The Book and the Sword

Cast
Qianlong Emperor - Zheng Shaoqiu (Adam Cheng)
Yu Wanting - Liu Dekai
Chen Jialuo (and Fu Kangan) - Qiao Zhenyu
Huo Qingtong - Zhou Liqi (Niki Chow)
Li Yuanzhi - Lu Chen
Ke Shili - Liu Ying
Wen Tailai - Liu Nayi
Luo Bing - Qi Fang
Xu Tianhuang - Li Yuan

The Book and the Sword (BAS) is based on the first novel by Jin Yong, Shu Jian En Chou Lu, and although the series follows very closely to the book, certain additions have been made to the plot, altering the story quite significantly, although the end result is the same.

Synopsis (Spoilers - it's not the same story as in the book)
During the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, the 8th, 9th and 10th princes entered into a power struggle with the Emperor, who was also the 4th prince. The Yongzheng Emperor won, and banished the three princes into exile. The 9th prince, Yin Tang, survived, and over the years, developed some very good martial arts in Shaolin, taking the Jianghu name Yu Wanting. The story begins with Yu returning to the Forbidden City to confront the Yongzheng Emperor in order to demand that the Emperor restore his, and posthumously his 8th and 10th brothers', position in court. However, the Yongzheng Emperor dies of illness before Yu can even make his demands, and Yu's only hope now is that the next Emperor, the Qianlong Emperor, can do that for him. But first, he needs to have Qianlong in his power..

When Yongzheng's wife gave birth to a daughter many years ago, his loyal minster Chen Shiguan's family had also given birth to a son on the same day. Yongzheng summoned Chen to bring his son to the palace to visit him, and Chen returned home carrying a daughter. The Chen family's son was swapped by Yongzheng and has grown up to be the current Qianlong Emperor. Yu is aware of this, and seeks to find evidence of Qianlong's history in order to blackmail the Emperor into restoring his position in court.

Qianlong takes the throne, and unbeknown to him, Yongzheng had left a secret missive carried out by the Empress Dowager after his death. She sends assassins to the Chen family mansion in Haining to murder the entire family. Yu and his henchman Wei Chunhua arrive and rescue Mrs Chen, although Mr Chen is killed. Mrs Chen then begs Yu to locate her son Chen Jialuo and bring him back safely. Yu finds Chen and brings him to Tianshan where the old hermit, Yuan Shixiao will train him in martial arts. Yu then periodically visits Chen in order to build a relationship with him, knowing that as the younger brother of Qianlong, he will eventually have a use for him. He then sets out with his henchmen Wei, Shi Shuangying, Chang Hezhi and Chang Bozhi to establish an organisation with which he can use to put pressure on the Emperor.

The Red Flower organisation is eventually formed, with Yu, the Chang brothers, Wei and Shi taking the 1st, 5th, 6th, 9th and 12th positions of the 14, while the other recruits are completely unaware of the main purpose of the society. On the surface this will be a heroic organsation out to save the Han people from Manchu oppression, and fight for the right of the Han people to wear Han clothing, but beneath, Yu and his 4 henchmen set forth a series of events which pit the heroes against Qianlong.

Yu decides to share his knowledge of Qianlong's history with 4th brother, Wen Tailai, as Wen is one of the best fighters in the group, and he needs someone who Qianlong can target. He brings Wen into the palace, and confronts Qianlong with his demands, and when they leave both are recognised and subsequently hunted. Yu and Wen invade Shaolin trying to find some evidence left behind by an old monk, but they are wounded, first by the Shaolin monks, and later by the Qing soldiers. Yu takes this opportunity to fake his death, leaving Wen as the main target of Qianlong. After a lot of hunting, Wen is finally captured by Qing official Zhang Zhaozhong, and much of the series is then focused on the Red Flower Society's numerous attempts to rescue Wen. 11th sister Luo Bing, who is the wife of Wen, is devastated, and 14th brother Yu Yutong, who has a crush on her, takes advantage of her when, in her sleep, she mistakes Yu for Wen and hugs him, and almost kisses him. She wakes in time, and leaves in disgust. Yu is ashamed of himself, and decides to devote his life to the rescue of Wen.

