Night Has Come (2023)

an informal compilation of why the writing sucked.

- mafia could have tossed everyone's phone across the boundary and win at any point; they could have injured or killed everyone at night at any point. it's a very easy win for da beom, but nope, he goes: "okay jung won, even though you're bffs with yoon seo and jun hee, i'll totally believe you when you say you'll kill them..."
- da beom, who was very determined to kill yoon seo and jun hee, just stops trying to kill them. then, he starts threatening his mafia partner and tries to kill her..? it's like that horrible and annoying trope where all the villain needs to do is pull the trigger to kill the hero, but he goes on a rant and allows the hero to find an opportunity to beat him. except this is 10x worse than that. da beom literally could stab yoon seo or jun hee at any moment and win the game, yet he just spares them? and he's screaming, running around, and sweating to kill jung won first for who knows why.
- we still don't know how or why yeon woo got stabbed, how mafia planted evidence for mina's shoe, or how they knew jun hee's plan to entrap them.
- we still don't know jun hee's backstory and why he got traumatized by pools or who had drowned in his brief flashback...
- we still don't have a full backstory for the FL
- essentially our ML and FL, whom the drama went at extreme lengths at protecting, both lack depth and a backstory... in other words, there is no reason for why these two should be or is our protagonists except that they look better than their peers?
- jung won apparently came up with a plan for doctor's (and bullies') death. are we to believe she calculated that doc would follow the two bullies, get caught, and killed once she threw the can..? how does that make sense at all?
- jun hee and yoon seo did not bully se eun and were, in fact, the few friends that she had, yet the parents go, "DURRR, send them to hell. boohoo my daughter. my daughter no longer alive" :( :( :(
- in fact, only a handful of students actually instigated and bullied her. most were either bystanders who ignored the problem or believed a false rumor and gossiped with their friend group. yet... they deserve the same punishment as the bullies? what sort of logic is that. basically, according to the parents, if you're stupid and gullible or just don't care, you are automatically complicit and deserve to get punished (*cough* everyone giving this drama higher than a 8.5 *cough*).
- girl literally committed suicide because they deep faked her face to an adult entertainer... like come on, make the bullying more believable. I was so interested in how she got bullied, why everyone was traumatized, yet the big reveal is one of the tamest and lamest bully tactic there is... there have been youtube pranks a lot worse than this.
- Mafia is a random game. you could have punished the kids with so many interesting and relevant games, but no, parents want to go, "DURR I hate you all, so you guys all get to play a detective game forever muahahahaha. that is your punishment!" like, choosing Mafia as the game setting to get "punished" is so random and doesn't make sense. I'd understand if they were stuck in a horror game or something, but what's the point of Mafia? to train the kid's sleuth and reasoning skills to recognize how they bullied a girl? to get better at lying? lol.
- frail and sick little FL literally just accepts her fate and goes back into the game without a fight. it's as if someone is robbing your house and the thief says, "shhhhh, it's okay, just go back to sleep now," and you just fall back to sleep. wtf was that?
- what's the point of killing the kids over and over if you're just going to wipe their memories? that they played the games dozens of time already may sound spooky until you realize they dont remember anything right after.
- if jung won is an a.i. in the game, then wouldnt she remember all the previous iterations? if she doesnt, then the parents, who think jung won somewhat represents their daughter, are in a sense punishing their program version of their daughter like everyone else?? it's understandable if she were some invincible host or something, but the fact that she is vulnerable and plays like everyone else suggests she's getting punished too, and not just that, but facing the same punishment as her bullies. this was really poorly thought out.
- what the hell was the point of se eun's ghost arc if the game itself was revealing everything?
- and the most important question: how are the kids eating, pooping, and peeing while they're stuck to the VR?

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Massive Potential, Yet Poor Closure

Come on, who doesn't like this type of K-Drama/Series?

The thrills, the tension, the hype every episode - discussing and debating theories, It was everything.
A classic whodunnit.

A Series where everyone is trapped in a kind of mysterious events and they're working together to figure out the truth lies behind. Similar to spirit to the like of AOUAD, DAS, and Alice in Borderland.

