The Long Ballad (2021)

An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.

This is the empowering, female focused historical drama that I have been waiting for. Finally in Li Changge, we get a strong, smart, independent female lead character who seeks meaning in life beyond being just an extension of the male lead and his dreams. Not that Wu Lei's Ashile Sun is anything to throw popcorn at because this man is a total keeper from his fabulous thunderbolt eyebrows all the way down to his baby toes. No, I haven't actually gotten to his baby toes, my screen appears to be ahem... stuck... in a perpetual loop around about his stunning bare chest but I am sure they past muster. Even disguised as a man, Dilraba is such a peerless goddess no male lead ever seems good enough until Wu Lei rocks up to turbocharge this smoking hot OTP into one of my all time favorite drama couples. Don't be fooled by my shameless, shallow gushing, this is so much more than just another idol drama. All of the main characters in this drama start out as young people who don't know who they want to be when they grow up. They go on an incredible journey of self actualization to discover their true values and best selves.

This story begins with Li Shimin's bloody ascent to the Tang throne over the bodies of his brothers, to be the greatest Tang emperor. Li Changge, a fictional character, is his much adored niece and daughter of the deposed crown prince. Disguised as a man, she flees the capital, vowing to avenge her family and tries to marshal her father's remaining supporters to undermine her uncle. Thus Changge embarks on a long and difficult quest, making many friends including the delicious Ashile Sun along the way. She is young, naive and makes costly mistakes with irreversible consequences along the way. In the process, she discovers that the truth is never simple and there are causes far greater than hers; that an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. Dilraba's performance as Changge is several notches above all her other works; she is not afraid to ugly cry or allow grief and rage to ooze from every pore of her being.

I picked up this drama because Wu Lei's Fei Liu is one of my all time favourite drama characters. Who would have guessed that irascible kid would have grown up to be such a sexy beast of an Ashile Sun! And Wu Lei has not lost any of his agility in delivering thrilling, heavy hitting action scenes, with his kick ass fight with She'er being one of the drama highlights. But what really is on fire is his chemistry with Dilraba; their mutual attraction does not have to be expressed in words. When Sun tells Changge "From now on, you are my slave" his entire being screams "From now on, I am your slave." It is so refreshing to have a couple that understands each other, is honest with each other (even about lying to each other) and shares the same world vision. Ashile Sun's manliness comes from the fact that he is not threatened by Changge's independence and strength, he glories in it. Together they find that forgiveness brings peace and liberation. I am also most pleased that not all the men fall in love with Changge, Mimi is more the femme fatale.

Changge's cousin and closest confidante Leyan is inadvertently thrown on a similar journey. They are polar opposites by nature and deal with challenging situations in completely different ways but both show immense courage and fortitude. Leyan is the character that shows the most growth in this drama and even though usually weepy characters give me rashes, I was not allergic to Zhao Lusi's empathetic portrayal. Fair to say, the princess and the icicle is very cliche but Liu Yuning and Lusi really capture what made it such a popular trope to begin with. Sadly they must have cut those scenes where the uptight Haodu thanks Wei Shuyu for buying him looser underwear with tears in his eyes because poor Wei Shuyu never gets any love despite how he redeems himself later on.

As much as I find this drama's character development addicting, it must be said that the plot is flimsy and requires heavy suspension of disbelief. This is partly because the plot development is constrained by historical facts. While it is very cool to journey with our characters to all the historical hot spots and watch them interact with great historical figures while history plays out, the plot itself doesn't amount to much more than that. Changge's mother's story is tragic but anti-climatic as far as mysteries go and that is the problem, the drama doesn't really have a climax. The entire last arc is not only implausible, the main antagonist was mis-cast and their acting was so appalling I really cringed through many moments of the final few episodes. As for the ending, I found it most fitting. Weddings are not the same without family, permission was asked and received and beautiful vows were exchanged. We don't need more than that.

Broadly speaking, men are followers of women in this drama making it is the ultimate female fantasy fiction that on sheer addictiveness and enjoyment factor alone merits a 10/10. But objectively speaking it also has some flaws that make an overall 8.5/10.0 more fair.

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Big Reba and Leo fan!!

I was expecting a lot more romance scenes between Li Changge and Ashile Sun, because they have such a cute dynamic. I'd recommend this if you like the main couple and are willing to binge the drama in 2x speed while skipping through some unnecessary parts.

