I need to put it out there. I love The Untamed’s ending. Well, I especially love the feeling that ending left me. Although the whole process was like having my heart taken out, chopped in 100 pieces, stick back together with Light Bearing glue, and placed back in my chest. I was happy, sad, confused, excited, anxious, upset, hopeful, and moved.
I’ve watched a lot of Chinese historical fictions since a young age, as they were really popular in my country. It’s easy to end a drama with 2 main characters riding off to sunset together. What’s difficult is creating a final vision that stuck in the viewers’ minds for a very very long time. For whatever reason The Untamed crew decided to leave what we saw as the ending (I’d imagine they filmed a few different versions, and could only use what passed the censorship test set by the government), they’ve made it - they created an image that would stay with me as a viewer forever.
It would have made a bit more sense with further context. Lan Xichen’s isolation was not explicitly explained in the last episode. That might have kind of downplayed the importance of why LWJ had to stay back not only to take up the Excellency role but also take care of Lan clan - considering Grand Master Lan already retiring and just focusing on giving lectures and stuff now. But we all understand, although LWJ has broken quite a few rules just to stick by his soulmate WWX, it’s not that simple when it comes to walk away COMPLETELY from your family (and the family ‘business’ - typical oriental family pressure passed down from father/male authority figure to sons/nephews). On the other hand, WWX does not have the same problem. He already defected from Jiang clan in his previous life and parted way with Wen Ning (pretty much his other next of kin) in this life. So we would have thought the easiest solution is just for him to stay in Gusu - which, according to The Untamed Special Edition, was meant to be the ending despite the fact that the beginning of that episode (the ‘Aren’t you coming with me Lan Zhan?’ scene being re-arranged) made zero sense whatsoever.
Putting that aside, let’s just look at why it’s actually quite important for WWX to be away for a while. I’ve said this countless times and we all know very well, this man has been through SO FREAKING MUCH. If anyone deserves a vacation (apart from LWJ but I mean would the drama-version of LWJ actually going to take a holiday?), it’s him. Gusu retreat is not exactly ideal with all the rules and judgemental look/attitude from your boyfriend’s uncle. With LWJ being busy picking up with new role, WWX would be so BORED. Trust me, I did not gather all of this from my first watch because I was so emotionally confused by everything in episode 50. After a few more tries, this is more of a realistic view to justify why LWJ being pretty calm saying (temporary) goodbye to WWX on the mountain. The same man who hesitated chasing after NHS in Qinghe as he did not want to leave WWX’s side, and everything from that episode onward really. There’s NO way he would be THIS cool with letting WWX leave if he’s not confident that WWX will RETURN.
Similarly, after living through 2 lives being so dense about LWJ’s feelings, WWX has finally come to terms with how much he needs LWJ by his side - so much that he assumes it’s a fixed thing and completely forgets that LWJ has family stuff going on too - case in point ‘Where should we be going next Lan Zhan?’. It does seem like WWX cannot put a name to it yet though i.e. his feelings and everything.
Some time apart would definitely do both of them some good, and when WWX figures out his feelings, they will reunite at the same spot which is obviously right above Gusu waterfall. I should have read into the whole ‘When we meet again, you better tell me the name of the song’ bit a little deeper, as it would have neatly justified my point above. By the time WWX comes back (which he did, we saw it, it’s real) and ready to let LWJ know how he feels (off-screen, thanks a lot Chinese censorship), LWJ will follow by revealing the song name - WangXian. If that doesn’t scream LOVE confession, I don’t know what is. If you know any pair of brothers or simply close friends who compose a love song using their ship name, please educate me as heterosexually speaking that’s not something I’d do.
If you look at the big picture of how the ending is executed in the drama, it does parallel the novel’s ending in a way. The only major change is that instead of WangXian going off for a honeymoon right after eloping at the end of the Guanyin Temple event, WWX goes by himself while LWJ stays behind to get his house in order. If I remember correctly, they return to Gusu in the novel and settle, like, explicitly confirming Jing Shi as their home.
In the drama, WWX returns to the same meeting spot (again, just above Gusu waterfall), LWJ hears the signal song (his radar is as sharp as Google alert, let’s not forget episode 2 when he outruns JC to Dafan Mountain upon hearing WWX’s flute). He then rushes to the mountain top and reunites with his soulmate. 2 obvious facts: it was HIS VOICE calling Wei Ying, and WWX’s biggest happiest smile (NEVER saw him smile like this to anyone else throughout 50 episodes) as he’s overflown with joy.
