Ever Night (2018)

A beautifully different story.

I give this 10 out of 10 for this drama, and it's all started with the Trailer. I probably watched the trailer itself for like hundreds of time because it's really beautiful.

"Shootings sky can re-appear in the sky, withered flower can bloom again..." this is just one of my favorite line amongst many.

My first impression of this drama is the beautiful scenery, beautiful script and good makeup (I often find Chinese drama didn't really put good makeup quality) :D Of course I need to talk about the cinematography, it was was stunning, I can see they put so much efforts on the production (In which I didn't find this in the 2nd season so I'm bit reluctant to watch it). This is also the first time I come across Chen Fei Yu in drama, and he did a good job for a pretty much novice actor. Ning Que really left a special impression for me, I mean he's not typical ML and the truth about his actual background which reveal at the end of the Season 1 is just perfect, it gives the fact that not only special person can get what they wants, sometimes a very great efforts can also made you reach your goals. For me Ning Que will always be Fei Yu with his charm, and comic expression.

The relationship between NQ and SS in season 1 wasn't about romance, it's like a little only. For me I see it, more about devotion and family, they both has been together almost entire of their lives, they've been taking care of each other since like very young, and it's awkward for them, so I like the fact that they didn't rush NQ and SS relationship here. NQ also has this fling with Mo Shan Shan and Ye Hong Yu, and they way the story unfold between them was subtle and special in their own way. Every feelings conveys beautifully from these three cast.

I also like the plot twist on how Long Qing turned from Angel to Devil, it shows how greed and turned people into someone else. At first I don't expect much of this character, but the actor did such amazing job here.

The fighting scene in this drama was perfect, I really like it, the CGI also flawless and bit difficult to find good one especially back then at 2018. Despite the incomplete story, Ever Night is such a great drama for me.

Maybe I will watch Season 2, try to watched eps 1 and everything was so different in quality already, but for now I probably goes and rewatch this Season again.

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I have hopes for Season 2 . . .

This is a really fun, unique premise and world. 2 friends from the outer borders make their way to the capital city to make their fortune.

In 60 episodes, however, it only barely starts .. . the show spends too much time on the multiple worlds and their hundreds of characters instead of really building and focusing on the main relationships.

My main issue is that Sang Sang was standout actor and character for me in this series, and she gets barely any screen time. Instead, there's more side characters than one can keep track of (including 12 spiritual siblings), plus a whole host of other characters from class mates, to mentors, to an emperor and various inner palace politics.

In addition, a lot of the quests are 'mental' quests, where one just watches the main character scrunch his brow a lot and stumble around - which isn't particularly appealing.

Other Criteria I score by

Complex Themes - 5
(There may be more in Season 2, but in Season 1 not so much. Some small themes of being true to who you are, and not being confused by fancy words/wealth/sophistication).
Character Growth -5
(None really, our main characters act the same in the beginning as they do at the end, but there's some hints this will not be true by Season 2)
Nuanced Women -6
(Though there's lots of women, none of the women get enough screen time to form a really nuanced portrayal, except Sang Sang - and even she is only beginning to show different sides of her personality.)
Cinematography/Production Values - 9
(This is beautifully done, a good mix of CGI and real world scenery, well choreographed fight scenes etc. It's not as aesthetically pretty as say Yanxi Palace or Rise of the Phoenixes, but it's a big budget done well).

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It's a little bit late for me to watch this drama. The reason that interest me to watch it is, this drama was popular despite the lead actor and actress are new comer in the industry. Since they are new comer, it's either the story that made this drama so viral or the acting they brought. But then I found out that the story indeed interesting.

Story: Some parts of the plot are similar with other wuxia drama. Like they have to go to school and then make friends with other students. But in that similarity, Ever Night made the story more clear and had a deep meaning, compare to other wuxia school drama. Some of the episodes were too draggy, maybe because of the development of season 2. I still feel that the peak of this drama was in the last episodes, but some of the twists are never to be missed.

Acting: I think the lead actor and actress have good acting skill, but not impressive. They good in comedy scenes and fighting, but really lack of emotions in sad scenes and chemistry. However, the CGI and fighting choreography are wonderful, and senior actors are brilliant in their act, except the emperor.

Music: The music from this drama is just good, some really can brought creepy and dark feelings to the scenes.

Rewatch value: I really like to watch the fighting scenes, I think those scenes made this drama special. And also the plot is strong and steady, so before the release of season 2, maybe I will rewatch some episodes.

Overall: The story about a kid who is nobody and then become hero is never bored to explore. However, not like any other drama that have the same based story, Ever Night didn't lose direction. Even after being slow in the middle, they still keep up with the purpose of the main character. That's why I think this drama is different and special.

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A unique show but the pacing sucked... or better said there were pointless long scenes where I kept waiting for something else to happen and after just thought: Someone forgot to scream CUT! They obviously didn't have enough material for 60 episodes or found it hart to write a well rounded 40 minutes episode (or maybe there wasn't enough money).
Overall I never watched a season (of anything) in which so little happend (but I still enjoyed myself). I still liked the drama and want to see season 2 but there where a lot of episodes where I thought "come on, get a move on!!" It was sometimes so slow that till the very end it felt like a build up... And I kept on waiting (and was excited) for things to really get going/play out.
In season 2 I hope for faster more focused pacing (now that the world, characters, relationships and so on are established). I liked no LOVED the action (the choreos) is this drama I just want MORE of it! And more development/twists.

