Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 8, 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 8, up to 22:19

Summary
The SID enthusiastically welcomes Guo Changcheng as an official employee, and Lin Jing gives him the fear baton. ♥ Zhao Yunlan arranges to buy some old books and then calls Shen Wei to offer them as a gift, while Zhu Hong and Da Qing gossip about his black-heartedness and obsession with Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing meet a student in the street to buy the books, then sit around and talk about recruiting Shen Wei to the SID. Zhao Yunlan is openly smitten. ♥ But presenting the gift to Shen Wei does not go as planned: Zhao Yunlan gives a fake provenance for the books, Shen Wei leaves, and Zhao Yunlan slinks off to recover his dignity in private drink tea and talk about new SID premises. A mysterious letter gives Wang Zheng flashbacks. Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi run into Ding Dun in the street juuuust before receiving an APB about him. The Envoy comes to the SID to request help tracking him down, but Da Qing is hesitant to proceed without their fearless leader. Chu Shuzhi sets to work anyway and takes Changcheng with him. Meanwhile, Zhu Jiu murders Ding Dun, whose body the others find and take back to the SID? (Or pass on to the Envoy?) On the university campus that night, Shen Wei confides in Ying Chun while wearing an ascot. Zhu Jiu shows up, and fisticuffs ensue (Ying Chun helps Shen Wei), but Zhu Jiu escapes. Ying Chun points out the dangers in Shen Wei's plan to go after a missing item, but Shen Wei is resolved.



Quote
Lin Jing: This is my newest invention. It can transform fear into electricity. The more fear, the more electricity. In other words, I made it especially as the perfect, most powerful weapon you could have.
Guo Changcheng: E...electricity? I'm also afraid of electricity.

Detail
When Zhao Yunlan calls Shen Wei about the old books, the original subs say, "What a coincidence! I have a lot of old books," and the VIKI subs say, "You are so lucky as I have some in my home!" while Solo's subs have "As it happens, regarding this, the two of us were brought together by fate." The last is closest to the Chinese subs: 巧了 咱俩在这个事上 太有缘了 ("What a coincidence! We're so destined to meet on this matter." according to Google Translate).

Poll #33955 Subtitles

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 9

View Respondents

Which subtitles are you using? (Tick all that apply.)

View Answers

original fansubs
3 (33.3%)

Solo's subs
8 (88.9%)

VIKI subs
2 (22.2%)

Chinese hard subs
3 (33.3%)

other
2 (22.2%)

Questions
Do you have a stand-out favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 8? Is everyone genuinely glad to have Guo Changcheng onboard? Does Shen Wei as the Envoy already have a red stamp, and if so, when/how did he get it? On a scale of 1 to 10, how smitten is Zhao Yunlan with Shen Wei? On a scale of 1 to 10, how sympathetic is Da Qing to this smittenness? Who sends the APB on Ding Dun? (Presumably not the Envoy!) How do you feel about ascots? How great is the fight with Zhu Jiu?

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!

Comments

[amedia]

Do you have a stand-out favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 8?

I love the scene where everyone claps for Guo Changcheng coming onboard, including Chu Shuzhi. ♥

Is everyone genuinely glad to have Guo Changcheng onboard?

In one of the first Guardian fics I wrote, I imagined that there might be some SID members who believed that Guo Changcheng was moved from intern to regular employee for reasons that Zhao Yunlan had mentioned earlier, like wanting nicer office space:

(Zhao Yunlan is talking about why he's passing on information (non-Dixing-related) that has accidentally crossed the SID's radar, to Minister Guo.) "Besides, it's always a good thing to have a government official owing us a favor."

"Other than promoting his nephew to full-time, you mean," said Lin Jing. Chu Shuzhi wondered if he needed to go over there and slap Lin Jing silly. Guo Changcheng earned his promotion fair and square. I know more than anyone how hard he worked to get it.

Zhao Yunlan saved him the trouble. "I don't make personnel decisions based on politics," he snapped, glaring at Lin Jing. "I need the best people working for me, or the whole team would be in danger."

"Sorry, sir," said Lin Jing. Chu Shuzhi relaxed.

[china_shop]

I love the scene where everyone claps for Guo Changcheng coming onboard, including Chu Shuzhi. ♥

He's so smiley!! :D :D :D

And aww, what a lovely excerpt! Protective CSZ ftw!! <3 <3 <3

[amedia]

And aww, what a lovely excerpt! Protective CSZ ftw!! <3 <3 <3
Thank you kindly!

[salamandras]

I love the scene where everyone claps for Guo Changcheng coming onboard, including Chu Shuzhi. ♥
Me too!

"I don't make personnel decisions based on politics," he snapped, glaring at Lin Jing. "I need the best people working for me, or the whole team would be in danger."
♥

[amedia]

Aw, thank you! ♥

[trobadora]

Aw, that's great, thank you for sharing! ♥

[amedia]

But presenting the gift to Shen Wei does not go as planned: Zhao Yunlan gives a fake provenance for the books, Shen Wei leaves

I found this scene painful to watch the first time through! But during one of the rewatches here I read some really interesting observations that made it a lot more bearable. (Do I remember what they were? Um ... not at the moment.)

[china_shop]

Maybe the scene discussion post? :-)

[amedia]

Yesssss! That was it exactly. :-)

I was reminded of it not long ago when I was reading the first Guardian novel! During the arc in the mountains, Lang-ge (I forget his full name) - Zhao Yunlan's hail-fellow-well-met contact is astonished when Shen Wei drinks to him.

