đź‘Źđź‘Źđź‘Ź Wow! Happy for her cos i loved the halmeoni in HomeCha, but i missed her totally in Squid Game - what's her role in Squid Game? The film, with her, a meaningful theme on true meaning of family in today's society, and a star-studded director-team looks set to sparkle and be an award-winning film
If you are watching this drama due to the bl hype, then yeah, you will be truly disappointed. While it is adapted from a bl novel, the drama never meant to also adapt the bl parts. In fact, WQ was originally written as WWX's love interest, but axed due to the heated protests by the novel fans, and in respect of the original novel. I need to add that i'm happy with the censorship or i would have missed this drama entirely. Censorship has also transcended the bl novel into a critical production that focus on the intriguing plot and powerful messages on ugliness of society, good vs evil, weak vs strong.
On Wen siblings who showed kindness and righteousness first, just to point out that WWX has been kind to WN when they first met at Cloud Recesses and WWX taught WN how to shoot arrows better, and more importantly WWX went first to save the possessed WN during the Water Abyss incident (Episode 5), and it is the pouch that WWX passed to WQ to give to WN to protect him knowing WN has a tendency to attract spirits (Episode 5-6) that prevented WN from being fully possessed by the evil spirits when WN was tortured by the Jin Clan (~Episode 27, WN was seen on the ground with a flag stuck to him, and clutching tightly to a pouch).
As for JC, he was too affected and traumatised by his own GC experience that he was oblivious to all that happened then. So JC is not as aware as WWX to the extent the Wen siblings has gone through to help the Jiang family.
On WWX shooting arrows at the Wen people blind-folded, at first i also thought it was cruel of him, like you. But then when i rethink again as WWX isnt that kind of person, and he was ready to fight back when JGY described the opening archery event, but held back because of JC. I think he really want to put a stop once and for all to this cruel event, by really shining notches above and firmly put down the Jin Clan's supremacy. There is a risk of the archery event continuing with another shoot from JZX or by other clans that may really harm the Wen targets, if WWX only won a notch above JZX.
And i do think WWX would still defend the Wen siblings even if they have not helped him. At the seige at the Burial Mounds planned by JGY to wipe out the clans, WWX had used himself as the bait to draw the puppets towards him so that the clans who were led there could escape. These clans were the ones that had wanted him dead 16 years ago and even at the Burial Mound seige, right before the Su She revelation part just before they made their escape.
WWX stays true to his pure heart and wish to fight evil, protect the weak and to always maintain a clear conscience, no matter how hard or lonely the path is.
1) WWX's comeback after fall into the abyss. WWX threw himself into the abyss out of (i) despair that those he…
I didnt read the book, and wont be reading the book - the book's bl content will be too much for me to handle. In fact, i'm happy with the censorship or i would have missed this drama entirely. Censorship has also transcended the bl novel into a critical production that focus on the intriguing plot and powerful messages on ugliness of society, good vs evil, weak vs strong,
i just re-read my points - all are actually shown in the drama, except why JZX despised his arranged marriage with WWX’s sis, which i assumed then he just wants to marry the one he loves vs the one arranged by his mom, which is also not wrong, given his arrogant, dignified nature. Well, WWX nicknamed him as "Peacock", and feels that his kind and gentle sister deserves better.
As the story telling style is investigative and with little filler parts (if any), watching too fast and skipping episodes will mean missing pieces of the plot. Then again, some details could just be staring in our faces, but missed out. For example, i only realised the person who orchestrated WWX's return is actually blatantly shown a few times before our eyes in Episode 1 itself after i rewatched!
And yeah, there will never be a single drama that appeal to everyone.
Perhaps you have went so fast that you missed parts of the drama that can help you better understand the plot…
1) WWX's comeback after fall into the abyss. WWX threw himself into the abyss out of (i) despair that those he loved and protected fervently died (i.e. his sister, Wen remnants and Jiang Feng Mian) and (ii) disgust of this hypocritical world (the so called noble righteous clans are just coveting over the Yin Tiger Tally that he has created, from witnessing the intense fighting and killing among the noble righteous clans at the Nightless City right before his eyes. (Episode 32-33). He left this world with no care left and utterly disillusioned, and thus never want to come back. But he was unwillingly brought back by NHS to investigate his brother’s (NMJ) death. Back again, he never want to reunite with whom he knows and was just wandering around with his donkey. But because he was brought back for a purpose, he was led to reunite with the people he know at Dafan mountain, in particular, LWJ and WN (Episode 1-2).