I didn't read the manhua, so I'm not sure how much was changed, but I do feel some parts that made it into the real life drama should have been changed or cut out, as it either wasn't executed that great or it was just weird seeing it in real life vs had I read it in a book/cartoon.
I think this does play into why Li Changge and Ashile Sun didn't have too many scenes together, since the manhua was maybe less focused on your traditional romance?

Overall, there's definitely better dramas of this storyline/genre, but I am such a huge Dilreba fan I had to see her in this.

Pros:
- The storyline about war/peace/Chinese dynasties etc was simple enough to enjoy and digest.
- I'd honestly say the beginning of the drama was better than the end, just because there was a lot more action, seriousness, and "omg idk whats gonna happen next."
- Good looking idol actors. I'm gonna go ahead and give Leo Wulei some credit for portraying a manly aura at just the young age of 21. The kid's quite slender in frame but the way he carries himself was fitting for the role. The only actor I compare him to is Zhang Bin Bin, who was extremely masculine in King's Woman (which sucked as a drama but entertaining nonetheless) at the age of 24. So yeah, excited to see how Leo grows in the next few years.

Cons:
- If you're looking for a mind-blowing storyline, save your time and skip. A lot of the scenes were almost predictable and sadly corny.

Overall, I feel like this drama was hyped up to a degree, and I'd imagined it so differently in my head... No regrets watching it at the end of a long day of work as the episodes came out each week, but if I could choose a drama to watch of my own free will during a few days of vacation, I'd skip on this one.

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The story plot is in general good and had the potential of becoming a great drama, but somehow doesn’t really reach the target, although watchable (first 13-23 episodes rather “slow” also).
The story about Chang Ge and Ashile Sun lack “edge”, maybe because Dilraba isn’t a really good fit as a main lead. The male main lead doesn’t quite fit his role either.
The story about Leyan and Hao Du is less predictable and more interesting, although it’s not feasible that someone who is supposed to be good at embroidery would mess up weaving yarn the way Leyan does in the story.

Chinese historical dramas have a lot of “shang tian” and “lao tian” which westernized translators misleadingly translates as “g#d”. It doesn’t correspond the associated biblical “g#d”.

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The Long Ballad -- saved by its beautiful cast

The Long Ballad is a very entertaining drama. If you have never seen a Chinese historical, I would highly recommend you to watch this. But for those who have seen several historicals, The Long Ballad is an optional watch....

TLB has 4 leads-- Dilraba Dilmurat, Wu Lei, Zhao Lusi and Liu Yuning. They are young and beautiful actors. Especially for Dilraba, Wu Lei and Zhao Lusi, who have put in very remarkable performances in this drama (I have seen them in their previous dramas and there are notable improvements for all 3). I'm happy for Dilraba who finally has a strong FL character who does not have a tragic ending. Wu Lei had felt like the wrong choice for Ashile Sun, military general in the grasslands would not look like him, but his acting convinced me! Zhao Lusi's Leyan has very good character developments that kept me worried for her for a long while... which is good, otherwise I might have dropped the drama in the 20+ eps.

The director did a great job and kept the plot going at a good, fast pace almost for the whole drama. The good thing about The Long Ballad is, it has no drag, every episode is essential. Even when it cuts to Leyan's arc, the slower plot developments there still keep our attention as we worry for her.

My greatest, and only issue is on the script. The script feels like it is written for elementary school children. The simplicity of the plot really comes apart in the last arc, that last 7 eps where I have to watch at 1.5x speed else I be falling asleep. I like Dilraba a lot, and kept reminding myself, it is only 7 eps left, finish this for Dilraba.....

I must say the plot, the main plot, is really good. It has a lot of potential.... unfortunately screenwriter has simplified it to juvenile levels.

-- Change Ge was stabbed/shot at in her chest, near the heart area, several times in the drama. Even falling down from a great height into a river. Yet she survived. FL halo is over-used here. And because of this, no matter what danger that Chang Ge is in later, we do not feel anxious for her becos scriptwriter has made it very clear that she cannot die...

-- Chang Ge was able to command Gong Sun He's army in the battle against Ashile (she has only been taught in warfare by Masters, never been in a battle)... and that scheme that they used, flooding the enemy troops with water. That should take several days, weeks to arrange. How to setup that in one night....

-- Middle part is generally okay, or maybe I tried not to be 'too picky' and shut down my brain as I continue watching. But in the rescue of the Tang general from Ashile camp. It is unthinkable that such a clever Chang Ge would act so foolishly... and when the escape plan failed and Ashile soldiers were catching up with them (literally just a few metres away, on horses), the three had a lot of time to chat and even got Shi Ba (the general's most junior disciple) to acknowledge Chang Ge as her new master..... I was like, um folks, the soldiers are coming on fast horses, so can you get going??!