Lang-ge paused. "Aiya," he exclaimed, a little surprised. It was one thing to call a thug like Zhao Yunlan "bro"; arrogant scholarly types were quite another matter ... He'd certainly never imagined that Shen Wei would pay him such respect.

It reminded me of where you were talking about gift-giving among different social strata, and how Shen Wei, as a college professor, would be at a much higher level than Zhao Yunlan.

[china_shop]

Notes!

• I've never noticed before that in the opening it looks like Xiao-Guo is sitting on ZYL's legs, hee! This is how and where ZYL gives performance reviews -- in front of everyone! Hee! And yay, Changcheng is official, and everyone is smiling and clapping and welcoming. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 And Zhao Yunlan's smiles in this scene are so crinkly and sweet!!!!! a;ldskjfa;sdklfjas;dklfjas;dlkfjasdlfkadsf

• The red stamp! I always feel they should do more with this. (I wrote an ep 14 missing scene in which Wang Zheng stamped newly official consultant Professor Shen. <3)

• It looks like this is Changcheng's first time in the lab, aww! And I love that Lin Jing literally weaponises Changcheng's fear -- perfect! It made me laugh so much the first time I watched. :D

• Aww, Zhu Hong trying so hard to be close to ZYL and have a private convo with him. *pets her*

• The books! Mooning over Shen Wei! Da Qing's hopeless attempt to be a responsible deputy, lol. I love all this so much that I wrote a scene discussion on it. <3333333 (Oh hey, this is ZYL's third time getting flustered to the point of speechlessness in two episodes. HE IS SO SMITTEN!!)

• Lao-Li is hapless with the letter. I'm always struck by how Zhu Jiu's letter ploy relies on a string of coincidences.

• About this point I switched from the original subs to the VIKI subs. (I can't remember why.) I don't know if I've watched with VIKI subs before? Anyway, in the VIKI subs, Changcheng tells CSZ, "Thanks for helping me move my stuff." Is he moving? Do official SID employees get government housing?? IS THERE A SID DORM?!? *wants all the fic* :D :D :D :D :D

• Ding Dun is dorky and almost charming -- shame he's such a villain. His coat is almost as dramatic as Zhu Jiu's, lol.

• The Envoy at the SID -- the camera angle makes it look like he's hovering/looming.

I like how this visit is both an opportunity to check in on ZYL (even if it doesn't work out that way) and SW using all the resources available to him to catch Ding Dun. He can't call CSZ away from work, so he has to using him through work. :D

• The original subs have:

• Lin Jin, bring back the dark force detector
  

• It will not help. My detector only works when someone used their power a short time ago, and it's not very reliable. Look, the man in the black cape comes and goes non-stop and yet you've never seen my detector light up

I don't think I ever knew that Lin Jing talks about the detector having a "maximum power limit." Cool! Shen Wei is too powerful for the detector!! :D :D :D (That can't be why he can get through the security shield, though, or presumably it wouldn't keep Ye Zun out.)

• Zhu Jiu is fondling a random plant in the street; I really hope it's either not a Yashou or consenting!! /o\

• Aww, Changcheng is so very Team Zhao Yunlan, and CSZ is so Team Envoy. :D :D :D Incidentally, when they're in the street, there's some writing on one of the windows. It's reversed, so I flipped it:

beaucoup de villes dans le monde, il existe tant de bistrots dans une ville, alors qu'elle entra dans celui-la (Google Translate gives: "In many cities around the world, there are so many bistros in a city, as she entered this one." This isn't "Out of all the bars in the all the cities in all the world, she had to walk into mine," is it? LOL. ;D)

• I love that GCC clocked CSZ's "special relationship" with the Envoy, aww! (I wonder if anyone's ever told him that CSZ is a renowned fanboy.)

• I got so hung up for so long on GCC piggybacking Ding Dun's dead body, but eventually I realised why.

• Zhu Jiu says to departing departed!Ding Dun, "Sorry, but I will give you a grand offering when I get the Mountain-River Awl." Which makes me go, a) you did not have to kill the guy! b) this makes it sound like you're the one who resurrects him later, but when do you actually have the Awl?

• Shen Wei confiding in a bush will never not be hilarious, especially when she sighs and he apologises. :D The fight is excellent, though. I love Shen Wei being constrained by his secret identity, and Zhu Jiu taunting him about it. And the whole fight is super dynamic. <3

• Also love that Ying Chun challenges Shen Wei's plans, forcing him to consider the potential costs. <3 <3 <3

Original: How can I give up ? I already lost once. I don't want to relive a painful experience like that
Solo's: But... how can I give up without trying? I've already lost once. I don't want to feel pain like that ever again.
VIKI: I had lost my loved one once, and I will not suffer from it twice. (!!!!! <3 <3 <3 Though honestly, I'm not sure if he's talking about losing Ye Zun or losing ZYL here. Thoughts?)

I'm up way too late. I'll answer the questions tomorrow.

[salamandras]

I got so hung up for so long on GCC piggybacking Ding Dun's dead body, but eventually I realised why.
Ah, interesting post! This was from before my watching Guardian, so it's great to have you link back to it.


Shen Wei confiding in a bush will never not be hilarious, especially when she sighs and he apologises. :D The fight is excellent, though. I love Shen Wei being constrained by his secret identity, and Zhu Jiu taunting him about it. And the whole fight is super dynamic. <3

I do love this particular fight scene, too!

[china_shop]

Ah, interesting post! This was from before my watching Guardian, so it's great to have you link back to it.

Yay! <3 <3 <3 (There was, before that, a poll. :D)

I do love this particular fight scene, too!

