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The Untamed - Final Review 完结剧评
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ส.ค. 2019
- As I post this video, the show's rating on Douban just gone past 7.7~ Well Done~
01:05 - Tencent The Businessman
02:45 - Problems (Technical Imperfections)
09:26 - Strength (Acting)
16:15 - Strength (Script/Adaptation)
16:36 - What Almost Happened (Thank heavens it didn't)
18:37 - What the Script Did Right
23:41 - Final Thoughts
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In my opinion, the phenomenal acting of the entire cast covered up any technical aspects that were lacking
I agree, most of them didn't have any acting opportunities before but still managed to stay faithful to their character at lease 99% Yes sometimes they look like they are acting (like JiangCheng's actor) but a proper script would have helped them on how to act or how to express their character's emotions.
Then again if we cared about special effects, Marvel has us covered. But I don't think that's what you usually care about if you're watching Chinese drama. I think most of us are usually going for the incredible stories, so full of emotion but also consistency (as in everything makes perfect sense eventually - from the character motivations to act in a certain way, to how the things finally turn out).
same here
weeell yeah but some CGI was so bad you couldn't help but laugh. it takes you out of the story, it cracks the mood. They should really invest some more in doing technical stuff properly.
@@Xia-hu the editing and dialogue were sometimes really clunky too tho. Like in the last episode during a very intense and emotional moment su she turns around and yells “I’ll kill every last one of them” into the wind and I had to pause bc I couldn’t stop laughing
"Censorship is not your excuse to give us shit". I love your quote. I completely feel your pain about Guardian.
Same here!
*groans*
Same here!
Same here
Sickle Weed me too ✋🏻
The funny thing is that I had no idea the whole drama with Wen Qing's character even happened ... I liked her quite a bit to be honest. I never felt like she was intruding on the central dynamic of Wei Ying and Lan Zhan and I adored her absolut devotion to her brother. Not to mention that the actress is simply gorgeous. While watching I felt like her and Wei Wuxian had a nice dynamic but I never once saw it as romantic, it always felt like a brother-sister, co-parent situation of two completely different people trying to manage an un-manageable situation. And let's not talk about the ending because she really, willingly, paid the ultimate price. I can't hate her for that.
Apparently with other Chinese viewers, Wen Qing is trash. She tried to intErupT the relentionship between wwx and lwj, tried to have romance with wwx.
I realy liked wen qing as Well I realy dont understand how she is "intruding" in their relationship
I really like Wen Qing's character in the drama compared in the novel. I am thankful that they kind of expanded her role to what it is and still manage to make her as authentic to her character in the novel. Like I love her more in the drama! 😭 I would also be mad if they happen to make her as a female lead role because that shit won't add up. But I am happy that they kind of hinted Jiang Chen having feelings for her because in the novel I hated his character more than anyone like more than the antagonists! I just see him as an ungrateful person to Wen Qing and Wen Ning, especially. However in the drama I like him better because he's role became more diverse and not just a Wen Clan hating son of a bitch.
@@CharityMc ikr i also like drama wen qin and drama jiang cheng more. i feel like drama jiang cheng is more genuine than the novel. like i understand his pain of betrayal better than the book.
Me too
I don’t know what they did to get the 2 MALE leads to have such strong chemistry with each other. In fact, the fire sparked up from the 1st moment Wei Ying laid eyes on Lan Zhan and Lan Zhan glanced back at him in a sideway manner. Nothing cringy or awkward about their relationship at all. Congrats to the producers for casting this magnetic pair. Not to mention the rest of the outstanding & unforgettable cast! 😍
@kkaradin Nope. It's called good vetting, casting, & good actors. China actually does the best out of all of Asia. Thailand is the next w/ their Hetero casting. Amazing chems. The countries can be wishy-washy. Not enough time on the vetting system. It's about TIME & patience Ah, the Philippines isn't bad. Korea's the worst.
They already met on DDU before this.
@@m0rlana Before they filmed the untamed they knew each other??
@@alexa8257 they met in 2017 here is their timeline th-cam.com/video/lXiwBlCmv_s/w-d-xo.html
@@m0rlana tysm!!!!!!
I don't know why some people say that this drama is a bromance. It isn't! Even without the BL it's obvious that is a romance! What else people need do understant that WWX and LZ love withother? It's very very obvious! No one looks to a brother like LZ looks to WWX. Fir the first time in my life I saw a deep romance without any kiss or something! But it's the best romance I ever seen in my life! More than kisses, more than holding, more than touching...It was just MORE...Perfect!
If it is spread that it's intent was a BL, China would pull the drama. So you hear a lot of people, correct themselves and say bromance. China sensor ship is that sensitve, that if a rumor would start, then it would get it pulled. There are fan edits showing exactly what this drama should have been, romance. The novel is heavy with the BL content. Sadly, we can't acknowledg, a great BL, as a great BL. This barely passed censorship.
soo true
Patrícia Araujo also the fact that Lan Zhan get jealous when Wei Ying talk about girls and he over protective of him after he came back from the dead.
true i agree its romance its bl stop being homophobic
because the secret police will drop in through the roof and immediately delete it off your computer if they knew
The fact that Zhan's crying scenes were not always scripted but those were his true emotions as he was inmersed way too much.
Oh wow
Zhan has a switch on his lacrimal glands. He was sobbing even on the script table reading.
Thank goodness for whoever leaked those clips and thanks for those fans that stood up for the original novel.
ikr
What clips?
Where can i find them?
@@llamaliammm I don't have the clips but I think they're referring to some behind the scenes that made it seem that it was a straight romance drama. I think they were going to have Wei Wuxian romantically interested in the Wen Qing and have him and Lan Wangji fighting for her in a love triangle. I think the clip was Wei Wuxian saving Wen Qing from instead of saving Mian Mian. So the novel fans made such backlash that it is rumored that they had to scrap that idea and not turn it into a love triangle straight romance.
Same 😂 I've seen the leaked content and I'm thankful to the book fans for standing beside the original story. Actually, the leaked content is what made me refused to watch the series for six month.
The ending is obviously (very subtle indeed) a happy ending.
They go night-hunt together for the rest of their life. So after wei ying heard his name called he turned to see lan zhan was behind him, because lan zhan always find a way back to wei ying 😌 and nobody can convince me otherwise.
I just see video japan ending, omg its different than china ending, i'm so excited... yes they together at Gusu 💕
@@widiutami6289 they did? They edited accordingly to the real ending in japan? I watched some fans video theory back then about the untamed ending was not accordingly and the ending was supposed to be them at the waterfall, they have to edited out to pass the censorship i guess 😬
@@avidreaderlvl0159 yes it is... they mix the scene, sorry my eng not so good.
@@widiutami6289 no your english is fine, i remember on the video she said when lan zhan and wei ying reunited on the cliff it was supposed to be the next scene after their farewell scene (after the guanyin incident) the reason lan zhan reject to accompany wei ying because he needs to asked for his uncle permission to bring wei ying back to gusu to lived with him took him sometime to get the permission because when they reunited again wei ying wore different clothes, so yeah the untamed really did try to follow the novel ending but failed due to the censorship i guess 🤷♀️
I just finished watching the drama today and bish i was crying cause i really thought they would part ways 🤧😭 im so shook cause it's not how the novel ends but somehow your comment made me happy it feels like there's a torn lift into my heart lol
I like this point you make, that the censorship almost "helped" in this case - or better said, that had they adapted the novel in a more explicit way, it wouldn't have had the same impact. Here, you have two fantastic characters who are very clearly to be shown to have very deep feelings for one another but it gets portrayed in an almost poetically beautiful way - all in actions and not in words. I adore when a drama can make me feel like that, like nothing more is truly needed. Would I have loved to see them kiss? Duh, obviously. But it wasn't necessary. Their feelings for each other came across just as well.
I agree. Without censorship though I wouldn't mind having a similar love confession to the one in the novel (I've heard it in the audio drama and teared up lol) and maybe a scene that alludes to them being married in the end like in the novel. But I agree, I think the wangxian magic was taken to another level with it being subtle. We see them falling in love in the drama in a magical and poetic way that would've probably have not been possible if they had kept some of the very explicit scenes of the novel.
well said! why watch superficial romance when you can have a meaningful, if subtle, love story like this
@@7Mushrooms7 ....uuuuh... a similar love confession... ?
"I really wanted to sleep with you!" .... wwx love confession...
