#it's so funny in my liveblog of the untamed way back when you can see me imprint on him hopelessly just like IMMEDIATELY haha

[vaguely-concerned]

that last scene in fatal journey where nie huaisang has to support nie mingjue for him to keep upright, harrowhark's arc in harrow the ninth*, and the 'O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven/Keep me in temper: I would not be mad' line from king lear all break my heart in exactly the same way. that precise thread of the ultimate, hopeless vulnerability and confusion that's at the heart of madness -- of realizing in glimpses that you won't even realize how far you've drifted from yourself and that you don't know how to stop it, you can't stop it. that's such a core part of nie mingjue to me, and I don't feel like I've seen a lot of real discussion around it considering how central I think it is to his character.

*also like harrow, nie mingjue is both 'mad' (im mentally ill. I'm reclaiming it. sometimes that does feel like exactly the right word for it) and also like. severely haunted. by a sword even lmao. they've even got the 'crushing weight of shouldering the responsibility of their entire house given to them at way too early an age under horrifically traumatizing circumstances' same hat/same hat! thing going on here. omg. nie mingjue is like if harrow was a big sensitive jock who cries at the drop of a hat and harrow is like if nie mingjue was a small wet ratwoman who does bones and catholic guilt. but the core is basically the same. I can't believe I'm right about this.

#and jin guangyao and ianthe doing the clasped hand meme over mercilessly gaslighting and generally making everything worse for them! #I have respect for ianthe's grift but not jin guangyao's I only regret nie huaisang could only kill him once </3 #the locked tomb #the untamed #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #nie bros #I wish everyone in this particular fandom overlap a very 'I've connected the dots' except in this case I think I actually did lol #I've always had a hard time explaining why I love nie mingjue SO MUCH despite the fact that he's probably the most doomed person #in the entirety of mdzs/the untamed and also of course his hands are not clean (no one's hands are clean in that world) #but my raw horrified sympathy for him in that element is probably really central to it #he tried so hard!! he tried so hard #it's so funny in my liveblog of the untamed way back when you can see me imprint on him hopelessly just like IMMEDIATELY haha #I chose pain

[sleepymarmot]

Re-liveblog: eps. 22-23

[ep 22]

Ooh, Meng Yao as a spy makes more sense. I was thinking about Qing or Ning and wondering since when either of them counted as Xichen’s “old friend”.

I, of course, immediately accepted he was a spy, even before he was textually declared as such and only just appeared as WRH’s right-hand man. It wasn’t until very recently that my eyes were opened to the fact he did lure the army into a trap, a trap that he personally designed, and the battle was only won thanks to WWX and his secret weapon, which MY couldn’t have predicted, in the show at least. So what was his plan? Was it different in the book? Why would he put LXC in harm’s way, when MY|JGY defined their entire relationship by the avoidance of that? 

We’ll only see this in the flashback, but I find it very curious that he let NMJ see his true face and live. And in this episode, we see reaction shots of MY being concerned when NMJ is losing the fight -- and since nobody is looking at him, this reaction must be genuine. Which implies that he is not committed to the Wen cause, and is keeping in mind the consequences of their defeat. It would have been a very bad look for him if the allies won and discovered NMJ recently died in his custody. Too bad MY miscalculated how important the lives of those random Nie cultivators would be to NMJ. If only Meng Yao did anything but kill them, I suspect the course of his relationship with NMJ would run very different.

(It’s also funny that the battle plan includes Missiles That Make People Explode... That are used on a couple of redshirts and not, say, on anyone crucial to the allied war effort, and are never mentioned again. And then WWX stands around for about 10 more minutes before deciding to do something. The direction of this scene is... not the best.)

[ep 23]

It’s painful to watch the fear and reverence Meng Yao still holds for his father figure. The flinching, the hiding, the immediate supplication – when was the last time he felt safe and respected, before the bullying with the Nie and having to watch and even partake in atrocities with the Wen? I hope he can finally have some good things in his life now.

First of all, it’s very funny in retrospect to see myself constantly refer to NMJ as MY’s father figure. Well, it’s not my fault that I wasn’t shown the full scene where MY seductively strokes NMJ’s saber until much later! (Although to be completely fair, considering what JGY eventually did to his father, and what else he did in the tv show knowingly as opposed to accidentally in the novel, maybe these interpretations aren’t as incompatible.)

