GUARDIAN REWATCH - Episode 40

[trobadora]

Beginning of episode: Zhao Yunlan injects himself with the serum
Ending of episode: Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei make a bet in Hallows-space

Important scenes/developments:

• Zhao Yunlan injects himself with the serum
• Ye Zun needs to consume more and more, and makes everyone in Dragon City (in Haixing?) pass out
• Zhao Yunlan tries various things against Ye Zun:
  • he asks what Ye Zun even wants, letting Ye Zun explain his worldview
  • once his serum power strength enhancement kicks in, he physically fights Ye Zun
  • aided by Guo Changcheng and Da Qing, he uses the Mountain-River Awl on Ye Zun
  None of it is enough to defeat him, but it all does stall Ye Zun so Zhao Yunlan doesn't get eaten.
• With the use of the Mountain-River Awl, Shen Wei has the moment he has been waiting for - he makes Lin Jing drive the icicle all the way into his chest, then saves Lin Jing, the Regent and An Bai
• Zhao Yunlan's hopes are briefly raised as he sees three dead people come back to life, but the spark is immediately snuffed out again
• Shen Wei releases his energies all at once -Ye Zun realises Shen Wei's energy is white, and Zhao Yunlan realises this was Shen Wei's plan
• Ye Zun and Shen Wei reunite post-death, and clear up the misunderstanding between them
• before leaving, Shen Wei sends his pendant to Zhao Yunlan, who opens it and recognises the lollipop wrapper
• People in Dragon City wake up
• Zhao Yunlan has one last conversation with Ma Gui and Fu You before gives himself to the Guardian Lantern to save the planet from the destruction Ye Zun left behind
• in flashback, Zhang Shi explains how to light the Lantern with sacrifice if the/a wick can't be found
• the Dixing clock strikes, and light comes to Dixing
• the remaining SID members return to Haixing with Zhao Yunlan's body
• One year later:
  • Cong Bo flirts badly with Cheng Xinyan
  • Minister Guo is now Minister; Li Qian is is director of the lab; Zhao Xinci's health is much improved
  • Xiao-Guo has an awkward arranged date; Lao-Chu drags him away
  • Zhu Hong meets with the Yashou tribe leaders
  "Zhao Yunlan" speaks in front of a crowd
• in flashback, Zhao Yunlan asks Zhang Shi to take his place
in Zhao Yunlan's apartment, Da Qing and Lin Jing grieve for Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei
• at the SID, Xiao-guo greets many new faces

in the starry Hallows void, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei say goodbye and Shen Wei proposes a bet: they will find each other again

Hello and welcome to the final episode! The drama's ending is controversial, but I've always loved it, and have only come to love it more over the years (five years now, wow!). So this post is essentially a love letter to Guardian's ending.

The End:

• We begin the episode by backing up a little, repeating the end of the previous episode: Zhao Yunlan grabs the syringe from Da Qing's hand and stabs himself before Da Qing can really react. "You'll die", shouts Da Qing.
  
  Zhao Yunlan: "I remained a bachelor for 20 years, maybe because I was waiting for today."
  
  We're not repeating this here for no reason - and it's not just because to remind us of the serum before Zhao Yunlan's powers kick in: sacrifice, and willingness to sacrifice, runs through the make-up of this show and these characters, but never more so than at the end, and Zhao Yunlan's statement sets the mood and the theme for the episode.
  
  (As he said before to Zhu Hong, he always expected to die on the job, to give his life for it - and he never (willingly) gave hostages to fortune so he would be free to do so. And the "20 years" in particular may refer to when his mother died, and when he swore to himself he'd never be anything like his father - both in having a family that had to play second fiddle to his duty, and in then failing to protect said family ...)


• The start of the episode also reinforces just how hard Ye Zun is to defeat. Chu Shuzhi and Da Qing are still fighting, but when Ye Zun throws Chu Shuzhi across the room, this time he has trouble even getting up. And when Da Qing charges Ye Zun, Ye Zun catches his arm and seems to break it! Meanwhile, Zhao Yunlan is rolling around on the floor, black veins spidering under his skin. Everyone seems to be out for the count. They've tried so much already, and it's never enough.
  
  
  
  Seriously, so many attempts to resist Ye Zun, and/or somehow gain advantage over him! And yet Ye Zun just keeps going, and keeps devouring more and more - these last episodes really hammer it home that nothing short of something very drastic will stop Ye Zun. Ye Zun isn't entirely unaffected - but he's also able to consume others and absorb their energy. And his craving for energy is only getting worse. As Shen Wei explains, "He has to devour energy day and night. He cannot control his craving."


• Ye Zun gasps, and black energy starts streaming from the wound in his head. Concentrated swirls of black energy clearly connected to him zoom around the sky in Dixing, and in Haixing, a dark wormhole forms in the sky, with the same black energy swirls streaming out. Black energy washes over the city, and everyone falls unconscious. He seems set to devour the entire world - and not even with intent, but just to bolster himself.


• Inside Ye Zun's stomach, Shen Wei is waiting for the right moment to fully release his energies. And even though Zhao Yunlan knows nothing about his plans, Shen Wei is certain he will play his part in it: "I believe in him. I have complete faith that he will spot Ye Zun's weak point." (He doesn't even have to name Zhao Yunlan - there's no question who "he" is. Not for the viewer, and not for the other characters in the scene either, because other than sacrifice, love is the main theme of this episode. So, so much love.)
  
  And just in case we were in any doubt about what's about to happe, he reminds Lin Jing of his promise to drive the icicle Ye Zun stabbed him with fully into his chest. (Poor Lin Jing ...)


• Ye Zun drags Zhao Yunlan, who's still lying on the floor, towards him with black energy and pulls him upright, then briefly falters again, touching his head wound - he still needs to consume more. When he's about to eat Zhao Yunlan, no one is able to fight.
  
