LINE WALKER / 使徒行者 [TVB][2014][R] Funn Lim

Written by Funn Lim
Main reason is because Sharon (Chan) was god awful

SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ... SPOILERS

Released in
2014

No. of Episodes
31

Cast
Michael Miu
Charmaine Sheh
Raymond Lam
Sammy Sum
Sharon Chan
Elena Kong
Benz Hui
Oscar Leung
Samantha Ko

Stefan Wong
Patrick Tang
Ankie Belkie
KK Cheung
Toby Leung

and more.

The Story
One cop sent out 5 cops as undercover at various section of society and one day he supposedly jumped to his death. Before he died he confided in his good friend, a fellow cop about the 5 undercover cops but before he could reveal their identities, he died. So now this friend of his has to find these 5 undercover cops to work with them to bring down the biggest triad in HK whilst protecting their identities and evading investigations and allegations that he is a corrupt cop by ICAC as well as threading the line with another sworn enemy, the O-kei.

Episodic Comments
I posed some of my thoughts with spoilers here by episodes. You will find more plot points there.

COMMENTS

It started sort of silly, a bunch of mad looking gangsters with huge knives and bats and what nots chasing after 2 very well dressed (in black if I remember correctly) Charmaine and Raymond (Lam, not Wong, not Cho) and they pledged their love for one another as one seeks death as a resolution and the other proclaims there is a way to survive and zoom, back to I believe 9 months or so ago. I don't believe it was even a year ago. The trouble with TVB is their flashback is usually a year or less and in light of so many episodes later, I kinda wonder, all these in less than 1 year? Woahhh... brutal world. When it comes to UCs and spies and moles and traitors, I do think maybe 3 to 5 years will justify all the pain, anger, heartache and fear. The series was still so good when we are introduced to an enigmatic Hong Sir who unfortunately died just 2 episodes into the series and the entire series thereafter is basically about a character very much talked about but dead since forever. I felt sad for Hong Sir but it should have been more. I wished the series took its time to establish Hong Sir who is the emotional string that binds all the UCs. In fact all of them have nothing bad to say about him at all but for him to die so soon and then so many minutes wasted on 2 couples, one of whom is just a complete waste of space is an injustice to what this series could have been. Which is slightly better than what it ended up becoming. Even then with Hong Sir's shocking but untimely death, the story shifted to an equally enigmatic Cheuk Sir who is one of the 2 men who is the glue of this series. I can even take Hong Sir's love story and all that lovey dovey stuff because this series has a  kick ass villain in the form of the even more enigmatic Chum Foon Hei, the triad boss of Hung Ying triad. All is well and great, even if I had to sit through in total disbelief that Chum Foon Hei is basically surrounded by close men who, 4 out of 5 are traitors whereby 3 out of the 4 are UCs. But still, all is well until the story shifted to our young hot couple who kisses every episode, that is Kobe and Yan. And then it became worse and worse as the series tries to create an intricate web of conspiracies and betrayals that all ended being half baked and just silly before tragedy strikes where the veterans all die (except for Cheuk Sir who escapes that fate because he is only 40 therefore not quite a veteran) and then we are left with angry, disappointed young ones who either suddenly gone rogue and gone mad or gone missing or just simply gone. Of course some episodes later before the ultimate end, some young ones had to die and yes, one died but is totally unrelated to the UCs and moles. Frankly, this series died for me when Chum Foon Hei died. He was such an all consuming character that made me guess, is he good, is he bad, what makes him tick, why he is the way he is without any answer until the end. So all consuming that in the end when he died, when he shot himself to save the cowardly Bao Seed, whatever happened next until the end were just totally crazily mad bonkers. All the series ever wanted was to shock and the story, the consistency, the pacing, the integrity to the basic premise was thrown out the window for the purpose of style. For a series eager to showcase its youth and vitality, to modernise certain aspect, many of the storyline is really very very traditional and old fashioned.

