Autumn ballad right? I have come across The Autumn Ballad through YouTube suggestions, yes I once made a post about the drama when it was released but I post lots of dramas which makes it a bit hard to remember all of the updates I make. WeTv has been doing their best to promote the drama and it felt like they pushed it more than they did with City of Streamers. This an official review on Chinese drama The Autumn Ballad starring Jeremy Tsui and Qiao Xin.
First Impressions.
Normally I only watch one episode and then write about it but for this review I decided to watch two episodes and discuss them. Seeing the drama being promoted and recommended I thought it will be on the same level as City of Twin Cities or The Sword and The Brocade but I was wrong. The first episode had an awesome opening with the arranged wedding and the sudden death at the wedding but I wasn’t impressed. The quality of the drama is disappointing especially after viewing the posters of the drama. The video resolution was also a No, No, and they add salt to the wound by making the resolution of the opening and closing theme higher. The voices of the actors made things worse, it felt like they didn’t edit the sound properly and other actor’s voices doesn’t suit them, it sounds like I’m watching the drama while listening to my friend reading their script. I wanted to drop the drama on the spot but I already downloaded ten episodes in advance so I’ll just see how it goes.
The Good.
Story.
I absolutely loved the story itself, I thought it will be a bit boring but I enjoyed each and every episode because they had something new to tell. The story like a puzzle that became a full picture in the end and it was not confusing at all. I enjoyed watching how the main leads when from enemies to lovers, their love story wasn’t rushed and they had less misunderstandings.
Perfect Female Lead.
You have to give credits to Qiao Xin (Qiu Yan), she flawlessly tapped into the ‘fearless, smart and quick witted character’. I think it’s my first time watching her dramas but she really made me enjoy watching this drama more. The rest of the cast was amazing too but there’s always the one who makes you fall in love with the drama.
The Bad.
Why is it always the same thing?
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed that Chinese dramas are almost the same when it comes to female character development. Qiu Min started off as a weak, spoilt and pushover young lady… she’s like a little princess, always crying and trying to run away from her problems. Her character obviously needed a make over and it could only be done after some life changing experiences that makes her see the world in a different view. Changing the personality of a character isn’t something you can do without a story build up but I don’t like the idea of females getting molested to trigger the personality switch. This is the oldest trick in the book, I watched a lot of dramas that use the same trick. I’m sure we have all watched Princess Agents and we can remember Li Qin’s character and how she went from being a spoilt princess to being a badass. There are many creative ways you can use to develop a female character.
No brotherly connection.
I felt the connection between most characters but I failed to sense the chemistry between Qin Xuan and Liang Yi, they are best friends but I wasn’t convinced. They didn’t sell the ‘best friend’ story. They mentioned Liang Yi teaching Qin Xuan martial arts but they don’t have that connection… they are total strangers to me.
Conclusion.
I didn’t even think I wwill manage to finish the drama because of it’s first impreions but like I said, the story was interesting and I began to get used to the negative side of the drama. It had a great ending, I thought they will drag the last episode with boring reunions and unnecessary kisses under the tree but they amazed me. You know that moment when you are playing an Eminem song then the beat cuts off and he says “I’m not done” when you thought the song was over? that’s how the ening was. I thought they settled everything but they had the last card on their table.
Ratings.
9/10
