Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 12, 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 12, from 22:18:

Summary: We start with murder! Zhu Jiu is collecting people's life energy and has recruited the human manager of a fight club to provide it for him. Chu Shuzhi leaves the SID to find out where Guo Changcheng is, since he's still missing. Zhao Yunlan questions Tan Xiao and learns about Zheng Yi's abusive stepfather. He understands Tan Xiao's motive, but tells him he has to follow protocol. At that moment, the Envoy arrives and briskly takes Tan Xiao away. (Da Qing wonders what Zhao Yunlan has done to upset him, since he won't even chat!) When Zheng Yi cries, Zhao Yunlan offers kitty!Da Qing as a comfort.

Returning to the SID, Zhao Yunlan is unhappy with the case's easy resolution. He starts putting together all the clues and realises that it's Zheng Yi who's Dixingren, not Tan Xiao. Meanwhile in a park, the Envoy (literally) shakes down Tan Xiao, then knocks him out - he's deduced the same thing. (In a flashback, Zhu Jiu recruits Zheng Yi just as she's killing her stepfather.) Zhu Hong wakes up, and she, Zhao Yunlan and Lin Jing rush to the hospital, but Zheng Yi and Da Qing are gone. They in turn have gone to the SID, where Da Qing hands Zheng Yi the Hallows. She remembers she's supposed to go to a wedding to find Tan Xiao.

At the Li/Huang wedding, we re-meet Papa Li, the bride and the groom, and Minister Gao, as well as meeting Cong Bo for the first time, who's secretly recording things. Meanwhile, Da Qing walks past Wang Xiangyang's fruit stand, is suddenly reminded of something Kunlun once said to him, loses control and starts trashing the fruit stand.



Quote:

Lin Jing: "We need permission from the boss!"

Chu Shuzhi: "The boss' decision is the same as mine."

Detail:

Lin Jing tells us that "weak-minded" Dixingren accidentally losing control and using their powers, harming themselves and others, happens a lot.

Is it that they're weak, though, or is it that living in hiding, they lack the support and infrastructure to learn control properly?

Questions:

What's your favourite bit from this half-episode? If the Envoy had stopped to talk to Zhao Yunlan, would that have made a difference to the outcome? If Zhao Yunlan et al. hadn't left the SID to rush back to the hospital, could they have stopped Zheng Yi? How does Tan Xiao know about Dixing and the Envoy? How deliberate and premeditated was Zheng Yi's killing of her stepfather and his flunkies? Where does Lin Jing's speech about the hardships of Dixingren come from? Is what's going on with Minister Gao and Li Guangbiao actually headline-worthy? Any thoughts on parallels with other parts of the drama? Or on how this relates to things in the novel?

(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 to give everyone (including ourselves) a bit of time to catch up! Regular posts will resume on the weekend of 20 March.

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

Comments

[china_shop]

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack! :D :D :D HI!! ♡♡♡♡♡

Yayayay!!!!!!!!! You're baaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

Also the things Zhu Jiu can do despite it not being his power, like sucking out ghosts souls lives, is occasionally confusing to me, but eh, good for him?? :P

I tend to think he's channelling Ye Zun's powers, or something like that? *handwaves* :D

- "Like father, like daughter", wait, what's up with Zhu Hong's parents? I forgot that too apparently. :P

It comes up next episode. Zhu Hong's dad was pro-human and ran away to the city.

- Somehow I've never wondered about that before, and idk if I'm missing something obvious, but why is Zheng Yi in the hospital? Because of the bruises?

Oh, great question. As Trobadora pointed out, this is all part of their plan for Zheng Yi to suborn one of the SID team and steal the Hallows, so I suspect Tan Xiao said she was sick (he kind of thinks she is anyway; he asked Zhu Jiu to heal her). Aside from anything else, it successfully lulls the SID into a false sense of security.

