Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 17, 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 17, up to 22:31

Summary
We get Bao Laosan's tragic backstory, which Zhu Jiu uses to incite him to attack the SID. Shen Wei searches Dixing for Zhao Yunlan, starting (as far as we know) in the bar, where everyone is rowdy and disrespectful. He quells them with a display of power, and the quaking bartender whispers something in his ear. In Haixing, the SID team confront Bao Laosan, and he takes Lao Li hostage. Zhao Xinci, who has zero de-escalation skills, struggles with Bao Laosan and shoots him. The team are horrified. Meanwhile, Zhao Yunlan and Wu Tian'en are running around Dixing in search of the missing book. Shen Wei finds An Bai and friends and intimidates them for information about Zhao Yunlan's whereabouts. Zhu Jiu and Ya Qing talk about loyalty/ethics and Ye Zun, and we see Zhu Jiu's backstory, being bullied in his job as a palace guard. Zhao Yunlan and Wu Tian'en find an information broker. At the SID, everyone is upset about the case; Zhao Xinci tells them they did well and leaves, returning Zhao Yunlan's gun to Da Qing on his way out. Zhao Yunlan bargains with the information broker for intel, but the masked man stabs him with a poisoned syringe and reveals himself as Ding Dun. Zhao Yunlan falls to the ground in agony. Shen Wei arrives just in time to stop Ding Dun finishing him off. They fight with dark energy, and Shen Wei kills Ding Dun.



Quote
Ding Dun: You want to ask about marriage.
Zhao Yunlan: I... have been a huge asshole since the day I was born; so cold and heartless. I don't want marriage.

Detail
Ding Dun's sign says 包打听 which is translated in every version of the subs as "Knows everything." Google Translate rendered it as "Know-It-All" one time, and "Gossip" another, and Pleco as "nosey parker" -- which explains Zhao Yunlan's bemused reaction.

Questions
On a scale from 1 to 10, how upsetting is it to see the SID façade crack? Is the bar the first place Shen Wei looks for Zhao Yunlan? Why do the bar patrons assume Shen Wei is an imposter Envoy? On a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you blame Zhao Xinci for Bao Laosan's death? When Shen Wei intimidates An Bai and co, An Bai folds pretty quicky -- is that due to cowardice, latent respect for the Envoy, or some other reason? Zhu Jiu is unpowered in his backstory; when does he acquire his powers? When Wu Tian'en says he can't teleport anymore, is he telling the truth or lying to spare Zhao Yunlan's health and give him face? When Zhao Xinci tells the SID, "You are truly worthy of being members of the Special Investigations Department" (Viki subs), does he mean it, or is he just trying to cheer them up? Does Ye Zun want Zhao Yunlan dead, or is Ding Dun acting unilaterally when he attacks, or (third option) has Ding Dun conspired with Zhu Jiu and/or the Deacon to take Zhao Yunlan out? If the last option, does Ye Zun know their plan?

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]

In BLS's flashback, ZXC says BLS destroyed a building -- I wonder which one, and whether anyone was hurt. Also, I don't know if I've noticed before that ZXC doesn't draw his gun until he's well under attack by BLS's dark energy (or maybe I notice this every time and immediately forget again). When the wife jumps in, ZXC seems very affected by the tragedy to me, and kind of angry that it happened. Possibly remembering Shen Xi. Possibly in psychic fisticuffs with Zhang Shi. (No need to debate this with me if you disagree. :-)

Zhu Jiu uses the same tactics here that he'll use on Wang Xiangyang later, rousing his resentment and grief.

I find it devastating to see the SID start to crack!! (This feels metaphorical, especially if you see the SID as a metaphor for ZYL's corporeal being. /o\)

By the time Shen Wei reaches the bar, everyone there is totally back to business-as-usual. I wonder what happened to the guy who fell on a bottle. But the crowd is feisty, resenting ZYL's actions, reacting with hostility to Shen Wei when he asks about him, and not believing Shen Wei is the real Envoy until he proves it. Even when they bow to him, no one apologises for throwing food!! The bartender stutters in fear, aww, I like him so much. (And eee, I know 说!! :D)

The chaos at the SID is largely on Zhao Yunlan, imo. The SID is his responsibility, Shen Wei told him something was off, and he still went haring off on his field trip. /o\

BLS is very powerful, even escaping Chu Shuzhi's strings! Oh no, Lao Li!! And of course Zhao Xinci comes out gun raised -- that's who he is. Like I said in the post, zero de-escalation skills. (Early canon ZYL would have talked BLS down, of course, but I think later canon ZYL might well have just shot BLS to save Lao-Li. I'm thinking of the way he just shoots that guy behind him without looking, later on. He gets harder and more seasoned as the stakes increase and the tension escalates.) Anyway, BLS is killed, and the team is shocked. It's partly a values clash, and partly death literally being on the SID's doorstep. ZXC has to put a controlled face on it, but he's breathing hard. (I know I see him differently than most people.)

