But it got a bit chaotic. The story went places I was skeptical about. So much noble sacrifice. So much angst that didn't really feel worth it and I longed for the tone in the beginning of the show again. (I'm not against angst, but you want it in proper meaningful doses not just as a go-to-tool to make you care more about characters you already care about). Also character voice-overs that sometimes added to a scene, but just stated the obvious in others. But I trusted it would be better, or at least a bit more happy (I loved the characters and wanted them to feel good), so I persisted.
A lot of people have complaints about the story and worldbuilding and I understand them. I'm usually pretty accepting when it comes to plotholes, inconcistensies etc, but there were quite a few here and I think they added to the less engaged feeling I had in the middle of the series. I also hear they changed the writer in the middle of the series, so that might have to do something with it.
I would say that the interactions between Lee Joon Gi's and Lee Yoo Bi's characters are what make this drama worth watching till the end, despite there being some tropes and effort to romantizise certain scenes (thanks to the music) that aren't really romantic (which is a pity, since there were plenty of beautifully romantic ones). But Lee Joon Gi and Lee Yoo Bi are so good that I just believed it all, and the supporting actors and their stories were really good too. There were also several scenes and dialogues that were really profound and touching.
And the fight and action scenes were really neat. Not to mention the costumes! Gorgeous.
I've seen a lot of people not liking the soundtrack. Granted, there were some weird music choices in some scenes and I think they could have used A LOT LESS love songs the second a romantic scene started (sometimes you should just let a scene speak for itself!). But, there was also some really epic soundtrack, I'm thinking of the instrumental tracks. (especially in action/epic scenes). The feeling of those tracks made me think of Peter Greenaway's music and a certain track by The Mutato Mu used in The Royal Tenenbaums (if anyone knows what I'm talking about). There were scenes where those tracks just enhanced them beautifully, so much that I went back and rewatched a couple of them just for the joy of it. (Too bad those tracks aren't included in the OST).
I would recommend this drama if you like Lee Joon Gi, great acting and touching romance and some epic scenes. If you demand a tight plot, consistent story and a great deal of thought between what's happening you might want to pass. (But then again, if you're a fan of Lee Joon Gi or Lee Yoo Bi, you might not ;) ).
I haven't watched a great deal of dramas (yet), so I'm new to k-drama-land and maybe that's also why I'm willing to overlook some tropes and inconsistensies. But for me, Lee Joon Gi and the other actors along with visuals and some of the music here is unmissable and what makes me willing to rewatch this again sometimes.
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But just as I started it for LJK and stayed for LJK, LJK (with some help from Lee Soo Hyuk and even, gasp, Changmin) saved this one for me. If at any point LJK and LSH, and most of the other actors too, hadn't sold this to the hilt, it could have been the utterly crappy hot mess that Night Watchman was. But somehow their commitment to the roles, even when they got stupid, saved this drama.
But what also saved it was the last 4 episodes. The quality of those episodes clearly showed the writer DID have a plan. The writer just had trouble filling in the bits between A and B. The first 2 episodes were wonderful. The last 4 episodes were also very good. I could probably find 4 episodes in the middle that were not totally terrible. So if this drama had been 10 episodes it actually would have been pretty awesome. As it is, it's only okay, but brought to the level of better than okay because of the acting. If you love Lee Jun Ki as much as I do, you will still find something to love in this drama despite its MANY flaws.
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There is only one good, interesting thing in this show, listed below.
--- STORY --- 4/10 ... It had great potential. A scholarly vampire on a mission, searching for a lost diary containing the secret to kill the evil vampire Gui, who rules the palace...... Sounds interesting, too bad it wasn't.
--- WRITING --- 3/10 ... The worst writing, one of the most illogical plots, where things often did not make sense.
The script is boring, lots of talk as filler, didn't provide insight, or knowledge, or add interest or intrigue...
- Poorly written Characters - the vampire scholar was too simple, full of self-pity and self-loathing, no complexity (despite the obvious potential) ...
