Hi there fellow Suibians, 

I am thinking a lot about different scenes and moments in the drama and saw that the Favorite Scenes & Episodes thread sort of became a place where theories are shared. To give them more space I thought it would be good to open a new topic as we all see more stuff with every rewatch of this gem. ^^ 

I invite everyone to share their thoughts on different scenes, the motives behind characters actions, relationships, personality changes and more you can think of. Looking forward to read your theories. :) 

To everyone who hasn't finished The Untamed yet, please be aware that this discussion will likely include major spoilers

Something I can't get out of my head: 

Why did LWJ put the same mark on his chest as WWX got by saving MianMian? Was it to wear the same scar for his entire life as his love? Some sort of memory branded into his skin? 

Something similar I believe. I am totally guessing here but if some one can support this theory with references to lines/scenes/facial expressions from the drama/novel that would  be great. 

First he was inebriated and also in a lot of grief to think clearly. I think maybe that instance when WWX got branded left a deep impression on him than even he realised. So, it must have been at the forefront of his mind now. This is just a shot in the dark, but on top of it being as a punishment for not being able to save/be with WWX at the end (guilt, regret and mourning creating a desire and motive to self-inflict pain), he chose this particular method which is interesting. Maybe he thought giving himself that same amount of pain would bring him closer to WWX and yes wanting to be marked in the same way as WWX would be for the rest of his life. At least that's the only place I could think of this coming from.

 moonchild:
Why did LWJ put the same mark on his chest as WWX got by saving MianMian? Was it to wear the same scar for his entire life as his love? Some sort of memory branded into his skin?

When LWJ put that mark on his chest, he wasn't only Totally Drunk at the time, but also almost crazy with sorrow over his loss of WWX, so we can be assured he wasn't at his right mind at the time, so I don't think it's even a rational enough act to have a proper explanation. His brother reported he looked for something, some weapon or something like that, and couldn't find it. Then he happened upon the kept Wen brand irons of the Sunshot Campaign, and my guess is he was reminded of WWX and his sacrifice to save MianMian at the time, maybe even WWX's words at the Turtoise Cave that "this is the mark that proves that I saved a lady, and this lady will remember me forever"! In a burst of Nostalgia, longing, wanting to feel closer to WWX and be like him, and, dumbly enough, jealousy, he marked his skin in the same way WWX had marked his. At least that's my interpretation of it...

Our theories were so close!

So my question is around Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng. Was there a possible romance there or was it all in my head? It's not important after so many things happened but I am still curious about their beginnings.

 LuckyGirlGwenIce:

Our theories were so close!

So my question is around Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng. Was there a possible romance there or was it all in my head? It's not important after so many things happened but I am still curious about their beginnings.

There was a possible romance!!! after releasing Wen Qing from the prison Jiang Cheng gives her a comb!!! in the end of that episode it is shown that she takes the comb with her!!! but because of all the problems she returns that when Jiang Cheng comes to see WWX in the burial mound!!!

Yeah, I remember the comb, but I felt like it was one-sided (JC)..

 Estelll:
this is the mark that proves that I saved a lady, and this lady will remember me forever

I'm with you on this theory. To me it looks like something he did out of grief to have something that would always remember him of WWX.  

 LuckyGirlGwenIce:
So my question is around Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng. Was there a possible romance there or was it all in my head? It's not important after so many things happened but I am still curious about their beginnings.

I would say yes, at least it was a romance in the very early state. When JC asked her to leave the Wen clan but WQ said he could save her but not her brother and people he might have developed feelings for her at this point. Maybe she did too but didn't want to put him into a hard situation, being told that Wen sect was about to fall. Yet when he gave her the comb it was a promise to help her/be there for her in the future if she needed aid. 

The woman who sold combs in Caiyi Town told JC that a comb is an emblem of lovesickness. So he giving the comb to WQ could mean that he was lovesick. 

Later when WQ gave the comb back to him, she knew that he had to break with them and WWX if he wanted to protect his sect being involved in a possible raid against the last survivors of Wen clan. If you want to insert deeper meaning, her motive could be love as well. She knows that they might not be able to live in peace at Burial Mounds anymore when the other clans decide to erase the Wen clan once and for all, so she dispense JC from his promise of helping her to protect him. 

