#hong jie is my personal favourite

[fruityfroggy]

For those who don’t know, Lilya’s name in the cn version is “Red Crossbow Arrow”

I just wanted yall to know this cuz I’m so not normal about this, I’m really not

[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.

[shijiujun]

History3 Ep 8 Summary - SHAO FEI ADMITS HE LIKES TANG YI

my obsession with tangfei is getting a little ridiculous - i’m writing this as the episode live streams AND OKAY IT JUST ENDED!!!!

*JUST A WARNING GUYS IT’S ONLY 20 MINUTES FOR TODAY’S EPISODE AND WHAT THE HELL THEY KEEP DOING THIS AND ENDING THE SCENE PREMATURELY and today’s was ridiculously short in feel especially - and the scenes just keep changing prematurely as well and the development is a bit too fast? but the good thing is the plot actually moved in terms of everyone’s relationships and also the bad guy’s plots - which we haven’t seen much of until now

i have no idea, let me know when you guys watch it and have any theories! i’ll explain some of mine later below!

also an update on the chinese audience again - they’ve totally adopted shao fei as their son it’s hilarious some of the golden comments translated are (they mean their comments lovingly despite the exclamation marks LOLOL):

“DON’T HURT MY SON!”

“LET GO OF MY SON”

“TANG YI YOU LITTLE SHIT” 

“I’M GOING TO TAKE MY SON AWAY FROM YOU!”

“tang yi hasn’t apologised, i won’t be taken in by his gentleness!”

SUMMARY FOR THIS WEEK:

HAHAHAHAHA omg wow this episode is packing a punch seriously it starts off with SHAO FEI’S MANY LUGGAGES AT TANG YI’S HOUSE declaring his intention to stay

tang yi’s reaction: he stares at shao fei as he ALWAYS DOES, as if he’s wondering how this human being ever came into existence you know? and then he says: “i’ll never allow having a policeman around me 24/7″

bodydumb, ah de: “yeah boss, what would everyone say if they realised that you had a policeman following you around?!”

at this point, shao fei as always seems to be on the losing end but WOW JACK IS HELPING SHAO FEI OUT WTF GOOD JOB JACK - basically he makes the case that if shao fei moved in, they could also keep an eye on him rather than let him keep turning up at inopportune times and disrupting their plans - THIS IS A VALID ARGUMENT

Shao Fei is totally pulling the friend card again to stay at Tang yi’s house this is amazing if i got my way every time I pulled the friend card life would be so much easier - in any case, he brings up the fact that he’s “half a friend” and he’s not a policeman in this case, and friends should help each other out?

Jack is SCHEMING HE IS SCHEMING: we haven’t seen much of his scheming so far, so i’m actually quite excited to see how his covert plans all fall into place - he show shao fei a REALLY REALLY REALLY NICE GUEST ROOM 

and shao fei just moves in and treats the place as his home like he has ZERO SHAME, YOU GO SHAO FEI! OWN IT! he thanks jack for helping him out earlier and jack is all: “it’s alright, i actually need your help.” 

in this case - HELP COULD MEAN 2 THINGS 1. with possibly bodydumb’s alleged betrayal OR 2. with zhao zi OR 3. BOTH!

shao fei calling zhao zi then and asking him to turn up at tang yi’s place to set up a security system or check the existing one - it could be a legit reason i.e. jack knows that zhao zi is good at technology and hacking and what not, and wants him to come and scope the place out, BUT ALSO so he can spend time with zhao zi

the rest of the police team just groans because they’ve got a lot of work to do and with shao fei already stationed with tang yi so they’re one man short, and now they want zhao zi to go over as well? you’ve got to admit that police chief perhaps wanted shao fei out of the picture and OUT OF TROUBLE AS WELL and best case scenario shao fei turns up with some evidence and progress and if not WELL, AT LEAST HE’S OUT OF TROUBLE FOR A SHORT PERIOD THANK GOD HE’S SOMEONE ELSE’S PROBLEM FOR NOW

back at tang yi’s house: hong ye vs. shao fei - who is going to win? OMG hong ye is pulling out ALL THE STOPS she’s so mean - i can understand why but WOW SHE IS SO MEAN AND SHE TOTALLY WON THE ROUND IN A SENSE - she totally provokes shao fei and hits all his buttons by mentioning li zhen jie and insisting that she was a dirty cop, and that shao fei is exactly like her: “it’s no wonder, policemen’s salary is low, they can’t help but be a little greedy” and other things, and we all know how much li zhen meant to shao fei, so he literally TAKES A SINGLE FUCKING STEP AND MOVES TO KIND OF POKE OR GRAB HER-

tang yi comes in at just the right time and grabs him and SHOVES HIM VIOLENTLY backwards and shao fei legit just crashes into the chair behind him: “don’t you dare touch her!”