Alas, he doesn't get a flirty response this time, which rightfully confuses Da Qing, lol.

Oh, this made me wonder, for the first time I think, whether the Envoy being so terse and formal here changes ZYL's strategy wrt trying to get him to admit the truth. I don't think it does? But maybe that's part of what he's stewing over in the wedding parlour -- that him trying to get closer is actually making Shen Wei withdraw?

- Da Qing agreeing to be cuddled to help Zheng Yi is the SOFTEST and always one of my favorite scenes. ♡♡♡ And I adore that it's Zhao Yunlan who came up with that! ♡

Because he knows how comforting a cat can be!!! Especially for an abused child. /o\

(And then it turns out that she knew he was Yashou? Because otherwise how did it go exactly - did she try to hypnotize a regular cat?)

LOL! I guess Zhu Jiu told her and Tan Xiao all about the SID?

- Appreciation for the lollipop in Zhao Yunlan's cheek. :D :D

Ahhhh, screencaps! *subscribes to your newsletter* :D

- The abandoned invitation on the floor is such a neat touch, accidentally reinforcing it to Zheng Yi that Zhu Jiu is not full of shit/she's doing the right thing.

Yes! It's beautifully done. :D

I love the physicality of this scene btw, the way Da Qing is moves is so well-done and intense.

*high fives you* :D :D :D

(And I'd cheer him on so much if he had instead gone after the asshole parent who said those things to the kid!

Right?? /o\

Emotional support cat-shaped Da Qing! And also his confusion why Shen Wei is not flirting back this time. :D

:D :D :D

Do they have the protective ear plugs already? Otherwise she would have just hypnotized all of them - I don't think more people would be a problem for her.

Ha, yeah, great point.

> "How does Tan Xiao know about Dixing and the Envoy?"

From Zheng Yi, I'm assuming? Idk if she has never spoken around him, but I guess they communicate in writing? (Not sure how she knows this much, but probably from her mother.)

Ohhhh! I just realised Zhu Jiu could have told them all about it (and given his propaganda version of the state of Dixing/Haixing relations and the roles of the Envoy & SID) as part of his recruitment?

> "How deliberate and premeditated was Zheng Yi's killing of her stepfather and his flunkies?"

Very deliberate, but I think if it was premeditated she would have only killed her stepfather.

Yes, great point. His flunkies are no great loss, but she probably wouldn't have gone after them.

I hope it's about trying to cover up what happened to Wu Xiaojun, and Huang Sr. has been arrested and isn't actually in the hospital.

Ha, yes. An excellent take!!

but this question made me realize that I have a novelverse gui OC fic idea that I may write at some point, and it totally wasn't intentional but it will probably sound like she was partially inspired by Zheng Yi. :)

Hee! Awesome! *cheers you on*

(And now on to the next episode asdfghfjskljkl;; :D :D ♡♡♡♡♡)

Yayayayayayayayayaayy!!! *hugs so much*

[trobadora]

I suspect Tan Xiao said she was sick (he kind of thinks she is anyway; he asked Zhu Jiu to heal her). Aside from anything else, it successfully lulls the SID into a false sense of security.

Oh! That's a great theory. It would make a lot of sense for Tan Xiao, yes!

Oh, this made me wonder, for the first time I think, whether the Envoy being so terse and formal here changes ZYL's strategy wrt trying to get him to admit the truth. I don't think it does? But maybe that's part of what he's stewing over in the wedding parlour -- that him trying to get closer is actually making Shen Wei withdraw?

OHHHHHHHH, great thoughts! I hadn't thought of it that way, but yes, I can totally see that. Ouch!

His flunkies are no great loss, but she probably wouldn't have gone after them.

Not until they beat up Tan Xiao, for sure. But yeah, no great loss indeed!

[china_shop]

OHHHHHHHH, great thoughts! I hadn't thought of it that way, but yes, I can totally see that. Ouch!

So glad that works for you! Yeah...