The Untamed episode 29

[selenay]

The longer we get this run of "nothing actively terrible happens, look at the nice Yiling colony", the more concerned I get about what's coming and how much pain I'm about to go through.

We got the lovely dinner with LWJ and WWX, which I kind of hearts-eyed over, and then we got to see them working together again to help Wen Ning. Battle couple! I loved the way LWJ just gathers up A-Yuan's gifts and runs after WWX when the alert comes, and then grabs A-Yuan to carry him as they run to the burial mounds.

(I also legit can't decide whether LWJ knows about the golden core thing, or has just decided to be supportive and accepting of WWX's choices no matter how odd they seem.)

And they didn't need to decide a plan for Wen Ning, they just did what had to be done and each knew what their strengths were and it was lovely. Seeing Wen Ning wake up at the end of all that was perfect and I'm so relieved to see him almost normal again. It was almost as good as seeing Wen Qing finally looking happier and less stressed.

I'm starting to get a suspicion about why Wen Ning is chain-wrapped and angry in the non-flashback bit we saw at the beginning. If WWX is using the Yin Tiger Seal to help, then if WWX dies, there won't be anyone to control it and therefore keep Wen Ning's spiritual consciousness intact. Hearing LWJ bring that up and WWX blithely assuring him nothing will happen...oh, honey, you just sealed your fate right there by the laws of jinx and Chekov's gun.

I pretty much loved all the Yiling scenes (even after LWJ went home). Yup, even WWX accidentally almost blowing himself up trying to invent things. He's turning into a good leader for those people and I'm really enjoying that growth.

Also, I almost died at the Yiling Patriarch fanboys. OMG, show, I can't believe you went there, it was too perfect.

LWJ going back to Cloud Recesses and getting a fairly harsh kneeling in the snow with bamboo swords punishment seems harsh. But also...he must have known a punishment was coming and he decided that visiting WWX was worth it anyway. Awww. He didn't go there to persuade WWX to leave, it was more like he just needed to see WWX and make sure he was doing well, wasn't about to slip over to the dark side. He isn't ready to abandon his clan and live in the burial mounds with WWX, but he needed to know WWX was okay and it was worth a harsh punishment to do that.

WWX's sadness about missing Yanli's wedding was heart-breaking and I'm glad Wen Qing has called him on his drinking, I'm not the only person worried about that. He also managed to be very sad about LWJ not being around (with parallel sadness from LWJ), so that was all very satisfying to my shippy heart.

The problem is that I know this can't last, the rest of the world is moving on and gathering forces. The little farming community WWX is building, and his experiments with his own form of cultivation, can't last forever and that makes each of these scenes lovely and also sad. At some point, it's all going to crash down and he doesn't have enough people in his corner to prevent that.

Comments

[bookmonster]

Yes the Yiling farm stuff is so soothing for my soul but it is all a bit of domestic calm before the storm.

I love the meal that WWX and LZ have with A-Yuan 😊.

WWX is isolated in the burial mounds which perhaps he believed would protect them (out of sight, out of mind) but just means that he's on his own.

I can just feel the pain coming 😬

[selenay]

I love the meal that WWX and LZ have with A-Yuan 😊.

It's delightful, such a lovely dynamic between them 😍

WWX is isolated in the burial mounds which perhaps he believed would protect them (out of sight, out of mind) but just means that he's on his own.

I completely understand the logic of where he is and what he's doing. They really should be out of sight, out of mind, and WWX is doing his best to keep them that way. Except that means he's got no resources and no allies when the world doesn't forget, but I'm not sure there's actually another way he could handle it either.

[morganmuffle]

The Yiling community is so beautiful, it does always have this feeling of impending doom but one of my favourite types of fic is either written during this period or finding a way to prolong it. WWX is so idealistic STILL after everything that's happened to him he still believes if they keep their heads down they'll be okay.

And A-Yuan is both incredibly precious and apparently has the same taste in me as WWX from the way he latched on the LWJ <3

[selenay]

one of my favourite types of fic is either written during this period or finding a way to prolong it

I'm totally going to be on that fic when I finish this.

WWX is so idealistic STILL after everything that's happened to him he still believes if they keep their heads down they'll be okay.

I keep being surprised by how idealistic he still is, and then hoping that never changes because it's one of the really charming things about him. Even though it means he's keeping his head down and hoping, when it's clear to everyone else that can't work.

And A-Yuan is both incredibly precious and apparently has the same taste in me as WWX from the way he latched on the LWJ <3

A-Yuan is such a great child :D

[soupytwist]

You are developing the correct instincts for epic Chinese drama omg!

I am also not sure what I think LWJ knows/believes about the golden core thing at this point. But he does definitely get that Something Is Not Right With Wei Wuxian. And yeah, one of WWX's problems is that he underestimates how much he needs allies and overestimates how much he can or should do all by himself. He wants to be ENOUGH, and I love him for that, but honey, everybody needs help sometimes!

[selenay]

He wants to be ENOUGH, and I love him for that, but honey, everybody needs help sometimes!

I love him for it, too, and I totally understand it! Asking for help is hard and scary, because it means admitting you can't do it all and that's so difficult. I can't even criticise him for that. Except that I can see how it's going to crash down around him and that hurts.

[soupytwist]

Oh yeah WWX is ever so relatable! I think most of the main characters have that same "their flaws are believable and rooted in their characters and make way too much and haven't we all experienced something similar/also made choices that we thought were for the best at the time but which turned out to be not so much", but WWX the most.

[selenay]

That may also be why I like WWX the best? :D

I can understand and sympathise with all of them, because their flaws are believable and rooted in something real. It doesn't matter whether I've been there and experienced some of their issues or not, they feel real because their issues and flaws (and good sides) are rooted in something real.

But WWX is incredibly relatable, in ways I don't always like to think about, which makes it very hard not to love him the most.

Who dared to make me like all these characters so much. I was just here for magic and great ship, I did not expect all these feelings.