ya was originally the one who wanted to stay in Haixing, and now she's accusing Hua Yuzhu of betraying their friendship because she's desperate to stay.
Yeah, I think Gu Ban's murder absolutely destroyed Sha Ya's hopeful Haixing dream, and now she wants no part of it, and thinks Hua Yuzhu shouldn't either (which doesn't really explain why she's still there however many years later, unless maybe she did go back to Dixing, and Ye Zun recruited her there when he needed her for Merit Brush-related vengeance...?). Whereas Hua Yuzhu is all "BUT PLANTS!!!!"
Btw, visually, I love the image of Sha Ya shouting at Hua Yuzhu through the glass door, visualising the barrier between them.
Oh, great point!
I wonder why they're meeting in the street like this - is this accidental or planned?
I think it must have been planned. Not sure about Shen Wei, though. Checking in with the Dixing archive about Hua Yuzhu? (Or has the archive been rendered completely useless with the loss of the Dijun's Register?)
I wonder how she'd originally meant to get out of the SID after being arrested ... She couldn't have counted on Lin Jing getting her out, surely?
Zap everyone! Or maybe Ya Qing was going to rescue her during prisoner transfer.
He says he's taking her to the forest, which isn't quite the same as releasing her?
Well, once they've left the SID, if she decides to ditch him, there isn't much he could do about it, though. She can zip into the sky!
And once again Ye Zun is all, "oh, no one's talked to me in so long"
LOL, he's like Eeyore. “I make it 17 days, come Friday, since anybody spoke to me.” :D
Also, even though people going upstairs is apparently pretty well known, it seems like there are no rumours going around about the talking pillar, at least not at this point, which is fascinating!
Oh, maybe he's able to use his mind-control to conceal himself in people's memories? That could be why the Regent and Shen Wei don't know and haven't put a stop to it?
The dialogue in the bridge scene sounds very like this is their first (and possibly only) trip to Haixing, though, despite Gu Ban not being in it.
Agreed!
Perhaps Sha Ya edited him out for Lin Jing's benefit, or perhaps he was right there, just off screen, watching them?
Yes, either of those. Or he's gone off to find food or check for danger or something? Or Ye Zun deliberately sent them to different places in Haixing (like when ZYL and DQ end up in the Dixing bar without SW), and they haven't met up again yet -- though they don't seem worried about him or conscious of him at all, so I'm going with "edited memory." After all, raising the subject of Gu Ban could lead to awkward questions about what happened to him, and who did it, and VENGEANCE, and so on.
I suppose part of it is that both Sha Ya and Hua Yuzhu are attractive women, whereas fake Zhang Danni was badly scarred ...
Maybe, though Zhang Danni's boyfriend was also living rough. Maybe it's that Hua Yuzhu has more marketable skills?
This bit was interesting to me, because it's Hua Yuzhu who starts struggling with a guy with a chainsaw, and when he knocks her down, Sha Ya attacks him - almost like she's defending Hua Yuzhu, despite attacking her earlier. Complicated feelings!
So complicated!! But it makes sense to me that Sha Ya would attack her friend out of too many feelings, but still want to defend her from strangers, especially human strangers who are desecrating Gu Ban's resting place.
They look like Zhao Yunlan's boots to me
It's confusing because it crosses the line -- the boots are heading left to right, but when it cuts to ZYL, he's facing more leftwards.
Lin Jing isn't the only one who keeps being lied to!
Ye-es. I'm not sure Shen Wei keeping secrets qualifies as lying, personally, but I guess it's in the same ballpark. And it would certainly make sense if some of ZYL's exasperation was aimed at himself, especially wrt Lin Jing.
And as an aside, I always figured Zhao Xinci actually got knocked out, and Zhang Shi came out while he was unconscious.
Makes sense! I wonder if Sha Ya actually manages to knock him out after that, or if he plays possum to stop her from dangerously over-zapping ZXC's body...
