Guardian start
May. 31st, 2019 01:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
branchandrootSo, I finally got a little time free to start watching Guardian, and yeah, that was a rabbit-hole waiting to happen, just like I figured it would be.
Em, you definitely want this one, when you have space for it. There is SO MUCH PINING. Oh my goodness, we have a legit evergreen forest going on, there, and not for the usual, stupid “I can’t use my words” reasons but much tastier “we’re a bird and a fish right now, FML” reasons.
I hear that a fair whack of the novel fans can’t stand the drama, and I respect that. I am personally still not over the LOTR movies cutting so much of Faramir. And the ‘science’ that has replaced the original mythological cosmology is indeed pretty eye-roll-worthy. But coming to the TV drama adaptation as its own thing I’m actually very impressed by the coherence and symbolic integrity of the story.
Every case-of-the-week element in the first ten eps reflects some part of Shen Wei’s dilemma with Zhao Yunlan. The very first case gives us “is it still my beloved person, or just a stranger who looks like them? (It might really be them)”. The water-killing case reflects abandonment issues. The mirror case, back to reality versus appearance, and how love recognizes truth. By the time we get to Sang Zan, and that whole ball of love and rage-at-loss and undying commitment, it’s no surprise that Zhao and Shen are mirroring each other. (Especially rage, for Shen. That’s when it becomes truly obvious that he’s been looking after the upper world for Zhao while also really wanting to blast it to smithereens for not having Zhao in it.)
And that, of course, is when trust and mistrust and secrets starts coming to a head, as a theme. To be honest, I love how you can /see/ Shen Wei start panicking about five seconds after recognizing Zhao for the first time, and never really stop. It’s running constantly behind his actions and responses, that current of “omg, he’s a human now, omg, humans die if you breathe on them wrong, omg omg omg, how can I keep him safe /now/?”. Which is frankly hilarious in such a composed character. On the flip side, every step of Zhao’s progression through curiosity, suspicion, attempts to trust (and to secure Shen for his team), to the paired upward spiral of genuine trust and frustration... delicious. Also supported by the visible action at every step, and matching beautifully with Shen’s constant, painful catching himself back, almost audibly reminding himself that he can’t respond to Zhao the way he would to Kunlun, and that it isn’t fair to blame Zhao for not knowing, not trusting him, until Shen finally gives way and stops even pretending to come up with plausible excuses.
In conclusion: SLAIN WITH THE FEELS.
Em, you definitely want this one, when you have space for it. There is SO MUCH PINING. Oh my goodness, we have a legit evergreen forest going on, there, and not for the usual, stupid “I can’t use my words” reasons but much tastier “we’re a bird and a fish right now, FML” reasons.
I hear that a fair whack of the novel fans can’t stand the drama, and I respect that. I am personally still not over the LOTR movies cutting so much of Faramir. And the ‘science’ that has replaced the original mythological cosmology is indeed pretty eye-roll-worthy. But coming to the TV drama adaptation as its own thing I’m actually very impressed by the coherence and symbolic integrity of the story.
Every case-of-the-week element in the first ten eps reflects some part of Shen Wei’s dilemma with Zhao Yunlan. The very first case gives us “is it still my beloved person, or just a stranger who looks like them? (It might really be them)”. The water-killing case reflects abandonment issues. The mirror case, back to reality versus appearance, and how love recognizes truth. By the time we get to Sang Zan, and that whole ball of love and rage-at-loss and undying commitment, it’s no surprise that Zhao and Shen are mirroring each other. (Especially rage, for Shen. That’s when it becomes truly obvious that he’s been looking after the upper world for Zhao while also really wanting to blast it to smithereens for not having Zhao in it.)
And that, of course, is when trust and mistrust and secrets starts coming to a head, as a theme. To be honest, I love how you can /see/ Shen Wei start panicking about five seconds after recognizing Zhao for the first time, and never really stop. It’s running constantly behind his actions and responses, that current of “omg, he’s a human now, omg, humans die if you breathe on them wrong, omg omg omg, how can I keep him safe /now/?”. Which is frankly hilarious in such a composed character. On the flip side, every step of Zhao’s progression through curiosity, suspicion, attempts to trust (and to secure Shen for his team), to the paired upward spiral of genuine trust and frustration... delicious. Also supported by the visible action at every step, and matching beautifully with Shen’s constant, painful catching himself back, almost audibly reminding himself that he can’t respond to Zhao the way he would to Kunlun, and that it isn’t fair to blame Zhao for not knowing, not trusting him, until Shen finally gives way and stops even pretending to come up with plausible excuses.
In conclusion: SLAIN WITH THE FEELS.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-31 06:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-31 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-31 07:42 pm (UTC)Not a sentence that would makes sense to anyone that has not yet been sucked in by the drama. 😊😁
no subject
Date: 2019-05-31 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-01 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-01 04:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-01 03:03 am (UTC)and eventual fic.no subject
Date: 2019-06-01 04:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-01 06:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-01 07:20 pm (UTC)I know it's going to be great, too many people have loved it too well to be wrong.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-01 11:36 pm (UTC)