The concept of the series is fresh, The Werewolf/Mafia game, the excitement is simple: Citizens vs Mafia, every episode we will be greeted by new things while slowly finding the Mafia and uncovering the truth behind everything.

That's the core concept of the entire series and IT'S PERFECT with the fresh casting, dynamic characters, and every other the potential that it had.
Every watchers was engaged and onboard for the tension and cliffhanger every episode - a perfect K-Drama was created.

Until the actual plot arrived...

Lee Yoon Seo, the girl who is the center of everything. There's always a lead in every K-Drama, right?
She seems to be haunted by a mysterious girl from the beginning of the series and we are all wondering:
- Who is she?
- What is her connection to the game?
- Is she a past player of the game? or the game creator?

But then...
Who would've thought that those exciting mystery plot will eventually taint the entire goodness of the series?

Well, not a single person before the whole Park Se Eun story comes to light... everything was falling down afterwards - I don't even need to recite what happened at the ending.
We all expected everything was a game or some sort, just that there's no point of a never-ending revenge done by Se Eun's parents as the watchers are not even emotionally engaged with her story that much, it was just an icing on the cake - unfortunately a bland one.

Season 2? would love to see how it goes, though it will be very difficult to make up the disappointment.

---

I wish they could create a better closure, this K-Drama was great and fresh, nothing could satisfy me more than this type of theme/genre. It is very unfortunate that such brilliant idea and massive potential the series had - tainted by the pointless closure.

Props to all the cast, regardless some of their annoying characters - they're the MVP of the series, especially:
- Cha Woo Min as Go Kyung Jun - scene stealer for the earlier episodes of the series
- Ahn Ji Ho as Jin Da Beom - scene stealer for the last episodes of the series

Was it worth the watch? absolutely, wished the mafia game could stay longer - it was fun and totally enjoyable - a total 10/10 minus some flaws in the rules here and there.

Was it satisfying? not at all - at least not for everyone.

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Only watched it cus of tiktok and honestly major let down

Started out fine and then got really boring. The biggest reasons were:

1. CHARACTERS: They were honestly really boring and unlikable with almost no depth. No character has a backstory or any character growth throughout the ENTIRE series. I mean, please, why are they so dry and only fit into their stereotypes? Like, please, none of them have any growth as a character.

2. Plot holes. Why didn't the mafias kill everyone from the start since they could do that, which they tried to do in ep 10 or 11? Why could that mafia kill himself, but when Dabum tried to kill Jungwon, he couldn't? That should be explained. Plus, many others that have already been written by other reviewers.

3. STORY: The biggest thing that annoyed me was that storyline. Why did everyone feel so stupid? Somi was never suspected even though she was involved in the voting of many civilians. They kept listening and falling for every stupid-ass manipulation trick from Somi and Kyungjun, even though they were super suspicious. They never questioned how they fell asleep on time, was it the sound or just drugging, etc. They never questioned how the game got them to kill themselves after getting selected, possession, or drug. NOO but they still believed this was set in reality, like please, they never questioned anything. They felt so flat and fake, like not actual people. After finding out the entire world was basically paused, they never actually investigated that. They just saw it and went "wow bizarre" and moved on. Like, tf, and you still believe this is reality? "Oh No A gHOSt Is TOTallY unBELivAble." Also, the ghost plotline was freaking boring. What was even the point? It led to absolutely nothing.

4. STORYLINE/ENDING: Started out fun, got draggy, with a lack of good characters and with a predictable plot, it was basically a shitshow. The ending was the worst thing for me. PLLSSSS, you do this living in another weird world and then end it with the most basic explanation, the VR world "everything is fake in your head," like please, it's been done a million times, it's so predictable and boring. Also, why remove any stakes the series had? Now its rewatch value plummeted to the ground cuz why rewatch knowing everyone still lives. The parents made no sense, like oh we´ll punish all of you with an endless game of mafia even though we removed all your memories of Seun, so how are you even supposed to make the bullies regret their actions? Like, you have the option for any hallucination, making them live through what she did or just a horror game, but no, they chose mafia. Ok, well, weird. Plus, only like 8 people actually bullied her, the others just didn't help or were gossiping about her, BUT still everyone gets the same punishment, even the ones who were friends with her. Also, the parents' reasoning really annoyed me. Like, hello, aren't you her parents? WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP HER THEN? Were you absent or didn't care, literally, are the parents 50 or 5, who knows. Lastly, Yoon Seo going "put me back in the game only me," I was like hello huh, let the bullies go free why, and why even go back in Seun is dead y'all wrap it up. Sidenote is mass kidnapping a class into your rich VR build room easy or was the entire class made up of orphans with no other acquaintances.

