Central Affairs II

Foreword
Alert – this drama has nothing to do with Central Affairs although some of the cast are the same. But it is a similar story on greed and riches that happens in a family

Story/ Introduction on characters

1. Cui Chi Mun – Tse Yin
He is a former policeman but is dismissed as he breaks the law. He is formerly Su’s assistant but later becomes Bak Chuen’s bodyguard. He becomes a gangster to wear a suit daily – what a sharp contrast! But seeing his dressing, all mistaken that he is the boss! Bak Chuen admires his ability and both often go bowling. He is actually very sentimental. He has two foster children – Siu Long and Siu Fung. They are filial to him but they treat him more like a friend.

He likes Chi Shu but can’t woo her as he is married to Su. He can only help her as much as he can. He finally waits till her divorce to marry her. He is unhappy that tin Yee gets Bak Chuen’s fortune. He discovers his real will but is killed by Tin Yee’s killers who seize it back.

Tse Yin looks more suitable in here than in Central Affairs in his role. He wears sleeveless leather jackets and looks every itch a gangster. But sorry – no removal of his shades at all this time!

2. Dong Chi Shu – Kam Yin Ling
She is the women’s mother who is the traditional housewife. She is unhappy when Hoi Lan is separated from them since young. She tries her best to seek for her return. Su’s business prospers and keeps a mistress, Hung Hung. She is constantly harassed by Hung Hung but she bears with it. Upon knowing that Su extorts money from Cai family using Hoi Lan’s rape incident, she divorces him. She often feels that she owes Hoi Lan too much. Thus she covers Chun Dong’s murder by taking the rap and has no complaints.

Well done for Kam in this long-suffering role. She depicts Chi Shu’s guilt well.

3. Cai Bak Chuen – Lo Hoi Pang
He is the brothers’ father who is very strict with them, hoping that they will inherit his land property business. Chun Yu’s father is his chauffeur. He causes Chun Yu’s father’s death when he tries to save him through a kidnap. He feels remorseful and adopts him. Chun Nam is too weak while Chun Dong is too ambitious. He does not treat him like an outsider although he admires his abilities and trusts him most. Feeling lonely after Wai Ching’s death, he marries Tin Yee but this invites trouble to his doorstep.

4. Kong Su – Lo Kar Ying
He is Chi Shu’s ex-husband. He owns a pawnshop so he tries to impress Bak Chuen to become rich.he slowly forgets about Hoi Lan’s disappearance and finds Chi Shu old to have an affair. Chi Shu divorces him and he stays with Hong Hong. He trusts the whole person – Tin Yee to invest the wrong shares to lose all his money. He is chased out of his home and has to stay alone to work as a security guard to make ends meet. There is no chance for reconciliation between him and his ex-wife so they remain as friends.

5. Chow Wai Ching – Tse Suet Sam
She is elegant and calm but can be very sarcastic. She knows that Chun Dong does a lot of evil deeds but still side for him. She looks down on Chun Yu who isn’t her own son. Upon knowing Bak Chuen’s affair with Tin Yee, she wants half of his fortune to force them to part. Tin Yee pushes her down the escalator in the shopping mall and kills her instantly when she dies of a heart attack.

6. Kong Hoi Lan – Yip Suen
She is the younger daughter who is abducted by kidnappers from the train station when she is five. Hoi Lan sees this but doesn’t shout for help so they are separated from then. She hates Hoi Lan for deserting her. She is adopted into a doctor family and graduates from the acting academy. Tin Yee is her close friend but she doesn’t expect her to betray her to become the lead actress of a play.

Hoi Lan doesn’t trust anyone from then on. She starts to become scheming. She returns homw with Chi Shu and discovers that Hoi Lan is leading a life so much better than hers. She plans to seize whatever she has. Her first step is to get Chun Yu but she falls for him later. After being raped by Chun Dong and discovering what her father has done, she bears with the misery to break up with Chun Yu to marry Chun Nam. This is her second step to seek revenge at Chun Dong.

