Thread by @liquid_history, I feel well enough to tackle subtitles now so I’m going to [...]

I feel well enough to tackle subtitles now so I’m going to start over with Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty. I’ll tag if I decide to live tweet with #sleuthwatch so people can mute if they don’t want spoilers. The opening credits still slap.

Wait is this Jinlintai?? Is that where my boy JGY got wrecked?? #sleuthwatch

Relatable content.

The lighting in this scene is STUNNING.

He seems shady and like he’s got something to prove. He’s my favorite.

He’s literally like “on June 12, 2003 at exactly 7:34 pm you were talking shit” and this little paper crane is very ominous

IS HE ACTING OUT HIS OWN ROMANCE STORIES

Where does he sleep tho

I was not paying enough attention and heard/read Zheng Cheng as Jiang Cheng and was like why the fuck is that boy in trouble in a brothel he would NEVER.

I like how no one has mentioned the dead girl at all so far. And by like, I mean I’m side eyeing it. But this is a beautiful shot.

There deadass are no mattresses on these old Chinese beds my back hurts just looking at this.

Are Tang “Most Annoying Man in the World” Fan and this hot coroner dude exes or something bc there seems to be friction.

This is based on a BL novel too, right? Is their meet cute going to be Tang Fan telling him his noodles suck and getting bullied for it bc I’m here for that. I also just realized I didn’t tag like 90% of the thread but you can just mute threads right

The credits sequence has me suspecting that my boy, poisoner and paper crane maker, Wang Zhi, might be a bad guy I am shocked and disturbed.

However, this next part has me thinking “evil love triangle” and I’m into it.

Oh no his noodle game is strong, Tang Fan is into it.

Well now you’ve gotta marry him for the noods and broad shoulders. Tang Fan is a thirsty bitch.

I didn’t even notice in the Untamed but the dubbing here is... not great.

Oh this is adorable.

Well then.

I can’t help but read this as “I think you did it and I’m mad you didn’t let me help bc frankly that was some amateur hour shit.” I also like the beaded curtain and how he doesn’t cross it until after the other servants leave, showing perhaps that their intimacy is secretive and

Also we the viewer are still stuck on the other side, voyeurs to the scene. It’s also a nice parallel to TF and SZ in the jail but they are on opposite sides and the camera, I believe, stays inside with TF.

WHAT

She called his bluff and he didn’t think this through.

This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever made.

EXCUSE??

Well this sure took a turn.

I have no idea what’s going on but I’m going to bed.

Back on my bullshit. Is my boy just going to murder his way through all the depots? I’m glad I waited for my signal to get better. Look at that lighting. This show is too pretty for 780p.

It’s not murder, just blackmail!

Does Uncle Hou live in Yi City?

For some reason in all the restaurant scenes all I can hear is my grandmother yelling about how rude it is to wear hats at the table

.

For some reason in all the restaurant scenes all I can hear is my grandmother yelling about how rude it is to wear hats at the table .

Loving the passive-aggressive reading list.

Love that Sui Zhou invented parkour. Completely necessary for catching criminals.

Me: oh this lighting and composition is so beautiful they’re glowing OH MY GOD WANG ZHI HAS A GUN IS THIS ALLOWED

LMAOOO THEY COULDNT KILL THE GOAT. Aunt Dong will have that straightened out by dinner.

Also, come to the capital city where it is literally always golden hour. Yes. Even noon.

My signal is garbage so any screenshot I take rn looks blurry af but tang fan is going to be the WORST roommate oh my god.

So wangxian has a son and did they just basically adopt a daughter I can’t handle this.

Tang Fan confirmed for WORST roommate he scams you out of money, trashes your kitchen, brings a goat, and a new daughter AND steals your bath Sui Zhou buddy you are never getting rid of him.

This show is staged like a play. That’s why I couldn’t figure out some of the set pieces. Like why so many of the characters sit side by side when talking maybe? And the use of screens to give shots depth when the camera is still. Wow.

Suddenly very emotional about wang zhi making a promise that probably contradicts his desire to help the consort??? And how we the audience are at floor level too?

Sometimes a family is a sheep, a guard captain, a genius little girl, and the most annoying man in the world.

