#and this is for people who want to apply novel stuff to cql

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Ep 25

Every time I start these things, I say something stupid or controversial right away that probably turns people off. Honestly, it's not my fault how weird the cuts are on these CQL episodes! If you're on the fence about reading this, I mostly babble and gush about wangxian, so just ignore the other stuff, okay?

Maybe it's because I'm old and have no patience, but Wei Wuxian really needs to get over the whole Jin Zixuan thing. He wears such a scowl when the guy shows up, but at a certain point, he needs to just move on. His shijie is totally into the guy, so just accept it and move on with your life! Yes, it's all very dramatic and makes for fun television, but it's a little old. I think maybe I've seen this show too many times haha.

And I can't help myself, but it's adorable how excited Jin Zixuan gets when Jiang Yanli accepts the invitation to watch. I don't know when or how this happened, but he's suddenly head over heels for her. I'm not going to over-analyze the whens and hows of that relationship, though, because I don't think it matters. Jin Zixuan is one of those characters who I think is mostly there to move the plot forward, which is totally fine. I'm just saying I don't think there's any deep meaning to why he suddenly fell for her, so I'm going to continue thinking they are cute and adorable in this whole puppy love phase.

And it's a little annoying how Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng keep looking at her. They both know (Jiang Cheng said it in the last episode) that she's in love with Jin Zixuan, so it should be no surprise that she's accept the invitation. Again, it's like Jiang Cheng just is obsessed with keeping people at his side. Honey, there's nothing for Jiang Yanli in Lotus Pier. She's going to get married and move away, period. That's the whole thing with patriarchal societies--she's not gonna marry her brother, and obviously Wei Wuxian is out of the question. It's just--why the surprise?

Seriously, man, you're being such a dick! He will not let anything go with Jin Zixuan, he just keeps holding those grudges until the day Jin Zixuan dies! Maybe this is a hallmark of Wei Wuxian's first life, though. When he is resurrected, he learns to let a lot of this emotional baggage go. But right now, he's just being an ass, stepping in front of Jin Zixuan, not allowing him to say anything else, not letting Jiang Yanli walk him out alone--like, why are you accompanying her?! Wei Wuxian barely attends to any duties at Lotus Pier, but because he sees Jin Zixuan as this villain, he won't let his shijie be alone with him. Of course, there is propriety to consider, but then why couldn't Jiang Yanli have been accompanied by her handmaidens or something? I'm just saying, there were other ways. And also, this whole episode centers around Wei Wuxian clashing with the Jin Clan, so why did we need more of that here?

I don't have a terrible about to say about this, but everyone outside of the Jin Clan is shocked by the Wens being hauled out on a chain gang at the Phoenix Mountain hunt. Obviously Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are shocked and horrified, but also Jiang Cheng, Lan Xichen, and Nie Mingjue are also shown to be disturbed by this. At least upon first glance, it looks like they all think the Jins have gone a bit too far. And of course they have! It's no wonder that Wei Wuxian does that OP move where he shoots all the targets. He doesn't want to see less-skilled archers accidentally (or even purposefully) shoot the Wen prisoners.

I like that Jin Zixuan also does the jumpshot move. Like father, like son, I guess!

Hahaha that pout! But seriously, how does Wei Wuxian intend to use Lan Wangji's headband to cover his eyes? That thing is way too thin. Though he's probably serious here, it's nice to see that teasing side again, after seeing angry eyes Wei Wuxian for a while, now. Also fun to see Lan Wangji just not having it, and just ignoring him.

Iconic. Not much I can say here, other than he's sexy and he knows it. I noticed Lan Wangji kind of smirking as Wei Wuxian is putting on the blindfold, and I find myself wondering if that's really Lan Wangji or Yibo. Either way, I think it's safe to say that he's proud of Wei Wuxian for sticking it to the man.

The weird thing here is that he agrees to be blindfolded for the entire hunt, but then just...doesn't. It's strange that he would even agree to it, and then there's no mention of it again. Novel readers of course remember this for the infamous kiss scene (personal favorite of mine). This was cut for obvious reasons, but it's a damn shame because that's the hottest kiss I've ever read, I kid you not. Of course the reader can guess who it is--it's fairly obvious--but it's great because Wei Wuxian has no idea. He thinks it's some shy girl who just doesn't want him to know! Honestly, his cluelessness there is probably why people seem to think he's dumb. Instead of dumb, I'd say he's naive. It doesn't occur to him at all that Lan Wangji harbors any romantic feelings for him, because if it had, Lan Wangji's reaction to being seen definitely would have tipped him off. Plus the guy either punches a tree in half or cuts it--the translations vary and I obviously can't read Chinese.

