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sid_guardian2024-10-07 10:50 am
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2024-10-07 10:50 am
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The "Xiao-Wei!" scene: a novel and drama comparison
Here's the scene from the book (vol. 2, ch 12-13).
At the words “Crow tribe,” Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei both stopped dead in their tracks.
At the same moment, a painfully hoarse voice rang out and interrupted Fourth Uncle. “Hold it!” Some note in that voice sounded inexplicably ominous.
Shen Wei pulled Zhao Yunlan behind him, gaze growing cold. A line of short, unremarkable-looking people in black robes stood in a neat row across the entrance to the Yao Market. Every one of them had pitch-black wings on their backs.
The Crow tribe had arrived.
“SHEN WEI!” Zhao Yunlan grabbed Shen Wei’s wrist. Even blind, there was no missing the piercing-cold killing intent that was suddenly radiating from him.
When Shen Wei spoke, his voice held no trace of his usual refinement. Instead, it was dark and ominous. “How dare the Crow tribe harm you? Wretched, ungrateful things! Even death by a thousand cuts or their total extinction could never make up for—”
Every syllable dripped with bloodlust, but his seething was broken off when Zhao Yunlan wrapped both arms around him. Instinctively, Shen Wei began to struggle fiercely, but then inspiration struck Zhao Yunlan.
“Xiao-Wei!” he exclaimed. Shen Wei went utterly still in his arms.
After a moment, Shen Wei turned and gave Zhao Yunlan a disbelieving look. Voice trembling, he said, “Wh-what did you call me…?”
“Shhh. Listen to me. Don’t move.” Zhao Yunlan closed his eyes and opened his Heavenly Eye. His perception through it had become a bit blurry, overwhelmed by the Yao Market surrounding them. He tugged Shen Wei slightly back, and the two of them blended into the crowd of yao.
Context in comparison to the drama:
- In the novel Weilan relationship, Zhao Yunlan doesn't really have those moments of deferring to the Envoy/Emissary that we see in the drama, eg, when Zheng Yi is taken away. He's more arrogant and manipulative (not that drama!Zhao Yunlan isn't also manipulative). He's also forging a romantic relationship with Shen Wei out of sheer will, as Shen Wei keeps holding back and trying to retreat (because he feels unworthy?). Unless I've forgotten something, they're not operating together politically like they do with Ye Huo or in other cases. Zhao Yunlan certainly hasn't introduced him to his superiors or officially recruited him.
- When Zhao Yunlan is blinded, he discovers he can see with his Heavenly Eye. This allows him to see people's merits and demerits, and he sees that everything Shen Wei does is a merit, but the merits are all immediately swallowed up by Shen Wei's darkness, rather than hanging around to bring him luck like they would on a regular person.
- A Crow was more directly responsible for Zhao Yunlan's blindness in the novel, vs in the drama, where Ya Qing took Zhao Yunlan and Zhu Hong to meet Ye Zun, but the blindness was caused by Zhao Yunlan's using the Dial as a shield.
- The Crow elder isn't named in the novel, and we don't know anything about her actions or agenda. Also, Zhu Hong isn't present for this scene; Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei come to the Yao market alone.
I think this scene is a fascinating illustration of the differences between the Weilan relationships in the novel and the drama. (I'm only halfway through the novel, so please do feel free to correct my takes! And for the drama, too, of course.)
My reading of the novel version is that, when faced with the Crow that caused Zhao Yunlan's blindness, Shen Wei is overwhelmed with rage and darkness. This could be read as losing control and his "true" or base nature rising to the fore. His "bloodlust" rises, and he's going to commit murder out of vengeance.
Compare this to the drama, where Shen Wei is furious, sure, but mostly because Ya Qing is working with Ye Zun to threaten the peace. He uses his energy to fling Zhu Hong across the clearing, trusting Zhao Yunlan, even while blind, to catch her. And then he explicitly passes judgement on Ya Qing as the stern Envoy (despite Ya Qing being outside his jurisdiction), not personally. He's protecting Zhu Hong (a proxy for the SID?) and the world, rather than Zhao Yunlan explicitly.