CAN YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND WHY THE CHINESE AUDIENCE ARE LIKE ANGRY AT TANG YI HAHAHA

anw shao fei is spitting mad, he gets up and goes: “do you know what she said?!”

tang yi: “it doesn’t matter what she said. don’t you dare touch her!”

i expected shao fei to argue, but he’s totally hurt from her comments, and then now that tang yi is indiscriminately shielding her against him - so he just stalks off, the poor bb and just as he leaves, tang yi asks hong ye: “are you okay?”

hong ye: “i’m fine, i was just a bit frightened/startled by him”

cue shao fei’s indignant expression as he hears that and stops by the door, then makes his way outside 

LOOK AT BB SHAO FEI STALKING OFF LIKE AN ANGRY LITTLE DUCK

okay shao fei you need to stop being violent towards other people’s property - he is understandably angry and starts kicking the swing outside in the garden

jack is scheming guys he’s totally scheming - HAHAHAHA is he trying to push shao fei and tang yi together it’s fucking hilarious, but at the same time he’s trying to give him cryptic advice? i love it 

jack: “hong ye is known to have a sharp tongue and for being blunt”

shao fei: *POUTS*

jack considers, then goes: “unless... you’re not mad at hong ye, but at our boss”

in any case, jack dispenses some good advice - that if shao fei keeps acting based on his emotions, everything they’ve worked for will be for naught

KEYCHAIN MAKES IT APPEARANCE! tang yi sees the keychain that shao fei gave him while he’s packing his desk, is reminded of what he did to shao fei (only just?!!!! tang yi how could you) and then looks out of the window to see shao fei in the garden - wow shao fei how many times you going to pace the garden

shao fei talking to himself and psyching himself up AWAY FROM THE HURT HE FEELS FROM TANG YI NOT LISTENING TO HIM: “it’s only natural that he sides hong ye. they’re so close.” - and then he returns to the house just as tang yi comes down the stairs 

they stare at one another, and shao fei is still pissed so he walks AWAY from tang yi, then within like five steps he pivots on his heel and faces tang yi just as tang yi reaches shao fei

tang yi explaining himself to shao fei, I LOVE THIS RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT

anw shao fei opens his mouth and he’s about to say smth but tang yi beats him to the punch and goes: “i know what hong ye said to you. i know what li zhen means to you, and i apologize to you on her behalf”

so shao fei was angry, but because tang yi totally apologised first, he can’t be TOO ANGRY, but he scoffs: “whatever. if the person who said it doesn’t feel sorry for it, then there’s no point for a bystander to apologise”

tang yi: “she is me, and i am her. together the both of us are going to complete what boss tang entrusted to us.”

shao fei: “and this means you can just not listen to me?!!!!”

seeing that shao fei bb is still angry, tang yi does the next best thing - HE GRABS SHAO FEI BY THE ARM AND DRAGS HIM TO THE ROOM HAHAHAHA WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR THIS SCENE AND IT IS GLORIOUS

SHAO FEI’S CONFUSED FACE AS HE LANDS ON THE BED?!!!! +100000

wow tang yi how hard did you push shao fei with the bruises and tang yi’s SUPER GENTLE TONE as he tells shao fei to “lie down properly” so he can get his back okay seriously TANG YI HOW HARD DID U SHOVE SHAO FEI BB

ahahahahaha shao fei is totally enjoying the treatment, and he’s TOTALLY okay until he remembers what jack told him, that shao fei actually cares more about tang yi’s reaction than hong ye’s harsh words - and that’s when those BIG WIDE EYES OF REALISATION APPEAR - HE IS ATTRACTED TO TANG YI HE FEELS IT

bad guys turn up - chen wen hao is colluding with another person and chen wen hao is looking for detailed information in xing tian meng - the other guy wants to ally themselves with chen wen hao

OMG OKAY MAJOR PLOT DEVELOPMENT AHEAD: so no ones knows tang guo dong and tang yi’s actual relationship, not even chen wen hao or any of the other gangsters that were previously under boss tang in the same gang

apparently tang guo dong just one day turned up with both hong ye and tang yi, but he only changed tang yi’s surname to his, and let hong ye keep her one surname

chen wen hao has no idea what tang yi is to tang guo dong, and basically asks the other plump dude to show some sincerity and get him some REAL info, particularly tang yi’s EVERYTHING, including his past - chen wen hao and the other bad guy seems fixated on this details, so I’M BETTING MY MONEY ON THIS BEING A HUGE PLOT REVEAL POINT

SO THEORY IS: remember those promotional stills that SHOWED tang yi crying in shao fei’s arms? i think there’s something going on with tang yi’s birth (for e.g. he could be boss tang’s real son with li zhen?!!! OR something similar, something that he didn’t know - but it’s a theory, FEEL FREE TO SHARE MORE THEORIES!!!)

