(FL): personality is as exciting as box of Kleenex. Boo
FL portrayal was pretty awful - boring, weak, just a ragdoll of simpering, weepy, codependent, can’t take care of herself and (literally) needs mommy daddy boyfriend to do it all character. It’s so extremely cringey in that way. She’s a 20-something adult. The character has 0% charisma, intelligence, humor.Reviews that say it’s like a warm hug aren’t wrong - it’s a quiet little story that’s a palate-clearing break from xianxia or historical dramas. BUT…the FL’s ultra timid “I need someone to make decisions for me” ragdoll wasn’t worth the time (for me). Seriously ick. I found her character’s personality so, so, so wimpy, whiny, uncomfortable, uncommunicative and uninteresting, and because of that, unattractive.
Other characters are good. Really liked the traditional medicine aspect a lot. ML was well done by Zhang Linghe - character was portrayed well as gentle, intelligent, bookish, thoughtful, peaceful, supportive. A little odd that he was actively pursuing a patient, but whatevs. It’s fiction.
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Erotic art mention by FL and the ML didn’t pass out. Applause!
Good, enjoyable watch. Not particularly deep or tragic, you’re not left emotionally hollowed-out at the end, visuals are well done and acting is excellent. Story felt pretty women-focused. Great chemistry, extremely extroverted, confident FL and a stoic but emotional (of course) introverted ML. It really follows the leads, doesn’t spend countless eps on only palace schemes and intrigues, which is great. The leads carry it.It’s definitely a bit not-even-trying-too-hard-to-make-this-slightly “real” (FL is very petite, sub-100lbs and swinging a sword against giant, battle-hardened, sword swinging men 2-3x her size; an emperor who has a sense of humor; a woman who binds her chest which magically erases all feminine giveaways? Nahhh!) But it’s fine. It’s formulaic, but it works thanks to good acting and enjoyable characters by all.
Highlight: Pursuit of Jade advisor/strategist/comedic sidekick Gongsun Yin actor Li Qing plays nearly the same
character right down to his love of carrying fans. Note: think he looks weird, esp his mouth/teeth? It’s because his face was superimposed via AI over an another actor’s who got into legal trouble and had to be fully nuked from the drama, which was still in post-production when it all went down.
Chu Zhao actor Zhang Kang Le looks like he could be (he’s not) a close blood relative of actor/singer of Yan An (Fangs of Fortune, Veil of Shadows), which means he’s so insanely WTF good-looking it’s distracting in a pleasedon’tbeabadguy way.
I mentioned it’s very women-forward. I liked that. References of menstruation. Comments on erotic art when talking to a man and nobody fainted. A scene where ML had to excuse himself for what would probably be a cold shower in modern drama. Fun moments of ML personal guard not knowing He Yan’s true gender. She’s not doing what it looks like you think she’s doing moments. Not afraid to be fun/slyly suggestive in that way, it’s not stuffy with everyone fanning themselves over a glance.
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Good (but pretty cheesy) fun
I saw more of Cheng Lei’s nipples than I saw my own in an entire week, and that was just the first 2-3 episodes.Heads-up for an Untamed fans: the voice actor who did Lan Zhan/Lan Wangji did the voice of Cheng Lei’s Prince Annan /Duan Aodeng in this drama.
Shadow Love is visually low-budget looking, with super dull cinematography/lighting etc. which leaves you wishing for better in the supernatural types of scenes.
Poor Cheng Lei looks like he just strolled out of his mom’s van and into small town Comicon cosplaying most of the time, every harsh detail of his outfit glaring under bright lights, every wisp of his unsmoothed wig. At least the blue body special effects are done very well, ‘cept when they get too flashy and look like fake lightning (cringe). But it really feels like budget was def not on making anything look good, it’s not a feast for the eyes except the natural beauty of the leads.
Music: baaaaaad cheesy rock anthems (Liu Yuning, too! Dang!) somewhere between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Pokémon. Scratch that, Pokémon movies had better tracks. Seriously.
If male lead Cheng Lei hadn’t been here, this would have been a flop. He is very capable and believable as perfect devoted boyfriend: warm and caring, thoughtful Jinan - this portion goes on for longer than you’d wish, though. He’s equally buyable as stern, authoritarian and quietly smoldering Prince Annan (wish there was more), as well as his blue sparks/shirtless/gorgeous vampiric superhero Man in Black (ditto).
His latching on to FL’s neck with his mouth for a quick vampire-esque pick-me-up was the sexiest thing you’ll see in a handful of romances and it wasn’t explicit.
I’ve seen him now in 2 other dramas (Fangs of Fortune and My Journey to You), both of these dramas are excellent and well shot), and it’s pretty obvious he has natural charisma.
