#because I fucking LOVE wang YiBo in a hat

[anotherdescentintomadness]

Wang YiBo + Hat = HatBo

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Episode 7

Their first vow together. So nice! I actually do like the parallels here between Lan Yi and Wei Wuxian, and Baoshan Sanren and Lan Wangji: you have one set being reckless and untamed (I said it) and the other set trying to restore order. It’s kind of funny that the ancestors are switched, though. So here we have Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji vowing to bring all the Yin Iron pieces back to the cold spring pond to neutralize them, and of course Lan Wangji’s first reaction is, “None of your business.” It’s cute how Lan Yi takes Wei Wuxian’s side and has a sense of pride for her close friend’s disciple. I think he’s an honorary Lan in her eyes.

And then Lan Yi gives them a warning to not make the same mistakes she made. Wei Wuxian’s like, “Yep, got it, I promise.” But we all know from the beginning that this obviously doesn’t go well for him, since he dies in the first five minutes of the series. He will go on to make some questionable decisions, most of which are driven by his emotions, which are often not in check. Side note: I love this series, but I don’t like how they took a great grey character like Wei Wuxian and turned him into a character where many of the things that went wrong were caused by other people.

Another side note. That fucking Yin Iron fell on the guqin so many times, and it didn’t dent it at all. Is the guqin made out of iron too? I thought it was wood. If I did that to my violin, I guarantee you the violin would not fare very well.

Forever a favorite moment. It was great enough that they were tied together by Lan Wangji’s headband, but even better that Wei Wuxian fell on him. So great—such a tease to the audience. And this is as close as we get to the scene in the book when Lan Wangji uses the body binding spell to keep Wei Wuxian on top of him all night (ooh, my heart skipped a beat when I read that).

Also, taking the screenshot, I noticed you can see the impression of the little metal piece from Lan Wangji’s headband. Little things like that interest me for some reason. I wonder if it bothered Wang Yibo—did it press too hard on his forehead? I remember him saying he’d get tan lines from the headband.

I love this little smirk he does. A moment when Wei Wuxian’s gift to gab really pays off. Instead of letting Lan Wangji talk and explain the situation, Wei Wuxian keeps speaking, lying about what they were doing. I’d like to think he does it in part to protect Lan Wangji and to stop him from breaking any of his clan rules, but likely it’s another chance for him to prove himself as someone Lan Wangji can trust. And I take Lan Wangji’s little acknowledgement of him there as his silent “thank you.” It says a lot, I think, that Wei Wuxian is willing to lie to Jiang Cheng in order to protect the Lan Clan’s secrets.

I’m sorry, but every time I hear Nie Huaisang say, “You were gone a whole day and night,” my mind immediately goes to the gutter—like the implication is that they were doing something inappropriate during that time. I keep expecting a sex joke, only to remind myself that this was on Chinese television and that would, of course, not happen. Jiang Cheng says a similar thing (and my mind goes the same way that time too), but in that case, canon book Jiang Cheng does later accuse them of having a more-than-friendly relationship, and he does not say it in a nice way.

Also, throughout the scene that precedes this, where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are discussing what to do next with Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen, it really feels like wangxian just want to go on a buddy road trip together, and they are so disappointed when they are turned down. Oh, I didn’t screencap it, but Lan Wangji has the saddest sad face at the end.

I think Lan Wangji is a little impressed here but he doesn’t want to admit it. Wei Wuxian has a great gift to come up with ridiculous stories and lies at the drop of a hat. I love that Wei Wuxian doesn’t have to come up with a scary snake story when he could have just told Nie Huaisang what he’d already told Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing, but he does anyway. Mad respect.

This also kind of amuses me because Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji can never really have a moment alone. They keep getting interrupted by other people when I think they just want to talk about what they experienced. Instead we just have all these shared glances. Nothing like a big fat secret to get close to each other, right?

Omfg Jiang Cheng is so jealous! I thought maybe I was imagining it or just projecting my own ideas onto him, but NO—he is jealous! He’s all like, “If you like Lan Wangji so much, why don’t you marry him?” I mean, that basically happened. I’ve gone on about this before, but I love the tension between Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji, and the fact that it continues even after Wei Wuxian dies makes it even better. Jiang Cheng is so stubborn and continues to hold a grudge against Lan Wangji, and it bothers the fuck out of him that there’s someone out there devoted to Wei Wuxian, by whom Jiang Cheng feels so betrayed.

