dramaclover

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Ending & Thoughts: Secret Door 2023

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a good thriller drama. But I don’t know if I would consider this a good one. There was way too many annoying characters in it.. like very few likeable ones. It got to the point I started rooting for the evil characters cause of how horrible everyone else is. Probably the first TVB drama I’ve watched where there’s so many characters that I hated.

Luna’s mother in law definitely wins in the obnoxious, irritating character department. My goodness I just wanted her to die. Every time she shows up on screen I just wanted to fast forward. Literally you’re like so old already can’t she just chill out? She’s always so rude to Luna and so damn selfish. She played a huge role in Luna becoming evil. This old lady kept pushing too hard and wouldn’t let go of her. Every time Luna takes a step back even if it meant her putting aside her pride and dignity this grandma crushes it and gives no effs about it. This grandma is so convinced she killed her son, well lady if that’s what you think why don’t you SHUT UP? Aren’t you scared she will kill you too? And she tried to and let me tell you it was satisfying I wished she did die though. She actually convinced her son to not give his liver to his own daughter, Ching Ching even if it meant her niece dying. Manipulated her niece into thinking how awful of a Mom she is and tried to take her away. Luna even gave her the insurance money and agreed for all 3 to just live together, yet she wasn’t satisfied. She barely cared for Ching Ching back then and only shows care now cause she knows no one wants to take care of her selfish butt. So when she fell down the stairs, as bad as it sounds I was happy cause this woman is soo crazy like she actually installed a spy cam on Ching Ching jacket like wtf? Anyways I was very disappointed that she survived that fall, yes she is paralyzed and can’t talk anymore but like Ching Ching is still taking care of her and will for the rest of her life. In a twisted way the Grandma got what she wished for. She wanted Luna out of the picture and Ching Ching to always be by her side and well she got it.

One thing that gets me worked up is that Ching Ching, won’t ever really know that the only person who truly loved her is her Mother. She just thinks of her as a criminal who killed her Dad and paralyzed her Grandma. She doesn’t understand the reasoning. Now I get it murder is murder… people should never go down that road unless it’s out of self defence. But Luna did all of that cause she was pushed way over the edge. When she tried to seek psychiatric help and take medicine, the Grandma tried to use it against her to take away Ching Ching. The Dad didn’t want to give her liver to her Ching Ching, which meant her daughter could die while waiting for another donor. He also didn’t show a lot of care and wouldn’t even listen to Luna’s reasoning only saying how he wants to divorce her cause she is a daughter of a thief. But Ching Ching is too young to even realize that those two people caused so much pain to her Mother. So while Ching Ching thinks about the seemingly good memories she has with these 2 people, her Mother was coping with trauma from the harsh verbal abuse she suffered in that household.

Yip Siu Tin, damn his character was evil of the evil. He committed every crime possible. Yet I find his character more likeable then the Mother in law. Solely, because he talks shit and he knows it everyone else tries to play the victim too hard. This guy though always gets away with everything even in the end the police was never able to charge him with anything. Justice did not prevail for him, Luna in one final act decides to take him to the grave with her. And I loved how Luna was the one to do it, she always lived her life scared of him and the idea of becoming him. So for Luna to be the one to end it all was great. I do wish we got some last words from Yip Siu Tin, though he was irredeemable.. he had done way too many bad things and is not capable of being a good person. But I do wonder if for those last final moments of his life, while he watched his own daughter cut both of her wrists and wait for death.. did he wish he could save her? Now, Luna had stabbed him with a needle that temporarily causes him to be unable to move. But he can still see and hear what is happening, we also see him attempt to move his fingers when he saw Luna slowly lay down. So it just makes me think whether if he was able to get up, would he save Luna? Or is he that shit of a person he’d just get up and save himself? Would’ve been nice to hear an inner monologue from him at that moment.

Luna was just overall a tragic character it’s like she never stood a chance at having a happy life. Her father was an abusive alcoholic who traumatized her childhood. She grows up having to hide her identity ends up marrying into a rich household BUT her husband and mother in law treated her like doormat. She was basically a second maid, no one really cared about her feelings. I’m confused why her husband even married her. Her father gets out of jail and looks for her immediately and right away restarts the abuse. Physical abuse from her father, verbal abuse from her husband and Mother in law. Her anxiety is crippling from trying to hide her past. Back then if she had embraced that she is a daughter of a thief things would’ve been so different. One thing for sure she should’ve chosen Zhong Zhi Kiu back then, as they had an understanding for one another. The tragedy of her character doesn’t sit well with me, cause she’s always been treated so badly I really wanted her to have a happy ending.

Yeung Yan Hiu, Roxanne Tong plays her and I noticed she got a lot of hate for her bad acting. But I didn’t see it that way at all, I just think people are so blinded at her annoying character they think it’s her acting. For real you guys are hating on someone cause of a damn character. Yan Hiu was so fudging annoying as well. All she did was follow Luna and especially Zhi Kiu around cause she has biased views that children of incarcerated parents are as evil as them. She would do mindless things to get in their way. And what makes it more annoying is that the one she should be investigating and stalking is Yip Siu Tin himself. Like she knows damn well he’s the criminal and the one who shot her Mother. But no let’s follow Zhi Kiu and Luna around cause she’s related to him like wtf? If Siu Tin was still in jail or dead I’d understand her investigating them but like bro he’s alive and well? How about you take yourself over there and try to find evidence instead? Why are you bothering the side characters when the mastermind that you know yourself is right in front of you?

That’s the thing with this drama, we all know Siu Tin is this undeniable villain the amount of horrible crimes he committed is scary. Yet, they focused more attention on catching others. The biggest example would be Zhi Kiu capturing Siu Tin and basically got him to admit some criminal things.. but even though he plotted this he didn’t record anything. But of course when he does this to Luna, he has a handy dandy recording device. LIKE LMAOOO are you serious??? Siu Tin has done some horrible stuff and has admitted to so many crimes in front of you and others but no one, NO ONE ever decides to film or record anything. Luna, did what she did cause of her deteriorating mental health cause of the effed up abuse she received practically all her life and opened up to you yet you were finally “smart” enough to record? I don’t know man, is it dumb or lazy writing?

The things I did like though was that Zhi Kiu’s Father was not a good man. All his life he believed his Father was forced into this and that he’s not all bad. But then we finally get video proof (which is stupid cause who would have such a clear video of something that happened 30 years ago + who on earth would hold on to this footage for so long only to release it now) that shows his Father pushing the pregnant lady onto the floor contrary to Zhi Kiu remembering it as him trying to “save” the lady. We also get another backstory that his Father is an awful wimp of a man. Only thing he did right was call up his old friend and ask him to take care of his son. It was nice that TVB decided for once to not twist the narrative of “oh he was actually a good man”, like nah he wasn’t a good person and the death was needed.

The ending wasn’t satisfying for me, I felt that it was too rushed and there were some questions left unanswered. Does Yan Hiu and Zhi Kiu end up together? How is Yan Hiu’s Father now? The randomness of Luna’s husband raising his insurance money was not explored… like did he do it out of his own free will? Definitely not a drama I would rewatch but it is the type of drama I won’t forget.

#tvb #tvb drama #Secret Door 2023

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Ending & Thoughts: The Forgotten Day

I was highly looking forward to this drama. I really missed Roger Kwok & Shaun Tam has improved so much. And the theme is a thriller with comedic moments. With a total of 27 episodes which to me was a bad idea.

The Plot

So it’s mainly about Ng Yiu Chong (Roger Kwok) accidentally getting involved with the kidnapping of Ming Yat Yin (Shaun Tam). After Yat Yin is saved by his wife Freeya Yau (Grace Wong) who brought the ransom money & helped him escape he arrived home to his Dad Mung Kwan Sui (David Chiang) and in the span of 24 hours he argues with Freeya which culminates her into leaving & then he develops amnesia. Hence the forgotten day. Interesting storyline but it had too many filler episodes. The biggest plot line would be about what happened to Freeya? Where did she go? Why did she leave? And of course is she even alive? Unfortunately, they dragged it out so long that it got super boring & my patience was running out.

The beginning episodes were fun to watch as Yiu Chong tries so hard to not let Yat Yin know he was also involved with the kidnapping.

From episodes 1-10 it’s been pretty good as they set up the story but episodes 11- 23 were pretty tragic. Tragic as in pointless. We get tidbits of what possibly happened to Freeya but every time we learn something new the main villain Ye Wan Sze (Max Cheung) seemingly spoils it. & we start back at zero. It was honestly frustrating watching every episode cause at that point I only cared about what happened to Freeya. I don’t care about whether Yiu Chong & his ex wife Maya Sze (Zoie Tam) get back together or not (only cause it got draggy). I also don’t care about Yat Yins younger sister Siu Dous (Lisa Lau) random romantic storyline. Or even the pointless character of Nam Hoi Ching (Roxanne Tong). Literally the mystery of Freeya was what kept me going!

The Plot Twist

It really should’ve been 20 episodes, the filler storylines was just too much. It’s a pity cause from episode 24 onwards it gets real thrilling with a lot of plot twists. Episode 24 is when we finally find out that Freeya has indeed been dead the whole time. I was sad. Even though her dying made the most sense. I still secretly wished that maybe she was kidnapped & hidden somewhere. Ye Wan Sze whose literally been sketchy the whole friggin time turned out to be completely innocent of the crime. He was only involved with kidnapping Yat Yin, stealing & entrapping one of the kidnappers. I was actually so shocked that he was innocent. What a great fake out that the writers wrote in. I was so convinced he hid or murdered Freeya. But nope. All those time where the plan towards finding Freeya is spoiled, he just happened to be around.

Now I knew Yat Yin’s Dad is not innocent. Namely, cause he’s always acting weird. As in he doesn’t want to talk about kidnapping. Doesn’t want to go to the police about it. So I thought he was probably behind the kidnapping. But nope he has another ulterior motive. & that was Yat Yin was the one that caused Freeya’s death. It was pretty surprising for me at first. Cause my mind was just racking around it either being Ye Wan Sze, or Yiu Chongs sister Shun Mei (Elvina Kong). Mostly because Yat Yin dreamt him killing Freeya. After that part it spoiled it. That happened in episode 25. There’s still 2 episodes left, so it really spoiled it. The reveal would’ve been better if it had happened at 27. Because after he dreamt it in episode 25 it all made sense. Why his Dad is always persuading him to leave Hong Kong. Him telling Yat Yin to divorce his wife. Why he’s against him investigating in Freeya. But cause he dreamt it so early, what happens afterwards in 26 & 27 was no longer a surprise & we could easily interpret what happened.

And it was correct. He did chase Freeya down demanding for the money back (as he believes she took the money to leave with another man). As he chases her down he accidentally causes Freeya to fall down a dangerous slope hill & she dies. His Dad who followed from behind sees what happens & tries to cover up the crime. So it all became too predictable after that. Despite that it was written really well. I never suspected Yat Yin to be the one. Though he made the most sense since he randomly got amnesia after she went missing. But I was sooo focused on the other red herrings I forgot about him. Bravo. Very well done.

The Characters

Boy. This drama had way to many unnecessary characters. But first things first. TVB DID GRACE WONG SO WRONG. Why the eff did you name her the female lead & put her so high up in the poster when she barely gets 5 episodes of screentime in a 27 episode drama?? I knew this would be a male dominated drama but this was way too extreme. Like why? She appears semi prominently in the first 2-3 episodes and then after that just flashbacks. & most of the flashbacks are just rehash of the scenes we saw in the first couple of episodes! She can’t even be considered a “special guest star” because the amount she appeared was so pathetic. They could’ve literally casted some random newbie actress instead of wasting her time.

Freeya was such a tragic character though. She dearly loves her husband & does everything she can for him. She has thrown tantrums here and there but it was only to get Yat Yin’s attention. I’m so upset that they were convinced that she had an affair with another man & believes she took the money & ran. The fact Yat Yin believed it pisses me off. First of all, if she planned on running away with a man why should she risk her life to pay the ransom & save you? She literally could’ve used that time to take the money and run while everyone else is distracted. Secondly, the money that was taken out for ransom was the money she & Yat Yin saved. If she was selfish she wouldn’t have used that money. Third of all, how can you not tell how much she loved you? After all those years you actually can’t trust your wife at all? Freeya disappeared for 2 months & those 2 months she was painted as a money hungry adulteress. It’s ironic cause in these 2 months Yat Yin ends up having a one night stand with Hoi Ching. So in the end he’s the one that wasn’t faithful. She literally died cause she wanted to protect the only savings left she has with her husband. & the fact it was her own husband that helped cause her death is crushing. Her death was an accident as it was raining & she slipped but if Yat Yin had trusted her & actually listened to her this whole incident wouldn’t have happened. Justice for Freeya please.

The second female lead is played by Roxanne unfortunately she also barely got any screentime. What is with TVB and naming the 2 female leads as female leads when they really aren’t? Hoi Ching was such an unneeded character as well. Since she’s a therapist, I thought she would be the key to unlocking Yat Yin’s lost memories. But nope she didn’t. She wasn’t helpful at all except for the time she suggested to him to hire a private investigator. She was only there as a one sided love interest to Yat Yin. And that random one night stand was so dumb. What was the whole point of that? They don’t end up together & honestly her character sorta just disappeared towards the end & we don’t even know what happened to her. Her crush towards Yat Yin never solidified into anything. And the one night stand just leaves a bitter taste as she knows he isn’t over Freeya so she kinda took advantage of the moment. You can remove her character and it would not effect the storyline at all.

Siu Dou is the true female lead. She got the most screentime with her boring & unnecessary love line with a veterinary doctor. Her storyline never even connected with the main one. Her only connection was just being the sister of Yat Yin. She was only used to fill up the episode quota. The amount of times I’ve banged my head cause I had to sit through watching romance counterpart was deadly. Like it’s nice to see her struggle with her insecurity of being born with a birthmark and all. But I didn’t choose to watch this drama for her love line.

Maya also got way more screentime then the so called female leads. Sadly, her character was also annoying. She’s always just yelling at Yiu Chong. & Yiu Chong is not much better he’s always pestering her to get back together. And not taking no for an answer. I can’t blame her for not wanting to get back together with him since he’s always lying to her & gambled away their savings. And even though I liked them together as a couple the “will they or won’t they” get back together storyline was prolonged for way too long. And the appearance of the doctor who fell for Maya was so cringy. I even thought the doctor had something to do with Freeyas disappearance cause it was just so random how a smart rich doctor, fell for a soon to be divorced lady who has a husband following her around & a son that she shares with said husband. & remember this plot literally takes place within the 2 months Freeya went missing. & by then the doctor wants to PROPOSE?? Man they dated for like one month tops and he wants to propose? THE DIVORCE AINT EVEN FINALIZED YET. I felt icky whenever they show the doctor & Maya together cause it felt way too forced. And the doctor got way more screentime then needed. It took Maya too long to realize that she still wanted to be with Yiu Chong. I liked that they got back together as he only ever loved her & Maya never got over him she just wanted to move on with her life. It would’ve been nicer if they had Yiu Chong finally get a stable job & show Maya that he has changed and then finally get together.

The only female character that made the most sense & actually central to the story was Shun Mei. Cause she’s Ye Wan Sze ex wife & she secretly got back together with him. But her character is dumb too. She’s always getting fooled by him. He was only using her as a cover & for money since she like worships him. Her character is also besties with Freeya. I started suspecting she might be involved with Freeya’s disappearance as well cause she was acting weird. On the night Freeya went missing she was “going around door to door” looking for Ye Wan Sze. She didn’t have an alibi & she was gone for an hour. When she & Yiu Chong find Freeya’s lost bag that had a hidden camera. She wanted to be the one to uncover the footage & she was against Yiu Chong in giving the hidden camera to the police. But I guess all that we’re just things the writers wrote to throw the audiences off or the 3 episodes they cut out would’ve explained more. But she’s completely innocent whose loyal to her brothers despite how dumb she is in love. The siblings love was very endearing to watch. & I really liked how she as the sister was always trying to protect them.

Ye Wan Sze is literally one smart criminal. He outsmarted sooo many people. I have to give it to him he played the villain pretty well. I was also impressed with despite how he’s money hungry he would never turn to murder. Like he’ll do anything illegal but murder. & he semi redeemed himself when he chose not to reveal Yiu Chong as one of the kidnappers. He also helped take the suspicions off of Yiu Chong & Shun Mei by revealing that the cellphone must’ve been planted by Yat Yin’s Dad. I mean he could’ve just said that cellphone was planted by them. It would’ve been easier to just blame solely Yiu Chong & them as they have the motive. I thought his character would be like “since I’m going down, I’m taking you down with me” but I guess he was touched by Shun Mei’s love in the end?

The fatherly love Kwan Sui had with Yat Yin was amazing. The amount of work he put in just to hide the truth because he knew it would crush him. He literally pretended to be Freeya & got rid of evidence so Yat Yin could move on. & when Yat Yin turned against him, he didn’t say a word. He just wanted Yat Yin to be safe & didn’t care about what happened to him. He even took the fall for Freeya’s death, just cause he couldn’t bear for Yat Yin to know & go to jail. Even in the end he told Yiu Chong to take Yat Yin away from Hong Kong cause he doesn’t want him to ever remember what happened that day.

The Ending

I’m glad that in the end nobody died. Well other than Freeya which is so sad as she died trying to keep a bag of money that no longer had money in it. It could be cause I’m so used to people dying in these type of thriller dramas, I kept thinking “omg she’s gonna die next”. But nope I was wrong they all survived. No one ends up going to jail which is a bit unrealistic since Yat Yin’s Dad tried to hide the truth & got rid of evidence. I liked that Yat Yin was announced to not be the cause of Freeya’s death as it was considered accidental. And the cops couldn’t pin Yiu Chong down as one of the kidnappers as no one ratted him out? (I don’t really get it as one of the kidnappers did name him at first but when it got to trial he changed his statement & said he wasn’t involved). Maya realized she still loved Yiu Chong & seemingly gets back together with him. We don’t know what happened with Hoi Ching but my guess is she went separate ways with Yat Yin as he got his memories back & is still not over Freeya. It’s sad Hoi Chings character didn’t amount to anything & they didn’t talk about her at all. In the end she had a sorta relationship with Yat Yin so I’m surprised they didn’t address it at the end. But I also learned it was supposed to be 30 episodes but they cut out the last 3 so I guess in the midst of the editing of it, they decided it wasn’t important to include Hoi Ching in the epilogue. It ends with Yiu Chong & Yat Yin drinking coffee and saying how they will always be friends.

