The Long Ballad (2021)

ASHILE SUN IS A GREEN FLAG

Watched this show two years ago, but I still heavily regard it as one of my favorites. I love watching historical dramas but usually have a hard time finishing them. I recall staying up so late and binging this all in 2 days.

Sure there are some parts that could've been better. I am drawn to stories with a strong, smart FL and Li Changge was frustrating at times because she made rash, impulsive decisions. As a viewer, you forgive and commend her for her bravery and loyalty. I take into account that she is supposed to be very young, and this all plays a role in her character development. Love when a FL can fight and hold her own.

Wu Lei's acting was really good despite how young he is; he is showing his experience and dedication to acting. TLB made me a fan, and since then have looked forward to his works. I was also disappointed in the romance scenes, but given how young Wu Lei probably was when they filmed, it kind of makes sense. However, I really really enjoyed Ashile Sun's character and his own way of protecting Changge. For me, the chemistry and love was there. I usually can't stand too many lovey dovey scenes, and rather enjoyed the glances and small details. Like most viewers did, Ashile's character was the most likeable and memorable.

Rewatch value: 7.5/10 I rewatched it back then when I was more invested in the storyline. I enjoyed the soundtrack and honestly didn't mind the illustrations.

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WOW!

ok first of all, I love the plot it was constructed so beautifully. The actors did really well in portraying the characters. Everytime the ml appeared, i screamed because he's rlly fine but also his words were so sweet. when they had their first kiss, it didn't match the level of excitement i felt for their other scenes bc the ml really showed his love through actions and words. Along with that, the fl was super cool and smart and everything was under her control. Their relationship was adorable but im a bit disappointed because I feel that their love story wasn't really completed. I really wish there was an extra episode to finish off all the tiny side stories too. I wanted to see ashile sun tell changge his last wish (to marry her hehe) and a wedding, i wanted to see him and sher drink together, and for his father to get better again. I could not stop watching, i would literally pull out my phone to watch it in school. I love the hidden identity trope too so this drama was perfect for me. There weren't any embarrassing scenes and the love was adorable but not to the point where it made me cringe. Im so jealous i want someone to look at me like how sun looks at changge! Each episode was interesting and it was never boring at all. usually i dont like rewatching dramas but i can totally see myself watching this one again. The fight scenes were amazing and I love how all the friends changge made went to go help her at the end. It's most definitely a slowburn but their love story started from the first episode and was realistically developed. they respected each other and there weren't any silly misunderstandings. ALSO they were both powerful on their own but when they were together it was just awesome!! He cared for her in his own way and they were willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. Their chemistry is unmatched and that’s not even the main focus of this drama! The ost fits the mood very well. I don’t think I will ever get over it. This cdrama was so beautiful and I loved it! im sad I finished it :(

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A Very Interesting Strategy Story of Love Matched on the Battleground

The rich historical account of China's battle with its neighbors have created this tv series that fictionally account the battle strategies during the early conquests of China. Utilizing tribal inter marriages or heqins, spies and even game matches can all be strategies in order to gain tribal access, favors and even battles.

The Long Ballad showcases that love can amazingly bloom even between enemies and on the battleground. That even the Emperor of Tang and Great Khan can agree that a perfect match of hearts can lead to attain peace in their war torn regions.

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Path to Revenge that turned into Patriotism

Story is about the road to revenge of a fallen princess of Tang Dynasty who ended up defending the person whom she believed to have killed her whole family. Along this revenge seeking adventure, she met with rival kingdom’s lead general, Ashile Sun - the ML - and they ended up going through life and death together. She eventually realized the right path for her was never revenge, but to live on without hate as her late mother had intended and to help ensure peace across the land.

The show had a good storyline and great line of actors and production. I must say the production is actually quite clever in reducing cost. Instead of hiring enormous amount of extras for battle scenes, or great hours of CGIs, they resorted to sketches instead. Im actually disappointed that there are no actual battle scenes. There were just sketches of battles and the lead actors waving their swords around on the foreground. Although undoubtedly a fresh idea, it made the show look rather cheapskate. Although they went frugal on battle scenes, im very satisfied with hand-on-hand combat performed by ML and SML. The fight sequence are seamlessly elegant which doesnt look rehearsed and awkward.