  "Wait," says Zhao Yunlan - because if nothing else, he can still stall. "We're all going to die anyway, so could you answer me one more question? You've planned this for ten thousand years, screwing over humans, screwing over the Yashou, even screwing over your own Dixingren. What do you actually want?"


• Ye Zun is delighted to have the opportunity to finally give the villain monologue he's been longing to share: "I always wanted to say it, but no one ever asked me. What do I want? I want to reform this world! In this world everyone, whether Human, Yashou, or Dixingren ..." (and we get shots of Guo Changcheng, Da Qing and Chu Shuzhi respectively on each of these) "... they are filled to the brim with cheating, betrayal, and abandonment. This world is filthy! So... I will reshape it from top to bottom and reform it. I'll create a new order with my own hands, and reform this world."
  
  
  
  We'll find out later, in flashback, what shaped this worldview - what ripped out any trust and faith Ye Zun once had, and left him unable to believe in anything but betrayal and abandonment to the point where he can't believe it even when it's staring him in the face. (Zhu Jiu, for all his fauls, was incredibly loyal to Ye Zun - but Ye Zun still can't believe there's such a thing as selfless loyalty ...)


• Zhao Yunlan, of course gives Ye Zun's thesis statement the respect it deserves - he laughs out loud. And Ye Zun's grin falls away as he realises he's not being taken seriously. At first Ye Zun seems genuinely taken aback and hurt, and it takes him a moment to pull himself together, to talk himself back into his confidence. And then he lifts black energy to Zhao Yunlan's face again, once again ready to eat him.


• But now Zhao Yunlan's serum-induced powers are kicking in: he knocks Ye Zun's hands away, jumps up with both feet against Ye Zun's chest - very athletic and strong all of a sudden, very resilient, when he seemed barely able to move before - and actually kicks Ye Zun down. He's incredibly strong now - at one point, he throws Ye Zun with such force that one of the statues in the throne room is toppled.
  
  And it's still not enough.
  
  A punch to Ye Zun's gut achieves nothing, and Ye Zun catches both his hands with black energy, then throws Zhao Yunlan across the room again. Once again, Zhao Yunlan is down, and Ye Zun is about to eat him.


• The SID is a team, though, and Zhao Yunlan isn't alone.
  
  
  
  It's Xiao-Guo, who hasn't been able to physically fight, who has the next idea: the Hallows are still hovering in the air, after all - so he jumps up to grip the Mountain-River Awl and throws it. Da Qing catches it and throws it straight into Zhao Yunlan's hand in turn. And Zhao Yunlan, screaming with effort, holds it to Ye Zun's head.
  
  This time, Ye Zun can't push him away. He screams, too.


• Inside Ye Zun's stomach, Shen Wei realises this is the moment - his best chance, for maximum effect.
  
  
  
  He makes Lin Jing push the icicle into his chest - and even as it pierces through him, summons the energy to save Lin Jing, An Bai and the Regent.
  
  Sacrifice of self, saving of others - that's what Shen Wei's choice is all about. ♥ ♥ ♥



• When Zhao Yunlan see the three dead people back among the living, you can see hope suddenly sparking. "Where is Shen Wei?" he demand. And I bet he knows, in his gut, that this miraculous return is Shen Wei's doing.
  
  But Lin Jing can only look down and grimace. And the spark of hope in Zhao Yunlan's face dies. Devastation hits him all over again, and he slumps to the floor. He's been so focused on fighting Ye Zun, he's had no time to dwell on his grief since the showdown started, but now it bowls him over again.


• Meanwhile, Ye Zun is still screaming. He summons black energy - perhaps if he devours enough, he can heal anything, even this. Black energy is washing over everything, and for a moment he seems to be succeeding. Even now!
  
  But Shen Wei isn't finished. He pulls the icicle out of his chest again, to release his energy - and Ye Zun gasps as if he was the one who'd been stabbed. Stumbles. Shouts, "Hei Pao! You tricked me! Your energy is not black at all!"
  
  And Zhao Yunlan suddenly realises what is happening - what Shen Wei has done. He puts together the pieces: the energy exchange with the Sundial and a voiceover from the kitchen scene with Zhao Yunlan asking what Shen Wei did to cure his eyes; the kitchen scene itself with Zhao Yunlan catching Shen Wei cutting himself and Shen Wei saying he needs to exchange all the energy in his body; the two of them in a Dixing street and Shen Wei telling him that if he has to use his injury to save another's life ...; the hospital scene with the bomb and Shen Wei promising that one day Zhao Yunlan will definitely know the things he kept from him.
  
  Zhao Yunlan smiles - so proud, so touched, so overwhelmed: "Shen Wei ah, it turns out you've been planning this for so long ..."
  
  And it worked. It's a triumph! Nothing else was working, but this did. Shen Wei, in the end, saved them all, even from beyond the grave.
  
  
  
  And he did keep his promise that Zhao Yunlan would know all of his secrets one day.


• Shen Wei, at the very end, has some more words to say. He quotes: "Suppress the heart of evil, spread the virtue of the kind," the Black-Cloaked Envoy's own motto, referenced on his seal, then pulls the icicle out all the way - and his energies are fully freed.
  
  Ye Zun screams again. Shen Wei smiles for one last time, then goes limp. It's done: they're both dead.


• But the triumph of sacrifice is not the end. The dichotomy of good and evil, Shen Wei and Ye Zun, is not the end. What comes beyond is the reaching across the divide between them: forgiveness, understanding, reconciliation. (Because the Envoy's motto, as just quoted, is not just to suppress evil, even though only the first part is on his seal.)
  
  So here we are, in a liminal space after death - visualized as a bright spotlight against the dark of the throne room, removed from it even as it serves as a backdrop. And here is Ye Zun, falling to his knees, and asking Why? Because he still doesn't understand.
  