*high fives you* It's so good! :D

[trobadora]

It's such a fantastic fight scene, I love it to pieces!

The Red Stamp and Unexpected Foreshadowing

[amedia]

The red stamp! I always feel they should do more with this. (I wrote an ep 14 missing scene in which Wang Zheng stamped newly official consultant Professor Shen. <3)

How did I miss reading this before? I just went and devoured it and it was so good. ♥

I actually rewatched the first half of ep 8 today. I had forgotten about the red stamp until I was skating through looking for shots of Lin Jing and then I thought "OH MY WOW" and promptly went back to working on the vid. This time I actually wrote down the words: "For now you are just a normal human, but there's no guarantee that you won't come to carry other energy too." SO MUCH FORESHADOWING!!! Especially since on the words "there's no guarantee," the camera focuses on Lin Jing ... the protege and mole of the evil Professor Ouyang, who eventually forces a Dixing-style serum power on Guo Changcheng!

A few lines later, poor Guo Changcheng, having no idea that he will eventually acquire a superpower, says, "But I don't have any power. I won't be any use to you." And that's when Lin Jing takes him into the lab and gives him the fear-powered shock stick - which Guo Changcheng later uses to save Lin Jing's life when Professor Ouyang is trying to kill him. It all ties together!

Re: The Red Stamp and Unexpected Foreshadowing

[trobadora]

SO MUCH FORESHADOWING!!! Especially since on the words "there's no guarantee," the camera focuses on Lin Jing ... the protege and mole of the evil Professor Ouyang, who eventually forces a Dixing-style serum power on Guo Changcheng!

OHHHH great catch about the focus on Lin Jing, that's amazing! And yeah, ALLL the foreshadowing, it's excellent. :D :D :D

[china_shop]

How did I miss reading this before? I just went and devoured it and it was so good. ♥

*beams* Thanks so much, you! <3

I had forgotten about the red stamp until I was skating through looking for shots of Lin Jing and then I thought "OH MY WOW" and promptly went back to working on the vid.

Hee! That's how vidding goes. :D

This time I actually wrote down the words: "For now you are just a normal human, but there's no guarantee that you won't come to carry other energy too."

Ahh, that's so good!!! How cool!! :D (I'm usually using the original subs at this point, which say, "even if for the moment you are only a human, maybe later you'll become the representative of another force" -- which is less foreshadowy, so I never caught that.)

And that's when Lin Jing takes him into the lab and gives him the fear-powered shock stick - which Guo Changcheng later uses to save Lin Jing's life when Professor Ouyang is trying to kill him. It all ties together!

\o/ \o/ \o/ That's such a great little arc for those two, specifically. :D :D :D

[amedia]

I love that GCC clocked CSZ's "special relationship" with the Envoy, aww! (I wonder if anyone's ever told him that CSZ is a renowned fanboy.)

I noticed that this time too! Especially since, when GCC mentions it, CSZ's response is to glare, no doubt expecting GCC to back down, and GCC simply looks calmly at him in return, not the least bit fazed. Look! There's a vertebra! And maybe another! GCC is growing a spine!!!

[trobadora]

I've never noticed before that in the opening it looks like Xiao-Guo is sitting on ZYL's legs, hee!

LOLOLOL!

The red stamp! I always feel they should do more with this.

Yes, same here!

Oh hey, this is ZYL's third time getting flustered to the point of speechlessness in two episodes. HE IS SO SMITTEN!!

And it's so delightful! :D

Lao-Li is hapless with the letter. I'm always struck by how Zhu Jiu's letter ploy relies on a string of coincidences.

Yeah, I have no idea how Zhu Jiu intended to get it back! It only gets thrown out by accident after all.

Anyway, in the VIKI subs, Changcheng tells CSZ, "Thanks for helping me move my stuff." Is he moving? Do official SID employees get government housing?? IS THERE A SID DORM?!? *wants all the fic* :D :D :D :D :D

Haha, I have no idea! The Chinese just says 搬东西, "move stuff", but one has to assume it's GCC's stuff ...

And official housing/something dorm-adjacent would be very interesting, you could do a lot with it!

I don't think I ever knew that Lin Jing talks about the detector having a "maximum power limit."

Haha, high five! I just found that too, and I definitely never saw it before. So fascinating! (And good point that that can only apply to the detector, not the shield, since the shield is keeping Ye Zun out.)

Incidentally, when they're in the street, there's some writing on one of the windows. It's reversed, so I flipped it:

It does seem to be a Casablanca quote! dragoncityinteriordesign had a post on it.

I got so hung up for so long on GCC piggybacking Ding Dun's dead body, but eventually I realised why.

Thanks for linking that! Yeah, that still makes a lot of sense. :D

Zhu Jiu says to departing departed!Ding Dun, "Sorry, but I will give you a grand offering when I get the Mountain-River Awl."

I'm not seeing the "offering" in the Chinese. He says, 委屈你了 等我拿到山河锥 我会记你一份大功 - I've wronged, you, wait until I get the Mountain-River Awl, I will remember your great service. (Which is basically what the original subs and Solo's have.)

VIKI: I had lost my loved one once, and I will not suffer from it twice. (!!!!! <3 <3 <3 Though honestly, I'm not sure if he's talking about losing Ye Zun or losing ZYL here. Thoughts?)

I'm not seeing that in the Chinese either. As best I can render it literally:

可是我不试试 我怎么能甘心呢 - But if I don't try, how can I be content?
我已经失去过了一次 我绝对不想再体验一次那样的痛苦 - I already lost [something/someone] once, I absolutely don't want to experience that pain again.