I love how his expression changes when he sees Lan Wangji. It's like there's an inward gasp, and then relief. I don't want to read too much into things, but they are also alone in the woods together. Wei Wuxian doesn't have to perform for the crowd of people, he doesn't have to put on airs--he can just be himself. We get so many nice, candid moments between the two of them, but it's been a couple of episodes, I think. A good amount of time has certainly passed since they've seen each other. I'm sure Wei Wuxian looks forward to these moments as much as Lan Wangji does.

Ugh, and then he gets totally crushed, recalling what Lan Xichen said about being careful not to hurt those who care about him. And again, I think he wishes to distance himself from Lan Wangji. If there is distance, it means he cannot be harmed. Of course, Wei Wuxian thinks of Lan Wangji first because the warning came from his brother, but it can just as easily be applied to any of those who are close to him. He doesn't ever hesitate around Jiang Cheng or even Jiang Yanli, but it seems he's more protective of Lan Wangji. Some of that may have to do with the Gusu Lan principles and that he's not from the same clan or family--in that way, it's easier to put distance in between them. But maybe he doesn't realize that Lan Wangji feels the same closeness (indeed much more) than if Wei Wuxian were a fellow Gusu Lan disciple. Their relationship with each other pays no attention to clans or sects--it's just the two of them and how they feel about each other. And if Wei Wuxian doesn't realize this or perhaps chooses to ignore it, he'll think that distance is the answer. Unfortunately for him, Lan Wangji won't accept that.

I think there's a little bit of, "Shit! He's seen me!" and also "Thank God he's seen me." Wei Wuxian seems to be both panicked and relieved that Lan Wangji didn't just keep on walking. This scene does hurt my heart, because Lan Wangji is so sure of himself, so absolutely sure that he loves Wei Wuxian and wants to stay beside him, but Wei Wuxian just isn't. He's very conflicted about what his place is--at home and among the rest of the clans. He already feels ostracized because of the unorthodox cultivation, he is constantly arguing with Jiang Cheng, and he has Lan Wangji on his back all the time about coming to Gusu to be retrained. And on top of that, we're seeing his views about the Wens changing. Perhaps if he didn't see Wen Qing on that road, he would have let it all go, but once he sees her, everything changes. I tend to think that he would have done something sooner or later, because that's just who he is. Seeing Wen Qing and finding out what happened to Wen Ning only forced him to act sooner.

He says, "What do you take me for?" echoing Wei Wuxian's question, and he can't even look him in the eye. This is Lan Wangji, someone who doesn't back away from anything, yet this question has him retreating. I think he's very much afraid of the answer, maybe even regretting asking it in the first place. But I think it was done in the heat of the moment. His question, though it is the same words, is completely different than Wei Wuxian's. Wei Wuxian is exasperated, feeling stifled by Lan Wangji's attempts to help him. His question is off-hand, "Come on, I don't need this? Why are you so obsessed with figuring out how to change me?" Lan Wangji's is more serious, earnest, honest: basically questioning their entire relationship. Are they best friends? Are they even friends? Does Wei Wuxian see him as just some guy he used to know or some kind of pest? Lan Wangji makes himself really vulnerable here; his question suggests that he considers Wei Wuxian to be a very important person, he considers them close. To him, there's no question if he'll help him--he'd do anything to help him. But his fear here is that Wei Wuxian doesn't return those feelings in the slightest.

Wei Wuxian doesn't quite know what to do here. Unbeknownst to everyone else, his only path to cultivation is through unorthodox methods. If he agrees to let Lan Wangji truly help him, he knows that would mean giving up cultivation altogether. Chenqing gives him power, the amulet gives him power--without those, he has nothing. And for someone who wants to help the weak, etc., being powerless is not an option. I think he feels like he has to choose between demonic cultivation and Lan Wangji here, and he desperately doesn't want to make that choice.

I want to see that fucking snake!!!!! SHOW ME A MONSTER!!!!!!!!! But most of all, the Stature Measuring Snake, because that just sounds hilarious and terrifying.

