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sid_guardian2025-11-30 04:53 pm
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2025-11-30 04:53 pm
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Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 7, part 1
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
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!)
And here is our schedule -- if you can, please sign up to host a post!
no subject
The mugging scene is still every bit as glorious as I remember.
I love that we get our first close-up shot of the pendant here. I had forgotten that one of the muggers thinks it's jade! Of course that's why it's the most common fan theory, too, duh. But I still love the idea of Dixing glass! Not like the muggers would know. *g*
And Shen Wei's pendant reaction is one of my favourite moments. He steps back to evade, he grabs the mugger's wrist, makes a really angry face and then twists the mugger's arm - only to let him go, hide his pendant under his shirt again, and then make his face all neutral again when Zhao Yunlan arrives on the scene! :D
Also how Zhao Yunlan pushes Shen Wei out of the way, and how Shen Wei lets himself be pushed, content to watch!
I never fail to notice that a) Shen Wei gets his watch back, but not his money, and b) Zhao Yunlan just lets the muggers go, rather than arresting them or anything! (So they can conveniently end up monster bait, I know. *g*)
I know we've talked about the theory that Zhao Yunlan was following Shen Wei, and that Shen Wei knew about it - did his pendant feelings override that for a moment, so he forgot to be careful and make sure no one saw his ability to physically defend himself?
Also the whole banter about the "coincidence" of Zhao Yunlan being there is delightful. :D
When they get to Shen Wei's flat, I wonder why Zhao Yunlan is trying to extricate himself instead of sticking around? Shen Wei did invite him inside.
And then the ointment scene! Everything about it is gold. Shen Wei quipping about giving Zhao Yunlan an opportunity to interrogate him, Zhao Yunlan turning it into a job offer, and Shen Wei's immediate, no-hesitation "no"! Zhao Yunlan is so taken aback by that, LOL. He doesn't know that Shen Wei has presumably seen this offer coming and had his answer ready. *g*
"Skilful hands"!!!!! :D
And then Zhao Yunlan trips himself up with the bedroom window! Just like the books, this is at least in part him offering something he thinks Shen Wei will like (and without a con here!) - but once it's out of his mouth, his expression says he realises he's said more than he should. Oops? But my favourite part of this is how Shen Wei doesn't let him off the hook about it, and Zhao Yunlan's expression at being called out! So delightful. :D :D :D
Back to the muggers, calling Zhao Yunlan "that thug"! And noting Shen Wei's fierce look! And then all we see of the monster is their reaction - which is definitely the more effective strategy. *g*
Lin Jing telling horror stories and frightening Xiao-Guo! And Da Qing calling him on the story coming from a webnovel! (Zhu Hong and Guo Changcheng clearly didn't recognise it. Do they not read webnovels, or do they just have different tastes?)
Zhao Yunlan comes in whistling! And then later the surveillance footage! Idk why Zhao Yunlan was so awkward about his team seeing him with Shen Wei (possibly because he let the muggers go?), but he totally dug his own grave there - now they all think he was on a date and got laid. And his flailing is super fun. :D
Tbh I think that may be why he has Zhu Hong bring the laptop to Shen Wei rather than visiting in person - he's trying to convince his team it's totally not like that. (Though why, I'm not sure!) And that's also why Da Qing jumps in to make sure Shen Wei knows he and Xiao-Guo are there too in the video call before the heavy-duty flirting can start! Hee!
(Also super fun: we had Chu Shuzhi bringing the banner, now Zhu Hong bringing the laptop - and she's so rude to Shen Wei, LOL. I wish we'd had the other SID member conscripted for similar tasks, too!)
Anyway, it's bears time! BEARS MY BELOVED. My all-time favourite Shen Wei trolling. :D
(I never quite thought of it that way, but - when the video comes on, both Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are leaning close to the camera! Nice.)
Zhao Yunlan complains that Shen Wei doesn't want to share the information he has - but in this case, Shen Wei has no info. He knows nothing about who or what attacked these muggers, and I think that's why the trolling. If Zhao Yunlan insists he's holding back nonexistent info, he'll spam him with the irrelevant info he does have.
Not that Zhao Yunlan is getting the hint - even after the endless list of BEARS and the promise to speak up when people are in danger (an important mission statement, which I think Zhao Yunlan does believe!), Zhao Yunlan still insists Shen Wei has something he should be telling him. I know it's hard to believe, but Shen Wei doesn't know everything, Zhao Yunlan! Boo!
