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

[china_shop]

Ahh, what an awesome reply! <3 <3 <3

What you've made me realise is that ~this whole thing~ is about their mutual stalking being found out and accepted. Zhao Yunlan broke into Shen Wei's place to snoop around, and he was following Shen Wei that evening (like Lin Yusen following his crush ;-p), and in response, Shen Wei puts himself at a disadvantage so ZYL can rescue him (I wonder if that's even one of the reasons he doesn't deal with the muggers himself??) and invites him into his home. Meanwhile, Shen Wei gets caught out having literally moved in next door, and ZYL's response is to tell him off for not inviting him over!! :D :D :D :D :D

(Sorry if I'm just repeating what you said! Lightbulbs are going off in my mind, and it's a bit dazzling. *g*)

(This is really the point where Shen Wei should find out about the Dixing inquiry and the banner cam, but of course, ZYL isn't remotely there yet. Accidentally coming this far clean is already excruciating. *pets him*)

(This does make me wonder what Lai Su represents. He's kind of a metaphor for Ye Zun, whose stories are embodied by Zhu Jiu etc, and have a pretty high bodycount. But is it just that? I guess -- ZYL saw the horror to Wang Yike of her own power, but mostly she was aware she was using it; here, he gets to see a destructive power that the wielder doesn't even understand or know about. It that what makes it extra pitiful?)

Anyway, to your comment:

Ahh, thanks so much for laying out that rollercoaster so clearly. Wow, you're so right -- he's all over the place. *pets him* Q. Do you think he's consciously aware of his own growing romantic/sexual attraction at this stage? If so, when did he get a clue and how does that feed into the rest? Q2. Do you think he's aware of SW's romantic/sexual attraction?

I think it is in fact because he's been in there before and he's feeling - hm, not guilty in an "I did a terrible thing" way, but guilty in an "here's something I can get caught out on" way, and fully aware that secretly breaking into someone's flat would be a deal-killer for most people.

Oh yes, great point. (This is part of what led me into the It's All About The Stalking realisation. :D :D :D) (And unlike in the novel, where ZYL cheerfully goes around wiping civilian's memories, here he has no recourse if he's found out.) Haha, he's definitely not smooth in either of those situations. (I love his dorky self SO MUCH! :D :D :D :D :D)

it's IMO why it gets worse again when he's leaving, because SW actually having discovered the very thing he was uncomfortable about is ten times as uncomfortable. And SW isn't even reacting badly, which ZYL at least would understand! He doesn't know what to do with at all, and it leaves him waiting for the other shoe to drop, anad extricating himself as quickly as he can.

Yes, that makes so much sense. "WHY IS SHEN WEI LIKE THIS?!?!" An eternal mystery that keeps him up nights, lol.

But then SW refuses, and ZYL is so taken aback - by the immediacy of the refusal, but maybe also because he had half-way decided that that was SW's actual plan?

Yes, I think so. I think that initial job offer is a test, but it's also something he offers Shen Wei as a gift. (I had Da Qing scold him about this in one fic... :D)

but for the first time right now I'm considering that in this conversation he actually doesn't yet, not with any seriousness. That the entire "join the SID" thing starts out as him suspecting SW of an ulterior motive, and when SW refuses, that's when ZYL starts deciding that actually it would be a great idea!

You know, I think you're right. Ahh, that's awesome! :D :D :D And then next episode, we have him dreamily imagining working with Shen Wei, and then his recruitment efforts get serious and ever more ridiculous. (This is definitely where the old books factor in.)

Yeah, and it's also ZYL trying to gain the conversational upper hand again after SW's refusal to join the SID has thrown him off. As you say, it puts SW on the back foot a little, and ZYL relaxes enough to get confident and teasing again.

Yes, exactly! (So I wonder if Shen Wei's smile, after his flustered moment, is because ZYL is back to their regularly schedule banter programming, and he thinks they can go from there?)

SO MANY FEELINGS!!!!!

SO MANY!!! Especially because, when this kind of thing happened in YOHE, it invariably led to sex. ;D

Yes! I said that in another comment too, that there's a parallel there with the books.

*high fives* :D

I think he 100% knows exactly how he messed up, but just like when his team discover the surveillance footage of him and SW, he's so flustererd he can't react normally. And when SW doesn't let him off the hook (after that long pause where he really hoped he could stay in (im)plausible deniability space), he only ends up digging himself deeper when he actually tries to respond. Not because there isn't a reasonable explanation, but because all reasonableness has gone out of his brain. *g*

Ahhhh, you're right!! It's EXACTLY like the flustered reaction with the CCTV footage. OH ZHAO YUNLAN, YOU HOPELESS DISASTROUS MESS OF A PERSON!! :D :D :D :D :D

Because admitting the truth is clearly beyond him here - both because he's so used to fronting and allergic to sincerity, and because what if SW reacts badly to the admission? And then SW calling him back delays his escape, making it worse.

