@Charlee , @MusicalVeggies
This drama has addicted me.
I saw the drama and read the novel for more understanding and at last, although in drama and novel Run Yu characterisation is not exactly the same, in both i prefer Run Yu.
It's not that i don't like Xu Feng, but i like Run Yu more.
In my opinion both male leads did huge mistakes, Jin Mi has to choose one. She chose Phoenix, ok, so the story end. But as Night said: "I once thought that we were competitors of equal strength. As long as we held fast to our pride, our stand, spending all our time on this, refusing to give in, there will eventually be one party who will end up the winner". I really don't understand why i see so many bad reviews of Night Deity.
He's scheming and so? That means he's not stupid. A lot of male lead are scheming and it's ok.
His biggest mistake is to use Jin Mi, to make Jin Mi kill Xu Feng and at last he paid for this.
On the other hand Xu Feng pursued Jin Mi in the mortal realm and got intimate with Jin Mi when she is betrothed to his brother. I think it's really unforgivable. Ok, he loves her, but he should act differently. He should first break the engagement. The two brother in the drama seem be attached to each other. Run Yu is always calm and without any desire, when Phoenix sees his brother won't give up with Jin Mi, (Phoenix is not stupid too) he should at least be straightforward and loyal. What Run Yi did is not an excuse for how Xu Feng acted and viceversa.
It's simple for Xu Feng give anything but Jin Mi to Run Yu, because he is not interested, as said at last: Phoenix: "Do you think I'll just accept your handout? I already told you that from the start I never had the intention to compete with you. From the start, the only thing I ever cared about was Jin Mi." The second great mistake Run Yu did, for me, was that he was not clear to his brother (and above all to Jin Mi) and he didn't say from the beginning that he loves her too.
But i think is because of his sad story. In all his life he has to be cautions what he said and acted, he actually had enemies around him and this is his first and maybe only real weakness. Maybe not Xu Feng, but the empress could use this info against him. It's safer if they think Jin Mi is only for political reasons. In the story until he mets Jin Mi, none really care of him, none the Moon deity, none his brother that betrays him when there is something he cares of. Night doesn't want his compassion nor his left over.


I think Night fell for Jin Mi at first sight, because she takes him  completely off guard. He has a terrible early trauma and he feels very ashamed of his true form, as he said he turn to his form only two times in thousand's years, and Jin Mi sees it and says he is very beautiful and that he would have a successful career as Sun Wukong. If it's not a love at first sight, he is sure very attracted by
her and that's why he asks Moon deity of her. It's meaningful that he keeps her red thread before to know who she really is. He starts to seek her in Xu Feng's palace first and in Demon Realm after. He wants to know her better and he became more and more addicted.
He is caution and because he knows he has an engagement setted, he is afraid of speaking freely.
When he founds she is the Water Deity's daughter and the terrible story behind her mother death, he was happy and very afraid at the same time. He knows he could lose her and he sees maybe he could have her. Maybe before he never though he really could have her. I think he did what he did because he doesn't want to lose her.
Of course the water deity is also a powerful man and he could want it to, but because he think that without power he couldn't protect who he loves.
His brother is his only love/hate sibling and i think his deceit is simple too much for him. He stop to think rationally but sees vengeance everywhere. He wants to kill XuFeng because he stoles his love, he wants to to kill the Empress for her mother and clan and kill the emperor because of Jin Mi mother (he thinks she is like him). He bets on Jin Mi because he truly loves her and he knows that only her could get XuFeng off Guard as she could do to him if others really knows his feeling.
Afterwards everything gets out of control. He did too much. If he is really that manipulative, bad guy, he wouldn't allow Jin Mi to rivive Phoenix, he wouldn't permit Jin Mi to go in demon realm and a lot of other things.
Jin Mi said what she said to him because she was very very angry. She sees the things how an outsider could see the things. Jin Mi deep inside her knows it's not really so. In fact at the end she asks him to return how he is before, and at end he does that.

Why doesn't he love Kuang Lu? because she arrives late. Because she doesn't see his true form, because she is too clever (he has to became carefull). I think Run Yu loves Jin Mi even because she is naive, she can't scheming, fool him.
Last I think Run Yu needs a woman more joyful than KuangLu.

Sorry for the long post.
Bye

@MusicalVeggies, that was a brilliant analysis. I totally agree with everything except the fact that RY didn't love Jin Mi. He did. And here is why.

