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Showing posts with label Two thumbs up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Two thumbs up. Show all posts

EPISODES 18 & 19


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"Miss Chu? Don't call me that ... call me sister in law" - Suk Kwan
FUNNLING METRE
Episode 18 was filled with first rate action with CGI that I am very impressed with considering it is TVB. Episode 19 was filled with comedic moments thanks to Joel Chan and Mandy Wong and I find them very compatible as well as one funny couple. Overall a very enjoyable 2 episodes but unfortunately Tony Hung disappoints in acting dept by being not enough and Grace for being too much. Finally Mui meets Man Ho and you can start counting how many women will drop into his embrace from now; I will give you a clue; the number after 1. Also a new character this late into the series but again not complaining. As predicted, Siu Fu did exactly what I said and yes we get the pirates' perspective so this is my new theory; CPT is NOT long lost prince but rather Man Ho is long lost commoner and will combine power with CPT and pirates to fight the evil Qing army. So ok maybe I mistaken poor women's story who were all kidnapped but technically saved by being kidnapped. And since pirates were given such a sad sob story, my guess is bye bye Prince Man Ho and hello Mr Man Ho.
I dread the final act of this series. I'd rather it is just Joel the merchant and his tale with Man Ho the proud prince.
But seriously, 2 thumbs up for the action!

Buoyed by his own confidence that he just made the prince sacrifice a lot (not mentioned how many) fleet of his ships, CPT plans to go all out to attack the naval base. Ha! Why bother? Just smuggle in and wreck havoc?

Anyway back at naval base. Man Ho wants to give Yat Hin a hero's welcome but Yat Hin is missing. Ha Sim runs to Man Ho and says her uncle is back and tired and resting his head on the table. Man Ho is so moved by the difficulties that Yat Hin faced, he rushed to cover Yat Hin with his own cloak like a grand gesture which it is what it is and Man Ho cautions even Siu Fu to be quiet so that poor tired Yat Hin can rest when Yat Hin suddenly springs up and says cheerfully;


"Didn't I tell you I will succeed? Didn't I promised you I will get you your cannons? I will never let down a friend, ever"


Hmmmm when did they become friends? Anyway Man Ho is very grateful so yeah, they're kinda like friends. And as predicted, Yat Hin teases Siu Fu and says surely Siu Fu doesn't bear any grudge for what Yat Hin did, like you know, greatest insult to a man with pride like slap him, make him kneel, make him say sorry to a prostitute... Siu Fu being thoroughly simpled minded says of course not. Oh come on! Siu Fu should bear a grudge! Whatever Yat Hin did do for Man Ho, what Yat Hin did to Siu Fu was uncalled for. So anyway he reminds Man Ho he promised to give him the admiral's mansion and so Man Ho says yes he will and Siu Fu I think or someone mentions Fok has to move out and Man Ho says with great disdain;


"A small man like him should move to a small room. I have exactly the place for him at the base and I am sure in light of what happened, he hardly has any right to complain"


Did I mention Man Ho is also a very strict man? Once you get in his bad books, very difficult to get yourself out.

And so Fok moves out, crying that he will suffer with his fellow sailors so this is no big deal and Ha Sim and Yat Hin laugh looking at Fok being humiliated. Ha Sim reminds Yat Hin about Suk Kwan and his promise to marry her but Yat Hin has no intention of marrying Suk Kwan and says he will make it up to her in other ways.

Suk Kwan is busy packing,happy that she will soon be free and will be married as legitimate first wife. Her best friend asks if she really loves Yat Hin since they each do so much for the other and in a way Suk Kwan does admit yes but more importantly, she says to herself;


"When I became a prostitute, I told myself no matter how many men I will cheat and lie to, no matter how many men's money I will earn, one day I will find one who will marry me as his legitimate first wife."


Which is why she refused to marry any man asking her to be their concubine. Anyway letter from Yat Hin arrives, with it is money for her freedom and a short poem which basically says;


"A girl pines for the marriage;
but the man will not be able to fulfill her wish"


Something like that lar! She is in total shock, walks in rain and feels cheated, feels like her world comes crashing down and she promises herself;


"Wong Yat Hin, you promised to marry me and you have broken your promise. I swear it, whereever you may be hiding, I will find you and I will make you marry me as your legitimate first wife!"


Pause.

I think this is one role I like Mandy in even if even in her most desperate and all, she still manages to sound so calm which is my criticism to her. Her face is emotional, her body language is emotional but her perfect cantonese intonation and the way she speaks lacks that emotional depth. Seems too much in control. But I like her Chu Suk Kwan who is very very determined. And I feel she is in love with Yat Hin and of course Yat Hin will never marry a prostitute as a first wife. They make a funny pair and is probably the most interesting pairing in this series amongst all bland pairings.

Continue.

Mui is wandering aimlessly, I am still not sure what is her plan. Well her plan is to find a cyclone and she is looking at her ipad, looking for cyclone within the year and a half. I am not sure how long she has been in that time, I am not sure how many times she has used her Ipad, but I want that Ipad. You know why? So much battery power, that's why. And I HATE IT when she starts talking to herself in cutesy way like a total idiot. I know I know, she is new, she has great potential, she should be given a chance to prove herself as her boyfriend reminded us not so long ago but the problem is she is the lead actress and she is in a lot of scenes and she is helping to destroy the dignity of this series' performances, even if half of it is not her fault. Her character is absolutely pointless at this point. Anyway, she sees Suk Kwan who is looking for the naval base and is it still winter? Like this the LONGEST WINTER EVER? I know it should be cold, some scenes I see Ruco's breath which means it is cold. Anyway, she rushes to great grandma and calls great grandma and at first Suk Kwan doesn't recognise her but when she does, Suk Kwan decides to exact revenge on Yat Hin and tells Mui a deep dark secret of the Qing navy (when she hears Mui is also close to CPT the pirate); they have bought western cannons to blast the pirates to smithereens. Suk Kwan will only say the world's vilest man told her this secret and what she does with it is none of her business. And so she leaves. Mui follows the Qing army and yeah, two huge cannons being escorted and Mui knows it is the truth.

I can't remember how but somehow Mui finds CPT and gets on his ship. She warns him not to attack and explained why to the point she begs him and said don't be so childish, just because she rejected him doesn't mean he can be so reckless and he refuses to listen, more so the news came from some unknown untrustworthy person until she keeps insisting and he says fine, they will wait until nightfall, as in wait until the Qing can't wait and they will make a move.

