#falling imagery

Jiang Yanli

The first time (chronologically) this notion was introduced was of course with JYL. Young WWX found himself stuck at the top of some tree and jumped down with the assurance that JYL would catch him. Of course, at that time JYL was young and not particularly strong so he ended hurting himself.

This is so representative of their future relationship where JYL is trying to protect WWX against the scorn of the Jin (berating publicly Jin Xizun, inviting WWX to JL one month celebration etc.) but ultimately failing.

It's not that WWX doesn't trust JYL to catch him, it's that he knows that she can't "physically" catch him. But he still jumps every time because maybe, just maybe this time she'll be able to and maybe he'll finally stop getting hurt in the process.

But at the same time, JYL is deeply engraved in his heart and mind as someone that he must protect, so even if he jumps he tries not to put the weight on her, he tries not to hurt her in the process. Which is why he never shared with her what he went through in the Burial Mounds and never talked about the golden core transfer.

And speaking about golden core transfer.

Jiang Cheng

The tragedy about JC and WWX dynamics is that just like how JC was the reason WWX decided to climb up that tree in the first place, just like how JC felt guilty and tried to go look for WWX but ultimately ended up hurting himself instead.... JC ended up being the starting point/cause of WWX's fall.

Because JC tried to save WWX from the Wen he ended up getting captured instead and lost his golden core. Prompting WWX to sacrifice his own for him, he metaphorically willingly jumped down from the height of top cultivation to the low bottom of being a "mediocre" ordinary man.... And there was no one to catch him at the bottom, no one to protect him. And it got worse, he was even literally pushed down to the burial mounds and once again no one was there to catch him.

Because the tragedy of it all is that JC, because of circumstances of his own making, was not and would never be in the right place to catch him. ( And he would have done it in a heart beat if WWX stopped hiding things from him to protect him and jumping down to place JC can't reach).

The whole thing with the Wen remnants and WWX's "fall from grace" in the eyes of the cultivation society is another example of JC and WWX dynamics.

"Don't you understand? If you insist on protecting them, then I can't protect you!"

And of course, when WWX kept spiraling downward and went mad, JC was the one at the FIrst Bural Mound Siege, leading to WWX ultimate downfall: his death.

The imagery is played straight in the Untamed: where LWJ is desperately trying to keep WWX from falling and WWX purposefully letting himself fall down to his death from a cliff after JC's arrival.

Which of course naturally leads to our ML.

Lan Wangji

In the Untamed, LWJ holds on WWX's hand and try to prevent him from falling. And he fails. Just like how in the novel he goes against those 33 elders to try to protect WWX and fails because WWX rejects him.

And it actually makes sense.

Because at that point, LWJ failed to understand that the way to save WWX wasn't to pull him away from that single-plank bridge but to actually show him that he was willing to walk that path with him. He failed to understand that WWX didn't want someone to "keep him from falling" but actually needed someone to "catch him" at the bottom. He failed to understand that his actions to WWX would appear like him extending his hand from a "moral high-ground".

LWJ of that time lacked the emotional maturity and the clarity to actually pull it off. Because at that time he was still unsure of his own actions, his own feelings and his own resolution, still questioning himself about what his family rules and mind told him was wrong but what his heart actually felt was right.

JYL knew WWX enough to understand that but didn't have the ability to do so. While LWJ had the strength but lacked the understanding.

And that's why to WWX, LWJ appeared to have changed drastically after those 13 years. Because LWJ needed those 13 years to question, accept and reflects on everything that happened.

And LWJ spent the entire present timeline rectifying what he thought he had done wrong with WWX in the past. And all the while WWX started to rely more and more on LWJ.... (cues all those CQL scenes where LWJ caught a fainting WWX).

WWX saw how LWJ didn't seem to disapprove of his cultivation anymore, how he was willing to be lenient with him about rules breaking, how he seemed so much softer and accepting, how he seemed to worry so much for him when he took on Jin Ling curse mark, how when push come to shove and WWX's identity was revealed he was willing to stand by his side against the whole cultivation world because he trusted him, how he kept and kept protecting and saving WWX even if WWX actually didn't need saving (except from dogs)....

Until it reached that iconic scene:

All of a sudden, an abnormally strong impulse surged into Wei WuXian’s mind. He wanted to fall down again, just like back then. A voice inside of him said, If he catches me, I’ll… At this point where he thought ‘I’ll’, Wei WuXian let go. Seeing that he fell out of the tree without any warning, Lan WangJi’s eyes immediately widened. He shot forward just in time to catch Wei WuXian, or one might say, be caught by Wei WuXian. [...] His voice was hoarse, "Thank you" He wasn’t scared of falling. All these years, he’d fallen many times. But falling on the ground still hurt, after all. If someone was be there to catch him, it’d be more than wonderful. Hearing Wei WuXian thank him, Lan WangJi’s body seemed to freeze for a second. The hand that was about to be laid on Wei WuXian’s back paused before it returned. After a moment of silence, Lan WangJi responded, “You are welcome.” -- Extract from chapter 87, Exiled Rebels Translation

This passage here is so, so significant because this is the moment where WWX truly really conceptualizes and accepts that yes, LWJ will be here for him, and someone is finally there to catch him.

And this is Wangxian at its finest.