[Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 15

Outbound Love <單戀雙城>
TVB Series 2014

Cast: Ruco Chan, Aimee Chan, Tony Hung, Lin Xia Wei, Matt Yeung, and Samantha Ko

Disclaimer: This is a watch as I write episodic thoughts and some information may not be accurate since this is memory based. Certain dialogue is reproduced with some creative license adopted. I apologize if there is any mistake. All opinion remains my own.

EPISODE 15

FUNNLING METRE

15 episodes! 15 long episodes and finally what I want to see … is .. HERE!! All in one episode. Was it worth the wait? No. But for someone who has been following each episode intently when everyone else I know has given up, this episode is a just reward for the wait, except if it had been 5 episodes earlier, this series would have been better.

Oh! So much flirtation!
Oh! So much fun!
Oh! All I see is Ruco smiling …
Oh! The deed is done!
A kiss! A kiss!!
Not to be missed!

FINALLY! FIIIIIIIIINAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

And yes you have to wait half an episode for that. First half seems irrelevant as usual but I suppose the setup must be made eventhough I will argue it need not be so long into the series with just 6 episodes to go.

Recap.

I’m sorry, my mind just wandered off. I kept thinking of Ruco’s devilishly flirtatious smile (or smiles, a lot of such smiles) tonight.

Where was I? Oh ya… A warning. this entire recap is dedicated to handsome manly flirtatious Ruco Chan. So be prepared for loads of …

RECAP!

Chun Chun wins the competition.

Done.

Back in HK!

Poor Jun Weng actually finally did the most logical thing; he moved out! He also got his job back but he wasn’t paying attention. I swear ever since Ruco joined the company Char Gor seems so much nicer! Anyway Ruco visited him and poor Jun Weng had to stay in some small hostel with loads of foreigners. As he told Ruco what he thought happened with Sis Man and he did say Sis Man is very very nice but Ruco felt something was not right.

Sorry if I swoon a little. So manly!

Oh yeah… Sik Sik took Su Su to the small hostel and Su Su refused to look at Jun Weng and arguing that he had Sis Man, etc. Sik Sik begged her sister to forgive Jun Weng.

Pause.

If you wonder how come Sik Sik herself never heed her own advice when it comes to Nic? Well because in her heart she knows Jun Weng is not like Nic.

Continue.

Su Su refused to be persuaded until Ruco very wisely said;

“Look at him. Just a few bottles and he is so drunk he is out cold. He can’t even hear you’re here right now! He is so easily so dead drunk. So I do believe, I really do believe he and Sis Man did nothing that night”

But still Su Su refused to believe as she said Sis Man said they were together, etc. Again wise Ruco wisely said; “Think about it! Think carefully! If he really is with Sis Man and as you said so, why then is he here? Why is he not back with Sis Man at her place hugging her as they sleep? Why stay here in hell when he has heaven waiting for him?”

Pause.

Ruco actually “Why is he not at ..” wait I can’t remember. He used the monkey king analogy. I think he said sui lim dong (Monkey King’s beautiful home) and rather at for yim san (Fire mountain). I stand to be corrected. The simplest analogy is heaven and hell.

Continue.

But Su Su was too hurt and too spoilt to see reason and she left and nothing more both of them could do. But Ruco never gave up.

Oh I swoon again.

He met with Sik Sik and said he bought her that egg dessert that Sis Man always make. Sik Sik refused to eat but Ruco said the taste is same, secret ingredient is same but he bought from another store. He took out his ipad (or whatever is sponsoring them – G Tab?) and showed Sik Sik that Sis Man and her husband used to open one shop, but now in that shop Sis Man is replaced with a woman in her 30s. So both of them understood Sis Man was the jilted wife.

Pause.

A confusion here. Ruco said something about the guy is an innocent fellow (Jun Weng) and the lady in the boutique whom he had observed for some time seems like a good woman. The second line I assume he was talking about Sis Man since why would he observe Su Su? But he said woman in the boutique. I am quite sure about that. I think there is a script error here.

Continue.

