withbroombefore:withbroombefore:sarawatsaraleo:LET’S GO?This scene is so important. I don’t remember
withbroombefore:withbroombefore:sarawatsaraleo:LET’S GO?This scene is so important. I don’t remember whether it’s the first time we see them treat each other utterly seriously, but it’s close to it; Wei Wuxian is not playing or even smiling, and Lan Wangji is not pushing him away or ignoring him. This early, that is a rare combination, even more so outside of battle or other stressful situations. Here they really truly see each other and they see that they are feeling the same thing, and it’s too important a feeling to joke about or repress. The fact that they both recognize that is such an important step in their relationship. Not only do they register that the other person wants the same thing, but they both learn that they can trust each other to take such moments seriously. They’ve spent months learning how to be together in a variety of ways, but usually there is some degree of eye-rolling or humor or other distancing technique. If not that, then they’re probably in battle or somewhere that they need to focus; we know at this point that they work together and trust each other in that context. But I think this is the first time they realize that they can have that kind of unspoken understanding at other times too.It’s also one of the only times we see either of them admit, to themselves or to anyone else, that they want something other than the life that they have. One could regard this as a step towards letting themselves want each other too.Also the acting in this scene is just incredible on both sides; its understatedness is what makes the whole interaction so compelling.Okay I’m back I have more feelings about thisWe all know about Wang Yibo’s genius encapsulated in the way Lan Wangji swallows here. But look at Wei Wuxian’s face journey. He looks so sad when he turns away; when have we seen him with an expression like that (so far)? He’s having to let go of not only the life that he’s only just realized that he wants, but also the only living family he’s seen since his parents died. This kid who smiles as a defense mechanism is feeling so deeply that he looks like a different person.And then he turns and sees that Lan Wangji is feeling something very similar (not the family, but the rest of it).I think that this is Wei Wuxian’s rabbit lantern moment. I think that this is when he realizes that Lan Wangji shares the values that he holds so deeply that he barely even understood them himself, that he has never spoken aloud to anyone. Not what his sect or family thinks is important, but what he does. It’s so fitting that, like with the lantern oath, both of them act so in character and yet so differently from the way they present themselves to the world: with the lantern, Wei Wuxian says something deeply earnest and true, not meant for anyone else, and Lan Wangji is so struck that he smiles; in this scene, Lan Wangji lets his expression show his longing, and Wei Wuxian doesn’t need words to understand.And so a moment after Wei Wuxian watches his only tie to his birth family walk away, he realizes that he truly isn’t alone; the connection with Lan Wangji isn’t a replacement, but it’s something new and more powerful than I think either of them realized before.The other element of Wei Wuxian’s expression here is that he doesn’t want to tell Lan Wangji that they can’t go do what they find most important. But he does, because they must go with the others. When have we ever seen Wei Wuxian be the one to call Lan Wangji–or anyone else–back to task? And he does it so gently: that little nod that says, I know. I understand. That tells Lan Wangji what Wei Wuxian just realized: they’re neither of them alone in wanting what they do.This is the first time we see Wei Wuxian do what he feels is necessary. It’s important that here, he could probably have done what he wanted without repercussions to anyone else (unlike his later decisions, which very much are to protect others). It very clearly shows that his irresponsibility is just an act; as with his later actions, he is the one to start moving first, not needing anything but his own moral compass as motivation. And we see the beginnings of the dynamic that comes after he is brought back: Wei Wuxian takes the lead, and Lan Wangji supports him. I love so much that when they both trust each other, that dynamic is a healthy one. They don’t need to be the same; they complement each other, and neither of them has to be alone. -- source link
#the untamed#wei wuxian#lan wangji