EPISODE 23

This episode continues on 3 issues:-



1. the close relationship between Sam Kwai and the King;

2. how pitiful Cheung Ping is and how giving Sing Hing is; and

3. how stupid Chan Yuen Yuen could be.



Now I know how come Cheung Ping never walked back to the palace. It was too far and of course filled with Qing army looking for a very lost Cheung Ping. They knew she was still there but didn't know who she was. So one day she stumbled upon Sing Hing (not dead by the way) who was busy entertaining 2 Qing officials. It seemed that his cannon factory at Baoding was taken over by the Qing so now Sing Hing was like entertaining them. One thing I forgot to mention about Episode 23; one scene was very real. Ordinary citizens couldn't have cared less who was governing them, as long as they have jobs and food on their tables. This was highlighted again in this episode. Sing Hing saw Cheung Ping but ignored her for her safety. He sae her fainting. Next at night he went in search of her, rescued her and promised her he will take care of her (and he was crying) whilst Cheung Ping was crying "Sai Hin.Sai Hin". He took her back to the factory and she was now back to being Chu Fai Lei.



Here I could never understand. How come nobody at the factory knew she was Cheung Ping? She must have suddenly been picked up by the officials and just disappeared. I must refresh my memory on this one.



Anyway back to Chan Yuen Yuen who stupidly agreed to marry the King just to catch a glimpse of Sam Kwai who was busy helping the king to destroy Lee Chong and his merry men. Tin made sure she was chosen and of course Yuen Yuen slept with the King. And then she told the King about Jiangnan and he immediately ordered Sam Kwai to his room and discussed about the plans to save Ming and Jiangnan. That was when Yuen Yuen saw Sam Kwai, both as shocked. Yuen Yuen was asked by the king what the people at Jiangnan was calling him and instead she directed her words at Sam Kwai and called him basically a lying heartless conniving cheating bastard. The King was confused of course.



And then we see Sam Kwai secretly coming into Yuen Yuen's room (like so easy? no guards? no eunuchs?) and begged for her forgiveness. It seemed that he left her 3 years ago without a message and until that scene I still did not know why he left her all of a sudden.



Anyway Ming is now truly truly doomed.



I believe this episode is probably the most amateur writing I have seen thus far. Reasons are aplenty.



1. Why on Earth Chan Yuen Yuen would go into palace, be the King's concubine just to see Sam Kwai? Can't she just write? Can't she just send courier or something? By marrying the king she is bound by her vows, so with her having an affair with Sam Kwai is morally and ethically wrong. So the king should be rightly pissed about this. In fact Yuen Yuen created all these problems herself.



2. We last see Cheung Ping in nice clothes, now in here the cloths is back to her Chu Fai Lei days. So she ditched her nice (albeit dirty) clothes with a beggar issit? Where is the consistency?



3. Sing Hing should stop suffocating the viewers with his undying love for cowardly Cheung Ping who cared nothing for him. Of course she was polite to him, as a friend but Sing Hing should realise by now doing so much for a woman who can never love you may be great at first, but again and again and again means basically Michael Tong has no role but to play an overzealous love sick puppy. I hated the scene where he stole money from his father's cabinet so that he can pay someone to deliver a letter to the palace on behalf of Cheung Ping. At a time like this, I wished there was Hedwig to save the day.



4. Tin and her fellow merry men were so naive. So Yuen Yuen will get the king back but so what? At the time Qing is attacking and Lee Chong is attacking with corrupt ministers and hopeless citizens, Tin still had the time to think about getting the King's love again when she could lose her position any day now. I am amazed by her ignorance and of course admire her determination though it was all misplaced. She could have used her cunningness for better and more beneficial cause.



Overall, the acting is ok, nothing spectacular. Charmaine Sheh looked positively hungry and starving in the early scenes before I realised she looked that way from episode 1. She should consider gaining lots of weight because there's no more cuteness in her, which is one nice quality about her that I like. Acting wise there is nothing new nor spectacular. I am still annoyed at how useless Cheung Ping is and how dependent she is on other people, particularly men. Now this is episode 24 and I have given up hope of ever seeing her utter something intelligent or doing something useful to the dynasty.



As for Marco Ngai, I can only say he was underused in here but he was brilliant in all the scenes he was in. Anne Heung looked the part (although her yellow eye shadows really made her looked yellow and jaundiced) but the thing is she still hasn't become the part. Chan Yuen Yuen should appear earlier to build up her story but I think there's like 8 episodes more? I guess there is plenty of time to see how Yuen Yuen doomed the Ming. Moses Chan was ok, getting better but I find myself loving his performance in Back To Square One and disliking this supposedly breakthrough role.



Overall this episode talks little, shows little and has little or no logic. For dramatic purposes, I would say entertaining but I look for more than drama. I look for intelligent storytelling and the moment I saw Cheung Ping hungry and walking alone on a street, I knew this episode will be anything but intelligent. Now it's like back to square one. Cheung Ping looking for Sai Hin, Sai Hin worrying about Cheung Ping, Sing Hing trying to be the saviour not expecting any favours and the King besieged with internal and external problems. It's like a never ending cycle of repetition. When can I see intelligent script like I saw in the last 2 episodes?



One speculation. I saw the King discovering Sam Kwai with Yuen Yuen doing you know what I guess. I guess the King will punish Sam Kwai as history dictates, where Sam Kwai will be demoted and sent to guard some fotress which he opened later for the Qings. I would hope to see a change in this plot. Why not the King give Yuen Yuen to Sam Kwai as a present to strengthen their friendship and to make sure Sam Kwai will do anything to serve his master well? Since the king could so easily prostitute his daughter, Chiu Yan, why not a wife he hardly cared about? Maybe ego?





Still no sign of Superman in this episode. What happened to her?