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Great concept, poorly executed

This show had so much potential but they waisted almost all of it... ML & FL lead were so annoying and didn't have any personality,,, at some point I was so annoyed watching because how DUMB are these people?? ML caught Daebum smirking and didn't tell anyone and still let a civilian get killed off?? the mafias and the bullies were way more interesting at some point, at least the bullies did something and try to get the mafia? Very disappointing & sad because the concept is very good but the writing was so bad and especially the ending because what was that???

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Strong start, but...

I think this drama started out super strong — the show wasn't afraid to be violent and gory, you could clearly differentiate between the classmates and what archetypes they represented, and there was so much intrigue around both who the mafias were and why the gamemaker decided to choose them.

As the drama went on I definitely think it lost a bit of steam — Mafia reveals were interesting but you can only do that a few times before the audience wants to dig deeper and actually find out how and why the game started. Instead, the disorganization of the students lasts for a little too long.

So I think the backstory reveal started a little too late, and it introduced a new character that I couldn't really bring myself to care about so late in the story. The backstory itself wasn't fleshed out very well, never going in depth with some of the things they had hinted earlier about how each student was involved. I still don't understand why students were chosen to be Mafias, Citizens, the Doctor, or the Police, and if it was random it really lessens the importance of every one of them.

Without these specifics, the gamemakers didn't feel much like "masterminds" with a thought out plan, but just some people with a thirst for revenge and instilling suffering in whatever form. I would've much preferred it if the game had been a more direct reflection of what happened in the past, and if it was repeated until each student learned a specific lesson (with Yoonseo being the first to learn that she should've been there for her friend), as opposed to the ultimate purpose simply being "I want them all to suffer as much as possible."

I'm also part of the camp that feels mixed about the ending. While I've seen open endings that are done well, the one here feels too "unsustainable," meaning that I know it definitely can't last forever — there has to be more than the story and whatever it is should have been shown.

Overall, I still had a lot of fun with this. I don't know if there will be another season but I hope there is — there's a perfect set up for one and it would give the show a chance to delve deeper into its backstory and each kid.

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Scary.

Terrifying.
And captivating at the same time.
Most peculiar.

First I wanted to quickly get out of it.
But then, somehow, I couldn't leave the girls and boys behind in their misery...

A nasty, cruel game with anguish and desperation.
And at the same time bitterly serious.

When bullying turns into a relentless, painful fight for survival...
An original but also creepy reckoning with the issue and impact of psychological and/or physical violence among teenagers.
Nurtured and inspired by what for some (far too many!) is real hell on earth.
In that sense: quite upsetting.
Therefore: ambitious and well done.
However: still scary.

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A good storyline ruined

This drama is one of those dramas which show one of the most intriguing synopsis and when you start watching the same with that high expectations you are bound to feel disappointed. And this drama is no different.
Having seen the negative reviews beforehand, I went to watch the drama with little to no expectations and thanks to which I found it a nice watch .
Starting off with the oh so average acting , you can feel at few scenes the actors including main leads either exaggerated the the required emotion or didn't show any . Which is why I think the casting of main leads was not satisfactory. I mean at some point the supporting actors were more compelling than the leads (no offence).Hence, the acting was one of those reasons which ruined the drama with so much potential .
Even if I have watched or prefer watching high production shows, but here personally I had no complaints about the productions or the cinematography. Nonetheless the storyline really sucked . The show started showing potential from the start itself by the gripping side plots and I was waiting for the neat execution related to the same . In spite of that you end up with loads of plot holes all thanks to the poor writing .
All in all what I've got to say is you can definitely watch the drama as I did with no expectations and I'm sure you'll like it because no matter what the drama was a good watch and I didn't feel it like a waste of time ( or the efforts my eyes put to stay up throughout). Well then I'll take my leave and hope you guys like watching it and have a wonderful day ahead.
XOXO

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Warning: 'Night Has Come' May Disappoint – Beware Before Watching!