2) WWX and his nephew. When WWX saw his nephew for the first time, he seriously didn’t know that person is his nephew, and thus blurted out that his mother didn't teach him well, from witnessing JL’s arrogant and overbearing behaviour. Only when JL mentioned JC is his uncle that he realised that JL is his nephew and utterly regretted saying that to him (Episode 2). WWX even directly apologised to JL when they met later at the Koi Tower (around ep 40).
3) Wen Sect Leader. Wen Ruohan is already the chief cultivator, but he knows his Wen Clan wont be able to hold on this position with his two incapable sons and his hand started to experience spasms (side effects from refining the Yin metal shard) (Episode 15) Thus he starts the aggression to use the Yin metal shards to lord over the other noble clans. He is probably the only villain with a less justified reason. Villains like JGY, XY and even Su She are not evil for evil sake - they are born underprivileged and thus bullied by most people. This is one ugliness of the society that the series is pointing to.
4) Yin metal and Water Abyss. Since the first piece of the Yin metal shard in the Dancing Goddess Statue was discovered and taken away by WRH, the peaceful suppression of the Yin metal shards was disturbed, causing the other Yin metal shards to start to be aroused. The Yin metal contains negative/evil energy, thus the arousal of the shards cause evil spirits like the Water Abyss to manifest (Episode 5). The Yin metal shard that was suppressed by the female Lan Clan leader’s spiritual cognition deep in the pond also started reacting, coupled with the weakening of this Lan Clan leader’s spiritual cognition after suppressing the shard for decades, led to strange water phenomenon that sucked the duo who were just standing in the pond deep in to where that one metal shard was suppressed. Only LXC and LQR knew about the existence of the Yin metal shards and they started investigating. The duo’s encounter with the female Lan Clan leader confirmed their suspicion of the arousal of the Yin metal shards (Episode 6-7).
5) Wen Clan Indoctrination Training. The other noble sects didn’t have a choice as the Wen Clan was very powerful then with the Yin metal shards, and Wen Clan had said that if the clans didnt have representatives attending, Wen Clan would send people to “invite” them to the training and wipe them out on charges of treason against the Chief Cultivator (WRH was the Chief Cultivator then) and causing harm to society. Thus you see Mdm Yu’s wrath that her son JC has no choice, knowing well that this is a hostage in disguise as a training (Episode 11).
6) Yi City and the villains XY and JGY. The “last villain” is JGY, right? I see the Yi City story as serving few purposes: (i) Uncovering of NMJ’s body that eventually led the duo to uncover the whole truth, (ii) Backstory and character development of XY and (iii) Showing how the 2 MLs could end up like XXC and SL due to mistrust, and LWJ's gratitude that WWX came back after 16 years. As i mentioned earlier, villains like Jin GY and Xue Yang are not evil for evil sake - they are born underprivileged and thus bullied by most people. This is one ugliness of the society that the series is pointing to. Both XY and JGY have been mistreated since young and the resentments kinda shaped their values, but they did show their compassionate sides to those who respect and care for them. Some said if XY as a kid had WWX's fortune to meet a caring adult like Jiang Fengmian instead of Chang, or had met Xiao Xingchen (the blind guy) earlier, XY might just be WWX #2. There is a detailed comment here on XY by clothcat which i agreed (https://kisskh.at/discussions/general-discussion/69213-antagonist-villain-appreciation-club?page=6). As for JGY, he was mistreated by the masses as he is a prostitute's son, and his blood father JGS also despised and never really acknowledged JGY by kicking him down Koi Tower when JGY first went to look for him, and even remarked to another prostitute later on not to mentioned JGY, despite JGY fervently following JGS’ commands to please him. So he killed his blood father, and did all the evil things to maintain his Chief Cultivator position (JGY took over as Chief Cultivator after the death of his father JGS and his brother JZX). To LXC who has never despised him and even helped him out when others are gossiping about his parentage during the Lan Clan lecture (Epsiode 4), JGY continues to be kind and helps LXC when Cloud Recesses is burnt down. He even deceived LXC to join him so that LXC wont go to Burial Mounds where he has planned a seige and massacre of all the noble clans, thus protecting LXC. Of course, JGY did also make use of LXC to achieve his motive. I can actually go on and on cos TU casts are so complex and multi-dimensional. But i will stop here to avoid typing out a thesis. LOL.