Which is why in my blog writeup for this series, I thought the out of this world premise would have worked excellently in an ancient settings in a Wulin world or a world with dirty eunuchs and scumbag politicians in a dynastic settings where a minister is hell bent in discovering why his sworn blood brother was murdered and where the moles and UCs are. It would have been an excellent ancient series. They don't even have to change the dialogue, except changing English words to Chinese words. It could be Ming dynasty or really old Qin Dynasty, whatever. Unfortunately, it is set in modern times and as the series progresses, you can't deny the writers have balls since they criticised and theorised about bad cops as well as white collar crimes and drug dealers and what nots. And yet I have a hard time believing Escobars of the world would want to deal in real estate and retired respected politician like Chung King Fai will deal with such obviously in your face dubious character when the writers could have balls of steel to show the real bad guys as politicians from that particular political party in Mainland China. Now that would have gotten my respect and I would have forgiven all those stupid silly agonising love story between the main characters. But it didn't go that way. I do think though if this series had gone beyond the ending and give it maybe 5 more episodes, maybe we will find out Chung King Fai's big boss is from China and then that big boss from China in another 5 more episodes had his moles and spies in the White House. I mean it seems to be heading towards bigger and bigger revelations as it became more and more "mo lei tau".

And that's when I realise until the very end, our Cheuk Sir never managed to properly arrest anyone except in the end he managed to arrest Chung King Fai and himself. Yes, the ultimate sacrifice. His turn to the dark side was so predictably fake, especially when Bao Seed or someone accused Cheuk Sir of not understanding the life of an UC since he was never an UC and guess what? He became an UC not long later! Shocking? Nahhhh, expected. By the time I don't really care. Not after seeing Kobe laying on a chair as he manipulated the share market in no less than an abandoned house. Imagine if this was in ancient setting, Kobe would have been laying dying in an abandoned temple and using pigeons as his "laptop" to manipulate some general's order or imperial edict or whatever. It was just so funny to watch but it quickly became really stupid when Yan came along and for a man who could hardly push himself up to look at the laptop, could not somehow run away from Yan to hide from her. A perfectly capable healthy woman can't even chase after a half dead coughing blood and probably hungry sick man (his loaf of bread was on the floor, unopened for days so I assume he must not have eaten at all). Theirs was so supposed to be the love story of the century, but in the end it was just pain of the century for me. Did I mention  how Yan seems to take all things personally and finds anyone who didn't do anything her way as a total disappointment? Like everything is about her and in the end I am left scratching my head why both Kobe and the dastardly Yip Sir fell so deeply for her? Must have been the perfect hair and long shapely legs. This series took pains to exploit that to such an effect that I wonder, what's the point again?

Talking about perfect hair, everyone has perfect hair in here and is hardly ruffled despite running, crawling, shooting, hacking, hiding and even extreme grief. It just felt so unreal. But no more unreal than the actual job of being a UC. 

Of all the UCs, Bao Seed had the most believable UC role but even in the end when he became Hung Ying's leader, one wonders shouldn't he by that time have access to enough evidence to make some arrest? But then by that point, no one probably remembers what Hung Ying does in the first place. For a triad, it does everything. From small stuff like betting to drug dealing to real estate to ... sushi restaurants and of course money laundering to basically everything. Hung Ying is one triad that does not discriminate whatever illegal activities they do as long as it serves the plot and it is illegal. His ending was so super ridiculous. His identity as an UC is breached and yet in the end he is still an UC. But if this was set in ancient settings, well you can say he shot down all pigeons and so the secret identity is still safe in another town. But in the modern world of google, youtube, Facebook and Twitter, it is impossible.

Then there's the other UCs. 

Sis Deng perhaps has the 2nd most believable UC except her job could easily have been done effectively by an informer. She runs a foot massage business and is more businesswoman with some legal ethics than an UC. In fact I wonder why she bothers to be a UC. JUst quit and be a thriving business owner. 

Kobe has the best hair, look, wardrobe, car, everything and he even manages to leave USD20 million (or is it HKD? Whatever.. loads of money) for his ultimate one true love, Yan when one wonders, shouldn't he hand over that money to the police? After all who paid him his start up capital? If Bond had to handover his winnings in Casino Royale, why is Kobe keeping his? In fact why is Kobe an UC when he is such a financial whiz kid, he could have just quit, become a stock broker or trust fund manager or whatever and become so awesomely rich, legally. I don't get it. Poor man even had to go to jail to get close to Chum Foon Hei but let me speculate a bit; he was tried and convicted of either Criminal Breach Of Trust or fraud. Why is he allowed to even trade in stock market? Shouldn't those Commercial Crime Bureau of equivalent investigate him? I mean he can't even run a company, be an accountant, etc. Unless of course HK is different.

