I just finished watching Blood of Good and Evil–finally. It was a good series overall. However, I felt the wrap-up was a mess. There were many twists and turns along the way. But what about the ending? I felt like we, the audience, were put through so much in regard to the story of Jia Hao (portrayed by Lam Lei/ Lin Li Yang) so there should be a better answer than just casting his character aside at the end like that. Yes, many struggles were seen and the arguments circulating surrounding his death. But it was cast aside again near the end, causing a sense of injustice from all of it. He was a good cop. He worked hard and never harmed anyone. He only wanted a normal life. He was willing to sacrifice his job and/or even possible future for love yet he was misunderstood even until the end. What made it even worse was that Fan Ling (portrayed by Yvonne Lam) never knew that he died and that he never tricked her at all. Only his mother and the others thought that it was because of Fan Ling that he died since they thought he was on the way to the airport to meet her hence meeting his fate.
I hated that his family made a big fuss over his older brother’s death and was willing to forgive the guy. The most ironic thing was that his brother, Jia Rong, was the one who killed him. Also, another reason why I lost interest in the Shi family near the end. They have become too unreasonable. Wei Ming (portrayed by Maggie Siu) was an exception though I was quite mad at her for surrendering the disc to Hao Nan (portrayed by Deric Wan) too easily. She was a strong character and quite intelligent too. Why did she take that gamble? Why did she disregard Jia Hao’s effort like that? I felt that it was actually deserved that she was blind in the end. She had eyes but did not use it properly hence losing it. I knew the reason why and should not blame her for being imperfect, but Jia Hao’s death was too frustrating and tragic already.
Jia Hao did have an honorable funeral and was recognized as a good cop. But was that enough? He deserved more than that. His death needed to be revealed as stated before. He did not die because of just an accident. He died because his cold-blooded brother made it happen. I wanted to see how the Shi family would react upon learning that fact. What would the parents think of their precious older son then? They knew he was a murderer yet they still tolerated it. (It was unavoidable since he was their son after all yet that was not a good excuse to let him continue on the path of such if he did not meet with his fate.) They just had to blame everything that happened to others. I wanted to see how they would receive the news. It would be too cruel but those people in a way deserved it since they did not seem to treasure Jia Hao enough. Yes, the father probably favored Jia Hao more but it seemed it was never enough.
Anyway, I think that Lam Lei is one of those notable actors and a decent singer (with the few songs that I actually hunted down to listen to after learning he was once in a band and then later took off a solo career). If anyone doesn’t know him but thinks he looks familiar from the caps, it’s because he has been seen in quite a few Taiwanese dramas–both ancient and moderns before. Need an even clearer image? Sum Gor from the once-popular drama The Magicians of Love.
I did not know that was him either since I watched The Magicians of Love first and just recently got the DVD of Blood of Good and Evil. But I knew he looked so familiar when I was watching the first few episodes of BOGAE. I kept saying that he looked familiar and was not sure where but settled on probably old TVB dramas that I must have missed when he was not portraying a bigger role. However, when I was just viewing some MVs that I made, I suddenly saw Sum Gor and I was like: “That’s Jia Hao!” No wonder I knew that if the guy looked older, I would know him and I was right. I began searching around for more information to verify it and I was right. He returned to Hong Kong last year to attend in TVB’s popular series E.U. Also, he managed to reunite with his band, HK’s version of The Little Tigers to perform some of their songs, which also included the once-popular TV series theme song of Police Cadet. That was also why he was not seen in various Taiwanese dramas anymore.
*All images were captured by DTLCT
I know! I was thinking that Maggie’s character was just testing Deric’s character to see what he would do. OR at least she had a back-up disc (like she transferred the info to another one, etc). IF that were to happen, I wouldn’t be so frustrated. After all, I remember the bond between her and Jia Hao at the beginning when they were teaming up to get back at their father for lying to both the mothers.
Yup, I agree regarding Jia Hao’s fate in BOGAE. It was so tragic! I mean, at least let Fan Ling know so she can properly mourn for him, since they both loved each other so much. It’s sad that after he died, there was one chance to nail those who killed him (including his older brother), but Maggie’s character had to go ruin it by giving that disk to Deric — not only did Jia Hao die in vain, she sort of had a hand in killing him by not seeking justice for his death, even though she knew what possibly happened.