  And as Shen Wei approaches the edge of the circle of light, Ye Zun looks up at him, shaking - afraid, I think, because he's lost and Shen Wei won, because he's helpless, and he knows in his bones what that means.
  
  
  
  Not to Shen Wei, of course. "Let's go home," he says, because this is still his brother, and they are dead, and he's willing to set everything aside, exted a hand (figuratively, before he does it literally, just a bit later).
  
  Ye Zun replies, "From the time you chose to abandon me, I haven't had a home" - and this is how, after all this time, Shen Wei finally finds out why Ye Zun hated him so much.


• Because this is Guardian, of course the answer is a misunderstanding, and misplaced blame: in flashback, we see Shen Wei and Ye Zun as children, already one of them in black and one in white. Ye Zun is coughing and clearly not well; Shen Wei is helping his brother, trying to reassure him and promising he'll never leave him.
  
  
  
  They encounter the rebel leader, who claims Shen Wei has potential and seems to want the boy to follow him. But Shen Wei sees blood on his hand, and even as a child, even in the midst of the chaos after the meteor strike, he has very firm convictions, and no compunctions about speaking out. The rebel leader, meanwhile, doesn't think killing someone is a big deal.
  
  Ye Zun passes out, and when he wakes up, his brother who promised to never leave him is nowhere to be seen. The rebel leader tells him: "Your brother went and left you behind. He expressly told me before he left to educate you in his stead," implying Shen Wei handed his brother over to take his own place, so the rebel leader would let him leave. And whether Ye Zun believes it at this point or not, after growing up under the rebel leader's control and abuse, he will completely believe it as an adult.


• But Shen Wei corrects him: "I never abandoned you" - and we see the missing parts of the flashback: the rebel leader mocking Ye Zun and calling him a waste of space; young Shen Wei trying to protect his brother, and the rebel leader grabbing Shen Wei by the throat and throwing him over the edge of the cliff.
  
  Shen Wei is unharmed save for a few scrapes when he gets up, and the first thing he does is call out for his little brother, ready to run back up that cliff. He stumbles over something buried in the dirt - the polearm that will become his signature weapon.
  
  When he reaches the top of the cliff, calling for his didi again, there's no trace of Ye Zun or the rebel leader. And we see a shot of him with the dao, foreshadowing the silhouette of the lone figure of the Envoy - the person he became, without his brother.
  
  (Despite this, I don't remember seeing him with his polearm in YOHE - am I misremembering?)


• Ye Zun is shaking - his entire worldview has been shaken. Everything he believed, everything he did, was based on that foundational conviction that his gege abandoned him, gave him away to his abuser - and none of it was true.
  
  He begins to cry. "Ge, you didn't abandon me. You never abandoned me."
  
  
  
  Shen Wei holds out his hand, literally this time. "Didi, let's go home."
  
  I don't think Ye Zun can quite wrap his head around this at first, but finally he does take Shen Wei's hand, and they walk up the stairs together, about to leave the liminal space they're in.


• (Btw, when Guardian was censored in China back in 2018, removing this entire reconciliation between the twins was one of the biggest changes made. According to Chinese censorship, apparently good and evil must be clearly separate; we can't have too much sympathy for the villains; and so villains can't have redemption. Ugh.)


• But we're not done with this scene yet. Shen Wei and Ye Zun are about to leave when something from the world of the living intrudes into their liminal space: Zhao Yunlan's voice, saying Shen Wei's name. And of course Shen Wei turns back. Zhao Yunlan is lying on the ground, the Awl still in his hand, repeating Shen Wei's name.
  
  
  
  And across the distance between them - between death and life - Shen Wei's pendant rolls down the stairs towards Zhao Yunlan. Because these two are connected, and even death can't take that away. ♥


• Zhao Yunlan opens the pendant - and sees the lollipop wrapper, recognizes what it is that Shen Wei has been carrying with him for all these years, what he's been protecting and valuing so fiercely. A thing of no value, save for what it represents. Something symbolic. Love.
  
  And not just the love that's in keeping this memento - also the love that's in this pendant as a last message. ♥ ♥ ♥
  
  
  
  I really need to quote china_shop here, because she expresses it so well:

  Zhao Yunlan understands that Shen Wei deliberately turned himself into a bomb. Which is a whole nother level of heartbreak, because it means Shen Wei intended to sacrifice himself.
  
  So, as a final gracenote, Shen Wei sends Zhao Yunlan the pendant, with its lollipop wrapper inside, and that changes everything. It says, "I have always loved you." It says, "I would never have left you if there'd been another way." It means that Shen Wei's sacrifice includes giving up Zhao Yunlan, and it also includes Zhao Yunlan giving up Shen Wei.
  
  I think that's key. Zhao Yunlan hates sending other people to do the dangerous/scary/dirty work. He always has to be in the line of fire. And here, with this gesture, Shen Wei has made this a sacrifice that they share. It allows Zhao Yunlan to feel compassion and connection, rather than (or as well as) grief and loss.
  
  So he's able to smile through his tears and affirm his support of this course of action: Suppress the heart of evil; spread the virtue of the kind.
  
  And Shen Wei smiles too. And it's goddamned perfect.



• I really need to stress again just how in synch they are. That smile, shared between Shen Wei at the top of the stairs and Zhao Yunlan down on the floor of the throne room - and also, Zhao Yunlan quoting what we just heard as Shen Wei's own last words: "Suppress the heart of evil, spread the virtue of the kind." He knows exactly what Shen Wei was thinking of, in the end. They know each other, to the core, and that in itself, despite everything, is a comfort. &hearts,
  
  And only then does Shen Wei turns around, and he and Ye Zun walk towards the open arch.