Yu's written will states that he wants Chen Jialuo to be the next head of the Red Flowers, and many members who have met him before wholeheartedly support the motion. Chen meets Huo Qingtong in Tianshan, the disciple of the Tianshan Twin Eagles and they develop a romantic relationship with one another before he leaves. Yu decides to stir up some trouble for Qianlong, and steals the alliance agreement of the seven Western tribes, and then sends it to Qianlong, implicating that Qianlong was the one who stole it. Huo Qingtong, as the daughter of the main tribe, sets out with her father to retrieve the book. With help from the Red Flowers, they retrieve it, and cross swords with Qianlong's men. Qianlong is later forced to invade the seven Western tribes when Yu assassinates the Qing envoy to the tribes, and blames it on them. The envoy is a relative of the Empress Dowager, and immense pressure is put on him to start the war by the Empress and the elder royal uncles. This, again, increases the tension between the Red Flowers and Qianlong.

Qianlong decides to head to Jiangnan and interrogate Wen personally. Chen and Qianlong meet each other for the first time, and feel a bond of kinship with one another. After several confrontations, the Red Flowers finally manage to rescue Wen, although Yu's face is disfigured from burns in the process. The Red Flowers also manage to kidnap Qianlong, and after toying with him for a while, force him to sign a pact with them which will see Qianlong respect his Han heritage, and overthrow the Qing Dynasty from within, driving the Manchus back to the wildlands and restoring Han rule in China.

The seven Western tribes send a peace offering to Qianlong, a jade vase with a beautiful girl painted on it, and Qianlong is immediately taken. Upon hearing that such a girl actually exists among the Western tribes, he sends his men to look for her. The Red Flowers also head to the seven Western tribes to help them fight off the Qing army, and Chen meets Ke Shili, the younger sister of Huo Qingtong, and who is also the model for the painting on the vase. Ke is smitten with Chen, and Huo asks Chen to take good care of her sister, and backs out of their relationship despite Chen's protests that he only loves her. Nevertheless, he feels extremly protective and fond of Ke Shili, and takes good care of her until Huo Qingtong manages to defeat the Qing army.

Over time, tired of being wedged between the constant blackmail of Yu, the suspicion and distrust of the Empress Dowager, and the demands of the Red Flower society, Qianlong decides to turn the tables and play them against one another. Yu has Huo Qingtong injured and manipulates several of the seven tribes to start some commotion in the west. As expected, Qianlong invades with reinforcements and crushes them, kidnapping Ke Shili. Ke Shili agrees to stay with Qianlong in order to guarantee that he will no longer harass the seven tribes. Yu then arranges for the death of several Red Flowers to show Qianlong what he can do if Qianlong will give him what he wants. After the death of several of its members, the Red Flower Society discover that Yu is still alive, and also manage to obtain the evidence from Shaolin which Yu so desperately wanted to use in his blackmail scheme. With everything lost, Yu has no choice but to submit to Qianlong, and is sent to destroy the remnants of the Red Flowers. Just before the battle commences, Qianlong orders his troops to retreat, leaving Yu alone with his enemies and he is killed by Chen.

Qianlong then organises a dinner for the Red Flowers, supposedly in order to discuss matters with them, but in reality to set a trap. Ke Shili discovers the fact and kills herself, her death sending a strong warning to Chen that Qianlong is up to no good. Chen nevertheless attends with the Red Flowers, and a fight inevitably ensues. While the palace is distracted, Qianlong secretly has the hall containing Yongzheng's will (with which the Empress Dowager has been controlling Qianlong) burnt to the ground. The Red Flowers escape, and Qianlong firmly secures his power and authority over the Qing Dynasty, although having lost so many friends along the way, he cannot help but feel alone.