Ruco went to Sis Man asked for one bowl of her famous dessert. She did not know who he was. as he ate the dessert, he made a point to loudly exclaimed the secret ingredient, how the other shop had the same ingredient and whether she was related to the young lady owner over there. Sis Man stopped being friendly and coldly said how would she know that woman anyway. And Ruco went in for the kill. Coolly he said “You were a jilted wife once. How can now you seduce another man’s wife and cause a wife to be jilted like how you were once jilted by your husband?” and this time Sik Sik outside hearing couldn’t stand it that she rushed in and confronted Sis Man. Some heated exchange ensued where basically Sik Sik called Sis Man out for seducing her brother in law and hurting her sister whilst Ruco told her to not make a scene, to back off. Sis Man angrily said “I am different! I really love Jun Weng. What does your sister know? I see her always taking Jun Weng for granted. If she doesn’t know how to appreciate him, well let me do it! I know how to appreciate him!” but Sik Sik angrily said what does she know about her brother in law? Does she know he really loves her sister? Does she know she really love his son? What his likes? Dislikes? And Sis Man didn’t want to hear anymore and Ruco told Sik Sik to just shut up (not that rude but sorta like that) as Ruco gently said to Sis Man…

“You lost your husband to another woman. You feel lonely and so alone so you seek out a good man for companionship, irrespective whether you love him or not. That is Jun Weng to you. You do not love him Sis Man. No, you’re just using him as your safety net. You’re clinging on to him to survive the hurt your husband did to you but nothing you’re doing now shows you love Jun Weng. How different are you from what the other woman did to you in what you’re doing now to Jun Weng? You’re just being stubborn”

But Sis Man shouted “Why are you telling me all these now? Where were you when I was jilted and my place replaced by that other woman? Why didn’t you tell that to that slut then?” and poor Ruco being pushed and mopped out of her shop as Ruco desperately said “But.. but I didn’t know you then!!”

Very funny!! I love how he basically confronted her and told her the truth about her situation. Which is very convenient. How I love to see Sis Man ACTUALLY loving Jun Weng and not clinging to Jun Weng. How then will Ruco reason with her? But then this is episode 15, entire story is to facilitate for Ruco and Sik Sik getting much much closer so things can’t be that complicated. A pity but true, Sis Man and Jun Weng’s story has nothing to do with the main pair so better to settle so ideally and be done with.

Ruco mildly chastised Sik Sik for ruining the whole moment, that he could have reasoned with Sis Man but Sik Sik disagreed until Ruco reminded Sik Sik Sis Man is not a bad woman. She was a victim too. Sik Sik does not agree.

Next thing we see Jun Weng eating at his hostel when 2 rude foreigners knocked his rice. Jun Weng demanded for the price of his rice box but the men were quite hostile until suddenly Su Su appeared and got back the money for his rice box and asked Jun Weng to go home. Once at home Mr Law wanted to kick Jun Weng out but Su Su explained Jun Weng was cuckolded without realising it. Sis Man actually met with Su Su and explained everything and begged for forgiveness and said it was thanks to the advice of Sik Sik and her boyfriend that she realised she did very very wrongly.

Sik Sik was teased about her boyfriend but Sik Sik explained that was just a friend. But his family felt grateful to Ruco and so was Sik Sik because she actually did something nice; she called to meet him at their favourite bench and she bought him durian and even wore that purple hair clip. Ruco teased the hell out of her and she threw the durian at him. He enjoyed the durian and made Sik Sik take a bite which she did, a small one and as he forced her to take a bigger bite, she backed off and almost fell from the stair but gallant Ruco.,. swoon… caught her waist, pushed her forward and guess what? Yeah cliche of all cliche kisses but who cares… I love it! They kissed. In fact Sik Sik shocked as she was puckering and Ruco smiled as Sik Sik said something about not wanting to eat the durian but Ruco caught her slip up and teased her “Oh I see, but you didn’t mind kissing these lips which has eaten durian! Come on, let’s kiss another time” and she basically avoided him. He smiled happily whilst at home, she began to smile sweetly as she thought of what happened and even touched her lips. Ruco went home very very happily and went into his studio-room and even played a few notes on his keyboard and his mom, overwhelmed with emotion noticed and Ruco said he had a great day and that she needn’t worry about him anymore as he has indeed let go of the past.

Ahhhhhhhh…. not a good thing to say because that always signals the past coming back!

Somewhere here Sik Sik challenged Ruco to have dinner with her family whilst he challenged her to have dinner with his mom who is the famous food critic that lo and behold, conveniently has a big fan in Sik Sik. How the pieces fit so nicely. Anyway here he explained his mom is from HK and a food critic and his dad died when he was 7 and he was a Malaysian and plantation owner. And yet so little he said of himself.

Next day or whatever, Jun Weng and Sik Sik in a hurry to work because Su Su baked cookies and they were late and Sik Sik found a taxi but saw Ruco’s mom, limping needed a taxi more. She didn’t know that was Ruco’s mom. Anyway she let her take the taxi and Ruco’s mom was very impressed with the young lady.

Ahhhhhh … in laws getting on well.

Ruco took his mom’s sauces much to his mom’s happiness because she thinks he is seeing someone special. But his mom’s assistant saw Ruco flirting happily with Sik Sik at some market and showed Ruco’s mom who was very happy that his son had such good taste in choosing Sik Sik whom she remembered from the taxi incident.