This is also one of those shows where they spend little effort in making the actress disguising as a male look convincing because she looked so damn feminine with ample contour on the chest area. Although, admittedly there really not much u can do when u hire an actress as gorgeous as Dilireba. She can never pass as a male no matter how much they disguise her. Her features are just too feminine, her voice cant get any deeper and well, her demeanor is much too graceful. It’s because of shows like this that I value shows like Fighting for Love where they go all out to make the disguise believable.

A fair warning to romance lovers, this story aint a feast for the lot of you. There is not much romance going on, as the story focuses more on revenge line and how each character developed into maturehood. The development of FL, ML and SFL is pretty significant. Even the small support characters gets their characters developed along the way, like how Wei Shuyu changed into a more confident man, Hao Du into a flexible and humane person, even Shiba got a decent growth into a real free woman. Her love story with Xu Jing is the cutest because she had always been this stone-cold fighter who cares nothing but for her master. Meanwhile, the main love story is pretty slow moving. The ML had shown fondness towards the FL quite early on, but he didnt realize it was love yet until quite to the middle of the show, and this had only been reciprocated by the FL towards the last 10 episode. It took a life-threatening arrow through ML’s chest before she finally confesses (when ML was unconscious) that she cannot live without him.

The music score of this show isnt that memorable and catchy enough so they didnt stick really stick in my head. Although, i especially liked the tune they use each time the scene with Ashile tribe is on.

The reconcilation scene on the episode 46 is gold! Throughout the show, I have never viewed both of them as any other than father and daughter, even as FL hated him so much. I knew there’s something behind her mom’s death that wouldnt have been his fault. I just hope FL wouldve hugged him before she left for good. I really like the Li Shimin character.

However, it is unconvincing to see Hao Du as general in the last 2 episodes. Throughout the show he had always been that lone ranger imperial guard and has always been working alone. He had shown no military prowess before this other than his brawn as an imperial guard. Pretty ridiculous to see him donning the general hat all of a sudden. So yeah maybe after being Prince Consort he’s given an army of his own, but to lead one as general is rather unconvincing. Just doesnt go in line with his character at all. It is more believable if it was Changge leading the troop to intercept Princess Yicheng’s fake carriage, she had always shown to be a military strategist and have actually fought in battles.

Leo Wu has proven he’s no longer that actor with a babyface. I was not convinced in the earlier episodes, but his look as a fierce general kinda grows into you.

All in all the show as a whole does not disappoint. A plus plus for having a happy ending too. This covered up for the loss of star in music score. After A Journey to Love, I’m so sick of tragic endings already. Is it worth a rewatch? I wrote this review after a rewatch, so yeah definitely worth it.

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Powerful, mind-twisting and passionate drama!

Dwelling in the past only brings trouble, people come and go but you trust the new that is the future. This drama captures military strategies and depicts the fight against kingdoms so beautifully. I was intensely involved in how the leaders were making decisions and how Changge(FL) was coming up with interesting ideas. I personally love strategies and problem solving and this drama showed it really well and nicely executed. However, many claim to stay just for romance and forwarded a lot.
Here, comes the other side, the romance of the leads wasn't that involving. Although I loved the initial part of drama, slowly it started losing its color and became dull. At this moment the second leads picked up the romance and it was worth watching because it was so fricking lovely. (Flash alert: These 2 have an upcoming drama in 2024 which is super exciting as their chemistry was just out of the world)
Acting:
I felt the acting in this drama required a lot of emotions and facial expressions and each character play their role well which is not the case with most dramas.
Story:
I loved the storyline but somewhere near 35ish ep I started feeling same strategies being repeated, characters being purposely killed which really wasn't necessary but just screentime. So i found myself forwarding in the end but the second leads romance always grabbed my eye.
On a side note, I also loved the FLs character development because they show how rage can sometimes blind you from making the right choice and end up hurting the ones you love. It was beautiful, lot to learn and grasp. The ML was just there tho, its just shown he fell hard for her and nothing more, this could have been developed better,

Overall:
Its a great drama, unlike most cheesy dramas (which im not a fan of like story of minglan or ashes of love which just show blind love and not focus on other aspects of life because the world just revolves around the 2 leads which does not resonate with me). This one was a bit real, although it lost that interest towards end specific to the leads but the rest storylines and characters, the strategies, the dialogues teach so many life lessons like moving on, what true love feels like (loves you for you) and how to take advantage of making the right decisions. I would highly recommend to watch this worth a watch historical drama. It felt hard to remember places and names but it helped me improve my memory power and focus i guess xD.

