celestialocean

It looks interesting. I'll give it a go. :)

I haven't seen The Dark Lord, but I also preferred Ever Night to Ashes of Love overall. I did really enjoy Ashes of Love, but... there were other great dramas, too? lol

No..?? Provided that they are, in fact, good.

haha. XD I didn't say anything about her and Ning Que. I don't ship it. If Sang Sang were not a part of the story, and they'd developed Shan Shan more, maybe I would have? But Sang Sang is my favorite character and I think Ning Que and Sang Sang are adorable together, so my statement above was not an indication of support for a relationship between Ning Que and Mo Shan Shan.

It's just that compared to the other two, she has a much more refined, sweet demeanor. Also, I really do love her style; her hair, makeup, and outfits give her a soft, warm, and elegant appearance. My main problem with her is that she feels so underdeveloped as a character, and is thus pretty bland, but I'd honestly take that over condescension or constant death threats any day. :p

lol. Well, I can understand why you decided to skip her scenes. It doesn't matter much as long as you understand enough to enjoy the rest of the show. :) I completely agree with your assessment of the situation with Ning Que, Mo Shan Shan, and Sang Sang.

I also got attached to Arthur Chen as Ning Que. It's already pretty strange seeing someone else portray the character, but I'm sure I'll get used to it and enjoy the second season. That is a good point regarding intimate scenes. I think Arthur Chen is old enough(?) at eighteen, but Dylan Wang being a couple years older does make it a little less awkward.

I really like Ning Que/Sang Sang overall, but I do think they could have written it better. It's a little too subtle in the beginning, and kind of anticlimactic once they actually do become a couple. I am curious to see how it will develop in season two.

There is nothing out there that is going to please everyone. It's definitely a flawed drama, but I haven't come across a perfect one yet, and I still enjoyed it despite its shortcomings. Although there were definitely scenes in which people dramatically expressed their emotions, I think it's an exaggeration to say that every scene was like that, or really even most. I've seen other people criticize the actors/characters for not being more emotive, and there were indeed many scenes in which the emotions and reactions were subtle. Of course, you're not obligated to like it and it's a shame that this one didn't work out for you. I wish you better luck with the next drama you watch. :)

He made it for Sang Sang.

Thank you. :)

Okay, I'll keep that in mind then, thanks. :)

Wei Guangming is convinced that Ning Que is the Child of Hades/Yama and is therefore set on killing him. Ning Que is Yan Se's only disciple and successor, and someone he also seems to have grandfatherly affection for. He can't let Guangming succeed. So even though Guangming and Yan Se have a history together and are otherwise on friendly terms, their own agendas leave them no other choice but to fight. That's my understanding anyway. :)

Ah, I see. That's disappointing. "Princess Agents" was the drama I watched just before "Ever Night." I wasn't really fazed by the cliffhanger because people were saying that there would be another season. I've heard good things about "Tribes and Empires," but I'm not sure that I want to watch it now. lol Thanks for the explanation.

lol yeah. Level up = automatic makeover, I guess. :D

They're all pretty, but I personally prefer Mo Shan Shan of the three. Her style and personality is the best, and she has a more natural, effortless beauty. The other two are beautiful, but their personalities kind of interfere with my ability to appreciate that; tsundere is one of my least favorite character tropes, so I don't find Hong Yu alluring at all, and Chen Jia is very condescending. To each their own. :p

The Third Disciple is my favorite of Fu Zi's female disciples, but I do like the Seventh as well.

Wait, hold up. There’s not going to be another season of “Princess Agents?” :o

Thank you for explaining how they are depicted in the web novel, as I haven't read too much of it yet. :) Good to know that there will be some more good characters from Xiling.

You're right, ninan - however, I was still disappointed in how they were written. I wasn't specific about what didn't work for me regarding the antagonists, so I will clarify. Part of my issue with the priests of Xiling is that it remained unclear to me what their moral code is. I get that the show is making the point that the world isn't black and white; people who are supposedly "evil" can be good, and people who claim to be holy can be corrupt. That in itself reflects reality.

