Epic Mess - Seven Swordsmen, part 2

I finished watching all 39 episodes, and the first thing I have to say is I can't get those 20+ hours back. The build up is decent, and certain character plotlines are very well formed, but the rest is a muddled mess, and the conclusion so unsatisfying that it ruins the entire viewing experience. And it is clear that there will be another season.

Picking up from the last blog, the story shifts to Yung Yanchong, number two brother, who becomes involved with Fei Hongjin, the warrior woman in red who leads the nomadic tribe of the Eagles of the Desert. She is an extremely stubborn and angry person who nevertheless falls in love with Yanchong, after a fighting with them and helping them get water. Chu Zhaonan, the big brother, returns from his disasterous experience with Green Pearl, and has the hots for Hongjin, but the love triangle is never truly formed. Yanchong and Hongjin do spend a night together, but he was drunk, and can not remember. The two constantly argue, especially about each other's feelings. Yanchong, in an attack on the military base, is wounded and meets Menghui, a beautiful princess who is the daughter of one of the generals. They fall in love, and he escapes. Menghui is later captured and held hostage, but Hongjin and Yanchong fight over what to do with her. Yanchong frees Menghui, who is sent back to the military base, where Duo Gedou, the general pursuing the martial artists, falls in love with her. Yanchong tries to free her again, but is repelled because she thought he lied to him. In a big battle all the Desert Tribe is killed, and Zhaonan, Yanchong and Hongjin are barely left alive. Zhaonan comes to and is left behind by the other, for he in his machinations to destroy the enemy backfired, and made him look like a traitor.

Switch over to the capitol city, where there is some political intrigue. The emperor is being plotted against by another general, who is seeking power. A woman scholar is held hostage and would be used as a pawn to force the emperor's hand. The emperor is seeking an annulment to a woman we never see in the show, and his survival as ruler depends on his actions and how his mother and the others see him. The scholar's husband and child are met by the white bearded leader of the Swordsmen, and two of the other swordsmen. Their attempt to rescue the woman ends in tragedy as she is killed leaving the castle, and the husband and child are also killed. The emperor is overthrown, but the general is himself killed by Duo Gedou, who is brought back to the capitol to see the emperor. A child is then put on the throne as puppet ruler.

We find Zhibang and company hiding out in a house with a fruit orchard, still protecting the children from the authorities. They meet the other three swordsmen and encounter another faction of the Red Spear Society, and they merge as one large group. They plot to kill Gedou as he is planning to wed Menghui in a few days. Unbeknownst to all, Menghui is hiding right next door to them, pregnant with Yanchong's child, and gives birth.

There is a good subplot that is a variation of the film Dragon Inn. Hongjin and Yanchong are hiding out in an inn, and they encounter a band of evil agents of Gedou, who are pursuing them. The relationship between Hongjin and Yanchong are still strained, but they manage to escape their situation and go to the capitol separately.

The gang gets back together, as Zhibang is made head of the tribe after the other leader is killed by the authorities. Yufang still has the hots for Zhaonan, but he only treats her as a little sister. Zhaonan plots to inflitrate the capitol by being Gedou's ally, but it all backfires as every move Zhaonan makes is turned against him, and he is seen by his comrades as a traitor. Yanchong and Menghui are reunited briefly, but she is ill, and is captured by Gedou and bought back to the palace, where they marry. Menghui, giving up her daughter, and abhorring all violence, goes slowly mad. Hongjin has the daughter, and develops maternal feelings and the tenderness that she never had. She uses the child to try to bring Yanchong back to her, but he is still too insane with love for Menghui, even though it is clear that his feelings are naive and undefined.

We get the Big Battle. The Seven Swordsmen unite and with the tribe, attack Gedou at the palace during the wedding. It is a disaster. Yufang's father is killed, apparently by Zhaonan, and she renounces her love for him, seeking revenge. Gedou escapes and Menghui, who is used as bait, finally goes insane. They later attack Gedou near the ocean, taking on the garrison, and Zhaonan confronts Gedou on the tower and sends Gedou to his fate by casting him into the ocean. Hongjin is apparently killed as she sacrifices herself by defeating one of the evil masters that were sent to destroy the swordsmen, and it is only then that Yanchong realizes his feelings for her. He apparently dies as well, leaving the child in the hands of one of his brother swordsmen. The children and most of the tribe are killed in an ambush on their hideout, and Yufang kills the man responsible for their deaths. Only one of the children survives, the oldest. It turns out brother Yuanyin was responsible for leading the man to their hideout, but that person was in disguise, and Yuanyin's naivety in not trusting his suspicions costs him. Yufang and Zhibang are together again, as Yufang has no one else to turn to, and Zhibang is placed in charge of rebuilding the tribe. The child stays with them, and the Gandalf leader and two swordsmen hunt for the others. Zhaonan, rebuffed by everyone and seen as a traitor, is in hiding, waiting for his time for revenge. Yanchong is brought to Mount Heaven. A crazy guy in the castle foretells an upcoming age of great chaos, and the series ends.

After all this, one hopefully can understand my frustration. 30+ episodes with no traces of any conclusion is a slap in the face, but there were so many loose ends. Characters not developed -- After having a prominent apperance in the beginning, the Gandalf character is barely seen until the end. Another swordsman, a bald man who relates to one of the children, as he too saw his parents killed, runs off and is not seen until the end as well. He barely has an impact in the story. I recognize the actor from other Hong Kong films, but clearly he was underused. Yufang becomes just a plot excuse, and the relationship that seemed so intriguing with the love triangles that developed around her all fall apart. She never does experience having relationships with other men, and ends up back to her true love. Zhibang has some character development, becoming the leader, but his leadership is never really proven or grows -- he is still the young brother of the swordsmen. And there is no great sacrifice that he has to make, which was something that the plotline hinted that he must do. The main characters are Zhaonan and Yanchong. I believe Zhaonan is played by Vincent Chao, a b-list action star and heart throb with a plastic smiley face that shows little character, though he has screen presence and does a decent job with his role. I don't know the actor for Yanchong, but he is the standout male lead. Ada Choi is fantastic as Hongjin, has great depth and emotion to her character, and is easily the best thing about the show. She's best known for her television work, and has appeard in movies, notably Fist of Legend. Hopefully she'll get better material in the future.

For 30+ episodes the storyline rambles and stumbles, has some high points and a lot of low ones. The use of flashbacks is understandable in a series like this, but it becomes padding, especially towards the end. This was a highly watched series in China in 2005, so I can assume that the ending was changed to accomadate a sequel, but it is a big disappointment. Widescreen, with a cast of thousands, some gorgeous landscape cinematography, CGI, and costumes, with was a big budget production all around. Too bad some of it couldn't have been invested in a better storyline.