The Long Ballad (2021)

Action-packed, political turmoil, survival, dry romance...and a story that loses steam mid-way.

The Long Ballad was not quite what I expected.
TL;DR Overall opinion: I found the drama quite enjoyable (especially the beginning). Towards the end, the side characters' stories became my central focus (less dragging). The drama had some slow parts that were good parts to stop and come back later. In general, the Long Ballad is about a C+ to B- on my grading scale. Watch it again? Probably not. Do I appreciate the drama? Yes. Do I want a season 2? No, I don't think that is necessary. Are the characters memorable? Yes.

Pros:
1. Strong Main Lead(s): Dilraba plays the role of a physically and mentally strong, capable, clever girl (Changge) who is raised as a princess of the emperor. She encounters many hardships that test her mental and physical strength. Ashile Sun (Leo Wu) is a seemingly cold, intelligent person. He is the general of the Eagle Division under the Great Khan. His character is interesting to watch--from the carefully devised plans to his unique mercy (as well as heartless killing).

2. Fun Supporting Characters: A few of my favorite supporting roles include Hao Du (Liu Yuning)--a very stoic, heartless man-- and Li Leyan (Zhao Lusi)-- the hopeless princess and best friend of Changge. Both characters are fun to watch as they mature and change throughout the drama. I was also surprised to see Liu Haikun take on a less serious role of a swordsman (Situ Lanlang).

3. Dynamic Characters: Especially Hao Du, Li Leyan, and Ashile She'er--the characters' journeys in life adds depth/gives more to the drama.

4. Soundtrack: Need I say more? Look up "Cocoon" by Zhou Shen.

5. Antagonists: The antagonists change throughout the series, each posing a different threat that requires a new strategy which kept me guessing.

6. Storyline: The storyline is excellent! I don't want to give away spoilers, but I will say this: From Princess to outcast to military strategist to slave to outlaw to hero... the story follows the life of a girl whose life is flipped backwards, and whose friends become enemies and enemies become friends (NOT A SPOILER).

7. The Side Plots: The side plot with Li Leyan kept me going. Even when the main plot dragged for eternity, I persevered for her corner of the drama. Her journey is unique, like Changge's, but shows us that you don't have to be a battle princess or a military strategist... everyone has their own struggles, even the innocent, the rich, the poor, the heartless... *cough cough*

Cons:
1. Flat Characters: Changge started off as a dynamic character--kind to those close to her and kick-butt to her enemies; as the drama progressed, she gradually became flat and emotionless (aside from tears--the romance scenes with her blank expression often left me confused about her emotions at the moment).

2. Annoying Characters: (Entirely my opinion) the Crown Prince, Mimi Guli (sometimes she is sweet and likeable especially towards the end of the drama, but other times she is just a bit... annoying), Zhen Zhu (Princess Tujia of Monan--extra), and Wei Shuyu (he started off fine, but eventually became extra).

3. Poor/Cheesy Graphics: Sometimes the cartoon and the live action will be combined, but the live action part looks like a... well... 1979 footage on extremely blurry, smashed lens.

4. Drags on: Towards the end, the plot began to drag. Not-so-big issues took f o r e v e r . It could have ended with 40 episodes.

5. Sorry guys, the Romance: Romance is just the sprinkles on the cupcake, the cherry on top, NOT the sole purpose of the drama, nor the main issue at hand. In the Long Ballad, not all the romance was bad. Li Leyan's romance was cute and bearable, and so was Mimi Guli's romance. The main leads... well... it dragged. It seemed a bit weak in some episodes (from I LIKE YOU in one only for meh in the next). Or it would be confusing *does she like him or is this a flaw in expression* and sometimes the relationship issues at hand were exaggerated. The main leads' relationship with each other sometimes seemed VERY dry. But, the small actions like taking one's hand or standing up for one another and watching each other's backs were enjoyable (sometimes it just got confusing).

