This is the final episode! The last of all last! The end of all ends! And is seriously the funniest I have ever seen. I had such a good laugh and I will explain why, even if the drama is dead serious and I emphasise on dead as in DEAD meaning thud!dead! type of sort because seriously, this last episode is like on drugs, moving so bloody fast with some of the worst ending ever. I believe I can rewrite this for TVB and make it classier and better all over.
Anyway, Sam Hou was trapped. General Ma eyed the imperial seal with hunger. Useless 2 officials were there with General Ma and Sam Hou was ordered by General Ma, "Kneel you evil woman! You killed the Empress Dowager! The evidence is obvious!!" and do expect a lot of !! later on. Sam Hou boldly said "I shall refuse to kneel before you. I am the holder of the imperial seal, you can't make me kneel!" and suddenly she felt a sharp pain and fell kneeling onto the floor and it was Kam Ling who did that kicking.
Pause here.
Between General Ma and Kam Ling, they can really both sneer till the ends of earth. If there is an award for sneering, these 2 will be joint winners. But if smiling sneering, Kam Ling wins hands down!
Sam Hou was shocked at Kam Ling doing what she did as Kam Ling said "How can you deny killing the empress dowager, with the weapon at hand?" and Sam Hou asked defiantly "Why would I want to kill her? Why?!" and I believe it was General Ma who said "Because you want to control the palace household and be empress! Because empress dowager was getting better and she will soon takeover and you decided you liked where you were and so you decided to kill her to retain your position" and Kam Ling said "You have become mad with the power that you have!" and Sam Hou cried "No! I didn't do it! I was framed! I have no reason to kill empress dowager!" but General Ma explained to 2 useless officials there and said "This woman is power mad. She must be killed for killing the empress dowager. What is the sentence for killing empress dowager?" and the officials like robot said "Death" and I was thinking anything new General Ma? Anyway General Ma said "You're hereby sentenced to death! Take her out now!" and eunuchs grabbed hold of Sam Hou as Kam Ling sneered and smiled when Sam Hou pushed herself up and away and said "You can't kill me! I am carrying the emperor's child and if you kill me, you will kill the emperor's child and when the emperor returns, who shall explain to the emperor his murdered child?" and yeap, panicking General Ma and Kam Ling suddenly stopped sneering as officials said "General Ma, she is right. She can't be killed. She is carrying the emperor's child" and so General Ma had no choice but to say "Fine! From henceforth, Lau Sam Hou will be imprisoned in her own quarters!".
Kam Ling again very angry said "Why is she always so damn lucky? All the traps we set and still she managed to escape! Surely General Ma you won't let a mere woman defeat you?" and General Ma said "Certainly not" as Kam Ling said "We must get rid of her! Immediately!" as General Ma said "Who said you must do this personally? Who is to say in a few days time Lau Sam Hou feels such regret at killing the empress dowager and so commits suicide?" and both laughed their evil laughter.
So Sam Hou is out of the picture. Since this is last episode, don't fear, General Ma won't be "eksi" (Malaysian slang for arrogant) for long.
Michelle, Susanna and Kara met with Fei Yin in secret at the temple and they asked "Does Concubine Lai know you're here?" and Fei Yin said "Of course not. What is it you want?" and Michelle said "You know what happened with the empress dowager" and Fei Yin said "Yes, Concubine Tak killed her" and Michelle said "That's not true, and you and I both know that. We want you to come out and reveal the truth and save Concubine Tak" and Fei Yin said "Me? Why should I?" as Michelle said "Because Concubine Lai is now driven mad with her ambition and by power and soon she will be rid of you" as Susanna said "Imagine Sam Hou was her sister, growing up together and she could do that to her, more so you, a mere maid?" and Fei Yin looked confused and Susanna said "If you will help us, I am willing to surrender my head of jewelries and let you have my position" as Kara said "You are welcomed in my dept and have any position you like" and Michelle delivered the ultimate; "I will surrender my position and let you be top madam" and Fei Yin said disbelievingly "Top madam? You will let me be top madam and govern the 4 depts?" and Michelle said "Yes, and I will recommend you once Concubine Tak returns and take over the running of the palace household" and Fei Yin said loudly "You want me to save Concubine Tak and you will let me be top madam?" as Michelle, Kara and Susanna all said "Yes" as Michelle said "I shall swear before the heavens my promise!" and Fei Yin thought for a while and then suddenly said "No, I won't betray Concubine Lai. I will not accept your offer!" as General Ma, Kam Ling and guards rushed in and all were shocked as Michelle said "You betrayed us Fei Yin!" as Fei Yin said "I will never betray Concubine Lai!" as Kam Ling said "You think you can entice my loyal maid?! General Ma, what is the punishment for conspiring against a concubine?" and General Ma with his fixation with death of course said "Death". Kam Ling said "Arrest them to be executed later!" so all 3 got thrown into jail.
