I missed the first half because I was watching American Idol. But thankfully when I continued with 2nd half I didn't miss much at all and in fact spared from all those awful acting. Recap first...
Where I started it was back in 1912 or thereabouts and I was super annoyed with this constant shifting back and forth. We see the old sifu, Biu celeberating his 60th birthday and his past students came to give thanks and the student he scolded like a dog from Episode 1 actually revealed why he loved his sifu very much; because his sifu saved his mother's life and often on his own expense and safety went to give medical help to villagers in remote areas. Yes he is a TCM doctor which is what Kenneth is and they open a martial arts cum TCM school. Sifu was very touched, Kevin is there for whatever reason, Tavia is Tavia. Back to present.
Pause here.
I understand why that scene. It is to show the similarity between Biu and his grandson. But I still hate the back and forth.
It also shows when Biu was the master, the school was in its prime but after his death, probably Wing Tak did something, the reputation was but all gone by the time Kenneth took over.
Anyway when I say flashback it is 1912 or somewhere there. If I say present time it is 1935 or somewhere there.
Present time.
Things have heated up. Kenneth is pressured to release the doctor, and Kenneth used his own good name as well as his school's good name to vouch for the doctor's good name and his mother is pissed. His mother is so pissed that Kenneth is jeapordising everything that she blamed him for the fact that business is no good. She lamented the fact that "My father and my stepmother were murdered. My husband when missing because he was a busybody, getting involved when he shouldn't. My eldest son has been kidnapped and I don't even know where he is or if he is alive. This school is going down and you are now in a whole lot of trouble, why? Because you want to protect the doctor. Have you ever thought if you could protect him at all? Why come forward when everybody is going down with you? Why?"
And of course Kenneth had no answer as his students had to leave when the gangster like Wing Man-kwan threatened their jobs so it is either stay and get fired or leave and still have a job. Kenneth understood but his students didn't, all jeered at them calling them ungrateful.
Pause here.
His siblings are as noble as Kenneth but my problem is Wai Lan. I find her too unsupportive and what is her function in here? She is not even the one running the TCM/school. She displayed no nobility nor supportive love for Kenneth and she seems so afraid which is so different from the younger Wai Lan who was more proactive, who took things into her own hands. I am very annoyed with the older Wai Lan.
Continue.
Kenneth was with the doctor when suddenly the doctor's son arrived. They hugged. We found out the son was very gifted academically and the doctor spent a lot of money sending him to the city's school where he later got offered for a job at the bank as some manager and the doctor was very proud of him. The son said "Father I have friends in higher places and they will help you to figure out a way to beat these bullies!" and Kenneth was very pleased to hear that when the son said something to the father, wanting to talk to him privately which they did.
Top 5 masters of local martial arts schools plus Wing Man-kwan and police commissioner were all there and they were angry with Kenneth for being a "ga-leung" (protector) for the doctor. Wing Man-kwan then said "It is true the medicine contained poisonous substance. But I found out the doctor sneaked into my factory and changed the substance! I have witnesses! These two greedy followers of mine, they took bribes for that! And ..." and we see the doctor's son walking in and Wing Man-kwan said "Even the doctor's own son could not stand what his father did.. hear what he has to say.." and the son said emotionally "My father did it. He was angry because he came up with the formula and thought Master Wing stole it so in revenge he snuck in one night and changed the formula. I can no longer stand by and see my father doing wrong!!" and the angry top 5 masters said heatedly "That stupid Koo Yue-tong! He was fooled himself! To think he risked his reputation and his school's reputation for this despicable man!! We must demand for that man! Now!" and Man Kwan smiled.
