sid_guardian | GUARDIAN REWATCH

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GUARDIAN REWATCH - Episode 38

Beginning of episode: Ye Huo meets with Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng
Ending of episode: Shen Wei takes a hit meant for Zhao Yunlan

Important scenes/developments:

Zhao Yunlan, Zhu Hong and Da Qing enter the Yashou restricted area and find a set-up to use the Hallows
Guo Changcheng passes on the last wishes of the dead via livestream
at the hospital, Guo Changcheng's message helps calm down some panicking patients
Zhao Yunlan, Zhu Hong and Da Qing have a videocall with Ma Gui and Fu You
Dr Cheng gets permission to go out into the streets and give first aid
Professor Ouyang comes to confront Ya Qing; everyone unites against him
Zhang Shi introduces himself to everyone and tells them he knows the Guardian Lantern's secret
Ye Zun tortures Shen Wei and announces Zhao Yunlan is coming; Shen Wei gives an iconic speech ("My energy is black. My eyes, my hair, and even my soul are black ...")
Guo Changcheng insists on joining Zhao Yunlan in going to Dixing
Shen Wei convinces the Regent to help him
Minister Gao tries to deploy the military; Zhao Xinci stops him
Li Qian lets Guo Ying out of confinement
Zhao Yunlan and Guo Changcheng arrive at the palace and expose Wu Xiaojun; Shen Wei decisively ends the ensuing fight
Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei have a moment in a Dixing alley
Guo Changcheng turns out to have been hypnotised by Ye Zun
Da Ji joins Da Qing in fighting for Dragon City
Ye Zun attempts to fuse and absorb the Hallows, but fails; Shen Wei takes a hit for Zhao Yunlan

Thoughts:
Sorted by location, this time!

Dragon City:

When Ye Huo comes to meet Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng in the street, he tells them people are agitated and "we can't control them", and I'm very curious who this "we" is - who is working with Ye Huo? But more importantly, he warns them that "If this continues we don't need Dixingren to attack, humans are throwing themselves into chaos." Which made me reconsider recent events in Dragon City: how much of the chaos and destruction we see is actually due to Ye Zun's people attacking, and how much is just people panicking and rioting?

For context - we haven't actually seen anyone fighting or being attacked by Dixingren since Ye Zun's vanguard with the Nightmare Master arrived and was defeated in episode 36. And we won't until we see Ye Zun's people attacking in episode 39. Later in this episode, Ye Zun is told the second group is ready, so it seems he hasn't sent anyone else since the Nightmare Master's group. And also in this episode, after Guo Changcheng's livestream, the situation calms down enough that Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng are willing to leave the city - I don't think that calming effect would make as much sense if the chaos were entirely due to violent attacks by outsiders, rather than people panicking in fear of an attack ...

In short, I'm now convinced a lot of the chaos we see isn't caused by Dixingren. Which makes a significant difference for what would be an appropriate response from the Inspectorate!

Speaking of Guo Changcheng's livestream, it's broadcast immediately after the Inspectorate's evacuation notice, hijacking that signal. I'm not sure who is meant to evacuate - all of Dragon City? the area closest to the passage to Dixing (which Ye Huo and Chu Shuzhi were already talking about evacuating back in episode 36)? But clearly the Inspectorate is taking some measures in reaction to the threat of a Dixing attack. What they don't seem to be doing, on the other hand, is handling the situation in the streets, and nor is anyone else other than Chu Shuzhi, Ye Huo et al. There's no emergency services, no police, no nothing. We saw Inspectorate men in the streets when they were trying to arrest SID members, but for this, there's not a trace.

And that despite, as we hear in Guo Changcheng's livestream, 55 people dying that very day. (Not that we even know how they died!)

Like Zhao Yunlan's livestream, Guo Changcheng's is also used as a framing device on a smaller scale - we see the impact of one of his messages, letting us extrapolate from there: at the hospital, a group of patients is panicking after the evacuation notice, afraid of a Dixing attack and trying to leave the hospital against Dr Cheng's objections. (It's unclear to me whether this is strictly a medical opinion, or whether she just thinks them stumbling out into the chaos of the city won't help anyone. They're not wrong that the hospital can't protect them from an attack, but they'd hardly be safer elsewhere.) But when Guo Changcheng passes on a message from one patient's sister who tells him to rest and recover well and not wander around, and talks about saving for the hospital bills, the man appears to be knocked out of his panic. Listening to his sister's wishes, he apologises and agrees to return to his bed, and the other patients do likewise.

(I wonder if these patients are the ones from episode 30 with the unexplained symptoms - the ones with "melanin permeating their muscles, shortness of breath, and all physical functions in disorder", where the doctors couldn't find anything actually wrong with them ...)

Guo Changcheng exhorts everyone to live well, and asks them to have faith in the SID; they'll keep working to keep everyone safe. Dr Cheng, inspired by GCC's speech, asks her boss to let her go out into the streets to provide first aid. We'll later see her with a medical team, meeting up with Ye Huo and Cong Bo. (How she recognises them as relevant people to talk to has to be due to Ye Huo, who's clearly visible in Guo Changcheng's livestream - Cong Bo only introduces himself to her here.)

At the Inspectorate, Minister Gao gives the order to deploy the reserve forces at the entrance of the passage to Dixing, but is interrupted by Zhao Xinci, who is very not on board with this plan. Nor is Li Qian, who gets involved after Minister Gao is out of the equation. On the other hand, Vice Minister Guo, when he eventually cancels the request for reserve forces, is not sure he's made the right decision. It's only when Li Qian tells him Zhao Xinci asked her to do this, and that Zhao Xinci seems to finally have decided to fight by the SID's side, that he agrees this is the best choice.

Now, is deploying troops to the passage a bad idea? They're unlikely to be equipped to deal with Dixing powers, and any attackers Ye Zun sent would likely be able to defend against conventional weapons - it's entirely possible the result would be a massacre. And sending in the military isn't likely to calm the situation in the city either. But on the other hand, the alternative appears to be doing nothing?! A very false dichotomy - there should be someone stationed at the portal at all times!

But it really seems to me that no one is even monitoring the passage, or ever has, even though Minister Gao clearly knows where it is. (Perhaps he only recently found out?) At any rate - in episode 36, Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng saw the Nightmare Master arrive and followed him into the city where he was defeated, but since then, the passage seems to have been unguarded, and seems to remain so until next episode, when the Yashou leaders and Zhao Xinci/Zhang Shi will end up fighting there.

Regardless of the wisdom of his decision, Minister Gao is very in over his head, and first begs Zhao Xinci to help him, complaining about the weight of responsibility on him, but then when Zhao Xinci disagrees with him and relieves him of said responsibility, he resorts to physical violence, which ends in him remaining tied up on the sofa in his office for the rest of the episode. *g*

Zhao Xinci, on the other hand, has made a complete turnaround in his opinions: "You used to handle matters steadily. But in the face of this, you're acting like a rash child. (...) Perhaps the children are right. Right now, we only have a chance if everyone unites. You, me and Ouyang Zhen, we were all wrong."

Minister Gao attempts to knock him out, but - as before when Sha Ya tortured him - when Zhao Xinci passes out, Zhang Shi takes over and incapacitates Minister Gao in turn.

Zhang Shi: "Zhao Xinci has soft-hearted moments too? How unexpected." *g*

Li Qian fascinates me in this episode - she knows everything that's going on, including the request for reserve forces, which a scientist in the lab should have no involvement with! But apparently all the Inspectorate's passwords are generated in the lab, which leads to what I can only call a huge security breech where a not-even-senior scientist can interfere with essentially everything. Good thing Li Qian is a responsible person! She also entirely takes the unconscious minister in stride, and comes to the office having already decided what needs to happen (i.e. cancelling Minister Gao's request), and when she sees Zhao Xinci, she immediately assumes he will be on board. I wonder what she'd have done if Zhao Xinci hadn't conveniently taken out Minister Gao already!

More Inspectorate weirdness: when Li Qian lets Guo Ying out of confinement, we see that he's being held in an unused office used as a storage room! This does not appear to be very aboveboard ... If he'd been arrested, his codes also shouldn't be valid any more, so he shouldn't be able to countermand Minister Gao's orders! But instead of anything resembling proper procedure or due process, Minister Gao seems to have ordered him simply locked up in some room somewhere. Which admittedly does fit with his erratic behaviour, and comes in very handy now. *g*

Yashou Territory/The Restricted Area:

One of my favourite moments in this episode: when Zhao Yunlan, Zhu Hong and Da Qing are about to enter the restricted area and Zhao Yunlan looks suspiciously at Ya Qing, clearly not certain about leaving her at their backs - and Ya Qing responds: "We Yashou have appointed our High Chief, and I won't try to usurp that authority. The High Chief trusts me, yet you are suspicious of me?" ♥ ♥ ♥

The sheer chutzpah! But I also love her pointing out that if anyone, it'd be Zhu Hong's place to have objections, not Zhao Yunlan's!

I had forgotten that it's Zhao Yunlan who opens the door with the sacred wood - this really should have been Zhu Hong! I keep being unfond of Zhao Yunlan's elbowing in on Yashou affairs.

We learn that there's not just a passage to Dixing inside the Restricted Area, but also a place to use the Hallows: "If the four Hallows are set up correctly, they can harmonise/fuse completely, and also create a video screen that enables communication across space and time."

After the Hallows are placed, it takes a little time, and then the videocall initiates and the passage to Dixing becomes active. (Not that anyone pays attention to the passage at that point, but it's visible in the background!)

Of course we already knew this call would happen, since back in YOHE Ma Gui and Fu You told Zhao Yunlan they'd already spoken to him, and they knew he'd be coming. So at this point, the time loop appears to have fully closed, which I think is very well done, so the additional part we didn't know about yet can come as a complete surprise in episode 40!

Ma Gui: It's working! I thought using the Hallows to cut through space and time was just a fantasy! I didn't think we'd really succeed!

(Solo's subs confusingly have this as "a legend", but I think that's a mistranslation. The dictionary says 天方夜谭 is literally Arabian Nights, or figuratively a fantasy story, an absurd idea, or nonsense.)

Everyone's reactions to the videocall are great. Ma Gui is so delighted! He and Fu You are so confused by Zhao Yunlan! Zhu Hong actually drops to her knees when Fu You appears! Da Qing's little wave!

When Zhao Yunlan talks about his time travel, Fu You and Ma Gui are surprised (because it hasn't happened yet), but Zhu Hong and Da Qing aren't. We already talked about this when Zhao Yunlan mentioned something he did 10,000 years ago back in episode 36, but it really appears at some point the SID learned about Zhao Yunlan's time travel, and we didn't get to see any of their reactions. WE WERE ROBBED.

