The fact that Neil describes David and Michael as “chocolate and peanut butter, that both are great individually but combined, something special”, I mean…. Yes!
But here lies the ultimate question.
Which one is chocolate and which pb? 🍫🥜
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Emotion-wrecking scenes? In my Guardian?
(It's more likely than you may think!)
When it comes to scenes that gut us, I feel like we (the fandom, collectively) tend to fixate on the tragedy of Weilan -- and, I mean, fair -- but in terms of sheer emotional impact, this scene, in which Chu Shuzhi learns that Guo Changcheng did not return to Haixing with him, is one of the most brutal in the entire series. Possibly because it's part of a bait-and-switch that spans multiple episodes and is engineered to pull the rug out from under you. Maybe because it involves characters who have been largely treated as one-dimensional and/or comic relief for most of the series, so it's an unexpected turn. Or perhaps it's so powerful simply because it's a completely terrestrial bit of drama -- there's no CGI, no greenscreening, no fake blood, no suspension of disbelief required. And it's something we've all experienced, at some level: Coming out of a situation where you think everything is okay, only to be blindsided with the worst news possible. We all know what that feels like, to some degree. Many of us know firsthand how devastating it is to wake from a dream in which a loved one is still alive, only to remember seconds later that they aren't.
Of course the characters and their history are a significant part of it, too. Not only do we see the heretofore unbreakable Chu Shuzhi be absolutely destroyed in real time by the realization that he has effectively caused the death of another younger brother (a relationship that Chu Shuzhi only let himself admit during the riverside conversation in his dream), but Zhao Yunlan is the one who has to break the news to him -- Zhao Yunlan, who is already stressed and suffering over Shen Wei's imprisonment and torture and the betrayal of Haixing Inspectorate and everything else that's gone wrong in the past 24 hours, who is no stranger to loss himself, and who can't bring himself to even mention the mistakes Lao Chu made that led to this situation. Despite the fact that he dragged Lao Chu into his office and literally shouted at him the previous day over sending the puppet into Zhu Hong's dream, he knows there is nothing he can say now that will even register as a reprimand. Chu Shuzhi has failed not only Hei Pao Shi, but the SID as well, and lost the person closest to him. Zhao Yunlan doesn't say anything to assuage Lao Chu's guilt, but also can't say anything to make it worse, and defends his silence to Da Qing in the following scene. (And at some level, he's probably thinking about how Xiao Guo is also his responsibility, and he's worried that Shen Wei will be the next to fall on his watch. Layers upon layers.)
But most of that is just background for the scene itself. What really sells the sequence is the phenomenal acting: Jiang Mingyang's emotionally raw breakdown, and a more understated but no less effective performance by Bai Yu.
OOF.
Just more proof that this cast was too good for this show.*
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* I say this while holding deep affection for the drama, but also acknowledging that I've acted in literal class projects that had better production values. Also one Asylum film, which almost certainly had a lower budget than Guardian and still managed to have better special effects -- which is saying something, coming from the studio whose most successful commercial venture was Sharknado.
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(This wasn't at all what I originally had planned for the "Revelations" square on my @guardianbingo card, but I was skimming through the episode looking for a reference for a different prompt, and the power of this bit struck me afresh, so I decided to focus on the unpleasant revelation in this scene instead.)
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I love it when people write Crosshair as being really cool and slick because that man is objectively a human celery stick with the conversational skills of an unsocialized chihuahua.
Crosshair on the outside:
Crosshair on the inside
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((Being back from my hiatus means it's time for me to continue terrorizing the dash with more of my little meow meows. 👀 And since I've been back on the Borderlands train recently, there's no better time for me to bring this character to you all!
Rhys Strongfork from the Borderlands franchise has joined the roster of wanderers!
⭒✩⭒ See Rhys' info HERE ⭒✩⭒
As usual, please drop a lil like on this post if you're interested in interacting with this corporate dingleberry! uvu/ 💕))
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