sid_guardian | Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 5, part 2

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Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 5, part 2

Zhao Yunlan sprawled on a couch, grinning at his phone. The background shows a purple sky with stars. Text reads, "Slo-Mo Rewatch. Guardian - half an episode per week @ sid_guardian.dreamwidth.org"

Hi, welcome to this week's instalment of the Guardian drama Slo-Mo Rewatch! Watch half an episode a week, and then come and chat about it here in comments. Or you can just jump into the comments without rewatching, of course!

Here is last week's half-episode. On to the second half!

Episode 5, from 23:04

Summary: By the lakeside, Wu Xiaojun appears in front of his father, accuses him of wanting him dead, and reveals the truth of what happened to him. Wu Tian'en is shocked, but begs him to let the kidnapping victims go, and eventually convinces him he's sincere. They reconcile - only for Wu Tian'en to take an arrow for his son. Wu Xiaojun goes after Papa Huang, but Zhao Yunlan catches up with him and tells him to worry about his father. Guo Changcheng wants to use the Sundial to save Wu Tian'en; Zhao Yunlan takes it instead - but once the Sundial activates, the Envoy appears. Everyone begs the Envoy to save Wu Tian'en - Shen Wei notes the SID has changed.

Shen Wei, Wu Tian'en and Wu Xiaojun at the Dragon Gate

The Envoy takes Wu father and son to Dixing, has to immediately protect them from an attack by palace guards, and questions Wu Tian'en about what happened with the Dixing team he used to be a part of. Wu Tian'en knows nothing, but when the Envoy mentions the captain wasn't dead as he thought, he tells the Envoy the captain's wife was pregnant.

In Haixing, in the SID lab, the Sundial projects an image of the Mountain-River Awl, Shen Wei has moved into Zhao Yunlan's building, and Guo Changcheng tries to learn how to tail someone from Chu Shuzhi. And we head into the next case - where there is another bathroom disappearance, and Guo Changcheng very reasonably wonders if Wu Xiaojun has returned. *g* Zhou Weiwei's fiancé remembers her fighting with a woman in their bathroom, except then the woman disappeared. And now she has disappeared too.

Quote:

Chu Shuzhi: "Since time began, no matter the country, or whether human or not, wherever creatures live in groups there will always be a hierarchy. And that is why there will always be killing and oppression."

Detail:

Wu Xiaojun's ring (this case's significant jewellery representing his connection with his father) gets thrown away twice.

The first time, he himself throws it into the lake as "proof" that he doesn't care about his father - but in the scene following their reconciliation, he promptly has it back.

The second time, in that very scene where see he has it back, Huang Chaoyang takes it away again, mocks its worthlessness and throws it into the pool. But again, in the following scenes - at the SID (though it's hard to see there), and in Dixing - Wu Xiaojun promptly has it back. :D

Questions:

What's your favourite moment in this part of the episode? What happened to little Wu Xiaojun after he was abandoned? How does Zhu Jiu find all these people? Do you think the Huang and Li fathers suffered any consequences for what they did? Do you think it's meaningful which of the SID members beg the Envoy to save Wu Xiaojun (Guo Changcheng, Lin Jing, Zhao Yunlan), and which don't speak up (Zhu Hong, Chu Shuzhi, Da Qing)? Is there anything in the Wu Xiaojun case that comes from the novel? Why is Zhao Yunlan suddenly insisting on jogging? Is Guo Changcheng uniquely bad at tailing people, or are Chu Shuzhi and Zhao Yunlan bad at teaching him? How many different kinds of bathroom disappearances can there be?

(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!)

And here is our new schedule for the next batch of episodes - please do sign up to host a post if you can!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The confrontation between Wu father and son falls into two parts, separated by Wu Xiaojun jumping into the lake and Wu Tian'en teleporting off to go after him - presumably so the SID and the Li goons who are both following Wu Tian'en need some time to catch up with them and they have time to talk. *g*

The first half, Wu Tian'en is so glad to see his son, and Wu Xiaojun laughs in disbelief. He was apparently left in behind in the mountains. I really wonder how he grew up, and how much he remembered from his childhood. Did he even understand he was Dixingren, or what that meant? And also, how the hell did Zhu Jiu track him down? (I mean, I assume with Ya Qing's and the Crow Tribe's help, but still!)

There's a tiny mention of Wu Xiaojun's mother - but other than that Wu Tian'en dreamed about her, we know nothing. They must have lost her some time before they were "saved" by Papa Huang.