The interesting thing here is that I, once again, completely bought what MY was selling to NMJ with considerably less success... So my interpretation of this scene was completely off-base -- but on another level, I still agree with my initial assessment. 

I pitied MY when I thought the immediate overperformance of submission was his natural unfiltered reaction. Now I find it notable that this is the behavior he intentionally chooses -- both as the default survival mechanism over the course of his life, and in this specific scene. And in this scene, this behavior is targeted at and fine-tuned for LXC -- but not NMJ. 

The very first thing MY learned about LXC is his protective instinct over him. The best manipulation is not a lie but the truth with certain omissions; he is afraid for his life when a strong angry man he just wronged is brandishing a giant blade at him -- isn’t it nice to have another strong man whose protection you can guarantee by jumping behind his back and grasping at his clothes helplessly? I mean, it’s not much else he can do in this situation, and when I was watching for the first time, I of course didn’t know he had actually killed people in cold blood a few minutes ago, so in this context his apologetic attitude makes more sense, he should be acting like that. But LXC doesn’t know either, just like a first-time viewer! When MY triggers LXC’s protective instinct by crying for his help personally, presenting it as “us against them” (them as NMJ, in this case), LXC doesn’t see the manipulation. When MY shifts the blame on NMJ -- “It's as you can see. In the situation a moment ago, even if I explained, Clan Leader Nie wouldn’t believe me” -- NMJ sees through the bullshit and even laughs at it, but the spectacle isn’t for him, it's for LXC. And NMJ can see it -- he watches MY the damsel in distress tenderly touch the arm of his valiant defender, watches the tidy, polite, performative way MY kneels to apologize, and sighs -- he knows MY has won this round. At least over LXC. 

But in addition to what NMJ already knows and what MY has not repaired, MY makes another important mistake. This part of the scene will only be shown in the ep. 41 flashback, but MY still doesn’t understand NMJ’s worldview and apologizes only for insulting him personally. He not only fails to apologize for taking innocent lives, but tries to defend his decision. 

Does MY still care for NMJ? From his concern in the previous episode, it does seem so. Does MY still hope to regain NMJ’s favor? Maybe, but due to a combination of not understanding and not prioritizing NMJ, this is instead the scene where MY loses that favor forever. 

The above only applies to The Untamed. In the book (chapter 49) the dynamic is very different. When NMJ awakes, MY is carrying him and Baxia to safety alone. In the show, LXC is present from the beginning of the scene, and MY feels safe enough to play them against each other. In the book, he has no means to protect himself and is absolutely terrified. A very interesting paragraph:

He suddenly shouted, “ChiFeng-Zun!!! Don’t you understand that if I didn’t kill them, you’d be the one who died then?!!”

This was actually the same as saying, ‘I’m the one who saved your life so you can’t kill me or else it’d be immoral.’ However, Jin GuangYao was indeed worthy of his reputation. The same meaning but a different wording, and he was able to create a contained sense of frustration and a reserved sense of sorrow. As he had expected, Nie MingJue’s movement halted. Veins stood out under his forehead.

Having paused for a while, he clenched the hilt of his saber and shouted, “Very well! I’ll kill myself after I kill you!”

In the show, NMJ is already selfless and offended only on behalf of his murdered subordinates -- but the book takes it further, and he’s ready to sacrifice his own life if it means avenging them. Then the entire next paragraph is an almost comical chase where “one striked with madness and the other fled with madness”. When LXC finally showed up, “Meng Yao looked as if he had just seen a god from Heaven. He quickly scrambled over and hid behind the person’s back”. 

In other words, the full scene in the book reads almost exactly as the incomplete version of it in episode 23 looked to me on the first viewing. There’s no layer of manipulation -- Meng Yao simply is terrified of one man and seeks protection from another. And most of the dialogue is the same -- but just via the staging and acting choices, the scene gains a second, darker meaning. Which fits with the show’s tendency to villify Jin Guangyao. He can’t even beg for his life without it being a manipulation! What in the book was a wholly sympathetic moment of desperation for him, in the show is made calculated and two-faced.

Back to The Untamed!

LOVE how Xichen immediately calls him “A-Yao” while standing right between his shitty fathers

Lol, this was truly a moment for the ages! Too bad we only saw NMJ’s reaction (because he was in the frame with LXC) -- I really want a reaction shot from JGS to this!

