Divine Aria

Wu Lei does just lead roles...unless you feel like watching something from before Whirlwind Girl when he was in his early teens or just a kid. And if his face bothers you that much, prob just watch another male actor. I personally think he has striking eyes and facial features that make him more masculine/mature-looking than most asian male actors(his age, and even older) who tend to look more boyish or "pretty".

...I think it'll be easy to understand his personality if you understand that he has a painful past. He's a total green flag though. His love is so amazing that you'll prob just stay single forever...since no man like him could possibly exist in RL.

Right? Like, he doesn't even need to say anything if he wants to flirt. He can just let his eyes do all the talking and I would be more than happy with that, lol.

She's shy...but, as the show progresses, she's showing obvious interest by being the one to initiate moments of affection between them too. I personally don't really have a problem with that. I think it makes sense since, even though they'd been together for, like, almost 2 years at that point(with that time skip), they were pretty much in a long-distance relationship for the majority of it and weren't physically together much at all. Some people are just naturally more shy too. During those really intimate moments, I think she's actually way bolder than me. I don't even like changing in front of my sisters or my mom, tbh, lol.

Hi, just clarifying but, are you referring to him not being finished with filming 西北岁月 yet or do you mean he's not done with filming dramas in general? Thanks for any info you can provide. Love LeiLei.

Agreed. Reba looked gorgeous in that dress. I love their vibe when they're together. Wu Lei is quite mature for his age, but I giggle with joy watching LeiLei acting all protective and even more grown-up(as if he's 35) with her, lol. Super sweet.

Opinions. I've tried to watch it before and found the first EP slow and boring, not fast-paced like TLB. It also seemed way too political for my taste so I gave up on it at the time, but, we'll see.

Are you yawning because you're lazy and didn't even watch this drama but want to write a review to slander and lie about it anyway?

I can't "ignore" something that isn't there. The most "growth" Changge went through was finding love. - I gave you specific examples. Can't be helped if you choose to be blind. If Changge didn't grow, neither did Leyan. The fact that you're choosing to praise Leyan but ignore all of Changge's growths and hardships is clownish.

"Using personal insults to prove a point is a very bad way to argue and it shows you aren't confident in what you're saying. Your incoherent ramblings would hardly strike anybody's nerve." - says the person who started the name-calling. I seriously question the fact that you watched this drama because you literally know nothing about it. If you didn't even know why Changge's mother wrote the letter or to whom she was writing to, there's no way you watched this drama.

"It must be really hard for you to accept that not everyone likes the same things you do. There are a lot of reviews I disagree with, but I don't go on people's pages and start yelling at them. I get it. You loved the Long Ballad. I don't. Move on." - it's not about whether you liked it or not, hun. It's about the lies you're making up about it.

And you're more than welcome to move on and not respond to me. No one is forcing you, hun. Don't victimize yourself.

"The fact that Changgee at one point was saved by someone other than Sun does not negate romantic tropes revolving around a male romantic interest saving a female romantic interest." - Girl, I gave you MULTIPLE examples...and that was just within the first 3 episodes alone. In my examples, EVERYONE helped Changge. It wasn't just Ashile Sun, so stop trying to pretend she was invincible except when needed for the purpose of romance development with A'Sun.

"And there you go not understanding the difference between Leyan and Chyangge. Leyan's character wasn't about action and heroism. It was about overcoming her inhibitions and coming into her own. It was about seeing the bigger picture that there are struggles in the world and actually experiencing them. She changed from a timid girl who cried a lot to someone who stood her ground and understood the duties of a monarch. She didn't need to know how to sword fight." - when did I claim that their growths were the same? I'm trying to show you that you're being a hypocrite in ignoring all of Changge's growth and sufferings, even though her growth/suffering were actually on a much grander scale. Let me ask you this: Do you hate Dilraba so much that you feel the need to slander her character and to ignore all her growths? I noticed you saying that she can't act. She was great in her role as Changge. Sorry, but Zhao Lusi would never have fit or been able to play that role.

"But their interactions were dry and uninteresting. Mediocre acting from Dilraba and Leo didn't help their chemistry either." - well, we can't all like the same things. I actually found Leyan and Hao Du super boring. They were both boring/dull characters with no personalities...which made their interactions quite bland. He just followed her around babysitting her the entire time. Their interactions consisted mostly of them staring at each other and not even saying much. At least A'Sun and Changge were both capable, interesting individuals with more fiery personalities. A'Sun even flirted with Changge at multiple points in the drama and the two could hold proper conversations about all kinds of subjects like adults. They were both the resourceful types that could come up with clever ideas...which made them and their struggles against each other at times interesting. I also think they're both great actors. If you've only seen Wu Lei in two dramas, you have no right to be passing judgement. Dude is super versatile. Has been acting since he was 6 and has tons and tons of dramas/films credited to him(prob closer to 100) where he has played all types of dramas from cool and aloof generals like Ashile Sun/Ling Buyi to hilarious, comedic, more down to earth roles since he was a young child. You didn't see chemistry between them, and I didn't see chemistry between Leyan and Hao Du. I also thought their relationship was very poorly developed as I showed above with all my questions. No big deal.

