Phoenix Rising

Cast
Crystal Tin Yui Nei – Kong Lai Nga (eldest sister)
Louisa So – Yim Pui Woo (second sister)
Leila Tong – So Fei (youngest sister)
Sunny Chan – Yin Leung
Jack Wu – Ma Hak
Wong Chi Yin – Cheung Chi Hoi

This series was really different from the previous few TVB dramas that I watched before. It deals more with the dark side of man and what a person is capable of doing in certain circumstances.

Synopsis

*For easier reference, I will use the names of the actors in the description of the whole storyline

Crystal, Louisa and Leila are sisters who lost their parents when they were very young. They grew up together in an orphanage. It had always been Crystal's wish that her 2 younger sisters get adopted, as she wants them to have a family. Eventually, their respective foster parents adopt all 3 sisters.

Unlike when they were young, the relationship between them is not all that wonderful. When all 3 sisters become adults Louisa refuses to have anything to do with Crystal due to crystal's previous job, which she feels will bring shame to her. The 2 elder sisters have lost contact with Leila ever since she left the orphanage.

After a whole series of events, Louisa is charged for murder and is sentenced the death penalty. Along the way, Leila returns to Shanghai to look for her 2 sisters. She becomes a reformative officer at the prison where she reunites with her 2 sisters.

After a chain of events, Louisa cheats Crystal into taking the rap for her and she is sentenced to death while Louisa walks away scot-free. Leila somehow gets embroiled into this whole situation when she realizes the truth. She too gets jailed when she helps Crystal escape from prison.

After this comes a whole battle between good and evil. Will Crystal make it out alive? Will Louisa get what she deserves? You'll have to watch to find out.

Character analysis

Crystal Tin Yui Nei as Kong Lai Nga
Honestly, it was very hard to believe that there is such a naïve and trusting woman. She is just too kind. I didn't exactly like this character because she was too self-sacrificing, too weak - the kind that gets pushed around by people and yet is still so forgiving. It is very frustrating when she does stupid things to save others and harm herself. You just feel like giving her a slap and shouting at her to think for herself. She did, however, do well as a mother. Even though she did stand up for herself in the end, I still felt that overall this character was too weak.

Crystal didn't do a very good job here. It's tolerable but I didn't like watching her act. She had no chemistry with Sunny Chan and they were not very compatible. The scenes where she talked with more force were better to watch. Throughout the show she often talked as if she was going to die or something, but that's probably one of the ways she shows her weak character.
Overall score: 3/5

Louisa so as Yim Pui Woo
Pui Woo is a really cunning woman who believes in the survival of the fittest. She will do anything to make sure she gets what she wants. Actually, she is a rather tragic figure. All she wants is to marry the man she loves and live happily. I suppose she is overly worried that she will not get what she wants and thus does everything in her power to prevent her "happiness" from being taken away from her.

Louisa was excellent here! She was really convincing as the ruthless and despicable Pui Woo. She had that sort of commanding presence when she was acting. She was so good I would say that she made me sort of scared of her when she was onscreen.
Overall score: 5/5

Leila tong as So Fei
So Fei was rather likable in this series. She is the opposite of her eldest sister. She was not afraid to stand up for what she felt was right. She is very daring and has very strong determination. I especially enjoyed her comic moments with Ma Hak. So Fei has a sense of compassion for people but unlike her eldest sister, she still knew how to protect herself and not just blindly sacrifice herself for others. She can be rather rash at times though.

Leila was good in his show. Her acting was believable and she portrayed her character quite well. However, I felt that the character lacked complexity and thus, she lacked the room for expression. I preferred her acting in "War and Destiny".
Overall score: 4/5

Sunny chan as Yin Leung
Yin Leung started out as a very selfish man. Only someone like Crystal would wait 6 years for him. Other women wouldn't have that much patience. Luckily at the end he redeemed himself by saving Crystal at the expense of his status as mayor.

Sunny's screen time was not a lot so he couldn't really show much. But he did well with the little screen time that he had. As usual, he put up a good performance.
Overall: 4/5

Jack wu as Ma Hak
This character is a comic character used to relieve tension in the show. He's quite cute, especially when he's with So Fei. They were quite cute together. Ma Hak is a smart guy who is willing to do anything for So Fei.

Jack did ok. I liked him in this show because he was funny. He and So Fei still lacked that chemistry between them. He also had little screen time so I guess he could not portray the character fully.
Overall score: 3/5

If you are able to endure the first 6 episodes of the series, you'll be fine after that. Not that the first few episodes are boring, just that it's rather depressing because most of the scenes take place in prison. Then there are scenes where the prison guards mistreat the prisoners and a scene where a prisoner on death roll is killed. This series makes one think about the values in the show. For example, survival of the fittest. In this world, does the need to survive allow one to resort to despicable methods? This show is something new but I would not recommend it if you get depressed easily.