Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 6, part 1

[china_shop]

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

Here are the previous weeks' rewatch posts.

Episode 6, up to 22:45

Summary
The SID interview and fail to comfort Ji Xiaobai about his missing fiancée, Weiwei. Chu Shuzhi and Changcheng take him out for some air, and Chu Shuzhi sees something of his twin brother in Changcheng. While they're gone, Weiwei comes back. At night, Shen Wei asks half-transformed Ying Chun if she can help him find someone. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Zhao Yunlan on his motorbike. In Shen Wei's office, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei discuss the case and flirt. ♥ ♥ ♥



Ji Xiaobai knows the returned Weiwei isn't the woman he loves; he tracks down Changcheng, and the SID go into the mirror dimension to get to the bottom of things. In the mirror, Ji Xiaobai chooses the wrong (human) Weiwei. Spurned (Dixingren) Weiwei threatens to explode them all. The Envoy stops her and takes her away, but not before he and Zhao Yunlan talk privately about softening the SID's deportation policy.

Quote
Shen Wei: This is the first time.
Zhao Yunlan: What first time?
Shen Wei: The first time you don't think I am linked to a case and simply come to consult me.

Detail
I'm always amused that Chu Shuzhi produces (randomly, from his coat pocket?) two cans of beer and offers one to Ji Xiaobai, completely unapologetically leaving Guo Changcheng out. He still thinks of Changcheng as someone he's babysitting, not a partner.

Questions
Do you have a stand-out favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 6? What do you think of Guo Changcheng's technique for handling Ji Xiaobai? How about Chu Shuzhi's? How happy are you to see Ying Chun in bush and half-transformed states? Best thing about Zhao Yunlan consulting Shen Wei in his office at night? (Hint: all of it!) Any thoughts about how the mirror 'verse works? (Are all mirrors connected? What about mirrors in Dixing? If Zhao Yunlan and the others can pass through, can anyone at any time?) What's with all the bathrooms? Did you see any parallels in these scenes with other parts of the drama?

If you're familiar with the novel, any thoughts about how the drama adaptation compares, if at all?

(As usual, 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. We'd love to hear your thoughts!)

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Comments

[facethestrange]

"Well, Xiao-Guo’s first technique of offering condolences when no one has died yet was not it XD. His second approach of talking about himself and magpie wishing seems to work better. Ultimately it’s a distraction technique, nothing wrong with that."

ITA with both! :D

"Although I prefer Chu Shuzhi’s style: Hand him a beverage; tell him not to give up. Simple, but all you need - the guy has every reason to be worried, it’s okay for him not to be in great spirits! You don’t need to talk at him until he’s perfectly happy like some video game NPC. Just don’t give up hope yet. It’s more grounded and realistic than magpies."

And ITA with this too! Which is probably weird considering how different their approaches are, lol. I just like it so much that ultimately they both helped, and that both of the approaches seemed to work better together than either one of them would have worked on its own. ♡

"Or could someone make a fake Envoy-glaive and impersonate him?"

Ohhh, could Ye Zun do it? (Does Ye Zun do it? He has convinced a lot of people that he's the Envoy after all, but I don't remember if this was a thing.)

"Probably a writer’s poorly concealed fetish"

LOLOL. :D :D They didn't get to have Weilan make out in a bathroom (like they do in the novel, at least twice off the top of my head), but they got to keep all the bathrooms regardless. ;D

[trobadora]

Does Ye Zun do it? He has convinced a lot of people that he's the Envoy after all, but I don't remember if this was a thing.

As far as I remember he doesn't, but I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for a fake dao!

They didn't get to have Weilan make out in a bathroom (like they do in the novel, at least twice off the top of my head), but they got to keep all the bathrooms regardless. ;D

All the bathroom scenes are there strictly to point to the glaring absence of Weilan bathroom makeouts! Hee! *g*

[facethestrange]

"All the bathroom scenes are there strictly to point to the glaring absence of Weilan bathroom makeouts! Hee! *g*"

Since I realized that there are at least THREE Weilan bathroom makeouts (the equivalent of the nosebleed scene, their attempted first time with drunk Shen Wei, and their actual first time when Zhao Yunlan slips in the bathtub), I'm basically 100% convinced of this. xD xD

[trobadora]

THREE? Yeah, okay, then the bathrooms are DEFINITELY pointing towards that! Wow!

[facethestrange]

Right?? xD It came to me gradually that they make out in a bathroom more than once, and then when it turned out that there are THREE scenes, it feels like I actually discovered the drama writers' sneaky secret code or something. xD :D :D It's three different bathrooms too (hotel, hospital, Zhao Yunlan's apartment), so it is a proper theme in the novel - of course it would be a theme in the drama too. :D

[trobadora]

it feels like I actually discovered the drama writers' sneaky secret code or something. xD

Yeah, it really does feel like that! Woohoo! :D

[autodach]

Ohhh, could Ye Zun do it? (Does Ye Zun do it? He has convinced a lot of people that he's the Envoy after all, but I don't remember if this was a thing.)

I checked the scene where he rips the contract, and the one at the bar. Unless I forgot another instance of him impersonating Heipaoshi, he doesn’t have the glaive, just the cloak.
A replica would be a nice prop for his cosplay, but I guess Ye Zun would not be proficient with it which could give him away.

LOLOL. :D :D They didn't get to have Weilan make out in a bathroom (like they do in the novel, at least twice off the top of my head), but they got to keep all the bathrooms regardless. ;D

Lol! And they made at least one of them extra large for good measure XD

[facethestrange]

"I checked the scene where he rips the contract, and the one at the bar. Unless I forgot another instance of him impersonating Heipaoshi, he doesn’t have the glaive, just the cloak.
A replica would be a nice prop for his cosplay, but I guess Ye Zun would not be proficient with it which could give him away."

Ohhh, thank you for checking! ♡♡♡ That's quite smart of him to not even attempt this, yeah - fumbling the glaive and/or people noticing that it's fake would be a lot worse for his plan than just not having it at all.

"Lol! And they made at least one of them extra large for good measure XD"

*SNORT* xD