Ever Night

One of the best Chinese series from mainland China to date in the category of period/wuxia/xianxia drama. Yang Yang, the first female director for this type, did a magnificent job for the series in all aspects. The cinematography is stunning with picturesque locations where we get to see the beautiful sceneries Xinjiang and Guizhou have to offer, complimenting the storyline, not just within the studios or propped-up filming sets. The fight scenes and choreography are a must to be mentioned as they are superbly done with fun-to-watch CG images. I normally am not too fond of flying Gong Fu or over-the-top slow-mo aerial, heavily-wired and weird-looking fight scenes but this is different. The main cast, whether in season 1 or 2, such as Arthur Chen and Dylan Wang, portray their male lead role nicely as a capable fighter, skillfully integrating with the studio-adding special effects and the camera work makes the fight/war scenes so stylish and exciting. Yang Yang and her teams do not hold back to make it as extraordinarily enjoyable as Mao Ni's novel that the series is based on.

I particularly adore the character of Song Yi Ren, my most favourite Chinese actress, who plays the miserly, ever-so-humble, kind-hearted and ever-so-dedicatedly-submissive to her Shao Ye's Sang Sang. The characteristics of this main female lead though differently depicted from the novel where she is in a status far more equal with her Shao Ye, the part is truly made for her or the other way round. She acts less for more with her diminutive body and endearing, friendly face, not to mention the soft, gentle voice of hers which is a huge change to not having to listen to the annoying, high-pitched and excessively cute, childlike voice of female leads like in so many Chinese series. She's so good in emotional teary scenes that can make the audience feel what the character feels.

Of course there are flaws, majors and trivials, but that's not uncommon for series of this production scale and I willingly overlook as long as I think those imperfections are minimal and do not degrade the overall atmosphere of the story and its development.

Those may include the voice-over for some actors or supporting roles that are not synched to a T or some scene continuity errors or the conspicuous stand-in shots and prolonged dialogues in politic setting, especially in the first season of over-stretched 60 episodes with many pseudo moments.

I have to admit that when I first see Dylan Wang as Ning Que in season 2, I frowned a bit but after a short while I started to get used to his way of acting for the role and after a round of back-to-back watching all episodes, I do feel that he too is totally up for the part and he makes up for what Arthur Chen otherwise lacks of. They suit for the antagonist role in their own way, dictated by different scripts and how well they purportedly act out their own personality and charisma for being the playful and daring Ning Que in different timelines. Though Ning Que adequately entertains in the first season, I have qualms during the parts where he is flirting away (being so young and proud to be liked by a beautiful lady) and insufferable enough to keep hurting Sang Sang emotionally (the part of Mo Shan Shan is elaborated for a dramatic love story in the series which is different to the novel. At the end of day he anyway realised Sang Sang is his life and soul so he dumped the lady). It would be very interesting how Arthur Chen would fare if he reprised the role in season 2 where the main leads are supposed to be more mature and scripted to express their love and care as a couple defying the world to try to stay alive together.

A little let-down on the change of cast for some other supporting roles such as the Tang Wang Ye and his Empress, Li Yu Gong Zhu and of course the Xi Ling Dao Maniac Ye Hong Yu. Praises to the ever-so-handsome veteran Adam Cheng as Fu Zi and the entire cast of his disciples at Shu Yuan, especially the top 3 ones and chubby Shi Er Shi Xiong, who always warm the heart just by looking at them interacting together as people with nothing to do enjoying everyday life.

The OST are extremely good to the ear. Ireine Song and Dylan Wang did a duet for one of the theme songs for season 2.

There are scenes done better than in the novel and vice versa but in general it's all pretty much on the same line as the novel.

I can say that this is the series that pulls me back to the Wuxia/Xianxia delight again after so many disappointments and endlessly boring romance installments, putting me off to desperately turn to k-drama for some long years (not that much better, truth be told, in terms of overwhelming romance genre flooding across all streaming platforms).

Hopefully season 3 will commence soon to end the long wait and have the series completed to the satisfying end just like in the novel.

This is a wuxia tale of magick and swords in the tng dynasti.. a boy whos family got killed going back for revenge together whit his faithfull servant sang sang.. anf through this jpurney he gets into different adventures until he realises why... the cinemagraphi is pretty good and a decent script which makes this quite watchable compare to many other chinese fantasy series...there is good pace to the story and nice characters... the director of this series is a female who did great job here and if you are after a good fantasy tale you want to get addicted to than look no further!

This Series has a very strong story just like Game of Thrones. If only it had been very popular....

Very exciting broad series. So many casts and strong acting.