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Heart pounding♥️, Exciting, Entertaining

Love that there are, like, no misunderstandings, there's a great cast, acting, visuals, action, and OST! I also really enjoy this drama as there's always been an element of mystery, it constantly surprises me and I have literally no clear idea what'll happen next! I feel there are a few dragged out scenes on certain characters. Also, felt there didn't seem to be too much chemistry between the 2 leads, more like a mutual respect? maybe because of the age gap?‍♀️ Wasn't bad though, still quite liked both characters!
The other couples make up for it though☺️?
Overall I'm really enjoying it ?

Something extra...
New bias, Liu Yu Ning?
Loved his song in Love and Redemption, had no idea it was him! Love listening to his voice❤️ Great actor too?

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A decent Cdrama

Wow, I'm actually enjoying a Cdrama after a long while! It's fast-paced, many of the characters are clever (not all of them cuz that'd be unrealistic) and, despite the age difference, I have utterly fallen for the main couple! Their personalities match really well, truly a power couple! This is also my first time watching a Leo Wu drama and I'm loving it so far.

I don't usually like politics and warfare but they've mixed in a balanced amount of humor, romance, friendship, action, conspiracies, and life reflections to keep me interested. Yes, it has it's flaws but I find it better overall than many of the Cdramas that have come out recently. It's not shockingly impressive like 'Joy of Life' but also far from the scathing reviews a lot of Chinese are saying. Idk how Go Go Squid(which I found the main FL's childishness and stalking behaviour quite grating to watch and the plot quite simple. I did like the ML's acting though) didn't get much negative reviews and yet this drama does when it's got much more layers to it. So take reviews with a grain of salt and just check it out for yourself ?

Dilraba and Leo also seem quite comfortable with each other behind the scenes and get along well. I noticed many of her fans mentioning how relaxed and happy she's looking, while promoting the drama, for the first time in a long while.

I'm looking forward to the next episodes, fingers-crossed it maintains the quality until the end!

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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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It really is the romance we've needed.

If there was every a source material that truly deserved an adaption, it would be for the Song of the Long March. Truthfully, although I have my complaints, they don't disappoint with this adaption. It's fairly true to the source material (where the changes are actually beneficial to the story and character development of the other characters). They also chose excellent actors; not exactly the ones I had in my mind, but boy did the embody their characters P E R F E C T L Y. (Dilraba was pretty spot on truthfully. I'dve like to see Kyulkyung try this role. But truthfully, Dilraba 110% fits the bill. I couldn't see it any other way.)
But all of the actors-- they somehow make the characters more lovable then their source material version. The side characters are a bit more memorable, and you grow to be invested in the side stories progressing as well. There's plot twists, and stuff -- but it really helps fill out each character to seem more realistic. I found myself routing for the people I hated the most.
The cast, I can tell immediately -- seem like they'll be dorky and friendly off screens. It's unfortunate that I feel like the chemistry between Dilraba and Leo are a hair too dry for my liking, (i.e. Le Yan and Hao Du seem a bit more clear cut) but truthfully... I don't hate it. It's one of the few times, if not the only time it makes sense that they're not falling into each others arms. They really delivered even more then what I expected of the main characters in a way that makes sense.
Additionally,. their subtle movements, and really minute expressions truly makes it feel like they're living the life of the character. It feels natural; generally speaking, this doesn't feel like a rookie cast. And more importantly, the direction of the show is really on point. It isn't a 100% score in my book, but I think my bar is set a little higher just given my love for the original series as well as having seen some of the other work of the cast.
At Dilraba specifically, to no fault of her own, I found myself comparing her to her previous works where she has a similar estranged character (i.e. The King's Woman), and she hasn't really been able to separate those similar archetypes apart; it's a difficult task, probably impossible even-- but it's my small gripe. She makes Changge seem a bit more bullheaded and warrior-like in comparison to a quiet, chess-sort-of-cunning that I had imagined Changge to be. She grieves, but much more...loudly yet not as deeply....if that makes any sense. If I had to explain it another way, she acts too mature for the role, but contrasts by giving Changge a more childish/unwise? reaction to some things that makes her seem like she's in a different role.
Leo on the other hand makes Sun to be a bit more cool and calculating then I imagined Sun to be (if anything I expected him to have a bigger gap like how Dilraba is), but he really really shows the trust he has in her -- as well as understanding in her then I think the source material could ever get across. He knows what he wants, but he's not possessive, despite being the cold king stereotype. It's really really refreshing to see a male lead like that. I think he shows a really good progression of just being involved on the ride to I'm really just here for my girl Changge. I think this quieter (then the already quiet Sun) version really shows why he's the best of his clan; and it's not just purely on brute strength. *wolf's whistle to the fight scenes they do give him though because ooh weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*
Again with all of that said, I really did not hate anything about this show; the whole cast gave it more colour that made it equally if not more enjoyable then reading it. They're purely gripes of a book to adaption watcher.
And even though it's not a one to one adaption, it's not a poorly done spin off either.
It's a good balance of new and respecting the original.; truthfully I think if this was my first historical style show, or if I had not read the series first this would have easily become my favourite series of all time. But since it's not, the least I have to say is this is an A-tier drama with S tier acting, S-tier directing and also most importantly S-tier source material. Please watch it. Also please consider reading the manhua.

