Rhea
Malaysia
The Chemistry Saved It!
Nothing in Love At Night really stands out except for the leads’ chemistry. This is a typical romance drama that uses exes to create problems for the couple as part of the plot. You will also have an immature girl pursuing the male lead despite his firm no. Hence, this production will not give you anything groundbreaking with its recycled themes.
The only reason why this drama remains addictive is the main couple’s chemistry. If there is one thing that the screenwriters did right, it is to heighten the undercurrents between the would-be lovers. With their sizzling chemistry, those undercurrents become more obvious and you will then be tempted to follow their story. Of course, this couple also look very good together. Some pairings just don’t have that lovers’ vibes such as the one in Fall In Love With A Scientist. For Zhang Yu Xi and Liu Xue Yi, you would not have this problem at all with their matching visuals.
Half-Baked Subplots
Love At Night starts off with the girl already in a long-term relationship. It might be a little different from the usual rom-coms as this lasts for about one-third of the drama. The good thing is they don’t get a lot of screen time together and the relationship is shown to be on the rocks to set the stage for the male lead to woo her. Hence, it is not annoying in that way but you will need to wait for more than half the drama before the main couple get together.
As the focus is on the romance, the subplots end up being half-baked. The jealous ex angle is not fully developed and ends in a very anti-climatic way after leading viewers up that path in the earlier episodes. The way the business problems are resolved are depicted in a very simplistic way with no details given. You will just be told that the issues are settled after the male lead is shown going from one meeting to another to resolve the business crisis created by his girlfriend’s ex. So, don’t expect this to have a heavy business feel like My Bargain Queen or Something Just Like This.
Personally, I don’t even think the jealous exes are necessary for the drama if they are not going to do it properly. This could have been shortened to 24 episodes. The leads’ chemistry could have been utilized to make this drama incredibly sweet just like You Are My Glory rather than dishing out a poorly developed revengeful ex subplot to the viewers.
Side Couples’ Screen Time
The second side couple actually takes up quite a bit of screen time in Love At Night. Theirs is an older woman and younger man romance. The girl is 8 years older and I guess this provides viewers with a clear contrast to the main couple. If you like them, then this drama will have more to offer. But if you don’t, you will be constantly clicking the fast forward button because they appear quiet often in each episode.
For me, this second couple is not an attractive one. It is not done right with the way the guy is being depicted. He appears as clingy and immature although some may find him sweet with the way he takes care of the girl’s daily needs such as meals. He is like the guy in My Fated Boy but way more timid and childish which is why this couple doesn’t resonate with me.
The third couple doesn’t have a lot of screen time and their romance is not really explored in detail either. But the girl is kind of irritating to watch at times with her immaturity and arrogance. I don’t think viewers will care much about their romance anyway which is why their screen time seems like a filler to lengthen the drama.
Acting
fBoth the leads did a respectable job playing their roles. Zhang Yu Xi is not a new face in this kind of romance drama. She also had great chemistry with Ryan Ding in Intense Love which is a fairytale-like rom-com. In Love At Night, she displays the same natural chemistry with her co-star and oozes confidence and allure as a pretty senior executive.
Liu Xue Yi was also in Love And Redemption and Ancient Love Poetry. Maybe that was why I couldn’t recognize him at first as those were historical dramas. He possesses charisma in Love At Night and portrays himself to be confident, smart, and stylish to fit the character perfectly.
When the 2 leads are put together, they are a pleasure to watch. They look like real lovers which increases the overall romantic feel of the drama.
My Verdict – A So-So Drama
Basically, Love At Night is an average drama. If you have watched enough of Chinese romance dramas, you would know that there are much better ones out there. But this is still watchable because of the oozing chemistry of the leads and the healthy and matured relationship depicted. There is not breakup once the couple got together with a good dose of communication and trust. However, it still can’t run away from the cliche jealous exes and parental objection.
The other positive trait about this drama is that the main characters are rather smart people. Perhaps the female lead is silly to consider getting back with a cheater in the beginning but at the very least, she knows when she has to make a clean break. I don’t find them annoying and the couple’s growing attraction towards each other helped me to continue on after the first few episodes.
This is not a drama that you will watch for the plot. Just like Once We Get Married, you watch this for the feel good factor brought on by the fluff and sweetness of the main couple. So, for this Love At Night review, 7/10 is already a generous score to give. If only they had improved on the kisses to make them more passionate, this could be a more entertaining watch. After all, this is a matured romance given the age of the characters. As it is, the kissing scenes are rather tame if you compare them to You Are My Glory and Love Is Sweet. I just find that it is a pity that they failed to fully make use of the leads’ great chemistry to up the notch in terms of the romance.