Review

BAS was a very enjoyable series. Although the main substance of the plot had changed, it had changed in a way that it did not affect the storyflow, and as such the storyline followed the book quite easily. The acting was of a decent quality, and the fighting choreography was quite excellent, with virtually no CGI, and a lot of good hand to hand combat (although obviously nothing as spectacular as what Vincent Zhao could perform in his version a few years ago).

Characters

Leading Cast

Qianlong was very well portrayed by Adam, although he did seem a bit too old for the role. Nevertheless his charm, wit and class just took over the role with ease, and for at least the first two-thirds of the series, you rooted for him because he wasn't the villain, yet had all these events conspiring against him due to Yu's plotting behind the scenes. Later on, when he starts to take on a ruthless streak, you can hardly blame him given the way he was treated for the majority of the show. The Six Peace Pagoda chapter, when he was captured and harrassed by the Red Flowers, was especially hard to watch, and the way they gleefully took their laughs at his expense, and put on a show of good manners while all the way humiliating him was probably enough to make him want them exterminated. I probably would too. He was also fond of Bu Qianjia, one of his old friends from his youth, but unfortunately she was loyal to Yu and never came back to offer him the help and friendship he so desperately craved.

At least the good loyal Bai Zhen, in this series, did not die, and so will continue to give Qianlong a trusted servant who he need not hide any thing from. His minister He Shen was also a joy to watch, and although not quite Wang Gang's version, this version chose his words well, and buttered up Qianlong with expert knowledge on what his liege wanted to hear. Significantly, though, He Shen gave him good advice on many occasions, and it's good to know that Qianlong at least had one confidante he could share his worries with at the end. However, Qianlong quite accurately predicted that although He Shen was a joy to have around him he would probably end up being a black mark on Qianlong's history when posterity eventually makes its judgement. Adam's chemistry with Bai Zhen and He Shen form much of his communication, and they all work together really well.

Liu Dekai played Yu Wanting, and this man had incredible charisma. His firm gaze, deep voice and daxia posture made him very likeable, even when you knew he was evil. His love for Bu Qianjia was quite genuine, although she had to take second place to his ambition. Towards the end he lost control over events very quickly, but for most of the series he was the mastermind behind everything, manipulating events to his benefit behind the scenes. A cunning, crafty and charismatic villain, and a great performance, even if the role was way beyond what the original story had.

Qiao Zhenyu's Chen Jialuo was decent, although not exceptional in anyway. Quite a young good-looking man, he did what was needed and handled himself quite well. He was fairly likeable when dealing with his friends, although when he started to make demands of Qianlong his reasoning was just selfish and bigoted. Most of this is probably due to the character, rather than the actor, but with the plot changes in the story did Chen Jialuo really need to be so hostile to the Qing government? Chen was the leader of the Red Flowers, and his stand would greatly influence theirs. As far as he was concerned, anyone working for the Qing Dynasty was doing it for money, and he had no intention of serving the court because wasn't “greedy”. Never mind that some of the officials he met were not bad men at all, never mind that the officials had to work and serve, never mind that some people may opt to work for the government for reasons other than money. It was a very narrow minded view, and his demands at the Six Peace Pagoda probably summarised how selfish he was. Qianlong asked if he would help him work for the country once they had overthrown the Qing dynasty and restored Han rule. Chen says that he and his brothers will all retire to the fields in the west.

Qianlong then says that he will need people like Chen around to help him, and Chen replies that he has no intention of being an official, and is not suited to politics. Such lazy humility from a man who takes it upon himself to force the Emperor to overthrow his own dynasty. Chen, and the Red Flowers, just wanted to play their part, and not be accountable for the consequences and stay and make things work. The overthrowing of the Qing Dynasty, regardless of how much chaos would ensue, was the end as far as they were concerned, and their work stopped there. It was very very annoying to keep hearing that rhetoric about how what they were doing was for "the people".. while all those people working in the civil service for the government were deemed “running dogs”. The Red Flowers say that they wanted to “oppose the Qing and restore the Ming” but had they lived during Sword stained with Royal Blood times, they would have gleefully joined the Dashing general and overthrown the Ming themselves. They just had a natural disrespect for authority, led by Chen Jialuo.