Lots of deep questions being asked in this episode between our couples. "Do you dislike the hunt, or dislike being with me?" I mean, I get that he has to ask that. Essentially, should he continue to pursue this relationship or not? He has to know, otherwise he's just wasting his time. If Jiang Yanli doesn't like him, then there's really nothing he can do to make her. Still, my heart squeezes a little bit for him. I'm a sucker for unrequited love ALWAYS, and he feels like his love is unrequited here.

This part bothers me. We've already established through Jiang Cheng that they basically are leaving the decision of marriage up to Jiang Yanli. That happened in the last episode. So, why is Wei Wuxian blowing in here, saying that Jiang Yanli won't have any other associations with Jin Zixuan anymore? He's totally overstepping for his position--like, she's not his sister! He has no control over what she does. Even though I don't agree with it, Jiang Cheng could probably come in here and say the same words, but at least from him, it's okay. I mean, it's not okay, but you know what I mean. It's not unorthodox for him to do that. But Wei Wuxian is basically nobody. He doesn't get to make those decisions. Even though Jin Zixuan's mother is overbearing, she at least wants to speak with Jiang Yanli about it, and nobody else.

I hate myself a little for saying this, but I think I agree with Jin Zixun--IN PART. It was unfair for Wei Wuxian to capture/kill 30% of the prey, using magic. It was unfair that he spoiled the hunt for the others. I agree with him there. And I think Lan Wangji and Jiang Yanli do as well. Jiang Yanli stands up for him, of course, because he's like her little brother, and while what he did was wrong, he didn't deserve the slurs and hatred that came at him because of it. Lan Wangji, I'm afraid, probably feels it's not his place to speak up. The clans are their barriers and this truly is not a Gusu Lan Sect matter. At the same time, he wants to keep Wei Wuxian from blowing up and killing everyone here.

I just want to point out that Lan Wangji barely takes his eyes off of Wei Wuxian this entire time. While all the other people are arguing, his focus is just Wei Wuxian. While it's insane to me to even imagine what Wei Wuxian is going through, the constant challenges, vitriol, horrible language that's being thrown at him--being in Lan Wangji's shoes is not an enviable position either. It must be hard to watch this and be unable to really do anything to stop it. His uncle and brother both see what has happened to Wei Wuxian, and they don't like what they see either. Lan Qiren barely tries to understand and instead just tries to give Lan Wangji busy work to distract him from thinking about Wei Wuxian. He drills the disciplines into him over and over again to make him remember what his priorities are. Lan Wangji is torn between helping his best friend and violating his family's rules. And when he does choose Wei Wuxian, he gets punished. I think it's obvious that Lan Wangji would choose Wei Wuxian any day, but that doesn't change the fact that he still has to go home and face his uncle and brother. He can't just abandon his sect--he has a responsibility to them too.

This is probably a top moment for me for Jiang Yanli's scenes. She is deliberate and assertive, and uses the facts to take Jin Zixun down a peg. She recognizes that Wei Wuxian acted unfairly, but she also points out basically that he's being a big crybaby, and it's not anyone's fault but his own if he can't hunt anything. This is the nature of competition: some people are just better than others. And also hearing her talk about Wei Wuxian as a brother of course makes me happy inside.

Yeah, but this scene, it's like a big "FUCK YOU!" and it's great.

Again, I hope I'm not reading too much into this, but Lan Xichen says, "Wangji, what are you doing here?" and he sounds pretty concerned. I mean, he knows Lan Wangji is participating in the hunt, so…? Maybe he doesn't see the other Lan disciples, and wonders why he's off on his own. I feel like he sees this big kerfuffle, centered around none other than Wei Wuxian, and kind of panics to see that Lan Wangji is there. I think a lot of people put all the blame on Lan Qiren for trying to stamp out Lan Wangji's desire to be with Wei Wuxian, but I'm sure Lan Xichen had a little to do with it too. I mean, he didn't do anything to try and stop it. I think he's worried that his brother is going to get caught up in something dangerous. I think he sees Wei Wuxian as potentially dangerous. He's seen how much he overreacts and how he can't quite control the dark energy. In the same way Jiang Yanli wants to protect Wei Wuxian, Lan Xichen also wants to protect his little brother, and seeing this scene, I think he's growing more concerned.

He knows his brother better than anyone else, even Wei Wuxian, so I think he knows what Lan Wangji is doing. I just wonder if he ever approached him in the Cloud Recesses and tried to persuade him to stop trying to help Wei Wuxian. I'm guessing no, not at this point, but perhaps later. God, I hate to think that he had one of those "I told you so" moments. But knowing him, he probably could never say something like that!