7) Expulsion of WWX. At its core, this drama depicts the ugliness of society, the struggles to uphold justice and the growing up journey of the key characters. It delivers powerful messages and quotable lines on society norms, the oppression one faced in going against society (leading to WWX's expulsion), how people often surface judge, how hypocritical nobles (JGS, JGY) manipulate society norms for selfish power hungry causes, good vs evil, weak vs strong.
8) Romance and JYL-JZX. I’m straight and not a bl fan too. To me, this drama is over-hyped as bl and undermined as an idol drama. As its core, there are powerful messages and quotable lines. Romance is not the focus for this drama. Jin Zi Xuan, was born privileged and thus arrogant, and he initially despised his arranged marriage with WWX’s sis JYL as she is not the best looking nor does she have high cultivation. But he slowly grows to like her. We see JYL defending WWX during the Hunt organised by the Jin Clan, and demanding Jin Zi Xun to apologise to WWX. Jin Zi Xuan while arrogant, is actually fair and righteous. He stood up for WWX during the Wen Clan Indoctrination Training (thus punished with WWX and LWJ to take care of the vegetable garden), and even convinced his dad JGS to go against the powerful Jin Clan to send people to save WWX and LWJ out of the cave. Seeing JGY doing so much for the Jin Clan and family, he also asked his dad to wholeheartedly accept JGY into the Jin Clan.
Perhaps you have went so fast that you missed parts of the drama that can help you better understand the plot and story better. Perhaps also i can understand Chinese and watched the drama without dubbing or subbing. The plot and story are very compelling with not many fillers, but the storytelling is of investigative style, where the pieces eventually stitch together. Hopefully the points below on the plot under spoiler tag will help you understand the drama better
i think the FL is kind and compassionate, and also strong and resolute at heart of things she believed in and…
arrghh i thought you have completed watching the drama by now! press on, the drama is pretty good, other that the irritating, draggy middle part when 2FL sowed discord between the couple
Overall I really liked the ideas, the premise and the characters here. It certainly does interesting things with…
I thought the storytelling is compelling, with doubts/questions immediately addressed in the next scene, though yes, it means cutting of scenes in the midst of dialogues. It is to also show concurrent discussions on the same issue by different people at different places at the same time and perhaps alluding to some form of telepathy between the father and son
Possible for Zhao Kai to be used by his master to fulfil his master's own ambition to take over the throne?
No matter how much I wanted to like this drama I just can't ,, I keep coming back to watch it and it never ends…
Key aim is to retrieve the sword box of his protege Old Huang, and secondary aim is to form alliances with notable martial arts clans to help him stabilise his position to take over Northern Liang smoothly
Can view this series as a typical wuxia story of the ML, through sheer luck, acquiring martial arts and becoming a top-tier martial arts expert, while forming alliances and friendships with other notable clans and martial arts experts
I watched this multiple times but it still brings me to tears, kilig and the infuriating anger for all the antagonists.…
Lan Ling and Xue Wu are both very kind and compassionate. If only Lan Ling is not foolishly loyal to the incapable and insecure crown prince. Xue Wu's bond with Lan Ling, Yuwen Yong, grandma and Xiao Dong touched me deeply.
I just feel that the FL character is a bit wanting and tooooo naive!!! Lets hope the non romantic side of the…
i think the FL is kind and compassionate, and also strong and resolute at heart of things she believed in and to protect the underprivileged and her loved ones and friends. other than the middle part when 2FL sowed discord between the couple, the rest are really enjoyable
Not at all. Where have you seen this series' association with BL? 🤔
Serious? Not that i recall of. The two MLs are NBR uncle-nephew, and nothing hanky panky at all. Watch the series (it's really good) and you will laugh at this BL association :)
Zula article with spoilers on 10 All Of Us Are Dead Life Lessons That Remind Us Of The Importance Of Teamwork & Sacrifice For Love [https://zula.sg/all-of-us-are-dead/]
Compared to HosPlay, i think this drama is grossly underrated
exactly that - the plot-less HosPlay is just too stale for me, but yet it has such a high rating and even edged above FOE - thus for me, FOE is grossly underrated on MDL compared to HosPlay
As you have watched and enjoyed The Untamed, it will be better for you to watch Joy of Life (JOL) next, then finally NIF. NIF is much heavier on royal politics and political scheming, with a stoic ML and more scenes in the palace where everyone moves and speaks slower. More of TU vs NIF in my comment in the Discussion topic by Johnson K above. More on JOL with reference to TU and NIF in my review of JOL.