It was good that Chen, in this version, had no romantic feelings for Ke Shili, and stated very clearly that he only loved Huo Qingtong, and Huo had to literally push him away and force him to love her sister. At least he knew who he loved, and that made him more likeable than the others in that respect. Nevertheless, having been brought up and trained in such a carefree environment made him a very poor leader, making good decisions where honour was concerned, but lacking the ability to see the big picture, and the diplomacy to negotiate in a courteous manner with other people.

Niki Chow's Huo Qingtong was very beautiful, and she looked very elegant and cool in her wuxia outfit. Her acting was good, and carried herself well, softening her eyes when she needed to and giving cool, intelligent stares when the situation demanded. Her Cantonese sounded a bit modern, though, but I'm sure with more practice she'll be able to speak in wuxia tones a bit more. Her voice is a bit low and husky, and hence doesn't quite carry the nuxia effect, similar problem to Carmen Lee in TVB's ROCH 94. The Mandarin dubbing of her voice made her performance pretty excellent, though. She doesn't really appear that much in the series, sadly, but when she does appear Chen Jialuo becomes more likeable, as you get to see his nice part, rather than his ambitious part.

The Red Flower society

2nd brother Wu Chen had a backstory, in how he lost his arm before he became a Taoist. I can't remember if this was in the novel, but it was nice seeing some history. Yu saves him, and in gratitude he joins Yu's cause. It is unclear whether the attack on him was orchestrated by Yu or not. His acting is passable, but when he tries to laugh and chortle a hearty laugh, it just looks and sounds really unnatural. When Yu is exposed, he can't bring himself to strike Yu, and dies peacefully after shielding Zhao Banshan from Yu's needles, returning the favour of life to Yu.

3rd brother "Thousand Hand Buddha" Zhao Banshan, my favourite in the novel, and also for his role in Flying Fox. Zhao was very very well cast, and portrayed by a chubby middle aged man who just exuded wisdom. My only complaint was that he didn't really use flying knives that much. Intelligent and resourceful, the exposure of Yu's plot owed more to him than anyone else.

4th brother "Thunder Hands" Wen Tailai is no stranger to us, played by Liu Nayi (Zhao Zhijing in ROCH 05, Jade Priest in Sword Stained with Royal Blood 07, and the Taoist in the Heaven and Sky sect in Duke of Mount Deer 08). Qing Dynasty costume really suits him, and he turned out to be really charismatic (with shades of Mark Cheng about him). Upright, fiercely loyal, brave yet extremely gentle (and obviously subordinate) to his wife, Wen spends much of the initial part of the series captured and wounded, and is pretty much the focus of the plot. He's likeable, yet exudes an aura of strength, and you get the feeling were he to punch you you'd probably die. Never really gets to show off his fighting ability in a one-to-one, though.

5th and 6th brothers "Black Ghost" and "White Ghost" Chang Hezhi and Chang Bozhi are probably the only two brothers among the 13 recruits who could be classified as really evil. Both of them work for Yu, and are actively involved in the plots carried out behind the scenes. They were the ones who stole the alliance agreement from the seven Western tribes, and killed Huo Qingtong's brother in the process. Ruthless, cold and cunning, they nevertheless had their comic moment when Huo Qingtong asks them to dress up as real ghosts to frighten the Qing soldiers. In the Cantonese dub, 6th brother's voice is overly effiminate, making him even more creepy than he already is, and that sick smile of his really makes him despicable. 6th brother is killed by Bu Qianjia (for some reason he couldn't see what was coming even though I could see it a few scenes before it happened) and 5th brother is killed by Yu himself when he kills Bu to avenge 6th brother, only for Yu to avenge Bu.