In one of the biggest and cleanest jail I have ever seen, we see 3 of them stripped off their jewelry and such and now in whites. One of these days I would hope to see them being stripped off clothes and all. I wonder how it is done. Anyway I was just thinking who will now cook, clean, make jewelry? The palace will be full of hungry, ugly and dirty people!!
Anyway Kam Ling arrives, looking grand and sneering, AS USUAL when the 3 asked "What are you doing here?" as Kam Ling smiled and said "I am here to inform you that you will all be executed on *** (didn't catch the date)" and they all looked shocked as Kam Ling said "You must have expected this. Siding with that low life Lau Sam Hou will only bring you this consequence and soon I will send her on her way with her bastard child to hell as well" as Susanna said emotionally "How can you do that to Sam Hou? She is your friend, your sister! Are you so mad with power?!" and Kam Ling slapped her and said "That was for your insubordination!!" as Michelle said "You're mad! Mad with power!" as Kam Ling said "Who isn't?" and on cue "The palace is full of scheming people anyway, I must do all I can to protect myself! And you, I might as well just tell you about your poor stupid Bo Gut Cheong. Yes, I was the one who killed him!" and Michelle now very angry rushed to beat Kam Ling and said "You killed my Gut Cheong!!" but they were held back by guards as Michelle said "Just you wait! The heavens will see and the heavens will claim you for all your sins!!" as Kam Ling sneered "Really? That stupid Bo Gut Cheong didn't even see who killed him! Good bye, and I hope you shall enjoy your journey to hell!!" as she laughed and walked out and 3 of them very angry and very shocked.
Back to Emperor and general walked in and said "I have with me General Man"
and General Man was saved? By who? How? Since only Hin Yeung and men knew where he hid him and all of them supposedly dead so HOW? HOW??!?!?!?!!?!?! No answer.
Anyway General Man carried in, still paralyzed, still unable to move or speak. I was half expecting him to stroll in like he did in the past with vigour and power but sadly, still a vegetable but eyes as keen as ever. Here I must applaud the actor. He may have been lacking something when General Man can walk and talk but here, his eyes is darn expressive and he really looks like he can't move, at all. TVB, what did you inject him with ?!
Emperor gently kneeled before General Man and said "I am sorry for all the troubles you went through. And I am sorry for the ardous long journey to bring you here. But with you here, I believe the Prince of Qi will see me soon enough" as General Man looked at him, as if saying "I am fine sir!". Emperor then said "Carry General Man into the palace of Prince of Qi and demand for an audience in his name!"
Finally, Prince of Qi was willing to see the emperor. And here I laughed my head off.
The prince of Qi is a kid!!! Same kid as in flashback, so that wasn't so off in terms of timeline but I suppose he is 13? Anyway next to him is his trusted old advisor and I laughed again as I thought poor emperor, had to borror army from a kid? And a kid so short? And this kid has huge army to defeat the huge army of General Man? If so why didn't he just grab the throne? Well we shall know the answer.
"General Man, I am so happy to see you but I am also saddened at what happened to you" said Prince of Qi, sounding rather grand.
Pause here.
This kid is pretty good actor.
