WK1

Finally, after many attempts, could open this. Nice video

Let me share with you, for me, I was able to block it out. I just don't focus too much on her lips. Focus on her eyes, or her overal facial expression rather than her lips.

Yes, if her lips look too pale, it would be not good as well. I think the lipstick company simply wanted her to wear the bright red colour, so that it will stand out. We do not see it on our screen, but maybe viewers in China may see the name of the comestic company somewhere, and it will be a form of advertisement for them.

I am sure Reba is aware of this feedback. Hopefully, when the current endorsement contract is over, she can do something about it. Like, negotiate to wear this colour only if it is approriate for the scene. Asking her to wear it even when the scene shows that she is about to go to sleep is quite unbelieveable.

Yes, just mentally block out the lipsticks. It can be done. Focus on her facial expressions instead. Because she has very expressive eyes. And she has many crying scenes. So, it is not very difficult to block out the lipsticks.

Yes, a number of viewers also mentioned about the lipsticks. But, after a while, not many people here talked about it anymore. We began to focus more on her portrayal of the character, and not get distracted by the lipstick.

When Love Designer was being aired, I read many comments and people were also complaining, why does she even have to sleep with the lipstick. It seems that in China, that is how it works. The cosmetic company would be one of the sponsors for the show, in that they would contribute some money in the production. In return DD would need to wear the red lipstick. I think they made her wear it, even when she goes to sleep.

I am not sure when she signed the contract with the cosmetic company. But I think she must have learned from her mistake. Once the contract ends, I think her future dramas, you will not see those red lipsticks again.

In the meanwhile, do ignore it. She is very good actress. Just take a look at the number of comments in this section. If her performance is poor, you will not see so many.

The Li Changge in the manhua is a very brave, smart, and very adverturous girl. She also experienced many sorrowful events in ther life. She started out wanting to take revenge, but ended by learning to forgive and to understand that the safety and prosperity of the Tang was more important than her selfish goals. DD's performance fit the Li Changge in the manhua very much, so we were very happy and ignored the lipstick issue.

This opening sequence was very dramatic. I agree with you that it shows how brave she was. It was risk she had to take. She was not 100% sure that horse could jump across the bridge. Logic says that it is not possible, as the bridge is quite long. But I think she knows the area quite well, and knows that there is a river below. That was her back up plan. So, when she could no longer hold on to the rope and when Shuyu released the arrow, there was nothing much she could do. Just hope that the arrow will miss her or hit some less vital part of the body.

Of course we know that she will surive. If she dies, we will have no drama to watch.

Cool! I am going to submit 3-4 times!

There was indeed one scene in the drama where the Khan did tell Sher that he did not want Ashile Sun to be the next Khan, implying that he was from the central plain. But, this theme was never fully developed in the drama, so we don't really know his real parents were. When Ashile Sun was in the central plains, he showed no real interest in knowing who his real parents were.

And, seeing that in the end, he went back to the grasslands, it showed that his attachment was to the grasslands and not to the Central Plains. Who his real parents were became just an academic issue of no practical consequence.

That would confirm that she had no choice, but to wear the bright red lipstick, due to her contract with the cosmetic company.

For many of us here, we also feel that the lipstick was a bit out of place, especially in a historical drama like the The Long Ballet. But we understand her contract situation and chose to ignore and just focus on her performance as Li Changge.

If, in your re-watch of this drama, you can somehow mentally block out that lipstick, you will enjoy her performance. When this drama was broadcast in China, she was ranked as the top actor for many weeks, beating out even male actors who are very popular in China, showing how many viewers there were able to overlook that lipstick and just focus on her portrayal of Li Changge.

This is indeed a very complex drama. The plot is complex, as quite a number of characters are involved. And the character themselves are also complicated. So, many people here in this fourm ended up watching this many many times, just to make sure they did not miss out anything during their first viewing.

So, please do enjoy your re-watch. You will not regret it.