Night time. Man Ho wants to lure CPT out and so he says he will take a ship out wearing the yellow robe. One ship sets sail and bravest eunuch on the ship and they all go teasing and all and we see a figure in yellow robe and a banner basically declaring the pirates and cowards and of course CPT took the bait and shot an arrow at the figure and the men all cried OHHHHHHH PRINCE IS DOWNNNNNNNN and CPT thinking he won pushed ALL ships forward but actually it was a straw man and Man Ho is waiting on the hills with the huge cannons covered and some men also waiting elsewhere and just waiting for CPT to come within the range..

Pause. 

He got TWO western cannons I think. Huge ones but looks so light because aren't real cannons. If you're wondering they have cannons what! Yes they do but as in all insinuation for Chinese vs gwailo, chinese cannons are much smaller and shoots shorter whilst gwailo's cannons are HUGE and shoots farther. Ok, fill in your own puns.

Continue.

CPT is hopping mad and once within sight, Independence Day! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Pure 20 min? 25 min? Pure action stuff as Man Ho was unrelentless and kept firing and firing and firing and CPT sees every ship got hit, all dying and all and father's ship sunk and the horror has yet to sink in when he stupidly declares they must push forward to the shore as safest bet to escape and I was like wow genius, you're getting even nearer to the firing range and indeed, push forward and now smaller cannons go boom boom boom boom and not just that, the 2 warring camps combined and let's assume there is thousands and tens of thousands of sailors all hiding in the bushes now unleashing their arrows of fire and all can shoot long range and if they don't get hit by long range cannon balls, there's short range cannon balls, there's drowning and in the end arrows and whoosh whish swish ish and many many died and strangely not one arrow bloody hit CPT who stands there like a log in total shock realising his arrogance as led his merry men of pirates to their deaths and Mui cries with him, holds his hands as he tearfully and in shocks says to her;


"I should have listened to you... I am so sorry.. I should have listened to you..."


and boom boom boom boom and swish and boom and basically it was persistent until Eunuch Lai says Man Ho better hurry up and finish them off because the mist is coming... and indeed it came and one arrow is released and as CPT looks at a tearful Mui in the most unnecessary cringe worthy scene, arrow strikes him (ahhhhhh why not her!!!) and he faints and mist descended and that's how CPT escapes but not for long.

Man Ho decides once they make a move from the mist he can hear them because you can imagine a lot of broken down ships and all so if they set sail they will bump into other ships and make sounds. For Man Ho, it is not over yet and he declares;


"Fan Lau Gorge will be the burial ground of CPT"


P/s I think it is Fan Lau Gorge. Can't really remember the name but this name seems to stick out in my mind.

Celebration all round, even Yat Hin is happy and everybody feels at last justice is served.

Meanwhile CPT is not dead (sucks big time!) and there are only a dozen people left and I suppose thousands are dead. CPT begs for forgiveness and they don't really blame him. They all await for morning to come where they know they're doomed and Kiu advises Mui to jump into the sea and swim away but Kiu refuses. Then our pirates narrate their stories, why they hate the Qing so much.

Sing saw his entire family murdered by Qings who just wanted to round up fishermen to tally the number of pirates and claim glory. He somehow escaped.

Suen is worse. He was a scholar and won first place in state examination. Was kidnapped by Yat who wanted to make him his advisor and when he refused, Yat let him go only to return to find his wife hanging on the fort gate and he was branded a traitor. He didn't even dare to save his wife's body until Yat came and retrieved the body for him and gave her a decent burial.

Kiu was worse. Yeap, she too has her story. She was a little miss in a reputable family. On her wedding day, Qings dressed up as pirates came to kill everyone and loot the place. She was kidnapped and for several years was a sex slave to the Qings. A horrifying scene was included with her looking terrible and under a blanket, lost all hope when Yat came to attack the place, room on fire and she just smiled weakly and he saved her and later married her.

Mui says;


"I didn't know pirates are not bad people..."


Suen says;


"Who is good, who is bad? Not all Qings are good, not all pirates are bad. Each and everyone here were persecuted by the Qings, who would want to be a pirate? We hardly had any choice. They pushed us to this, we became who we are because of the injustices they did to us"


Mui cries and decides to help them.

She tells CPT her plan; she sees the sail thing and says she will use it, climb up, destroy the cannons and create a diversion so they can escape. She cryptically says;


"Perhaps this will be the end of the road for us both. From this day forward, you will go your way and I will go my own. Po Tsai, I always wanted to say this to you; thank you for loving me so whole heartedly"


And so she sets sail and CPT waits for the signal, she climbs up, takes out her gun (she found her gun before the while massacre) and for someone who cries when stabbing people, she does not hesitate to shoot the young Qing sailors. She shoots like a dozen and destroys one cannon. So easy. She feels hatred for the Qings. I wonder if she has an opinion on anything that is not one extreme to the next because these Qings are NOT the same Qings who raped pillaged and plundered. Anyway Man Ho hears something, runs out and CPT makes his escape at the signal and Mui turns and sees Man Ho and is shocked;


"Bowie?"

Man Ho orders for her to be killed when BOOM! Explosion and she is flung towards Man Ho who by now is a pretty good catcher of women flying towards him and she faints and he looks at her and goes.. I don't know? In love? I hope not. Because this woman just killed dozens of innocent men, and Siu Fu was almost one of them.

Next episode, which I consider as next scene, I expect to see Man Ho and Mui and guess what? Nothing. This series is really stretchiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing the meeting between them both. But not so bad; because most of it is on the cute bickering pair.

Yat Hin awakes in the big mansion and has new beautiful furniture and sees his friendship with Man Ho as a gain financially.

Pause.

How come we don't see daddy's perspective of Man Ho's major super duper win? Why? WHY?! I wanna see daddy go speechless. What about bros? I want to see bros humiliated! I mean Man Ho did what generations of admirals before him couldn't; almost total annihilation of the pirates!!

Continue.

Anyway Yat Hin welcomes his sister to his new home. Yes he has a sister, interestingly and sister has some illness who suffers from maor panic attack and will scream and scream. So annoying. Why lar this disease? But brother loves her very much and she is dressed so well. So you can imagine how well he treats his own niece eh? Because Ha Sim never had those. Poor Ha Sim. And suddenly got a sister.

Anyway he and sister go shopping when Yat Hin hears a familiar voice and it is Suk Kwan who is asking a scholar to write a summons against the vilest man, Wong Yat Hin who promised to marry her and abandoned her. Yat Hin got angrier and angrier as he goes closer to her when he shouts her name and she sees him, forms a tiny smile and says;

"So you finally appear eh?"