And when Da Qing brings up the youchu, Shen Wei contributes what info he has. Ultimately, since it'll turn out the monster isn't actually a youchu any more than it's a bear, I think this is here to introduce them before they turn up in the Hanga arc.
Background worldbuilding details: there once were youchu attacking people in wine county near Dragon City, which caused a mass panic. The Envoy drove them back to the Forbidden Place. I wonder how they got to Haixing, and if that was also instigated by Ye Zun at the time, or if it was unrelated to any larger plots? Also, this incident is another reason why random outsiders might know about Dixing-related things! (It also explains why Zhao Yunlan already knows about youchu.)
I wonder why Shen Wei feels the need to volunteer that the muggers don't seem Dixingren? Why is that relevant? They're not the perpetrators, after all, and it opens him up to Zhao Yunlan's very reasonable return question ...
"Many are evil, few are good," Zhao Yunlan says about Dixingren. Oops? Still a long way to come! But at least he won't tar them all with the same brush; that's something.
Chu Shuzhi is so rough questioning the surviving traumatised mugger! Lin Jing recognising the parallel with the webnovel, and putting it together with online rumours that the stories are real! Lin Jing is president of a fan club! And can recite what happens in which chapter by heart!
(And the rumours contributed to the webnovel's popularity, so presumably Zhu Jiu helped spread them?)
And LOL, just after Lin Jing draws the parallel between murder and novel, Wang Zheng calls and casually mentions the same parallel as the reason their superiors decided to have departments cooperate on the case - I guess the info about the latest murder got out and the parallel was drawn in public - but Lin Jing missed that because he was reading webnovels rather than the news, LOL.
(Okay, partial catch-up achieved! I'll go through all the comments here tomorrow, and then I'll be back up to date.)
no subject
Do you have a stand-out favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 7?
BEARS! Ointment! How can I possibly choose?!
Do you think Zhao Yunlan's arrival at the mugging was coincidence, or had he been tailing Shen Wei?
I think he probably was tailing him, yeah.
Do you think Shen Wei had qualms about letting Zhao Yunlan take on the muggers?
Not at all. He knows Zhao Yunlan is competent. And if something had gone dramatically wrong he could have intervened from the sidelines just fine. (Even surreptitiously if necessary, like he did when Gao Tianyu stopped the car and dragged Li Qian out!)
Which of them do you think was most turned on by the "first aid"?
Zhao Yunlan, I think. Shen Wei was more emotionally overwhelmed because for him that part goes deeper.
We didn't see Zhao Yunlan in Shen Wei's bedroom while searching the apartment -- did he?
Yep, totally!
(And if nothing else, I subscribe to the interpretation that the balcony is in the bedroom, so at the very least he came through there while finding a hiding spot.)
We now know Lin Jing and Da Qing read web novels; who else at the SID reads them?
Everyone, except possibly Zhao Yunlan. (I had Chu Shuzhi read a Dixing classic masquerading as historical fantasy in The Lord Envoy's Man!)
At the hospital, why is Chu Shuzhi so grumpy?
He didn't seem that much more grumpy than usual to me, just frustrated by the case and a useless witness.
Did you see any parallels in these scenes with other parts of the drama?
This one just occurred to me: the mugger reaching for SW's pendant reminded me of SW reaching for Li Qian's pendant in episode 1. (Neither got to touch, though for different reasons!)
no subject
Hee! Don't choose -- pick both!
> And if nothing else, I subscribe to the interpretation that the balcony is in the bedroom, so at the very least he came through there while finding a hiding spot.
This makes me wonder even more about ZYL's exit strategy. He and DQ could have been stuck out there for HOURS!
> I had Chu Shuzhi read a Dixing classic masquerading as historical fantasy in The Lord Envoy's Man!
:D :D :D
> the mugger reaching for SW's pendant reminded me of SW reaching for Li Qian's pendant in episode 1.
Ooh, nice!! And now I'm trying to think of other parallels with that -- CSZ and his doll, during the ep 4 interrogation? :D
no subject
Yeah, I don't think they HAVE an exit strategy. *g* They well and truly trapped themselves - but then, once Shen Wei was at the door, what other option did they have? *g*
CSZ and his doll, during the ep 4 interrogation? :D
Ooh yes, great point, that fits too!
no subject
Pretend that they drunkenly blundered into the wrong apartment? ZYL could have put SW on the spot for moving across the hall without telling him, and used SW's (supposed) flusteredness about that as cover for his escape. *g* Yeah, no. (Poor DQ, dragged into these misadventures. *g*)
no subject
> I had forgotten that one of the muggers thinks it's jade! Of course that's why it's the most common fan theory, too, duh.