@@LilyUnicorn you have to admit he absolutely would blurt that out loud in public
Omg! I was thinking the same thing while I was watching the last 5 episodes. It just wouldn't have worked out any other way. The thing with censorship is that you have to get creative on how you make sure your audience gets the message you want to transmit. Every stare, every touch, every word, every movement has that much more meaning and it really touches you to the very soul.
I adored Wen Qing's character-- I think by removing the stupid romance they planned with WWX and giving it to JC made everything just a bit more painful and wonderful. I also really loved the relationship she did have with WWX, absolutely platonic, but they did love each other like siblings. I think their friendship really added a lot to the story.
I did have a moment of Absolute Fear during her last scene with WWX but that's the only part I noticed, never would have thought there was a whole drama about it!
Agree!
totally agree, really happy the fans got them to change that!
I feel the same way. By having her "relationship" moved to Jiang Chang, it just worked so much better with their dynamics of all three. Wei Ying and Wen Qing are so platonic awesome and made sense with the love for their own siblings. But having that romantic inkling with Jiang Chang, it just demonstrated his own weaknesses and faults even more. In not being able to stand up for the people he cares about which ends with him losing all the people he does love. It just added another dimension to his greatest flaw, that even Lan Guangyao pointed out at the end.
"Extreme core strength."
Well, duh. Lan Wangji has his golden core.
Wei Wuxian pre reincarnation: touché
I just wanna say how xiaozhan faints perfectly
Master of crying and fainting beautifully
#1 faint imo is after Wen Ruohan chokes him out. His eyes roll back soooo delicately and then he starts falling so beautifully....only to be caught by HIS MAN. sob sob sob
💓💓💓💓
More like “swooning into Lan Zhan’s arms.” One of their biggest middle fingers in the direction of the censors. 😝
I've read the novel twice, first time was confusing, second time was heart wrenching.
I thought that I would be very desensitized to the drama, even if it did stick to the source material.
I was wrong.
I was very, very wrong.
I unfortunately have aphantasia, which basically means that I can't visualize things in my mind, which is kind of the reason I had to read the book twice to get my head around it. Watching the drama, and seeing the characters brought to life like that was a completely new experience for me, it gave me a new perspective on the character's emotions and hardships, thus making all of the arcs (like the Yi city arc) far more hard hitting than they were to me in the book. Not to say that the book didn't make me emotional, I had to stop reading during the Yi city arc because I was about to throw my computer across the room!
What I'm trying to say is, I think a lot of people feel the same as me, and that's probably why the drama was so popular, even with people who had never read the novel before. The story is so well grounded, that it can stand on it's own two feet without the help of die-hard fans to boost the signal, not many stories have been able to do that.
Edit: Also I'm like, SUPER happy that a Chinese drama based on a BL story was able to break the box office this much!
The gay agenda has spread far and wide, and it's time to take China! 🌈🌈🏳🌈🏳🌈
Taylor Hammond where do you find the book translated in English ?
@@kso9305 novelupdates.com the book is called founder of demonic cultivation
hahaha, in China, there is a word to explain the phenomenon of your reaction, called "zheng xiang (smell good)", which means at first you say you will definitely dislike one thing, but finally, you fall in love with that.
I hope lgbtq movements start in China, but it’s honestly impossible with the government arresting and imprisoning authors and actors willy nilly
@@kso9305 here is the best translation exiledrebelsscanlations.com/gdc-chapter-1/
I was shocked by some of the scenes too because I really didn't think they would put some scenes in because it really showed in those moments on who really cared for who.
522nibbles also the fact that Yibo pull out I am so jealous and I care about you face so well. His expression is speaking to me😁.
Completely loved this drama. As you said, Lan Wang Ji and Wei Wi Xian could not be portrayed by anyone else but Wang Yi Bo and Xiao Zhan, respectively. The chemistry they had and the way they were able to add depth to the characters was spectacular. You could tell they studied and loved their characters. Xiao Zhan piqued my interest since I saw his smile in Oh My Emperor but Wang Yi Bo won me won me over in episode 7 after Wei Wu Xian presents Lan Zhan with the bunny lantern and he smiled. It was such a subtle, delicate smile that looked simple but many people wouldn't have been able to pull off. Wang Yi Bo reminds me of Mark Zhao in that they are both were blessed with expressive eyes.
Like you, I read the novel after discovering the drama to know what to expect and compare. I think it helped that the producer was a fan of the novel because then she had certain expectations for the live adaptation as well.
My one gripe was the actor who portrayed Xue Yang. The Yi City arc was so beautifully sad and I don't know if maybe the actor just didn't have enough screen time to maybe get comfortable with his character but he was one of the few who I felt was miscast. I feel like the only emotion he showed was his sneer and that doesn't do much when Xue Yang is actually quite the complex character who was cruel, arrogant and vulnerable.
I loved that they hinted at it being romantic but emphasized that the relationship was deeper than that. LWJ and WWX were 2 souls who found compatibility and solace in each other when no one else understood them. They both go out of their ways to help each other even when they are warned against it and stick to their principles despite being singled out by the rest of the populace. It made the drama feel deeper because it didn't need multiple kiss scenes to show the 2 leads truly loved each other.
Beautiful comment! I loved your description of Wangxian's connection and solace to each other. This truly was the romantic drama I've ever seen, even without a single real love scene!
Funny what you said about Xue Yang's actor, knowing that almost the entire male cast originally auditioned for the role of Xue Yang, even Xiao Zhan.
21:36 "it's like online bullying." How eerie that you said this and then in 2020 that is what happened to XZ.
What happened?
@@alexxpanda6412 just look up the 227 incident
@@itboyhyunjin oh okay thanks!!
It was horrible .
Now its happening to Zhang zehan (word of honor)
@@123-yoyo3 different case
Speaking from the point of view of someone whose only exposure to this universe being this drama, acting-wise Yibo was easily the stand out for me. For someone this young (he's still only 22, blows my mind) with no solid acting experience and having to take up an absolutely not easy character to play, he has done such an amazing job. I am very proud of him. Xiao Zhan and Yu Bin were the other favorites. Character look and styling wise Xiao Zhan was perfect for me. He looks amazing and I loved all his dresses.
I'll forever be salty about Guardian.
The funny thing with WYB's portrayal is at first I wasn't that into it at all, I was more impressed by Xiao Zhan's performance, but there was one single moment that changed everything for me and it was the Cloud Recesses drunk scene when he showed a different side to his character. It made me realize he was indeed capable of acting differently and everything before were purposeful choices. Because even tho I understood he had the harder character to play, characters like LWJ are always toeing the line between being stoic and boring, I wasn't sure if he was capable of more until that drunk scene. It's like suddenly I started looking at him in a new light and I am totally impressed by him now. He really did such a great job for someone who is not professionally trained.
I know exactly what you mean! For me, I had 0 idea of what the hell was happening for the first few eps. So that plus Xiao Zhan looking amazing was so distracting that I wasn't really paying attention to the acting. Even then it was evident that Xiao Zhan was doing a great job with his character. And like you said characters like LWJ have a very thin line between being stoic and being boring, so it was very easy to not pay attention to him at all in the beginning. I had involuntarily marked him up as boring. But then slowly there was more and more coming through from his character and I was totally hooked. It was the same scene for me as well that firmly got my attention and made me start looking at him differently and favorably.
@@user-xy3sr1vm3h I love that his portrayal slowly earned our love and respect. For such a young and I guess generally inexperienced actor, that is quite an accomplishment. I hope he gets just as good or better roles in the future. Same for Xiao Zhan. They both deserve great roles and success.
@@sickleweed3270 I'm very curious to see how they would do if they switched their characters lol. xz as lwj and wy as wwx.
Maybe in some future work they'll get these kinda characters.
I'm glad the drama has gotten a lot of attention, hopefully that will translate into great future projects for the both of them.
@@user-xy3sr1vm3h I would love to see them in a modern drama, but I'm sure if that should ever happen, the story won't have them paired up like this (with modern-day dramas, they'll probably have them fighting over a girl...that seems like the popular trope). Hopefully their on-screen chemistry won't be negatively affected in a different story or setting.