Omg how fucking awkward is this? Wei Wuxian is practically 20 feet from them, Jin Zixuan is holding back a few feet too--like you're not far enough away to not hear what they're saying, just far enough for it to seem weird. Wei Wuxian is like a helicopter parent who can't let his kid date without spying on them. Jesus!

The absolute horror on his face here. Jiang Yanli stops on her own. I think he may even still be holding her hand here, and she digs her heels in and stops. Before, she looks as though she's reluctantly leaving, as if she's waiting for something, waiting for Jin Zixuan to speak and not let his mother do all the talking. I think she's afraid to tell Wei Wuxian and her brother how she really feels in her heart, and he's so taken aback here with the realization that she really does want to marry him.

I love the way they shot this. Jin Zixuan is finally confessing (in front of a whole crowd, no less!), and we only see Jiang Yanli as she turns around. Wei Wuxian is hidden behind something. It's really cool how they did that. It's as if he doesn't really matter. This doesn't concern him, no one else is even there. I don't know, but I like it.

I do kind of feel bad for him here. Kind of. I mean, Wei Wuxian is over there showboating, catching 30% of the prey, meanwhile Jiang Cheng has no idea it's going on. He already is a little annoyed at him for going over the top in the archery contest, and then he finds out this--well, overhears it. Because of Wei Wuxian, people are looking down on the Jiang Clan. Because of Wei Wuxian, people think Jiang Cheng is some kind of figurehead. They seem to suggest that Wei Wuxian is the real one in charge, while Jiang Cheng just has no idea what he's doing. After all, he's still so young, his parents died, and he had to take over the clan at such a young age. It's easy for him to be manipulated. I get how he must be feeling. Tons of negative thoughts are swirling around his head. And let's face it, he's always resented Wei Wuxian for being better than him.

Favorite Wen Qing look ever. By far. I don't know why, but I love it.

At this point, Lan Wangji is desperate. He sees how out of control Wei Wuxian is becoming and he feels like he needs to do something about it. The sad thing is, he never really gets the chance. Wei Wuxian finding Wen Qing sets everything off--it's the point of no return. By the time Lan Wangji is really able to ask him to come with him, Wei Wuxian can't say yes, even if he wanted to. Because of his prior decisions, his hand has been forced. The Cloud Recesses wouldn't accept him, even if Lan Wangji wanted him there, even if Lan Xichen is okay with it. Lan Qiren certainly wouldn't be all right with it, though. And Wei Wuxian doesn't intend to change his ways either. It's desperation that makes Lan Wangji say that he wants to bring a man back to Gusu, but it's desperation that makes him blind to the logic behind it. It wouldn't work. It couldn't work.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Or just check out the #CQL Rewatch hashtag

#wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #jiang cheng #jiang yanli #jin zixuan #lan xichen #jin zixun #cql #the untamed #ep 25 #cql rewatch

[ouyangzizhensdad]

Hi there! I saw your wonderful post about mianmian and female rep in cql. What are your opinions on cql!yanli and book!yanli? I haven't read the books but I hear that cql added depth to her. Fandom mostly see her as "steel under silk" and seems to ignore every other aspect of her character. What do u think of her death?I mean, she ran into a battlefield knowing she could die, making JL an orphan, to talk to her brother, who as much as she knew, lost control and had a hand in her husband's death.

Hi there!

I’m glad you enjoyed the lengthy MianMian meta.

My gut reaction is to say that I don’t think that CQL added depth to JYL’s character, but just created more dangling threads or contradictions within it. However, to get at the bottom of the issues with their portrayal of MianMian, I had to “close read” each of her appearances on CQL as well as in the novel, and to be honest, the idea of doing so with JYL is a little bit exhausting because it’s not like I can limit the exercise to three or four scenes. I think the conclusion of the MianMian meta will still apply to JYL: that while some will read the production’s choice to increase her presence as an effort to address “”””MXTX’S problem with female characters”””” it is more likely a decision motivated by market logic and, in any case, not a choice motivated by a will to tell a stronger, more nuanced story than the one we can find in the novel. 

To a degree, I understand the criticism with the strong women stuff: while we are made aware of female cultivators, some of whom are very powerful, they tend not to exist in the current timeline of the story in MDZS. Aside from Yu-furen, and to a small degree MianMian, we do not get to witness strong female cultivators fighting and being “strong” in the standard of the term. I think MXTX could have done more to highlight the presence of female cultivators in the Jiang/Nie/Jin sect or during the Sunshot war campaign, for instance, even without adding too many new characters to her roaster. But that doesn’t mean that JYL specifically needed to be a strong cultivator. I had to go and read the tv trope entry about silk hiding steel to be sure what people meant with that, but I don’t think it applies. 

