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sid_guardian2026-02-07 02:49 pm
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2026-02-07 02:49 pm
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Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 11, part 1
Hi, and welcome back to the Guardian drama Slo-Mo Rewatch. Watch half an episode a week, at your leisure, and then come and chat about it here in comments. Or you can just jump into the comments without rewatching, of course!
Here are the previous weeks' rewatch posts.
Episode 11, up to 22:22
Summary
In the flashbacks, Sang Zan becomes despotic and nihilistic after Ge Lan's death. Eventually the villagers turns on him, and he laughs bitterly as the Awl activates and empillars him. In the present-day caves, Zhao Yunlan and the Envoy try to free Wang Zheng, and Zhu Jiu appears. Fighty McFight. The pillar is split and Sang Zan comes out to fight when the Envoy is pushed back. Zhu Jiu disintegrates Sang Zan's energy body. Zhao Yunlan shoots Zhu Jiu. The Envoy draws the Awl out of the pillar, and Zhu Jiu flees, thwarted. Wang Zheng kneels to the Envoy, begging him to reconstitute Sang Zan. Meanwhile, outside, Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng are fighting youchu. They go to find the others, and Zhao Yunlan introduces Sang Zan as the new SID archive manager. Back at the hotel, Zhao Yunlan finds Zhu Hong sleeping at the table. She seems disorientated and reacts strangely when Zhao Yunlan asks after Shen Wei. Shen Wei appears upstairs, smiling in apparent relief that Zhao Yunlan et al are back. After a moment's hesitation, Zhao Yunlan smiles back. The SID and the field trip party drink with the village head and Lang-ge. Shen Wei, seeing Zhao Yunlan's growing bodily discomfort, snatches the drink from his hand under the guise of making a toast. After Shen Wei drinks, he falls unconscious. Zhao Yunlan puts him to bed with an IV, stares at him for a while, and then notices the stinky youchu blood smell on his jacket and does the math. The next morning, Shen Wei wakes to a note saying that Zhao Yunlan et al have returned to the city. We get the events of yesterday from Shen Wei's POV -- venturing out, killing youchu, and saving Zhao Yunlan in the caves -- and then Jiajia and Xiao-Quan come in to check on their professor.
Quote
The Envoy: They held tightly to the person dearest to their heart, not abandoning each other whether in life or death.
Detail
I always forget about Sang Zan's energy body being disbursed by Zhu Jiu, maybe because we don't see his reconstitution on screen. I think this second death and resurrection only further emphasises that death isn't a permanent, insurmountable obstacle in the world of the show. ♥
Questions
Do you have a stand-out favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 11?
ZYL: If my loved one was killed by those people, killed by the system that I had built, it's very likely I'd hate these people more than I would hate the former tribe leader.
Envoy: That's right. Even if they're cut into a myriad of pieces, the hatred would be hard to dissolve.
Any theories about what personal experience these two are drawing on when they say this? (Neither of them seem driven by hatred to me.)
How did Da Qing know about energy beings? Do you think Wang Zheng is really sure the Envoy can save Sang Zan, or is it just desperation that drives her to her knees? Does Guo Changcheng feel worse about zapping Zhao Yunlan last episode or Chu Shuzhi in this episode? What does Zhao Yunlan think when he finds Zhu Hong asleep at the hotel and she reacts so strongly to Shen Wei's name? How perfect is the drinking scene? And the putting-to-bed scene? ♥ ♥ ♥ In the flashbacks, how did Shen Wei know Zhao Yunlan was in danger in the caves? Do you have any theories about the power in his note that repelled the youchu?
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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The Hanga tribe really keep blaming Ge Lan for everything. Even after everything Sang Zan does, they exhume her and plan to burn her, as if that would fix anything. While simultaneously deciding to make Sang Zan a slave again - talk about learning nothing.
("If she hadn't died, our descendants would never live in peace." But killing Ge Lan is ultimately what leads to them not having any descendants any more.)
I really wonder about the Awl ghostifying everyone and imprisoning Sang Zan in the pillar - how much of that comes from Sang Zan's frame of mind, and how much is the Awl's modus operandi? Energy bodies have apparently happened before, since Da Qing knows about them ...
Zhu Jiu accuses Shen Wei of selling out his own people for fame and glory, and while he does have a twisted image of the Envoy, part of that has to come from Ye Zun, right?
