Posted on by Anamika · 1 Comment

What is so special about “The Untamed”?

First of all, I know that I am late to this drama. But, better late than never. So, let’s start with a little bit of introduction. The Untamed is a Chinese television series, released in June-August 2019, and is based on a xianxia novel (a genre of Chinese fantasy novels), Mo Dao Zhu Shi (Eng: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, starring Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo.

To summarise the plot, The Untamed is the story of a cultivator (a Taoist supernatural concept) named Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan), who along with his soulmate Lan Zhan (Wang Yibo), sets out on a journey to solve a series of mysterious events, which are connected to their past. Two episodes into the present time, the story takes you to a flashback which reveals the dark events that happened in their lives sixteen years ago due to which things turned out to be the way they are in the present time.

The makers of the show have tried to do complete justice to the original novel, one of the things for which this drama received high praises. The novel, however, portrays a homoerotic relationship between the two male protagonists, which, due to the heavy Chinese censorship on the portrayal of homosexual relationships in movies and TV shows, could not make it to the television series. Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan do not even say ‘I love you’ to each other, all thanks to censorship. But the makers of the show still need to be praised for not hetwashing the series and using various other innuendos and hints to make it pretty much clear that Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan are more than just ‘good friends’.

Wang Yibo as Lan Zhan

One of the things that stood out the most for me in this historical fantasy drama is the emphasis given to each and every character. Just like most of the historical dramas, The Untamed too has a huge cast and although the main storyline revolves around Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan the other characters are as powerful as the protagonists. The series has the ability to teleport you to the magical cultivation world and makes you feel every possible human emotion from familial love, happiness, romance to hatred, fear and the pain of being left alone. Sets and costumes are very apt and just according to how the novel describes them to be. The original soundtrack of the show with traditional Chinese music just adds another plus point to the show.

Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian

As far as the performance of actors is considered, everyone is just perfect for their roles. Every actor plays that one character in their careers which becomes their identity forever, Wei Wuxian is that character for Xiao Zhan. The series has 50 episodes which I know is quite lengthy. I ignored the series for a very long time just because of its length, but trust me, it’s worth it. I have literally never felt this level of post series depression, since Harry Potter.

Albeit lengthy, but The Untamed is definitely one of the best Chinese series of all time, with an engaging plot and strong performances. The only negative aspect that I can point out would be the CGI in some of the scenes, which really didn’t mattered to me much.

The Untamed is available worldwide on Netflix.

Posted on by Anamika

A child’s fear

Pic credit: Google

When I was in twelfth standard, we were taught a poem at school, ‘My mother at sixty six’, by Kamala Das. The poem is about the fears of the poet, which she felt looking at her mother’s dull and pale face. The sudden realisation that her mother has grown old, and will not be with her forever, makes the poet a bit uncomfortable.

When I first read the poem, it was just another chapter of the syllabus which I had to study to score good marks in the exams. But, today, something happened that made me realise a lot of things. I saw my father holding a glass of water. His hands were trembling. And all of a sudden I could picturize not just the set up in which My mother at sixty six was written, but also the pain the poet must have felt while writing it.

Do you know what causes shaky hands, especially at an older age? I, unfortunately know. Sometimes, it’s easier to move on if you don’t know certain things, and I wish I didn’t knew. That strange feeling when you start hesitating to call your dad to pick you up, because you know it might not be good for their health. When you know, your mom isn’t making you do certain things because she wants to teach you, but simply because she just cannot do it on her own. When your parents falling sick is not just a random excuse to take leave from college or work, but actually makes you feel scared. It’s sad. It’s annoying. I don’t know any other words to describe this feeling or maybe I just don’t want to use harsher or more realistic terms.

Sometimes I think I’m feeling this way only because I don’t want to take responsibilities. Maybe I just want it going the same way it was. Living a carefree life, under the shelter of my parents, just how my childhood was. But it’s not totally correct. I am okay being the responsible child but, I still want someone to hold my back. Someone to correct me, to scold me.

What is even weird is that, the only thing that makes you feel a bit relaxed from these feelings is the thought that you too will go through this phase. Just a few more years, and you will be in your parents shoes and your children in yours. This is how it has always been.

Kamala Das in the poem tried to distract herself from these thoughts by looking at young trees. I will try that too. Young trees, young saplings, new buds, new flowers, another dawn , another day.