And Yat Hin shouts;


"What do you think you are doing? If you do all these, there goes my reputation!! Are you trying to ruin me?!"


But Suk Kwan reminds him he promised to marry her and he says he can't marry a prostitute and he had repaid her and she says she has sacrificed for him and he runs. Yeap, he runs away and it is funny to watch as she runs after him and she stops in front of the magistrate court and threatens to strike the big drum (as a signal that someone has a case to report) and when he says he won't marry her and she says she has done so much for her and that is it because she is a prostitute therefore he thinks he can bully her and use her and abandon her since no one ever wants to be a prostitute and he still refuses and she is about to strike when mid air she stops and we are shown he was hugging from behind and gently says;


"Ok, I will marry you, give you your big red litter and as my legitimate first wife"


So she gets fitted in red qipao, got into a red litter and she is so happy when she is locked inside and carried to a nearby cliff! He basically says he has granted her all her wishes and so she should leave him alone and he will never marry her when she escapes and hanging by the branch by the side of the cliff when the whole litte fall to the bottom of the cliff and Yat Hin thinks he killed her and cried;


"I.. I didn't mean for you to die! I just want to scare you a little!!"


She hears everything.

At home and at night, Yat Hin burns offerings to her and says;


"Here, your servants and your mansion. Fine, I will marry you. Consider yourself Mrs Wong and enjoy your wealth and status in the afterlife but please don't come back to see me!"


Sister sees what is going on and is curious what is happening.

Next day Yat Hin has to leave because Man Ho demands he finds someone to write a full account of the great battle so he has to go and leaves his sister alone. Suk Kwan is nearby spying.

Sister alone, carries out vases and pushes them to the floor and screams. She is trying to control her panic attacks and Suk Kwan knows what is going on and when the poor girl screams again and again and one push of the case... no sound and it is Suk Kwan holding the vase. Sister recognises Suk Kwan and Suk Kwan introduces herself and sister says... "Miss Chu" and that is when Suk Kwan says my chosen quote. This is one very persistent woman and I gotta say, I like her for it.

Next episode, Man Ho orders Mui's skinny neck to be chopped as she looks at him defiantly.

Now tell me, HOW ON EARTH she falls for him?

And at episode 18, finally they meet and then nothing. So late into the series. By that time she should have formed an opinion on the Qing. I suppose now she will see saw between two men and two opinions or maybe she will persuade Man Ho her opinion is the right one.

Frankly I don't care about her or Man Ho and her. These 2 episodes are very enjoyable because;

1. epic battle scene and for TVB standard this is the best I've seen ever. 

2. I like both Suk Kwan and Yat Hin's story even if in the end they're not absolutely relevant to the story of Man Ho and the pirates, at least some comic relief

3. Ruco's performance was fantastic in the battle scenes, he showed he has the aura of a general (as I've said before in 3 Kingdoms RPG) BUT I will have to say; his aura somehow doesn't match the situation. Let me explain. He acts regally, in a regal way, in a regal setting. His every movement, every step shows a man of nobility. But everyone else doesn't share the same focus.  I feel like I am watching 2 different series, and each series 2 different segments. The rest doesn't have the ancient setting regal feel. It is like only Ruco gets what is expected. The rest seems just like child's play.

You gotta contrast Ruco and the gravity of his every pose, action, expression with Tony who should have that moment where he is so burdened by his guilt, that the realisation that "shit! I screwed up big time" where his tears or would be tears signify a man who is at once humbled as he is defeated. Much like how Ruco was except with a streak of stubbornness. I get why Raymond Wong was cast as CPT. He would have milked that scene where he looked at the total devastation around him, that look of utter horror and his tears of not frustration or anger or disgust but the fact that he has led his men to their untimely death. Tony couldn't show that on his face. He just looked shocked but Raymond Wong who could emote all sorts of emotions whilst eating a piece of soy sauce chicken will be able to emote whatever I just said. And I can't stand how he was jumping around like a frog when he feels taunted. Sorry Tony, but you failed big time in pivotal scenes.

Same goes for Grace. Ok she was ok in those quiet silent crying moments but the moment she opens her mouth to speak, it is almost always too much.

Seriously, it should be about balance but like how Man Ho was hitting those pirates ships again and again and again, some acting in this series is seriously like how unrelentless the bombing and arrows and all that in here. Just too much and too many and too OTT.

Best performance though is the CGI. I like it.

A pity the casting is not given more thought.

And some part of the story too. I am under no illusion whatever strategy seen in here is child's play. But it works and for the most part, very exciting to watch.

One thing though which annoys me. When CPT was struck with arrow, that was the end of episode 18, we see flashback of Mui asking her superior about what happened to CPT and it was made into like a legend, like no one knows. Come on lar! Qing wasn't that far away historically and do a google lar! Well documented isn't it? What lar! I am more interested to know what happened to Man Ho historically even if no such prince!

Anyway let me prepare you for the huge possibility of how CPT and Man Ho reconcile, how Man Ho sees the POV of the pirates. It will happen and when it does, let us all get ready with our eggs and throw them all at our telly. 

Right now this series lacks POV. Never really knew why Man Ho so hate the pirates, we are shown the pirates' POV but so limited. Like I said previously, with no clear villain, am I suppose to hate pirates or Qing army? Can't hate pirates since poor Kiu went through hell thanks to those Qing army but we know Qing army are not all bad. If this series' message is Demi Gods and Semi Devils, sorry lar, stories are not done well. I still feel this series would have worked excellently WITHOUT a time travel twist because right now the least perspective I get is Muis. Well she at least gotta kiss Man Ho. That counts for something.



EPISODES 14-17


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"I have nothing more I wish to say ... I .. really have nothing more  I could say .. nothing more .." - Man Ho


FUNNLING METRE

4 episodes of pure heaven for me, because a large part is on Ruco and some are on another actor I am interested in, Joel Chan who didn't disappoint. I don't think this series is remotely interested in developing the story arc between Man Ho and Mui, in fact it is episode 17 now and no sign they will ever meet. These 4 episodes showcases some great moments for many characters, and even one with is so similar with Yong Zheng Wang Chao, except much more idol worthy (Ruco!!) and much more simplistic. The way how Man Ho so trust Wong Yat Hin beggars belief and a great suspension of absolute faith. How easy it was for the pirates to sneak into the army camp is another frustrating moment for me. Why bother waste fire power and ships when they can just sneak in? Why Fok is still alive is making me wonder, and why the emperor act the way he does is making me feel this is drama for drama sake. The only person who makes sense is Man Ho and even he is subjected to some moments where I wonder maybe the script writer just decided to go juvenile. No no, it is Ruco Chan who saves the day with his portrayal of an increasingly desperate prince. Even how he won over his men is too childish. No no, it would  be Fok who is childish. This series needs only Man Ho's story to flourish as it proves, why bother with the time traveling when in the end it isn't even first perspective story any more? This is supposed to be Mui's perspective but we have anything BUT her perspective. I hate how the writers try to make the pirates cute. It is a slap to my face as a woman to watch those scenes. There is no reason to make them  nice or the Qings bad. Just tell the damn story. But I am happy at a mere suggestion of Mui's parentage which explains her skin colour. So thank you TVB for at least doing something reasonable.

