TVB 50th Anniversary Awards: Results + Comments

This year's award show, if you haven't already realized, was unsurprisingly a sweep for this year's hit "A Fist Within Four Walls." Overall, the show had its entertaining moments with deserving winners as well as a few surprises. I watched the show as I wrote my post this year (after skimming it the day of so I could find out the results before class), so I hope you enjoy the commentary and screen caps.

Here is the full list of winners.

Most Improved Actress: Ali Lee

I totally should have seen it coming that TVB would make Tony and Edwin present Most Improved Actor and Priscilla and Natalie Most Improved Actress. As predictable as that move was though, their banter was actually entertaining and funny instead of the usual forced presenting of awards. I loved all the jokes they made about each other, starting when Tony replied to Edwin saying he has won awards too...to realize Edwin actually has not (for acting). Poor Tony looked completely blind-sided though when Edwin joked that Kenneth was the one who told him Natalie has a good figure and can cook. The banter level between Priscilla and Tony was also high as always, which was shown by this imitation of what Tony thinks Priscilla looks like in all of her series:

But anyway...Tracy gets robbed again. Ali is far from the least deserving winner in the history of this award, but Tracy is now two years overdue for this award after a critically-acclaimed performance in sleeper hit "Over Run Over." I have loved Ali in her villain and semi-villain roles, especially in "Fashion War," but her first turn as a leading protagonist in "Law Disorder," while partially the fault of a dull and poorly-written character, showed she still has a way to go and lacks the charisma Tracy has. Ali's acting is already at a better level than some of her colleagues at this point in her career, and her win is expected given how heavily she's being promoted. I do like Ali, but this was admittedly, pretty darn disappointing.

Most Improved Actor: Jonathan Cheung 

"Anybody could win and he'd be better than last year's winner!" *camera pans to Tony* Oh Priscilla, even you have to admit that other than Jonathan, Tony was still a stronger nominee than any of the other nominees this year. You knew Jonathan was obviously going to win when literally all the other guys were pointing in his direction when Priscilla and Natalie were about to announce it.

This may have been one of the more obvious winners of the night. I'm still so happy Jonathan won, and he had a sweet and concise acceptance speech. There's really not much to be said other than that, since I've already gone on and on about how he deserves this recognition in my predictions post and "House of Spirits" review.

That performance of "Stand By Me" wasn't great, but for once they sang a song and it didn't make my ears want to bleed and was even quite nice, so that's an improvement. Wasn't exactly acapella, but they're lucky I have a soft spot for this song.

Best Onscreen Partnership: Tracy Chu and Vincent Wong for "Over Run Over"

It was nice to see a mini "Virtues of Harmony" reunion! But yeesh, it looks like Joyce Chen has barely aged since the sitcom.

Neither Tracy or Vincent took home a favorite character award, ruining my prediction that Vincent would win Favorite Male Character. I'm glad they were able to take home SOMETHING, especially considering they were only one of two nominees in this category that actually made sense.

Best Supporting Actor: Raymond Cho for "Short End of the Stick"
Top 3: Raymond Cho, Hugo Ng for "Brother's Keeper II," and Luk Wing for "Two Steps in Heaven"

There are always several solid supporting male performances every year, so I'm glad they've brought back a short-list of nominees after announcing all darn 20 nominees for the past year or two.

Luk Wing became my last minute personal choice for this category after loving him in "Two Steps." I don't think anyone expected him to place in the top 3 though, including Luk Wing himself, as evidenced by the sheer look of shock and excitement on his face when he heard his name called from backstage. I literally jumped up from my seat from excitement for him when they said his name! It's so refreshing of TVB to give acknowledgement, even if just in the form of a top 3 nominee, to someone who is not a TVB managed artist (to my knowledge?) or an acclaimed non-TVB managed veteran.

The announcement of the winner of this category is always fun and heartwarming, with standing ovations for the unappreciated veteran supporting actors who usually take home this award, and this year was not an exception. I did not watch "Short End of the Stick" so I cannot give much personal comment, but I have always enjoyed Raymond Cho's performances and glad he finally got his recognition this year.

On a side note, Louis looked like he was getting his creep on while petting Luk Wing here.

Best Theme Song: Ruco Chan and Nancy Wu's sub theme for "A Fist Within Four Walls"

No surprise, but since "Dead Wrong" went home completely empty-handed and "Fist" made such a major sweep, I would have wanted Stephanie Ho's sub theme for "Dead Wrong" to win. Not just because "Dead Wrong" absolutely deserved to get something, but also because it's a beautiful song in its own right that adds to the emotional factor of the series.