There is no direct object, so what or whom he lost isn't mentioned at all. I'm not sure if it's about Kunlun, tbh - if only because he's been reunited with him already, so I think in retrospect that pain isn't the worst since it's temporary. Whereas that's emphatically not the case for Ye Zun.

[trobadora]

Zhu Jiu is fondling a random plant in the street; I really hope it's either not a Yashou or consenting!! /o\

It just now occurred to me, but do you think that scene is a deliberate red herring? Meant to make you wonder if perhaps the Flower Tribe is actually working with Zhu Jiu?

[trobadora]

Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi run into Ding Dun in the street juuuust before receiving an APB about him.

Is that how you read it? I read it the other way round, that the Envoy's visit is a flashback that happens before the run-in with Ding Dun, and that's where the APB came from (I figured the Envoy had brought a photo and Lin Jing made the digital version). It definitely looks to me like it's not coming in right that moment, but that CSZ pulls it up to compare the guy he saw to the APB - he just recognised Ding Dun a moment too late. And with the way the Envoy's explanation already starts as a voiceover while he's looking at the APB, I thought he was remembering it.

But no matter which way you read it, something's wonky with the continuity here.

If the run-in with Ding Dun comes first: who sent out that APB? how did they know about Ding Dun? why doesn't CSZ mention to the Envoy that they've already heard about him and even seen him?

All of this is answered if the Envoy's visit comes first, but then why is CSZ accompanying GCC moving his stuff when there's a mission from the Envoy? (I mean, ZYL apparently ordered him to, but that would have to have happened before the Envoy's visit.)

(Additionally, if the scene of CSZ and GCC searching for Ding Dun follows immediately from the run-in with Ding Dun, where did GCC's stuff disappear to?)

Which subtitles are you using? (Tick all that apply.)

I clicked all the options including "other" - I usually watch with Solo's subs and then if I want to look at something closely, or the subs don't seem to match what I hear, I check the original subs, the Viki engsubs and the Viki csubs. Sometimes (if something seems wonky) I double-check the Viki csubs against the Chinese hardsubs. *g*

Do you have a stand-out favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 8?

There's a lot of great stuff, but I have a particular fondness for the fight with Zhu Jiu, just for the physicality of it.

Does Shen Wei as the Envoy already have a red stamp, and if so, when/how did he get it?

I assumed he had one, but have no idea how exactly he got it! Possibly via Chu Shuzhi?

Okay, on to my notes:

• Poor Xiao-Guo, having to suffer Zhao Yunlan faking him out like this! But yay everyone welcoming him. Chu Shuzhi has an actual real smile, hee! :D


• "I've never seen a leader talk so much." All the subs translate Da Qing's words similarly, but what Da Qing actually says ZYL does is not just talking - it's 废话, empty talk/nonsense/wasting his breath. :D


• Wang Zheng's speech when she gives Xiao-Guo the red stamp is very full of foreshadowing! But in-universe, I really wonder what happened at the SID (or a predecessor organisation?) in the past, that this sort of declaration is built into their onboarding?!
  
  I mean. The Yashou and Dixingren SID members obviously need the red stamp, and Zhao Xinci would have had to insist the humans get it too, because otherwise Zhang Shi would have kept him outside - but "come to carry other energy" is just not a thing that you'd ordinarily expect unless you had some kind of precedent ...


• When Xiao-Guo says he doesn't have any powers and won't be any help, ZYL looks at Lin Jing, and then CSZ looks at Lin Jing, too, after which Lin Jing nods. So CSZ already knew about the fear stick, too, not just ZYL and Lin Jing. (Zhu Hong doesn't know, as we find out a bit later.) Fascinating!
  
• The phone call with the girl who sells the books is so weird in the opposite way TV phone calls are usually weird. Usually, people don't say good-bye, but there's a "see you later" here - whereas any actual relevant arrangements about meeting up are missing! She says she's heard he wants the books, he says yes, and then it's "see you later" already ...


• The gossip between Da Qing and Zhu Hong about ZYL and the girl and Shen Wei is so fun! And I found something fun:
  
  According to Solo's subs and the original ones, Zhu Hong wonders why ZYL is hanging out with Shen Wei so much recently. The Viki subs have "Why does Zhao directly contact him?". What she actually says is that Zhao Yunlan is 杠上了 with Shen Wei, which the dictionary renders as being in conflict/getting into a dispute, but I found a delightful explanation online that is much more fitting, here: "It refers to one party challenging the other due to a conflict, while the other party resolutely resists. For example, if A and B each drive into a narrow road and meet, A believes he is about to reach the intersection, so he asks B to back up to give him way, but B refuses and insists that A give way, and neither side concedes, we can say the two have "杠上". :D :D :D


• Da Qing says ZYL wants to add a new member to the SID - even though later ZYL floats this as if it's a new idea. Either Da Qing has picked up on ZYL's thoughts before ZYL has said anything, or else ZYL is just re-introducing this idea to him multiple times because he's so smitten with it. *g*


• Zhu Hong pointing out how unusual it is for ZYL to actively pursue someone like this makes me wonder if he usually just let himself be seduced? And she's very spot on when she says that he'll scheme himself right into a trap some day - he's already in the process of doing that right now, hee! :D


• ZYL calls the bioengineering department - he doesn't have SW's extension number yet. That surprises me every time! And he calls himself SW's "close friend, Xiao-Zhao"! ♥ And being all "what a coincidence, it must be fate!!" about having the books he's just arranged to buy, LOL. :D


• Da Qing teasing ZYL about buying SW's favour - I think his 搞不定用钱砸，你还真给别人长脸啊 roughly means, if you can't manage it on your own, throw cash at it. Hee!