-- I really do not like the last arc.... the part when Chang Ge and Ke Dun were plotting and scheming against each other. Those tribal heads are much older than them, yet they can be sooo easily manipulated??!! Yes, the excuse is Ke Dun had held them hostage with their family members. But dear scriptwriter, they are GRASSLANDS TRIBAL HEADS, big macho men with their own brains and capable of independent thinking. It is not convincing that all of them become cowards because loved ones were held captive. They are MACHO men.... at least a few would want to stand up against Ke Dun even if at the risk of their families.

-- And that fire at the end. For such a big fire to start so quickly, Ke Dun would have poured fuel on the floor much earlier. The hall was enclosed (windows closed), so when Chang Ge entered, she should have smelled the fuel.... um, maybe Chang Ge had a nose block that day? cough cough.....

And the kiss scenes in the drama..... why even bother putting in romance if you want to be PG about the kisses?

China has produced much better historical dramas, with better attention on details and the plots. The Long Ballad is only a fun and entertaining watch, with a very beautiful and talented cast. Please ignore the script, and you can enjoy the drama fully.

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Addictive episode by episode but a bit empty overall

This action packed, forbidden romance premise is highly engaging. Every single episode ends in a cliffhanger, making you want to watch the next and then the next ....

Binge watching, however, I noticed that large chunks of episodes go by with nothing really resolved. The plot doesn't 'move' much. Also, due to the repeated use of cliffhangers, the impact of large action and rescue scenes decrease over the course of the show.

The acting was great, and I often enjoyed the secondary characters just as much if not more than the main ones. I was fond of all of them, and continued to watch just to see how it ended. As others have noted, the two main leads have little romantic chemistry when sharing screen time (but when they are apart, you deeply believe that they care for each other). The secondary romance had much more connection.

The music, especially the end credits song, was a bit more haunting and creative than average. One or two action scenes where thrilling enough that I may rewatch selectively . . I grade on other criteria:

Complex Themes: 5
Simplistic: If you do right by your country and your people, all the rest will fall into place. Never be too prideful to lose sight of the bigger picture and learn from others. Self-sacrifice is a mark of good character.

Character Growth: 7
Each character has a standard trajectory, from pride, ego, or blind obedience, to doing what is best for your people. They all get a bit more grounded and thoughtful, less brash and impetuous.

Relationships/Depictions of women: 7
There are a lot of female friendships in the show, as well as a bit of focus on mother daughter relationships as well. I wouldn't say any of the depictions are complex: and the women are often separated from each other.

Production values/cinematography: 8
The show made a strange choice to switch to illustrations instead of live action whenever a scene would be too complex or expensive to shoot. Besides that odd choice, a few of the action scenes were truly thrilling and creative, and production values were generally high.

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Great Story and Acting

I highly recommend The Long Ballad.

Story / Narrative:
What I like about The Long Ballad is how the story of Li ChangGe is told and her character development. It all started with her carefree life, living in a palace with nothing to worry about. And then life started to crumble when her family got annihilated. Back then she was blinded by the truth. She fought back and almost died many times, but she moves forward never thinking of backing off because of her goal. And then in her journey towards revenge, she met good and selfless people. This made her realize that fighting for what you think is right may not be the best solution, but instead fighting is about the common good, lesser casualties the better.

Characters / Actors:
Dilreba Dilmurat really shined in this series, not only did she carry the titular role but she owned the show. This is by far her best performance, hope she gets to win acting awards for TLB. She was so good with the action scenes that you'll never know that she was so cool and fun off-cam or behind-the-scenes. She indeed showcased her acting prowess here and gave her all. Leo Wu on the other hand is also a gem, he is a fine young man, very talented. The emotions he conveyed during the grassland arc were so on point, you can feel his angst, frustrations, his energy during the action scenes, and how he is able to switch to being calm and gentle when he is with Li ChangGe.

The side characters too were very watchable and what impressed me the most is that no matter what the differences were and even if they were on opposite camps or tribes, both ChangGe and A'Sun were admired and respected by the people they met along their journey. My favorite side character is Yuan Niang. She is so adorable.

