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sid_guardian2024-02-04 06:13 pm
trobadora) wrote in sid_guardian2024-02-04 06:13 pm
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Picspam: Shen Wei's Pendant
For an object with such significance (both for Shen Wei and for the drama *g*), we actually see very little of it!
Our first glimpse is in episode 2, when Shen Wei heals himself from the claw wounds the Shadow Man gave him. For the most part, we only see the cord - the pendant itself is only visible briefly and from a distance:
There is a promo pic that shows it more clearly, but the pendant has the wrong colour! I wonder at what point they changed it, and whether the healing scene being filmed with the wrong colour is why we never see it up close. (They might have coloured it after the fact for the wide shot?)
At any rate, I quite like that we first see it only from a distance, with no emphasis and no hint that it might be significant!
In episode 3, Shen Wei touches the pendant after burning the thank you message from Zhang Ruonan and Wang Yike:
But the next time we see the pendant itself is in episodes 6/7, during the mugging - where Shen Wei is willing to let the muggers have their way rather than fight them right until they try to touch his pendant:
And later in episode 7, he'll once again touch the pendant through his shirt, after administering ointment to Zhao Yunlan's arm:
Episode 9 gives us two tantalising glimpses that remind us of the pendant without letting us see it directly - one time Shen Wei's shirt isn't fully buttoned, and one time we can see the bump of the pendant through his shirt:
Episode 12 again lets us see the pendant clearly and in close-up as Shen Wei, after letting Lin Jing measure his brainwaves, contemplates whether telling the truth to Zhao Yunlan would put him in more danger:
I'd like to note that the close-up here is the first time we can sort of, almost see the pendant is made of two halves!
After that, for a while there's not much pendant at all. However, in episode 26 we get another contemplative scene after Shen Wei covers a sleeping Zhao Yunlan with his jacket and sits on the couch table to watch him:
Again, at least if you already know, it's pretty visible in the close-up here that the pendant has two halves. *g*
In episode 39, as Shen Wei jumps in front of Zhao Yunlan to take Ye Zun's black energy hit for him, the pendant is again visible - in a bit of a continuity error:
The pendant goes from hanging free to being tucked under Shen Wei's shirt to hanging free again. *g*
But the most significant pendant pics are of course the ones at the very end, in episode 40 - where it's Zhao Yunlan with the pendant.
First, there's the gorgeous scene in which Shen Wei, already dead, still sends Zhao Yunlan his pendant as a final gesture, and Zhao Yunlan opens it and learns what Shen Wei has been carrying with him all this time, and they share a moment of perfect understanding as Zhao Yunlan quotes exactly what Shen Wei quoted too as his last lines:
And then, as Zhao Yunlan prepares for his own sacrifice, he takes out the pendant again, remembering:
And here, for what I think is the first and only time, and even then really only briefly, we can see the swirl of the lollipop wrapper through the closed pendant! (I never noticed this until the recent rewatch!)
Talk to me about the pendant! Which is your favourite pendant scene? Did I forget any important moments? Please share! ♥
Our first glimpse is in episode 2, when Shen Wei heals himself from the claw wounds the Shadow Man gave him. For the most part, we only see the cord - the pendant itself is only visible briefly and from a distance:
There is a promo pic that shows it more clearly, but the pendant has the wrong colour! I wonder at what point they changed it, and whether the healing scene being filmed with the wrong colour is why we never see it up close. (They might have coloured it after the fact for the wide shot?)
At any rate, I quite like that we first see it only from a distance, with no emphasis and no hint that it might be significant!
In episode 3, Shen Wei touches the pendant after burning the thank you message from Zhang Ruonan and Wang Yike:
But the next time we see the pendant itself is in episodes 6/7, during the mugging - where Shen Wei is willing to let the muggers have their way rather than fight them right until they try to touch his pendant:
And later in episode 7, he'll once again touch the pendant through his shirt, after administering ointment to Zhao Yunlan's arm:
Episode 9 gives us two tantalising glimpses that remind us of the pendant without letting us see it directly - one time Shen Wei's shirt isn't fully buttoned, and one time we can see the bump of the pendant through his shirt:
Episode 12 again lets us see the pendant clearly and in close-up as Shen Wei, after letting Lin Jing measure his brainwaves, contemplates whether telling the truth to Zhao Yunlan would put him in more danger:
I'd like to note that the close-up here is the first time we can sort of, almost see the pendant is made of two halves!