The following private conversation between JGY and LXC caused me almost physical pain on rewatch... A note from this (third, I think?) viewing: the line “I’ve followed Clan Leader Nie for so long. I know his intentions. I have also never taken it to heart before” which is a perfect continuation of the previous scene: JGY paints NMJ as unreasonable, and himself as selfless and accommodating. Oh, and of course makes LXC say “No-no of course I didn’t mean you were evil!!” I also continue to feel like I’m the one stabbed in the heart by their sad smiles, when they both know something is ending but can’t or won’t talk about it -- but I’m preaching to the choir here.

What I do want to comment on is another thing missing from the written liveblog -- on my first viewing I apparently misunderstood the conclusion of the scene. What I thought was happening: JGY did proceed to enact the plan he described; the “old, weak, women, and children” he offers to send to Qiongqi Path were sent there, and were the same group of people later rescued by WWX and led to Burial Mounds; the small group of people JGY had with him under arrest are “those who really had a hand in the bloodshed” whom he openly proposes to execute, to which LXC agrees; and the twist at the end is that he relished in overseeing or even performing the execution himself, seemingly in a very brutal way. 

But according to this analysis, which I trust, JGY immediately broke his word and executed the innocent prisoners that he promised to only imprison. This would definitely make more sense for the drama of the scene and the meaningful look JGS gives him... But there were only few people under arrest in this scene, and none seemed too old or too young, and where in this case did the Wen remnants of the Qiongqi Path who latter committed the Burial Mounds exodus come from?

[Episodes 4&10]

#the untamed #jin guangyao #nie mingjue #lan xichen #jgyreliveblog #this has been sitting in my drafts for like a month for no real reason #so some of these points may have been addressed by things i've written or reblogged since then #i had to take out the external link to the mdzs chapter so that the post could show up in the tag #sorry about that

[lotus-mirage]

untamed ep.45 liveblog

right! back to accusations.

Where did he get the presumably incriminating papers from?

Oh, wait, seriously? He found them then?

If Su She still has powers, then why was he bleeding?

That’s one way to ruin the circle, I guess.

Of course he can teleport.

Three cheers for Wen Ning holding the line outside.

He’s giving him Zidian! :,D

He didn’t take it!?

I’m surprised the other disciples aren’t helping out

...what’s WWX up to now

That’s probably not good

Oh, the blood pool! I forgot about that.

It’s always really funny to me when you can see who forgot their contact lenses.

The disciples are making faces at each other and I think that’s funny

Awww, Lan Sizhui is going back for them!

WWX collapses a lot, huh.

Awwwww!!!! Does WWX know??

They’re so scared of Wen Ning and I don’t know if that’s funny or sad

!!!!!!!

Wen Ning figured out who Lan Sizhui is!!!!

Awwwwwwwww

:,D

!!!! He’s got a butterfly toy for him

Ahhhhhhhhhh

It’s so sweet

Understandable that Jin Ling is very very wary of that specific action but also Wen Ning in general

Wow I’d forgotten that the other boats hadn’t all left yet

:,(

Okay jeez the bit about Jin Zixuan’s sword, ow

didn’t need to show the bit of the guy dying, I remember thank you

:,(

Awww, Jiang Cheng is concerned

these children

:,(

Wow Lotus Pier is so pretty at night

I’m not entirely sure, but Jiang Cheng turning his back on them/letting them in should be a step in the right direction. Hopefully.

Awww, Lan Sizhui’s offering to keen him company?

He remembers!?

This song is either a variation of the Lotus Pier theme or something similar, but it’s making me melancholic either way

Were they waiting for Jiang Cheng’s invitation to enter?

So what’s up with these ladies? How did they know about the wounded people?

Those scars don’t look to bad to me, at least. That experience, on the other hand, sounds awful.

Xue Yang?????????

That’s certainly not a good sign, but ???

Jin Guangyao is here too? Oh dear. I’m. I’m going to assume that the rest of these women are dead, then.

Yikes

Uhhhhhhh

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Yikes

Some sort of revenge scheme, clearly

They are all dead, then.

Wait is there another thing to hear about? The other lady hasn’t said anything.

To do with Jin Guangyao’s wife, then? Uh oh.

This is a lot of lead up

They were what

They. And the mother didn’t say anything!!!???

I. Ugh.

Ugh. Jin Guangshan is the source of way too many problems, it seems.

And is an all-around awful person as well! Even more terrible than he seemed at first!!!

I think he died too easily, and should have gone out much more painfully with absolutely no innocent bystanders being used as props and then killed! I could get behind Meng Yao for that one.