Zhao Yunlan introduces himself as "Lord Guardian Zhao Yunlan, the one who inherits your (pl.) mantle in 10,000 years". I never noticed that plural before; it really took me by surprise that he's not just calling himself Ma Gui's successor, but the successor of Ma Gui and Fu You both!

I always feel the transition is a bit weird when Ma Gui starts talking about guiding them in how to fuse the Hallows into an energy source. (How does he know that needs doing?) At any rate, when the Lantern begins to flicker, Ma Gui explains to them that without a wick, the Hallows can't fuse, and the signal can't be sustained for long. And sure enough, (in)conveniently just as Fu You is about to explain more about the wick ("it's not something you can just find, you have to ... "), the connection cuts. But the passage to Dixing remains open.

Next, we're interrupted by Professor Ouyang, whose scene seems like a bit of a diversion but shows us everyone working together for a common goal: the three Yashou leaders and their people, and Zhao Yunlan, Zhu Hong and Da Qing, and eventually Zhao Xinci and Zhang Shi. Ya Qing is the one he's after, and she's ready to try and handle him herself, but Fourth Uncle tells her, "Nonsense. You're a member of the Yashou tribes. If an extremist comes after you, trying to sow discord between humans and us, he has to go through us first!", and everyone else rushes to their side. Additionally, this scene, which shows us how very powerful Professor Ouyang has become, prepares the viewer for Zhao Yunlan's use of the serum later.

Some more little bits from this scene:
- I always laugh when Fourth Uncle warns Ya Qing that Professor Ouyang is not an ordinary human, and Ying Chun asks how he knows! As if the inhuman booming voice weren't a big giveaway. (And then I laugh again when Fourth Uncle points out just that. *g*)
- Professor Ouyang is so confused that the situation doesn't fit his information, and rather than (like a good scientist) re-evaluating, he instead jumps to conclusions: since Ya Qing and the SID are now apparently on the same side, this must mean they're now all Ye Zun's accomplices!
- Lovely little moment when Ya Qing on reflex calls Ye Zun "boss" and then has to backtrack and correct herself. She explains Ye Zun ordered his people not to interfere in the serum experiments; she never expected it would end up harming her people. (I'm not sure what Ye Zun's goal there was, if there was a goal beyond sowing chaos.)
- Professor Ouyang tries to inject himself with the serum again - how often has he done that?! No wonder he's going further and further off the rails!
- I love Da Qing being defensive of Zhao Yunlan and asking Zhao Xinci why he's there!

Zhang Shi introduces himself to everyone as Ma Gui's student, born 9900 years ago, the only Dixingren who remained above back then. He says he was asked to meet Zhao Yunlan here, and wants to tell him the secret of the Guardian Lantern.

Presumably Ma Gui, knowing from the videocall that Zhao Yunlan will need to know about the wick, both gave that mission and message to his student Zhang Shi who could be expected to still be around in the far future, and built the videocall set-up into the Yashou restricted zone. Zhang Shi therefore knew Zhao Yunlan would eventually enter the Yashou restricted zone and engage the videocall - but I wonder how he knew when it was time.

Zhao Yunlan: "Whether for the missing Shen Wei or for the Guardian Lantern's wick, it seems we must take a trip to Dixing."

Knowing what we'll learn after about Zhao Yunlan's conversation with Zhang Shi about the wick, this sounds like at this point he's still hoping for another option for the wick. And this is before Zhang Shi reveals Guo Changcheng's white energy and tells them he may be able to save the world. (Though he did say something similar to Xiao-Guo before, and Xiao-Guo may have passed that information on? Not sure if anyone connects that to being able to light the Lantern at this point.)

When Guo Changcheng asks to go to Dixing with Zhao Yunlan, everyone tries to warn him off. Zhao Yunlan reminds him he barely got out alive last time; Da Qing shakes his head; Zhu Hong even tells him the dead won't blame him if he can't pass on their message, but he insists: "What I promised them, I will fulfil, no matter how dangerous."

And we learn later in this episode that Guo Changcheng was under a compulsion from Ye Zun to insist on going to Dixing, but everything about his argument here is so very in character, I don't think the compulsion was needed at all. *g*

Da Qing: "White energy? There's such a thing as white energy?"

I'm confused by Da Qing's apparent confusion, since even the viewer has known this since episode 4!

Chu Shuzhi gives Guo Changcheng his puppet and tells him if Guo Changcheng is in danger, "he" (the puppet) will come out and protect him. And next episode, we'll learn from Chu Shuzhi losing contact with the puppet that he normally can and does keep track of it at a distance. I wonder if he can actively control it even if it's in Dixing and he's in Haixing ... that would be some power!

Zhao Yunlan reminds Zhang Shi of their agreement (which we won't learn about until episode 40) and hugs him. Zhang Shi hugs back; then Zhao Yunlan and Guo Changcheng leave.

Zhang Shi: "How does it feel to hug your son? You've waited for 20 years."
Zhao Xinci: "You talk too much."

Dixing:

Ye Zun is torturing Shen Wei, who is tied to a statue. He calls him "Hei Pao Shi-daren" and mocks him about being a prisoner, but can't get under Shen Wei's skin that way. When Shen Wei looks at him, bloodied but undaunted, Ye Zun promptly shouts at him not to look at him like that. *g*

But the first shot we see of this scene is actually Shen Wei's blood-spattered glasses, set carefully to the side. And here I need to quote shadaras from their brilliant post:
It's not yet Shen Wei's death, but it's the beginning of his very extended death sequence. It's Ye Zun taking his Haixing life from him, because Ye Zun doesn't want him to care about other people in general and especially not other kinds of people.

So yeah, strip him of his glasses. He doesn't need them, but Shen Wei's always wearing them except when he's alone with Zhao Yunlan in his apartment or when he's playing the Envoy's role. As the Envoy, it's because he's got the mask instead (and because the glasses are a sign of the life he's built himself, not the life his duty demands of him). With Zhao Yunlan, he takes them off as a sign of intimacy, the taking down of this barrier he keeps between himself and other people.

Ye Zun stripped that from him with violence, because he doesn't know any other way to try and get as close to Shen Wei as Zhao Yunlan is.

Ye Zun: The winner is already clear. I'm the master, you're the slave.

Shen Wei, despite his injuries and clear weakness, seems thoroughly unimpressed with all of this. "You're the master, I'm the slave." His tone is very 'whatever you say, didi', and Ye Zun makes that very angry smirk that is his trademark expression. "I'm your gege."

Shen Wei asks Ye Zun why he hates him so much (presumably not for the first time), but of course Ye Zun is offended by the very question - from his perspective, this is adding insult to injury, as if Shen Wei thought abandoning him to slavery was no reason to hate him! And then Ye Zun promptly proves that he does know how to get under his brother's skin, by telling him Zhao Yunlan is on the way to Dixing. (I wonder if he can he sense the passage being used somehow, if he's keeping track of Zhao Yunlan in some fashion, or if he simply has an informant.)

Shen Wei shouts/screams in response to this news, and it looks like both Ye Zun and the Regent are thrown back by the force of it!

Ye Zun mockingly calls him Hei Pao Shi-daren again, tells him to conserve his strength, and tells him he should take a good look at his energy: "It's black!" he shouts, as if Shen Wei needed a reminder that he's Dixingren. As if being Dixingren really meant all that much to Ye Zun himself, when really he just can't bear Shen Wei caring about anything or anyone else. "We and these humans simply can't coexist!"

And Shen Wei gives one of his most iconic speeches in reply: "Yes, you're right. My energy is black. My eyes, my hair, and even my soul are black. But the blood I bleed, just like theirs, is red." The commonalities, the connection, outweigh the differences. ♥

(Btw, this speech, in addition to the resonance with "Black-Cloaked Envoy", is why I prefer "black energy" to "dark energy" in translation, even though "dark" is more idiomatic in English.)

The Regent, who has stood by and watched all of this, is left alone with Shen Wei after someone comes to tell Ye Zun the second group of Dixingren is ready. While the Regent talks at Shen Wei about just following orders (ugh), Shen Wei appears to be dreaming or mentally elsewhere, whispering Zhao Yunlan's name. I wonder if he can sense him coming now as well. Then he seems to startle awake. And uses this opportunity to talk to the Regent alone, trying to convince him to help. Because with Zhao Yunlan coming to Dixing, suddenly his plan is in disarray - he needs to be able to protect Zhao Yunlan! And so for the first time since he's been captured again, he's genuinely frustrated by not being able to break free. ♥

Shen Wei: "Lord Regent, you have allowed Dixingren to be trapped forever in timeless darkness. Are you content?"

The Regent counters that this is why following Ye Zun isn't a bad idea; he can to lead Dixingren back to the surface. (I don't think Shen Wei was talking about the literal darkness of Hallows-less Dixing here, though that's part of it - instead, he means the kind of darkness Ye Zun is immersing Dixing in - but the Regent responds as if he had been.)

Shen Wei, very intense and angry: "But his methods are wrong! You have been the Regent for so many years. You should know best that every single drop of our people's blood is most precious. Now our compatriots advance dauntlessly and use the most desperate means to fight for the wrong results. Do you think that makes sense?"

Despite the Regent's lack of either ethics or a backbone, some of this must actually get through to him, and of course he's already realised there's no personal advantage for him under Ye Zun's rule either. He first tells Shen Wei he's old and a coward, and couldn't justify himself to Ye Zun if he listened to Shen Wei - here, Shen Wei closes his eyes and gives up on him - but then adds, "But when you get old, you want to leave yourself a way out." Shen Wei looks up. The Regent grins. "Hei Pao-daren, if by luck there comes a day when you can prove your theory, don't forget what I did today." And he drops the whip Ye Zun gave him, symbolising his choice.

Zhao Yunlan and Guo Changcheng arrive in Dixing without issue - I wonder if the gate apparently not being guarded is part of what makes Zhao Yunlan instantly suspicious of Wu Xiaojun. And not even Xiao-Guo is buying it when Wu Xiaojun claims the Envoy has things under control and is waiting for them in the palace hall.

