Line Walker Episodes 6 to 10 thoughts

How about we start with a game? This was the question posed to the audience (HK residents can use the TVBfun app to send in their answers)

 

So the question is – Help Cheuk Sir to find the five undercovers!

 

1. Bau Seed (Raymond Lam) – Confirmed to be an undercover. But I thought that was a selling point before the series started? Moving on…

 

2. Foon Hei Gor (Benz Hui) – What? No?! Seriously? Isn’t he the only bad guy so far in the series? However, I’m open to the possibility that he was an undercover in the past but decided to switch sides. You know in the part where Cheuk Sir was trying to test Bau Seed (by putting some codes in a menu), Foon Hei deciphered the code straight away? That could be a sign.

 

3. Ada (Skye Chan) – Confirmed?! In episode 10 it was shown she was working for the police guy who died. But hang on, isn’t she in ICAC – another government department?! Why would the police send an ‘undercover’ to another branch of the government? That doesn’t make sense.

 

4. Chai Fing (Vincent Lam Wai) – Er… not much screentime at the moment. Plus he’s more brawn than brains so I’m going to say unlikely?

 

5. Yan (Sharon Chan) – Again, she’s an ICAC investigator so it makes no sense to me how/why she would be an undercover. Plus her character is really getting on my nerves.

 

6. Amy (Samantha Ko) – Hasn’t appeared yet so can’t comment.

 

7. Muk Sat (Oscar Leung) – That would be really stupid wouldn’t it if Bau Seed, him and Ding Jeh are all undercovers? To be honest, his acting has been so bad I really can’t read anything into it.

 

8. Ding Jeh (Charmaine Sheh) – Confirmed to be an undercover and totally rocks at it.

 

9. Kobe (Sammy Sum) – Confirmed to be an undercover and struggling to continue. Poor Kobe.

 

10. Ah For (Owen Cheung) – If I have to pick from this list then I would have to say him? Again, he hasn’t had a lot of screentime but I don’t know, I just think he has potential.

 

Second Week Developments

Let’s start with my favourite uncle-status actor in TVB  – Michael Miu aka Cheuk Sir. (And I mean that in a nice way, he might be 56 but he rocks it. Yes, I also have a favourite grandpa-status TVB actor – Damien Lau totally owns that.)

 

As Cheuk Sir is growing anxious that the longer he takes to find the other undercovers, the greater danger they will be in – he starts to think of more direct tactics to test whether his suspicions are correct. Is Bau Seed an undercover? (We see a flashback scene where Bau Seed is revealed to be an undercover, however, Cheuk Sir doesn’t know this yet…)

 

Since poor Cheuk Sir can’t share with anyone else in the police force what he is actually doing, ICAC investigator Yan (Sharon Chan) is somehow convinced that Cheuk Sir is a dirty cop because he’s so secretive and failed to catch the thugs at various key moments. Knowing that he’s being watched by ICAC, Cheuk Sir decides to conduct some surveillance of his own and (don’t know how) placed a listening device in Yan’s powder case… not only does he know what the ICAC is doing, he also overhears Yan’s older sister Mok Sin Ching (Elena Kong) is being abused by her husband.

I was saying last week how I was looking forward to Michael’s storyline with Elena but this is taking a completely weird turn. I know he means well. He wants to help her break out of a bad situation but he only knew about it because he was spying on her sister. To have a potential relationship (Are they going to be a couple?) starting from this seems a bit wrong. Elena will find out eventually won’t she?

 

At this point, I refuse to believe Cheuk Sir is a dirty cop. For a guy that tries so hard and risking his life/career to protect his undercovers, I just can’t see it right now. Please don’t burst my bubble!

 

Speaking of Sharon Chan’s character Mok Sin Yan omg she is grinding on my nerves. Big time. I don’t know if that means Sharon’s acting has improved because I’ve always been fairly neutral about her characters. She’s supposed to be all “defender of justice” and is flying the flag for being the righteous investigator but I just haven’t been able to understand why she is sooooo convinced Cheuk Sir is a dirty cop. After a period of investigation and finding no evidence, instead of entertaining the possibility that she’s wrong, she just keeps pestering Cheuk Sir.

The way she reacts to Kobe (Sammy Sum)’s return is also rubbing me the wrong way. However, on the relationship side I can understand how she felt betrayed by Kobe since he “changed” from a good cop she fell in love with to a jail bird hanging around triad members. TBH though the bitchy side of me is saying HAHAHA for not trusting Kobe and running into the arms of that evil-looking Patrick Tang (Yip Sir/Marco). Every time he comes on screen I feel like punching him in the face. And he hasn’t even done much yet. The screenwriters are leaving no doubts as to who the audience should think is the bad guy. Even all his romantic gestures to Yan seem… clingy and desperate!