Hoi Lan discovers that her arch enemy, Tin Yee has come to Hong Kong. Upon seeing her marrying Bak Chuen, she decides to compete with her to get the Cai family business. That means betraying everyone to gain success. She kills Chun Dong when he injures Chun Nam seriously and tries to kill Chi Shu. Chi Shu takes the rap for her as she still needs to manage the business since Hoi Chiu is still recovering. Guilt pricks her conscience when seeing how Chi Shu gets ill in jail so she surrenders herself to the police.

Suen’s chirpy presentation of Hoi Lan reminds me how she acts in ‘Triumph in the skies’ so there is no surprise. Her interpretation of a strong career woman is better although her acting is still shallow at times.

7. Kong Hoi Chiu – Cheung Mun Chi
She is very gentle but is jealous of her younger sister when young. That is why she doesn’t shout for help when she is being kidnapped. She becomes very remorseful and seeks to do charity work when she grows up. She achieves her childhood aim to be a lawyer. Chun Yu is her boyfriend but they have differing views over matters. She welcomes Hoi Lan back but soon detects that she is always against her. She gives in to her as she is at fault when young.

Upon knowing that she loves Chun Yu, she gives Chun Yu up to her. But seeing them together brings misery to her so she often gets drunk. One night, she sleeps with Chun Dong unintentionally. She gets pregnant but she doesn’t want to abort the baby to marry him. Soon, she regrets her decision. She goes mad upon knowing that Chun Dong has H.I.V. and might harm their unborn son. Luckily he is declared fine but she has to take charge of the company alone when no one is left.

Her acting is suppressed in here unlike in Central Affairs. I feel that she has mellowed into the crowd and not showing much impact.

8. Cui Siu Fung – Leung Mun Yee
She is Chi Mun’s foster daughter who often faces failure in life. She falls for Chun Nam and tries hard to get close to him. Her heart breaks to pieces upon knowing that he loves Hoi Lan. She nearly kills herself but luckily Chun Yu discovers that on time. She learns from him that love can’t be forced and she has to improve herself. Thus she attends night classes and also works in his law firm.

9.Wong Hong Hong – Lee See Pui
She is Su’s mistress who views money more important than anything else. She forces Su to divorce his wife. Upon knowing that Su has lost his fortune, she leaves him with his money for another man.

10. Cui Siu Lung – Cheung Kar Lun
He is Chi Mun’s foster son and is often considered as silly. He falls for Tin Yee but he can’t win her heart as he is poor. Tin Yee views him as a stranger after she marries Bak Chuen. He is badly affected by it. he feels even worse when Tin Yee murders his father. Thus he has to bring her to justice.

11. Lok Tin Yee – Mak Kar Kei
She grows up with Hoi Lan in China. She is very eager to achieve her aim to the expense of hurting others. She does well with Hoi Lan in the acting academy. They are friends at face value but she regards her as her competitor. She even sleeps with the judge to gain her acting opportunity. She gets to know Chun Dong and hooks to him. She ignores him after getting his father.

She lures Bak Chuen to Alaska and lies that she is pregnant to register their marriage. She becomes a celebrity overnight. Seeing that Chun Dong likes women, she bribes an AIDS carrier to transmit the disease to him. He is forced out of the director board and she tries to harm the others. She is truly in love with Chun Yu to try to win him over in vain. Siu Long has no choice but to kill her with his own hands.

Although well done, I feel that Kar Kei can still do better as she doesn’t seem to be evil enough.

12. Cai Chun Yu – Chan Kai Toi
He is Bak Chuen’s adopted son so he works hard to repay his kindness. He is Cai associates’ legal advisor and wins many cases for them. He is a smart person and although he knows that Chun Dong has done many legal deeds, he still sides for him. He protects Chun Nam from being harmed by him at work. Even though he wants to expose the rape incident to the police, Bak Chuen begs him not to and he has to give in.

Hoi Chiu hopes that he will leave the company but he is very hesitant. Because of Hoi Lan, he breaks up with Hoi Chiu. But after Hoi Lan learns that he intends to set up his own law firm, she leaves him. He has to wish her well upon knowing that she marries Chun Nam. When she moves into the family, he keeps a distance from her. But he has never forgotten her so he concentrates on his work.

He hires Siu Fung and both fall in love. He is aware that Chi Shu is innocent and Hoi Lan keeps the truth from him so he tries hard to get evidence. Knowing that Tin Yee likes him, he tries to get her trust to gain all the documents. Tin Yee kills him in rage after knowing it.