Emperor said "I beg Prince of Qi to lend me your support and your army to defeat the corrupt Ma Yuen Tzi. The palace is in a shambles thanks to him, and if we don't take back control, the empire will fall into his hands" but Prince of Qi looked at his advisor who looked displeased which the emperor noticed as the advisor said "When his majesty the late emperor died, the throne was supposed to have passed to my lord, the prince of Qi as he was the eldest but Ma Yuen Tzi placed you onto the throne" as Prince of Qi wisely and I said very wisely said "Didn't you once said that there are some things that can't be meddled with? After all these are your affairs, I have wisely chose not to interfere in the past to claim my right to the throne and moved here and I have since decided not to interfere anymore and be complacent at where I am" as the advisor said "This is a personal squabble between you and Ma Yuen Tzi. We can't and shall not interfere as what is there for my lord if my lord shall intervene?" and the emperor said "I should have handled the situation better when I ascended the throne but I didn't, and I ascended the throne when the empire was controlled by the evil Ma Yuen Tzi. I have thus far failed to be rid of him and I am answerable to my ancestors for my failure. If my lord is willing to assist in getting rid of the corrupted Ma Yuen Tzi and claim back the empire, whether I am emperor or not does not matter. Therefore I make you this promise; the day the throne is reclaim and the day of my re-ascession to the throne is the day I shall announce that I shall abdicate and surrender my throne to you" and the Prince of Qi wisely said "But these are mere promises. How am I to know you won't back out from your promise?" and the emperor said "I have already written them down in my decree to be announced on that day" and he handed the written decree to the advisor who read it with the prince and they both looked at each other and nodded.
Pause here.
The Prince of Qi should be emperor I tell you. Wise for his age, adequately supported by a very wise advisor, has his own army, probably that of his father's when Ma Yuen Tzi grabbed the throne from him. Wise kid. Very very impressive. But I was still laughing; borrowing army from a kid!!!
General Ma was in his room drinking or whatever when his man rushed in and said "The emperor has returned with the army of prince of Qi! They're attacking the fort and the battle is fierce!" as General Ma shocked asked "How did that happened? How come I didn't know?!" as the man said "It was ** (that General Man's faithful follower who poisoned him but is actually working for the emperor later on), he was working with the emperor all along!" and General Ma asked "Where is *** (the other General Man's assistant I suppose)?" and the answer "He was killed, in battle! General, we must leave now before it is too late!"
and I was like SO EASY? General Ma so few army? Prince of Qi can just defeat him so easily? Well actually the double crosser (well he is! He betrayed General Man but only pretending so and now betraying General Ma) arranged for I suppose some weaknesses in the defence by General Ma or something, moreover this was a surprise attack. How come such a surprise I don't know since it will take weeks to travel and surely his legions of spy would detect movements in prince of Qi's territory?
Anyway he was about to run like a coward always do when Kam Ling rushed in, panicking and asked "Is it true that the emperor is not dead and he is entering the palace? But you said he is dead, how come he is not dead?!" as General Ma angrily said "Well when he is in the palace, you can ask him yourself!" as he made his move to leave when Kam Ling held him back and said desperately "Take me with you! You can't leave me here! Take me with you! I beg you!" as General Ma pushed her away and said "Take a woman like you with me? That will only slow me down! Let me go!" as Kam Ling said "I wouldn't have done all that so forcefully if you did not tell me the emperor is dead! I poisoned the empress dowager on your orders! I hurt Lau Sam Hou on your orders! I killed the maid and the eunuch of empress dowager on your orders! You can't abandon me now!" as General Ma pushed her away again and said with venom "All that is due to your own undoing! Don't blame me! I didn't ask you do to it (TRUE! She did poisoned the empress dowager before she became his ally, she just wanna blame someone instead of herself), you did it all yourself, so now you bear the consequences! Leave me alone!" as Kam Ling desperately said "You castrated man!!" and General Ma angry slapped her hard twice as she fell to the floor, Fei Yin rushing to her as General Ma said for his parting words "You chose this road yourself, you did all that yourself, so now you face the music yourself" and he walked away and Kam Ling, taken by anger and probably madness rushed forward with a sword and stabbed General Ma from behind and General Ma turned and she stabbed him again as he looked at her in shock and said "you.... you... evil woman..." as Kam Ling now mad said "The great General Ma, the castrated man, not even a man, killed by a mere woman, meeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! No one walks away from me! No one! NO ONE!!!!" as General Ma dying said "You wait for the heavens to claim your life..." and then he fell and died.
