Wai Siu-bo is out here weaving tangled webs—he seems to have a talent for it, even though it always causes him a lot of trouble. Looking forward to seeing where this new storyline is going.
The emperor is sending Wai Siu-bo on a new mission. This time, he’s going to Yunnan to get the dirt on the treacherous Ng Sam-kwai. However, the emperor’s pretext for this trip is that Siu-bo is escorting the princess to be wed to a noble in the region, and while the princess hasn’t quite reached the status of one of Siu-bo’s “wives,” he hates to see her married off for a political diversion.
Lots going on today. Wai Siu-bo’s upcoming journey to Yunnan lights a fire under basically every group he’s ever had an encounter with. Some want to get to Ng Sam-kwai first while others are simply dogging Siu-bo to get a bead on the sutras, but everybody seems poised to converge in Yunnan. We see the Green Wood Lodge, other branches of the Heaven and Earth Society, the reverend and Or, and the Devine Dragon sect, not to mention all the imperial folks getting in on the action. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but it promises to create plenty of complications for Siu-bo.
As a part of this, we see the return of some characters we haven’t seen for a while. The reemergence of the Devine Dragons gives us an update on Fong Yee and Princess Muk Kim-ping, who share a really nice scene together, and Wai Siu-bo’s ever-faithful handmaiden/third wife(?), Sheung Yee, is back as well. The show moves around so much that you never really get bored, despite the long season, but it does mean that characters can slide in and out of the narrative, so I like seeing some of these women again.
Wai Siu-bo, as usual, is having a time of it. He tries to wriggle his way out of this latest mission, arguing, “You have to understand, I am a man with limited ability. I am not cut out for pivotal roles.” Obviously, Siu-bo has no problem sticking his fingers in all kinds of pies and handling plenty of pivotal roles, but whenever the emperor puts his back against the wall, he tries to retreat into this “I am but a humble man” routine. In this case, he wants to look out for himself as the situation grows increasingly complicated, but he’s concerned about the princess as well. The emperor may not think much of his half-sister, but Siu-bo has a certain fondness for her, and even though she can be a pain, he doesn’t think she deserves to be used this way. While he stops short of doing anything to imperil himself, he tries to do what he can to help her.
One thing that struck me in this episode was how much I consistently enjoy Wai Siu-bo’s scenes with either the helmsman of the Green Wood Lodge or the reverend. Any time he’s interacting with one of them, Tony Leung Chiu-wai brings such sincerity to his performance. You can tell Siu-bo respects them both and doesn’t want either to be disappointed in him. For a character who can be tricky/slippery, it’s nice see these more vulnerable, honest moments from him.
Also, there’s a scene in which Wai Siu-bo gets drugged, and it’s spectacular. Leung plays the physicality of it so well. The way he gradually starts to stumble and slur, until the moment he passes out, is pitched just right, neither abrupt nor over-the-top. Terrific bit of physical acting from Leung there.
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