Yesssssssssssss! :D :D :D

so I think some time during the night (after probably a lot of not-feeling-great while insisting to DQ that everything's fine, he's totally not moping!) he manages to get past his own discomfort to look at what actually happened, which is that SW clearly was not calling him out in an accusatory way, and was intent on taking care of him even after. So looking at it clearly, apparently somehow none of this awkwardness has broken anything? And that's a huge relief! So ZYL recovers his cheer and glee from getting to play save-the-damsel with SW.

Yesssss, that makes sense, too! (And I like to think there was some ambivalent/helpless jerking off in there, too. Because SHEN WEI had his HANDS on him!! :D)

AND THEN his team discover the footage, and that "caught out" feeling from last night catches up with him again, and he gets all flustered. His relief and happiness are punctured, he discovers he didn't get over last night's awkwardness as completely as he thought, and also that there are things he can't really take being teased over right now. *g*

OMG, this is so relatable! LOL! *pets him*

I love your explanation for the videocall, too! Beautifully put!!

I think what breaks through the mess at the end is ZYL sympathising with Lai Su, and taking another step forward in character development by admitting that genuine feeling to SW - possibly even as a peace offer.

*nodnod* This makes me feel like there should be something about the Lai Su case specifically that makes ZYL have a breakthrough, but I can't pin anything down. Maybe it's just realising that SW really didn't know (because it wasn't a Youchu, it wasn't an identifiable monster at all) so SW really wasn't withholding useful info? But I don't find that as completely satisfying as a lot of the drama, so I think I might still be missing something.

Or to really recognise it - I think ZYL thinks it's a deflection, not a genuine offer.

Yes. (We don't see ZYL in SW's place again until the Envoy reveal, do we? I wonder whether this whole encounter gives him cringey associations, and that's why he never swings by there.) (I did briefly wonder whether the final convo of the show might actually be in SW's flat, across his desk at home, and I'd just been reading it wrong, but no, it's SW's office - though it looks a bit different from episode 3, to me.)

IMO it's not that he actually thinks it might be real, but that he really wishes it was.

Oh yes! That sounds right.

I think that's the moment where they're both simultaneously thinking, wow, ZYL really said that out loud!

LOLOL! (I find Shen Wei hard to read at that point, but your interpretation makes total sense.)

(I wonder if that's also a partial reason for the BEARS - harmless teasing that doesn't get close to anything even remotely personal, to let them get back to a more even keel and shows ZYL everything's good between them?)

Awwwwwwwwww! ("I suppose I'll just have to bore him back into a comfort zone!" LOL!!)

I do think that makes it sound a bit worse than it is.

That's true! There's the mismatch, but they're still ~them~ -- they understand and like each other, even when they're not 100% in sync. <3 <3 <3

ZYL just hasn't quite caught up with himself yet. (The different parts of him, as we were saying in another comment.)

Yes!! :D

[trobadora]

AHHH this thread! I love it. :D :D :D

What you've made me realise is that ~this whole thing~ is about their mutual stalking being found out and accepted.

OH! Yes! I hadn't put the thought together in quite those terms yet, but YES, that's exactly what it is, isn't it? :D :D :D

like Lin Yusen following his crush ;-p

PARALLELS! Repeating themes! And the contrast, where with Weilan it's 100% mutual and appreciated, once ZYL gets his head around it. *g*

Shen Wei puts himself at a disadvantage so ZYL can rescue him (I wonder if that's even one of the reasons he doesn't deal with the muggers himself??)

Oh, I could see that being part of his reasoning! I love how we keep assembling more and more reasons for him to do what he does. :D

Meanwhile, Shen Wei gets caught out having literally moved in next door, and ZYL's response is to tell him off for not inviting him over!! :D :D :D :D :D

YES!!!!!!!

(This is really the point where Shen Wei should find out about the Dixing inquiry and the banner cam, but of course, ZYL isn't remotely there yet. Accidentally coming this far clean is already excruciating. *pets him*)

I think it makes sense that it's a bit asynchronous, because not only is SW ahead of ZYL right now in so many ways (for time loop reasons) and ZYL needs the space to catch up, but also, secret reveals are a repeating motif with these two - building up to the final ones (first the time loop, then the white energy). That's how you make thematic coherence, baby! :D

This does make me wonder what Lai Su represents. He's kind of a metaphor for Ye Zun, whose stories are embodied by Zhu Jiu etc, and have a pretty high bodycount. But is it just that? I guess -- ZYL saw the horror to Wang Yike of her own power, but mostly she was aware she was using it; here, he gets to see a destructive power that the wielder doesn't even understand or know about. It that what makes it extra pitiful?