- The lead female is written to be smart, clever, strong, a woman raised as man. Her actions and decisions were not only stupid, but usually nonsensical and caused trouble for the other characters by her simplicity and stubbornness. One of the dumbest most annoying characters I have encountered!
- Evil vampire Gui started as stereotypical, but ended up being a bit complex and interesting... Best character, along w/ his muse. ....
--- ACTING/CAST --- 4/10 ... Mostly bad.
- Lee Jun Ki - not at his best, but with an awful script and worse partner, I'm sure inspiration was lacking.
- Lead actress --- I don't even want to know her name... she's the worst part of this show... From her first appearance on screen, it was obvious... dressed as a man, but pitter-patter steps, swinging her arms, wriggling her hips, clenching the man's robe in fear, etc... Her mannerisms were more feminine than a "flaming drag-queen" (a gay man dressed as a woman).... combine it w/ her character's stupid actions... Then
--->>> How in the world can I believe any man can fall for her charms (in this case, her lack of charms)???
- Lee Soo Hyuk is good enough ... best part of this show.... sexy.
--- DIRECTOR --- 4/10 ... probably to blame for how bad it is ... He allowed the lead actress' acting instead of guiding her ... very draggy, too much filler ... bad editing... way too many things that didn't make sense.
--- BRIGHT SPOT --- the relationship b/w evil Gui and the girl he trains is the most interesting, and both were the most interesting characters...and had good chemistry.
--->>> I especially liked her ... a complex character ... She was smart, clever, brave... a victim but didn't have self-pity ... strong to fight for what she wants ... and she really understood Gui and how to manipulate him ... Very pretty.
--- WORST PART --- illogical plot and zero chemistry of leads ... and a female lead that is utterly unbelievable as being in any way attractive.
--- MUSIC --- 4/10 ... music did not add anything, and at times was inappropriate ... there is one song that is good, but didn't always fit the scenes.
--- REWATCH --- 0/10 ... Only if you need an excuse to shoot yourself.
.
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It’s safe to say that this drama is very much slow. I think the pacing of the drama was slower than others is because of it’s complexity since it is a fantasy historical period drama, but the storyline is not that complex or complicated so this doesn’t give the production people much of a reason to slow it down. First of all, the first episode was one big giant prologue, it gave the wrong impression on me; they made it seem like Prince Junghyun was the primary lead, and I’m aware about the title being Scholar Who Walks the Night not Prince. But they put way too much focus on his character and this prequel, it shouldn’t have taken up one entire episode, it took away from the central plot and it’s quite misleading if you don’t exactly know what the show is about. Basically, what happens in the prequel is that the Prince has written many books relating to vampires in some way, but in his journal, he writes the keys to defeating the vampire that rules the kingdom. After his murder, the journal is missing and the Scholar spends 120 years looking for it (because he is immortal now since he is a vampire). And and the prequel consists of the Scholar’s romance with his lover, Myunghee, which has put him in great sorrow.
Kim Sungyeol, the Scholar was a pretty interesting male lead, he often spoke with his eyes and made small, sometimes vague, responses. When he turned into a vampire, he really grew as a person and it’s intriguing to see the way he was before when he was a human and best friends with the Prince and now he’s a vampire who needs balance and has to refrain himself from hurting others because of his blood-thirsty nature.
He meets a book merchant who is a woman dressed as a man to support her family, who helps him try to find the missing journal and they form a relationship. Jo Yang Sun, the book merchant is very likeable, she was humble, diligent, and always put people first; the romance between the Scholar and Yang Sun was believable, they had good chemistry and were enjoyable to watch on screen together. But there were scenes that dwelled too much on them, we get it, your love is forbidden, Yang Sun is a mortal, the Scholar is an immortal, dangerous vampire.
