Sixteen years. A mysterious return. A flute that summons the dead. The Untamed isn't just another xianxia drama—it's a layered story of loyalty, injustice, and love in a world where righteousness is often just a mask. If you're new to the series, or just trying to figure out why everyone online is crying about rabbits and swords, here's your complete guide through the twists and turns of The Untamed.
Chapter 1: Bright Beginnings (Ep 1–5)
Setting the stage: a world of cultivation, clans, and quiet bonds in bloom.
At first glance, The Untamed opens like many fantasy dramas—a beautiful, intricate world of magic, sects, and sword-wielding disciples in flowing robes. But behind the lush aesthetics is a tightly-woven story of friendship, fate, and the beginning of something much deeper.
The first five episodes introduce us to Wei Wuxian, the charismatic, mischievous adopted son of the Jiang clan. He's skilled, clever, and always smiling—the kind of guy who laughs off danger and breaks rules with charm. But there's more to him than the prankster image. He's loyal, kind-hearted, and deeply protective of those he loves.
His journey begins with a visit to the Cloud Recesses, the strict and serene home of the Lan clan, to attend lectures along with cultivators from other sects. Think of it as an elite magic school with heavy curfews and an absurdly long list of forbidden acts. (Spoiler: Wei Wuxian breaks several of them within a day.)
And that's when he meets Lan Wangji—cold, disciplined, and the very opposite of Wei Wuxian in every way. Lan Wangji speaks little, obeys every rule to the letter, and seems to find Wei Wuxian more annoying than amusing. But as viewers, we quickly sense something under the surface: a tension that isn't just rivalry. Call it chemistry. Call it fate.
Despite the friction, the two are repeatedly paired together—on assignments, during night-hunts, and even when unraveling strange happenings in the nearby forests. Gradually, their interactions shift from eye-rolls and sarcasm to unspoken understanding. These moments are subtle—a shared glance, a quiet assist during a fight—but powerful. This is not a fast-burn romance. It's a slow, careful layering of trust.
Meanwhile, tensions among the cultivation sects are rising. The Wen clan, led by the tyrannical Wen Ruohan, is beginning to assert dominance, sending out disciples who abuse their authority. We get early hints of the power imbalance and the coming conflict that will engulf all the clans—including our protagonists. But for now, the story stays personal, focused on friendships, rivalries, and how these young cultivators grow in the shadow of politics.
By the end of Episode 5, one thing is clear: this isn't just Wei Wuxian's story. It's the story of him and Lan Wangji—two very different people connected by something stronger than fate. And while the world around them is still calm, the storm is coming.
First-time watchers, take note: These quiet early episodes may feel slow, but they plant every seed for what's to come. And once those seeds bloom, there's no turning back.
Chapter 2: War and Shadows (Ep 6–20)
Power rises, and with it—darkness. When survival calls, who decides what's right?
After the peaceful setup of the early episodes, The Untamed shifts gears fast. The story plunges into the Sunshot Campaign, an all-out war between the righteous cultivation sects and the brutal Wen clan. This is where alliances are tested, heroes are made, and Wei Wuxian begins to walk a path no one—not even himself—can fully control.
The Wen clan, now aggressively expanding its influence, shows no mercy. They burn libraries, imprison elders, and use fear as a weapon. The turning point comes when the Jiang sect—Wei Wuxian's home—is attacked. In one harrowing night, his entire world is shattered. He and Jiang Cheng, his brother in everything but blood, are forced into hiding, their sect reduced to ashes.
This arc is about survival. And survival requires change.
Desperate to protect those he loves, Wei Wuxian makes a dangerous choice: he begins to tap into forbidden power—demonic cultivation. Unlike the elegant techniques used by the traditional clans, this path is fueled by resentment energy and emotional extremes. It's violent, unpredictable, and entirely his own creation.
What makes this transformation compelling is that it doesn't happen overnight. We see the slow erosion of trust between Wei Wuxian and his allies. Lan Wangji, especially, watches with quiet concern. He doesn't approve of the darkness creeping into Wei Wuxian's soul—but he never turns away, either.
Despite everything, Wei Wuxian uses his new powers to turn the tide of war. With his signature weapon—a flute instead of a sword—he commands fierce undead beasts and spirits, terrifying enemies and even allies. The Sunshot Campaign ends in victory, but at a cost: Wei Wuxian has become something the cultivation world no longer understands.
And this is where things get painfully complicated.
He's hailed as a war hero, but feared. He's protected his loved ones, but now isolated. Most tragic of all, his noble intentions are twisted in the eyes of others. When he adopts Wen Ning and Wen Qing, two gentle-hearted survivors from the enemy clan, it's the final straw for many. To them, he's no longer a righteous cultivator—he's a traitor.