Best Supporting Actress: Katy Kung for "Two Steps in Heaven"
Top 3: Katy Kung, Joyce Tang for "House of Spirits," and Grace Wong for "A Fist Within Four Walls"

This is the one award I really cannot wrap my head around. I was so looking forward to finally seeing Joyce getting acknowledgment for her strong acting. Instead, I'm just left here bitter and confused.

If there was anyone who I heard a lot of buzz about who deserved recognition for their performances in "Two Steps," it would have been Bosco, Louis, and/or Luk Wing. Katy certainly got a different role this time, playing the wife and mother instead of the little sister, and I do usually like her, but she tried too hard here. She supposedly won for her crying scenes, but those were her most cringeworthy and unnatural. She also received a big standing ovation though, so I guess I'm missing something. I never thought TVB would give this award to her, and even now that she has, I honestly don't see them being serious about promoting her like they usually do with winners of this award...

And for the second year in the row, we interrupt this broadcast so the actors can chow down on some chicken. Looks like they didn't secure a sponsorship with KFC this year though, because this time it's homemade.

Rosina Lam doesn't mind that she did not get into the top 3 of Best Supporting Actress because she now has food.

My Favorite Female Character: Grace Wong for "A Fist Within Four Walls"
Top 5: Grace Wong and Nancy Wu for "A Fist Within Four Walls," Natalie Tong for "Speed of Life," Tracy Chu for "Over Run Over," and Joyce Tang for "House of Spirits"

Grace was completely shocked when her name was called, responding with an expression of disbelief that mirrors when Nancy's name was called for Best Actress last year. Like us, she thought this award could only go to lead characters! I guess TVB decided they didn't want anyone pulling double wins. I wasn't ecstatic about the results of this, but I'm not mad either. It was heartwarming yet quite funny watching her get her thanks out in between sniffling and trying to stay calm, which made her voice go up and down. I burst out laughing when she realized she almost forgot to thank her fiancee and let out a very deep "Hi." All other top 5 nominees were not a surprise except for Natalie in "Speed of Life," which was little-watched and talked-about.

Best Actress: Nancy Wu for "A Fist Within Four Walls"
Top 5: Nancy Wu, Maggie Shiu for "The Executioner," Tracy Chu for "Over Run Over," Kristal Tin for "Brother's Keeper II," and Priscilla Wong for "Two Steps From Heaven

I knew Nancy had won for sure when Jessica said she had voted for the winner! Ah, the "Gun Metal Grey" days. She was incredibly calm (but still very gracious) this time, since we all knew it was just too obvious. It was too cute when she asked Frankie to give her a kiss on the cheek. Also, yay for Maggie getting into the top 5!

My Favorite Male Character: Benjamin Yuen for "A Fist Within Four Walls"
Top 5: Benjamin Yuen and Ruco Chan for "A Fist Within Four Walls," Vincent Wong for "Over Run Over," Bobby Au-Yeung for "House of Spirits," and Louis Cheung for "Two Steps in Heaven"

Yeah...I saw this coming after Grace won. But while I'm okay with Grace's win, I am just not into this at all. "Duen Yiu Fung" was a pretty dull character, and was only made interesting when acting alongside Ruco, Nancy, or Grace. But, Benjamin's speech was touching. It was nice to hear him thank Jennifer even though they've broken up for supporting him for three years despite him being so busy with work. However, this award should have been Vincent's.

Best Actor: Ruco Chan for "A Fist Within Four Walls"
Top 5: Ruco Chan and Benjamin Yuen for "A Fist Within Four Walls," Vincent Wong for "Over Run Over," Bosco Wong for "Two Steps in Heaven," and Roger Kwok for "Dead Wrong" 

The moment I've been waiting to see since Ruco became a leading man in 2011. Oh man, was I grinning from ear to ear when his name was called. I shouldn't be surprised that even though he was teary-eyed and emotional, he was very calm and eloquent in his acceptance speech. It was too sweet when he thanked his mom and the camera panned to his mom blowing kisses at him from the audience behind tears. Congratulations, Ruco. <3

Best Drama: "A Fist Within Four Walls"

Oooh, Wayne's burns about TVB executives never willing to talk about money in negotiations and their grueling hours were too good. I was holding out on the hope "Dead Wrong" could go home with Best Drama, but alas, this really was the year of "Fist." But hey, I hope the success of the series will teach TVB to put more effort into their action series like they did with this in the future.