I really like the performance of the two leading actors，Xiaozhan & WangYibo，good job
the tension between the two characters and the way the production team made it subtle instead of outrightly saying theyre in love made it much more pleasing. kind of like the ending. the fact that they left it open for imagination made the ending 10x better because your mind automatically fills the blank parts with it's own interpretation of the scenes. idk. its hard to explain what im saying but it's just so poetic. their love was much more than saying 'i love you' or 'lets fuck each other'. like what wei wuxian said to lan zhan: "we've been through life and death situations.." it's a love beyond this world that only wei wuxian and lan zhan can understand. so yeah...i think this is beautiful. to go through all of that with your soulmate...fucking hell im crying again now....
lol, i get you, the book is very outwardly clear about " let's f each other" which actually feels less weighted than the drama when things are unsaid
@@AvenueX123 rightt. Although I have still yet to read the book. I just finished watching ep 50 yesterday and I'm still trying to recover from post mdzs depression.
I could talk about how them ( the script writters and the production team ) are giving us hint after hint after hint about their (Wei Wuxian
@@easystradlin omg yesss i absolutely agree with you. I think the beauty if it all comes from the subtle-ness of it all. Kudos to the directors and staff +actors for a splendid job. This drama is truly a work of art.
@@dazein1624 Yes it is!!! And much more complex than often people percieves it.
It's been 2 years since the first airing of The Untamed and I'm still here enjoying this drama for the nth time. TU is not just a BL drama, the multiple layers of emotions, the storyline, the music, the acting, the chemistry this drama brought to the audience is really something that makes people keep coming back and rewatching it. There is a special place in my heart for The Untamed that hardly had ever any other drama could replace.
Perhaps, in the end, the series transcended its BL origins and became, simply, a human drama. (I am not saying that homosexuals are not human. I am saying that it transcended the titillation of of its origin to become something more universal. A person's sexual orientation has always been the least interesting thing about them, in my opinion.)
in my opinion, whatever source drama adaptation came from, whether straight, bl or any kind of ... its depend on the scriptwriter to pull out the essence of the original source ... along with the whole production team manage to build and execute that script that written
another great drama with the adaptation from the novel is Goodbye my Princess adopted from the Novel, the Eastern Palace, it is the best Drama of 2019 in my list until the Untamed come
Add Royal Nirvana
When you said female character, my mind instantly went Mianmian. I never even thought about Wen Qing, cause for me her relationship with WWX is just so pure and precious, I just can't imagine it to be ruined by something as romance. The dynamic between WWX and WQ is something I crave to see more in shows, when people are just best friends. Just because they are from different genders doesn't mean they have to be lovers. Their something called platonic love, and TU showed it. And I love it really so much.
This drama is proving that a drama can be so deep in love and very romantic without a kiss or hugging. I am not a hater or a lover of the BL, but I shipped these two leads too hard, shipping Wei Ying and Lan Zhan not enough that I started to wish for Xiao Zhan and YiBo to date ( that is how much their together moments on and off screen is heart fluttering).
In the first few episodes, Wei Ying's cute and adorable acting while being naughty made me keep watching. Even tho everyone was doing good, I liked the Wei Ying's character the best, his cute and naughty smiling face made me wondered that how could he make that kind of face, he was so adorable especially that scene where Wei Ying got caught carrying alcohol by Lan Zhan on the roof. Lan Zhan was surely handsome but I didn't know what to expect as I watched it without knowing that it was based on BL novel. But it was kind of fun to watch seeing Wei Ying teasing Lan Zhan.
And I also didn't know who was YiBo, only noticed Xiao Zhan before, in Oh My emperor. i remember that I was sad cos he didn't get the girl, I liked him more than the male lead that time. So after the first two weeks, it hit me and feel the urge to search for the novel to read while waiting for another weak patiently. I must admit, this drama was like a drug to me. I tried to watch other dramas to loosen the effect but they were like good but NO. They can not take me away from The Untamed. My Facebook and youtube page were all about them.
After reading the novel, Oh girl, you know how much I wish for them to be together. I feel all kinds of emotion, sadness , happiness, heart fluttering and expecting romantic moments. Being two men caring and staring longingly or smiling at each other wasn't awkward in my eyes at all. I am thankful that I got to watch this precious drama. My favourite drama all the time was Ten miles of peach blossoms but now I don't know which one I like better. I will be always rewatching these two dramas forever whenever I have time. I saved them already.
OMG me too
I’m on the same boat as you. I can’t jump to another drama yet.. it just doesn’t feel right to me. Because I know I will just find myself back to The Untamed haha.
Same here.. I'm so addicted with this two.. I don't understand myself at first. Because after being inloved with Jerry Yan, in Meteor Garden i never expect that I'm now crazy over this CDrama.. And this is my first time to like BL Novels.. I love their chemistry so much.. How i wish, there's season 2 for this. 😊
SEPHIROTH FaLLenAngeL yeah and i m still being in the world called Wangxian... and never tried to escape either :D
Anna Liza Bausa yes dear.. i m still being drugged by this drama..
I so agree with you. The cgi amd technical dif is not the best. But soooo true, I can not imagine lz and wwx played by anyone else. I guess that's what makes the drama so good. Their chemistry is beyond words. AlsoI should add, i love how the drama was well adapted as well. Agree that this drama should be a case studies for other future dramas.
The Untamed remained fully BL & passed censorship w/o a problem. Not to mention it stuck religiously to the script.
Their CGI was shit. Like the Seawood mop - remember the boat scene. Hahahaha. But they made it in costume. However, they had horrible swords - that looked like aluminum.
Which made me laugh from time to time. I agree w/ you Avenue X. Oh, that flying scene - I loved I kept thinking of Harry Potter. Noted...those flickering scenes. ROFL.
Scriptwriting was great. I agree w/ doing better than the original text b/c it fits for what looks better on screen. I say this b/c a lot of what's in the book and if it was displayed exactly on screen would look slapstick & ridiculous. I loved those two leads.
Guardian was brilliant for it was & would have been gold if it did what The Untamed just did. It had suggestive BL (b/c BL was there) but it KILLED the story & that's what pissed me off. The Guardian story is so good that it shouldn't have been chopped the way it was.
Guardian makes me so unbelievably sad now in light of what The Untamed accomplished. I hated the ending of Guardian so much I can't even bring myself to watch the show again even though I really want to since I loved the two leads' performances so much. Guardian really got cheated out of a good treatment; makes me more upset at how inept the production team was for that show.
I'm trying to watch the show but the terrible technical aspects are really making it hard for me to press forward. This is made even worse by the fact that I've watched the anime version of the story, and that was visually stunning.
@@svyatoslavrurikovich8831 There's less of the horrible CGI as you continue. The first two eps are the hardest cuz the effects are so concentrated.
@@svyatoslavrurikovich8831 if you're talking about the untamed , the cgi gets better , only first 3 episodes r sht & the cave monster cgi was sht ( the cgi aspect ) the rest is pretty good
@@svyatoslavrurikovich8831 Ugh, I feel like I'm in the minority where I think the anime is crap in terms of appearance but I'm also really disappointed with how much CGI is put into animes nowadays. There's nothing special about the animation and it just relies on good voice acting and animation that only slips up twice an episode. *sigh* Gotta love those noodle legs and arms, and squeezed fight scenes.
Very well said about the drama, yes Zhan’s emotional content is the real essence of drama his witty eyes wicked smile and naughtyness is perfect .... Yibo is surely not from acting background but being silent and pokerface all the time is too hard to pull Bt he did and that’s all this is really best drama till now I hv watched
This is a drama that would totally let you fall inlove with the whole cast. Villain or not. Because honestly, despite the fact that I frickin' hated JGY in the drama, I kept on looking for his behind the scenes. They guy's almost alway eating somewhere in a corner and just so adorably cute. 😂 Amazing how you can hate a character so much yet love the actor at the same time. Let me add in Xue Yang to the list of villains who make us so confused. I was literally crying while fuming when he died. The legendary character that gave us a good roller coaster of emotions tbh
The Untamed is the best drama I have ever seen. 💜
Taehyung Oppa Watch the Korean drama, “Life Is Beautiful”!!!🤗
@@ThatBlackPiano uwu~ thank you for the recommendation 😊💜
Often the high budged dramas have great visuals but lack in other parts. I'd rather have a raw diamond with great characters and a good story. I can easily forgive the CGI and visual flaws of The Untamed.
I love it when you started gushing about the two leads and I just wanted to gush right along 💜💜💜
The acting and story totally overshadowed everything else for me so I didn’t even pay attention to the technical parts. That’s saying a lot for me because I watch a lot of fantasy Western movies/shows that spared no expense.