• A brief cut to Haixing shows people waking up - we're firmly back in the real world, and the story is proceeding. In Dixing, everything is shaking, and Lin Jing is half-dragging Zhao Yunlan through a street. The others are nowhere to be seen, but Zhao Yunlan is carrying the Lantern. (For a reason, of course. With intent, as we'll see.) Lin Jing warns that Ye Zun before his death drained all of Dixing's energy, and the whole planet may be destroyed.
  
  And so, when he briefly leaves Zhao Yunlan to go to find the others, Zhao Yunlan knows what he needs to do. We've just had reinforced again just how much Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are in synch - and now it's Zhao Yunlan's time to sacrifice. Because the villain is defeated, but the world is not yet saved: in the end, it takes the two of them both to truly save the day.


• The cross-temporal videocall connects again. What must it be like for Ma Gui and Fu You, seeing Zhao Yunlan go from how he was in the Yashou cave to this? (What must it be like, when they meet him back in YOHE, to know this is where this man is going? No wonder their faith in him is so strong, knowing what he'll be willing to give.)
  
  Zhao Yunlan: "Cut the crap. I'm just asking you, can I do it or not?"
  Ma Gui: "You already know that."
  
  I always think Ma Gui sounds somewhat surprised when he says this - but then, from his perspective, he and Fu You were just about to explain the wick to Zhao Yunlan when the videocall cut out. And now Zhao Yunlan clearly knows about it. (And if his surprise isn't at Zhao Yunlan's knowledge, but at Zhao Yunlan's question - well, of course he thinks it's obvious that Zhao Yunlan can do it! Only Zhao Yunlan would doubt his own worth like that. *g*)


• Like Shen Wei before him, he doesn't make his choice lightly. But like Shen Wei before him, he can't see any other way: "The state I'm in, I'm not going to last long anyway. If don't die, we'll all die together anyway. The point of creating the Holy Tools back then was to protect people around you, right?"


• As amedia pointed out on discord, this videocall means that Ma Gui and Fu You know Zhao Yunlan is already dead by the time they meet Kunlun! And they know he sacrifices himself. No wonder their confidence in him is so strong.


• In flashback, Zhang Shi explains the secret of the Guardian Lantern: "The Guardian Lantern is literally the lantern for subduing evil in an honourable way, and its essence is sacrifice. If [the/a] wick cannot be found anywhere, then a warrior needs to devote his own body to become the essence that lights this solitary flame, so that the Holy Tools can play their part after all. (...) So far, no one has tried it out. But one thing is certain. After sacrificing himself, this warrior will revive and die again countless times suffering pain far worse and persisting than burning up in raging flames."
  
  (The "revive and die again" bit is an idiom, 死去活来, that according to the dictionary usually means something like hovering between life and death. And Zhang Shi is very self-contradictory here, saying both that this hasn't been done before and that he knows for certain how it'll go ...)
  
  Zhao Yunlan laughs: "Who'd be such an idiot?" Because he already knows what he's ready to do if necessary, already sees it coming - how could he face that, if not by laughing off the seriousness of it?
  
  But now there's no pretence left, and no talking around the subject either: "Zhao Yunlan, Zhao Yunlan ... Never would have expected you'd have the great honour of burning yourself to bring light to others."


• Just as Zhao Yunlan had his part to play in Shen Wei's final moments ("I believe in him," he said, and was right), Shen Wei is present in Zhao Yunlan's last moments as well. Zhao Yunlan pulls out Shen Wei's pendant and remembers Shen Wei saying (voiceover) "I believe in that moment you will have your answer" - the same answer Zhao Yunlan is about to give - and clutching the pendant in his hand, Zhao Yunlan looks at the lantern.
  
  
  
  It lights up, then falls from his hand as he slumps.
  
  They are still in perfect synch. Their sacrifice is the same, and they're sharing it. ♥


• The Dixing clock strikes. The sky turns bright. The clock hand moves. Dixing celebrates.
  
  
  
  Because in the end they won. They saved everyone, and made the world a better place. ♥ ♥ ♥

The Aftermath:

It doesn't end here, of course. It could - it's an ending - but it doesn't: the story keeps going, through the grief and the rebuilding. Life continues. Because of what Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan did, new stories can begin. I really like that the drama gives us this much of the world afterwards!

• It starts with grief, and separation. With Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan dead, separately, for all the connection between them. With the SID returns to Haixing with Zhao Yunlan's body, and a scene in which they're all standing around him, crying or close to tears, unwilling to let go. (Zhu Hong holds his hand; Da Qing has his hands on his arm ...)
  
  "This is the price of redemption," says Chu Shuzhi.


• Fourth Uncle, who was waiting for them at the portal under the locust tree, tells them the passage in Yashou territory has already shut down.
  
  Chu Shuzhi spells out the theme of separation: "This means that from now on, Dixing and us are really two unrelated worlds."
  
  He's implying that the passage by the locust tree has also now closed for good, even if it's not explicitly said - and it doesn't even matter here if it's literally true, because in that moment it is, emotionally and symbolically. Dixing and Haixing are separated, mirroring the way Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan have been separated, the way the SID team has been separated from them.


• (Regardless, the supposed separation between Dixing and Haixing is the one thing I really don't like about the ending - it's no sort of answer to the questions the show poses. But honestly, I can't actually believe it's permanent, no more than I can with Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan.)


• A year passes, and we get a series of glimpses into the future:
  
  
  
  
  • Cong Bo tries to flirt with Cheng Xinyan by treating the hospital as a bed-and breakfast - a light-hearted, comedic scene, because the world keeps going, life keeps going, and we can't dwell on grief forever.
  
  
  • Likewise, at the Ministry, things are going well. Guo Ying is Minister now, and former Minister Gao is his secretary. He presents Zhao Xinci with a report on the post-disaster reconstruction, and Li Qian - now director of the lab - presents the monthly report of research results. She also remarks on Zhao Xinci looking much better and not having moments of confusion any more - he's not struggling with Zhang Shi any more.
    