Omg this drama is such a wonderful fairy tale. The actors all handsome & beautiful. Arthur Chen a heart throb but I don't have to tell you that it's obvious. The hurt anger felt after loosing all ur family then revenge. It's a luv story hardship and if course always about power. Yet luv the fact even though no mention of Bible good bad the heavens hades gives u an idea who they give the glory to. Great Great movie. It certainly is a must watch drama/movie. The acting the effects all awesome

Summary

Ever Night depicts the adventures of characters in the Empire of Tang where humans co-exist with demigods, and masters & disciples in martial arts. The Emperor of Tang rules over several kingdoms with different religious sects trying to maintain a balance of power and peace. He's hindered by his own royal family, due to rivalling wives and their offspring, and the opposition of the conquered kingdoms. Other troublemakers are the religious fanatics of Xiling and the barbaric Demon Sect in the North. Both parties believe in the foretelling of "Ever Night is coming" a.k.a. the Legend of the Son of Hades who will destroy all light and happiness in the world. Their mission is to find this child of darkness as soon as possible to kill him. Both sects are highly skilled in martial arts leaning on mystical power from some kind of energy field that is created by light/angels/heaven or darkness/demons/earth. They are able to perform various super powers such as telepathy, telekinesis, and manipulation of physical energy. Apprentices are aided by their masters to obtain higher levels in power through training and meditation.

The Plot

The protagonists of Ever Night are Ning Que and Sang Sang. They've lived together since early childhood, being both survivors from a massacre. The 5 year old Ning Que has found baby girl Sang Sang under a pile of corpses protected by a big black umbrella. Wherever they go they take this umbrella with them like a symbol of their relationship, a strong protective bond against all evils in the world. Ning Que is driven by anger and revenge, Sang Sang is motivated by loyalty and love. Their story unfolds 15 years later. Ning Que (Arthur Chen) earns a living thanks to his natural fighting skills. One day he's hired to accompany the royal princess of Tang to Wei City, where he decides to stay as a professional fighter while Sang Sang (Ireine Song) takes care of his basic needs and house hold.

Once they are settled in the city they become entangled in the power struggle of the palace factions and religious sects. The fanatics of Xiling believe Ning Que is the child of darkness so they try to kill him. Somehow every battle is won by Ning Que gaining him even more powers. One day he gets the chance to be trained by the Head Master of the Martial Academy of Tang. Ning Que grows into fame as Mister 13, the 13th disciple of the Academy, envied and admired by many people including beautiful ladies. More and more he's driven by his testosterone levels and the iron ambition to kill the culprit of the massacre. This attitude puts pressure on his relationship with Sang Sang. Main question is: what's more important, Ning Que's passions or his lifelong habit to live with Sang Sang? Will they end up together or on opposite sites? There are no spoilers available, just an universal truth, There's No Light Without Darkness.

The Pro's

Ever Night has the look and feel of a Disney movie. Ning Que and Sang Sang seem like a leading couple in Star Wars sometimes. The cinematography is outstanding with glorious landscapes, buildings, close ups, time lapses of the weather, and slow motion scenes of falling rain. The music score is constantly pulling at my heart strings. Then there's the cast. The 18 year male lead is very convincing as the apparently uncaring, selfish anti-hero whose only soft spot is his little "house maid". Although the female lead is 6 years his senior she's totally believable as the younger, loyal Sang Sang. I loved their teasing-caring scenes, and the painful awareness, eventually, of their own hidden feelings as shown in episode 45 and further. Personally I'm not a fan of Wuxia battles, but if you are, you will appreciate the many fighting scenes, the choreography is A++.

The Cons

The characters from the supporting cast remain rather flat throughout the series. Take for instance the emperor. The way he calmly accepts the bad attitude from his family or political opponents keeps me wondering if he's some sort of saint in stead of an absolute ruler. Also the antagonistic Prince Long Qing learns nothing from his faults, making his evilness somewhat dull and childish. Certain costumes didn't help to take some characters seriously like Second Brother with his Teletubby funnel hat, or the mysterious Xiling leader with his tinsel mask. This epic adventure follows the traditional way of Chinese story telling meaning endless repetitions, flash backs, and a lack of focus on the main story in favor of less interesting side characters and long winding stories. So I had to resist the urge to use the fast forward button. To accentuate the positive, the flashbacks may be of help if remembering each name, background story, or fight scene becomes tiresome. Last but not least the pacing of the story is very uneven, it flows from easy going romcom to long-term tragedy preventing me to jump onto the story completely.

Verdict

The beautiful faces, places, and music, won me over eventually. Ever Night ends with a cliff hanger, but I am a fan waiting for the sequel. I really want to know who's the Xiling ruler behind the mask. He made me think of a good guy turned evil like Darth Vader. Perhaps he is the legendary pupil of Tang Academy, the one and only love interest of Madam Jian Da Jia of Red Sleeves Bordello. Who knows?