The Long Ballad (2021)

This drama shows how a person transform according to the struggles he/she encounters in her journey.

This drama will keep u till the edge from starting to the ending. Maybe it can help one's with some real life events.
all and all, I love this drama mostly because the main lead (Li Chang Ge) doesn't go crazy or mental (indulging in revenge and destruction) after encountering so much hurdles or difficulties throughout her undecided journey and twisted fate after her Family's murder mystery. As, like in Princes Agents (Yan Xun [Yan Emperor]) goes crazy after his family's death and set on his own path, for the slaughter of innocents and doom of his empire as the fire of hatred and revenge can destroy one's focus and peace of mind. I sincerely want to thank all the efforts of all the people who developed this drama from thinking to script writing to directing to organizing, background music introducing to everything, last but not the least I would like to show my gratitude to everyone for their competence and hard work. LOVE YOU EVERYONE

In this whole drama, a person sets on the journey of revenge but later on finds oneself's piece of mind and a wider understanding of The Tang Empire and its people.... LOVE U OVERALL

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Misunderstanding leads to long battle

Love story had been started after 30 episode till then each character hide their emotions .
All four leads were good but I like seconde lead couple more though they got the screen more after 30th episode. Though it was a happy ending but I am not happy with the ending ,atleast the story should have first lead marriage also they way story went . Too much stretch the story ,involve two children as a companion with both female lead but both ending is sad this part also I don't like. Involved so many sub stories this made story little boring and long .
Story started with misunderstanding because of this a battle of revenge started . Misunderstanding clear up at the last few episodes . In between story add up few romantic scene ,I think this scenes bear the story . It is not a love story . It is a story of battle of revenge .

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Character development and its actors saved this drama

This is the first drama where I didn't want to skip the intro and ending which I think should say a lot about the music track.
Starts off with a bang. First ep and we're up and going. However, I did have some qualms at first, really had to suspend my disbelief and immerse myself into the story while Changge was running around town hiding from the authorities wearing a bright white costume.
This drama is definitely more heavy on character development and experiences than it is on romances which I like, and why I gave it a higher rating. There is romance and it is done well enough to be believable within each character's stories, but if you want romance heavy this isn't it.
Towards the middle to end eps things slow down. The story has a few parts where it picks up the plot pace but I feel by the ending quarter was still dragging.
I don't really understand the ending sequence as it muddled up what I thought was already clear but I also read elsewhere that producers wanted to wrap quickly and didn't give time to properly flesh out a better ending episode. Shame. They basically agreed to marry each other as partners in life just without the ceremony so why in the end are they separated? If anyone can explain the ending kindly.
Despite the drama going *slightly* downhill towards the end, the first half impact and continual character development throughout kept me watching. I enjoyed the drama overall and binged watched it even when it got slow. Got to know of a great cast and will follow many of these actors in their future works as they made the drama work when production and writing faulted.

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Engaging watch, beautiful styling, beautiful people, production done well

When this was released, I read some skeptical reviews about it so I held off on watching it but kept it on my list. Don't know what prompted me but felt like watching it a few days ago and I binged it in like 4-5 days and I wonder why I even waited so long coz I thoroughly enjoyed it. Except a few complains here and there I don't have much to criticize about. Loved the ensemble cast, loved the styling, the OST, the cinematography. I have no idea what the source material is like so I went into this with no expectations and it was a very pleasant experience for me. I was satisfied with the pacing till the end but I also wish last 4 episodes were a little more detailed, especially the last two felt like all too quick to wrap it all up. Talking about cinematography, there were some shots that were just stunning to watch. Oh gotta mention the choreography for the fight scenes, loved that. The camera work in those so good. One thing that annoyed me was chang ge's impulsive actions at times but I guess those were learning lessons for her in a way. Special shout out for how wu lei portrayed his character, the fierce warrior, self confidence but at the same time with gentleness and warmth to him. Have been interested in him since nirvana in fire days and I feel he has picked up some good projects in the last year or so, so I was happy to see him pulling off this character well. Also one tiny gripe is I would have liked for the second lead couple story to be explored a bit more. It felt like too quick for them to build that chemistry between them and then suddenly they are getting married. But overall this was an engaging watch for me and I think I might rewatch it again someday down the line when I'm taking a break from crossing off the dramas in my to watch list.

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Female centric historical drama

I do not intend to write a long review for this one, so I'll just summarise my thoughts as succinctly as possible.

Overall:
This is a female centric drama focused on the growth of the lead character Chang'ge in her pursuit of vengeance and how she comes to find her role and aim in life.