Ada of all the UCs was most pitiful and had a pitiful ending. She died before the series became incredibly stupid.

But Miss Lam, the scary PA of James Pong, one of the main bad guys before we reach the upper echelon of bad guys except we are never told his connection to the rest of the bad guys, she reminds me of a haughty harajuku girl than a woman so scary, even Bao Seed fears her. Well she died, horribly, not sure who killed her and the writers don't care either. Her story of betraying the UCs and Cheuk Sir is half baked at best. By that time everyone knows everyone is respectively a UC or mole and yet, not one killing. The most unbelievable was Sis Deng's ability to work with Miss Lam who was the singular reason why her 3 moms were shot so brutally that really shows me this series has lost its plot. By that time it has lost its plot for many many times. When the emotional aspect could be milked and some girl on girl fight most justified, nothing happened. You get that short fight some time later, but for the wrong reasons. I wished Sis Deng had exhibited her spunkiness when it comes to Miss Lam but this series suddenly shifted to her being a politician's assistant... yeah, like what? Huh? Really?

Makes no sense. 

For a series that started about a kind handler with his 5 missing UCs, it in the end became an absolute mess.

No doubt, you my dear reader probably disagree with me and feels this series is TVB's best for 2014 because it is so exciting. Take out the excitement which is scene per scene and I wonder, do you still feel the same? Do you feel excited about Bao Seed's sudden madness and his sudden recovery? Sis Deng's sudden philosophical approach to her identity when she was one who exhibited the least philosophical approach? Did you not see Flea and Kobe dying like miles and miles away? Don't you wonder about Foon Hei's background and the stupid ending scene where his UC file was erased and you wonder, where did that come from? Why can't villains be villains and good guys be shady? Why must Foon Hei in the end be an UC too? And what about that embarrassing implied sex in an ambulance between two people so bandaged, they can hardly move their hands more so remove their pants to have sex? I mean after so many episodes of so much tragedy, shouldn't this series end on a mature note instead of rewinding to step 1, cue the childish cutesy music and cutesy expressions and cutesy expressions? So many deaths, so many lies, sometimes you can't just go back to the way you were. Innocence are lost, sometimes a more subdued ending would have heightened the ending rather than that stupid ending.

The only good ending was Cheuk Sir and wife but even they had some silly moments.

PERFORMANCES EVALUATED

There are some major players in here and considering how extensive the story tries to be, naturally it has lots of actors consists of veterans and ... more veterans. I mean I consider Charmaine and Raymond veterans.

Michael Miu

I suppose you can say this is his best performance todate, except I do think his performance in L'Escargot as the hardworking older brother (albeit he was too old for that role) was to me his best performance. He is to me not the best actor in TVB. He never was. But what he lacks in acting, he made up for his good looks that look younger as he grows older (which give proof to growing old gracefully), his height, robust physique and in this series, he shows he can be as dubious as he is persistently honourable. Frankly never quite believed his Cheuk Sir ever went rogue but that aside, he really is the 2nd saving grace of this series. By the way Tony Leung Ka Fai was supposed to be in this series and I bet as this character which would have been awesome either way.

Benz Hui

He is to me such a surprise casting for a role that requires him to be at first scary, then remorseful and finally pitiful only in so far that as a viewer, you sympathise with him. It is such a success because in the end you still know so little about this enigmatic character. Why did he quit being a cop? Why did he do what he did? Erase that stupid ending where his file as UC is erased. That is an afterthought and it is stupid. Taking away that one moment of stupidity, his Chum Foon Hei like Cheuk Sir are the 2 most consistent characters in this series. Whilst the story revolves around Hong Sir with Cheuk Sir as sidekick, Benz has an awful lot of screentime and I thank the power that be for that. When he laughed, it was scary. And yet in certain scenes you get a sense that if he wasn't the bad guy, you will like his jovial nature. After all, his name does mean Seeking Happiness. His final scene was rather sad and Benz handled that so well, I immediately missed his character. When the young ones took over the mantle from the veterans, frankly speaking they were all inadequate. For this, if there is a Most Favourite Supporting Actor, Benz has my vote. In fact he should be the TV King because TV King shouldn't be about Most Favourite Lead Actor but rather, the best actor with the most impact to a series, story and character of that given year and Benz Hui definitely fits that definition.