NIF, JOL and TU are the MDL top-ranked costume cdrama trilogy not to be missed :)
On Wen siblings who showed kindness and righteousness first, just to point out that WWX has been kind to WN when they first met at Cloud Recesses and WWX taught WN how to shoot arrows better, and more importantly WWX went first to save the possessed WN during the Water Abyss incident (Episode 5), and it is the pouch that WWX passed to WQ to give to WN to protect him knowing WN has a tendency to attract spirits (Episode 5-6) that prevented WN from being fully possessed by the evil spirits when WN was tortured by the Jin Clan (~Episode 27, WN was seen on the ground with a flag stuck to him, and clutching tightly to a pouch).
As for JC, he was too affected and traumatised by his own GC experience that he was oblivious to all that happened then. So JC is not as aware as WWX to the extent the Wen siblings has gone through to help the Jiang family.
On WWX shooting arrows at the Wen people blind-folded, at first i also thought it was cruel of him, like you. But then when i rethink again as WWX isnt that kind of person, and he was ready to fight back when JGY described the opening archery event, but held back because of JC. I think he really want to put a stop once and for all to this cruel event, by really shining notches above and firmly put down the Jin Clan's supremacy. There is a risk of the archery event continuing with another shoot from JZX or by other clans that may really harm the Wen targets, if WWX only won a notch above JZX.
And i do think WWX would still defend the Wen siblings even if they have not helped him. At the seige at the Burial Mounds planned by JGY to wipe out the clans, WWX had used himself as the bait to draw the puppets towards him so that the clans who were led there could escape. These clans were the ones that had wanted him dead 16 years ago and even at the Burial Mound seige, right before the Su She revelation part just before they made their escape.
WWX stays true to his pure heart and wish to fight evil, protect the weak and to always maintain a clear conscience, no matter how hard or lonely the path is.
i just re-read my points - all are actually shown in the drama, except why JZX despised his arranged marriage with WWX’s sis, which i assumed then he just wants to marry the one he loves vs the one arranged by his mom, which is also not wrong, given his arrogant, dignified nature. Well, WWX nicknamed him as "Peacock", and feels that his kind and gentle sister deserves better.
As the story telling style is investigative and with little filler parts (if any), watching too fast and skipping episodes will mean missing pieces of the plot. Then again, some details could just be staring in our faces, but missed out. For example, i only realised the person who orchestrated WWX's return is actually blatantly shown a few times before our eyes in Episode 1 itself after i rewatched!
And yeah, there will never be a single drama that appeal to everyone.
2) WWX and his nephew. When WWX saw his nephew for the first time, he seriously didn’t know that person is his nephew, and thus blurted out that his mother didn't teach him well, from witnessing JL’s arrogant and overbearing behaviour. Only when JL mentioned JC is his uncle that he realised that JL is his nephew and utterly regretted saying that to him (Episode 2). WWX even directly apologised to JL when they met later at the Koi Tower (around ep 40).
3) Wen Sect Leader. Wen Ruohan is already the chief cultivator, but he knows his Wen Clan wont be able to hold on this position with his two incapable sons and his hand started to experience spasms (side effects from refining the Yin metal shard) (Episode 15) Thus he starts the aggression to use the Yin metal shards to lord over the other noble clans. He is probably the only villain with a less justified reason. Villains like JGY, XY and even Su She are not evil for evil sake - they are born underprivileged and thus bullied by most people. This is one ugliness of the society that the series is pointing to.
4) Yin metal and Water Abyss. Since the first piece of the Yin metal shard in the Dancing Goddess Statue was discovered and taken away by WRH, the peaceful suppression of the Yin metal shards was disturbed, causing the other Yin metal shards to start to be aroused. The Yin metal contains negative/evil energy, thus the arousal of the shards cause evil spirits like the Water Abyss to manifest (Episode 5). The Yin metal shard that was suppressed by the female Lan Clan leader’s spiritual cognition deep in the pond also started reacting, coupled with the weakening of this Lan Clan leader’s spiritual cognition after suppressing the shard for decades, led to strange water phenomenon that sucked the duo who were just standing in the pond deep in to where that one metal shard was suppressed. Only LXC and LQR knew about the existence of the Yin metal shards and they started investigating. The duo’s encounter with the female Lan Clan leader confirmed their suspicion of the arousal of the Yin metal shards (Episode 6-7).