Like I said, I wanted to throw something at the TV. Must be the script-writer on something because that was so out of her character to do, considering her strong, determined personality at the beginning. That little mistake made her human and showed how she much and loved and trusted Deric. BUT come on now, Jia Hao is/was her brother (though half-siblings as you pointed out). If she did not know, then I wouldn’t be as frustrated. But she knew, she had the evidence right there.
Seeing how much Jia Hao sacrificed and tried to continue the fight with his brother minutes before his death made it even more frustrating and tragic with what happened. Not only did his brother got away BUT his brother ended up still being a good son to their parents (though he had killed others too – as they come to know later). I know I mentioned it in my post already. But I can’t believe it was just like that.
Yea…she had the closest relationship with Jia Hao — she sort of watched out for him because she was his older sister (even though half sister technically)…which makes it even more senseless that she would not seek justice for him. True, she did sacrifice her relationship with Deric, but we all know she still loved him…. if I were Jia Hao, I would be disappointed in her.
I think you mentioned before on the other thread about Jia Hao’s father favoring him more but I thought that there could be more done with strengthening their father and son bond. Or maybe he was too busy trying to get his acts together regarding his two wives that he doesn’t have time for Jia Hao? I felt that the only father bonding I could see is between him and Wei Ming (Maggie) because there were many moments where he tried to get her to talk to him again, etc. Maybe Jia Hao was too forgiving and too nice that the father felt no need to explain to Jia Hao? Or pay more attention to him even. I remember there was a scene where the father was discussing careers that both his sons could go after and he actually approved of Jia Hao’s more with his honest way of earning a living and it’s a respectable job being a cop and bringing justice to others. However, that was it. Too subtle. I do not expect a father and son moment where both cry and express their appreciation for each other since that would be over-killed but what I’m getting is that Jia Hao seems to never shine out for anyone of his family members. This reminds me also of how fake their mourning for Jia Hao seems to be. It reeks too much of irony for me although I would understand how the mother was devastated after she learned about it. It was nicely done yet when I looked back at previous time, I felt it’s too fake. It’s like they finally learn to appreciate Jia Hao but what good would that do? He’s already dead.
I agree regarding how his family only put up a ‘front’ with being nice to Fan Ling for his sake and did not learn to accept who she really is. If they understand more, they would’ve loved her too. I meant the father did like her when he complimented her on her respect for elders, etc. I would understand with her past that they might be turned off, considering how serious it could be. BUT they accepted the things that Jia Wing (the older brother) did, so why not accept Jia Hao and the woman who choose to love?
The thing I said I forgot to mention earlier is the ending of Jia Hao reminds me of what happened in ‘Phoenix Rising’ where Leila Tong’s character Sophie got killed but Jack Wu’s character never knew and thought she lied to him, etc. Though BOGAE is before PR but still one of those sad stories that I wish there was more, like a closure for the other party – as mentioned many times already.
Yup…and the point about his parents totally being biased and liking his brother more just because he is able to say sweet words to make them happy — Jia Hao is too honest and does not like to give the type of “lip service” that his brother does, so he does not get as much “love” from his parents. And it isn’t until it’s too late (when Jia Hao dies) that they realize their loss. So screwed up….
And I honestly think that his parents never fully accepted Fan Ling either — I mean, for his sake, they tried to act nice toward her, but because of their age difference and her background (as a mistress), they really didn’t like her…sad…
I like how you put it with the way their father and son relationship is/was. I think that was what I thinking of, it was all a sort of ‘exterior’ thing and no more than that. It was like, “Hey, this kid know what he’s doing. One less thing to worry about.” I think that was what the father was sort of thinking – or it seemed to give the impression of it being that way than the whole ‘caring for his sons’ as he tried to make it out.