 

Oh Sammy Sum’s Kobe is continuing to draw me into this series. *omghekindaremindsmeofraymondlam* which is completely weird because Raymond Lam just happens to be in this series as well. LOL. Maybe I meant Raymond from about 10 years ago. HOWEVER – his acting is somewhat stiff and not the most natural. I guess that is made up by his character development where this week he discovered his beloved Yan is getting married and he wants out. Cheuk Sir of course talks some sense into him, saying the only way he could live a normal life again is to complete his mission and put Foon Fei behind bars (again). Otherwise, even if he tells Yan the truth now, they will have to spend the rest of their lives in fear of retribution.

 

I don’t recall seeing Benz Hui as a villain in recent years (probably because i haven’t watched that many TVB series in recent years) but his Chum Foon Hei is delicious to watch. I remember him most recently in Bounty Lady where it was a comedic role so quite over the top. But here, it’s like I am watching the Benz I’m expecting to see (with his smiles and laughs, even to his enemies) but the next second his expression would change and he is actually hiding knives ready to stab you from behind, when you least expect it. It’s really refreshing to see him in this kind of role and he is very convincing. I’ve always believed the most dangerous / scary type of people are the ones who actually smiles and pretends to like you but in reality they can’t wait to stab you in the back. If I see him on the street right now I think I would run in the other direction. As I mentioned before, I don’t think he’s one of the undercovers right?

 

No, I haven’t forgotten about Ding Jeh & Bau Seed (Charmaine Sheh and Raymond Lam), in fact, far from it. They are so fun to watch and there had been various moments in the second week where I laughed out loud at their interactions. I love their banter! Even though I said last week I wasn’t sure whether Raymond is all that believable as a thug, I think his interactions with Charmaine are very natural and their chemistry made Bau Seed as a character more convincing. I still think though, he hasn’t had a lot to do yet in Line Walker. His name might be Bau Seed but his storyline is not as ‘explosive’ as the others. (HAHA, such a bad pun.) However, there was the gunfight scene which was quite memorable. Although it was completely unrealistic! How did he not get killed? Was the sniper blind?

 

Maybe the only uneasy feeling I have about Ding Jeh and Bau Seed’s scenes are that the tone is more lighthearted. To the point where even though they’re in a dangerous situation (eg. when they sneaked into the dog facility trying to steal drugs), where the audience needs to feel suspense and a sense of urgency, having those two just means I can’t take it seriously. Not sure if that’s a good thing.

 

Overall, the second week of Line Walker averaged 27 points which was slightly higher than the previous week. I guess the ratings are ok? I am worried though, we already know the identity of 3 (or 4) of the 5 undercovers so are we going to have enough story to tell in the coming weeks? In episode 10, they have introduced a new character On Lam (Ankie Beilke) and also, Samantha Ko haven’t appeared yet. So hopefully, we have room for more excitement!

Comments

5 responses to “Line Walker Episodes 6 to 10 thoughts”

  1. Kappy Avatar
    Kappy

    Lookie someone is very lucky cause she understands Cantonese, while poor me is still waiting for subs. And when I have subs, I’m occupied with party arrangements. 😛

    Dog Facility?!!

    Wow, the ratings are low. I searched up the ratings for recent dramas and it looks like TVB is dying a slow death! OMG! It’s so bad!

    Have you checked out All That Is Bitter yet, Kat?

    1. kat Avatar
      kat

      Really? I thought TVB subs are normally quite fast. >< (Or is it you're too busy partying?!? LOL) Yeah~ is that what they're called? I had a mind blank!!! These days they're already holding celebration parties for 30 points, and that's not even the 'average', it's probably considered a success if the 'highest' rating reaches 30. Nah, that kinda looks like the type of series I generally avoid. (Although I like the cast...)

      1. Kappy Avatar
        Kappy

        Hangover this morning ~~~~ Subs come out at the rate in which sub rippers provide them ~~

        30 points for celebration parties *gulp*….. That is so sad. -speechless-

  2. jnewin Avatar

    Good recap. I also couldn’t recall Benz Hui in any villainous roles. He is mostly in comedy.

  3. Zhang Fuxiang Freeman Avatar

    Anyone knows what is the brand for the black jacket Ada(Syke Chan) is wearing?

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