Overall, I would still say give this a go. It is just 30 minutes per episode. If the side couples bore you, just skip them and you can then complete it even faster. Then, you can just savor the main couple’s sweetness to make this worth your time.
The only reason why this drama remains addictive is the main couple’s chemistry. If there is one thing that the screenwriters did right, it is to heighten the undercurrents between the would-be lovers. With their sizzling chemistry, those undercurrents become more obvious and you will then be tempted to follow their story. Of course, this couple also look very good together. Some pairings just don’t have that lovers’ vibes such as the one in Fall In Love With A Scientist. For Zhang Yu Xi and Liu Xue Yi, you would not have this problem at all with their matching visuals.
Half-Baked Subplots
Love At Night starts off with the girl already in a long-term relationship. It might be a little different from the usual rom-coms as this lasts for about one-third of the drama. The good thing is they don’t get a lot of screen time together and the relationship is shown to be on the rocks to set the stage for the male lead to woo her. Hence, it is not annoying in that way but you will need to wait for more than half the drama before the main couple get together.
As the focus is on the romance, the subplots end up being half-baked. The jealous ex angle is not fully developed and ends in a very anti-climatic way after leading viewers up that path in the earlier episodes. The way the business problems are resolved are depicted in a very simplistic way with no details given. You will just be told that the issues are settled after the male lead is shown going from one meeting to another to resolve the business crisis created by his girlfriend’s ex. So, don’t expect this to have a heavy business feel like My Bargain Queen or Something Just Like This.
Personally, I don’t even think the jealous exes are necessary for the drama if they are not going to do it properly. This could have been shortened to 24 episodes. The leads’ chemistry could have been utilized to make this drama incredibly sweet just like You Are My Glory rather than dishing out a poorly developed revengeful ex subplot to the viewers.
Side Couples’ Screen Time
The second side couple actually takes up quite a bit of screen time in Love At Night. Theirs is an older woman and younger man romance. The girl is 8 years older and I guess this provides viewers with a clear contrast to the main couple. If you like them, then this drama will have more to offer. But if you don’t, you will be constantly clicking the fast forward button because they appear quiet often in each episode.
For me, this second couple is not an attractive one. It is not done right with the way the guy is being depicted. He appears as clingy and immature although some may find him sweet with the way he takes care of the girl’s daily needs such as meals. He is like the guy in My Fated Boy but way more timid and childish which is why this couple doesn’t resonate with me.
The third couple doesn’t have a lot of screen time and their romance is not really explored in detail either. But the girl is kind of irritating to watch at times with her immaturity and arrogance. I don’t think viewers will care much about their romance anyway which is why their screen time seems like a filler to lengthen the drama.
Acting
fBoth the leads did a respectable job playing their roles. Zhang Yu Xi is not a new face in this kind of romance drama. She also had great chemistry with Ryan Ding in Intense Love which is a fairytale-like rom-com. In Love At Night, she displays the same natural chemistry with her co-star and oozes confidence and allure as a pretty senior executive.
Liu Xue Yi was also in Love And Redemption and Ancient Love Poetry. Maybe that was why I couldn’t recognize him at first as those were historical dramas. He possesses charisma in Love At Night and portrays himself to be confident, smart, and stylish to fit the character perfectly.
When the 2 leads are put together, they are a pleasure to watch. They look like real lovers which increases the overall romantic feel of the drama.
My Verdict – A So-So Drama
Basically, Love At Night is an average drama. If you have watched enough of Chinese romance dramas, you would know that there are much better ones out there. But this is still watchable because of the oozing chemistry of the leads and the healthy and matured relationship depicted. There is not breakup once the couple got together with a good dose of communication and trust. However, it still can’t run away from the cliche jealous exes and parental objection.
The other positive trait about this drama is that the main characters are rather smart people. Perhaps the female lead is silly to consider getting back with a cheater in the beginning but at the very least, she knows when she has to make a clean break. I don’t find them annoying and the couple’s growing attraction towards each other helped me to continue on after the first few episodes.
This is not a drama that you will watch for the plot. Just like Once We Get Married, you watch this for the feel good factor brought on by the fluff and sweetness of the main couple. So, for this Love At Night review, 7/10 is already a generous score to give. If only they had improved on the kisses to make them more passionate, this could be a more entertaining watch. After all, this is a matured romance given the age of the characters. As it is, the kissing scenes are rather tame if you compare them to You Are My Glory and Love Is Sweet. I just find that it is a pity that they failed to fully make use of the leads’ great chemistry to up the notch in terms of the romance.
Overall, I would still say give this a go. It is just 30 minutes per episode. If the side couples bore you, just skip them and you can then complete it even faster. Then, you can just savor the main couple’s sweetness to make this worth your time.
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