FAVOURITE SCENE OF THE EPISODE: CAR SCENE - tang yi is being chauffeured to the company by ah de, and shao fei is sitting right there next to him and totally STARING AT HIM

TANG YI TOTALLY FEELS HIS GAZE AND LOOKS UP AND SHAO FEI LOOKS AWAY AFTER BEING CAUGHT?! SHAO FEI PLEASE

tang yi, exasperated but clearly quite fond of shao fei: “what are you doing?”

and wow shao fei that was a lousy excuse: “oh! just exploring the car features. wow, does this run on electricity? your car is totally luxury-grade” - and then proceeds to press every button near him!!!!! SHAO FEI GET A GRIP!!!

ah de from the front: “alright you country bumpkin, don’t open the roof window, it’s raining.”

shao fei: “who the fuck you calling a country bumpkin?!!!”

and then tang yi WHO IS JUST LOOKING AT SHAO FEI FIDGET AND MOVE AND RUN HIS MOUTH OFF SO, SO FONDLY, WITH SO MUCH PATIENCE, he asks: “really, what are you doing?”

shao fei, another lame answer that is INCONSISTENT WITH HIS PREVIOUS ANSWERS: “nothing. i’m just looking to see if you’ve got some drinks in here.”

TO WHICH, tang yi helpfully opens the compartment between their seats and comes up with idk is that sparkling water? he is about to pass it to shao fei, and then he-

OMGGGGGG TANG YI HE THEN SO HELPFULLY, SO DOTINGLY, OPENS THE BOTTLE FOR SHAO FEI, AND PASSES IT TO HIM

CUE SHAO FEI’S SATISFIED SMILE

they arrive at the company lobby and tang yi moves into the elevator first, then shao fei wants to follow but he can’t because AH DE AKA BODYDUMB IS A COCKBLOCKER - he refuses to let shao fei go in

AND OMGGG ANDY - ANDY with his lazy outfit but looking fine as hell, he turns up and obviously they arranged to meet, tang yi asks him to come in and he does, leaving bodydumb and shao fei fighting outside of the elevator - TANG YI WHERE DID ALL THE GENTLENESS GO?!!

and fucking FINALLY - we get a scene where shao fei properly kicks ass and HERE IT IS GUYS THE PIVOTAL POINT OF THIS 

bodydumb: “don’t think i don’t know what you’re doing! you’re using this as an excuse. i see your eyes when you look at the boss, it disgusts me!”

AND THEY EXCHANGED BLOWS

AND THEN SHAO FEI BABY OVERPOWERS BODYDUMB AND SAYS: “yes, so what if i like tang yi? it’s none of anyone’s business. if you have time to spread rumors about me, you might as well use the time to train your moves!”

YASSSSSS OMG SHAO FEI BB - BURN!

so shao fei bypasses bodydumb who’s lying in pain on the ground, into the lift, and he makes it upstairs (and somehow he knows which floor it’s on?)

anw tang yi and andy are having a meeting - THANK GOD FOR ANDY’S COMPETENCE - he has intel for tang yi, he knows that chen wen hao met someone the night before, and he has found out who attacked and kidnapped him previously

andy slides a piece of paper with maybe a person’s name on it over the table to tang yi, tang yi grabs it, but andy stops him and warns him: “you’re not going to be happy when you find out who it is.”

tang yi is all, okay, but imma do it anyway

he reads it, and THEORY: maybe it’s bodydumb’s name?! - anw he’s super angry and he flings the paper to the ground - we don’t get to see whose name it is, tang yi just keeps repeating that he didn’t think it was him

andy then is all: “awww, don’t be angry, relax” - and he’s so touchy with tang yi ARE YOU SURE YOU GUYS DIDN’T SLEEP TGT BEFORE and massages tang yi’s temples

tang yi is totally into it and he actually relaxes and closes his eyes

which brings me to the point of shao fei being outside the office, and he can see the vague figures of andy and tang yi standing so close to each other

AND THIS IS HILARIOUS - BODYDUMB AKA AH DE arrives, and before he can grab shao fei, shao fei grabs him, silences him and goes: “LET’S GET RID OF OUR COMMON ENEMY FIRST BEFORE SETTLING OUR SHIT” AHAHAHAHAHA BODYDUMB AND SHAO FEI ARE NOW ALLIES BECAUSE THEY ARE JELLY OF ANDY? 

and then they just end it there we don’t get the scene where shao fei bursts in and interrupts whatever they were doing

some thoughts:

when is the exact OMG moment when shao fei realises he likes tang yi? i think he realises he’s attracted to him during the massage scene, but how did that go to declaring that he likes tang yi to bodydumb?

tang yi why you keep blowing hot and cold?!

“common enemy” i.e. andy - does shao fei know that bodydumb likes tang yi? this still hasn’t been really confirmed, and how did shao fei know?!

I LOVE GENTLE TANG YI TO SHAO FEI - BOTTLE OPENING SCENE IS A TREASURE

tang yi’s background - any theories on this?

[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.