Overall. It’s hard for me to say it was a bad drama or not. It was way too unnecessarily draggy & the fillers were soo annoying to watch. Freeya’s disappearance was dragged out to death. The last couple of episodes were so well done with the plot twist & reveal it was so great to watch. They really should’ve had it be 20 episodes. It would’ve been more action packed and thrilling. I say watch the first 10 episodes then skip to 23 cause you won’t miss out much & still get what happens.

#The Forgotten Day #TVB #TVB Drama

[dramaclover]

TVB KING & QUEEN WINNERS 2020

LMAO. Man my predictions were wrong. Never did I think Sisley Choi would actually win. I thought at most she’d win in Malaysia or get Favourite Character award again. Also I had no idea Vincent Wong would actually win this year again. Nevermind the fact he won the most awards.

Okay, so I know Sisley is getting a lot of hate from Hong Kong locals for her win. First, of all. Don’t blame her, blame management for making such a DUMB move again. They really did not learn from 2017 when she won Favourite Character. I’m always surprised by how much TVB likes her. She’s a rumour magnet (not her fault she just has a very outgoing personality). She technically lied about her education. And the local audiences in general don’t like her compared to past Miss HK winners. BUT. You have to give credit when it’s due & it’s the fact she has made immense improvements in her acting. Unfortunately TVB pushed her way too hard in dramas. People who support Sisley are mostly oversea fans. Who shows high favouritism. I remember how she was the most hated actress that TVB was promoting at the time. I’ve seen arguments like “TVB decided to give it to someone that actually had the best performance this year”. The thing is, I agree Mandy Wong didn’t perform well this year. But if we really give it based on “best performance”. Sisley still shouldn’t have won. She improved a lot in Legal Mavericks 2 & Line Walker 3 but it wasn’t anything impressive. People say she was amazing in LW3 but her screentime was reduced after episode 21. Her character was no longer important. And I mention that cause when Mandy was in that drama people praised her in the beginning especially at the elevator scene. And then everything went downhill for her too. So simply put I feel like they both gave similar performances. If we actually go by who acted the best Mandy Lam was super well liked & praised for her portrayal in Come Home Love: Lo & Behold. I know people found Selena Lee boring in Forensic Heroes 4, but the fact remains in she gave an amazing performance. People said she was able to speak clearly & pronounced forensic jargon smoothly & believable. Ali Lee resonated with audiences in Death By Zero. She was hilarious as Cash and people found her very memorable there. These actresses didn’t have “outstanding” acting this year either but they are lot more deserving then Sisleys role. Despite me liking Legal Mavericks 2, it did poorly ratings wise & it was barely talked about. Getting lots of votes from Mainlanders doesn’t mean much. Those votes can be faked & adding on to the fact LW3 aired in China which gives her an unfair advantage. So really. No Sisley didn’t win cause of her acting. She won due to TVB politics. Even when she received the award she didn’t look shocked or touched. I think it’s cause she knows deep down she shouldn’t be getting this & also cause she knows the amount of hate that is gonna get thrown her way now. People need to understand that Sisley has only been in the industry for 7 years. And in those 7 years she never had it bad. She’s always been leading in dramas or put into grand production. She never had to rough it like Nancy Wu, Tavia Yeung, Kristal Tin or even pageant winners like Myolie Wu etc did. She was given lots of opportunities and won so quick. Hence why she wasn’t emotional when she won. Which is not her fault. She has what it takes to be an actress & I am still looking forward to her future dramas. I just wished TVB didn’t have to be like this and promote her this way. She’s gonna continue to get unnecessary hate from this. And since she only won 7 years in, I can see her winning again for a second time in the near future. She has a long contract left & with the lack of talent at TVB it’s highly plausible. But I know one thing for sure, is when she does win it for the second time it will be deserving.

Vincent Wong has thoroughly confused me. He won so many awards. Best Actor & Best Drama in Malaysia & Hong Kong & Best Partnership. It was so awkward when he thanked Al Cappucino instead of Legal Mavericks 2. I wonder if he got confused or believes he should’ve won for Al Cappucino instead? Either way, I did not see this coming. I really thought Raymond Lam or Lau Dan. Vincent is an amazing actor but to win for Legal Mavericks 2? The same role he won for the first time? It makes it seem like he has no acting range. Since he has left TVB for Shaw, I believed TVB wouldn’t treat him so well still. Bosco Wong & Ron Ng also signed with Shaw and didn’t even get half the treatment he got. He’s also starting to focus more in the Mainland China market. And has vocally expressed it too. Is this TVBs way of guilting him to film more with them? He also did not have the best performance of the year. That would go to Wayne Lai & Moses Chan from Death By Zero. When that aired people were talking non stop about it. Eddie Cheung also killed it as a villian in Of Greeds and Ants. I feel like the winners won only cause they got recent bias from how their dramas are still fresh in their minds. Forensic Heroes 4 though was really badly written got the highest ratings & were not mentioned at all. Death By Zero was of course shafted. I guess TVB didn’t want Wayne to win a 4th time. And Moses doesn’t care about awards anymore so they didn’t bother with him sadly. Vincent works hard and is a good actor but I feel like he shouldn’t have won this year at all. Like I always knew Vincent was gonna win again but I didn’t think it was gonna be so soon. This year for Best Actor & Actress TVB only gave it to those they wanted & not to those who deserved it. I’m still confused on what even happened or what TVB was thinking though. At least Vincent winning won’t be as controversial compared to Sisley but I still feel like it was very unnecessary of them to do.

Side opinions but... SUPER HAPPY Angel Chiang won Most Improved. It’s been soooo long since someone deserving actually won it. Like it got to the point that Most Improved became more of a Miss Hong Kong award judging by how much won it in the past. Angel Chiang has shown major improvements & this award belonged to her. I also thought Winki Lai winning was also nice. Her acting is great & has always worked so hard. Yoyo Chen was also another actress I wouldn’t mind winning. Brian Chu winning isn’t bad but shocked they didn’t give it to Brian Tse or Joey Law since TVB seems to be more interested in promoting them. Also glad Hubert Wu won for the song portion. Hana Kuk keeps winning and it’s gets annoying. Obviously Hana is winning if TVB keeps assigning songs only to her. I feel like Best Partnership should be given to Priscilla Wong, Shiga Lin & Yoyo Chen. When Life After Death was airing everyone was in love with their friendship. It’s also so hard for TVB writers to be able to to write such a great friendship between woman. It’s always about bromance and womance is ignored. Their strong loyal ship between each other was amazing in that drama. And I hate how this drama was also ignored in the awards show. It looks like Sisley Choi winning is gonna go down in history along with Natalie Tong for worst BA winners. Vincent Wong might also go down as the “randomness winner” along with Wayne Lai when he won for the 3rd time in Forensic Heroes 3.

[dramaclover]

TVB King & Queen Speculations 2020

This year has got to be the saddest year yet. There is NO NOISE. Like usually we get like a couple of dramas where we can guess the winner from. This year not really. They can barely hype up any actresses on the female side cause it’s so weak. I feel like it was a dumb mistake on TVB for choosing to not air Shadows of Justice & Chinatown or even Armed Reaction 5. Everyone got nominated this year and the females side is even more saturated. For males there’s a total of 24 nominations while for females there’s only 18. And to make it even more sad 3 of the female nominees is from a sitcom! Mandy Lam is supporting at most in that drama, she’s not even part of the main core family. The fact TVB added in Mandy, & Koni Lui shows how desperate they were. (That doesn’t mean they suck at acting but cause TVB has no plans on promoting them & only added them in to fill the ballots). I don’t even really know where to begin? There isn’t a real popular candidate. I’m only naming the ones that I think might have the chance on winning & ones I like in general.

If we’re gonna talk about popular characters Angel Chiang as Shui Jie is a standout. Willie Wai as Ah Fan was loudly applauded. Samantha Ko was praised as Chong Ming Lai. Brian Tse scared the audience as Parker. Yoyo Chen was really likeable as Sabrina. And I think that’s about it. I really like how it’s mostly supporting actors & actresses that are largely praised. It shows that they outperformed the leading actors & actresses. But out of this batch who will actually walk away with an award?

TVB KING

Raymond Lam. It would be overdue for him to finally win. I’ve always liked his role of Bao Seed fun to get along with & loyal. But his reduced screentime to promote Owen Cheung was a setback for his character. His character also didn’t get real development and his backstory was quite meaningless with a secret son. His character matured for sure but the storyline went nowhere. His son never finds out he is the real father & he basically hates him. His first love passes away & honestly he never got closure for it. He didn’t get to see her last moments before she died. I guess him winning would depend on if he comes to the award show or not. He has the biggest chance winning this year with good acting & a big fan base to vote for him. But also if he wins it would be because he was snubbed before like Mandy Wong. Him winning would be making up for past years where he should’ve won. The media strangely isn’t hyping him up to win this year.

Lau Dan. For his sitcom role in Come Home Love: Lo and Behold. If he were to win it wouldn’t be controversial, so he would be TVBs safe bet in winning. I know I poked fun out of Mandy & Koni for being nominated but it’s different with him. He’s been acting for a way longer time, has a great relationship with TVB & at this point audiences favourite grandpa. Awarding him would be out of gratitude for his loyalty. But performance and character wise he is pretty generic. Will TVB actually award him? I would consider him a dark horse in winning.

Vincent Wong has left TVB and the role he is nominated for is Legal Mavericks 2, which didn’t do well in Hong Kong. Vincent already won for this role back in 2017, so chances of him winning again is low. He should’ve been nominated for his role Al Cappucino. His acting there was more memorable especially the way he portrayed his method acting. I still remember the nervousness I got when he seemingly turned evil. Judging by how he didn’t appear at all in the TVB Anniversary, sort of shows his standing in TVB. At least Nancy Wu was featured in a pre- recorded game but Vincent none. He has the acting chops and honestly doesn’t need another award to prove how good of an actor he is.

Shaun Tam. Brutally Young was an amazing watch and I’m sad that the ratings were average, despite it being such a thrilling show. He was also in Forensic Heroes 4 but he was literally a block of wood there. So I’m glad he wasn’t nominated for that drama. Obviously TVB has huge plans for him to win Best Actor. But it’s not gonna be for this year. He still needs improvement in emoting more and I’m looking forward to his dramas in 2021.

Willie Wai. I already know he isn’t gonna win. But I felt like writing him in this because honestly he was highly praised when The Witness was airing. His acting there was amazing and it was a great portrayal that a lot of people including me are rooting for him to win. But his chances are super low. He was only in this drama cause they couldn’t find someone else to partner with Him Law. I feel like it would be such a huge win if TVB decides to award it to him. But I’d be honestly happy if Raymond or Lau Dan won instead as well. I hope TVB will give him more big roles.

Owen Cheung, I loved his role as Ko Ban in Al Cappucino, so good for TVB for nominating him in that role instead. But he’s still not well liked by audiences (sorta me included). I like Ko Ban but all the other roles he was in like, in Airport Strikers & Line Walker 3, he was either annoying or just not likeable in general. I am more critical on him but mostly cause the way TVB is promoting him bothers me. And I don’t like how he keeps getting “hot guy” roles when he’s not suited for them. Comedy is where he should stay. TVB is heavily promoting him, so are they gonna bite the bullet and award him with Favourite Character award similar to how Sisley Choi won in 2017? But there was a huge backlash so do they really wanna go through that again? Well either way we will be seeing more of him in general.

TVB QUEEN

Katy Kung was hyped up before and during the airing of Death by Zero. But that failed as despite her amazing transformation, the character itself wasn’t that great. And even though she’s considered one of the main leads she didn’t have that much screentime compared to the others. Her character in Hong Kong Love Story is more likeable but unfortunately, though her acting was great. The character itself was nothing special. She might win Best Actress in Malaysia. As she is very popular there and it could be a way of TVB paving the way for her to win in the future. Like with Ali Lee when she won Best Actress as Never Wong at the Starhub Awards in 2017. Some people say she can’t win cause she was nominated in Death By Zero where’s she not the leading lady... I guess these people forgot that Natalie Tong won in 2017 with My Unfair Lady where she played Cherry the designated second lead LOL!

Samantha Ko, is also talked about. She had 4 dramas that aired this year. Her leading dramas were Operation C9 and On-lie Game. I personally don’t think she’s leading in OLG since Hera Chan clearly had more screentime. And obviously that drama was used to promote Hera and she’s just the camouflage. But anyways. Out of the dramas she’s in her most popular role would be Chong Ming Lai from Al Cappucino which she was great in. She was super well liked but unfortunately cause TVB decided to air her dramas back to back people got tired of her. I believe if the last drama that aired was her role in AC there would’ve been a higher chance of her winning. Now people have just forgotten her performance there and only focused on OC9 which was filmed 2 years ago. I think she’s gonna make it into the top 5, but I don’t think she’s gonna win. Her chances also seem slim next year, as she has less dramas and no leading roles. I can only hope TVB continues to promote her as she has potential.

Mandy Wong has the highest chance of winning this year. And she always gives out great performances but I find that recently she’s been losing steam. As in she doesn’t have as much passion as she once did. I don’t know if it’s cause TVB is overworking her but it’s a pity. But honestly all the characters she played this year were so bland. Like she doesn’t have much to work with. And that’s not her fault. She doesn’t pick the roles, they were given to her. I bet 100% if she had played a likeable role people would vote for her to be TVB Queen. But that’s not the case. She’s one of the better actress out of the batches here. Too bad her roles are repetitive and if she wins this year it wouldn’t be considered a hard earned win. It would be more of a makeup award for not winning with Threesome in 2018.

Priscilla Wong. She has made some good improvements in acting since we last saw her. Her crying scenes are better now. And even though her performance in Life and Death was a wonderful surprise. I feel like it’s still not really enough for her to win this year. She still hasn’t portrayed a memorable character yet. Ratman did not do well ratings wise and her screentime was pretty small in Line Walker 3. I wouldn’t mind her winning though as the selection this year is pretty small. And so far no huge competition. And despite what people say TVB has always treated her well. And if she doesn’t win this year it will purely be because she doesn’t have a stand-out character. But if she were to win it would be out of gratitude for the years she stayed at TVB.

Sisley Choi. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Miss Hong Kong make such a vast improvement. I kid you not she was literally one of the most hated actresses at TVB at one point. Her acting was so raw and terrible. She had no voice control and all around bad. I didn’t have high hopes for her. But she proved me wrong. She worked hard, learned to control the tone of her voice. Attended TVB acting class and now she’s building a good fan base. She made a 180 degree turn and I’m proud of her. Ah Dou wasn’t that great of a character in Line Walker 3. So she would have to rely on Legal Mavericks 2 which is unfortunately not doing well ratings wise. I feel like she would be a dark horse in winning. Just like how she won in Favourite Character 2017. But if she does win it will definitely be controversial. Din Jeh for LM2 is likeable but at the same time not popular enough for her to win. There’s a reason why she got such a huge backlash when she won in 2017. Maybe this year will be different?

Selena Lee. At first I didn’t want to put her in the running since she won an award last year & she has left TVB. Her last drama was Forensic Heroes 4 but that aired in February and a lot of people have forgotten about it. Her acting there were largely praised and her character was well liked. She was able to fluently speak medical jargon in both Chinese & English very well. But it wasn’t until she was nominated for the Asian TV Awards that her name got thrown in the mix. So now she has a real chance of winning again. There’s a renewed interest in her and TVB might want to award her so they can stake the claim of her being the first Asian Tv Winner as a TVB actress. (She might not even win there but TVB likes the idea of it) Shes also back at TVB filming Barrack O’Karma 2. Her acting has always been great and I can’t find any negatives about her. I think if she wins she wouldn’t draw as much criticisms compared to the other ones nominated for sure though.

Other Thoughts

I have seen some comments made online about how Mandy and Selena are “passed” their prime and that they don’t deserve to win anymore. That they should “focus” on the new generations cause it’s not “fair” to award the older ones when the younger ones are better. Okay. First of all the younger ones you’re talking about DOES NOT have a representative role yet. At most I guess Sisley Choi for Din Jeh from Legal Mavericks 2 but I don’t count that. She may have won Favourite Actress but it was only due to TVB politics & nothing to do with leaving a memorable impression with the audience. In fact she was heavily criticized for her performance when it was airing. It was controversial for a reason in 2017. Mandy is known for Kwan Yee So from L’escargot & Evie Fong from Threesome. Selena Lee is known for Michelle Chang from Blood and Water & Alex/Coco from Barrack O’Karma. They all have well known works. Kwan Yee So is still talked about today. And Selena literally garnered awards and huge nominations from her works. You’re really gonna compare them to these new actresses that have yet to portray a well known role? Not to mention Sisley and Priscilla has an upper hand in being pushed up by executives. They were given more chances in the sense of being involved in more grand productions and landing leading roles faster. So I think it’s more unfair that you want to shove them aside cause “if they didn’t win then, they shouldn’t win now”. Them not winning TVB Queen yet doesn’t mean they’re not good enough. It just means they had tough competition. Also do they not realize they weren’t given huge opportunities compared to the other batch. Mandy didn’t get a leading role until 2017. She wasn’t promoted right away and actually had to work from supporting up. Selena was always put into low budget dramas. No one imagined that Barrack O’Karma would turn into such a big hit. If TVB had known, heck no would they have given it to Selena. She only got the lead in FH4 cause TVB wanted her to sign a new contract with them after her popularity rose. I also want to point out the hate is towards the females and not the males. Cause for some reason male actors get a free pass in this?

Have they not noticed that TVB has not always given an award based on “performance” of the year? Cause they do it randomly. Do you really think Kenneth Ma deserved to win last year? Natalie Tong in 2017? Joe Ma in 2018? Nancy Wu in 2015? Ali Lee in 2018? Dayo Wong in 2013? These are all examples of them winning not cause of them having the best role but because of gratitude and cause they deserved it for other performances but they’re winning now instead. If Mandy were to win this year it would be because of her previous good performance. And frankly from the actresses list above Mandy and Selena would be the only ones that are actually deserving. They might not have a huge fan base compared to the others but they have given solid performances before. I would also put Priscilla third as she does have higher potential.