• And ZYL describing Shen Wei as 油鹽不進, not absorbing oil or salt - is apparently an idiom for an extremely stubborn person who doesn't listen to others' suggestions. :D


• It's so fascinating to me that it's Da Qing who had Lin Jing check Shen Wei with the black energy detector, and not ZYL!


• And then ZYL gets all dreamy about how fun it is to work with SW, so he should join the SID, and tells it to DQ as if DQ didn't already know. :D :D :D


• Because I just looked it up again, here's a thread about the old books and their titles.


• It's so hilarious to me that the girl with the books gives ZYL a sob story about her grandfather, and then he turns around and gives the same story to SW - but lays it on extra thick, much worse than the girl!


• I love that Shen Wei doesn't hesitate at all to call him out. He's not harsh or angry about it, but he also 100% doesn't let ZYL get away with this kind of thing, because what he wants is for ZYL to be sincere with him, but ZYL is still in his "allergic to sincerity" phase. *pets him* And ZYL is so speechless and can't dig himself out of the hole he's dug!


• I'm always resentful when I get to the bit about ZYL talking to Minister Song about new premises for the SID because I love the SID set so much! So I'm glad the "one year later" at the end of the show still has them there. *g*


• The SID clock wall and its bizarre times given are always so fascinating to me; one day I'll do something with that ...


• The shenanigans with the letter for Wang Zheng are very bizarre. It makes sense that she'd get it if she's the only one currently at the SID (other than Lao-Li), but how did Zhu Jiu mean to get it back? It only lands in the bin by accident.


• Also: both Lao-Li and Zhu Jiu touched the letter with their bare hands after Wang Zheng and before Ding Dun gets it back! How far back can he look? Did he see stuff about Lao-Li and Zhu Jiu too, or can he deliberately choose to only pick up visions from one particular person?


• Xiao-Guo thanking Lao-Chu for helping him, when he's very much not helping and Xiao-Guo is carrying everything, LOL!


• I assume Ding Dun runs into them to touch their stuff and get info from them - I wonder what he picked up from Xiao-Guo ... And then he's suddenly gone when CSZ runs after him, probably snatched up by Zhu Jiu or Ya Qing.


• In Solo's subs, the Envoy says he discovered Ding Dun had infiltrated the palace - but what the Envoy actually says is that he discovered the palace had been infiltrated (so, not necessarily by Ding Dun). The Viki subs render it like this: "A few days ago, I noticed that there could be some hidden spies within the palace. I haven't started my investigation yet and this Ding Dun already escaped into the mortal world." Which is much closer to the Chinese. It seems to me that Ding Dun hadn't been exposed yet (and what Shen Wei discovered might have been about someone else altogether), but was afraid he would be exposed by the investigation, and so pre-emptively fled.


• The SID team, in ZYL's absence, seems very hapless. Even Da Qing would rather stall for time and wait until ZYL returns, despite this clearly being an important case.


• One more cheer for the Viki subs: I was looking at Lin Jing's explanation of the black energy detector, and it turs out that the line that the original subs as well as Solo's render as "it's not very reliable" actually says 而且是有上限的, which the Viki subs correctly translate as: "And it has a maximum power limit." Who knew! So that's why it can't detect Shen Wei, he's too overpowered, LOL.


• I'm not sure why Zhu Jiu kills Ding Dun. Couldn't he have been useful? (I mean, he comes back to life later, as we'll see in Dixing, but I also have no idea how that happens, so, who knows. *tears hair*)


• GCC is very right that ZYL would have a plan for searching for Ding Dun, not just running around aimlessly! They really all have a long way to go. *g* (And yet, they find him anyway. *g*)


• And now one of my favourite scenes! The fight with Zhu Jiu is so good - the physicality of it, how you can clearly tell from the way Shen Wei moves that this is a person who knows how to fight! The integration of black energy and teleportation and (at the end) black energy vision. Ying Chun's interference! It's just all a lot of fun. And Shen Wei's little smirk when Zhu Jiu says it's tile to settle this! His anger! But also holding himself back when humans are passing by. Seriously, I love it.


• Aw, Ying Chun deciding she's leaving, and talking about the Flower Tribe keeping out of the conflict between humans and Dixingren. She has such a great character arc going on in the background of the show!


• And she reminds Shen Wei that people need his protection, and asks him if he really wants to do this by himself! And Shen Wei's melancholy and determination not to suffer loss again ... ♥ ♥ ♥

[china_shop]

Is that how you read it? I read it the other way round, that the Envoy's visit is a flashback that happens before the run-in with Ding Dun, and that's where the APB came from

Ha, that has never once occurred to me! I assumed the Envoy had probably shown up with a photo (somehow? from somewhere?), Lin Jing (or Wang Zheng or Zhu Hong) sent it out, and then GCC and CSZ were recalled to the office where everyone was meeting with the Envoy. (Presumably they weren't too far away.) If the Envoy already had a photo, wouldn't he have shown it to them at the meeting, and then CSZ and GCC would have recognised Ding Dun in the street?

> why doesn't CSZ mention to the Envoy that they've already heard about him and even seen him?

Good point! I have no idea. Maybe he didn't want to speak out, especially to admit he let him go? (That doesn't sound quite right, tho. The fact that DD is definitely in Dragon City is important information!)

Additionally, if the scene of CSZ and GCC searching for Ding Dun follows immediately from the run-in with Ding Dun, where did GCC's stuff disappear to?

This is what I get stuck on, and why I think they're separate scenes.

