A Fistful Of Stances [2010][TVB][E]

This is it! This is the one I have been waiting for! At long last, a decently written, decently acted episode with some surprisingly good performances from several but one rather annoying one even if kinda good.

Anyway, a recap first. Exciting stuff!

Wai Lan has had it. I didn't fully recap what was said and if I did, I missed a few good dialogues. That Man Kwan threatened to put them to jail for wanting to beat him, Wai Lan has had it and rushed out with the huge stick and said "First your father threatened to put me into mental institution. Now you threaten to put me into jail. I may be afraid of you in the past, but that is because my children were young. Now they're all grown up and I am not afraid of the likes of you anymore!" and she basically beat the crap out of him, to the point her children had to hold her back with Tong said "Mother, don't dirty your hands!" and Wai Lan looked at him and then Tong mischeviously said "Let me dirty my hands for you!" and he took the stick and basically beat the crap of him some more, and he had to crawl on all fours out of the house and all children except uncle and Ming took turns to beat the crap out of him. When he was gone, all children and Wai Lan cheered.

I think Wai Lan narrated she was so happy her children could fend for themselves and now her wish is to see Jeung again.

Pause here.

Oh I cheered too! Such a satisfying scene; I wish they do that to Tak somewhere along the way. I love how Tong intervened, thinking he was asking his mom to stop when he wanted to beat Man Kwan too and each children took their turns and that was perhaps the highlight of this episode if not for two tiny little scenes towards the end.

Man Kwan came home and joined his father for dinner although he looked like he was hurt badly. This scene we see Man Kwan's mother, who appeared out of nowhere.

Pause here. Jacky Heung should adopt the school of method acting if he can't act pain properly. I will gladly take the stick and hit him on his arse until he need not fake pain, he lived it. What an awful performance even for this scene, even the way he talked. Such a character sort of face, a pity the talent falls short!

Anyway Tak gave no pity to Man Kwan when he complained "Father how can you eat now? After what they all did to me?" and Tak said "And I will thank them personally for teaching you where I have failed. You know why your father is the grand champion and owner of Seven Districts Pharmaceuticals (literal translations)? That is because when I was nobody, I was stepped on, insulted, degraded by that family to the point that I didn't even have the right to laugh at a joke! You will learn martial arts, I will hire the best teacher and you will beat them at that!"

Pause here.

2 decades of big headedness certainly clouded Tak's memory. Until now he still feels he was was the victim. What a jerk. What a small minded villain, nothing great.

Continue.

I confess, I missed about 20 minutes because I was watching American Idol. When I switched back, Wai Lan was chasing after a beggar woman. At home Wai Lan said "I saw the woman who kidnapped your brother! She looked sick, poor and her arm handicapped" and Tong said "Really mother? Are you sure?" and she said yes, she was positive eventhough the uncle pointed out in the past she only saw one glance of her but Tong said "Ok" and delegating work to each sibling to ask around, etc and uncle spoilt the mood and said "You're just delusional, too much in your grief, think you saw something but you didn't!" and Wai Lan walked away sadly and Leung said "Seriously, I think mother mistook somebody as that woman" but regardless Tong said "Whatever it may be, just check ok?" although Kuen said "I hope brother has been kidnapped by some rich man who wanted a son. Don't know how he is now?" and the rest wondered too.

Ming came home and said to Wai Lan she saw the beggar woman matching Wai Lan's description and there was a young man who carried him into the hospital and she said "He looks very familiar" and Wai Lan with hopes up asked "Sit down and think who he resembles, like Tong?" but Ming smiled and said "Not as ugly as brother" and Tong feigned being offended and Wai Lan persisted but Ming couldn't remember. Tong assured his mom he will ask Dr Wing for help.

Dr Wing helped, asked almost all doctors except for 2 and Tong pressured her to help since he helped her before and she asked "When did you help me?" and he began counting the times he took her to some remote areas to find a patient, etc and so she agreed. Ming was there.

Ming left the hospital feeling very hopeless, walked into a church (why a church? More fanciful? Why not temple?) and said if God were to let them find the woman, she will agree to something. Not sure what, I think either exchange with her own happiness or minus 1 year of life expectancy. Anyway she cried.