I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t write people off just cause you think the newer one deserves it more. Honestly the awards aren’t even as prestigious as it used to be. Everyone is literally taking turns on winning. No one said anything when Kenneth or Joe won despite the fact their role wasn’t anything special. People were literally saying “finally he won” & “it was a long overdue win” & “about time he won”. Yet just the idea of Mandy maybe winning this year has caused people to get pissed cause she didn’t have the best performance? It’s unfair and wrong to be so critical for the female side but not the males. If you’re gonna shit on Mandy for her potential win, you should also be shitting on Raymond or Lau Dan for it too. I don’t mind them winning cause they’re both good actors that just wasn’t given a role that had enough material to garner a huge win this year. But their past performances show they have what it takes. Thankfully these criticisms towards Mandy are mainly from the international audience and not Hong Kong locals. It’s actually outrageous to me how much hate Mandy gets just cause they think Sisley or Priscilla should get it instead. For Mandy if she wins it’s cause it’s rigged, for the male side if Raymond wins it’s long overdue? Why is that same energy not put towards the male side? So haters, if Mandy does win remember to also write about how much you hate [insert male actor name here] for winning too as there wasn’t a huge standout performance from that side either this year. End of rant.

#tvb #tvb drama

[dramaclover]

Ending & Thoughts: Legal Mavericks 2020

Initial Thoughts

When the first drama came out, I was one of the few people that wasn’t obsessed with it. I mean it was good and I like the message but I wasn’t as into it as everyone else. The bromance between Vincent & Owen wasn’t that great of a watch. And the cases weren’t as interesting. So when I went into watching the sequel, I didn’t have much expectations. Also cause sequels tend to not be as good, example Line Walker 3 wasn’t the best sequel. But this sequel proved me wrong. It was waaay more enjoyable then the first one.

Plot & Characters

Hope Man (Vincent Wong) is a blind barrister that works together with Gogo Kuk (Owen Cheung) a former police turned private detective & Deen Jie (Sisley Choi) who is Hopes legal executive. Together they solve various cases and uncover the justice behind it. New cast members included Eva Shaw (Kelly Cheung) a rival barrister, Kan Siu Wang (Pail Chun) Hopes former Master that mentored him. Kwok Lam (Jessica Kan) Hopes new apprentice & Kong Bo Chai (Lesley Chiang) an inspector police were both fun new additions to the cast.

For most direct sequels there are very rare instances where I would like the new cast additions. For example The Exorcists Meter 2.0 I hated all the new additions to the cast. But for this sequel, I like all of them - well most. For some people they believe Bo Chai & Kwok Lam were unnecessary but I find that they were a nice comic relief (with the bickering) and Bo Chai was needed since she was a police they were able to solve more cases with her help. Kwok Lam though she was born rich, she has a strong sense of justice & she would even go against her Father to pursue it. Kan Siu Wang shocked me with how he’s not as evil as you’d think. You would think he would be the ultimate boss that Hope needs to defeat but that’s not it. He likes power and money but he also knows there’s fine line between black & white.

Now, here comes my least favourite character which is Eva Shaw. And I’m sure anyone can guess why. Cause she is a Never Wong (Ali Lee) replacement. When I say replacement, I don’t mean she just takes over the empty spot & becomes the mandatory new love interest. No I mean. She is the new Never Wong. She dresses sexily, basically the same attitude & personality, strong sense of justice, falls deeply in love with Hope only to end up with Gogo. Like really? She’s literally a carbon copy. And I’m so disappointed that they decided to go down this route. They even had her dance in the rain with Hope too. Like can’t you be anymore original? Only difference is she doesn’t die. She’s also more annoying cause she’s always changing her mind. One moment she’s on her masters side but then the next moment she’s on Hopes side. Like can you just give a stable standing and stay loyal? Cause I’m exhausted with you going back & forth. She becomes more likeable as the series goes on but it was hard for me to warm up as she was just too similar to Never.

The Cases

The cases were very fun & interesting to watch. The director also has said that these cases are based on real circumstances and brings in the human side. Which rings true. The case of the “Heart Stealer” & “Fast Food Restaurant Refugee Murder” were both cases that brought a tear to my eye. For the former, it was touching to see how a mother would give up her heart just to ensure her son could live the rest of his life with no worries. The helplessness she felt and also knowing how in real life, cases like that could happen. At times like this the rich would win as they have the time & money. A lot of people think that those that always hang around 24 hours food places are gross & homeless. This case shows to not judge someone by their cover. Everyone has a backstory. The bond these group of people had for each other was eye opening. I was so sad when it showed the flashback of them singing & just enjoying each other’s company. You just feel so bad for them. I don’t want to say too much cause I don’t want to spoil to much of this case. The case of the “Silent Witness” & “Beyond Man and Woman” had good plot twists that I did not see coming. On the cover it sounded like boring cases but the background story to it ended up being surprising to watch.

The Romance

A lot of people didn’t like how in the sequel Hope & Yanice Tai (Tracy Chu) relationship became a central storyline despite Yanice passing away in the first. I personally actually liked it & didn’t find it draggy. It could be because I love Tracy as an actress. It could be because I find Hope & Yanice to be an amazing couple with a tragic love story. In this case I just find their story unfinished. As in, I never truly understood why Hope would give up Yanice. He could’ve went with Yanice instead of staying behind in Hong Kong. They’ve been through so much only for him to give it up, it always left a sour taste in my mouth. In this sequel we see him deal with the guilt & anguish to finally letting go and moving on. It also intercepted with another case so it was not random. I thought it was a nice touch for the writers to write in about her developing a tumour in her brain. Because from that she decided to pre- record a message to Hope. So we get to hear her last words & get a final wrap up in the story.

Hope & Deen Jie is odd to me. Like I’m aware that Deen Jie has a crush on him. But in this sequel she was possessive that it was uncomfortable in some parts. Hope has shown over & over again that he has no interest. Yet she’s still stuck on him. Towards the end they have a fall out because she thought Hope had heartlessly kicked her out of his firm & withheld her Fathers illness from her. She finds out later on it was cause of her Fathers order that he did that but she was still bitter. In the end she admits she was angry not cause of her Father but because she had believed he had fallen for Eva. So she was bitter out of jealousy. This part bothered me to no end. They are not dating. She knows he doesn’t like her. He never led her on, from day one he has said he only has Yanice & that he couldn’t move on. So I guess the idea that he has fallen in love again but not with her triggered her pettiness. It got to the point where she battled him in court with her helping a scumbag rapist just to spite him. Like girl, what happened to helping the helpless & doing what’s right? You threw that away for a guy? Like in the end she does the right thing but that was annoying. I would’ve enjoyed the development of Hope & Deen Jie’s love story if they hadn’t made her so petty and possessive. So for me, no I don’t like them together as a couple but enjoyed them more as friends. If anything I thought if Hope couldn’t end up with Yanice, Eva would’ve been nice. But they did a bait & switch. In the beginning they heavily made it seem that Hope would end up with Eva while Deen Jie would end up with Gogo. That was a weird but interesting twist though. I haven’t seen another drama where they would change up the love interest like that.

Gogo has always been a very casual guy so for him to end up with Eva was also odd to me. Eva has a glamorous, mature feel so I don’t find them a matching couple. But opposites attract in this case. I also thought they had no chemistry whatsoever. Eva was never interested in Gogo dispite him always flirting. She only liked Hope, it just looks like she settled for him out of the blue. I actually prefer Gogo with Bo Chai instead. They had better chemistry and he abruptly ended the relationship with Bo Chai that made her never get over him. I hated how he used her love for him to do things as a cop she shouldn’t be doing. They were engaged and he dumped her over the phone while she was trying on wedding dresses. He never ever sincerely apologized for that & he got over her so quickly. So I guess it’s good they didn’t end up together, he doesn’t deserve a good person like her. Bo Chai also never got real closure from it & her character sorta disappears towards the last episode. Gogo was also in a relationship with Never until it ended with her dying. So for him to end up with Eva whose a replica of Never just irks me.

The Good

I throughly loved Paul’s betrayal. And I also liked how instead of making him a full out villain they made him a man that knows a line that should not be crossed. He has helped bad people but in the end he was able to see the difference between good & bad. He sent one of the innocent accused to jail but he was also the one that ultimately set him free. He stole Deen Jie away from Hope but only cause he saw potential in her & knew she had way it takes to be a good barrister. He set up Deen Jie to battle with Hope not to spite him but because he knew doing this would help Deen Jie. So it’s like ultimately he’s not as bad as they portrayed him. In the end Hope even calls him Master again. I thought in the end there would be a huge showdown between Hope and him with the latter ending up in jail or something. So it was great spin to have him coming out as a semi- hero (for helping them patch things up between Hope & Deen Jie). It was unpredictable and enjoyable to see this instead.

The sequel is more case driven and I’m glad cause that’s what it made it more interesting. The first one focused more on Hopes journey to finding himself & rebuilding his relationship with his Father that left him when he turned blind (which I understand). Also talked more about friendship and focused solely on one evil villain. So the first one fell flat for me.

The Bad

I didn’t like how Hope was always in court battling the same people it’s either Eva, his Master and then Walter Wah (Hugo Wong) who is the same character from the first drama. I guess that’s TVBs way of staying in a budget instead of hiring new people to play different barristers.

It was disappointing to see Deen Jie fix her buck tooth & change her appearance so drastically. What I liked about her is how she didn’t care about the way she looked and that the heart is what matters. In the first drama Never had asked her why she doesn’t fix her teeth since she has the money. And she said she didn’t find it necessary & the inside is more important than her appearance. So for her to change the way she looked for Hope was just sighhh. But I guess the writers want the main couple to “look good”. I wonder if they always had Deen Jie become the main love interest in mind when they wrote the first one.

I also did not like how they had a cliffhanger ending. It ends with Deen Jie getting stabbed in the neck & in a coma. And of course Hope slowly coming into terms that he has fallen for Deen Jie. They did it cause they are potentially writing another sequel in collaboration with China. But with Vincent leaving TVB & the lacklustre ratings, I don’t know if it’s gonna happen anymore. But seeing how things turn out Deen Jie will probably end up with amnesia or something cause their love line will not run so smoothly. But if a sequel doesn’t happen, I can just pretend that ending did not happen and that Deen Jie is back working at his firm together solving crimes.

Final Thoughts

Everyone was great but I didn’t find any standouts. Vincent reprisal as a blind barrister is still amazing but I don’t see TVB awarding him Best Actor for the same role twice. Also he didn’t show up to the TVB Anniversary Gala which sorta shows his standing with TVB. Sisley improved for sure but I wouldn’t say she’s Best Actress material yet, it was nice to see her become the antagonist though. Kelly was nice & stable as usual. And Owen Cheung just stayed the same, nothing new was brought to the table at all. And weird enough the bromance between Hope & Gogo wasn’t as fun to watch compared to Al Cappucinos Cheung Sai Lung & Ko Ban. Here they just seemed like good friends instead of “brothers”.

I see a lot of comments about Sisley being a huge standout. And I agree with how much she has improved but I still think she still has a lot to learn. I admit her turn as the antagonist was interesting to watch but it wasn’t as great as they say. She isn’t loud acting anymore that’s for sure. But at the same time TVB is running out of actresses so I wouldn’t mind her winning so quickly.

It was lovely to see Tracy come back in a voice role. The directors had invited her back to film but she rejected the role. I wished she had accepted as it could’ve been her goodbye role since it seems she has no interest in continuing acting. She’s only doing ads & photo shoots as she slowly transitions to becoming a full time lawyer. I wouldn’t say a pity as though she’s a talented actress, becoming a lawyer is more stable. And she got married with her childhood sweetheart. I’m so happy for her but also sad as I will miss her acting. But I can always re-watch Over Run Over.

This was a better sequel then I have seen in years. Line Walker 3: Bull Fight just wasn’t as great compared to this. The Exorcists Meter 2.0 was also a downer. The plot twists in the cases and heartfelt stories made the drama all the more memorable. It’s turning out to be a great year for TVB drama watchers like me. Death by Zero, Brutally Young, Al Cappucino were standouts this year. While this drama, Line Walker 3 & The Witness do not fall far behind.

Side note: but what’s with the characters name? They’re all so strange. Man San Hap full English name Hope Man. I know it’s a play on for justice hero but dang it’s cringy. Then theres Santiago Kuk nicknamed Gogo. Like for real whyyyy. I hate that so much. “Hey Gogo hows it going”. “Gogo, I love you” blergh. Then Never Wong. Are you kidding me? She’s a court judge who chose Never as her nickname? Cherry was fine!! I guess it’s play on for “never wrong” well in this case you were wrong for thinking Never was a good name choice! And they don’t even pronounce the “r” in Never. They say it like “Neva” and it bothers me for no reason. TVB English names tend to always be questionable and I don’t care if they try to play it off as a nickname (Flashbacks to Laughing Gor, Muse, Bingo, Saving, Cash, Fever that’s only to name a few) but this is the first drama where it has this many.

#tvb #tvb drama

[dramaclover]

Ending & Thoughts: The Witness

I was pretty excited for this drama. And you might think I’m crazy since a lot of people thought airing this drama is a waste of a slot. And I get it they could’ve aired bigger dramas. Chances are TVB only aired it so Him Law could get a Best Actor Nomination which they need to fill out the quota for it. Or else it’s gonna end up being saturated with supporting actors from Come Home Love again like last year. But the premise of it is interesting! Instead of a Prince Charming protecting the gorgeous female witness (like all witness protection type dramas). We get a down on the luck rookie cop protecting a straight forward OCD guy. It’s a cute twist to it and the start of bromance.

Plot

Ah Kei (Him Law) saves Ah Fan (Willie Wai) after he witnesses a murder. Ah Fan is placed in witness protection program but because of his strange personality that makes it hard to trust others he wouldn’t allow anyone but Ah Kei who saved his life to protect him. Ah Kei ends up living with Ah Fan to protect him. That’s how he gets entangled with Chris (Kelly Cheung) and end up falling in love. Ah Kei’s older sister Miss Ko (Pinky Cheung) gets involved by falling for Ah Fan. The main case of this drama is finding Ah Fans missing memories from years ago which is also connected with Ah Kei’s fathers death.

The drama is fun to watch. The acting was great from everyone. Kelly is still a bit stiff and has a slight accent but she was still super enjoyable to watch. But the storyline started to falter a bit. It got plagued with annoying side characters and the main leads themselves are dumbed down when the story started focusing more on the mystery behind the fathers death.

- Annoying character #1 belongs to Kam Chi Sing (King Lam). I know every drama there has to be a rival. But boy, he’s just so annoying. All he cared about was getting a promotion. And always arguing with Ah Kei cause he’s such a proud guy that he’s always undermining him. Always getting in the way for Ah Kei to solve cases and he would bring up Ah Kei’s dead father just to rile him up. I’m so glad that even his followers under him stopped listening to him. That was such a good moment for him to realize everyone is tired of his shit and moved on from him. He was despicable from beginning to end. There was no redemption from him. His smirk is downright cocky.

- Annoying character #2 goes to Ah Kei’s ex-girlfriend Yuki (Sammi Cheung). She’s always spending her time shopping which is how she always racks up her credit card debt. In which she decides to borrow money to pay it off. It causes loan sharks to chase after her & always needing Ah Kei’s help to solve it. Her character is infuriating. She lives with Ah Kei rent free, eats for free & has been with him for 10 years. Yet she goes and cheats on him. And when she gets caught she makes up a lie to get him to believe her. In the end when Ah Kei finds out the truth she blames him. WTH. She blames him for not caring about her enough & how she doesn’t defend her when her sister calls her out on things. Nevermind the fact that he’s always running around scraping for money to pay off your debt. Nevermind how he’s always treated you well despite your spending habits. It’s HIS FAULT that she ended up cheating. It’s disturbing that while she’s cheating she’s finding all these ways to hide it while still living with him. And when she witnessed something that could save Ah Fan from wrongly getting arrested she chooses to ignore it so she can continue her affair. Ugh. I hate cheaters especially ones that feign innocent and blames the other partner. Like own up to your wrong doings.

- Annoying character #3 is given to Yip Cheung Lok (Lau Kong). He’s always flip flopping on his emotions. Years ago he finds out his son Gordon (Tsui Wing) was involved with a kidnapping- murder case. He decides to protect him by sending him to America. And years later when he finds out his son has done more horrible things like committing more murders. At first he’s like “I’m gonna call the cops, you’re going to jail” and then the next minute he shuts his mouth to protect his son. He’s always apologizing and trying to “fix” things which just made things worse. Instead of leaving Chun Po (Helen Ma) alone he instead tricks her to live with them. This is the reason why she died cause she kept spouting details about what happened in the past to Gordon. When he realized all the wrong doings of his son. He does nothing to stop it. I get it he’s sick in bed. But he was able to leave and walk. His son isn’t watching him 24/7. He could have easily picked up the phone and call Ah Fan to warn him about Gordon. He didn’t even have to call the cops to get Gordon arrested. The bare minimum for him to do would be at least try to stop Gordon from taking over Ah Fans fathers company. But he did nothing. In the end he died because his own son attacked him & basically left him to die. Sad but fitting end for him considering he’s the one that let his son spiral this out of control. Gordon committing the first crime could be a mistake, but committing a second and third? That’s no longer a mistake but a choice.

The Love Triangle

Pretty annoying. Chris and Ah Kei has cute chemistry. And I really like how it developed they saw each other in a different light. I was disappointed that they dragged out the triangle though. Ah Kei bothered me with how he handled Yuki. I understand that you dated Yuki for 10 years so it’s hard for him to just abandon her. But really? Letting Yuki live with you while dating Chris? Anyone would be pissed. Chris has the right to get mad. Yuki & Ah Kei didn’t have a amicable breakup she cheated and threw a fit about how she’s right and he’s wrong. The next time they saw each other she slaps Ah Kei believing he assaulted her new boyfriend. Yuki girl. You dated Ah Kei for 10 years and you’d rather believe your new boy toy then the guy that stood by you all these years? This is an example of why Ah Kei doesn’t need to go that far to help Yuki. Ah Kei is so oblivious to how Yuki is trying to break apart his relationship with Chris. She sabotaged almost all their dates. I thought Yuki would redeem herself wholly once she realized how much Ah Kei loved Chris but instead she runs to find a Chris & demands her to leave him and stop stringing him along. Then they try to redeem Yuki by having her do the bare minimum to help Chris find Ah Kei. In the end they become good friends which I find unnecessary. I rather have it end with them bumping into each other & wishing each other well. Yuki has made one too many mistakes to earn the right to stay in their lives.