Wish I could say that about literally anyone else here other than…serviceable. Did a decent job. Nothing bad to say. It’s a popcorn 🍿 fluff kind of series, entertaining if you like or are curious about the leads, skippable if not.
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Hey! Where’d His Clothes Go?*
As usual with this writer/director, there’s a lot to enjoy for fantasy lovers. Expect moody, emotional, magic-infused visual storytelling, wind machines on high and flowing, bedazzled hanfu/robes/costumes, exceptionally beautiful people (esp men), and a soundtrack with words that’ll make you cry. It kicks @ss. It’s exciting, mystical, interesting and never dragged.Story has some timey-wimey shenanigans, so relax a bit when that starts to play a part. Enjoy the journey. It’s imperfect in many of the same ways that Fangs of Fortune was. There will be loss, you’ll be a lil confused, and probably want a face to face stern talk with the director. But —there are more somewhat hopeful twists in this story. Less emotional devastation, depending on your view.
Tian Jiarui does a fantastic job here as the achingly sweet natured Ji Ling. Wow. I was programmed to like him from Fangs of Fortune & My Journey to You. He doesn’t disappoint. And his small side role as an ethereal, ghostly lonescale demon is the most tragic and visually gorgeous thing in this drama.
Speaking of FoF, there’s a Weasel demon sidekick copy of Fangs of Fortune’s little mountain god in ALL ways. Very likeable, but such a carbon copy. Was the other actor busy?
Warm, eloquent, mature/experienced expressions of a lifetime of love, caring, devotion were really moving between M/F leads and others, while obsession played out as well.
Ju Jingyi. I didn’t care at all for acting, appearance/makeup styling, demeanor, little girly voice character - the visuals slammed me right out of the drama at first. Edit: Grew on me a ton as we go along. It’s the 1st time I’ve seen her and I look forward to her in different role.
Yan An. He has presence in addition to obvious pecs/striking beauty. Loved him in FoF. BUT he’s not being given much here. He draws attention way too much to be a third wheel, so some early scenes feel awkward. But he fleshed out as it moved along. His scenes with Tian Jiarui’s initial arrival as a little fox making his first human transition were at first shocking, then very moving.
Joseph Zeng. Liked his stable brand of character and love. He was a bit sidelined even when his role carried so much weight in this story.
Great job with side characters. You understand who they are and their skill sets, and desperately want them all to survive.
I cried when I was sad, then I cried when I saw familiar faces again and I was happy. Rolled my eyes at myself but couldn’t help it. Again, par for the course with director.
Beautiful moments; anything with lonescale demon/Ji Can visuals. Bombastic orange sparks and purple lightning battle scenes with electronica music pumping featuring Bai Ze (looooved him!) vs whatever character Yan An is channeling at that moment.
* Funniest (unintentional) scene: later stage battle sequence where a character’s clothes explode off his (ripped) body as he readies for a final showdown. Applause!
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Fantastic! Until the open ending
There’s not a single thing not to love about this drama for most of it. But there are a few plot holes towards the latter part that are so gaping huge you could drive a train or two in them. And I’m not even picky about everything needing to make sense lolThe good: Actors! Humor, sarcasm, naughty/rule breaking behavior is sprinkled in run throughout, humanizing the characters and making it a fun watch, there are times you’ll bark out a laugh. And eke out some emo tears, too.
Tian Jiarui’s lil bro poisons master is an intense little freak, chewing up every scene he’s in with delicious intensity, it’s both campy and intimidating at the same time. You both feel for him and fear him. Wouldn’t trust him to make my tea or even live anywhere near me. But would want him close in a desperate situation. His super intense big bro (played by Cheng Lei) is magnetic. Can’t take your eyes off him. Charisma for miles.
Zhang Linghe’s noble hero is uncomplicated and pure of heart. I liked that so much. No BS, very genuine, but still interesting.
FLs were good, but the men stole this show. Esther Yu seems always professional in every role and never phones it in. But buying her as a real-deal assassin? Nah. It didn’t work for me. Second FL (Lu Yuxiao) character was a bit more believable.
Beautiful cinematography/feel, which is par for the course with this director, unabashedly emotional and lovely visual treatment of friends, family and loves who have passed on.
The Bad: plot holes. Cliffhanger ending that can ONLY be explained by there were plans for a 2nd season (but never happened).
This drama was a 9.5+ for me right up until the last few eps. The open ending was so empty, the show just wrapped up with a shrug, leaving the exciting, stressful story we were following right at that moment on hold without explanation, leaving so much unresolved there MUST be a reason. I hate not giving it a better score. It’s absolutely worth watching, truly great. Just tell yourself maybe there will be a part 2 someday (haha) and enjoy the ride!
