The Untamed

[rogueslayer452]

You know those shows that you saw in passing when it came out initially, everyone was gushing over it, but it didn't capture your attention at the time until somehow, suddenly, one day your curiosity gets the better of you and you sit down and start watching and then get sucked in completely? Yeah, that has been me with The Untamed over the last few weeks. I have become quite immersed with the show and I absolutely love it.

The Untamed is a live-action Chinese historical fantasy drama that is an adaptation of a novel, Mo Dao Zu Shi, that was released last year in China and is now available on Netflix. It has fifty episodes total.

I only vaguely knew some aspects about it initially, and I kept wondering whether or not the show actually was gay that people were saying or if it was just merely exaggerated through fandom interpretation. But I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it is, in fact, actually truly gay. It is based off of the novel which is absolutely 100% explicitly gay (it's a BL novel, after all), but due to censorship laws in China the live-action could not do that so instead they made it subtext, but it was very deliberately done subtext. It's a clever way of getting around the censorship without sacrificing much of the importance of the relationship between the two main characters, and trust me there are a lot of suggestive scenes that weren't subtle at all (just read the TV Tropes page for examples). This is why there's a difference between queerbaiting, subjective subtext, and intentional subtext, and The Untamed does the latter incredibly well to the point where even some fans of MDZS say that they preferred the subtext, and I can understand why after watching it. Sure, we don't get the explicit nature of their relationship as it's presented in the original novel, but it is still heavily implied through the way scenes are filmed, framed and presented.

The show as a whole is filled with a lot of interesting stuff besides that, of course, political intrigue and a mystery to be solved and tons of complicated and complex characters with equally complicated relationships with other characters, and it gets emotional, so painfully emotional and heart-wrenching and tense that sometimes you do need a breather because as lighthearted and silly as it gets, it cuts through the heart deep in other moments.

So yeah, I'm really deep into this show.

I definitely ship Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian (the main characters, the main focus and the main relationship of the show), but I'm also Xue Yang/Xiao Xingchen trash as well because the Yi City Arc utterly and completely destroyed me in the best and worst possible way. Lan Wangji and Xue Yang are my favorite characters. The theme song has been stuck in my head. I'm obsessed.

Comments

[icecoldrain.livejournal.com]

I wanted to watch it last year but it wasn't subbed yet and then when the shutdown started, one of my friends discovered it got a sub AND it was on netflix so we spent the shutdown inhaling the show. IT IS SO GOOD.

I read the book as well and ngl I'm really excited they were able to get as much gay subtext into the show as they could. Like they shot the show (you can see this in the BTS) as they were lovers and there's little extra things that you'll only catch if you read the book (like when their lips are swollen and jacked from making out but they couldn't have that on screen so they just... had them bite their lips before filming scenes that occur after kissing happens). But yeah. The show is really damn good. The book is really damn good. I can't wait to rewatch the show. It's def among the few shows that I'll be rewatching every so often.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It really is so fucking good, and you just get sucked into the story and instantly you're hooked. ;D

I'm also happy that they managed to get as much gay subtext into the show as they could without getting banned, because when I was doing more research (the behind-the-scenes stuff) it's clear that they were intending it to be very much like the novel, but because of censorship had to dial it back, at least in the explicit area, but they kept much of the subtext which says a lot more than it actually being explicit. And it works, it really works. There are so many scenes that are framed so romantically that I felt myself blushing at times. I haven't read the novel for myself yet, but I know that I will eventually. :)

[icecoldrain.livejournal.com]

Yesssss. They had me and my friend before the end of the first episode. We were like, we must inhale the episodes.

Yesssss. Same here! I just finished a different bl not long ago called Guardian and that show, which was a web show, got pulled twice due to the gay subtext being too gay and they had to edit it down both times to get it back up. It explained why the subs were a bit behind on a couple episodes because it was just edited and then the subs weren't edited to sync back up lol.

OMG the novel is so good. There is some uh questionable stuff (you'll know what I'm talking about when you get there but it's mostly toward the end of the book) that make you go, say what again?! But otherwise the book CLAPS. They def kept the essence of the book while doing the live action. The anime... did not. The story is so watered down that they legit barely even graze something as simple as basic characterization. If I watched that first I'd be like, idk about this story guys lol.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was warned about the questionable bits in the novel. But other than that I've heard nothing but good things about it, and how the live-action show does an excellent job with translating the story onto the screen, from the characters and their relationships to the plot. So it makes me excited when I start reading it.

[sarren.livejournal.com]

I am going to have to read the book, STAT, cos I did not realise there was supposed to have been KISSING. I just thought it was all UST and longing and then regrets...

[icecoldrain.livejournal.com]

YES. There's def kissing and smut later in the book.