Zhu Jiu using the Envoy's black energy attack to crack open the pillar is pretty clever - and I think that was part of his plan from the start. Shen Wei later says that Zhu Jiu used Wang Zheng to lure the SID there, to use the humans' power to get the Awl. But what he actually needed was the Envoy's power, right? Shen Wei doesn't want to tell the SID they've been used as bait for the Envoy. (I don't doubt that Zhao Yunlan has picked up on that, but I wonder if he ever realises that that's part of why Shen Wei keeps thinking for the longest time that some kind of distance between him and the SID would make them safer?)
When Shen Wei reaches out and thinks, "I cannot pass that barrier in my present state," I'm not sure what he means by either "that barrier" or "my present state". Is the second bit about the backlash he suffered last episode from overextending his powers on the surface? And it's not visually clear to me at all, but is some part of the blue light around the pillar meant to represent a barrier that forms as the pillar is broken open?
Zhao Yunlan pulls his gun again - and this time manages to fire it without flashbacks or anything else stopping him.
I love the little moment of Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei looking at each other after Shen Wei pulls the Awl out of the pillar.
One of my favourite bits in this episode is Wang Zheng's line: "I waited for you for 100 years. and could only see you once." For one, it's another of those instances, where things seem to be over, Sang Zan seems lost/dead, but he isn't; a minute later he'll be back, and it's very much not the ending for the two of them. ♥
And also, I love how her words echo Shen Wei's "I searched for you for ten thousand years" - even more closely in Chinese:
SW: 我找了你一万年 - wǒ zhǎole nǐ yī wàn nián
WZ: 我等了你一百年 - wǒ děngle nǐ yī bǎi nián
So the parallel between the two couples is made as explicit as it possibly can be. So much love! ♥ ♥ ♥
(Aside: the Viki c-subs have a typo in Wang Zheng's line, saying 瞪了 "glared at" instead of 等了 "waited", LOL!)
When Wang Zheng asks the Envoy to reconstitute Sang Zan, Shen Wei doesn't immediately answer, and I always wonder what's going on in his head at that moment.
Shen Wei's line. "They held tightly to the person dearest to their heart, not letting go in life or death." ♥ ♥ ♥
(And I love that Zhao Yunlan, realising the Envoy is kind of a romantic, teases him about it until Chu Shuzhi loudly clears his throat. :D)
Btw, in Solo's subs Zhao Yunlan calls the SID a "mature and welcoming environment"; I looked up the phrase he actually uses, and it's 成人之美, which is an idiom meaning:
1. to help or encourage someone accomplish something; to assist
2. (chiefly literary) to magnify other people's virtue; to make good someone's honourable intentions
I think Zhao Yunlan framing making Sang Zan their librarian as "punishment" is trying to let Sang Zan save face, protecting his dignity/pride? Because really, what he's doing is just letting him stay with Wang Zheng at the SID (which is not a place outsiders should easily be let into), without actually expecting to get anything out of it. He doesn't know Sang Zan will make an effort and really make that job work, and he doesn't want to make it seem like he's offering charity. But even though I can totally see what he's intending, the whole thing still sits a bit uncomfortably with me.
The Envoy just quietly vanishing without anyone noticing is hilarious to me, and especially Zhao Yunlan's confused little "Hei ... Hei ... Hei ..."! :D
Zhu Hong reacts very obviously when the hypnosis breaks. (Shen Wei told her to forget about him until Zhao Yunlan returned safely, and he has returned now, so ...) And Zhao Yunlan does take a moment, but he still eventually smiles back at Shen Wei when he appears.
The drinking scene! Zhao Yunlan is so clearly struggling, and Shen Wei notices, of course! And I had forgotten that when Shen Wei grabs the drink, Zhao Yunlan almost tries to take it back, muttering, "since when do you drink -" Did Zhao Yunlan already know Shen Wei doesn't drink alcohol generally, or is it just because he was drinking water until then?
I really love Shen Wei saving Zhao Yunlan from the drinking! Not just from the one drink he grabs, but from the entire rest of it, because with Shen Wei passing out, Zhao Yunlan has the perfect excuse to stop - he has to take care of Shen Wei instead!
(I also love Zhu Hong's very narrow-eyed look as Zhao Yunlan gets up to leave, LOL.)
Shen Wei's shoes are next to his bed, so Zhao Yunlan reciprocated the taking-off-shoes thing, awww! ♥
This reveal is really well-constructed. First we get Zhao Yunlan's realisation and reaction, without any explanation, then we get Shen Wei waking up, and only then do we get the flashbacks explaining what actually happened, and reminding the viewer what the smell means. Great stuff!