But also, Wu Xiaojun is just not that good an actor - or the brightest bulb. He falls for the oldest trick in the book: "look up there!" For a moment, Zhao Yunlan appears to have the upper hand, but then Ye Zun's control seems to be taking over more fully, or perhaps he's just letting loose, and Wu Xiaojun attacks. Just in time, Shen Wei appears, blood-spattered but still able to fight, and defeats him, his strength not failing until he's done with what he needs to do. ♥

Zhao Yunlan is clearly shocked by the condition Shen Wei is in. But Shen Wei's reaction to their reunion? "Zhao Yunlan! Didn't I forbid you to come here?" And then he drags him out of the palace by the arm. Hee! :D

Of course from Shen Wei's perspective, Zhao Yunlan coming to Dixing is making things very difficult for him. He's already decided his failsafe is the only viable strategy left - but now he has to protect Zhao Yunlan and get him out of the line of fire first!

Despite this burst of protective energy, Shen Wei is very weak, and he stumbles and falls in the street. He tries to send Zhao Yunlan away, but of course Zhao Yunlan isn't having it.

"What happened to you? Why aren't these wounds healing?" Zhao Yunlan demands, then declares: "Who hurt you? I will kill him," proving that he's just as protective as Shen Wei. ♥

But Shen Wei's thoughts are on his endgame. "If a time comes when I have to use my injuries to exchange for everyone's lives ..." (Here he smiles very bloodily.) "I believe at that time you will have your answer."

They separate with Zhao Yunlan attempting to draw the guards away from Shen Wei, and Shen Wei slowly, painfully pulls himself upright with his polearm. A flashback reminds the viewer of the explosive possibilities of black and white energy, and Shen Wei thinks, "Yunlan, you will definitely understand my plan", showing that no matter how beaten he seems, he still has a plan in action. And he's calling Zhao Yunlan just "Yunlan" the first time, I believe - but not to Zhao Yunlan's face, alas.

When the guards arrive, he smiles, shouts and attacks. And will take down five of them, as we'll see from the bodies lying around him later, before he himself falls and is captured again.

(The Regent, when he arrives, finds it very frustrating that Shen Wei didn't get away but instead attempted to protect Zhao Yunlan! Whereas anyone who knows Shen Wei would have been able to tell that that was the entire point of his break-out. *g*)

Zhao Yunlan hands the bag with the Hallows to Guo Changcheng - I had forgotten that he explicitly says here that "it's not safe for all of them to be with me. Let's guard them separately." It's already clear here that he's not giving Guo Changcheng all of them! - Of course, that's right when Guo Changcheng collapses and is taken over by Ye Zun's control, leading to both their capture.

(The flashback to Ye Zun embedding his mind-control in Guo Changcheng gives us Xiao-Guo's most delightfully WTF line on seeing Ye Zun in his dramatic white suit and golden mask: "You go to the bathroom dressed like this?" - Does he think people should change clothes before going to the loo or what? Are there designated loo clothes in Guo Changcheng World? :p)

Ye Zun now has both Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, and three of the Hallows. He promptly taunts Shen Wei about not being able to protect anything - but Shen Wei has no regrets. ♥

Ye Zun examines Shen Wei with black energy: "Sure enough, I guessed correctly. You were foolish enough *shouts* to share a life link with a mere human! No wonder your energy would diminish so fast."

Life link suggests an ongoing connection between them, not just a one-time transfer/exchange. Perhaps the Sundial did leave them permanently connected in some fashion - which would also explain Shen Wei's energy welling up in Zhao Yunlan when Zhao Yunlan was attacked by Kong Jing, and earlier this episode Shen Wei seemingly mentally sensing/searching for Zhao Yunlan ... (Also, such a connection should make it easier for them to find each other again after episode 40!)

I wonder if Shen Wei at this moment is afraid that Ye Zun will guess his plan, but clearly turning himself into a bomb isn't something that automatically comes with a link with a Haixingren, and also Ye Zun can eat Haixingren without problem, so I assume what Shen Wei did to himself is not very guessable. And of course Ye Zun can't wrap his head around sacrifice anyway. *g*

And Zhao Yunlan - what must he be feeling in this moment, knowing that this is the result of using the Sundial? Not knowing that Shen Wei has deliberately used this for a plan to defeat Ye Zun? :(

Somehow, Ye Zun doesn't appear to notice the Guardian Lantern is missing until he finds himself unable to fuse the Hallows (just as Ma Gui said earlier) ... Only then does he ask after the Lantern, shouting in frustration and attacking Zhao Yunlan when he won't cooperate. His finger even shakes when he points at Zhao Yunlan, he's so angry and frustrated!

Great showdown of the laughs: Zhao Yunlan's defiant laugh (and spitting blood on Ye Zun's white sleeve) vs. Ye Zun's furious laugh (and demonstrating his stain-removing power, as if it made him untouchable rather than showing how much Zhao Yunlan is getting under his skin)... Both of them have a tendency to grin and laugh in tense situations, but in very different flavours.

Shen Wei, during all of this, is so incapacitated he's just lying on the floor, breathing heavily and unable to move. We see him struggle several times - and yet, in the end he still manages to muster a burst of energy: he watches Zhao Yunlan being hit by Ye Zun, and when blood starts dripping from Zhao Yunlan's nose, Shen Wei begins to push himself up ...

And in the end all Zhao Yunlan can do is stare as Shen Wei is suddenly in front of him, taking the hit meant for him. ♥ ♥ ♥

Discussion starters:

What's your favourite scene or moment in this episode? Your favourite line?

My favourite line has to be Shen Wei's "My energy is black ..." speech, no competition! A favourite scene is much harder to choose, but ultimately I'll have to go with that moment in a Dixing alley when Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan have their last real moment together before the end. *sniffles*

Anything in this episode that surprised you? Anything you didn't remember at all?

Like I said above, I ended up convinced that a lot of the chaos in Dragon City must actually be caused by Haixingren, and that did come as a surprise! But it makes a lot more sense to me like this.

Speaking of the situation in the city, do you think the Inspectorate is actually doing anything? If yes, what? And what do you think they should have done?

Why does Changcheng passing on the messages of the dead have such a profound effect on people, enough to calm down the situation significantly?

The passage to Dixing from the Yashou restricted area is activated after the Hallows are placed. Do you think it could have been activated without the Hallows? If not, what was Ma Gui thinking, since the Hallows must have been in Dixing at the time?

When do you think Zhao Xinci actually changed his mind? When did his views change from what made him point his gun at Guo Changcheng to saying he was wrong and "the kids" were right?

What do you think Zhao Yunlan means when he says, "I don't know how many times I've been here [in Dixing], but this is definitely the last time"? Is it just foreshadowing?

Why do you think the Regent decides to help Shen Wei after all? And what does he expect Shen Wei to do after he escapes?

Do you think Zhao Yunlan taking the Hallows to Dixing is justified, given the risk of them falling into Ye Zun's hands?

Do you remember your reaction when you saw this episode the first time? What did you think about the ending?

Let's talk about episode 38!
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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Episode discussion:
Guardian Episode by Episode: 38 by

extrapenguin
Guardian (ep 38-39) by

shadaras

eee, my favorite episode! I've written two fics about episode 38, both inspired by the "alley scene," where Shen Wei bled so prettily and Zhao Yunlan was so beautifully worried and angry *g*

bite my tongue, bide my time (T, 967 words)
On a street in Dixing, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei share a kiss.
Set after Shen Wei rescues Zhao Yunlan and Guo Changcheng from Wu Xiaojun in the throne room.

Sunrise in Dixing (M, 2315 words)
An outsider POV on the events in Dixing at the end of the drama and on weilan.

Oooh, thank you for linking these! I'll have to reread them, with the episode fresh in my mind. :D

Also, always great to hear someone call one of the last few episodes their favourite! They're so underapprediated. ♥ ♥ ♥

In short, I'm now convinced a lot of the chaos we see isn't caused by Dixingren. Which makes a significant difference for what would be an appropriate response from the Inspectorate!

Good points! I was a little confused because we see a lot of panic and destruction, but not enemy forces – if it’s actually the Haixingren themselves doing Ye Zun’s work for him, that makes more sense.
Imagine Ye Zun and his goons arriving in Haixing only to find it already destroyed. Would he be disappointed?

a message from one patient's sister who tells him to rest and recover well and not wander around, and talks about saving for the hospital bills

This might be a nitpick, but I don’t quite get the “saving for the bills” part. I thought China has public healthcare? Am I wrong about this, or is it part of the worldbuilding that Haixing has US-style pay-or-die healthcare?

A very false dichotomy - there should be someone stationed at the portal at all times!

Right?! You need to place spies/supervisors there at the very least. CCTV, if you really have no one to spare. Are they not interested in when and by whom they are being invaded?

The High Chief trusts me, yet you are suspicious of me?" ♥ ♥ ♥
The sheer chutzpah!

Hehe, yes, “how dare you distrust me, just because I’ve been your enemy the entire time?”
This woman has guts! XD

Ma Gui: It's working! I thought using the Hallows to cut through space and time was just a fantasy! I didn't think we'd really succeed!

Ngl I’m a bit offended on Shen Wei’s behalf because Ma Gui and Fu You apparently don’t even consider telling him about any of this.
They probably don’t want anyone to know in case it could change the future after all, but still. Poor Xiao-Wei.

but it really appears at some point the SID learned about Zhao Yunlan's time travel, and we didn't get to see any of their reactions. WE WERE ROBBED.

Burgled and ransacked we were! First no SID reactions to Shen-Wei-is-Heipaoshi reveal, and now this.

Presumably Ma Gui, knowing from the videocall that Zhao Yunlan will need to know about the wick, both gave that mission and message to his student Zhang Shi who could be expected to still be around in the far future, and built the videocall set-up into the Yashou restricted zone.

Aaah, I just love all this time-loopy stuff ❤

this sounds like at this point he's still hoping for another option for the wick. And this is before Zhang Shi reveals Guo Changcheng's white energy and tells them he may be able to save the world.

I’m always fascinated just how close the drama gets to the novel at this point. So much has changed all throughout, but right at the end we only miss the novel story beats by a hair.

I'm confused by Da Qing's apparent confusion, since even the viewer has known this since episode 4!

Memory issues again?

Zhang Shi: "How does it feel to hug your son? You've waited for 20 years."

Savage line by Zhang Shi! Not that Zhao Xinci doesn’t deserve it.

But the first shot we see of this scene is actually Shen Wei's blood-splattered glasses, set carefully to the side.

The glasses shot is genius! So simple yet so effective.

Just in time, Shen Wei appears, blood-spattered but still able to fight, and defeats him, his strength not failing until he's done with what he needs to do. ♥

❤❤❤

Shen Wei slowly, painfully pulls himself upright with his polearm.

At the risk of repeating myself: ❤❤❤

Somehow, Ye Zun doesn't appear to notice the Guardian Lantern is missing until he finds himself unable to fuse the Hallows

That is so weird. The lantern isn’t exactly small.

