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Warm on a Cold Night chinese drama review
Completed
Warm on a Cold Night
3 people found this review helpful
by puwupy
Jul 8, 2023
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 7.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 6.0

Dared too much?

First of all, let me stress this: the synopsis on both Viki and MDL is a different story from what actually happens in the show. I recommend watching the first couple of episodes to get a better idea of what it is about.

I believe that the vast majority of this drama is very good. Toward the end I was set on rating it with an 8 at least, because I really enjoyed myself while watching, for multiple reasons:
- The main plot is about a series of murder mysteries, all overarched by the tensions between the Qian and Qi people as they live side by side in the Qian capital. Like this, there are multiple themes (even more modern and close to us than one might expect) that are brought up along the way: revenge, jealousy, envy, abuse of power, and so on. There was also a good mix of more fun and relaxing moments in between, which helped easing the weight of the plot while never feeling too abrupt at any moment.
- The main characters were chosen very well and I got attached to them easily. The FL is weak and definitely not a fighter, but she compensates this by being very smart and a skilled detective, good at bonding with people and at using the right words at the right moment. The ML, on the other hand, is skilled in martial arts and has supernatural abilities that let him have the upper hand in fights and let him notice details that would go unnoticed to others, but he's not good at dealing with people because of his temper. The two complement each other perfectly and their dynamic is entertaining and endearing at all times.
- The secondary characters are interesting and well written as well, with a special mention for Chi Lan, whom I thought was shining in every scene. They all filled their roles well, I never thought they were useless, nor did I ever think that they were getting too much action compared to the protagonists.
- The well written mysteries and the development of the investigations got me glued to the screen. I'm not one who enjoys detective stories in general, so the fact that I was so invested really caught me by surprise!
- The special effects were great, in particular the fighting scenes were shot beautifully.
- The romance was VERY well paced. Seeing the character development of both Su Jiu'Er and Han Zheng was very satisfying, as well as seeing both of them gradually warming up to each other and care for each other's safety and happiness more and more. They got me all smiley and giddy multiple times.

What I believe ruined the drama in the end was the inclusion of problems that couldn't be resolved in 36 episodes. By episode 34 I realized I had to brace myself for a very rushed and unsatisfying ending. I still have lots of unanswered questions about multiple aspects of the plot, way too many, which makes me feel like I only watched half of the story and not the entire series.
One of the main flaws of the series was the lack of proper rules for the powers of the Qi people, which I was ready to let slide if the ending was good enough, but the two last episodes just made these flaws way more blatant than before.

With a proper ending this drama could have been a gem, but the ending just ruins it. Watch at your own risk.
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