I missed about the first 45 minutes of this first episode because I was watching He Who Can't Marry. I mean between this funny love story and all out bitch fighting, I of course chose the love story. Anyway I switched the channel as soon as the Korean series finished and what did I see? FIGHT!!! Yeah! Fight! Right now I have yet to learn the names of everybody but I do know the mooncake shop run by Lee Sze Kei is the same name as the title as in Kah Hou Yuet Yuen (Ermmm... full moon blessed family?). Anyway I started where Michelle Yim slyly confesses that she has been having a 1 year affair with a very quiet and morose looking Har Yu (at least no excessive giggling here) and Lee Sze Kei was furious and standing. Sitting nearby if the monotone actor whose name I forgot, he plays Lee Sze Kei's father I think. Not sure yet. Anyway the father screamed at Michelle "You ungrateful bitch (no rough language but that could be what he meant)!! Remember when your husband left you (or was she widowed? Didn't catch that part) you wanted to die, and who was the one who pulled you back and supported you? How can you do this to her? How can you do such a thing and break this family!!" and of course Michelle was relentless in getting her guy. Quite manipulative and Lee screamed "If you want this useless bastard (again no rough language used but that could have been what she said in English) take him! I don't want him! You can have him! Take him! But you will leave the children to me!". At this point I am not sure how many children they have, but one of them who grows to be Fala Chen is mute, one more is adopted, a few quite big, the 2nd is Ah Hou is Raymond Lam. Michelle has a daughter who grows to be guess! Who else but beautiful Linda Chung! And guess who is paired with who? Guess some more, reveal later...
Anyway bastard said "No! They're my children too! I am their father! I should take them! Mother loves the youngest you know that and it will kill her never to see him again!!" and Lee said "NO!" and Michelle looking rather pitiful said "Ok, since I am the fall guy here I might as well just say it, I don't mind more blame on me. His mother loves the youngest, so the youngest must follow us. Since there are 6 (I think she mentioned 6) we each take 3!" and Lee gave one huge slap on Michelle's face (no, her wig didn't flew off) and Michelle sadly looked at Lee and said "Fine. You can slap my other cheek. But the reality is there is no other way. I am doing this because I love this man and he loves his children so if you won't let us take half of the children I swear it I will fight you till the end to get what he wants!" and immediately Lee ran into her room and locked herself. Tearfully she hugged the younger children, all of them crying begging their mother not to let them go but Lee had to make a choice. She knew she was being cornered and the adopted one said "I am the adopted one. Send me there" (well, very dramatic, a bit too dramatic, no children would utter such a thing) and Lee tearfully and lovingly caressed her face. Immediately she made up her mind "You're the youngest, you must follow them. Grandma loves you very much and you are the oldest (a teenager which I assume becomes Moses Chan) so you can take care of your brother. You go." and then the bastard and the bitch broke open the door and Lee icily said "You can take the oldest and the youngest, and that's all you can take!" and poor youngest had to be dragged into the car crying "Mama!Mama!Mama!" whilst the oldest followed willingly. Michelle's teen daughter sadly looked up and met the eyes of one of the sons and her mother dragged her away. Tearfully that was the breakup of the family.
Decades passed. Lee is still running her mooncake business and teaching some tai-tais how to make mooncakes and making jokes. Her mute daughter, Fala Chen is helping her and she was supposed to have some her teeth filled which we all know is expensive everywhere in the world. Next scene we see a youthful and happy Raymond laughing with his mother (who didn't call her mother - why the nicknames? Can't we have a straightforward mother?) and as he was taking a ferry to go to HK to deliver mooncakes he met someone familiar, that is Linda Chung.
They chatted with each other, very friendly and then we are showed flashbacks where they were actually teenage lovers. They were dating and in love but separated coldly by the elders' irresponsible behaviour. Linda was to be sent to I think England to study and they were to be separated and they took the ferry many times until it was really time to say goodbye. Linda gave Raymond a card with a hidden message, to be opened 10 years later. Raymond dutifully kept the card away. In present time Linda is now a medical student and Raymond helps his mom with the business, so I suppose you can say Romeo & Juliet as well as old Bollywood story of rich educated girl, poor uneducated boy. They promised to run into each other again at the ferry. That night Raymond took out the card. That morning he was hoping to see her but she was nowhere to be seen. In the ferry he finally opened that card and in it was a teen Linda's message where she said she will think of him always and forever. Raymond smiles a little to himself as he remembered the past...
Next episode, bastard comes back to demand for the trademark of the name of the bloody shop!! How dare he! And Susannah Kwan appears as sister of Lee and decided to show that bastard what he will suffer for crossing her whilst Lee Heung Kam is the mother of the bastard and she appears to insult Lee in her shop.
Drama! Fight! Emotion! And just SECOND EPISODE!!
Interesting. That I must admit. The older ones handled their parts well, Michelle Yim especially looking like innocent and yet vicious. Lee of course finally raised her voice in anger, rarely seen in her other performances and at last Har Yu, looking sheepish AND NOT GIGGLING. I count that as a positive. Linda Chung looking pretty, Raymond Lam handsome but a tad too thin, Fala nothing happened and no one else yet.
Since this is episode 1 nothing much I could say although a lot happened. Read some summaries and I found out Michelle Yim seduced Har Yu who was actually very happily married to Lee. Sorry for the rough words but you know when I say Bastard and Bitch you know who I am talking about.
My problem with this episode is the painful last 10 minutes of the episode where dear Raymond remembered the past with young Linda. Both were played by much younger actors, none resembling the adults but then none of the siblings resemble one another. My offense with the scenes is not that they were dating or young love but the way they prolonged the whole separation scene like some tragic Korean love story in the making with some cringe worthy lines like "DON'T EVER FORGET ABOUT ME!!!!!!". And guess what? That separation scene between mother and her 2 children were over in 10 seconds. TEN SECONDS for something more touching, more relevant, more to the point of the story and a whole TEN MINUTES was wasted on the young love of 2 characters I hardly know and I know will rekindle their love against the objection of the bitch. Already this series really does not know where the priority is.
But 2nd episode looks interesting. Tomorrow a more in depth episode summary since no other shows to watch. Meanwhile I must get my hands on the cast list.
For anyone reading this answering the following questions using Post A Comment (spoilers only for episode 1 and no future episode spoilers please) will help me and probably someone else reading this and is watching the series like myself...
1. Who is Michelle Yim?
2. Her husband ran away right?
3. Did she deliberately seduced Har Yu because she loved him or for other motives?
4. Is Har Yu rich at the beginning?
Until tomorrow, I like to end this summary with just one comment about Michelle Yim. She really looks good for her age.
