I'm not a big fan of BL projects, no matter how good the storyline is, which I understand can limit me to some amazing stories. When I heard about The Untamed coming out, did I roll my eyes? Why, yes, I did. Short reason is I don't like the fetishization of gay romance/love for the enjoyment of straight people. BL, as a whole, is a genre marketed toward young girls. People can easily enjoy gay & lesbian intimacy without as lifting a finger to advocate for their rights or can sometimes even hate on gay culture when it doesn't fit their fantasy. Even the author of the novel is a woman, but of course we cannot assume she is just a straight woman with fantasies of hot gay men going at each other. I'm sure there are a lot of lgbtqia who enjoys projects like this, and for them I'm glad.

The fans of the show did make me feel as though The Untamed was put on a pedestal as though other dramas throughout the last year was complete trash. Uncalled for, but it inspired me to watch the show.

I was surprised by the lack of filler scenes. Almost every scene was interesting, everything needed to be watched in detail. I really give kudos to the writing team, production team, cast and everyone involved in the ensemble. The story flourished with immense strokes of progression and amazing acting.

No character was ever 2 dimensional. Not to name any C-Dramas but many of them populate the dramas with villains... who are just bad for no cause, greedy with no reason, and cruel because the heroes needed someone to defeat. Every villain in The Untamed had a backstory that made you understand why they did the horrible things they did. That added so much more depth to the villains, and made for a much more conflicting experience. All the anger and resentment made sense because you felt it justified.

Acting was so good. Xiao Zhan did such an amazing job as Wei Wuxian. The emotional journey and inner struggle he went through frustrated me and had me rooting for him the entire time. The character is a well-rounded one so that we would support him and stay connected along the journey. He's selfless and that's also his flaw. Impulsive and cocky. He frustrated me with his holier than thou attitude at times, but that's his character and at his core, he represented heroism and good.

Wang Yibo as Lan Wanji was absolutely dreamy. He's fit and has a blank expression when in character. He's definitely hubby material, and it made sense why they were in love in the novel and ambiguously in the drama. He's a simple character with restrictions, so I think Wang Yibo did a good job restraining his emotions while still portraying someone with so much warmth towards his friends and family.

The actress for Wen Qing got some heat from fans for becoming having a "love line" with Wei Wuxian. However, that doesn't even make sense as she never said she hinted at that and her character was just extremely thankful to WWX. The interaction between WWX and the newer generation of clan sect disciples was also really fun. It illustrates his growth as a cultivator and his natural talent of genuinity drawing people to his side.

Another duo of great people I cried buckets for were Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen. They were such good buddies and met the ending we do not want for Lan Zhan and WWX. Xiao Xingchen will always have a special place in my heart, and I really like the actor who played him, he did amazing. I hate Xueyang and I don't think he is redeemable, but I applaud the actor who played him so viciously and also seductively.

I really liked the portrayal of sibling love between WWX and his senior sister. It was a really pure and refreshing relationship that we don't get to see often. All the other side characters did amazing in their roles. They're all so talented and wonderful in their craft, and I hope to see more of them in the future.

The world of The Untamed reflects a lot of social norms in society that often we don't think about. It did make me ponder and nervous how quick we can change our views on a single person as soon as they become public enemy. It shows viewers how dangerous it is to judge others without knowing what really is happening. How important it is to have the people who really know you remain at your side. And without them, you feel completely loss. WWX went through all of that, but in the end he only needed one person's validation. The person who proudly remained by his side while others didn't especially the ones WWX never expected to desert him.

People really hated Jiang Cheng, but I think his anger and hatred for WWX was what you could only expect from a man who had lived his whole life with everything just taken away. WWX lived as an orphan, knew how to be resilient and rebuild his character. JC struggled with that. One thing I didn't really like about his whole ordeal is the fact that he was written to always be second to WWX. It's such an overdone, completely cliche element to have this brotherhood where one is always second to the Male Lead, and the Male Lead is just so good at everything. JC thought even if his parents died as long as he had WWX and his sister, he could rebuild Lotus Pier and they could be happy. But then he lost his sister, and ultimately he lost WWX to demonic cultivation/rebellion. He hates WWX because he immaturely (of course) blames WWX for the destruction of his home and family. But also because WWX broke his trust and wounded his heart, he truly loved WWX as a brother. Not that he didn't do his part either, but he could have stayed strong for WWX and remained by his side as well. All in all, they sacrificed what they thought the other needed and ended up missing the mark.

OST is great, awesome, beautiful, haunting. I made a playlist and cried for each song lol. I love the personalization of each soundtrack to match each character. I really loved Shi Jie's song for Ah Xian about Lotus Pier.

Re-watch value is about medium for me. I think the emotional turmoil is too much for me to watch over again and again, but it was such a good first watch.

The story of The Untamed is not a totally original concept. It has the black sheep equation with wrong place, wrong time equation. It still weaved a very enjoyable story and thrilling show. The actors did such a wonderful job and so did the editors, directors, producers, staff members!

I'm glad I gave The Untamed a chance because I am looking forward to these actors in new roles, and the story makes me appreciate the message it's trying to send.