We might have doubted ourselves watching this as we were just so emotionally invested in ROOTING for these two. But on a nice and calm day, watch it again and you will realize how OBVIOUS it is being a HAPPY ENDING. No hallucination nonsense, no need to zoom in WWX’s eyes to find the white figure. It’s as clear as day. They reunite, profess their feelings, and settle in Gusu.
You’ll see what I mean about loving the emotional rollercoaster this ending leaves you, that no ‘driving off to sunset together’ type of finale can deliver. Happy, sad, confused, excited, anxious, upset, hopeful, moved, and… satisfactorily complete.
Thank you The Untamed cast and crew your incredible hard work to bring us such a well crafted production and story that will stay in our heart forever <3
i don’t think i could put it into words any better even if i tried. and i am definitely in no mental state right now to put any words to paper. i just finished The Untamed and this post sums up my feelings so perfectly and provides me with a sense of comfort.
To My Shore just ended and I can confidently say it was one of my favourite show of year. yunqi and hao yiran were so so wonderful together. interestingly enough, the show stayed quite honest to its source material, included all the scenes that really mattered. and yes that includes the warehouse scene.
ngl maybe it was a bit rushed, 15 eps is never enough to capture +100 chapters, we saw it with ABO Desire, but To My Shore definitely did a lot better with their story and continuity, whereas ABO Desire cut out crucial scenes and left me a little confused sometime. that being said, i would’ve loved to see Fan Xiao with Tiantian more and him at the orphanage scene playing with the kids. Fan Xiao’s smile would’ve healed both You Shulang and my heart i reckon.
i will miss yunqi and hao yiran so dearly. their weekly videos kept me going these last couple months. i honestly don’t know what i will do now that i don’t have this wonderful mad show to look forward to every week. i really really hope the extra episodes get to production soon and kinda glad they will be new extras, meaning additional story of them being domestic and lovey dovey hopefully.
i also think yunqi and yiran should do more shows together. these two has such natural chemistry. and like baby star also don’t want to leave yunqi. so at least for star’s sake, yunqi and yiran should be kept together
Fan Xiao looks soo handsome in the new episode with his cute little ponytail. like fuck yeah You Shulang make that lil boyo suffer as he deserves, the angst is killing me but i am eating this shit up.
i have been seeing a lot of people speculating that inspector Mek might be Sergeant Atikun’s son or the temple guy might be involved with the rituals, but i’m gonna do a stab in the dark and say what if Singha is the child???
Category 1: Top 5 Thai BLs released in 2025(pt. 2)
firefly’s top 5 (actually 10)
before i continue my top 5, here’s the link to the previous part
i would also like to give a special shout out to Gelboys. While it didn’t make my top 10, it was a damn good show. now we continue to my top 5 Thai shows of this year.
5. Top Form
it hurts to talk about this one, but it’s in my top 5, so i must. i started this show with no expectations. i didn’t read the novel, never heard of the actors, but my god what a treat it was to discover this show each week. Smart and Boom have an undeniable chemistry and it was so unfortunate to watch everything unfold the way it did. I think the universe of Akina has so much potential, and i am sad that we won’t see Smart be part of it. but back to the show, i think the story telling was wonderful, THAT scene was so artistically done, and just these 2 are so talented.
I guess you can notice a theme, i really liked these celebrity dramas this year. This one worked not only because of Peterpan and Pond but because of the rest of the supporting cast. Like the assistant’s comic timing was so perfect. And sometime, you just need a man so stupidly in love with his man, and the only conflict is external forces. This show made me feel so so giddy. And my goodness Pond Ponlawit the actor that you are, the range that you have!
This one might be cheating, but like 77% of this show aired in 2025, so I am counting it. When this show aired, i was going around recommending it to ALL my friends, not like anyone watched it… But this was so wholesome and being a boyband stan since way back in 2012 (yikes i am showing my age) so much of the story resonated. it was such a perfect debut for LYKN into acting, and also such a perfect casting for the show. William really surprised me with his acting not going to lie, and him paired with Est was a stroke of brilliance on GMMTV’s part.
ok ok don’t come at me, I know this is many people’s no. 1 and rightfully so. this show was a masterpiece. I’ve said it before, i think the incorporation of Thai tradition and customs with the horror was done so wonderfully. There was never a dull point in the storyline, nothing felt unimportant. And the characters chemistry was always on point. And lets not forget Ramphueng, she was a scary villain, which made the show that much more gripping. If my number one show did not release this year, this was an easy number 1. Like even the music, expecially in that title track, it sounded almost haunting. And Keng’s songs, both of them, ughhh magicc.