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Not bad. Not great, either.
It’s cheesy at times. I love sweeping/epic guilty pleasure epic romance, but this one just had not enough something, the weakness mostly centering on the women characters, including the lead.They were either embarrassing lame schemer villains, or supposedly brave types who just massively got in the way of others doing the heavy lifting (see?! I’m helping lift this whole pail of water all by myself right at this pivotal moment in my pink dress with no dirt on it! Weeee!), or one dimensional wise woman types (I actually liked this one, plastic surgery n’ all).
You know those scenes in the Star Wars movies with the Force ghosts? How it’s kinda uhhh, huh?! but you let it slide. This movie even has smiling Force ghosts. Cringe.
I liked a few of the side characters, esp the four Wei brothers, (loved Qu and his awesome face). Liu Yuning did a good job in his role as the ML, as well as the actor who played the FL’s dad, Ping.
I wasn’t a fan of saving nearly everything till the end. Romance, births, deaths, etc, it all gets packed into the last few eps and that made it feel rushed and glossed over. Felt like it just missed the mark on that.
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Unique, heroic, tragic, destiny, redemption…worth watching
Late edit: this drama stays with you for weeks/months. It lives in my head, and memories of it hit hard whenever I hear the music or see an actor in another drama. It’s surprisingly haunting. Guess a second watch will be in my future. Wasn’t ready for that lol.Also wasn’t prepared to see the most facially striking man (Yan An as Li Lin) I’ve ever seen in my life. He has a kind of ultra rare beauty that both men and women would start wars over. His real life must be annoying in weird ways because of it.
Hope there was a tent with drip IVs for the main actors because I’ve never everevereverrr seen so many tears dripping down like rain and rivers of emotion. I was right there with them some of the time. If you don’t blubber floods of hot tears at least 1x when Hou Minghao’s haunting “Yuanzhou’s Youth” plays then you might be a soulless monster. Off to the Wilderness with you :)
FoF broadcasts what you’re in for very clearly in the first few episodes, so it’s no spoiler to say…listen. And enjoy this often beautiful and poetic journey.
Tragic and visually stunning from the very beginning. Thoughtful words on the nature of good and evil, of choice, of love, and the importance of a humble light in the darkness. Big, bombastic, colorful fight scenes that are cinematic eye candy. Plus a soundtrack that plays in your mind constantly.
I was surprised that as this story went on, the nice but super square/one dimensional hero Zhou Yichen became so much deeper, bursting with layers of emotion and rivaling Hou Minghao’s sly, dry humored, impish and very easy -to-adore great demon. I hope Zhou Yichen’s actor sends the director a thank you card every Valentine’s Day, cuz it became allllll about him and less about HMH’s demon in last half. The bromance chemistry between the 2 male leads is way stronger from start to finish than the chaste love romance between ML/FL (which isn’t very romantic at all).
Evil and good, the nature of control and destiny vs free will…it’s deep without being preachy or so heavy that it’s not a blast to watch. But man, I had tears falling all through it (but NOT the kind that drags you down and makes the whole experience a downer, for the most part).
Took off a star because it went on much longer than needed. Could have ended perfectly at end of ep 27. Or mayyyybe another two or three well edited eps past that, but not seven. It began to lag, drag, and get TOO pointlessly over the top melodramatic in last few eps. I really missed the demon-of-the-week type of format of the earlier eps, and a truly memorable villain (there is one, but yawn) in the later part. The strong team aspect of it, which was so great in first half, began to splinter off later on, the characters stagnated, some of the team had nothing interesting to do (this also applies to FL character) or they were absent/off on individual tangents, etc.
There’s a 26 minute epilogue/extra episode after the official 34-episode run. Definitely watch it :)
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Worth your time on all levels!
If you’re into this genre like me, it would be hard to not love this drama!It has a slightly different vibe - I think this comes directly from the ML character, who is extremely other-worldly and that never really shifts too much. He doesn’t turn into a relatable, warm n’ gooey human type no matter what the situation. Which is pretty great in terms of giving this a really cool angle. The guy is different than any other being on the planet, and they went with it.
Shen Li herself is a fantastic character. Strong, funny, stubborn, talented, she’s easy to like and cheer for. Loved her for her strength, and her ability to be a fully formed character, not arm candy, scheming, or fake strong. The character kicks butt on her own!
Visuals are good, and the music, ohhhhh man, it’s one of those ear worms that won’t shut up and plays in your head when you’re trying to go to sleep. You’ll know which one I’m talking about (you first hear it played on a leaf). Wang Heye’s soaring, yearning song “Not Knowing to Turn Back” is the best Cdrama song I’ve ever had stuck in my head. Please go listen.