Romance:
This is a very wholesome show. No third parties and lots of couples.
My fave of course is the main couple #GeSun. Literally will kill for each other, it was a slow burn and wasn't forced.
Dilireba and WuLeo are so perfect for their roles, overflowing with chemistry even w/o much skinship.

Cinematography / Sound Track:
The cinematography was also very nice, pleasing to the eyes. My favorite was the fireflies date of A'Sun and ChangGe.
This has one of the best Opening and Closing OST. Charlie Zhou's Cocoon is the best.

Wisdom / Lessons/ Quotes:
All the characters that ChangGe and A'Sun met left a great deal of impression and imparted wisdom. The part wherein ChangGe reflected and found her Tao, this part of the drama was the slow part but it was necessary for the story and we get to love ChangGe even more after she found her Path. My favorite quotes were: #1 Some people are soft like water, they absorb everything while others are like fire, and people who get close to them will get burnt. If you insist on staying with them you will become ash. #2 A Benevolent heart is never defeated.

The Long Ballad is one of the highly emotionally intelligent dramas that I will surely remember and love for a long time.

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THIS IS A MUST WATCH!!!

The Long Ballad is a really great drama. The story was great, the casts were great and the music was great everything was just perfect.

As for the casts this was my first time watching Dilireba and Liu Yuning but I've watched dramas of Zhao Lusi like The Romance of Tiger and Rose, I Hear You and Oh My Emperor and of Leo Wu like Nirvana in Fire and Whirlwind Girl. So, I know that Lusi is a good actress and Leo Wu too. I was looking forward to Leo Wu in a lead role and indeed he had done a marvellous job. He looked so mature and handsome. Dilraba had done such an impeccable job as Li Changge and I don't know why some people were hating on her saying she was very stiff in portraying her feelings and what else but TBH I think she was just awesome. Every time there was a crying scene with her I did not find anything lacking I even cried a few time though I'm not a senti type person but the feeling were so strong that I can't help but cry. Liu Yuning as Hao Du has done a good job as well. He was really into the role which I liked about him. All the other supporting characters were great as well.

Now for the couples, I didn't have expected that Dilireba and Leo Wu look so adorable and peautiful together. Their chemistry was just so perfect that I didn't even know that Dilireba is older than him. There were not many romantic scenes but they had such a magical chemistry between them that when they were just holding hands or talking I'd start blushing. I just hope they do more dramas together. And as for the HaoYan couple I just want to say they were so cute. There were lots of sweet moments that had me go crazy. And the other couples like Mu Jin and Mimi Gulli, Xu Feng And Luo Shiba they were all so great too. They did such a good job keeping us hyped.

The OSTs were so wonderful Zhou Shen's 'Cocoon' , Zhang Bichen's Song and Sa Dingding's song were all so great. They made the drama much more enjoyable and good. Every time the songs came I would feel like flying. The songs were so good, touching and emotional. The war scenes were also so realistic I was getting goosebumps whenever there were any fight scenes. And the story to comic cartoon transition idea was brilliant it was so unique. Some people think that was to maintain the budget but that's not the whole truth they were saving and using it somewhere else like they used it to train the actors some little techniques of horse riding. We can see that some scenes were done by the actors themselves not by their double. So we should respect the production quality.

Overall the drama is PERFECT!!! I highly recommend it.
(NOTE: This is my first time writing a review so if had made any mistake please forgive as an amateur. I'll try my best in the future :) )

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Epic Main Plots throughout the series and a second-lead couple that makes you fall hard for!

As a long ancient drama series, it has one of the best 50-episode plots that hypes you up throughout, the whole drama was a climax, never a dull moment! If surrounds a bravery and smart female lead whose family was murdered and as she escaped, she formed allies and seek to find revenge for her family. The whole drama was full of thrilling scenes that make you tensed up from time to time, but do not expect a massive production as some epic scenes were replaced with animated graphics (comic-style). Not sure if it was to save budget, I would say it's a pretty smart move to save cost while keeping the storyline, but couldn't deny the fact that it does look a bit anti-climax... Another anti-climax part will probably be their kissing scenes, when you had high hopes but there are none, only the side cameo couples had it; although I saw somewhere that the director is trying out some special way to show a kiss scene... but I don't really buy it and honestly it disappoints a little. However these don't really affect much on how I grade this drama in overall as the other parts of the drama were pretty good:)

