Deserves the praise but definitely has room to improve

Note: I watched this back in early 2020 but am only writing the review now. Excuse me for any mistakes I might make about story elements as I might have remembered incorrectly.

The Untamed is one of the more ambitious Chinese dramas I've watched. It pushes the boundaries of what is accepted in broadcast and, I think, does it in a way that has broken barriers for dramas coming after it. For that alone it deserves high praises, but I will talk a bit about what I think makes The Untamed fall short from being one of the best dramas I've seen.

Story:
It's strong and character-driven, and explores a lot of interesting themes such as the distinction between good and evil, personal responsiblity, and self-sacrifice, in considerable depth. A qualm I had with it, though, would be its pacing. Certain scenes lasted entirely too long, and things only pick up at around episode 20. For an already 50 epsiode-long drama, a slow start could turn away a lot of audiences.

Acting/Cast:
I would have been harsher here if not for the fact that most of the cast were rookies, and for their experience did relatively well. The performances that stood out most to me were Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian (of course) and Song Jiyang as Xiao Xingchen. They both have a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to their upcoming works (hoping Song Jiyang gets a lead role someday)! Wang Yibo's performance sort of fluctuated but there is definitely significant improvement towards the end. Wang Zhuocheng and Wang Haoxuan's scenes were difficult to watch... which is a little bit painful considering Jiang Cheng is my favourite character, but again, they're rookies, so I'll cut them some slack.

The casting was done fairly well. I can't speak for the novel fanbase who have their own opinions but I do think Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian and Wang Yibo as Lan Wangji had a solid amount of chemistry and fit their roles fairly well. I appreciate that they cast rookies, too, as rocky as some scenes were.

Music:
I didn't pay too much attention to the music but it's definitely memorable. I can hear the main soundtracks in my head on cue, so I suppose they've done their job there. It set the mood fairly well, and considering both leads play instruments it's probably more important than I've given it credit for.

Overall, The Untamed is worth a watch but definitely not perfect. There's some slowness, amateur acting, and low-budget CGI you'd have to sit through, but the story is rich and the characters sympathetic, so ultimately I would say it's worth a try!

Leia Mais

One of the best Chinese dramas of 2020

It's a piece of poignant social commentary disguised as a murder mystery.

Someone else commented that it isn't very true to detective work at all, which is an accurate assessment of the show. More importantly, though, I think what A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower achieves is telling a truly female-oriented story that Chinese entertainment sorely needed. It explores heavy themes such as sexual abuse, the victim-blaming mentality, and unfair standards to which society holds women. What really stood out to me as well was the subversive portrayal of strong friendships between women, which is refreshing after being bombarded with contemporary dramas filled with female conflict.

[very minor spoilers ahead]

Story:
You can watch Horizon Tower expecting a murder mystery but you end up with something very different. At some point the narrative shifts away from simply trying to figure out who killed Zhong Meibao but piecing together the story of her life, and the lives of those around her. Every two episodes focuses on a person of interest in her case, and slowly, the picture comes together, and you realize no one is quite who they seem.

I mentioned this earlier, but the best part of this drama for me was the female-centred narrative. I don't think there are enough shows in Chinese enetertainment that tell the stories of real women; what we currently have are mostly caricatures or shallow fantasies, products of what older men think what younger women want to see. But Horizon Tower tells the story of a girl persevering through poverty and abuse, meeting friends who would support her through her trauma, only to be murdered moments before she may have finally escaped her past. The process of solving her murder then addresses the following issue: when the victim is female, why do we expect her to have been a perfect person?

[SPOILER: the only thing negative thing I could say about the story is the ending, which felt forcibly happy. I was absolutely relieved that it was a bittersweet ending rather than a tragic one, but if we're approaching it from the standpoint of realism, it's unlikely everything would've just fallen together perfectly like that. I'm still glad it did, though.]

Acting/Cast:
There are a lot of people they could have cast for the role of Zhong Meibao, but they chose Angelababy. While I think this was successful in generating a decent amount of buzz when it went on trending with "Angelababy's acting skills improved," I think her reputation for being a poor actress turned a large potential audience away as well. I definitely think she's gotten better, although she is still the weak link in the main characters. Otherwise, the acting was solid. Yang Zishan and Guo Tao were both good, and the supporting cast was strong.

Overall:
It's definitely among the best Chinese dramas of 2020. It's only 16 episodes so a fairly easy watch, and its message and commentary (although a little heavy handed at times) is worth taking a look at. It's clear the production took a lot of care with the subject material, and it's very entertaining as well.

Leia Mais

Sweet, but boring and slow-moving.

I enjoyed You Are My Glory, but only to the extent that I could play it in the background while I did other things.

Story:

I really wish Chinese studios would stop saturating the market with e-sports dramas (and Yang Yang would stop starring in them) because the story set-up often feels so contrived. That aside, though, You Are My Glory is remarkably well-executed. Strong chemistry, witty dialogue, and likeable protagonists turned a lacklustre, overused premise into something worth watching. I do have one large grievance to air, though, and that is the pacing - this show is very slow. It could easily have been 15-20 episodes instead of 32. There are insanely long stretches in which nothing really happens, or when things do happen, it takes far too long to resolve. If I needed to read subtitles I don't think I would have watched this show at all because I simply wouldn't have the patience to sit there.

Acting/Cast:

I credit the cast with about 80% of the reason I watched as much of the show as I did. Dilireba and Yang Yang have good chemistry, and this is one of Yang Yang's better roles in my opinion. Yu Tu's quiet introspection suits him much better than some of the more assertive characters he's attempted in the past. Dilireba's character is adorable and charming, not obsequious, and I appreciate that she is independent of the ML and romance. I found myself rooting for her more than I root for FLs with similar backstories/contexts.

Music:

The OSTs are pervasive but not bad. Don't have much else to say about it.

Rewatch Value:

I don't think I can sit through You Are My Glory a second time, but it's as good a choice as anything else when I want to put something on in the background while I do chores.

TL;DR: The plot of this story meanders but the pay-off in sweet and romantic scenes as well as chemistry between the two leads makes up for it.

Leia Mais