Favorite Character (30 Day Fandom [CQL] Challenge, Day 1)

If this challenge ends in even one reader giving CQL (aka “The Untamed”) a shot, I’ll be so excited.

*The usual disclaimer applies; I’m pants at “favorites.” Please just assume that, sometimes, my “favorites” are simply one of a few (or even several) options that I may like.
*Further disclaimer applies: If you don’t know what CQL is, please watch this and educate yourself because it’s glorious. And it has English subtitles.
Seriously, check it out. I’m so in love with it.

Okay, my favorite CQL (“The Untamed”) character has to be Wei Wuxian. I mean, I love a lot of them, but Wei Wuxian is something else. He, like so many of the others, travels a hard road, but he never compromises his ideals, even in the grip of haunted madness. The actor who plays him, Xiao Zhan, is INCREDIBLE at showing Wei Wuxian’s thoughts and feelings through facial expression and body language. He makes it evident how much Wei Wuxian is hurting. Watching him go from a fairly carefree boy to a broken, murderous man turned on by society for what he has AND hasn’t done… it hits me hard.

His arc and design is everything I love. He’s the total package as a character. His descent into a sort of madness is beautifully handled, showing that while he might be corrupted, he isn’t LOST. He’s tired, put upon, forsaken, and broken, but he isn’t LOST. I think it is an important distinction.

He sacrifices everything for the people he loves without even telling them and ends up derided by them and others both for for his choices and for things outside of his control. He’s the scapegoat of the cultivation world because of his demonic experimentation, and the way that he’s treated truly shows how hypocritical the “good guys” who turned on him are.

In his second life, he’s a fabulous influence on the next generation of cultivators, helping them avoid the hubris and follies of their parents.

For these reasons and more, Wei Wuxian (Wei Ying) is number one!

If you’d like to read more about him, you can click here.

So…….. comment below if I’ve made you want to watch CQL. Doesn’t it sound interesting??

If not, I’ll keep trying!

I hope you’re all staying healthy and keeping your chins up during this pandemic. Take care of yourselves. Read a book. Take a long shower. It’s gonna be okay. ❤

Love,

Shoujo