Ever Night: Season 2 (2020)

Ever Love Against 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 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 the dramatic love story in the series which is very 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 letting 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 Adam Cheng as Fu Zi and the entire cast of his disciples at Shu Yuan 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. Irene Song and Dylan Wang did a duet for one of the theme songs.
I can say that this is the series that pulls me back to the Wuxia 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 the overwhelming romance genre).
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.

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Final episode was Horrible!

I can’t believe i watched all of season 1 and 2, just to get jipped in the final episode. There was no closure, just confusing as hell. It made absolutely no sense. What happened with xiling and tangs war? What happen to fuzi is he coming back? Did sangsang finally become her real self and live happily with ning que? Seems like ning Que got a prettier looking girl now she’s stealing sangsangs man 😂 that’s what i got from the ending. The show must have ran thru all the finances and concluded the show with a janky episode. I hate how so many Chinese dramas end like this. So so so bad. Ruined the whole show for me because of one final episode

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Weird Ending

For non-novel readers, it is hard to not to compare between season 1 and season 2 casts. Especially for main roles. Even though Dylan Wan (season 2) performed well, I bet people will hard to move on from Arthur Chen (season 1) before accepting Dylan Wang. I myself need 20 episodes to familiarize Dylan as Ning Que.

I didn't feel any chemical romance between Ning Que and Sang Sang in season 2. Including romance involving Mo Shan Shan and Ye Hong Yu. Don't get me wrong, Dylan is a great actor. But he is in the shadow of Arthur. Life after Sang Sang, Dylan just get away from comparison with Arthur. I like Dylan's Ning Que as the protector of Tang. He is so Ning Que. But for romance matter, I still cannot move on from Arthur.

This is my opinion for the other new casts:

Ye Hong Yu: I like Meng Ziyi in season 1. She is beautiful. I like moment between her and Ning Que at the cave and lake. But in other hand, is too soft for a warrior. In season 2, Liu Yi Jun also fine actress.. She has a sharp gaze. Perfect for Ye Hong Yu as female warrior, but I didn't find any feeling between her and Ning Que.

Emperor of Tang, Li Zhongyi: I like both actors from season 1 (Lai Leon) and 2 (Bao Jian Feng). They are great in their ways. They are very lively. They surely give different characters as the Emperor, but I like those versions.

Empress of Tang, Xia Tian: I thought Kira Shi (season 1) is the perfect cast for this role. But after watch some episodes, I think Lian Lian (season 2) is also great cast.

Princess of Tang, Li Yu: Tong Yao (season 1) did well for portraying Princess as a devoted daughter and as a caring sister to her brother. Ni Yan (season 2) also did well portraying Princess as a leader of the empire when the Emperor is not available.

Archduke of Tang, Lei Peiyan: in the season 1, I feel Su Ke as very shifty and dangerous person. But at season 2, Zong Feng Yan didn't have much opportunity to develop the character because of the script. Actually, I wonder why Lei Peiyan still appears on season 2 because his royal status has been revoked in season 1.

Mou You (7th sister): I guess in season 2, the 7th sister didn't has significant role as the season 1 did. So I can't make further comment about Jade Lin's performance. I like 7th Rong Zi Xi in season 1.

Lu Chen Jia (Flower Maniac): Yi Lin Huang (season 1) is too soft as being a female warrior. But it understandable because the story mainly tell abut her relationship with Long Qing. Meanwhile in season 2, I think Wang Hui Zhen is fit enough to play as stronger Lu Chen Jia.

My favorite characters in season 2 are the Academy students (especially, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 12th), and Mo Shan Shan. Sorry Sang Sang, because of the story, you are out of the list.

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The worst drama

A lousy drama directed by a worthless director. The scenes and story plot didn't even match. How did anyone give this drama a 10 rating? Laughable. Those give this drama a 10 are idiots. Story plot kept changing illogically, the director didn't even have big picture of plan how the storyline progress. The screenwriter doing a lousy job in creating story plots and cutting scenes. Story plots just forced it way illogically even though it's clear reasoning of truths in the storyline. The director and screenwriter must be thinking most viewers are idiots, that's why they're not doing their job. Surprisingly, the rating acknowledged it as idiots rated the drama a 10. Conclusion, this drama is a mess up storyline and plots. It doesn't even worth watching.

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Good Story at the beginning but not so good at the ending.

I wanna watch EverNight because of Wang Hedi. But after I know it have S1 with Chen FeiYu as a mainlead, then I watched S1 first. But in S2 the main lead was change... I feel something is missing. It's my weakness to watched every drama with my feeling pouring on it.
I do like them both... but I prefer the mainlesd will be the same persons.
The ending is not what I am expecting after so... many episodes.

wanna watch EverNight because of Wang Hedi. But after I know it have S1 with Chen FeiYu as a mainlead, then I watched S1 first. But in S2 the main lead was change... I feel something is missing. It's my weakness to watched every drama with my feeling pouring on it.
I do like them both... but I prefer the mainlesd will be the same persons.
The ending is not what I am expecting after so... many episodes.