Pause here.
Didn't I say the simplest way is to knife him? And Kam Ling did the world a great service for doing what the emperor did not have the balls to do. She should be empress just for that. So easy to settle the problem. What problem in the end? What urgency? So darn easy. Anyway few more minutes before ending so must hurry up!
Kam Ling stood there as Fei Yin rushed to her and said "We must leave now! The emperor is coming!" as Kam Ling cried "Leave? How? There is no leaving. I am done! My life is over!" and whose fault is it anyway? And she said "Once he sees Lau Sam Hou, he will know everything and I am as good as dead..." but then an idea hit her and I was thinking maybe beg Sam Hou? Well, she took the time to apply make up.
Sam Hou alone, eating porridge very slowly, oblivious to what was going on out there when Kam Ling walked in and sneered and Sam Hou tired of her asked "What do you want now?" as Kam Ling said "The emperor is not dead. He is coming into the palace soon" and Sam Hou stood up and happily said "He is not dead? I knew he could do it! I knew it!" as Kam Ling said "But not poor Ma Yuen Tzi. I killed him, by the way" and Sam Hou somehow shocked at Kam Ling's brutality even towards someone like General Ma as Kam Ling said "I will die soon. The emperor will not let me live. But before I die...I want you to die first!!!!"
Oh, so that was her grand plan.
"The porridge you ate, how did it taste?" as Sam Hou realised what was happening and tearfully asked "The porridge? You poisoned the porridge?" as Kam Ling laughed and said "Finally, you have smartened up, right before your death!" as Sam Hou tearfully said "Why Kam Ling? Why did you do that to me? Why?" and Kam Ling on cue said "The palace is full of scheming concubines and corrupt officials. Why? Self preservation!!" but Sam Hou retorted "No, you're wrong! Your heart is evil!" as Kam Ling asked "Why is it you're always protected, always such good luck whilst I had to grab, steal, fight for whatever I have? Why? Your stupid 3 goodness, what speak good words, what do good deeds, what spread kindness, absolute nonsense! I might as well tell you, you're as stupid as your mother! Yes, I was the cause of her death. I took a look at that hairpin and dropped the red wax on it. She didn't even blame me, and told me to be good sisters with you! How stupid!" and Sam Hou realised what hapenned cried and said "Mother? You caused her death?" as Kam Ling said "No worries, you will soon join her in hell! You power hungry bitch! Very soon the poison will take effect!" and Sam Hou was speechless when emperor arrived and Kam Ling a bit scared and Sam Hou rushed to the emperor and cried "Your majesty!" as Emperor held her and said "Concubine Lai, you're hereby arrested! Arrest her!" as Kam Ling laughed "She is still dying!!" when Fei Yin rushed in, kneel and said "No, it's not true! I didn't put the poison!" and Kam Ling shocked "You didn't? You betrayed me?" as Fei Yin looked at her pleadingly and said "You taught me yourself Concubine Lai, self preservation. I am doing this in the hopes of preserving my life. Your majesty, please spare me my life, please!" and Kam Ling, shocked, saddened and mad with anger and frustration cried "See Lau Sam Hou! You are always so lucky! Someone as power hungry and mad with power will always succeed whilst I, I am the sacrifice to your grand plans!"
Cra-zy! Absolutely bonkers this woman. And Sam Hou looked at her in total disbelief at what she was saying, accusing Sam Hou as power hungry when she was the one.
Emperor now has had enough said "Arrest her, she shall be punished with death" as Kam Ling laughed and said "Your majesty can't kill me! Remember your promise?" as she looked at the needles on the tables and flashback to Kam Ling doing the experiment for Sam Hou earlier like a lifetime ago as Emperor gave her a amulet and said with that amulet by him no one can harm her and the emperor remembered and said "Fine. You will be under house arrest until your death!" and Kam Ling laughed very very hard as she said "See Lau Sam Hou! EVEN THE EMPEROR CAN'T KILL ME, YIU KAM LING! HE CAN'T EVEN KILL MEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" as she laughed and laughed, madder as she went along as both looked at her disbelievingly.