Don't look back if you're looking for a intense historical drama, this is the right one!

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Nice female leads

I loved this drama unexpectedly. I loved both the fls here. Both were strong n had such a nice ckt arc where they grew as ckts individually due to the hardships they faced. I loved dilraba n wu lies chemistry too n loved their pair but sadly it had less of romance story of them n so I ended up feeling robbed off as the drama isnt abt romance much. But still it was enjoyable. Unpopular opinion but I didn't like hao du as ckt or with Zhao lusi as her love interest. He wasn't given a proper arc or reason to fall in love with yong in. He was jst obsessed with following his father's order to kill yongan, then suddenly realised he loves yongin after going in search of her?, maybe the need to find her safe made his protective side to feel he is in love with her or something.. Anyway, we move. I loved Shers ckt too, wanted to see more bromance scenes between sher n Sun. All in all a long n slow but interesting drama, I may not rewatch but enjoyed watching it nonetheless. Oh, Leo wu looked absolutely breathtaking with Ashile tribe getup n added the charm to the show. ?

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Heart pounding♥️, Exciting, Entertaining

Love that there are, like, no misunderstandings, there's a great cast, acting, visuals, action, and OST! I also really enjoy this drama as there's always been an element of mystery, it constantly surprises me and I have literally no clear idea what'll happen next! I feel there are a few dragged out scenes on certain characters. Also, felt there didn't seem to be too much chemistry between the 2 leads, more like a mutual respect? maybe because of the age gap?‍♀️ Wasn't bad though, still quite liked both characters!
The other couples make up for it though☺️?
Overall I'm really enjoying it ?

Something extra...
New bias, Liu Yu Ning?
Loved his song in Love and Redemption, had no idea it was him! Love listening to his voice❤️ Great actor too?

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A decent Cdrama

Wow, I'm actually enjoying a Cdrama after a long while! It's fast-paced, many of the characters are clever (not all of them cuz that'd be unrealistic) and, despite the age difference, I have utterly fallen for the main couple! Their personalities match really well, truly a power couple! This is also my first time watching a Leo Wu drama and I'm loving it so far.

I don't usually like politics and warfare but they've mixed in a balanced amount of humor, romance, friendship, action, conspiracies, and life reflections to keep me interested. Yes, it has it's flaws but I find it better overall than many of the Cdramas that have come out recently. It's not shockingly impressive like 'Joy of Life' but also far from the scathing reviews a lot of Chinese are saying. Idk how Go Go Squid(which I found the main FL's childishness and stalking behaviour quite grating to watch and the plot quite simple. I did like the ML's acting though) didn't get much negative reviews and yet this drama does when it's got much more layers to it. So take reviews with a grain of salt and just check it out for yourself ?

Dilraba and Leo also seem quite comfortable with each other behind the scenes and get along well. I noticed many of her fans mentioning how relaxed and happy she's looking, while promoting the drama, for the first time in a long while.

I'm looking forward to the next episodes, fingers-crossed it maintains the quality until the end!

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disorganized and preachy

Before I started, I didn't understand why there were so many negative Chinese reviews. However, unfortunately now that I tried watching I understand... for a production of this value, where the actors did pretty well, I just couldn't being myself to keep watching more than halfway...

The good: Acting was pretty good overall. Leo Wu and Liu Yuning were better than I expected, this being my first time watching their stuff. And Dilraba is professional as always. The little boy Emperor was very cute and the Khan was on point.

The bad: the highlight and defining plot line in the first ~ 15 episodes of the show was Li Changge's revenge. However, after that unravelled somehow, the writers seemed to kind of give up. For the rest of the show we just got a random smattering of the usual cliches in quick succession: great justice inflicted upon the land, love triangle, random betrayal, parents dying, badass swordsman shows up and looks cool etc. Whenever the plot stalled, they seem to kill off another character and bring in a new one... The original characters also lost their original purpose, with Li Change training a new sword technique under a new master for no reason, Ashile Sun leaving his pride and joy of the Eagle division to wander around in love, Hao Du a competent warrior content to be delegated to the Princess' bodyguard, etc.