What are your thoughts on the winners? 

"A Fist Within Four Walls" Review

With the anniversary awards season quickly looming, TVB finally has a worthy contender in "A Fist Within Four Walls," which had all the makings of a great series: strong cast and characterizations, an intriguing storyline, and appropriate pacing. "Fist" is also the first notable series this year to receive positive reception that was a grander production. While a larger budget has never been a guarantee for an amazing series, this martial arts drama utilizes its budget to make it visually appealing and convincing to compliment, instead of try to compensate, for the script. After the mediocrity and endless disappointments TVB has been feeding us the last few years, who would've thought efficient utilization and good execution was still in their vocabulary?

Cast and Characters

It doesn't come as a surprise that Ruco Chan, as usual, gives another natural and emotive performance, with his dramatic scenes not being an obstacle for him at all. However, what makes him really shine here is the humor and playfulness of his character, which makes him so enjoyable to watch as "Kuen Lo." Kuen Lo could be a bit too naive and idealistic at times, but Ruco's charisma makes the kindhearted character endearing instead of annoying. It was especially cute seeing him slowly realize he was falling for "Tiu Lan" (Nancy Wu), as he started to act more and more shy around her.

It's a shame that Nancy won Best Actress a bit prematurely for "Ghost of Relativity" last year. While her character in the supernatural comedy shares similar characteristics to Tiu Lan, such as her stubbornness, Tiu Lan is a much more developed character that allowed Nancy to show off her range. Like Ruco, she does
very well in both dramatic and comedic scenes. She's feisty, bossy, and stubborn, yet funny, compassionate, upbeat, and fun. She was definitely the scene stealer here and this is her most memorable role of the last few years. This is the closest to a Best Actress-worthy performance from a young actress the last few years.

Ruco and Nancy have undeniable chemistry, and their relationship was also written well. The script really fleshed out their relationship while the actors brought it to life, allowing the audience see Kuen Lo and Tiu Lan go from being just friends, to caring increasingly more for each other, to finally starting a relationship. They were funny, sweet, romantic, emotional, and natural. The chemistry was easy and lighthearted when it had to be, and passionate when it had to be. Ruco and Nancy are respectively each other's best costar in years. It's been quite a while since I've really "shipped" and fangirled over an onscreen TVB pair, but Ruco and Nancy have definitely secured a place on my list of favorite onscreen pairs.

As much as I like Benjamin Yuen's personality and affability in real life, I continue to be disappointed in the lack of any drastic improvements in his acting. The character is a straight man type who is quiet and well-composed, which allowed Benjamin to get away with his stoic acting more, but his weaker acting really showed in more dramatic scenes alongside Ruco.

Grace gets to show off her seductive side as usual in this series, but this time in a role with much more substance. The character was quite intense as "Fa Man/Chiu Ha" was very much blinded by revenge, but Grace does relatively well. Her death was saddening and while it served as a catalyst to Benjamin realizing who the big boss was, probably could have been avoided.

Moon Lau is finally able to deliver a memorable performance portraying the sweet, bubbly, yet spunky and brave "Audrey." It's obvious that her emotional scenes need a lot of work, but she really does play her already likable character with such charm and brightness. I do hope that she gets more good roles such as this.

Philip Ng is very wooden in the beginning of the series, though it's fitting for the character. He seems to get more comfortable in the role later on, and the scene where he references his own lack of expression was hilarious. As expressionless as he could be at times, when he was able to be funny, such as when he practices what to say to his mom when returning her soup thermos, he was indeed amusing and endearing. His lighthearted scenes with his mother, played by Yuen Qiu (who was funny and bad ass), as well as Moon, were heartwarming and funny. While Ruco and Nancy were my favorites, Moon and Philip were very sweet and enjoyable to watch as well. It broke my heart when Philip died trying to save Moon, and his death was very unnecessary.

In addition to the strong performances and likable characters, "Fistful" has great action and stunt choreography. TVB for once did not slack off, investing in intensive training for its cast before starting filming, and getting Yuen Qiu and Philip, who is a professional martial artist and stunt choreographer. They did overuse slow motion in the earlier parts of the series, but the martial arts was overall still satisfying to watch.

