The PAPERWORK. I love the little touch of Shen Wei needing to stamp the paperwork for the Dixing transfer. I really hope that his more impromptu grabs in previous episodes have not left some poor civil servant with missing files! Honestly, I sort of love the concept of Shen Wei leaving the paperwork undone as a jab at Zhao Xinci. :D It'd also give another reason for Zhao Yunlan to not be impressed with the Envoy at the start - dude arrives late without Starbucks, nabs the perp, and doesn't even do his fucking paperwork.
The conversation in Shen Wei's office where they are talking through the case and both hitting on the mirror thing is <3 <3 <3 I agree you can see a nice progression in the relationship there. Zhao Yunlan has his suspicions but he's clearly running with it not just to figure out Shen Wei's secret but also because he likes hanging out with him. That office scene is also shot very beautifully, as you document here! It's very much a lull in the suspicions - one arc of suspicion has been resolved, and the next one ("Shen Wei is investigating the SID") has yet to start. Zhao Yunlan has his reservations, but was willing to pause and wait to see what evidence came to him.
I think Zhao Yunlan's SID was at least a bit better than Zhao Xinci's SID, even at the start (because Zhao Yunlan has a teammate from Dixing who isn't *that* bad), but progress definitely was visible in the first episodes. Though Shen Wei's views do have tinges of bouncing off hard from Zhao Xinci, shall we say.
But doesn't this still gel? I thought (it's one of those confusing things that I sometimes forget but I think this is what I think *g*) the Dixingians lost the war, there was a peace agreement, and then there was an uprising of a small faction of Dixingians and Shen Wei helped beat them? Nope! We are later told that the Rebel Leader took advantage of the post-meteor despair and such to put up an uprising. shen Wei is the general of a victorious army, condemning his people to a darkness they weren't in before. (I'd argue at least some lived on the surface.) (Then again, it's not like he was present to sign the treaty, so...) The Yashou as a whole also weren't neutral.
(The reason I'm grumpy is that it would have been *unspeakably hot* if Shen Wei was the proud Dixing separatist general in service of his Lord, then an encounter with Kunlun made him realize that yes, it *is* possible for Haixing and Dixing to get along, just like meetings with Shen Wei were the catalyst for Zhao Yunlan realizing that in the present. Or Shen Wei as the nameless mind-controlled soldier in the vast Dixing army. IDK, I have a Thing for noble opponents and being corrupted into goodness. And Shen Wei being a general still proud even in defeat would hit a bunch of my buttons.)
Very random question this ep raised for me: that apartment is a studio for two people (indicating that space is premium?), but has a giant-ass bathroom with loads of empty space. I found that surprising, in a totally irrelevant sort of way. TV sets are unrealistically roomy due to the need to fit the cameras in, and over here a studio for a cohabiting couple would raise zero eyebrows. If they had an extra room, people would ask when the child is coming. (Also, I once lived in an apartment where the bathroom was almost as roomy as that. Construction code mandated that a wheelchair user should be able to turn around inside. Alas, construction code didn't mandate that said wheelchair user should be able to get into the bathroom, so it was behind a gravel yard and a bunch of steps.)
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Honestly, I sort of love the concept of Shen Wei leaving the paperwork undone as a jab at Zhao Xinci. :D It'd also give another reason for Zhao Yunlan to not be impressed with the Envoy at the start - dude arrives late without Starbucks, nabs the perp, and doesn't even do his fucking paperwork.
It's very much a lull in the suspicions - one arc of suspicion has been resolved, and the next one ("Shen Wei is investigating the SID") has yet to start. Zhao Yunlan has his reservations, but was willing to pause and wait to see what evidence came to him.
I think Zhao Yunlan's SID was at least a bit better than Zhao Xinci's SID, even at the start (because Zhao Yunlan has a teammate from Dixing who isn't *that* bad), but progress definitely was visible in the first episodes. Though Shen Wei's views do have tinges of bouncing off hard from Zhao Xinci, shall we say.
Nope! We are later told that the Rebel Leader took advantage of the post-meteor despair and such to put up an uprising. shen Wei is the general of a victorious army, condemning his people to a darkness they weren't in before. (I'd argue at least some lived on the surface.) (Then again, it's not like he was present to sign the treaty, so...) The Yashou as a whole also weren't neutral.
(The reason I'm grumpy is that it would have been *unspeakably hot* if Shen Wei was the proud Dixing separatist general in service of his Lord, then an encounter with Kunlun made him realize that yes, it *is* possible for Haixing and Dixing to get along, just like meetings with Shen Wei were the catalyst for Zhao Yunlan realizing that in the present. Or Shen Wei as the nameless mind-controlled soldier in the vast Dixing army. IDK, I have a Thing for noble opponents and being corrupted into goodness. And Shen Wei being a general still proud even in defeat would hit a bunch of my buttons.)
TV sets are unrealistically roomy due to the need to fit the cameras in, and over here a studio for a cohabiting couple would raise zero eyebrows. If they had an extra room, people would ask when the child is coming. (Also, I once lived in an apartment where the bathroom was almost as roomy as that. Construction code mandated that a wheelchair user should be able to turn around inside. Alas, construction code didn't mandate that said wheelchair user should be able to get into the bathroom, so it was behind a gravel yard and a bunch of steps.)
Glad to be appreciated! ♥