Yeah Jin Guangyao is still awful but this bit could have been avoided

Wow, for once I agree with the assessment of that one idiot clan leader, even if for slightly different reasons.

End notes:

Well. Um. Great.

Death and scandals up the wazoo.

I’m just gonna. Shove that off to the side for now.

Lan Sizhui!!!!!! I’m so happy with everything going on with him this episode. Every interaction is just. My heart, awwww.

Jin Ling has had a Rough Day.

Jiang Cheng is still being aggressive towards Wei Wuxian, but it seems to have toned down a bit? I hope they reconcile a little - he’s admittedly my favorite of the main cast.

#the untamed #mdzs #untamed liveblog #my thoughts

[seekingthestars]

sarah watches the untamed: liveblogging adventures, part seventeen episodes 31, 32, + 33

(aka: everything hurts.)

okay i’ve had snacks and put in eye drops so let’s see if we can make it through the rest of flashback before my eyes revolt!!

episode 31:

i don’t think i’ve mentioned it before but i like however it is they do zixuan’s hair, with the little braid-thingie on the top in the middle, it’s nice n_n

the lotus look so pretty in their Burial Mounds home!!!!

look seriously wuxian in the Burial Mounds with the remnants of the Wen clan (especially lil Yuan) is just so cute, he’s so relaxed, having fun with his lotus, wwx is a GOOD BOY.

WANGJI’S LETTER IS SO SHORT HAHAHA idk why but i am amused

okay first of all the scene with Yanli and Zixuan and Baby Jin Ling is adorable and Yanli looks so happy, but also i verbally squeaked out “OH MY GOD” like four times at this face HE LOOKS SO HAPPY, IS THIS THE FIRST TIME WE’VE EVER SEEN HIM SMILE SO BIG? OMG T_______T

lol at these people gossiping and basically being like “uh Zixuan wouldn’t let the celebration be anything less than over-the-top grand” HE IS A PROUD PAPA :’D

ohhhh Wuxian made a special special present for baby Jin Ling!!

uh oh spooky music :(

HOLY SHIT AT WEN NING GRABBING THAT ARROW OUT OF THIN AIR 

but OF COURSE IT HAS TO BE UPPITY JIN THE ASS ugh i wish he would go away

oh dang baby wen ning snapped into Feisty Attack Mode :o

UPPITY JIN, GIVE THE BRACELET BACK >.<

THANK YOU FOR TELLING YOUR UPPITY COUSIN TO SHUT UP, ZIXUAN!!!!!!!!!!!

zixun smashed the bracelet wuxian worked on for a MONTH and i audibly gasped he is an ASSHOLE and he deserves this stupid curse

WEN NING WHAT NO

ohmygodohmygodohmygodwhatnonononononono

yanli being so devastated makes this hurt even more i’m sad

all of this hurts so much, i was not prepared for this much pain, i’m SAD

i’m so distressed

omg no everybody went

first wuxian gets his family taken away, then becomes an outcast that everyone hates, then gets his found family taken away from him too, i’m so depressed about everything, this turned so bad so fast ;nnnnnnnn;

and i keep thinking about how happy zixuan was (i took scrEEN SHOTS OF HIS HAPPY FACE) and how excited wuxian was to meet his nephew and i’m so SAD, my eyes are watering ;n;

okay guess we’ll move forward to what will be yet more pain, i’m sure ;; episode 32:

have i mentioned that this hurts bc everything about this h u r t s

wwx alone in the forest crying and hallucinating yanli and being tormented by voices hurts

look i gotta find my joy where i can and i think it’s funny that all these people are talking so bad about wwx but can’t freaking tell he’s standing right behind them but also them saying wen ning and wen qing have been burned to ashes makes it STILL SAD

xichen’s little head shake when jin clan leader scattered wen ning and wen qing’s ashes and everyone starts chanting ‘great’ ;;;; 

oh my god i HATE THIS GUY “even if you were attacked first and zixun had every intent to kill you, you shouldn’t have been brutal and killed someone back! murder is okay but only when we do it!” like dude. DUDE. YOU SUCK.

honestly shout out to wuxian for calling this freaking dude out on his hypocrisy and being like “oh so y’all can kill me whenever you want, but i can’t defend myself? cool story bro, you’re a dick.”