The really bad: Aside from Li Change, the other female characters were basically unbearable. Sorry but I can't stand Zhao Lusi's character. Zhao Lusi seems often cast to portray female characters that talk to others like a teacher would talk to kindergartners, a mix of idealistic preaching and repeating obvious facts over and over. And yeah, her character was just so useless it made me a bit angry... Unfortunately, Li Change is not that much better as a character. When Ashile Sun blamed her rash actions for causing the Eagle division's situation and his stepmother's death, I had to agree. The whole rescue that Li Change 'planned' was basically pure improvisation. And Mimi, what a purposeless character that reinforces negative stereotypes about women. It's always the female characters that get this dumbed down treatment.

I guess I should stop here with all this crankiness, I've already let myself write too much.

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It really is the romance we've needed.

If there was every a source material that truly deserved an adaption, it would be for the Song of the Long March. Truthfully, although I have my complaints, they don't disappoint with this adaption. It's fairly true to the source material (where the changes are actually beneficial to the story and character development of the other characters). They also chose excellent actors; not exactly the ones I had in my mind, but boy did the embody their characters P E R F E C T L Y. (Dilraba was pretty spot on truthfully. I'dve like to see Kyulkyung try this role. But truthfully, Dilraba 110% fits the bill. I couldn't see it any other way.)
But all of the actors-- they somehow make the characters more lovable then their source material version. The side characters are a bit more memorable, and you grow to be invested in the side stories progressing as well. There's plot twists, and stuff -- but it really helps fill out each character to seem more realistic. I found myself routing for the people I hated the most.
The cast, I can tell immediately -- seem like they'll be dorky and friendly off screens. It's unfortunate that I feel like the chemistry between Dilraba and Leo are a hair too dry for my liking, (i.e. Le Yan and Hao Du seem a bit more clear cut) but truthfully... I don't hate it. It's one of the few times, if not the only time it makes sense that they're not falling into each others arms. They really delivered even more then what I expected of the main characters in a way that makes sense.
Additionally,. their subtle movements, and really minute expressions truly makes it feel like they're living the life of the character. It feels natural; generally speaking, this doesn't feel like a rookie cast. And more importantly, the direction of the show is really on point. It isn't a 100% score in my book, but I think my bar is set a little higher just given my love for the original series as well as having seen some of the other work of the cast.
At Dilraba specifically, to no fault of her own, I found myself comparing her to her previous works where she has a similar estranged character (i.e. The King's Woman), and she hasn't really been able to separate those similar archetypes apart; it's a difficult task, probably impossible even-- but it's my small gripe. She makes Changge seem a bit more bullheaded and warrior-like in comparison to a quiet, chess-sort-of-cunning that I had imagined Changge to be. She grieves, but much more...loudly yet not as deeply....if that makes any sense. If I had to explain it another way, she acts too mature for the role, but contrasts by giving Changge a more childish/unwise? reaction to some things that makes her seem like she's in a different role.
Leo on the other hand makes Sun to be a bit more cool and calculating then I imagined Sun to be (if anything I expected him to have a bigger gap like how Dilraba is), but he really really shows the trust he has in her -- as well as understanding in her then I think the source material could ever get across. He knows what he wants, but he's not possessive, despite being the cold king stereotype. It's really really refreshing to see a male lead like that. I think he shows a really good progression of just being involved on the ride to I'm really just here for my girl Changge. I think this quieter (then the already quiet Sun) version really shows why he's the best of his clan; and it's not just purely on brute strength. *wolf's whistle to the fight scenes they do give him though because ooh weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*
Again with all of that said, I really did not hate anything about this show; the whole cast gave it more colour that made it equally if not more enjoyable then reading it. They're purely gripes of a book to adaption watcher.
And even though it's not a one to one adaption, it's not a poorly done spin off either.
It's a good balance of new and respecting the original.; truthfully I think if this was my first historical style show, or if I had not read the series first this would have easily become my favourite series of all time. But since it's not, the least I have to say is this is an A-tier drama with S tier acting, S-tier directing and also most importantly S-tier source material. Please watch it. Also please consider reading the manhua.

I haven't slept yet, (in fact just binged up until episode 33 until my internet went down).. but I'm itching to get back to it. Somehow it brings me back without giving me horrible cliffhangers to hang off of-- which P.S. I'd say is the same level of draw that the manhua gives.

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