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Hikari no Naka
The best one among Light On series
The long-awaited The Long Night is finally broadcasted after long delay due to popularity of The Bad Kids. And I'm glad that it finally got to be aired since this drama is excellent and worthy of praise. Many people has compared it to The Bad Kids (which is inevitable) and in my personal opinion, I like it better than The Bad Kids therefore I gave it higher rating.
STORY
In terms of the story, I think The Long Night is more straightforward compared to Bad Kids. It is about people who tried to seek justice, came across so many obstacles along the way and the many sacrifices they had to make for their belief. The plot is very compact and there is no unnecessary scene that does not contribute to move the plot forward. The story involved three parallel timelines, and the director did excellent job in showing that clearly to the audience so that they won't get confused. However, I still feel that the director could have done a better job in increasing the suspense and tension since the story actually provides many opportunities for it. As much as I enjoy it, it still a bit lack of the gripping suspense that I usually feel when watching American or Korean crime drama. Nevertheless, the young director (Chen Yifu) did an excellent job directing this drama.
ACTING
Needless to say that all the actors in the Light On series are very capable, including those in The Long Night. Liao Fan is a veteran actor and there is no question about his acting skill. All the actors, main and supporting roles, did excellent job in their respective roles. However, the highlight of this drama is Bai Yu's role, Jiang Yang. He is the most tragic character in the story, losing everything in order to uphold his belief. I love Bai Yu from his previous role as Zhao Yunlan in Guardian, but Jiang Yang is a whole new level of acting. He perfectly shows the transformation of Jiang Yang, from the sunny boy with bright future to the depressed and broken middle-aged man. I am still heartbroken after watching the last few episodes.
I also like the three hotpot brothers a lot, I can feel their strong bond and their willingness to support and sacrifice for each other as they share the same common values. I also like Captain Ren who is the Head of Special Investigation Unit very much, it is really good to have a very capable and strong female role who is as qualified as the other male counterparts.
In the end, I think what makes this drama scored very high in Douban (9.1 as of current and rated by over 250k viewers), besides the directing and acting, is the lesson learned from this story. How much are you willing to sacrifice to seek and uphold justice? How far are you willing to go in order to shed light on the truth?
STORY
In terms of the story, I think The Long Night is more straightforward compared to Bad Kids. It is about people who tried to seek justice, came across so many obstacles along the way and the many sacrifices they had to make for their belief. The plot is very compact and there is no unnecessary scene that does not contribute to move the plot forward. The story involved three parallel timelines, and the director did excellent job in showing that clearly to the audience so that they won't get confused. However, I still feel that the director could have done a better job in increasing the suspense and tension since the story actually provides many opportunities for it. As much as I enjoy it, it still a bit lack of the gripping suspense that I usually feel when watching American or Korean crime drama. Nevertheless, the young director (Chen Yifu) did an excellent job directing this drama.
ACTING
Needless to say that all the actors in the Light On series are very capable, including those in The Long Night. Liao Fan is a veteran actor and there is no question about his acting skill. All the actors, main and supporting roles, did excellent job in their respective roles. However, the highlight of this drama is Bai Yu's role, Jiang Yang. He is the most tragic character in the story, losing everything in order to uphold his belief. I love Bai Yu from his previous role as Zhao Yunlan in Guardian, but Jiang Yang is a whole new level of acting. He perfectly shows the transformation of Jiang Yang, from the sunny boy with bright future to the depressed and broken middle-aged man. I am still heartbroken after watching the last few episodes.
I also like the three hotpot brothers a lot, I can feel their strong bond and their willingness to support and sacrifice for each other as they share the same common values. I also like Captain Ren who is the Head of Special Investigation Unit very much, it is really good to have a very capable and strong female role who is as qualified as the other male counterparts.
In the end, I think what makes this drama scored very high in Douban (9.1 as of current and rated by over 250k viewers), besides the directing and acting, is the lesson learned from this story. How much are you willing to sacrifice to seek and uphold justice? How far are you willing to go in order to shed light on the truth?
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