This is gonna be a long recap or maybe short, since I can't remember the details except for many tears by men and the abuse of poor Siu Fu. These 4 episodes require a lot of suspension of logic and reason but most of all, very few scenes of Grace so some  may be ready to open that champagne and sip on your glass as I recap what is mostly the naval army's perspective.

But it does prove one thing; Kelly Fu is so touchy feely with Ruco (sure nothing's going on?) and Ha Sim is rather useless as how much help she can give. She is really really just a maid.

Pirate island. 

They feel they have won and so returns triumphantly, with their women waiting eagerly which seriously makes me wonder are all of them suffering from Stockholm syndrome? Mui waits tearfully when they return carrying a body and saying things like "Oh how young he perishes still calling your name" and so Mui thinks he is dead and she cries and h isn't and she slaps him and let us skip all these ok? In a banquet he asks her to marry him, promises he will love her for-eva!!! and she says no and runs away and CPT in shock cries his heart out by the sea. And she wonders in a cringe worthy dialogue;


"Why can't I love him? It is in this ancient time I find a man so brave to reveal his heart to me and yet I denied him the one thing I can't give him. Why can't I be in love with him and just stay and accept him? Why can't I?"


At the palace, Yim is pregnant. Same time crown prince begs his father to strip him of his crown prince title and find a new crown prince since realistically he is dying of TB I think. The father is most reluctant. As news came of Man Ho's failure, the brothers, the emperor, thee two wives and Eunuch Lai in the room and basically the brothers all had a go at Man Ho. But the emperor was too saddened by the crown prince's condition to notice. He was busy mumbling why a good kind hearted son had to be so sick, why kindness is not repaid with kindness when Yim just told them all to back off and the emperor absent mindedly left whilst the issue of punishing Man Ho is pushed back.

Tung Suet asked Yim why let Man Ho go and she says she has no beef with Man Ho, just his mother and since she now needs an ally or the sake of her unborn child, why not extend him help this one time? She seems pretty sure she will get a son.

Everyone hates Mui for rejecting CPT and so they tod her to get lost. Even Kiu says so, even CPT begs Mui to get lost because he is getting drunk all the time thanks to her rejection. She refuses because she needs the cyclone to get home so in the end she stubbornly refuses to leave even if she does look at him with puppy dogs eyes. o CPT says fine, she gotta be initiated as a pirate to stay and so she must be part of the crew in some pirate stuff. They set sail and Mui says she won't kill, maim, steal or even rape or plunder, she will be a kind hearted pirate and so they laugh and say they just need her to steal the emperor's robe at the naval base. Ahhh finally, she will meet Man Ho, right? WRONG!1

Man Ho at home, dejected at his humiliating lost and I can't remember what happened except CPT could easily smuggle himself in and create such a diversion and makes known to Man Ho he wants to get the emperor's robe and so Man Ho told his men to protect the robe at all cost because if not, death to them all since emperor's robe is like so important, which makes me wonder why don't he just wear it? Long story short, Ha Sim is the last one standing and tries to protect the box with the robe in it and CPT forced Mui to stab Ha Sim who promptly fainted and Mui thinks she killed Ha Sim but she didn't because the knife is retractable and Ha Sim just fainted and they opened the box, and..... they flaunt the robe for Man Ho to see and Man Ho is like how they got the robe and goes to the hiding place and finds the robe there and actually it is a trick by CPT to find out where tyh robe it, that robe they had was fake and so CPT and Man Ho fight and lots of slow mo and posing and all and I was just annoyed how the pirates could get into naval base so easily so why bother with 600 ships when 5 or 6 men can just get in and wreck havoc over a robe. Anyway CPT got away with the robe and once again humiliating Man Ho. Meanwhile Kiu finds Mui and tells her to leave so that CPT could be human again and be whole again and so she leaves and meanwhile CPT has had his fun and said this won't be the last time Man Ho will see him and the next time he will not come for the robe but for his head and leaves and in the end the robe is hung up high with some humiliating slogan by our Scholar Suen insulting Man Ho how easy it was to get the robe. Around the same time Man Ho's conniving brothers arrive to see the mess but Man Ho is too disturbed by what CPT did to notice any of them. Anyway Man Ho and gang left the base since it was breached.

Rewind a bit. How the brothers reach there is like this.

Again they bring Man Ho's failure to the emperor and before that Yim also wonders where her position is until Eunuch Lai reminds her that to ensure her unborn son will be the emperor, must first cultivate the image the emperor loves and the emperor loves the crown prince because he is kind and so Yim must play the part of a kind hearted would be empress dowager.

So when Man Ho's brothers all ganged up to push the father to punish Man Ho with death, and then Shun begging emperor to not kill their son and instead give him the medicine for his Malaria, the emperor was so affected by their arguments that he lost his temper big time. He blamed Shun for Man Ho's failures or rather he berated Man Ho for his failures and he wonders why he shouldn't punish Man Ho and yet he angrily berated the 3 sons (Man Ho's brother was especially quiet) why they are so cruel that they want their own brother dead. He angrily cries;


"Do you all not have brotherly love? Why must you all want him dead?! I have so many sons, so many sons and the one who is kind and thoughtful is the one dying and you, the rest are heartless. Why do I have sons like you? Why? Why is my kind son dying and yet you all, you all.."

Yim knew her time was then so she rushed to the emperor and asked permission to speak and the emperor told her he knew she would want Man Ho dead but Yim said;


"No your majesty. No, I am pregnant ..."


Pause.

Emperor looked shocked. But he already knew she was pregnant in previous scene. So here is a mistake. Previous episode also another mistake when Man Ho called his father "Fu Wong" which is different dynasty, should be "Wong Ah Ma". Sometimes the emperor alternates between "Ngo" which is I for commoner and "Jam" which is I for emperor. Very messy dialogue. Also Man Ho is like the non promoted prince. Maybe "Bui Lap" aka Beile is such a nice sounding ranking when it is lowest. Come on, he has his own mansion, he is commander of the navy, he should be "ye" or lord by now!