7th brother "Martial Zhuge" Xu Tianhuang, played by Li Yuan, is one of the stars of the series. Handsome, patient, calm, intelligent and likeable, his subplot with Zhou Qi was one of the highlights and comic relief of the series. It all starts off so innocently, and ends so naturally. Zhou Qi is also very likeable, cute, exuberant but not very bright, and a perfect counterfoil for Xu. Xu's ability to read situations is a good foil to the brash emotional response the other brothers are so used to. It's no surprise that when Chen Jialuo suspects internal spies within Red Flowers, he trusts Xu
enough to share his concerns with him. After all, if Xu were a spy, they'd all be dead anyway.

8th brother Yang Chengxie is the head of the Iron Flag clan, which is destroyed by Yu's men masquerading as Qing agents. This brings Yang and his assistant Jiang (13th brother) into the Red Flower Society. Chubby, brash and friendly, Yang's brotherly approach to his friends makes him quite likeable (his teasing of 7th brother when his wedding to Zhou Qi was announced was absolutely delightful). Is killed by 9th and 12th brother upon Yu's orders, but manages to hold on long enough to pass vital information to 3rd brother before he expires.

9th brother Wei Chunhua was raised by Yu, and as such owes Yu everything in life. This makes him totally loyal to his master, and he is planted in the Red Flowers, together with the other 3 agents, to carry out Yu's work behind the scenes. He is very trusted by Chen because he was one of the original friends who saved his mother from assassination, and during his training in Tianshan, Wei would frequently visit him and sometimes pass messages from Yu. After years of serving with the Red Flowers, feels morally conflicted and more than remorseful at having to kill his own brothers, even on Yu's orders, but nevertheless does what is required. Is tricked by Zhao Banshan into revealing Yu's secret, and is killed by Yu himself when Yu suspects him of intentionally betraying him.

10th brother is the hunchback Zhang Jin. Doesn't really do anything of note, although participates in a lot of operations. Carries a spiked club to which he uses with great effect. Is the only brother to die in the original novel, and fails to escape his fate in this version too. Suspicious of Wei Chunhua's intention to make him drunk, he pretends to faint, and follows Wei as he has a rendezvous with Yu and 12th brother Shi. He is overjoyed to see Yu alive and well, and while talking to him Yu ambushes him and kills him. Wei and Shi are mortified and ask why they couldn't just trick him since he wasn't very bright, but Yu would not take risks. His death is the start of Wei and Shi's second thoughts about what they were doing.

11th brother is actually a sister, "Yuanyang Sabres" Luo Bing, and also the wife of Wen Tailai. Hence, she's usually referred to as 4th sister in law rather than 11th sister. Luo Bing is played by Qi Fang, and she has to be the most beautiful Luo Bing I have ever seen. She has shades of Vicky Zhao about her, but is more beautiful and has far softer features and a more elegant ladylike manner. I heard she won a paegant before, and it's not surprising since she's very tall, more than a head taller than the other women, and even taller than some of the brothers. She's elegant, sweet, and more than a little cheeky in this series, having a very light side to her character (only after her husband has been rescued, of course). If anything I found it a bit out of place for Luo Bing to act like she was a happy young girl, when I'd always pictured her as being older, more mature, and less fun. Nevertheless, it was a great breath of fresh air, and she steals the scene whenever she's around. She handles her fighting scenes very well too, which is a good bonus.

12th brother "Ghost's Anger" Shi Shuangying is another of Yu's servants. He acted as liaison between Yu and the two Ghost brothers for a while, and seemed to be the closest to Yu among all his servants. He genuinely cared for his brothers in the Red Flower society and Zhang Jin's death prompted him to, for once, question Yu about why he had to kill Zhang. Like Wei, he was torn because he loved his brothers, but he knew that he could never betray Yu, who he owed everything he was to. Shi and Wei's most difficult moment comes when they have to kill 8th and 13th brothers, but they do it eventually, their hesitation being their downfall as it gave 8th brother time to reach 3rd brother. Shi eventually dies protecting Yu, taking a blow from Wen Tailai to his chest.