    And Minister Guo's greatest worry at the moment isn't anything life-or-death - it's a date he and his wife arranged for their nephew. It's Guo Changcheng's first date ever!
  
  
  • On said date, Guo Changcheng is awkward and clumsy, but the woman he's meeting finds him cute. She both calls him a hero for working with the SID, and wants him to stop working in that field.
    
    But Xiao-Guo isn't alone - Lao-Chu has been sitting closeby. And he's not best pleased when Xioa-guo deflects the praise and calls himself a nobody, but when she asks him about no longer working at the SID, he's had enough. He drags Guo Changcheng out and shouts at him: "You have endured so much, and never gave up. Why don't you have any self-confidence?" Then complains about the woman trying to poach him from the SID.
    
    Chu Shuzhi walks away, grinning - and Xiao-Guo grins too, then runs after him. Because these two, too, understand each other. And some things never change. *g*
  
  
  • All is well with the Yashou too! The three tribe leaders are arguing, but in a good-natured way, when Zhu Hong interrupts them: "Argue, argue, always arguing! Aren't you fed up, arguing for dozens of years? I, your High Chief, I'm the one who had a crush on the Lord Guardian, and was the Black-Cloaked Envoy's rival for his love. I've come here during my day off in order to host the meeting. It's not easy, okay?"
    
    And everyone smiles, even Ya Qing. The crisis has ended, but they're still on the same side, still working together. And working on making the future better, as Zhu Hong announces: "Seeking peace, pursuing development. I hereby open the Yashou convention for internal reform and advanced exchange of ideas."
  
  
  • Also, despite censorship (I don't know how it slipped through!) Zhu Hong's remark is explicit in naming what's between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, actually spelling out that this is (as is of course obvious) a love story. To have that acknowledgment spelled out in a Chinese drama is still amazing to me. ♥
  
  
  • The Yashou clapping at Zhu Hong's announcement blends into clapping outside the SID, and a celebratory scene - but here we're stepping back from progress and back into the price for all this: because the man receiving the applause may look like Zhao Yunlan, but you can tell from the way he moves his body, from the way he speaks, that something's wrong there. It's almost him, but not quite.
    
    And the flashback shows us Zhao Yunlan talking to Zhang Shi - shows us how that conversation ended: with Zhao Yunlan asking Zhang Shi to, if it comes to that, take his place. "Take my place and live my life well. Respect my elders, be kind to my friends, protect the people. Dragon City needs a decent guardian angel. It's fine. I also hope someone can make up for all my regrets in the first half of my life."
    
    Because Zhao Yunlan did not just sacrifice himself to the Lantern - did not just plan to and have this ready, from the moment he stepped into Dixing (just like Shen Wei with his own contingency plan!) - he also planned for what should happen after. *sniffles*
  
  
  • I don't think he took into account how awful this would be for his friends, though - how hard it would be, to watch someone else walk around in Zhao Yunlan's body, pretending to be him. (I think, despite everything, even at the end, Zhao Yunlan still underestimated his impact on people, and how much he meant to them.)
  
  
  • Zhao Yunlan hugging Zhang Shi after this conversation makes it all the more clear, IMO, that the hug in episode 38was indeed meant for Zhao Xinci - he'd already done this with Zhang Shi.
  
  
  • Zhang Shi delivers his final evaluation: "Only two kinds of people don't fear death. One, the ones who know what's on the other side. No fear, no dread. Second, the ones who know what life is originally for. No complaints, no regrets. The reason why the Guardian Lantern is called so is not only because it guards against evil, but also guards against our own restless minds. Yunlan, all your sacrifices were worth it."
  
  
  • Another look at the people left behind: Lin Jing and Da Qing in Zhao Yunlan's flat, each with a framed photo - Lin Jing has one of Shen Wei; Da Qing one of Zhao Yunlan. The grief is still so very present. (And it's not as if Lin Jing has been particularly close to Shen Wei - but given the part he played at the very end, it's no surprise Shen Wei's loss weighs on him a lot!( But life has been good, says Da Qing, smooth and steady - "eating, sleeping, hitting Lin Jing" - and also, he has this sense ...
    
    Da Qing: "It sounds weird, but I still feel that, Lao-Zhao, you - I mean the real you - are still out there somewhere looking at us."
  
  
  • Our final glimpse of the future is Guo Changcheng, walking into the SID and greeting many new people (I counted nine, only two of them women) and being greeted as Guo-qianbei. He writes in his diary: "A new story will be written from today."

The Epilogue:

And that should be the end, right? According to Guo Changcheng, from here on it'll be a new story - but immediately afterwards, no, we return to Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan: the old story is far from over. ♥

• In the same kind of Hallows-space we saw inside the wormhole during the time travel, Zhao Yunlan is looking at Shen Wei's back as the soundtrack plays "Flying Across Time". (Not the duet sung by Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu, but this version by Li Qi.) They're both wearing the clothes they were wearing that day at the university when Zhao Yunlan saw Shen Wei for the first time, and Shen Wei finally found Kunlun again. Something's coming full circle.
  
  (And yet, we know this is only one of their firsts. Also only one of their endings? *g*)


• "You're here," says Shen Wei, not turning around at first - I don't think his self-control is quite up to it.
  
  Zhao Yunlan laughs, the way he does when he can't quite bear the seriousness of a moment. "Are you leaving?"
  
  "Any life will fade away," Shen Wei says. Because this is an ending - this, like the liminal space where he reconciled with Ye Zun, isn't something that'll last. "At least our choices made a difference."
  
  Zhao Yunlan's heart and grief are in his eyes, but yes - they both agree on that, teary as they are: they don't have regrets about what they did, no matter how much they wish they could have achieved their end without paying this price.
  