Jimmy Au

As Hong Sir, he has very few scenes but his character is one of the most talked about character, next to Chum Foon Hei. The actor looks honourable and good natured enough for this role. In fact I have seen him as a cop way too many times. I would have wished he had more scenes to build up the affection with the viewers but I suppose the series was in such a hurry to introduce the younger actors as UCs. For me his early death never quite balance well with the rest of the story, more so when the rest of the story was filled with such useless plot and unimportant character development.

Chung King Fai

His character is silly in a way, too short since he was introduced so much later but ever since Will Power, I can really see him as the ultimate villain.  I suppose gravitas is needed for such an important role and it is supposed to be important. After all he is the top of the food chain of villainous characters, all the UCs are after that merits our main guy Cheuk Sir becoming a UC himself. Unfortunately, much too late, much too short even if his final confrontation scene with Michael was well acted even if it is frustrating to watch; after all, for all the capabilities of the women, at the end of the day they are reduced to damsel in distress. 

Oscar Leung

One word; awful. His performance never quite gel it for me. It felt forced, it felt unreal and it felt so put on. His antics, his behaviour, even his god awful way too long death scene was annoying. There can only be one actor who can do sidekick well and that is Jazz Lam. Oscar was like a poor imitation of Jazz Lam in King Of Comedy and mind you, that was a comedy, that was a Stephen Chow movie and that was Jazz's debut acting ever. He is not helped with the fact that his character was basically nothing to do. If he had been UC, it would have made better sense. If his death scene was better handled, it would have made better sense. The only time I ever liked his character was when he attended his grandma's birthday bash. Those personal moments which unfortunately was not meant to enhance his character but rather pave the way for some flashback scene when he died so that the viewers can see how BFFs he is with his Bao Seed Gor and Deng Jeh. I feel so disconnected watching Oscar and kept wishing Jazz would show up except he showed up in All That Is Bitter Is Sweet.

Stephen Huynh/Stefan Wong

The actor with many names. At some point he must win Most Improved Actor because he has improved a lot. He is believable as the crooked businessman named James Pong except the problem is not much is known about his character. Where did all the time fly? Well, certainly not in establishing his James. But overall, a convincing performance.

Patrick Tang

Not the best actor around but his character is intriguing except again we know zero about his character in the end except he is a dirty cop. Pity.

KK Cheung

Nothing much, but make up is convincing.

Elena's husband

What's his name? Convincing as the ultimate bastard husband.

Foon Hei's son

Not sure what is his name but deserving of an honourable mention. I thought the kid had spunk. Unfortunately he had to die so tragically and in a way that is totally avoidable.

Sammy Shum

What a deliciously handsome man. That's where my compliment ends. Not his fault. I mean he has improved in his acting and many said he is winning the Most Improved. Well, not for this atrocious series I hope. He was far far better in his villainous role in All That Is Bitter Is Sweet with the same premise of longing for the girl he can never have except in this series, he did get the girl but then the tumour got to him. Yeap, tumour. In the dangerous world of white collar crime, imprisonment, gang war, drug war, and all wars, in the end he died of a tumour. So K-drama and was hoping Yan will die with him, but no such luck! I always thought Sammy is a star in the making. He has all the qualities; flawless look that is probably TVB's only answer to Wallace Huo in terms of HDTV durability test, he is young, he has a moldable face that can play any character (even gwailos because he looks mixed at some angle), he has a good voice and clear diction (maybe too clear diction, he can at times talk one word at a time) and yes, kissable lips. And this guy can kiss. Unfortunately, he is a tad short so he isn't Michael Miu but he has the talent, the looks and the charisma. His only major problem is his acting talent is still lacking behind his charisma. What I mean is this; he has the stage set up for him, but he still can't quite step on it yet because he has yet to have the skills to go with that talent. In time he will gain that skills, he has the potential and his performance in All That Is Bitter Is Sweet will convince you of that (oh please, not this performance though). Still needs a bit more "cooking" time. But in here, I am sorry to say, the character is poorly written. His Kobe comes across as delusional, destructive for love and just all round wimpy. When he died,  I was applauding. That's the end of one suffering, whether it is his or mine is up to interpretation. 