I love the ending... Simple but full of meaning... Big congratulations to main characters LanZhan and Wei Ying... Please work together again..
imagine their next project together is also in the historical setting, but instead of standing side-by-side with each other, the two become brothers whom fight against each other, one is for the female protagonist's love and other reason is for the throne since they're both Princes
I loved this drama. I was reading the translation before I started watching the drama and I was happily surprised when the scenes that made me love the novel were filmed. I loved both the acting and the screenwriting. Wang Yibo's subtle expressions made me love his version of Lan Zhan because it's hard to act stone-faced and still show emotion; and Xiao Zhan made me go along with him in his roller coaster of emotions. Their scenes together only got better and better with each passing episode... The screenwriting got me very exited because of the clever ways they twisted the plot and the dialog to fit the story and stick to the original material; and the way they put those small details to please the BL fans without crossing the censorship line, that was just pure skill. (sorry for the long comment but I was happy for this drama). :)
bel hidalgo where do you find the novel in English ?
@@kso9305 In case you haven't found it yet, it's on Exiled Rebels' website: exiledrebelsscanlations.com/novels/grandmaster-of-demonic-cultivation/
I also felt that the drama transcended the novel. I preferred the concept of soulmate, which can come in many forms, but is based on shared principles, than the baser romantic concept.
By leaving out the overt romance, it allowed the story to focus on larger subjects.
As a Western viewer, this story is like an improved philosophy over The Lord of the Rings. In LoTR, the message was that just having power would corrupt you. No one could resist the corruption. That presents evil as something you have no control over manifesting in yourself. If you’re exposed to power, you’re ruined. With that message, people can evade accountability. Their bad acts are simply something the couldn’t avoid once they were exposed to power.
In The Untamed, this is what is proclaimed by everyone in the beginning and why Wei WuXian is killed. It is the heartbreak between him and Lan Wanji, that LWJ also believes this and fears WWX’s newfound power. When WWX returns, LWJ has had the time and experience to reconsider his perspective. He and WWX rebuild their bond and they set out to show that the power itself wasn’t the problem. If the heart of the person remains principled. This is a superior message, as it requires people to remain responsible for their acts and not passively allow access to power to render them unprincipled.
By downplaying the romance, the story could really bring this message out in grand fashion.
I am also just so mad at the fact that the innocent victims of Wen Clan never got their proper respect or Wuxian never got an actual apology. I guess its realistic because cancel culture never accepts when they are wrong.
Thanks for this video! And thanks for saying many of the things I've thought about The Untamed - you are way more articulate than I'll ever be. First of all though, I would have gladly given Tencent my money for the ending's preview, but I think it was only for people within China - or am I wrong? Anyway. I was one of the skeptikal novel reader - I didn't think they could pass censorship, so I didn't even watch the premiere. I also didn't think Wang Yi Bo was the right face for Lan Zhan. I am so glad I was so wrong! No one could have been WWX or LW other than Xiao Zhan (who really was fantastic, by the way) and Wang Yi Bo (every little change in his expression was like a bullet to the heart). And as you said, I really do feel grateful that they did such an excellent job with the script. The Untamed has become my drama of the year, and I just know I will love it for a long time, flaws and warts and all. It just hit all my right buttons. And the OST - it's heavenly good. I seriously cannot stop listening to it. Wu Ji - or WangXian - is so perfect. I also agree that maintaining things in a more idealistic/spiritualist/abstract realm was a strength. Lastly, I couldn't stop thinking about Guardian too. God, what a waste!! And what a wonderful job Zhu Yi Long and Bai Yu did.
scr sra if you go to WeTv app and become a premium member, you can pay for early releases. I've seen up to ep 44 whereas Viki.com only has up to 42. Do know that WT English translation is not as good as V, but if you don't care - it's an option.
@@kimberlygoodwin8500, to tell you the truth I already am a VIP member of the WeTv app, but thanks for the thought! Last week Tencent gave fans the opportunity of previewing the final episodes of the drama (for a fee, of course, the 5 bucks AvenueX was referring to in the video). I think it was aimed nationally and not internationally, but that's ok - it's just a question of a couple of days before the end of the drama! (a bit conflicted about that, but I'm so happy it won't be another Chinese tragic ending!!)
Agree, I was going to give them my money for the early viewing too but keep getting error for region issue. Obsession for this drama & read the novel while waiting for weekly new episodes. Instrumental music is so amazing, including some of the songs that was released. 🥰
Literally, same. I am glad I gave it a chance because it has just given my love for the novel and characters a whole new dimension. Their emotions are realer than ever and along with Wuji, the character songs of almost all of them has me emotional. Zhan is a gem but Yibo really caught me off guard by the end because I realized how invested he had me with every tic of eyebrows and a hint of emotion on the clean slate face of his.
@@Niki-T you should watch the anime as well, season 2 is currently airing
I adore this drama and recommend it to all my C-drama watching friends. The 2 leads were fantastic, I think everyone can agree on that. I also really really liked Wang Hao Xian, the young actor who portrayed tortured, murderous Xue Yang - he is tremendously watchable and magnetic and I look forward to seeing his future work.
i think everyone wants to watch it because of the great chemistry from 2 leads on screen and off screen, and yes their acting was excellent. facial express, to cute and adorable scenes.
I'm so obsessed with this drama now.. It's the first ever drama that no need word like I love you, kiss,touch even though their chemistry are so damn good..i just loved it wen they make eye contact ...every thing is so good like actors, music place etc... 😍😍😍
But a hug or kiss would have been nice....to please us viewers 🥰🥰🥰
@@reesespeanut4778 Yeah I would have made a sacrifice to the gods for at least a HUG jfc
That said, the piggyback ride came close haha
I mean I cried a lot during Yi City Arc and came to care for those cultivated relationships almost more than WWX and LZ because we were only given such a fleeting amount of time with them before saying goodbye in such a tragic way. I loved Xiao Xingchen's innocence and I think Song Jiyang did great portraying a righteous but naive character and he worked hard using the blindfold and even dances beautifully with it at their concert.
It was great to have some insight on the technical parts of filming. I honestly never noticed the lights/framing. Hehe
I don't pay attention to the lighting or tech dif part that much. Because I love it so much lol
@@maiherojj Haha I used to never notice them at all but after watching avenuex, I'll sometimes notice if it's supposedly nighttime in the drama but it's way too bright lol.
It's actually a blessing when you don't notice details like that because they sometimes can pull you out of what you're watching and ruin a scene. I hate that I notice framing, lighting, editing, etc. I really wish I can be that immersed in a show or movie that I don't notice those things but it's like my annoying brain won't let me.
@@sickleweed3270 It sucks when you get bothered like that. As for me I get bothered with bad make up and costumes or a pimple on actors face lmao (i know I'm weird)
@@sickleweed3270 Haha to each their own I guess. I actually like noticing these things 😂 and when I do, I'll just laugh at it and go on.
I am so glad that they changed the script after fans complained and stick more to the novel... no female love interest for wwx 😆 and i remember cringing at some scenes whenever the actress had scenes with wwx.. like the scenes doesn't make sense.. then i came across about the initial scripts.. 😩poor the actors had to refilm some of the scenes a few times.. but then again part of me feel that the actress had become the black sheep of the production...
I actually think they retained the fact that that particular female character might be in love with Wei Wuxian based on some of her interaction with him...it's obvious the actress played it that way, most likely under the producer/director's instructions, but it didn't detract from the story at all since her feelings ultimately didn't matter. I didn't mind that change from the novel since it didn't take away from the main relationship, but I did wish they didn't make her character so meek. She's supposed to be an awesome doctor, but they even took that ability away from her. Her character was more tough in the novel, more admirable, where in the show she's just a shadow of her novel counterpart.
@@sickleweed3270 so that character wwx was supposed to have something with was wen qing???? I knew I saw that sonething in her eyes every time they had a scene. I wouldn't have mind if they had a relationship going on if I hadn't read the novel. But since I did.....wwx belongs to lz 😌
@@maiherojj Lol, yeah, I guess the doctor reference was a giveaway. I actually thought she was going to kiss him when she was saying good bye to him cuz of the way that scene was set up. I actually like the actress and she is really pretty, but yeah, if they had kept her romance and had WWX return her feelings at the detriment to his relationship with LWJ, I think that would've been a total betrayal of the source material and I understand why fans would be angry. It's like, 99% of dramas are already about m/f love stories, why must they screw with the one that isn't? Screenwriters should come up with their own love stories and stop taking BL stories and mutating it to suit their own preferred view of the world. It's a form of bigotry when they do that.
