Here are my last lot of screencaptures I’ve made of Raymond and Kate  from TVB series “Highs and Lows” (before their relationship got really messy!) Contains spoilers from Episode 18-21. Also see scenes 1 and 2.

Episode 18

This is the first real talk Raymond and Kate had after Kate pushed Raymond away and refused to admit her feelings for him. When Raymond realised Kate was helping Ben become a police informant, he tried to pursuade her to back out becauseof the danger she as putting herself in. However, she refused to listen and re-emphasised there is nothing between them.

In episode 19, Raymond and Kate are both looking for evidence at a warehouse where they almost get caught out. I really like seeing them work together, and having Raymond be by her side to protect her although some circumstances have changed.

Episode 20 was ony of my favourite episodes. It was really suspenseful, action packed and emotional. My favourite scene was the one below which clearly showed how much they still cared for each other

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Here’s my attempt at a English translation of Fiona Sit’s “At This Moment 此時此刻”, the theme song to TVB’s [Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles]. I tried my best to translate it closely to the meaning as possible (without being too literal), but please feel free to add suggestions, and let us know what it means to you 🙂 You can find full lyrics, pinyin and download link down below.

Simply put, it’s an endearing love song about a woman in love with a man, who loves several woman.. So it’s obvious it’s from the point of view of Damian’s ladies, though I personally find it suits Tavia’s character best. But of course, I’m only up to episode 9 so my thoughts can change but that’s how it feels to me at the moment. Please keep an eye out for my thoughts on [Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles] which will be posted every few days! For now, enjoy this song!

English translation of ‘At this Moment’

Just at that moment running out at noon to the seaside, the moment with a soft sunshine
Just in a little bit of depression last night, A moment of continuous rainfall

How many days am I always alone without support, I can’t wait for you to hold an umbrella for me
It’s my own wishful thinking to have a share, I don’t dare to ask you not to kiss her at night

The era wants to thin out your future with me, So hard to be together, I don’t want to let it go.
Who wants to among the complexity of excitement, Just want a simple love with you

Within a heated argument, the situation changes drastically
With a wheezing breath of courage, I’m drooping my head alone

The day’s colour has always been unpredictable, I want to share this moment with you
The moment your hands are clenching mine, I don’t want to know you’ll soon be leaving with her

The era wants to thin out your future with me, So hard to be together, I don’t want to let it go.
Who wants to among the complexity of excitement, Just want a simple love with you

The era has too many fear and tragedy to face, Don’t let go of closeness
It’s unnecessary to be in a dilemma, At least at this very second, I’m in front of you

Just want to be loved, simply you, simply me, simply love.

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Hi everyone! Apologies for the slow update. I’ve been busy watching [Highs and Lows] but now that it’s over, I’ll be focusing my attention on  [Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles] again! Make sure to check out my thoughts on episode 1-3 here if you haven’t already. For those interested in my thoughts on [Highs and Lows], you can read my comment here.

Overview

Episode 4, 5 and 6 of [Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles] focuses a lot on Damian’s ladies, especially Idy and Tavia. We learn a bit about Idy’s past and her involvement with her previous lover Chai Yat-fai 齊日輝 (played by Ben Wong). My impression of the characters are already changing, and I may have spoken too soon when I said his wives seem to get along. These episodes clearly show they don’t. What makes this series amusing is the way the wives verbally attack one another whilst pretending they have nothing against them. The sheer amount of passive aggressive behaviour demonstrated by these ladies is enough to make one puke. Tavia’s appearance in Damian’s life is already alarming all three of his ladies (Mary, Idy and Elena). Clearly, her mere presence and association is starting to annoy them (due to their status differences), and they aren’t afraid to show it. Even if they weren’t rich, having another lady stick around their husband is bound to get similar reactions. The wives do not like her, including Idy who seems to be the most rational one amongst them. Do I feel sorry for Tavia? A little bit, only because they said such mean things to her when she was “innocently” invited to his party as a guest. However, the fact she actually has a crush on Damian means they’re not just false accusations. I found it funny how they thought Tavia was trying to hook-up with Kenneth..heh. Says a lot about the age difference…

Mary and Elena give Tavia a dirty while they walk passed..

Idy & Ben’s history

A bit about Idy. Previously I thought of her as an “extremely witty” woman, but now she comes off a little weak. We learn that she previously had a relationship with Ben when they were both young and she even eloped with him. However, Ben was a poor fellow and due to their class differences, she had a hard time coping with the transition. Suffering from the cold and hunger, Idy eventually left Ben and returned home to her mother.  I found this act to be rather cowardly and questions Idy’s determination and willpower. I feel like I’ve lost a bit of respect for her… I guess love doesn’t conquer everything.

Idy and Ben in their younger days

Now her love for Damian is also questionable, and tension arises between the two when Damian finds out Ben had returned to Shanghai from London and was actively looking for Idy. Ben is unaware that Idy has already married to Damian and of course, he wouldn’t let that happen so easily. The two men cross paths on the business side of things and Idy realises Damian tried to send him away. Upset by his lack of trust in her and in the heat of the moment, Idy moves back in with her mother. This leaves Damian rather angry and hurt that his genuine love for Idy is still not enough for him to win her heart completely.