Side characters are numerous and memorable - actor He Yu’s bimbo playboy airhead (with a good heart) Furong is funny and a standout. There are many things to love about this, from the strong, unique, mature characters to the good effects and epic gods n’ demons storyline, it’s a must-see.
Just for comparison, other dramas Ive loved this much (or nearly) include Love Between Fairy and Devil and Love in the Clouds.
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Mediocre. Nothing special. Dated.
Rich with annoying women scheming over men, to the point it’s uncomfortable. Dated visuals…everything just feels creaky and outdated, which isn’t something that should be THAT noticeable. True classics transcends that kind of thing.I felt there was a lot of flatline (and even plain bad) acting, esp Dilraba and the super clingy female villains. All female characters are scheming jerks, or weak and lip trembling frail, or just…empty-headed numnuts. Uninspired, bored acting in bad wigs everywhere.
Cheesy visuals like jumping on a bird to fly, but it looks shaky. I love this genre, but it needs some good (or creative) effects to help bring the otherworldliness to life without recoiling and thinking, omg, that looked SO bad!
I found the side characters of both Ghost Lord prince (Zhang BinBin) and his sister interesting and thought provoking (the supposed bad faction actually had two of the more kinder, relatable people vs the holier-than-thou goody two shoes angelic immortals), wish there was more. I also appreciated the interesting relationship between Zhe Yan (the old Phoenix) and Bai Zhen, played by late actor Yu Menglong. Seemed like an old married couple
Overall, I was so ready for a big love story between the leads and was bored by ep 25. Plus, Women wailing over nothing gets so old, it’s insulting. It’s so second rate on so many levels, I’m shocked at the ratings.
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Perfect dark faerie tale. Cried. Smiled.
Dark, epic love, emotionally moving, funny (at times) and basically anything and everything you’d wish for in a fantasy like this.Dylan Wang/Wang He Di blows the doors off the hinges from start to finish, and some of his best moments are when he’s channeling his co-star. Esther Yu - she dubbed her own voice, and she chose an eye-gouging, gag-inducing, uber cringey baby talk voice that may make you wince. I did. BUT, hang in there. She lightens it up (a bit) as the story moves forward.
If you’re into this genre, it’s a must-see. You’ll go back and rewatch, too.
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Shines Bright Despite Shaky Start
I went into The Untamed in 2026 after only watching 4 C dramas previously. The ratings were so high, and the fanbase seemed rabidly passionate when I researched, so I was happy to jump in.Buuuuut…it started with so-so initial production quality (I’d only watched Love Between Fairy and Devil, Pursuit of Jade, and a few others), enough so I nearly tuned out. It felt dated and meh. Story seemed flat.
But I knew better from great (US) series like Supernatural that if THIS many people from all over the world are screaming from the rooftops about something, listen to them closely, give it a chance. Keep going and stick with it beyond a few eps.
I did, and I came out the other side a complete raving fan.
This show has the magic of original Star Trek or Supernatural - it soars and bursts with life and energy due to the characters and the actors bringing them to life and doesn’t need a fancy production budget. It’s phenomenal. It’ll make you cry. Laugh. Stay up till 4am desperate for behind other scenes content on YouTube in a language you don’t speak.
At its heart, Xiao Zhan’s magnetic, devil may care, kind and noble-hearted Wei Wuxian (Wei Ling), who you follow through life, deaths, rebirth and more. It’s storytelling of a HUGELY epic nature. And with him through this odyssey is Lan Zhan: stoic, otherworldly, but ice cold and uncompromising (think:Spock)…who is yanked right out of his rigidly controlled life by meeting his complete opposite, something way more than a best friend or buddy or romantic interest - they’re soulmates.
The Untamed is grand, beautiful, tragic, wonderful…and ultimately, hopeful. Don’t wait to meet all these characters brought to life by talented actors and actresses and story and behind the scenes people who just got it SO perfect. It’s rare.
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Romance, action, humor, this series is perfection!
It’s just perfect on all fronts, a stunning mix of the people in front of the camera and behind it all just hitting a huge home run from the very first shot.It’s eye candy both in cinematography and actors - it’s a ridiculous male beauty pageant on a level that’s almost distracting if the story wasn’t so well done. They even out-pretty the women, which is hard to do with the gorgeous actresses here.
Story has it all - romance, humor, intensity, warmth, sadness, passion, fun…and villains that chew up the scenery and are more than just boring placeholders. You are engrossed in everyone’s stories here, not just a hero or two.
I really like fantasy and xianxia - but PoJ crossed right over my borders and became one of my favorite dramas ever. Don’t even wait to watch it - I promise it’s worth your time. I’ll be watching everything this director puts out in the future!
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