*One spoiler for episode 6.*
It’s like the show knew it was skimping on the Tony Leung Chiu-wai in episode 7, because today, we’re treated to pretty nonstop Wai Siu-bo for a good two-thirds of the episode. Needless to say, I approve.
Siu-bo is interrupted from trying to enjoy some of the perks of his imperial position when he’s collected by the Heaven and Earth Society. After his last encounter with the rebels, an unexpected series of unlikely events left him their new master, and they need him to help resolve a dispute with another rebel group. Back at the palace, the emperor attempts to deal with dissent and disrespect from some of the regional rulers.
The emperor’s subplot is small but nice. We’ve learned through his backstory that he’s a second son, so he probably never expected that he’d be the one to rule. That lends weight to his early reticence to take up the full reins of his authority, and it also shows why he feels like he’s floundering a little now that he’s assumed the throne. He worries that he can’t keep the more distant regions of the country in line, and he takes every veiled slight from the regional rulers as proof that no one thinks he can do this.
Most of the episode, though, is given over to the misadventures of Wai Siu-bo, which is the way I like it. Early in his days at the palace, he’d attack a plate of food the second he got a chance, constantly scraping for another mouthful. It was reflective of his peasant upbringing and suddenly finding himself in a palace where he can really fill his belly. But as his position has gotten cushier, his appetites have expanded. In this episode, I like seeing the spring in his step as he strolls through the marketplace, eagerly spending money and enjoying the sycophancy that merchants treat him with. And when the Heaven and Earth Society call on his help, he insists on disguising himself as a “dandy” for the parlay with the other group of rebels, and he has plenty of fun parading around in his new clothes.
But of course, Wai Siu-bo and the martial arts world don’t really mix, but it seems to keep finding him anyway. It cracks me up that the Heaven and Earth Society have to keep protecting their “master” in fights because he doesn’t really know martial arts, and since Siu-bo is fully content to be a smartass with the other rebel group, he needs a fair amount of protecting.
After I started noticing Leung’s random bits of physical business, they’re weirdly becoming some of my favorite parts of his performance. There are more obvious ones that the blocking draws attention to, like the way he works his jaw after smiling for too long or the way he nearly falls out of bed when he nods off while sitting up. But I love the little things that happen in the background, more incidentally. There’s a scene where the Heaven and Earth Society is squaring off against the other rebels. It’s a lot of tense talk, full of threats and accusations of dishonorable behavior, and there’s Wai Siu-bo in the background, sitting in a sedan chair scratching his leg with his fan. I also get a kick out of him busily trying to tuck his trouser legs into his boots during what’s supposed to be a romantic moment with Yui-chor.
I can’t quite pinpoint why these little moments delight me so much. I think it’s because they’re awkward and distracted and fidgety, but not in a way that telegraphs, “This is what I am doing as an actor to convey my characterization to you, the audience.” It’s less knowing than that, more like what real people do when they’re feeling awkward or distracted or fidgety. This early in his career, I don’t know how intentional Leung was in creating some of these mannerisms, but they work so well for making Wai Siu-bo come across as genuine.
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