Meanwhile, ZYL runs heedlessly around Dixing with Wu Tian'en, lost and sickening, but determined to find the book to please/impress Shen Wei and try to cut off the Zhu Jiu problem at its knees.

An Bai and co are terrified of Shen Wei... because Shen Wei is being terrifying. By summoning his blade, is he threatening summary execution?? I like to think An Bai is at heart respectful of the Envoy, and that's why he folds so quickly.

Zhu Jiu basically tells Ya Qing that Ye Zun ha no honour, can't trust him. Zhu Jiu is still loyal with his whole heart, but you'd think it would give YQ pause. ZJ backstory: bullied at work; YZ radicalises him with sympathy and mind control. I can't remember if we see when ZJ gets powers, and whether it's his own dark energy or a gift from YZ. Presumably the teleporting via light isn't very obvious in Dixing, so maybe he just thinks he's unpowered until he gets to Haixing, but he has a lot more tricks up his sleeve than teleporting now, so idk.

I suspect Wu Tian'en is lying about his power running out, to give ZYL face. But walking at regular speed gives them an opportunity to talk about teleporting, and ZYL cleverly deduces the mechanics of ZJ's power, so he's found what he's looking for even without the book.

At the SID, everyone is upset. It's not that they're used to win-win outcomes, but they expect to feel like they did their best. Plus, BLS calling to Zhu Jiu for backup made them realise he was just a pawn in Zhu Jiu's campaign; they don't seem to resent him for the damage (or to be at all worried about the SID's foundations being undermined). ZXC tries to jolly them along with, "Fortunately, this case finished without any danger." (That's from Viki; the Chinese subs say, "这一次的这个案子 有惊无限地完成了" which Google translates as "This case was completed with incredible suspense." Can anyone verify?)

CSZ actually has his hands behind his head, lol. He's so done. ZXC tells them they did well (presumably because they obeyed his orders), and he doesn't answer ZH's dissatisfied question. And then he picks up his phone left-handed -- does that mean anything? Is it Zhang Shi conducting this debrief?? Is he the one saying they're worthy to be members of the SID? The SID team is getting such mixed signals here.

ZXC's lock screen is his family (a contrast to ZYL's; ZXC's looks backwards, while ZYL's lantern flower unknowingly looks forward. But both are about sacrifice in a way.) Btw, I'm not sure which way ZXC exits. It looks like he's heading for ZYL's office -- is this proof of a back exit?

Going through the shooting flashback frame-by-frame, it looks like it's ZXC's finger on the trigger, but BLS squeezes ZXC's grip to make the gun fire. Unclear how deliberate that was on BLS's part...

"You want to ask about marriage," the guy with psychic powers says to ZYL, lol. In my fic, I link this to ZYL being curious about Dixing marriage traditions -- whether they're arranged or love matches -- wrt his feelings for Shen Wei, so this line reads as extremely slashy to me. ;D

$500RNB is about US$73 (or NZ$126).

I love Wu Tian'en cradling/protecting ZYL's fallen body, and Shen Wei arriving in the nick of time, vengeance/protectiveness personified!! \o/ (I wrote a whumpy AU of this scene last year.)

And there are some great parallels between Bao Laosan holding Lao-Li hostage and ZXC holding the gun on him, leading to the struggle where Bao Laosan is killed, ot1h, and Ding Dun threatening ZYL's life and Shen Wei marching in with bolts of dark energy, leading to the exchange where Shen Wei kills Ding Dun. I actually think Shen Wei feels less remorse/regret about Ding Dun than ZXC does about BLS, at least on screen.