Walked out and Dr Wing said a doctor provided the address.

Ming rushed to the address only to be told they had left for the I think night boat, at 8pm and she only had 15 minutes to go. She ran for her life, and we see flashbacks of a little girl (Ming) running as well, and the scene cut between the 2 and then we hear the girl cry "Daddy! Daddy! Don't leave me! Don't leave me alone!" and Ming could run now more, but she still persisted, reached the pier as the boat was sailing away but still tied to the ermmm, anchor? Anyway she saw the old woman who refused to look at her and she cried "Please! Please come back!" and she took hold of the huge rope and tried to pull the boat back as she cried for the old woman to come back when suddenly, Kevin appears! Not sure what was his name then, Loh Siu Tung I think, so for the time being I just call him Tung. Anyway he angrily shouted "Let go! Let go!" and Ming cried "No! Not until you tell me where is my brother!! My mother has been looking for him for decades! Give back our brother!!" and the woman quietly said "Tung, leave quickly, we must go" and Tung screamed at Ming "You let go now!" and Ming cried "NO!!" and Tung angrily shouted "Enough! That mad woman, how dare she insult and defame my mother! My mother did not kidnap anyone's children, she did not do such things! Your mother deserves to lose her son! She deserves this karma! Now let go!!!" and he yanked the rope hard and Ming fell down hard as the boat sailed away and the woman refused to look at Ming as Ming cried very hard and kept saying "Please come back! Come back! Come back!"

Everyone was worried about Ming and she came back crying, Wai Lan was worried and Ming said "Mother I am so sorry! I saw that woman, with her young son but I couldn't stop them from leaving the pier. All I know is the boat is going to **" and Wai Lan saw her hands which were hurt and said "You silly girl" and then Wai Lan said "But I know now who he looks like. He looks just like father in the family photo" and everyone now believed Wai Lan and Wai Lan quickly said "Tong, pack our stuff. We are taking a late night train to **, Leung, find the family photo" but uncle said "It's so late! Why not go tomorrow?" and Wai Lan said "Can't wait. It will be 1 week before there is the next train and by then it would be too late" and meanwhile she took care of Ming's injuries.

They were rushing to the train station when lo and behold, Tung was carrying the beggar woman whose name I think is Kiu and rushed past by as Kiu said "Let's leave this place Tung" but Tung said "Mother you're unwell. I wil take you to the hospital now" and he rushed by and Wai Lan looked at him and called out "Jeung!" and he actually stopped. And then he continued on and  Wai Lan rushed to him and held him back and said "You're Jeung, you're my son. Your mother is Au Yeung Wai Lan, your father was Koo Kin Shing. These are your siblings, your brothers Tong, Yan, sister Kuen and youngest brother Leung!" and Jeung looked and put the beggar woman down, and then faced her full on and shouted "You're not my mother! That is my mother! My father was a chicken farmer in a small village!" and Wai Lan said "No! Your father was a TCM doctor!" and Jeung said "ENOUGH!! Leave us alone! Isn't it enough you defamed my mother, that you caused us our predicament?" and Wai Lan shocked heard Jeung said "You cheated my parents of their money, leaving them destitute! You are a swindler! Leave us be!" and Wai Lan angry rushed to Kiu and shook her as she demanded "What did you tell me my son? What lies have you told him?" and Jeung roughly pushed her away and the children were at loggerheads with Jeung and very noisy when ...

here is one of the 2 best scenes of the night;

Tong shouted "QUIET!!!!" and as everyone fell silent, Tong strolled up to Jeung and his mom, smiled and said patiently "Why not join us at home for a cup of tea and a bun? Let's just eat and talk about this. Come on." but Jeung has had it and roughly pushed Tong away who was shocked and if I remember correctly, was it Tong or one of them shoved the family picture to Jeung's face and said "See our family photo. That's father, you look exactly like father, you look exactly like him!" and Jeung stared at it without much reaction, took it and tore it up. Of course pandemonium after that and Jeung grabbed a bench nearby, put it in front and shouted "If you bother us again, I swear I will to do you what I am going to do to this chair" and he broke it into 2 with 1 movement. He carried his mother and left and Wai Lan cried, other shocked and Tong shouted "Fine! Don't come begging us later to forgive you and accept you back as our brother! We won't!!"