CAST! When I saw the starring casts list, immediately I clicked! But unlike other dramas with terrible storyline and solely based on the fame of the stars, this series definitely did justice to the casting lineup, worth chasing for! All the casts were pretty good, not just visually good but great performance too, Leo Wu being exceptionally impressive! I noticed him since Nirvana in Fire, which I believe it's the same for most of the viewers too. It shocks me seeing how FINE he has grown up to be and not to say his unquestionably stunning performance and acting skills in the drama. Cool, cute, charismatic and physical body shape, he has it all, literally being one of the most charming generals! Actresses wise, Dilraba was visually perfect for the role, she does look like someone that walks out from the comic book, but in terms of acting, I prefer Zhao Lu Si, as I'm impressed on her crying scenes, natural yet heartbreaking; although she has been crying almost every episode in the first half of the drama HAHA but she looks pretty cute still, guess she really fits the role! Liu Yu Ning was a hidden gem, never thought this King of OST is appearing in an ancient drama series, and honestly he has stolen all the attention and my love for the drama mainly for his adorable matching with Zhao Lu Si; although he wasn't the best acting actor but he's absolutely my favourite role in the drama! Among the 5 main roles, I would say Alen Fang's role is the most unfavourable one. He wasn't a villain actually but he was pretty much a coward in the whole drama, was supposed to be a big brother of the female leads but ended up protecting none of them. I would say luckily this role had Alen Fang's fine visual, so I could actually bear with his cowardice a little...

On top of the 5 main roles, I would say their cameo roles that come along there throughout the series are very much to my liking too, as a subordinate, a brother, a friend, a disciple, a master, a general, they were all very LOYAL and contributed to the success of the fight; although the screening time were very much lesser, but I love them too!

Encountered so many cheesy and boring side couples in other C-drama series, I never had high expectation on the second couple. BUT FINALLY, is the very first time I fell in love with second lead couple more than the main ones, and FELL SO HARD: Hao-Yan Couple, a love story of a Big Bad Wolf and a Little Rabbit!! It's fascinating how the cold-blooded killer got warmed by the pure-hearted princess and started being such a nerdy sweetheart, their story only started in the second half but it was more than enough scenes to capture viewers' hearts! So better don't drop the drama halfway or you'll miss out a lot here! That's one part I never get enough of and can rewatch it again and again!

In terms of production, it's a 9 out of 10. I find it a bit lacking in terms of fighting or war scenes, not as many as expected, it's a shame as I know Leo Wu was always taking martial lessons but he wasn't really able to show off that much in this drama as he was always on his horse haha! But when he does in those few scenes, you know he pulls off VERY WELL! Besides the fighting part, to emphasize, I would proudly say they had the BEST DRAMA OSTs!! What a powerful sound track that gives you all the goosebumps, I love all the songs so much, can't even name one to be my top favourite because they were all so good, and as the drama has ended, I can only immersed myself of reminiscing the series with the OSTs!

Honestly while some people were cheering for second season, I find it just nice for only one season, but I'm hoping to see more great dramas like this coming up this year and hope to see the casts reunited in other series sometime in the future! :)

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Long Ballad is a MUST watch

I’m a fan of Dilraba, so I started watching this drama for her although I haven’t been to impressed with her previous work, so I didn’t think anything too big of it. And I am so glad I watched it. I ended up LOVING it. Probably one of her best role yet for me. I’m so proud of her and so happy she took on this role. She really showed her versatile as an actress! Her character is very strong, smart and adapts to situations quickly.

As for Leo, I have not seen him in any other drama prior to this and let me tell you, he is AMAZING!!! I’m a huge fan now. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Ashile Sun, he nailed that role so good! He’s going places and will be amazing at whatever role he picks up in the future and I will be there to watch!

The chemistry between Changge and Ashile Sun
is on fire!!! They have a very slow burn romance and not all lovely dovely like the second CP but I think for their journey and story, it’s perfect!! They don’t need to be all lovely dovely. The way they support one another, always there for each other no matter what, and support each other growths, you can just see their amazing romance by their actions, and in my book, that’s good enough for me. It’s such beautiful and amazing relationship.

As for all the other actors and actresses, I felt like everyone did a great job too.

Each characters goes through major character development, and everyone’s journey is different and beautiful to watch.

The OST is very unique and very different from the normal Chinese drama we’re used to but it’s beautiful! I kid you not, I can’t stop listening to it and I get chills hearing some of the background music.

The fight scenes seems very realistic to me and is so amazing to watch. Great choreography, cinematography, and I do enjoy the plot of the story very much.

I must say The Long Ballad is on my top list of favorites Chinese dramas of all time and the top for this year!!! Thank you Dilraba and Leo for this amazing journey, I enjoyed every bit of it and will miss this so much!