For me, the series is not as "on the edge of your seat" good in the last 8 or so episodes, after the original three villains are all wiped out and the focus shifts to the real big boss. With that said, I don't think the series becomes draggy, as much as it's no longer as fast-paced as previously. It simply didn't grip me as much as before, but the characters and action were more than enough to keep me around until the very end.

Overall

"Fist" is not without its flaws, from its cartoonish portrayal of villains to Boss Yeung's inhumane body and martial arts talent (but hey, no supernatural element here!). However, with a strong cast and tight plot that spends very minimal time dragging its feet, I can easily look past these flaws to appreciate its entertainment value without feeling like I have to dumb myself down. "A Fist Within Four Walls" sets out to tell a story and develop its characters, and it succeeds to do so while using the time allotted, not more or less. That's an accomplishment for a TVB series in general, which is known for trying to meet specific episode counts, never mind in the context of TVB's usual quality these days. It's easily my favorite series this year.

Rating: 4.5 stars

"The Fixer" Review

My feelings toward "The Fixer" can best be summed up as ambivalent. "The Fixer" starts off with probably one of the most promising premises so far this year, but greatly suffers from poor direction and pacing.

I went into the series thinking it'd be reminiscent of "Catch Me Now," one of my all-time favorites, with its gray characters, refreshing ensemble, and blend of action and comedy. I was quickly disappointed because the team here is a far cry from the Robin Hood-like gang of "Catch Me Now," who do good deeds albeit through illegal or questionable means. Although Chin Ka Lok's team does not simply accept money from anyone who needs their help, his monologue in the finale saying that he had come to the realization he had not been helping people solve problems all this time, but helping them to avoid responsibility, rings very true.

Although this made me not actively root for the team as much, I was able to put these misguided expectations aside after a few episodes and instead find its real problems elsewhere.

"The Fixer" had great potential to be an entertaining and compelling action drama, but mostly fails in its first half by being roughly 75% draggy family drama and with maybe a 25% focus on the problem solving. I normally like or am indifferent to Gigi Wong, but her character here is a waste of screen time. This is not the actress' fault, but the scriptwriters for dragging her arc out so long and making the huge mistake of focusing on her and the brother's estrangement. Although I cannot say I know much about Alzheimer's, it drove me up the wall and just seemed too convenient that Gigi could recognize her youngest child as a grown up, married woman, yet thought her middle son was a child still in elementary school.

The series picks up after Tracy Chu's character makes her entrance and completes the team. It gradually eases off of Gigi, and in the last five or so episodes it's all a whirlwind of major events. Throughout the series, I was either slouching in my chair bored from the family drama, or staring at the screen trying to process all that was happening. In the end, this is my biggest complaint. The writers spent half the series going in the wrong direction with trite flashbacks and sob stories and offering us minimal insight into the characters (other than Chin Ka Lok and Benjamin Yuen's).

While it does not boast any big names, "The Fixer" does benefit from a fun and unlikely ensemble.

Unfortunately, the series was unable to utilize it more. Chin Ka Lok and Mandy Wong are given the meaty characters with a past, and Tracy and Timmy Hung are mostly relegated to being responsible for comic relief, and we never get to learn too much about them. This is a shame, because although Mandy is a solid actress as usual, her character simply wasn't compelling as the female lead despite her dark past since she spent the majority of her time looking cool and detached.

However, she and Chin Ka Lok surprisingly pulled off chemistry despite the age difference and physical incompatibility. Whether it was their intimate moments or just subtle body language with each other, they appeared very at ease and natural together. Although I am still not a fan of these onscreen pairings with significant age differences, in this situation it worked just fine because both Mandy and Chin Ka Lok are capable actors, while in other pairings there is always a weak link (typically the newbie female who has to be perched up by an experienced actor).

This is the first time I've seen Tracy, and I must say, she has probably already become my favorite newer actress and I hope TVB continues to promote her. From her first scene, she lights up the screen and is very lively, a welcome contrast to Mandy's character. There were several times I actually became annoyed with "Duck Duck," particularly whenever she disrespected Benjamin by being rude or just plain childish, but overall she was a lot of fun. Tracy is natural, possesses charisma and affability, and did well with all the physical comedy she was given, something that puts her at an advantage over many other TVB actresses.

I've always been confused by Timmy's place in TVB, as he seems to just film series whenever he feels like it. With that said, I always enjoy him whenever he does pop up because he seems like such a fun and easy going guy, and this vibe usually transfers onscreen to his typically comical characters, as it did here. He and Tracy certainly fulfilled the task of providing comic relief, both individually and together.

