‘The Untamed’: Our 4 fave moments of adolescent Wei Wuxian
In case you’ve been living under a rock & don’t know yet, The Untamed is a Chinese BL drama based on the novel, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. Set in ancient China, it follows a community of supernaturally charged cultivators as they rid the land of evil & corruption.
At the heart of it all is the story of Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan) & Lan Wangji (Wang Yibo). While the show is highly censored due to strict laws & regulations in China regarding LGBTQ depictions on television, the forbidden relationship that develops between these two characters takes center stage.
The two characters couldn’t be more different, but it’s their differences that keep audiences thoroughly enthralled. Where Lan Wangji is reserved and stoic, Wei Wuxian is definitely not. In their adolescent years at the beginning of the show, this juxtaposing difference between the two boys make for some great television.
While fans love both characters fiercely, there is something utterly alluring about Wei Wuxian’s complexities. He brings a little bit of everything to the table: he’ll make you cry, laugh, yell, and shake your head. In his adolescent years especially, he’ll really make you run the full gamut of emotions.
Come with us as we journey through some of our fave moments of adolescent Wei Wuxian.
The silencing spell
Without a doubt, one of the most endearing things about adolescent Wei Wuxian is just how rambunctiously innocent he is. He isn’t a quiet individual, and he is playful often. Based on the proper behavior required of the cultivation community, he often finds himself being disciplined by those around him simply for being himself.
This is most evident when Lan Wangji uses the famous Lan sect Silencing Spell on the unsuspecting guy. He uses the spell on Wei Wuxian several times during their teenage years. First at the gates to Cloud Recesses when the Jiang clan are trying to enter, in the Library Pavillion when Wei Wuxian offends Lan Wangji with sexual images, and also while Lan Wangji is dragging Wei Wuxian back to his superiors for further punishment.
We love these moments for several reasons. Firstly, they really highlight the differences in the personalities of both Lan Wangji & Wei Wuxian. Understanding the differences in their personalities is crucial for understanding the tragedy that develops in their relationship as they grow older.
Secondly, we love these scenes mostly because they are utterly adorable. Wei Wuxian shifts from curious & gifted cultivator to a petulant tantrum-throwing baby in two seconds flat. The sheer innocence of his character is delightful to watch in these moments, and you almost wish he could stay like this forever.
Hilariously Rebellion
The most obvious example of this is Wei Wuxian’s unrelenting quest to sneak alcohol into Cloud Recesses. He does this on several occasions, with the first time occurring on the very first day he arrives at Gusu. In his defense, he is new to the Lan clan rules at that point and doesn’t know that alcohol is forbidden.
However, when Lan Wangji informs him of this fact, he continues to bait his fellow cultivator and finds a way to skirt the rules, pitching up on the roof. This annoys Lan Wangji immensely, who lives and dies by the rules, and the two end up in a sword fight that absolutely screams homoerotic connotations.
He sneaks alcohol in again after his friends help Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji defeat the Aqua demon. Wei Wuxian sneaks it into his room where himself, Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang proceed to get well and drunk. They’re romping about the room when Lan Wangji walks in and totally breaks up the party.
Lan Wangji insists they follow him to be punished for breaking the rules, but before that can happen, Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang run past him out of Wei Wuxian’s room to throw up. At this point, Wei Wuxian attempts to persuade Lan Wangji to join him for a drink, who obviously declines. Wei Wuxian uses a talisman on him which somewhat hypnotizes him.
Wei Wuxian coerces Lan Wanji into drinking, who takes a shot of liquor and promptly semi-passes out. Hilarity ensues. Wei Wuxian manages to get Lan Wangji into his bed (yes, into Wei Wuxian’s bed) while the two proceed to have a somewhat intimate drunken conversation.
The two are found the next morning and punished to quite a beating. Lan Wangji takes it like a champ, and Wei Wuxian attempts to do the same, clearly wanting to impress Lan Wangji, but isn’t quite able to hold it together with the same resolve as Lan Wangji.
We love this aspect of Wei Wuxian because, not only is it realistic for teenagers to be adventurous like this, but his shenanigans breathe a little bit of levity into Lan Wangji’s ridiculously stoic & chaste lifestyle. And the boy needs it!
Ridiculous attempts at flirting
After sassing & talking back to Lan Wangji’s uncle, Lan Qiren, during a lecture, Wei Wuxian is punished to write out the three thousand or so Lan Clan principles. Lan Wangji is ordered to watch over him while he does so. After Wei Wuxian completes his punishment, he approached Lan Wangji with a “gift”.
Lan Wangji opens the book Wei Wuxian hands him only to discover images of two men engaged in extremely explicit sexual acts. Lan Wangji, repressed in many ways, completely freaks out and throws the book away, like it might burn him if he continues to touch it. After a moment he destroys it.
Wei Wuxian is so sad when Lan Wangji destroys his gift and exclaims that he doesn’t believe that Lan Wangji has never seen this kind of image before. The innuendo is clear: Wei Wuxian thinks Lan Wangji has actively sought out this kind of content on his own before. We see you, sir, and we’re picking up what you’re putting down!
While this attempt on Wei Wuxian’s behalf to capture the attention of Lan Wangji fails miserably, it isn’t the only time he tries.
During the same cultivation lecture that he sasses Lan Qiren, Wei Wuxian uses a paper talisman to try and get Lan Wangji’s attention. While Lan Qiren is lecturing, he sends his paper talisman over to Lan Wangji and climbs upon his shoulder. Lan Wangji is not impressed by the improper interruption and quickly crushes the talisman.
His communication is clear: stop messing with me. As we all know though, these ridiculous attempts at flirting with Lan Wangji work and the two eventually end up in a beautiful relationship that leaves us all swooning.
Love for his siblings
Finally, his undying love for Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli is nothing short of beautiful. Although not officially blood siblings, adolescent Wei Wuxian is fiercely protective over both of them. There are many situations where Wei Wuxian puts himself last in order to ensure the physical and emotional well being of his siblings is protected.
Identifying just one or two of these moments as highlights is really too hard. The playful banter that constantly occurs between adolescent Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian is really quite enjoyable, even when it’s juxtaposed with Jiang Cheng’s competitiveness and jealousy towards Wei Wuxian.
The way in which Jiang Yanli dotes over both of the boys is very endearing, however the special relationship that clearly exists between her & Wei Wuxian is incredible. She clearly has a soft spot for him and is always doing everything she can to make sure he is well taken care of. Wei Wuxian is well aware of this and plays into her game all the time.
Enjoy the endearing moments between these siblings while they last. As they move from adolescence into adulthood their relationship dynamics are horribly disturbed & they’re never able to restore the purity and goodness that exists between them when they’re young. It is, quite frankly, one of the most devastating story arcs of the entire show.
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