13th brother Jiang Sigen was a member of the Iron Flag clan together with 8th brother Yang Chengxie. His signature weapon was an iron oar. In the novel he's the "Copper Head Crocodile" but his title, and indeed many of the titles of his other brothers, aren't really mentioned in this series. Together with 4th brother and sister in law, he actively tries to help 14th brother accept Li Yuanzhi to no avail. He is slain by 9th brother and 12th brother, under Yu's orders, and he delays the two of them long enough for the wounded 8th brother to run away.

14th brother Yu Yutong, the "Golden Flute Scholar", is arguably the most depised member of the team for me. After he realises what he tried to do to Luo Bing, he spends the rest of the series in an emo mood, downcast, playing cool and just generally feeling sorry for himself. How someone like that can deserve a lovely girl like Li Yuanzhi is totally beyond me. Even after having paid his debt, rescued 4th brother, and having his face scarred by burns, and even after confessing to 4th brother his love for Luo Bing, and getting forgiveness and acceptance from Wen and Luo, he continues to mope around looking for sympathy, and it takes everything Li Yuanzhi has to even get him talking to her. The most tragic thing about this relationship is, at the end, when he finally accepts her, it's not because he realises how lucky he is, but because everyone wants information from her, and as her husband she'll be obliged to reveal to them where Zhang Zhaozhong is hiding. Lu Feiqing proposes marriage on his behalf too, and if I were Li Yuanzhi I'd have slapped them and walked out, but she hangs her head, smiling, and submits. It's just totally unfair, and Yu Yutong did not deserve such a girl. It doesn't help that the actor who played Yu wasn't a very good actor, and in trying to be cool he just comes across as wooden, or just plain arrogant. I really couldn't stand this character in this series, unfortunately.

Other characters

Li Yuanzhi, played by Lu Chen, is the love interest of Yu Yutong, and is a really beautiful, extroverted, mischievious and cunning young lady. More than once her curiosity leads her to cross paths with, and eventually end up helping, the Red Flowers. Daughter of an official, she nevertheless lends a helping hand to the Red Flowers whenever she can, although she makes a point of requesting that they never harm her father. Falls head over heels in love with Yu Yutong after watching him fight and deal with some Qing soldiers. Gives him everything only to be treated like dirt. She finally gets him when her teacher matchmakes them together, partly because they wanted to get information from her. Yu Yutong even went so far as to say that if she told him where zhang Zhaozhong was, he'd serve her for life. It was a horrible way to treat a great girl like Li, and only Yuan Shixiao appreciated her for the talent and genius she was. He would have made a great teacher for her.

Lu Feiqing is Li Yuanzhi's teacher, and disciple of Wudang. He is morally upright, learned and starts off a long relationship with the Red Flowers when he recognises Luo Bing's sabreplay as that of his old friend's. He then gets to know them better and assists them in every way, adding some scholarly class to the rough and tough peasant approach the Red Flowers have. While the acting is done well, the character has many flaws.. while the rest of the Red Flower society and merrily taunting Qianlong in the Pagoda just because they can, surely a learned man like Lu should know what is reasonable and what is not. He joins in, breaking Qianlong's chopsticks and taunting him when he tries to eat, all the while looking as smug as the other Red Flowers. The most unforgiveable thing is how he treated Li Yuanzhi when she came to visit Yu Yutong after they had rescued Wen Tailai. This was a girl who the Red Flowers owed a lot to (even if they didn't know it, because she never tried to go up to them and claim credit), and Lu felt the need to hide her and apologise to the Red Flowers for letting her in, just because she was the daughter of an official. In his eagerness to curry favour with Chen Jialuo and his men, Lu Feiqing seems to have forgotten that his own student was a hero in her own right, had nothing to hide from them, and the Red Flowers didn't necessarily have any moral high ground over her.

