Ever Night is a mythical fantasy drama that follows the adventures of Ning Que (Arthur Chen) as he tries to become a cultivator and save the land from the Eternal Night with the help of his maidservant Sang Sang (Ireine Song).
Ever Night was quite popular when it aired, and I thought it looked pretty intriguing. Of course, I knew my lack of success in completing most cdramas wouldn’t be doing it any favors since they are frequently long and on the slow side. And 60 episodes are a whole lot of episodes! I tried to remain hopeful though. Sadly, my journey ended after 24 episodes. Here’s how it went down.
The fact that this was a fantasy drama was both a big draw and big negative. I love fantasy, especially historical fantasy. But I usually do better with more low key fantasy when much of the real world is the same just with the fantasy element.
Ever Night is full on fantasy. I struggle to connect with these kinds of stories because of how long it takes to learn everything. There is so much to learn about the world and how everything works.
There are also so many characters. These stories frequently introduce everyone quickly, so it’s a lot to take in, especially because there isn’t always a lot of context for what’s happening. I hate not knowing what is going on and then taking a long time to adjust to everything.
That’s why as much as I love fantasy, getting invested in the world is often challenging for me. And that was definitely the case with Ever Night. Those first episodes had a lot happening, and I found it quite confusing. There were just so many characters and stories.
After about 8 episodes or so, I sort of started getting the hang of things. It was weird though. It was like I was following what was happening while I was watching it, but I certainly couldn’t tell you what happened afterwards! lol
Then within a few more episodes, I finally got a pretty good handle on most of what was going on. This drama took the approach of starting the story wide with all of the characters separate, and then it slowly draws them together as the story progresses.
I usually prefer the reverse of that since it’s easier for me to get in to. But it does make it interesting to see these different stories and characters begin to intersect and to see how it changes the dynamic of what is happening.
During that confusing beginning period, luckily, I was immediately interested in Ning Que as our hero. I also was interested in Ning Que and Sang Sang’s story. They were the big thing that initially gave me the incentive to go on with the drama. They have a very unique relationship. He rescued her when she was very young, and she technically became his maidservant.
But in a lot of ways their relationship is like that of siblings. They care a great deal for each other and are very protective of one another. I loved how they would joke around as well as how they nurtured each other when going through difficulties. It was very sweet.
SPOILER: I do know that Ning Que does eventually begin to see Sang Sang as a woman, and so a romance does develop later in the drama. I would have liked to have seen that, but sadly, I didn’t make it that far. END OF SPOILER
The cinematography in Ever Night is absolutely stunning with so many breathtaking scenic shots throughout this drama. It’s just enjoyable to be looking at it. The music also really enhances the feel overall.
It has truly amazing action sequences throughout the drama too. Many of these scenes were choreographed with a lot of detail and then shot exceptionally well. This is definitely how you do action and fighting scenes!
And honestly, the story was very intriguing. Ning Que is a fantastic character to root for. We see his journey to become a cultivator, and he will stop at nothing to achieve this. There is also a lot going on around him with other characters involved in palace politics, power plays, magical journeys, and so much more.
So, if Ever Night had all of these wonderful qualities, why did I drop it? Simple. It was so slow! It takes a long time for the story to progress, and many scenes were way too long. It was needlessly drawn out, and I think it could have been whittled down to about 40 episodes.
I stuck around for 24 episodes with this one because it had so many great elements to it. The fun story, interesting characters, intense action, magic, and excellent production are what drew me in and tempted me to stay. Especially because I finally had everything figured out! I also really wanted to see what happened. But each episode was so draggy that I just couldn’t continue. So sad!
Though if you do like fantasy and tend to enjoy longer cdramas, I would definitely say give this one a look. It has so much good in it that if it fits your tastes, I would really recommend it.
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