And in the end all Zhao Yunlan can do is stare as Shen Wei is suddenly in front of him, taking the hit meant for him. ♥ ♥ ♥

And he looks so good doing it! The little spurt of blood is especially aesthetic.

What's your favourite scene or moment in this episode? Your favourite line?

Shen Wei injured on the streets of Dixing.
“Who hurt you? I will kill him.” is just so good ❤
It’s pushing all the right buttons for me ❤❤❤

What do you think Zhao Yunlan means when he says, "I don't know how many times I've been here [in Dixing], but this is definitely the last time"? Is it just foreshadowing?

He hasn’t exactly had a great time in Dixing so far – isn’t he just saying he doesn’t like it there and won’t come back if he can help it?

Why do you think the Regent decides to help Shen Wei after all? And what does he expect Shen Wei to do after he escapes?

For all his sliminess, he does care about Dixing in some capacity, and he probably recognizes that Ye Zun is more focused on destruction than the interests of Dixing.
There’s also the question of what would become of a Regent who has outlived his use to Ye Zun…

He seems surprised to find Shen Wei still in Dixing, so I guess he meant for him to escape to Haixing? Block the passage or otherwise fortify against Ye Zun?

I was a little confused because we see a lot of panic and destruction, but not enemy forces – if it’s actually the Haixingren themselves doing Ye Zun’s work for him, that makes more sense.

So glad that makes sense to you!

Imagine Ye Zun and his goons arriving in Haixing only to find it already destroyed. Would he be disappointed?

That would be hilarious! He'd be so frustrated - he hates when things don't go the way he thinks they should, or when they're out of his control.

This might be a nitpick, but I don’t quite get the “saving for the bills” part. I thought China has public healthcare? Am I wrong about this, or is it part of the worldbuilding that Haixing has US-style pay-or-die healthcare?

I know next to nothing, but googling around suggests they might require payment upfront and insurance only reimburses afterwards. I'd definitely be curious to hear from someone who actually knows about how the system works!

Right?! You need to place spies/supervisors there at the very least. CCTV, if you really have no one to spare. Are they not interested in when and by whom they are being invaded?

RIGHT?????? It's just baffling.

Ngl I’m a bit offended on Shen Wei’s behalf because Ma Gui and Fu You apparently don’t even consider telling him about any of this.
They probably don’t want anyone to know in case it could change the future after all, but still. Poor Xiao-Wei.

Yeah, I know - and he has lost so many of his men already and is seriously worried about the outcome, the same way Ma Gui and Fu You seem to have been before talking to Zhao Yunlan - but even though they gained major confidence from that peek into the future, they didn't share it with their ally. Not a great sign for the actual mutual respect in that alliance! I always did feel that there was a serious divide between the Yashou/Haixingren and Dixingren side of it, which on the one hand is understandable since their enemies are also Dixingren, but on the other is counterproductive as well as seriously offensive towards Shen Wei. *grumbles*

Burgled and ransacked we were! First no SID reactions to Shen-Wei-is-Heipaoshi reveal, and now this.

RIGHT????? HOW DARE THEY. :(

Aaah, I just love all this time-loopy stuff ❤

Yes, it's so good! And I hadn't thought about it that way before, but Ma Gui really must have included the videocall set-up because he knew it would be used! So cool. :D

Memory issues again?

Haha, poor cat! *pets Da Qing*

At the risk of repeating myself: ❤❤❤

Can't be said often enough! ♥ ♥ ♥

That is so weird. The lantern isn’t exactly small.

Right? And he's all over the Hallows, greedily fondling them and everything, but doesn't even react to the Lantern's absence??????

Shen Wei injured on the streets of Dixing.
“Who hurt you? I will kill him.” is just so good ❤
It’s pushing all the right buttons for me ❤❤❤

Such a good scene! :D

What do you think Zhao Yunlan means when he says, "I don't know how many times I've been here [in Dixing], but this is definitely the last time"? Is it just foreshadowing?

He hasn’t exactly had a great time in Dixing so far – isn’t he just saying he doesn’t like it there and won’t come back if he can help it?

I guess, but that makes me go :( :( :( on Shen Wei's behalf that he'd just reject the whole place like that. And, I mean, Dixing isn't great now, but aren't they hoping to defeat Ye Zun and bring about a better future with the help of the Hallows?!

For all his sliminess, he does care about Dixing in some capacity, and he probably recognizes that Ye Zun is more focused on destruction than the interests of Dixing.
There’s also the question of what would become of a Regent who has outlived his use to Ye Zun…

Yeah, I agree that it's both of these, I can just never make up my mind which one is the one that weighs heavier for him ...

He seems surprised to find Shen Wei still in Dixing, so I guess he meant for him to escape to Haixing? Block the passage or otherwise fortify against Ye Zun?

That would make sense! Escape to Haixing, deflect any attacks, mount a counterattack from there. That would be an interesting AU, if things had gone differently!

I always did feel that there was a serious divide between the Yashou/Haixingren and Dixingren side of it, which on the one hand is understandable since their enemies are also Dixingren, but on the other is counterproductive as well as seriously offensive towards Shen Wei. *grumbles*

There is absolutely a divide, and while it’s a realistic aspect of such an alliance, it’s also frustrating. They are making things harder on themselves (and on Shen Wei most of all) by not working together properly, I completely agree!

I feel so bad in general for Shen Wei and his mental state when Zhao Yunlan arrives in YOHE. He's unused to the simple courtesy of someone asking for his name!

I guess, but that makes me go :( :( :( on Shen Wei's behalf that he'd just reject the whole place like that.

He could simply be saying something he doesn’t quite mean in the heat of the moment. Otherwise, I’m sure he would eventually have come around to Dixing just like he came around to Dixingren :)

I can just never make up my mind which one is the one that weighs heavier for him ...

I want to give the benefit of the doubt and graciously assume it’s the former, but my heart says it’s the latter XD

That would be an interesting AU

Ooh, an interesting idea indeed ❤

There is absolutely a divide, and while it’s a realistic aspect of such an alliance, it’s also frustrating. They are making things harder on themselves (and on Shen Wei most of all) by not working together properly, I completely agree!
I feel so bad in general for Shen Wei and his mental state when Zhao Yunlan arrives in YOHE. He's unused to the simple courtesy of someone asking for his name!

100% agreed on all of this!

He could simply be saying something he doesn’t quite mean in the heat of the moment. Otherwise, I’m sure he would eventually have come around to Dixing just like he came around to Dixingren :)

Yeah, maybe he's just venting and I'm taking him more literally than I should. I really want him to come around to Dixing, though!

That would make sense! Escape to Haixing, deflect any attacks, mount a counterattack from there. That would be an interesting AU, if things had gone differently!

Would that involve leaving Ye Zun to torment and munch his way through the people of Dixing, though? Would Shen Wei do that, at this stage?

If Shen Wei didn't have his own failsave in play and couldn't count on defeating Ye Zun that way? He might have.

True! I didn't realise you meant that divergent an AU. :-)

Yeah, under canon circumstances Shen Wei is absolutely not leaving!

Another fantastic post! \o/!!
In short, I'm now convinced a lot of the chaos we see isn't caused by Dixingren. Which makes a significant difference for what would be an appropriate response from the Inspectorate!

Yes, I came to that conclusion, too! Which I hadn't even considered before. (I wonder, too, about Dixingren already in Haixing -- both those that sympathise with Ye Zun's stated goals and those that just want a quiet life. They must be having so many feelings about all this! ... which I guess is why some of the people from previous cases show up in the next couple of episodes to help.)

I'm not sure who is meant to evacuate - all of Dragon City? the area closest to the passage to Dixing (which Ye Huo and Chu Shuzhi were already talking about evacuating back in episode 36)? But clearly the Inspectorate is taking some measures in reaction to the threat of a Dixing attack. What they don't seem to be doing, on the other hand, is handling the situation in the streets

Right? Are they just ceding the whole city to Ye Zun? Then what? And where are people supposed to evacuate to? (Where would be safe?) It does fit with Zhao Yunlan's assertion in ep 35 that "the most worrying thing is us Humans right now." But even so! Fifty-five people dying is so many -- and those are just the ones Guo Changcheng bore witness to. There must be others where he was too late or just didn't see them. /o\

They're not wrong that the hospital can't protect them from an attack, but they'd hardly be safer elsewhere.

Especially if they need treatment.

I wonder if these patients are the ones from episode 30 with the unexplained symptoms - the ones with "melanin permeating their muscles, shortness of breath, and all physical functions in disorder", where the doctors couldn't find anything actually wrong with them ...

Oh, huh, we never did find out what that was about, did we? Hmm. I think it has to tie back to the serum, really... unless it was linked to one of the Merit Brush cases somehow.

On the other hand, Vice Minister Guo, when he eventually cancels the request for reserve forces, is not sure he's made the right decision. It's only when Li Qian tells him Zhao Xinci asked her to do this, and that Zhao Xinci seems to finally have decided to fight by the SID's side, that he agrees this is the best choice.

Guo Ying has been out of the loop for quite a while. Maybe hearing that the SID are still on the job and have a credible enough strategy that Zhao Xinci is backing it is enough to reassure him?

A very false dichotomy - there should be someone stationed at the portal at all times!

And someone stopping the rioting or whatever's happening to cause the deaths. Evacuations don't just happen -- they have to be managed, right? /o\

which ends in him remaining tied up on the sofa in his office for the rest of the episode. *g*

That bit is so cartoony, lol. At least they don't just dump him in a storage cupboard.

She also entirely takes the unconscious minister in stride

:D :D :D (I wonder if she has a syringe of something in her pocket like Lin Jing.)

So at this point, the time loop appears to have fully closed, which I think is very well done, so the additional part we didn't know about yet can come as a complete surprise in episode 40!

Yes! And it means we get the Hallows videoconference technology on the table, so we don't have to try to get our heads around the idea during the middle of the final tragedy.

but it really appears at some point the SID learned about Zhao Yunlan's time travel, and we didn't get to see any of their reactions. WE WERE ROBBED.

It's outrageous!! (Though probably no one had time to properly react. There needs to be a post-canon everyone-lives AU where they actually get to sit down and assimilate the implications of the info, and Zhao Yunlan tells tales of his YOHE adventures. *g*)

I always feel the transition is a bit weird when Ma Gui starts talking about guiding them in how to fuse the Hallows into an energy source. (How does he know that needs doing?)

Isn't it what everyone wants to do with the Hallows? (But I'm suddenly interested in Ma Gui and Fu You's assumption that the Lantern does have its/a wick. They're surprised and dismayed to hear that it's missing. I wonder what it is, whether it's even a physical object at all...)

