The Long Ballad

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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Hate to do this but...

The series started off great with a multitude of intriguing events and interesting characters. The production was done well and there was so much potential that it almost seems wrong to give it the lower score. But unfortunately, the plot and character intrigue just starting melting off into the later episodes.

- The FL was very likeable in the beginning but she ended up proving to just be an overly emotional and arrogant woman who expects others to live up to her ideals. If she was supposed to just be an ignorant princess, it wouldn't have been as irritating. But we are supposed to be in awe of her superior tactician skills in war just because she was trained by her uncle verbally? And somehow she becomes a commander because of one good idea? What does that say about all of those who've actually experienced real battles and were more deserving of the title? Who wants an emotional leader who has no battle experience? As of yet, haven't really seen her humbled which leads to no growth. Despite having killed off so many people she treated like chess pieces and constantly needing saving herself, she is still proud of her skills apparently. She also has a heavy tendency to blame everyone else but herself.
- The naive and seemingly useless princess who grew up with the FL ended up taking the spotlight instead because she was one who actually shown some real character growth.
- And man, the slave woman to the FL was one of the most irritating characters of all. How does a slave suddenly have the courage to start assaulting the very ones who enslaved her just because she was taken under the wing by the FL? Then quickly becomes an obnoxious and temperamental spoiled brat because she hooked a guy?
- As for the ML, he was also an interesting character in the beginning but stayed relatively flat with his increasing interest in the FL.

Overall, by episode 20, the FLs were all just getting too frustrating to watch with their lack of appreciation and snottiness. The plot is also one of those that makes everything overly coincidental. So much so that the ML and FL claim one is stalking the other multiple times. And if you're looking for good tactical war moves, you're better off watching the anime "Kingdom".

The higher score is because there are some hit moments and I would have continued to watch it just to see how the naive princess evolves along with Hao Du. They are surprisingly the two most interesting characters so far.

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just another costume drama

I've tried my best to finish this drama to no avail. I gave up after 12 episodes. The cast's acting are actually quite good, especially the two female lead. They have a good chemistry. But a good acting is not enough to carry a drama. The script is not well written. I think the costumes and the styling a bit weird. Storyline a bit draggy and boring. And lots of the character's logic and actions, i'm sorry, are just simply stupid and illogical.This is just another c-drama that captivate the audience with the exceptionally beautiful faces of the main cast and their love story. And i just can't bring my self to continue watching it, nope

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The Ultimate Mary Sue

According to my dictionary, a "Mary Sue" is a female character who is unrealistically lacking in flaws or weaknesses. There's little else to add to this when using it to describe Changge. I don't mind (and rather like) a hero who does less than acceptable things and even terrible things, and then slowly grows and evolves. I'm not sure how many episodes I made it through, ten or so. Changge most emphatically had no weaknesses. What was so much worse, however, was that her many (many) flaws were depicted as not her fault. Within those episodes that I watched, she did so many truly selfish, selfish things and every time she, and other characters, shrugged it off as somehow her right given her situation. And again and again she was treated like a godlike entity of ultimate, singular, isolated perfection. I felt like I was reading a Nancy Drew book.

I simply couldn't tolerate her. Enormously unlikable character completely wrapped in Mary Sue-level armor to a point that created a plot comprised exclusively of deus ex machinas. Her storyline is predictable, flat and made dull by her general unlikability. I have no interest in her sorrows or sufferings given her scoldy moralizing and petty, immature self-righteousness. Her anger and pain are robbed of their weight by her need to place herself – as victim – in a place of greater importance than anyone else in existence. I can't abide a hero who uses their own pain to justify causing pain to others. Nor can I abide a story that refuses to acknowledge such behavior as selfish to the point of iniquity, but rather portrays it as if it's some vindicable complexity. And I can't tolerate a character who is treated like a hero despite the fact that they do not behave like one. If she's meant to grow, perhaps that will make up for this, but from what I can glean from the reviews, what growth occurs doesn't happen till late. I'm uninterested in sitting through dozens more episodes of her current behavior when there are too many other things on my list.

I would consider watching only the parts with Hao Du, as he is arguably the most interesting character, but I'm not sure it's worth it. And as it stands right now, the thought of watching one more frame of Changge makes me want to chew glass.

If the story had been worthwhile I might not have even minded those truly, truly dreadful cuts to animation at the moments of big action scenes. But that was really the horrible icing on the pain cake. What a terrible decision.

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Why people make such a big deal about the main lead age difference is beyond me!! They are great actors & deserve all the praise for their work.

I started watching this series after Love Like The Galaxy. I became a fan of Wu Lei after watching him in Love Like The Galaxy. He is such a mature actor & good at expressing every kind of emotion at such a young age. It's astonishing.

Why were people so disappointed with the parrot scene? I mean not every C-Drama has a proper kissing scene. You can literally count C-Drama, which as a proper kissing scene. If you are so disappointed about not getting a proper kissing scene, then better watch Hollywood, they won't disappoint you, I promise.

Liked the idea of showing the comic illustration in between scenes. A unique & different screenplay. I like the cinematography.

Hated that they used voice over. Why in every Wuxia & Xianxia series has to use voice over. It's irritating.

