Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 1, part 1

[china_shop]

Hi, and welcome to the Guardian drama Slo-Mo Rewatch! Join us to watch half an episode a week (at your leisure) and then come and chat about it here in comments. If you already know the drama, of course you can jump in without rewatching if you prefer!

Episode 1, up to 22:28

Summary
The prologue explains Haixing's history. Professor Shen Wei presents a public lecture and turns down a job offer. Guo Changcheng reports to the SID in the middle of the night, where Zhao Yunlan is outrageous and the rest of the team scares Changcheng into fainting. Twice. An unseen threat chases Li Qian through the night. Zhao Yunlan investigates a murder at the university, where he and Da Qing dangle Guo Changcheng out a window while they discuss the case. Guo Changcheng's cries draw Shen Wei's attention. Cat!Da Qing gets strokes. Shen Wei is very intense, and Zhao Yunlan notices. Afterwards, Zhao Yunlan interrogates Li Qian about the murder; Shen Wei comes to pick her up for class and further arouses Zhao Yunlan's suspicions in the process. Zhao Yunlan sends Guo Changcheng to tail Shen Wei.



Quote
ZYL: By the way, I'm Zhao. I'm handling this case. What's your name, sir?
SW: No "sir". I'm Shen. Shen Wei. I teach here.
ZYL: Shen Wei? A good name.

Detail
I love the contrast between:

Zhao Yunlan: Damn Fatty.
Li Qian: What a fat black cat!
Guo Changcheng: It can speak?! *faints*
Shen Wei: *strokes* This is a very intelligent cat.

:D :D :D

Questions
Do you have any thoughts or feelings about the prologue? What was your first impression of Shen Wei -- good guy or bad guy? First impression of Zhao Yunlan -- would you trust him? Do you empathise with Guo Changcheng's fear? (If someone turned into a cat in front of you, would you be terrified, delighted, or both?) When Guo Changcheng falls from the window, is he unhurt or does Shen Wei surreptitiously heal his ankle? From Zhao Yunlan's POV, what is the most suspicious thing about Shen Wei at this point?

Do you have a favourite scene or quote? If you're familiar with the novel, any thoughts about how the drama adaptation starts? The absolute perfection of the casting? :D :D :D Anything else?

(These are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the rewatch to join in!)

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Comments

[facethestrange]

"Drama, my beloved! ♥ ♥ ♥ This was like coming home. *loves everyone in this bar, srsly*"

YAYYYY! ♡♡♡

"Also, iii) is this information that's widely known in biology academic circles -- was Li Qian sent away to stop her hearing that, or just so Prof Ouyang could make the job offer in private (not something you'd do in front of a student!)."

All very good questions, but I have nothing to add to the other two, lol. Re: this one, I assume it's not widely known and definitely not by students, otherwise Shen Wei's lecture could be more open about it?

"Aww, GCC speed-metabolising his ignorance to the point where he loses consciousness twice!"

:D :D :D This is such a fantastic way to phrase this! :D

"ZYL is so disreputable in this scene, I love him so much!!!"

Saaaame, and I love that post too! :D ♡♡♡

"There's a theme of people's identities/authority/connections not being recognised: so far, we have a) Guo Changcheng initially being taken for a random noob and then being discovered to have political connections, b) ZYL being denied entry to the crime scene because a newbie cop doesn't know about the SID, c) LQ mistaking Da Qing for an ordinary cat."

Ahh, that's a fantastic list, I don't think I would have put these together! ♡ And yesss, it ties in so well with the Weilan scene and so many later reveals! :D

"He doesn't want to work for a secret Haixing government agency. Just let him teach! <3"

AW!! ♡

"It was incredibly hard to choose only one screencap for this post!! Other things I considered: close-up of DQ as ZYL & SW pet him; ZYL and DQ leaning out the window; GCC dangling from the window; the extended handshake; group shot from the interviewing-Li-Qian scene, with SW & ZYL looking at each other challengingly."

I love how many of these are from their first meeting (and I can definitely see how hard it would be to choose just one)! :D

"ION, I've set a goal for myself (which I'm unlikely to maintain for the whole rewatch) of reading the subs in Korean as we go."

*cheers you on* :D

Also I entirely forgot to appreciate this part of the post:

"Zhao Yunlan: Damn Fatty.
Li Qian: What a fat black cat!
Guo Changcheng: It can speak?! *faints*
Shen Wei: *strokes* This is a very intelligent cat."

xD :D :D I don't think DQ minds anyone's reaction, but this is a wonderful contrast indeed. :D

[china_shop]

Re: this one, I assume it's not widely known and definitely not by students, otherwise Shen Wei's lecture could be more open about it?

Oh, true, I guess so. Perhaps known among a select cadre of scientists who are forbidden by the government to speak of it openly? The government has a stake in keeping it quiet so it won't cause a panic (as does the university).

<3 <3 <3

I love how many of these are from their first meeting

It is such a fantastic scene. :D

xD :D :D I don't think DQ minds anyone's reaction, but this is a wonderful contrast indeed. :D

Ha, yeah, I don't think DQ cares either. But noticing the contrast made me laugh. :D

[facethestrange]

"Perhaps known among a select cadre of scientists who are forbidden by the government to speak of it openly? The government has a stake in keeping it quiet so it won't cause a panic (as does the university)."

Yep, it sounds like that to me too!