Next, we're interrupted by Professor Ouyang, whose scene seems like a bit of a diversion but shows us everyone working together for a common goal

Yes! It also mostly closes off the serum storyline, I think? (Except for that one last vial/syringe.)

I loved all the Yashou leaders joining forces (and the new high chief didn't even have to demand it). *hearts*

Professor Ouyang is so confused that the situation doesn't fit his information

Do you think his information came from Lin Jing, or he had additional spies?

Zhao Xinci takes Professor Ouyang being killed very much in stride. He even helps. He must have moved pretty far into "desperate times" mode himself.

Knowing what we'll learn after about Zhao Yunlan's conversation with Zhang Shi about the wick, this sounds like at this point he's still hoping for another option for the wick.

Maybe taking his cue from Shen Wei?

Da Qing: "White energy? There's such a thing as white energy?"
I'm confused by Da Qing's apparent confusion, since even the viewer has known this since episode 4!

Maybe he's just not used to it being visible like that. It's one thing to know it's inside Haixingren -- another to have it shine like a halo.

That quote from

shadaras (and that whole post) is amazing! Thanks for quoting it and the link. <3

Shen Wei shouts/screams in response to this news, and it looks like both Ye Zun and the Regent are thrown back by the force of it!

SUCH A FIERCE SHOUT!!!

Shen Wei appears to be dreaming or mentally elsewhere, whispering Zhao Yunlan's name. I wonder if he can sense him coming now as well.

Yeah, I got the impression he could feel Zhao Yunlan's arrival in Dixing.

Because with Zhao Yunlan coming to Dixing, suddenly his plan is in disarray - he needs to be able to protect Zhao Yunlan! And so for the first time since he's been captured again, he's genuinely frustrated by not being able to break free. ♥

Yes!! Zhao Yunlan, upsetting Shen Wei's plans since forever. *g*

Shen Wei: "Lord Regent, you have allowed Dixingren to be trapped forever in timeless darkness. Are you content?"

This made me wonder if the Regent was directly responsible for the loss of the Hallows -- and if this is an open secret. It sounds to me like Shen Wei is blaming the Regent for the darkness...

You should know best that every single drop of our people's blood is most precious.

This might be my favourite line of the episode. I love that he cares that deeply about the ordinary people.

The Regent grins. "Hei Pao-daren, if by luck there comes a day when you can prove your theory, don't forget what I did today."

What theory is he referring to there? Is it just that drowning everyone in darkness (cf Ya Qing) is the wrong way?

Just in time, Shen Wei appears, blood-spattered but still able to fight, and defeats him, his strength not failing until he's done with what he needs to do. ♥

♥ ♥ ♥ (And he does it by physically fighting, too, rather than using powers.)

A flashback reminds the viewer of the explosive possibilities of black and white energy, and Shen Wei thinks, "Yunlan, you will definitely understand my plan"

I wonder if he expects Chu Shuzhi to pass on the explanation about the explosiveness of light and dark energy mixing. Because Zhao Yunlan doesn't otherwise explicitly know about that particular effect, does he? Just that the mix is weakening Shen Wei.

The flashback to Ye Zun embedding his mind-control in Guo Changcheng gives us Xiao-Guo's most delightfully WTF line on seeing Ye Zun in his dramatic white suit and golden mask: "You go to the bathroom dressed like this?" - Does he think people should change clothes before going to the loo or what? Are there designated loo clothes in Guo Changcheng World? :p

Heee! To be fair to Guo Changcheng, Ye Zun is obviously not there to use the facilities. And he is pretty over-dressed for lurking around in bathrooms, ~~seducing~~ planting suggestions in young men. /o\

And Zhao Yunlan - what must he be feeling in this moment, knowing that this is the result of using the Sundial?

I knooooow! He's so broken by that information!!

What's your favourite scene or moment in this episode?

I already said my favourite line. I think my favourite scene is the Hallows videoconference (and the bit before it, with Da Qing's taste buds being tingled by the ancient Yashou writing). *clings to the cuter, happier side of things* ;-p

Speaking of the situation in the city, do you think the Inspectorate is actually doing anything? If yes, what? And what do you think they should have done?

I think at the very least if they evacuating, they should be organising the evacuation in a timely and orderly manner. And given people are dying in riots or whatever (with wow, so much property damage, too -- not that property matters much, but it's indicative of how out of hand things have got), then surely calling in the armed forces isn't a bad idea? /o\

Why does Changcheng passing on the messages of the dead have such a profound effect on people, enough to calm down the situation significantly?

I think it breaks them out of their private self-involved panic to remind them of their loved ones and what the dead might have wanted for them or expected of them. The message, and also his example of selflessness, elevates everyone's worries to family and community, rather than just self -- if that makes sense?

The passage to Dixing from the Yashou restricted area is activated after the Hallows are placed. Do you think it could have been activated without the Hallows? If not, what was Ma Gui thinking, since the Hallows must have been in Dixing at the time?

He does know they make it to Haixing eventually...

When do you think Zhao Xinci actually changed his mind? When did his views change from what made him point his gun at Guo Changcheng to saying he was wrong and "the kids" were right?

Oh, I wonder if he had a run-in with over-serumed Professor Ouyang that we didn't see? One that made him realise that his strategy of relying on the serum wasn't going to fly, and also that Ouyang was sufficiently dangerous now that it was justified to throw Zhao Yunlan a gun to shoot him(!!).

What do you think Zhao Yunlan means when he says, "I don't know how many times I've been here [in Dixing], but this is definitely the last time"?

I don't know if he really means it? I think he's just done with all the backstabbing and shenanigans and mortal danger (to Shen Wei). He'd love to find the wick, find Shen Wei and get out of there until things calm down (even though he knows Shen Wei will never give up on Dixing or leave it to suffer without trying to help).

Why do you think the Regent decides to help Shen Wei after all? And what does he expect Shen Wei to do after he escapes?

I think he wants to stand up to Ye Zun by proxy, with no personal risk. (Such a weasel.)

Do you think Zhao Yunlan taking the Hallows to Dixing is justified, given the risk of them falling into Ye Zun's hands?

He already knows the gun is no use against Ye Zun. I guess he figures the Hallows are the only weapon-adjacent thing that might be able to bring Ye Zun down -- so it's a calculated risk. And he doesn't know things are so bad with Shen Wei. I expect he's hoping to find the wick, activate the Hallows, and deal with things down there so any carnage that might happen doesn't spill over into Haixing? And then when it's all sorted, they can leave the Hallows down there where they belong.

Do you remember your reaction when you saw this episode the first time? What did you think about the ending?

I don't remember, but now I'm like "So much torture! So much blood! Poor everyone!! /o\"

(More to follow tomorrow.)

Yes, I came to that conclusion, too! Which I hadn't even considered before.

Oh, neat! Same here, it had never even occurred to me, but now it seems so obvious!

(I wonder, too, about Dixingren already in Haixing -- both those that sympathise with Ye Zun's stated goals and those that just want a quiet life. They must be having so many feelings about all this! ... which I guess is why some of the people from previous cases show up in the next couple of episodes to help.)

Yes to all of this! Though I'm wondering how much of people panicking may involve going after (real or supposed) Dixingren, too ... there's a very real potential for teribly ugly stuff there. :(

Right? Are they just ceding the whole city to Ye Zun? Then what? And where are people supposed to evacuate to? (Where would be safe?)

All VERY good questions! And what is the rest of the country/world thinking about that? Given the global livestreaming and all.

Fifty-five people dying is so many -- and those are just the ones Guo Changcheng bore witness to. There must be others where he was too late or just didn't see them. /o\

Regarding "too late", I'm not sure about the limits of Xiao-Guo's powers on that score, but even if he got the last wishes of every single person who died anywhere he could get to, which seems unlikely, there must still be more who died somewhere not-public. Horrible - but from a narrative point of view, very effective in raising the stakes and making the danger everyone is in more real.

Oh, huh, we never did find out what that was about, did we? Hmm. I think it has to tie back to the serum, really... unless it was linked to one of the Merit Brush cases somehow.

Yeah, we never heard another wrod of it, and it's entirely unclear what the hell was up with that! (someone needs to write a missing case or something to explain it!)

Guo Ying has been out of the loop for quite a while. Maybe hearing that the SID are still on the job and have a credible enough strategy that Zhao Xinci is backing it is enough to reassure him?

That would make sense!

Evacuations don't just happen -- they have to be managed, right? /o\

You'd think so! I wouldn't put it past Minister Gao to just tell people to get out, he's flailing so hard ...

(I wonder if she has a syringe of something in her pocket like Lin Jing.)

Hee! I like that idea! (Do you think Lin Jing suggested it to her, or did she think of it herself?)

And it means we get the Hallows videoconference technology on the table, so we don't have to try to get our heads around the idea during the middle of the final tragedy.

Yes, that too, true!

(Though probably no one had time to properly react. There needs to be a post-canon everyone-lives AU where they actually get to sit down and assimilate the implications of the info, and Zhao Yunlan tells tales of his YOHE adventures. *g*)

Eh, I think there was enough time for everyone to go "WHAT" at least! And then we'd know the circumstances they found out in. (With the Envoy reveal, they gave us at least Zhu Hong telling them, if not their reactions - much easier to hang a fic on! *grumbles*)

(But I agree that we need post-canon/post-fix-it fic where everyone gets a chance to properly react to everything that happened!

Isn't it what everyone wants to do with the Hallows?

Idk, did they do that 10,000 years ago when they brought the Hallows to Dixing? Probably, but then how does Ma Gui know the Hallows aren't fused? He doesn't know the wick is missing and the Lantern extinguished ...

(But I'm suddenly interested in Ma Gui and Fu You's assumption that the Lantern does have its/a wick. They're surprised and dismayed to hear that it's missing. I wonder what it is, whether it's even a physical object at all...)

Yeah, good question. And I wonder where the original wick came from, given that when we saw the Lantern in YOHE it also wasn't lit, but then it must have been lit in Dixing for a long time before it went out ... So many questions!

Yes! It also mostly closes off the serum storyline, I think? (Except for that one last vial/syringe.)

Idk, that storyline never feels properly closed. After all they did distribute the serum, but we never hear about whoever it was given to ...

I loved all the Yashou leaders joining forces (and the new high chief didn't even have to demand it). *hearts*

Yes, I really loved that whole scene! The three Yashou leaders together, and then Ya Qing and Zhao Yunlan side by side!

Do you think his information came from Lin Jing, or he had additional spies?