[facethestrange]

I love it so much how worried Shen Wei is, and I especially love that he says that Zhao Yunlan may have a lollipop in his mouth! He didn't even have one in the bar, but this part of the description is very important to Shen Wei, awwww. :D :D And apparently it describes Zhao Yunlan's general vibe so well that everyone knows who Shen Wei is talking about, despite the lack of an actual lollipop. xD

- "Snakes have good balance" is so fun because in the novel it's the opposite (but they did keep her wobbly legs for her dream! :D)

- Shen Wei going slightly unhinged when Zhao Yunlan could be in danger, ahhhhh. ♡♡♡

- Zhu Jiu has SUCH a crush on Ye Zun, lmaooo, the blissful smile is like a creepy verson of when Zhao Yunlan was talking to Da Qing about Shen Wei. xD :D

- Hah, it's convenient that Zhu Jiu's medium is NOT oxygen - can't take that one away. xD

- Zhao Xinci pointedly doesn't answer Zhu Hong's question, and then he's patronizing to Da Qing - ILY Da Qing for not letting it slide! Which doesn't work, but he tried so valiantly, aw.

- Ahhhh the 'Ding Dun stabs Zhao Yunlan' scene that china_shop wrote the most delightful canon divergence for: Whatever It Takes to Bring You Back! ♡♡♡♡♡ (I can't believe it's been A YEAR, howww, this fic feels so new to me!)

"Shen Wei kills Ding Dun."

Waaaaait, that's what happens? I see Ding Dun stabbling himself with the knife he's holding, which to me makes perfect sense after he gloats that "you'll never see it again" - he kills himself and any potential information dies with him. (I also lowkey assume that whatever resurrected him was temporary, so he would have died soon anyway and it's not even much of a loss to him, but that's purely headcanon.)

"I... have been a huge asshole since the day I was born; so cold and heartless. I don't want marriage."

I didn't have thoughts about this when I was watching, beyond 'Zhao Yunlan keeps saying glibly that he's incapable of love', but now I read this line again I also see a novel parallel - he's never found anyone he would want to marry because there's only one person he's subconsciously waiting for (not the case in the drama, but eh, close enough! :D)

"Ding Dun's sign says 包打听 which is translated in every version of the subs as "Knows everything." Google Translate rendered it as "Know-It-All" one time, and "Gossip" another, and Pleco as "nosey parker" -- which explains Zhao Yunlan's bemused reaction."

Heeee, thank you for sharing!! :D Idk how reliable this site is (cchatty), but apparently it meant 'detective' and then became derogatory (wiktionary says 'detective' too), so 'nosey parker' makes a lot of sense! :D

"On a scale from 1 to 10, how upsetting is it to see the SID façade crack?"

This question made me remember that during my first watch I was like 'oh damn, I didn't expect the unhappy ending to start this early', so yeah, 8/10 at least!

"Is the bar the first place Shen Wei looks for Zhao Yunlan?"

Not sure, but probably? Other than the streets.

"Why do the bar patrons assume Shen Wei is an imposter Envoy?"

Because he seems to care about this weird outsider, and why would the Envoy do that. (But this also always makes wonder how many imposter Envoys they get on the regular. xD)

"On a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you blame Zhao Xinci for Bao Laosan's death?"

Well, not exactly 10 because once someone starts taking hostages they are taking the risk of getting killed in the process, but in this case it wasn't unavoidable or anything, so it's still on Zhao Xinci.

"When Shen Wei intimidates An Bai and co, An Bai folds pretty quicky -- is that due to cowardice, latent respect for the Envoy, or some other reason?"

I think it's fear but not cowardice - it's very reasonable to be afraid in this situation.

"Zhu Jiu is unpowered in his backstory; when does he acquire his powers?"

I've never wondered about that! Maybe Ye Zun somehow helped him with that too?

"When Wu Tian'en says he can't teleport anymore, is he telling the truth or lying to spare Zhao Yunlan's health and give him face?"

I've never wondered about this either! :D He does look tired but he also does recover remarkably quickly, so maybe he's just a good actor! (Like the Regent, who's also pretending to be weaker than he is, hah.) I could see it either way, and it's kinda sweet if he's pretending. :D

"When Zhao Xinci tells the SID, "You are truly worthy of being members of the Special Investigations Department" (Viki subs), does he mean it, or is he just trying to cheer them up?"

I don't think he cares to cheer them up, but I also don't think he means it (though he's probably still a bit impressed that they were so loyal to Zhao Yunlan) - I think he's saying random things to change the topic, and trying to make what he says memorable enough to make them forget about Zhu Hong's question.

"Does Ye Zun want Zhao Yunlan dead, or is Ding Dun acting unilaterally when he attacks, or (third option) has Ding Dun conspired with Zhu Jiu and/or the Deacon to take Zhao Yunlan out? If the last option, does Ye Zun know their plan?"

After we talked about Ye Zun's impulsiveness, I feel like he wants him dead at this point in time, but not necessarily in general. (Maybe literally because Zhao Yunlan was just bragging about being 'like brothers' with Heipaoshi.)