Shen Wei's tightrope

[branchandroot]

On the fourth re-watch (round Wallowing In It), and I am struck once again by just what a tightrope Shen Wei is walking for the first quarter of the show. I suppose I should cut this, since we're still enticing people in.



Shen Wei meets Yunlan, and has a decision to make. What's he going to do? By the time he comes to pick up Li Qian (second meeting or so?) he's hitting the mark that he will for the next dozen eps: not innocent but not a threat; keeping sensitive information quiet but in earnest about helping; almost certainly Dixingren but definitely not the Envoy.

And that's the thing I notice most. He doesn't want Yunlan to know exactly who he is, or the extent of his power. He doesn't want Yunlan to get deeper into the Envoy's job than he already is. But he sure as hell does want Yunlan to notice him, to be curious about him. He's practically pulling Yunlan's pig-tails. It's only the specifics of his ability that he tries to conceal, presumably because those point straight to who he really is.

Which is why I'm amused by the running joke about what a bad liar he is. He's actually a very good liar, if you watch him lying to anyone else. Thing is, he's not trying to make Yunlan believe the actual things he's saying--he's signaling that he can't talk about it beyond a certain point. It's the same essential conversational maneuver you see once Yunlan has figured it out and they're in Shen Wei's apartment with the tea--Yunlan suggests joining SID (again) and Shen Wei doesn't answer. He takes another sip of his tea instead. And, you notice, Yunlan knows that this actually means "no".

The thing is, Yunlan is totally not stopping there.

That's the other thing. Yunlan is not doing what would be the polite thing, and accepting that Shen Wei won't talk about this. He's pushing. He's pushing like either a) they're already friends or b) he really does suspect Shen Wei of being behind all the shenanigans. I love that nuance, especially in that Shen Wei also forces the issue very early on, during their conversation in the hospital, by making Yunlan articulate it (rather than leave it politely unspoken). They both do the pushing-the-issue thing, right off the bat, which is not something strangers would normally do.

So I tend to read Shen Wei's increasing discomfort over his social-lie boundary markers as him being increasingly torn over whether he wants to tell Yunlan or not. This matches the snippet of interior dialog we get, and also marches with the increasing thinness of the lies. He's maybe kind of wanting Yunlan to push, but maybe not. And, of course, we can similarly track Yunlan's increasing trust by the way he shows his frustration more and more openly, but also backs further and further off from directly challenging or calling out the lies. It's all body language, by that time, allowing Shen Wei the choice of whether to take notice.



Not that anyone could help but notice, because Yunlan is seriously over the top about being straightforward with those he trusts, but that gets us into his issues with dear old dad, and that's another post.

Comments

[clevermanka]

I love this. I just started my third re-watch (this time with solo's subtitles) and I'm going to watch out for this, thank you.

[branchandroot]

It just makes for such delicious tension, as they negotiate where they stand without ever saying a word about it explicitly. Well, eventually a few words, from Yunlan, but remarkably few given how strongly he clearly feels about it. *rolls around in it happily*

[kimboo_york]

Interesting observations! I don't have much to contribute but I will be looking for this on my next rewatch. <3

[branchandroot]

*grins* The more I re-watch, the tastier they get.

[trobadora]

But he sure as hell does want Yunlan to notice him, to be curious about him. He's practically pulling Yunlan's pig-tails.

YES! He's really not trying to appear harmless and innocent at all; he puts himself all up in Zhao Yunlan's business all the time. And as you say, Zhao Yunlan is just as pushy. ♥

Thing is, he's not trying to make Yunlan believe the actual things he's saying--he's signaling that he can't talk about it beyond a certain point.

That is exactly how I see it. He's trying to get Zhao Yunlan let it go, but of course Zhao Yunlan won't ever accept that.

And for keeping his identity secret, I think after the wedding fiasco Shen Wei does, with some reflection, come to the conclusion that in fact it might be safer to tell the truth after all. Zhao Yunlan calls him out on the bad call he made with Zheng Yi and Tan Xiao, and I think Shen Wei almost admits it before Zhu Jiu interrupts.

And, of course, we can similarly track Yunlan's increasing trust by the way he shows his frustration more and more openly, but also backs further and further off from directly challenging or calling out the lies.

That is such a wonderful observation. ♥

[branchandroot]

He is /so/ up in Zhao Yunlan's business, I mean my goodness. And even when they're arguing, he never hesitates to follow along with Yunlan, and Yunlan never tries to stop him or even give him a cold shoulder. The weight of unspoken friendship and cooperation between them is just so immense, by a quarter of the way through, it highlights how distressed they both are by the remaining secrets.

[teaotter]

But he sure as hell does want Yunlan to notice him, to be curious about him. He's practically pulling Yunlan's pig-tails.

This!

Though I don't think Shen Wei would've pushed so hard if he'd known that the SID's very next case would be at the University, too. I think he was incredibly blatant at the beginning because he thought he'd have to get Zhao Yunlan curious enough to come back.