Might have come from Minister Gao and/or Zhao Xinci, in part? But yeah, I don't think Lin Jing would have felt the need to hold that back.

Zhao Xinci takes Professor Ouyang being killed very much in stride. He even helps. He must have moved pretty far into "desperate times" mode himself.

Good point! And it makes sense to me if, as you say later, Professor Ouyang going off the rails is part of what caused his own turnaround - maybe he arrives in such a timely fashion because he had a clash with Professor Ouyang just before this, and Professor Ouyang stormed off to confront Ya Qing, with Zhao Xinci on his tail?

Maybe taking his cue from Shen Wei?

Oh, yes, that makes sense to me!

Maybe he's just not used to it being visible like that. It's one thing to know it's inside Haixingren -- another to have it shine like a halo.

True. But he seems to be surprised by its very existence. Maybe he doesn't mean it as literally as it sounds ...

Yeah, I got the impression he could feel Zhao Yunlan's arrival in Dixing.

I wonder how that works! How much can Shen Wei sense about Zhao Yunlan?

Shen Wei: "Lord Regent, you have allowed Dixingren to be trapped forever in timeless darkness. Are you content?"

This made me wonder if the Regent was directly responsible for the loss of the Hallows -- and if this is an open secret. It sounds to me like Shen Wei is blaming the Regent for the darkness...

Huh, that's not how I read it. I figured it's more that he blames the Regent for the situation getting to this point - if it wasn't for that, they right now have all four Hallows, with only the wick missing! They'd be SO close to solving all of Dixing's resources problems! But instead, they're being thrown into a pointless war against Haixing that will serve no one.

(And I still think it's true that if the Regent hadn't been so intent on hedging his bets and playing both sides against the middle, the Ye Zun situation could have been handled much better and he might never have been able to take over Dixing like that, even if he'd still be a problem.)

This might be my favourite line of the episode. I love that he cares that deeply about the ordinary people.

So much love!

The Regent grins. "Hei Pao-daren, if by luck there comes a day when you can prove your theory, don't forget what I did today."

What theory is he referring to there? Is it just that drowning everyone in darkness (cf Ya Qing) is the wrong way?

His claim that Ye Zun's way is wrong, I thought. (The Regent knows it is, but he can't admit it without turning more fully against Ye Zun than he wants.)

(Which reminds me that I meant to ask - any theories about how the Regent gets out of having let Shen Wei escape without Ye Zun eating him then and there?)

I wonder if he expects Chu Shuzhi to pass on the explanation about the explosiveness of light and dark energy mixing. Because Zhao Yunlan doesn't otherwise explicitly know about that particular effect, does he? Just that the mix is weakening Shen Wei.

Oooh! Not soemthing I'd ever thought about, but it would make sense! Poor Lao-Chu.

I think my favourite scene is the Hallows videoconference (and the bit before it, with Da Qing's taste buds being tingled by the ancient Yashou writing). *clings to the cuter, happier side of things* ;-p

*hugs*

I think at the very least if they evacuating, they should be organising the evacuation in a timely and orderly manner. And given people are dying in riots or whatever (with wow, so much property damage, too -- not that property matters much, but it's indicative of how out of hand things have got), then surely calling in the armed forces isn't a bad idea? /o\

Yeah, I agree with you on that. At the very least there should be some presence of official forces in the streets if things have escalated this far!

I think it breaks them out of their private self-involved panic to remind them of their loved ones and what the dead might have wanted for them or expected of them. The message, and also his example of selflessness, elevates everyone's worries to family and community, rather than just self -- if that makes sense?

Yes! So much love!

The passage to Dixing from the Yashou restricted area is activated after the Hallows are placed. Do you think it could have been activated without the Hallows? If not, what was Ma Gui thinking, since the Hallows must have been in Dixing at the time?

He does know they make it to Haixing eventually...

Yes, but if the entire passage to Dixing can only be used with the Hallows, and the Hallows are meant to be in Dixing (which they are, for a long time), then the passage can't be used at all during that time. Was it really never meant to be used, and only intended for Zhao Yunlan/the time loop? Idk, I liked the idea of the Yashou having their own passage that they may have been using during some periods of history, even if not currently. 10,000 years is a long time ...

I don't know if he really means it? I think he's just done with all the backstabbing and shenanigans and mortal danger (to Shen Wei). He'd love to find the wick, find Shen Wei and get out of there until things calm down (even though he knows Shen Wei will never give up on Dixing or leave it to suffer without trying to help).

I hope he doesn't really mean it and is just expressing his frustration! But that line always bugs me. *g*

I think he wants to stand up to Ye Zun by proxy, with no personal risk. (Such a weasel.)

Haha, yeah, that rings very true!

I expect he's hoping to find the wick, activate the Hallows, and deal with things down there so any carnage that might happen doesn't spill over into Haixing? And then when it's all sorted, they can leave the Hallows down there where they belong.

That makes sense to me, yeah.

"So much torture! So much blood! Poor everyone!! /o\"

♥ ♥ ♥

Though I'm wondering how much of people panicking may involve going after (real or supposed) Dixingren, too ...

Some of the wills Changcheng witnesses are for Dixingren (because he says he needs to go to Dixing to deliver messages to the families), so yeah. /o\

> > (I wonder if she has a syringe of something in her pocket like Lin Jing.)
> Hee! I like that idea! (Do you think Lin Jing suggested it to her, or did she think of it herself?)

She might have seen that Lin Jing had one and decided it was a good idea?

Eh, I think there was enough time for everyone to go "WHAT" at least!

Oh yeah, definitely time for that, but not necessarily to think through the full implications, e.g. for Lao Chu and Zhu Hong to talk about their peoples' stories about Kunlun, etc. and everyone to tease Zhao Yunlan for being an ancient legend. That's what I want. *g*

Probably, but then how does Ma Gui know the Hallows aren't fused? He doesn't know the wick is missing and the Lantern extinguished ...

If they were fused, wouldn't they be swirling around in the air, rather than plugged into the video conference interface?

And I wonder where the original wick came from, given that when we saw the Lantern in YOHE it also wasn't lit, but then it must have been lit in Dixing for a long time before it went out

My grisly answer is that one of Da Qing's cat lives was accidentally the first wick, that it was lost when the Hallows were stolen away by the Rebels, and that pillared!Ye Zun was the wick in Dixing. /o\ (Pretty sure I have a WIP with that premise, but it's very dark, obviously. /o\)

Idk, that storyline never feels properly closed. After all they did distribute the serum, but we never hear about whoever it was given to ...

Maybe that's what all the death and destruction is about. Though then Changcheng's message seems like it wouldn't have been so effective.

maybe he arrives in such a timely fashion because he had a clash with Professor Ouyang just before this, and Professor Ouyang stormed off to confront Ya Qing, with Zhao Xinci on his tail?

That would make sense! Especially if Ouyang was casting wild aspersions at the SID. Zhao Xinci is skeptical about the SID's strategy, but I don't think he has any time for other people's irrational grudges like that (unlike his own irrational grudges ;-p).

I figured it's more that he blames the Regent for the situation getting to this point - if it wasn't for that, they right now have all four Hallows, with only the wick missing! They'd be SO close to solving all of Dixing's resources problems! But instead, they're being thrown into a pointless war against Haixing that will serve no one.

But what could the Regent really have done, realistically? Standing up to Ye Zun would just have got him eaten. As it was, people kept getting suborned and rushing into the palace to try and assassinate him. He's clearly not capable enough to deal with Ye Zun strategically (eg, by making the siege squad effective), but you can't wholly blame people for lack of competence. And there isn't anyone obvious he could have handed over to, who might have done a better job... No Vice Minister Guo waiting in the wings.

> > What theory is he referring to there? Is it just that drowning everyone in darkness (cf Ya Qing) is the wrong way?
> His claim that Ye Zun's way is wrong, I thought.

Oh right! That works.

(Which reminds me that I meant to ask - any theories about how the Regent gets out of having let Shen Wei escape without Ye Zun eating him then and there?)

Self-abasement and hand-wringing? I don't think Ye Zun cares enough about the Regent to kill him, and it's probably useful still having the figureheads around (or potentially useful, and Ye Zun isn't ready to give up those chesspieces).

Yes, but if the entire passage to Dixing can only be used with the Hallows, and the Hallows are meant to be in Dixing (which they are, for a long time), then the passage can't be used at all during that time. Was it really never meant to be used, and only intended for Zhao Yunlan/the time loop?

It does make the lock on the door somewhat redundant. But yeah, idk. This morning I had a theory (which you wouldn't have liked, I don't think) about the passageways not functioning when the Hallows are fully fused, but it doesn't seem coherent now I come to try and think it through again. Maybe the Yashou gate and the main gate work on different principles?

Oh, wait, it was the next line, about Zhao Yunlan not coming back to Dixing, that made me think that. Maybe he heard from Ma Gui (when Ma Gui was designing the gates) that once the Hallows are fused in Dixing, the gateway will close again...

Some of the wills Changcheng witnesses are for Dixingren (because he says he needs to go to Dixing to deliver messages to the families), so yeah. /o\

Yeah. :(

but not necessarily to think through the full implications, e.g. for Lao Chu and Zhu Hong to talk about their peoples' stories about Kunlun, etc. and everyone to tease Zhao Yunlan for being an ancient legend. That's what I want. *g*

I'd totally be here for that! :D

If they were fused, wouldn't they be swirling around in the air, rather than plugged into the video conference interface?

I guess? I'm very unclear about what the Hallows are supposed to do, LOL.

My grisly answer is that one of Da Qing's cat lives was accidentally the first wick, that it was lost when the Hallows were stolen away by the Rebels, and that pillared!Ye Zun was the wick in Dixing. /o\ (Pretty sure I have a WIP with that premise, but it's very dark, obviously. /o\)

Oh, that's a fascinating idea regarding Da Qing! Huh. I really want Ma Gui to have come up with a better solution ...

(I have a WIP with a similar interpretation regarding Ye Zun, too - I don't think mine is particularly dark, even. I have too many WIPs!)

Maybe that's what all the death and destruction is about. Though then Changcheng's message seems like it wouldn't have been so effective.

Yeah, I can't see it. I really think it must be mainly people panicking and rioting.

Zhao Xinci is skeptical about the SID's strategy, but I don't think he has any time for other people's irrational grudges like that (unlike his own irrational grudges ;-p).

100% agreed!

But what could the Regent really have done, realistically? Standing up to Ye Zun would just have got him eaten. As it was, people kept getting suborned and rushing into the palace to try and assassinate him. He's clearly not capable enough to deal with Ye Zun strategically (eg, by making the siege squad effective), but you can't wholly blame people for lack of competence.