Ahhhh sibling rivalry. What I love about that small scene is the way Tong reacted, instead of going the hard way, he used the soft approach and when that failed, he became angry and frustrated again. I don't blame Jeung for acting the way he did but when he heard the name Jeung, he stopped. So did he have some repressed memories of his childhood? After all he was probably 9 when he was kidnapped. He must remember some.

Wai Lan and Tong continued to spy on them, Wai Lan wanted to rush out to Jeung but Tong held her back, meaning better observe first since Jeung misunderstood them so deeply. Meanwhile one of the children took the photo for repair and it came back patched up. Probably the only photo since photos were expensive in those olden days. 

One day, Jeung was with his mom, who was still sick and wanted to return to the village but Jeung decided to stay to see the doctor.

Pause here. I have no idea why she kidnapped Jeung, probably because she was childless, probably because she sold children. I have a feeling it had nothing to do with Tak, from the looks of it. But the woman deserved her illness. Karma.

Knock on the door, Jeung opened it and it was the siblings led by Tong who smiled, all of the smiled and said "Come on! Let's talk!" and Jeung threw a bowl of water at Tong who again scolded Jeung as Jeung pushed them all out.

Not long later, another knock and this time it was Ming alone with a bag of something. She said "Please let me tell you a story, I swear after I finish with the story I will leave" and Jeung went back to his mom as she said "When I was very little, my mother died and my father loved me very much. One day he brought home an auntie who became my stepmother and she took bought me nice things but I was wary of her" and we see flashbacks of a young Ming "and one day, I came home and my father and his new wife were missing. They had left my grandmother some money and a note to take care of me from now on. I rushed out (that scene of her running), went to the train station but I couldn't see them. That was the last time I saw my father" as she began to cry hard and the woman looked guilty, Jeung looked guilty of whatever as Ming said "But I was convinced I will see my father again, so I went to the station everyday and waited. My grandmother died not long later. After that I made the train station into my home, looking for my father in the morning, begging for food from passerbyes and slept on the benches at night." and we see the girl looking dirty and she continued "One day as I was waiting, another woman rushed in asking about her eldest son whom was kidnapped. She too was there every day and she saw me one day, and gave me a home. Everyone objected, saying she should send me to an orphanage but she persisted" and we see young Wai Lan crying and hugging Ming said "I lost my son! He could be out there some where, wandering alone, begging for food. I won't let this little girl suffer the same fate!" and Ming crying harder said "She introduced me to her children and treated me as one of her own" as we see Wai Lan said "You will treat her as your little sister, understood?" and the boys said yes and Ming said "She is the nicest person I have ever met. Without her, I won't be here. She gave me love and a family. I told myself, if I could find my oldest brother again, I will willingly trade my happiness for his safe return" and she finished, both of them silent and she said "That's all I have to say" and she put down the package and walked away. Jeung looked stunned for a moment and then continued to wash the woman's feet.

Pause here.

Does Jeung remember? Does he?

At home, despair, dinner and suddenly someone said a young man is here to see Wai Lan.

They rushed out and it was Jeung. Tong angry and cheekily said "I thought you said you will never set foot in here or see us again?" and Jeung said "I didn't intend to but that girl (pointing to Ming) came to see me and my mother, told us a story and gave us oranges. I am here to return the oranges" and Tong said "Is that it?" as Wai Lan told him to quiet and Jeung said "No. I have a story to tell" and flashback and so he said "I was a sickly young boy. Father died young, and because of my illness, mother owed a  lot of people a lot of money. One day I woke up, and she was missing. I rushed to look for her and saw her selling the only prized possession left in our house, the blanket to pay for my medicine. I rushed to her across the street, a cart was approaching and mother didn't think twice and rushed to push me away and in the process, cripped her arm. She was in pain. The villagers used a cart to take her to the hospital and on the way there twice she woke up and asked only about my wellbeing and each time fainted again. When we reached the hospital, she woke up long enough to ask if I was fine and again she fainted. I am not an educated man but I know my mother is not those things you said of her. And even if she is, she is still my mother who sacrificed so much for me. She was and will always be my mother!" and he left I think and the others were stunned by his story and his declaration and, here is one of the 2 best scenes in this episode, Wai Lan stood there, tears streaming down her eyes as she realised she may have lost her son again.