Raymond Lam

He started so well. I have waited so patiently for the Raymond I once knew but somewhere along the way when the drama is heightened, so is his chok-ness. It is still the same "new" Raymond that I am beginning to despise. He was ok in calm moments and as the street smart Bao Seed. But he was terrible as the grieving Bao Seed and the absolute worst when he has to grief, angry, hurt, pain and cry all at the same time. Maybe it does remind me of the old Raymond, the one who debuted many years ago and was so opera-ish in his performance. One of the worst performance in here and  to think many fans are hoping he gets TV King. I'd rather Lawrence Ng or the exquisite Vincent Wong in Tomorrow Is Another Day winning than Raymond Lam.

Elena Kong

I never truly appreciated her. I always felt she was always so haughty in her performances and I am sick of her older woman-younger man storyline. But in here, she is well matched with Michael Miu and she has the boasting point of saying Michael kissed her on the lips, at least 3 times and I think he even nipped her on the nose once. How many times have you seen Michael kissed an actress, let alone nipped her nose? They share this amazing chemistry but at times I wished she did more in terms of touching him. There was a tender scene where she told him to ask her to marry him, that she is ready and she was gingerly touching his face I think, or her hands were on his shoulder. I wished she had sat on his lap, kissed him on the cheek and cupped his face with both the palms of her hands. I wanted more intimacy but Elena seems to hold back herself. Her performance as the battered wife was absolutely convincing. Whatever your personal opinion about battered wives who chose to stay with their husbands, you gotta admit that performance was absolute perfection; the begging, the justification, the pain, everything. The make up was convincing. Her hair was the only one that reflected her predicament. However in the need to connect all characters, she was made into a prosecutor and then we are told she married not too long ago so how she became from feared prosecutor to battered wife is not justified long enough. The timeline should be longer. Other than that, I do think she was stunning in this series and frankly I would have given her the TV Queen title, same justification why I will give Benz Hui because TV Queen shouldn't be best lead actress performance but should be best actress performance.

Charmaine Sheh

Not her best performance because An Herbalist Affair was her best. Not her second best because HSDS was her second best. You can this is her third best performance, and she has improved a lot since Time Off which was a long long long time ago. I know a lot of fans is hoping she gets TV Queen and between her and Linda Chung, I'd rather Charmaine but between Charmaine and a whole lot of other performnaces we have yet to see? Like Josie Ho, like a lot more? Let's wait and see. Standalone, Charmaine gave it her all and frankly the director used her to the hilt. She had to do everything in here, even sexual innuendos and outright sexual scenes apart from drama, comedy, cutesy stuff, annoying stuff, etc etc. Everything rolled into one. And guess which one she did best? Those that require her to act smart, making decisions with her wit, those still moment. I always thought Charmaine can handle a strong character that does not need to have a man next to her. She can be the Empress who rules over the harem and I believe she will be convincing. Unfortunately as in this series, at some point she is cast as the helpless damsel in distress or the shrieking mourning crying banshee. Mean words you think? Some may think the scene at the hospital where she had to mourn her 3 mothers' death was her best, I thought it was her worst. The shrieking was hurting my ear. To show pain, anger and hurt, see Elena's performance or see the numbness in Carmen Lee's performance in M Club. Everybody else will cry and shriek but very few will have that more powerful quiet moment. And plus Raymond Lam who was also crying hard, what you have is an overdone scene. The one scene that convinces me that she should at least get a nod as one of the nominees for TV Queen is the one where she faced off Benz Hui where he tells her he knows she is an UC. She hardly spoke in there but she used her ability to cry beautifully without grimace or uglfying her face to full and beautiful effect. She tried hard to change her voice to lower tone, but many times she failed and reverted back to her very girly voice. I am ok with that although it shows she is still lacking consistencey and she is still a scene per scene actress. I never get the feeling her performance in the present scene was ever connected with the scene before or will connect with the scene later, unlike Maie Cheung Hor Yee or Tavia Yeung. But it should pleased her fans to know she is not the worst in this series. Many were worst than her.

