Should've been a thriller instead.
Despite this show having many flaws in its direction, I quite enjoyed it.
This show suffers the fate of a lot of TVB shows where the middle part becomes really unfocused and the beginning was slow. The highest rated TVB shows are always straight to the point. This one is the contrary. It suffered greatly in the middle part where there were too much fluff. Easily could've been shortened to 25 episodes if you cut out parts of Wayne's father-in-law cheating subplot, Joel's relationship with Kandy Wong (not saying cut it completely as their relationship becomes vital in later parts but we did not need THAT much focus on them), etc. There were so many subplots and it all had very little to do with the climax. I forgot some characters existed by the last 10 episodes.
This show also could've just been a straight up thriller ala. Last One Standing or Black Heart White Soul. Wayne Lai's character was perfect for an antihero, similar to some of Roger Kwok's villain protagonist roles although nowhere nearly as psychopathic. This show tried to be a comedy with family drama but I think this show deserved way better than that forced nonsense. The comedic parts failed flat and imo brought the serious themes of the show down.
The themes are actually VERY intriguing and poignant. Rarely do we get TVB shows that focus on parental relationships, generational trauma, toxic/narcissistic parenting, and superstition in older generations where they are heavily criticized like it is in this show. Yes, while toxic parents do appear often in TVB shows, they are usually played for laughs or the director chickens out and goes with "at the end of the day, parents are just trying to do good for you no matter how wrong you think they are." It defeats the purpose. Here, it's VERY clear that these parents are bad parents. They learn their lessons, yes, but in no way does the director tries to say "yes they're bad but..." Starting from Pat Ha, to David Chiang, Wayne Lai, even to minor characters such as Alice Fung, Helen Ma, these characters are terrible parents. I love that. I love that there is finally an Asian drama that does not try to guilt trip children in hating their parents even if it's justified.
Carlos Chan surprised me. This is my first introduction to him. His character could've easily been annoying as he's the only good guy in a sea of morally-gray characters. He could've came off as preachy and boring, but he had great chemistry with the entire cast. You actually feel bad for the guy. As always, the veterans are great in their roles. Pat Ha is beautiful and she fits the part so well. She is alluring, cruel, and absolutely narcissistic. You hate her character, but she's really fun to see on screen. I love seeing David Chiang play against type as he's always the righteous, wise father. He had the best arc in the entire show imo.
A good 6/10 for me. Sounds low, but that's because I don't see myself watching this again with how little I cared for the middle part of the story but once the plot picks up, I would say after a certain character gets married, then it gets pretty interesting.
Also, great Chinese title, terrible English title. Yes, I know it's a pun based on a Boney M song but how many people get the reference these days? The title really doesn't go well with the dark plot. Again, it's like the writers had originally wanted this show to be a comedy and realized a thriller would've been better suited halfway through the script.
This show suffers the fate of a lot of TVB shows where the middle part becomes really unfocused and the beginning was slow. The highest rated TVB shows are always straight to the point. This one is the contrary. It suffered greatly in the middle part where there were too much fluff. Easily could've been shortened to 25 episodes if you cut out parts of Wayne's father-in-law cheating subplot, Joel's relationship with Kandy Wong (not saying cut it completely as their relationship becomes vital in later parts but we did not need THAT much focus on them), etc. There were so many subplots and it all had very little to do with the climax. I forgot some characters existed by the last 10 episodes.
This show also could've just been a straight up thriller ala. Last One Standing or Black Heart White Soul. Wayne Lai's character was perfect for an antihero, similar to some of Roger Kwok's villain protagonist roles although nowhere nearly as psychopathic. This show tried to be a comedy with family drama but I think this show deserved way better than that forced nonsense. The comedic parts failed flat and imo brought the serious themes of the show down.
The themes are actually VERY intriguing and poignant. Rarely do we get TVB shows that focus on parental relationships, generational trauma, toxic/narcissistic parenting, and superstition in older generations where they are heavily criticized like it is in this show. Yes, while toxic parents do appear often in TVB shows, they are usually played for laughs or the director chickens out and goes with "at the end of the day, parents are just trying to do good for you no matter how wrong you think they are." It defeats the purpose. Here, it's VERY clear that these parents are bad parents. They learn their lessons, yes, but in no way does the director tries to say "yes they're bad but..." Starting from Pat Ha, to David Chiang, Wayne Lai, even to minor characters such as Alice Fung, Helen Ma, these characters are terrible parents. I love that. I love that there is finally an Asian drama that does not try to guilt trip children in hating their parents even if it's justified.
Carlos Chan surprised me. This is my first introduction to him. His character could've easily been annoying as he's the only good guy in a sea of morally-gray characters. He could've came off as preachy and boring, but he had great chemistry with the entire cast. You actually feel bad for the guy. As always, the veterans are great in their roles. Pat Ha is beautiful and she fits the part so well. She is alluring, cruel, and absolutely narcissistic. You hate her character, but she's really fun to see on screen. I love seeing David Chiang play against type as he's always the righteous, wise father. He had the best arc in the entire show imo.
A good 6/10 for me. Sounds low, but that's because I don't see myself watching this again with how little I cared for the middle part of the story but once the plot picks up, I would say after a certain character gets married, then it gets pretty interesting.
Also, great Chinese title, terrible English title. Yes, I know it's a pun based on a Boney M song but how many people get the reference these days? The title really doesn't go well with the dark plot. Again, it's like the writers had originally wanted this show to be a comedy and realized a thriller would've been better suited halfway through the script.
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