This show, has my heart and soul. It was not only the no.1 BL of this year for me, but probably one of my all time favourite show ever. Initially the story was confusing to me, i was also confused on why they released the whole soundtrack at once. But then the show started airing, and the episodes focussed on 1 song every episode, and then the story started to really flow together and it all started to make sense. The storytelling through the music was an absolute masterclass. The politics of it all felt so relevant. I laughed, I cheered, I feared, I cried. The performance of each and every actor was so incredibly fine, Mile Apo are my weakpoint, so I was over the moon when this was the masterpiece they served as their comeback, Son Euro’s chemistry was so natural, Peter Deriy really showed up with his talent. I hold this show very close to my heart. So of course, this topped my list.
The masculine gaze is a man saying Daniel Craig has “let himself go” after seeing the new Knives Out film as if I wasn’t admiring his Cuban heels and lovely three-piece suits and thinking to myself he looked better than he did in James Bond
Category 1: Top 5 Thai BLs released in 2025 (pt. 1)
firefly’s top 5 (actually 10)
ok i said i would do a top 5 BL round up from all my watches this year, but i kinda wanna do top 10 ahaha.
pretty self explanatory, these are the shows which aired this year. obviously there’s been loads of great releases, but I am only 1 me, so I did not get around to watching everything. I decided to divide it up by Thai and non-Thai.
Looking at some stats, I watched 35 Thai dramas which either aired completely this year or started in 2024 or ending in 2026, but majority of the show aired in 2025. Any show which aired more than 50% in 2025 has been considered for my top listing.
16 of the 35 were from GMMTV, but are we surprised? I took out 3 shows from my 2025 Thai BL count, these are Fourever You (18% of Fourever You 1 released in 2025) MuTeLuv (it’s anthology so didn’t think it fits), and Dare You To Death (as it just started airing, and will finish up in 2026). That being said, without further ado, I share with you my first round of Top 5 (actually 10).
10. The Wicked Game
This was a highly anticipated show for me, and DaouOffroad absolutely ate up these roles. and every supporting characters, from the siblings to their bodyguards to papa thanet, were all a delight to watch. i do think they copped out with the ending, maybe that’s why it’s not higher in the list, or maybe i am still bitter about Jason’s screen time being cut short. I am a JasonPheem TRUTHER. But so far 100% hit record from DaouOffroad, exactly how I want it to be.
The reason this show made it to my top 10 is definitely the concept. I loved the idea of the multiverse, even though I don’t think it was explored to its full potential. Boss’s acting has improved significantly, and Boss Noeul as a paring never disappoints. I do look forward to more of their work. But honestly the OST, the story, AND Mick Monthon’s brief appearance, we love it all.
I expected this show to be in my top 5, but I did not expect this year to have so many strong contenders, so will have to settle for 8. I am also very biased towards GreatInn, they were my introduction to BLs, so they will forever hold a special place in my heart (yes i am still devastated by their news). but this show, the themes explored, the execution, their longing, the dialogues, everything was just wonderful. once again, I do feel ending was a cop out, BUT knowing that we won’t get these 2 together again, I am ok with a cop out ending, in fact I welcome it. in my mind, they live happily ever after, with Jaem and Kui’s baby to keep em company, and bring them up as their own.
ok now hear me out, i know this is a bit of an early call with only 6 eps out so far (7th releasing tomorrow) but this show is so far is really really good. this one is a comedy and we are going to treat it as such, but Pond is doing a fantastic job bringing in the seriousness when required. PonndPhuwin both have improved significantly, and both are such delight to look at, AND we have WilliamEst?? like what?? and when a show has memeability to get kpop idols quoting it, i think it deserves a seat with the greats. of course anything can happen and the ending can send it plunging, but it will sit at steady 7 for now.
another early call, but we are 8 eps in with 9th airing in less than 24 hrs. this one is good for the plot. i was anticipating Pit Babe 2 from CHANGE2561, so was disappointed when it didn’t live upto expectation, but then they come out with this masterpiece? thank you very much. i am also very mesmerised by Thup. PoohPavel’s chemistry is absolutely insane. i really hope the show can end on a high, otherwise i will have to re do my bloody list.
ok that’s it for part 1, I realised it’s getting really long, so i will post my top 5 in the next post. would love to hear your thoughts on any of these shows or your top 5.
Fan Xiao separates from You Shulang for 3 days and becomes the most clingy boyfriend ever (and his boyfriend is also willing to indulge him during work hours in the middle of a meeting).
Ohhh boyyyy Shoma and Takuto are returning for Boy Next World Japan and i couldn’t be more excited!!! I liked these 2 more in the japanese adaptation of Love In The Air also.
