Discussion post - episode 5

[yantantether]

The episode begins with Meng Shao Fei and Ah-De busting in on Andy and Tang Yi. In the scene that follows Meng Shao Fei is mildly obnoxious, Andy is brilliantly sarcastic, and a bit of (a lot of) Tang Yi is clearly loving being fought over. Next we see Meng Shao Fei angrily eating lunch with Tang Yi and Ah-De, and the atmosphere is so tense that it even gets through to Ah-De - he makes his excuses and goes to wait outside.



Meng Shao Fei is acting VERY jealous of Andy (and to be fair, that's exactly what Tang Yi was going for all along.) I love the way the moment is punctured by Tang Yi calling him on it and Meng Shao Fei just admitting that, yes, he is jealous, before unconvincingly trying to take it back. And then Tang Yi diverts him from his obsessive ramblings by taking a drink of his coke (the Coke of Symbolism.) Meng Shao Fei points out that his saliva is in it and Tang Yi LICKS HIS LIPS and drinks some more and it's, uh. Yep, that's VERY intimate and emblematic of just how happy he'd be to get a taste of Meng Shao Fei (in a NUMBER of ways) for real.

Zhao Zi comes over to Tang Yi's house to install the new security cameras and starts feeling up the chest of one of Tang Yi's minions. Jack CANNOT BELIEVE his luck.



"Are you one of those guys who looks skinny with their clothes on and muscular when naked?" ZHAO!! ZI!! (Side note: I wonder how much we're meant to take Zhao Zi's flirting with Jack as conscious and intentional? I feel like maybe not so much, though I prefer to lean towards interpreting it that way.)

Jack guides Zhao Zi's hand to his chest and Zhao Zi gets *right* in there.



And knowing the groping was Kenny's idea makes this scene even better. Zhao Zi talks about how he took up the dangerous job of being a cop because tuition was free at the police academy and his grandma didn't have much money, and it is just so sweet and heart-breaking and entirely him. You can see Jack MELTING as he speaks.

And then! Zhao Zi falls from the ladder and he and Jack plummet into the pool. Zhao Zi then gets a little distracted.



Zuo Hong Ye arrives and looks understandably annoyed to find Henchman Number Two cuddling a random boy in the swimming pool.



Concerned about the number of cops there are now cluttering up the place while flirting madly, she vents to Gu Dao Yi. Then she comes onto him but he lets her down gently (while looking extremely tempted) and escapes to make coffee.

Tang Yi goes to the hospital for a very suggestive-sounding massage from Dr Jiang, while Meng Shao Fei goes loopy with jealousy outside. Back at the house, there's a nice moment where Meng Shao Fei acknowledges that he's angry at himself for being jealous of other people getting to touch Tang Yi. Tang Yi responds by simply offering himself up to be touched.



This is a super sexy moment because... he's putting himself on a plate for you right there, Meng Shao Fei! But Meng Shao Fei can't quite let himself do it, not yet.

Later, Ah-De tries to warn Tang Yi about Meng Shao Fei's feelings for him (which is OBVIOUSLY not going to go well) and Tang Yi threatens to transfer him if he doesn't drop it. The next day, Zuo Hong Ye steals Meng Shao Fei from Tang Yi to be her shopping escort. There follows a pretty cute scene of her making him give his opinions on her purchases and running him ragged around the mall. If it wasn't for what follows, you could start to get such a clear picture of a future where they're bickering in-laws who actually really care about each other underneath. Obviously, that's the moment someone starts shooting at them.

At the hospital, Tang Yi cradles Zuo Hong Ye and looks utterly devastated when he learns Meng Shao Fei is badly injured. Captain Shi bulldozes up to him and starts shaking him by the lapels and Tang Yi just lets him do it. Then he goes to town with a knuckleduster on the shooter, one of Chen Wen Hao's minions, and it's honestly pretty scary.

But THEN we find out that Zuo Hong Ye and Ah-De have been conspiring to get rid of Meng Shao Fei (although Ah-De was just meant to have him beaten up, and the would-be assassin got there first.) Zuo Hong Ye makes it clear their conspiracy is at an end (we've seen previously that Jack is clearly suspicious of Ah-De, and Gu Dao Yi is obviously also clued into what's going on.) Then Zuo Hong Ye tearfully confesses her feelings to Gu Dao Yi, while he looks quietly devastated.

The episode ends with Tang Yi at Meng Shao Fei's bedside, holding his hand.







♥♥♥

Comments

[no_detective]

omg this episode is A LOT! (and a nice continuation of the msf/hospital OTP subplot, lol)

a few moments i enjoyed:

in the beginning scene, it is super obvious in several shots that ALL OF THEM are trying very hand not to crack up while they're sniffing around and fighting over tang yi, and it's ADORABLE:


in the subsequent scene in the restaurant, with msf angrily trying to eat his feelings and rambling about crimes of passion, i love his satisfied little smirk when tang yi drinks the Coke of Symbolism and msf just POURS HIM MORE <3


jack has his own moment of jealousy when he sees zz feeling up the random gangster - his face changes a few times in that scene, lol:


and i love that his wet shirt even RIDES UP in the pool! THE JACK-RELATED GIFTS JUST KEEP ON COMING :)


on a shallow note, hong ye's outfit AND her coffee cup in this scene are both on point:


doctor jiang is a genuine troll of my HEART:


100% agreed on the cuteness of the shopping montage! i mean msf's FAAAAAACE:


i, uhhhh. on a certain level, i rrrrrreally enjoyed tang yi going ballistic on the shooter? i mean yes, it's obviously not a good development for his character - he even smokes a lot right after, which is shorthand for shady/bad - buuuuuut it is kinda hot to see him lose control. (no worries, i won't share a gratuitous screencap of the knuckleduster... tho i might have to make an icon...)

btw, tang yi moves to (partly) undress THREE TIMES in this episode - for the massage with doctor jiang, in the driveway when he offers himself up to msf's touch, and at his house when he's storming in to question the shooter and whips off his jacket along the way - and each time his body is narratively presented to mean different things. during the massage, the scene is funny but his scars and recent injuries are visible and he looks kind of pliant and vulnerable - plus he's lending his body to his friend as a favor to practice the treatment. in the driveway, he's once again offering himself - in a dare-you way where he is still in control, but also very calmly and obviously putting his body at msf's disposal. but when he's about to confront the guy who shot at his sister and wounded his favorite disaster!cop... he's a weapon. for a show that spends a glorious amount of time objectifying the bodies of its stars (starting with tang yi taking a perfectly gratuitous shower in like the first episode, hashtag blessed), that is some IMPRESSIVE VISUAL FRAMING.

i'm also pretty impressed that jack reads the situation well enough to not worry that tang yi would kill the guy; jack just waits to take him to the doctor, because they are responsible gangsters mkay. OH - and that's also a great showcase for jack's ability to see right through li zhi de's nervousness. a+++ badassery.


and then, after all that, we see tang yi at the hospital looking wrecked as he holds msf's hand, feeling terrible to be responsible for putting him in harm's way <3

final note: every time i watch this ep, i LOL at zz's face when he walks in, sees tang yi in msf's room, and then just - slowly walks right out:

[clevermanka]

Jack's gonna KILL that dude if he tries anything, seriously.

i rrrrrreally enjoyed tang yi going ballistic on the shooter?
SAME. That shoulder roll? Hgnnnngng.
no worries, i won't share a gratuitous screencap of the knuckleduster
What would it take for you to consider it non-gratuitous?

I like your observation of the framing of Tang Yi's various states of undress. Very interesting and very cool.

Love love love how flat-out mean Jack looks in that screencap. And how beautifully it juxtaposes with the one of Zhao Zi right below it. (I also paused to literally LOL on that moment because yes, Zhao Zi's discovery face is PRICELESS)

[no_detective]

heh, consider my arm gently twisted... but yeah, that whole scene is A LOT. and the violence is so PERSONAL.

[doctorskuld]

The intensity and the way the shots are set up here, so good.

[no_detective]

and the lighting! SO GOOD, SO NOIR. beautifully filmed.

[clevermanka]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

[no_detective]

it was TOTALLY my pleasure :D

[satsuma]

(no worries, i won't share a gratuitous screencap of the knuckleduster... tho i might have to make an icon...)

But what if we want you to share gratuitous knuckleduster screencaps? :D

Also that Jack screencap from the same scene is excellent—I honestly don’t think Jack would have cared if Tang Yi killed the guy? Other than in an ‘ugh now I’ve gotta hide the body’ way haha. But I agree with you that he had a good enough read on the situation/Tang Yi’s limits in general to know that wasn’t gonna happen

[no_detective]

due to popular demand, then...

and yeah, jack totally knows how to deal with any problem that comes along - i find that to be a big part of his appeal. he also knows enough about tang yi to make a good estimate of what to expect, even in such a volatile situation.

[satsuma]

Oooooh thanks : D

jack totally knows how to deal with any problem that comes along - i find that to be a big part of his appeal

2nding this yeah, he’s the most competent/unflappable character in the whole show

[doctorskuld]

I honestly don’t think Jack would have cared if Tang Yi killed the guy?
I dunno, I think that Jack might have intervened, but probably right down to the wire.

I was the under the impression, later in the series, that he's the one who contacted MSF when the whole Ah-De attempted rape thing happened. And he brought MSF specifically in to stop TY.

[satsuma]

I was the under the impression, later in the series, that he's the one who contacted MSF when the whole Ah-De attempted rape thing happened. And he brought MSF specifically in to stop TY.

I think Jack’s morality really depends on what tf you think is going on with the Interpol subplot? Which is a WHOLE THREAD in its own right tbh

[doctorskuld]

Yes, good point. They threw us that curveball really late, and they haven't really given us much else to do with it.

(The Jack character discussion post will up shortly after the rewatch ends, and we can all pile in.)

I really need to read the epilogue of the novel where they reveal a little more about his background, but I don't read Chinese very well, so it'll take forever...

[satsuma]

(The Jack character discussion post will up shortly after the rewatch ends, and we can all pile in.)

I'll save my Jack thoughts for the post then!

I really need to read the epilogue of the novel where they reveal a little more about his background, but I don't read Chinese very well, so it'll take forever...

Do you know if the novel is based on the show or is the show based on the novel? It doesn't really matter I suppose but I am curious

[doctorskuld]

The novel is a novelization of the show. The script was original, and the novel adaptation came afterward.

[satsuma]

Thanks!

[yantantether]

the msf/hospital OTP subplot
Oh NO so accurate :D

That's such a funny screen shot of them cracking up in the sniffing scene - Stanley Mei in particular because Ah-De should NOT have been laughing there, but it must have been so funny to film it isn't surprising.

[no_detective]

it's such an adorable cast! <3

[doctorskuld]

I imagine they were on a tight filming schedule, and this was the take with the least corpsing, so the director just threw up her hands and declared it good enough?