Damian is upset his wife still has feelings for another man..

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• Warning: Contains Ending Spoilers
• Most TVB endings are unsatisfying- Highs and Lows is no exception. It was ok, but nothing too impressive. As usual, TVB would try to throw in some action scenes, a couple of deaths and sacrifices and leave some sort of an opening ending.
• The first thing I noticed was the cross-over with Tiger Cubs by using the same technique to display the casts at the opening credits (like a movie). I thought that was a bit random..and then at the end,  Him Law, Vincent Wong, Oscar Leung, and Benjamin Yuen guest-starred too, using their character names from Tiger Cubs. Is this TVB’s way to promote Tiger Cubs 2 perhaps?
• There were a lot of deaths which seemed rather unnecessary. Firstly, MC Jin (Sa Dam Tim)’s death seemed so forced and reckless. Despite him saying he thought it was all worth it, he didn’t achieve anything. He was also drunk..he was in no condition to be climbing up a building like that.  I felt it was just TVB’s way to get rid of him. Has his character done anything worthwhile at all? My favourite scene of his (not in the finale) was after he saw Kate (Pat) sleep with Ben (Poon Hok Lai) and he went pleading Raymond (Happy-Sir) to help Kate…nothing really else came out of that though.
• I liked Michael (Heung-Sir)’s character and acting- especially in the finale. Leading up to the ending episodes, his character was the only one I really cared about. I’m glad his character remains good throughout the series (despite some twists in the middle about him taking the money for himself), and how he went back for Raymond after the fire.  He died trying to protect Raymond, and it was quite tragic but- I felt it added a nice conclusion to his character. One of the moving moments was the hospital scenes where Michael told Raymond it was because he treated Raymond as his brother, he wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

• I liked the action scene where the bad guys were going to steal the drugs back. That was quite suspenseful and it was really out of Michael’s control to stop them
• May I ask how Ben put those explosives in the secure area to set off the water system though?
• I was extremely annoyed at Ben Wong’s character- it was annoying to see how hard it was to get rid of him. Surely it can’t be THAT hard? The scene where Michael, Ben and Raymond were pointing guns at each other- why don’t they just shoot him first? They all know he is deserves to die. The brothers should talk afterwards! Michael pleading Raymond to let Ben off makes a lot more sense later when he dies since he was buying time to hack into his phone to delete all the data.
• I felt Kate’s character was quite inconsistent- it was like she suddenly turned back good and innocent in the finale, especially when she called Raymond to tell him about the ambulance she found. Yes, she found out she is pregnant, and yes MC Jin just died and she wants to avenge her loved ones. Was the baby all she needed to stop her from taking drugs? Read the rest of this entry »

English Title: The Confidant

Grand Production of 2012

Cantonese Title: 大太監 (dai tai gam)

Cast: Wayne Lai Yiu Cheung 黎耀祥, Michelle Yim 米 雪, Maggie Shiu 邵美琪, Raymond Wong Ho Yin 黃浩然, Aimee Chan 陳茵媺, Raymond Cho 曹永廉, Nancy Wu 胡定欣, Natalie Tong 唐詩詠

Episodes: 33

Airing date: 5 November 2012 (After Highs and Lows)

Themesong: Mutual Help in Humble Circumstances (相濡以沫) by Shirley Kwan (CD) | Sub Themesong:  Sun and Moon (日月) by Wayne Lai & Nancy Wu (CD)

Official: Website

Executive Producer: Law Wing Yin

Scriptwriter: Kwan Chung Ling

• Overall Thoughts (contains spoilers)

Synopsis

Owing to the destitution during their youth, LI LIAN-YING (Wayne Lai) and AN DE-HAI (Raymond Cho) have presented themselves as eunuchs in the court, where they serve their apprenticeship with an old eunuch LAU DOR-SANG (Chung King Fai). Having closely bonded to one another, the two respectively played dominant roles during the rule of Empress Dowager CIXI (Michelle Yim). However, unlike DE-HAI’s single-minded obsession with greed, LIAN-YING overcautiously abides by the rules, gradually diverging from the former. In view of them gaining recognition from CIXI, the Head Eunuch CHAN FOK (Yueh Hua) resorts to strike treachery against LIAN-YING and DE-HAI, feeling that his position is threatened. Fortunately, with the help of his two close friends, a palace maid SIN-YUNG (Nancy Wu) and a eunuch of the Imperial Dispensary YIU SHEUNG-HEI (Raymond Wong), LIAN-YING manages to avert the disaster. With the Emperor TONGZHI (Oscar Leung) conferring the throne on his Empress, Empress Dowager CIAN (Maggie Shiu) fears that CIXI will further wield power. She then colludes with Prince GONG (Cheung Kwok Keung) to sow discords among the court, isolating CIXI. In the face of such ever-changing phenomena, only LIAN-YING firmly stands his ground on the motto of “A servant is no more than a servant”, remaining as CIXI’s loyal attendant.……