Loved Li Chang Ge & Ashile Sun first met. It was so simple & casual. No dramatic eye contact, falling & catching nothing, just a simple look at each other. They have such a mature & understanding relationship. They didn't need to express their love for one another, they knew their love for each other. Love that Ashile Sun asked permission for Li Chang Ge's mother to marry her. Loved the scene where Li Chang Ge gets to know that A'Zhun is Tegin. Fall in love with the way Ashile Sun removed his mask with a style. Love their football game.

It was funny to see the scene where Ashile Sun holds Li Le Yan by the knife in her neck, where in Love Like The Galaxy, he is desperate to save her.

Li Le Yan is the opposite of Cheng Shaoshang. She is naive, doesn't know anything, can easily be fooled. But she changed a lot after being missing for a long time. She understood people's suffering & started on a journey to help people. Li Le Yan crying for Xiao Wu & Hao Du, becoming emotional. He fell in love with her after seeing the change in her.

A'Dor & Li Chang Ge's last scene was so emotional. Scene of Ashile Sun's mother dying was very heartbreaking, it was more heartbreaking after seeing Wu Lei's acting. He is phenomenal with his acting skills, he nailed it. The fighting scene he did after his mother's death was nicely choreographed.

Liked the fighting sequence between Li Chang Ge & Situ Lang Lang. It was funny to see Sun & Xu Feng fighting & Qin Lao eating without care & Luo Shi Ba is totally confused.

Surprised to see Du Ru Hui taking Hao Du feeling for Li Le Yan so easily. I thought he would be angry & oppose Hao Du's feelings for her, but he was rather supportive about it, even encouraging Hao Du to pursue her. The scene where Du Ru Hui included Hao Du in his family tree was so touching & moving. unexpected moment.

The look Sun gave to Chan Ge when she looked at him after finding out about the dancers.

The slap that Le Yan gave to Hao Du was unexpected & shocking. But her words were a true slap to him.

Li Chang Ge & Le Yan punishing the crown prince was a treat to watch.

Sun being jealous of Wei Shu Yu & ashamed of losing to him in front of Li Chan Ge is cute.

Sun & She Er have a complex relationship. They were close with each other & were each other's support system, but Ashile Chuobi ruined that relationship & turned it into a rivalry. But they also had love for each other deep down. Their last scene was so touching they come a long way. Their fighting sequence for Le Chang Ge was good.

On the other hand, Le Chang Ge & Le Yan have an awesome relationship. They were always there for each other. Even after Le Chang Ge's parents' death, she never blamed Le Yan nor hated her but always tried to help her.

Sun & Ashile Chuobi have a love-hate relationship. There is a lack of trust between them, but they have love for each other. Ashile Chuobi missed Sun a lot after he left & wanted to see him one last time & make amends with him. Sun also loved & respected him & saved him despite knowing he would be risking his own life.

The back story of Le Chang Ge's mother was heartbreaking.

The way Eagle Division came for Sun rescue & Situ Lang Lang, Xu Feng, Luo Shi Ba, Wei Shu Yu came to help Le Chang Ge shows true friendship.

Mimi Guli 's death was heartbreaking. Till the end she remained a loyal friend of Le Chang Ge & supported her

Love the songs, especially the tune that is played in suspicious or in fighting scenes.

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Riveting, interesting and well executed!

This has blown me away! I really loved the story and I enjoyed the the way they had blended the manhua in. I felt that it dragged a bit towards the end, but that was mostly because Changge seemed to lose her smarts. Her quick wit was a large part of why the show worked. But I think that it is something that unfortunately often happens in dramas, once the FL and ML are established they tend to lean into being taken care of and apparently can’t remember their ingenuity that kept them alive till now 😅 Be prepared to have your heart broken, but also healed again. 2ML and FL are forever favesz

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Recommended

What can I say. Excellent story line, directing, casting. The characters development are well-done.
None of the 40 episodes is boring. Which is quite an achievement by itself.
No excessive romantic scenes.
Great acting from Dilraba, Leo Wu, Yuning & Zhao Lusi. Even the supporting roles are doing great acting.
Dilraba is so cool as Li Changge.
But the charm of this drama is Leo Wu’s acting. He delivered that maturity aura despite his young age during filming. If I didn’t know his real age, I would have thought that he actually few years older from Dilraba.
The actor who played Khan is exceptional - I pity him, his character is not easy 😅. The actress who played Khatun is also excellent.

Worth my time. Recommended.

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Best Chinese Historical Drama

Beautiful story, powerful portrayal of characters, amazing chemistry between leads and soothing music. Rewatched several times and fell in love with it. I really loved everything about this drama.
If you like powerful female protagonists, this is a must watch for you. Dilraba rocked with her portrayal of the FL. Also ML and all other characters have their one of a kind stories. The story flows like river so you won't realize before its over. Also the drama highlighted different aspects of good and bad for peace which was really mature. Surrendering in a war does not mean defeat as long as prosperity and peace can be achieved. This type of people-centric leaders are rare in these type of chinese historical drama. This drama carries a very powerful message. So, I will give it a perfect 10!

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