 SuibianX:


@LuckyGirlGwenIce
 

I never thought that way (the last part of your analysis saying she did it to protect JC). I think JC gave her the comb because he liked her (in his own way). She took it, because, she didn't know how she felt about him (she took it just because he gave it to her)... But, I am sure (this is my interpretation), that she gave it back, because she Knew she didn't like him.

My thoughts are similar. I think she initially was not against him so she accepted the comb and later on she just decided that she had too much going on to return his affections and that nothing could come of it now, so she returned it. Also, yes, maybe she wasn't as impressed with him anymore... 

But @moonchild - your interpretation is interesting though.. Giving it back to let him go.... 

@LuckyGirlGwenIce and @SuibianX Personally I think she gave it back because she didn't return his feelings so I agree with you. Also I thought maybe she overheard WWX and JC (heated) conversation which made up her mind.  


 SuibianX:
What do you think?

I agree. I haven't reached the parts yet where Yanli or Qing appear in the novel but I like their relations with WWX and yes the chemistry is so good. It's just that I can't really say much about Yanli. I do like her but she didn't left the same impact as other characters on me. 

Agree on both counts @moonchild and @SuibianX - The sisters were given more presence (okay, that's not the right word.. emphasis?) in the drama than novel mainly thanks to WWX and of course the actresses themselves.

Yes, Jiang Yanli didn't have much impact on me either. I don't know how they intended in the novel or if that's how the drama wanted to portray them. Most of their (Yanli and Wen Qing) scenes were described as having happened in the novel instead of narrating the scenes as they happened (I don't know if I am phrasing this right). I am not sure but maybe that's why they weren't a big deal there, while in the drama they actually played those scenes. 

In any case, even though I wasn't taken with Yanli at all at first, her existence was truly a gamechanger at every occasion. She and WWX interfered on each other's behalf and both of them suffered for it.

WWX at the victory feast of Sunshot campaign

Yanli at the hunt organised by the Jin clan

Jin bro in law inviting WWX for Jin Ling's birthday for her sake

Yanli chasing after WWX at Nightless City

Given all this and the importance of her relationship to WWX, it became hard to ignore her (Yes, I am guilty of having tried to do that at some point precisely because I didn't think much of her) - Also, she was in so many of the endless memories of JC and WWX. This also might be why her absence (and the cause for it even partially being WWX) affected JC and WWX's relationship so much. 

But all the discussions we've had in the forum about scenes with Yanli and her OST which I heard only a few days back, are making me rethink stuff

I feel like I'm rambling way too much these days..Sry, I'll try to reduce :||| 

@LuckyGirlGwenIce I was thinking Yanli didn't have a leading part but then I realized that's not completely right. 

There are some scenes where she did play a huge role and made a significant difference. 

1. When she took in WWX as a child and cared for him, being a strong big sister and protected him from dogs and mended his relationship with JC. WWX is not that different from Xue Yang when it comes to his childhood, but having a sister like Yanli surely made a difference and influenced him to become the man we see in the story 

2. When she stood up for WWX during the Jin Clan Hunt Event and sort of called the others too dumb and making clear that it's not okay to bad mouth WWX without also talking bad about her and their family. Ultimately she was the one who managed to calm down WWX when even LWJ was not able to 

 3. Her pure and kind presence while being with WWX and JC. She was the bond that kept them together through everything. Once she was gone the brother's drifted apart

I think the power of her character is her presence and kind/fair nature. It goes unnoticed at first but once you think about it and look more deeper you see just how much she actually influenced some characters and situations. 

Edit: I love your rambling, it makes me think about some scenes and makes me rewatch them. ^^

 SuibianX:
But I mean, it makes me want to do it immediately!

Same. xD 


 SuibianX:
"He drank the wine he drank, suffered the wounds he suffered"...

For me that sounds like he did this because he wanted to feel being closer to WWX like others cling to the belongings of a dead person in grief 

LWJ suffered so much. T.T

I'm late to the drama, I only watched the version on Netflix (I was being cheap lol I canceled my Viki), so I'm not sure if it was cut out? 

 Anyways, in the last episode, Jin Rulan asks Uncle Jiang Cheng, "what did you want to say to him?" -- What would JC have said? I wish the two got to actually "make up" in the end, since they grew up as brothers and JC learned that WWX sacrificed his cultivation for him. I wish they touched up more on that just because this series has so much bromance. 

I also wish they would share more about his mom's sifu, they kept name dropping her but nada. It made me really want to meet her!