Ascession to throne day, emperor walked and stood on top, Prince of Qi the kid (ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!) has his own seat below, his advisor next to him, every robot there. Emperor said "We have rid ourselves of the corrupted Ma Yuen Tzi and reclaim this empire. When I ascended the throne, I have ascended to it without properly removing the corrupt and the problem persists until prince of Qi extended his hand in help. I have failed my ancestors and my people and I am not worthy of this position. Therefore I hereby announce my abdication in favour of Prince of Qi!" and the robots protested as he said "I have made up my mind" as he motioned the advisor to read the decree and the advisor moved to the middle with the decree in hand, looked at the prince who nodded and he moved aside without reading the decree as the Prince of Qi addressed the emperor with such style I was totally and utterly in love with this kid as he said "Your majesty, when you made the promise, I have no intention of ascending to the throne myself. You have shown yourself as fair and benevolent and I am happy to serve your majesty!" and emperor looked on shocked as everyone smiled happily.
What a kid! What a classy kid! He should be king! He probably would have knifed General Ma from episode 1!!
Susanna and Michelle walking in the gardens, happy and chatting as Susanna said "I have spent a lifetime in here, remember when we were children we see the older maids and wanted to be them and when we see those in the 4 depts and we aspired to be then and then we wanted to be supervisors and top madam?" and Michelle smiled and said "That was such a long time ago. I heard the emperor allowed you and General Man to retire" and Susanna said "Yes, it is time I stop fighting from being happy and embrace it" and Michelle said "I am very happy for you" as Susanna said "And you?" and Michelle said "Don't you worry about me. I have Gut Cheong. I can always spend my days cleaning up his place, I can still feel he is still there, so I am never lonely. Chui Wan, promise me you will write to me often" and Susanna cupped her hands and said "I promise" as Siu Shun rushed to them and said to Michelle "I found it!!" and Susanna curious asked "Found what?" and Michelle handed her a piece of paper and said "Here is my parting gift to you" and Susanna opened it and it was a prescription note from a doctor as Michelle said "Gut Cheong usually does not keep such trivial stuff but he kept this very carefully for a very long time, it is a prescription from a medicine shop and looking at the date, I believe it was a day after you gave birth" as Siu Shun said "It was also godfather's off day that day" as Michelle said "I believe he smuggled the baby out because the baby was sick, and he must have visited this shop and the doctor must have seen the baby. Find the shop and the doctor and hopefully you will find your son" and Susanna now in tears said "How can I ever thank you for this?" as Kara walked out and said "Lunch is ready! Come on, let's eat!" as Michelle said "Oh come on! Let's have a happy farewell gathering before you leave!" and they all walked hand in hand into the hall.
Sam Hou alone looking at her mother's hairpin and Emperor came to see her as Sam Hou held the handkerchief and said "I don't know how I can ever repay your majesty's kindness for all that you've done for me"
Pause here.
Sam Hou, he owes you, not you owe him. You did delay General Ma and helped secure the throne for like 1 day in TVB time.
Emperor knew what she meant and said "I was hoping you will return that as my Concubine Tak but I know I can't force you to accept my love" as Sam Hou said "Your majesty, the man I love most is Hin Yeung but (and she said it sincerely choking back tears) the man I respect the most is your majesty" and I was quite touched by what she said too as the emperor smiled and said "Sam Hou, you always have a way with words, from turning bitterness into sweetness" as Sam Hou said "I return this to you" and the emperor took it as Sam Hou said "I have a request your majesty" and Emperor said "Speak" and Sam Hou said "Please allow me to leave the palace" and he was shocked as she said "Hin Yeung promised me he shall build a nice home and plant the trees at my mother's hometown and I plan to fulfil that promise on his behalf and wait for him there" and Emperor said "Alright" and Sam Hou said "But before I leave, your majesty must promise me 3 things" and Emperor said "Yes" and she said "First, please allow me to take this hairpin made by my mother with me" and the emperor said "Granted" and Sam Hou said "Second please discard your hatred for Kam Ling and show kindness to her instead as she is now paying for her sins" and Emperor said "I will"... wait! She killed your mama and you want to show her kindness? And when I said Mama I am talking about emperor's mama! The kindness should be quick death, not let her live!!!! Anyway "Third, promise me you will be a benevolent and a great emperor" and the emperor smiled and said "I still wish to be the man most respected by you Sam Hou, and so yes, I promise" and Sam Hou smiled happily.
