Warm on a Cold Night

Cute but nothing special.

Warm on a cold night is a cute and fun historical fantasy drama, that unfortunately leaves me feeling lukewarm. It has a happy ending and is perfect for someone who wants to watch something that doesn't have angst or misunderstandings and is light. It's also perfect for those who want to watch a drama that fully revolves around the main leads, without the drama having millions of side characters.
The drama is an investigation drama that has romance mainly in the 5 last episodes.

STORY:
The story is about two neighbouring kingdoms, Qian and Qi. Qi is a northern kingdom, where people are very different from Qian people. Qi people are shapeshifters that have powers and can live up to 200 years or so. Qi people have "super" hearing, are extremely strong, have a really good sense of smell and can be super fast. Qian is a kingdom where no one has these kind of "magical" powers. Qi and Qian have a peace treaty between them but they need to officially sign it. Qi kingdom needs it, because after getting their "Holy Fire/Ember" stolen, the snow and the cold has started to make their lives hard.

The story revolves around Su Jiuer, a Qian investigator of the investigation bureau. She is righteous and smart, following her father's footsteps. When investigating a murder case in the Qian capital, she interrogates an arrogant Qi man, Han Zheng. She soon realizes that Han Zheng is not a suspect, he is after the murderer too. The murderer is suspected to be a man with three scars on his cheek, Mu Yan, Han Zheng's childhood friend who stole the Ember. When touching Han Zheng's hand, Su Jiuer finds his touch strangely revitalising, almost as curing her strange disease that makes her dizzy and pass out. She wants to stay close to him due to this and quickly suggests that they investigate together. They become partners and they go from case to case, solving murders, meeting new friends and looking for Mu Yan. They slowly fall in love.


SPOILER PART OF THE STORY, MY OPINION:

The plot started of great. This had the ingredients to be a really good fantasy investigation drama, but i think it kinda fell through. In my opinion Su Jiuer wasn't an interesting character and to me it was no surprise that in the investigation bureau she was the ONLY one with intelligence and the only female in the whole bureau. The fact that her only competition in intelligence was our male lead, Han Zheng, didn't come to me as a surprise. Han Zheng is a prince of the Qi kingdom and is expected to become their next king.
While investigating a murder case, they meet the 2nd prince of Qian kingdom, Wen Jun. He was very lacking as a 2nd male lead to me. He had been looking for Su Jiuer for a while, because they met when they were kids and she was the only one kind to him when his mother was dying. He wasn't really all that smart but wanted to tag along to every investigation. He was a great help but mainly because of his influence in the capital. He was an okay character but he was nothing special to me, just a 2nd prince whose only hobbies were writing plays, paintings and running after Jiuer and Han Zheng.

Han Zheng was also a very typical male lead, cold and arrogant at first who warms up to the people around him and falls in love with Su Jiuer. Now, im not saying there's anything bad about being the typical male lead, but i think he was just missing a little bit of spice. The Qi people are shapeshifters, yet we only see a little bit of the shapeshifting. In Warm on a cold night's poster, behind Han Zheng is a wolf. Qi people also howl to each other. Yet we didnt see any wolves or shapeshifting into one. I get it, it must be because this is a low budget drama..

Warm on a cold night started off strong, introducing these characters and the mystery of Mu Yan and the ember. The plot flattened very fast. It was a case after case and i didn't see much development in the plot or in any of the characters. After watching the drama i was really confused how they managed to spent 36 episodes on this plot. From the very start the villain is suspected to be Mu Yan. It was indeed a plot twist to find out that the Crown Prince was Mu Yan. It left me baffled. He had a skin like mask on his face and i never would have guessed he was Mu Yan. It felt like they just decided towards the end that Mu Yan is the crown prince because they didnt have time to properly tie the knots. His reasoning for doing all of this didn't make sense to me at all and he didn't seem like a real villain. Also his fate was left unresolved. Han Zheng and Chi Lan ( their childhood friend, (who clearly has feelings towards Mu Yan as he does towards her) a Qi general, who in the end becomes the new King of the Qi) fight with Mu Yan, when he is trying to kill Su Jiuer because she has the Ember inside of her. Han Zheng nor Chi Lan have the guts or the will to kill Mu Yan, Chi Lan gives him a dangerously fatal blow but he leaves the scene alive. No one knows his fate. So he was left unpunished.