5) Wen Clan Indoctrination Training. The other noble sects didn’t have a choice as the Wen Clan was very powerful then with the Yin metal shards, and Wen Clan had said that if the clans didnt have representatives attending, Wen Clan would send people to “invite” them to the training and wipe them out on charges of treason against the Chief Cultivator (WRH was the Chief Cultivator then) and causing harm to society. Thus you see Mdm Yu’s wrath that her son JC has no choice, knowing well that this is a hostage in disguise as a training (Episode 11).
6) Yi City and the villains XY and JGY. The “last villain” is JGY, right? I see the Yi City story as serving few purposes: (i) Uncovering of NMJ’s body that eventually led the duo to uncover the whole truth, (ii) Backstory and character development of XY and (iii) Showing how the 2 MLs could end up like XXC and SL due to mistrust, and LWJ's gratitude that WWX came back after 16 years. As i mentioned earlier, villains like Jin GY and Xue Yang are not evil for evil sake - they are born underprivileged and thus bullied by most people. This is one ugliness of the society that the series is pointing to. Both XY and JGY have been mistreated since young and the resentments kinda shaped their values, but they did show their compassionate sides to those who respect and care for them. Some said if XY as a kid had WWX's fortune to meet a caring adult like Jiang Fengmian instead of Chang, or had met Xiao Xingchen (the blind guy) earlier, XY might just be WWX #2. There is a detailed comment here on XY by clothcat which i agreed (https://kisskh.at/discussions/general-discussion/69213-antagonist-villain-appreciation-club?page=6). As for JGY, he was mistreated by the masses as he is a prostitute's son, and his blood father JGS also despised and never really acknowledged JGY by kicking him down Koi Tower when JGY first went to look for him, and even remarked to another prostitute later on not to mentioned JGY, despite JGY fervently following JGS’ commands to please him. So he killed his blood father, and did all the evil things to maintain his Chief Cultivator position (JGY took over as Chief Cultivator after the death of his father JGS and his brother JZX). To LXC who has never despised him and even helped him out when others are gossiping about his parentage during the Lan Clan lecture (Epsiode 4), JGY continues to be kind and helps LXC when Cloud Recesses is burnt down. He even deceived LXC to join him so that LXC wont go to Burial Mounds where he has planned a seige and massacre of all the noble clans, thus protecting LXC. Of course, JGY did also make use of LXC to achieve his motive. I can actually go on and on cos TU casts are so complex and multi-dimensional. But i will stop here to avoid typing out a thesis. LOL.
7) Expulsion of WWX. At its core, this drama depicts the ugliness of society, the struggles to uphold justice and the growing up journey of the key characters. It delivers powerful messages and quotable lines on society norms, the oppression one faced in going against society (leading to WWX's expulsion), how people often surface judge, how hypocritical nobles (JGS, JGY) manipulate society norms for selfish power hungry causes, good vs evil, weak vs strong.
8) Romance and JYL-JZX. I’m straight and not a bl fan too. To me, this drama is over-hyped as bl and undermined as an idol drama. As its core, there are powerful messages and quotable lines. Romance is not the focus for this drama. Jin Zi Xuan, was born privileged and thus arrogant, and he initially despised his arranged marriage with WWX’s sis JYL as she is not the best looking nor does she have high cultivation. But he slowly grows to like her. We see JYL defending WWX during the Hunt organised by the Jin Clan, and demanding Jin Zi Xun to apologise to WWX. Jin Zi Xuan while arrogant, is actually fair and righteous. He stood up for WWX during the Wen Clan Indoctrination Training (thus punished with WWX and LWJ to take care of the vegetable garden), and even convinced his dad JGS to go against the powerful Jin Clan to send people to save WWX and LWJ out of the cave. Seeing JGY doing so much for the Jin Clan and family, he also asked his dad to wholeheartedly accept JGY into the Jin Clan.
Possible for Zhao Kai to be used by his master to fulfil his master's own ambition to take over the throne?
Can view this series as a typical wuxia story of the ML, through sheer luck, acquiring martial arts and becoming a top-tier martial arts expert, while forming alliances and friendships with other notable clans and martial arts experts
also at the end of season 1, the ML spoke about going to the Northern Mang region to find out the truth of his mom's murder.
i feel Qing Niao truly stands out only when she joins the ML on his jianghu journey. i rather like Jiang Ni also, as much as God of Sword likes her :)
NIF, JOL and TU are the MDL top-ranked costume cdrama trilogy not to be missed :)