The Long Ballad (2021)

Good but mismatched main leads

When I started this series I wanted to drop it because instead of chemistry between main leads we got feeling of older sister caring for her brother and forcefully adding the romance felt weird. Then I heard second leads get good chemistry and better romance than main leads could ever try to fake.

As I watched it longer i started to like the story, fights and relationships between friends, comrades and family.

It would be better if they showed all fights instead of just showing animated pages of novel or manhwa, not sure what the series was adapted from. Not to mention when they made one fire saving scene half half so they made actors move but put a non moving walpaper behind them. It was as hilarious as it was lame.

Dilraba was perfect fit for female lead but in my opinion male lead should have been a bit older so we get some chemistry. Since Leo Wu was so young at that time neither of them could force it and it was clear as a day that she was like a mentor to him.

Overall series is good and it keeps you watching till the end. If you are here for the romance, you will get it but not between main leads, but between second leads yes.

After you accept disapointment in main leads "romance" ,show gets really good and second couple delivers instead.

OST is very good and hits you in the feels.

I gave it a 9 because i want to support good stories but it did have loopholes nearing ending of the series. It gave me a feeling like they hurried up to end it and didnt properly wrap out the Ashile tribe part of the story.

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Production-wise, it is a very well done drama. I liked the use of illustrations to show battles and fires and flood.... I was expecting more use of it because it was unique.

The script wasn't very good imo. It was trying too hard to sell the audience that the characters **ehemChanggeehem** were smart. In almost every episode someone was saying "you are so smart". Huh, where? Changge is making a bad decision in almost every episode, puts people in danger (better said, made them killed); she is also supposed to be a smart strategist, and all she said was "let's put this group to the right and this to the left" and the other party was "wow Changge, you are so smart, be my right-hand commander". It didn't help at all that at the same time I was watching another drama where the smart MC is actually smart, and the script is actually good, so I was like, She is supposed to be SMART ???

First episode, Changge is this intelligent, tomboy girl who knows how to fight, physically and mentally. Second episode, Changge swears to take revenge. 40 episodes later and all Changge did was saying a few blah-blah and oh, she was the smartest; as for the battles, where was the girl so agile who could fight? She was constantly saved by others; the forever damsel in distress. I was expecting Sun to save her every time she messed up, and yup, here comes the hero. I don't mind damsels in distress, but I do mind when the plot is trying to sell me this brave, strong female character that isn't. Yueyan was stronger imo.

Unfortunately I didn't fall in love with Yueyan/Hao Du as I was hoping. She has a lovely character development (she actually overcomes them ON HER OWN, unlike Changge) but the romance was... ehhh, she loves Shuyu for 40 episodes, gets her heart broken and in the same episode realizes Hao Du is the one. Ehhh.

OST is excellent. Performed by the King an Queen of CDramas OST.

This drama was 10 episodes too long; should have ended around 40 at least.

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