Eleison

Yes please! Hands off, Disney! 😮‍💨

He is definitely a weirdo. 😅 This drama is only palatable if you approach it knowing everyone is a caricature of a human being. 😏

Yes, most of us watching it as it aired agreed it got stronger as it progressed.

P.S. A couple examples of the fast, clunky pacing from the beginning were the scenes setting up the marriage between the Qiaos and Weis.

You don't even know who various Qiaos are yet and then Man Man is sending Da Qiao off and she's already leaving for Panyi. And then when she was in Panyi, the events were rapid fire one after the next, jumping around. Everything happened so quickly that it felt like scenes were missing.

One of the first scenes with Bi Zhi and Da Qiao had him leading her out of the carriage over to a random stool in the middle of nowhere under an arbor/hut thing on the side of the road. Did anyone notice that they edited that scene strangely, where one cut he was walking her over, and in the next she was already sitting down? There were three or four cuts like that. So weird. 😅

So when people were complaining about the rushed ending, I got worried, but it's nothing we haven't already scene at brief moments before in this drama, so rest assured it's not some huge drop-off in quality near the end.

Finally finished this one because I lost steam after Viki took so long to post the final episodes.

Overall, quite enjoyable! I think the team that worked on this took a generic story and, with good pacing and excellent actors, turned it into something pretty strong; the aesthetics were lovely in this one.

They showed the arcs of multiple characters well. Of course, the main leads were the most interesting and well done (they did great showing the slow but steady softening of Wei Shao's hatred for the Qiaos, and the ability to realize hating a whole clan because of one person't betrayal is irrational), but even Wei Yan and Wei Shao's mother had interesting arcs, and tied up loose ends satisfactorily. The last two episodes did feel a bit fast, but to be fair, this drama has never done battles well, and there have always been types of sequences where the pacing was fast (this happened in the first few episodes a lot, too); for the battles, they just have a bunch of people in armor show up somewhere, show some fighting and then say, "Oh, Wei Shao won!" or "Liangya won!" and a few seconds later we've moved on. 😅 Some of those "battle" scenes (like the last one between Wei Shao and Bi Zhi), just don't even make sense. But no matter, it's not what we're here for; we'll leave good fighting scenes to dramas like Ever Night or Joy Of Life. 😉

F4 were very cute even if they were more for comic relief and sweet friendship with Wei Shao than actually doing very brilliant general stuff. A highlight for me was Qiao Ci; he was useful, compassionate and good-hearted (like his sis 😉), a good fighter, and adorable to boot. His interactions with Wei Shao were so cute.

I thought Bi Zhi (anyone else think his scenes with Da Qiao were kind of corny?) was definitely the weakest character, along with the Lord of Liangya. He was just kind of pathetic all around. Lady Yulou was also just a major pill and so selfish it hurt to watch. 😅

But again, overall, an enjoyable drama! The leads did great, and the costumes were stunning. A solid 8.5/10 for me.

So, I kept watching, and I have all my questions answered. 😅 He is indeed a first class jerk, and by the end, something of a psycho.So, in this respect, I suppose he has a similar character and arc to Shen Yurong in The Double. There is actually a striking resemblance in their characters!

This was a really wonderful drama! In particular, the first six episodes were fantastic. The rest of the drama is still really solid, but I just loved those beginning episodes as the leads got to know each other and started falling for each other. Their chemistry in those episodes in particular was just beautiful, and super entertaining.

It has a great ending, and I enjoyed all the characters' arcs very much (Yinzhang took a bit too long to get her act together, though; would have liked to see a more gradual arc for her). I did feel like the last 2/3s all being in the Eastern Capital (with all the same streets being used over and over again), made for a slightly less dynamic pace and story (and some slightly annoying side characters get introduced in these episodes; Chi Pan's overreacting did not land for me), so it lost a bit of the gripping charm that the first half dozen episodes had.

I also thought the politics in this were confusing, and whenever it was talked about I'd get lost. I tracked enough of the gist, but it wasn't the easiest to follow.

Poor Gu Qianfan almost dies SO many times in this drama, but despite his many near-death experiences, I loved the teamwork of the main leads. They have a really beautiful respect and admiration for one another (minus their hiccup for a bit near the end, which comes from a misunderstanding and a lack of communication), and the "saving" of each other is nicely balanced between them so that not only one gets all the limelight.

I also loved the more historical feel to it, and all of the social commentary about class and women in society. I love that we're getting more and more depictions of strong couples partnering to combine their unique gifts and strengths!