"No it wasn't, otherwise it would've been shown through a thought process. She made a big production at the beginning making a blood oath which was quickly forgotten. And, then she spent the majority of the show saving the dynasty. Revenge conveniently resurfaced when it was time to move on." - she was conflicted between revenge/her hatred for Li Shimin and saving her people/Tang. I gave you several examples. All you're doing is continuing to blindly yell "nah-uh!" even after I explained several things to you because you either didn't bother watching/paying attention or are purposefully slandering the drama and Changge's character with straight-up lies about how questions weren't answered, how invincible she was, or how she didn't grow at all while Leyan did.

"Keep telling yourself that, fanturdlet. You have very low standards if you think that low-quality idol flick is some masterpiece. Do you project like this with every drama you like?" - I must have really struck a nerve, huh? I only question and debunk when I see the most ridiculous "reviews". How do you write such a naive "review"? It literally sounds like you're writing about something you know nothing about.

"That's called a romance trope. Before their very badly written romance, she almost never needed saving." - You're kidding, right? There were multiple times that people had to help her in order for her to escape from the palace in the first place. Mr. Fang helped her by setting fire to the bakery shop and leaving a ladder for her...otherwise, she would have been captured! She was helped by Adou who hid her under the basket from the chasing soldiers...otherwise she would have been captured! She was, again, helped by Leyan and Mr. Fang in order to escape from the palace after her attempt to assassinate her uncle. Shuyu helped her escape by shooting her off the bridge before Hao Du could either kill or capture her. Various people were helping her throughout the drama. Stay blind though and pretend that she was invincible and didn't need help.

And the Ashile Sun/Changge romance was actually written WAY better than Hao Du and Leyan's, hun. There was consistent interaction between them that led to gradual feelings. They were equal partners who made sacrifices for one another throughout the drama that demonstrated the depth of feelings for each other. They actually had a proper foundation for a relationship through mutual respect, admiration, and understanding in each other. On the other hand, Hao Du was so cold to Leyan, he didn't even give a crap when Leyan went missing. He was obsessed with Changge for half the drama. Then he was suddenly running everywhere searching for Leyan like he had cared the entire time. Why??? From the time Leyan went missing and he was still obsessing over Changge, to when he started frantically searching for Leyan, there was no proper transition of feelings there, hun. And then he met her for a day, brought her back, and was suddenly super conscious of her and in love. Like, what? And remind me why he fell in love with her again? What even attracted him to her? On top of that, they hardly even interacted before he suddenly was in love with her! What kind of sacrifices did Leyan make for Hao du to actually demonstrate HER feelings for him since she'd been in love with another guy almost the entire drama??? Their romance was so poorly written because it was quickly made up by the movie production team, and was never an original relationship that had been created by the author of the comics. And they weren't even given proper screen time together for anything believable to have developed. How did any of this make their relationship a better and more properly developed one???

Let me ask you this: what did Leyan get better at? You say that there was no growth to Changge 'cos she didn't get better at sports, sword fighting, or military strategy. What did Leyan get better at? It sure wasn't sports, sword fighting, or military strategy. She was already always good with sewing too, so it wasn't that either! Why would you claim that she grew but that Changge didn't??? Leyan survived a bunch of scary ordeals. So did Changge, even on a larger scale! They both became stronger and more stable emotionally and mentally. Both changed in different ways. Changge changed from a person filled with hatred and desiring revenge to someone who chose to forgive and desired to save her people above all else. Leyan went from being timid to finally being able to stand up for herself (to some degree).

"Then compare Changge's "growth" to Princess Lileyan's growth who survived human trafficking, war, poverty, had to work to make money, lost friends and finally matured from a timid girl to someone who was able to stand up for themselves."

Changge survived a palace coup, a betrayal/capture by the Youzhou governor who she thought was a friend of her father's, a war where she was at the front lines helping lead an army, actually living among her enemies at Ashile Tribe to being able to self-reflect at the temple, to finding the light, and finally realizing what she truly wanted: which was to forgive her uncle and to helping not just her country, but ending a war and helping multiple nations find peace. No growth for her? Truth is, Leyan had growth...but not at the same level or scale compared to Changge. There'a s reason why Changge is the main character and why this is truly HER journey as the title of the story indicates (Changge Xing/Long Ballad).

"On top of that, the revenge plot was pretty much forgotten after she escaped and went to Shuo kingdom. From early on she cared about saving the Tang and did mostly everything to save the Tang. Later on towards the end, we were finally reminded that there was a revenge plot" -

