Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 7, 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 7, up to 24:30

Summary
Shen Wei starts to get serious with the muggers, but just then Zhao Yunlan shows up and "rescues" him... only to be caught unawares with a metal bar. They go to Shen Wei's place for first aid and verbal sparring.



Zhao Yunlan asks Shen Wei to be an official consultant to the SID, and Shen Wei refuses. Zhao Yunlan accidentally implies he's been in Shen Wei's place before. The next day at the SID, Lin Jing is telling ghost stories when a call comes about a new case: one of the muggers is dead. When the SID review nearby CCTV footage, they don't see much, but rewinding to earlier reveals that Zhao Yunlan met up with Shen Wei in that alley. Zhao Yunlan unconvincingly laughs this off. The "bears" call: Zhu Hong grudgingly conveys a laptop to Shen Wei for a Zoom call with Zhao Yunlan and the others. After Shen Wei's extensive and illustrated lecture on different kinds of bears, Da Qing pipes up to suggest the attacker might be a Youchu; Shen Wei produces a relevant sketch. Zhao Yunlan, Lin Jing and Chu Shuzhi visit the surviving mugger in hospital; he's out of his wits, babbling about a monster. Lin Jing sees the crime scene photos and makes the connection with his favourite web novel.

Quote
Shen Wei: There are some questions that, out of principle, I cannot answer. But when the safety of people around me are at stake, I will surely not watch from the side and hide information from you. You can count on me for that.

Detail
The moment they're inside his apartment, Shen Wei starts disrobing takes off his jacket and attempts, twice, to fold it while pressing Zhao Yunlan to stay.

Questions
Do you have a stand-out favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 7? Do you think Zhao Yunlan's arrival at the mugging was coincidence, or had he been tailing Shen Wei? Do you think Shen Wei had qualms about letting Zhao Yunlan take on the muggers? Shen Wei doesn't show any surprise at the job offer -- do you think he was expecting it? Which of them do you think was most turned on by the "first aid"? We didn't see Zhao Yunlan in Shen Wei's bedroom while searching the apartment -- did he? We now know Lin Jing and Da Qing read web novels; who else at the SID reads them? What do the others think is going on when they see Zhao Yunlan with Shen Wei in the CCTV footage? Did Zhu Hong volunteer to take the laptop to Shen Wei for the video call, or was she assigned to do it? Why a video call instead of Zhao Yunlan paying a visit? At the hospital, why is Chu Shuzhi so grumpy? Lin Jing draws a connection between the case and the web novel -- but how does Wang Zheng already know about this when she calls?

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]

"I just found it interesting that, even when someone's coming at ZYL with a weapon *and* ZYL is unaware, SW doesn't break cover and smite the attacker with an energy bolt or anything. Maybe there isn't time?"

I do think there's too little time to really do anything, but also the more I rewatch this scene, the more I see Shen Wei instinctively reacting as if he's in YOHE again (the way he already did when he healed the cut in Zhao Yunlan's presence, even after he has spent years hiding his powers from other people). He only steps away once Zhao Yunlan is aware of the danger, and his first reaction is to get out of the way when another warrior is fighting. So maybe the instinct of 'this is how we do things together when Kunlun is around' is stronger than the instinct to protect him. :D

"Maybe he doesn't want to praise ZYL for it because he doesn't want to incentivise ill-advised running into danger? ZYL does enough of that already!! ;D"

Lolol. :D :D :D He was just doing his job, but he was far too smug about it, it is safer if he doesn't get even more smug. xD

"Huh, wouldn't they be more freaked out, if that was the case? The survivor in hospital is scared out of his wits -- and Youchu are pretty scary even if they haven't killed anyone yet."

Yeah, honestly idk either, it just sounds like that from what Lin Jing says, and the way they react to the growling. But they're not the sharpest tools in the shed, so maybe they genuinely think that it's a sound that a human would be making. xD

"Maybe he's reading histories or something from the library. He's the one who did research about the Hanga tribe before the trip, so he seems inclined to gather potentially useful knowledge. :-D"

Lol, in episode 3 Zhu Hong was like 'nobody ever uses the library' - it would be so fun if CSZ has actually quietly read all of it. :D :D

[china_shop]

He only steps away once Zhao Yunlan is aware of the danger, and his first reaction is to get out of the way when another warrior is fighting. So maybe the instinct of 'this is how we do things together when Kunlun is around' is stronger than the instinct to protect him. :D

Aww, that makes sense. Yeah, you're right, he only steps back as ZYL starts to react. And it's quite possible that shoving ZYL out of the line of fire strike zone would just cause different injuries.

He was just doing his job, but he was far too smug about it, it is safer if he doesn't get even more smug. xD

It's a little outside of the SID's jurisdiction, but basically, EXACTLY! :D

it would be so fun if CSZ has actually quietly read all of it. :D :D

I love that idea! After all, he had to do something for the three years when they had no major cases! ;-p :D

[facethestrange]

"And it's quite possible that shoving ZYL out of the line of fire strike zone would just cause different injuries."

That's how I see it, yep - interrupting/distracting someone during a fight would likely put them in more danger than just not helping them at all.

"I love that idea! After all, he had to do something for the three years when they had no major cases! ;-p :D"

Heeee, right? :D And he still reads during downtime (even if it's also partially to show everyone how much he doesn't care about their ghost story nonsense ;D). And now I got smacked with a ChuGuo-ish fic idea (that I probably won't do anything about xD) where GCC doesn't need to painstakingly look for books, he can just ask CSZ where any book is because CSZ is always the one who read it last and put it away. :D :D

[china_shop]

Awwww!

I had another thought about CSZ reading, which is that when he first came to Haixing, he wouldn't have been used to so much light. Maybe computer screens were extra hard on his eyes, so he secretly (not wanting to show weakness or make a fuss) resorted to books.

(If so, it would make a nice unintentional-on-his-part parallel with his hero, the Envoy, being an academic. <3)

[facethestrange]

AW, I love this! ♡ It would be so on-brand for him to just not admit that he has trouble doing something, and honestly the potential Envoy parallel (with how much this show loves parallels) is now making me think that it is an intentional decision that CSZ is shown randomly reading when the others are not. Since this is very clearly an original drama idea, not a novel leftover/reference.

[china_shop]

It's a great background characterisation beat. He could have been dozing or idly fiddling with something, or cleaning his doll, but instead, he's reading (something that isn't a webnovel ;-).

[trobadora]

and honestly the potential Envoy parallel (with how much this show loves parallels) is now making me think that it is an intentional decision that CSZ is shown randomly reading when the others are not

Ooh! That would make a lot of sense, very cool!!!

[trobadora]

So maybe the instinct of 'this is how we do things together when Kunlun is around' is stronger than the instinct to protect him. :D

♥ ♥ ♥

Lol, in episode 3 Zhu Hong was like 'nobody ever uses the library' - it would be so fun if CSZ has actually quietly read all of it. :D :D

It really would! :D