The Double and New Life Begins are good recs for this one as both have strong female leads, but this is less juicy/lurid than The Double, and without the revenge component. Both this srama and The Double have intelligent female leads gifted with strategic minds. The couples' dynamic is similar, too; this is just more grounded, I'd say, as the The Double feels more fantastical. New Life Begins is similar in that it leans into a female empowerment arc and women finding a voice/not being treated as objects or bargaining chips (though A Dream Of Splendor also adds a component critiquing class divides). Both also seek to portray a healthier relationship dynamic between the main couple than other Cdramas with the more traditionally aggressive, dashing, man-child male leads with large egos. I found the steady, gentle, respectful male leads in this and New Life Begins really refreshing. The restaurant being run by women is also similar.

Would definitely recommend!

I will consider it. People told me The Devil Judge only had just friendship bromance, too, but I felt the romantic tension in that one, which was super confusing because the 2ML was clearly written as a straight male who had a girlfriend who died in the drama. Anyway, apparently since I picked up the queer-coded undertones in Devil Judge, I'd probably pick up on them in Untamed, too (according to some I dialogued with while considering The Untamed), so I figured it wouldn't be my thing since the Devil Judge wasn't my thing. The comment section of The Untamed is also just a lot about their romantic chemistry and the potential it had. 😅 I love friendship stories, but I don't want to be confused and frustrated about what I'm watching if I go into it expecting JUST a close friendship.

Interesting that it's not on Trending!

That scene when she protected him in the Capital Security Office. 😭 And afterward, he was beside himself and showing all his cards and how deeply he had fallen for her. The way she drew a line in the sand and made sure he knew not to act that way again until he could tell her what he meant by it, and what she meant to him...perfect. So good. 😉👌

It also didn't take him long to make his decision either. 🤣

There were also MULTIPLE instances of them hardcore flirting, and (smart!) characters like Sanniang and others intervening because they failed to grasp what was happening and completely misunderstood what was going on. 😅 Deliciously entertaining!

I also loved their scenes on the ship in the earlier episodes. They were hilarious together and Liu Yifei looked SO pretty with her hair down in those scenes. ☺️

The main leads' chemistry is SO good, oh my gosh. I think they're knocking all the other Cdrama couples I've seen out of the running, and I've seen some really good Cdramas. 😅

The Double had a lot of flirting and banter like this, but I didn't understand a lot of it (I think a lot of it was lost in translation). 😅 The banter in this is much more my speed.

Also, I know the ML can be super harsh and blunt, but he's never wrong. He's an expert at reading the room, and never misses a thing (I love a guy that's not oblivious!). He always says exactly what people need to hear, and it always comes from a place of care (and I love the FL knows it, too; you can tell it's one of the things she respects about him). And he respects her loyalty, compassion, cleverness, charm and tenacity.

Love them!

I wanted more of him, too!

So true! There are so many youthful 20 something Asian actors, but the actor playing the l7-year-old monk is not one of them. 😅

Yes, the "romance" did zilch for the story. Just make them chums! Probably the least amount of chemistry I've ever seen in a drama. 😅

I agree, there are other Cdramas with lower scores that I thought were better. The world building did not feel very grounded to me, and there's SO much fighting technique exposition. 😅

Very unusual for IMDB to have a higher rating than MDL! 😅

It will be probably drop a bit over time. I think it went up because the original rating was based on the first few episodes, which were the weakest of the drama. After it improved, people upped the rating after it finished airing. Just my theory! ☺️

Also, Ouyang is reminding me ever-so-slightly of Shen Yurong from The Double, who you kind of feel bad for at the beginning of the drama since you think he's trapped by people around him to do despicable things. You realize, eventually, that he's been a scheming jerk from the beginning. Is Ouyang like that? Is he using "protecting Pan'er" from the Gao family who is "out to get him" if he slips up as an excuse to ladder climb? I just feel like he can't be that kind-hearted and simple...?

I'm all about the leads being endgame, but as of Episode 11, I feel kind of bad for the guy. Which is why I'm wondering. I don't like feeling bad for him. 😅 But I have hope I'll shake the feeling, since something seems fishy about him.

The 6th Prince, you mean? It's a bit of both. He has struggled with some illness, but much of his bad health is exaggerated so people in the palace don't see him as a threat. He's just waiting for the right time to make his move as he is still quite young and not powerful enough to take on his older brothers yet. But he gets special treatment from the palace tutor who sees a special spark of talent in him, and he helps him gradually work into a better standing with the Emperor. :)

There is some angst with Hao Jia and the Crown Prince, and misunderstandings and such, but as far as most dramas are concerned, this is pretty chill. It's the closest thing to slice of life/family drama I've seen in a Chinese costume drama.