How I love this tragic role – Kai Toi proves that he can act as well as he comperes. He shows well why Chun Yu is so popular with women as he is a true gentleman.

13. Cai Chun Dong – Chan Bo Yuen
He likes power and loves wooing famous celebrities. He knows that Chun Nam is simple-minded so he has never regard him as his rival in the company. His main thorn in the eye is Chun Yu to try to force him out of the company. Still, he thinks that he is the main successor to the company as the elder son.

He likes Hoi Lan and he rapes her when he is high on drugs. After that, he refuses to handle responsibility to lie to his mother that Hoi Lan seduces him. Although he marries Hoi Chiu, he never changes his philandering ways to get AIDS. He wants to borrow money from Chun Nam to peddle drugs. When Chun Nam refuses, he injures him to turn him into a coma. Hoi Lan has to kill him to protect herself.

Bo Yuen is too exaggerating. I don’t really like it. The saving grace is how devastated he is over his mother’s death. Although this role is rotten to the core, he shows well on how he loves his mother.

14. Cai Chun Nam – Yuen Mun Kit
He is an introvert and lacks confidence. He trusts people too easily. He has not thought of competing with Chun Dong at work when he works for Bak Chuen for a while. He gains his computer degree overseas so he sets up his own company as he isn’t interested in the family business.

However, a chain of tragedies happen so he has no choice but to return to handle the family business. It is love at first sight for him to meet Hoi Lan. He never doubts that he is only her chess to gain success. Upon knowing that she loves Chun Yu all along, he is shattered. Due to the attack, he remains in a coma.

Only a lukewarm performance from Mun Kit and I am not convinced that a person can be so naive. All he needs to do is just to flash his killer smiles. Nothing spectacular.

15. Johnny – Leung Hou Koi
He is Chun Dong’s personal assistant but he also ruins his life. His main assignments are to provide him with drugs and chances to meet actresses. Thanks to him, Chun Dong also gets AIDS as he doesn’t check the background of this woman carefully.

16. Angela – Ho Yin Wah
She is Tin Yee’s manager. She is greedy and also comes up with evil plans to set others up. She knows the underworld well. That is why she is able to hire killers for Tin Yee to kill Chi Mun.

Favourite character
Chuk Hung. He is in such a complicated working environment but yet he knows how to work with a clear mind. He is also fair to give all his subordinates the recognition they need. As a lover, he has done all he requires to – showing love and concern. No more explanation since two women love him so much.

Most hated character
Chi Kin, he loves wealth too much to marry into the Cheng family even to Lucy’s opposition. This man has no backbone at all. Little does he know that after disposing Lok Tin and marrying Lok Yee, this is not the end as yet. See Sun who is also another lawful successor but she has kept her identity from him all along.

Most pitiful character
Chun Nam, he thinks that he is lucky to get a good wife but he is actually very unlucky to get deceived by her all along.

Interesting scenes

Chi Mun on his Harvey Davidson motorcycle. Who will believe that he can be so fast at his age?

Knowing that Hoi Lan wants to be an actress, Chun Yu spends time after work to rehearse the script with her. He even brings her to the audition venue. How sweet he is!

The rape scene – a very tragic scene. Chun Yu covers her with his suit jacket and carries her into his car. Hoi Lan cries in the rain but he doesn’t know how to console her.

Chun Yu is upset when Hoi Chiu wants to break up with him. He gets drunk and accidentally kisses Hoi
Lan. He suddenly becomes very shy.

Hoi Lan’s permed hair style at work after marrying Chun Nam. All marvel at how beautiful she looks – how did the stylist do it?

Scenes of Hoi Lan and Tin Yee to seek their revenge. They never blink at all – naturally cold-blooded. Chun Dong shows his bad side openly but they conceal their dark side well.

Conclusion

It proves as a big disappointment for me. Although I enjoy Central Affairs, I hardly like this drama as I find all characters very subdue. It is just a replica of it as the setting is almost the same. The development is so easily guessed. If not for Kai Toi, I would not have continued. It also shows how limited young faces ATV has. It’s time for it to recruit new blood.

Sukting’s ratings :

On acting : *** (Scale of 5)

On story : *** (Scale of 5)