For once I liked most characters and - even though it didn't seem like it in the beginning - there aren't as many annoying characters. And I generally noticed that dramas in which the main character is a guy - there are almost never any of those annoying, delusional, jealous female characters. Because they always appear to be a (annoying) challenge to female main characters.

The acting ranged from bad (but mostly only a few guest appearances) to very good. The main actors acting was good for his first drama (he relied a bit heavily on his eyebrows - though it was very entertaining :-)) I will miss him.

The music stood out mostly through unusually beautiful background tracks but sadly also through overdoing it with one or two songs on two or three episodes. Because the was one song wich was a bit stupid and overplayed - could have been used a bit more modestly BUT that was only a few episodes. So I really liked the background tracks (wish I could find them on Youtube) from the songs I liked a few and didn't like a few - which is normal for me.

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This was a fantastic storyline except that I took .5 points off because of his servant. Again, I will not give details out. You have to watch it for yourself. I love how the lead character played by Chen Fei Yu took care and protected her wholeheartedly. The maid-servant played by Song Yi Ren, is the most important character for me in this drama series. They are planning for a 2nd season to this but Chen Fei Yu is not coming back because he has other priorities. That is sad because he did a fantastic job with this character. The visual effects were awesome! Thank you to the rest of the cast, music, producers, writer(s) and the producers. Loved it.

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I love the characters in this drama. though some scenes veered away from the novel it still was able to deliver the main idea. love the musical scoring as it invokes the right emotion from each scenes to the audience. the cinematography was great and so are the fight scenes. the casts gave the best they can so I really can't complain. will rewatch. The relationship between NQ and SS may seem awkward at first but as the story developed it just made more sense that they be together as they already shared a life together and knew each other deeply in a way different from a bro-sis relationship. their relationship and feelings for each other were made clearer in the novel than in the TV adaptation, but I guess its hard to put everything on the screen.

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One of the best I have watched in 2018. Ning Que (Arthur Chen) and Sang Sang (Song Yiren) both did an excellent job in bringing out the characters.

I did wish they had cast better quality supporting actors (not in terms of acting but in terms of spoken language). Leon Lai and Adam Cheng both spoke like they are speaking Cantonese.

Princess Li Yu is really quite stupid and totally naive which I wish the scriptwriters gave more common sense to the silly power crazy Princess. She's totally blind and over-protective of her brother who is a cruel and power crazy and dumb prince. Maybe it's because she is equally brainless. She looks down at Ning Que and after he enters the Fu Ji Academy, she tries all her ways to get him on her side. I wonder if she ever learned her lesson. Does she even know how useless and brainless her brother is? Sigh, totally cannot stand these two Princess and Prince pair.

Emperor dotes on his empress and gives in to her every whim. Empress knows her brother, the general is going to attack the Princess and she did nothing to stop him. She totally lied to the Emperor and said she knew nothing about it. At some point, I wish she would die with her brother as she does not deserve to be the Empress. Her brother massacred an entire village and she still protects him. She has no guilty conscience! Fair and just nation? Really? Probably why I enjoyed the twist in the story!

I do think episodes when Ning Que goes on the battle expedition with Mo Shan Shan could be shortened. It got a bit draggy.

What is really lacking is, since they are Fu Ji's disciples, he hardly teaches them. He just leaves the other 12 to teach Ning Que....?

Can't wait for season 2.....

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Evernight is a chinese drama with hollywood touch.
Having being watch other chinese dramas like ten miles of peach blossom, The eternal love, Ashes of Love, Legend of Fuyao, The Bloody Romance, Scarlet Heart and Ballad of the Desert.
I felt like Evernight is missing the HIstorical Chinese Original elements.

Yes, the costumes are beautiful
Yes, the cinematography is uptodate and breathtaking to the eyes

but then, in my personal opinion, it is losing the main element of Chinese HIstorical Movie where it burnts without have to light up bigger fire, where it make us pain without shredding a lots of bloods, make us cringe without violent scene,
makes us feel only at the blink of an eye of the actor.

Scarlet heart for example, without CGI effects, without a doubt leave audience with all mixed emotion having watched the movie.
Believe in the actors, their acting,
and stay true to the culture.

Evernight is hollywood in disguise.
I dropped the movie since I am looking for Chinese drama and not hollywood one.

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The plot of the book is very good and the YouTube videos have been gorgeous! The actors appear to suit their characters very nicely. This is scripted from a web novel by Mao Ni titled Nightfall. See https://www.novelupdates.com/series/nightfall/ I love it. I’m not finished but have been kind of stalling as to not finish it till just before the drama starts which is in a few weeks. The characters in the web novel are well developed and the English translations that I’ve found have been really good and very discriptive. It feels like this could be a classic in the making. I see that it is due to start in a few weeks. The first trailers that showed up on YouTube months ago had me hooked from the first one. I don’t have much more to say at this point but can’t leave a review of less than 500 characters.

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Beyond unbelievable

The story and characters are nowhere near reality , meaning it was impossible to believe this can happen on any level - dream, fantasy etc
At one point I was tempted to fast forward to see if I could find a relatable scene to watch..a good fight, or some romantic scene, or a hillarious one, or some witty banter..
Unfortunately is a two seasons, so too much fast forwarding - not worth my time..
It is obviously "acted", and looking fake.
The cinematography is dull, the images are dark and i get this foreboding feel...
Maybe I should get skipp to the last couple of episodes to see how it's ended..or maybe I should try it again when in a different state of mind..

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