I do think JYL is strong in terms of will. I think it is pretty interesting that no one notes that JYL carried both WWX and JC when they got hurt as kids: sure, someone could read that to mean that she was actually very strong, physically, but to me I see it more as mind over matter: she endured it because she wanted to help and protect those she loved, and pushed her body past what it could normally do. Although she is more meek in her manners and will not necessarily fight for herself, she is ready to fight for the people she loves even if it means having a lot of attention on her or going against the opinion of people she values. She also cares for others in general, be they the people of LP or by wanting to do her part during the war. She is also someone who seems constant in her affections and opinions: she is steadfast and loyal. Those are all really positive things, and yes they are more feminine than being good at kicking ass: but what’s the point of wanting female characters if all of them should have attributes that are valued in men in a patriarchal society? 

Regarding JYL’s death, I think there are many ways to look at it. Narratively, the way the story is shaped up, JYL kind of *had* to die at that point. The question is, does it feel satisfying and earned--and of course people may come to different answers to that. I am personally not a big fan of the “person dies without being able to finish what they meant to say” cliché. I think I would have preferred it if JYL hadn’t said, literally, “I have something to say” and had just died right after telling WWX to stop the fighting first. Considering that WWX accidentally killing JZX is a moment where he breaks down and he takes it really badly, and he feels awful towards JYL, it’s good in terms of conflict that WWX never gets to hear how she feels about him and what he’s done to her. At least it isn’t her dying saying “to save the day you only need to ......”, I suppose. 

I’ll maybe articulate my thoughts on JYL a little bit more in the future! But this is what I’ve got for now.

#sanarastone #jyl #jiang yanli #mdzs #mdzs meta

[butterflydm]

The Untamed Rewatch (ep 9)

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NHS is really cute in this episode, you guys. It’s also a really good episode for the building of the partnership between Wangxian.

I like the tense vibe that we pick up with, having the shadow-bird fly across the moon and only very briefly showing the puppet-people. That's a good editing choice.

Nie Huaisang does come across as relatively sheltered in these scenes with LWJ and WWX. Even though they're all roughly the same age, he comes across as younger. Or more in need of protection, anyway, which is a vibe that he uses to his benefit much later. He's not a fighter. He never becomes one — even when he's at his most desperate, we don't really see him directly using violence against others, instead tricking other people to use violence on his behalf. I don't think it's a moral issue one way or the other; I don't think indirect violence is more morally wrong because it's sneaky or whatnot. It's just an interesting character note. I also think it's interesting that when NHS is panicked, he calls out both WWX and LWJ using the more intimate nickname form — he says Wei-xiong and Lan-xiong. He doesn't usually use that with LWJ, I think? But he does in this scene.

I like the little fire & ice vibe we get with the… are they called 'spells' in cultivation? LWJ pushes them back and it looks cold, then WWX pens them in and the form he makes looks more like fire. LWJ and WWX are all for charging out and poor NHS is just so panicked over the idea. Oh, honey.

So, this next bit is a really big thing that CQL changed from the novel! Wen Qing uses a flute to control the puppets and make them leave (or, wait, since she's blowing in the end, is it a xiao? But it's so much smaller than the one we saw LXC use, so maybe it's another woodwind of some kind? help, I don’t know musical instruments). As I understand it, in the novel, WWX literally invented all of this stuff, while in the drama, he doesn't invent it but does refine it beyond what it has been before. I'll probably have more feelings about that, one way or the other, once I've read the novel. When I was watching through the series the first time, all this felt like it flowed pretty naturally from the plotline that the drama had set up with the Yin Metal. It is one of the things, though, that makes CQL kind of an alternate universe version of MDZS rather than a straight (ha!) adaptation. None of the other practitioners of demonic cultivation in the drama, though, show the same kind of… ah, elemental mastery that we see WWX show. He becomes almost a force of nature in himself, feels almost like an avatar of death, when he's embracing the power. And we don't get that vibe with any of the other characters we see who try to master demonic cultivation. Other people may have dabbled with demonic cultivation in the past, was the vibe the drama gave me, but only WWX mastered it in the end.