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The Hanga tribe really keep blaming Ge Lan for everything. Even after everything Sang Zan does, they exhume her and plan to burn her, as if that would fix anything.
Oh, that's such a great point. POOR GE LAN!!
I really wonder about the Awl ghostifying everyone and imprisoning Sang Zan in the pillar - how much of that comes from Sang Zan's frame of mind, and how much is the Awl's modus operandi? Energy bodies have apparently happened before, since Da Qing knows about them ...
Ye Zun is kind of an energy body at first, isn't he? I wonder if it's the fight-club life force that helps him gain corporeality... Anyway, that makes me think it's the Awl's MO. (I am sometimes disturbed by the fact that both people who were empillared were enslaved people who rose up and overcame their oppressors. /o\ But I don't think Ma Gui would have deliberately created it to punish enslaved people for freeing themselves!! I do have a WIP that addresses this, but... so many WIPs!!)
Zhu Jiu accuses Shen Wei of selling out his own people for fame and glory, and while he does have a twisted image of the Envoy, part of that has to come from Ye Zun, right?
Most of it, I think, given Zhu Jiu used to hero-worship him. Though... knowing that the Envoy lives a comfortable respectable Haixing life must sting a bit.
Shen Wei later says that Zhu Jiu used Wang Zheng to lure the SID there, to use the humans' power to get the Awl. But what he actually needed was the Envoy's power, right? Shen Wei doesn't want to tell the SID they've been used as bait for the Envoy.
Yes, I think so.
(I don't doubt that Zhao Yunlan has picked up on that, but I wonder if he ever realises that that's part of why Shen Wei keeps thinking for the longest time that some kind of distance between him and the SID would make them safer?)
Even if he did think that, he would immediately dismiss it as Shen Wei being unnecessarily over-protective. /ZYL's survival instincts are broken
When Shen Wei reaches out and thinks, "I cannot pass that barrier in my present state," I'm not sure what he means by either "that barrier" or "my present state". Is the second bit about the backlash he suffered last episode from overextending his powers on the surface?
I think it must be. I wonder if the pillar is generating a similar field to the SID's security shield, blocking anyone with dark energy from entering?
Zhao Yunlan pulls his gun again - and this time manages to fire it without flashbacks or anything else stopping him.
Yesss! \o/!!
And also, I love how her words echo Shen Wei's "I searched for you for ten thousand years" - even more closely in Chinese:
SW: 我找了你一万年 - wǒ zhǎole nǐ yī wàn nián
WZ: 我等了你一百年 - wǒ děngle nǐ yī bǎi nián
Oh awesome! Thanks for that. <3
So the parallel between the two couples is made as explicit as it possibly can be. So much love! ♥ ♥ ♥
It's so good! Oh this show!!
(Aside: the Viki c-subs have a typo in Wang Zheng's line, saying 瞪了 "glared at" instead of 等了 "waited", LOL!)
Hahahaha. Awesome!
(And I love that Zhao Yunlan, realising the Envoy is kind of a romantic, teases him about it until Chu Shuzhi loudly clears his throat. :D)
:D :D :D
Btw, in Solo's subs Zhao Yunlan calls the SID a "mature and welcoming environment"; I looked up the phrase he actually uses, and it's 成人之美, which is an idiom meaning:
1. to help or encourage someone accomplish something; to assist
2. (chiefly literary) to magnify other people's virtue; to make good someone's honourable intentions
Ooh, that's awesome. I feel like ZYL being ZYL, he probably means both?
I think Zhao Yunlan framing making Sang Zan their librarian as "punishment" is trying to let Sang Zan save face, protecting his dignity/pride?
Yes, good point!
The Envoy just quietly vanishing without anyone noticing is hilarious to me, and especially Zhao Yunlan's confused little "Hei ... Hei ... Hei ..."! :D
LOL!! :D :D :D
Zhu Hong reacts very obviously when the hypnosis breaks. (Shen Wei told her to forget about him until Zhao Yunlan returned safely, and he has returned now, so ...)
I wonder what would've happened if SW had taken longer to get back (waylaid by more youchu, for example, or having to fight Zhu Jiu some more). What would she have remembered when ZYL woke her?