1. Introduction:
"Night Has Come" intertwines suspense, horror, and mystery, drawing inspiration from hits like Squid Game and Truth or Dare. While not breaking new ground, the series promises an engaging storyline.

2. Summary:
During a student retreat, the plot unfolds as a group of students is thrust into a deadly game of Mafia, creating an atmosphere filled with suspense and danger.

3. Personal Experience:
With a preference for thrillers and high school horror, my expectations were met with a mix of compelling moments and confusion. The series delivered suspense, but unclear rules and unexpected twists left me questioning the narrative.

List of Absurd Scenes:

Underutilized Important Characters: Key characters like the police and doctor are overlooked, with the female lead overshadowing their roles.

Plot Armor for Main Leads: The main characters, especially Jun Hee, seem to have too much protection, reducing the stakes of the deadly game.

Unreasonable Plot Points: Certain scenes, like Yoon Seo's photographs, lack purpose and coherence.

Inconsistency with Jung Won's Character: The revelation of Jung Won being an AI feels out of place in the established storyline.

Illogical Suffering of Yoon Seo and Jun Hee: Characters unrelated to bullying endure unnecessary suffering, suggesting the need for a second season to address these issues.

4. Analysis:
Themes and Messages:
"Night Has Come" emphasizes the serious consequences of bullying, elevating it beyond a minor concern.

Character Development:
While some characters remain consistent, others undergo questionable development, leaving their arcs feeling incomplete.

Pacing and Structure:
The series maintains a fast-paced rhythm, but the ending raises more questions than answers. A more straightforward resolution or additional episodes could have provided a more satisfying conclusion.

5. Strengths:
What Worked Well:
"Night Has Come" effectively maintains a fast pace and intense atmosphere within the constraints of a 12-episode format.

Standout Moments:
Certain scenes successfully capture the essence of suspense and horror, adding to the overall appeal.

6. Weaknesses:
Areas for Improvement:
Inconsistencies in character development, unclear game rules, and unresolved plot points hinder the narrative's coherence.

What Didn't Work:
The illogical suffering of characters and the underutilization of pivotal characters diminish the overall narrative consistency.

7. Comparisons:
Comparisons to Similar Works:
While drawing inspiration from popular thriller genres, "Night Has Come" struggles to stand out amidst its influences.

8. Conclusion:
Overall Impression:
"Night Has Come" offers a mix of thrills and confusion. While recommending it, the potential for refinement and a more coherent narrative is evident.

Final Thoughts:
With a blend of strengths and weaknesses, "Night Has Come" provides an engaging but imperfect viewing experience. A potential second season could address lingering questions and elevate the series to a more satisfying conclusion.

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It's okay

I began watching it today, and overall, it's okay. The acting doesn't stand out, and the storyline is quite standard. Predicting the plot is relatively easy, but I still find it somewhat enjoyable. The characters aren't particularly well-developed, lacking depth and coming off as basic. If you're looking to pass the time, this show might suffice, but I wouldn't classify it as a must-watch for quality entertainment.
Some things in the show don't quite add up, and some of the characters' decisions come across as oddly illogical. It's frustrating to see them make choices that don't make any sense at all.
But I'll give it a try. I've just watched 2/3 episodes. Maybe it'll get better later on.

[Spoiler Alert]

One particular annoyance is the characters seemingly oblivious to obvious signs of a curse, like the victims having white eyes. It's baffling how the best friend dismisses the idea of a ghost despite clear indicators such as phones not losing battery, everyone falling asleep simultaneously, and more. Additionally, it's irritating that the best friend doesn't make a real effort to assist the main character when she's thrown into the pool or is drowning. Instead of actively helping, she just stands there uttering, "no, don't!" without taking any meaningful action. Wouldn't even suprise me if something is wrong with her.