And, I mean, by this point, it’s already started. As soon as they get to the Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian starts paying more attention to Lan Wangji than he does to either Jiang Cheng or Jiang Yanli. And Jiang Cheng likes to say, “You’re worrying my sister, you’re hurting my sister” when he really means, “You’re worrying me.” His stupid pride gets in the way of having a good relationship with Wei Wuxian. And I don’t think Wei Wuxian would ever put Lan Wangji above Jiang Cheng, who he considers his family—at least not at this point. It’s not until the second half that things switch, and really, even then, in the CQL-verse, the two are probably equal in Wei Wuxian’s mind. He backs off from Jiang Cheng due to Jiang Cheng’s attitude toward him.

Okay, Jiang Cheng’s jealousy aside, I love how steadfast and supportive Wei Wuxian is of him. As soon as he catches on that Jiang Cheng is jealous, he immediately starts trash-talking the Cloud Recesses and talking up Lotus Pier. It’s very cute, very sweet. He’s a good brother to him, really.

Now who’s jealous? Just kidding. I love his wistful expression here, as he watches them go off. Anyone who’s read the book knows that Lan Wangji does get jealous at times and certainly frustrated with Wei Wuxian’s coquettish behavior. I would say he is more longing at this moment, maybe even wanting to get closer to Wei Wuxian, without really understanding why himself. There’s such an isolation to his world: even though he’s surrounded by other disciples, he doesn’t have any friends. He’s maybe regretting how quickly he refused to the invitation to Lotus Pier. I think, on the one hand, Lan Wangji has found one person in this world who not only shares a secret with him, but who has similar goals—on the other hand, his code of ethics are all over the place. His heart and mind are conflicted: he wants to get closer, but he doesn’t want to make the wrong decision. To his Gusu Lan Clan mind, Wei Wuxian is all wrong, but his heart says otherwise. And I’m not saying he loves him already—but he is already seeing a kindred spirit in Wei Wuxian, someone who he can rely on, someone he can trust, someone who has his back, even if it means bending a few rules. And in a relationship, you have nothing if you don’t have trust.

I never noticed that they were communicating telepathically here. Or something. I dunno. I guess it’s not that clear.

Also if it feels like I’m ignoring all these parts with the Wen Clan, it’s because I am. I mean, not really, but this is all the Yin Iron stuff that I don’t really care about. And I’m not in the Xue Yang fan club either, so I’m not going to spend time on him until he’s actually in it in Yueyang (possibly) and Yi City. Actually, confession: I’ve never watched the Yi City flashback episodes. I read it, so I know it, but I never watched it hahaha. I will this time around. I made that pact with myself.

AWWW, HE SMILED!!!

Ahem, excuse me. This is too fucking cute, though. The rabbit lantern that Wei Wuxian drew just for him, his cute baby smile, and the Wei Wuxian pointing it out with a grin. Cuteness overload—my heart can’t take it.

But I also had a sad thought that if Wei Wuxian hadn’t come over, Lan Wangji would be sitting here alone. He’d make his lantern all on his own, send it off into the sky, say his own prayer to himself, and never hear Wei Wuxian’s, which likely sends Lan Wangji over the edge with his feelings. Everything he thought about Wei Wuxian was true, and maybe it’s okay to like him, maybe it’s okay to consider him a friend, maybe it’s okay to trust him that way.

Just a shot that I liked. Enjoy.

I feel so bad for Jiang Yanli here. I also feel bad for Jin Zixuan, even though he’s a complete dick. I understand how they both feel here—to be tied to someone you don’t know, from the time you were small children is incredibly unfair in my eyes. That being said, I know this still happens in other parts of the world, and it’s implied that it’s common in our CQL/MDZS world (which would make sense, of course). I like the feeling of siding with Wei Wuxian, wanting to come to Jiang Yanli’s defense and protect her honor, while also still having an understanding of how Jin Zixuan must feel about the whole thing. His choice has been completely taken away. And he’s, what, 17 here? What 17-year-old boy wants to be reminded constantly about how he’s already engaged? It’s not typically a young man’s dream to settle down and get married—not that it can’t be! But the implication here, with all the girls tittering about it, is that they’re all excited about marriage, and he wants nothing to do with it. Of course, Jiang Yanli isn’t either. I think she really just wants to get to know him and spend time with him, before even thinking about marrying him.

