30 Days of Guardian: Day 21

21. Favourite character moment

I'll admit, I have no idea what the OP was actually expecting here. But my own take on it is that I'm supposed to pick a situation where the main characters acted in ways that speak firmly to the strength of their personalities and the nature of their convictions.

Considering this interpretation, what better choice than the latter half of episode 20, featuring Zhao Yunlan's first confrontation (in the present time, at least) with Ye Zun? It was one of the most impactful and memorable parts of the drama for me, because it spoke volumes about our heroes, the Big Bad, the Hallows and Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei's relationship. To wit:

• Zhao Yunlan shows us how far he's willing to go in order to fulfil his role as Haixing's Guardian.
• Ye Zun proves that he's a melodramatic genocidal megalomaniac who wouldn't think twice before sacrificing even his closest allies.
• Shen Wei proves that he will protect Zhao Yunlan come hell, high water or evil little brothers, and that he will always stand against Ye Zun, family bonds and childhood nostalgia be damned.
• Zhao Yunlan proves that he trusts Shen Wei to be there whenever he truly needs him, and also to be the ultimate victor in a showdown against Ye Zun.
• The Hallows prove that they're perfectly willing to help the Guardian perform his duties, for the appropriate price. Plus, that they're becoming progressively more overbearing in their attempts to manoeuvre Zhao Yunlan into helping them achieve their ultimate purpose.
• A beautiful girl is clutching at Zhao Yunlan and desperately calling his name. Shen Wei is hovering nearby, silent. Even semi-conscious, Yunlan immediately turns in Shen Wei's direction, calls out his name and reaches out to him. Shen Wei, who rarely smiles genuinely and who is surely sick with worry right now over any number of things, nevertheless finds it impossible to stop the brightest, most beautiful grin from breaking out over his face when he thinks Yunlan is going to be okay. If that doesn't illustrate their relationship perfectly, I don't know what does!

Thinking back on it now, I almost wish I'd picked this episode for Day 1... But not really, because it got to feature plenty here.