Benjamin is an actor who I've always found affable but can also be unreliable. He tends to cross the fine line between portraying a serious and aloof character well and being wooden. He fares much better here, where we get to see two different sides of him: the "stone face" sergeant, and the warm, dorky side he only reveals to his mom and Rebecca Zhu. He is adequate in his work scenes, but very endearing and entertaining in these warmer scenes where he actually gets to crack a smile. My favorite scene is when he texts Rebecca, intently stares at his phone until she replies, then is so excited when she replies that his phone falls out of his hands when he tries to pick it up.

There are some TVB actresses who look the part and can portray a police madam very well, and then there are those who just look like they're trying too hard. Rebecca is definitely not Linda in "Tiger Cubs 2" bad, but in her first appearance she comes off incredibly forced in her attempt to act professional and dominating. Her performance becomes much better as her character starts to befriend her subordinates, and as a result does not have to look so intimidating. Although I've always been indifferent to Rebecca, I loved her scenes with Benjamin. The two were just so sweet and dorky together.

Overall

There was great potential and the cast ensemble is a pretty refreshing one to watch. Yet, this potential does not get fulfilled and instead we got very inconsistent pacing and one bumpy ride. The series virtually wastes half the episodes it was allotted by making the dumb decision to focus on Chin Ka Lok and Benjamin's estranged relationship and Gigi's Alzheimer's. Even the cases themselves were not too interesting. There were just so many problems with the direction (or rather, directions) the script writers took. And yet, there were also many entertaining moments. "The Fixer" ultimately is not a series without its strengths, but has many more flaws that could have been avoided. However, in some ways, it is still much better than many of the other series this year. As a result, I am left still feeling ambivalent instead of mostly positive or negative towards it.

Rating: 3 stars

"A Change of Heart" Review

With a solid cast ensemble, interesting premise and good pacing, "A Change of Heart" is one of the better quality TVB series in a long time. In fact, in what has been a year full of mostly lighthearted series or universally panned dramatic serials ("Bullet Brain" or "Beauty at War" ring a bell?), "Change" is the best drama series the quickly disintegrating TV station has managed to churn out before the anniversary awards season begins.

Although any series over 20 episodes tend to drag at some point, "A Change of Heart" keeps the filler material to a minimum. There were a few slower episodes and moments here and there, but overall the series does well in not throwing in scenes simply to hike up the time and its 30 episode count is justified and necessary to tell the whole story while providing entertainment.

While I had been hoping that TVB would venture into a more dark and grim tone with this series, I was pleasantly surprised at the mix of comedy and drama it gave. "Change" exhibited a story line much heavier and overarching than the typical series, but the script smartly decided to not have it weighed down by excessive intense drama and smoothly in some laughs and chuckles. Other than the script, this can be mostly attributed to the cast and characters.

Leading man Michael Miu once again shows that age is doing nothing to hinder his charisma. In the early episodes before "Fong Chi Lik" underwent the heart transplant surgery, Michael injected hilarity into the original loud-speaking, aggressive and temperamental character who would have been otherwise annoying.

Perhaps it is because "Yuet Shan" greatly mirrors the real life personality of Bosco Wong, as both are business-savy and playful with an eccentric fashion sense, but Bosco appears very comfortable, natural and likable here. While Yuet Shan was a bit irritating and seemed childish compared to older brother Yat Shan initially, he quickly filled the void. He ended up becoming a more realistic character with his own flaws, but still a good guy, only more fleshed out. Something eye raising though is that Yuet Shan seems completely different from the long haired, rugged and depressed version from flashbacks. At times, Bosco seems to be playing himself, so I don't have too much praise, but he still made Yuet Shan charismatic, easy to like and root for. What I never saw coming and still don't understand though, is how and when Yuet Shan started to fall in love with Siu Kat. Their relationship came out of the blue, and felt forced. I kept thinking I had missed a scene or entire episode.

Mandy Wong's portrayal of "Ha Sze Ka", or "Sze Ka Che", was nothing surprising given her previous range of performances. Like Michael, Mandy is yet another example of an actor keeping a character from being annoying. Ha Sze Ka was rather overwhelming at times, but for the most part, Mandy made her funny and fresh.

