NightTime – Series Review

Night is an ordinary student accidentally caught in the crossfire of a random street gunfight. He injures his arm and must wear a cast, severely affecting his day-to-day life. His attacker is Time, whose friends make him feel guilty about the attack. They explain that Night is a poor orphaned child who can barely support himself. Time's friends encourage him to apologize for the accident.

Time introduces himself to Night and asks for forgiveness. Understandably, Night acts hostile towards the stranger who shot him. He tells his assailant to go away and leave him alone. However, Time is sincere about making up for the gunshot and insists on taking care of him. Time shows up regularly at Night's house, offering motorcycle transport and feeding him food.

Gradually, Night gets used to the presence of this new acquaintance in his life. He even offers Time a key to his house. Time hangs out at Night's house, forming a close friendship with him. Unspoken feelings begin to form between the pair.

I hate writing negative reviews for small indie BL dramas, which use limited resources to tell gay love stories. With that disclaimer in mind, I think NightTime is a weak product and not good enough for this genre. Falling in love with the stranger who shot you is an absurd concept. It's too out there to seem plausible, even for a fictional work. Plus, the lousy writing does nothing to convince me of the impossible romance between a gunman and his victim.

Putting aside the ridiculous premise, Night and Time's relationship develops without sensible logic. First, this random guy shoots you. Then, you give him the keys to your house. And only days afterwards, you finally learn what his name is. I'm sorry, but WTF is this bizarre sequence of events!? How wild is it to invite the guy who almost killed you to your home, and you don't even know who the hell he is! The ridiculous circumstances instantly take me out of the narrative, and I can't take the rest of the story seriously.

The feelings between Night and Time seem too intense based on the little time they spent together. These characters barely know each other. Yet, Night gives away his house keys, strips naked in front of him, and falls in love with a random guy so quickly. Their intimacy doesn't feel organic. It's more like a heavy hand manufactures these contrived moments to pander to a BL audience. NightTime would've benefited from showing more restraint and keeping the relationship down-to-earth. Before you throw in a sexy bathing scene, let's make the leads get acquainted first.

My most outstanding issue with NightTime is its shoddy storytelling. I guess the other aspects are okay. The acting isn't bad, and both leads give acceptable performances. Their chemistry could be persuasive if it was supported by better writing. NightTime's production values are also alright for a noticeably low-budget series. The scenes are filmed simply with a bit of rawness, which feels different and refreshing from the glossy polish in other BL dramas.

NightTime has an odd ending that doesn't match the vibe in the story. I don't mind a sad conclusion, but this one came out of nowhere with nonexistent buildup. The series also wastes time with cliché girlfriend drama in the final episode, which adds nothing to the plot. Overall, NightTime makes many narrative missteps from start to finish. The result is an inauthentic and inadequate romance that doesn't connect with me at all. I want to support these indie BL studios, but you have to deliver a higher quality than mere mediocrity.