And if [Guo Ying] does know, given his later attempt to stop Minister Gao from going too far, I wonder if he might feel Zhao Yunlan was doing the right thing, even if he was going against Minister Gao's orders ...
Maybe. There are some fascinating aspects wrt obedience, duty, loyalty, morality and conscience going on in these episodes... Like, if Guo Ying were an exemplary Vice Minister, wouldn't he uphold the DoS's stance? But the show clearly approves of him standing against Minister Gao later on.
I thought the bit about CCTV was just an aside. and that they were trying to crack the code in the letter? That's what the gist of their conversation seemed to be.
I think Cong Bo starts off looking at CCTV, trying to figure out how they got away, until Lin Jing says Ya Qing can fly. Then Cong Bo gives up on that, and they move onto code breaking.
And he's so out of sorts - yeah, he shouldn't have been left alone. Thats not just on Shen Wei; if he had stuff to do elsewhere, someone else should at least have kept an eye on Zhao Yunlan. They must all have seen how badly he was dealing. Where is Da Qing?!
I mean, yes, but I also think atm Shen Wei is effectively 2IC, and he should have assigned someone to babysit if he was going to absent himself. ;-p (I'm half kidding. But I mean, Hallows-groping isn't unprecedented in these situations, and Shen Wei knows that (and the cost of it) better than anyone!)
But more importantly, I want to know why Zhao Yunlan is at the SID, when everyone else is apparently elsewhere! If they're all investigating/searching, which might make some sense, why is Zhao Yunlan of all people the one staying behind?
Excellent question! Maybe they told him to rest, and he couldn't? Idk. It really works for his frame of mind, though. I think he feels very alone. *pets*
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♥ ♥ ♥
And she's not actively hostile to the SID, really. Prepared to use them, but not just out of spite, if that distinction makes sense?
Yeah, absolutely - she's not seething with hatred like Wang Xiangyang, and she's very focused on the one person she thinks actually killed Gu Ban, not on their whole department or everyone remotely circumstantially involved in how the shooting came about. I hesitate to call it reasonable because it's not, but compared to Wang Xiangyang she's a bastion of reasonableness. *g*
Though not necessarily everyone. It could be like the existence of Dixingren in Haixing -- there are rumours, but lots of people haven't heard them, and some of those who have don't believe them?
Yeah, true - that's a great comparison, actually! I love it.
Or they don't realise at that point that Ye Zun is involved, and both of them are determinedly ignoring him (for very different reasons)? But also, smuggling, I'm sure. (I need to re-read that fic of yours! :-)
Yeah, probably at this point they don't realise who's behind it, and I agree that Shen Wei has his own reasons for ignoring it, but the Regent surely would want to know - not to stop it, but to control it for his own purposes at least?
Yeah, smuggling, absolutely. And I do think the Regent is fully aware of this happening. Maybe it took him a long time to figure out the illegal travel didn't all come from the stuff he knew, but there was someone else organising things as well?
I get the impression (for all my saying the show isn't interested in jealousy) that as much as she loves Sha Ya, she's also, despite herself, jealous that Gu Ban chose her. And I think that jealousy kind of poisons her a little and makes her unable to acknowledge either truth: that he didn't love her or what happened to him. Like she's sub/semi-consciously punishing Sha Ya for winning their "competition"? But we don't really get her POV, so it's hard to tell for sure.
Yeah, I agree that she's jealous - she's trying very hard to be a good sport about it, but she visibly is, and that's a good point abouit it poisoning her. If she's in denial to herself, of course she'll have trouble talking about it - and all the more to Sha Ya especially. Thanks, I think I'm starting to get a better grasp on her character now!
(which doesn't really explain why she's still there however many years later, unless maybe she did go back to Dixing, and Ye Zun recruited her there when he needed her for Merit Brush-related vengeance...?)