@@sickleweed3270 i saw someone posted about the issue and said they think it was her so I wasn't sure but I had always thought wen qing was pretty and she seems to have this aura around wwx i sometime really wish she had kissed him too just for the heck of it. Maybe as a test for wwx to really confirm himself as gay for lz 😂😂😂😂
@UCBuROQUOuf3MmUXMGFatcbg lol i supposed because most fans lives for their loyalties to each other. I wouldn't mind but most would complain. Hehehe
I agree with this so much. This was my first chinese novel and drama. It actually got me very interested in China. I read the novel before watching the drama and when I read about the actors, I thought it wasn't very promising, to be honest. After watching the first episode, as someone who studied to be a cinema critic, I honestly thought I wouldn't watch anymore. However, I was so pleasently surprised by the actors after some time, that I'm happy I watched it. Especially LWJ was such a difficult character to play, having to show emotion without changing facial expressions too much. Amazing, really. But most of all I agree with how the managed to keep the feel to the romantic story without making it too much in your face. I feel the end of the novel tried so hard to give fans their fanservice, it became cheesy and very out of character, which was the thing I didn't like about it. I fell silly in love with WWX during the novel and felt so much tenderness for LWJ and felt I was somewhat robed of the characters I loved. I feel happy they were able to keep them being themselves throught the end. I am thankful of how they portraied their beautiful, heartbreaking love story.
Same here. It is my very first chinese novel, animation (which is dark and so cool and such an eye opener), and bl-hinted drama that I've fallen in love with, so much now that TU is over I don't know what to do with my life. It shed a new different light on my perspective of China, making me appreciate their language and want to learn more abt the country.
I have to agree... I thought all overtly "romantic" scenes in the novel were bordering on fanfiction material and didn't feel like what the characters would actually do or the way they would actually behave... as much as I'd love to see WWX and LWJ directly express their feelings for each other in the drama, I still prefer their approach to their romance. Never did either of them feel out of character, and the many hints we got throughout the drama of the true nature of their relationship were that much more meaningful, at least to me.
Honestly, I paid no attention to any of the bad things you mentioned in the beginning. That was how much I was sucked into the story and acting. I love The Untamed so much!!!!
I didn't really notice how bad the cinematography and CG were until you said it. I was ready to disagree until I listen to your sound constructive criticisms. I love how they cleverly showed the flirting between WWX and LWJ and added small moments to show LWJ's love for WWX. My favorite point is that they didn't explicitly frame WWX and LWJ's brothers relationship (as in Guardian). Yes, both WWX and LWJ in the drama admit that they are each other's lifelong confidants, which implies that they COULD have a romantic relationship, whereas brotherly love puts a restraint on that implication with the basis that romantic love between brothers is forbidden (unless you're in the BL/Yaoi world and you're a fujoshi like me who accepts it). I think most of the good acting should also be attributed to good directing. I don't know if it's just me reading to much into it but I noticed that Lan Wangji's gaze becomes a pissed gaze whenever his wife talks to another person (e.g. servant girl at JinLing Tower, Jing GuangYao's wife in ep 40)
I was never a fan of bl or bromance nor cdrama before,but after watching untamed,thank god which I did,I'm so grateful that this drama exists.
It shows how a relation between two people can be so pure without giving a lovers tag to it,how they support each other,long for each other,care for each other.
Yibo and xiao zhan will always be Lan zhan and wei ying for me.
No matter how many dramas they do or did,untamed will be superior FOR ME.
Great review. You also mentioned a lot of information I didn't know before, like the horrible filming conditions, so it was very interesting.
And while I wouldn't have minded a more explicit romance (as in at least one kiss), you made a good arguement for subtlety.
Personally, I think the censoring of the necromancy stuff was more of a detriment to the story than that of the romance. Like, they tried compensating with the puppets, the saber spirit and all, but in some parts, it fell really flat. Especially in regards to the death (or not death?) of Wen Ning. It also took away a lot of the impact of the Yiling Patriarch as the boogeyman with the zombie army. His powers are so undefined in the drama.
20:18 "the actual web novel is very explicit"
* Me remembering what Wei Wuxian did with Lan Wangji's sword * : well ... Yeah...
😱 tell me!
@@mawhyahmilton233 He sodomizes himself with the hilt of LZ's sword LMAO
@@melaniebuilarsen93 Wwwhhhaaaaa!!!! Omg
...the explicit content doesnt even come til the last few chapters and the extras. Her saying it would have been ruined is sort of dumb. 90% novel was not explicit in the sexual sense. But if you wanna talk about explicit gore... wen chaos dick gets eaten by his evil gf and his legs are nothing but slices of meat sliding off his bones. The drama definitely did better it not grossing me out there
*cough* xxx to*cough*y I die laughing everytime I re-visit those extra chapters 😂😂😂
I hope the positive example of The Untamed will make a change in the screen adaptation industry. It was unbelievable how close they got to crossing the line of censorship but managed to pull it off just in time. I think the initial criticism and low expectations before the premier made a favor for the drama - people were blown away of how much better the drama came out to be that they're ready to forgive all technical flaws. CGI, camerawork, editing, and props could be much better but I have to admit, everything improved in the second half of the series. Also, about expectations. I thought Xiao Zhan was a good choice from the start, and it's exactly like that (his emotional acting range is superb, the comedy skill needs to be improved a bit but still amazing). However, I hadn't known what to expect from Wang Yibo though I was still open-minded and thought that if he will have chemistry with Xiao Zhan, it would work. But he was so much better than I could imagine. All experienced actors say that playing poker-face characters is the hardest, especially if they have so little lines - such characters can be easily misinterpreted. Wang Yibo's micro-expressions, little gestures, and eye acting are so intense and vivid that you really don't need any words to understand his feelings. The chemistry between the two leads is palpable and their scenes are overflowed with subtle romance to the point that you really don't need confessions or physically intimate scenes to believe in their love. That's what allowed the drama to win fans' gratitude and pass censorship at the same time.
Thanks for the video totally agreed about the acting with the leads and supporting cast I got chills with wwx acting especially in ep 33 when he was crying and laughing from his feel8ngs of pain and betrayal. Also THE SCRIPT AHHHHH YOUR RIGHT WE ALL SCREAMED ABOUT HOW THIS PASSED CENSORSHIP
Im going to be very honest here, I'm a kdrama fan. I have recently started watching cdrama and jdramas. The Chinese dramas are good but I find the lengths of them can be a bit much. However I hang in there but than the ending will be so sad. I began to believe they must not like happy ending stories. On Netflix they told me I might like Untamed, and I was thinking do I really want to go through 50 episodes just to be sad at the end, but I started it anyway. Saying that, I love, love this drama! The actors were wonderful at bringing the story to life. I cared so much about their lives. This drama will be one I will watch over and over. Everyone stay healthy, happy and safe. One thing I should say is I've never read the book so I had no pre-existing ideas what these actors should be like. So I loved this drama for the drama itself.
i love the actors and actresses from the untamed. like you said, i cannot picture someone else portraying the Lan Wangji and Wei wuxian
I can’t even complain about any technical issues. There acting was top notch I can never leave this drama it’s the best thing to have happened on china screen. It had all the emotions in the world. I loved this drama too much and because of the actors.
I mean I fell in love with the Donghua as if I was watching a drama even before the dreamed of the live action. It made me cry, laugh, angst, confused , upset. And with me being a Donghua, anime and drama otaku, this is the first of its kind that has made me purchase a photobook, figurines and evening a zither and bamboo flute. Just so I can continue to live vicariously through them. Just a masterpiece Donghua and live action and story line. The only one that can compare for now is Tian Guan CI Fu
I completely agree with you. I loved the book, and I also loved how the drama ended. I agree that all the explicit scenes would have ruined the way the drama was developed, but that is why these two actors were so perfect, even if we didnt see what we read we still were able to see how much these two characters loved each other. I am actually really sad it ended.
Untamed. The only drama I watched 4 times in a very short time period. I loved it.
Indeed ! Very well said. This drama is really the best of all time. Yibo n Xiao played the character really well. I can't stop falling in love yibo swordmanship superb 😍😍😍💜💜💜👌👌👌🏵️🏵️🏵️
I was the one who said stupid things first. 3 first episodes were painful to watch then when it reached 6 episodes, I was hooked. From mild addiction to extremely obsessed. It was not about the BL, it's the depth of the characters.
The big take from this is: don't judge the capabilities of idols before seeing their work. Yes, there might be some idols who can't act, but there are also TRAINED actors who can't act or convey emotions or deliver lines effectively. People really need to stop having this prejudice towards idols who attempt acting.