At home, the uncle rushed to Kenneth and siblings and said urgently "OH MY GOD!!!!!! WE HAVE ALL BEEN DUPED!!! Yue Tong you have been duped!!" and Kenneth asked what he meant and he said "That doctor did put the poison into the pill! His son himself accused his own father!!" and Kenneth's siblings refused to believe and said "The doctor? Never. He is not that sort of person!". I can't remember if Wai Lan was there but someone did scolded Kenneth for being naive and so Kenneth to his credit didn't rush to the doctor but walked to the doctor in his room and gently asked "Doctor, did you replace the formula with the poisonous subtance?" and the doctor looking tearfully nodded and said "Yes I did" and Kenneth was very emotional, looking at the doctor he asked quietly "Why?" as his tears rolled on his cheeks and the doctor, who looked as stricken himself said timidly "I was greedy. I was angry. I wanted to get back at that Wing family for what they did" and Kenneth looked at the doctor hard and had nothing more to say.
By this time the top 5 sifus plus the police commissioner and even that Man Kwan was there and this is the typical Lee Tim Shing moment that gave this episode probably the 2nd best moment.
Everybody was pressuring Kenneth to denounce the doctor and the doctor walked forward, looking strickened and Kenneth walked forward and said to the son "I want to ask you a question. Did you know how much your father sacrificed for you so that you can have an education?" and the son didn't say much and Kenneth continued "Did you know that he could have retired comfortably, instead of still working at this age, all so that you can have your career? Did you know that?" and the son defensively said "I know but I can no longer stand by and see my father doing wrong!" and the doctor tearfully said to Kenneth as everybody (that is Wai Lan and the villains) were annoyed Kenneth is still playing the protector and even shouted at him "Stop being the protector!!", "Master Koo, please stop protecting me. I appreciate your trust but you don't have to do that anymore" and Kenneth looked at the doctor and said "If what you said to me before was true, perhaps but doctor, I did some checking on my own and I found out the truth. This son of yours embezzled money from the bank and now he had to repay them he asked you to help him to lie and take the payment. But when you refused, he beat you. He BEAT YOU! YOU (the son), you took those money to fund your extravagant lifestyle and now that you're in trouble, you pushed your father to take the blame. My father went missing decades ago, I never knew my father, I hardly remember him and I envy you for having such a great father and yet you don't even know how to appreciate him!!" and the doctor was very touched by what Kenneth said and he cried silently as the truth was beginning to dawn on everybody when the son cried "NO! IT IS NO TRUE! NOT TRUE!!" when Natalie rushed in holding a pot and said "I found it! I broke into the factory as you told me and I found that poisonous substance was in the pill!" and Man Kwan walked forward and said "As I have said, he changed the formula, I hae witnesses" and Kenneth asked boldly (oh Wai Lan don't rush out to assist your son! What a mother!) "When did he do that?" and the witnesses said "During mooncake festival" (I think) and he asked further "Which one? Last year? This year?" and they answered "This year" and Kenneth smiled and said "Impossible. The doctor was making house calls, and he fell and broke his arm. The patient's family can be a witness to that" and the witnesses said "Well he can still have the use of one arm" and Kenneth asked "To do what?" and one guy took a huge stick and said "Stir it, like this" and Kenneth said "Really you think he can?" and he fought 2 guys and broke one arm each and when many were going to attack him (this time Wai Lan tried to intervene but she was stopped, not that she tried hard) and Kenneth said "Now try to stir using your one arm! Can you? No? Well neither can the doctor!!" and the doctor said "Yes I found the poisonous substance, I tried to warn the villagers not to take it" and his son blew up and shouted "Father! You promised! You promised you will never tell! Do you want to see me in jail?!" and the doctor said "I can forgive what you did my son, as with everyone else but to ask me to lie when I knew these villagers who are sick themselves and now taking medicines that would make them sicker, even if I keep quiet, in the end the Heaven won't forgive me, and you. We will be punished if we stay silent!" and the top 5 sifus and the police commissioner was so angry they all denounced the pill and will never endorce anything Wing Pharmaceuticals do and they left angrily. So they really believed him!.