Sharon Chan

Sharon Chan has the distinction of being cast in characters that are consistent in one thing; capitalizing on her long shapely legs or close up shots of her buttocks or both. It is getting to tiresome and predictable. In this series her legs are used for zero effect; it makes no sense to set up a scene for her to dress sexily or dance sexily when at the end of the day there is no useful connection to the plot. So her role in here is to sex it up. I have made myself clear how I feel about her Yan; I hate her Yan. I find her Yan self centred and pulled down the series to a level called "What's the point again?" and she even manages at some point to pull it down to a further "Please die! Die! Die! Die!". She predictably lives. The problem is Sharon is cast in  a hot babe role, and she isn't hot. Her character is a bit like Mary Sue and that is annoying. Everyone tumbles on his feet (note; not her but only his) to please her, to live up to their expectations but what about she herself? Sharon Chan could not bring out the sincerity in her character, she could not act out the idealised aspect of her character. I find Yan such a waste of space and I had to fast forward so many of her scenes because I just couldn't stand her and if that means fast forwarding Kobe's scenes, well sacrifices has to be made. And guess what? Not one storyline missed. Their story has no continuity in the main storyline. At least Deng Jeh and Bao Seed have some connection but Kobe-Yan is just a complete waste of time. Main reason is because Sharon was god awful.

Ankie Belkie

Now THAT is sex on legs. She should switch role with Sharon. A twirl of her little finger is sexier than the whole long legs of Sharon Chan. A good performance, a very pitiful character which unfortunately lacks development except to add on to Bao Seed's guilt and Deng Jeh's needless jealousy.

Samantha Ko

She should switch role with Sharon. Sharon should be Miss Lam and Samantha should be Yan. Maybe it might be better. Samantha was badly cast as the scary Miss Lam. She didn't look scary at all and was so very unconvincing and her role so lacking, when she died, I doubt anyone cared.

Toby Leung

My 2nd most unfavourite TVB actress in TVB right now and whilst her character is useful to throw us off in a few moments but frankly her performance was quite simply very bad. From her voice to her expressions to her interpretation, etc etc I find no merits just confusion.

The 3 Moms

Noisy when all 3 together and whilst I expected 1 or 2 to die, I never expected all 3 to die in the same scene. Brutal finishing of the veterans but I suppose at that point something super dramatic must happen to trump the mystery of "Who is NOT a UC" plot.

Now you must wonder, wow so few people? A whole lot more but most are not worth mentioning since they're mostly touch and go basis.

Before I end with my Verdict which you already know what it will be, I would like to bring back a segment which I haven't done for a very long time; Most/Least.

Most Overused Moment

Death/Sad scene > hug that person > cry hard > look up the ceiling > scream

Once was ok, twice maybe, but after that it was just funny.

Most Needless Moment

Three. Yan dressing sexily to go into a bar to do... what? AND Yan practices sexy dancing in front of Kobe for... what? AND Yan dressing sexily to dance with a villain for ... what?

Most GET ON WITH IT Moment

The nominees.

One mom's death, she screams, Second mom's death, she scream some more. Third mom's death and I thought so lucky Deng Jeh only has 3 moms.

Yan's inability to admit she is still crazy in lust with Kobe and wants to rip off is shirt and make mad love to him; instead she gave him a run around for so many wasted episodes.

Flea's death scene with flashback and back to death scene, some dialogue and still he is alive to the point poor Deng Jeh probably has no more tears because then Bao Seed enters and still no death.

The winner? Obviously Yan because her story has no connection to the main plot If it is to show how desperate Kobe is to leave his UC life, what a terrible way to explain it.

Most Pitiful Character

Three nominees.

3 step moms. Poor women. All dying one after the other.

Chum Foon Hei's son. Poor kid, all over for a kite.

On Lam. Poor girl. What a sad life.

My choice is On Lam. One very suggestive scene; she could hardly wal, her hair a bit tousled, her hands bruised and then we find out she had to give herself in exchange for an escape boat ride for her "father". Coupled also with her drug addiction forced on her and her sacrifice in the end, for me, On Lam's scenes were brief but they made a huge impact for me. A pity so little scenes. On Lam's story deserves more.

Most Hated Character

4 nominees.

Miss Lam because Samantha Ko was awful.

Yan because Sharon Chan was awful and Yan was begging to be hated anyway.

Bao Seed because he turned mental for no reason and Raymond Lam's god awful pained expressions towards the end.

Kobe for his wimpiness, his longing for Yan to the point many times he nearly jeapordised everyone.

Yip Sai Wing for his meaness.

Winner? Yan, clear winner for me. I wished Yip threw her off the building.

Most Embarassing Moment

Four nominees.

The ending. No not the ambulance scene, the deleting of Foon Hei as UC data scene. 

Yan's seductive dance scene. Pointless.

Kobe dying and doing share market thing in an abandone building whilst lying on a chair coughing up blood and weakly punching the keyboard of his laptop.

