Live in Love – Series Review & Episode Guide

Kla is a talented content creator who earns money by taking on freelance video editing projects. Kla has high standards in relationships, refusing to date anyone unless he feels a real connection. His university friends (Bee, Dol, Gina, Khing, Poon, and Gam) encourage him to be open-minded, but Kla stands firm in his beliefs. He has turned down love confessions bluntly, sometimes coming across as arrogant. His approach has even cost him friendships when they struggle to accept his rejection.

Cake is a first-year student who recently enrolled in Kla's university. He shares a close bond with his younger brother, Tim. Although slightly sheltered, Cake is excited about starting a new school and meeting new people. Cake quickly befriends fellow freshmen (Fah, Jim, Pat, and Phao), forming a tight-knit social circle. He also reaches out to Af, a lonely student who sits by himself, inviting him to join their group. Grateful for the companionship, Af grows attached to Milk.

Cake is close to his neighbours, Poon and Gam, a pair of popular influencers. While they are best friends, their fans eagerly ship PoonGam as a couple. They play up the speculation, using the fantasy to boost their popularity. However, Gam struggles with mixed emotions because he secretly has a crush on Poon. As they continue performing together on livestreams, the line between real feelings and fan service blurs. Meanwhile, Poon remains oblivious to Gam's true feelings.

One day, Poon and Gam host a live stream as usual. Kla, who stops by for a visit, joins them. He plays guitar in the background while Poon and Gam sing for their fans. During the broadcast, they notice their neighbours are watching. On a whim, Poon and Gam invite Cake and Tim to join the stream. A bit shy and nervous about going live, Cake introduces himself to the audience. Kla perks up after seeing how attractive Cake is and experiences love at first sight. After the broadcast, Kla took the initiative to add Cake as a friend on social media.

As Kla and Cake chat online, their conversations often happen during live streams, letting their audience watch their interactions in real time. Fans quickly start shipping them, joking that they're flirting in public. When Poon and Gam notice their connection, they step in as matchmakers. They encourage Kla and Cake to spend more time together. However, not everyone is happy about their bond. Kla's friend Klang, who has a crush on him, feels jealous. Cake's friend Af also sees Kla as a threat, viewing him as a rival for Cake's attention.

Live in Love begins with a confusing first episode. It introduces too many characters and relationships at once, overwhelming the audience. Both leads have large friend groups, and their random conversations add little to the narrative. The disjointed storytelling makes it hard to distinguish between important information and meaningless filler. The plot isn't complex, but the poor execution complicates everything. Live in Love loses my interest because it feels incoherent and difficult to follow.

One of the worst issues with the series is the dull conversations. The dialogue revolves around the most mundane topics. "How's your day?" "Oh, I just cleaned my room and took a shower!" Imagine sitting through hours of meaningless lines like this. The content is painfully tedious and never engages the viewers. It's even worse since the characters are meant to be live-streaming to thousands of fans. Yet, they have nothing interesting to say on camera. Why would anyone want to watch these vapid influencers? I'd shut that broadcast off in five seconds. Yawn!

Kla and Cake are a bland couple. Since the series struggles with writing interesting dialogue, all their exchanges feel dry and shallow. Instead of building a meaningful bond, their connection seems based on a superficial attraction. The relationship begins through live-stream sessions, broadcasting each interaction to an audience. This odd way of flirting makes their romance feel more performative than genuine. The series also has multiple jealous rivals who won't give up after they get rejected. Ugh, these unnecessary love triangles fuel lots of aggravating drama.

The visually appealing series comes with solid production values. The cinematography helps make the scenes more engaging. However, the acting is just average. The cast lacks the charisma needed to elevate the material. Cake's performer (Junior) has a sweet smile, but that alone isn't enough to make him compelling. He brings no personality to Cake beyond being nice and mellow. His co-star (Hearth) plays an arrogant character but lacks the charm to soften his character's edges. The romance feels uninspiring because both leads fail to make their roles memorable.

The first few episodes are dull but harmless as the plot unfolds like every generic university drama. One minor quirk is that the story takes place during the pandemic, so the characters wear masks and use disinfectant. However, it doesn't add much to the narrative and becomes an unnecessary distraction. Things take a sharp turn in Episode 3 after a cyberbullying storyline is introduced. What starts as a minor issue escalates into severe harassment. The light, fluffy campus romance suddenly has a sinister tone, ruining the gentle atmosphere of the series.

This harassment storyline dominates the last few episodes and spirals into an unpleasant turn of events, especially in the finale. The rivals, driven by unrequited love, lash out in disturbing ways. Their appalling behaviour leaves a bad taste and overshadows everything else in the story. To clarify, the leads still treat each other respectfully. They're only guilty of being bland. However, the toxic drama around them makes it difficult to enjoy their romance. Live in Love starts with boring fluff and ends with a problematic plot, resulting in an awful BL series with no redeeming qualities.