I really love Shen Wei saving Zhao Yunlan from the drinking! Not just from the one drink he grabs, but from the entire rest of it, because with Shen Wei passing out, Zhao Yunlan has the perfect excuse to stop - he has to take care of Shen Wei instead!
Yes!!!
Shen Wei's shoes are next to his bed, so Zhao Yunlan reciprocated the taking-off-shoes thing, awww! ♥
Awww! I didn't notice that!!
This reveal is really well-constructed. First we get Zhao Yunlan's realisation and reaction, without any explanation, then we get Shen Wei waking up, and only then do we get the flashbacks explaining what actually happened, and reminding the viewer what the smell means. Great stuff!
IT'S AMAZING I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! Thanks for laying it out like that/reminding me how great it is!! :D :D :D
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Ooh, good point, so there's sort-of proof that an energy body could become physical again ...!
I wonder if it's the fight-club life force that helps him gain corporeality...
The fight club life forces that Zhu Jiu collected went into letting Ye Zun escape the pillar, didn't they? And he's only a blue energy ghost then. He doesn't become more corporeal again until much later.
I am sometimes disturbed by the fact that both people who were empillared were enslaved people who rose up and overcame their oppressors.
Yeah, the reason why it's both of them is because parallels, but it really is a bit unfortunate in a way.
I do have a WIP that addresses this, but... so many WIPs!!
Cheering you on for ALLL the WIPs!
Even if he did think that, he would immediately dismiss it as Shen Wei being unnecessarily over-protective. /ZYL's survival instincts are broken
LOLOLOL, you're not wrong!
I wonder if the pillar is generating a similar field to the SID's security shield, blocking anyone with dark energy from entering?
Oooh, I like that! Maybe that's why it's invisible, because the SID shield is too.
It's so good! Oh this show!!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! :D
I feel like ZYL being ZYL, he probably means both?
Oh, totally! :D
I wonder what would've happened if SW had taken longer to get back (waylaid by more youchu, for example, or having to fight Zhu Jiu some more). What would she have remembered when ZYL woke her?
I don't think what she remembers is contingent on SW being there; he set the hypnosis so she'll forget the incriminating part. It's only the bit where she won't worry about SW that has an end trigger, presumably because he didn't actually know if she'd wake up before ZYL came back, and he didn't want her to go after him or anything. *g*
Awww! I didn't notice that!!
Something new every time!!! :D
IT'S AMAZING I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! Thanks for laying it out like that/reminding me how great it is!! :D :D :D
YES! :D :D :D
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Maybe you just need to keep adding more energy to work through the process. Idk.
Cheering you on for ALLL the WIPs!
<3 <3 <3
> I wonder if the pillar is generating a similar field to the SID's security shield, blocking anyone with dark energy from entering?
Oooh, I like that! Maybe that's why it's invisible, because the SID shield is too.
And we know the SID shield can keep Ye Zun out, so presumably this one could work on Shen Wei.
> I wonder what would've happened if SW had taken longer to get back (waylaid by more youchu, for example, or having to fight Zhu Jiu some more). What would she have remembered when ZYL woke her?
I don't think what she remembers is contingent on SW being there; he set the hypnosis so she'll forget the incriminating part. It's only the bit where she won't worry about SW that has an end trigger, presumably because he didn't actually know if she'd wake up before ZYL came back, and he didn't want her to go after him or anything. *g*
a) Yeah, I meant more, what would ZYL have surmised if Shen Wei then walked in the front door. Especially after Zhu Hong's reaction to his name.
b) Omg, I'd never framed the reverse-hypnosis as protective! I always thought it was Shen Wei hiding his identity/covering his tracks. I love the idea that he was just making sure she didn't charge into trouble. <3
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Oh, that's a very good question! He'd definitely have concluded SW was up to something.
b) Omg, I'd never framed the reverse-hypnosis as protective! I always thought it was Shen Wei hiding his identity/covering his tracks. I love the idea that he was just making sure she didn't charge into trouble. <3
I think it was both - he's covering his tracks, but he's also protecting her. He doesn't want to get her in trouble!
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b) Do you mean get her in trouble with ZYL for failing in her duty, or let her stumble into trouble with youchu?
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(This show is so forgiving of people sedating/drugging/hypnotising people to protect them! Wang Zheng, Shen Wei, Fourth Uncle... and that's just in the space of a few episodes! /o\ At least Shen Wei drugs himself to protect ZYL. *g*)
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(And LOL, true, there is SO much drugging! *flails*)