At dinner with Sik Sik’s family which was a very funny sequence, Su Su deliberately took away Ruco’s jacket and took his wallet and looked inside and then passed to her husband, then her son and then to father and then to Chin Chun’s mom and all of them agreed, Ruco has great taste thanks to his tasteful wallet, he has a picture of his mom inside means he is a respectful man, he has a blood donor card meaning he is kind, has a platinum card means he is loaded and finally with Chin Chun’s mom, all she could think of “Sigh… Chin Chun has very little chance against this guy”. Very funny! Sik Sik suspected something was going on, signaled for whatever she was holding and took the wallet and gave it back to the confused Ruco. Everybody else, especially Mr Law was so happy Sik Sik found someone really good and laughed themselves silly.

After dinner and walking home, Sik Sik apologised to Ruco about what happened but he brushed it off happily. Can’t remember what happened next.

Back at office Jun Weng thanked Ruco, Char Gor, etc and all was happy. Jun Weng treated everyone to dinner.

Going home with Sik Sik and Ruco, Jun Weng didn’t get the hint that both of them wanted to be alone together. Finally Ruco left saying he needed to buy fruits, Sik Sik said she needed to buy some facial cotton and she went to find him at the fruit stall, didn’t see him and found him at their favourite bench. He knew she was looking for him and frankly more teasing, flirting which I think culminated with I think he happily teased Sik Sik that since she doesn’t want some male friend, why not have him as a boyfriend? Flirt flirt and tease tease nothing happened. She left and he smiled, widely. I can’t remember which sequence it was with the whole boyfriend talk.

Anyway he was happily walking down the stairs when he heard that phone ringtone nasal sound themesong and he turned around smiling and asking “Hmmm missed me so soon?” but no one was at the back and he realised it was from a car and he walked towards it and he stopped smiling and looked in shocked when Elaine turned around and said “Hi, haven’t seen you for some time”.

Sigh….I am sure in real life most of us would have thought “Why you didn’t just drop dead 3 years ago?”

BUT it was quite an interesting intro to Elaine’s character.

Wow so many things happened and yet still nothing about what, why, how with the breakup that caused Ruco to run away and hide for 3 years causing him composer block. Still that nasal sounding themesong.

Anyway I LOVE this episode because finally at episode 15, this series formally and finally start! All that before was like one longwinded irrelevant nonsense save for 2 or 3 episodes. I love that entire episode is about our main pair and I love Luk Kung Tzi who is a good guy. A very good guy. Sik Sik is lucky to have him. Still not seeing Sik Sik doing some chasing so hopefully with the emergence of Elaine, she might have to fight for her love. I mean for once show a woman fighting for her man!

And the kiss was sweet. Cliche yes, not cringe worthy, sweet but still cliche. Better than they fell down and she landed on top of him and somehow the lips meet. NOW THAT would be wayyyyy too much for me.

Performance wise, Ruco Chan rules in tonight’s episode. You want fun Ruco? Got! Cute Ruco? Got! Funny Ruco? GOT! Sexy flirtatious Ruco? Can you handle it? Got! Like every 10 minutes or so. Tonight’s episode is all Ruco Ruco Ruco. But Ruco flirted the most not with Aimee but with the older ladies especially those playing his mom. Always a touch here, a smile there, a wink everywhere. Swoon!

Aimee tonight woke up after a deep slumber. She is actually cute without being overbearingly cute. The progression from like to love is possible in this episode and I enjoy her reaction. She does well when her Sik Sik is not the first 5 episodes’ Sik Sik. This Sik Sik is opinionated, creates her own destiny and is sure of herself, unlike the beginning Sik Sik. Aimee gave her that maturity that I like and less the violence and rudeness. Her reaction during the kissing scene, the puckering and all was suitable for that scene. It took 15 episodes for Aimee to reach this stage. There is some chemistry between she and Ruco but that is because Ruco was overcompensating sometimes with his overzealous flirtation but Aimee wasn’t like standing there looking confused. She reciprocated and I like that.

Everybody else did well as well. So no comment.

Ok come on episode 16!! Finally the series starts! Unfortunately episode 16 looks like a damper on the romance so maybe I spoke too soon.

“Outbound Love” Episode 15 Clip

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RELATED ARTICLES

• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 1
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 2
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 3
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 4
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 5
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 6
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 7
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episodes 8 and 9
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 10
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 11
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 12
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 13
• [Episodic Thoughts] “Outbound Love” Episode 14

This Episodic Thoughts is written by Funn Lim, a Contributing Writer at JayneStars.com, and was originally posted at http://outboundlove.blogspot.com.