Ramblings

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 14, up to 21:05

Summary
Zhu Jiu escapes out the SID window. Zhao Yunlan picks up the Hallows and collapses again. When he wakes, the whole SID (except for Wang Zheng and Sang Zan) is there, as well as the Envoy, Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi. Changcheng intercedes on Zheng Yi's behalf, but the Envoy is seemingly determined to hold her responsible for her crimes. Zhao Yunlan doesn't try to interfere. The Envoy takes her away. When Zhao Yunlan later leaves the SID, he sees Zheng Yi and Tan Xiao together in the street, happily waving at him.

The post-reveal tea scene!! Zhao Yunlan refuses to pretend nothing happened, and at last Shen Wei concedes, saying it's tiring to lie all the time, and that they've always been friends -- which raises more questions for Zhao Yunlan. Changcheng writes in his diary that the Envoy let Zheng Yi go; the whole SID knows. Ya Qing checks up on Zhu Jiu and scornfully eats an apple; Zhu Jiu is furious and humiliated at being hurt by a mere human. Changcheng unknowingly meets the Merit Brush and writes a new sign for Wang Xiangyang's fruit stand. (At the SID, the other Hallows get all excited.) A serious, reserved Shen Wei and an irrepressible Zhao Yunlan meet in the hallway between their apartments and drive to the Department of Supervision.



Zhao Yunlan sings and asks questions, but Shen Wei doesn't want to talk. When they arrive, they meet Changcheng's uncle. Shen Wei has done Zhao Yunlan's homework for him written a self-criticism on Zhao Yunlan's behalf. In the Department of Supervision's lab, an experiment fails, and Professor Zhou sighs that Shen Wei would do better, which annoys his colleague Professor Ouyang. In the hallway outside Minister Gao's office, Shen Wei backs into a corner, out of sight of a CCTV camera, and uses his dark energy vision. Then Zhao Yunlan comes to get him, to meet the minister.

Quote
Zhao Yunlan: Okay, fine, I’ll let you choose a topic.
Shen Wei: We can just not talk.
Zhao Yunlan: Dun-dun dun-dun-dun-dun dun-dun... Well, you didn't say I couldn't sing!

Detail
I'm going to cheat and mention two details:

1. When Zhao Yunlan wakes up in the SID, Da Qing says, "So capable. On your own, you were able to take back the Sacred Items?" and Zhu Hong says, "Zhao Yunlan, you are something! How dare you shoot me!" They're both using the same word, 可以, one approvingly, one sarcastically. *pets Zhu Hong*


2. The morning after, Shen Wei is quiet and reserved. This is a Shen Wei who’s been up half the night writing a probably quite cathartic account of things Zhao Yunlan did wrong -- the self-criticism -- on Zhao Yunlan’s behalf. I like to think he wrote a blistering twenty-page version to get the worst of it out of his system, then threw or tucked that away and wrote the official/helpful one, partly in an attempt to control the narrative about the part he himself played, as far as the Department of Supervision is concerned. (Quoting myself here from the "singing in the car scene" discussion post. I really love that scene.)

Questions
When Tan Xiao staggers back from Zheng Yi, is that the girl pushing him away with her power, or the Envoy with his? Did the Envoy tell Zheng Yi and Tan Xiao to wait in the street to wave their thanks at Zhao Yunlan, or was it coincidence that he saw them? (How long were they waiting there?) Do you like Shen Wei's choice of sweater for the post-reveal tea-drinking scene? The original subs say, "I was cheated by you for so long, and my heart hurts. I will feel so upset unless I get my compensations," while the VIKI/Solo subs say, "But I was cheated by you for so long and my heart suffered great trauma. You can't just brush me off with a few words. Right? It's not appropriate." Which version do you prefer? Changcheng writes in his diary about the Envoy letting Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi stay in Haixing -- do you think Shen Wei intended the rest of the SID to know, too, or just Zhao Yunlan? How did Chu Shuzhi react when he heard? What's with all the manikins with missing body parts in the Haixing lab? When Shen Wei uses his dark energy vision in the hallway outside Minister Gao's office, what is he looking for?

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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