And as a trained theatre actor myself, I' have to say that the lead actors impressed me so much. Wang Yibo in particular impressed me so much from his first appearance in the drama, that I became an instant fan. He embodied the character so well. I honestly had no idea who these guys were. I'd seen gifs of The Untamed on my tline and got curious and then watched it a months after it was released.
[potential spoilers] I am just so happy that you are able to even do a follow-up review to your initial review since obviously it means all our concerns about the show being pulled due to censorship or the possibility that you didn't end up liking it can be laid to rest. I completely agree with you regarding the technical issues, that is the weakest part of the show; they got so sloppy sometimes, especially with scene matching since sometimes one shot would have the actors in one position and then the next shot they would be in a completely different position, and then the next back to the first. Things like that in addition to what you pointed out which was indeed frustrating sometimes. But overall, my God, this show ended up being sooo much better than what I could have ever imagined. I'm still amazed it got to preserve so many elements of the story and the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, and even improved upon a lot of things. This show feels like a miracle. Even the ending was amazing because they easily could have cut the last scene in a way to kill any possibility of a happy ending, but I was truly astounded that they gave us as close to a happy ending as censorship would ever allow, in a very obvious way too. The acting (esp our two leads who were just amazing with so much chemistry) and the music and some of the set designs are just stellar. Omg I ended up writing more than I meant to...anyway, I'm just so glad you made this video and I'm really glad you ended up like the show.
When you talk about matching scenes are you by any chance thinking about the one in ep 3-something where there are WWX, LZ and Nie Huaisang? NHS is holding a folding fan (of course) and it keeps changing (closed/open) every time the shot changes - it drove me bonkers 😅😅!
@@scrsra1883 That and also one of the worse offenders was in the second episode during the important Wangxian reunion scene: close-up they're holding onto each other, in the next shot from their back they're clearly not touching and just standing next to each other, LWJ even has his hand on his own back, but close up shot again they are still holding hands again. That was ridiculous. It's like guys, that's one of the MOST IMPORTANT scenes in the show, take some care to match up their positions. Geez. lmao
I love love love this video! This is my second time watching it and it still remains one of my favourite videos EVER on TH-cam. Your analysis was spot-on.
However, I do think the Yi City arc was quite well done. I remember watching those episodes for the first time and actually SOBBING. That sub-plot broke my heart. Later when I read the novel, I cried all over again lol. I think the actors did a pretty good job.
Overall, this is a great review. Thank you for outlining your thoughts so well.
Ah~ I was grinning all the time while you were mentioning all the good things of The Untamed. Thank you for such a brilliant review. Drama people must really learn how to treat BL adaptation well. MXTX and Priest are my favorite danmei writers. MDZS has been treated well so far, Guardian drama was poorly done. I hope their other novels will be treated right in the future. I really want to see great Sha Po Lang or Heaven's Official Blessing adaptations.
Ah so thankful to everyone who recommended this drama to me 😭 and preach!! A BL adapted work can be so good and bromance can honestly be hotter than explicit love. Bc you don’t get all the stupid jealousy subplots and scheming that lasts for ages. Besides the main relationship, I love WWX with his senior sister, WN and WQ ! I can care less of JC tbh
I'm totally with you, although I fell kind of bad for JC. He ended up without anybody beside his nephew. His own fault though.
It's not bromance though.
Bromance is platonic.
There's nothing platonic about wei wuxian and lan wangji's relationship in this drama, although there's no explicit sexual relationship either. But they're certainly in love with each other romantically, and their relationship in this one is "more than friends, less than lovers". Their drama relationship is implicit/subtle love rather than bromance.
Me too... I see Love to each other through their eyes....
Killer Beat72 I want to cut out your comment and paste it as a reply to anyone who says it not a BL drama... :) I agree 100%
@@odeliamili7129 All the talk about bromance and BL is actually making me confused about what bromance is... LMAO. Is "bromance" just a story about the platonic friendship between two straight guys? Like, in Scrubs or Fast and Furious?? hahaha
At any rate, i agree that The Untamed isn't bromance. Their romantic + sexual feelings are never consummated (at least during canon) and they never start a relationship, but . . . they are feeling each other HARD. They are very much attracted/infatuated/enamored/IN LUST+ IN LOVE on screen for those of us who are paying attention.
By having her "relationship" moved to Jiang Chang, it just worked so much better with their dynamics of all three. Wei Ying and Wen Qing are so platonic awesome and made sense with the love for their own siblings. But having that romantic inkling with Jiang Chang, it just demonstrated his own weaknesses and faults even more. In not being able to stand up for the people he cares about which has the result of him losing all the people he does love. It just added another dimension to his greatest flaw, a flaw that even Lan Guangyao pointed out at the end.
Watching this again lol. I was really surprised when she talked about Xue Yang because most of the cast auditioned for him 😂
I’m glad you liked the drama! I am in love with it since I’m a big fan of the original novel. The two leads did a great job and had such great chemistry! ❤️
Edit: just finished the drama and the ending was satisfying. As you said, they didn’t need to spoon feed us. We know how it ends.
The Untamed's douban rating score is currently 7.8 and it is rated by over 460,000 users
Do you know what it is now?
@@anironariron6839 NOW IS 8.2
Thank you for this wonderful review of The Untamed. I wholeheartedly agree with your analysis. I’ve read both the novel, watched the anime and have followed the manga before I even watched this live action version. I was thoroughly surprised at how much I enjoyed this drama due to all the points you address. And I’m also reluctant to share it with my sister who had seen me rewatch and rewatch scenes from this drama simply because of all the faults you had mentioned! I love this drama so much that I’m almost embarrassed for her to see all the bad shots and lighting and directing and props! Uggggh such a waste!
Truly, truly, what I really enjoyed was the two main character’s complex and deep relationship and how it wasn’t cheapened by some happily ever after ending shot. It was really well done. And for the rest of the happily ever after and BL stuff? Fanfics! Let’s leave it to the creative and talented writers out there. It all comes full circle.
To be honest, I did not even notice its technical imperfections or shortcomings. The whole story, including the acting skills of each actor and actress, really hooked me from the beginning until the end of the series. I just loved it. I hope we can get another season.
I just watched episode 46 I cried from when they were in the lotus pier ancestral temple to the scene on the lake. Wow! Amazing! Dud anyone feel the same way?
Man I cried in that part wen Wen Ning told Jian Cheng the truth to what happened to his brother Wie Yin and in words that gave his golden core to him in order to save him from the suffering he was having. Jian Cheng in his ambition to be the best cultivatior in world that it didn't let him see how the little angel of Wei Yin was suffering.
Jiang cheng story is so sad. I wish WWX will know of his story at the end when it was Jiang Cheng who led the wen soldiers away.
I wholeheartedly agree about the editing/ camera work. There are many scenes where editing alone makes things very hectic and confusing. It also cuts the flow of movement in many cases. One example is Jc dragging Wwx down with zidian in episode 34. It’s shot from so many different angles.
Xiao Zhan and Wang YiBo did amazingly well in portraying Wwx and Lwj. I’d say XZ was solid from beginning to end, WYB after episode 7 or so. At the end his Lwj was just stellar. Apart from them, special props go to actors of Wen Chao, Lan Shizui, Nie Huaisang… I’m sure I forgot to mention someone, but overall a very solid cast!
You are correct about the tones of the series and looking back the way they portrayed wangxian through the course of the show makes sense thematically. However, I still think the romantic undertones became a bit stale towards the end, and (disregarding censorship here) started to beg a question: why these guys just don’t take the next step? The love and desire are all in their eyes. Still, I viewed the show as a build up for their inevitable romantic relationship that would happen after their reunion at the end.
My biggest gripe with the show, surprisingly, is with the script, or pacing, as I can excuse the technical department. I feel the show did very well in the beginning. The plot was dynamic, and the little changes they made to it, made sense narratively. From the middle of the series, after Wwx’s return from the burial mounds, things just slowed down. Painfully so. There’s unnecessary repetition, and, problems with pacing. After returning to the present, things picked up again, but slowed down even more towards the end. Run time for some scenes like Guanyin temple arc (a lot of bad editing there, too) could have been cut in half, whereas scenes like Wwx and the jades searching for the score could have been prolonged. Heck, even the 2nd siege felt rushed, when it comes to dialogue.