Sam Hou leaving the palace, no one to say goodbye? Well there's one, hiding by the corner, the emperor as he looked at her walking slowly out as she remembered her mother, she and Kam Ling as children and as she slowly walked out, the emperor opened the gift she gave him earlier, inside full of the sweet tong lin zhi and he looked at her back and his eyes full with tears.
Pause here.
Very very sad scene. I pity the emperor. Now no wife, no children and Sam Hou has left. He is indeed the loneliest man in the world. I feel so sad for him. But what to do when against TVB's favourite child, Kevin Cheng? If he was Kevin Sheng (like who?) probably emperor will get the girl. Poor poor man.
General Man and Susanna in the medicine shop looking at a young man who said "General Man, with these medicine, your situation may improve" as he busily packed the medicine as Susanna smiled and said "You're so young and yet such a capable doctor, when were you born?" as the young doctor said "The year of the dragon" and Susanna looked at General Man who looked back happily (eyes that is) as she said "Your father must be proud of you" as he said "He trained me well, but he is not my real father. I was adopted but I am grateful for my father's love" and they both knew he was their son when suddenly man said "Father!!" and General Man thought he called him when it was the old doctor who rushed in and he rushed to his father and helped and then his pregnant wife came out and Susanna was very happy to see her son married and soon with child as she said "You often helped others for free. You have such a kind heart" as she observed the married couple being very loving to one another and he asked "Are you both planning to settle somewhere?" as Susanna said "My husband and I wanted to settle down in his hometown but I think my husband likes it here, so we shall be settling here and I believe we shall see each other very often.. here, please take this little bell (she made for him as a child) as my gift for your unborn child" and the young man was very happy as his wife said "The bell is so delicately made, it is beautiful" and the young man said "If that is the case please accept this medicine for free" as Susanna looked at General Man happily.
I believe if the story went on, she will reveal them as his real parents but poor General Man, forever that way. At least he is happy.
Back in the palace, 2 very young little girls were lost and found Kam Ling at the gardens, still finely dressed as she asked happily "Lost your way?" and the scared girls said "We are looking for the jewelry dept" and Kam Ling smiled "Ahhhh, it is over there" and they walked away as she said "Wait! Not there, over there" as they turned and they said "How can we thank you?" and Kam Ling smiled and said "Everybody knows me here! I was a maid at the jewelry dept and then became a concubine. I may be empress one day!" and they asked "May we know how to address you?" and she smiled warmly "Concubine Tak, everybody knows me as Lau Sam Hou! Well now, go along now!" and they quickly left as she shouted at them "Remember to be kind to one another, like sisters, did you hear me, Sam Hou, Kam Ling?" and then she went back happily to wandering around.
Pause here. She thought she was Sam Hou, she sees every girl as Sam Hou and Kam Ling herself. Which is not a good ending. For what she did, she didn't deserve a grand death, no, she deserved to fall into the pond and drown, that sort of insignificant ungrand type of death. To have her become truly insane, thinking she is Sam Hou, let her dress as grand as she was and wandering around, that's not justice for someone who killed the most in this series. It is to me a stupid ending for Kam Ling. I am not offended she became crazy thinking she is perfect Sam Hou. That will be her comeuppance, thinking of herself as one of the person she hated the most and yet innately wishes to be that person at the same time. I am offended she got to live such a "ji yau ji joi" live when she hurt so many people for no apparent reason except for thinking the palace is a scheming place when she herself schemed and no one else against her.