The Randomness

Apart from the annoying characters & love triangle. The character development of Ah Fan went downhill. Ah Fan goes through three amnesiac phases. And the first two involved him forgetting what happened during specific time periods. The third one, he forgets his sister and his friends including Ah Kei & Miss Ko. Now at first it was endearing of him trying to re-learn his past but then it turns awful when he gets used by Gordon. Which I don’t understand. Miss Ko lies to him about her being his fiancé & his sister went along with it. This gets him mad that they lied to him & he goes to live with Gordon. He wouldn’t even listen to their explanations. When Chris tells him that he never dated Gordon he refused to believe her & thought she was playing Gordon with Ah Kei. It was very hard to watch from here on. Seeing him turned into someone different. By that I meant he was no longer the smart thinker he once was. No matter what happens Chris is your sister. Your only blood relative left & yet he chooses to believe Gordon? Ignoring the fact he no longer cares or trusts Chris. He should at least sympathize the fact that this company that he chose to sign over to Gordon was the last of his fathers hardwork. Even if Ah Fan doesn’t want to be involved with the company, he could’ve passed it on to Chris his blood sister. And I’m just so confused and find it random. Before he lost his memories he doted and loved his sister, always wanting to protect her. He even moved out of their house to live with Ah Kei to protect his sister from getting hurt. They had a tight bond. Even if he loses his memories wouldn’t the familiar feeling stay? The way he tells Chris that he chooses to trust & picks Gordon over her was so heartbreaking. I refuse to believe Ah Fan would ever do that memory loss or not. Also Ah Fan is incredibly smart. He’s able to recognize smells, footsteps and even sound of voices. He’s also able to tell if someone is lying at times. You want me to believe all this time he stayed with Gordon he didn’t find anything suspicious with Gordon & his father? He lost his memory, not his brain. Gordon literally hasn’t even done anything ground breaking for Ah Fan to trust him so deeply. I was also convinced that Ah Fan was faking amnesia to get close to Gordon to build a case on him. But turns out he was just dumb & easily fooled. Even at the very end it caused him getting his memory back for him to finally realize Gordon is evil. Ah Fan went way out of character after the amnesia.

Final Thoughts

I don’t know how I feel about whether or not I’d re-watch. The beginning and middle was fun and hilarious. I think it would be better if you watch it solely for the comedic side that involved friendship, sibling bond & relationships. If you want to watch it for the crime aspect you’d be disappointed. As for this drama they dumbed down the heroes to drag on the cases to fit the 20 episode quota. They could’ve written more cases instead of dragging the three cases but I guess the writer got lazy. The writer chose to prolong it instead of writing a fresh case. The final case involving the mystery of the parents death was dragged on way too long. Ah Kei didn’t even realize Gordon killed them until the very end. He just believed Gordon is involved but not the mastermind. Also I’m shocked that Gordon would end up being such a hardcore villian. In the beginning he was just another spoiled rich boy. I always thought he made mistakes because he was pampered & wanted more money. The fact Gordon killed years ago and went on to kill more people & even offed his own father was something I didn’t expect happening. Especially since this is supposed to be considered a light comedic cop drama, I never thought it would go as far as family killing. I also hoped that there would be more bromance between Ah Kei & Ah Fan. I was sorely disappointed that their interactions afterwards just involved him pressuring Ah Fan to regain his memory instead of an actual friend bonding LOL. All in all it was a good watch. Willie Wai gave an impressive & eye catching portrayal. Honestly if we’re talking about TV King, Willie should win. He has always been a solid actor & his performance was great and he recieved a lot of praises. He didn’t come off as annoying with his OCD & strange personality. Despite his character going off the walls in the later episodes he still acted very well. Unfortunately the drama got sub par ratings so him winning is very unlikely. Also along with the fact TVB has no plans on promoting him. (He only got this role cause TVB literally ran out of older actors). But my vote goes to Willie to win nonetheless. I guess I’d probably re-watch the beginning again and just skip the unnecessary amnesia arc.

#tvb #tvb drama

[dramaclover]

Ending & Thoughts: Line Walker: Bull Fight

This is my most highly anticipated drama of the year. I’ve always loved the Line Walker series and Raymond Lam returning was just the cherry on top. It wasn’t bad but something was just missing. Line Walker is known for polices going undercover to solve cases. And one of the most prominent aspect was “figuring” out who is the hidden undercover. This aspect was missing in this sequel. I understand it in a way cause how many series can you make focusing on finding a UC? But the mystery of it was what made it fun. So I thought alternatively they could focus the mystery on finding who is the “black” cop. They didn’t do that either though. This is probably gonna turn into a very long post.

The Characters

In this sequel we see the return of Bao Seed (Raymond Lam), Cheuk Sir (Michael Miu), Tin Tong (Benjamin Yuen), Shuk Mui (Priscilla Wong), Foon Hei (Benz Hui), and guest appearances from Sin Ching (Elena King), Yuk Huen (Shiga Lin) & Wing Cheung (Tony Hung). And then there’s the new cast joining this sequel in Madam G (Mandy Wong), Lam Lam (Serene Lim), Ah Dou (Sisley Choi), Ho Yeung (Owen Cheung) and of course Ngai Tak Lai (Kenneth Ma). Wow this is a huge star- studded cast and I didn’t even include the numerous special guest stars that appeared in this series. It’s an attractive cast for sure but due to it being such a huge cast a lot of characters ended up getting sidelined.

Foon Hei was a huge character in the first and second, but for this one he was just there. He helped Cheuk sir and the others to solve cases but he doesn’t offer much other than that. The only thing that would’ve made him interesting is if we saw the return of Lok Siu (Pakho Chau), who he saved in the prequel. Unfortunately we don’t find out what happens to him in this version. I’m hoping that the TVB version that airs on tv will show him cause until then it’s up to our imagination.

Another pointless character was Ah Dou. Which is such a pity cause she was soo exciting to watch in the beginning. From episodes 1-10 she was interesting but after that it just went bad. It started focusing on her going undercover and falling for Ho Yeung one of the triad leaders. Boy, that was sooooo boring. It was love at first sight for him while Ah Dou just fell in love with gentleness I guess? After that it was just Ah Dou moping cause she feels extreme guilt & wants to quit. And goodness that bothered me so much. Cause love was all it took for her to want to stop pursuing justice that she wanted when she first joined the police force. After that she was mostly in the background. She didn’t help solve anymore cases and just talked when spoken to. At the end she helped find a chip that incriminated Tak Lei but even then he got away with it. I have no idea why the writers didn’t do more with her character. She wasn’t even there for the final villian gun shooting show down. Her potential was literally wasted in this. Also off topic, but she’s always wearing short-shorts in this series whether undercover or not and that’s how she dresses. I have no problem but yet when Rachel Koo from Al Cappucino dresses formally everyone disses her saying how she shouldn’t be dressing like that cause she’s a cop. Yet here Ah Dou is always dressed in that and no one says anything? I guess when you hate someone, you’ll also hate them over the dumbest thing.

Ho Yeung is literally a supporting character yet he managed to get more screentime then Bao Seed and Tin Tong. WTH?? Another unfair tactic used by TVB to promote Owen. Now this character isn’t bad but he’s pretty bland. And I’m not gonna lie, when he found out that Ah Dou was actually a UC and he had a standoff with her. That scene was pretty touching, he was so hurt but at the same time he couldn’t hurt her. It felt sad but too bad I just wasn’t invested in their love story. His performance here wasn’t that special. He was just mono-toned the entire time- so I don’t get where the praises is coming from? He was waaaay better in Al Cappuccino.

Tin Tong. One word WHY?? What happened to you? I loved you in the prequel. You were that comic relief playboy. You were hilarious and full on flirtatious. But in this sequel you were way too bland and wooden. I don’t even get what happened. This was a horrible character development. And before you say “he was only flirty cause he was undercover”. That ain’t true when he met up with Cheuk Sir and the rest he would show his true form and there he was still playful! Also there were flashbacks from before he went undercover and he was suuuper serious there too. So he went from serious to playful to back to serious. And it’s a pity cause Benjamin only excels in fun roles and becomes wooden with other ones.

Madam G was a failure. And even more of a disappointment then Ah Dou. She starts off amazing too! A cop with a great sense of justice, and quick witted. Yet, the writers messed up her character as well. Her character is literally a rehash of Madam Yuen from Brutally Young. Where she gets used by people around her and her being so dumb to not figure it out. It’s worse here because once she realized her sister is evil, she does nothing. She leaves the police force and huddles herself alone. While more crimes are committed, & more people are dying. She criticized Cheuk sir so hard when he betrayed the force to save his wife. Yet she’s doing the same thing with her sister but worse cause she chooses to keep this information to herself. If she had revealed what she knew, more people could’ve been saved & honestly her sister could’ve survived too. In the end the only reason she got evidence to arrest Tak Lei is because HE CHOSE to let her go or else she would’ve been dead. Another waste of a potential smart character. Another bland performance by Mandy but it could also be because the character faltered in the end.

Ngai Tak Lei, why are you so indecisive? You’re like evil and then you’re not. You’re just like going back and forth before going fully on evil mastermind. It took him way to long to even begin to avenge his brothers death. Kenneths protrayal was pretty bad and uninteresting. I was never scared of his character in the show. When I watched Death By Zero I was literally terrified of Brian Tse. To be a good villain you would have to be able to invoke fear from the audience. I never felt that way with this character. He was just annoying but at the same time he was only annoying cause the other characters were too slow to realize how evil he is.

The Plot

Episodes 1 - 10 were AMAZING. This arc featured selling organs in the black market. And wow it was great. Bao Seed became a handler for Chu Sin (Mayanne Mak) and worked together to find the mastermind behind this trade. In the process Chu Sin dies while saving someone else. Bao Seed is overcome with extreme guilt as she died under his watch. The sadness I felt was no joke. Chu Sin only appeared in the first episode and dies yet I felt such huge anguish & pain when she died. She died a hero and when Bao Seed avenged her death it was done with great justice. Along with this arc Cheuk Sir opens a coffee shop with his wife Sin Ching but she is later diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. Cheuk sir in order to save his wife betrays the police in order to get a liver transplant for her. Unfortunately after going through all that Sin Ching passes away anyways. It was so touching to see them go on one last date together, and they danced together and then she finally passes away in his arms. I was almost in tears cause they went through so much together. I just wanted them to be happy. The flashbacks and the songs they played were perfectly in sync. And then that’s it. After this amazing black market arc it goes downhill.

From episodes 11- 20 it focused heavily on Ah Dou & Ho Yeungs love story. It got to the point that we barely saw Bao Seed, Madam G and well basically any other characters. All the other characters were like just in the background going through the motions. It was so slow paced and boring. I kid you not, you can watch episode 10 & 11 then skip to episode 20 and you would still get what’s going on. That’s how uninteresting and useless those episodes were. And even now I still don’t get the point of this arc. It was about them duking it out to become the top official leader of the triad. Yet I was not invested at all. The sad part is even after Ho Yeung gets arrested and was no longer part of the main story, it was still boring.

Episodes 21- 30 focused more on flashback scenes of two undercover cops that died in the prequel. Along with Bao Seeds secret son that they focused way too much on. With a side story of Shuk Mui and Tin Tong finally getting together. These episodes here were pretty much all over the place. The flashback scenes were not needed at all & I’m pretty sure it was only there cause TVB really wanted to give Shiga & Tony more screentime. I would rather have TVB write a different prequel with them starring in it, then to see them act as filler in this drama. And seriously Tin Tong ends up having 2 girlfriends that worked undercover dead? It’s like he’s cursed. The writers could’ve done so much more with Bao Seed but writing in a secret son is just lazy writing. It didn’t help advance the plot & in the end his son still doesn’t even know that he’s the real Dad. I thought it would end with his sons fake father (whose also a cop) turns evil and uses the son against Bao Seed. But that does not happen so it just ended up being more filler than anything. One thing I did really like is how they written the relationship between Bao Seed and Lam Lam. It wasn’t romantic and never got romantic as Bao Seed still loves Ah Deng (Charmaine Sheh) and Lam Lam only had a one sided crush. But I really appreciate the “platonic -esq” of it. It didn’t turn into anything more but I really liked how they have an understanding of one another. Lam Lam knows he won’t love her but is so kind and still willing to help him instead of being bitter & jealous! I also liked the mentorship that developed between Bao Seed and Ah Dou. I’d rather have them write more about that then the stupid love line she got instead.

The story started to pick up in episodes 31 - till the end. But it really aggravated me that no one suspected Tak Lei as the mastermind. It would’ve been interesting to see someone go undercover to capture him but that didn’t happen. I thought Cheuk sir would realize it quicker. He already knew about him orchestrating to have someone stab Wai Kit (Tak Lei supposed Father). So I thought Cheuk sir would look into him more. Cause wouldn’t he find it weird he was willing to kill his own “father”? Madam G is literally his girlfriend at this point and was able to suspect her own sister but not him? Are you serious? It just seemed like everyone was blind to his actions. I still don’t get why Madam Gs sister didn’t expose Tak Lei as evil. Like why is she helping him? I don’t understand? Was she evil all along? But if she was, why did she plan to expose him but then chose against it when he decided to not kill her? Was she touched cause he did love his sister? I just don’t understand. Bao Seed is a sharp character he should’ve been able to find out sooner. The writing just got sloppy with this part. The ending was nice, justice was served. Madam G is confined to a wheelchair which I’m glad cause she literally indirectly caused a lot of the unnecessary deaths and drama. Cheuk sir is reinstated as a police. Bao Seed decides to go look for Ah Deng. And ends in a good old fashioned cliffhanger. This one I can get behind as most of the main points were resolved.

The Surprise Ending

Tak Lei is killed by another mysterious figure played by Michael Tse. That’s a nice surprise! A pity that he isn’t reprising his role of Laughing Gor though. Madman (Joseph Zheng) who we thought died earlier turns out to be alive and held captive by another mysterious figure portrayed by Philip Keung. This was also a nice touch! Especially when it was revealed that Madman is not who he says he is. I would definitely watch a fourth sequel. Madman was on the way to becoming my favourite character but he had so little screentime I couldn’t really write much about him. He’s a good fighter, smart and he’s able to adapt in situations. So I was pretty sad when he died. But good thing that was not the case. I wonder how they’re gonna write how he survived though in the sequel. One part that annoyed me is that after this whole drama we still don’t know what happened to Ah Deng. They strung us along with saying “she died” to “oh she didn’t die” to having her go MIA. I get why though, TVB wants to leave it open ended should Charmaine ever choose to reprise her iconic role.

My Prediction for the Sequel

If there is one, I don’t see Bao Seed coming back. Mainly cause Raymond doesn’t seem to be interested especially with how his screentime got reduced for Owen. I can see that the fourth one would continue on with Tin Tong and Cheuk sir moving on to a different case. But of course Michael & Phillip would disrupt it. Madman will show up and throw them off. They’ll probably say Bao Seed left to go look for Ah Deng and write him off. I’d rather not see Madam G. Ah Dou would be pointless to bring back unless they kill off Ho Yeung so she gets a new love interest. I hope for the fourth one they bring back the who dunnit concept.

Final Thoughts

I remember on my post on Al Cappucino, I talked about how unrealistic it was with how they portrayed handlers and undercover cops. And that if you wanted to watch a realistic one watch Line Walker... well I take that back. Well for this sequel anyways since it’s super unrealistic how everyone knew Bao Seed was a UC and how they also knew Ah Dou was undercover as well.

This drama had so much guest stars that I lost count of how many appeared. But I was severely disappointed they didn’t bring Sharon Chan in to guest star. She literally played Sin Yan aka Sin Chings younger sister. It makes no sense that when her sister died she didn’t come back to see her one last time! It would’ve been fine to have her cameo or something. It’s like the writers forgot her character existed. But then again they brought back Owen when he already played a different character (Ah Fo) in the first one and ignored it. Also Pakho scenes getting deleted greatly upset me. In the prequel we were left wondering what happened to him and yet we still don’t know right now.

One of the flashback scene that I really enjoyed was Muk Sat (Oscar Leung) meeting Tak Q (Brian Tse). They both were basically the obligatory best friend to the male lead who dies tragically. So having these 2 meet and since they both were goofballs it was super hilarious and intriguing to watch!

I like how they kept the story interconnected with Bao Seed taking over Ah Dengs massage parlour while he waited for her to come back. A pity they couldn’t replicate how the parlour looked in the first one. But it has been 6 years so it would be fairly difficult. Ah Mui dying was sad especially since Tin Tong waited 10 years to be with her. I still feel that 37 episodes made the drama too draggy. And they added subplots that weren’t crucial to the plot.

All in all. It wasn’t terrible but wasn’t great either. There was too much filler & useless flashback scenes. The first ten episodes were perfectly top notch! The middle part was a downer but the ending was thrilling to watch. But my top series of the year would still be Brutally Young, Death by Zero & Al Cappuccino.

#Line Walker 3 #tvb #tvb drama

[dramaclover]

Ending & Thoughts: Al Cappuccino

Another wacky and zany drama. Now I’m telling you now. Do not go into this drama expecting a dark thrilling undercover cop show. Cause this ain’t it. It’s more on the hilarious, lighthearted take on the police and triads. It’s not realistic in any way. Well I mean, no drama is fully realistic but this one is the exact opposite of how things should’ve gone down.

The amount of times where they talked OPENLY LOUD about who and who is undercover is ridiculous. It’s like they don’t even try to hide the fact. Typically only one or two people would know a certain someone is undercover. In this drama the handlers whole teams know, as well as her superiors. The amount of times they would meet up in public spaces or just casually call them over their personal phone is mind blowing. At first it was annoying, cause every time they did something so openly, I would think well “cover is blown”. But that’s not the case. As you continue to watch, you start to ignore it and pretend everyone is deaf and blind to this. When that happens the drama starts to become entertaining.

This whole drama just focused on one storyline and that is investigating who killed the triad boss. We don’t find out who it is until the very end. The stories in between talks about Chiang Sai Lung (Vincent Wong) taking over the head triads role. A lot of struggles in between with him trying to stay in this role. Side stories dealing with love lines, fan service scenes of bromance. The bromance was a huge factor and what made me so compelled to keep watching. Honestly Sai Lung and his 4 love interests were totally boring to me. I enjoyed his bromance with Go Bun (Owen Cheung)more. Also really liked Koo Yan Yi (Crystal Fung) as the handler and watch as the 3 become very close. This trio was fun to watch compared to those unnecessary side love stories.

