The Dark Lord | Recap and Review

A dark lord fights for justice 
Notable Actors/Actresses

Xu Hai Qiao: Ye Xiao Tian

Song Zu Er: Xia Ying Ying
Chinese Title
夜天子

Genres: Period, Romance, Team, Comedy, Period Romance

Network: Tencent Video

Year: 2018
Episodes: 48

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Story

Ye Xiao Tian is a prison ward, a low profession. He mingles with corrupt officials who were prisoners waiting for their execution. One of them gives him a will and so he embarks to a new city. Thus begins the legend of Ye Xiao Tian, our Dark Lord serving justice where needed. 

Characters

Ye Xiao Tian is the most unrighteous righteous man in all of dramaland. When everyone withers under the laws of the rich, Ye Xiao Tian will vanquish the oppression. No matter how powerful the enemy is, he’ll take them down by any means and I mean any means. He’s wickedly clever and stubbornly honourable. Ye Xiao Tian is a man who attracts loyal followers as he excavates a path to truth and justice. I particularly love this man because he’s nothing like what he seems. If you only watch the first few episodes, you’d have no idea who I’m describing. 

Warning: This man can and will kill you. Don’t commit any crimes on this turf. 

Xia Ying Ying is a rich girl with lots of brothers. Her brain holds nothing evil, in fact it doesn’t hold much. She’s the cute airhead Ye Xiao Tian is in love with. For her, he will rise in the noble ranks to impress her family. In the process, he meets brutes of all kinds.

Zhan Ning'er is the strong female fighter. Also not that smart. She has a curse on her that will only break if she finds her true love. Will it be Ye Xiao Tian? That’s for you to find out if you watch the drama (or if you read my Ep12 recap). Initially they start off as bickering enemies because he had lied to her one too many times. 

Luo Da Heng is the right hand man of Ye Xiao Tian. He’s wealthy in terms of money, body size and humour. He appears dumb but his punch lines are witty. This guy is no idiot. I laugh way too much because of him.

Hua Yun Fei is upright and loyal. He isn’t as clever as Ye Xiao Tian but he’s definitely the better fighter. With him around, Ye Xiao Tian’s safety will always be guaranteed. 

Do Ni is part of Gu Sect. She’s an expert in medication and becomes the group’s doctor/poisonist. She’s also the love interest of Luo Da Heng. Her other skill: shopping. 

Tian Miao Wen is a bit mysterious at first. She’s neither good or bad; she’ll be on the side that’s to her advantage. She’s more of a villain and I like her as a villain. Clever and wicked, almost on par with Ye Xiao Tian. 

Yang Ying Long is the big baddie who wants the throne. He’s the final boss Ye Xiao Tian has to beat.

Mini Recaps / Highlights

*I binged this drama and below are notes whenever I remembered to jot them down; they’re not very complete. 

[Ep5] The potential of the drama explodes here when Ye Xiao Tian invigorates his guards to stand for justice against the oppression of the rich and powerful. I teared up when everyone bowed to him. This is also when I began to appreciate the OST. So good! 

[Ep12] Looks can be deceiving. Ye Xiao Tian definitely doesn’t seem like the type to sacrifice his life for someone but he does for Zhan Ning’er. As a result of this, she falls in love with him and her curse is lifted. Those red ant maneaters they were running away from gave me goosebumps. 

[Ep13] Upon (randomly) inheriting Gu Sect’s new leadership, Ye Xiao Tian is casually fed a drink to end his line of offsprings. LOL. Ye Xiao Tian manages to bargain out of that for twenty years. Twenty years later he will fully assume his role of their leader but for twenty years now, he will be a free man. 

Gu Sect members also gave Ye Xiao Tian a porridge that will make him immune to all poisons. Luo Da Heng is like, Ah, so basically it's a drinkable mosquito repellent. xD

[Ep15] Ye Xiao Tian is a scammer through and through. Xia Ying Ying is betrothed to this other man. He’s famous for winning fights against bulls. Ye Xiao Tian is supposed to take down this man to win Xiao Ying Ying but he’s got no fighting bone in him. How will he win? Cheating, duh. With the help of his Gu Sect member (that old man who’s visually impaired) he poisons the bull-fighter. xD

[Ep18] Ye Xiao Tian and Xia Ying Ying marry but it’s not a formal one. Her father is against her marrying him mainly because Ye Xiao Tian can only spend twenty years with her. 

[Ep19] I love it that Ye Xiao Tian goes back to the city and everyone is like Ai-Ai-Ai. He’s back as a judge with his real name. I was so happy he got to reunite with the guards. 

[Ep21] Ye Xiao Tian gloriously sacrifices himself (abstaining from food and water) to bring relief to the drought. The villagers hail his sacrifice and admires him even more. However, Ye Xiao Tian knew it was going to rain. His guard updated him his knee hurts, wink wink. He’s got rheumatism and when it rains, his knee will always be sore. Heh. 

[Ep24] Ye Xiao Tian's older brother appears out of nowhere for one episode. 

[Ep43] Ye Xiao Tian enacts justice with his own hands. He kills the wrongdoers when the court can’t punish them. Hua Yun Fei joins the killing spree. I thought I was dreaming or the show was dreaming but this was real!!! This certainly is a different type of justice. Ye Xiao Tian is really the Dark Lord. 

[Ep45] It's funny how Zhan Nin'er is more jealous of Tian Miao Wen than Ying Ying is, lol. I secretly prefer Zhan Ning’er as Ye Xiao Tian’s love interest over Ying Ying. 

[Ep46] Ying Ying dies to protect her Xiao Tian Ge

Ending

[Ep48]

• Ye Xiao Tian practically becomes the most powerful man with Gu followers and Ying Ying’s family protecting him. There’s also his friends who are experts in every field. 
• Tian Miao Wen is an ally (for now) because she needs Ye Xiao Tian. An enemy’s enemy is a friend. If there is a second season, she can turn on Ye Xiao Tian any minute. 
• Ying Ying is dead from protecting Ye Xiao Tian. The hope for her appearance in season two lies in the fact that we never got to see her corpse. Tian Miao Wen may have hid her so that Ye Xiao Tian had the resolution to take down their shared enemy without love in his way.
• The annoying eyesore, Xu Bo Yi, is alive but he’s a eunuch. That was funny and unexpected, lol. 
• The big baddie, Yang Ying Long, still has power and plans to use Ye Xiao Tian’s twin brother to take over Ye Xiao Tian because the twin is more naive and easier to control. 

With so many baddies still bumbling (in fact not a single one of them are dead!), Ye Xiao Tian will be a busy man if there ever is a second season.

Final Review

[Review] Comedic! It’s a worthwhile journey following Ye Xiao Tian and how he nonchalantly gathers his followers and transforms into a brute for justice. He’s truly a Dark Lord and will serve justice cold if he has to. A sensational character. A man truly worth rooting for.

I didn’t watch this for the romance. Ying Ying is too much of an airhead for me to like her, ha. The reason why Ye Xiao Tian loves her so much is because she reminds him there's purity in the dark world he faces.

This drama feels like it’s just one chapter into the life of Ye Xiao Tian, our Dark Lord’s heroic journey of justice. The contents of this drama can easily spawn more seasons and it’s the one rare time I would love a second season just to see our Dark Lord take down evil in unconventional ways. 

Random Recommendation: Young Blood

Rating: 4/5 ♥♥