“Happy Ever After” Wins Praise from Chinese Netizens
Helmed by executive producer Lincoln Lam (林肯) with a cast comprising Him Law (羅子溢), Yoyo Chen (陳自瑤), Lai Lok-yi (黎諾懿), Winki Lai (賴慰玲), Joey Law (羅天宇) and Venus Wong (王敏奕), TVB’s latest drama Happily Ever After <婚後事> turned out a surprise hit, reworking the family theme by presenting multiple viewpoints from different angles to give viewers a refreshed storytelling perspective. Successfully arousing the attention of both Hong Kong and mainland Chinese viewers, the drama has aired just 5 episodes but has already achieved a high 8.8 rating score on Douban, with potential to continue the strong streak set by Queen of News <新聞女王>!
Receiving praise for its nuanced and realistic story, netizens praised the child actors in the drama for their strong performance. Singled out for her performance was child actress Phoebe Chung (鄭淽月), who was just 9 when she filmed the drama. Convincingly portraying the feelings of helplessness and lack of security of growing up in a broken family, netizens highlighted a particular scene where she could only find solace from the family’s foreign domestic worker.
Netizens were impressed by the character growth shown, such as Yoyo’s character Emma who undergoes a shocking transformation from a happy, gentle person into a ruthless mom who goes all the way to defend her rights.
With bold, revealing scenes by all four of the leading cast, from Lai Lokyi’s butt-baring scene, to him and Winki’s intimate bathtub scene and more, it is apparent the production team pulled out all stops to make a visual impact.
Tuning in to the hype, many Chinese viewers have left mostly positive comments on the drama, remarking that it appeared to have all the elements that would make it a success in the mainland, the drama “took a tried-and-tested story of adultery and divorce but made it much nuanced with good cinematography paired with engaging music”, “the multiple character perspective offers much to watch out for!”
Source: HK01
This drama had so much potential, but, at the end, everyone ends up with who the show wants them to end up with. For example, husband and wife end up together. The girlfriend who has been waiting for you for years that you are not really into is the one you end up choosing. The young mistress one is the one that really makes sense. She did not love herself before the affair nor during the affair. So, after the affair, she loves herself but that also means she won’t stay with a man who is unaccomplished and is having a mid life crisis. She ends up dating her friend and having a kid with him but she surpasses him in growth so they do not end up together either.