Sai Lungs love story features heavily in this drama, so I can’t just not talk about them. The 4 woman in Sai Lungs life comprises of Koo Yan Yi aka Madam Koo, his handler that has a strong sense of justice & loyalty. So Tsz Shan (Kathy Yuen) a timid woman who aspires to be a teacher. Chong Ming Lai (Samantha Ko) a haughty actress. And Yiu Ching Shui aka Shui jie (Angel Chiang), the confident, outspoken business woman. Out of the 4, I only liked Madam Koo & Shui Jei. I guess this is TVBs attempt to make him similar to Chor Lau Heung where everyone falls in love with the male lead despite him not even trying.

Tsz Shan is so boring and easily bullied. She was not fun to watch, I didn’t think she had chemistry with Sai Lung and odd enough she was a huge fan favourite. Which I can’t wrap my head around, her character was just so bland to me. She’s so oblivious to her Dad and brothers wrongdoings. It gets annoying when she’s so blind to it all. I know it’s hard to believe your family member is evil, but really? Her role here is basically to be the main love interest to Sai Lung since she plays no role in solving the main mystery. She hasn’t even tried to help Sai Lung to uncover anything. She’s always so timid and getting put into a position where she’s in danger. Way too damsel in distress for me.

Ming Lai was super annoying, all she does is bother Sai Lung and threatens to make him stay by her side. And when she forces him to announce that their dating (they actually aren’t) she gets pissed when he leaves her for someone else. Like girl, you know he doesn’t like you. You blackmailed him into staying with you. Like what did you expect? Also her character could be written out and no one would notice her gone. That’s how unnecessary she was. She’s literally a filler character created to fill up the 30 episode slot. Samantha Ko is a great actress, it just sucks her role here is so unneeded.

Shui Jie was a breath of fresh air. Originally she was sent to seduce Sai Lung but she ends up falling for him instead. I really disliked how she fell for him though, it came out of nowhere. They met 4 times and suddenly she’s in love? It was to rush and random for me. But as a character itself, she was a breeze to watch. She’s super confident and smart. Unlike Tsz Shan she’s able to help Sai Lung in solving a lot of his problems and find ways to warn him of danger. I love how brave she is. She’s not afraid to tell someone she loves them and pursue it.

Madam Koo was also another likeable character. She doesn’t want to be known as just a pretty rich girl. She wants to prove that she can be a successful cop. You can tell how much faith she puts into Go Bun and Sai Lung. She treats them fairly and always finds way to help them. I really like how she can remain calm and think things through. When Go Bun and Sai Lung seemingly betrays her. She doesn’t get angry instead she goes and secretly investigates what’s going on. That is how she figured out how her Father was one of the masterminds. And she did that all alone.

Another side love story would be between Go Bun and Chiang Chin Ha (Winki Lai). They were fun to watch and had awesome chemistry. From the beginning we see that they both liked each other but won’t make a move. Chin Ha with her pride and knowing Go Bun would not reciprocate. Go Bun on the other hand is a cop. To him he can never be with someone involved with the triads. So it becomes a can’t help but love each other story. They were cute together but it was unrealistic for Chin Ha to forgive Go Bun so easily after finding out 1) he’s an undercover cop and 2) he only approached her to solve the case. Essentially Go Bun used her infiltrate the triad. The fact that it was glossed over so quickly made no sense. Chin Ha is a strong minded business person who strongly cares about her family. Yet, Go Bun lied to her all this time and used not only her but her family as well, and she’s okay with it? I’m glad they got a happy ending but I wished it showed more of the internal struggle with her finding out.

I’m always hoping for a good plot twist so I was secretly hoping that Cheung Sai Lun was actually Chiang Sai Lung. And that he was faking it the whole time cause he was upset that his family left him in the orphanage. The amount of scenarios that ran in my mind LOL. I also thought maybe he is Chiang Sai Lung but he himself didn’t know and it just became a case of mistaken identity (this would’ve been sooo good especially towards the end where they had a DNA test done). My third theory was Chiang Sai Lung is not dead and that he would show up in the end to reclaim his identity. But as you can see none of that happened. Don’t worry though, cause there were other plot twists that caught me off guard.

The first one is Sai Lung getting so caught up with his method acting that he actually becomes cruel. He along with Go Bun betrays Madam Koo and turns to the dark side of the triad. I was so invested in this. I really thought Sai Lung could no longer break his character and that he had fallen into deep. This has happened in real life where actors could no longer separate real from fake. I love that they added that into the storyline cause it makes it all real and scary. Of course turns out it was all an act to sniff out the real killer. Unfortunately it was easy to figure out that it was an act once he had a “fall out” with Go Bun. That part was a little too much for it to be real. And that’s when the surprises stop.

The second one would be the development of Szeto Shun (Jack Hui) a cop that relies on dirty tactics to climb up in ranks. He is one of the many antagonist, what makes him different though is that he repents and redeems himself by the end. His character had the best development if you ask me. He went from someone whose dream was to be a cop, to using underhanded methods to get his way to finally becoming a human again. He gets so caught up in promotions that he forgot why he became a cop in the first place which is for justice. When he helped Madam Koo arrest the bad guy he said something along the lines of “I have done bad things, but in the end I’m still a cop”. He said that as the reason why he decided to do the right thing for once. At first I thought he’d be the typical evil cop that ends up dying. But this character proved me wrong. In the end he turns himself in as he wanted to take responsibility for his actions.

I was shocked that no one died in this drama. And when I say that I obviously meant the main characters. Usually the obligatory best friend, love interest, family member heck even one of the bad guys would die. But that didn’t happen. They all survived, even the bad guys just quietly went to jail. Speaking of bad guys, their problems were resolved so quickly that it was pointless. We did not sit through all of that drama just for the bad guys to one by one casually reveal what happened. It was so unoriginal too. Like Madam Koos father got touched by her speech about good and evil that her father confessed to the crime. Tsz Shans father out of guilt for being the cause of her daughters injuries confessed to everything to “repent”. Even the ultimate black cop just spewed the truth out once asked. Like I understand he was caught red handed but he literally revealed all of the information once questioned? He’s not even gonna try to fight it? He doesn’t even have an emotional backstory for him to feel guilty to admit the truth. It just happened. It was so nonsensical that I got confused that it all ended so quickly. There wasn’t even a huge fighting showdown. Which is why I say despite this dubbed as a undercover triad thriller drama. It isn’t! Being an undercover cop was like a backdrop, even the mystery death was sidelined. The focus was on the familial and bromance relationship. The drama would’ve been short if they hadn’t added in the random romances.

Acting wise, I’ve seen a lot of hate against Crystal. There were so many complaints in the international forums I literally thought she was a train wreck. Well she wasn’t. I don’t see how she ruined the drama? I’m convinced that people just complain about her cause they aren’t happy about her being promoted by TVB. But guys you need to chill. Her acting is pretty decent. She isn’t screaming her lines or bulging her eyes out. She is stiff and needs more work on enunciating. This was her first leading drama and she’s still so new. I really thought her acting would be like Sisley Choi from 2012 with the screaming or Charmaine Sheh from 1998 with the overreacting. But she wasn’t. Also people complained about her wardrobe cause she was dressed so fashionably. Are you guys blind? All the main males in this drama are dressed in suits 24/7 whether they’re a cop or not. Literally Go Bun and Sai Lung wears a suit everyday walking around. They’re not wearing causal wear. Why is no one hating on them? The double standards are scary. But then again it could just be hate against Crystal in general. Back when Niki Chow and Kate Tsui played as cops they would wear high heels and pretty clothes as well but no one said anything. And this drama was anything but realistic. I find that it’s the international fans that are complaining, Hong Kong netizens are actually satisfied with Crystal.

Owen Cheung has finally found his niche and that is comedy. Every drama he’s been in, I’ve always been unimpressed with him. But then I figured out it’s mostly cause he gets typecasted as the “hot” guy in which I personally think he’s not. He’s more suited for nerdy roles like (The Offliners) or comedic roles like this one. It’s like how Benjamin Yuen is wooden in serious roles and only good in comedy ones as well. The bromance between him Vincent was great. So hilarious that I sometimes wished the drama just focused on their bromance only.

The ending was open ended in a way. Go Bun and Chin Ha gets married. The Chiang family has left the triad behind and deals with legal business only. Sai Lun has to make a choice of staying in Hong Kong or pursuing his acting dreams overseas. And between the 4 woman in love with him, he doesn’t end up with either of them. Only ending with saying how he’s happy he met the 4 of them. Obviously he loves Tsz Shan the most. No question about it. The 4 woman knows that as well. So I don’t know why they ended it like that. This is the first drama where the female lead loves the male lead but they don’t end up together. Instead he falls fall for the second lead instead. I’m okay with it as I prefer Madam Koo and Sai Lun as good friends but it’s surprising to see them go down this route instead. Sequel? Hmm I don’t know. What could the sequel be about? Sai Lun can’t just go undercover in a different family again. Unless they shift the focus from triad/ cops to something else.

Despite the flaws I love this drama. I kept wanting to watch the next episode compared to Death by Zero. I was just so into the bromance and the hilarious antics. It’s just so entertaining. I know I complained a lot, but this is one drama I highly recommend you to watch. Just don’t go into it believing it’s like Infernal Affairs or Line Walker. This is in the running to be one of TVBs better dramas of 2020 along with Brutally Young and Death by Zero!

#tvb #tvb drama #Al Cappuccino

[dramaclover]

Ending & Thoughts: Death by Zero

Oh wooow. This was a wild ride and I’m so glad I watched this. First, it was a fresh concept as it surrounds assassins. And no, it’s not like “The Man Who Kills Trouble” where it’s just one person and they try to convince us how Carson wasn’t a cold blooded killer and that he just helps people “solve” their problems. This really takes place in a world with assassins where they have an agent to accept killing jobs and a clean up crew that cleans the area and body of evidence. Like how fun is that? It’s such a fresh and hilarious concept.

I really like how both leads in Yim Mou & Kiu Sing lead different stories. They weren’t best friends and only got involved with each other when needed. Also like how Nana and Kiu Sing never got together and were just basically friends. He even helped her to overcome her dislike for guys and persuaded her to move on from her past lover. Not all relationships end up together and he was a better fit with Suk Haan. Also glad Charlie did not die. Probably the first character to break out of the “best friends must die” for revenge trope. Despite Yim Mou & Kiu Sing both were former assassins they lead vastly different lives. From beginning to end. Yim Mou had a more tragic story while Kiu Sing was more lighthearted in a sense.

Yim Mou was a cocky jerk that was a top killer. Unfortunately, his wife and daughter suffered from his actions. He was an extreme playboy and had no care for them. Of course later on after his wife died in the fire and his daughter turns blind, he tries to turn his life around. His ending made the most sense. At first I was sad that he died and I really thought he didn’t. But it made sense. He has a heart problem and his daughter was dying. This was his way of paying back to her daughter. So he sacrificed himself to give his eyes and organ to his daughter. Yim Mou had done so much wrong things in the past, his death was fitting. I only wish he got a chance to say his last words to Suk Haan and Megan. Even his last words in the form of a letter would be a nice farewell.

Kiu Sing also known as Zero, was a Casanova who flirted around but never had a real relationship until he meets Cash. Yes, he’s an assassin but what makes him different from Yim Mou is that he’s isolated. And minds his own business. His only friend is his agent that accepts him jobs. Compared to Yim Mou who gambled, drank and neglected so many people. Kiu Sing doesn’t cause trouble but if trouble finds him, he won’t back down. Kiu Sing had a much happier ending in faking his death while living happily together with Cash & effectively retiring from the assassin life.

Now the biggest plot twist was Parker ending up becoming the ultimate “baddie”. He went from a scared coward to someone so dark and evil. He murdered innocent people for his own pleasure. At first it was just to get someone off his back but then he just started murdering or attempted to murder random people. His ending was not fulfilling at all. I don’t get why he kidnapped Cash. At first you’d think “oh it’s to blackmail Kiu Sing” well he didn’t. He kidnapped her roughed her up a bit and then tried to drown her. Like what was the point? You just made him even more mad that you kidnapped his girlfriend. Also he felt that they were suspecting him. That’s why he organized to have Megan stay somewhere else. Why didn’t he just take the first flight out with Megan in the first place? Parker was not a fighter. He relies on strategic plans like “sneak attacks” via attacking from behind and knocking them out. Which he then proceeds to kidnapping, tying them up and then murdering. One thing I didn’t get was how he managed to kill Maan Maan. He has no training in fighting. I get how he strangled Maan Maan to death but what about the guard that was watching her? The guard was strong! How could Parker take him down alone? I thought maybe he was secretly trained and was faking it the whole time but that wasn’t the case. He didn’t hire someone to help him with the murder either. So you want me to believe Parker singlehandedly took down that guard alone? Also this was the first of his serial killing spree so it wasn’t like he had experience. His death would’ve been better if he saw the aftermath of Megan getting shot and almost dying. The only thing he loves is Megan. So it would’ve been nice to see the fear in his eyes for him to realize he caused all of this. It’s nice to know that Parker does love Megan and wasn’t just playing around.

Also WTF MEGAN. Why are you so annoyingly written? Like you hate your Father for killing (and other valid reasons), you hate him for trying to get revenge. Yet when your boy toy is killing people left and right & hurting people. You’re just like “okay I’ll escape” with you. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. I guess love is blind. When you were held against your will with Cash and she saves you & then tries to escape with you. Why couldn’t you keep your mouth shut? Your serial killer husband is out for blood and here you are telling him where you’re hiding & effectively setting up Cash for her potential death due to your idiocy. Like dude. If you were gonna be like that & choose him, you could’ve gone for 2 different options. 1, you don’t escape with Cash & just chill with your murderous husband. Or 2, wait for Cash to hide somewhere else being announcing “hey husband I’m hiding over here”. Seriously if Cash has died it would solely be on you. ATLEAST Parker is a deranged killer but you? You know better. And then they go through this whole push and pull game of staying together or not. Anyways in the end both Megan & Parker gets shot by Zero. Parker dies, and Megan lives. Megan also forgets her memory. Which is a good thing I suppose. She had a sad childhood and the love of her life became someone she hated. He also died in front of her eyes. This was the best ending for her.

Another part that annoyed me was Maan Maan. Now for her story she basically had a Father that killed his best friends for money and tried to pin it on Zero. He killed them and then left, got plastic surgery and took over another mans identity for fame and fortune. Because of this he also left behind his wife and daughter. Maan Maan is ecstatic once she finds out her Father is alive. And when she meets him she’s excited to bond with him. Ummmm what? Did she forget the part where HE LEFT YOU AND YOUR MOTHER BEHIND? He left you behind all these years and you’re not mad? He ditched you for money. Anyways her Father dies as Zero kills him as an act of revenge. Maan Maan hates Zero for this. And blames him for the misery in her life. Despite the fact her Father caused a lot of unnecessary deaths and pains to people. Maan Maan knows that too but for some reason decides to turn to drugs to cope with pain. Cause why not? I get that her Father was her only family left but he committed so many crimes, killed so many innocents and planned on killing you. This is what pushed herself to change herself in such a way? She was so innocent & kind it was a 180 degree spin from what she was before. I hate how she didn’t get last words when she died. And I hate how she died never understanding that Zero truly was sorry & wanted to make it up to you in some way. Also why was Kaman casted in such a small role? A random background person could’ve played this. Her character had like a maximum of 2 hour screentime out of the 30 episode drama.

Sam Sam disappointed me a bit. I don’t know why but I had high expectations for this character. This character was just very “cool” and mysterious that I thought there would be more to it. But there wasn’t. She’s just part of the clean up crew. I had thought maybe she’s a hidden assassin or turns evil in the end due to jealousy or something. She and Cash has both fallen for Zero. But she liked Zero first and Cash was aware of it. Cash also dates Zero behind her back secretly. It would’ve been interesting to see maybe her turn dark from this? Cause in the end Cash did betray her. But nope she was just the best friend from beginning to end. I guess all wasn’t generic. It was a nice womanly friendship that stayed strong.

Overall it was a great drama. The different storylines were interesting and engaging. I was very happily surprised. Moses Chan was so suave. Wayne Lai was hilarious. Katy Kung was eyecatching but honestly her character was more filler than anything. Brian Tse was so chilling. And Elena Kong was so sweet. The characters were fun to watch and very memorable. I wouldn’t want a sequel. It’s just the ending was perfect to me and resolved very well. It was really intriguing to watch. The fighting was amazingly choreographed and the actors & actresses were picked perfectly! It’s not a drama where you have feel the need to binge watch but I definitely recommend this. One of the better tvb dramas in recent years!

Brutally Young and Death By Zero are my top dramas this year so far.

#tvb #tvb drama #Death by Zero

[dramaclover]

Ending & Thoughts: Brutally Young

This was a drama I’ve been looking forward to watch since it was announced. It had a uniquely fresh cast. An awesome sounding storyline and intriguing drama title. The Chinese title roughly translates into “Confession of Murder: 18 Years Later”. I wish the English title was similar to it.

Okay acting wise, it’s pretty good. Mostly solid actors in this drama. One thing I’m confused about was the amount of praised that went towards Shaun Tams portrayal of Sam. Sam was a character that always stayed calm and smart. So Shaun didn’t really show his emotions. It didn’t involve a lot of acting skills? His voice was monotone the whole time. His facial expressions weren’t that impressive. I honestly think his acting here is no different from when he was in “The Stunt”. His character there was also just calm. But I think why people think he was great is cause of the character he protrayed. Sam ultimately became the underdog you wanted to root for. He had a strong sense of justice despite what happened 18 years ago. He was severely loyal, one of the biggest reason he never turned himself in is cause he didn’t want to drag the others with him. And you just felt bad for his character, he’s just as much as a victim. And we saw how he spiraled out of control cause of his guilt. The character is what made the audience sympathize him and looked beyond Shauns acting. I’ve always said acting doesn’t matter, what matters is what character you get. If Michael Tse never gotten the role of “Laughing gor” he’d still be acting in supporting roles. Hugo Wong was casted as the charming Caesar in “Airport Strikers” and guess what? Everyone forgot about what a douchebag he is in real life from cheating with a married woman to impregnating a fan. And so this also falls under the category of “likeable character with mediocre acting”. I mean Shaun Tam wasn’t bad, but he’s not Best Actor material that everyone says he is. I still think he was very wooden, he was only good towards the end when he was going crazy with guilt.