Now I have many, many thoughts on the antagonist of the drama, which is evidently, Gwi. He was very smart, cunningly smart, he would make you loathe the King for what he is doing to his people but that king is also being victimized by Gwi at the same time and it is Gwi who is causing all of this, not the King. Damn, he’s good. And that is what I liked about him so much, he was so low key and it takes you a while to actually hate him. Not much about his past is unveiled and I was always wondering what happened to him before he became a vampire, especially when he became more prominent toward the end of the drama and I was so invested in his character. I have to say that he is my favourite character of the drama, and I love the casting choice for him, someone actually told me that Lee Soo Hyuk looks like a vampire. He really suits these type of roles.
My second favourite character is Crown Prince Lee Yoon, I can’t exactly point my finger on why I like him so much, maybe it has to do with the fact that he is played by Changmin. I was invested in his conflict with his grandfather who was the King, from the moment he was onscreen I loved every second of his screen time especially when he encounters Kim Sungyeol and they work together, it really moved the plot forward.
Scholar Who Walks the Night was an entertaining drama, it had a very interesting plot with vampires in ancient Korea (or not so ancient in this case, I think this was placed somewhere in the early 1800s, whichever decade had the earliest set of guns??). This drama is not for everyone, I must say, you have to like the historical drama genre to like Scholar Who Walks the Night or else you might get bored. With that said, I think the show shouldn’t have had so many filler scenes and parts where it didn’t relate so much to the plot, it made the drama drag on a little bit, but overall, the fillers scenes were not the worst but could’ve been left out. The show didn’t get me really hooked until the last few episodes where the story started to patch up together to make a good climax, I could’ve liked the show a little bit more if the pacing was better, however, the drama as a whole was still decent and entertaining. The bottom line is that the characters is what made me enjoy Scholar Who Walks the Night, if they were poorly developed or uninteresting, I would’ve loathed this show.
I give Scholar Who Walks the Night a 7.5/10 stars for its good acting, intriguing characters, and awesome villain.
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At this point I may be already biased in judging this drama objectively. I won't tell you guys to go watch this if you haven't done it yet. It's not possible for everyone to like or love it (what kind of drama can actually do that). It's also not perfect, I admit that. But despite all that I was highly entertained and mesmerized by this one and have a hard time containing my fangirling over this.
Is it truly this awesome? Yes, for me it was. It's like Healer in sageuk style. Not much similarity but the same charm that will capture your heart. The same way Ji Chang Wook convinced and bewitched me, the same way did Lee Joon Gi. Before starting their dramas I had either never heard of them before or didn't complete a drama with them yet. So, I was walking into this drama without a fangirling heart for the leads but ended up getting one.
Not much to tell about the story since the summary is already saying everything, although it's not quite accurate and a little misleading (as summaries always are, imo). But see for yourself if you start this drama.
What I liked about The Night Scholar was in fact the story-telling. The impressive and shocking beginning, the introduction of the characters, the way new events were unfolding and leading to new plot twists... and most of all it seemed like the drama always knew what I wanted to see next. The writer(s) should be complimented for giving me that kind of feeling (of a fangirl that doesn't care for logic but only wants to have her way with the characters) and still make the story work properly and logically.
As I mentioned before Lee Joon Gi was impressive and found his way into my heart. His display of the vampire Kim Sung Yeol was great. His turmoil, his growing love, his overcoming over his past love...
The other characters grew on me, too. Kim So Eun was great in portraying two different characters, esp. the conflict of her second role here. Shim Chang Min and Lee Soo Hyuk did a solid job of their roles as the Crown Prince and the evil vampire Gwi, and the supporting actors also did their parts well. Not outstanding but a solid, (most times) convincing performance.
The reason I didn't give this a 10 is simply because there were times when I wasn't fully convinced with the fights. For a mystery drama the special effects were really good. But as for some battles and confrontations... sometimes they looked a little too staged and/or forced. No matter how much I enjoyed this drama I couldn't overlook those parts as they were continuously knocking against my head. But on the other hand big compliment to the make-up artists. They did a great job with all the blood, the look of the vampires and everything else (esp. the ugly duck turning into a swan scene).