However, I think they went a little far with it, because I couldn't even tell how a proper believer in Xiling -should- conduct themselves. Are they meant to be more merciful, compassionate, and generous? How is their faith supposed to transform them? I still don't know. All of the Xiling cultivators would have benefited from having some good traits to balance out the overwhelming negative. The kindest characters from that group were Ye Hongyu and Ye Qing - and Ye Hongyu still repeatedly mentioned wanting to kill Ning Que in the last few episodes. =|

Long Qing's scenes were painful to watch - from beginning to end. He experienced a lot of hardship, but he learned nothing from it. He never became more self-aware. The fact that he didn't grow at all made most of his screen time pointless, in my opinion. He could have gotten from point A to point B without most of his scenes. Based on season 1 alone, I just think that he's poorly written/utilized. I hope he's more interesting to watch in season 2.

The best antagonist in season 1, in my opinion, is Xia Hou. I can't say I -liked- him a lot, but at least his motivations were clear and made him a slightly more sympathetic character. He was also a more formidable opponent.

I agree with your point regarding Ning Que. Overall, he's a good protagonist but he's not always likable. He's got about as many negative personality traits as he does positive. I'm fine with that; it makes him seem more human. I just wish that the characters from Xiling had been given the same treatment - more substance and balance to make their scenes interesting to watch.

The one character from Xiling who was interesting was Wei Guangming, and that is exactly why. His interactions with Sang Sang went a long way towards humanizing him, and his reason for inciting a brutal massacre was also understandable (whether or not you think you'd do the same thing in that position).

(Wow, that was a bit long, sorry. lol)

Hm. Well, it depends on how much you personally like romance to be a main element of the story and your expectations of what romance should involve. The main relationship is very important to the plot in the sense that it informs a lot of Ning Que's actions; his main two motivations are revenge and protecting Sang Sang. There is romance, but it doesn't outweigh the other elements of the story.

The other factor is specifically romantic/sexual physical affection, or lack therof. The two main characters are pretty touchy feely, but while there's occasional sexual tension relatively early on, it could mostly be read as platonic. They've lived together most of their lives; there's a strong sense of familiarity and closeness between them. In their scenes together, Ning Que often has his hand on Sang Sang's head, arm around her shoulders, etc. Once they actually do become a couple later in the story, the change is subtle (perhaps in part because they were so close anyway). There is no physical affection beyond a kiss on the cheek in season 1. Though I wouldn't have minded a bit more in that regard, they're still ridiculously adorable together.

There's a brief love triangle in the middle of the story involving Ning Que and a woman he meets while separated from Sang Sang, but compared to many other stories I've watched/read, it is resolved fairly quickly.

It's a cliffhanger... so it's unclear what happens with Sang Sang after she is unresponsive at the end. I haven't come across any information about season 2 other than casting. Song Yiren is returning to the role in season 2, and by the end of episode 60, the drama doesn't even seem to be caught up with the entire synopsis on this page, so... there's that.

I haven't read up to that point in the web novel, so I couldn't tell you for sure what happens immediately afterwards, but since you asked where to find it, you'd probably want to read for yourself anyway. :) https://wuxiaworld.online/nightfall

I don't entirely understand your question, but it seems that you're asking if you should watch Ever Night if you enjoyed Ashes of Love. I think it depends on what you liked about Ashes of Love. Here are some things for you to consider:

- Ever Night is much lighter on the fantasy/magic (although there is still plenty of that). It integrates magical elements into a natural setting.

- The romance isn't as much of a focus (though it's still an important element). The dynamic between the main characters is quite different than that of Jin Mi and Xu Feng since they have lived together most of their lives. Jin Mi and Xu Feng's relationship has several ups and downs, whereas the main relationship in Ever Night gradually develops more linearly.

- I found the action scenes to be much more impressive and fun to watch in Ever Night. There are a lot of great stunts.

- Both have excellent supporting characters, but I found the villains to be pretty lackluster overall in Ever Night, whereas Ashes of Love took its time to slowly develop its main antagonist in a very interesting way.