Some years later, we see Sam Hou selling her jewelries which is on demand (ancestor of Cartier? DeBeers? perhaps?) and then she left walking on street holding the hands of a little girl (same girl who played Sam Hou as a child) who is her daughter whose name I did not catch when the girl dropped something, Sam Hou picked it up and saw the back of someone familiar and he turned and it was Hin Yeung, smiling at her and she was shocked with tears and he walked.. past.. her!! Lost memory! Amnesia! Anyway he continued picking fans and here I hope he isn't married yet! I mean he may have married someone else but of course this series won't be so cruel to Sam Hou as Sam Hou tearfully said "Remember your promises? You will build a small house planting trees and we shall have lanterns at the front yard?" and Hin Yeung's eyes moved a little, stopped smiling as she continued facing his back "That you will come back to me when the flowers on the trees shall bloom and we shall live happily?" and he turned and seriously his eyes now twitching, perhaps with memory coming back and he looked at tearful Sam Hou and he looked back and...zoom out and
THE END!
WHAT?! Come on! Draw until the intestines won't die right?
My ending? Let me rewrite the ending for this series with one simple scene that will show a truly happy one.
Hin Yeung turns back as Sam Hou tearfully looked at him and said pleadingly "Do you remember your promises?" and Hin Yeung stopped smiling, eyes twitching and said simply as a question mark but indicating the memory shall return as he whispered "Sam Hou?" and zoom out and THE END!
Why can't we have that?! Ok we know in the end he will remember, he just needs her face to jog his memory but a simple "Sam Hou?" would have made the ending more better, and more sure. Because she never told him her name when she saw him again so when he said that, even with a question mark, it shows he will remember her.
NOW THAT IS AN ENDING!!!
Anyway, I must say Charmaine looked so pretty in that final scene with the simple flowing hair hanging freely, with two simple ornaments on her hair, little make up. I thought that's the Charmaine Sheh I liked, not the Marge Simpson haired Charmaine.
Performance wise, Moses redeemed himself in the final scene as he looked at Sam Hou leaving, tears in his eyes. That scene alone made me wanna cry. Not because he can't have Sam Hou but because he may be emperor, but he was all alone. Mother, dead, wife, dead, 1 wife crazy, 1 wife left, no turtle, no friends, no children, nothing. Of course he will remarry and have children but at that moment, I feel for him. And Moses did well in that simple and yet effective scene to illustrate the emperor's life. All his life, what a sad man. And I would have wished to see him in his later years, reminiscing about Sam Hou for greater effect but well, no such scene. Anyway I do feel his last scene was good enough.
Kevin Cheng.. no comment.
Lee Kwok Lun, no comment.
Boy as Prince of Qi, AWESOME.
Charmaine, she did well. She was best yesterday but today, she did well with her anguish, her pain, her sorrow. She is better at playing tragic figures (like in War & Beauty, An Herbalist Affair, HSDS) than playing happy ones. And yes, she was very pretty in the last scene.
Tavia Yeung redeemed herself in the scene with Lee Kwok Lun as she blamed everybody but herself and did the world a service by killing that General Ma. She has enough mix of madness, anger, arrogance, ego and a certain sadness. But I hated her ending again for a different reason. And yes, this last episode she did well not because her performance changed, it was the same as before but because her character was so crazy her OTT facial expressions suited those scenes.
Michelle and Susanna were ok. No comment.
Cheung Kwok Keung did very well as the paralyzed vegetable General Man. He really didn't move a muscle.
As for everybody else, no comment.
Well, this is the end. Thank you for reading and commenting. I hope you enjoyed reading my rather dramatic inaccurate recaps as much as I have enjoyed reading your comments and writing them. I shall summarise my feelings and emotions and whatever in a review proper!
And I did follow through my promise to complete these save for that few episodes.
Thank you! And do continue to comment since I will receive notices on that. Since this series will be broadcast on other channels later, I hope you will find what I wrote relevant, helpful and of course, entertaining.
Posts
January 14, 2011 at 4:23 PM
Finally, you finished the series.
I was actually laughing at the scene where Tavia reveal her evil schemes in the dungeon with Michelle, Susanna and Kara. Loud monologue, crazy muahaha plus hands in air. ROFL... that scene kinda stuck in my mind.