And the ring! Wu Tian'en sees it and immediately knows his son still cares about him. Of course Wu Xiaojun immediately throws it into the lake on hearing that, but then he has it back
And Wu Tian'en hung it around his son's neck back then, which makes it another Significant Pendant™!

Wu Tian'en also, despite the high emotions of all of this, doesn't forget that two people were kidnapped, and begs his son to let them go - which Wu Xiaojun promptly takes as an affront. All his reactions mirror Ye Zun's reactions to Shen Wei so much, thinking him guilty, seeing any care for anyone else as proof that they themselves have never mattered ... even the laugh is a less extreme mirror of Ye Zun's.

The second half of the Wu vs. Wu confrontation is even heavier on the mirroring, though it resolves very quickly. There's even Wu Xiaojun having a dramatic speech about how love isn't real: "In the face of death, any love in this world is mere froth. Including the love between father and son. Including the love between man and woman." But when his father begs him to blame him and not the innocents, Wu Xiaojun after a little internal struggle does let them go, and he and his father get a hug before the goons attack and Wu Tian'en gets shot protecting his son.

And the two kidnapping victims have their own mini-drama right in the middle of it, resolving their arranged-marriage issues, hee! More misunderstandings, more things turning out not the way they seeemed - turns out both of them thought the other didn't want the marriage.

Also very funny: Xiao-Guo honestly amazed that Chief Zhao deduced the truth, and Chu Shuzhi telling him Zhao Yunlan isn't even there to suck up to! (I mean, it's not an amazing feat of deduction that the kidnapper travels through water - the victims did get kidnapped from bathrooms, and Lin Jing found lake water ... but Xiao-Guo still has a lot to learn.)

During the Li/Huang phone call, Papa Huang tells Papa Li, "Didn't you have someone follow him? When you have the chance, get rid of them." By "them" he must mean Wu father and son, given that one of the goons shoots at them later, but my first thought on rewatch was that he's eliminating witnesses now.

Then, after Wu Tian'en is shot, Papa Huang scolds someone via phone: "Tell me, you useless scum, how did you let him escape like that? I'm so angry!" I'm confused, because the earlier conversation between him and Papa Li said they were Papa Li's goons, but now it sounds like they're his. Maybe he sent more goons after them, and they took shifts. :p

And then Wu Xiaojun goes after Papa Huang, and that guy turns out to be a) ingenious, using electricity against him, b) even more awful and cruel than we already knew he was, as we see him laughing at Wu Xiaojun, mocking him before he gets his goon to beat him up. He even mocks Wu Xiaojun's ring (which he has back now!) and throws it into the pool. Ugh, that guy.

Then Zhao Yunlan appears and tells him, "Did you really think I let you stay at large because I couldn't handle you? These people's crimes will be punished by law. Right now your main concern should be your dad." I love the shot of Wu Xiaojun's fist slowly unclenching. :D

Bit grandstanding about "letting" him stay at large, LOL. But what I really wonder about, and what really bothers me, is the question whether these crimes actually were punished, or whether those are just big words and both of them got away with it in the end. I mean - what can they charge him with, after the Wus are both taken back to Dixing? Can they prove they did anything? We never hear of it again. Papa Li dies at the wedding; Papa Huang isn't seen again. UGH.

AND! Then my favourite scene! :D :D :D

I do wonder how that little arrow left Wu Tian'en in the condition he ends up in. Is it poisoned? Is it some special anti-Dixingren poison? Because if it was an ordinary injury, they should have taken him to the hospital, but instead he ends up at the SID, and Lin Jing is the one who confirms for Zhao Yunlan that there's nothing they can do. And Wu Xiaojun is just crying and clutching his father's hand, and begging the SID to save him.

(He has his ring back once again, though it's hard to see here. He definitely has it in the Dixing scene afterwards.)

Everyone's standing around and watching, except for Wang Zheng, who is absent for some reason, and Chu Shuzhi, who is sitting in the background but watching intently - still separate from the rest of the SID. So fascinating!

And Zhao Yunlan isn't just affected by it all, but goes so far as to personally take the Sundial and try to use it on Wu Tian'en - the chief of the SID trying to save a Dixingren. But of course it's Guo Changcheng who comes up with the idea, who speaks up first, who tries to take it on himself.

And the moment the Sundial activates, the Envoy steps out of a portal - he definitely has a Hallows-sense! It must be so strange to find the chief of the SID trying to save a Dixingren like that. Even knowing Zhao Yunlan would become Kunlun!

