BL Drama Lovers Club

BL Challenge
Day 30: Something random about myself

I have a Notion account and have several templates I got from the marketplace full of my plans like daily habits, calendar, job tracker and such. Very helpful. I also have a monthly dashboard where I plan my days going forward and jot down what needs to be done in upcoming weeks/months. It's cool and pink.

@RXinw Thank you for the challenge! Very cool one!

The Untamed

i watched this drama because I wanted to try a xianxia drama, and their are so many fans of this particular one. Also I was curious as to what constitutes a technical bromance that passes Chinese censors but still satisfies BL fans. I have divided up my comments so only read what aspects interest you.

first, is this a BL?

until the last few episodes I would have said definitely not. The friendship depicted throughout is loyal and solid but I know of best friends who are this close and not romantic. In the last few episodes there were some moments that could be seen as more than friendship. Anyone who says it’s obviously more than friendship though is projecting based on the original being BL. I did not think it was obvious, and even went and read a bunch of comments online to understand better what other people saw. Still, I did see something in the couple because when they separated at the end I was really upset, and I had to read interpretations to make sure they did finally end up together. So I was way more invested than I realized and maybe their relationship was clearer than I thought. Still, this is a really long drama with a complicated plot, so don’t watch it if you’re not interested beyond the BL aspects. It’s way too much commitment for not enough payoff in that regard.

Is this a good show?

despite the bromance vs romance element, this was a good show overall, and really riveting at times. The actors are talented, the leads are gorgeous, and the costumes and settings add to the whole aura of beauty. 

What’s bad about period dramas?

i have watched period kdramas before and my complaints about those, despite being less episodes, are similar. Too much violence. Too much conspiring against each other. Everything revolving around fights for power. Difficult to keep track of all the characters when they look so different in period costume so I can’t just look them up. Difficult to keep track of characters when they are being called by multiple names.

regarding xianxia in particular, there was an assumption that as a viewer I knew most of the fantastical elements already and did not need the magical world explained to me. So I had to look up a lot to fill in the blanks.

what makes this a good story?

I loved all the different relationships between the characters and the ways they were affected by the relationships—good or bad—between the different clans and clan members. I also loved how different characters individual histories were brought in to explain their personalities, feelings, reactions, etc. besides the relationship between Wei wuxian and lan Zhan, I was also very moved by Wei wuxian’s relationships with his brother and sister. I also liked the story between xue yang and xingchen, although at the time it seemed tangential.

objections 

i felt liked the story had 4-5 subplots, and I liked those, but in between different sections the story sometimes got boring, especially when the characters were only talking about what was going on rather than acting it out.

there were a few important story elements that were never fully explained, such as how Wei wuxian came back to life or how huaisang was involved behind the scenes. This frustrated me.

i also found the ending unsatisfying. Too much time was spent on mengyao’s emotional fallout after being caught, while what happened after he was killed was rushed through. I understand that Wei wuxian and Lan Zhan parted ways and then came back together, but it was too subtle to be a real happy ending. Plus I would have liked to see Wei wuxian and jiang cheng reconcile more fully.

conclusion

i really enjoyed the show overall. Xiao Zhan was a joy to watch from beginning to end and has completely won my heart. I will definitely continue to ship the two male leads.

 dora:

The Untamed

After reading what you wrote, I definitely need to check out this series. I’m a sucker for historical dramas, even with all the issues you pointed out so well, they’ve got a charm that always pulls me in.

 Ju Moon:

Same! Same!

I’m really excited for the rest of the show.

 Ju Moon:

After reading what you wrote, I definitely need to check out this series. I’m a sucker for historical dramas, even with all the issues you pointed out so well, they’ve got a charm that always pulls me in.

Then you should watch it. I found it surprisingly easy to get through considering how many episodes it is.

and please dm me if you want to talk about it while watching!

Hey yall was popping. 

New MV from PP Krit! (Needless to say, very BL.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxcyif7Tn7s&list=RDLxcyif7Tn7s&start_radio=1

 ColourMePurple:

So people were mostly upset about the side couples in The Next Prince?

Speaking for myself, "upset" is too strong. Yes, I would've liked to see more of the side couples, but better to be left wanting more than to be bored. This would be a great opportunity for some spin-off special episodes, but I think Aoftion's aim here is probably to leave fans hungry for Net/JJ in anticipation of "Love Upon A Time" (which I assume will follow on Saturdays directly after "Khemjira") and for Jimmy/Ohmkrit in anticipation of "Magic Lover". That's probably a smart strategy.

This issue notwithstanding, I loved "Next Prince" - but then again, Domundi has done such a good job at getting me invested in their CPs that I can't be entirely objective.