By Episode 20, Wei Wuxian stands alone. No longer fully trusted by his sect, misunderstood by the rest, and barely holding himself together under the weight of his power. The friendships he once had—with Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng, and others—are strained, some broken.
He's becoming a legend, yes. But the kind whispered about in fear, not sung in glory.
And so the question deepens: Is he a hero who lost his way—or a villain in the making?
Chapter 3: Nightless City, Day of Blood (Ep 21–33)
Legends fall hard. And sometimes, the brightest flame burns out alone.
If Chapter 2 was the rise of Wei Wuxian's power, Chapter 3 is its unmaking. What begins as uneasy peace after the war spirals into tragedy, betrayal, and irreversible loss. This is where The Untamed shifts from a coming-of-age story to a full-blown tragedy—and it hits hard.
After the Sunshot Campaign, the cultivation world should be celebrating peace. But beneath the surface, fear brews—and at the center of that fear is Wei Wuxian. His demonic cultivation, though undeniably powerful, is no longer seen as a necessary evil. It's just evil. The other clans begin to distance themselves. Even the people he fought to protect now whisper about him behind closed doors.
Yet Wei Wuxian stays true to his heart. He chooses to live quietly at the Burial Mounds, the desolate, ghost-ridden land where he once cultivated his power. There, he takes in the last remnants of the Wen clan—including Wen Qing and Wen Ning—and offers them a second chance at life. To him, it's justice. To the cultivation world, it looks like rebellion.
And then, the unthinkable happens.
A series of political manipulations and deadly misunderstandings converge, pushing the world to the edge of chaos. Wen Ning, loyal and gentle despite his undead state, is blamed for the death of a prominent cultivator. No one listens to explanations. No one asks questions. All fingers point to Wei Wuxian.
That's when the clans decide to act.
In Episode 30, everything boils over at the infamous Nightless City. Called together under the pretense of peace talks, the major sects launch a brutal ambush. Wei Wuxian, forced to defend himself and the innocent lives under his care, unleashes his full demonic power in a moment of rage and pain. The result is devastating. Allies fall. Accusations fly. And the lines between truth and illusion blur until no one can remember how it started—only that he is to blame.
But perhaps the most heartbreaking blow comes not from strangers, but from Jiang Cheng. Once his closest brother, Jiang Cheng confronts him in fury and disbelief, unable to reconcile the man he loves with the force of destruction the world sees. And though Lan Wangji tries to stand by him, even he cannot stop what happens next.
Surrounded, outnumbered, and betrayed, Wei Wuxian falls.
His death—or what appears to be his death—is abrupt, brutal, and unresolved. No heroic send-off. No final speech. Just silence and a flute left behind.
And so, the legend ends.
Or at least, that's what everyone believes.
Chapter 4: A Ghost Returns (Ep 1–5, 34–39)
Sixteen years later, the flute plays again. Justice—and old ghosts—awaken.
Just when the world has forgotten his name, Wei Wuxian returns.
Episode 34 marks a dramatic narrative shift. The story leaps sixteen years into the future, where peace seems restored—at least on the surface. The once-young disciples are now seasoned cultivators. The sects have moved on. But underneath the surface, rot remains. And it takes a ghost to reveal it.
Through a dark ritual performed by a vengeful cultivator, Wei Wuxian is summoned back to the world of the living, but not in his original body. He awakens in the corpse of Mo Xuanyu, a scorned outcast who sacrificed himself to bring Wei Wuxian's spirit back—not for revenge, but to uncover the truth behind the many injustices he suffered.
Wei Wuxian, now a "ghost" in another man's face, must navigate a world that fears him and has forgotten who he really was. He hides his identity behind Mo Xuanyu's madness, playing the fool while investigating strange murders linked by one eerie detail: a dismembered body scattered across the cultivation realm.
This arc is a genre shift—from tragedy to mystery. It's part murder investigation, part supernatural horror, part emotional reunion tour. Through each case—a haunted arm here, a possessed sword there—pieces of the past resurface. Not just the crimes of the powerful, but the memories Wei Wuxian tried to bury.
And then, in a quiet, stunning moment: Lan Wangji recognizes him.
Even through another face, another voice, even through the madness—Lan Wangji knows. He doesn't ask questions. He doesn't demand answers. He simply says, "Come with me." And for the first time in sixteen years, Wei Wuxian is no longer alone.
Their dynamic in this arc is electric. Gone is the push-and-pull of their youth. Now, they move like two halves of the same blade—wordless understanding, shared pain, and a bond that time could not erode. Lan Wangji becomes his anchor, protector, and partner in a journey not just to solve a mystery, but to finally clear Wei Wuxian's name.
As the body parts are recovered and reassembled, the truth becomes clearer: someone powerful is hiding a massive crime. The cultivation world's "peace" is built on lies, and Wei Wuxian's fall may have been more orchestrated than accidental.
