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Guardian Recap: Episode 25 "The Case of the Infectious Personalities"


When he touches Zhu Hao, Xiao Guo doesn't seem to notice the bit of dark energy that invades his body and neither does the Chief. Since they have no leads at the moment, they decide to send the cabbie to Haixing headquarters and rejoin the rest of the crew in the bullpen. Da Qing and Lao Chu have interviewed the witnesses to the altercation that got the cabbie in trouble and found no one who could help justify the man's irrational anger. The attack was unprovoked.

Xiao Guo joins the group sitting around the table and an innocent attempt by Zhu Hong to read his daily journal leads to a very out of character burst of anger toward both her and Lao Chu. Stunned, everyone watches him leave without saying a word. (That dark energy he absorbed is already having an effect.)

The next day, Professor Shen greets his class at the University and finds Zhu Hong sitting in the back of the room. (Pfft. Notice how his entire class is female.) She gives him an odd excuse of wanting to close the gap between her and the Chief, and Shen Wei moves on to start his lecture.

Sometime later, the crew gathers to discuss how there is now a teenager who has been diagnosed with the same condition as the cabbie and wonder if there is a connection. Shen Wei starts to tell Yunlan about how Zhu Hong had been in one of his classes when she suddenly appears all glammed up like she's going on a date. She approaches him in a shy, almost coy manner and even calls him by his given name (Oh boy. Her too?) When he tries to avoid her, she gets flustered and runs away.

The Chief stops by the hospital to retrieve records for the victims of the case and runs into Dr Cheng as she is treating a man who claims to have 99 distinct personalities. She explains that the patient, Kong Jing, must be lying because the human mind cannot function with that many fractures. Yunlan is intrigued and asks if the condition is contagious, but the doctor assures him it isn't.

Yunlan and Shen Wei return to the SID to find that Lao Chu has now started to show the same symptoms as the others. (A really great scene, but the BTS clips are even better.) After freaking the Chief out with his overly friendly and ridiculous mannerisms, Lao Chu flounces off to cry at his desk. Shen Wei points out that they now know for certain there must be dark energy involved. (Why are we just now figuring this out?)

Shen Wei goes to leave for Dixing to look into it when Yunlan clings to him and asks him to be careful in a cutesy way. Shen Wei merely brushes him off, knowing he isn't susceptible to the personality infection like the others. (Completely ad-libbed by the actors. So fun to watch.)

Chief Zhao tries to reinterview the cab driver only to find out that he has escaped custody. He rants at Minister Gao about how shameful it is that they have allowed him to escape. As he stalks off, Minister Gao stops him and asks him to visit his father. This really gets Yunlan's attention, but the Minister denies any serious reason behind the request despite having witnessed the former Chief having chest pain.

Back at the SID, the poor Chief is having a tough time coping with all the changes in his staff. He's relieved that at least Lin Jing seems to be his normal self and even receives a new device from the inventor but doesn't have a chance to learn what it does as he gets a call. While gushing over how manly Xiao Guo is, Lao Chu informs him they have caught Zhu Hao and are on their way back. (Finally, some good news.)

The interrogation keeps going off the rails with Lao Chu acting like an encouraging and supportive boyfriend and Xiao Guo being a rude jerk, but they do figure out that whatever happened to the cabbie occurred during reunion night. (The humor throughout this episode is golden.) He explains that he was in a rush to get home and brushed past a pregnant lady but didn't stop. He reveals that he recognizes Kong Jing from that night, but before he can say anything else, he's killed by a black feather striking his neck. (Dart gun, maybe?) The three of them rush outside to look for the assassin, but the Chief is kidnapped by Kong Jing the moment they split up.

Yunlan comes to tied to a chair in a darkened room with Kong Jing currently possessed by Yunlan's least favorite personality, the one that infected Lao Chu. After a couple of ineffectual attempts to torture the Chief with feathers, Kong Jing suddenly switches personalities and tactics, to flattery? (This is the strangest torture scene I've ever watched, but definitely not the least entertaining.)

Yunlan accidentally ends up goading Kong Jing into trying to infect him with one of his alters, but the dark energy is repelled from his body, seemingly from the Black Cloak Envoy's own energy within his body. (Is this what Shen Wei meant when he seemed so sure Yunlan was not susceptible to infection?)

In a brief moment of lucidity, the real Kong Jing begs the Chief to kill him, but another switch causes an alter to try to kill Yunlan instead. Shen Wei appears just in time to save the day with the rest of the crew right on his heels. (Honestly, Professor Shen can't even make a house call in Dixing without Zhao getting into trouble)

Kong Jing attempts to kill himself, but Lao Chu stops him. Another assassin feather puts the poor man out of his misery, and Shen Wei examines him. He reveals that Kong Jing was an ordinary Haixing, leaving Yunlan wondering where his powers came from. With the crew now back to normal, the Chief breathes a sigh of relief.

Watching from a nearby rooftop, the Merit Brush Owner and Ya Qiang discuss how close they are to finally setting the Boss free. In fact, the chains around the pillar in Dixing begin to react, drawing Butler Wu's attention. Ye Zun tries his power of manipulation on the old man, promising to save his son from prison, but Butler Wu rejects him and flees.

The following day, the Chief calls Dr. Cheng asking if it's possible for a person who has been afflicted with multiple personalities to still behave like their normal self. She is quick to assure him that this would likely mean the person was being dishonest from the start. Toying with the gadget Lin Jing gave him, the Chief seems concerned by this news.

Meanwhile, Xiao Guo, Da Qing, and Lin Jing are examining the room where the Chief was held prisoner, trying to find how a Haixing human could have suddenly gained Dixing abilities. Lin Jing discovers a syringe and, at first, tries to hide it. (I hate when one of the 'good guys' ends up working for the other team.) When Xiao Guo spots him, he pretends to have just picked it up and bags it for evidence.

Once again in the cemetery, Xiao Guo meets Dong Nan again. The young girl is sickly looking, and after only a few moments, she collapses. Xiao Guo keeps watching over her during her final moments. Ya Qiang appears almost immediately after the girl passes and thanks Guo for making her smile at the end, giving him a silver feather with the promise of one favor as a reward.

That night in the hall of their apartment, Yunlan tries to tease Shen Wei about spending all of his time in Yunlan's place, (Aren't you supposed to be going for bromance here, Show? Not that I'm complaining.) but he's interrupted by a burning smell. Shen Wei cautiously eases his door open and finds the lights not working. Yunlan steps on something just as Shen Wei cautions him to stop moving.

Memorable Quotes

"Boss, are you so eager to let us all be sacrificed so that you and Professor Shen can have a lover's world to yourselves?" Lin Jing to Zhao Yunlan

"The time you have stayed at my place is longer than you have stayed at yours." Zhao Yunlan to Shen Wei

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