  Shen Wei finally turns around. His eyes are wet, and he's smiling, and hanging on to his composure by a thread. "Let's make a bet."
  
  Zhao Yunlan isn't doing any better. "What kind of bet?"
  
  "A bet that no matter how long it takes, no matter where we go, there will be a day when you and I meet again." As he says this, Shen Wei steps ever closer to Zhao Yunlan. They're so very close, and yet not touching.
  
  (And unlike the reunion in the wormhole after YOHE, it makes complete sense to me here that they wouldn't - I don't think they could keep it together otherwise. ♥ ♥ ♥)
  
  "Deal," says Zhao Yunlan.
  
  They smile at each other. And the image fades out on the two of them still standing close, looking at each other, not yet separated, after all, as the last line of the song plays:
  
  跨越时间我在原地
  
  (The translations vary, from "Flying across time, I stay where I am" to "Leaping over time, I'm still at that same place". I don't know which is the best one. But either way, it's very much about not letting go. The entire song is about nothing else: separation and holding on.)
  
  
  
  
  
  


• In short, in my opinion, the entire ending, despite its tragedy, is full of hope and promise and possibility.
  
  Shen Wei's and Zhao Yunlan's sacrifices are, to me, narratively satisfying, thematically fitting, uplifting in that "wringing victory from disaster" kind of way, and moreover, always about them. The drama centres them and their relationship, their love, and even their death and separation also only serves to highlight their closeness - and still remains so hopeful for the two of them as well. Honestly, the idea that they could actually remain separated forever never even occurred to me. The bet Shen Wei proposes reads very much as a narrative promise to me, and I don't need to see it happening to be sure that it will.


• I would love a sequel, though, if it turned out as good as this!
  
  And absent a sequel, I'll take all the fic. The story, either way, will keep on going. ♥ ♥ ♥

Discussion starters:

• How do you feel about the final episode? Which part is your favourite? Which line?


• Those dementor-like black energy swirls that seem to make everyone in Dragon City pass out are also seen in Dixing. Do you think all of Dixing passed out, too? How close did Ye Zun come to just swallowing everyone?
  
  (If the same thing happened in Dixing, that might explain why the people storming towards the palace with the bartender never seem to arrive ...)


• If Shen Wei had known about Ye Zun's reasons for hating him, do you think there would have been a way to make him listen and actually believe the truth?


• How do you think Shen Wei feels about Ye Zun, at the end? After everything Ye Zun did, can he really just forgive him? And does Ye Zun regret any of it?


• What do you think happened at the palace after Ye Zun died, to separate Lin Jing and Zhao Yunlan from the others?


• "You'll die," Da Qing says when Zhao Yunlan injects himself with the serum. Is that just worry, or would he really have died? He's definitely not doing great before his sacrifice, spitting blood and all ...


• Do you think what Zhang Shi says about what happens to the person who sacrifices themselves to the Lantern is true? How can he know?


• How do you think the SID team copes with Zhang Shi impersonating Zhoo Yunlan? Can they even stand to be around him?


• Zhao Xinci, relieved of the burden of sharing his mind with Zhang Shi, seems so much lighter, despite his son being dead. How do you think he copes with everything?


• Do you think Haixing and Dixing are truly separated? Will the passages open again?


• How do you think Dixing copes with the change the light brings? It can't all be celebration ...


• And in Haixing - what happens to the Dixingren trapped there, unable to go back? The ones who were already there, and the ones who were sent by Ye Zun? And the people who were given the serum? How does society change, now that the secrets about black energy powers and Dixing and so on are all out in the open? What effect does all of this have on the position of the Yashou?


• Any theories about why the SID has so many new members? What is their mission, if Dixing can no longer be reached?


• Finally - what's your favourite way of letting Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan find each other again? There are so many possibilities!

Let's talk about episode 40!
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!

Comments

[trobadora]

I never really understood this part. Why do they pass out? Maybe it's the Nightmare Master's power, putting everyone to sleep?

I figured he was starting to devour their energies, so they were weakened and passed out. But because there are so many at once, they're not actually harmed yet (but would have been, if he hadn't been stopped).

I like your suggestion in the discussion starters that it might have disrupted the storming of the palace (but I wish they'd shown us that).

Agreed, I wish they'd shown it too!

(Also, so weird that the SID are still sombre and grieving, but Zhao Xinci is laughing and being outgoing. Hm.)

Yes! I always hold that against him, tbh. YOUR SON IS DEAD, how about you show you care???

The black veins look so much like his former dark-energy corruption, 20 episodes ago, that I find it hard to remember the serum is activating light-energy powers.

I think black energy and white energy aren't actually very different, just different polarities so to speak, so they look very similar, even if white energy is natural to Haixingren and therefore not inherently corrupting. (But black energy can harm Dixingren, so white energy can harm Haixingren, too.)

Yes, his appetite for literal energy and his megalomania seem to feed off each other, in a way.

Yeah, that makes sense!

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!! I always love it when they don't even have to say a name to refer to the other. And I love how Zhao Yunlan's bomb-defusing and Kunlun's "you still have me!" and gun-having have set a precedent -- that when Shen Wei needs backup, Zhao Yunlan will come through. Between them, they can do anything (albeit at extreme cost). *hearts forever and ever*

SO SO MUCH LOVE.

Do you think he's just stalling? I wonder if he's still looking for a way to persuade Ye Zun to stand down, somehow.

I don't think he's hoping to persuade Ye Zun of anything, at this point, tbh - I think he's pretty clear that Ye Zun isn't reachable. IMO he's stalling, hoping to buy enough time until either the serum powers kick in or he comes up with another idea for what to try.

Yes, what perfect personifications of cheating, betrayal, and abandonment. /sarcasm

Haha, right? These three of all people! Ye Zun really is incapable of seeing what's in front of his nose, and the drama is very clear on that.