Continue.


"And I learn that I must be thoughtful. My unborn child influenced me to do good things, to have kind thoughts. I have done so many bad things in the past, I regret them all and for my child, I will no longer be that person anymore. Your majesty, forgive 11th Prince and send him medicine."


The emperor was shocked to see her change in behaviour and said to himself;


"My unborn son could be so kind to influence his own mother?"


Yeap, into the trap he fell. So she is to give birth to sickly looking Daogguang? So he orders for medicine to Man Ho and warned Shun to advice her son to buck up because this will be his last chance. Brothers look disappointed.

And yet next scene the father secretly met with them and sent the 2 most difficult ones to the naval base to keep an eye on Man Ho and punish him if Man Ho did wrong. He did this because in previous scene he looked at his sickly son and said to himself "I will have to protect you" and when his confused sons asked how come now change of heart he just said "One day you will understand".

Pause.

I guess I do. To keep them busy fighting. He is afraid Man Ho being the most capable one may want to usurp power from either his most beloved crown prince or unborn child but more like for the crown prince. He really loved his crown prince. He knew the others are not capable so I guess this is to create tension and keep them all busy. I suppose Kangxi, he is NOT. What a convoluted plot at this point with the conniving father, conniving sons, and the pirates seem like such a happy idyllic family.

Continue.

The rest of the recap is really about Man Ho knowing he needed one special weapon to destroy the pirates and he needed the cannons from the British armada.

Pause.

I thought his ships have cannon so what's so special about gwailo cannons?? I don't get it. I thought he would equip each sailor with a gun.

Continue.

The idea is ok except the way he goes about it frustrates me because the execution is as sloppy as it is exceedingly silly. He got the idea of finding an interpreter in English to negotiate a transaction...

Pause.

Here I thought Mui will come in handy and she will be his interpreter. Let me just clarify; at the end of episode 17 also Mui has yet to meet Man Ho and she is just lurking around doing basically nothing and the story is not even from her perspective anymore.

Continue.

He was told to find a man named Wong Yat Hin who can speak English and has close relationship with some captain or admirals on British ships.

Cue, we get introduced to Wong Yat Hin who so happens to be Ha Sim's uncle whom she has not met since she was a child where she was orphaned and he took care of her or rather she sew to take care of him and he placed her with nunnery because she chose not to go to prostitution den and then she often heard of his stories where he opened many businesses, failed and last she heard was him selling slaves to Penang (Yes, Malaysia) and the ship sank and all died. So he was alive and somehow a man as smart as Man Ho just trusted him. Ha Sim did say her uncle can sweet talk anyone and get anything he wants and he can also be your worst enemy so you want him as your best friend. Man Ho visited Yat Hin and saw how he conned businessman knocking on his door for money with more time to repay the money and Man Ho knew he was the man for the job. Yat Hin tested Man Ho's patience by acting rudely but in the end agreed to help Man Ho buy the cannon (operative word, singular I think) and Yat Hin said he knew a Robertson who he survived the shipwreck with for 1 week marooned on some island drinking each other's piss. I think that part is true but Robertson actually lost the war against the spanish but stashed away the cannons somewhere. Yat Hin wanted $300,000 and Man Ho immediately said yes.

Why he so trusted Yat Hin is called a leap of movie magic faith because I see nothing in Yat Hin to convince me he knows what he is doing. So just assume he knows what he is doing. So he goes to Macau and finds Robertson who was later arrested for dealing in Portugese territory and will be hanged. So now Yat Hin had to bribe everyone to save Robertson because Robertson refused to tell him where the cannons are until he is saved. And he met Suk Kwan (Mandy) and these two were probably the most interesting pair so far. She wanted to con him but he was way smarter. So he insulted her as some whore, she threw alcohol on his face, he threw back and said he had stopped believing in the feminine wiles since he was a young man so he wasn't stupid. For money Suk Kwan agreed to help him but said she will only lend her services and not her body and he laughed and insulted her;


"I doubt I can get anywhere with your body!"

Man Ho waited at base for news but all he got was Yat Hin needed $50,000 more and he had to stretch all he had. Siu Fu delivered the money thinking Yat Him was spending all on whores and so he insulted Suk Kwan and guess what? Siu Fu didn't deserve to be slapped by Yat Him, pushed to kneel and to apologise to Suk Kwan. Well he had to and so he did. I thought why? Why insult Siu Fu? Yes they needed Yat Hin but he wasn't wrong in what he said even if he was wrong. I dread the next episode where Siu Fu and Yat Hin pats shoulder and become friendly because it makes no sense. Siu Fu must hold a grudge against Yat Hin. Anyway Suk Kwan was so touched she slept with Yat Hin and she told him her deepest desires;


"I only wish for 3 things but I know I won't get them from you. But I thank you for giving me a glimpse of what could have been. First, you have already did it for me. I always wanted to see how those mandarin wolves look like when they're on their knees saying sorry to me. Second, I want you to buy my contract and give me my freedom. Third... I want to you marry me with all the ceremony of a legitimate wife..."


But she knew he won't do the 3rd so she rested her head on his shoulder and was just happy for the moment. The significance of the 3rd wish is she is a prostitute and rarely a prostitute is ever the first legitimate wife.

Unfortunately Yat Him wasn't successful and needed more money and so asked for $50,000 and this time it was Shun who sold all her jewelries and then borrowed from other concubines for that money. Man Ho was getting desperate. Ha Sim delivered the  money because she wanted to ask her uncle how much more. But she found him  arrested when he tried to bribe Fabio the chief police who turned out to be the fiance of a woman who rode the same ship that sank because Yat Hin overloaded it with slaves and so it was from the start a trap to get Robertson and Yat Hin. Now both were to be hanged and Yat Hin told Ha Sim to rush back and get $50,000 more because even if he was to die, he will get the prince his cannon.

