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]

Ha! I noticed that too. :D

*high fives* I'm aware of it every time. :D

If he's shy it's easier to not have to speak in public? I thought it was sweet. :D

He's the acting chairman of a corporation; I feel like he should be able to speak in public. Maybe that's just me. (Or maybe it's different when he's speaking from the heart. And she would have been able to keep the recording -- I wonder if they ended up getting married, or whether it all fell apart after he choked her under the influence... /o\)

> (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!!)

I mean, Zhao Yunlan knows, and he's still trying! :p

Yes, but ZYL's view of the SID is different too, I think? Minister Gao sees it as just another state law enforcement agency, albeit a secret, specialised one; ZYL sees it as a family, his ragtag bunch of misfits who work together to protect Haixing.

> This exchange of glances is everything:

YES, I noticed that too, it's AMAZING. :D

:D :D :D :D :D :D

I thought he just knew him from the Wu Xiaojun case, where he apparently got away with everything, only to now die in a totally random event.

Did Lin Jing even meet Mr Li during that case? Or do you think he's just reacting to Mr Li's reputation? The "never thought" sounds personal to me, but maybe it's a translation thing, and it's more "wouldn't have thought".

> 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*

AWWWW. I think he's at least partially stewing over the fact that he did that, and it turned out to not even be necessary!

Like, "my selfless gesture went to waste?" I'm not sure about that. I feel like there's two parts he's stewing on, but neither is that exactly: one is Shen Wei's presence/SW's being on Minister Gao's good side somehow/everything that's gone wrong, and one is his awareness of his own feelings about the above -- "I'll take it by the dozen to trouble my whole life." I mean, everything went horribly wrong with the wedding, and you could partly lay the blame at SW's feet, and still ZYL's first instinct had been to try and protect SW. Even though SW is still shutting him out.

That is so well constructed, I love all the mirroring on this show. It makes everything feel so much richer!

Yes, it's fantastic. And this one doesn't even become clear to the viewer until the very end (by which time they're not thinking about Zheng Yi at all). But it still sets up a mindset and story expectations.

I don't think he actually thinks of Zheng Yi as a monster - I mean, look at how he acts when he finally sees her again, in the second half of the episode! Not a moment of hesitation there. It's a nightmare where he suddenly discovers that on top of everything else, he's been wrong about her. His waking self knows better, but he can't see her to reassure himself that she is the person he knows, so his fears and nightmares just spiral.

*nodnod* That makes sense. (I like that that makes his dream less meaningful. I'm not very fond of dreams as narrative devices. ;-p)

[trobadora]

He's the acting chairman of a corporation; I feel like he should be able to speak in public. Maybe that's just me.

He's a nepo baby; he's chairman because of his dad, not because he's good at any part of it. So who knows, maybe he's terrible at it! But yeah, I think it's a very different thing when it matters emotionally.

I wonder if they ended up getting married, or whether it all fell apart after he choked her under the influence... /o\

When Da Qing wakes up from the hypnosis, he doesn't remember anything about what he did under the influence, so maybe they don't remember either. That must be so weird, too!

Minister Gao sees it as just another state law enforcement agency, albeit a secret, specialised one; ZYL sees it as a family, his ragtag bunch of misfits who work together to protect Haixing.

But it still is a law enforcement agency! I always feel like ZYL should be taking that into account when trying to recruit a foreign dignitary, and he just doesn't. *g*

The "never thought" sounds personal to me, but maybe it's a translation thing, and it's more "wouldn't have thought".

It's a very set phrase in Chinese, so I wouldn't read anything in particular into it.

Like, "my selfless gesture went to waste?" I'm not sure about that.

No, not in that sense, more like, he's feeling raw because he exposed himself, and he didn't even have to. Pretty much what you said, the awareness of his own feelings about the whole thing - how instantly he jumped to Shen Wei's defence. And Shen Wei didn't need the defence, and still keeps shutting him out!

But it still sets up a mindset and story expectations.

YES! That's exactly it, and I love it to pieces. ♥ ♥ ♥

I don't think he actually thinks of Zheng Yi as a monster - I mean, look at how he acts when he finally sees her again, in the second half of the episode! Not a moment of hesitation there. It's a nightmare where he suddenly discovers that on top of everything else, he's been wrong about her. His waking self knows better, but he can't see her to reassure himself that she is the person he knows, so his fears and nightmares just spiral.

*nodnod* That makes sense. (I like that that makes his dream less meaningful. I'm not very fond of dreams as narrative devices. ;-p)

I do think it's meaningful, just not in the sense that it exposes a truth or something like that - it's very thematic; grappling with people who are sometimes seen as monsters is very much at the heart of it. The word "monster" keeps coming up over the course of the show, like a repeated motif, and Tan Xiao's nightmare spells out his own grappling with that thematic strand.

[china_shop]

He's a nepo baby; he's chairman because of his dad, not because he's good at any part of it.

True, and I have no idea if Chinese firms have boards of directors whose confidence needs to be secured. I still feel like he should have been raised/trained to do the thing he was inevitably going to end up doing, but what do I know. :-)

When Da Qing wakes up from the hypnosis, he doesn't remember anything about what he did under the influence, so maybe they don't remember either. That must be so weird, too!