(Chu Shuzhi immediately gets up from his chair, where he'd been sitting with his feet up in a very Zhao Yunlan-like pose. :D)

And we have our first "is it worth it?" scene - a question that will come up again more than once, in different contexts. And here, already, Zhao Yunlan's answer is clearly "yes". ♥

And everyone! Wu Xiaojun begs him to save his father; then Xiao-Guo speaks up (of course!), and then Lin Jing follows Xiao-Guo's lead. Zhu Hong, Da Qing and Chu Shuzhi don't speak up - not surprising in Chu Shuzhi's case - but they're clearly all on board with it. They've all come so far!

Finally, Zhao Yunlan again: "Ordinary person or Dixingren, a person is a person."

Funnily, in one of those future "worth it" instances, Zhao Yunlan tells Ye Zun, "You are not Shen Wei. The things you say would never cross his lips. 'Is it worth it?' We never do things based on whether it's worth it or not." And of course that's true, except it's not literally true, because those words have crossed his lips, right here in episode 5. Where asking that question isn't actually about whether it's worth it or not, but about Zhao Yunlan's stance towards Dixingren. Before, when Shen Wei asked him whether he thought Dixingren were so different, he sidestepped the question, but here, he gives a clear answer: people are people. ♥ ♥ ♥

And Shen Wei is so touched! Because even though he knows Zhao Yunlan will be Kunlun one day, he still didn't expect that from him yet. Possibly not for a long time. He's come so far so quickly!

Damn, I love this scene so much.

LOL @ Zhu Jiu dramatically breaking a chess piece while complaining about the Wus being useless! And very interestingly, he says it's time for the second stage of his plan. Now, we know the Wu Tian'en and Zhou Weiwei cases have a connection through Wu Tian'en's old team captain who was mirrror!Weiwei's father - but how the hell did Zhu Jiu figure that out, and what exactly is his plan that connects the two? I honestly have no idea right now.

Then we get our first look at Dixing, lava and politics and murder and all! The Dragon Gate looks great, but the very first thing that happens is a murder attempt on the Wus - silencing witnesses, as Shen Wei says, so ultimately Ye Zun has to be behind it. It's so fascinating to me that the two palace guards try to get the Envoy out of the way (telling him to hand over custody on the Dijun's order), but then try to shoot them right in front of him. Whoever arranged for that really didn't bother to hide that there's something going on. I wonder how long that's been going on so openly.

And what does Shen Wei do with those guards? The same puff of black energy they disappear in is seen in other cases when someone is being teleported; does he just stash them somewhere? Are they under the influence, so he undoes that for them and simply drops them back where they're meant to be? So many questions. *g*

And then we learn a little more backstory: Wu Tian'en says that the team he was on (searching for the Hallows in Haixing) got surrounded by Youchu, he got knocked out, and when he woke up, they were all dead. So there was evidence of what happened to them, even though clearly it wasn't all real, given that the captain did survive, as Shen Wei reveals. And that that guy hid on the surface, committed more crimes, and got shot dead before Shen Wei could get to him. I assume it was Zhao Xinci who shot him.

And with Wu Tian'en revealing the captain's wife was pregnant, we lead into the next case, hee! Great transition.

The jogging scene always makes me laugh, especially Zhao Yunlan arguing that Da Qing needs to work out to be ready for anything, like Shen Wei! Everything is connected to Shen Wei for him. *g* And then they discover that Shen Wei has moved into their neighbourhood, and Shen Wei gives the most delightful little smirk as he walks away. ♥ ♥ ♥

I always like the little detail about mirror!Zhou Weiwei hating sunlight - and I know it's meant to be because she doesn't have a shadow, but I always think there must be Dixingren who are used to Dixing's darkness and like it, and do not in fact enjoy the sunlight on the surface ...

Also delightful, and I don't think I ever paid attention to this before: it's Da Qing who questions Ji Xiaobai, and he's taking notes! Actually working, good kitty! :D

And the shot of Zhao Yunlan examining himself in the bathroom mirror is just excellent for "inconspicuously" drawing attention to the mirror. ♥

Also, we (along with Xiao-Guo) learn a little more about Dixing. No one explained anything to Xiao-Guo! But to be fair, he didn't actually need to know about the Regent, and once he does come up, they do explain.

Zhao Yunlan still doesn't know much about the Envoy, or about Dixing, though: "If someone the Black-Cloaked Envoy took away could come back as they pleased, I think the Regent's tears would flood all of Dixing," he says - and 1) we know the Envoy does take people away but lets them stay in Haixing anyway, as seen with Wang Yike, and 2) this is the first indication that Zhao Yunlan's impression of the Regent isn't exactly impressive, which will continue later; he'll keep underestimating him for a while after meeting him.