Mandy Wong was highly praised by the staff, so I was waiting to see the powerful acting they were raving about. I didn’t see it. I kept watching every episode to see it, but I never did. When she lost her Mom and was upset about her Dad... I didn’t feel her pain. Like I felt bad but not enough that it effected me. And her character went from super confident to strong to just being blind to everything else. Was it cause of her love for Sam? Was it cause losing her Mom effected the way she thinks? I don’t know but I was very disappointed that her character didn’t do more, she just took a backseat during the rest of the last episodes.

I was shocked that Elvina Kong had such a small role. It wasn’t even a special character and she got killed off so quickly. Vivien Yeo, Griselda Yeung we’re pretty useless characters. They were literally there for the sake of mandatory love interests. As much as I loved Viviens portrayal of Ah Seen as a deaf woman, her character was a bore. Sometimes her story with Joel’s Ah Yat didn’t mesh well with the drama. In fact I’m still wondering when Ah Yat even fell for her. I thought I missed an episode. Ah Seen always had a crush on him but for Ah Yat it came out of nowhere. I wish they had just taken out the romance factors and just stuck with bromance instead.

The bromance was what made me continue to watch. It was so fun to see the friends meet up again. Especially when Chui Siu shows up. The mini flashbacks to when they were all at high school hanging out together, shooting basketballs, and eating out it shows what a tight knit group of friends they were. They were so tight that they were willing to bury the body together as to not let any one of their friends get in trouble. And it shows even though they haven’t seen each other in 18 years, they were able to pick up where they left off. It just sucks how haunted they are from the incident years ago. I wonder if that night, they had all just sat down and talked to each other about what just happened... what would change? If Ah Yat had said “No I did not murder him, when I got here he was already dead”. What would’ve happened? Would they believe Ah Yat and call the cops? Would they be afraid of each other since that means between the 7 of them one was a murderer that was willing to pin it on someone else? Ah Yat, was such an amazing character. He took the blame all these years, when he didn’t even know who actually did it. He just thought one of the 7 did it but was too scared to admit to it, so he helped him. The friendship dynamic was interesting and I had wished that all 7 had gotten back together before the killing started. It would’ve been horror movie-esque if one by one they died. Unfortunately the first friend was killed off before the 5 could successfully gather together. While the second friend was murdered before meeting the final friend Daan Taat. So technically it was the 4 of them that remained in touched and trying to solve the mystery form 18 years ago. The 4 of them would cover for each other not just cause they’re scared of getting exposed but because they genuinely don’t want to see one another go to jail. I was especially touched by how Ah Yat was willing to go through lengths for his friends. 100% loyalty even though his character got the tragic ending.

The first 2 weeks were soooo gripping. They would show partial flashbacks of what happened that night. And on the side they’re trying to figure out why their friends are getting murdered. Absolutely what a thriller should be. But. But then they revealed the killer. Which I thought was too early, so I thought there would be a plot twist (there wasn’t any). I thought maybe Sam had a split personality disorder and was actually the murder. But that wasn’t it. It turned out to be a random schoolmate he invited to the bbq out of awkwardness. I got goosebumps when they suddenly remembered how there was an 8th person there that night. They were so caught up with the moment they completely forgot about him. After it was revealed he was the killer, the thriller factor was no longer there. It then shifted focus on to Sams murder and how he’s slowly going to the dark side. Which wasn’t that interesting to watch as we saw Mandys character getting more and more dumb. I really thought there would be more to the story from 18 years ago. Like maybe the person they buried wasn’t actually dead yet. Or it was actually an accidental death or something. But nope, there wasn’t any twists the mystery just got solved early. I also wished they had shown more flashbacks of the night. Like 7 different flashbacks to show the perspective of the 7 boys. It would’ve been thrilling to watch.

I knew from the beginning Ah Yat would die. He had all the characteristics in the making of someone who has to die in the end. Number 1, he’s in the triad. He’s never gonna make it out alive. Even if you quit and go into hiding, they will find you. You could never really “retire” from that life. Number 2, he’s that obligatory best friend of the lead that is fearlessly loyal. And number 3, he got his girlfriend preggo. In TVB world that means you’re public enemy number 1 and must die. I just didn’t calculate he would die from stopping Ah Yat from stabbing someone else. What good would that do? He still has to go to jail for stabbing you to death. Stabbing him or stabbing you it’s still murder. And if you think he’ll have “less regret” cause you’re the one that dies, is just wrong thinking. If anything it makes him even more regretful. He killed his best friend. You can’t even say “it’s cause of Ah Yats death he turned himself in” cause he didn’t. He got surrounded by cops and then got locked up. The end. He couldn’t spin his story. He had to tell the truth. So he didn’t “redeem” himself. They should’ve showed Ah Yat helping Sam get away and then succumb to his injuries. Let Sam go into hiding and have him think it through before coming out and surrendering instead. That would’ve been more impactful and redeeming.

I wonder if TVB ever decided to go down an alternative dark route. And when I say that, I mean Sam murders his girlfriend and her Dad because they now know the secret. His 3 friends arrive to see what he has done. What happens? The 4 of them buries the bodies, to defend his friend. That would’ve been full circle. First time, they did it cause they thought it happened. This time, they do it even after knowing what really happened. A testament of friendship and what they are willing to do for each other. But yeah. That ending would’ve been super controversial and might give some viewers nightmare. It would definitely be too dark but would’ve been such a compelling ending.

It actually ends with Sam going to jail for manslaughter, illegal disposal of body and forgery of documents. Even though he should be in jail for at least 40+ years he gets out after 25 years. Which is honestly realistic cause barely any criminals serve the full years they are given. When he gets out we learned his ex girlfriend resigned from her work and her father died. His friend Ah Fu was working at his Sushi restaurant but has retired and gotten married. Daan Taat passed away a year later after he went to jail. After Chiu Sui served his time in jail he moved to Thailand where he settled down and had a family. It ends with a wholesome alternate ending of what would’ve happened if back then they had called the cops instead. And in it they stayed friends all these years while also being alive and well instead of being overwhelmed with guilt. I love the statement Sam said which was “admitting to your mistakes lasts only a second, but having a guilty conscience lasts a lifetime”.

The 7 boys were so innocent. It was supposed to be a fun night out until Song Si came out of nowhere and started belittling them. Which lead to a fight and them splitting up in the woods. Seeing his dead body caused them to be so confused of what to do. Instead of figuring out what happened they just buried him. And the weight of the guilt followed them to the point they stopped being friends all these years. All this happened cause they didn’t want one of their friends to go to jail for murder. When the truth is none of them murdered Song Si. So it ended up with them being a victim too. In a way I’m glad TVB went down the route of a happy non-twisted ending instead. The 7 of them made a mistake back then and cause of that they suffered. At least the 3 still alive was able to serve their time and come back out to start over.

It’s not a drama filled with plot twists or backstabbing. But a human drama and the mistakes, the guilt, and the punishment that carries on you. The beginning was great, the ending episodes fell flat but it was still a great watch. And so far, this is the only good TVB drama this year. I wish this drama got more recognition it deserves.

#TVB #TVB drama #Brutally Young #HKdrama

[dramaclover]

Celebrity Divorces: Gillian & Michael

In the case of this divorce, I felt like I saw it coming. Michael was always known for being too friendly with woman. Aka a huge playboy, he already got divorced before he met Gillian. Of course being a divorcee doesn’t mean much but the kicker is his first marriage only lasted for 6 months. His second marriage with Gillian lasts 14 months. And before anyone says that’s in the past, even after the marriage he was still flirtatious. While for Gillian? I believe she got too blinded by the honeymoon phase and rushed into marriage way too quickly. Even when they first started dating a lot of fans were against it. So it seemed like Gillian wanted to prove them wrong and that she could make it work.

Sadly, their divorce didn’t end quietly. Michael decided to be bitter and made a long post which he put online for everyone to see. In it, he talks about how much he loved her and stressed that the divorce was only cause “Gillian didn’t love him” enough. Wow, pushing the blame I see. I’m laughing cause Gillians company released a statement saying along the lines of “getting along with each other and not having complaints against another”. Yet, here’s Michael complaining. What really aggravated me was him emphasizing how much he loved her but yet decided to basically attack her. He knows that by making this post and publishing it, Gillian will definitely be targeted. What was he thinking? Writing a passive agressive post and then basically saying like “Oh I don’t regret meeting her, if I could do it all over again I’d still date and propose to her”. What? Are you serious? You blamed her for not loving you. Aired out the dirty laundry online. Then ends with a cherry topping guilt of “I love her”. Boy, he’s manipulative. Sad part? A lot of people are eating this shit up! So many people are hating on Gillian.

Okay first, If he really loved her. He would’ve stayed quiet. As in zip. No comment. Instead he’s letting people attack her cause of what he posted online. If that’s his definition of “love” then good for his ex wives in divorcing him! A man that loves his woman wouldn’t allow her to be slandered online. They way he wrote it too seemed to leave out a lot of things. He wrote “Gillian regretted marrying me afterwards”. Well why did she feel that way? Maybe she realized you were too immature. “She doesn’t love me”, could it be because of your flirtatious ways? These are all just guesses of course. But what I’m saying is he keeps spouting about Gillian falling out of love with him but doesn’t explain why. Wait, he did say why and that’s cause “Gillian believes she’s not the type to get married”. That’s probably true, but you could be the one to change that. In that whole post, he never really said how he was in the wrong. He talked about how he tried hard to “woo” her but failed. How he flew to Malaysia to spend more time with her but didn’t work out. What about all those gossips and rumours flying about you cheating on Gillian? Why don’t you clear that up? But instead he’s hiding that part and shifting blame.

Honestly, they’re both wrong. They both had gotten married way too early. And it would’ve been fine if they divorced quietly. But nooooo, he decided this was a better idea. I’m glad that Hong Kongers didn’t fall for his shit. How much do you love her to be willing to drag her through this mess? Charlene & Ronald also broke up and what happened? They only had nice things to say about each other. And after that stayed stone cold silent. You know why? Because even though they don’t love each other anymore they at least have the decency of respect for one another. And for old times sake they decide to not stir up trouble. That’s selfless love right there. Being able to look pass it and move on. No matter what went wrong in the relationship, they don’t want to put the other partner down. For this guy it’s the opposite. It just looks like he tried to be like Grace Chow and earn the support and love from netizens. Which is sad since Gillian didn’t even cheat. His bitterness is from her initiating the divorce and not the reasons behind why. This is not a cheating scandal. Grace Chow writing that post exposing Show Luo absolutely fit the narrative. You attempting to copy it, is some sloppy work and made no sense. Show Luo deserved to be outed as a horny scumbag cheating boyfriend. But Gillian didn’t deserve to be put out like that for being honest and realizing the marriage isn’t working for her. Michael how much do you love Gillian, if you were willing to throw her out and be attacked by netizens? And that’s all I have to say. End of my rant.

#Gillian Chung

[dramaclover]

Ending and Thoughts: Forensic Heroes 4

TVB’s grand production drama. Where it has a high budget with a stellar cast, also filmed overseas and use of popular actors & actresses in cameo case roles. Unfortunately TVB decided to air it early in February which is far from the “golden time” to air series. I’m not that surprised with the situation. But I’m sure the biggest reason is cause half of the cast aren’t people TVB wants to promote anymore. Selena Li - Contract ended and signed with an American talent agency. Raymond Wong - Contract ended signed with Louis Koo’s company. Alice Chan- Decided to take a break on filming to focus more on personal life. Rebecca Zhu- Got backlashed from voicing out how uncomfortable she is around Tony Hung. Second reason would be the producer Miu Si Chun has retired and this will be her last series. But airing it so early actually backfired for them as this was aired during the covid- 19 situation where basically everyone stayed home. Because of this thousands of people tuned into this drama. It got super high ratings and has the highest average watchers for a drama that TVB has not seen in years!! So their plan to air it early backfired so badly for them.

Honestly, this drama wasn’t that good. The cases were either boring or predictable. The only case that kept me on my feet was the mother- long lost son case. Other than that the cases were bad. Which sucked cause these cases had so much potential to do better but the writing sucked! I can’t explain how disappointed I am that the cases were so easy for us to guess who did it. And some guest stars were wasted on this drama. Yumiko Cheng, Sharon Chan, Nina Paw and Patrick Tse are some examples of useless characters that didn’t need to be there. Also the character development was so poorly done that I’m just stuck here wondering if the cutting of Jacqueline Wong effected the drama so much that it ended up being choppy!

Charm Ting (Fred Cheng) is considered a main character but he seemed more like a kelefe. Which is hilarious cause in the first Forensic Heroes he had a bigger role there than here. He’s literally in the background where he would say 1 or 2 lines and then disappears. He was there just to be a love interest to Ko Ching (Rebecca Zhu) which was pointless cause her role is super small as well. We don’t even know when they even started dating. They were barely seen together. Charm has admitted to having a crush on Ko Ching but that’s it. Ko Ching never seemed interested in him until the end where they’re magically dating. The writer focused way too much on adding nonsensical characters when they should be focusing on the main ones! Monique Hau (Yumiko Cheng) isn’t needed at all. I thought maybe half way through she would die or she kills someone but no she was just there to date Ko On (Raymong Wong) and then dumps him when her first love comes back. Like why? Why bother inviting Yumiko for such a stupid role? Instead of Ko On wasting his time for this stand in girlfriend they should’ve focused more on her budding relationship with Chris Tsui (Roxanne Tong). Cause when he got together with her in the end it made no sense whatsoever. I actually thought I missed an episode because of how random it was. The last we saw is Chris tracking Ko Ons biological sister. They were friends at that time and remained that way until the end where somehow Chris fell for Ko On despite never showing that and vice versa. Like I’m not even sure which relationship was more out of the blue? Charm/ Ko Ching or Ko On/Chris? The only relationship that’s worth getting invested in is between Man Ka Hei (Selena Li) and Stan Sze (Gabriel Harrison). Seriously they were the only couple that actually slowly built up towards being something more and they had crazy good chemistry together which you can’t see from any of the other couples at all! Which brings me to Queen Sui (Alice Chan) and King Kwok (Shaun Tam). Boy their chemistry was the worst!! You feel absolutely nothing for them. It was like watching two blocks of wood dating. And the best part? These two who had the worst chemistry ends up the one getting married! Wooooooow. I feel like the problem though lies on the actress Alice. She’s a good actress, she’s amazing when it comes to villain roles but when it comes to love relationships she fails at it. It might have to do with how her real life relationship didn’t work out. She mentioned that she was in a loveless relationship with her husband. But they were both were too scared to leave each other and cause of that they prolonged a relationship that never got better. So I’m convinced it’s due to this,that it’s harder for her to portray these romance scenes.

The uneven screentime between the leads got me thinking of how detrimental the refilming of Jacqueline was. Chris ends up getting involved with the forensic cast in the first place cause she rented a room from King Sir. In that apartment she also shares it with Charm. I’m like 99% sure they cut out those “roommate” scenes, which you’d think “eh it’s filler scenes, it doesn’t matter”. But it’s cause they cut those, Fred ends up getting heavily downgraded! Also if they were just gonna have Chris basically not interact with the forensic team, they shouldn’t have bothered to have her move into their apartment then. Cause it didn’t advance the plot and was just a waste of time. Chris was a heavy character in the beginning but then disappeared drastically until near the end. The storyline started off amazingly good too! Chris was the reason why Ko On’s sister Ko Seen (Kelly Cheung) ended up getting kidnapped. It’s cause of this she becomes a journalist to find Ko On and Ko Seen. She was extremely remorseful and worked hard to find Ko Seen. Which is why I was pissed when after she was found, Chris never met her. They never interacted. A scene where Chris apologizes to her face to face would’ve been super nice. I can’t help but also believe that chances are it was in the script but they couldn’t have Roxanne film it with Kelly probably due to scheduling conflicts.

The ending case should be the best one. The one where it’ll keep us on our toes. It didn’t and was also a downer. Sharon Chan who guest stars as Lam Ka Mei was also a waste of a role. Though Sharon did amazing playing a split personality character, it never went into depth how it happened. Generally, this disorder happens if the character herself experiences a high trauma where they go into hiding and another “stronger” person comes out. This case was also the first time where Ka Mei “killed”. I’m assuming this disorder happened due to her older sisters death? The problem lies on how her sister died 7-8 years ago, yet this is the first time her other side came out and also the first time she killed. According to Ka Mei herself, this was the first time she felt something was wrong with her. After all these years her disorder comes out now? Okay. Anyways she gets locked up in a mental hospital cause she did kill someone even if she’s just a copy cat killer.

The real criminal ended up being Michael Ma (Jonathon Cheung) who happens to be Ko Seens adoptive brother. Basically he went on a killing rampage to kill those that hurt her sister. This was such a boring revelation. I thought they were gonna throw in a twist where Ko Seen was the actual killer and Michael took the blame for her. Ko Seen uses Ko Ons guilt to her advantage and tricks him into believing she’s innocent. Ko Seen would’ve made an amazing villain. She could’ve held all the resentment towards everyone from what happened to her. In the end she did get kidnapped cause her brother let go of her, she got sold off to random people before finally getting “rescued” and being placed in an orphanage. What should’ve happened in the end would be Ko Seen faking her amnesia towards her brother and sister and killing those that mistreat her. In the end she plots to kill Chris as she’s the one that lured her away to get kidnapped. As she kills Chris, Ko On shows up to save her (which would’ve helped with the relationship development) and for Ko On to finally see that Ko Seen is a bad person. That would’ve been more of a stellar ending to the case. Now I know that at the very last scene it shows 4 dead clowns & flashes to Ko Seen. Which alludes to Ko Seen being evil and killing clowns. But honestly that’s not enough. And I’m pretty sure they only added that in cause of the good ratings so they wanted it to end in sort of a cliffhanger. The conclusion was very messy. Even though Ko Ching, Chris, Ka Hei, Queen were all trying on dresses for Queens wedding they didn’t show them all together. Instead they only showed them paired off together. Chris with Ko On. Queen with King. Ka Hei with Stan and Ko Ching with Charm. I’m guessing they couldn’t get the whole cast together for them to film them altogether. Which I didn’t like. Chris is never with all of them at the same time. I guess with the refilming of the scenes it caused the drama to have inconsistencies and it hurt the drama if you ask me. At least Roxanne was an amazing replacement for Jacqueline. Her acting good and she looked very pretty. And her emotional scenes were nice which is something Jacqueline has trouble with. The drama is nice to watch to pass the time with I guess... but that’s it don’t expect to be surprised. And hey Ka Hei and Stan were a lovely couple! So they got one couple right at least.

