People never stop trying to look for opportunities to fall in love. In many ways, it seems to be the singular thing worth living for. There is an argument to be made that there are many kinds of love in this world, and all of them are worth having. There will be no disagreement on that issue, but perhaps romantic love is the most sought-after of them all because it just seems to be the most accessible. We can’t always indulge in our love for travel, food, or exploring without a network of many things being present in our lives. Even friends come with the terms and conditions of having their own lives. But when it comes to a romantic partner, there is an unsaid (and controversial) rule that their person should be a priority, and often, that means that a source of comfort and understanding has been found. These are things that a person never stops needing, no matter what the circumstances, and that is why an anthology like At the Moment makes sense, because nothing is as beautiful as falling in love unconventionally. It makes one feel special, and this is how the first episode goes.
Spoiler Alert
Who all came to the reality show?
Wei Ting is a TV host who has mostly worked in nameless roles on television, and at other times, she gets small gigs through hosting jobs. She hopes to work on the dating reality show so that her work will get more attention. Right before the show, she runs into Chang Yung, who lends her a mask since he has an extra and she forgot hers at home. Perhaps Chang Yung fell in love with her right away. Not everyone stops to listen to a stranger’s conversation when they are already ten paces ahead of them. Also, Chang Yung right away doesn’t look like the kind of guy who would let there be even a single moment of awkwardness if he wasn’t lingering around. Therefore, his stopping for that extra second after giving Wei Ting the mask makes us think that he was looking at her and hoping for more conversation. Inside the room, he hadn’t obliged the TV producer when she had asked to see his face. Most people would have agreed. It is easy to gauge Chang Yung’s personality, and it is clear that he is ‘different’ from the rest.
Before going on the show, Wei Ting breaks up with her boyfriend, Chian Hsu Ching, who is uncomfortable with her going on a dating show. The truth is that he is in Australia, and he had been vying for a breakup but did not want to be the one to do it. When Wei Ting catches that, he also ends the relationship.
In the dating house, Wei Ting, Chan To, Jow, and Yin Yin are the participants. They are supposed to form some chemistry between themselves and find people to date. Chun To has a studio of his own, and Yin Yin is a dancer. Joe works in a bank, and he is one of the few people there who is genuinely looking for love, though he seems uncomfortable with the setting. When the show starts, for a split second, it looks like Yin Yin and Wei Ting may not get along well, but it is just a case of Yin Yin not really having a filter and not of actual hostility. The show builds up Wei Ting and Chun To as a couple, and both of them even go on a date. But Chun To can tell right away that Wei Ting is not interested, and she is just doing it all for the sake of the cameras. Within a few days, there is a wild card contestant, and he is none other than Chang Yung.
Do Chang Yung And Wei Ting Start Dating?
These two are right away attracted to each other, but it was inevitable that there would be some confusion and messy triangles in the making. Yin Yin likes Chang Yung, while Wei Ting has told him that she is not there to fall in love. In fact, because of her stint on the show, Wei Ting has bagged some roles and advanced a step in her career. This situation just makes Chang Yung realize that he may be a little out of his depth here since he has never been able to pretend for the sake of anything. At a time like the pandemic when everyone was scrambling to earn money by any means possible, Chang Yung gave up that job as he did not like teaching through the Internet. That is the level of ‘wearing his heart on his sleeve’ Chang Yung was at.
Wei Ting is also reciprocating his feelings, though she is not able to admit it. When he helps her sing a song on her birthday that she had prepared for her ex-boyfriend, Wei Ting’s feelings get stronger. However, when Yin Yin says that she is going to confess to Chang Yung, Wei Ting is unable to say anything since the cameras are trained on her. But Chang Yung ends up rejecting Yin Yin in front of everyone, and that ends up causing a fissure in the group. It may have been amicably resolved, but the producer of the show wants to build up the ‘bad guy’ image of Chang Yung to get higher ratings. This makes the atmosphere of the show awkward for a while, but towards the end, Chun To proposes to Wei Ting, which is the sweet moment that the show had been aiming for and which would raise Wei Ting’s popularity. That is exactly what Chang Yung was helping her with.
At the end of At the Moment episode 1, as the reality show ends, the five people speak their hearts out and take inspiration from Yin Yin. Wei Ting admits her feelings for Chang Yung, though she disguises them as a confession for Chun To. However, there were no misunderstandings, as everything was understood and spoken about from the beginning. We suppose that Chun To had come to “New Tenants” to help his business, but he wasn’t averse to the idea of love. If it worked out, it was well and good, but there was no disappointment in things not being planned out romantically. Therefore, once the show ends, everyone is on good terms, and Chang Yung and Wei Ting start dating each other. Even Joe has a happy ending when he asks someone for a cup of coffee, as he wants.
Final Thoughts
Initially, the show feels like a justification for other reality shows like Single’s Inferno or any of the plethora of dating reality TV shows out there. But it is a sweet and genuine watch that makes one feel a certain way. This episode would make for a fantastic full-fledged series if developed that way.