I forgot to mention in my comment -- great choice of pic! The Dragon Gate, so cool!! This is our first glimpse of Dixing, isn't it? So the first-time viewer doesn't know yet that it's always dark.

Wu Tian'en is so glad to see his son

He really is!! It's so heartbreaking to see him so happy, and his son so angry.

All his reactions mirror Ye Zun's reactions to Shen Wei so much, thinking him guilty, seeing any care for anyone else as proof that they themselves have never mattered ... even the laugh is a less extreme mirror of Ye Zun's.

Yes! It's such a good parallel.

I'm confused, because the earlier conversation between him and Papa Li said they were Papa Li's goons, but now it sounds like they're his. Maybe he sent more goons after them, and they took shifts. :p

Maybe they co-own a private security firm? (I wrote a fic where the Li family did, anyway.)

And then Wu Xiaojun goes after Papa Huang, and that guy turns out to be a) ingenious, using electricity against him, b) even more awful and cruel than we already knew he was, as we see him laughing at Wu Xiaojun, mocking him before he gets his goon to beat him up.

Yes, that was so awful! So very Rebel Chief. /o\

I do wonder how that little arrow left Wu Tian'en in the condition he ends up in. Is it poisoned?

Either poisoned or it hits him in a vital organ? (I think Dixingren generally avoid Haixing hospitals, don't they?)

and Chu Shuzhi, who is sitting in the background but watching intently - still separate from the rest of the SID. So fascinating!

Right? I was very aware of him sitting back and watching. I wonder if he's waiting for ZYL to hand over Wu Xiaojun to be delivered to the Envoy...

And Zhao Yunlan isn't just affected by it all, but goes so far as to personally take the Sundial and try to use it on Wu Tian'en - the chief of the SID trying to save a Dixingren.

I feel like ZYL is like, he knows he can't let Xiao Guo do it (because ZYL has to protect him from the consequences), and then he realises/accepts that it has to be done... by him. For ZYL, the SID chief's role is to protect everyone, but it's not until Xiao Guo shows him that "everyone" includes everyone that he gets it. Or something like that. :-)

And we have our first "is it worth it?" scene

Our second, I think? There's the Li Qian & Shen Wei conversation in ep 1.

then Xiao-Guo speaks up (of course!), and then Lin Jing follows Xiao-Guo's lead.

How do you know it's Xiao-Guo? I've just watched it a few times, and I can't see him asking. His lips move but I don't think I can see him actually speaking -- I think it's just the end of a grimace of self-control.

And of course that's true, except it's not literally true, because those words have crossed his lips, right here in episode 5. Where asking that question isn't actually about whether it's worth it or not, but about Zhao Yunlan's stance towards Dixingren.

Ha, yes. Good catch. I think he's really saying, "We never ask ourselves if it's worth it." Not "we never ask other people/each other."

Now, we know the Wu Tian'en and Zhou Weiwei cases have a connection through Wu Tian'en's old team captain who was mirrror!Weiwei's father - but how the hell did Zhu Jiu figure that out, and what exactly is his plan that connects the two? I honestly have no idea right now.

Ohh, do you think that Ye Zun could have originally arranged for the Hallows to go missing, a hundred years ago, and then had agents in the search team? Or someone back then who knew what was going on and arranged for the Youchu to escape? Or something like that?

Also delightful, and I don't think I ever paid attention to this before: it's Da Qing who questions Ji Xiaobai, and he's taking notes! Actually working, good kitty! :D

Yes, ditto! I wonder why ZYL delegated that to him...

and 1) we know the Envoy does take people away but lets them stay in Haixing anyway, as seen with Wang Yike

Yes, but it's not ZYL's fault he doesn't know that -- it's supposed to be a secret. And I don't think he knows enough about the Regent yet to have an opinion about him?

I forgot to mention in my comment -- great choice of pic! The Dragon Gate, so cool!! This is our first glimpse of Dixing, isn't it? So the first-time viewer doesn't know yet that it's always dark.

Yes, first look at Dixing, and good point that the viewer won't know at this point that it's always dark.

I really like the Dragon Gate, so I couldn't resist. *g*

It's so heartbreaking to see him so happy, and his son so angry.

Right???

Maybe they co-own a private security firm? (I wrote a fic where the Li family did, anyway.)

