The Untamed to episode 10

[waterscroll]

I don't have a lot of deep thoughts about it yet, so just some personal reactions.


It really is very addictive. Despite having no time, I keep watching episode after episode and now somehow I'm on episode 10.

I liked Wei Wuxian a lot in the first two episodes, as a cute, bubbly, terrifying necromancer who everyone hates (apparently for good reason). I liked watching him squee over his zither-playing extra dramatic boyfriend and I really liked watching him do magic with his flute. I enjoyed him somewhat less as a bratty teenager who thinks he's too smart to learn anything, but once they got out of Cultivation Hogwarts he started growing up a little.

I understand in the novel he is extremely subby, which is relevant to my interests, but I assume we won't see any of that in the drama. I also haven't seen it that much in fic, but maybe I'm not reading the right fic.

(Speaking of fic, the tag 'no beta we die like wwx' cracks me the hell up. Because he dies immediately and dramatically and everyone except his boyfriend agrees that him being dead is good for humanity. I've never quite had an unbetaed fic of mine go down like that but there have definitely been times where I've been afraid that it might.)

Lan Wangji took a while to grow on me. I also liked him better before the flashbacks than as a perpetually bored teenager. But I'm getting used to him.

Now that I've met Xue Yang I can see why solo was worried I'd fall in love with him, he's very terrible but also cute and fun to watch. But there are lots of terrible, borderline-terrible and morally complicated characters in the show, and I didn't bond with him in particular. I did unfortunately fall for Wen Qing. I like the way she always seems to be thinking about things and making choices in her head, and I like that she has reasonable, comprehensible motivations for working with Wen Ruohan, and that she is determined to take good care of her brother. I also loved that scene where she insults Jiang Cheng to get him to punch her so she can give him info, it showed her being clever and quick-thinking and also was extremely funny. I got attached enough to her that I felt the need to look her up to see where her story arc goes, and oh no. Please tell me she gets fixit fic?

I also like Jiang Cheng but I feel like I can't really have an opinion about him until I get a better sense of where his arc is going. I mean we know he kills Wei Wuxian in the first episode, but I imagine one of the big questions of the series is going to be how he gets there and what it means.

If you've watched it, who are your favorites? Any spoilers you want to give me? I'm not avoiding spoilers at all.

Comments

[scytale]

I haven't watched, but Wen Qing sounds lovely and the timeskip mysteries sound fun!

(Speaking of fic, the tag 'no beta we die like wwx' cracks me the hell up. Because he dies immediately and dramatically and everyone except his boyfriend agrees that him being dead is good for humanity.

This is a great tag, and that extra read is hilarious.

Fire Emblem has "no beta we die like glenn", a side character who dies before the plot and whose death ends up affecting a few of the students. But it doesn't have that double meaning. Unless you need him dead for shipping purposes.

[waterscroll]

So far I think you'd like it. But I'm now on episode 12 and things are getting a lot darker and bleaker, so we'll see how it goes.

[alias_sqbr]

I adore Wen Qing. And Wen Ning. I've seen fixit fic for her! I haven't read much since it's mostly based on the Untamed, and her plot seems different enough that it won't work to fix her book fate for me.

Otherwise I think my fave is WWX himself.

He's subby in the book but it's like...he and LWJ play out rape fantasies where WWX is being bratty and LWJ 'punishes' him while he pretends to be upset about it, he's never obedient. Also WWX enthusiastically suggests they play it the other way but LWJ can't get into it, so I'd say WWX is more of a switch and it's just that LWJ is definitely not subby. Except sometimes in fic ;)

[waterscroll]

I'm a little afraid to get too attached to WWX himself, although in some ways he's the main appeal, as a woobie war criminal protagonist. But if I get too attached to him I'm likely to end up with very strong opinions about how his arc goes, so I'd rather remind myself that there are lots of good characters and chances are one will have an arc that suits my tastes.

he and LWJ play out rape fantasies where WWX is being bratty and LWJ 'punishes' him while he pretends to be upset about it

That sounded so interesting that I had to go look it up, and indeed it was. So thank you.

[alias_sqbr]

Ha, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I found this list of all the differences: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24661897

I keep being tempted to watch the Untamed for the expanded roles for the female characters but they still...all die...

[solo]

derstand in the novel he is extremely subby, which is relevant to my interests, but I assume we won't see any of that in the drama. I also haven't seen it that much in fic, but maybe I'm not reading the right fic.

Most fic that I have come across has bottom Wei Wuxian, but 'subby'... no, not really. Even in the novel, that's IMO more of a consequence of Lan Wangji being presented as much more of a yaoi-type top than he is in the drama. Also, the novel has this whole thing where Wei Wuxian is playing up the gay because he wants to chase Lan Zhan away from him, so he's a lot more sexually shameless and throwing himself at Lan Zhan than in the drama.

I prefer the drama. :)

Glad to hear about Xue Yang. Wen Qing and Wen Ning are my special honeys. ♥♥♥ There is some fixit fic for Wen Qing, and there might *cough* be a WIP somewhere in the vicinity that involves a fixit, too....

Other favourites (apart from WangXian, obvs): Jin Ling (he grows on you), and the junior Lans (Lan Sizhui & Lan Jingyi).

[waterscroll]

I think I'll have to read the novel eventually, it does sound fun.

It seems like a lot of people like Wen Qing and Wen Ning. I'm glad you're fixing things for them. I haven't really thought about Jin Ling yet but I'll look out for him.

[umadoshi]

I love both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, and my other favorites are Wen Qing, Wen Ning, Lan Sizhui, and Lan Jingyi. *^^*

[waterscroll]

Thanks! It sounds like there are a lot of fun characters.