Zhou Zhongying is the master of the Iron Courage manor, which was burned down while he was trying to help the Red Flowers. After starting off on the wrong foot, he loyally helped them at every opportunity, and is finally rewarded when his daughter Zhou Qi marries Xu Tianhuang, and Xu agrees to move in to his family, gaining him a son to replace the one he accidentally killed in a fit of anger. Zhou is friendly, wise, experienced, likeable and generally respected by everyone.

Zhou Qi is the daughter of Zhou Zhongying. Cute, extroverted, almost hyperactive, yet not very bright, she starts off being a bit hostile to the Red Flowers for blaming her father for Wen Tailai's capture, but as the story progresses she starts to get along with Xu Tianhuang, and their scenes together alone are really really enjoyable (the bit where she has to remove his needles is priceless). Zhou Qi is also pretty, and together with Xu portray a very happy and matching couple. Zhou is talkative and always says the wrong thing at the wrong time, but her candidness is appreciated by
all, although it serves more for comic relief most of the time.

Yuan Shixiao is portrayed by Leung Kar Yan, the same HK actor who portrayed the same character in Vincent Zhao's version. In this version, however, his wardrobe looks almost like a complete rip off from Hu Ge and Ariel Lin's Legend of Condor Heroes where Leung played Hong Qigong. Leung adds a lot of slapstick relief, and actually comes across as being likeable. His rivalry with Chen Zhengde for the affections of Chen's wife were a bit over the top, but later on, after the Tianshan twin eagles had died and he took a fancy to Li Yuanzhi, his chemistry with her was quite delightful. He was the only person who really appreciated her for what she was, and recognised that she was a really resourceful person if taught in the right way. Sadly, he never did take her as a disciple, although he hinted that he would take her away from Lu if he didn't know how to appreciate her. It would have been good because Lu didn't deserve Li Yuanzhi, and having that disciple might have brought Yuan out of his depression.

The Tianshan twin eagles Chen Zhengde and Guan Mingmei, played by HK veterans Wong Yat Fei and Yuen Chow, were quite likeable in their own way, but while Chen talked too much and was generally over the top, Guan just reacted moodily to everything Chen and Yuan Shixiao had to say. There wasn't really much to talk about their performances, and even when they died unexpectedly, I didn't really feel that we lost anything valuable. Their best scene was probably just before they died, when Ke Shili had that game with the candle, and Chen lost. He ended up singing a song, with one arm over Guan, and I thought that was rather sweet. Their aborted plan to assassinate Chen Jialuo and Ke Shili was also quite amusing, as they couldn't help liking Ke Shili themselves.

Ke Shili, played by Liu Ying, is the younger sister of Huo Qingtong, and is also known as Princess Fragrance. In this series she's not really that attractive initially when she's looking innocent and puppy-eyed, and also rather wooden in her acting. However, at the end, when she's a prisoner, and glares at Qianlong with hate-filled eyes, she improves a lot, and despite not liking her much during the whole series, I did feel a bit sad when she died. He first scene made me hate Chen Jialuo even more. She's bathing in the lake, with her back to the pathway, and Chen Jialuo walks down the path and sees her bathing. Now he can't see her face, just her back, so he's not going to be captivated by her beauty. Rather than avert his eyes like any gentleman would do, he stands there in a trance watching her naked back... it's amazing she'd talk to him after all that. I also found that scene with the flower hilarious. She sees a flower down the cliff, and says she likes it. Chen immediately climbs down to get it. He slips, and slides down the cliff past the flower and is not hanging on for dear life. She's concerned, and what does she say? "I don't want it now.. come back up!!"... perhaps just a bit late.

Music
The opening song by Adam Cheng is one of the nicest I've heard in a long time. Despite Adam singing in Mandarin, it doesn't quite sound like a China song, though, and has an Adam Cheng feel to it throughout (probably due to the quality of his voice). Judging from the scene fillers, it's obvious that Adam is the main character, Liu Dekai the second, and Chen Jialuo the third. It's a powerful song with a great chorus climax, and is in stark contrast to Niki Chow's ending song, which is soft, pensive, and slightly modern. The same combo worked for Vincent Zhao's version (with a powerful opening song and beautiful female voice for the closing song) and the music for this series is just as good. The background music is very suitable and adds to the atmosphere.