You got a point there with how they were probably in denial of Jia Wing’s mishaps. I meant like how the father kept pointing the finger at Kenneth’s character instead of actually thinking that his son was the one who agreed to those acts, like how he kept blabbing about at the graveyard. And how he kept blaming stuff on Kenneth’s character. Though I agree that Kenneth’s really up to no good, I wonder if it was Jia Wing and Jia Hao’s father’s fault that eventually drove Kenneth to madness with wanting to do harm to others or prove that he could become successful regardless of the method and the consequences. (Because according to the story, they used to live together under the same household and grew up together even.)
I agree with you also regarding the scenarios. I meant I thought Leila’s outcome, it was sooo fast but it was a drove to the older sister (Crystal) to finally end it all. Leila’s sacrifice was actually worth it after all – IF we really want to look at it that way. But Jia Hao’s sacrifice was all in vain and not to mention, Lam Lei’s excellent portrayal. I could still remember the last few minutes of Jia Hao struggling – like I said before – and trying to get the evidence away from Jia Wing. And how he was willing to use himself as decoy to let the evidence be safe. It was to the point where you could start crying immediately when you realized that he was not going to make it. The chase was exciting yet nerve-racking. It was a declared contest that would determine if the good would triumph over evil or not. (Sort of ties back to the theme of the series, eh?)
True, the father does “favor” Jia Hao more in a sense because he is the epitome of the “good son” but I think his “favoring” was more on the surface — there wasn’t a really deep father/son relationship there. It’s more like he doesn’t have to “worry” about Jia Hao because he knows he is so “good” so he doesn’t spend much time with him — so he does neglect him in a sense (maybe because he is too busy trying to keep his “2 lives” a secret)…
I still sort of think though that even though they were more “accepting” of Jia Wing, I think part of it was because they were in denial — they couldn’t believe that their son could be that bad.
Oh yea…now that you mention it, I do see the similarities to Phoenix Rising in terms of that particular part. It was sad, but to be honest, I felt more for Jia Hao than I did for Leila — probably because Lam Lei did a good job playing the part, so it was easy to feel sorry for him….
Totally regarding Kenneth and the father. The father keeps blaming everything on Kenneth, just to cover up for his own past wrongs. And probably to cover up his own guilt. That fuels Kenneth’s hate even more.
When I heard what Jia Wing’s wife (the pregnant one) said, I was like, “Exactly!” because that’s the only person he cares for. He’s like his father in a way that he’s too greedy (aka having two wives, etc). Although the father is NOT to the point where he kills, I think his words could drive people to insanity already. Not only did he pay for what he did with both of his sons’ lives, but also his daughter’s blindness. Though her blindness was due to the fact that she didn’t stop Kenneth in time, allowing more time for him to roam around and harm others. Still…I felt like Jia Hao deserved his fate the least since he never harmed anyone – like mentioned many times before.
I think you hit the nail on the head regarding the father and his attitude toward Jia Wing’s wrongdoings. That was one of the things that I found most annoying about his (the father’s) character — he was way too biased and kept “hating” Kenneth even though technically Kenneth didn’t do anything to him…actually, it was the father who did wrong because he accidently pushed Kenneth into the water (he was trying to grab Kenneth’s life-saver)back in the old days when they were both on the boat trying to get away from war-torn China. He knew he did wrong, but didn’t want to admit it, so he would always “go against” Kenneth to make himself feel better (and to make himself sound like the victim in that situation). This is actually important to the story because this is the reason why he blames Kenneth for everything that happens to his family — that’s why during the graveyard scene, he finally admits that he did wrong by pushing Kenneth into the water when they were youth, but he already used the lives of both his sons to “make up for it” (sort of the whole Asian concept of “bao ying”)….with that said though, it’s still not fair to blame Kenneth for everything that happened because to be honest, Jia Wing brought it on himself. His “wife” (the one who was pregnant with his child) said it best — he’s very selfish and doesn’t love anyone except himself….
I wonder if u got the DVD with an english subtitles?? coz i would love to get my hands on it…. i loved this series back when it aired in malaysia in the 90’s … but cant find anywhere a dvd with an english sub now
@Rasyihah – No, sorry. I have the Viet version and there wasn’t an option for switching to English subs or other types of subs like recent packages that had included various audio and subs. Have you tried YesAsia? It might be out of stock too much BUT who knows? Keep looking back from time to time.