Huh, that's an option that hadn't occurred to me! It's definitely a possiblity, though her break-up conversation with Hua Yuzhu (the one through the glass) makes it sound like she's focused on avengeing Gu Ban, knowing and not caring that she'll then be arrested and taken back to Dixing. It doesn't sound like she'd turn away from that to go back to Dixing when her target was in Haixing. On the other hand, I don't know if it's plausible that she was in Haixing all this time and took this long to figure out who the gunman she saw was, and how to go after him ...
I think it must have been planned. Not sure about Shen Wei, though. Checking in with the Dixing archive about Hua Yuzhu? (Or has the archive been rendered completely useless with the loss of the Dijun's Register?)
Surely they must have other records, even if the Dijun Register was the best source for this kind of thing. Yeah, I could see Shen Wei requesting info from the archives.
Oh, maybe he's able to use his mind-control to conceal himself in people's memories? That could be why the Regent and Shen Wei don't know and haven't put a stop to it?
Oooh, I love this, that makes so much sense! Also why it's hard to figure out who's been suborned by Ye Zun. I'm adopting that as a headcanon right away! :D
After all, raising the subject of Gu Ban could lead to awkward questions about what happened to him, and who did it, and VENGEANCE, and so on.Maybe it's that Hua Yuzhu has more marketable skills?
Yeah, that's probably a contributing factor as well!
It's confusing because it crosses the line -- the boots are heading left to right, but when it cuts to ZYL, he's facing more leftwards.
Maybe it's meant to represent walking to and fro, searching? Idk.
Ye-es. I'm not sure Shen Wei keeping secrets qualifies as lying, personally, but I guess it's in the same ballpark. And it would certainly make sense if some of ZYL's exasperation was aimed at himself, especially wrt Lin Jing.
Oh, yeah, I don't think it's lying either. And 骗 is more like deceiving/cheating/tricking/hoodwinking/etc., but that's not what Shen Wei is doing either. (He even says at the hospital that he won't 骗 ZYL, and ZYL says yeah, but he'll keep things from him.) I feel like it still fits for the sentiment - like you say, somewhere in the same ballpark. And definitely fits literally for Lin Jing's spying!
There are some fascinating aspects wrt obedience, duty, loyalty, morality and conscience going on in these episodes... Like, if Guo Ying were an exemplary Vice Minister, wouldn't he uphold the DoS's stance? But the show clearly approves of him standing against Minister Gao later on.
I feel like Guardian comes down very strongly on the spirit of the law over the letter.
It really works for his frame of mind, though. I think he feels very alone. *pets*
Yeah, 100% agreed on that!
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LOL, this.
but the Regent surely would want to know - not to stop it, but to control it for his own purposes at least?
Idk, I find it hard to get a read on how authoritarian he actually is. If it's not causing any trouble, he might not bother? A lot of the problems in Dixing seem to stem from neglect as much as harsh law enforcement, imo. (I don't think we can take his treatment of An Bai and co as indicative, since that's tangled up with other politics: first Shen Wei's involvement, then the murder of the Dijun and trying to coerce An Bai onto the throne.)
though her break-up conversation with Hua Yuzhu (the one through the glass) makes it sound like she's focused on avengeing Gu Ban, knowing and not caring that she'll then be arrested and taken back to Dixing. It doesn't sound like she'd turn away from that to go back to Dixing when her target was in Haixing. On the other hand, I don't know if it's plausible that she was in Haixing all this time and took this long to figure out who the gunman she saw was, and how to go after him ...
Agreed on all counts. I'm not sure about this at all.
I feel like Guardian comes down very strongly on the spirit of the law over the letter.
Yes. Which means everything relies heavily on people's moral compasses being accurate -- but then, this is how tv almost always goes, so. It makes a good story. *g*
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Good point! Yeah, true, a lot of the problems do seem to come down to neglect. (I think Chu Shuzhi is an example of the kind of gratuitous cruelty the Regent is capable of than the An Bai situation, which, as you say, isn't exactly typical.)
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True. Murder vs smuggling, though... Let's talk about it again when we get to that part. :-)