Su Jiuer has the ember inside of her and in the last episode suddenly without telling Han Zheng, she takes the Ember out of her body (with the help of her mother), so they can cure the Qi people affected by a poison that Mu Yan spread. Now.. This felt rushed too. How did she know how to get it out and stuff? There wasn't much time to search about the matter either..
She dies and Han Zheng gives her a lot of his Qi vital energy core. A blue jem on every Qi persons chest that helps them control their powers and keep them alive. When a Qian person ingests it, they see the Qi person in their dreams and can have some Qi powers too. Suddenly we get a time skip to their wedding and in the middle of the ceremony Su Jiuer hears someone calling for help, so they rush to help. Su Jiuer now has the super speed and hearing but Han Zheng doesn't. And that's how the drama ends.
It wasn't a bad drama, but not the best ones i've seen. I'm giving it a solid 7-7,5. It would've been a 8, if the ending was not so rushed and left me with so many questions and plot holes.


ACTING:

Li Yi Tong as Su Jiuer,
I love her. She is so beautiful, has a pleasant voice and is a really nice actress. Her acting never annoys me. She bring out this childish yet mature vibe in all her characters and think she was a really pleasant female lead!

Bi Wen Jun as Han Zheng,
A great choice for the male lead. He brings out a cute and mature vibe as well. A solid male lead.

Honorable mentions for Hei Ru Xian as Chi Lan, who seemed cold but was a warm person deep down. A great pick for this role. and Wang Mao Lei as Godfather of Su Jiuer, Hu Badao. He was the amazing comic relief in this drama and was the scene stealer!

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Fun, watchable story with experienced cast

This is an enjoyable story - not terribly deep, but an overall positive and relaxing break from shows with a lot of angst, toxic characters and breakups. From a romance perspective, it is about a duo from opposing cultures come together to solve cases while slowly developing feelings for one another. It is also about loyalty, friendships - old and new, growth, sacrifice. Quality production. Good chemistry between leads. Solid & experienced cast, from main leads to support roles. The mystery/detective aspect kept me interested in what would happen next. Good comedic element added in the right places.

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What the effity eff!!

Well, I was bored and did not have a show to watch and I found this. Started out slow but picked up pace. This is a murder mystery with a dash of fantasy and a sprinkle of romance and a layer of small comedy if you squint your eyes enough to find it. The story line is not the best or the most captivating but E for effort!
I think this is the first show I have not detested any character as much even the annoying ones, and that is a testament to a show I do not know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. But, that means it's either the script was just below par and the actors themselves did not bring out what the characters should portray...
Had high hopes for the eldest prince not as Muyan(wen ying)and the general (chilan) but that was a bust , I had deduced he was the villain of the show early on which ruined the surprise as it was delivered in a vanilla like manner.
The good thing about the show is the friendship btwn the characters, the chemistry btwn the leads and even the relationship between mother and daughter and godfather and jiuer...
The OST wasn't as memorable but it wasn't bad either...
At least the effects weren't as bad and I finished it unlike song of the moon.. so that is a good thing..
Rewatch value? I can't rewatch it but worth passing the time...
If you want something to pass the time and enjoy a nice steady paced show then this is fine

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NOT TOO DARK AND NOT TOO MELODRAMATIC

The relationship between Li Yi Tong and Bi Wenjun is the show's heartbeat. Their 'cat- and- mouse' banter is genuinely funny, and the slow-burn romance feels earned rather than forced. Unlike many historical dramas, this series builds a distinct fantasy world with racial tensions and supernatural lore that feels fresh. The supporting cast, including the 'Gentle Prince' second lead and Jiu'er's quirky family, creates a warm ensemble feel that makes the investigative scenes more engaging. Beneath the surface, the show touches on themes of racial equity, tolerance, and empathy between the two kingdoms.

However, while some cases are gripping (LIKE THE OPERA SINGER MYSTERY), others drag or rely o convenient 'deus ex machina' solution. Despite being a brilliant detective, Su Jiu'er is occasionally written with clumsy heroine tropes that can feel slightly inconsistent with her professional skills. Towards the final arc, the production value takes a noticeable dip. Certain plot points are rushed, and the CGI for the Qi transformation can be underwhelming. Lastly, I feel like the finale had left several loose regading th wide political conflict and secondary character arcs.

Overall, I felt like it was just lukewarm.

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2 PRINCES & 1 AVERAGE GIRL

An average looking sickly girl landed 2 handsome princes from Qian and Qi tribes, how could they be? By solving mystery of crimes, 1 Prince came to be her assistant and the other Prince interested in writing a scrip by learning her technique in solving mystery, and top of that the 2 Princes wanted to take her as partner for life. It's rather unusual story taking advantage of ridiculous fantasy world, the portrayal of her getting supply of energy was like 'orgasm'. The best character was her God Father; he's loving, accommodating, funny, loyal, protective, and cute. Their relation is best as father/daughter than God Father should be but too bad he's died - here it went the 'fun' character, the only character that worth watching.

Nothing really stood out on any episodes. Nothing memorable in acting (& all female were acting annoying). Lousy costumes. Colorful palace & houses interior/exterior which no particular dynasty representation. Cheap story. None literary mentioned. Seems like a contemporary ancient C-drama.