Positives:
+ This is NOT a romance-themed drama which is fantastic for people who are more plot focused.
+ There is effort to expand character development beyond those of the lead characters. Every character has his/her own motivations and reasons to act in the way they did.
+ There is emphasis on the strength of the protagonist Chang'ge and how the fact that she is a female does not limit her in any way. Most female characters are strong and capable in this drama.
+ There is respect between the primary pairing and the male lead Ashile Sun's attitude and thoughts toward his beloved aligns with modern thinking.
+ Excellent pacing from the first episode up till when Suozhou fell.
+ Brilliant start and directing for the football match. I do love Dilraba's acting right at the start as a haughty and playful princess.
+ Great push and pull between Chang'ge and Li Shi'min when it comes to the dynamics of their relationship.
+ Above average acting and good acting chemistry overall.
+ Best OST of the year.

Negatives:
- The conflicting interests of Chang'ge and Ashile Sun means that sometimes Sun is forced to take a step backwards to the disadvantage of his faction to accommodate plot development.
- There were way too many reversals towards the end, and they were not thought out well.
- There is a repetitive plotline for the second female lead Le'yan which seemed to have taken inspiration from a similar plot point at the start between Chang'ge and A'dou but portrayed in a relatively unpolished and awkward manner.
- The part regarding a political alliance via marriage between Tang and Ashile was a very clichéd plot point and was resolved in very clichéd fashion.
- Weird styling for the protagonist.
- Unusual directing angles and shortcuts taken by using comic in place of certain heavyweight scenes.

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Zhao Lusi is the star of the show!

I initially wanted to give this show a below than average rating but Zhao Lusi saved it for me. She was amazing! This is my first time seeing her and I am so impressed by her acting talent. She is so young but she's got so much potential to be one of the best asian actresses of today. In contrast to the first female lead, she is not convincing at all as Changge. She's a poor casting choice in my opinion. There were many scenes of her that were really questionable. The actor playing Sun is quite good but it's the Yueyan and Hao Du storyline that kept me from dropping this show. They need to do another drama together! Amazing chemistry! Overall, it's a mediocre drama with mediocre storyline and mediocre actors except for Zhao Lusi and Liu Yining.

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It is just another ordinary historical C-drama. Nothing extraordinary!

After watching another Tang Dynasty inspired drama which has much stronger cast, beautifully made and brilliantly performed in the same time, the Long Ballad has become very ordinary and somewhat boring historical C-drama for me, especially when most interesting plots slowly declined after ep 28. As Wu Lei, the male lead acting was so stiff, I nearly dropped it but kept going to the end because of Zhao Lusi and Dilraba Dilmurat were in it only. Zhao Lusi character development are actually the one worth to watch here. I perhaps initially was drawn to watch this drama because it’s a well-known story and character and cast were predominantly good looking and the outdoor scenes did look amazing. However, some of them only good looking but not looking good in acting and their performance were somewhat annoying to watch. Furthermore, I’ve also felt that Dilraba Dilmurat could not really carry or portray Li Changge character in the book in a way I expected her to be. If she could be more expressive like Zhao Lusi, she could have been better! Unfortunately, the pairing with Wu Lei as lead couple couldn’t give much help. It’s a shamed that i couldn’t enjoy it as much as others since the public rating is so high. But i love the ending theme, it’s beautiful.

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Watch "Love Like the Galaxy" instead

The Long Ballad was too damn L-O-N-G!!! It clocked in at 49 episodes, which could have been easily condensed to half that amount. It dragged on unmercifully. There was zero chemistry between the FL and ML.

Zhao Lusi was the only good performer in this show, as she is great in practically every show she is in. I watched this show mainly for her and Leo Wu. Leo Wu's performance was mediocre, maybe because he was young at the time (20 yrs old) and had not yet perfected his acting skills (but see my next paragraph about Leo Wu).

If you want to see a better historical drama with both Zhao Lusi and Leo Wu, I recommend that you watch "Love Like the Galaxy" which was produced a year after this show. LLTG has an outstanding screenplay, costumes, set design and special effects, and all the actors/actresses displayed excellent acting skills. That show is superior to this Long Ballad show in all ways! Although LLTG has 56 episodes, it goes fast without any dragged-out scenarios.

I will not be rewatching this show in future or recommending it to anyone.

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very bad

Disappointed I don't know why this is celebrated so highly but it was so bad I haven't seen something that bad in a long time I regretted having watched it The story was bad and the actors didn't really fit together either There was no chemistry between Leo Wu and dilraba they absolutely didn't fit together delibra's acting is so bad I've never seen anything worse Leo Wu was great in his role as always Zhao Lusi and Liu Yu Ning also played great, you could really feel the chemistry with them, together very well but wu and delibra, there was nothing between the two Dilraba was so stiff no feelings no emotions really disappointing but what did I expect her acting is always bad but that was worse than bad. All the other actors were okay in their roles. Overall, the chemistry was right between all the actors, but delibra didn't fit in at all, I'm sorry to say that You don't have to look, I really don't understand the hype they're making about it, it's clearly too high for me 😒🤔😤 If there are errors in the rating, I'm sorry. Writing in English isn't really my thing

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The long ballad of supporting characters.