And if the Envoy had a photo, why didn't he just show it to the others when they were there?

I clicked all the options including "other" - I usually watch with Solo's subs and then if I want to look at something closely, or the subs don't seem to match what I hear, I check the original subs, the Viki engsubs and the Viki csubs. Sometimes (if something seems wonky) I double-check the Viki csubs against the Chinese hardsubs. *g*

Hee! All this forensicking we do! :D

I assumed he had one, but have no idea how exactly he got it! Possibly via Chu Shuzhi?

Maybe it was sent to him on a talisman, which he carries in an inner pocket?

But in-universe, I really wonder what happened at the SID (or a predecessor organisation?) in the past, that this sort of declaration is built into their onboarding?!

Someone turned out to be Yashou and didn't know it?

(Lin Jing invented the shield, so it must be relatively new, surely. It wouldn't have anything to do with Zhao Xinci, would it?)

So CSZ already knew about the fear stick, too, not just ZYL and Lin Jing.

I wonder if ZYL asked CSZ whether the kid was up to handling such a powerful weapon. (Or warned him that they were planning to give the kid a powerful weapon. *g*)

She says she's heard he wants the books, he says yes, and then it's "see you later" already ...

I presume they message each other details.

but I found a delightful explanation online that is much more fitting

Haha, that's great! And it sounds much better/more appropriate than "fighting", which I think some of the subs have.

Either Da Qing has picked up on ZYL's thoughts before ZYL has said anything, or else ZYL is just re-introducing this idea to him multiple times because he's so smitten with it. *g*

I presume the latter, hee! <3 And in the street, DQ finally gets exasperated/practical and says ZYL will have to clear it with the Inspectorate, and ZYL says he already did. *g*

It's so hilarious to me that the girl with the books gives ZYL a sob story about her grandfather, and then he turns around and gives the same story to SW - but lays it on extra thick, much worse than the girl!

He's so ambivalent about whether he wants this to be a big, meaningful gift or a casual "here's some old books I had lying around" that he sort of veers all over the place. *noogies him so much*

but he also 100% doesn't let ZYL get away with this kind of thing, because what he wants is for ZYL to be sincere with him, but ZYL is still in his "allergic to sincerity" phase.

It feels so much like puppy training, lol. :D

but how did Zhu Jiu mean to get it back? It only lands in the bin by accident.

Ha, maybe he knows someone with a boomerang ("return to sender") kind of power, and ZJ got them to make the letter? LOL.

I assume Ding Dun runs into them to touch their stuff and get info from them

Oh, did you think that was deliberate? I've always assumed it was coincidence (Ding Dun lurking near the SID, and that being where the others are going)...

Thanks for the DD backstory clarification!

despite this clearly being an important case.

It's important to the Envoy, but it's not particularly important to the SID at this stage, as far as they know? It sounds like a non-violent power, no one's died. The Envoy is not their boss, and Dixing politics doesn't seem particularly relevant to everyday Haixing life...

Who knew! So that's why it can't detect Shen Wei, he's too overpowered, LOL.

*high fives again* :D

I'm not sure why Zhu Jiu kills Ding Dun. Couldn't he have been useful?

Maybe Ye Zun told him to, because Ding Dun was too closely aligned to the Regent and couldn't be trusted long term? /wild speculation

The fight is so good, yes!!!! And awww, Shen Wei!! :D

[amedia]

I wonder what he picked up from Xiao-Guo

My head!canon is that Xiao Guo has recently had a Big Gay Awakening and all Ding Dun managed to get was, "Chu-ge is so handsome ... Chu-ge is so kind to me ... Chu-ge protects me ... Chu-ge is so manly ..." possibly with a heaping helping of sheer thirst on the side.

I was assuming that HPS's briefing about Ding Dun came after Ding Dun's meeting with ChuGuo, because of how embarrassed and horrified GCC looks when he realizes (a) what Ding Dun's power is and (b) that Ding Dun touched his shock stick.

[facethestrange]

Lmao, I watched this half of the episode EXACTLY in time for the next one. xD My faaaavorite episode (especially the next half, I hope I'll be more on time with that one ♡♡♡)! ♡___♡

- Zhao Yunlan is totally trolling Xiao Guo, but also not, lol - praise does make him uncomfortable. xD And everyone likes Xiao Guo so much and I love how they're smiling, awwwww! :D ♡♡♡ And Zhu Hong has the giant bouquet all prepared on her desk. :D (And then Xiao Guo leaves the bouquet on the table, lol. :D)

- I accidentally paused the video at the weirdest Da Qing face, so you get the screencap now. xD xD



Also completely intentional Zhao Yunlan screencaps because godssss he's beautiful. :D ♡♡♡



- Da Qing calls Zhao Yunlan out for talking too much and then for the rest of the scene it's just everyone else talking, not Zhao Yunlan at all, lol, mostly Da Qing himself (and Lin Jing). xD

- I've skimmed some of the comments, and I'm also curious what the history behind the red stamp is too. Does it happen often that humans end up carrying other energies? I really like the idea that it was Zhao Xinci being sneaky - if he made the stamp universal/required, he didn't need to explain why he would be stopped by the shield. :P

- I adore their silent communication (Zhao Yunlan -> Chu Shuzhi -> Lin Jing) about Xiao Guo's stick, aww! :D

- Lin Jing is far too chill when Xiao Guo aims the stick at him. xD

- Before Zhu Hong starts talking to him, Zhao Yunlan has his thumb in his mouth. xD :D