[sarren.livejournal.com]

Sorry, wasn't clear. I knew they get together in the book, yay. I meant I didn't that they were supposed to have been kissing in the show version as well. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

[icecoldrain.livejournal.com]

OH LOL! Don't worry about it! Sometimes it seems clear but then in text it turns out it wasn't lmao. We've all been there!

[haebin.livejournal.com]

Wait, what, 'The Untamed' is available at Netflix? O_O I have some friends who are absolutely in Love with it and I thought about watching it, too. All the pictures and the gifs I saw are awesome.
I am so excited. :D

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yep! :D And I know what you mean, I casually saw pictures/gifs floating by for months but thought nothing of it, but now that I've seen it I'm like, "oh, I get it now", heh.

Have fun. ;)

[nemophilist.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I'm intrigued.

I actually had this book on my list and forgot about it! Now off to get invested ...

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

The show is really, very good. I haven't read the novel that it's based on yet, but I know bits and pieces of the things that happen in it (in comparison to the show adaptation). Also, the novel has had other adaptations in the form of an audio drama and an animated show. It's quite popular, and with good reason. :)

[awakenyourfaith.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a fascinating show!

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

It sounds very good.

This reminds me, I watched Miss Sherlock recently, which you posted about a while ago, via my free trial of HBO Max (30 days rather than the usual 7 because I got a code with my purchase of the Doctor Who Series 12 Blu-Ray set from BestBuy) and really enjoyed it. This is definitely my favorite iteration of Sherlock Holmes. The music is earwormy too. And then in a bizarre coincidence, just the very next day after I finished the series was when Yūko Takeuchi died. It's so sad.
.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked Miss Sherlock.

When I read the news that she died, I was shocked and saddened. :(

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

It's a great show. I'm just sorry it was a oner.

I found out from my Dad reading the news. I could hardly believe it.

[eowyn.livejournal.com]

That show sounds really interesting! I'll have to add it to the list to watch. :)

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I definitely don't do the show justice by my simple description, since the story in itself is compelling with complex characters and plot, moral dilemmas about right and wrong, and it's very much a character-driven and emotionally charged story. The earlier episodes is what fans call a "conga line of pain" because of how emotionally painful it can become (and believe me, even when I was told this I wasn't at all prepared for how much my heart would hurt), but payoff and the way it all wraps up in the end makes it totally worth it. :)

[blakmagjick]

I need more gay TV in my life...I should check this out...even tho it wasn't on my radar before at all.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It's definitely one of those shows that you probably wouldn't know of unless you are following the right people, and once you become aware of it and delve in deeper you're legitimately (and pleasantly) surprised with how popular it is.

At its core, The Untamed is a love story. In multiple ways, from romantic love to familial love and friendships. The main focus is the relationship between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, they are the driving force of the whole thing and like I mentioned in the post, while not explicit they aren't subtle either. Everyone involved with making the show knew that they were filming a love story and framed it as such, and it's beautiful. So yeah, I definitely recommend it. Obviously. :)

[sarren.livejournal.com]

The Untamed is my LIFE atm, am reading ALL THE FIC, and pimping it to friends, up to ep 43 with 1 friend, and ep 8 with another \o/

I'm not usually particularly into AUs but there's so many forks in the road stuff especially for Wei Ying and Meng Yao, I'm really enjoying exploring all the world building in those and how the entire plot changes because of certain actions happening differently.

OTT villains don't do it for me, but there's a couple of scenes with Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen where the actor who plays Xue Yang is playing him heartfelt and I'm like, oh, the actor can act, ok.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I haven't delved into fanfic just yet, but I know I'm going to eventually. I'm just currently looking at all the pretty artwork and gifset that people have made, and fanvids.

God, everything with Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen's scenes was just absolutely phenomenal. Like, before I was even considering watching the show I saw pics/gifs of Xue Yang and instantly I knew that this character was going to be a villain who was just having fun, so I was excited to see that. What I wasn't expecting was everything involving the Yi City Arc. That? Totally blindsided me. His performance there was so heartfelt and gut-wrenching, I was like, taken aback. That whole arc stuck with me for a long, long time after that. I still think about it (and in a way I wished it had been a bit longer, because I wanted so much more of it). It's why Xue Yang became one of my favorite characters, because I love complex characters and he is just so interesting, and I love the way the actor portrays him.

[batmarg.livejournal.com]

That show is absolutely on my list.
I've watched the first ep and enjoyed it, but I am apt to multitask while I watch tv and its subtitled. Maybe I'll get a free weekend to dive in. It's really gorgeous to look at.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this is definitely one of those shows, because it's subtitled, that I would recommend to people only when they have time available to sit down and watch without multitasking. Aside from that, there are definitely things that you don't want to miss when watching, so you gotta pay attention the entire time.

But it's absolutely worth it, because it's quite an emotional journey, and yes, it is a very beautiful show. The costumes especially are just top-notch gorgeous, and everyone is just so pretty in general.