tbh i don’t remember who this guy is, just some minor clan leader or something, but he irritates me so much i hope he dies somewhere >.>

wx crying and laughing at the same time hurts

meng yao smiling when jin clan leader says they can’t let wx leave alive gives me mild chills, why is squish like this, he keeps doing little things that make me nervous

the way the spooky black smoke/spirits (?) don’t attack jiang cheng/his clan ;; i don’t care what anyone says, wx is good boy at heart ;; (also love how they’re like ‘quick huddle together like penguins!! they’re not attacking us? cool let’s just....stay in huddle. no need to break huddle and help anyone else. stay in huddle. huddle good.’)

wangji!

wangji pleading for him to stop, MY HEART IS GOING TO BREAK

oh god yanli no no no, go back no no no

there’s...another flute player??? oh NO

it’s honestly impressive that xichen can fight in that thick overcoat with the super sleeves and he’s so fluid while fighting too (we distract from the sad in any way we can okay thx)

YANLI NOOOOOOOO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOO

fyi it’s hard to read subtitles through your literal actual tears

i’m in pain okay episode 33:

haha ha   ha...     ha................................

i would like a refund back to times when this show didn’t make me cry, please

WUXIAN??? coughing up blood?? DD:

wangji is distraught and so am i

“Lan Zhan. Let me go.” it hurts, this entire scene hurts

honestly the way wangji calls “Wei Ying” and the distraught look on his face just...have i mentioned that everything hurts

okay we’re flashing back to the future now, please let me see sizhui, i need his cute face and healing energy bc i have endured SO MUCH PAIN IN THE LAST COUPLE EPISODES thanks

wangji looks so different without his hair up in the little bun thing on top of his head, not bad different but so different!!!! he’s so pretty ;n;

wangji’s unconditional “yes I believe you” ;AAAAAA; <3

BUNNIES!!!!!!!!!!!

oh hello shirtless wangji

SIZHUI MY SWEET ANGEL CHILD every time i see sizhui on screen, i just kinda coo softly at him in my head, i love him

wangji’s hair piece is SO ELABORATE in the present with the front and back/side pieces, i keep staring at it

wuxian and sizhui chit chat time!!

XUE YANG ohhhh they’ve got an idea

sizhui’s lil baby smile at wuxian when wx’s like “heehee finally i won’t be controlled by all these rules!!!” oh sizhui, thank you for your healing energy

wangji and wuxian are so pretty i keep getting distracted and missing part of the subtitles so then i gotta rewind constantly i am a MESS

WUXIAN BEING SO OFFENDED OVER HOW BAD AND INACCURATE THE PORTRAITS OF THE YILING PATRIARCH ARE HAHAHAHAHA 

hi jin ling!

“he learned all of his father/uncle’s defects and none of his mother’s strengths” HAHAHAHA

i shouldn’t laugh but the FACES WUXIAN MADE when the pupper showed up XDDDDD also Fairy is such a cute pupper omg!!!!!!!

#sarah watches the untamed #sarah watches #ep 31 and 32 are very depressing #and ep 33 STARTS very depressing #so honestly i'm super grateful the rest of ep 33 is fairly lighthearted in comparison lol #okay now i need to rewatch the first two episodes so i can remember what's actually going on in the present day timeline #bc tbh i forgot half of it #it's been a hot minute and i was SUPER CONFUSED when i first watched anyway HAHAHA #also i was going back and looking at some of my past liveblog adventures #and i think it's hilarious how much more i ramble now #like all the dumb thoughts that pop into my head show up in their original form now #oops

[sleepymarmot]

Re-liveblog: eps. 4 & 10

Here's something I've been planning to do for a while -- rereading the liveblog of The Untamed I wrote a couple of months ago and looking at my own initial reactions to Jin Guangyao's storyline with new eyes. Returning to old liveblogs is always fun, but particularly when the perspective on something changes so much by the end of the story!

Of course, this turned into a monstrosity with word count in thousands that sat in my drafts for about a month, and involved rewatching most of the scenes the liveblog mentioned, and some that it didn't. Please be warned: this series of posts is not meant to be a comprehensive analysis, and will jump from one point to another or highlight only the things I have changed my mind about, or haven’t talked on this blog before. It is going to include some very personal interpretations and opinions, sometimes possibly (or definitely, in the case of this very post) unpopular or negative. I am here to reflect on my own experience of watching the show almost as much as to write meta about the show itself.

[All re-liveblog posts]

[ep 4]

is this shy illegitimate son the same person who summoned WWX in the first episode, or are they two entirely unrelated bastards? I don’t think the ages match up…

Oh, so that's what I was thinking during Meng Yao's introduction scene: trying to figure out whether he was the same person as Mo Xuanyu or not. That's funny.

