Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 8, part 2

[trobadora]

Hi, welcome to this week's instalment of the Guardian drama Slo-Mo Rewatch! Watch half an episode a week, and then come and chat about it here in comments. Or you can just jump into the comments without rewatching, of course!

Here is last week's half-episode. On to the second half!

Episode 8, from 22:19:

Summary: In Dixing, the Regent sends a smoke message. In Haixing, Shen Wei pours his drunk mentor into car and then finds Zhao Yunlan ill on the kerb. He takes him home in a taxi (where he serves as a pillow), then discovers Zhao Yunlan's disaster apartment (featuring: wine bottles, dirty dishes, THE FRIDGE). During the night, Zhu Jiu finds the pillar with the Mountain-River Awl, but can't approach it. Meanwhile Shen Wei discovers that Zhao Yunlan asked Dixing about him and the Regent is ratting him out. He alters the message. In the morning, Zhao Yunlan wakes up to a tidy flat and Shen Wei sitting next to his bed. He tries to recruit Shen Wei for the SID again, but fails again. Wang Zheng sees a newspaper report about an earthquake in the Hanga mountains, passes out and regains her memory. Da Qing comes to tell Zhao Yunlan and finds Shen Wei there in the early morning. The Sundial begins to glow and resonate with the Awl; Lin Jing traces the source to the mountains.



Quote:

Shen Wei: "I suggest you eat regular meals. I don't want to find you on the road again."

Zhao Yunlan: "If you want to know whether I eat regular meals, why don't you just join ourSID, and you'll know?"

Shen Wei: "So your SID doesn't need a consultant, it needs a nanny?"

Detail:

I always notice that when Shen Wei takes off Zhao Yunlan's boots, he accidentally slips one of Zhao Yunlan's socks off his heel and doesn't pull it back up, argh! :p

Questions:

What's going through Shen Wei's head in the taxi? How is Zhao Yunlan feeling about Shen Wei taking him home? What's your favourite detail in Zhao Yunlan's flat? What's Shen Wei's favourite detail? Why do you think Zhao Yunlan keeps trying to recruit Shen Wei after Shen Wei has refused more than once? Do you think Shen Wei is seriously hoping to warn Zhao Yunlan away from leaving Dragon City? Why is Da Qing surprised to find Shen Wei with Zhao Yunlan in the morning? Why does Wang Zheng try to leave the SID? Any thoughts about how any of this compares to the novel? Or about parallels with other parts of the drama?

(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!)

For the next two weekends, we're taking a break for the holidays - time to catch up on the rewatch, if you've been meaning to! Regular posts will resume on 9 January.

Here is our schedule for the current batch of episodes - please do sign up to host a post if you can!

Comments

[china_shop]

but given that Ma Gui apparently didn't know what alcohol is (LOL)

Maybe Ma Gui is just a massive nerd who never leaves his workshop? ;D

You bet that if it was someone he really didn't trust, gastritis or no, he definitely wouldn't have suggested they take him home! ♥ ♥ ♥

100%! He would have let them take him to the hospital, even though he really didn't want to go there.

And not just censorship, I think ZYL finds it easier to come at it this way because he still doesn't know how completely, 10,000% in Shen Wei already is. *g*

Ohhh, yes! THIS!!!! It's not like he's really subtle about it at all, but coming at it through recruitment gives him the plausible deniability he needs.

RIGHT???? It's every single one of them, they're ALL like that! *pets them*

Except maybe Lin Jing? (And honestly, I'm not sure about DQ, lol.) /compulsive nitpicking, sorry!! /o\

[trobadora]

He would have let them take him to the hospital, even though he really didn't want to go there.

Yes, exactly!

It's not like he's really subtle about it at all, but coming at it through recruitment gives him the plausible deniability he needs.

THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Except maybe Lin Jing? (And honestly, I'm not sure about DQ, lol.) /compulsive nitpicking, sorry!! /o\

I think early Lin Jing isn't mature enough yet, but at the end of the drama? He absolutely would.

And for Da Qing, if it mattered enough? He's easily distracted by fish, and he's very cat, but he's protective too, and when he gets serious he's serious. He was going to use Li Qian's serum on himself!

[china_shop]

THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

And from a Doylist perspective, the plausible deniability the show needs, given ZYL IS SPRAWLING ON A BED IN FRONT OF SW. :D :D :D

And yeah, I meant at this stage of the drama.

And for Da Qing, if it mattered enough? He's easily distracted by fish, and he's very cat, but he's protective too, and when he gets serious he's serious. He was going to use Li Qian's serum on himself!

Yes, definitely in the moment. I'm not sure he'd pre-meditatedly plan to exclude people specifically to protect them, though. He and ZYL (and later, SW) are so much a unit.

[trobadora]

given ZYL IS SPRAWLING ON A BED IN FRONT OF SW. :D :D :D

YESSSS, I love the drama for giving us that! :D

And yeah, good point about Da Qing. Though I think it depends on if it's something that can be done as a team. If it was something that had to be done by only one of them ...

[china_shop]

That's true. If it was one person only, DQ would totally throw himself on the grenade (and ZYL would be SO PISSED OFF about it). <3