drive-by Guardian thoughts

[riventhorn]

 I was watching ep 3 today, and was struck once again by ZYL's people skills. The first time he meets Professor Zhang, he notes how she is overly apologetic and connects that to either low self esteem or past trauma. In contrast, Shen Wei keeps insisting that she has nothing to do with the crime, and that one of the three students who we find out later was involved in raping Professor Zhang is a "sincere and warm" person. ZYL comments that although Shen Wei has studied many living things, he is lacking in the area of studying human beings. 

Other moments also support the idea that Shen Wei does not always have great interpersonal skills. For example, the way he "comforts" Zhu Hong about her unrequited feelings for ZYL. I think he is really trying to comfort her, but is obviously doing a terrible job. 

However, I think his relationship with Li Qian is quite different in this respect. He notices that she is stressed and unhappy; he finds ways to comfort her about her grandmother, etc.  And of course, his relationship with ZYL, where he is quite observant of ZYL's emotions. 

So, I'm interpreting Shen Wei as the sort of person who does better in long-lasting, deep relationships where he spends a lot of time with an individual and comes to know them and feel comfortable with them, as opposed to ZYL who can connect with people much faster. For this interpretation, I am assuming that Shen Wei has known Li Qian for a while and she has been his grad assistant for a while too. 

In a related note, I love how swiftly Shen Wei becomes super concerned over Zhao Yunlan's health. We're only on ep 3, but Shen Wei is already chastising ZYL for eating sweets when he has a cold. <3<3<3

Comments

[firestar]

I generally see this moment as he doesn't know how to deal with someone who's crying, which is not an uncommon reaction. I mean, I guess he's used to a certain amount of teary, stressed students - especially come dissertation/exam time* - but faced with someone - even someone who's a friend - having an outwardly emotional reaction to grief, he's pretty much 'oh no, tears, panic stations, what do???' I mean, he dealt with his own grief in a 'conceal, don't feel' way, which is the exact opposite.

Also, I think it's less 'doesn't know how to human', because he's always worked with humans to a greater or lesser extent even 10k years ago and more that he has to hide so much of himself now, as well as being hella introverted, and it all kinda... clashes sometimes.

*Besides, I think academic breakdowns he can handle and can help students through, it's more personal pain that is difficult.

[rheasilvia]

I think it's less 'doesn't know how to human', because he's always worked with humans to a greater or lesser extent even 10k years ago and more that he has to hide so much of himself now, as well as being hella introverted, and it all kinda... clashes sometimes.

This! Yes, that's exactly how I read it, as well.