[negativity ahead!]

Of course, I was also admiring Xichen's elegant way of Using His Privilege For Good, but I thought that was self-explanatory enough not to put in the liveblog. It didn’t occur to me this scene could be interpreted as a sect leader openly hitting on a disadvantaged youth, or that such an interpretation would be popular, especially in a literal and positive way as opposed to a dark or subversive headcanon. So even if this is ever confirmed to be an intended message of the scene, I’d just say “I recognize the council has made a decision...” and continue to disregard it. Kind of incredible how it manages to squick me in at least five ways -- and xiayo is one of my main ships in this fandom! And not only squick -- in my eyes, sexualizing LXC’s intentions in this scene not only adds something that I don’t like, but actively detracts from the textual, surface meaning and narrative function of LXC’s actions (establishing LXC as a Model Authority Figure who masterfully manipulates the social power dynamics not for self-interest, but for justice, kindness, and peaceful conflict resolution; see also the following scene with the Wens). And from the other side, I think Meng Yao is shocked and impressed specifically because someone like LXC would do this for someone like him without an ulterior motive; I suspect that if he saw this as LXC making an excuse to touch someone attractive, he would only be turned off: a sect leader who can’t keep his hands to himself is nothing new and nothing good from the point of view of JGS’s illegitimate child.

But if this brief brushing of hands holds any in-universe significance in addition to a possible foreshadowing of this relationship’s future importance -- I think I just finally realized what it must be! This interaction is an adaptation of the following scene from the book (which, to be fair, happens when MY and LXC already know each other, not during a first meeting):

Meng Yao had been a famous joke for a certain period of time, which was why a few recognized him. Likely thinking that the son of a prostitute perhaps also carried some unclean things with him, the cultivators didn’t drink from the cups that he had presented with both hands. Instead, they put the cups to the side and even took out white handkerchiefs. As though it felt too uncomfortable, they repeatedly wiped the fingers that they’d touched the teacup with, either intentionally or not. Nie MingJue wasn’t someone mindful to such things. Wei WuXian, though, caught sight of this through the corners of his eyes. Meng Yao acted as if he didn’t see anything, his smile unfaltering as he continued to pass around tea.

As Lan XiChen accepted his cup, he looked up at him and smiled, “Thank you.”

He drank a sip of the tea immediately afterward. Only then did he continue to converse with Nie MingJue. A few cultivators began to feel uneasy as they saw the scene.

(Chapter 48)

So CQL!Meng Yao’s eyebrows twitch in pleased surprise because the sect leader not only personally approached to verbally support him, but took something directly from his hands, not even trying to avoid him or flinching at skin contact. As if it didn’t even occur to the majestic Zewu-jun to think of Meng Yao as dirty or disgusting.

I don’t know if this is an intended interpretation either, because I don’t remember anyone specifically avoiding physical contact with MY in the show, and on the contrary, there were examples of both friendly (from Huaisang) and unfriendly (from the commander) touch. But I certainly prefer it to the other interpretation, and ignoring the interaction altogether seems a bit intellectually dishonest.

[/negativity]

On another note, much is said about JGY’s performativity, but check out LXC’s! Someone’s being bullied in his classroom? Not on his watch! Time to descend from his pedestal like truth coming out of her well, Very Pointedly and at length explain how this person Has His Official And Personal Approval And Is Very Welcome Here, then take the gift from him personally instead of letting a disciple do that. Note how in the following scene, he also personally accepts the gift from Wen Qing as a peacemaking gesture. I love how LXC’s character establishing event is about defusing not one but two uncomfortable situations in a row. Of the two brothers, all social skills went to him...

I have no comment on the goodbye scene. Just sadness.

Oh wait, after rewatching the entire show and coming back to the post, I do have something to say. This episode is the only time I can say with all certainty that all of Meng Yao’s words and reactions are fully sincere. After this point in the timeline, it will never happen again. :(

It’s a shame that the gifs I’ve seen of this scene end with the iconic stopped bow, because the final shots are also great! As soon as MY turns away, his face becomes clouded again, and seconds after the Sect Leader himself held his arms and assured they were peers, he felt the need to bow and lower his eyes as some unnamed disciples walked by. And the bitter look he sends after them tells the viewer how much he is aware of falling from the dreamland where a nobleman would compliment him like three times within three minutes, back to the regular life where it is better not to be noticed at all. Meanwhile, Xichen looks him in the back like “I want it to grow strong and healthy, I want to tell my friends and neighbors about it”.

