Episode 4: Leading All the Boys Astray

[wshaffer]

We begin with a new section - Zhanalytics!
Broody Stares: 4
Intense Eye Contact: 3
Facial Twitches: 0
Fist Clenching: 0

A relatively mild episode on the Zhanomometer.

Wei Wuxian really did write the principles 300 times!

These Lan principles are really random. "A headband is not for another purpose." Uh, what purpose? Are people running around misusing their headbands? You had to make a rule about this?

"Don't go tuft hunting" What? (Okay, Merriam-Webster online defines a "tuft hunter" as "One who seeks association with persons of title or high social status.") These subtitles are...interesting. I wish I knew more Mandarin. I wonder how long it would take for me to learn enough Mandarin to get any sort of additional understanding of the dialogue? There are 46 more episodes of this after all. And a lot of other Chinese drama in the world.

Now it's time to open presents! And gossip!

Aw, Lan Xichen is so nice. He's gonna die before this is over, isn't he?

Ah, the extremely subtly costumed Wen clan arrives. I'm pretty sure that setting the door guard on fire is against the Lan principles.

Wen Chao is Angry Boy. Why was he sent along? Is this some kind of reverse psychology? Wen Chao will piss everyone off so much that Wen Qing and Wen Ning will seem pleasant in comparison?

Lan Xichen's flute solo is so disarming. Literally. (Although it kind of bugs me that I think that I can tell that no one in this show is really playing the flute. I know the instruments are overdubbed, but it looks strangely unconvincing.)

Wei Wuxian is already busy leading young men astray -- Nie seems fascinated by him. Lan Zhan seems determined to pretend he is not there. (Oh, and apparently he still has 260 more copies of the principles to do.)

It's the very earnest Meng Something! He's so sweet. He and Lan Xichen are being *very intense* in this conversation. Are they flirting or is there some other subtext that I'm not picking up? (My bet is BOTH.)

My ability to keep track of names is hitting its limits. I need to copy out the cast list 300 times.

Well, I was waiting for one of them to fall in the river and inaugurate the first annual Cloud Recesses wet t-shirt contest.

Wuxian's clothes suddenly seem dry when he goes to talk to Lady Wen Qing, though. Magic?

Aw, Jiang Cheng seems kinda jealous of Wei Wuxian.

Jiang Cheng is not taking any of Wei Wuxian's carp. No, that's not a typo.

Are Nie and Wuxian passing notes in class? And Wuxian just stuck a drawing of a turtle to Lan Qiren's back. Lan Zhan is not impressed by his antics. How old are these guys? I am having flashbacks to middle school.

Wei Wuxian is answering all the quizzes. Now Lan Zhan looks impressed. Until Wuxian has to spoil it by being all, "But what if necromancy?" and gets himself kicked out of class with extra homework assigned. I feel like ink and paper were not actually this inexpensive in ancient China.

Does he do his homework? Of course not! He goes and watches Wen Ning do archery, and is all, "Hey, let me fix your posture." Wen Ning seems fascinated. Wei Wuxian is gonna seduce every boy but the one he wants, I guess?

And there is almost a tragic archery accident. Possibly this ought to have been Wen Ning's cue to stay the hell away from Wei Wuxian.

And then Lan Zhan comes at Wuxian with a sword. And Wei Wuxian breaks into a big grin like, "Yes! I pissed him off enough that he finally noticed me! Success!!!!"

Comments

[teleidoplex]

The Zhanometer is possibly the most delicate scientific measuring instrument of all time. It has to be, to pick up the miniscule variations :D

Does it have an attachment to detect the variation in meaning whenever Lan Zhan says "Wei Ying!"

Heh. Carp.

I think they're meant to be about 16 during the Cloud Recesses summer. The show doesn't go well into the passage of time, so it sort of seems like everything happens over the course of three months, but it's more like years are covered between Cloud Recesses and the events that lead to WWX's temporary death.

Those can also be measured somewhat -- by the size of Lan Zhan's headpiece :P

[wshaffer]

We're working on "Wei Ying!" inflection-analysis, but it's terribly difficult to calibrate. It's kind of like detecting neutrinos, except it requires a vast quantity of superheated fannish enthusiasm.

[swan_tower]

The flute-playing thing annoys me enough that I have to just not look at the screen when it happens. My brain can't cope with the discrepancy between what the fingers are doing and what the actual music is doing.

[wshaffer]

Yeah, my only experience with playing wind instruments was a mandatory year of recorder study in 4th grade, so I don't even notice that the fingering is off. It just doesn't look to me like they're blowing in a way that would actually make music.

[swan_tower]

Oh, I know bugger-all about the actual fingering per se. But when their fingers are moving like they're playing different notes while the music holds a steady tone, or vice versa, even I notice it's off.

Though Adrienne pointed out that on that type of flute, i.e. without the weird complex keys of a modern Western orchestral flute, you'll never get fingerings where some fingers in the middle are lifted. It's just a straight-line sequence, further down for lower notes, further up for higher. So they're also fingering the things like keyed flutes, when they aren't.

(But this is hardly unique to The Untamed, or for that matter to musical instruments in these shows more generally. None of 'em match what's happening in the music, or even basic technique.)