I haven't slept yet, (in fact just binged up until episode 33 until my internet went down).. but I'm itching to get back to it. Somehow it brings me back without giving me horrible cliffhangers to hang off of-- which P.S. I'd say is the same level of draw that the manhua gives.

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watch 15 episodes in 2 day!

binge watched this like some addict, and I'm not big into cdrama this year actually.
more like kdrama fans.

I like it because
- the cast is awesome
- Female lead and male lead chemistry is outt of the world
- not big fans of Dilraba, but...in here... she ROCKS!!
- just get to know Leo WU.. and... HE's AMAZING! instantly become his fan of his acting, and his killer look and expression.
- the story... How can someone write like that?
and that of course I discovered.. this drama is from manhwa that received Awards.
- love the supporting cast... Allen Fang, Zhao Lusy...
- I wish it has 100 episodes:)))

anyway, dont set up any expectation, just blend with your sofa, and watch it!
if you enjoy Maiden holmes, Romance of Tiger and Rose, Love by Hypnotic, The romance of Hua Rong,
Peach miles, Sound of the Desert... all that story with intense love, intense feeling, strong acting,

you will even enjoyyy this.

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It’s enjoyable

I’m up to episode 18 of this drama since that’s the latest subbed episode. I’m liking Dilraba’s role here, tougher than her usual beautiful Princess type roles. I like both leads. Their romance is still in its development stages although we as viewers can already tell the ML likes the FL but he has to play his tribe’s rule or she may end up getting a hard time given Sher is so jealous of the ML. Also, the majority of the characters still don’t know he’s a she so the ML has to treat her like that since everything he does is being tightly watched. I also liked the supporting cast- I had wanted the Princess to end up with Huo instead of that other guy (sorry I’m really bad with names so can’t remember the character names). It was obvious to me that guy she likes likes Dilraba’s character which is why I will be rooting for her to end up with that other guy who is cold and seemed very indifferent. I’m enjoying it so far. The plot, I especially like the pacing of the story, so far there have been no dragging episodes or scenes. There’s still a lot of episodes to cover so it would be interesting if they can keep the pacing like it is now. All in all, so far, a big 2 thumbs up for me. ??

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How is this highly rated?

This is actually the worst Chinese drama I've ever seen in my life. Worst acting, worst plot. Which isn't to say that I haven't watched boat loads of other garbage low budget shows, I've seen at least 50+ Chinese dramas, but honestly this one takes the crown.

I have an extremely high tolerance for bad shows as I am mostly watching to improve my Chinese, but I'm not exaggerating even a little bit when I say this is unwatchable.

