songfalcon

I blame this on the useless fluffy haoyan and crown prince scenes in the end

This is where I have to disagree with you again lol. Wu Lei is phenomenal in his role, speaking as person who had no idea who he was and wasn't even a fan before this drama. Wu Lei, with his outstanding performance as Ashile Sun had mad me fall for not only the character itself but also for the actor himself.

There are many scenes where we can see Wu Lei's acting shine through. For example, ep 24 during Sun's fight with Sher'er. You can really see all of he anger he has for Sher'er with everyone of his hits. And when She'er was choking him, you can literally see the redness on Sun's face and the veins that were popping out, which made it appear very realistic. Another commendable scene was when he gave in to Chang Ge's request to stay with Sher'er and was so heartbroken that he decided to chug a whole jar of wine. That scene was so well done and I was so impressed with Wu Lei. Ep 25 was a big indicator of what an amazing actor he is. The way that he sobbed his heart out when his mother died was just so heartbreaking. The pain and anguish he felt, I felt it all. And then the pent up anger that he had for Sher'er all these years finally let loose once his mother had released her final breath, you can literally see it all over his face when he shouted out Sher'er's name.

The kissing scene between Sun and Chang Ge although was a bit disappointing for me, I don't think that it was awkward at all. Despite not seeing our two leads lock lips, the love, tension, and yearning are all present. You can see this as their arms begin to tighten around each other as the kiss intensifies, and the way that Chang Ge is on her tippy toes to lean into the kiss. It was well directed and I don't think it was awkward at all.

Hearing your opinions about Zhao Lusi being the better actor really puzzles me, and I really wanna know why you think so. Why did you think Wu Lei's acting was bland? And what do you mean by unnecessary scenes? Cause I can give you lots of them with Haoyan and stupid crown prince scenes from just the last few episodes alone.

I am actually the opposite of you. The scene with Leyan and Hao Du although was pretty intense, it did not make me shed any tears. The emotions in that scene just didn't hit for me. It was predictable, along with the fact that you can't really feel the love that Leyan has for Hao Du, since before that fight she was still stuck on Shuyu. All the emotions were just all over the place for me. Speaking of which, the only times where I've actually cried during Leyan scenes are when she and Chang Ge parted ways and when Xiao Wu had died. Besides those there's not really any other scenes that I can remember that stood out to me from her.

With Mimi's death, that episode tore my heart to pieces. No matter how many times I've watched it, I still end up crying my heart out. The bgm, the fight while Mujin and Mimi were saying their goodbyes, and Chang Ge who was still in disbelief of everything that was happening around her. She was able to save her man, but was going to lose her best friend. Dilraba in my opinion did a phenomenal job in that scene. She was in disbelief, her tears were held back and building up in her eyes while trying to keep her composure, yet once her eyes landed on Sun, she completely let down her barriers and broke down into his arms. Dilraba's expressions were on point and heart wrenching to watch.

Also I just wanted to say that the expressive part, I think that Dilraba did it perfectly considering the role that she has. Chang Ge isn't overly emotional to begin with. She has suffered through many things and was forced to grow up at such a young age. Dilraba gave us the right amount of emotions as the character of Chang Ge. I don't know if you've read the manhwa, the the Chang Ge in there is a lot more cold and less expressive than the one we see portrayed in the drama. So in terms of expressiveness I don't think Dilraba could've done anything better than the great performance she has already given us.

At the end of the day it's all based on preference. While you may have a different take on both of these scenes, I have my own. The only thing we can agree on is that TLB is a great drama.

yes, I felt a strong urge to change it. this way I'll always have TLB with me even when I move on and comment in other forums :,)

Honestly, I agree with you. I tried my best to not let her real life personality cloud my judgement on her acting, but even then I don't think she's as great of an actress as her fans make her out to be. Despite being a good crier and playing the cute innocent role pretty well, I don't think there's anything outstanding about her performance. I. tried to go through my brain to find a moment in which I thought her acting stood out to me in TLB, and nothing really comes up except for the one crying scene in ep 26.

Another thing about ZLS is that I don't think she has the charisma or screen presence of a main lead. As a second lead her, I thought she was fine, but when I imagined her character being the main lead, or her acting as Chang Ge, I can't imagine it. Like you said, her facial expressions appear not genuine and kinda robotic. When I watch good actors, I see their character instead of them, but with ZLS, I just see her acting the character. She doesn't embody the role, and is just acting it out.

i’ll never stop!

i will be waiting for your return haha :)

Yup, same here haha. Can only make judgements based on what I've seen and watched in other dramas. But yeah, the fight scene in the Taoist Temple is really epic. You can also notice that there is no trace of blood whatsoever on their blades or whenever they take aim at an appointment, while with Chang Ge and others, you can see the blood squirt out.

Lang Lang didn't even draw his sword until the Priestess got hurt. I think that was when he figured that he needed to actually take it more seriously since he needed to now protect himself and the injured priestess. The way he drew his sword out was so cool!

Beautiful words written out in a beautiful analysis. You have definitely worded out my thoughts much more wonderfully than I did haha. I also noticed the recklessness in his decisions when it concerns Chang Ge's safety despite his efforts in trying to make it seem not too obvious. An example is seen in the arrow competition scene with Sher'er when Sun completely lost his temper seeing Chang Ge being used as a target. Another scene was when he immediately challenged Sher'er to a fight after seeing that he had forced Chang Ge into serving for him. And another obvious moment is the one you mentioned, Sun risking not only himself, but also the whole Eagle Division to save Chang Ge. His love for her was true and resolute.