Another thing that kinda bothered me was how they portrayed “the baddies.” Antagonists like Jgy or even Jgs, were depicted very one-dimensional, with their intentions spoon-fed to the audience from the beginning. I feel this made some of the side characters, like Lxc appear more stupid/naive than they are (Lxc being in denial about Jgy, in particular.)
In spite of all this, I adore CQL for what it did. It’s a good show, and I’ll give it 7/10.
exaclty my thoughts. i like how u mentioned Jgy and Jgs, it was kinda spoon-fed tbh
I learned so much while watching this review, you’re so thoughtful! I feel like the imperfections (plus the amazing casting) add to the charm of the show overall. It is my favorite drama!
As a queer demisexual, the thing I love the most about "The Untamed" is its implicity. (Note: censorship is wrong to shut down aspects of stories that are considered "offensive," especially in the name of shutting elements that are falsely deemed "problematic" to push a political/religious agenda.)
In spite of the limitations of censorship, they were kind-of forced to develop the characters and their relationships with each other in a gradual way that feels very natural. None of the arcs or changes in relationships feel forced or disingenuous, the characters feel very real.
I'm so used to seeing media that is explicit, where the characters and their relationships are sacrificed for the sake of the "love story." In doing so, it feels like love is substituted for sex or superficial romance with no depth to it. Which makes the idea of romance as a whole feel cheap, to me at least.
There is nothing wrong with sex, and it is possible for sex to be entirely consensual with absolutely no love or romance involved and that's fine. The problem is, when you're telling a so-called "love story" and then give a story with poorly developed characters and a poorly developed relationship, that is not a love story. It's not even a romance. It's just a sexual relationship that feels empty -- again, nothing wrong with purely sexual relationships. Just don't call it love, because it's not.
Anyways, yeah this is why I love and absolutely ADORE "The Untamed." And Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, separately and together. We get to meet them and watch their chemistry develop and how they grow and everything they go through, both alone and together.
"The Untamed" is THE most romantic thing in media I've ever seen, and part of it is BECAUSE there's nothing explicit. They had to rely on their relationship to tell us their love story versus explicit scenes, and it is SO GOOD. To say "The Untamed" and especially the love story between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji was a treat or a joy for me to watch is a gross understatement.
Watching Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's individual character arcs and mutual love story to me was LIFE being breathed into my soul. I don't want a story like theirs, but I want a love as deep and profound as theirs.
There are SO many good things to take away from and appreciate about "The Untamed," but I think one of the best is the love without bounds, beyond gender or sexuality.
Even though (and maybe even because) "The Untamed" was censored so it couldn't be explicit, not even Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's love could be censored.
And I think that's the most powerful message that "The Untamed" imparts:
Love is untamable.
I agree with you on the camera work and CG. It's pretty bad and it's such a shame. Also agree that the acting of the main characters was spot on. Not sure I agree with you on the script of the show transcending the original novel. I have some serious issues with what they did to the story. The main issue being the watering down of Wei Wuxian's character by constantly absolving him of any wrongs. He has no culpability in the show. Everything was either an accident or someone else's doing. Wei Ying is a necromancer. We should see him actively controlling the dead like he does in the novel/manhua/donghua. In the live action, he barely touches upon these powers and the control of the fierce corpses is basically delegated to the "bad guys." Wei Ying instead controls this weird black smoke stuff. Not cool.
WWX has a good heart. He wants to protect those he cares for. But he can and will be very violent in order to do so. Case in point, when he goes to free the Wen remnants and finds Wen Ning's body and raising him. The tv show basically made him raise WN, but then he loses control and Wen Ning kills people and WWX is horrified. In the novel WWX deliberately sets WN on those guards and fully intends to kill them.
One of the main themes in the original work is WWX's arrogance when it comes to control of the undead. He insists constantly that he a has control, but time and time again is proven that he doesn't. The live action touches upon this point, which is great but waters it down by taking away culpability from WWX during certain key scenes. The first scene, is of course Jin Zixuan's death. They made WN under Su She's control instead of being that WWX lost control. Same thing goes with Nightless City. WWX went there fully intending to attack and kill. But the show even had him saying "I didn't want anyone to die." And again, he loses control due to someone else interfering not because HE actually loses control. And finally, his death. He just goes and dramatically throws himself off a cliff while in the book he loses control, one last time and his undead army rips him to pieces. The ultimate sign of his loss of control.
For me, these scenes make the live action inferior to the novel and the other adaptation out so far (manhua, donghua and audio drama). It just takes away too much of WWX's complexity as a character. That said, I still liked the live action. It was fun to watch and I think the actors did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life.
Also, don't feel that showing the romance between WWX and LWJ would have destroyed the story at all. I was hoping they would at least throw in the line about night hunting together for the rest of their lives and I think that would have made the story complete if anything. But it's not like it could have happened because of censorship. :(
the dead thing is under censorship in china you cant go there that why they r doll in the show and how they play it
Kagerou X after by reading your comment, the book WWX is more badass. The fact that he intentionally waiting to kill people who bullied him and than his undead army ripped him apart after he lose control is really violent. I love it. The TV make him look powerful but pathetic at the same time. It hurt to watch.
One. China censores even necromancy. Two.... they definitely did not have the money to make a whole bunch of corpses. Also... that weird black stuff.... is in the novel too... like dude. Did you even read? Actually did you pay attention? Its mentioned in the show once and implied thereafter.
Its the negative/vengeful energy of the dead hes taking control of. The energy that he argues about with lan qiren.
Even in the novel it is the energy he controls. Though this energy is typically tied to the corpses. Not all of them need corpses to use. Wwx mastered this 'ghost cultivation' essentially that does not require a golden core to use. He can even see into their memories...etc with that energy. Rewatch it with the mindset of chinese cultivation novels and it makes complete sense
@@moonlightpaw5868 .....actually...... no one actually knows how wwx died. No one. Not even wwx. Wwx couldnt even remember how he got out of that fight and into the cave. He didnt even remember lwj being there or that he basically told him to fuck off.
Jiang cheng and all the cultivators looked for his corpse everywhere. And in the novel when the youngsters ask him, "didnt you kill him?"... if anyone witnessed his corpse being eaten by a backlash... they wouldnt be trying to find his corpse. Mxtx loves foreshadowing
Yeah. The cultivators and commoners spread around rumours on what they thought happened and eventually they believed it. Wwx tells xue yang that most of the worlds rumours are not to be trusted.
That whole novel was basically about preconceptions and false rumours.
Thank you for the review. i appreciate your honesty and candidness. I've not been so addicted to a serial in a very long time. Even with the Princess Agent, I patiently waited for the episodes to be released every week. This is the first drama I actually pay a subscription fee to watch instead of waiting. I agree with your assessment that the acting and story line made this drama so so good. The chemistry between the two main lead is incredible and they play off each other so well. I applaud the writer of the script (given all the restrictions and limitations) for subtly weaving in moments of tenderness and yearning through facial and verbal expressions. The sense that the two leads are beyond "bromance" is apparent even without the overt act of kissing or sex. The one line that was missing and would made it excellent for me - temple scene where Jin Gaoyao has the cord wrap around WX neck threatening LJ to back off by saying "your life is in my hand." That one line is a true pinnacle of their love for each.
I feel the final scene was an afterthought but I still appreciate it because it provide some closure. However, the final sequence made no sense in that after 16 years of searching and longing they decide to make that decision (trying to avoid spoiler). Like you said keep with the original material, it would been better.
It's so rare to see when an actor embraces the role so well (especially when it's adapted from book) that you truly feel like he/she IS the character, but that's indeed how CQL felt - Xiao Zhan IS Wei Ying and Wang Yibo IS Lan Zhan.
And I agree - the drama did extremely well with the ending scene because it upheld the value it had created and went for all along - it almost feels wrong to say that CQL is a BL or avoid it due to that tag because WY & LZ's characters and their relationship makes it so much more & meaningful. Hell, it's better than most straight romances! In fact, it makes you not care about the BL at all and simply enjoy the beauty (and pain) of their story.
I feel sad for the people who didn't understand the beauty & worth/value it portrayed, especially with the last scene. That was the best & perfect ending they could've given us.
I do feel like the two leads were very well chosen
I started watching this show because of your review and absolutely loved it. Totally agree with your stand on the subtlety of the show and ending was just so beautifully made. I’m now a Xiao Zhan fan!!!