I think you're right with what you say below, that there should be something specific here that leads to the breakthrough, but I haven't managed to pin it down yet either. Agreed that we're still missing a puzzle piece here.

Idk. *thinks out loud* Lai Su is such an ordinary guy - a bit greedy, a bit full of himself, a bit cowardly - none of it remarkable, and he doesn't even have the slightest clue about black energy or Dixingren. He's just some guy, and it's really hard to see him as any kind of "other" after watching him interact with Lin Jing. I feel like that has to be part of it, but I can't put my finger on it.

Another thing is that what kills Lai Su in the end is looking himself in the face - his own inner monster, which he can't control because he doesn't even know it exists, frightens him to death. There's something in there, too, about self-knowledge and self-awareness and such ...

Q. Do you think he's consciously aware of his own growing romantic/sexual attraction at this stage? If so, when did he get a clue and how does that feed into the rest?

I think he was aware of his sexual attraction to SW from their first conversation, in a very superficial "he's gorgeous and fascinating" kind of way. And everything has just kind of been building from there, steadily, but I don't have any particular moment to point to where he actually has a realisation that oh, he's serious about SW, not just seriously into him. Hm, I'll have to think about that ...

Q2. Do you think he's aware of SW's romantic/sexual attraction?

Sometimes he thinks SW's attraction is obvious, and sometimes he thinks he's seeing what he wants to see, and second-guessing himself.

Haha, he's definitely not smooth in either of those situations. (I love his dorky self SO MUCH! :D :D :D :D :D)

It's completely delightful! He wouldn't be ZYL without it!

"WHY IS SHEN WEI LIKE THIS?!?!" An eternal mystery that keeps him up nights, lol.

Keeps him up in various different ways, I'm sure. :D

You know, I think you're right. Ahh, that's awesome! :D :D :D

Oh yay!

So I wonder if Shen Wei's smile, after his flustered moment, is because ZYL is back to their regularly schedule banter programming, and he thinks they can go from there?

That would make sense, at least in part! Another part has to be just overwhelming fondness for this dork. :D

Especially because, when this kind of thing happened in YOHE, it invariably led to sex. ;D

Hee!

Yesssss, that makes sense, too! (And I like to think there was some ambivalent/helpless jerking off in there, too. Because SHEN WEI had his HANDS on him!! :D)

Yayayay! And yep, absolutely, that has to have happened! :D

I love your explanation for the videocall, too! Beautifully put!!

:D :D :D

We don't see ZYL in SW's place again until the Envoy reveal, do we? I wonder whether this whole encounter gives him cringey associations, and that's why he never swings by there.

Oof, yeah. Now I want fic that deals specifically with him getting over those associations!

I did briefly wonder whether the final convo of the show might actually be in SW's flat, across his desk at home, and I'd just been reading it wrong, but no, it's SW's office - though it looks a bit different from episode 3, to me.

You mean the one at the end of this episode? Yeah, that's his office at the university. We see the door from the outside, and the banner, even! It looks the same to me as in episode 3, too.

"I suppose I'll just have to bore him back into a comfort zone!" LOL!!

Haha, I love how you put that. Yeah!

but they're still ~them~ -- they understand and like each other, even when they're not 100% in sync. <3 <3 <3

And this is why I love them so! ♥ ♥ ♥

[china_shop]

OH! Yes! I hadn't put the thought together in quite those terms yet, but YES, that's exactly what it is, isn't it? :D :D :D

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

And the contrast, where with Weilan it's 100% mutual and appreciated, once ZYL gets his head around it. *g*

(To be fair, we don't actually know if Lin Yusen's crush was into him. She could have just been shy.)

I love how we keep assembling more and more reasons for him to do what he does. :D

Haha, yes. :D

I think it makes sense that it's a bit asynchronous, because not only is SW ahead of ZYL right now in so many ways (for time loop reasons) and ZYL needs the space to catch up, but also, secret reveals are a repeating motif with these two - building up to the final ones (first the time loop, then the white energy).

Yes, very true! And ZYL is catching up quite amazingly fast, when you think about it (and about his upbringing).

Lai Su is such an ordinary guy - a bit greedy, a bit full of himself, a bit cowardly - none of it remarkable, and he doesn't even have the slightest clue about black energy or Dixingren. He's just some guy, and it's really hard to see him as any kind of "other" after watching him interact with Lin Jing. I feel like that has to be part of it, but I can't put my finger on it.

IOW, it could be anyone... Hm, I don't know if that helps.

Another thing is that what kills Lai Su in the end is looking himself in the face - his own inner monster, which he can't control because he doesn't even know it exists, frightens him to death. There's something in there, too, about self-knowledge and self-awareness and such ...