Meanwhile at the naval base a huge festival is coming and yet Man Ho didn't even have $500 to buy stuff and Fok and his brothers were just waiting for him to fail and Man Ho almost begged them to help when Siu Fu arrived with a  bag full of money and he earned those in the fighting pits. The sailors and the 2 camps were very moved by Man Ho's gestures and began to see Fok as the sly one. They were more encouraging to Man Ho's predicament when Ha Sim rushed in and told Man Ho what her uncle said and that even if they were to rush to save him, he would be dead by now.  Man Ho knew all was lost and Fok and gang laughed happily but not the sailors. Festival time and they said good words about Man Ho and encouraged one another and said Ma Ho was a man who was true to his words, so if he said he could find cannon, he will, even if he can't, they were willing to die with him fighting the pirates and win! Fok was discouraging them when Man Ho arrived and seemed like a humbled man when he read his lists of wishes where he promised to get them new weapons, new uniforms, more funding but the men wanted him to say more, but he could say no more, even Eunuch Lai (who was there because he was tasked with delivering the medicine) and Ha Sim begged him to say more and he became quieter and quieter and said my chosen quote. Fok laughed himself silly, so did his brothers and Man Ho was then so silent. and still as he felt he had lost everything when his other captain rushed in and cried;

"A letter from Wong Yat Hin!!!"

Everyone rushed to read and Yat Hin declared his gratefulness for Man Ho's trust in him and he bought them the cannon! Everyone rejoined and Fok and gang was dejected and Man Ho quietly left and Ha Sim followed.

Meanwhile, how did Yat Hin saved himself and Robertson?


Truth was it was the end of the road. Suk Kwan found out the money he asked for will be her key to her freedom but Suk Kwan promised to save him and so he told her to open a pouch he once told her will be the name of the person who can save him. He hanged a lot of pouches on the window with bells, each with name of a person he must bribe except for the last one which he said he won't use until he had to.

She opened it and it was her name and the method was to bribe the executioner, an Indian fella who was crazy about Suk Kwan and the bribe was her body. So she slept with him...

Pause.

Here I applaud TVB! You see the significance? Yeap like what I said at the beginning this will tie in nicely how come Mui looks foreign and darker skinned! Very good call, at last something intelligent in this messy plot.

Continue.


He saved them by rigging the hanging podium and all that stuff I won't explain. And she did it because Yat Hin promised her he will marry her as his legitimate wife. Even if he didn't she would have done it anyway. She was in love with him.

Man Ho stood alone at the top of the fort and Ha Sim quietly observed him when he tearfully cried and laughed and was brimming with confidence again and took a huge flag and swish around and cried out his favourite slogan;

DESTROY ALL PIRATES!!!!!

Even Ha Sim was tearful.

So.. will Man Ho and Mui meet? Or won't they?

Look, these 4 episodes proves Ruco Chan is TV King. Period. Unfortunately the story, the execution, everything else requires a huge leap of faith. Let's not talk accuracy but let's talk logic. Joel Chan is the next  best thing in these few episodes. He was wonderful, but his Wong Yat Hin should have been given more time to develop and I would love to see Man Ho having a BFF in a properly developed, written and scripted Wong Yat Hin. Imagine the CCTV version of a friendship between a cunning merchant and a proud prince and how the proud prince is humbled and the cunning merchant found his patriotism and loyalty and selflessness. But this ain't CCTV and so all we have is a rushed job. And even in rushed job, Joel Chan proves he has mature as an actor. He really can be devious, despicable and yet likable and relatable. His chemistry with Mandy Wong is sizzling and Mandy hardly is ever a notch above zen. Ruco also was just masterful even if his last scene was a bit OTT to my taste.

The problem now is this series tries hard to make the pirates likable. So as a viewer whose side am I on? Man Ho doesn't come with any background info why he hates the pirates so much. We just assume it is because he loves the common folk and he hates anything that destroys national security. But why not show us more? Build the background for some personal stuff, you know what I mean? For the pirates, what they say and talk is so different from what they do. You can't reconcile those two. And so in the end for a viewer who is the villain? Fok? The princes? Because the bombshell is Man Ho and CPT are probably brothers and so what if they are brothers? So they team up against a third villain but who is the third villain?

Can this series work without a villain? Nope. Because it will show respective party as being particularly unreasonable, like Man Ho and his dislike for the pirates. I hate the scene where CPT made a mockery out of Man Ho not because Man Ho was made into a fool. He wasn't but it showed how easy it was to breach the naval base and so why bother doing it with a war when espionage will work just as well?

And what is the Emperor thinking? And Yim? And everyone? Where is this series taking us? What is the direction? Because I am at a total lost what it is trying to do. Mui no longer has her perspective and hers is biased because she spent so much time with the pirates so if she kisses Man Ho, I am wondering will that be a kiss for kiss sake?

Then there's the costars. I am sorry to say I feel absolutely disappointed with the costars. The girls are not helpful, except for Suk Kwan and there seems to be this innate notion in this story that women tend to be the sacrificial lamb with the amount of attempted rape and rape and molestation and what nots. Suk Kwan is a strong girl and is useful but the rest are just bystanders doing absolutely nothing, Ha Sim included. This is a men's series and I don't mind it at all but even  the men are pretty useless except for a very very few.

I don't get where this series is heading. The acting for some is superb and that is why I closed one eye but the story is seriously flawed. I still enjoyed it all when I stop asking why Man Ho so trust Wong Yat Hin and why can't Man Ho officially buy the cannons from the brits like any trade. And how many cannons did..

$300,000
Note : Yat Hin promised Robertson $100,000

plus $50,000 and another $50,000 (I assume Man Ho did not pay this sum)

could get them?

And Man Ho promised also house lar, mansion lar, even 4th rank official lar.. did he have authority to do all that since in prince pecking order, he is at the lowest in his father's heart?

EPISODE 05


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"Matters of the state is not child's play, father! If you think I have said the wrong things, I am willing to be punished" - Man Ho


FUNNLING METRE

Arghhhhh aghhhhhh ahhhhhhh arghhhhhhhhhhhh.

Yeap, my reaction for this episode, in a good way! Anyway I didn't know this series will be on SEVEN DAYS A WEEK!! No rest! Why? What's the rush? When did TVB change schedule?

Sigh...

Anyway, recap!!


So exciting!!


Anyway, first have to go through some god awful OTT acting. Not that terrible but just too OTT.

Mui runs out and drinks from the bowl and realised she is facing shocked pirates. Wong Yee likes her since well, she is pretty and all. Anyway she continues running and CPT and gang runs after her. CPT scolds;


Why you all can't even stop a girl!!


Whilst running the gang answer;


Yeah, a girl WITH A GUN!!


And so she runs through the town, shocked by weird men with big knives (who are about to cut a big fish) and out of the pirate town and CPT gang say they can't find her, they have looked everywhere on the red flag ships (CPT ships) and CPT asks;


Did you check Wong Yee's ships?


Black flag ships by the way. Pause.