When they first met she saw him in his true form and accepted him (which he later confirms in his own words). Considering his heavy background, identity struggles, rejection by his mother, his own self-harm (when he peeled off his dragon's scales as a kid, already living with his dad by then), that was a hell of an imprint for him, to be SEEN and to be given a signal that he IS FINE. Anyone, who stays in contact with us at such an intimate moment, will remain our someone special forever. That was particularly powerful experience for Run Yu because of all his issues. On top of that, noone gives half of his lifespan for just a chess piece. He was everything you describe but not that hardcore psychopat. We can see that by his longing for being connected which psychopats don't have as such. 

@musicalveggies question for number 4. If night had no feelings for her, but why after he became emperor he won’t still let go of jinmi ?

To everyone who @me.

One: I never said Night had no feelings or love for Jin Mi. Please read my writings carefully. 

Two: I will only quote Night himself:- 

"I have also loved. Xu Feng, I have also loved. It's just that... my love was just too weak. It got swayed by my gains and losses. I wanted it but was unable to have it. Then one day, it got cold and what was left is hatred, envy, competitiveness. In the end... in the end it got so twisted that even I was disgusted with myself." 

As Night himself said... his love was TOO WEAK. It got swayed by GAINS and LOSSES. And it got COLD. 

Three: I didn't say that I dislike Night. If I did, I wouldn't bother writing such long character analysis (3 massive sections!) over him here. 

Four: I'm not going to reply anymore on this topic because I've said all I've had to say. 

@musical veggies thank you for answering

After reading this I got my feelings back for him!  

Am I the only one who thinks like "Dude you deserve better, if you don't have jin mi you can have kuang Lu man she really loves him and if you don't want her then have me man!  Just don't be sad!  I can't see that! 

@ Musical Veggies

This is such a wonderful thread! Thank you very much for your lengthy analysis of the Night Immortal and words by words of the conversations. I also found the conversations most interesting. I will have to say that Run Yu is the most interesting character in this show for me. Without him, this show will be quite bland.  He is such a brilliant but tragic character, and Leon Luo really portrays him very well. (I actually decided to watch this show after watching Leon Luo in Love is Sweet)

I had been putting off watching this show because the trailer seems cheesy, the synopsis didn't help either. But, I'm glad that I finally took the plunge and I have to say the story is quite epic, reminded me of Mahabharata with many moral lessons in it. Each character has their own sad background, but the Night Immortal is the epitome of all. I'm glad that the Night Immortal was given a chance to redeem himself, I just wish that he could have found himself some happiness in the end.  

A brief dissertation on Run Yu/the Night Immortal:

In many ways Run Yu is a product of his environment, and coming from a mother who didn’t want him to being raised by a hostile step-mother and basically absentee father, he doesn’t have a clue what healthy love is. He knows how to scheme and hold his cards close to his chest because he must, with the Heavenly Empress gauging and watching his every move he cannot afford to make mistakes.

The interesting thing is when people say he wasn’t calculated when this is the one attribute that describes him most clearly. Run Yu is a strategist, you can tell by his detailed approach to solving problems and careful analysis of situations; he is seldom hasty and always at the ready to defend himself, either by playing possum or out-manoeuvring his competitor with a subtle yet deadly move. He’s a gorgeous man, but we can’t let his looks downplay the strategic mastermind lying beneath his cool demeanor.

Yet, Run Yu craves affection and warmth while simultaneously pushing against those who would try getting too close for fear of this perceived weakness being used against him. You can tell by the initial meeting with Jin Mi where he isn’t immediately taken by her; he’s startled and intrigued, but most of all apprehensive as he ought to be given his position as the illegitimate firstborn son. What enchants him most of all is not her beauty, but the innocence belying an accepting heart; she isn’t like him and doesn’t think twenty steps ahead, taking life as it is. Jin Mi is just that, a simple, playful girl that makes him comfortable sitting back from his carefully laid plans. It’s why despite her best efforts, Kuang Lu cannot turn his eye, for she is far too swift of mind and sees too clearly as he does. Run Yu could never allow himself to be relaxed around her, especially since she entered his palace under dubious means.

Part of me thinks that had she approached Run Yu plainly about her interest in being closer to him, he may have been more receptive, but since this was not the case, the door to their romance is permanently shut. In disguising herself, Kuang Lu announces her slyness, a trait that Run Yu both possesses and despises. She is willing to scheme to get her way and this puts him on edge, unlike Jin Mi who is like the breeze with her blasé attitude. Jin Mi offers a reprieve from court life and her innocence is in many ways complimentary to Run Yu’s jaded nature that is until she makes it clear that her affections lie elsewhere.