Oh, yes, that would make a lot of sense! Headcanon accepted.

So very Rebel Chief. /o\

Yes, exactly! Really leaning into those parallels. At least however Wu Xiaojun grew up, he didn't grow up under that guy.

Either poisoned or it hits him in a vital organ? (I think Dixingren generally avoid Haixing hospitals, don't they?)

Dixingren might, but why would the SID? Or why wouldn't they get a doctor? They all clearly want to save his life, so letting him die from something treatable doesn't make sense. Which is why I was wondering if it was something Dixingren-specific - not that I know how the Li/Huang goons could have got their hands on it, but Zhu Jiu's also around and could have been involved.

Right? I was very aware of him sitting back and watching. I wonder if he's waiting for ZYL to hand over Wu Xiaojun to be delivered to the Envoy...

Yeah, probably! And then the Envoy comes and he immediately drops his feet from the desk and stands up! ♥

I feel like ZYL is like, he knows he can't let Xiao Guo do it (because ZYL has to protect him from the consequences), and then he realises/accepts that it has to be done... by him. For ZYL, the SID chief's role is to protect everyone, but it's not until Xiao Guo shows him that "everyone" includes everyone that he gets it.

Yeah, completely agreed on all of that! Xiao-Guo pushing the issue by putting himself on the line forces Zhao Yunlan to take that step of character development that much faster.

Our second, I think? There's the Li Qian & Shen Wei conversation in ep 1.

Oh, oops, yes, I forgot about that one because I was only thinking in terms of Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan both being involved. But of course the theme/motif is larger than that!

then Xiao-Guo speaks up (of course!), and then Lin Jing follows Xiao-Guo's lead.

How do you know it's Xiao-Guo? I've just watched it a few times, and I can't see him asking.

The camera is still on Shen Wei when Xiao-Guo speaks, but I can hear his voice.

Ha, yes. Good catch. I think he's really saying, "We never ask ourselves if it's worth it." Not "we never ask other people/each other."

Yes, entirely agreed! I just think it's funny to take it literally. *g*

Ohh, do you think that Ye Zun could have originally arranged for the Hallows to go missing, a hundred years ago, and then had agents in the search team? Or someone back then who knew what was going on and arranged for the Youchu to escape? Or something like that?

I think Ye Zun was already after the Hallows back then, and the captain clearly had a clue that didn't get passed on to Dixing/the Envoy, so him working for Ye Zun would make sense to me! Maybe the youchu attack was arranged so the captain could go off on his own and bring the Awl to Ye Zun, except then he had to lie low for a while first, or maybe following the trail took time. And in the mean time he got involved in other crimes, and got shot before he could actually find the Awl?

Yes, ditto! I wonder why ZYL delegated that to him...

It looks to me like that's nothing unusual for either of them, tbh, so there wouldn't need to be a special reason.

Yes, but it's not ZYL's fault he doesn't know that -- it's supposed to be a secret. And I don't think he knows enough about the Regent yet to have an opinion about him?

Yes, I wasn't implying it was ZYL's fault! Just that there's a lot going on that he isn't aware of yet. He doesn't have the full picture, and that influences his views on things/people.

Dixingren might, but why would the SID? Or why wouldn't they get a doctor?

The SID might not be allowed to take Dixingren to civilian institutions. I wouldn't be surprised if that was forbidden, especially given ZXC would have had a hand in writing up their rules. And it seems like Lin Jing has enough medical expertise that a doctor would be redundant.

And then the Envoy comes and he immediately drops his feet from the desk and stands up! ♥

Yes!! :D :D :D

The camera is still on Shen Wei when Xiao-Guo speaks, but I can hear his voice.

I'm impressed by your ear! I honestly can't tell one semi-whispered plea from another. /o\

I think Ye Zun was already after the Hallows back then

I wondered if Ye Zun might have tried getting rid of them in an attempt to weaken the seal/pillar. But otoh, he might not have been conscious/communicating until after they were lost...

Maybe the youchu attack was arranged so the captain could go off on his own and bring the Awl to Ye Zun

Maybe! But oof, that's pretty cold. /o\

It looks to me like that's nothing unusual for either of them, tbh, so there wouldn't need to be a special reason.

He hasn't even been present for an interview before now. It seems new to me -- I think it's part of ZYL getting his team in shape.

Yes, I wasn't implying it was ZYL's fault! Just that there's a lot going on that he isn't aware of yet. He doesn't have the full picture, and that influences his views on things/people.

Oh right. Yes, absolutely. It's so great seeing him get better. :D

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