Yes, this was a very emotional scene for me as well. From the time she left Chang'an, A'Dou was there for her. He did lots of stuff for her. And finally gave his life for that city. But most importantly for Changge. They had a very close bond, so his death was indeed a big blow to her. At his grave, it was a military send-off, she needed to be strong. But she finally gave in to her emotion and cried. This was another crying scene that Reba performed really well. So, those who said she is emotionless, either they did not watch scene like this, or they are hardcore Lusi fans who can only by impressed her crying scenes but not Reba's.

I included a new post in the Recent DIscussion portion above, addressing a frequently asked question, were Ashile Sun and Li Changge married?

Great! Just watch. It is all part of the storytelling

That is good! If all the subs are out for all the episodes, if time permits, you can binge-watch the entire series without any interuption

Bear in mind, both their parents were dead. So they do not need a traditional wedding ceremony. It would be meaningless. But technically, they were already married. And they did say, as long as they are together, any kind of formal ceremony would be unnecessary. They said this at the tree trunk scene in E49. Listen to their conversation very carefully. You will get it

True. It was just too shocking for her. It was not like her mother was slowly dying of cancer or something. And then, she saw her uncle coming out of that same room. And the same knife that she gave to him was on the floor. All kinds of emotions and thoughts were running through her mind and her heart.

Please watch the flight of the eagle very very carefully. It was only a short flight. Thus showing, they were very nearby to each other. Grasslands is big. She could be at one corner doing something, and he is at another corner, doing something else. But the eagle will always be there. Every once in a while, you can expect Sun to send out that eagle to find how his wife is doing and it will be a short flight. They could just be a km or even less apart.

3pt, if they were together, why was Sun on his horse and and CG at another location? Simple. Channge is no ordinary girl. She is always out and about, finding new things to do. And Sun trusted her. They are not like your typical couple where the wife must stick to the husband 24 hours a day. He promised to give her freedom, and that separation at the final scene shows us what that entails, that she can do what she likes.

Yet, that was the eagle. It shows that they were always in touch. The eagle is a means of communication. If Changge was ever in trouble, Sun will fly there.

And this separation is only temporary. Just like ordinary husband and wife today. Wife could go to work in the morning, husband go to work in the morning. At night, they go back to the same home

2nd point, they did live together in the grassland. They already said they will be together the rest of their lives. They said that at so many points in the drama. The final time was again at that tree trunk scene in E49

Glad you asked. Lots of people here can explain. Let me try

First of all, they were already technically married. He made the proposal in front of her mother's tablet, and she accepted it. In the tree trunk scene, she conveyed her acceptance of the marriage proposal. Marriage is a contract with three components: Offer, acceptance and conveyance of acceptance. All three were there.

Do you get that? If you do, I will continue with my explanation.

I will say about the snow walk scene. AS was already in love with her, since the riverbank scene. She did give him a perfectly good reason not to invade the city. But, in my heart, I was laughing. That is your potential girlfriend there, standing in the snow, maybe shivering. He would have accepted her terms for peace, whatever crab reason she gave him. He just wanted to get it over with, make sure she is alive, and then take her to the grassland.

The Gongsun couple was like triple dose. First, he died. And then she died. And right after the two died, Mr Qin asked her, what is your Tao, as if to rub it in.

The snow walk scene did not invoke any sense of sadness in me. But it invoke in me a sense of awe. That a young 15-year old girl, would have the guts to walk out alone to face thousands of Ashile troops. And then to have the guts to negotiate peace terms with Ashile Sun, under the circumstance. What courage, wisdom, and control she exhibited. Courage to face those troops, wisdom to bargain with AS, and control in holding back her grief. And the dubber's voice was just excellent during this scene. She dubbed this portion with a very dignified tone, turning the surrender scene into something dignified for that city, instead of shame.

For me, it was Reba's best scene. Her facial expression was just excellent. I think it took really good acting from her to pull this off. Acting of the highest calibre.