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A Perturbing Tale Of Two Diabolics Masquerading As Anti-Heros

The most disappointing thing about this show is not really the disingenuous plot-line,but the millions of eyes who watched and enjoyed it without ever spotting the palpable evil contained within its subtext. How could the vast majority of viewers including film reviewers ignore the convoluted darkness behind this perverted tale of Master/slave incestuous and pedophilic pseudo romance masquerading as an epic love story? The ML is an authoritative figure in the FL's life since he literally raised her from infancy. He was practically the father who fed her, changed her diapers and probably taught her the facts of life. Therefore, wasn't it perturbing when all of a sudden the two of them twisted their relationship into that of lovers in mayhem?

Another perverse aspect in this tale is that when the demonic identity of the FL was exposed the ML reaction was shockingly nonchalant. He barely flinched while viciously killing anyone who opposed their stance without compromise. They became a debauched coupling of evil who brought chaos and pandemonium to the entire realm, not excluding those who were their loyal friends and supporters.

My final statement about this show is that it is an exercise by deviants who sugar-coat the rotten with sophistry and watch the sheep devour it as delightful entertainment.

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Good sequel, but bad casting.

This title is the continuation story of the 1st Evernight.
+ One of the best tv series in terms of special effects.
+ Very good musics.
+ Breathtaking panorama & costumes, really a visual feast.
+ Adapted from Mao Ni's novel which usually has a good story.
Now, here comes the minus points!
- Bad casting. With so many replacements, only actress playing Ye Hongyu did a good job & has a beauty comparable to Joey Meng from S1. I can't list all the reasons who & why because it will take ten pages to complete. The one playing 7th sister was the worst face-wise. Man, she looked ug##. I'm really sorry just to blurt out this. And the acting was a bit different (though it came from the same director). Particularly the one played the king of Tang. Leon Lai in S1 played a calm, charismatic king. But this new guy, made a whole new king who was a bit temperamental, a bit naughty like a kid (he pretended not to hear his minister talking once & kept writing and just said "oh you are here" after the minister finished talking. ) You can see it, right? It's bad acting.
- One point that needs to be mentioned is that, i feel the protagonists team was too OP, or always have a lucky angel on their side. Whatever the antagonists team did, they will just fail. This minor thing makes the series less enjoyable.

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A far-cry from series 1

This sequel is a far cry from its prequel, not only because of a change in some of the cast but in the tempo and ending. The first 15 episodes were filled with time fillers as Ning Que and Sang Sang tried to escape persecution as her identity was uncovered. The new lead actor is good looking and acted well but does not make up for the lack of other elements. The last couple of episodes were a drag - with me hanging on just to find out the conclusion.

There were intense moments as the battle against the Tang and the academy were underway and possibly the best part of the story. The story very much climaxed at this battle and then went downhill again. The ending was unimpressed.

The only thing that I am happy with this sequel is that the story is a continuation from the prequel, unlike a lot of other sequel where the sequel is an attempt to leverage on the name of its predecessor.

To make it worse, I was watching the Pillow Book along with this as they were released around the same time. I was glued to YouTube for the Pillow Book and watched this only to fill in the time in-between the releases of the Pillow Book. The contrast was immense. Although the Pillow Book had its occasional slow moments but it held my attention to the very end.

The script for all dramas should be carefully reviewed before production. This script did not keep up with the grandeur of the set and investment, and not worth the time of the audience.

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Ever Night 2

ไม่ได้เป็นการ Review แต่ฉันขอเขียนในฐานะผู้รับชมซีรีย์ ฉันชอบเรื่องราว แต่การจบในภาคที่ 2 นั้น ทำให้คนอย่างฉันค่อนข้างสับสน
อย่างแรกดูเรื่องนี้ เพราะว่าฉันชื่นชอบหวังเห้อตี้ เป็นพิเศษ พอฉันได้ดูแล้ว ฉันจึงกลับไปดูภาคที่ 1 ซึ่งก็ทำให้ฉันชื่นชอบนักแสดงอย่างเฉินเฟยอวี่เหมือนกัน นักแสดงทั้งสองคนค่อนข้างกวนๆเหมือนกัน
การทำงานในภาคที่ 2 ค่อนข้างลำบาก จากที่ฉันเห็นในเบื้องหลังนั้น นักแสดงทุกคนทุ่มเทมาก โดยเฉพาะหวังเห้อตี้ ที่ต้องแสดงท่ามกลางหิมะความหนาว ความอยู่บนสลิง ซึ่งค่อนข้างเจ็บตัวไม่น้อย
อย่างไรก็ตามฉันหวังว่าจะได้ดูภาค 3 ต่อ ไป และขอทีมนักแสดงเดิม (หากเป็นไปได้) เนื่องจาก ต้องปรับอารมณ์กับนักแสดงเหมือนกัน
1. I really Love All Ever Night 1-2.
2. I would like to whatch the SS3 Please!!
3. Lover All Actor.
4. Love DyLanWang and ArthurChen.
5. I Love action fight scene.