I do not understand this cloak subplot and how tf did she snap jade in half.

Wang Zhi is here to judge you in his fur cape and with his new hot war criminal (maybe?) bodyguard. Iconic.

When they’re just having a normal fucking conversation but the battle music picks up and this motherfucker in the armor is being shady.

Also that fur cape tho

Something something about different types of service and masculinity something something I like how you can see through wang zhi’s hat

Actual picture of Sui Zhou

WAIT HOW TF DID HE GET HERE

THIS IS SOME XUE YANG FACE SWAPPING SHIT I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THE EMBROIDERY WAS DIFFERENT MY BOY WOULDNT BE CAUGHT DEAD

What are those on his robes? Lions?

Does Wang Zhi have an evil twin????

Is Sui Zhou about to pull some Ip Man shit? With the way this show goes from high comedy to drama I can never tell.

Sui “Learn to share or fucking else” Zhou is my favorite.

Okay, not quite Ip Man level bc that guy sucked but I believe Sui Zhou could have if he hadn’t.

I stg if tang fan talks himself out of being arrested when he actually wants to go to jail bc he can’t help proving people wrong I don’t know what I’ll do.

Ok he didn’t but why didn’t they take his clothes and hair pin?? That’s literally a shiv!!

This show is great but the dubbing is PAINFUL.

LMAO Tang Fan is really a damsel in distress isn’t he just getting boyfriends where ever he goes

This show regularly makes me laugh out loud but wow. I want to watch this scene on a loop.

Well that escalated then deescalated quickly. But look at the golden light coming through the windows.

OH MY GOD WHO IS WATCHING THEIR SHEEP

I’m sorry this is comedy gold. Give them both awards. I don’t know this man with the pretty hair’s name but he’s a true mvp.

Actually, I think Wang Zhi should be allowed to do whatever he wants with no consequences bc I love him.

I am very into this understanding Wang Zhi and the general have.

I feel bad for the noodle shop guy who’s just trying to make a living but keeps becoming a plot setting.

Wang Zhi. You fool. You absolute buffoon. You’re going to explain it once and she will clean you out.

I’ve never played this game in my life but that looks pretty decisive.

This is the cutest shit I’ve ever seen in my life.

I hate you and your face tang fan. Stop being so fucking cute.

Usually I hate hats but this one is appropriately witchy to me. And the ombré is back! Go get your man Tang Fan. He’s three steps ahead of you, but go!

Lol get wreckt

Pretty sure this is a “kitten thinks of nothing but murder all day” moment.

Is no one seriously going to ask where this evil twin came from?

Okay but what the fuck

In eleven episodes I have not skipped the opening credits once.

Mystery solved! The sheep is safe and eating tomatoes about a century (?) too early.

Oh he wants cadavers.

Witch hat is back! And my boy wang zhi is serving spring looks in green! Beautiful! 10/10!

@annulareye I thought you were joking about the swing

I don’t understand how jurisdiction is decided here. Why are some things the northern guard and others the shuntian prefecture? WZ is part of the western depot but he also works in the palace? And everywhere? If someone does know and can explain it I’m all ears.

Oh my god is doctor pei schtupping tang fan’s sister

Best bros. Also Osmanthus cake??? What’s that like?? (Also good burn Dong’er)

He’s literally like this 12 year old girl is the only one on my level Dong’er for president of everything.

Quick lunch break watch: I know using her for bait is shitty but look at that cape. Silver! I barely recognized him. And it’s impossible to get a good shot but I like the transitions with the fire eater.

Tang Fan reading Wang Zhi for filth (kind of deservedly) but I can’t get over Sui Zhou’s eyeroll. Giving Jiang Cheng competition.

1st. Weird angle. 2nd. Oh my god is this Sui Zhou’s version of “if you’re not mad enough to bare knuckle box you’re not really mad”? And I love that Wang Zhi just raises his eyebrow like “do it, pussy.”

Hello darkness my old friend

That is Sui “JusticeEsmeralda.gif” Zhou and you think you can bribe him?? Motherfucker he unionized about 40 prisoners who wanted to murder him in like twenty minutes.

The fuck? What a creep I don’t trust him idc what fancy badge he has.