The girl doing windmills with her hands while holding the basket kinda cracks me up. Maybe it's partly because her clothes are so bright?

Jiang Cheng comes in to add some levity to the atmosphere. He's actually quite sweet, almost but not quite confessing how worried he was about his brother. He does have a very hard time being emotionally vulnerable, though that's a trial for a lot of characters in the story, but Jiang Cheng covers it up with anger rather than a smile like WWX does. Different coping methods for different personalities. Jiang Cheng gets very indignant when WWX immediately moves to deflect any blame away from LWJ and onto WWX instead.

I really like the scene with WWX, LWJ, Jiang Cheng, NHS, and Wen Qing, because there are several different agendas and levels of knowledge at play, all butting up against each other. WWX and LWJ work very well as a team here, supporting each other's moves while they try to figure out the best plan of action. We know from the previous episode that WWX is already considering himself and LWJ as partners on this trip, and they really do get to act like it here. They're the only two people who are on the same page; everyone else has their individual agendas but WWX and LWJ are working together and with the same knowledge set.

I don't have too much to say about this next bit, but I do love it. I think it looks quite nice, they look very pretty in the fog, and I love seeing WWX and LWJ back to back and there's a bit of cute banter. And both WWX and LWJ get to contribute to the goal.

Oh, is that A-Yuan? The timeline is pretty short in the drama, then!

NHS continues to find WWX's brashness charming while poor Jiang Cheng is just so over it all. Even in the midst of the silliness of the three bros, WWX is thinking of his mission and partnership with LWJ, as he does pretty clearly take advantage of the chicken hunt to give LWJ and himself a chance to question Wen Qing.

Partners! Partnership is one of my favorite ship dynamics — Fraser/RayK (due South), Clois (Superman) — complicated, dynamic partnerships with affection and bantering is one of my great weaknesses in fictional relationships (and for a man who talks as little as LWJ does, he holds his own against WWX). And they have a moment of silent communication at the end of the scene, because they've come to know each other that well already.

The question of how much loyalty you owe to the people who adopted you gets brought up here with Wen Qing and Wen Rouhan, and of course the question always applies to Wei Wuxian in these cases as well. Like WWX, Wen Qing possesses great talents that mean Wen Rouhan give her more latitude than perhaps he would otherwise (in her case, she's an extremely talented doctor) and that the younger of the blood siblings shows jealousy of because of that latitude. Both Wen Qing and WWX act impulsively to do the right thing, even when it goes against the interests of their own adopted family. 

They part ways with Wen Qing (and possibly NHS, though we don't see a goodbye scene with him. Maybe he's still chasing that chicken), with another of the layering of the bittersweet almost-romance between Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng.

And it's been a bit of travel, because WWX has changed clothes between scenes. LWJ and Jiang Cheng still look the same, but WWX was definitely in dark blue in the previous scene and now is definitely in black. There's some interesting non-verbal interplay here between LWJ and WWX that poor Jiang Cheng must helplessly watch — WWX drinks some wine, but immediately stops when LWJ walks away from him, grabs LWJ's shoulder ribbon, drops it when LWJ looks at him, then grabs his arm, and then drops that when LWJ looks at him again. Just major push-pull vibes.

Oh, there's Nie Huiasang! He's meeting up with Meng Yao here! We don't get any Meng Yao in this episode but I really do kinda miss him and his dimples.

I love WWX's technique here so much: "Hey, any weird deaths happen around here recently? We are such big fans of strange death!" I mean, it works, so more power to him, tbh.

The scene here with Lan Zhan feeling the effects of the Yin Metal (and, hey, they told Jiang Cheng about it! He's not surprised! So that's nice) and Wei Ying trying to calm him through it is a neat reversal of the dynamic we'll see more often in the future, with Lan Zhan trying to get through to Wei Ying. I like that; parallels and reversals are fun.

The scene of the three of them walking into the Chang home is very eerie and has a good, strong tragic vibe. So, we're getting Xue Yang in this next bit, and Xue Yang dresses in black. It makes me wonder if that's part of the reason they had WWX change clothes — in the previous episode, they wanted us to associate him with the Jiangs, and Jiang Fengmian in particular, but now they want us to be thinking of Xue Yang, maybe?

Hmm.

Next episode: Xue Yang! Xiao Xingchen! Song Lan!

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#mdzs meta #cql rewatch #wangxian #the untamed #the untamed | chen qing ling #mdzs #mo dao zu shi