In the novel, Zhao Yunlan first grabs hold of Shen Wei, and I feel like he's trying to protect Shen Wei from himself. I don't understand the cosmology, but what happens if Shen Wei commits a serious misdeed? Does his base/dark self start to consume him? Does his determination to be meritorious become unstable?
In the drama, yes, Zhao Yunlan is trying to stop the Envoy from overstepping and executing Ya Qing in anger, but his concern is as much for the future relationships between the three peoples as it is for Shen Wei's self, I think? It's political -- he just uses the personal means at his disposal to enact that politics.
Anyway, in the novel, when Shen Wei struggles in Zhao Yunlan's arms, Zhao Yunlan tries calling him "Xiao-Wei!" since he has a pretty good idea by then that Shen Wei is 10,000% into him, but Zhao Yunlan has mostly been the more active partner/pursuer. In the drama, the "Xiao-Wei!" cry is more out of the blue -- more an artefact of the novel than an obvious progression from their fairly equal dynamic.
In both instances, Shen Wei blue screens. "What did you call me?"
Then, in the novel they make their escape. (Zhao Yunlan doesn't directly answer Shen Wei's question.)
In the drama, Zhao Yunlan repeats himself somewhat quizzically, diffusing some of the tension, and then switches gears, stepping up as Lord Guardian. When he physically stumbles, Shen Wei catches him and holds him upright, but Zhao Yunlan's focus is on brokering a truce. Fourth Uncle steps in, too, and promises an election for High Chief. The personal threat to Zhu Hong is set aside, and the situation explicitly framed as political, to be solved through politics and establishing jurisdictional boundaries. Which makes the "Xiao-Wei!" thing sit a little weirdly, but also makes it really powerful because it's so out of context: even the Envoy in full flight can be derailed by this unexpected endearment from his one true love.
(Of course, it also meant that I spent the entirety of the YOHE sequence expecting it to come up again. ;-p)
Thoughts? Preferences? What have I misinterpreted? How do you feel about the drama adaptation of this scene? (Does it come down to "prefers politics" vs "prefers violently protective relationships"? *g*)
Note: I also posted a few scrappy quotes and notes from the Li Qian case in the novel.
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Yeah, and all of that is part of why I bounced off the novel when I first tried to read the it - I just couldn't like novel!ZYL the way I like drama!ZYL. Alas.
The Crow elder isn't named in the novel, and we don't know anything about her actions or agenda.
Ya Qing is such a great invention for the drama! It's always great when minor novel characters get fleshed out or reinvented for a drama. :D
Anyway, in the novel, when Shen Wei struggles in Zhao Yunlan's arms, Zhao Yunlan tries calling him "Xiao-Wei!" since he has a pretty good idea by then that Shen Wei is 10,000% into him, but Zhao Yunlan has mostly been the more active partner/pursuer. In the drama, the "Xiao-Wei!" cry is more out of the blue -- more an artefact of the novel than an obvious progression from their fairly equal dynamic.
In the drama, it doesn't feel premeditated/deliberate - it just seems to burst out, and I like that a lot, that an endearment is what comes out when he really wants/needs to reach Shen Wei.
but also makes it really powerful because it's so out of context: even the Envoy in full flight can be derailed by this unexpected endearment from his one true love
Yes, and this!
(Of course, it also meant that I spent the entirety of the YOHE sequence expecting it to come up again. ;-p)
They really should have had a Xiao-Wei moment in YOHE - I always wondered if they perhaps had that in the original script but had to cut it.
How do you feel about the drama adaptation of this scene? (Does it come down to "prefers politics" vs "prefers violently protective relationships"? *g*)
LOL! I prefer the drama version because I prefer drama!ZYL, but I do like violently protective relationships as well as politics. *g*
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LOL, every time novel!ZYL reveals a new capability or power, I feel a little annoyed. I really like drama!him as an ordinary person in a superpowered world. And I think novel!ZYL's extensive abilities and confidence feed into his arrogance and refusal to care what anyone else thinks, even gods and ancestors. (The exception, so far, being his mother.)