Next episode, no trailers. So the next one must be a major one, very excited.

I tell you, this is the best of the lot thus far. There are still some weird writing but at least, the story is getting somewhere and it is less Moonlight Resonance and more Safe Guards. I think Jeung's reappearance gave this series a lift, and a good one. I love the scene between Jeung and Tong, the way Tong reacted, the way Jeung reacted. Feuding brothers will make for good TV when they reconcile. Just don't fall for the same girl!! I also like the last scene, Wai Lan finally has some major things to do and as she cried very very hard, your heart will break for her. Imagine finding your son and your long lost son thinks you're the swindler, thinks you're the bad guy, think the world of the kidnapper. Problem here is the kidnapper did genuinely lover him as her own son. So as the mother, do you hate that woman or try to forgive her for having sacrificed for your son?

I wonder why she kidnapped him in the first place. I also believe this will be solved when the woman confesses to Jeung on her death bed.

Performances wise, some very good ones.

Kenneth Ma is growing on me. He may suck at dramas but when he has to act cute, darn it, he IS cute. Love how he shouted to everyone to SHUT UP!! and then said the lines probably made most famous by Stephen Chow, but in a different way. He can do comedy and at that moment I find his Tong very cute and very likeable. I also like the scene where Tong beat the crap out of Man Kwan and Kenneth handled that scene well as he took the stick and wacked that jerk. He really could do physical comedy and I find that scene satisfying and funny as well! Just don't go scolding people with that pout. How to take him seriously??

Kevin Cheng surprised me. He did well for his standard. He brought out Jeung's anger, frustration, etc. His best scene would be the last scene as he said that woman is his mother. He has shorter hair, looks rougher, darker, slightly bigger. He contrasts well with the other character, Shing, so he didn't do them exactly alike. He is shouting, but hopefully not til hoarse like Jacky Heung. And next to "drama king" Jacky Heung, Kevin seems like an award winner. However he has problems. And I finally knew what was Kevin's problem as an actor; he doesn't know what to do with his hands. His body language is terrible. He wants to point, and yet didn't do so convincingly even when he was shouting convincingly. The way he stood made him seem unsure about himself and the way he carried him just makes him look like an overly handsome ke-le-fe. He should really go to Kenix Kwok School of Body Language because Kenix knows how to use her arms, not effectively but at least rather than hang there limply. If Kevin can fix that hand problem and some expressions, I think I might like him as an actor.

Yuen Qiu finally showed some acting chops in those emotional confrontation scenes. Well done!

Natalie Tong is someone I can't say is terrible. She can act but that scene where she was crying and telling her story, which was very sad and heart wrenching but also too long, mostly because she took too many pauses to control her crying and to talk at the same time. Tavia can learn crying from Natalie but Natalie can learn how to cry and talk at the same time from Charmaine. Because I find that scene sorta irritating for the never ending pauses, crying, dialogue. She seriously can't be so into crying she forgot to tell her lines properly right?

Dominic Lam nothing much to do. Kara Hui just suddenly appeared and suddenly disappeared with about 2 lines. Like an apparition drifting in and out of a scene.

The rest save for the uncle was just ok.

Awful ones were Shirley Yeung (Why is she even in here?!) and Jacky Heung who makes dramatic overacting into an art form. I won't even say overacting. More like I don't know, some form of acting, with lazy speech but deliberate emphasis on certain action or words. He is terrible and yet he really has a face full of character, I suspect a body to match but his acting is awful.

Selena Li is pretty but she looks like she is perpetually on the verge of tears. I find her performance fluff. But she and Kenneth Ma makes a cute pair.

So far this is the best episode. But still could be improved on, tweaked on and made better. And I just notice the themesong, awfully sung by Kevin Cheng without much energy features Wai Lan and all the children crying, one after the other. 3 more children and that opening theme will be a running joke. Right now, it is funny!