Ah, a momentous occasion: the first time Lan Wangji tries to stop Wei Wuxian from getting himself into trouble (not counting the first time they met, when he was literally trying to police him while breaking Cloud Recesses rules). I like this shot, because you have Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji on either side of Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Yanli in the front, literally putting her body between him and Jin Zixuan (actually this parallels her final scene). It kind of shows the depths of their relationships (or at least what the director wants to show us). You have Lan Wangji, who grabs onto Wei Wuxian to try to stop him from further brawling; Jiang Cheng, who stands beside him, but isn’t really involved otherwise—standoffish, in a way; and then Jiang Yanli, who physically gets in the way. She’s the quintessential big sister. And I’m not saying Jiang Cheng doesn’t care—he does, but I think his first thought always has to do with the honor of the Jiang Clan and, while he’s standing beside Wei Wuxian, it’s almost as if he doesn’t want to show any involvement with this brawl, because that would look bad.

Ah, the old dudes meeting, while Jiang Cheng stands off to the side awkwardly, wondering if he should be there or not. At the outset, this meeting to decide their children’s future seemed kind of bad, but it actually turned out nice, with them agreeing to call off the engagement. Very progressive, I thought.

Two things I learned in this scene: Wei Wuxian doesn’t want to marry a woman and he doesn’t want to leave the Cloud Recesses yet (TL: he doesn’t want to leave Lan Wangji). He seriously looks so disappointed when she says they’re going home soon.

This feels like a mixture of “I’m worried about you” and “I don’t want to be left out.” We already know at this point that Wei Wuxian doesn’t want to leave the Cloud Recesses (more that he doesn’t want to leave Lan Wangji, because he doesn’t like all of the rules, obviously). He also is very interested in what’s happening with the Yin Iron, as he has also vowed to protect it with Lan Wangji. He is very perceptive—he knows something is happening, that Lan Wangji is going to go off on his own, and he wants to go with. It’s kind of hard to say if this is more out of duty or his adventurous spirit, but either way, he wants to help Lan Wangji.

“After his leave, things will be as quiet here as before.”

Look at how sad he is! The only person he considers a friend has just left, and at this point, he doesn’t know if he’ll ever see him again. It’s possible, sure, but then only at clan gatherings, and that’s if Wei Wuxian and Lang Wangji even happen to attend the same one. I believe we know from the book that Lan Wangji doesn’t typically attend gatherings (when he’s older), he often skips them. And Wei Wuxian isn’t necessarily important enough to even be invited, so he would have to be a guest of Jiang Cheng. Obviously we all know that they do go to gatherings and see each other again, but this is what I’d be thinking if I were Lan Wangji, okay? Like, when am I going to see him again? Will I ever see him again?

I leave you with a wholesome picture of Wei Wuxian and a rabbit. Also adorable that he contemplates bringing the bunnies back to Lotus Pier, but doesn’t because Lan Wangji might get lonely. MY HEART!

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Ep 18

Note: I will be critical of Jiang Cheng in these posts. If you can’t handle that, please feel free to scroll on.

Because this arc needed more padding!

Ahem. That’s the answer to your question: “What is Song Lan doing here?” But in all seriousness, regardless of how I fee about Song Lan as a character, this part is kind of bullshit. As a staunch non-fan of the Yi City arc, I think CQL tried to place too much importance on what was really only meant to be a comparison to wangxian. There is a video I have seen of Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan watching a trailer for CQL—basically a reaction video—and probably 75% of the trailer is related to Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen. So they’re watching this trailer and Xiao Zhan goes (I’m paraphrasing), “Wow, they’re showing a lot of them.” I honestly burst out laughing, because yes! I agree! The trailer acted like Wei Wuxian was a side character in a show about Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen! I’m not kidding when I tell you that they hardly showed Wei Wuxian at all in that trailer, so it wasn’t Xiao Zhan being egotistical or anything. The trailer was absurd at best.

Stuff like this is part of the reason why I’m just…sick of the Yi City arc. I’m not going to pretend to like that creepy relationship that Xiao Xingchen and Xue Yang had—I read the book, okay? I was basically A-Qing in that—horrified.

So it’s nothing personal against Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen—I actually really like their characters! But there was really no reason to put Song Lan in an already dragging arc. We don’t need anymore padding here, seriously.

ME EITHER! HAHAHAHA.

Okay, I’m done now.