Liu YuNing sound tract song is always beautiful. I dropped this drama...I want something else better!!

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Cute and Watchable Costume Drama

Costume dramas are my thing. If I see a Chinese costume drama, of course I will give it a go. Mostly, they can't be relied on for acting, cinematography, story, or anything else except costume. There is no way of knowing what a costume drama holds in value until I start watching it. Li Yi Tong annoyed me in "Court Lady" so much so that I held prejudice against watching another drama with her in it.

However, her character here was charming and relatively relatable in its fragility. She was the naive do-gooder archetype, but she wasn't the village idiot, which is what is most important to me.

Anyway, it's a cute story. Nothing unusual. Wish that there wasn't a supernatural aspect to it, as turning into a werewolf is a pretty embarrassing character trait that, let's be honest, wasn't even slightly important for the plot. I found myself getting bored, despite the series being very watchable, which most costume dramas are not.

The ML here... I thought he was going to be a model with no acting skills, but I was wrong. He did a good job with what he was given. Just a bit too good looking to be relatable, in that "characters touch us through their weaknesses" kind of way. He is almost too good looking to be a serious actor (not his fault).

I find it difficult to want the FL and ML to become a couple after the ML brutalises the FL in the first few episodes. I realize it's almost a prerequisite for Chinese dramas, but I hate it. Why does the ML have to strangle, wound, or almost kill the FL at first out of mistrust??!! The FL obviously poses no threat to the ML, yet he must always treat her with suspicion by strangulation, attempted assassination, or duel?!! I don't like it. It's not endearing!!! I can only think of a few C dramas that don't have this trope in them. The SML is always considerate and pleasant to the FL, and the ML brutalises the FL in the beginning, but she still chooses him! Well, it's just a general annoyance I have about tropy C dramas like this one. Make no mistake, this is a tropy drama and this year's version of "The Autumn Ballad".

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The drama started out interesting but gotten stupid and draggy as the story progressed

Warm on a Cold Night, after watching 15 episodes, I can no longer continue. The story started-out interesting and somewhat funny; however, it was unbearable to watch as it progressed. It is draggy, repetitive, and boring. The onscreen chemistry between Li Yi Tong and Bi Wen Jun is not great.

Li Yi Tong is a decent actress, but for some reason, I could not finish dramas where she played an FL in any drama because of the characters she played in those dramas.

This is my 11th drama with her (both as FL and 2nd FL); I first liked her in Blossom in Heart with Deng Lun, and I dropped 50% of her dramas, especially the most recent ones.

The story of Warm on a Cold Night is so stupid, and her character is very annoying because of too much whining.

I am giving it a 4.5 rating.

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Really boring for most of it and a ridiculous ending

36 episodes at approximately 45 minutes each of a total bore fest.

Firstly, I was annoyed with the female lead for most of the show because she was whiny, very annoying and what made it worse was every time general Chilan appeared, she totally stole the scene and I couldn’t get it out of my head that she should’ve been our female lead.

I usually watch these shows in isolation but I had to look her up about 10 episodes in and realised she was a female lead in such shows as ‘skip a beat’ and although I gave it a poor review, I couldn’t deny the star power she brought in that show.

I didn’t like the forced skinship of our fl and ml because she had some weird cold disease. It was a lazy way to create chemistry between our male and female leads rather than an organically grown connection.

The young prince (2ml) following her around like a bad smell got very annoying, very quickly.

I really liked OG crown prince and he seems to have a lot of charisma and star power but was underused as much as general Chilan even though she appeared a lot more in the later episodes.

OG Crown Prince exit to move the plot forward felt flat and empty because he was a strong character and having long lost Qi bro being disguised as him for 10 years felt messy and nonsensical.

The story dragged on and had quite a lot of threads from the in fighting with the Qi people and the political intrigue within the Qian people. Problem is, by the end, none of these were resolved and were in fact, just totally ignored.

The main villain seemed to get away scot-free, which I actually didn’t mind because I didn’t really care about a happy ending for our leads to be honest.

Even the ridiculous ending where she was dead, but he used his Qi power to keep her alive was really flat and disappointing and rushed.

Bit of a shambles in the end. She had all his power and they lived happily ever fighting crime within the inspection bureau.

Easily forgettable.

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Leave it out in the cold

Terrible show on every level. Cookie cutter everything, all the wrong messages. I am not such a huge fan of the genre but some have been amazing and this is not one of them. I was sick of the lead female and for those who say it is not the actors fault it was. She can not act. Male lead am getting tired of. He has done some great work but am not sure why he is lowering himself to do such nonsense. I get that maybe his company is forcing him and he has no say in what they choose for him. That is and would be a shame if that is the case. Do yourself a favor and leave this one out in the cold.

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