He could have consulted with Shen Wei, who is an actual general who fought against Ye Zun before, and would definitely have come up with a better strategy than "throw prisoners at Ye Zun and hope something works". No guarantee it would have worked either, but as it is it just seems to have fed Ye Zun a lot of new supporters (and powers), and that was kind of predictable. His unwillingness to work with the Envoy really worked against the Regent, and against Dixng, there.

This morning I had a theory (which you wouldn't have liked, I don't think) about the passageways not functioning when the Hallows are fully fused, but it doesn't seem coherent now I come to try and think it through again. Maybe the Yashou gate and the main gate work on different principles?

Yeah, I'm not liking that much! I guess it sort of works for me if the Yashou passage was only ever meant as an emergency backup, and there was only meant to be one actually active connection, but I absolutely hate the idea of surface and underground being entirely separated while the Hallows are active, so there can be no contact while Dixing is actually doing well. That's awful! And I want there to have been more of an exchange with Dixing, historically!

I really want Ma Gui to have come up with a better solution ...

I'm sure he tried, in that scenario! (I wrote that post-canon fic about Zhang Shi working to find a solution, based on Ma Gui's research.)

Oh yes, I had forgotten that fic! Good stuff.

(There are so many different possiblities for the wick! I kind of want a wick ficathon, just to see everyone's different takes. *g*)

♥

but I absolutely hate the idea of surface and underground being entirely separated while the Hallows are active, so there can be no contact while Dixing is actually doing well. That's awful! And I want there to have been more of an exchange with Dixing, historically!

I meant to say, I was thinking last night about evidence that there has been some back and forth over the years -- maybe that pile of books in the SID that reference the Hallows (collated by Sang Zan)? Some of them must date back to before the Hallows were lost, right? Maybe they contain info brought to the surface by Dixingren?

Oh! Yes, that's a good point about all those books! There were so many references that Sang Zan found - it looked like the whole Hallows thing was way more embedded in the cultural background than I think would make sense if they and everything related to them had been entirely cut off from Haixing for nearly 10,000 years and only appeared again very recently. Contact with Dixing, and general flow of information between Haixing and Dixing, would definitely explain that.

(Or they could be based on Yashou information, handed down. Or Zhang Shi himself might have put some thoughts in writing, maybe after nearly dying once or twice, and there could be further scholarship based off that. But contact with Dixing is definitely a possibility!)

Yashou is a possibility, but I think if all those sources came back to Zhang Shi, he needs a new hobby! :p

A few further ep 38 thoughts:

Changcheng saying, "I don't have the eloquence and charm of Chief Zhao" made me laugh. *pets* (I guess he's comparing himself to Zhao Yunlan's broadcast, though, rather than everyday rapscallion Zhao Yunlan.)

The Sacred Wood is a ridiculous key, so that lock must be another of Ma Gui's gizmos.

I love so much that Zhu Hong can read the ancient script! I wonder where else it appears, for the Yashou to still be passing it down.

Awwwwww, Changcheng's stage fright, and Chu Shuzhi being supportive again. (I kind of adore that we're in the middle of this epic chaos, and Lao Chu, the SID's best fighter, is mostly acting as emotional support for Changcheng, lol.)

ZYL to FY & MG: Long time no see.
me: For you it's been, like, two days?

I love Zhao Yunlan's deep serious voice when telling Ma Gui and Fu You that they succeed. He's got such great vocal range, and he uses it so effectively.

Fifty-five people's wills! Yikes! Poor Changcheng. (Later, Ye Zun says every time Changcheng uses his power, it strengthened the hypnotic suggestion. I wonder if that's part of why using his power is taking so much out of Changcheng. Maybe he's subconsciously struggling against Ye Zun every time??)

"I also want everyone to have more faith in Special Investigations. We will definitely guard everyone's safety." I mean, that's not really working out so far? But he's not even talking about the current chaos, is he?

After the gunshot, everyone gathers around Zhao Yunlan. No one gives a damn about Ouyang. (I wonder what Shen Wei would say.) They're all getting very cavalier about leaving bodies strewn around.

Ye Huo and Lao Chu have a two-way farewell shoulder/arm clasp, aww. And Changcheng pats Ye Huo on the chest, too. ♥

Cong Bo's insta-crush on Cheng Xinyan always makes me roll my eyes. He doesn't know a single thing about her. ;-p

Is it Zhang Shi or Zhao Xinci who rules that killing Ouyang is self-defence? I think it's Zhao Xinci, but the whole thing feels so extreme. Otoh, I guess in the absence of Lao Chu, there's no one who has a hope of restraining him, and even if they did, then what?

YZ: "All these years, if it wasn't for the pull of my hatred towards you, I would have died thousands of times while in the Pillar!" I wonder how literally he means that, and whether it implies Ye Zun was awake the whole fking time. /o\

I think Shen Wei's "my blood is red" speech is ≡ Zhao Yunlan's broadcast. I wish Zhao Yunlan had got to hear it. :-(

I wonder if Ya Qing is more powerful than the other Yashou elders. (Is she still boosted?) Ya Qing and Zhu Hong both killed Yashou with their powers in ep 37. Are the other leaders (and Da Qing) that strong, too?

And I wonder how differently (if at all) things would have gone if Lao Chu and Changcheng hadn't arrived in time, and Zhu Hong had gone to Dixing with Zhao Yunlan, as she volunteered to do.

Changcheng says he'll go to Dixing to pass on the fallen's final wishes to their families in person. Which means that some of the dead are Dixingren, right?

Not only does Da Qing not recognise white energy, but Zhang Shi says, "Not energy. It's the heart." The implication being that Changcheng's energy/aura/heart is extra-special luminous? *is so confused*

Zhu Hong telling Zhao Yunlan "I'm just afraid you'd be slapped to death on the streets for being such a tease" is maybe my second favourite line of the ep. *g*

Zhao Yunlan telling Zhang Shi "If something really bad happens, remember our agreement" and hugging him is... kind of like Zhao Yunlan choosing Zhang Shi as his fav parent, over Zhao Xinci. OW! (I mean, ZYL could have asked to see ZXC? But is probably not in the mood to risk a "you're such a disappointment" lecture right now. /o\) Zhao Xinci's "Shut up!" feels very justified!!

Shen Wei asking the time -- he's spent so long in Haixing. I think he reflexively wants to check his watch.

I love Guo Ying's conscientious concerns about being rescued. *hearts him*

Everyone in Dixing is running around in a panic. Why? What's set them off? (Changcheng says the situation is even worse than Dragon City, which doesn't seem accurate from what we see.)

The Regent sending the guards the wrong way. (So I guess Dixing has north and south. Good to know...)

In the street, Shen Wei tells Zhao Yunlan he might not make it out, but even then, Zhao Yunlan is all "meet up at the portal" and trusting Shen Wei to get himself there.

(Also, when Shen Wei says, "If a time comes when I have to use my injuries to exchange for everyone's lives... I believe, at that moment, you will have your answer" -- is that a continuation of the hospital bomb scene, with "One day you will know?" Because the fight then was partly about Shen Wei's weakened energy and why he was hiding it, and this -- this is going to be that answer, right? *cries*)

I love how hard Changcheng struggles for self-control, and his telling Zhao Yunlan to run! He pulls off Chu Shuzhi's doll (and leaves it on the street?)!! I think it's probably an important point that Chu Shuzhi's doll doesn't pay off, because first-time watchers must be aware of Shen Wei's pendant and might be waiting for it to do something, save the day or whatever. So the show needs to establish that all the jewellery is symbolic, not protective. The only exception is Chu Shuzhi's doll in Zhu Hong's dream, which went dangerously wrong, and which is why that doll has to be cast aside now.

Changcheng saying, "Long live Ye Zun!" is the creepiest and most upsetting thing. /o\ /o\ /o\

And aww, Changcheng in the bathroom flashback, feeling so bummed. "Chief Zhao. Chu-ge. Professor Shen. I'm the only one who's so useless." I mean... pick the most capable people you know to compare yourself to, why don't you? *noogies him gently* (I think this must have happened while he was hanging around the DoS, waiting for his secret spy rendezvous with Lin Jing.)

The way Zhao Yunlan tosses Ye Zun the Hallows and puts his hands up is so saucy! Is he going to try and flirt his way out of this?? LOL. (Actually, I think he's trying to be strategic and biding his time to at least save Xiao Guo.)

Aww, Da Qing is so pleased to see Da Ji!

And then Zhao Yunlan, tied up, tortured and still goading Ye Zun (just like Shen Wei did earlier). Is anyone on this show torture avoidant? All their shouts are either on behalf of the other or pure defiance. I wonder if being lashed with dark energy is more draining than outright painful... (Also, quite a contrast with Zhao Yunlan tied up by Kong Jing...)

(I guess he's comparing himself to Zhao Yunlan's broadcast, though, rather than everyday rapscallion Zhao Yunlan.)

Yes, agreed! And Zhao Yunlan is someone who finds this kind of performance easy.

I kind of adore that we're in the middle of this epic chaos, and Lao Chu, the SID's best fighter, is mostly acting as emotional support for Changcheng, lol.

This is great, yes! I love it.

Cong Bo's insta-crush on Cheng Xinyan always makes me roll my eyes. He doesn't know a single thing about her. ;-p

Ha, yeah, I want him to actually know her and already have a crush on her before this, that would be much better! They can't have met, but maybe he came across her during one of his investigations?

Is it Zhang Shi or Zhao Xinci who rules that killing Ouyang is self-defence? I think it's Zhao Xinci, but the whole thing feels so extreme. Otoh, I guess in the absence of Lao Chu, there's no one who has a hope of restraining him, and even if they did, then what?

I think it's Zhao Xinci too, and I think it fits him, the same way he was okay with shooting Dixingren. Once someone has passed his personal threshold of "too dangerous" he's very willing to be extreme.

YZ: "All these years, if it wasn't for the pull of my hatred towards you, I would have died thousands of times while in the Pillar!" I wonder how literally he means that, and whether it implies Ye Zun was awake the whole fking time. /o\

I didn't take it literally, and I don't think he was constantly awake - I took it pretty much like Shen Wei's "I searched for you for 10,000 years". *g*

I think Shen Wei's "my blood is red" speech is ≡ Zhao Yunlan's broadcast. I wish Zhao Yunlan had got to hear it. :-(

Oooh, yes, I hadn't thought of it that way, but that is a lovely parallel! Damn, now I want this one to be broadcast to all of Dixing, not just Ye Zun going all mask off ...