Man Kwan shouted "You (Natalie) broke into my factory. I will have you arrested for that!" and Natalie smiled slyly as Kenneth said "Well she only said she did, only the dumb would believe she is capable of doing that!" and Man Kwan knew he was tricked and angrily he had some angry words with Kenneth which I can't remember what because I was too much into looking at how horrible Jacky Heung was, and as the argument escalated, we see Wing Tak walking in, removing his hat, staring at his son who now looked pretty scared and...
Next episode! We see Wing Tak's past and how he ruined everybody's life.
I must say episode 2's story is way better than episode 1 but I have had it with the constant present and past scenes. They're meant to draw parrarell but enough is enough!!
Anyway my most favourite scene is the most tender scene, the quiet confrontation between Kenneth and the doctor. I think at that time Kenneth sorta believed the rumour but knew in his heart the doctor was lying so there was conflict there. The veteran actor whose name I can't remember did very very well and if I ignore the fact that Kenneth is wrongly cast as the idealistic galant master, Kenneth was ok with a very emotional scene. Problem is Kenneth is such an inadequate actor. Even when he was crying, it felt unreal, it felt forced. He did not have that sincerity in being the good decent guy, the way that Steven Ma could be. It was a good plot but badly acted scene.
But none too bad than Jacky Heung and I was thinking who is he? My sister even asked "Did he pay the producer for this role? His father was somebody's somebody?". He has the look of the villain, no doubt about it. He sneered, he looks disgusted, mean eyes, etc but all these meant for nothing the moment he opened his mouth and delivered his lines. That last scene before Dominic Lam walked in was a total embarassment because Jacky Heung was either overacting or unsure what he is doing. His voice became high pitched with dramatic pauses with even a few gulps of saliva or whatever and at some point it felt like he was trying to breath in between 2 lines as his voice went from high pitch to normal pitch. His voice does not correspond with his expressions and combined together, it was seriously funny to watch and when I thought about it, the most horrible acting. Kenneth's fault is he could not connect to the decency and heroicness of his character. I mean he is cute, good looking but heroic.. no. Leadership? No. You want that? Look at Safe Guards. But Jacky was worse. He simply failed in acting and gave us a comical villain. I hope Dominic Lam would fare better since he is a veteran.
Yuen Qiu's problem is Wai Lan is such a terrible character to begin with. She is not even noble, nor heroic or helpful. Since she so hate Wing Tak, shouldn't she be gung ho? No, she was a coward. Afraid perhaps her children may be harmed after the case of his missing eldest son? But that makes Wai Lan such an unlikeable character. And Yuen Qiu's acting is just rough. Tavia is also rough but in retrospect whenever she is in such a role, in such an era, Tavia exudes a certain elegance, like she did in Land Of Wealth. So did she in here so to see Yuen Qiu as the older Wai Lan is like watching 2 different characters. There is no consistency. Younger Wai Lan should be tougher and rougher to accomodate for some consistency with the older Wai Lan I suppose.
The other siblings right now don't have much to do except bicker like hell or laugh like maniac. Shirley Yeung in particular has taken the Tavia School of Method Acting, that is screaming her every line, except she is the star student; she could scream twice as loud as Tavia herself. Please don't let her cry. I hate to see the wooohhhh-ohhhhh-ohhh-wooooohhh Korean style of wailing.
Yes, my problem with this series now is the casting and the acting. The story is stabilizing but still very messy. Hopefully episode 3 is better and everybody gets better as we watch along.
March 25, 2011 at 1:53 PM
One thing I'm curious of. The uncle is the younger brother of Wai Lan. So, he's the son of the old sifu. How come we didn't see him in flashback and how come he doesn't seem to care for his father's school at all? The way he talks, it sounds like the school is the Ku family's problem only.
I'll understand his attitude if the school was passed down from the Ku family and he's only helping his sister. But, this is not the case. The school was passed down from the Au Yeung family.