After that, for a while there's not much pendant at all. However, in episode 26 we get another contemplative scene after Shen Wei covers a sleeping Zhao Yunlan with his jacket and sits on the couch table to watch him:
Again, at least if you already know, it's pretty visible in the close-up here that the pendant has two halves. *g*
In episode 39, as Shen Wei jumps in front of Zhao Yunlan to take Ye Zun's black energy hit for him, the pendant is again visible - in a bit of a continuity error:
The pendant goes from hanging free to being tucked under Shen Wei's shirt to hanging free again. *g*
But the most significant pendant pics are of course the ones at the very end, in episode 40 - where it's Zhao Yunlan with the pendant.
First, there's the gorgeous scene in which Shen Wei, already dead, still sends Zhao Yunlan his pendant as a final gesture, and Zhao Yunlan opens it and learns what Shen Wei has been carrying with him all this time, and they share a moment of perfect understanding as Zhao Yunlan quotes exactly what Shen Wei quoted too as his last lines:
And then, as Zhao Yunlan prepares for his own sacrifice, he takes out the pendant again, remembering:
And here, for what I think is the first and only time, and even then really only briefly, we can see the swirl of the lollipop wrapper through the closed pendant! (I never noticed this until the recent rewatch!)
Talk to me about the pendant! Which is your favourite pendant scene? Did I forget any important moments? Please share! ♥
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I vaguely remember a few fics that did something with the pendant's creation years ago, but I couldn't find them again now.
Honestly, I don't have any strong headcanons, but I'd love to see more fic that dealt with this somehow!
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I always imagined the Hallows just put him in stasis until he was needed again to complete the time loop - my headcanon is that he woke up around the time Zhao Yunlan was born.
And OMG, yes, Shen Wei seeing those lollipops in a shop somewhere! SO MANY FEELINGS OMG.
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I wrote a ficlet about that topic for the Guardian Wishlist exchange a couple years ago: The Pendant.
I would LOVE to see more fic that deals with this topic!!!
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There should be a pendant challenge, where everyone has to create something pendant-related. :D
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It certainly feels like there should be more pendant origin fic, doesn't it?
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LOL, now I'm imagining it as part of his outfit re-design. The palace costumier telling him, "No one wears belt pouches anymore," and Shen Wei thinking that he has to carry it with him somehow, and then taking a tour of the Dixing glass factory and seeing all the things they can make... :D
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There should be a pendant challenge, where everyone has to create something pendant-related. :D OOOOOH YESSSSS!
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(Imagine if they found amber with a lollipop wrapper inside ... Hee!)
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ETA: Maybe it's Dixing glass!?
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BUT now that you say it, I'm 100% in favour of declaring it Dixing glass, because that is PERFECT. Problem solved! :p
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But the next time we see the pendant itself is in episodes 6/7, during the mugging - where Shen Wei is willing to let the muggers have their way rather than fight them right until they try to touch his pendant
This is such a great way to show how significant it is. Shen Wei is doing his very best not to hurt the muggers, or even resist, even when they're assaulting him, but the sanctity of the pendant is his hard line. <3
and one time we can see the bump of the pendant through his shirt
My favourite detail! I wonder if it piques ZYL's interest. *g* (Ooh, when does ZYL become aware of the pendant? He must know about it for the ending to land properly. Do you think he gets a glimpse when Shen Wei's undressing for Lin Jing's experiment?)
As we noted during the rewatch, there's a lot of significant jewelry in the show, all of which helps to reinforce the importance of the pendant -- which is that, ultimately, it's an incredibly blatant physical token/manifestation of Shen Wei's love, which transcends death and means that Zhao Yunlan isn't alone when he comes to face his own sacrifice.
It's also one of the later reveals that makes rewatching so rewarding. I love how there are these hints of the depth of Shen Wei's feelings for Zhao Yunlan, but you can only really make sense of them once you have the full picture. <33333
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Right???
My favourite detail! I wonder if it piques ZYL's interest. *g* (Ooh, when does ZYL become aware of the pendant? He must know about it for the ending to land properly. Do you think he gets a glimpse when Shen Wei's undressing for Lin Jing's experiment?)