I wonder if Ya Qing is more powerful than the other Yashou elders. (Is she still boosted?) Ya Qing and Zhu Hong both killed Yashou with their powers in ep 37. Are the other leaders (and Da Qing) that strong, too?

When the three leaders fight side by side at the portal, IIRC they seem to be at fairly similar levels?

And I wonder how differently (if at all) things would have gone if Lao Chu and Changcheng hadn't arrived in time, and Zhu Hong had gone to Dixing with Zhao Yunlan, as she volunteered to do.

Hmmm. Ye Zun already knew Zhao Yunlan was coming, so he'd have gone after him anyway. Zhu Hong might have got away with the Hallows, but probably not for long. And Xiao-Guo would have made his way to Dixing later, as soon as the passage stabilised. Not much of a difference, overall, I think.

Changcheng says he'll go to Dixing to pass on the fallen's final wishes to their families in person. Which means that some of the dead are Dixingren, right?

Yes! And now I want to see him actually get to do that! There's never a chance in canon, I don't think ...

Not only does Da Qing not recognise white energy, but Zhang Shi says, "Not energy. It's the heart." The implication being that Changcheng's energy/aura/heart is extra-special luminous? *is so confused*

I'm taking it as metaphorical - that Xiao-Guo's goodness, which also shapes the form his power takes, is what makes him special, not just the fact that he has a white energy power. (Professor Ouyang would not have qualified!)

Zhao Yunlan telling Zhang Shi "If something really bad happens, remember our agreement" and hugging him is... kind of like Zhao Yunlan choosing Zhang Shi as his fav parent, over Zhao Xinci. OW! (I mean, ZYL could have asked to see ZXC? But is probably not in the mood to risk a "you're such a disappointment" lecture right now. /o\) Zhao Xinci's "Shut up!" feels very justified!!

I don't think it's Zhao Yunlan choosing Zhang Shi over Zhao Xinci - actually, I think he's hugging Zhao Xinci by proxy, exactly because (as you say) he can't (emotionally) risk Zhao Xinci being all disapproving at him if he tries to do it directly.

Shen Wei asking the time -- he's spent so long in Haixing. I think he reflexively wants to check his watch.

Ha, yeah! I think he actually wants to know how long he's been there, but is putting it in a very Haixing way. *g*

Everyone in Dixing is running around in a panic. Why? What's set them off? (Changcheng says the situation is even worse than Dragon City, which doesn't seem accurate from what we see.)

Yeah, I want to know more about the situation in Dixing!

Also, when Shen Wei says, "If a time comes when I have to use my injuries to exchange for everyone's lives... I believe, at that moment, you will have your answer" -- is that a continuation of the hospital bomb scene, with "One day you will know?" Because the fight then was partly about Shen Wei's weakened energy and why he was hiding it, and this -- this is going to be that answer, right? *cries*

Yes, all of that! And it's also an answer to what Zhao Yunlan just asked, "why are these wounds not healing?" (which isn't the first time Zhao Yunlan has asked that either!) ...

He pulls off Chu Shuzhi's doll (and leaves it on the street?)!!

Oh! I completely missed that! That's a great little detail!

I think it's probably an important point that Chu Shuzhi's doll doesn't pay off, because first-time watchers must be aware of Shen Wei's pendant and might be waiting for it to do something, save the day or whatever. So the show needs to establish that all the jewellery is symbolic, not protective.

Very good point, yes! I hadn't thought about people expecting Shen Wei's pendant to do something, but that would make sense, and this is a great parallel.

I think this must have happened while he was hanging around the DoS, waiting for his secret spy rendezvous with Lin Jing.

Yeah, that's the only place it fits into the timeline, IMO.

And then Zhao Yunlan, tied up, tortured and still goading Ye Zun (just like Shen Wei did earlier). Is anyone on this show torture avoidant? All their shouts are either on behalf of the other or pure defiance.

Yeah, they're so similar in that way! I love them. ♥

(Also, quite a contrast with Zhao Yunlan tied up by Kong Jing...)

Oh wow, yes, that's a fascinating contrast to think about!

And Zhao Yunlan is someone who finds this kind of performance easy.

Oh, very true! It does seem to come naturally to him.

I want him to actually know her and already have a crush on her before this, that would be much better! They can't have met, but maybe he came across her during one of his investigations?

Ehhh, I mean aside from anything else, human/human pairings are much less interesting to me than ones involving either Dixingren or Yashou. ;-p

I think it's Zhao Xinci too, and I think it fits him, the same way he was okay with shooting Dixingren. Once someone has passed his personal threshold of "too dangerous" he's very willing to be extreme.

Idk, his grudge against Dixingren was long-standing and (according to Zhang Shi) fuelled by what happened to Shen Xi. I wouldn't have expected that to transfer easily to a respectable human he's worked with in an official capacity. Which makes me wonder if it's specifically the powers that make a difference... and the threat to Zhao Yunlan, too.

I took it pretty much like Shen Wei's "I searched for you for 10,000 years". *g*

I could go either way on it, I think.

Damn, now I want this one to be broadcast to all of Dixing, not just Ye Zun going all mask off ...

Yeah, though I'm not sure ordinary Dixingren needed to hear it the same way Haixingren needed to hear that Dixingren are people too. Like, the circumstances of the prejudice in each place are very different, you know?

When the three leaders fight side by side at the portal, IIRC they seem to be at fairly similar levels?

I haven't got to that yet. /o\ (So behind!)

Zhu Hong might have got away with the Hallows, but probably not for long.

We don't know that? She can defend herself against at least some Dixingren. Maybe she'd have found a friend or a bolthole, and then Ye Zun doesn't get the Hallows... I think it could be a fun AU to explore.

Yes! And now I want to see him actually get to do that! There's never a chance in canon, I don't think ...

I have a (CSZ/GCC) WIP for that... :-)

I don't think it's Zhao Yunlan choosing Zhang Shi over Zhao Xinci - actually, I think he's hugging Zhao Xinci by proxy, exactly because (as you say) he can't (emotionally) risk Zhao Xinci being all disapproving at him if he tries to do it directly.

Hm, that makes a lot of sense. I'm not convinced it reads that way to Zhao Xinci, though, especially with Zhang Shi's "How did it feel..."

I think he actually wants to know how long he's been there, but is putting it in a very Haixing way. *g*

Yeah, I think he's trying to figure out how far Zhao Yunlan might have got, and what might have had time to happen Upstairs.

And it's also an answer to what Zhao Yunlan just asked, "why are these wounds not healing?" (which isn't the first time Zhao Yunlan has asked that either!) ...

Oh, true. *cries on ZYL's behalf*

Yeah, they're so similar in that way! I love them. ♥

And it does helpfully play down the utter awfulness of the torture. If they were obviously in pain, I'm not sure I could watch it. /o\

Ehhh, I mean aside from anything else, human/human pairings are much less interesting to me than ones involving either Dixingren or Yashou. ;-p

I mean, yes, but also, not EVERY pairing can be cross-cultural, can it? I think that would feel weird after a while. :p

Idk, his grudge against Dixingren was long-standing and (according to Zhang Shi) fuelled by what happened to Shen Xi. I wouldn't have expected that to transfer easily to a respectable human he's worked with in an official capacity. Which makes me wonder if it's specifically the powers that make a difference... and the threat to Zhao Yunlan, too.

Yeah, I think it would make sense if the powers triggered his anti-Dixing sentiments and it got transferred to Professor Ouyang that way. And that's a good point about the threat to Zhao Yunlan, though it looked to me like he reacted mostly on instinct in the moment - afterwards, that would definitely colour his evaluation of the entire situation. It would have to.

Yeah, though I'm not sure ordinary Dixingren needed to hear it the same way Haixingren needed to hear that Dixingren are people too. Like, the circumstances of the prejudice in each place are very different, you know?

Yeah, I know. Actually, what they probably would need to hear is what Shen Wei said to the Regent about every drop of blood being precious. Broadcast all of Shen Wei's words to all of Dixing, please! *g*

We don't know that? She can defend herself against at least some Dixingren. Maybe she'd have found a friend or a bolthole, and then Ye Zun doesn't get the Hallows... I think it could be a fun AU to explore.

I mean, we can't know, and it's a possible AU of course, but it just doesn't strike me as very plausible that she'd get away with the Hallows and stay out of Ye Zun's hands for long. She doesn't know Dixing, and even if she did - he's very powerful, controls a lot of people, and the Hallows are at the top of his priority list (right beneath "hurt gege"), so he's VERY motivated.

I'm not convinced it reads that way to Zhao Xinci, though, especially with Zhang Shi's "How did it feel..."

Yeah, agreed, I don't think Zhao Xinci understands what Zhao Yunlan means.

I mean, yes, but also, not EVERY pairing can be cross-cultural, can it? I think that would feel weird after a while. :p

I don't mind background established ones like Guo Changcheng's uncle and aunt. And I wasn't excluding Dixingren or Yashou pairings. ;-p

Broadcast all of Shen Wei's words to all of Dixing, please! *g*

If only anyone at the palace at that point had a cellphone... ;-p

I mean, we can't know, and it's a possible AU of course, but it just doesn't strike me as very plausible that she'd get away with the Hallows and stay out of Ye Zun's hands for long. She doesn't know Dixing, and even if she did - he's very powerful, controls a lot of people, and the Hallows are at the top of his priority list (right beneath "hurt gege"), so he's VERY motivated.

Motivated, but not omnipotent. (In ep 39, he can't just find the Lantern until the Regent gives him the idea.) And Zhu Hong has a much better shot than Xiao Guo, who is the person Zhao Yunlan originally gave the three Hallows to, presumably with some kind of plan in mind. I'm guessing once Zhao Yunlan saw the state of Dixing and Shen Wei, he had second thoughts about having brought the Hallows with him and planned to send Xiao Guo back to Haixing with them -- which might well have worked if Xiao Guo hadn't been hijacked. I bet Zhu Hong could have done it. (I don't know why I'm arguing about this! I'm not invested in the scenario at all.)

Yeah, agreed, I don't think Zhao Xinci understands what Zhao Yunlan means.

Those two are ridiculously tragically bad at communicating. /o\

he had second thoughts about having brought the Hallows with him and planned to send Xiao Guo back to Haixing with them

Oh, I hadn't thought of that, but that would make sense!

Okay, if the goal is "get the Hallows back to the surface" then Zhu Hong could manage that, yeah.

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GUARDIAN REWATCH - Episode 38

Links to episode 38 fanworks and meta go here!

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self promo: a couple of stabby fics :3

Re: self promo: a couple of stabby fics :3

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