Vincent Wong truly shows he has come a long way in his portrayal of the caring and well-meaning doctor "Eason", who happens to have a love for investigating cases. Not only is Vincent natural, but he exhibits surprise comedic timing from his facial expressions to his overall conduct as Eason. What I love about Vincent and what probably keeps him from getting mass recognition though, is how subtle he can be as an actor. His acting is full of small details that can easily go unnoticed as opposed to moments that speak loud and obviously. If the anniversary awards were judged on acting performance alone, Vincent would have "Most Improved Actor" in the bag. Due to the series not making much noise and Vincent overall being a low key actor with little favor from TVB, it's unlikely. I believe he will one day get the recognition he deserves, but hope it's sooner rather than later. He is quietly one of the most hardworking young actors today, and really got into character as "Eason".

Elaine Yiu's "Ah Yan" often felt out of place with the gang of friends. Although stubborn to the point of being rather annoying at first, her character seemed to become a means of comic relief in the last few episodes. Seeing her emotional scenes though, I am saddened how she is still stuck playing minor supporting roles or guest spots after so many years at TVB. She was much more convincing and touching than Niki in these scenes.

Benjamin Yuen once again shows potential in a performance as semi-villain "Martin". He is still missing some charm, but shows more depth in this particular performance and character, though Martin and Sin Hang's affair felt rather contrived.

The weakest link of the cast ensemble though, is easily female lead Niki Chow. For once, the character was not one tailor made for her by TVB, resulting in probably her weakest performance to date. "Yuen Siu Gut" was already a hard to warm up to character on paper, and Niki did not do it any favors. She mostly came off as wooden and aloof. In certain scenes, she even made her appear crazy. While I do not dislike Niki, "Siu Kat" was overall a hard to like female protagonist whose portrayer failed to make her any better. The character also had probably the worst wardrobe for a female lead ever. Everything Siu Kat wore was ill-fitting and unflattering.

Siu Kat however, is made more likable in scenes with close circle of friends Yuet Shan, Eason, Sze Ka Che and Ah Yan. Their scenes together were warm, fun, and brought a layer of comedy that kept the series from being hard to digest. What was particularly refreshing about the series was the subtle relationships that emerged. While not completely unpredictable, for once it was not obvious who would end up with who, or at least not until the last few episodes. Viewers could have easily been tricked into believing Mandy and Vincent would become a couple from the earlier episodes, or Bosco and Mandy.

As much as I enjoy loyal and warm friendships being portrayed on screen in place of overdone romantic love lines, at one point "Change" becomes distracted with this character development and focus. The series' emphasis is on the overall story and how the characters are intertwined, not purely on the characters themselves. While it made for an entertaining comedy-drama, it luckily gets itself back on track in the last 10 episodes.

Hands down the acting highlight of "A Change of Heart" is Joey Meng as villain "Tong Sin Hang". "Sin Hang" is one of TVB's best villains in a long time. Her slow transformation into evil is justified with a family background and series of personal hardships. Additionally, "Sin Hang" is quietly, almost silently manipulative, capable and powerful, making her that much scarier and intimidating than a typical obvious, almost cartoon-like villain. Joey gives it her all as the villain and it is evident in her chilling performance. She is definitely a contender for this year's Best Actress. Once again though, like with Vincent, the series failed to make much noise and Joey will probably be overlooked. Unfortunately, Sin Hang's character comes to a sloppy and unrealistic conclusion, reaching a peaceful ending without achieving even the slightest sign redemption.

The first 29 episodes of "Change" sees minimal inconsistencies, plot holes, and for the most part entertains and delivers. What saddens me is that hands down the worst written episode of the entire series is its last. Close to reaching a resolution, the writers threw in one of the most unbelievable plot twists. It ruined the dramatic, but overall still logical tone of the series. The climax is poorly written and highly unrealistic. However, I try not to let it ruin my overall positive impression. The ending overall is a decent one, with the characters getting the happy endings that they weren't far from and deserved.

Overall

"A Change of Heart" does what an entertaining drama should do. It keeps viewers guessing, wanting more, provides laughs as well as some twists and turns, and boosts characters and actors to like and connect with. Despite being 30 episodes long, it is able to sustain its momentum all through out the series and does not ever fall into the territory of being trite. Is it outstanding or groundbreaking? Definitely not. However, it has a solid main plot, series of subplots, and for the most part, a wonderful ensemble. It is the first TVB series of the year that I actually became invested into and closely followed, and the best series TVB has aired this year so far.

Rating: 4 stars