I wonder if he caught anything during the mugging? He arrives just at the end, but he might notice there's something around Shen Wei's neck. And ZYL might connect the bump visible on the way to the Hanga mountains to that? At any rate, Shen Wei does take off the pendant when he undresses for Lin Jing measuring his consciousness (since he's not wearing it when he's lying down in his undershirt), so Zhao Yunlan very likely got a glimpse of it there, yeah.
Also, the cord is visible more often than the pendant itself, so that might be enough to intrigue Zhao Yunlan? Since it doesn't seem to quite fit Shen Wei's professorial style otherwise?
As we noted during the rewatch, there's a lot of significant jewelry in the show, all of which helps to reinforce the importance of the pendant
Yes, I really love that! So well constructed!
ultimately, it's an incredibly blatant physical token/manifestation of Shen Wei's love, which transcends death and means that Zhao Yunlan isn't alone when he comes to face his own sacrifice.
SO MUCH LOVE OMG. (My favourite pendant scene is the one where Shen Wei sends it to Zhao Yunlan from beyond the grave!)
It's also one of the later reveals that makes rewatching so rewarding.
Yes! And that's what makes the little bump under Shen Wei's shirt so fabulous, because it's not drawn attention to, it's not something relevant to the scene, and if they'd skipped it it wouldn't really have mattered for the larger picture at all - but that it's there, that dedication to detail, that means so much and says so much about Guardian. ♥ ♥ ♥
I love how there are these hints of the depth of Shen Wei's feelings for Zhao Yunlan, but you can only really make sense of them once you have the full picture. <33333
Just like Zhao Yunlan himself can only understand fully after they've come full circle! :D
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Depends how much his attention is on the attackers, I guess?
Also, the cord is visible more often than the pendant itself, so that might be enough to intrigue Zhao Yunlan? Since it doesn't seem to quite fit Shen Wei's professorial style otherwise?
Yes, very true. I can imagine him dwelling on that. *g*
My favourite pendant scene is the one where Shen Wei sends it to Zhao Yunlan from beyond the grave!
Presumably entirely through the power of love! I mean, metaphysically, how else does that work?
Just like Zhao Yunlan himself can only understand fully after they've come full circle! :D
Yeah, when he sees the lollipop wrapper there... alksdfs;dlkfajsd;flksjdaf
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I mean, the last thing that happens before he interferes is that one of the muggers tries to take the pendant from Shen Wei's hand, and Shen Wei stops him.
Presumably entirely through the power of love! I mean, metaphysically, how else does that work?
Power of love works for me! And, well, shared energies and Hallows shenanigans are nice explanations that can account for a lot, but even so it's still the power of love, metaphorically and literally, because that's what binds them and what makes the gesture meaningful in the first place.
Yeah, when he sees the lollipop wrapper there... alksdfs;dlkfajsd;flksjdaf
SO MUCH LOVE FOR THAT, OMG.
And then Zhao Yunlan pulling out the pendant and remembering Shen Wei's words before giving himself to the lantern! Still so in synch even now! AHHHHHH *flails*
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YES. Beautifully put! <3
It's also one of the later reveals that makes rewatching so rewarding. I love how there are these hints of the depth of Shen Wei's feelings for Zhao Yunlan, but you can only really make sense of them once you have the full picture.
This is so, so true.
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(I wonder if he chose this kind of pendant deliberately, because of that resemblance?)
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The lollipop scene is one of my favorites.
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This... actually may not be a continuity error, looking at the enlarged pics. In the shot where Shen Wei is starting to fall, you can see that the pendant is actually hanging through a slash in his shirt and seems to still be doing so when he's on hands and knees. The earlier shot where it looks like it's tucked under his shirt doesn't show where the pendant itself is, just that the cord falls under the neck of his shirt. The orb may still be peeking out through that rip.
...this almost makes it worse than a continuity error, oh no, oh no. This is the lowest that we see the pendant hanging (usually it sits much higher on his chest, or at least where we see him touching) and now it's practically right over his heart. Ripped out, torn apart, baring his heart for all to see.
I'mma let myself out now before I make myself more sad.
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This is the lowest that we see the pendant hanging (usually it sits much higher on his chest, or at least where we see him touching) and now it's practically right over his heart. Ripped out, torn apart, baring his heart for all to see.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OMG, how does this show keep getting even better??????
That is so perfect, I can't even.
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I wonder if it was a planned thing, or if it was just serendipitous that it fell that way. Either way, oh my heart. (Oh, Shen Wei's heart.)
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But as you say, either way! SO MUCH LOVE.
