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!)

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Comments

[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!)