The Untamed episodes 19 to 21
Aug. 15th, 2020 04:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenayI really need to get myself an Untamed icon or two.
On the one hand, I called it. WWX sacrificed his golden core to give Jiang Cheng one.
On the other hand, I really don’t like that I was right. THAT WAS A TERRIBLE PLAN, WEI WUXIAN.
I was expecting to get the full painful ceremony, but nope, we skipped ahead a few days. And things got so, so much worse in just a few days.
The three month skip didn’t make things any better, even though it put the Wens on the run.
These episodes are going to some very painful places right now. I’m not sure what WWX’s plan was for hiding what he’d done (I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t have one), but I’m pretty confident that going to the dark side is a terrible follow up to an awful plan.
I can’t actually decide which is worse: watching WWX try to be his old self for his family, or watching him push LWJ away. It’s an even competition.
And I’m fairly sure he’s pushing LWJ away so hard because he knows LWJ will figure out the entire thing otherwise. It’s obvious that LWJ has worked out a few things about the flute and his new way of cultivating and it won’t take much for him to work out the rest of it. The ending of episode 21 left me deeply worried, because whatever the outcome of their confrontation is, it can’t be good.
I’m continually amazed by how much emotion Wang Yibo puts into LWJ’s face with minuscule expression changes. It shouldn’t be possible to say so much with so little, but he manages it.
I’m torn about Wen Chao’s end. He clearly deserved punishment, he did awful things to a lot of people and sent WWX on the path he’s on by throwing him into the Burial Mounds. On the other hand, the destruction of his base and pursuit was horrific, and knowing it was WWX somehow makes it worse. The slow reveal of WWX with his flute orchestrating it all was beautifully done and quite harrowing.
I miss my light-hearted labrador chaos gremlin.
He’s trying to pretend to be that person to his family, but it isn’t working. He’s trying to reproduce the memory of how he used to be, but he isn’t that person any more so it feels slightly off. There’s a yawning hole of darkness inside him, and he can’t tell anyone why because then he’d have to explain too many things and he still values their happiness and safety over his own.
LWJ’s entrance to the Wen education stronghold was great, I loved it. And his immediate “Where is Wei Wuxian?” was good for my shippy heart, as was the part where he took WWX’s sword (with a tiny heartbroken expression) rather than Jiang Cheng. So much was happening there, it was wonderful and painful all at once. And that whole reunion scene between WWX, LWJ, and Jiang Cheng was amazing.
Episode 20 was so, so good, everyone. Painful, but very good.
Episode 21 was painful in all sorts of different ways and I’m going to need episode 22 today.
I remain slightly confused about how WWX had the Yin metal bit in his pouch when he fell into the Burial Mounds. And also about how the scary sword from the Tortoise of Slaughter got there. Are there details here that I missed? Did something get cut that would have explained all that?
When I started this, I genuinely didn’t expect to get quite this emotionally invested. I’m not sure why, after watching so many friends fall to it, but I somehow thought that because it had a huge cast and it had such a different setting from most of my shows I’d somehow be immune to falling for it. Nope, apparently I’m just like the rest of you: hopelessly invested and getting increasingly unable to cope with what’s happening.
Even getting reassurance that some of my favs who have been absent for a while (Lan Xichen, Nie Huaisang) are okay hasn’t helped. Possibly because WWX has become my top favourite and everything is terrible for him and only getting worse.
It’s okay, I didn’t need my heart. Wasn’t using it for anything important or anything.
I’ll just be over here, reading a zombie apocalypse AU Fic nove for the other fandom/pairing that’s stolen my heart lately. I’m sure *that* won’t be at all distressing.
On the one hand, I called it. WWX sacrificed his golden core to give Jiang Cheng one.
On the other hand, I really don’t like that I was right. THAT WAS A TERRIBLE PLAN, WEI WUXIAN.
I was expecting to get the full painful ceremony, but nope, we skipped ahead a few days. And things got so, so much worse in just a few days.
The three month skip didn’t make things any better, even though it put the Wens on the run.