Putting that aside... Let's talk about the music. Great plus as most times in sageuks! Harmonizing with the story and making the scenes look even more emotional. I'm already in love with the OST.
Phew... looks like I still got to say all the things I wanted to tell, haha~ Hope, you enjoyed this review (although it got quite long...), despite the fact that it might sound biased.
Ohhh, wait! Before we go on with our lives... Can someone please admire the scholar's garbs?
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The special effects were just nasty.
I did like the idea of how the story should be. Sadly the playing was just weak and the idea of a vampire-drama was unfullfilled even though in the end it was really interesting, and the beginning wasn't bad though, just the middle series were really weak, but still I watched it till the end in one go.
There were too many persons to be hated, and those who might have been loved are too naiv and unnececerally loud or quite...
Sadly the lovestory was too predictable and too weak to be somehow interesting
The ending was - how else do you expect a dramas end? - unfullfilling. Man this is getting really anoying
If you want to watch a good VAMPIRE drama - well it's your decision but just don't expect too much.
I don't think of ever watching it again, there weren't even some series I want to rewatch just because I did not really like any charakter in the end (exept Ho Jin <3 loud, naiv and cute... hehe)
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I just couldn't finish it.
I dropped this with one or two episodes to go. By that point I was fast forwarding so much, I realized that there was no longer any point.I liked the male lead's portrayal, I liked the female lead's portrayal. I like vampire genre in general. And the evil vampire--while evil, he was certainly nice to look at. However...why on earth would one spend 200 years trying to find the solution someone wrote about the vampire issue instead of just looking for a solution yourself!? And what exactly did that vampire do to secure the dynasty!? It seems like all he does is eat people and does not actually contribute in any way to the safety of the ruling family. And if that's all he does, he's clearly not that all-powerful, so just send an army down there in the day and *wipes pretend dirt of hands* problem solved. In the end, those are the two primary reasons I dropped it. I just couldn't take that level of illogic any longer.
I don't think I'll ever finish this one--and I made it all the way through Dairy of a Night Watchman...lol. I do not recommend it, even to die-hard vampire fans, but to each their own. There are also positive reviews so check those out, too, before making your decision. :D
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Then the other cast; I didn't like Lee Yu Bi's character Yang Sun. From the first episodes I thought Yang Sun is just too clingy and pretending to be brave but ending up crying her eyes out like every time. Can I say how much I hate heroines like that. I just don't understand what Sung Yeol and Lee Yoon saw in her. No offence to Lee Yu Bi, she's good actor but I just didn't like her character in this drama.
Lee Soo Hyuk. Well there's an eye candy~ I started this drama because of Lee Junki and ended up waiting Lee Soo Hyuk's scenes. I think he makes a perfect vampire badass with his low voice giving you chills even though I still think the whole vampire thing in this drama was presented ridiculously. I was surprised Gwi's one scene in the second last episode, where he's at his cavern. You will know what I mean if you watch this drama. I think that was the best scene in whole drama (darn I can't talk about it because it would spoil the whole fun). But yeah, Gwi's character was great yet somewhat annoying at times.
I think other side cast were quite irrelevant minus Choi family. The writers left too many unexplained things. Like what happened to Lee Yoon's mother? And his father after final episode's happenings? And I totally didn't understand the ending of this whole drama. What was that about?
So I think this was kind of messy with the story. It was a good storyline but telling it was messy and watcher couldn't often follow what was going on. And there was nothing new from Lee Junki so in the end I gave this drama 7.5.
Oh, and OST is nice. I actually downloaded couple songs because I found myself humming them :D They get into your head so beware :P
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If you like vampires in the sense of brutality and also on the side of romance, this drama is for you. Do not expect to see a whole lot of some actors and expect a second lead syndrome if you are a LSH fan. I walked into this as LSH fan, and came out a LGG fan! I highly suggest looking into the Manwha before watching this, it may tell a lot about the story, characters and show uncanny resemblances to the actors they chose to portray this awesome story.