Maybe it's about ZYL deciding that he needs to face down his own inner "monster" -- oh, his bigotry?? Before it hurts more people and costs him what he wants most? Maybe he's consciously going, "It's time to shape up." And he wants SW to see that? (But then can't quite handle the sincerity of it.)?? /still unsure

I think he was aware of his sexual attraction to SW from their first conversation, in a very superficial "he's gorgeous and fascinating" kind of way. And everything has just kind of been building from there, steadily, but I don't have any particular moment to point to where he actually has a realisation that oh, he's serious about SW, not just seriously into him.

Yeah, agreed that he was superficially into him from the get-go. But I don't know when he reached "seriously into him" (probably fairly quickly) OR "serious about him." There are lots of possible points/moments that could have tipped him over. <3 <3 <3

Sometimes he thinks SW's attraction is obvious, and sometimes he thinks he's seeing what he wants to see, and second-guessing himself.

*nodnodnod* *pets ZYL*

Keeps him up in various different ways, I'm sure. :D

Definitely! :D

Another part has to be just overwhelming fondness for this dork. :D

Ohhhhh, yesssss! *LOVES SO MUCH*

Now I want fic that deals specifically with him getting over those associations!

Aww! <3

Yeah, that's his office at the university. We see the door from the outside, and the banner, even! It looks the same to me as in episode 3, too.

In ep 3, he sneezes all over the fish tank, which is on a kind of stand that you can walk around. In ep 7, the fish tank is on a shelf against the wall. The room seems smaller to me, too, but that might be camera lenses.

[trobadora]

To be fair, we don't actually know if Lin Yusen's crush was into him. She could have just been shy.

Yeah, fair. We know zero about her as a person.

And ZYL is catching up quite amazingly fast, when you think about it (and about his upbringing).

Yeah, it doesn't take him long to be all in! Though Shen Wei still has him beat, back in YOHE he was even faster. *g*

(Of course the circumstances are very different, and young Shen Wei in YOHE doesn't have reasons to be suspicious of Kunlun the way ZYL is of modern SW!)

Maybe it's about ZYL deciding that he needs to face down his own inner "monster" -- oh, his bigotry?? Before it hurts more people and costs him what he wants most? Maybe he's consciously going, "It's time to shape up." And he wants SW to see that? (But then can't quite handle the sincerity of it.)?? /still unsure

Yeah, idk either - there's something in there, I'm sure of it, but I can't quite put it together yet either. (Maybe the next rewatch? *g*)

Yeah, agreed that he was superficially into him from the get-go. But I don't know when he reached "seriously into him" (probably fairly quickly) OR "serious about him." There are lots of possible points/moments that could have tipped him over. <3 <3 <3

If you ever figure out which moment you think is most likely, I'd be so curious to hear! I have no firm headcanon either.

In ep 3, he sneezes all over the fish tank, which is on a kind of stand that you can walk around. In ep 7, the fish tank is on a shelf against the wall. The room seems smaller to me, too, but that might be camera lenses.

Huh, really? *double-checks* No, it's against the wall in episode 3 too, compare:

[china_shop]

(Of course the circumstances are very different, and young Shen Wei in YOHE doesn't have reasons to be suspicious of Kunlun the way ZYL is of modern SW!)

Yeah, they were both very different people then. Modern SW is more guarded and wary -- in a different way from modern ZYL, but still.

If you ever figure out which moment you think is most likely, I'd be so curious to hear! I have no firm headcanon either.

This sort of ties into my post last week on my journal about TPTB's approach, and whether there's one intended relationship arc or multiple on-ramps.

No, it's against the wall in episode 3 too, compare:

Omg, you're right. I've been wrong about this FOR SEVEN YEARS!! It's the SW-healing-himself scene in ep 2 that fooled me, because the camera goes behind the fish tank (into the wall?). That made me think the fishtank was in the middle of the room on a table or cabinet. And then when ZYL sneezes on it, I thought he was side-on to Shen Wei. (Turning away to sneeze is more polite, at least? If not to the fish. ;-p)

[trobadora]

This sort of ties into my post last week on my journal about TPTB's approach, and whether there's one intended relationship arc or multiple on-ramps.

Ooh, yes, we meant to come back to that, didn't we? I'd still love to hear more of your thoughts there! ♥

. I've been wrong about this FOR SEVEN YEARS!!

It's amazing that after so many years and so many rewatches this can still happen, and does in fact happen semi-frequently! Such a delight to keep discovering new things even now. :D

(And I totally get how the fish tank view from episode 2 can get you that impression! I had to double-check to make sure, too.)

[china_shop]

And I totally get how the fish tank view from episode 2 can get you that impression! I had to double-check to make sure, too.

Glad it's not just me! :D