Da Qing immediately understands Xiao Guo's plan and moves into position. \o/

Yes! I really love the teamwork in this. ♥

And also, it's very convenient how the Awl doesn't give Zhao Yunlan debilitating visions this time. The Hallows are not on Team Ye Zun. *g*

Haha, too true, that would have been extremely inconvenient. (Though they could have given him useful future visions for once! Hmmm ...)

What he must be thinking and feeling!! Having helped Shen Wei kill himself, and then having to face Zhao Yunlan!! :-((( (Oh, this feels like an echo of his originally being a spy for Professor Ouyang; here, he's obeyed a different respected professor, going against what Zhao Yunlan (on the face of it, given a choice) would have wanted.) (I wonder if Lin Jing ever tells anyone what actually happened. I feel like he could use a therapist.)

Poor, poor Lin Jing. He did the right thing, but it must have cost him so much. I don't know if he ever felt like he could tell anyone. He definitely could use someone to talk to!

It must be such a incredible relief to know that Ye Zun's eating Shen Wei was part of Shen Wei's plan, and not a terrible failure to protect on Zhao Yunlan's own part!!!

Oh, yes, that's an excellent point, I hadn't looked at it from quite that angle!

For some reason, I'd got it into my head that it was the SID motto. This works better, I think. ♥ (Though of course the SID have adopted it anyway, in spirit if not in letter.)

Yeah, they're all very much on the same page about this by now!

I know this is supposed to be redemption, but man, he's still so broken and self-absorbed. We never see him get to the point of "and I did allllll those terrible things to other people, I was so wrong, augh!" There isn't really time, but wow, Shen Wei's forgiveness is generosity and grace itself. ;-p

I don't think it's quite redemption, but it's the breakdown he needs to be even capable of redemption. He can't change unless he realises his entire worldview was based on nonsense. And he's shattered when he realises, but he needs to be so he can put himself together again. Agreed that it would take much more time than there is, for him to reach the point where he can even think half-way clearly about any of it.

Shen Wei was willing to extend some degree of forgiveness even before that - before they clear up the misunderstanding - and yeah, it's very generous, but Shen Wei loves his brother despite everything, and Ye Zun is so broken, and it's much easier now they're dead and Ye Zun can't harm anyone again. *g*

I always think he's so scared and horrified by the prospect he has to scoff and make a joke of it. *hearts him*

Yes, this!

That is such a great way of putting it. I love that. And yeah, like you, I feel like that means it can't be permanent, because the separation between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan isn't permanent.

♥ ♥ ♥ So glad that made sense to you! It didn't quite come together like this for me until I was writing this post, but now I can't see it any other way.

I adore that she uses this as a credential. *g*

Right? It always makes me go "awwww, Zhu Hong ♥".

Ohh, that's such a good point! They both had plans. Of course, given their natures, Shen Wei's was more long-standing and strategic, and Zhao Yunlan's was more improvisational. Ahhhh, I LOVE THEM!!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS I love them so much too, and I think it's honestly brilliant that they both had self-sacrificial plans because it shows just how much they're the same, and how well they understand each other.

Yeah, agreed. He came a long way from the start of canon, but he'll probably never fully get it. *blames Zhao Xinci for that, so much*

Yeah. *sighs*

I always feel like this hug is him clinging because he's so scared and he needs a parent figure to comfort him and bolster his courage. *cries*

Yeah, to some degree! And, honestly, the same with his hug with Zhao Xinci before he leaves for Dixing, because he's going with this plan in his head ...

Ha, yes, one of the first things that happens in the show is Professor Ouyang saying Shen Wei should meet his protege, and in the end, Lin Jing did Shen Wei a service that -- who else could have done it (without it breaking them completely)? Maybe it had to be someone with regard for him but some distance?

Oof. Maybe? I'm not sure..

What's qianbei? Is it like "senior"?

Yes, it translates to "senior". :)

This time, from the way everyone is addressing him and taking his presence so seriously, I wondered if Guo Changcheng is actually running the SID, and Zhang Shi is more of a figurehead.

That would only work if all of Guo Changcheng's seniors aren't at the SID any more, though? I don't think Chu Shuzhi would leave Guo Changcheng alone at the SID, and I don't think Guo Changcheng would accept a promotion over Chu Shuzhi's head. Also, Da Qing is clearly still at the SID going by his conversation with Lin Jing, and Lin Jing still calls him "deputy". And going by the way Zhu Hong talks about her day off, she may still be working at the SID, too ...

Honestly, I think it's just that the old guard, i.e. everyone who was at the SID during the Ye Zun crisis, are all regarded as big damn heroes by the newbies - and rightfully so.

He breaks my heart in this scene. He's trying so hard to be his usual glib self, but he just can't get there. He can't even manage a full smile. It all matters too much.

Yeah, SO SO MUCH, all of this. They're both just about holding it together, hanging on by a thread.

I think it's really interesting that it's Shen Wei who kind of leads the conversation, too, and Shen Wei who offers the bet. If it had come from Zhao Yunlan, it would just have been bravado and wishful thinking, but Shen Wei has all this existential theory at his fingertips, as much scholarship as he could accumulate. And he doesn't say it like it's just a fairy tale to comfort. I think he does truly believe there's a chance. After all, how many other impossible things have the Hallows achieved?

Yes, 100% agreed on all of this! Coming from Shen Wei, it doesn't read like bravado to me at all. And as you say, so many seemingly impossible things have already happened, and they have just managed to wring victory from disaster when all seemed lost - why not one more time?

Personally, I prefer the "At least our choices were meaningful" translation. Because to me what matters was that they tried their hardest and gave it everything, rather than that they succeeded. Even if they'd failed, I think there'd be comfort in knowing they did absolutely everything they could. You know?

