dramallama
An Entierly Different Show, And Not For The Better
Let me start by saying Ever Night season 1 was and still is my favorite wuxia drama of all time. I've never been more disappointed and let down by a season 2. If this didn't have the name "Ever Night" on it and Irenie Song, I would have dropped this after a few episodes.
I don't know what happened between seasons 1 and 2, maybe it was cost issues, or investors/sponsors pushing them to finish fast and cheap, maybe there wasn't enough story to tell to fill a season 2, or filming schedules and conflicts and having to replace a significant amount of the cast, maybe the censors and govt got involved to change the story... I have no idea. All I know is season 2 is like an entirely different show, and not for the better.
First of all, the recasting of the ML with Dylan Wang. This was a jarring choice. He is a very different actor from Chen Fei Yu and therefore a very different character from season 1. This dramatic change could have been minimized had they kept the same production style and feel from the first season. Even if they just kept the same storylines and plot from season 1, Dylan Wang could have eventually made a decent run with his own version of Ning Que, but neither of those was left intact.
Those weren't the only changes. Gone is the lush and cinematic camerawork from season 1. That vast and expansive world full of interesting locations and eclectic characters they built up in the previous season? Gone. Now we only have a few characters and are limited to a few locations, often only seen in small sets. Remember those dynamic and exhilarating fight scenes? Those are gone too. Now we have generic wuxia from the 90's style, with cheap-looking VFX.
Not to mention a significant portion of the cast, several of them major players from season 1 were recast. Not only were the actors different but their character's personalities changed as well. Even the actors they managed to keep from season 1 behave like they're from some bizarre alternate universe. I think this leads to the biggest issue of Ever Night season 2: the writing. The writing is atrocious. I honestly feel bad for the actors. It's as if the writers wrote out all the dialogue of what needed to be said, then randomly distributed the lines to different characters. They aren't saying things the characters would say, they're just reading lines. Not only is the dialogue noncorporeal, awkward and unusual, but they also use this terrible dialogue to fill long and drawn-out scenes, often shot in a small 1 room set with just 2 actors spewing exposition at each other, most of it full of unnecessary or repeated information that does nothing to move the plot forward. There were many episodes full of them with just scene after scene of 2 people in a room talking about nothing. I get that this is a cost-saving measure and a tool to stretch a thin plot but this was painfully dull and excruciating to get through. This basically takes up 60-70% of season 2 so brace yourself.
The overall plot also falls victim to odd and nonsensical choices. Characters do things completely out of character, sometimes even with no explainable motivation. They just do things abruptly without reason. Instances happen just to happen. There's an entire arc of 5-10 episodes that could be completely taken out without any consequence to the characters or story. It's like some useless side quest in a game. And the decision to spend a large amount of time with an entirely new actor and character is questionable. Spending long stretches of the season with the ML and FL apart from each other is baffling. Not continuing any of the previously set-up storylines from season 1 and giving us ridiculous narratives that don't go anywhere? Ludicrous. I could say more but that would wander into spoiler territory. I think you get the idea.
I hate to be entirely negative so let me highlight what I did like. Ireine Song. I could watch her watch paint dry. She is the lone saving grace to this travesty of a dumpster fire. She has such range as an actress that there were times when I almost forgot about the shoddy backdrops and painful dialogue and just watched her stretch her acting wings. Season 2 definitely gives her more to do and there is a decided focus on her character. I also warmed up to Dylan Wang's alternate version of Ning Que, which is why I think they could've salvaged season 2 had they kept the preexisting storylines from season 1.
Luckily for those who loved the previous season, Ever Night season 1 stands well on its own. We can just throw this bizzaro alternate universe season 2 straight into the garbage and appreciate what we got in season 1.
I don't know what happened between seasons 1 and 2, maybe it was cost issues, or investors/sponsors pushing them to finish fast and cheap, maybe there wasn't enough story to tell to fill a season 2, or filming schedules and conflicts and having to replace a significant amount of the cast, maybe the censors and govt got involved to change the story... I have no idea. All I know is season 2 is like an entirely different show, and not for the better.
First of all, the recasting of the ML with Dylan Wang. This was a jarring choice. He is a very different actor from Chen Fei Yu and therefore a very different character from season 1. This dramatic change could have been minimized had they kept the same production style and feel from the first season. Even if they just kept the same storylines and plot from season 1, Dylan Wang could have eventually made a decent run with his own version of Ning Que, but neither of those was left intact.
Those weren't the only changes. Gone is the lush and cinematic camerawork from season 1. That vast and expansive world full of interesting locations and eclectic characters they built up in the previous season? Gone. Now we only have a few characters and are limited to a few locations, often only seen in small sets. Remember those dynamic and exhilarating fight scenes? Those are gone too. Now we have generic wuxia from the 90's style, with cheap-looking VFX.
Not to mention a significant portion of the cast, several of them major players from season 1 were recast. Not only were the actors different but their character's personalities changed as well. Even the actors they managed to keep from season 1 behave like they're from some bizarre alternate universe. I think this leads to the biggest issue of Ever Night season 2: the writing. The writing is atrocious. I honestly feel bad for the actors. It's as if the writers wrote out all the dialogue of what needed to be said, then randomly distributed the lines to different characters. They aren't saying things the characters would say, they're just reading lines. Not only is the dialogue noncorporeal, awkward and unusual, but they also use this terrible dialogue to fill long and drawn-out scenes, often shot in a small 1 room set with just 2 actors spewing exposition at each other, most of it full of unnecessary or repeated information that does nothing to move the plot forward. There were many episodes full of them with just scene after scene of 2 people in a room talking about nothing. I get that this is a cost-saving measure and a tool to stretch a thin plot but this was painfully dull and excruciating to get through. This basically takes up 60-70% of season 2 so brace yourself.
The overall plot also falls victim to odd and nonsensical choices. Characters do things completely out of character, sometimes even with no explainable motivation. They just do things abruptly without reason. Instances happen just to happen. There's an entire arc of 5-10 episodes that could be completely taken out without any consequence to the characters or story. It's like some useless side quest in a game. And the decision to spend a large amount of time with an entirely new actor and character is questionable. Spending long stretches of the season with the ML and FL apart from each other is baffling. Not continuing any of the previously set-up storylines from season 1 and giving us ridiculous narratives that don't go anywhere? Ludicrous. I could say more but that would wander into spoiler territory. I think you get the idea.
I hate to be entirely negative so let me highlight what I did like. Ireine Song. I could watch her watch paint dry. She is the lone saving grace to this travesty of a dumpster fire. She has such range as an actress that there were times when I almost forgot about the shoddy backdrops and painful dialogue and just watched her stretch her acting wings. Season 2 definitely gives her more to do and there is a decided focus on her character. I also warmed up to Dylan Wang's alternate version of Ning Que, which is why I think they could've salvaged season 2 had they kept the preexisting storylines from season 1.
Luckily for those who loved the previous season, Ever Night season 1 stands well on its own. We can just throw this bizzaro alternate universe season 2 straight into the garbage and appreciate what we got in season 1.
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