Bao Seed opening a foot massage shop to continue being a UC. Seriously?

Winner?

Ending. What a cop-out.

Most Favourite Couple

Without a doubt, Cheuk Sir and Katie. Who can forget how her husband kidnapped her and crashed the car and then ran away as she lay trapped in the upturned car when in slow mo we see Cheuk Sir who also crashed his car and is hurt didn't care for anything but to save her as he slowly limped to her even when his head was I believe covered in blood. 

A close second is Hong Sir and Ada but only because they're such a tragic love bird.

Least Favourite Couple

Who else?

Most Favourite Scene

Gotta be Foon Hei tearfully telling a tearful Deng that he sees her as his daughter. Most beautiful moment, most beautifully scripted and most beautifully acted moment in this series. Charmaine thrives when she is next to a very very good actor, like how she was when she was next to Roger Kwok in An Herbalist Affair.

Least Favourite Scene

Entire series except for the ones I labeled as Favourite.

Scariest Scene

Admittedly, the scene where Bao Seed and Deng were dragged out of their car by the angry mob was very scary.

Least Scariest Borderline Stupid Scene

The whole scene about UC's identity revealed on the internet. Could have been done better, so very Skyfall, you know? But none of Skyfall's elegance in showing how scary it should be because it is negated by the fact that Bao Seed later opens a massage parlour as a UC. By that time I think even the writers forgoten who is doing what. 

Most Shocking Moment

All about deaths plus one but not the fact they died, but the way they died.

Hong Sir's death

Yip Sai Wing's death

3 moms' death

Foon Hei's death

Ada's death

On Lam's flash tradein for boat escape

Foon Hei's son dying. Shocking because it is revealed Foon Hei ran past by the very same ambulance his son was being given CPR and Foon Hei was smiling his smug smile for having escaped his enemy without knowing the higher power up there dictates he should win some and lose big.

Yan didn't die.

Toby Leung really has a pointless red herring role. I mean she is neither a mole, UC or whatever. She is just a cop, a niece. That's shocking. Ok also that scene where she was in a dumpster about to be crushed to death. 

Winner?

Hong Sir for the fact he fell and it was shocking!

Least Shocking Moment

2 deaths plus one.

Flea's death

Kobe's death

Cheuk Sir is not a mole! He is a nice guy!

Winner?

All 3 but Flea's death is predicted by me since day 1. What is shocking is not how he died but why he died. Blame Deng.

VERDICT

It has its good moments, some very poetic moments. I am sure there will be a clear division of opinion; like When Heaven Burns, either you think this is the best ever or the trash of 2014. I tried to like it but after half way through when I had to sit through the slow mos and lovey dovey pointless scenes, I lost my patience. I fast forwarded them all and did not miss a single plot point. Fans of Charmaine and Raymond and the likes will be pleased because they're pleased with whatever their idols do whatever I say but to those who wants and seeks good performances and unique characters, you gotta watch this for Benz Hui, Elena Kong and Michael Miu. This is the series where veterans rule and the younger veterans just almost made the grade and the ones that the veterans are passing the torch to is just abysmal. It is a combination of poor performance, badly written character and poor direction but ultimately for me why I hated this series is because it is just so darn out of this world stupidity. And there's a movie coming soon! Guess what? Ditch the TVB version, go buy Infernal Affairs, HK's best movie about moles and UCs and triads and demi gods and semi devils in the modern world. If this series had been an ancient series, it would have been quite awesome but certain ideas just do not work in modern world.

I will say watch it with fair warning but I suppose you will probably say you have seen it and that I am wrong. Let's say opinions differ but validly given opinion either way is still an opinion worth reading.

Anyway, one of this year's most wasted story opportunity and for me one of the worst this year.

Great Tidbit
Michael's character was supposed to have been played by Tony Leung (Ka Fai) but he injured himself. Pity.

Sammy Leung was supposed to play the character of Kobe, now occupied by Sammy Shum who was supposed to play the annoying O-Kei cop now occupied by Patrick Tang! But is Sammy Leung suitable for the role of Kobe if Kobe is as he is as played by Sammy Shum? I doubt it. I think the casting now is just right. Sammy Leung would have been a better fit as Raymond's character or Oscar's but Jazz Lam was born for Oscar's character. Talk about a huge miscast!

I suppose this series marks the return of Charmaine Sheh to TVB, but not permanently of course.

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