[ep 10]

Alright, when 10 minutes ago I thought “Meng Yao, sweetie, kill that clown”, this is not what I had in mind

SOMEBODY GIVE MENG YAO A HUG (after some emergency medical care) HE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG IN HIS LIFE. Can Xichen adopt him now?

Ah, the joys of the first viewing. 

At this point, I was thinking of both Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue exclusively as of father figures for Meng Yao. For LXC I think I slowly started to notice the romantic tension later but made a complete flip to the romantic interpretation only during the "late light talks... no sign of curse on his body" conversation. For NMJ it was during the head flashback. And as much as I like these pairings, it does feel like a loss that their existence displaces the very different pseudo-family dynamic. I think a story in which NMJ, LXC, WRH and JGS are all openly presented as competing father figures would be interesting; has anyone written that?

On rewatch, I was outraged by all of the blatant manipulation that I bought completely on the first viewing. MY is very good at playing a wounded bird -- especially when he's literally wounded. I had wondered why he just limped away without treating it, but now it's obvious he is using Stoic Suffering to invoke pity and admiration. Just like, a few minutes earlier, he showed NMJ that he was ready to be struck down, and it saved his life. He tells NHS with a sad but brave face “I won't be able to take care of you anymore” and on first viewing it worked on me just as he intended -- I thought “Poor boy, so trained to serve, he puts his duty to others above his own feelings even in this situation”. Ha...

And NMJ is only helping his case. He had the chance to explain everything and share the truth of MY's actions. And in the novel, he does take this chance, retelling the incident to Xichen (who chooses to turn a blind eye). Instead, NMJ basically confirms MY’s narrative: by hiding the reason for the exile, he makes it seem like there was no respectable reason at all. NMJ, all by himself, makes himself look like an irrational tyrant, and MY like a victim of an arbitrariness. And he does it in front of Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, no less -- an heir to a major clan and his brother! By trying not to discuss internal problems with outsiders, he achieves an opposite effect. Luckily for him, JC and WWX don't give a shit... But imagine how different the plot would be if they had this information from the start?

What I still don't understand is -- what was Meng Yao’s plan in this episode? Who was he working for? Who was his accomplice, whose feet we saw in the later flasback -- surely not Xue Yang himself, he’s supposed to be under arrest! Was he working with the Jin secretly already? (I don’t think so: in a later scene, JGS asks him about this incident, seemingly ignorant.) Or with the Wen (I don't remember -- did Xue Yang go back to the Wen afterwards)? Or just with Xue Yang directly, setting him completely free just on the promise of future cooperation? This seems most plausible -- but to risk and lose everything over such an uncertain gamble doesn’t make MY look very smart.

I have some other things to say about the events of this episode, but they’ll be in the post about the flashbacks in episode 41.

#the untamed #jin guangyao #lan xichen #nie mingjue #blah blah blah #jgyreliveblog #starting with a risky one likely to alienate most of potential readers

[sleepymarmot]

The Untamed liveblog, eps. 33-38

Didn’t post a liveblog yesterday to avoid possible spoilers in the replies, so here it is now.

33

Before I proceed, here are my guesses as to the identity of the mysterious flute player: 1) Guangyao, the most obvious candidate 2) Xue Yang 3) idk, a new character 4) Guangyao is a red herring. The real villain is Nie Huaisang because that's funny

Relieved that WWX experienced the 16 years too. I was afraid he was regained consiousness straight from the moment of his "death" of whatever it was, so LWJ would be 16 years older with him which would have made the romance VERY awkward.

The room scene is beautiful, but one thing I particularly appreciate about it is that finally, probably for the first time in the show, these two are allowed time alone together in safety and relative privacy, and the scene can organically develop into a tender private moment that isn't for the camera to see or show.

"I must not reveal my identity" says WWX, who is dressed almost exactly like 16 years ago

Oh god I still can't tell apart the two young Lan disciples.

Switched to the subtitles from Viki. Unfortunately, they need to be resynced manually every time, and that, for some reason, messes up the file's internal subtitles. Ah well, I don't know Chinese anyway, and now the English subtitles actually say accurately what the characters call each other.