- XIAO ZHAO. :D :D

- I am 99% sure that the conversation about Zhao Yunlan never pursuing other people the way he's pursuing Shen Wei (and possibly also the part of the conversation about him trapping himself this time?) is from the novel, but I can't pinpoint the scene? It may also be a paraphrase of a novel quote where Zhao Yunlan is thinking to himself that no one has ever been this important to him, so he didn't care about being rejected before? (Which I also can't pinpoint because it's apparently not after the rejection at the restaurant? There's another one before he gives Shen Wei the books, but it's not what I'm thinking of either: "Anyone else would have taken a step back by now, but Zhao Yunlan wasn’t just anyone. He was a first-class narcissist and still had the absolute conviction that Shen Wei felt a tug of attraction for him. He was tired of people throwing themselves at him, so Shen Wei’s behavior was a turn-on. The more reserved and passive the professor was, the hotter Zhao Yunlan’s heart burned.")

- Zhu Hong's eyes literally go red when Zhao Yunlan talks to the girl and then to Shen Wei - idk if it means crying or mildly snaking out, but either way she knows exactly what's up with Zhao Yunlan's interest in Shen Wei, and it's not trying to get him to join the SID. xD (Also the way Zhu Hong and Da Qing talk about it is so funny - they keep saying things like 'this time' and comparing this situation to how Zhao Yunlan acted in the past, as if he was always trying to get random people to join the SID. xD)

- "Such dirty thoughts!", lol. I have no idea how uncensored this sounds in Chinese, but still. :D :D

- Da Qing talking sense, Zhao Yunlan dreamily going down on the lollipop. xD xD

- This is the first time it has ever occurred to me, but does Shen Wei think that Zhao Yunlan had something to do with the books being stolen from the library? I hope not because OUCH. (And I've always wondered what happened to the student who was cheerfully selling library books? :P)

- The random scene with Xiao Guo carrying stuff and Chu-ge (not) helping him = the novel scene where he's at the train station trying to carry all the things he's donating until he also bumps into someone. :D (I'm still not 100% sure what the drama context for this scene is, but I like the idea that now that he's fully employed they're giving him a place to live. :D)

- Wang Zheng's worried/distracted face, awww.

- How did Zhu Jiu get back the letter after Wang Zheng touched it?

- Somehow I've never before wondered about Ding Dun's death/resurrection beyond 'wtf?', but now I'm suddenly thinking that he simply didn't actually die here, they just thought he did? xD He's not shown being killed by Zhu Jiu, only knocked out (pretty lightly too, at least for tv standards :P), maybe he simply woke up wherever they drop him off? (Or is this something that gets disproven somewhere later? Again, I've never focused on this storyline. xD)

"Do you have a stand-out favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 8?"

Zhao Yunlan doing this while thinking about how much he enjoys Shen Wei's company. :D :D :D



Yes, it's my icon, but slightly different. :D :D

"Is everyone genuinely glad to have Guo Changcheng onboard?"

Yesssss. :D ♡ They don't smile like that when they're not genuine. :D

"Does Shen Wei as the Envoy already have a red stamp, and if so, when/how did he get it?"

Unless the Envoy is somehow inherently stronger than the shield, he must have one, but when/how is a very good question considering they never met the Envoy since before Zhao Yunlan took over. (When did Lin Jing invent the shield again?)

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how smitten is Zhao Yunlan with Shen Wei?"

He already broke the scale completely - at least 1000, going on 10000. ;D :D :D

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how sympathetic is Da Qing to this smittenness?"

Lolol, this question is suddenly making me wonder if Da Qing is 'Team Envoy' when it comes to Zhao Yunlan's new crushes. xD xD But I think he's sympathetic enough, he's just also facepalming and laughing his ass off simultaneously. xD

"Who sends the APB on Ding Dun? (Presumably not the Envoy!)"

I feel like the scenes are out of order (intentional flashback?), so it probably was from the Envoy?

"How do you feel about ascots?"

Hell yeah, YES PLS. :D :D ♡____♡

"How great is the fight with Zhu Jiu?"

Very, very cool indeed! ♡♡♡ Hey, it's an opportunity to post a gratuitous beautiful Shen Wei. :D



"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?"

Somehow I rarely catch drama parallels as I'm watching, and other than Shen Wei talking about losing a loved one, I can't think of anything right now? Novel-wise, otoh: I've talked about the book con a lot under the previous post, so I don't have anything to add without repeating myself, but it's such a neat adaptation (especially in how seamlessly they made it fit with the fact that Shen Wei is not harmful to Zhao Yunlan and therefore not actually avoiding/rejecting him). :D Also, Xiao Guo's stick! There are a lot of changes (science and electricity vs. magic and flames, and it's made by Lin Jing and not Zhao Yunlan, even though later it turns out that novel!Lin Jing is an inventor too), but otherwise it works the same. :D :D

[trobadora]

Lmao, I watched this half of the episode EXACTLY in time for the next one. xD

LOL, great timing! *g*

Da Qing calls Zhao Yunlan out for talking too much and then for the rest of the scene it's just everyone else talking, not Zhao Yunlan at all, lol, mostly Da Qing himself (and Lin Jing). xD

LOLOLOL, great catch! :D

I really like the idea that it was Zhao Xinci being sneaky - if he made the stamp universal/required, he didn't need to explain why he would be stopped by the shield. :P

:D :D :D

Yeah, that's absolutely my headcanon, it just makes sense to me. But also I really like to think they have records from historical incarnations of the SID where all kinds of weird stuff was reported, and that's what Zhao Xinci is drawing on.