[branchandroot]

Yeah I do think he does a lot of course-adjustments, as it becomes clear just how much is going on that will throw them together. It's a definite tight-rope balancing act!

[winter_blossom]

Before I say something worthwhile I just gotta get this off my chest: bless you for joining us in this sparsely populated boat of people who don't buy into the common fandom interpretation of "Shen Wei is a silly inept goose who can't lie his way out of a paper bag"! I mean, the guy successfully maintained a secret identity in Haixing for decades before Zhao Yunlan turned up, and the SID had no clue as to who he was even after he joined them, right up until they saw it with their own eyes (Zhu Hong) or were told about it (the rest of the crew, including CSZ, who knew the Envoy already).

Heck, even ZYL would probably not have suspected him that much if he didn't repeatedly act and speak so, well, suspiciously. And there's no way in hell SW did that without knowing it'd make ZYL want to get closer, if only out of a desire to figure him out. I don't believe SW actually thought this thing through, it was definitely an impulsive and emotional move, but he isn't about to deny himself the opportunity to be close to ZYL and protect him, either. And regardless of ZYL's unrelenting curiosity SW obviously never considered keeping his distance. I have a sort of headcanon that SW thinks that if ZYL figures out his identity himself, and pushed his way into a relationship with SW all by himself, the timeline would be as safe as could be hoped for, while still letting him stay by ZYL's side.

And I think your observations re: ZYL's attitude towards SW's secrets are pretty spot-on, too. At first he's mostly prioritising the investigation and his actions are manipulative in a very aggressive way. But as time went on and he became more emotionally invested, his determination to unmask SW became both personal and professional so his approach was less aggressive but also more... I dunno...determined, I guess.

The push-pull between them is one of the most delicious things about Guardian, and something I feel pretty sad to see being denied. I mean, I've noticed that in a lot of fic or even people's headcanons ZYL is doing all the pushing and SW all the resisting, but it's really not that simple. I'm ecstatic that someone's managed to put into words something I've been ineptly trying to articulate for ages!

[branchandroot]

My pleasure! Because, yes, that reading held water for me. I do think Shen Wei was taken by surprise, more than once, by the intensity of his own emotional response and by just how sharp Zhao Yunlan really is, to say nothing of how /relentless/ he is. But those bambi eyes are totally not meant to be taken seriously. It reads far more like an in-joke between them, to me, once Shen Wei /does/ understand more of what Yunlan is like.

[china_shop]

Ahhh, so much yes! All the yes! I kinda want to make a sticky post on my DW journal and link to this!! ;-)

But he sure as hell does want Yunlan to notice him, to be curious about him. He's practically pulling Yunlan's pig-tails.

♥ ♥ ♥ I love that when Shen Wei moves into Zhao Yunlan's building, Zhao Yunlan totally gets that it's because of him, but they never talk about it. It's just, "Hey, uncool not inviting me to your house-warming!" "Oh! Next time, I definitely will!"

They both do the pushing-the-issue thing, right off the bat, which is not something strangers would normally do.

*flails happily*

So I tend to read Shen Wei's increasing discomfort over his social-lie boundary markers as him being increasingly torn over whether he wants to tell Yunlan or not.

I kinda feel like he'd prefer to continue on with the pretence, if only Zhao Yunlan would go along with it (because then it's not really a pretence!). That it could be an unacknowledged thing that they share implicitly and Shen Wei wouldn't have to risk saying too much. But the fact that Zhao Yunlan won't let it go means Shen Wei keeps having to stonewall, and that creates all this friction between them, and he really doesn't want to lie, so his "explanations" keep getting even thinner. And Zhao Yunlan's still not satisfied, and that's when Shen Wei starts being torn. Maybe?

[branchandroot]

A toast to the unspoken dynamics! *clinks glasses* Yes, I absolutely do think that wasn't /quite/ prepared for how hard Yunlan insists on Shen Wei telling him the truth in so many words. I mean, here Shen Wei is waving semaphore flags reading "yes, you're absolutely right!" and it's still not enough for the man.

[umadoshi]

*quietly adores this post*

[branchandroot]

*hearts*

[rheasilvia]

I agree! Shen Wei is actually a good liar, in the usual run of things - just as he is actually very good with people in general, and has no issues at all with integrating into human society and acting normal.

But as I see it, he doesn't want to lie to Zhao Yunlan, specifically, for several reasons, among them that he wants Zhao Yunlan to *know* him. So when it comes to this one person, he actually IS a very bad liar. He actually wants Zhao Yunlan to know the truth even while he lies. (If only Yunlan would just agree not to talk about it! But then he wouldn't be Yunlan, and in the end Shen Wei doesn't want that, either. <3)

[branchandroot]

Yeah I find it absolutely adorable, how they both start to tease each other, once Yunlan is a little way inside the secrets; it's so obvious that Shen Wei wants him there, even when he's torn about the danger to Yunlan.