But justice doesn't come easy—especially not for someone like him. The more answers they uncover, the closer they get to the heart of the conspiracy—and the more dangerous it becomes to tell the truth.
Wei Wuxian is no longer the same young man from the Cloud Recesses. He's quieter, sharper, more cautious. But he hasn't lost the fire that made him a legend. And now that he's back?
He's not leaving until the truth comes out.
Chapter 5: Truth Unearthed (Ep 40–46)
The past demands justice. And the heart never forgets.
By this point in The Untamed, the threads have been laid, the pieces are on the board—and now, everything unravels.
Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's investigation into the dismembered body leads them to the deepest rot in the cultivation world: a long-buried secret involving murder, scapegoats, and the terrifying rise of Jin Guangyao, the deceptively charming leader of the powerful Jin clan.
Jin Guangyao, once a low-born outsider clawing his way up the hierarchy, is now one of the most respected figures in the realm. But behind the polite smiles lies a chilling truth: he has built his legacy on lies, betrayal, and blood. The scattered body belongs to someone who once stood in his way—someone whose soul refuses to rest until the truth is known.
As Wei Wuxian uncovers layer after layer of conspiracy, what's most striking isn't just the horror of the truth—it's how close he came to being erased completely. His past, his choices, even his sacrifices—twisted and buried. And yet, Lan Wangji never forgot. He kept searching. He protected Wei Wuxian's legacy even when no one else would. The emotional payoff of this loyalty, this quiet devotion across sixteen years, is nothing short of staggering.
But the final battle isn't fought with swords alone.
In Episode 49, at the Temple of Guanyin, everything comes to a head. Jin Guangyao's crimes are laid bare—including his role in Wei Wuxian's fall and the manipulation that turned friend against friend. The confrontation is intense, filled with emotional reckoning, brutal truths, and impossible choices. No one escapes unchanged.
And then, in the aftermath—forgiveness.
Jiang Cheng, who once saw Wei Wuxian as a traitor, finally learns the full story. His anger was real, his pain valid, but it was born from half-truths and silence. There's no dramatic reconciliation—just a moment of understanding, heartbreak, and a bond that, while forever altered, still exists.
For Wei Wuxian, the journey comes full circle. He has cleared his name, but more importantly, he has reclaimed his identity—not just as a cultivator, but as a person. No longer hiding, no longer running, no longer alone.
In the final moments of the series, Wei Wuxian smiles once again—flute in hand, wind in his hair—and walks into the sunset.
But this time, Lan Wangji walks with him.
No longer bound by sect rules or silent regrets, they walk side by side. Quietly. Simply. Together.
Chapter 6: Quiet Redemption (Ep 47–50)
The story ends—but the ripples never do.
While the major conflict of The Untamed wraps up in Episode 49, the final moments and aftershocks of the series deserve their own space. Because this is where the emotional weight truly lands—not with explosions, but with silence, reconciliation, and the subtle promise of healing.
In Episode 50, Wei Wuxian is finally cleared of the crimes that once led to his fall. His role in protecting the Wen remnants, the chaos at Nightless City, even his so-called betrayal of Jiang Cheng—all of it is seen now in the light of truth. He was never the villain. He was the scapegoat in a world too rigid to understand him.
And yet, vindication doesn't feel like a triumphant parade. There's no loud celebration. Just a man standing in the ruins of what he once believed in, trying to decide what's next.
That's the beauty of The Untamed's ending: it's quietly brave.
Wei Wuxian doesn't return to the cultivation world. He doesn't rebuild a sect. He doesn't reclaim any lost status. He walks away—not out of defeat, but because he's finally free. Free to be himself. Free of the expectations that once crushed him. Free of the weight of revenge.
But he doesn't walk alone.
Lan Wangji, who once struggled between duty and emotion, has made his choice. He casts off the shackles of clan tradition and follows Wei Wuxian into the unknown. It's never explicitly romantic in the way Western audiences might expect, but the emotion between them is undeniable. The long glances, the shared silences, the promise of a life spent together—it's all there, just beneath the surface.
And what about Jiang Cheng?
His resolution is perhaps the most quietly devastating of all. After years of hatred, he learns the truth—that Wei Wuxian gave up his golden core to save him. That the brother he resented had always protected him. His final scene is wordless, tearful, and painfully human. There's no neat bow, no big hug—just the knowledge that too much was lost, but something still remains.
As the flute plays one last time and Wei Wuxian disappears over the hill, the camera lingers—on memory, on silence, on the empty spaces left behind. But it's not grief. It's peace.
The story ends not with thunder, but with a whisper:
Even in a world of rules and power, love—in all its forms—survives.
And that, ultimately, is what The Untamed leaves us with:
Not just a tale of war, magic, and tragedy—but a story about loyalty, choice, and the courage to live freely, even if the world refuses to understand you.
