And so this series ends here. I will say I shall miss it. In conclusion, I may have ranted against it, I may have cried, moan, bitched about it, but in the end this series has its moments. It has 2 very memorable characters for all the right reasons, that is Koo Yue Tong and Chow Fong Fong. It has a memorable villain for all the wrong reasons that is Wing Man Kwan. I enjoyed some of the relationships in here which are heartfelt and sincere (Tong and Ching), manipulative and confusing (Chu and Tak), wrong and does no good (Tak and Man Kwan) and general relationships between brothers that is Tong and Jeung. I didn't enjoy the kung fu which made this series very misleading since it isn't about kung fu in the end. I enjoyed most of the dialogues, even stupid ones and I definitely enjoyed the confrontation scenes involving Fong Fong, Tong and the rest of the men. I may not understand the motive of Tak, I may not enjoy Tavia's guest starring role and I may not understand how Kevin is the lead in here enjoying top billing, but overall, the performances are generally positive. Yes, Kevin was sometimes mostly bad but he has his good moments. Even Shirley Yeung has her good moments.
But frankly if you ask me, why watch this series? I mean it has more similarities with Moonlight Resonance than I care to admit, but why you ask?
Simple.
It has a good themesong, however badly sung by the weak sounding Kevin Cheng.
It has a good story base, a tale of bullying, revenge, repentence, forgiveness. I like the fact the Koos never really went all out for revenge when they could have done so easily. Sure I was bored with the constant bullying, why they're so meek but in the end it shows the Koos are gentlemen, pure and simple and Wing Tak is a thug and a bully.
It has some very memorable characters, and I am sure you may not like them at first, but after a while you will have plenty of reasons to love Tong, Shing, Jeung, Fong Fong and the rest. You can even find some basis to even pity Wing Tak and Wing Man Kwan, except if the story has been better developed, Wing Tak can be a very good character to garner our hate and pity at the same time. The same with Man Kwan and most of my emotions for Man Kwan is not due to what is shown but how I feel.
It has some good scenes that doesn't go overboard like I like it that Man Kwan didn't rape Ming, I like it that the Koos never hate Ching and Yau and they know how to differentiate between father and daughters. I am however perplexed why Tak would allow his daughters to see the Koos though, and I put that down as story inconsistencies.
Yes the story is not well developed but for those little scenes and relationships, some are very well developed like Tong and Jeung's relationship. I like this brotherhood story.
Some very great scenes where for once I see some fierce action by a woman that is Fong Fong. I finally see a slap. I would have wished Fong Fong to slap Wing Tak though.
The ending is complete, no cliffhangers, no what if, no ridiculous endings. It is what it is. It isn's too sentimental, nor too serious.
In the end the good points far outweighs the bad points. I am aware some Kevin Cheng fans may be disgruntled at his screentime but I feel for Jeung it is just enough. Anything more and I may end up hating Kevin Cheng.
This is by no means the best series that this acclaimed producer can produce, but it is a lot better than the lots out there. Watch it for cinematography. Watch it for the characters. Fans of Kenneth Ma will not be disappointed though I am, a tiny bit. Even fans of Kevin Cheng will be impressed. Fans of Tavia will also love her cameo, with some heart wrenching scenes. Fans of Dominic Lam need not despair at his character since frankly he didn't suck.
Overall, why watch this series? It takes about 6 episodes for me to warm up to this series. I can still remember and hate with a passion that scene where the boys dressed as girls and all those noisy scenes. But once this series settled down and moved away from being ridiculous to dramatic, the series actually became very addictive. Suddenly the story is not silly, but a respectable story that you would wish to follow and watch to wonder what's going to happen. And some are suspenseful. Many characters come and go but however short their time was or however memorable or unmemorable, no denying some characters do leave an impression. This series is one where after you finished it, you will remember it and would have wished if it was better written, better developed, but no doubt the production itself is high class stuff. Just look at the costumes, the sets, the cinematography. These were done with careful attention. I value those minor but important details. It is a memorable series, far more memorable than you care to admit. In the end it is not a classic but I suspect with enough reruns, it will garner more appreciative fans in the long run. Where series nowadays depend on those silly antics for ratings, A Firstful Of Stances surprisingly has a good story to begin with. It may have silly antics but in the end the strong point is the character that shows both the dignified and the not so dignified perspectives.
I like this series and despite my constant rants against it, I will wholeheartedly recommend this and let you watch. You might feel like giving up but stick around and I am sure you will find something engaging with this series to continue watching.
And perhaps like myself, you might just fall for the power of the white cheongsam or perhaps the evil stares of Wing Man Kwan that is the awesome (but not for his acting, just awesome awesomeness) Jacky Heung.
Anyway do read my Episodic Thoughts if you haven't done so but be forewarned, lots of spoilers, some mistakes, not entirely accurate reproduction but wholly sincere and absolutely and brutally honest.