I mean, I have never written a review before on this site, I've never felt the need, but now- if I can convince even one person, just one person not to watch it, then I'll have considering my contribution to not be in vain.

My suspicion is that this show is highly rated because of die hard fans for the actress and actor who will praise literally anything they do because they find them attractive.

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At times riveting

Admittedly, I was on the fence about starting this series because the pairing of Dilraba and Leo Wu seemed odd to me, and I wasn't wild about yet another cliche princess-disguised-as-boy-grows-up story. Generally, this couple pairing works fine with overall cohesiveness in production, whole cast acting, and plot. As in, whatever reservations I have about the main pair chemistry didn't really matter to my enjoyment of the show because the rest of it more than made up for a quality viewing.

Had this show focused more on the FL/ML romance, it would have been less successful. More intimate and romantic scenes would only serve to highlight the lack of... intensity? Passion? Sparks? The romance is very one-sided, with Leo Wu's character Sun obviously in love with Dilraba's more reserved character LCG, though she is gradually falling for him too. It's hard to tell how exactly she's in love with him, like a low level attraction that hums along but never raised above tepid. The slow burn in itself isn't the problem, it's just that there isn't enough energy between them to make me feel invested in their relationship **. These scenes - Sun suddenly grabs her in a tight hug and asked her to stay alive, or Sun fighting Shen to win her (as the slave) and then grabbing "his woman" in front of the entire tribe to haul his prize away - hot hot hot. No doubt they are incredibly beautiful people, so every scene is a feast to the eyes. However, the chemistry is less between the characters but more like chemistry between Leo Wu & the viewer, Dilraba & the viewer. All the long eye looks and close encounters are supposed to elicit "feels" but sorry, I don't feel it. There are no kissing scenes for them, with their eventual coupling inferred and left to imagination. That works better than potentially lukewarm kisses. After they have this understanding about their relationship, the romance went into a deep dive from some tension to zero.

Some of the reviews noted that Sun's character didn't really develop over the series. I agree to an extent, but would argue that Sun is already developed as a person. He's already got a good sense of self and gets the big picture. He's not still trying to find himself or stubbornly following a one track mission (unless it's perpetually saving LCG). He's a steady solid rock for LCG. As an imposing, charismatic general, Leo Wu's portrayal is totally believable. Leo Wu's only other series I've watched is Love like the Galaxy, which is a great show, but I couldn't help noticing that he was also an imposing, charismatic general there, whose injury on shirtless muscled bod had to be treated by love interest, and who also rolled down the roof with love interest and catching her. I would love to see him break out of mold.

LCG's character, in the meantime, does develop. LCG is learning what vulnerability is like, figuring out the big picture, and changing her worldview as a result. I love female characters who are strong, smart and not silly/whiny but the disparity between what she is supposed to be (strategic, decisive, smart) and her actions (naive, idealistic, unguarded) makes it hard for me to buy into her character (so far). Add to that impulsiveness, tunnel vision, and terrible choices. Possibly, my bias is due to not seeing how emotions translate into Dilraba's expressions. She has very defined modes - gentle (with the women and the weak), or serious/reserved/determined (with everyone else), or sad (on deaths).

This is one area where Zhao Lusi as the character LLY, has blown it out of the water with all the nuanced, highly expressive emotions on her face and in acting. Whether it's just her alone, of her and LCG, or her and HD, she provides a good counter foil to the other person or to her surroundings. It looks very natural. She's my favorite character so far going from a place of meekness and vulnerability to strength of spirit and mind. The 2nd pairing between the Liu Yuning's character HD and Zhao Lusi's character LLY is only emerging as of mid-series. LYN hasn't gone beyond the stoic, conflicted, stony face body guard yet, so we'll see how he transforms later with increasing proximity to LLY.

[** For superlative chemistry, see Bai Lu/Luo Yunxi (LiS, TTEOTM), Bai Yu/Ni Ni (PW), for e.g. Even Leo Wu/Zhao Lu Si (LLTG) has more sparks)

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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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