I am glad I didnt watch it when it was airing. If I had, I think I might have thought it draggy in some places. Considering I binged it in a matter of a couple of days, it was much easier for me to enjoy the story without worrying too much about it dragging.
Please give this drama a chance. It is very underrated for 2015!
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I am a fan of fantasy and supernatural stories so I'm inclined to like these type dramas. I gave all three vampire k-dramas (Blood and Orange Marmalade) a go in 2015, and Scholar is the best one. However, that might not be saying much.Based on a much loved manwha (sorry if I spelled that incorrectly), there were a lot of expectations for this drama. I found the first 6 episodes to be quite good, and I was happy enough with the story. Unfortunately at around episode 7 through approximately 11ish, the story just floundered. Even after that it was uneven here and there. Since I was watching this as it aired, I did see that the production had to bring in a second writer by episode 10 so they knew they had a problem with the adaptation. This is the reality of the live shoot system. It is my understanding the source material was very complex with lots of stories and threads, and I believe they really tried to do too much and it got away from them. Most of the issues I personally had with the drama have to do with how it was adapted specifically the story choices made regarding defeating Gwi.
Also, the last episode in regard to the timing of events and the culmination of the drama was all over the place. Definitely a victim of a rushed live shoot or a writer drinking too much soju. As far as the ending, of course, no spoiler. I was fine with it but it wasn't totally satisfying. I'm kind of over watching dramas of manga/manwha etc when the source material is still being written because I feel it ties down the drama story.
Music: Like 90% of k-dramas, the OST is overused. I liked all but one song and, much to my surprise, that one grew on me over time. Apparently many took a dislike to what I'll call the "quirky" song but this just isn't a big deal to me personally. I'm in it for the story.
Cast: Changmin: I thought he pulled off charming quite well, dramatic less so.
Lee Soo Hyuk: People took a liking to Gwi, who is pretty much total evil, because LSH is hot. I mean if I had a dollar for every time I've read that. I thought he was a little cardboard, but someone who read the source material said that this is how Gwi pretty much was so I'll take their word for it. I've since seen him in Lucky Romance and a few episodes of Neighborhood Hero, and I thought he was good.
Lee Yubi: Okay, this gal gets so much grief, and I definitely noticed that people who saw her in a lot of other dramas seemed more critical. I don't judge an actress on what the writers have her do in a drama. I mean c'mon that's not right. I can't speak to the "wide eyed look" that seemed to irk others. I was actually fine with her and found her more believable dressed as a boy than a lot of other k-drama actresses I've seen. I thought she and LJG had a sweet chemistry....not off the charts but given the age difference and historical genre, pretty much what I expect.
Lee Joon Gi: He was great and the reason many people stuck with the drama. I personally thought the vampire scenes should have been toned down but that's the way the production decided to go so okay. LJG has grown as an actor, and I love him but he can go OTT if not careful. I do have to say that they play up how pretty he is in this drama so to see him go play Wang So with half his face covered and the weight loss making his features more angular is just kind of fun.
I thought this was beautifully filmed and the costumes were gorgeous.
Final Analysis: As far as some type of coherent vampire supernatural drama, nope it just isn't going to work. However, the romance really worked for me so if you want to give it a go for that you might have to do some fast forwarding. If you can't buy into the two leads together, best to move on.
One last thought....I do want to give credit to all the actors I mention as well as others in the production because this drama got trounced by the end of Mask and then Yong Pal. (Though it did beat the 3rd drama...maybe Assembly...it's been a while.) This production was obviously having difficulties behind the scenes, and the actors stuck with it and gave it their all. Since the leads take the heat when these things happen, I bow to Yubi (regardless of what people think of her performance) and LJG because that couldn't have been fun, especially after both being injured in some kind of accident during filming. If at any time I felt that they weren't invested, I would have bailed and they gave it their all imo 'til the end.
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