#tvb #tvb drama #forensic heroes iv

[dramaclover]

TVB Anniversary Awards 2019

Best Actor

Who I believe should win:

Yau Bin Ko (Bingo) from The Defected portrayed by Philip Keung

If TVB chooses not to rig the awards, then Philip should be the winner. His performance was heart stopping. We felt his characters pain when he was forced to runaway due to the betrayal of his handler. We felt his sadness when he couldn’t clear his name. We felt his finality when he accepted he would not be able to get out unscathed. He is the very definition of a tragic hero. Everything he did was because he wanted the world to be a safer place. But alas he died while everyone still thought he was a good cop turned bad. I believe only a handful of people knew the truth, of what a good cop he truly was. It was a rollercoaster of emotions with his performance of a lifetime. Even now I’m still affected by this character. He was definitely the best actor out of everyone this year.

Who won:

Tong Ming from Big White Duel portrayed by Kenneth Ma

His win was a long time coming. He should’ve won back then for The Hippocratic Crush & The Exorcist Meter but alas he got snubbed cause TVB wanted to promote someone else. He definitely deserved a Best Actor a win, but unfortunately he shouldn’t have won for this year. Best Actor is supposed to be given to someone who had the greatest acting of the year and that was not Kenneth. Tong Ming was a one dimensional character, nothing special & did not require major acting skills compared to Philip Keungs portrayal of Bingo. So it’s a bit hard for me to think about it. Kenneth has always been a solid actor but Philip should’ve won this year. It’s also so disrespectful of TVB to not even have Philip enter the top 5 for Best Actor. And it was awful that he walked away with nothing. I’m happy that Kenneth finally won this award but I hate how he had to win this way - no competition, “pity award” for 15 nominations with no wins, and only won cause Philip wasn’t a contracted artiste.

Best Actress

Who I believe should win:

Alex Cheung/ Coco from Barrack O’Karma portrayed by Selena Lee

The drama itself was amazing. But Selena’s performance was eye catching. She plays friendly Alex at the present while playing sultry Coco in the past. Two very different distinct characters that she managed to pull off. She even added her own personal touch by purposely making her voice deeper when playing Coco. I applaud her for her crying scenes and I really felt her fear and sadness when she started to fade away. Selena has always been an excellent actress but was always given lacklustre roles of being in the background while her male costars took the lead. This is her first drama since 2015, where she is finally given a role that’s not male driven & guess what she shined as bright as ever.

Who won:

Man Hei Wah from The Defected portrayed by Kara Wai

She falls under the same line as Kenneth Ma. Definitely serving of the award - just not for this year. In The Defected her portrayal was just bad to me. I just remember her screaming & smirking a lot. Which is odd since her acting has always been phenomenal but here she was annoying. You could say “she’s supposed to be evil” that’s why you’re annoyed. But that’s not it. She was just annoying. Maggie Yu from Wonder Woman was also a villain but I wasn’t annoyed I just thought “wow she’s really evil & I hate her”. Man Hei Wa was a character I didn’t hate for being a villain but hated her cause of her annoying smirks that comes out of nowhere. It’s not bad that she won cause TVB has always treated her poorly & her acting has always been good just not in this drama.

Who I believe should win:

Best Supporting Actor

Lam Lo Si from Barrack O’Karma portrayed by Lau Kong

A solid green leaf actor. He did a great job with this character. He played the mysterious bookshop owner but with a side of creepiness factor. He was part of the reason I kept watching, cause it was interesting to see his backstory unravel! And when it got exposed he’s half the reason why Coco passed away, you can see the fear in his eyes of regret & that he himself was scared of his own self. He’s has been with TVB for the longest time... I believe he’s due for an award now.

Who won:

Kam Sing On from Lo and Behold portrayed by Chow Ka Lok

Hmmm. Mixed feeling about this. For one, he’s a newcomer. For two, this was his first and only drama. It would’ve made more sense for him to win under Most Improved. With all the older veterans waiting in line to win an award, it certainly leaves a bad taste that such a younger green actor won instead. He was definitely humble on stage accepting the award but did he deserve it? Ka Lok winning definitely means TVB has intentions to promote him as the next siu sang.

Best Supporting Actress

Who I believe should win:

Yan Cheng Gong from Wonder Woman portrayed by Maggie Yu

Wow. Wow. It’s been suuuuper long since we watched a villain we hated so much. She was a huge standout in the series. Maggie flew under everyone’s radar and I’m pretty sure everyone (including me) did not see that coming. She was such a conniving character but at the same time, interesting cause you can’t help but think what is she gonna do next? She’s not gonna just let everything go. Maggie’s performance was amazing, last drama I watched her was Daddy Cool. And in that drama she was a sweet stepmother so to see her be comepletely different in this was refreshing! Huge improvement with her Cantonese as well. I hope TVB treats her well cause I wouldn’t mind seeing her more!

Who won:

Ho Tai from Barrack O’Karma portrayed by Candice Chiu

This was a shocker. I didn’t think Maggie Yu would win (cause ya know TVB politics). But I definitely didn’t see Candice winning. I thought if anything it would be Samantha Ko, since she was highly praised & TVB is promoting her. But this was a wonderful surprise. Candice also did an amazing job playing the baby snatcher crazy woman in the drama! I thought she was super good but didn’t think too much of it cause her winning just didn’t seem at all possible. She always played small roles & TVB honestly never gave an eff about her. Maggie for sure had the better performance. But even though Maggie couldn’t win, I’m glad it was Candice who got it instead!

Who I believe should win:

Most improved Actress

Gloria Tang

If you look back on her old dramas, my goodness she was horrible. Overreacting and stiff. I didn’t see her potentially getting better (due to a lot of past Miss HK that always sucked in acting) but she proved me wrong. Year by year she gradually improves. Thoroughly impressed by her and I really like how humble she is. Even getting a nomination is a huge thing for her & she understands that she still has a lot to earn. Out of everyone on this most improved nomination list, she definitely beats everyone.

Who won:

Kelly Cheung

Not even kidding. I saw this coming. TVB is heavily promoting her she’s in a lot of upcoming dramas as leads or a major role. I just wasn’t sure if she’d for this award or Best Supporting. Gloria had the best improvement out of everyone. But just cause you improved doesn’t mean you get the award. This award has always been rigged & almost never given to someone who actually “improved”. But nonetheless, Kelly is a fine actress. She’s actually really good. She’s not cringy to watch and I enjoy watching her. Don’t mind seeing her on the screen especially since she’s on her way to becoming the next fadan.

I skipped some awards cause I have no opinions on those. Obviously my opinion list is more like a “fantasy” list. I don’t see TVB giving the 2 top awards of BA to 2 “outsiders”. Sometimes, no matter how popular a character is if TVB chooses not to promote them - then they aren’t getting an award. It happened with Joyce Tang in House of Spirits (she literally walked away with nothing). The awards are always rigged, so I don’t have high hopes that this year would have fair results. But nonetheless, I feel that the people on this list are the true winners.

[dramaclover]

Ending & Thoughts: The Dripping Sauce

I was super hyped for this drama. I like all the cast members and the premise was interesting. Obviously it’s another family, feuding over the inheritance of an upper class family. This is a pre-modern series so during this time woman weren’t considered someone that can help out with the family business. And this had all the makings of a scheming drama with the backdrop of making soy sauce! It had long lost siblings, fake relationships, sworn friendships, bickering love, amnesia, love triangles - love squares, betrayal, lost love all thrown into the mix. But unfortunately this drama was a flop.

At the beginning of the drama, the plot moved very very slow. I even considered dropping it by episode 6 cause of how slow it was. Also Siu Moon (Rebecca Zhu) was such a unlikeable character. She’s so rude. She’s supposed to be a strong willed woman that has a high sense for justice. But honestly her attitude was just annoying! Half the time she was super rude to everyone around her. She was impolite and doesn’t think logically at all. Every time she fights with Ah Fung (Matthew Ho) I just get pissed. Cause she’s obviously the one in the wrong and here she is making small problem bigger than it’s supposed to be. Ah Fung is also immature as well but boy Siu Moon took over 10 episodes before she becomes likeable! But once it hit around 20+ her strong willed character tapered and she began letting everyone walk over her. Back then she didn’t care who you are, she’ll call you out if she thinks it’s wrong. The amounts of fights she’s gotten with the owners of the soy sauce factory- wow. And she’s training there under them so she should show respect to their elders. They are the one who took her in as a trainee and here she is back talking with the owners?? Dang she was so unnecessary annoying. And then here she is episodes later and she’s all meek and I’m just wondering what happened?

Ah Fung is the main character yet his character disappears midway- literally he goes missing and we don’t see him for 5 episodes a part from the small imaginary cameos. Basically he marries Siu Moon then gets lied to by Sai Yiu (Katy Kung) that they were siblings so he runs away to look for his parents and ask for the truth. On the way he gets beaten from an unnecessary character and then gets kidnapped to be sold as a slave. We don’t see him for many episodes and then he shows up finally. Turns out he’s got amnesia and forgot everyone. That’s okay, except he’s not accepting of this family nor Siu Moon. In fact he didn’t any want anything to do with them cause he finds them rough and impolite. He doesn’t want to associate with them. But dude. Whether you like it or not that’s your family. And Siu Moon your wife? You can walk away from her cause you don’t remember her but walking away from you daughter too? Grade A jerk. It’s only when he starts to slowly fall for Siu Moon again that he’s more accepting of this “family”. In fact at the very end he still didn’t remember them. But he knows he does love Siu Moon, so he stays behind with the family and runs the soy sauce business with her. So if he never fell in love with Siu Moon again, he would’ve just fled - whether he had a child or not. On the last episode Carrie (Kelly Fu) who saved him from being a slave purposely gets him drunk to create an image of them sleeping together. Because do that Ah Fung has to choose between staying with Siu Moon and their daughter or leaving with Carrie who he slept with. Guess who he chooses? Carrie. And his excuse is because he has to take “responsibility” for his actions. Are you serious? Siu Moon literally married you, got knocked up by you and you ditched her the day after her wedding! If you’re gonna talk about responsibility which one seems like a heavier responsibility? Carrie who you slept with once or Siu Moon who gave birth to your child? Like dang. Good thing Carrie admitted her faults or else he’ll be in England with her! While Siu Moon is a single mommy running the factory.

Yip Sai Yiu is the main antagonist. And I think what finds her such a horrible villain is that she didn’t transition into one. She’s just always been a bad person? I understand she was mistreated back then but after Siu Moon saved her and both ran away from the brothel nothing bad happened that made her like this... yes she was poor but it wasn’t enough for her to go full on evil! She takes Siu Moons identity as the long lost daughter, strategically tries to endanger Siu Moons life, she killed 2 different people, indirectly killed others, plotted and backstabbed everyone she didn’t like. It just makes me so confused on why she’s so evil. The turning point would be after she gets raped as her evilness amplified but even then it still didn’t make sense. No matter what Siu Moon never hurt you, she treated you whole heartedly, she didn’t do you any wrong. Do you really have to be like that towards her? And I think the worst, THE WORST part about her story is that she didn’t suffer. And I mean that as in she just died that’s it. A building collapsed on her. That’s it. Like? The whole reason why I sat through all her evilness was to see her suffer and fall from grace. But noooo that’s how she gets offed. Granted she died cause of greed but seriously she didn’t suffer at all! It would’ve been nice to see a showdown between her and Siu Moon but that didn’t happen. She never regretted what she did and didn’t have any remorse. Even when she was dying she told Siu Moon to leave her and not cause she didn’t want her to die but because she didn’t want her to save her. You can’t even say, well her husband left her behind that must’ve hurt her. But umm nooo. She never loved him and he never loved her. They both used each other for their own gains. Him not saving her probably wasn’t even a shock to her. She’s aware he isn’t a good guy and her husband knew she isn’t as innocent as she portrays. I actually thought she didn’t die there. I thought it would pan out and show Sai Yiu alive but disabled or blind or something. Show her homeless or have her locked up in jail. But nope. And technically she got away with all her crimes. The people she killed? No one knows she did it! The evil manipulation of hers was never exposed. Siu Moon and her family just basically thought she’s no longer nice cause she’s rich and doesn’t want to be associated with them. Not cause she hurt them. So like that’s even worse. I really hate how her character ended. No punishment for her crimes. And her fast death. The ending montage was awkward considering it showed her back then all smiley even though she was always evil. And no one even talked about her in the end. After the building collapsed, her character was just shrugged off. Which is weird for Siu Moon considering how she tried to save her and yet there weren’t any last words spoken to her.

One aspect I also really disliked was the amnesia. Cause he never recovered his memories. And it’s okay cause he learned to love Siu Moon again but what about his best friend/ brother Wai Ko (James Ng)? In the beginning of the drama they were the best of friends. They grew up together, ate together, played together, joked around with each other. Always there for each other and always protecting each other. So honestly it broke my heart that he forgot about this best friend. When he went missing Wai Ko worked hard to look for him and always kept him in mind even after he found out about them being actual brothers. He never envied that his brother got to grow up in luxury while he was in the slums. And when they finally meet again he doesn’t remember him. And he never remembers him. Wai Ko ends up becoming a sergeant of this town which means he won’t be free anymore. So long were the days where the both of them would sneak off to eat snacks and go drinking. Wai Ko won’t be around him as often and with Ah Fungs memory gone... their friendship basically ended and forgotten for good. Wai Ko was okay with him not remembering him as he still had the memories.. but boy this hit me harder than when he forgot Siu Moon. Unlike with her he could spend all this time to fall in love with her but with Wai Ko? That’s hard to happen as he’s always off to accomplish his secret duties. Like I’m glad Wai Ko finally became such a successful and heroic person but it sucked that the friendship is no longer there. It’s been thrown away. Something they both treasured is now forever gone. What I find interesting is that in the early episodes Ah Fung talked about how he wish he could enlist in the army as that was his dream to protect others, while with Wai Ko he was content with working at the sauce factory as a trainee. So it’s ironic that both of their fates changed. Wai Ko is the one that ends up bringing glory while Ah Fung stayed behind.

Ko Sheung Sheung (Kaman Kong) was one character where I always thought would be the key to exposing Sai Yius lies. She was the one who told her about her brothers first love. Which she used to her advantage to seduce her brother. Never once did she mention to her brother about that. His brothers first wife, So Chau (Maggie Yu) whom she loved so much like a sister died cause of Sai Yius plotting. Not only did she not try to uncover the truth behind her death.. she never really spoke about her again. She just mentions once about how much she misses her - the end. I don’t know about you but I would have done a something about it. She knows Sai Yiu is not a good person and warned her to be wary of her and then she dies. Who could benefit from her death? Sai Yiu as now she’s the only wife of his brother. Sheung Sheung could’ve convinced her brother about what a bad person she was. In the end her brother did love her. Which is another thing I don’t get. No matter how evil her brother was or how power hungry - one thing did not change! He genuinely did care for her and looked after her very well. So I’m shocked that Sheung Sheung wasn’t upset about what happened to her brother. He was also not brought up again.. I just assumed he went to jail.

Speaking of So Chau her character is pretty pitiful. Grew up in a brothel, never felt love, always been looked down upon. She’s like a Cinderella story where she meets her prince Ko Shui Wing (Andrew Yuen) aka Sheung Sheungs brother and through marriage she became a swan. Except that didn’t last too long as Sai Yiu schemes her way in. But for real even if that didn’t happen it wouldn’t matter. Shui Wing isn’t a good person. He never loved her so when she gets killed and he found out it was Sai Yiu he didn’t care. It’s so sad cause So Chau loved him so much. She didn’t even mind having Sai Yiu become the second wife because she believed he would always love her more. But she was wrong after he married her, he never treated her kindly again. He would always yell at her and at the very end he slapped her. That was also the last interaction they had before her death. But im pretty sure her dying is less painful then finding out Shui Wing didn’t love her the way she did. And I’m not sure how I feel about her never finding that out. A part of me thought that at the end when Shui Wing got a hold of the treasure he would slap and belittle Sai Yiu for killing So Chau. Cause I thought he loved her too but she was just another disposable woman to him. Till the end there was no justice for her death and I can only hope Sheung Sheung regularly visits her grave off screen.

The beginning stated waaaaay to slow with irritable characters, started getting interesting midway but flopped during the end. The ending definitely felt rushed and I believe the writers didn’t even know how to end it. Cause honestly the last episode was all over the place. The biggest villain didn’t get the punishment they deserved. It would’ve been nice if they showed more of the sauce making. Also there was scene where the main sauce maker was trying to figure out a way to have mushrooms last longer. I thought it would later show how he founded the very popular “mushroom soy sauce” - that didn’t happen. At the end they mention it becoming a best seller but they never showed how it was made or how he came up with it. And I feel like it’s such a pity that it didn’t happen. Did the writer forget to write it in? Was it a deleted scene? Well all in all. I felt like this drama was also a waste of time. And if you ask me the only “success” story was Wai Ko. He worked his way up and he never thought of himself much more than another soy sauce boy so to see him became a respected general is nice. For Siu Moon it’s different yes she’s hardworking but in the end she is the legitimate daughter. If she was just another orphan working there she wouldn’t be able to end up being the boss of the factory. I definitely have mixed feelings for this drama. But in the end I’d say pass on this drama. You’re really not missing out much.

[dramaclover]

Drama Ending Rant: Of Greed And Ants

This drama started off so so soooo good. But it started getting draggy and confusing. It was so bad that the only thing worth watching for was the villains.

Let’s talk about the unlikeable characters!

1) Sui Man Jing. Jing Jing you started off so strong. With good morale and a kindness mixed with innocence. Oh how you’ve changed. And all that for a MAN. You did something illegal and covered up for this man. But ignoring that fact, believe it or not she did even worser things. She used Wing Cheung as a rebound since Gordon dumped you. Girl, you know how much Wing Chun liked you. You owe it to him AND YOURSELF to not jump into a new relationship. You played him so hard. Moving on from that SHE WITHHELD EVIDENCE that would put Gordon in jail to protect him! But that’s okay! As long as her exboyfriend is safe. Well what about Wing Kit? Aka your new boyfriends little innocent brother? Well he’s gonna be going to jail instead since you decided to NOT HAND IN THE EVIDENCE! What is going on? So you’d rather have an innocent guy that you knew way before Gordon rot in jail instead of your exboyfriend that did do illegal things? Okay. How can a woman that has such a high sense of justice change overnight for some guy? I’m glad she died.