Very well said. It's one of the character traits that I love most about Sun. When he has settled his mind on something, he follows it through, just like when he chooses to love and trust someone, he will surely follow through and remain loyal to them til the very end. At first, like you said, Sun wasn't overly open about his affections for Chang Ge in front of others because he needed to keep her safe and to help her stay alive.

The only times where we see him open about his feelings are when they are alone and there are no wandering eyes. It's what he's used to based on the way we see him distance himself from his mother. However, we see a major shift after his mother's death. He came to realize that no matter what he did, he still ended up someone dear to him, and regretted not spending more time with her and loving her. From this point onwards, we see him more openly direct and straightforward about his feelings for Chang Ge, and even confessed to Mujin that he loves her. He didn't want to make the same mistake as he did with his mother.

Just read it! Like you said, it makes a lot of sense!

Wah, thanks so much for the link! I'll definitely read it :)

I loved the martial arts choreography in this drama. It's so beautifully done from the scenes we saw. My personal favs would have to be Sun's and Sher'er's fight scene along with the Taoist temple fight scene against Lady Jinse.

The Sun and Sher'er fight scene is non-explanatory, it was just absolutely EPIC. But the detail in the Taoist Temple fight scene was so good. I loved how both The Temple Priestess and Chang Ge's Master both fought in a way that didn't physically harm the attackers. They fought with the flat or butt of the blade, while Chang Ge's attacks were aimed to kill or injure. Really amazing detail.

In real life, however, I am not as knowledgeable in martial arts although I've always wanted to learn haha.

Oh my god, we are exactly the same! I love family/friendship centered dramas although there is very few of those that are actually good. The dynamics and bonds are much more interesting to me despite how much I love romance.

I agree about Great Khan. It's because of his position and the way grassland men are raised that he treats Sun that way. Sun mentioned before that when he was young, he had fond moments with his father like roasting on an open fire. I feel like this is before his father became Great Khan and started suspecting everyone around him.

I 100 percent agree with you. My actions and words often get misunderstood and I absolutely despise it. What you said about two characters misunderstanding each other to the point of distancing themselves is clearly reflected in Sun's and Sher'er's relationship.

Although Sun was able to see through it, Sher'er was blinded by the false accusations made by the people around him and his inferiority and jealousy towards Sun. In turn Sun also had to treat Sher'er the same way in order to survive.

I was also worried about Sun's relationship with Great Khan. Despite how he treats Sun, I understood where he was coming from. I hate him for it, but understood him. I was afraid they won't be able to resolve their differences or that Khan would die before Sun got to see him. Thankfully, it didn't end up that way.

I'm glad you enjoyed it :,)

Something that I find really interesting about Chang Ge's and A'Sun's character is the way that they both approach the love that they have for one another. While A'Sun is more forward and direct with his love and affections towards Chang Ge, she is more reserved and appears to be holding herself back from truly loving Sun. It's interesting because they're both pretty similar. Being raised the way he was, it's rare for Sun to easily trust others and allow himself to let someone in and love them. Similarly, after the betrayal and many losses she had went through, Chang Ge also had the same issues. Yet, we see that their way of approaching each other is different.

We can clearly see how Chang Ge was in love with Sun, despite her not being so straightforward and upfront about it. It's like as if she's afraid/reluctant to accept her feelings for him. I don't think it's because she thinks of him as the enemy, but because she's scared of loving someone else and then end up losing them again. Hence she thought, if she were to surprise these feelings then she won't have to suffer that pain of losing someone she loves. What she failed to see was that she was already in love with him. Which is why she didn't truly accept her feelings for him until after he shot, cause that was when she realized that she can't live without him, and despite her efforts of holding back her feelings, she had already let him into her heart and accepted him long before.

Opposite from Chang Ge, Sun is very straightforward about his affections and feelings towards her. From the start after acknowledging his feelings for her, he had done nothing but show her how much he cares for her. Especially after his mother's death, despite blaming Chang Ge due to his anger, he quickly got over it and understood that it wasn't her fault. From that point onwards, he had made it his purpose to live to protect and love her.

They're both afraid of losing someone they love and the pain that comes with it, but both approach it in different directions. Sun handles it by doing everything in his power to protect Chang Ge. Chang Ge handles it by holding back and burying her feelings for Sun.

What are your guys' thoughts on this? Am I reading into it too much?

Wow so happy for him! I actually enjoyed his acting in TLB, and wished he had gotten some more screen time with adorable Shiba. Not to mention he's also very good looking. I wish him the best!

I've watched that scene about a good 5 times now, and I haven't failed to cry each time haha. It definitely becomes more powerful and meaningful with every rewatch. I absolutely loved that scene. She looks so small and lost after realizing that all of the efforts she put forth and what she had been fighting for ended up making her lose those closest to her. It was a bittersweet scene seeing how far she has come.

Hmm, I am not sure why you aren't a fan of Dilireba, but I understand that we all have differing opinions. As a long time fan of hers, I can understand if you don't like her based on her previous roles, because truly they weren't the best roles and definitely did not give her justice to showcase her acting skills. However, in this drama, her acting clearly shines through, and I feel like you will enjoy it since the storyline seems to have already intrigued you.

Right on! Literally those dramas are torturous to watch. Not only are we already aggravated by the villains, we also have worry over the the stupidity of the characters who keep adding misunderstandings on top of misunderstandings when they can just resolve everything by just communicating and being honest with each other!