Wai Siu-bo has been so thoroughly cemented as the lead for such a long time, it’s been a while since the show had an episode where he wasn’t consistently front and center. But here, there’s a pretty clear delineation at the halfway point where we take a break from Siu-bo’s story and catch up with another group of characters, including introducing some new ones. It’s not a bad thing, and I enjoy both halves of the episode, even though I’m obviously biased toward the half starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai. It’s just surprising.
The emperor’s latest mission for Wai Siu-bo would send him to Devine Dragon Island to defeat the sect, which is unappealing to Siu-bo for several reasons. First, it brings two identities of his uncomfortably close together, making it hard to maintain his separate covers. Second, the Devine Dragons are dangerous and highly skilled, and he’s worried that if he goes, his luck might run out at last. Finally, he’s preoccupied with Helmsman Chan, who’s in trouble in Taiwan. The second half of the episode brings us there, where the Cheng family is making it hard for everybody. Or has take up with Cheng Hak-song, but his promises to introduce her to his grandmother and elevate her status don’t exactly go as planned. Meanwhile, Chan finds himself in the middle of an opportunistic plot orchestrated by Grandmother Cheng.
We’ll start with the second half, since Wai Siu-bo isn’t in it. Even though Or is prickly and hard and Cheng Hak-song demonstrates that she doesn’t always read people very well, I still feel for her. She’s had a rough go of it lately, and I think she’s kind of adrift. She doesn’t need Grandmother Cheng’s insulting manners, or the way Cheng Hak-song treats her as a result. Meanwhile, I always like seeing Helmsman Chan. He’s as noble as ever in Taiwan, surrounded by snakes from every side but still more concerned about others than himself.
The first half of the episode with Wai Siu-bo is plenty of fun, as usual. I’d forgotten that, while both the emperor and Siu-bo know the secret of the sutras, the emperor isn’t aware that Siu-bo knows about it. At any rate, there’s some sutra stuff going down in this episode that leads to a world-class Wow! This is brand new information that I am hearing for the first time! acting from Siu-bo. Leung is great in this scene.
I also enjoy that, as worried as he is about having to go to Devine Dragon Island, Wai Siu-bo is all about the gifts that the various courtiers are going to give him before his journey. He laps up their fawning remarks and sycophantic presents with equal relish, especially a mink coat for traveling up north—Siu-bo does love his clothes. At the same time, he meets Sze Long, a brusque sailor with little talent for flattery but whose skills might give Siu-bo what he needs to help Helmsman Chan. After unintentionally insulting Sze Long’s lame attempt at a gift, Siu-bo works to win the marine commander back over, spinning a yarn about being glad to finally meet someone at court who’s not a bootlicking flatterer. Watching Siu-bo improvise always makes for a good time, and I really like this one—what makes Sze Long tick is very different from other folks at court, so Siu-bo needs to flex different muscles to appeal to him.
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