34

Feeling both represented by WWX's dog phobia and offended that it's a running joke

Oh "cool", another casual mention of supposedly likeable characters brutally beating their children :/

god, JC is really shitty at leading/parenting. "I'll break your leg", really?

"With my uncle's character, he would rather catch the wrong one than let the right one go." And execute the wrong one? Yikes

35

Wait, are you telling me NHS is a baddie for real lfmao

Aw, the fan scene is cute

Oh, so the first time we see Guangyao again is in a flashback about the mysterious death of the clan Nie leader. How convenient.

36

Stop! Making! Flasbacks! To the fucking Nonconsensual Alcohol scene! I am trying to ignore its existence! Why did you have to tarnish the current scene, very endearing by itself, with its presence?

Gasped IRL when Wen Ning's silhouette appeared. Good job writers!

Ouch, that looks painful

Oh, so the siblings weren't killed? That makes sense, if you pretend to spread their ashes on the wind, you don't need to show the bodies. Hopefully Qing survived too, but I wouldn’t expect much towards a female character from this series... Killed off the only two women, now we’re in No Woman’s Land comfortably and forever I presume

And here I thought WWX was actually going to apologize to Ning for treating him like a thing or a slave, now that he unexpectedly has a new opportunity to do so!

I'm assuming the chicken are a wedding gift joke?

WWX got so disctracted by the drunk LWJ he completely forgot about Ning smh

Maybe now it finally occurs to WWX to ask about his son...

Loving every look at how the common people interpret and interact with the epic history he participated in

I want to meet more of the recurring characters, but on the other hand: ghost town and WWX leading a field trip for a bunch of teenagers!

37

This show is too multi-faceted. I'm constantly going "This is my favorite part of the show: the sweet romance. No, this is my favorite: the ghosts and WWX being a cool necromancer. No, this is my favorite: the family drama. No, this is my favorite: clan politics. No, this is my favorite: WWX with kids." and it just keeps going in circles.

Aww, the kid thinking WWX is like LWJ because they're both competent leaders who make others feel safe*

And now it's an action movie where the hero and the villain exchange a whole spiral of "No, I outsmarted you first" and drop one-liners every minute. Hilarious

The kids watching two zombies punch each other through a window like a football match on TV, I'm crying

Kids: "Don't you think Light Bearing Lord is good?" WWX internally, with a dreamy smile on his face: "Haha what they're asking ME if I think the love of my life is 'good'? How would it even be possible to less than utterly admire someone who is so graceful, skillful, protective, just, kind, beautiful... Oh wait are they still waiting for an answer"

* Added after the episode: If this kid is actually Yuan and he feels this way because they're both his dads I'm gonna scream I WENT BACK TO EPISODE 1 AND THE SUBTITLE SAYS 'LAN YUAN'. TIME TO SCREAM I GUESS. I KNEW THIS NAME COMBINATION SOUNDED FAMILIAR Did LJW get beaten for bringing him in, then? Did he spend the first three years raising him? I checked the subtitles and the name Yuan is written with different characters but that's probably fine? I doubt LWJ ever asked WWX how his son's name was written, or even if he knew, he could have wanted to protect the kid's identity - he's Lan and not Wen, after all If this is true then WWX has the funniest and most valid excuse for being an absent father. Sorry I missed your entire childhood and adolescence, kid, I was literally dead the whole time But also, if this is true, why didn't LWJ bring it up immediately DAMMIT I WAS PLANNING TO GO TO BED AND NOW I WANT TO SEE THE FAMILY REUNION ASAP God, in the light of this, the silence spell scene in ep 2 becomes even funnier. The more I know about these characters, the better it becomes. LWJ's silent stare at JC, apparently, meant "Look how well I raised WWX's son. Must I also raise his nephew, since you are clearly unfit for the job?" Involving kids, especially other people's, in your powerplays is shitty, but the scene is fucking hilarious. Anyways if this ends up being a giant coincidence and the kid is given so much focus for no or some other reason you're NOT allowed to laugh at this paragraph

38

God, this feels like... idk any Celebrimbor/Annatar fanfic lmao. I'm in pain. Let me guess, people write very painful fics about these two right. Fuck. I'm 21 minutes in, is this going to last the entire episode aaaaaaa

Fuck. Well how am I supposed to sleep after this. This episode didn't even make me cry once, it's not that type of bad thing. And not the type where something is so brutal I shield my mind because I prefer to pretend that level of pain can't exist. It's just diabolically designed to be maximally fucked up.

#the untamed #blah blah blah