I adore their silent communication (Zhao Yunlan -> Chu Shuzhi -> Lin Jing) about Xiao Guo's stick, aww! :D

Right? I noticed that too, it's delightful!

I am 99% sure that the conversation about Zhao Yunlan never pursuing other people the way he's pursuing Shen Wei (and possibly also the part of the conversation about him trapping himself this time?) is from the novel, but I can't pinpoint the scene?

It does seem like there should be something, but I can't pinpoint it either - the quote you found is the only one I'm turning up, too. I wish my memory was better!

Zhu Hong's eyes literally go red when Zhao Yunlan talks to the girl and then to Shen Wei - idk if it means crying or mildly snaking out

Snake power activating! Usually her eyes go red when she uses her powers. Violent impulse of jealousy, is how I read it.

This is the first time it has ever occurred to me, but does Shen Wei think that Zhao Yunlan had something to do with the books being stolen from the library? I hope not because OUCH. (And I've always wondered what happened to the student who was cheerfully selling library books? :P)

Both very good questions! But I don't think Shen Wei would think Zhao Yunlan actually stole the books, he knows him better than that. *pets ZYL*

The random scene with Xiao Guo carrying stuff and Chu-ge (not) helping him = the novel scene where he's at the train station trying to carry all the things he's donating until he also bumps into someone. :D

Oh, great catch, I had totally forgotten about that!

How did Zhu Jiu get back the letter after Wang Zheng touched it?

RIGHT?????????????? I mean, I guess it was thrown out with the trash, but since it only landed in there by accident, that can't have been the plan ...

Somehow I've never before wondered about Ding Dun's death/resurrection beyond 'wtf?', but now I'm suddenly thinking that he simply didn't actually die here, they just thought he did? xD He's not shown being killed by Zhu Jiu, only knocked out

Huh, I definitely thought Zhu Jiu killed him, what with the black energy visible in the blow. But I'm definitely going to pay attention to the next mention of Ding Dun to see if this time we can work out more of it. *g*

Zhao Yunlan doing this while thinking about how much he enjoys Shen Wei's company. :D :D :D

:D :D :D He's so dreamy! :D

Lolol, this question is suddenly making me wonder if Da Qing is 'Team Envoy' when it comes to Zhao Yunlan's new crushes. xD

LOLOLOLOLOL, I hadn't thought of that before but it's hilarious to me. :D

I feel like the scenes are out of order (intentional flashback?), so it probably was from the Envoy?

Ha, another vote for "flashback"! I read it that way too.

Hey, it's an opportunity to post a gratuitous beautiful Shen Wei. :D

YES, so gorgeous!

Also, Xiao Guo's stick! There are a lot of changes (science and electricity vs. magic and flames, and it's made by Lin Jing and not Zhao Yunlan, even though later it turns out that novel!Lin Jing is an inventor too), but otherwise it works the same. :D :D

Haha, I keep forgetting it's in the novel! You're totally right, it's an amazing adaptation. :D

[china_shop]

Zhao Yunlan is totally trolling Xiao Guo, but also not, lol - praise does make him uncomfortable. xD

Which "him"? Lol.

I accidentally paused the video at the weirdest Da Qing face, so you get the screencap now. xD xD

Hee! <3

And omg, yes, I love ZYL's totally sweet smiles in this scene a;lskdfjas;dlkfjas;dlkfjasdlfkajs;dlkfasdf

Da Qing calls Zhao Yunlan out for talking too much and then for the rest of the scene it's just everyone else talking, not Zhao Yunlan at all, lol, mostly Da Qing himself (and Lin Jing). xD

Hee! <3

ETA: Lin Jing is far too chill when Xiao Guo aims the stick at him. xD

I thought that, too! (Forgot to comment on this because I got ~distracted~ by the following observation. ;D)

Before Zhu Hong starts talking to him, Zhao Yunlan has his thumb in his mouth. xD :D

alksdf I had to go and rewatch this. :D :D :D

"Such dirty thoughts!", lol. I have no idea how uncensored this sounds in Chinese, but still. :D :D

Haha, I know!

This is the first time it has ever occurred to me, but does Shen Wei think that Zhao Yunlan had something to do with the books being stolen from the library? I hope not because OUCH.

I really don't think so. That would be completely out of character for ZYL, wouldn't it?

And I've always wondered what happened to the student who was cheerfully selling library books? :P

ME TOO! I think it's like the muggers -- everyone turns a blind eye, when they should follow up.

I'm still not 100% sure what the drama context for this scene is, but I like the idea that now that he's fully employed they're giving him a place to live. :D

:D :D :D

I tend to presume Ding Dun is dead because of the cry of "corpse!" And I feel like there's later verification of this, but I can't remember what now... But also, wouldn't Shen Wei interrogate him if he were still alive?

Zhao Yunlan doing this while thinking about how much he enjoys Shen Wei's company. :D :D :D

HEE! YES!!! :D :D :D

When did Lin Jing invent the shield again?

Sometime in the last three years, I guess? I feel like it would have been one of the first things he did...

He already broke the scale completely - at least 1000, going on 10000. ;D :D :D

Haha, yes!! <3 <3 <3

Lolol, this question is suddenly making me wonder if Da Qing is 'Team Envoy' when it comes to Zhao Yunlan's new crushes. xD xD But I think he's sympathetic enough, he's just also facepalming and laughing his ass off simultaneously. xD

Hee! I love this assessment.

I feel like the scenes are out of order (intentional flashback?), so it probably was from the Envoy?

Do you think the Envoy has the technological capability, though? (And that's good to know that you read the Envoy's briefing as a flashback. It had honestly never occurred to me before!)