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Aaah you are tearing my heart apart as well😭
I love this interpretation ♥
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(one of these days I really need to finish my fic about the pendant of pining)
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Oh. Oh, gosh. ;__;
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I never noticed that you can see the it through his shirt during the Hanga arc.
The pendant goes from hanging free to being tucked under Shen Wei's shirt to hanging free again.
It's actually poking through a hole in Shen Wei's shirt, if you zoom in on the third of the three images, you can see it.
as Zhao Yunlan prepares for his own sacrifice, he takes out the pendant again
This is my favourite pendant moment. Zhao Yunlan is taking out the pendant looking for comfort in the memento of his beloved, just like Shen Wei used to do.
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It's such a lovely little detail, and it draws zero attention to itself - just goes to show how dedicated they all were, putting this kind of almost-invisible effort into it. ♥ ♥ ♥
It's actually poking through a hole in Shen Wei's shirt, if you zoom in on the third of the three images, you can see it.
Damn, you're completely right, I didn't see that at all! You have much sharper eyes than me. But like
Zhao Yunlan is taking out the pendant looking for comfort in the memento of his beloved, just like Shen Wei used to do.
YESSSSSSSSSSS, it's so good!
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Absolutely it's the little things that count ♥
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Also just a quick observation as I looked at the lovely pictures, so much seriousness in Shen Wei's face when we're getting glimpses of the pendant! Which makes sense, since he uses it often as a touchstone to ease whatever big feelings he's feeling at the moment (Or so that's how I often saw it, a comfort sort of thing).
LOVE IT!
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And that's a great observation! Serious and pensive and turned inwards - and your description is gorgeous, I completely agree he's using it as a touchstone and a comfort. - And then at the end, Zhao Yunlan uses it in the same way! AHHH, seriously, SO MUCH LOVE.
Btw, thank you again for letting me make myself an icon of your gorgeous Lantern-and-Pendant artwork! ♥ ♥ ♥
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And OMG you are so welcome for the use of the artwork as an icon :D
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I quite like that we first see it only from a distance, with no emphasis and no hint that it might be significant!
I love that, too! The way the pendant and its importance is only fully revealed at the end is one of my favorite things in the show! <3 (Okay, I have a *lot* of favorite things in the show. :P But this is definitely one of them! XD)
My favorite pendant moment is at the end when Zhao Yunlan opens it. That was the moment that permanently sealed my love for this show. <3 The lollipop wrapper feelings! I will never be over this!
I never noticed the bump of the pendant under Shen Wei’s shirt in the Hanga arc! Ahh, that’s so wonderful. I love the details like this. There was no reason why Shen Wei had to be wearing the pendant when we weren’t going to see it in those scenes, but he’s wearing it anyway. <3 <3
Although the pendant isn't visible, I love that we see its cord hanging out of his pocket in the examination scene in episode 12:
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Yess! I almost died! It's so funny and so poignant, and it pays off that little moment of Shen Wei picking up the wrapper in YOHE, but in the most unexpected and romantic of ways. <333
I'd never noticed the cord hanging out of Shen Wei's pocket in episode 12 -- that's awesome!! Of course he wouldn't just leave it lying around with his clothes. :D :D :D
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Yes!!!!!! This!!!!!!
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Haha, yeah, that's how I feel! It's one of my favourite favourite things. *g*
My favorite pendant moment is at the end when Zhao Yunlan opens it. That was the moment that permanently sealed my love for this show. <3 The lollipop wrapper feelings! I will never be over this!
That is such a wonderful scene, yeah, I love it to pieces. Shen Wei sending the pendant! LOLLIPOP WRAPPER! The shared understanding - the quoted lines! Zhao Yunlan laughing through tears! OHHHH my heart. ♥ ♥ ♥
I love the details like this. There was no reason why Shen Wei had to be wearing the pendant when we weren’t going to see it in those scenes, but he’s wearing it anyway. <3 <3
Yes, exactly! There wouldn't have been anything wrong if he hadn't worn it; we'd just have assumed afterwards that it wasn't visible through his shirt. But like this - the dedication, the attention to detail, the gift to the viewers! So much love.
Although the pendant isn't visible, I love that we see its cord hanging out of his pocket in the examination scene in episode 12
OHHH that is an excellent catch, thank you for the addition! Yeah, makes complete sense that even if he had to take it off, he wouldn't just leave it somewhere.