Still, Run Yu doesn’t have to watch his back around his long-time betrothed, and to this man starving for affection of any kind, this looks like love. One must then imagine the mental state of such a person, constantly on edge, guarding himself because he believes that no one else will. Worse yet, he has just cause to be this way because those around him have passed over him, neglected, mocked and discounted him as inferior to his younger, more “legitimate” sibling. He’s used to receiving the hand-me downs, the pittance that Xu Feng discards, albeit unknowingly. So, when he finally has something of his own, appealing and shiny to his brother, he holds it close. Of course Jin Mi is not an object to be claimed, but she is his long-promised bride who his brother wants more than anything.

It is interesting when looking back at the series since moments like the Crimson Sword being given to Xu Feng over Run Yu, or the constant goading and wickedness of the Heavenly Empress coupled with the murder of his real mother by her hand make his eventual downfall seem inevitable. In an ideal world, Run Yu would be better than the people who treated him poorly, but he becomes just as bad as they are. He takes away Jin Mi’s agency and imposes his will on her while guilting her into remaining by his side. One would think that after being manipulated so thoroughly by the Heavenly Empress into forsaking his birthright, he’d choose a different path, but he disappoints in this regard and follows in the footsteps of those who abused him. He lies to Jin Mi, purposefully misleading and using her to achieve his purpose, yet calls his feelings for her love because he doesn’t have an accurate example of what love should be. To him, love is control and imposition, along with uncertainty for the person with more to lose, so he is never truly vulnerable with her. He shares details of his life with her, but his walls are still up because he doesn’t trust her to see and accept all of him.

This is in contrast to Kuang Lu’s steadfast devotion. She knows his darker nature, yet he is uninspired by her romantically because despite himself, Run Yu yearns to be more than who he is. It can be attributed to growing up being ridiculed for his differences, but Run Yu likes Jin Mi’s idealization of him and if he could, would be the “fish fairy” forever in her eyes. Alas, this is impossible as he quietly plots for vengeance and ascension to the throne. He wants his cake and to eat it, too.

Run Yu belies his cunning nature and portrays an image that he thinks people want to see because for so long he has been told that who he is, is unsavoury and unsatisfactory. In the most ironic way, the Heavenly Empress is one of the few people aware of his slick demeanor, but she played a big role in him turning out this way. Tragically, her constant fear of him challenging Xu Feng for the throne made her hostile and cruel towards him and drove Run Yu down his chosen path. I sometimes wonder at the type of person he would be with parents who accepted, encouraged and delighted in him. Perhaps he would not have felt the need to imprison Jin Mi in a cage much like the one he was trapped in while growing up. If this were the case, he could let her go and see the possibilities of a life away from her, one more fulfilling than chasing after a love that was not his.

In the end, Run Yu is a victim of his own deviousness and a consequence of the wickedness imparted onto him by those who should have loved him the most. His birth mother both loved and hated him while the Heavenly Empress cared for no one aside for herself and protecting Xu Feng’s royal aspirations. The Heavenly Emperor is a stain on love itself as he destroys almost every relationship he has due to his corrupted views on love, selfishly indulging in his desires while discarding others once their purpose is served. To him love is self-serving and this view does little to shape his oldest son positively. Finally, Run Yu's actions are believable, yet heartbreaking in light of the fact that he could have been so much more...if only.

@meatball_head A very in depth analysis, appreciate your feedback!

@Charlee thank you for your kind words! It's cathartic since I have so many feelings and thoughts after watching the show lol  ??

@meatball_head You're welcome! I get it, when a series causes so many feels it's nice to share all the thoughts throughout or after the fact =)

 meatball_head:

@Charlee thank you for your kind words! It's cathartic since I have so many feelings and thoughts after watching the show lol  ??

Amazing essay on the Night Immortal! You might enjoy watching the same actor portraying Tantai Jin in Till the end of the Moon....

 YCC:

Amazing essay on the Night Immortal! You might enjoy watching the same actor portraying Tantai Jin in Till the end of the Moon....

Thank you!! Haha I am on the TTEOTM train right now. I'm looking forward to the double episodes that will be released on Sunday, but also dreading the show ending since I hope all the misery and suffering will result in something good.