Yes, her with bruise marks all around her neck. /o\

> Minister Gao sees it as just another state law enforcement agency, albeit a secret, specialised one; ZYL sees it as a family, his ragtag bunch of misfits who work together to protect Haixing.

But it still is a law enforcement agency! I always feel like ZYL should be taking that into account when trying to recruit a foreign dignitary, and he just doesn't. *g*

I mean, yes, absolutely. But he has such issues with authority (and in this case, the "authority" officially includes his terrible father) that I suspect he couldn't really do his job if he framed it that way, you know? And he believes wholeheartedly in the job, even as that wholehearted belief changes with new information/understanding.

It's a very set phrase in Chinese, so I wouldn't read anything in particular into it.

Okay, thanks.

> Like, "my selfless gesture went to waste?" I'm not sure about that.

No, not in that sense, more like, he's feeling raw because he exposed himself, and he didn't even have to. Pretty much what you said, the awareness of his own feelings about the whole thing - how instantly he jumped to Shen Wei's defence. And Shen Wei didn't need the defence, and still keeps shutting him out!

*nodnod* (I still don't feel the fact that it turned out to be unnecessary makes any difference to him at this point: SW is the strategic one; ZYL is the "gulp down maybe-poison to save a stranger and never worry about consequences, before or after" one. But that's nitpicking -- we can agree to differ on that part, and just agree on everything else. :-)

> *nodnod* That makes sense. (I like that that makes his dream less meaningful. I'm not very fond of dreams as narrative devices. ;-p)

I do think it's meaningful, just not in the sense that it exposes a truth or something like that - it's very thematic; grappling with people who are sometimes seen as monsters is very much at the heart of it. The word "monster" keeps coming up over the course of the show, like a repeated motif, and Tan Xiao's nightmare spells out his own grappling with that thematic strand.

Yes, okay, I'm fine with thematically meaningful dreams. Just so long as it doesn't have to make any literal sense. ;-p

[trobadora]

But he has such issues with authority (and in this case, the "authority" officially includes his terrible father) that I suspect he couldn't really do his job if he framed it that way, you know? And he believes wholeheartedly in the job, even as that wholehearted belief changes with new information/understanding.

Yeah, all very true!

I still don't feel the fact that it turned out to be unnecessary makes any difference to him at this point: SW is the strategic one; ZYL is the "gulp down maybe-poison to save a stranger and never worry about consequences, before or after" one.

Yeah, agree to disagree - I definitely think it makes a difference to him that he tried to protect someone who didn't need protection, and revealed his sincere feelings that way. Risking his life is a lot less exposing. *g*

Yes, okay, I'm fine with thematically meaningful dreams. Just so long as it doesn't have to make any literal sense. ;-p

LOL! Can't argue with you there. *g*

[china_shop]

and revealed his sincere feelings that way. Risking his life is a lot less exposing. *g*

Oh, do you think he's trying to keep his feelings hidden at this point? He keeps going out of his way to show Shen Wei that they're on the same side...

[trobadora]

He's still in that phase when he has to wrap things up in a joke or a tease, or turn it into an accusation - he still gets uncomfortable when things get a bit too genuine.

[china_shop]

I was going to talk about this on the next post, but since it's come up here: I think that's changing, at least when it comes to Shen Wei. He was open about his frustration in Shen Wei's office, he's sincere when he says, "If you were the trouble...", and in the lab, later this episode, he says, "Shen Wei, I thought we were friends," in a serious, significant way. It's not a linear change; there's still silliness and backsliding and his general teasing nature that never goes away, and with flirting, he hasn't quite figured out where the line is that works for Shen Wei. But I don't think he's shying away from expressing his feelings to Shen Wei, as much as Shen Wei will let him. (And I don't think he cares what Minister Gao makes of it.)

Obviously YMMV, though! :-)

[trobadora]

Yeah, YMMV - to me, when he's being genuine with Shen Wei in those places, the underlying frustration acts as a cover and a bit of insulation for him, so he can say it, but he absolutely still needs that insulation.

I do agree that it's changing and he'll obviously get there, but you read him as further along than I do.

[china_shop]

Oh, that's a great point -- I hadn't thought about that, and I can totally see it. He's too driven to play games there. It's a glimpse of who he'll become, but the driving force is different. (Though I feel like that's less true in the lab. But we can talk about that in the next post.)

And with Minister Gao at the wedding, the worry for Shen Wei insulates him in a similar way, I think? But (to go back to our original point, with him stewing on the couch) I still don't think he particularly reflects on whether or not it was necessary, especially with everything else that's going on. Because he's both strategising about the case and back in that frustration of Shen Wei withholding case-critical and personal-critical secrets. Idk.

[trobadora]

Oh, that's a great point -- I hadn't thought about that, and I can totally see it.

Yay! :D

But we can talk about that in the next post.

Yes! Let's talk about that here. :)

And with Minister Gao at the wedding, the worry for Shen Wei insulates him in a similar way, I think?

Yes! And I do think that when that worry-as-insulation falls away and he realises he didn't need to be worried about Shen Wei here, he does end up uncomfortable about it. But, as we already said, YMMV. *g*

(So glad we're back to discussin Guardian! I really needed the rewatch break, but also it's good to be back. :D)