I must say, the location is really really nice. Probably filmed during winter? Because trees all without leaves. Anyway can't fault the location ot set pieces or even costumes.

Continue.

Wing Yee is angry that he can't get his profit and blames CPT. His men say they have some pretty girls and so he looks forward to all that.

Mui enters his ship and hides, for some reasons unknown decided to change clothes and CPT enters and peeks and sees her changing. So skinny. Interestingly for someone with a reputation of debauchery he looks away. Hmmmmm... she realises someone is looking at her and scream and then they hear Wong Yee enter and so they hide and CPT helps Mui to get her gun and then knowingly give away her position and Wong Yee captures her and says since she is here, might as well he enjoys her. But CPT knocks him and she hears her phone rings and quickly reaches in and sees her sister's name and takes the phone and frantically says hello hello...

Pause.

I like Grace, I feel she has huge potential but this is probably my most painful moment of hers. It is OTT with heavy breathing and it doesn't feel natural, She is better as being angry than being excited and all that. OTT is also a form of bad acting.

Continue.

CPT throws Wong Yee overboard and on the way into the sea he knocks Mui and along with that her phone and Mui jumps in to get her phone, couldn't and CPT jumps in to save her and they both disappear and Wong Yee surfaces and doesn't know who knocked him over.

Both CPT and Mui reach the shore and Mui blames and berates CPT who promptly pushes her into the sea to "douse the flame" in her. Well he's no gentleman and Mui remains pissed off.

And so we leave the uninteresting OTT first half and then we get the more interesting 2nd half.

Admiral Fok Yee Tai is having a very bad day. Not only did he lost hundreds of men, he lost a very expensive ship. He screams why every men dies but not the admiral who escapes with heavy injury.

The admiral with the missing eye (from last episode where Maggie lets him go) is going to hang himself when Fok rushes in and he blames himself for what happened and will kill himself but Fok angrily pushes him around and shouts his death is of no use to him since he still has to report to the Emperor and he has no good news but more bad news. Scheming one eyed admiral says why not use the plan before?


We can round up those fishermen by the villages and just say they are pirates and parade them to Beijing as our answer? After all pirates have no identity, no one will know!


And so he agrees but one eyed admiral wonders if it would be too much to take so many, by the hundreds but the scheming Fok says slyly;


Do you know even though for so many years I have been taking so much money from the funds and yet I am still the most powerful men in the city? I have a powerful backer...


One eyed admiral knows and names Concubine Yim and then shuts his mouth.

Suddenly episode shifts to fight club and Ruco.. I mean Man Ho...

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

is sweating, bleeding and fighting with a dude, losing and when everyone buys for the winner, he beats the crap out of the dude who we later know as Siu Fu I think. Anyway Man Ho wins and then as if not enough to satisfy the lusty female fans everywhere, we have a BATHTUB SCENE!!!

But Man Ho's back is not nice to look at. Full of scars, this is a man who lived. Anyway during bathtub, we know he and Siu Fu are both pretending to win/lose and is in the fixed game. Siu Fu says they earn a lot, half of which is Man Ho's but Man Ho says all is Siu Fu's as he needs the money to pay for the maid contract of his fiance. He is ever grateful.

Lunch and conversation continues. Siu Fu was a sailor in Fok's armada when he tried to expose Fok's lies and was fired. He knows Fok's style and when he sees men in chains  being paraded, crying WE ARE INNOCENT!!! but no one cared and throws stuff at them, he got so angry he wants to deal with Fok his own way. Mam Ho stops him and says he can't deal with a man like Fok. Siu Fu is still angry and says;


That is why I came to Beijing. I want to seek justice and to expose his corrupted ways. I heard one man will be able to deal with him; 11th prince, Prince Man Ho. He is famed for his tough stance on corruption. I heard he will punish whoever, he doesn't show mercy to those who doesn't deserve it.


Man Ho has a small smile on his face, since he knows who himself is.

Siu Fu leaves to deal with his fiance matter and a guy approaches Man Ho and nearly exposes his identity. Anyway the guy says all plans are in motion. All 8 censures have put forward their letter of complaint to the Emperor on Fok and says this time Fok won't be able to escape. Man Ho looks determined and says;


No one can deal with you, but I can and I will.


In the palace, as a gift to all lusty men everywhere and every palace scene we have an obligatory concubine taking a bath with rose petals and all. A  maid brings in a perfume which she wrongly names and here we meets Elaine Yiu as Concubine Yim, emperor's most beloved concubine and she tersely tells her maid that is a perfume and she will need to upgrade her knowledge.

And scene ends, abruptly.

Kahing the emperor is hearing the lies from Fok who asks for $10,000 to pay to killed sailors as compensation and Emperor looks up and angrily says;


You have been taking money from the funds, now you will not even leave dead men's money alone?


Naturally Fok is shocked and says whatever said of him are lies but Emperor names his wrongdoings, throws him the documents from 8 censures and demands an answer and Fok has no answer and emperor is about to do something when Concubine Yim enters and basically guilt tripped the emperor into forgiving Fok and Emperor angrily leaves and kicked Fok and Yim looks at a relieved Fok. Later they two have a meeting and he is her uncle and he is also afraid of her and Yim feels...


I am the Emperor's most favourite concubine, we are both powerful people in here, so no one would mess with us but who will....could it be... him?


And here we see Man Ho and his 14th brother of the same mother, not sure his name yet entering the palace for some discussion and 14th suspects it is about the upcoming birthday party but Man Ho thinks there is something bigger brewing and he smiles confidently.

Quite a confident and arrogant man.


Emperor is feeding bird's nest to the sickly Crown Prince who is always sick and the emperor urges him to get well soon so that he can share his father's burden. The Crown Prince feels regret for causing his father worry and is apologetic but Emperor is only worried and takes no offense.

Next we have an amazingly difficult scene to recap, simply because wayyyyyyyyy too many names to remember. All the sons, with names starting with Man XXX and ranges from prince no. x to prince no. xx so frankly, I won't recap their names or numbers since I can't remember. The princes refer to each other by the number.

By the way, just because Man Ho is 11th prince, he is probably not the 11th son. Qing emperors only take into account those who lives I suppose  beyond infancy so he probably had more sons dying and Man Ho may be further down the number. The Crown Prince looks youngest of them all.

Man Ho hears the princes conversation and basically they all have problems and they all takes bribes from Fok and all are pissed that Man Ho is rocking the boat. Man Ho strolls in and offends everyone when he uses one of the prince's analogy on a rabid dog (Man Ho) biting on a victim (Fok) when he says some dogs are worse; no sound and then bite or something like that. Basically all are about to argue when emperor, crown prince and Yim arrive.