That CANNOT be Dong’er I refuse to believe it no I do not see it

Oh thank god this is the most paranoid I’ve been during an episode.

I meant to mention this before when @jacytheblue wrote that great explanation of the depots and how all these agencies worked but I forgot until now. Since they are all separate and the shuntian prefecture seems to be the least... let’s say prestigious, it’s probably very odd

That SZ and WZ keep dragging TF along into their cases? Even tho he has a good reputation for being clever? And when the went to the palace I assumed SZ was using his distant relation to the royal family to leverage it and the way everyone was freaking about about TF being there

Made me think him and his agency were the real threat but apparently SZ would have the authority to investigate the palace and go there no matter what as a member of the northern guard? There’s always 20 different things happening at once here.

Sui Zhou straight creepin’

Get riddled with these handsome boys!

So we are also dealing with a loss of self into service (or the appearance of it) but Im waiting for that promise he made to come back and bite him in the ass. Hes so shifty. What does he really want? TF wants food and interesting diversions. SZ wants JUSTICE. What about you WZ?

Interesting fourth wall break? I haven’t noticed if he’s done that before but I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s eerie? Also, yeah let’s talk about loyal subordinates Wang Zhi.

So the brothels are a lot bigger then I had expected. In the Untamed I was picturing like someone’s tiny little house but this is huge.

GREEN ROBE WATCH! It’s probably my favorite of his outfits so far.

What a beautiful set.

Ok, first off this robe also has an ombré that I didn’t see before and second, holy shit WZ you just keep collecting favors. AND he explicitly goes behind both the emperor and the consorts backs to do it.

Ok, first off this robe also has an ombré that I didn’t see before and second, holy shit WZ you just keep collecting favors. AND he explicitly goes behind both the emperor and the consorts backs to do it.

You don’t even need to see the executions to feel repulsed you get that just from the reaction shots what a good way of doing that. Also the beading on the emperor’s robe is beautiful.

Buddy. You are BONED without Wang Zhi. Which is exactly where he wanted you, incidentally.

Pei Huai understands the importance of mask wearing. It’s a little flimsy but

Pei Huai understands the importance of mask wearing. It’s a little flimsy but

NO

FUCK I FORGOT ABOUT AHA AND THAT GUY IDK HIS NAME

Ok so we all know the Sleuth opening credits slap but no one told me the end credits had a song too and they definitely didn’t tell me that it was SAD

It sure is. Would it be weird if I made him my avatar?

I love how footprints are always perfectly preserved in this show. The wind was just like nah. My dad tried to show me how to read tracks once but it all just looked like a mess to me I couldn’t make out anything. Which is weird bc usually my brain is good at visual patterns.

The face of a man ecstatic at the idea of getting married and having kids.

Wait so he went from investor to owner? Or was that always the case and the subtitles are being weird? Also, wtf dude? That’s two men with swords who hate you already in the episode.

Also, is that like his brothel outfit?

OHHHH. OH MY GOD THIS IS WHY HE WANTED TO BEAT WANG ZHI’S ASS. HIS FATHER WAS HIS OPENING MURDER.

Sui Zhou: also I’m fucking gay and have shacked up with the most annoying man in the world. We kind of have a kid to look after too. And Wang Zhi comes around. Who orchestrated your downfall. That’s awkward.

He looks familiar. I feel like I’ve seen him in a movie or something elsewhere. Which is a short list if he’s only done Chinese language stuff but I can’t place him.

Tang Fan better watch his back.

Translation: last time I saw you you yelled at me and could have stabbed me. So grovel.

I keep having to pause bc Tang Fan’s sister’s family is just so enraging.

She didn’t even fucking read that divorce paper. I’m so tired.

Yeah bud. You blackmail enough people and sooner or later they’re going to decide killing you is worth it.

Loving the civilian look Wang Zhi, but maybe put the hood up when there is a several thousand dollar bounty on your head. Or whatever the dollar/silver rate is. It’s A LOT.

It’s impossible to get a good clear shot but MY BOY’S GOT MOVES. As in he has the good sense to get out of the way quickly and picked the right bodyguard. That gun’s practically useless with one shot when there’s so many assassins the assassins are surprised.