Oh, that makes so much sense. Hee!
> a) Shen Wei gets his watch back, but not his money
I know! But SW can probably afford it, and it's not like the muggers profit for long.
> I know we've talked about the theory that Zhao Yunlan was following Shen Wei, and that Shen Wei knew about it - did his pendant feelings override that for a moment, so he forgot to be careful and make sure no one saw his ability to physically defend himself?
I think it was just a hard line for him. He defended the pendant until he didn't need to. He had his back to ZYL, so there was time to cover (as we saw). But I don't know what would have happened if ZYL had arrived a little later, when one of them already had a broken wrist. ;-p
> I wonder why Zhao Yunlan is trying to extricate himself instead of sticking around?
I have a whole list of possible reasons in my comment below, but I'm not sure which one is right. I feel like a lot of it is guilt/discomfort about having broken in and searched the place before, but I don't know if that's all of it.
> (Zhu Hong and Guo Changcheng clearly didn't recognise it. Do they not read webnovels, or do they just have different tastes?)
Different tastes, I think.
> Zhao Yunlan comes in whistling! And then later the surveillance footage! Idk why Zhao Yunlan was so awkward about his team seeing him with Shen Wei (possibly because he let the muggers go?), but he totally dug his own grave there - now they all think he was on a date and got laid.
I don't think it's about letting the muggers go. (I don't think the show cares about that.) I think it's a guilty conscience because he *wanted* more to happen than did. And possibly also because him tailing SW was unofficial/off-book, so he basically got caught out stalking his crush. Not cool!
> he's trying to convince his team it's totally not like that. (Though why, I'm not sure!)
Because SW is/has recently been a person of interest? Because SW is completely out of his league? (I love the idea of DQ deliberately announcing his presence for that reason, aww.)
> Also super fun: we had Chu Shuzhi bringing the banner, now Zhu Hong bringing the laptop - and she's so rude to Shen Wei, LOL. I wish we'd had the other SID member conscripted for similar tasks, too!
Hee! (DQ does come along on the old books mission -- does that count? ;D)
> I never quite thought of it that way, but - when the video comes on, both Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are leaning close to the camera! Nice.
Oh true! Great point. :D
> I know it's hard to believe, but Shen Wei doesn't know everything, Zhao Yunlan! Boo!
Ha, I know. ZYL is blinded by infatuation. :D
> I wonder why Shen Wei feels the need to volunteer that the muggers don't seem Dixingren? Why is that relevant? They're not the perpetrators, after all, and it opens him up to Zhao Yunlan's very reasonable return question ...
Yes, it's weird. And I hadn't really thought about it before FTS drew attention to it.
> Chu Shuzhi is so rough questioning the surviving traumatised mugger!
Maybe because he saw the footage of the mugging, including the attack on ZYL? (I just thought of that.)
no subject
Haha, yeah. That makes sense! Priorities, and the pendant outweighs everything else in that situation. *g*
I have a whole list of possible reasons in my comment below, but I'm not sure which one is right. I feel like a lot of it is guilt/discomfort about having broken in and searched the place before, but I don't know if that's all of it.
Yeah, good point! *ponders*
I don't think it's about letting the muggers go. (I don't think the show cares about that.)
Yeah, I guess you're right abouit that. (I want it to care! *grumbles*)
I think it's a guilty conscience because he *wanted* more to happen than did. And possibly also because him tailing SW was unofficial/off-book, so he basically got caught out stalking his crush. Not cool!
Haha, yeah. And I just had another thought, but that will need to percolate for a bit before I can properly put it into words. It ties in with the ointment scene anyway, so I'll bring it up when I get to that comment. :)
Because SW is/has recently been a person of interest? Because SW is completely out of his league?
Hee! All perfectly legitimate reasons. *g*
DQ does come along on the old books mission -- does that count? ;D
No, not to me - it only counts if they're sent to Shen Wei on their own. *g*
Maybe because he saw the footage of the mugging, including the attack on ZYL? (I just thought of that.)
Oh huh! Yeah, I never thought about that either, but of course that would make sense! And CSZ has very weird feelings about Shen Wei, I wonder if that plays into his irritation too.
no subject
> Yeah, I never thought about that either, but of course that would make sense! And CSZ has very weird feelings about Shen Wei, I wonder if that plays into his irritation too.
Hee! You just inadvertently fed my complicated one-sided CSZ&/ZYL shipping. ;D