Just kidding. I’m not. Another thing I don’t like is that it feels like Song Lan gave Wei Wuxian the idea to use Baoshan Sanren as part of his ruse to heal Jiang Cheng, when that should have been his idea. Stop trying to make Wei Wuxian not as clever as he is! Song Lan should never have shown up here, and the flashback easily could have been inserted anywhere around the longest fucking flashback in the whole series (ie. empathy/Yi City arc).

So, even though Wei Wuxian is about to, y’know, give up everything for Jiang Cheng, I love how his snark is back! And it’s great how nonchalantly he says, “If you don’t eat, how are you going to get your Golden Core back?” It’s like, classic Wei Wuxian—he’s back! After so many episodes of just seeing him depressed and beaten down, this is such a breath of fresh air. Of course, it isn’t to last, but I’ll enjoy it all the same.

And the look of confusion, disbelief, then joy on Jiang Cheng’s face is also priceless. It’s good to see him smiling too!

Hahaha, his expressions here are great! Like, “Is he buying it? He’s buying it!” So adorable. So fun to see Xiao Zhan’s range constantly on display in this show—he really runs the gamut of emotions.

And Jiang Cheng’s face through this whole part: like he’s gotten a second chance at life. It’s really sweet and you really have to think about what Wei Wuxian is giving up for him. Also I did not notice that Jiang Cheng was eating with this chopsticks upside down! Lolol!

So you have Jiang Cheng on one side gaining a new life, and Wei Wuxian on the other losing a life. It’s bittersweet, I think for Wei Wuxian as well. I don’t think he feels burdened by this choice at all, it’s something he wants to do because he knows Jiang Cheng so well and he loves him. He promised Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian that he would protect Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli with his life, if necessary, and that’s really what is about to happen here. Wei Wuxian later refers to the following events at the Burial Mounds as his first death.

What Wei Wuxian is doing is very selfless: his sacrifice is motivated by nothing other than to make Jiang Cheng’s life better. He wants Jiang Cheng to be able to lead a great life, be a great leader—to have a future—even if it’s at the expense of his own life. This is completely different than what Jiang Cheng does earlier (which you don’t find out until later) when he attracts the Wens’ attention, getting caught. CQL did a good job of portraying Jiang Cheng as a character to be sympathized with: they softened him, smoothed out a lot of the edges, made him more into a character you can root for. And it’s fine if that’s the character you want to call canon. I prefer the one from the novel, who still shows through very brightly in CQL if you have that prior knowledge. So, this is all to say that Jiang Cheng partially caught got on purpose because he saw them going after Wei Wuxian and didn’t want him to get caught and killed. But the rest of the reason is because he was going back anyway. He was headed back there because he was blinded by the need to avenge his parents’ death. That’s the whole reason he was out there, remember? It was really just happenstance that he saw Wei Wuxian about to be captured there. And yes, he could have let it happen, but, c’mon, even he is not that heartless.

Just as a general disclaimer (again), these are my thoughts while watching CQL. They don’t have to be your thoughts, you don’t have to agree with them, and if you don’t, that’s totally fine. I’m not interested in having debates in the comments section of the post, though, so unless it’s something I can answer quickly, I won’t be responding to those. If you’d like to say something and you want to be answered, send me an ask.

If you thought I wouldn’t screencap this shot, then you don’t know me very well. But in all seriousness, I like this parts. It’s very, “Meanwhile, in the rest of the cultivation world….” In case you forgot about all the other characters in this show, here’s what they’ve been up to: having a war! Yes, the Sunshot Campaign is in full swing, and it’s nice to see the Nie Clan and the Lan Clan go back to their homes and take them back. Also it’s just nice to see some other characters! Like, Song Lan gave us at least something else to look at, but it sure is nice to see Nie Mingjue, Jin Zixuan, and obviously Lan Wangji again, even if the moment is fleeting.

This part is still so cool. I don’t know why, but I love these shots of Jiang Cheng slowly making his way along the path, through the grasses, up this mountain. I can’t help by think how terrifying and exciting it must be for him—he’s got a second chance at life, but there are so many things that could screw it up, so he’s replaying over and over in his head the rules that Wei Wuxian has told him. Even though I know what’s going on here, it still has a very mysterious vibe, and that bell ringing gets me every time.

I love her costume here so much! The hat, the black fabric that ripples like water—it looks so cool and creepy at the same time!

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |