Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 13, 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 13, up to 21:44

Summary
Zhao Yunlan & co. break Da Qing out of his frenzy with the help of Lao Li's dried fish. Looking for Tan Xiao, Zheng Yi causes mayhem at the wedding, and Shen Wei arrives and stops it. Zhao Yunlan arrives and intervenes before Minister Gao can blame Shen Wei for any of it, but in fact, Minister Gao is grateful. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei go head-to-head about Shen Wei's secrets again, neither able to concede. They're called out to the street, where Da Qing and Lin Jing are trying to calm a frenzied Cong Bo. From him, they learn Zhu Jiu and the Crow Yashou have a boss. Zhao Yunlan hints again that he wants to work with Shen Wei, but Shen Wei leaves. Human-form Ya Qing and Zhu Jiu fight in front of Zheng Yi, who just wants her Tan Xiao. Chu Shuzhi stomps through the Snake forest and rescues Guo Changcheng. Tan Xiao has a nightmare and wakes up in the lab, where Zhao Yunlan finds him.



Quote
Shen Wei: Did I bring you trouble?
Zhao Yunlan: If you are the trouble, I'll take it by the dozen to bother my whole life.

Detail
Ya Qing delivers a message from Ye Zun to Zhu Jiu. Does that mean she's travelled to Dixing as their go-between?

Questions
Dried fish brings Da Qing back to his senses: what would work for some of the other characters? During Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei's standoff in the parlour, who do you sympathise with the most? Is Zhao Yunlan demanding answers in his capacity as chief of the SID or on the basis of their personal relationship? Is it okay for the SID to go around sedating members of the public without first checking their medical histories? What is Zhao Yunlan thinking as he watches Shen Wei leave the alley? (He looks so serious!)

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

[china_shop]

My notes:

Da Qing is really putting his back into trashing the fruit stand. No wonder Wang Xiangyang got such a fright. I will never not love the way ZYL beckons DQ like an animal (palm up) rather than a person. <3

Lin Jing, foreshadowing the next plot development: If it were Boss whose mind went out of control, I couldn't even imagine...

ZYL doesn't even bother to fill Da Qing in on what happened or reassure him. (I wrote a canon divergence for this, which includes the post-wedding scene and an alternate Envoy reveal/first kiss.)

The wedding: lol at Mr Li waving to the crowd as he walks his daughter up the aisle, as if they're applauding him and not her.

Why is it less awkward for the groom to play a recorded message while he stands there like a big dummy? *noogies him* (I love that the recording cuts off when the chaos starts, lol.)

The groom strangling the bride is so upsetting. (I wrote fic for that, too: more scenes from Shen Wei's first day on the job, feat Li Jiaqi.) And I made this a while back:



I love how Shen Wei stops to assess the situation before taking action, and his expressions as he de-whammies everyone. ad;lskfjas;dlkfasda And yes, this is where he discovers Zhu Jiu is the one controlling Zheng Yi.

Ahhhh, Zhao Yunlan just stops in his tracks when he sees Shen Wei amid the wreckage!! :D :D :D The whole scene with Minister Gao is a complete delight, I love everything about it (and trobadora's wonderful canon divergence of it, too!!). (Clearly Minister Gao has no idea Shen Wei is Hei Pao Shi; if he did, he'd know you can't just recruit the Envoy of Dixing as a Haixing consultant!!)

This exchange of glances is everything:



Lin Jing to Mr Li: I never thought your ending would be like this.
That makes it sound like he knew him?? I wonder what that's about. Maybe Li's corporation invested in Professor Ouyang's research?

How much is Zhao Yunlan sitting in the parlour mulling over the fact that, despite Shen Wei shutting him out, despite everything, ZYL still put his reputation on the line to protect Shen Wei? *pets him*

I've written all my meta about this scene into a fic already (this one, linked above).

I wonder how Da Qing feels, seeing Cong Bo freaking out and not remembering what happened. Poor Da Qing. No one explains anything -- they just expect him to bounce back.

Zhao Yunlan not arguing with Shen Wei's "experiment" excuse, just waving without looking -- I love that so much. I love the weariness of it. I do wonder what he's thinking as he looks up and watches so seriously as Shen Wei leaves, though.

Our first look at human-shaped Ya Qing!! So glamorous!!



And then she and Zhu Jiu start fighting in front of the hostage, the dorks. *g*

Zhu Jiu is a complete maniac! "I just love bombs that can go off anytime. It doesn't matter getting injured if the bomb can kill people." /o\ /o\ /o\

Zheng Yi is such an interesting mirror for Ye Zun -- abused, causing havoc, looking for her gege because she has no one else to turn to and no real sense of control of her life.

And every time that scene ends on the flowers, I'm convinced all over again that this is deliberate and the plant is one of Ying Chun's spies. <333

Chu Shuzhi stomping through the forest, lol! (I keep meaning to check if one of the Snakes who tries to stop him is Zhu Hong's Jia-ge. I assume so?) I don't understand what CSZ did to Fourth Uncle -- it's like Fourth Uncle just disappears?

Tan Xiao having his guilt/anxiety dreams at the lab. I'm so interested that his encounter with the Envoy doesn't feature in this nightmare! The carnage at the lab was clearly more traumatic. And what does it mean that he thinks of Zheng Yi as a monster?

And then Zhao Yunlan's immediate comprehension when he finds Tan Xiao at the lab reminds me of him telling Ji Xiaobai that his Weiwei isn't coming back. He's so sure that the Envoy's deportations are one way only.

(I'll come back and do the questions later.)