Fighting choreography
There is some variety in the fighting, notably Luo Bing's twin sabres, Wen Tailai's bare hands, Jiang Sigen's Oar, Zhang Jin's spiked club, but in general it's mainly swordplay. The fighting choreography is fast and good, and doesn't rely on CGI at all. The final fight between Yu Wanting and the remnants of the Red Flowers was probably the highlight, even if so many Red Flowers ganging up on one enemy wasn't very heroic. The various exchanges Chen Jialuo and Zhao Banshan had to go through at Shaolin were also very well choreographed. Zhang Zhaozhong's trademark of swishing his sword to clean the blood from it was done very effectively, while Qianlong also spent a fair bit of time rehearsing his sword skills, and Adam Cheng doesn't seem to have lost his edge.

Interesting notes
The Cantonese dub has some errors, such as an older brother calling a younger brother "older brother"

In the first episode, when Luo Bing saves Jiang Sigen she calls him "Clan Leader Yang" when Yang Chengxie was the one her husband was saving.

Wei Chunhua refers to Yu Wanting as "Ninth Lord" once, when speaking to the Red Flowers. They're not supposed to know of Yu's other identity.

Xu Tianhuang never does get to kill Fang Youde and avenge his family. He's supposed to hunt him down after he escapes, but they never get round to doing it.

Yu Yutong explains to Chen Jialuo that Zhang Zhaozhong first blinded his master Ma Zhen, then killed him. That is how it happened in the novel, but not in this series. Ma Zhen was never blinded, just ambushed from behind.

After Yu's plot is exposed, and Wei Chunhua and Shi Shuangying are dead, the Red Flowers gather to mourn their dead brothers. You can see all the tablets on the altar - Wu Chen, Jiang Sigen, Yang Chengxie and Zhang Jin were, of course, innocent, while the Red Flowers never really knew the roles the evil Chang brothers had in the whole thing. Oddly enough, the also had Wei Chunhua and Shi Shuangying's tablets on the altar. Either they're really forgiving (despite Wen killing Shi and Zhao tricking Yu into killing Wei) or it was an oversight. Yu Yutong never did get to know who really killed his father. It was Yu Wanting, and not the corrupt officials as he thought.

Conclusion
BAS was a very entertaining 40-episode series. With the introduction of Yu Wanting's double life as Ninth Prince Yin Tang, the entire plot of the series changes, although the flow of the story continues. Unfortunately, the subplot of having Yu Wanting as the mastermind means that Qianlong is not really to blame for a lot of the bad things which happen in the first half of the series, and the persecution he has to endure from the Red Flowers and the Empress Dowager (and his queen, his annoying, annoying queen) just makes you extremely sympathetic to Qianlong. This also makes it harder to cheer for the Red Flowers (at least after they rescue 4th brother), and makes the story feel a bit unfair, and the Red Flowers come across as being rather vindictive and arrogant (although granted they wouldn't know that they were all just pawns of Yu).

Nevertheless, the acting, the chemistry between the cast, and various scenes do make it a very enjoyable journey through a story which was never one of the most exciting or gripping to begin with, and Adam Cheng turns in a performance which really anchors the series as a whole. Certain subplots (such as the introduction of the beautiful, tragic, well-intentioned but ultimately unnecessary Bu Qianjia) did result in the story dragging a little in certain places, but in general the series has captivated me from beginning to end, and if anything, teaches that in life, good and evil are rarely cast in black and white, even if the protagonists see it that way. I personally rate the series a 4-star, marred by the heroes not really being as likeable as they should be, and the lack of a feel good factor to the ending, as well as the oversights on several issues highlighted under the "Interesting notes" section.