Guardian Episode 2 Recap
> Guardian Recap
Following the recent Subterranean attack, the episode opens with Shen Wei on a rooftop, being addressed by a shadowy figure who dismisses a previous failure and insists on taking over a mission. Shen Wei cryptically allows it, noting that shadows belong in the dark. The focus then shifts to Li Qian, a young student overwhelmed by grief following the death of her grandmother. She stands on the edge of a tall building at her school, contemplating suicide.
Just as she is about to jump, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei rush to her side and pull her back to safety. At the hospital, a doctor explains Li Qian's situation: her grandmother had suffered a severe cerebral infarction a year ago but miraculously recovered, albeit with Alzheimer's. However, two days prior, she accidentally consumed a fatal dose of sleeping pills. The doctor remarks that the grandmother's extra year of life was a "stolen" one that was ultimately unsustainable.
Meanwhile, at the Special Investigation Unit, the veteran field officer Chu Shuzhi expresses his frustration with his gossiping colleagues and the timid new recruit, Guo Changcheng. Unbeknownst to Chu, Director Zhao Yunlan values Guo's inherent purity and kindness. He tasks Guo and Da Qing with monitoring Li Qian at the hospital, hoping Guo's gentle nature can comfort her, while also warning him about potential Subterranean attacks.
At the hospital, Guo and Da Qing encounter Shen Wei, who is also visiting Li Qian. Guo admits his unease around Director Zhao, prompting Shen Wei to suggest that Guo be more understanding of his young director's heavy responsibilities. When Shen Wei offers food to Li Qian, the taste of dried bean curd triggers poignant memories of her grandmother. Seeing her distress, Guo attempts to comfort her by sharing his own experience of losing his grandmother.
Li Qian laments that she never got the chance to repay her grandmother's love. Shen Wei then offers gentle words of comfort, assuring them that loved ones who have passed on continue to watch over them. While observing the hospital's surveillance footage, Zhao Yunlan spots a peculiar necklace on Li Qian. He has Lin Jing zoom in, identifying it as the Longevity Sundial, one of the four sacred hallows.
Theorizing that the hallow can absorb life energy and is connected to the grandmother's miraculous recovery, Zhao Yunlan rushes to the hospital. Soon after, a Subterranean puppet master attacks, targeting Li Qian. The assailant's dark magic dissipates harmlessly upon contact with Shen Wei. Before the attacker can strike again, Zhao Yunlan and Chu Shuzhi arrive, forcing him to retreat.
Zhao Yunlan confronts Li Qian, revealing that the necklace is the Longevity Sundial and the cause of both her grandmother's strange recovery and the Subterranean attacks. Pressed about the sleeping pills, a distraught Li Qian confesses she bought them for her own suicide. She explains that when her grandmother was dying a year ago, she desperately wished for her to live, inadvertently activating the hallow.
It absorbed Li Qian's life force to revive her grandmother, but the woman who returned was a stranger—demented, unrecognizable, and a constant, painful reminder of her loss. This despair led her to seek an escape through suicide, but her grandmother found and consumed the pills instead. Later, as Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are driving Li Qian, she, still in deep anguish, throws the Longevity Sundial out of the car, declaring it useless. At that moment, another Subterranean attacks.
A wisp of her grandmother's spiritual energy emerges from the hallow, lovingly calling Li Qian a "silly girl" and urging her to live on. The spirit then shields Li Qian from the fatal blow, sacrificing her lingering essence to protect her granddaughter one last time. Immediately after, the mysterious Black Robed Envoy appears. He takes custody of the attacker and, after sharing a profound, unspoken gaze with Zhao Yunlan, departs.
In the car, Guo is moved to tears by the grandmother's sacrifice. Back at the SID, the team discusses the day's events, with Chu Shuzhi noting the Black Robed Envoy's uncharacteristic kindness towards Zhao Yunlan. Later, Zhao has a private meeting with the Envoy, who reveals that the recent attackers were merely insignificant pawns in a larger scheme. He explains he intentionally left the Longevity Sundial with Zhao, believing the SID's shielded environment is the safest place for it.
He is using the hallow as bait to lure out the true masterminds, encouraging Zhao to "cast a net" and catch them. Following the meeting, Zhao Yunlan gives the hallow to Lin Jing for analysis. The researcher is baffled, noting that the artifact appears to be growing. As Zhao Yunlan picks up the peculiar, dark silver ornament, it suddenly emits a bright light, leaving its true power a mystery.