Amazing development, reliable traits with believable strengths and flaws, emotionally gripping stories that made me invested in the plot progress - what I’ve got from the supporting characters and side plots. Confused teens with good fighting skills are what the two main characters delivered.

So why did the main leads not work for me? Poorly presented context of their struggles. Li Chang Ge was introduced as a military prodigy for her young age. After facing the murder of her parents, she sets on the journey of revenge, that leads to countless self-reflection and changes of her goals and motivations. The issue is, the drama made me feel like an idiot.

All the characters around her kept saying how impulsive she is, how her actions are wrong, how the killer of her family is a good and a nice guy. I was sitting in front of my laptop questioning my sanity and the character's morals. Yes, I understand that there was more behind the story. I understood that the relationship between her and her uncles is not all that we see. My issue is, even the characters that had no reason to like or trust Li Shimin, ended up on his side right away, and I was just supposed to accept that. The writer wanted to make sure the viewers see Li Shimin as a good guy, without explaining why we should not view him as the villain. Even the most loyal people of the late emperor changed their affiliation in one or two days.

I was amazingly frustrated how no one tried to explain anything to Chang Ge, and she was just supposed to accept everyone’s claim that the new emperor is a good guy and she is wrong. As if everyone did not try to hunt her down without first giving her a chance to understand what truly happened. She was the traitor that needed to be killed.

Because of the unreasonable context, her journey just felt flat to me. Not to mention, while they showed her to be physically strong, she was extremely easily influenced by other people. Her morality, goals, views on the world shifted each time she met someone new. While self-discovery is based on exploration, the fact she just adopted whatever principles the people that were currently around her had, was a bit much.

Then we have Ashile Sun. There were fascinating ideas that could have been explored on a greater scale: how long are you obligated to stay loyal to the people who helped us in the past, should you accept all their demands or is our individuality as important, how long can you surrender to others’ demands and what are the long term consequences? His internal conflicts connected to Yan Li Khan were sadly overshadowed by his instant love for Li Chang Ge.

And the romance was not that great. He literally fell for her because “she was not like other girls”, remembering all the behaviors she presented that are usually linked to masculine traits. He fell fast and hard, and she was the initial reason for his character’s development - I find it disappointing. Often he did not feel like an individual character, but rather a shadow of the female lead.

Luckily, we’ve got some interesting side characters who made me like the show a lot. Easily my favorite, Li Le Yan had one of the best written character developments I have seen in a while. Her character development was built on her already existing characteristics. She did not become a completely different person - she simply worked on her flaws while staying true to her peaceful and gentle approach. She trusted the people around her, knew her limits and when to ask for help. She showed maturity and emotional strength when other characters were struggling to control themselves.

Hao Du, everyone’s favorite. Truth to be told, it took me a while to truly understand why everyone was so obsessed with his character, but he does creep on you - you don’t even know when, and you love him. I wish his story had a bit more screen time, so the development would be more gradual and well paced. Sill, the progress from distant, lone wolf to lost, adorable puppy was extremely entertaining and endearing to watch. I also appreciate his efficiency - kill first, ask questions later.

Even if not as well developed, the other characters that I appreciated by the end of the show were She Er, General Li Jing, King of Mobei, Gongsun Heng, Situ Lang Lang, Zhen Zhu and probably a few other supporting characters. They all had distinctive personalities, motivations, goals and aspirations. They all played an important role in the plot, affecting the events in a meaningful way. None of them felt like a background filler.

The characters made the show, because the plot was slightly all over the place.

Then we have the production issues. I am sorry, but they did not even try to make the cross-dressing believable. When Chang Ge was addressed as “he” after her first appearance, I had to pause the episode, I was so confused. All I could think about was: how could anyone ever assume she is a guy? And the show did not improve on that aspect at all.

Then there is the issue with kissing scenes. One could say - small detail if we take into consideration the whole show. But romance was a huge portion of it. The romance was what drove a lot of the characters. So when we’ve got birds’ make out sessions, a non-existing kiss fading to a white screen and even a dead body getting more action than the lead characters, one would start to get frustrated.

The Long Ballad had a lot of unintentionally hilarious moments. The new emperor being surprised his daughter was starving when she was a refugee (little grasp on reality he had, no?), “think for yourself” being seen as a lifelong experience that can be passed on to only the worthy one, the fact male lead had to be told he loved female lead 31 episodes in, after he risked his life and lives of other people he cares about for her, the overall vibe of “people die, get over it” everyone gave, female lead telling male lead he can’t kill his brother for killing his mother, while she herself has been on the revenge trip for months to kill her uncle for killing her parents. To sum it up, everyone lacks brain cells.

Overall, The Long Ballad was addicting and entertaining and I had a lot of fun watching. Undeniably sharing my rants and views on mdl feeds did make the whole experience a bit better, but even without it, I would appreciate what I’ve got from the show. For 49 episodes, it was a quick watch with likable characters, fast paced plot that does not require much brain power to understand, which makes it perfect late night binge watch material.

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