The emperor wants to hear their opinion on the piracy problem and none of them could give any good idea and the crown prince is too sick to talk before coughing when emperor asks for Man Ho and Man Ho walks to the front and basically says;


We can't fight the pirates if we ourselves are led by a corrupt and inept leader like Fok, He must be punished, this is the way to unite our armada and only then can we fight the pirates!


Emperor looks guilty and looks at an angry Yim and when Man Ho continues on the Fok argument, basically he shuts Man Ho up and says he will with Fok later and by himself and Man Ho understands and shuts up. Emperor asks for more opinion and no one says a thing and Man Ho basically says the problem with fighting piracy is the disunity of the armada. Whenever the pirates are beaten they run to another sea which is under a different authority and so suggests uniting the 3 provinces under one commander of one huge armada and the emperor seems to like to idea until Yim states the last there was such a powerful position it was Yongzheng time and it was Nin Gang Yew and we all what he did and what happened to him!

Pause.

I can't remember which 3 provinces and will name them when I do hear them again.

Continue.

So the princes begged the emperor to not create such a position so as to curb the ambition of one person aka Man Ho who wants to control the armada. Man Ho is pissed and basically names each prince and says he wants to recommend that prince but the eldest closes his own chances by saying whoever has that position is someone who covets the power and all. Another is a womaniser so surely he can ask his mistresses aka prostitutes to seduce the pirates and win the war. Another is a gambler and so why not gamble this one for the win. Another has no opinion and follows the wind and so is suited for a life on the sea since wind carries him to wherever the wind blows. The emperor shouts;


ENOUGH!! 11th! You need not insult your brothers just to show how good you are. You are saying you are the man best suited for this job! Well, you need not insult your own brothers, and discard with brotherly love!!


Man Ho has had enough and bravely stands up to his father and says my chosen quote. Emperor so angry he wants to scold some more when Crown Prince stops his father and says Man Ho just has the best interest of the empire in his heart. Father then looks at Man Ho and says tersely;


You will be the commander of the 3 counties' armada and you will fight the pirates.


And Man Ho swears he will win, if not he will bear the punishment. As father, Yim and Crown Prince leaves, Man Ho calls for his father who basically ignores him. Before that, when father looks at Crown Prince, he says worryingly;


Son, you better be well soon, you will need to inherit my crown


Meaning to say he knows how ambitious Man Ho is and sees his own son as a threat.

Siu Fu and wife is waiting for the man who helped him but doesn't know his name. Long story short, he knows he is Man Ho 11th Prince and Man Ho asks him to go to Guandong with him to help fight the pirates. He agrees. And then they go to Fight Club where Man Ho spends his days fighting stress and have a good fight. Siu Fu did ask why Man Ho want to take on a position no one wants to take and Man Ho says it is because he likes to suffer. Funny.

Back at home, their mom visits and it is Susan Tse. Anyway mom advises man Ho to just wait his opportunity, not to offend too many people but Man Ho asks;


Mother, do you want me to be as useless as XX who spends his days gambling or XX who spends his days in a prostitutes den?


GOOD POINT!! Man Ho is not that sort and so his mother is resigned to the fact that her son is ambitious and wants to do something with his life. But she did say whatever he do, his father will never look at him the way he wants him to. Man Ho looks grave and says;


Why does father hate me so much? What did I do wrong?


Maybe he is too smart that the emperor fears he will usurp the crown prince's position. I bet crown prince will die and I wonder who will be the emperor?

Anyway last scene which has nothing to do with next episode's contents, we see Man Ho and CPT clashing on a ship, same scene in episode 1.

Wow.

WOW!!!

Ruco Chan did not disappoint from the very first scene. He quickly sets up his character and the sort of man he is. He stands up straight and speaks regally. He is forceful and he is determined. I can't fault his performance until he falls for Grace's character and I will start wondering are there no other women?

And I can't understand why can't they cast someone more famous and well known for Siu Fu's character instead of this guy who is so not believable and so unmemorable? Where is Jonathan Cheung when you need him?

Elaine Yiu is in a plum role, unfortunately her acting, whilst improved so much is still rather predictable. Her character's niceness or evilness will influence how she utilises her eyelids and how much she drags her words. More evil means much slower fluttering of eyelids and sharper shorter sentences. More nice means faster fluttering of eyelids and more slurred speech.

The rest no comment. Same old for Grace who is OTT everywhere and a total mess and Tony who is an absolute miscast.

The pirate town is impressive. Some looks real location. The costumes are ok, most Qing budget goes to Elaine's costumes but since it is winter time (I think since there's fur), the fur is used but the fur looks recycled, looks cheap and looks ready to cause itchiness. In other words, boring. The hair is super boring and feels like a helmet. But none worse than the princes' costumes. They all look more like merchants than princes meeting with their father where they will need more better costumes. Man Ho's costumes is ok but doesn't look expensive. Again looks more merchant than prince like. The pirates' costumes fare better.

I am just curious about Concubine's Yim's character. I assume the empress is dead so she is next the most powerful. Even Susan is not as powerful despite having TWO sons whilst Yim doesn't seem to have children yet. I am however not believing that Jiaqing is such a wimp, after all he dispatched with He Shen in real life. Moreover even if I despised Empresses In The Palace for its depiction of the emperor, even his most favourite who is backed by non other than Nian Geng Yao (aka Nin Gang Yew aka the brother) Concubine Hua never said a word about politics. What she did in the bedroom influenced his decision, without saying a word. So when Yim said so much, technically someone can tell her to shut up.

Anyway Man Ho's idea is good that is having one commander for 3 provinces that will then control the armada of all 3 provinces. As in better communication. After all the pirates united under the 7 seas banner, so why not the Qing army? By the way armada as in navy fleet.  But I find it not very believable that such great power is given to a prince with ZERO navy experience. Or rather he himself go fighting when probably he has a consultant; a more experienced one, like how CPT in real life was when he surrendered, like how Admiral Zheng He (Laksamana Cheng Ho) was. That sort. But then at this age our Man Ho is still unmarried, childless and so anything can happen. I just wish for once TVB gets it right with the wives and children. And there is a maid who falls for him and from pictures he marrying her in western clothing. Absolute and utter BS. That I absolutely hate. You can be historically fictional but at least be logical.

I am also curious why the father dislikes this son other than he feeling threatened for his favourite aka crown prince. But if crown prince dies, clearly there must be someone to take over, if not him then who?

Interesting second half but I dread the bastardizing to come.

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