In a way, I do agree with the idea that the show definitely elevated the source material, in terms of coherence with the overarching theme. However, the one thing I do have a problem with is how the narrative of the drama became more black and white, in terms of how they depict good and evil, rather than the almost grey quality we get in the novel. Like, Wei Wuxian was more of an antihero in the novel than the drama, or how Jin Guangyao seems irredeemably evil in the drama instead of continuously choosing the wrong path when faced with a difficult situation. I do understand that it seems to have something to do with the censorship in China, so I guess I can't complain much about it. Thanks for the thorough review! It is super comprehensive and much appreciated.
I once read how Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo were casted as their characters.
For Xiao Zhan, one of the director’s friends mentioned Xiao Zhan as a possible option for the character. The director later checked XZ’s Weibo and found a few pictures of him dressed in costume and smiling. From his smile alone, the directors knew he was the perfect actor for the character. The director had said that the smile was just perfect and he later got in contact with him.
As for Wand Yibo, he was going to take the audition and the moment he stepped in, the director knew that Wang Yibo was the perfect man for the character of Lan Wangji. The director had described the experience as “his cold appearance just fit the character”
Agree 100 % with all your comment. Im not really care with CGI or fighting scene, but i love the paper talisman, it's so cute. I love the acting, the plot and even though the ending is not perfect but we know...it's a happy ending. Love the webnovel ( even though i skip read smut part chapters)...and love this drama adaptation. Forth wuxia drama i love after Ten miles of Peach blossom, Nirvana ini fire 1& 2 and ever night and the untamed. I watched the Guardian too but i dropped it on the middle. Now, everytime i re-read the webnovel version, i will see all the characters in this drama as them. Especially lan zhan and wei ying...their characters are so vividly come alive in hand of those both actors. such a great job!!
she's talking about the camera work when Shijie died- ma'am I wasn't noticing the camera work I was too busy crying my eyes out
I can't believe I am actually saying this, but I truly think that the romantic (The explicit BL) aspect if added in the drama might really have destroyed the impact that it created. Here, the focus was more on the heavy theme of the plot like the politics and the hypocrisy and fickle-mindedness of the characters. This actually made the story so beautiful. Few scenes were so touching. I never felt the need for any so-called BL in it, because their feelings got conveyed anyway. I also want to applaud the relationship dynamic of this story (between WWX, JC and JY, WWX and LZ, JGY and Zewu Jun, Wen Qing and Wen Ning, Wen Ning and WWX, and Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingue) all of it was extraordinary and it made the story even more touching and also heartbreaking!
Couldn’t have found a better review of The Untamed on TH-cam. You are so elaborate on every aspect of the show. I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said. Some of the cgi had me cringing but thankfully the lead actors’ superb acting distracted me from it.
Xiao Zhen and Wang Yibo were the
perfect pick for the role. They literally brought the characters to life. On a side note, I wasn’t aware that this drama was the most popular drama in China right now. Like holy smokes that’s bizarre! Despite that, I can see why old people would have trouble accepting this fact since BL would be associated with a negative connotation.
But we stay winning my fellow fujoshis! I’m so glad I decided to give this drama a chance. I read the novel and watched the anime and couldn’t get enough. Now I’m throughly obsessed with this show. Thank You to the producers for making this show happen and all the cast members for doing their best! Their efforts sure did pay off ❤️
I love all your videos and final reviews like this, they are so full of insight and all your thoughts are always such brilliant points of discussion!
Xie xie ni avenueX.. i was a silent follower of your site for some years already..coz your taste n comments on dramas just hit the right buttons and has the same taste of mine.. since NIF1 as my most loved drama in all these years until the Untamed..as am also a very keen Cnovel reader too ( i read your suggdstion for Cixin Liu trilogy novels .brilliant books). Am mostly gratefull for your efforts and shared knowledge in chinese tradition n film prodc...again my deepest gratitude to you. Xie xie..💕
I love it whenever you go into the technical aspects of things.
I'm glad we've gotten your final review. I've had an eye on this drama and was a little worried whether I should drop it or not, but you've convinced me to keep watching. Thanks👍
thanks for the in depth review; it made me appreciate this show even more for the struggles that I didn't knew they had to deal with during production!
I was also happily surprised with how they showed touching and eye contact scenes all those stares and so on without going over the line. My heart.. thank you for the review. Very informative
Second comment. i was waiting for this video. I really loved the drama. And even after finishing it i still can't go on. Some parts are still making me emotional, sad (for example shijies death scene).
your image quotes are so hilarious... i watched every episode in 480p, it really helped for some reason. The clarity of 720 killed the show.
I don't think having a romance plot (gay or otherwise) necessarily cheapens a plot or cheapens ideology. If anything, when both parties are willing to forsake their romance to pursue their ideals, it shows how resolute they are in their beliefs.
I understand there was censorship involved but representation of complex gay romance on TV is also an important issue in itself. As a gay man, growing up seeing my sexuality be portrayed as trivial at best, a perversion at worst, did a number on my self-esteem.
I agree The Untamed grew on me as it went on , I absolutely loved the actors and I also agree for the last scene of the final episode. OMG it was so moving.
Thank you so much for not spoiling anything!!! I'm so excited for the ending and I'm at episode 40. I love your review and I chuckled at some parts of the video.
I used to be a huge fan of Chinese historical/fantasy dramas. However, ever since Ten MIles Peach Blossom, all the other dramas have just been kind of crap. (I'm not referring to all but a majooirty of them are. Bad production, cliche storylines, and etc.) When I stumbled upon your first video about The Untamed, I decided to watch it and I stuck through with it. This IS a very good drama and I'm quite pleased how every aspect exceeded my expectations. Hopefully it doesn't get taken down or anything and that there will be more dramas in the future for us to be excited for.
Your review is amazing as always and I love your views. I didn't pay much attention to the production/camerawork/etc because the plot had me hooked. Anyways, happy drama watching!
You should also check out Joy of Life. The acting and screenplay is superb. Xiao Zhan is in it too near the end of the show. But all the actors are good.
Same to me.
The actor who played Xue Yang, I think he had an immense improvement by the the time he played Yu Mingyue in The Dance if the Phoenix. Because in that drama, Yu Mingyue is the character which stays in the heart. He has potential. And I discovered Untamed late so I watched it after the Dance if the Phoenix. But oh boy.... I am obsessed with The Untamed and Wang Yibo now. Wang Yibo, I don't really understand why people underestimated his acting so much (that's what I heard) but I think he did a good job in Gank Your Heart.
OMG! you are such great detail person. I did not noticed any of the technical errors you mentioned because I was so in the story. But gosh, you have an amazing technical talent. you should be part of a producing company. Impressive!
I've been waiting for your final review about The Untamed... I just love the way you review the dramas... :D
Agree with you about the technical things... sometimes I wonder when I see them in a interview or fan camera, how could they didn't look this good looking in the drama...
and the way they change from the present to past (the flashback scene) is not obvious, that I didn't even realize it was a flashback after a few episodes XD
In easy way, I think they should change the hairstyle to differentiate the present and past time... because whether it's the present or the past, I don't think something has changed...
Thank you for your comment, I agree with you and I really like this darma and the two leading actors they do a good work.
Your review is excellent! I love the two lead actors! Their acting was superb, really portraying the characters they're supposed to portray so that you're pulled in and feel the emotions they're feeling. I haven't read the novel but, after only a few episodes, I could catch the love between these 2 male lead characters and told my husband so. I am glad that the story focused more on the ideals of these two guys and less on romantic gestures. I've finished watching all 50 episodes but I'm re-watching the series from episode 1, to catch the subtleties of their acting and the beautiful dialogues (in English).
You are truly one of my favorite TH-camrs!! I think you are very accurate in this review. Unlike most of the fans, I knew about this drama a year ago because I was into Xiao Zhan in another drama. That's how I knew about MDSZ and the drama. To be honest, I wasn't that excited either because it was simply just bromance and totally doubted the ability of Wang Yibo acting Lan Wangji (not the easiest character to pull off) but he did it so amazingly that while watching the drama, I found myself liking him even more than Xiao Zhan... Both of the main actors' acting was just really good... I also CAN'T imagine other people acting WWX and LWJ. I'm also very thankful they kept close to the original plotline. I really meant a lot to the novel readers. This is one of my favorite dramas! I've been watching dramas since the aspect ratios were 4:3 and I know there are a lot of awesome dramas out there but this one really shook my heart (probably also because I wasn't expecting much and the opposite happened) I will remember it for a long time and will keep supporting the actors! I could go on forever how much I love this drama, I wrote a 1500 words worth of love letter to CQL. Anyways, love your reviews AvenueX! Keep up the work!!