"The Untamed" Fights Chinese Censorship (and the Undead)

The Untamed is an entertaining breakthrough for BL dramas in usually conservative China.

By ANDREA LIU

In this fantastical world, you can fly on swords and fight against monsters made up of water. There are plenty of evil undead creatures, and if you dare, you can control them, as long as you’re willing to submit to demonic cultivation. No, this is not your typical setting for a boy-meets-girl story. But what makes The Untamed even more unusual for a Chinese drama is that it isn’t boy-meets-girl at all. It’s boy-meets-boy.

Seen as one of the most controversial TV series in China, The Untamed is based on the BL (boy love) web novel Mo Dao Zu Shi, or The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. Released in 2019, the fifty episodes with English subtitles are available to binge on Netflix as well as on Viki and YouTube for free. The two main leads of the series are Xiao Zhan (starring as Wei Wuxian) and Wang Yibo (playing Lan Wangji). 

Kind-hearted and mischievous, the Jiang disciple Wei Wuxian is found breaking the rules on his first encounter with the cold, strict, distant Lan Wangji when they’re in the undead cultivation school. With their contradicting personalities, they become frenemies. 

Once carefree and untroubled by the evils of the Wen sect, Wei Wuxian finds himself practicing demonic cultivation to protect them. From new spiritual techniques to new inventions such as the Stygian Tiger Seal, Wei Wuxian follows a narrow path even though it troubles his heart and mind to the point that it consumes him. Although Lan Wangji tries to reason with Wei Wuxian on multiple occasions, each confrontation ends up being worse than the last. Sixteen years later, the two soulmates meet once again, and instead of conflicting with each other, they journey together to uncover the mysteries of the culprit behind the severed arm.

Cue the piano, zither, and bamboo flute instrumentals that set the characters in ancient China. From the multiple layers of robes, to the blood-stained swords and purple-colored lightning from whips and musical instruments used in fights, like Wei Wuxian’s flute and Lan Wangji’s gupin, the details in the series push the aesthetic of an action-filled fantastical world…for the most part. The undead could be more convincing. It seems like it’s enough to call them fierce corpses out to kill by simply putting on white foundation with extreme under-eye bags and white contact lenses. The underwhelming makeup undermines some of the intense fights. 

In China, portraying queerness on TV is highly controversial. It seems this influenced how the series adapted some moments in the two soulmates' relationship. What happened to Wei Wuxian’s and Lan Wangji’s first kiss on Phoenix Mountain? What happened to Wei Wuxian’s impatient, shameless confession to Lan Wangji while they were in a dire situation? Sadly, these cute, fluffy parts of the novel didn’t make it into the TV series, possibly to appease China’s censorship regulations. But overall, the production team’s efforts should be acknowledged, as they tried to get away with as much boy-to-boy skinship as they could, like when Lan Wanji holds Wei Wuxian's hand to give him spiritual energy, and other intimate scenes that leave room for romantic interpretations.

Fans of the books should know there have also been changes to the chronological order of the scenes. Rather than having multiple flashbacks, they are kept few but long so that the story can easily flow without too many interruptions. Even so, the first three episodes using the flashback style are still confusing when there’s barely any context to the plot. The long list of cast members doesn't help, especially since the characters have two or three names and titles. 

Overall, The Untamed  isn't perfect in outwardly showing queer love, but it shows the potential BL dramas can take in China. Take Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain (2019) and My Roommate is a Detective (2020), for example: the male lead’s romantic interest is a girl, but he also has a strong bromance relationship that openly shows affection. It’s reasonable to say that Chinese studios should make more shows where there are only two male leads. For my part, I definitely recommend The Untamed, even if you don’t see Lan Wangji flustered with blushing ears.

★★★★☆