Yeah, good point! That all completely makes sense to me. So much love! ♥

(Uhh, this is already super long. I may end up making three comments for this ep. *g*)

I won't complain! ♥ ♥ ♥

[china_shop]

I figured he was starting to devour their energies, so they were weakened and passed out. But because there are so many at once, they're not actually harmed yet (but would have been, if he hadn't been stopped).

Ohh, interesting take! For some reason, I thought the energy was going into people, not coming out of them. But your reading totally works...

Yes! I always hold that against him, tbh. YOUR SON IS DEAD, how about you show you care???

Maybe grieving is something he saves for in private? I mean, a year has passed, I think? He doesn't have to be miserable all the time. (It is still a weird contrast, though. Maybe a symptom of father and son having achieved closure before Zhao Yunlan died...)

I think black energy and white energy aren't actually very different, just different polarities so to speak, so they look very similar, even if white energy is natural to Haixingren and therefore not inherently corrupting.

Hm, but Changcheng's white energy, powering the Hallows, was visible and identifiable from the streets of Dixing. (I'm pretty happy to remain vague about all of this, tbh. *g*)

I don't think he's hoping to persuade Ye Zun of anything, at this point, tbh - I think he's pretty clear that Ye Zun isn't reachable. IMO he's stalling, hoping to buy enough time until either the serum powers kick in or he comes up with another idea for what to try.

*nodnod* Yeah, I think you're right. I retract my earlier wondering. *g*

Though they could have given him useful future visions for once! Hmmm ...

But like what, though? Other than showing him the better world he can contribute to by sacrificing himself, and I think I like it better that he does that on faith.

Shen Wei was willing to extend some degree of forgiveness even before that - before they clear up the misunderstanding - and yeah, it's very generous, but Shen Wei loves his brother despite everything, and Ye Zun is so broken, and it's much easier now they're dead and Ye Zun can't harm anyone again. *g*

Yeah. It's just, like, five minutes ago Ye Zun was torturing Zhao Yunlan and eating people. But you're right, it's pre-redemption, and the show is very clear that forgiveness can come before atonement -- that was the case with Ya Qing, too.

I think it's honestly brilliant that they both had self-sacrificial plans because it shows just how much they're the same, and how well they understand each other.

Yes!! Two sides of the same coin. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Yes, it translates to "senior". :)

Thanks!

That would only work if all of Guo Changcheng's seniors aren't at the SID any more, though? I don't think Chu Shuzhi would leave Guo Changcheng alone at the SID, and I don't think Guo Changcheng would accept a promotion over Chu Shuzhi's head. Also, Da Qing is clearly still at the SID going by his conversation with Lin Jing, and Lin Jing still calls him "deputy". And going by the way Zhu Hong talks about her day off, she may still be working at the SID, too ...

I get what you're saying about the old guard, and the respect they're due, and that makes a lot of sense. But I still think this could work. I don't think Lin Jing or Da Qing would be the least bit interested in or suited to being official or de facto chief. Zhu Hong has plenty of other stuff on her plate, and the Yashou might see it as a conflict of interest, given this SID is primarily a human agency. That leaves Chu Shuzhi, who again, I don't think would enjoy or be very good at the bureaucracy side of things... I could even seen the farce in ep 15(?) with Guo Changcheng pretending to be Zhao Yunlan as a kind of foreshadowing, a little bit.

Yes, 100% agreed on all of this! Coming from Shen Wei, it doesn't read like bravado to me at all.

Right? The show made him a scientist for a reason! ;-p

[trobadora]

Ohh, interesting take! For some reason, I thought the energy was going into people, not coming out of them. But your reading totally works...

Whenever he eats someone, it often looks to me like he's reaching out with his black energy to pull their energy in. (Not always, though - sometimes he seems to just breathe them in. *g*)

Maybe grieving is something he saves for in private? I mean, a year has passed, I think? He doesn't have to be miserable all the time. (It is still a weird contrast, though. Maybe a symptom of father and son having achieved closure before Zhao Yunlan died...)

I agree he doesn't have to be miserable all the time! But yeah, so weird, and I really would have liked to see a sign of grief from him.

Hm, but Changcheng's white energy, powering the Hallows, was visible and identifiable from the streets of Dixing. (I'm pretty happy to remain vague about all of this, tbh. *g*)

Heh. I think the "identifiable" part was only to the people who themselves have black energy, though? But of course it all comes down to them using the same/very similar visual effects.

But like what, though?

I have no idea either! But it was more of a canon divergence thought, not meant to tie in to canon as it happened.

and the show is very clear that forgiveness can come before atonement

Yes! And I do like that as a trait of the good guys, offering forgiveness where possible. ♥

But I still think this could work.

Sorry, I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this, because it's a scenario that really doesn't work for me at all.

Right? The show made him a scientist for a reason! ;-p

YES!!!!!! :D

[china_shop]

I think the "identifiable" part was only to the people who themselves have black energy, though?

I thought the energy they were looking at was visibly white and black. *checks* Yeah, there's two columns of energy going up -- one black, one white.

Alternate visions:
I have no idea either! But it was more of a canon divergence thought, not meant to tie in to canon as it happened.

Ahh, guidance for how to save everyone? That would be cool as a fixit. (I mean, the Hallows could totally have just imprisoned Ye Zun again, though that wouldn't have actually solved things long term.)

[trobadora]

I thought the energy they were looking at was visibly white and black. *checks* Yeah, there's two columns of energy going up -- one black, one white.

Yeah, but actual black energy (as wielded by various Dixingren and Yashou) has all kinds of different colour effects too, so I don't think that's conclusive.

Ahh, guidance for how to save everyone? That would be cool as a fixit. (I mean, the Hallows could totally have just imprisoned Ye Zun again, though that wouldn't have actually solved things long term.)

Yeah, something like that! I'd honestly love to read that kind of fix-it. (Agreed, just Hallows-imprisoning him again would only have postponed the problem, not really solved it.)