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Great Sequel

The second season closely adhere to the original novel, with slight changes which I truly prefer much more than the novel. The adaptation changes actually gave more humanity to Ye Hongyu and shows the strength of the Three Addicts, which is very admirable. The changes also made the story tolerable because the novel is super lengthy with draggy scenes. Im pretty much happy with the cuts the adaptation had made where they skip those draggy scenes without jeopardizing the main plot. Although many people say that this season is draggy, for those who reads the novel would know that this is already shortcut compared to the novel! The production team did a brilliant job indeed!

Although there were numerous actor changes, for me its not much of a distraction. However I still liked to see Arthur Chen as Ning Que more than Dylan Wang. Generally Dylan's acting is ok, he definitely able to nail it as the NQ who is matured yet lovesick as depicted by novel writer. Its just that I feel that Arthur suits Ning Que more, I guess. Dylan just didnt have the 'air' that Arthur gave off on screen. Also the character change of NQ from season 1, from cheeky, mischievous, filled with grudge, shameless to matured, slightly dumb and love sick boy in season 2, is exactly like the novel writer wrote him to be, so I saw nothing wrong with Dylan's NQ unlike the other complaints. Dylan nailed it, Arthur also nailed it, but I felt the NQ character is somewhat made for Arthur, rather than Dylan, that is all.

The rest of the actors did amazing job, and I actually liked the mischievous Emperor of this second season more than the lofty one in the first season hahaha. The actress who played Ye Hongyu and Lu Chen Jia were superb! The current Lu Chenjia gives off strong air of Flower Addict, and her character is more believable and tolerable than the Lu Chenjia in the novel. I really liked the changes that the screenwriter made on her character development. Current Ye Hongyu shows a stronger front and air than the previous one in season 1, although I have to say YHY in season 1 is much more beautiful than Season 2. But regardless of that, I loved the season 2 YHY than the YHY in the novel and Season 1 YHY (I feel like that novel YHY acts more like the devil than someone devoted to Tao). Needless to say, I truly love Mo 'mary-sue' Shanshan. Her willingness to step back and watch NQ and SS be together for once, doesnt look forced or fake. It actually felt sincere and the actress did so well! The way the novel writer did it in the novel is amazing, and how the actress portrayed this character is super accurate with no cringe-worthy scenes. Gosh, I love Mo Shanshan!

Mr First, Mr Second and Miss Third are amazing trio, exactly as depicted in the novel. Oh god I truly love the Academy people. They're true family even though NQ only walked into their life a little over a year and yet theyre willing to sacrifice everything for him. The adjustment for Tang Xiaotang's scene rescuing Chen Pipi is a total blunder though. IN the novel she was supposed to be this truly strong lady character with body made of steel, she was supposed to freaking defeat the Papal cavalry guarding the Peach Mountain forgodsake, and arrived at Chen Pipi all bloody and heroic, and yet on screen, the rescue was made as pathetic with her running and stumbling all over while calling Chen Pipi's name like some lovesick maiden. What a disappointment!

However, I especially love the adjustment from the novel where the screenwriter actually included reunion of NQ and General Ma Shixiang. I was so disappointed by the novel because they never met after NQ left Wei Cheng for the Academy exams. Delighted as hell when I saw the series actually included tonnes of scenes between the two. That actually gives some closure to the readers who would love to see the father-son-like interaction between them.

The only thing thats lacking is the battlefield scenes. They're ridiculously cheapskate! Where the novel says THOUSANDS of cavalry, I can see only 30-40 people at most on screen. And the scene where the King marches into battle out of Wei Cheng, how come there's only 20-30 people escorting him? Where are the thousands of elite soldiers? And the heavy armour cavalry ambush, my god, THAT IS NOT HOW HEAVY ARMOUR CAVALRY LOOKS LIKE! How come the invincible heavy armoured cavalry thats feared throughout the land dresses exactly like NORMAL light cavalry? Where are the heavy armour that needs constant maintenance which only Tang could afford?? Gosh, The production team should learn a thing or two from Princess Agent, Eternal Love or even Ashes of Love team when it comes to battle scenes. Ever Night battle scenes are truly pathetic and disappointing!

Anyway, Cant wait to see season 3. and I hope Arthur comes back to the team....

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hmmm

I just finished it, great story over all BUT what a bad ending story scenario.. in last 3 episode ( 41,42,43) its so boring and dull... enough for sang sang and Ning que action together.. too much about them, that make the story so dull.. its a pity .. Irene sang make it the ending bad to worse … so boring and dull watching her try to make a sad, innocence face.. didn't work at all... too bad for Ever Night series.. hope they will make a Remake of this drama in the future, which better cast, less (too much) dialogue between sang sang ang Ning que... regardless whoever the actor and the actress gonna be....

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