It's always great when minor novel characters get fleshed out or reinvented for a drama. :D
Yes! I just came across a reference to Lao Li, who has no connection to Da Qing in the novel (as far as I can tell).
In the drama, it doesn't feel premeditated/deliberate - it just seems to burst out, and I like that a lot, that an endearment is what comes out when he really wants/needs to reach Shen Wei.
Yes, true. There isn't that "inspiration" strike from the novel -- just a cry from the heart. Though possibly I'm taking the line about "inspiration" too literally, and it's mostly there for pacing, idk.
They really should have had a Xiao-Wei moment in YOHE - I always wondered if they perhaps had that in the original script but had to cut it.
Ohh, that would make sense! Or maybe we were just always supposed to infer it...
I prefer the drama version because I prefer drama!ZYL, but I do like violently protective relationships as well as politics.
Hee! Thanks for calling me on my false dichotomy. I don't especially enjoy violence or vengefulness (the "Who did this to you? I'll kill him" line doesn't do it for me the way it does for some people). But I'm 1000% here for battle couple/political power couple. I love the physicality of Shen Wei throwing Zhu Hong at Zhao Yunlan like that, and Zhao Yunlan catching her. And it's unacknowledged, but I suspect that Zhao Yunlan's diplomacy wouldn't have been half as effective without the threat of the Envoy's blade hanging in the air. :D
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Oh yes, me too! And since they couldn't have had him as what he is in the novel, I really appreciate that this is what they went for. I have no idea how they did it, but somehow every change they made seems to have been aimed straight at my personal tastes. *g*
And I think novel!ZYL's extensive abilities and confidence feed into his arrogance
Yes, that sounds right! And backstory, though he doesn't remember it yet. It does makes sense that he's the way he is.
I don't especially enjoy violence or vengefulness (the "Who did this to you? I'll kill him" line doesn't do it for me the way it does for some people).
For me, it depends very much on the character. With some characters I really like it! With others, nope, DNW. Novel!Shen Wei falls firmly into the category of "yes, please". *g*
I'm 1000% here for battle couple/political power couple. I love the physicality of Shen Wei throwing Zhu Hong at Zhao Yunlan like that, and Zhao Yunlan catching her. And it's unacknowledged, but I suspect that Zhao Yunlan's diplomacy wouldn't have been half as effective without the threat of the Envoy's blade hanging in the air. :D
Yes, all this! I love it too, and that's 100% true about your last sentence. Even when they're not doing it deliberately (like with Cong Bo *g*) they make such an excellent team. ♥
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Ha, me too. There are only one or two minor things in the novel that work better for me (I'll post about those another time). The novel does make me laugh a lot, but it isn't giving me anything like the fannish feels I have for the drama. (Which might partly just be that I've never had a book fandom...)
And backstory, though he doesn't remember it yet. It does makes sense that he's the way he is.
Absolutely. It's so weird to combine it with him having parents that he's on good terms with, though. (I haven't got to the parents scene yet; there's just been a phone call with his mum.) Maybe that's to provide a counterpoint?
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Drama!Shen Wei doesn't get to be like this, since he's, well, not a ghost, and so the whole "ghost refusing/overcoming his nature" plot point does not apply too him.
It's amazing that the drama managed to mirror this scene at all, given all the changes to the context. The central idea is preserved: Zhao Yunlan can whistle back the feared Zhanhunshi/Heipaoshi, cut through his wrath and calm him down.
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Ah, right. I wonder how I'll feel about that when I get to it. (Please don't tell me any more.)
and so the whole "ghost refusing/overcoming his nature" plot point does not apply too him.
Yes! That's such a fundamental point of difference. And also, in the drama, they explicitly break down the
ghostDixingren / human dichotomy and say that everyone is people -- whereas the novel seems to be leaning into the contrast a bit more.It's amazing that the drama managed to mirror this scene at all, given all the changes to the context.
They did an incredible job of preserving so many relationship beats, even details like Zhao Yunlan giving Shen Wei his jacket in the mountains. ♥
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