sid_guardian | GUARDIAN REWATCH

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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. [...] The way he talks about dying soon would match up with this theory as well, since he sure is using himself up.

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

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?

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

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. :)

Ha, that's awesome! :D

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?

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.

GUARDIAN REWATCH – Episode 28

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