These episodes are going to some very painful places right now. I’m not sure what WWX’s plan was for hiding what he’d done (I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t have one), but I’m pretty confident that going to the dark side is a terrible follow up to an awful plan.
I can’t actually decide which is worse: watching WWX try to be his old self for his family, or watching him push LWJ away. It’s an even competition.
And I’m fairly sure he’s pushing LWJ away so hard because he knows LWJ will figure out the entire thing otherwise. It’s obvious that LWJ has worked out a few things about the flute and his new way of cultivating and it won’t take much for him to work out the rest of it. The ending of episode 21 left me deeply worried, because whatever the outcome of their confrontation is, it can’t be good.
I’m continually amazed by how much emotion Wang Yibo puts into LWJ’s face with minuscule expression changes. It shouldn’t be possible to say so much with so little, but he manages it.
I’m torn about Wen Chao’s end. He clearly deserved punishment, he did awful things to a lot of people and sent WWX on the path he’s on by throwing him into the Burial Mounds. On the other hand, the destruction of his base and pursuit was horrific, and knowing it was WWX somehow makes it worse. The slow reveal of WWX with his flute orchestrating it all was beautifully done and quite harrowing.
I miss my light-hearted labrador chaos gremlin.
He’s trying to pretend to be that person to his family, but it isn’t working. He’s trying to reproduce the memory of how he used to be, but he isn’t that person any more so it feels slightly off. There’s a yawning hole of darkness inside him, and he can’t tell anyone why because then he’d have to explain too many things and he still values their happiness and safety over his own.
LWJ’s entrance to the Wen education stronghold was great, I loved it. And his immediate “Where is Wei Wuxian?” was good for my shippy heart, as was the part where he took WWX’s sword (with a tiny heartbroken expression) rather than Jiang Cheng. So much was happening there, it was wonderful and painful all at once. And that whole reunion scene between WWX, LWJ, and Jiang Cheng was amazing.
Episode 20 was so, so good, everyone. Painful, but very good.
Episode 21 was painful in all sorts of different ways and I’m going to need episode 22 today.
I remain slightly confused about how WWX had the Yin metal bit in his pouch when he fell into the Burial Mounds. And also about how the scary sword from the Tortoise of Slaughter got there. Are there details here that I missed? Did something get cut that would have explained all that?
When I started this, I genuinely didn’t expect to get quite this emotionally invested. I’m not sure why, after watching so many friends fall to it, but I somehow thought that because it had a huge cast and it had such a different setting from most of my shows I’d somehow be immune to falling for it. Nope, apparently I’m just like the rest of you: hopelessly invested and getting increasingly unable to cope with what’s happening.
Even getting reassurance that some of my favs who have been absent for a while (Lan Xichen, Nie Huaisang) are okay hasn’t helped. Possibly because WWX has become my top favourite and everything is terrible for him and only getting worse.
It’s okay, I didn’t need my heart. Wasn’t using it for anything important or anything.
I’ll just be over here, reading a zombie apocalypse AU Fic nove for the other fandom/pairing that’s stolen my heart lately. I’m sure *that* won’t be at all distressing.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-15 04:43 pm (UTC)OMG I JUST FINISHED IT LAST NIGHT IT'S SO GOOD. But, yeah, very tense and I spent a lot of it very Concerned
no subject
Date: 2020-08-16 11:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-08-16 03:27 am (UTC)He does some truly incredible work.
He’s trying to pretend to be that person to his family, but it isn’t working. He’s trying to reproduce the memory of how he used to be, but he isn’t that person any more so it feels slightly off.
He's trying SO HARD. ;_;
I think it was
a zombie apocalypse AU Fic nove for the other fandom/pairing that’s stolen my heart lately. I’m sure *that* won’t be at all distressing.
So much love for that story. *^^*
no subject
Date: 2020-08-16 11:10 am (UTC)That is such an accurate description of him. And it's so painful.
So much love for that story. *^^*
I thought it might be up your street :D
I couldn't put it down yesterday and I'm having the same issue today. I'm getting so close to the end but it's so tense! And so good!