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its ok

its a really okay drama. theres a reason why it received the mixed ratings it did on douban and i agree with a lot of them (reba’s stiff acting, very strange choices for the animation inserts, predictable story). tho i do think dilireba has improved a lot since she first began her acting career, ive still yet to be taken by her. she’s beautiful, i think that goes without saying, but it was hard for me to feel moved for changge at all. zhao lusi and liu yuning were surprisingly incredible. like...wow, her expressions? her character arc? i wasn’t moved by the story, but i def teared up when leyan suffered. i didn’t know who either of them were before and in the end i skipped most of the drama just to see what would happen with their characters. their love story is also a predictable one but they carried it out with ease. otherwise ur enjoyability of this drama generally weighs upon how much you like dilireba and wu lei, and i think its safe to say that if you love them, then the drama’s a pretty huge win for you.

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A story of growth

I was interested in The Long Ballad because of, you guessed it, Dilireba. I wanted to see her portrayal of the boyish princess Li Chang Ge, which is such a contrast to her last role Bai Fengjiu, but I did not expect to have come across a marvelous drama. The Long Ballad does not center around romance, although it is there, it is a story of personal growth, of maturing and growing up, and of realizing what's more important than revenge.

Let's start with what I, personally, love about this drama and there are so many things to talk about. First of all, the English title. Now, this is very personal, I know, but I appreciate how they did not just decide on something like "The legend of Chang Ge" because crappy English titles happen A LOT and there are so many "The legend of ..." drama title in the Chinese dramaland that I already got tired keeping count of. If you have watched enough Cdramas, you may have come across a few. The English title really suits the story and the theme of the drama. At first read, you can already tell that the plot will be about a long journey to, perhaps, find oneself of our protagonist. A more important thing that makes this drama worth watching though, was the character development, not only for Chang Ge but for all the supporting characters as well. The growth arcs of all the characters felt very satisfying and inspiring with (spoiler alert) Chang Ge valuing the peace of her country over revenge, Ashile Sun finally decided to live his life by his own rules, Le Yan being grateful for her extravagant status as the Tang's princess after experiencing hardships of the common people and, my personal favorite, the heart-warming growth in bromance between the two sons of the Ashile Tribe and more. Moreover, the villains in this story felt, to me, very convincing. Some of them I can not be label as "villains" for their motives to do whatever they did felt logical to me because of their own pasts and stories. Instead of hating on these "antagonists", I can rather sympathize with them, especially the evil, scheming Khatun who showed Chang Ge what she would have become if she did not give up her revenge. There are so many things about this drama that you would love other than what I mentioned, such as the sizzling chemistry of the second lead couple (the love story of a big wolf and a cute bunny), the beautifully choreographed fight scenes, the superbly produced soundtracks which I have played on repeat for at least 5 times a day, the bonds and relationships between each character (especially the fatherly love between the Tang emperor and Chang Ge) or, perhaps, you may also fall in love with the handsome alpha male boyish prince Ashile Sun, portrayed by Wu Lei.
Side note: I watched this drama for Dilireba but ending up falling for Wu Lei. Lol.

However, every drama has its own shortcomings and this one is not an exception. Something that really annoyed me was how they replaced some important, highly-anticipated war scenes with comics - cheaply made comics. This strategy did reduce the production budget but there were mixed opinions from its viewers and I am certainly on the negative side. It did not live up to the intensity that the plot built and was rather confusing for me. In addition, the lead couple's chemistry felt like a brotherhood or a sibling relationship rather than a romantic bond, if not for all the romance scenes. At times, it does spark some butterflies in my stomach but other times I did not buy it. Moreover, the "kissing" scene was a major disappointment. Like many viewers, I prefer the second lead's story, which got me screaming like a madman, over the lead couple. Lastly, BIG SPOILER ALERT, the ending was a bit unsatisfying. Although it did wrap everything nicely and conclude all the characters' stories - unlike The Rebel Princess *insert heavy sigh* - it still feels a bit rushed. Apparently, some scenes that were filmed for the ending were cut out which explains why.

All in all, the plot of this drama about growing up, coming of age, and maturing did resonate with me a lot. It was a beautifully made drama with good acting and plot. Was it one of the best dramas I've ever watched though? Almost there, but not quite. Still, if you like dramas with the themes I mentioned and want to watch a good overall drama then you should give this a try. I'd definitely rewatch it when I have time.

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