2) Chin Wing Kit. He started off dumb and ended off dumb. I don’t even get how he became a cop. From beginning to end he was always easily tricked. He almost went to jail cause of his own stupidity. He knew Gordon was doing something illegal - he had the evidence to prove it. What did he do? He decided to put it off handing it to the authorities cause he “needed time” to think. Dude. You’re a cop. You see something wrong you, right that wrong. Once you realized that Gordon duped you and you were gonna face jail time... what did you do? You call Gordon to ask him to return the evidence? Are you serious? He went through all that to steal it & you think a phone call is gonna cause him to return it? Oh and then he commits suicide like a coward cause he didn’t want to go to jail. This is the most screentime this character has gotten throughout the drama too.

3) Hugo Chung. I never liked this character. He was always lying. And a huge scaredy cat. He was only “human” when he’s with Ting Ting, but even then it didn’t last long. He’s best friends with Wing Cheung but it didn’t seem like it. He never really helped him. And when Wing Cheung badly needed his help, he ran away to save himself. He did all these bad things but he didn’t really care. He only did it for his own selfish reasons. His best friends brother almost died cause of his boss. And he still wouldn’t come out and be a witness. It took him believing that Gordon sent assassins to kill him to finally have the “courage” to stand in court. “Courage” more like “I’ll die if I don’t say anything, so might as well drag him down with me”. I’m glad he got jail time and not some stupid probation.

4) Chin Wing Cheung. Lol the two brothers are equally as dumb. This guys gets manipulated by Gordon every single time. His emotions get played by Jing Jing over and over again. He only figures out Gordon is evil cause Jing Jing went through mad depression due to getting dumped. Wing Cheung is a character full of justice and because of that... I always thought he’d be a smarter character. Like instead of outing Gordon as someone evil how about going undercover & finding evidence instead. He’s the definition of “all talk, no action”. Cause he really didn’t do anything. He would just badmouth Gordon every chance he gets. Argues with Gordon every time he sees him... and that’s it. I guess at the very end he stopped Gordon from leaving.. so I guess he helped in the end? But man, I really expected more from him. How could both brothers be so useless?

You know it’s sad when the villains of the show didn’t even make the list above. Which means Gordon Wing, Tong Hau Fung and Shum Ngok Tai was more likeable then those dummies. And that is because at least their actions were at least logical - well illegal but they made things happen.

The ending

It didn’t feel much like an ending... It seemed to be more of the end of the episode. That is because only two things got resolved. And that was Gordon and Hugo going to jail. The other two villains - Hau Fung and Shum Ngok Tai got away scot free. Ah Fung fled with his bags of money with his location unknown. Ngok Tai left with his wife and with his privileged status still intact. Gordon’s ending wasn’t that bad - yes, he’s wheelchair bound but honestly he can just start over.. he has the brains for it. Obviously he can’t enter the stock market but he can be an advisor or something.

Sui Man Jing - dies, thank goodness! All she did was mope around and trying to convince herself that she’s over Gordon. I will never get over the fact that she basically allowed someone innocent to go to jail over someone that’s not. She needs to get her priority straight. It’s a good thing she died or else she’ll just get manipulated by Gordon and kill everyone else around her.

Sui Man Ting - Umm I don’t know.. she is on a break from Hugo since he’s in jail. She said she’ll go down the “right” path cause that’s what her sister wanted. And that’s it...? I don’t even know if she’s still in the entertainment industry.

Chin Wing Cheung - I also don’t know what he’s doing? Like did he go back to being a journalist like what he wanted to be in the first place? It just ends with him confronting a now out of jail Gordon asking him if he regretted anything. And of course Gordon replies no and walks away. It ends with him staring off into the sunset. That’s it.

Chin Wing Kit- Well he didn’t go to jail... I’m sure he’s still a cop? One thing I didn’t like was his last appearance was basically with Ting Ting. And he was talking to her about how he’ll always be there for her & that they’ll always be best friends... umm the heck? They aren’t even friends! Let alone best friends. They’re more like acquaintances that say hi! That conversation didn’t even make sense to me.

Hugo Chung- I don’t know. Last we saw he got sentenced to jail and is in good terms with Ting Ting. That’s it. No epilogue from him either..

That is it. That’s what we know... see what I mean when I say it felt like more of an end of an episode than a drama? We don’t even know what these characters are doing now. Is it that hard to show an epilogue of what truly happened to the characters we spent the past months watching? I get it. They’re gunning for a sequel. That would explain the open ending. Too bad this drama isn’t gonna get one either. What is with these writers and always leaving such a vague ending? Do they want to write a sequel that badly? Well here’s a tip, how about writing a nice fulfilling ending where the audience wished for more hence them demanding a sequel?

Well here’s my rendition of what the epilogue SHOULD’VE BEEN!

Jing Jing is still dead (she doesn’t deserve to live). Wing Cheung goes back to his dream job - being a journalist where he uncovers all things illegal/corruption and ACTUALLY MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE with his actions. Ting Ting leaves the entertainment industry and successfully becomes an accountant - a job her sister Jing Jing always aimed to be but never managed to get. Wing Kit is still a cop cause he’s learned from his past mistakes and becomes a better policeman through it. After being freed from jail, Hugo will spend his days working a dead end job while taking care of his grandma. Tong Hau Fung loses the money he stole and ends up living on the streets, all alone for the rest of his life. Shum Ngok Tai finally gets dumped by his rich wife due to his cheating ways & gets sentenced to jail from some illegal stuff he chose to do again. Gordon is still disabled but also gets deported back to Thailand. I say this cause he spent a good part of his life trying to leave Thailand. So to have him back where he started is a good punishment for him. Back to the place he desperately wanted to leave but he is now forever trapped there.

And that’s about it. Since the ending left me basically no answers, I just imagined this is what happened. And I think it’s fitting. Might not be realistic since the real world isn’t fair. Justice does not always prevail sadly. This drama started off so good. So I’ll forever be disappointed how they decided to go down the manipulative love route. Jing Jing was too stupid for me to sympathize. Her depression over a man was too over the top. Gordon didn’t cheat on her. As soon as his first love came back he told her straight up. So it’s not like he hid from her and she tragically found out he was two timing or something. Matthew Ho has such a small part in this, that I’m struggling to figure out why he was even casted. They could’ve gotten some random actor. Matthew is considered a rising fan dan so he was definitely wasted in this. I think in total he got like 39% of screentime. I will never rewatch this show. It’s a pass for me.

[dramaclover]

Disappointing 2019 TVB Dramas

Justice Bao: The First Year

This drama is plagued by a bad plot, boring mystery cases, fake looking sets, and cheaply made costumes. Filled by horrible nonsensical characters that should’ve never been written. With an ending that pissed more people off then it should. I’m still in shock over how a drama that’s hyped up with popular stars & a timeless classic as Justice Bao can crash & burn so so badly. Still trying to forget this drama. At least the cinematography was nice.

The Ghetto Fabulous Lady

False advertisement is what I would call this drama. When this series was first announced they dubbed it “female Sherlock Holmes”.... that’s not what happened. You would think a drama like this would sorta be a “solving mystery cases” - well it was not. It only had 1 underlying case throughout the drama. Nadia Chan was supposed to be an upper society lady that dabbles into solving cases like her idol Sherlock Holmes. But that doesn’t happen. I wouldn’t even call her smart since it took her forever to “solve” anything. Anything she solved was more so by chance. Only good thing was the stellar performance by Jeannie Chan. Seriously she was amazing. She saved the drama. She deserved better. And I’m super bitter that she had such a bad ending.

As Time Goes By

It’s a slow paced drama. With a theme of a mystery that span many years about what happened to the 3 youths that spent 1 night together. I have a lot of anger about how TVB treated the heavy topic of rape. In this case it’s statutory rape combined with being so drunk we don’t even know if she consented or not. It’s dumb how when Alice character thought Ben did it she was full of hatred. But when it’s uncovered it was actually Max, she’s all “well I had a crush on him anyways”. “I would’ve consented even if I wasn’t drunk”. Ummm. Ben received the harshest treatment of non stop gossip and rumours all over the years over what Max did. & then Alice basically shrugs it off & says that night isn’t a big deal cause it was with Max. Save your time. Don’t watch this.

My Life As A Loanshark

I had high hopes for this drama. It’s sort of a trilogy with the “mafia” series. The first being My Dangerous Mafia Retirement plan, second is Apple-Colada. Both dramas were very hilarious and enjoyable. So it’s upsetting how the third fell so flat. This drama was so boring. Mandy was so forgettable, I forgot thought that she was in it. Honestly the whole cast was great to watch. It’s just such a waste that they filmed this drama. This is one of the rare tvb drama where everyone could act. Too bad good acting can’t save a badly written script.

#TVB #tvb drama

[dramaclover]

The Man Who Kills Troubles: Thoughts & Ending Summary

Every year TVB would release a drama that does extremely well in ratings but for some reason no one really talks about it. And sort of becomes a “forgotten drama” in a sense. It may sound confusing but I don’t know how else to explain it. It was The Unholy Alliance for 2017 and Fist Fight for 2018. It’s not like it had a bad plot or bad acting but it just wasn’t memorable. And unfortunately for this year it’ll go to this drama.

Honestly, it’s not surprising this got good ratings. It has everything that appeals to Hong Kongers. Romance, friendship, family, lost love, triads vs police, secret identity all set within the backdrop of a school. It also boasts a popular cast with Vincent Wong portraying O Sir while Natalie Tong portrays Jovy Cheung. But it was so predictable - so very predictable. I already knew what was gonna happen. There wasn’t any plot twists errr any plot twists that I didn’t catch on. The cliches were endless as well. The predictability is no joke. Right away I knew Jovys Father is gonna die, & obviously it wouldn’t be because of old age. He is the triad leader of course he’s on everyone’s hit list. Jovys brother is involved in his fathers death- not a shocker since he’s been vying for that power. O Sirs girlfriend Chloe Wong played by Kelly Cheung dies in an accidental lab explosion death - yeah right, it’s never an accident. O Sirs master, who raised him turned out to be the one that kills Chloe. Not a twist for me it’s never a stranger killing - it always has to be connected to the main character in some way. Jovy gets shot & falls into the ocean and dies - of course she’s not dead there’s 30 episodes! Linda is a doctor that turns out to have an ulterior motive in helping O Sir - well yeah, it’s not like she got bored and moved from Australia to Hong Kong out of boredom & accidentally encountered O Sir.

In the beginning it focused heavily on the school storyline. This is also where Jovy and O Sir officially meet. Jovy as a music teacher and O Sir as a gym teacher. O Sir is given the task of reviving the disbanded popular rugby team. And of course the star player is the schools typical bad boy, Wong Ko Chun that always ditches class but has a heart of gold. Oh, he also happens to be Chloe (O Sirs dead girlfriend) little brother. Ko Chun has lost his passion for rugby after his sisters death, so O Sir is the one that convinces him to return & helps him find his love for the sport again. Ko Chun is not a team player with him always wanting to hog the ball to ensure they win. The other members aren’t happy as he steals the limelight. *Insert Ko Chun learning the meaning of teamwork* (I know eh? How cheesy & predictable). The school scenes were definitely meant to be lighthearted to contrast against the mafia vs police issues. I thought this part of the story was cheesy. I did like the friendship that ends up forming though.

Then slowly, it moves into a more darker setting. Jovys Father passes away & she takes up the position as head of the company. O Sir becomes the head of security detail. Her brother Cheung Tai Bong has gone over to the dark side. Here comes the revelation of O Sirs real identity of being the fixer, Chloe’s death, Man Sir played by Jonathon Cheung becoming evil & a new villain is introduced. It’s interesting to see how it goes from an innocent school setting to something more sinister. And I wish I could say that the second part of the story was good, but it truly wasn’t. I guessed everything that happened & nothing made me shocked. It wasn’t a thriller to me at all. I didn’t end up being invested into any character. Sure, some parts were interesting but it didn’t need to be a 30 episode drama.

The love story between O Sir & Jovy wasn’t as romantic as they made it out to be. The only obstacle was O Sir, not getting over Chloe’s death. I never felt the love between O Sir & Jovy. They had a lot of cheesy, lovey dovey scenes but to me they were just cringy. I felt nothing for them. And I can’t say it’s cause Vincent & Natalie had no chemistry because they do - they were sweet together as Saving & Cherry in “My Unfair Lady”. For me, the problem lies on Jovy being too similar with his ex girlfriend Chloe. And oh boy, this drama never made us forget about it. Every time Jovy does something, it’ll flashback to Chloe doing the same thing. Both Jovy & Chloe plays the flute & studied in Australia. Chloe wanted to become a teacher, well Jovy becomes a music teacher. It’s also because of their similarities that O Sir, even rescued Jovy the first time. So to me, it just seemed like Jovy was a replacement for Chloe. I actually thought O Sir had better chemistry with Chloe. In fact, I loved the both of them together. I felt they were a better matching couple. It was because of Chloe, O Sir finally decided to stop being a fixer. It was because of Chloe he finally wanted a family. I wish they hadn’t made both characters so similar. It’ll always look like O Sir settled for Jovy cause she reminded him of Chloe. I believe this was a mistake on the writers part.

There is also a side storyline that focuses on Man Sir turning evil. And a romance he has with Ace played by Crystal Fung. Unfortunately their story fell super flat. At times I even forgot they were even a part of the drama. Their storyline was so disconnected from O Sirs. It wasn’t until the last 8 episodes did Man Sir & O Sir finally collide. I’m pretty sure if you take away Man Sirs story and just only followed O Sir, you wouldn’t be confused. Because literally they go their own separate ways. You don’t even need to know why Man Sir turned evil - you just need to root for O Sir to win. Man Sir turned evil because he found out his Father was actually a black cop the entire time & he accidentally murders someone out of self-defence. He just thought he needs to get rid of the people that knows about his Father being a bad cop to save his Fathers dignity. At first I thought the main romance was a fail but it wasn’t compared to this one. Man Sir & Ace were a total bust. Seriously they were hugely boring. And I was terribly disappointed with Ace. You knew he was turning evil, and did nothing to stop it. I thought Ace would be the voice of truth & the one that would end everything. But she didn’t do squat. She literally watched him do more and more evil deeds. And other than whining about it she didn’t do anything more. All because she was so deeply in love with him WTH. What kind of cops are they? One turns evil over a a dumb reason, another just sits by and watches. She kept her mouth shut the whole time & it wasn’t until he died that she’s like “oh by the way he’s a black cop ahaha okay byeeeee”. I could’ve done without their backstory and stupid loveline, they did not even contribute much to the story.

The ending was way too rushed. And was a clusterfuck of what the heck is going on. It was dumb cause a big part of the storyline was Man Sir trying to kill Qiao Yik Fung, who is the biggest villain on the show. You’d think since it’s so hard to kill him as evident by the amount of episodes he’s been alive, that his death would be interesting to watch. Well it wasn’t! He literally just tricked him into going to an isolated area & shot him in the head. Like seriously? That’s all it took? You couldn’t have done that 5 episodes ago? And the fact O Sir also helped you come up with that plan! This villain got killed off so quickly that it was pathetic.

After that, it was basically a showdown between Man Sir & O Sir. Man Sir causes O Sir to crash his car, and then they started to fight each other with their bare hands. Who wins? We don’t know. Like for real - they just time jumped to one month later. Before the time jump it shows them both falling to the ground head first - & then admitting to their mistakes. Man Sir confesses saying how when he had killed someone - he should’ve surrendered to the police, instead of choosing the dark road. O Sir, wishes he spent more time with Jovy. And then they both try to get up to get back to their love ones, but you know they failed. We don’t know who won. Imma consider it a tie. So the showdown was a fail. All the hype only to end up like that. And then we flash forward to a month.

Man Sir survives the fight and has turned back into a good person. He plans on leaving Hong Kong to start a new life with Ace. But he gets stabbed by Yik Fungs underling Ray & he dies. Then another month passes. O Sir, ends up surviving only to find out Jovy died from poisoning. After all that Jovy dies, the amount of times O Sir saves her & she still dies. Is O Sir cursed? Both of his girlfriend ended up dying. You know Man Sir dying made sense since he did many bad things. And justice must be served. But wait - did everyone forget? O Sir was a fixer for the triads. They use a fancy word like fixer but it basically means he’s an assassin. Triad leaders would send him a target & he has to finish them off- that’s his job. O Sir killed so many people. He didn’t even have a good reason for the killing, he did it for the money. Why is that O Sir, is still alive & living well when he killed so many? Yet his girlfriend Jovy was the one who died? What are you saying TVB? And I feel like no one even remembers all the bad things O Sir did as the fixer. They made him seem so glamorous. Who are we even rooting for? Killer #1 or killer #2? Though I want to point out Man Sir, technically only ever killed two (and one was out of self- defence), all the other victims were indirect. O Sir, on the other hand did directly kill a lot of people.

I’m not sure what to say. I can’t say it was a terrible drama. It was very fast paced, the action scenes & scenery were very nice. I just felt that the villains were dealt with too easily. Some stories were still left open. Jovys death had no impact on me - I never connected with her character. I felt more sad when Chloe died despite the fact she only appeared in a couple of flashback scenes. The ending would’ve been more impactful if Ace had died for Man Sir, and through this he reforms and confesses to all his wrong deeds & goes to jail. Cause that’s what you should do - and not run away from your past, seriously if he didn’t get stabbed, he would’ve literally gotten away with it all. O Sir should’ve been the one that died - in the end he’s an assassin! Hes the one who killed for a living. It should’ve shown his gravestone next to Chloe’s. And the ending should’ve been Jovy & her Mother reuniting with Tai Bong after he leaves prison. With the final scene of Jovy going back to being a music teacher with her class. Now that’s my ideal ending. Hmm I guess there was a plot twist. I guess I was shocked. I stand corrected the ending was not predictable. O Sir not dying is probably to keep his ending open in hopes of a sequel. To me, it was definitely a forgettable drama. It wasn’t a super waste of my time. However, I don’t see myself ever rewatching this.

#The Man Who Kills Troubles #TVB #TVB Drama