[SPOILER END]

EDIT: I just finished watching it, and I have to say, it got better as it progressed. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece or a must-watch, but it's not bad either. I enjoyed the plot twist and am hopeful for a season 2. However, I still found most of the plot to be quite predictable, and to be honest, not much of it shocked me—except for the ending plot twist, which genuinely surprised me.

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Inconsistent.

The appeal of the show is that it's a deductive mystery. Mafia is essentially a whodunit mystery. The mystery should be the primary focus and the high school drama and romance should be secondary. After all, that is how the show was marketed.

However, after the male protagonist is killed off by a nervous lynch, to preserve the romance, the writers revive him. But by doing so, the dynamics of the game changes drastically. The announcer conveniently no longer announces the roles of those who are killed, the doctor can revive anyone even if they weren't killed in the Night, and the viewers no longer face the thrill of danger for the protagonists because we now know the writers will simply bring them back to life. This show, in a single moment, destroyed the sanctity of all its genre. It is a mystery that has lost its logical credibility, a horror and thriller without a genuine threat of death, a high school romance that isn't quite romantic, and a high school drama with unreasonable stakes—where trivial conflicts lead to death and murder.

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Ending explains a lot of faults

Throughout this drama, I saw a lot of theories, a lot of praises and complaints. For me the drama overall, was really fun to watch. It was frustrating, intriguing, and saddening. Before the ending, my main complaints were that there are a lot of plot holes and a lot of rules with the game that didn’t make sense and weren’t well thought out.

I had a lot of confusion with how the mafia rules differed from the citizens and what could or couldn’t have been done. In the beginning, when the first night comes, everybody drops to the floor, including the mafia but later, on in the drama, you see that they aren’t affected by the bell anymore. and you can say that they were affected on the first night bells because it was the first night and I agree that they were just getting into playing the game and understanding the rules of themselves so that’s why everybody fell asleep the first night.

Another plot hole that I noticed was how people could die. Even after watching the drama, the rules to me where 1-mafia could only kill one person per night, and that one person had to be a unanimous agreement. 2-one person would die after the voting that took place during the day, based on a majority vote. 3-you would die if you broke any of the following rules (leaving the area, not voting, killing without agreement) by the end of the drama a lot of what I thought were the rules kind of ended up being forgotten.

In the last two episodes when Jin Da Beom kills Im Eun Chan & Choi Mina I was confused why he hadn’t broken a rule because I thought that you could only kill one person per night and it had to be agreed-upon. Even if the last two mafia agreed to kill everybody, wouldn’t it still break the rules because they killed more than one person. You could say that technically JDB didn’t kill IEC because he died from suffocation with a bag over his head. To me that seems like a grey area where I’m not sure if that’s my lack of understanding the rules or just a polt hole from the writers. There are many more instances in which situations happen that have plot holes or are left with confusion because of the rules that I thought prior. But I think the ending really brings everything together and closes all those plot holes.

The end of the drama is basically that the game that they have been playing is a literal game and it’s a simulation game that they have to play over and over and over again. They’re playing this game because of their classmate Park SeEun’s parents who want to get revenge on their class for the rumor that was spread causing her suicide. The fact that the game that they have been playing is an actual game can explain why things happen that we don’t necessarily understand or can’t find answers to. That’s because in any game that we play they are going to be errors, bugs, messed up codes, etc.. Oh Jung Won is the perfect example as to why everything plays out perfectly. Her character ends up being a programmed character into the game that ends up having some sort of error that allows her to have feelings and emotions, and make conscious decisions. So anything that has happened prior to the ending that seemed weird or confusing can basically be explained by the fact that it is a game it’s a simulation there there might be an error in the code or a bug that needs to be fixed which allows the drama to be imperfect, and have things that we might not understand.

I think this ending really rounded the whole drama into this scary yet intriguing story that can be more messed up than the murders that are going on and can have many of outcomes because of the possibility of an error.

✧I could say a lot more about this drama, but that would take a lot of writing. But if anything about this drama seems interesting to you. I would highly recommend giving it a watch. It can be gruesome at times, but there are parts of the story that are very genuine and heart wrenching.

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