李連英(黎耀祥)與安德海(曹永廉)少時因家貧賣身入宮作太監，二人拜老太監劉多生(鍾景輝)為師，師兄弟感情深厚，先後成為慈禧太后(米雪)身邊重臣。可惜德海利慾薰心，與安份守己、謹小慎微之連英漸行漸遠。總管太監陳福(岳華)眼看連英、德海得慈禧賞識，感地位不保，對二人施毒手，幸連英得宮女倩蓉(胡定欣)與御藥房太監姚雙喜(黃浩然)兩位好友相助，化險為夷。同治帝(梁烈唯)冊立皇后，慈安太后(邵美琪)恐慈禧進一步掌握大權，遂與恭親王(張國強)挑撥朝中勢力，令慈禧孤立無援；在波譎雲詭變局中，只有緊守「奴才就是奴才」訓言之連英，依然侍奉在側……

Hi everyone! My name is Chibi and I’ll be helping K guest blog TVB’s 2012 Grand Production series “Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles” (名媛望族) literally translated as “prominent family of high status women”. To those of you who stuck around, you may remember me covering Beyond the Realm of Conscience in 2009 co-incidentally also starring Tavia Yeung (now with a sharper nose.. XD). After a hiatus, I am back to share my oh-so-blunt thoughts and excited to hear your opinions too.

The reality is, not many TVB drama has been catching my attention lately, but “Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles” looked promising with it’s endearing cast lead by Damian Lau (whose rather charming, no?) A man with 4 wives all living under the same roof is bound to get juicy err.. exciting.

So anyway, let’s get started shall we? 😉

Characters and impressions

The drama is set in the 1920’s and 1930’s colonial Hong Kong. Right off the bat we are introduced to Sir Arthur Chung (鍾卓萬) portrayed by Damian Lau, an extremely rich and influential ethnic Chinese barrister (said to have never lost a case in court). His frequent use of the English language reflects his highly educated background and abundance of connections with other prominent figures. Damian’s confident demeanor extends to his private life, always in control and quite the womaniser, flirting with any lady he fancies. The fact he can manage three wives at the same time must say something…

Mary Hon plays Koo Sam-lan (顧心蘭) the first wife of Damian. Being the eldest, Mary likes to make it clear to her ‘sisters’ that she’s Damian’s highest priority (though it doesn’t seem like she is). She can be rather fussy and childish at times, like waiting for Damian to help her up and escort her down the stairs when she’s fully capable of doing so herself. She has two children, played by Kenneth Ma and Sire Ma (more about them later)

Idy Chan plays Aisin Gioro Yee-yin (愛新覺羅·爾嫣), a Manchu ex-princess of the fallen Qing dynasty; the second wife of Damian. She is the first of Damian’s woman to be introduced in the series and the one he claims to love the most. Idy is classy, calm, collected and extremely witty. She is the one Damian would confide with and one who understands him most. She also has no children with him. So far, I quite like Idy’s character.

Elena Kong portrays Yvonne Yik (易懿芳) the youngest of his wives thus far (before Tavia gets into the picture) Elena uses her youth and sex appeal to capture Damian’s heart. She’s also the sweet talker, said to be the mediator who keeps things civilized in the family. However, I believe there’s much more to her than she lets on, as she seems rather sneaky at times (like trying to find out why Damian’s organizing such a huge birthday event for Idy).

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*Note: Contains spoilers from Episode 13-16*

Episode 13

*SUPER CUTE scene where Raymond and Kate finally get together <3 * I feel like I’ve been anticipating this scene for so long, especially seeing it in the intermission clips. It didn’t disappoint!

Kate awakes in the hospital bed after Raymond puts her out of danger. The worried Kate immediately runs off to Raymond’s home, eyes filled with tears and rings the door bell constantly.

Raymond: Are you ok?
Kate: ..I thought you died
Raymond: I’m ok now
Kate: Why are you so stupid? Why can you give up your life to save me?
Raymond: I’m fine now
Kate: It’s not worth it!
Raymond: Listen to me-
Kate: No you listen to me. I’m not your little yellow flower. I’m just rubbish. Ever since I was little, no one cared for me, no one loved me. The only reason I am living is for my brother. I don’t know what love is, and I don’t know how to go love someone. But you’re so nice to me, and have done so many things for me..I don’t want to owe you anything. I don’t want you to give me hope, but at the end, I’ll only have disappointment- do you understand?

*The chorus of the sub themesong starts playing and Raymond kisses Kate*

When Kate awakens from her sleep, she starts watching Raymond sleep. I haven’t seen her so cute and carefree before. Unfortunately before the two really started dating, Kate couldn’t get over her pitiful past and constantly thinks she’s not good enough for Raymond. She starts avoiding him leaving Raymond quite helpeless.

Episode 14

Epsiode 14

In this scene, Raymond asks Kate out for some desserts- I thought they were so cute here XD For a moment I was hopeful that Kate and Raymong were still together since she still came out to see him. However, due to her brother’s inability to look after himself, Kate had to leave, which again caused insecurities and self esteem issues to arise again.

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New Layout dedicated to my favourite couple in [Highs and Lows]: Raymond and Kate ^_^ Hope you guys like!!