#happy new year to yibo and his wig

[svibian]

231231 | YIBO OFFICIAL Weibo

Hunan TV New Year's Eve Gala 2024

[lanzhanlanzhan]

What are your top three favorite episodes?

Oh wow. I never thought about this, so I actually found it difficult to answer. But thank you for this ask! It was fun go back to the episodes to find the ones I really love.

Let me see, let's go with these three:

(Spoiler alert!)

Episode 6

This will always be a memorable episode for me, for many reasons. This was still in the early days when things were new, and the existing fandom then approached the show tentatively. We watched and tried to enjoy the scenery while waiting with trepidation to see if the drama will ruin our precious WangXian. I mean, yes, there was that intense eye contact in episode 2, and we also did have that vaguely romantic fighting on the rooftop under the moonlight scene, but we were still traumatized by last year's rumors of heterosexual partnering off of our esteemed heroes okay? We still felt like we were treading on thin ice watching the live action. 

But then, whoosh! Rug pulled out from under, wig snatched, the plot was straying to unfamiliar territories and—excuse me, Lan Wangji, did you just wrap the sacred Lan ribbon around Wei Wuxian?? And just when, even on the same episode, you explained that only parents and one's spouse are allowed to even touch the thing! I am not even from the Lan clan and I felt flushed. I remember asking, "What is happening? How is this happening? Is there a heterosexual reading to all of this??" I think this was around the time that it's beginning to sink in that this show would maybe, just maybe, push the envelope to show us an honest and respectful portrayal of WangXian. And wow, my heart soared, our ship was sailing! 

BTS bonus! This is also memorable because according to Wang Yibo, this was a very good day for him because he was healthy and his face wasn't swollen. Poor boy, he has such a problem with swelling, lol. But he got complimented by the staff and people around the set, and I very much agree! Look at him! This has to be one of my top favorite Lan Wangji looks in the entire show. I remember watching this episode and thinking, "Okay, our Lan Wangji is really hot. I never even knew I needed wet!Wangji until this, but we have it so thank you, Jesus." 

Episode 33

This episode has a special place for me because I felt like, as a community, we all breathed a sigh of relief once we were back to present time. The live action gave us the past events in one huge chunk, and we had to suffer through everything Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji suffered from the moment they parted, the sacking of Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian getting thrown to the Burial Mounds, to the massacre at Bu Ye Tian and eventually Wei Wuxian's death. After all of these, Wei Wuxian waking to a peaceful jingshi, Lan Wangji on the side playing his guqin, felt like the rest I desperately needed. Honestly I could have lasted a week just staying with that scene. 

Xiao Zhan also said that for him, the scene here with Lan Wangji (along with Shijie's death at Bu Ye Tian) was the most memorable for him. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had a falling out in Wei Wuxian's first life, but now he found himself with Lan Wangji again. With so much of the past still hanging between them, Wei Wuxian chose to confront it head on and asked Lan Wangji about that time. Xiao Zhan called this encounter as the point when the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji began to mend, and I really loved and appreciated that insight from him. 

Episode 43

It seems like I just have a thing for Wei Wuxian in Cloud Recesses. 🤭 What can I say? I want to see Lan Wangji happy, and I get this feeling that something in him is at peace whenever he has Wei Wuxian with him in the jingshi. 

This is where Wei Wuxian learns more about Lan Wangji from Lan Xichen, and I think is another turning point that helped Wei Wuxian realize just how deeply Lan Wangji cared for him. After this, we also got yet another precious and intimate scene in the jingshi where Wei Wuxian resolved that he didn't care what the world thought anymore, as long as he had that one person with him who understood him.

I also just really appreciate Lan Xichen, and he has always been one of my favorite characters. I appreciate how, even though he watched how his precious brother practically chased around Wei Wuxian to pull him back to the righteous path, getting pushed aside, but still defending him and breaking rules for him even after his death, and how those things must have been difficult for Lan Xichen to watch, he still treated the returned Wei Wuxian cordially and gave him sanctuary. He also still tried to be on his brother's side, and sought for Wei Wuxian to understand him and fucking treat him better oh my goodness Wei Wuxian. I don't know, that moment kind of felt like a vague, kinder form of shovel talk that maybe only Best Bro Lan Xichen can provide. 🤭

Also! I am! So in love! With Lan Wangji in this episode! The BTS bonus for this scene is that it turns out that the reason why we had this particular Lan Wangji look was because it was still the early days, and they still had to fix Lan Wangji's hair because it was still too tight. I personally really love this look on Lan Wangji, as it is reminiscent of more relaxed days at home. I like his usual look (with the high bun and the elaborate hair pieces) because I think it makes him look put together especially compared to the other cultivators, but this more relaxed look I think is very fitting when he is alone with Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji with his hair down, pouring drinks for his husband—yes, thank you, CQL, for giving us this precious, domestic scene! It will stay with me for years. 

What are your favorite episodes? 😀