Guardian Recap: Episode 16 “The Case of the Visiting Inspector"
- Author: Morgan
- Mar 9, 2019
- 5 min read
The Inspector has arrived, and the SID crew are scrambling to both impress and distract him. Lin Jing begins to take him on a tour of the lab to demonstrate some of his inventions. One, in particular, detects dark energy and immediately sounds an alarm when pointed at the Inspector. Curious. Lin Jing assumes the equipment is faulty and nervously laughs it off.
The Inspector decides to go straight to the Chief’s office but finds Xiao Guo instead. A hilariously awkward exchange takes place between the two of them as Xiao Guo makes the saddest attempt at bluffing his way through convincing the Inspector he’s actually Chief Zhao. Unfortunately for him, not only does the Inspector know everything about who Guo Chengcheng is, he’s also Zhao Yunlan’s father. Worst case scenario, indeed.
Now that all pretenses are over, Yunlan’s father demands to know where his son is and if Shen Wei went with him, leaving the team in a tight spot.
Meanwhile, in Dixing, Yunlan and Shen Wei have finally made their way to the palace only to be confronted by the King’s Secretary who insists that outsiders (i.e. Yunlan) are not allowed inside the palace at this time. Hmm, I wonder if he’s just recklessly bold or foolish. To avoid a confrontation, Yunlan volunteers to take the Regent and search for the Dijun booklet on his own.
Da Qing does his best to explain what’s happening to Yunlan’s father (Zhao Xinchi), but the more he learns, the more unhappy the Inspector becomes with his son’s leadership style. Just as he’s interrogating the crew on what would happen if an emergency call came in with the Chief away, lo and behold that’s exactly what happens.
The crew arrives at the site of the disturbance to speak with the security guards on duty. (Note: it’s the old man in cahoots with Purple Wig) He tells them a fantastical story about how the forest trees suddenly began falling on him and his partner who was injured. When he’s finished, Zhao Xinchi hands out orders to the crew as the acting Chief.
Zhao Yunlan hears a woman yelling for help and goes to investigate, but his sharp instincts clue him in on the sketchy nature of the situation almost immediately. He takes down two men harassing the woman with very little effort and shrugs her off when she tries to cling to him as an obvious distraction. Fed up with the Regent’s games, Yunlan confronts him about where the man had the booklet last, but he scurries off with another excuse instead.
As the crew try to fulfill their orders, Zhu Hong and Lin Jing are fighting to get any information from potential witnesses who are all trying to avoid blame, and Xiao Guo is confronted by the hysterical wife of the injured security guard. Da Qing is struggling with the realization that he has forgotten how to speak Cat (something that should be second nature to a Yashou from the Cat Tribe).
Still searching alone, Yunlan is startled when a booming voice suddenly calls out to him. He goes to investigate and comes upon a creepy pillar chained atop a dias in an isolated area. Yeah, this is not a bad idea.
The voice immediately starts playing mind games with him as though the entity within the pillar is privy to his innermost thoughts. At first, Yunlan brushes it off as a cheap carnival trick, but when the voice suggests he has doubts whether he’s doing the right thing, Yunlan is visibly shaken.
But just as things start to get intense, the three stooges from earlier arrive. When they begin harassing him, Yunlan tries distracting one and kicks him between the legs. Turns out the guy’s Dixing ability makes him immune to that attack. So the Chief tries name dropping the Black Cloak Envoy, but that’s the worst thing he could have done because these guys believe the Envoy is a traitor and have no fear of him. Realizing he’s in a bind, Yunlan takes off and tries to outrun them.
The Black Cloak Envoy finishes his obligations with the King and questions the Secretary about Ding Dun’s files. The Secretary claims they were destroyed half a month ago, but the Envoy wants to know why he wasn’t consulted first on such an important decision. Clearly, there’s a movement within the palace to keep him out of the loop.
Still avoiding the stooges, Yunlan takes a mask off a drunk man outside a pub and attempt to blend in with the locals. Unfortunately, blending in is not exactly one of his stronger skills.
Back at the base, Zhao Xinchi is taking notes and making small talk with Sang Zan in the library. The acting Chief gets called away, but as he leaves, Sang Zan notices something peculiar: Zhao Xinchi writes with both hands. Who knew he was such a sharp tack?
The Chief blows his own cover about 3.5 seconds after he arrives at the pub, making it ridiculously easy for the stooges to spot him. Just in the nick of time, a man in a pig mask takes his arm and spirits him away from danger. They stop in a secluded plaza, and the masked man turns out to be Butler Wu, who’s been working for the Envoy ever since his son was arrested (in episode 5).
Zhao Xinchi gathers the team to ask for their findings, but he’s more interested in pointing out all the flaws in the way his son runs things at SID. He suggests that he will fire Yunlan for being a poor leader and a bad example. He asks the crew for their feedback on this decision, declaring that if even one of them agrees with him, Yunlan will be terminated. He takes Da Qing to be interviewed first and Xiao Guo sics a death glare on Old Chu with a warning not to betray the Chief. Ha! About time Xiao Guo.
Zhao Xinchi confronts Xiao Guo in the Chief’s office, trying to persuade him that Yunlan is an unfit leader who had humiliated him in the past, but Xiao Guo isn’t having it. He defends their Chief without reservation, even when Zhao Xinchi points the Chief’s gun in his face. Woah! Serious overkill just to make a point. Turns out all this was his way of determining if the crew was suitable for his son. But just as Xiao Guo is dismissed, Zhao Xinchi suddenly zips across the room in front of him and gives him a pep talk about how he was hand-picked bc of his good energy to fight against the darkness. Being the simple and earnest person he is, Xiao Guo doesn’t appear to notice how the man’s eyes have changed to a golden brown color as he speaks.
The crew gets word of another incident and arrives to find a major disturbance has caused a large portion of the road to collapse. Lin Jing begins testing for dark energy when he realizes that the results from the soil sample he tested earlier meant that the Dixing fugitive they are hunting can change the composition of the soil.
Just outside the SID, Purple Wig is laying the final touches on his plan. He assures the man that if the SID is reduced to rubble, the Dixing people can come above ground and live in peace. The offer seems too good to pass up as the old man sets his sights on SID headquarters.
Notable Characters
Dixing King’s Secretary
Zhao Xinchi, Zhao Yunlan’s father
Memorable Quotes:
“I’m a kind man who doesn’t need compensation.” - Zhao Yunlan Ha! Something tells me Shen Wei would disagree with that.
“The villain may show up at any time. To defend ourselves, we need positive energy just like yours. So remember, have faith in your beliefs, and keep persevering in what you persevere in.”- Zhao Xinchi giving Xiao Guo the world’s vaguest pep talk
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