Revenge was on her mind throughout the drama. But each time, she reigned in her desire for it because she had to pick between herself or her people. She initially went to Shuozhou BECAUSE of revenge. She was supposed to go there to get Governor Gongsun Heng to empathize with her and loan her his soldiers so that she could lead them in an attack on her uncle. It was similar to why she went to Youzhou to find her father's friend in the first place. However, when she was in Shuozhou, Gongsun Heng made it clear that although he was a leftover governor from the old Sui dynasty who didn't necessarily favor Tang, he actually did admire Li Shimin to some degree, and only cared about the safety of his own people, not rebellion. Changge realized that she wouldn't be able to get the aid she needed in order to take revenge. At the same time, Shuozhou was being attacked by Ashile. She could have continued to find ways to force her own personal desire for revenge. Instead, the governor became a mentor to her and she truly learned in this arc what it means to love her people, to put them above her. She even sacrificed herself to Ashile in order to save them. Was it worth it for her to help them even when they hated her? Her answer was yes. There was so much growth and lessons learned for her character! Then revenge came up again when she was in Ashile Tribe. She had a chance to help them kill off Li Shimin but chose to thwart Ashile's plans and helped save Li Shimin because she knew that Tang needed him as emperor. I could go on and on about the idea of revenge and her growth for the rest of the drama, but I think it's clear that you got nothing out of this drama and will continue your silly stance. Again, either everything was too big for you or you didn't really watch this drama at all! Or maybe you're choosing to ignore things because you have some biased feelings against this drama because of certain actors and actresses? TLB has some of the strongest and most profound character growth, and you've ignored all of it.

It was already explained that Changge's mother wrote the letter to Changge's uncle(Li Shimin). Changge's mother and her uncle were in love, but when Li Shimin was away on war, Changge's father(Jiancheng) got drunk and forced himself on her mother. Her mother got pregnant with her so her father ended up marrying her mother. The revolt happened because Changge's father felt politically threatened by his brother and betrayed by him so he was working on a plot to assassinate his brother. Changge's mother overheard the plot when she was listening in at the door at the very beginning, then wrote to Li Shimin to warn him. Because he was already aware, he then came up with a plot to assassinate Changge's father first. It was explained that Li Shimin had no choice but to kill, otherwise, he would have been the one killed. Changge's mother then committed suicide because, although she loved Li Shimin, her husband had been kind to her during the years that they'd been married so she felt the guilt of betrayal to him. Before she took her own life, she told Li Shimin that it was her only way of paying her husband back for his kindness to her. As stated, her mother's loyalty was caught between the two brothers. It was all explained. Again, watch the drama.

And Changge was invincible and couldn't be beaten? How so? While she initiated a lot of changes and was seen to be a fast thinker and quite resourceful at times, she needed help from everyone around her in order to succeed. Ashile Sun was there for her at all times, helping her over and over. There were multiple situations where she would have died if not for him. Why would you ignore these facts? She needed a whole crew of people around her in order to save Tang in the end too. And how did you arrive at the conclusion that there was no growth for her? For Changge, it was all about growth, especially mentally and emotionally. She initially started off on her journey for revenge and full of hatred/anger, and ultimately, grew to prioritize her people and her country over her own personal need for revenge. By the end, she'd completely changed. Again, I question if you actually paid attention to anything in this drama or if the scope of this drama was simply too big for you.

Did you see their most recent interaction at Weibo night?
https://youtu.be/9xpB-kp6Zxc?si=vqULc69yRK52C4Jr

Yes! He has only collaborated with her in one drama but I absolutely love Ashile Sun and Li Changge. They're my favorite CP, mostly because I love the dynamics of their relationship in TLB so much <3

They're also gorgeous together. What's also really amazing is the warm, mature, and caring vibe they give off together in RL. Dilraba had super nice compliments about Wu Lei, some of the nicest I'd heard from any of his female co-stars...and Wu Lei takes such good care of Dilraba. He seems to enjoy taking every opportunity he gets to look after her. It's pretty cute.

She was dubbed in TLB(Leyan was fine for me). LLTG uses her real voice. In LLTG, she was okay at times. During moments, again, the baby voice and mumbling didn't appeal to me :/

Pretty sure her voice in Dating in the Kitchen is her own. I haven't seen that drama, but looking at a clip from the drama, the baby voice and mumbling is very much her typical thing. Not appealing to me. Her character was also fine for me in Who Rules the World, but again, her voice was dubbed there too. And the Last Immortal...her real voice turned me off T_T

For many years now, he has pretty much only been playing MLs(since 2017/2018). He just doesn't do as many dramas as some other actors or actresses. Usually, it's 1-2 dramas a year and a few films in-between. His other fans can correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I've seen of his interviews, he always stresses balancing work and relaxation. LeiLei believes in having a healthy lifestyle...and I think that's why he limits himself to just one or two projects a year.

I have watched Lusi dramas before and have liked her in some...but I sometimes find her really annoying. In HL, with the little that I managed to tolerate, I didn't like her baby voice or acting. It came off as being a bit fake and trying too hard...to be cute? I dunno. Think I might be in the minority but I find that I tolerate her characters so much better when her voice is dubbed.

Yep, he's open to both modern and historical dramas. Also, he's really supportive of film projects too...so he's just incredibly well-rounded.

Wu Lei is the only c-drama actor whose dramas I really follow. I love him for his attention to detail and versatility. He can be so down to earth and funny...but also so serious and cool. I'm always curious about his upcoming projects.

He's my dude too. Love him.

Thank you for sharing! Love watching LeiLei's interviews. He always has such a good understanding and grasp of his characters. I've always admired his attention to details.