[TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 20

Eye in the Sky <天眼>
TVB Drama 2015

Executive Producer: Catherine Tsang
Genre: Crime Thriller
Number of Episodes: 20

Cast: Kevin Cheng, Ruco Chan, Tavia Yeung, Tony Hung, Vivien Yeo

The following is not a recap but a commentary on the particular episode in the title. Major spoilers and Ruco Chan-love alert. Originally posted atwww.point2e.com.

EPISODES 20 (Final)

Most Favourite Eyecandy Pic
Of all I have posted, I have 2;

and

My choice is the 1st one for the memories.

As for Ruco’s best fashion moment, the one that took my breath away was his very first appearance;

Absolute perfection from top to bottom.

Anyway …

Last episode and frankly, what a stupid fan love sort of ending and not worth remembering.

I am angry, as angry Ruco was in the series and shall elaborate more when I have words to describe the insipid last episode which started out so bloody promising and ended as stunted as Kevin’s emotional output. And as suspicious too!

** Much later **

I had 2 days to think about the last episode and after some thinking, lots and lots of thinking I have come to the conclusion that I agree with my comment about. Insipid end. However let’s recap.

You all know Eye In The Sky is supposed to surveillance cameras in HK then it morphed sort of into Tavia’s photographic memory and finally with the ending, it took on a spiritual meaning; the man upstairs. Karma kills, as this series explains. Now the whole changing of identity for the title and the series I believe is not deliberate. I believe it was purely accidental. There is nothing poetic, nothing elegant, nothing beautiful, just an ending meant to facilitate the ultimate end and therein lies the greatest injustice done to what would have been a promising journey towards an explosive end. A great idea pulled down by the need for a perfect ending for the fans. And yet inside the so cop out ending there is a little bit of genius except you gotta dig it out. Shall explain more.

Now a bit of recap.

In short, Ruco went insane. He injected himself with whatever and that magnified whatever paranoia or insecurity or whatever he has that he went on to kidnap a bus load of people, quite simply to kill Jonathan. Kevin is there to stop him after having fake kidnap Lin Xiawei. Oh and Tavia still in coma, needs a miracle to wake up and guess what? Yeap….yeap,,,, no need to even mention it. A great scene though was when Ruco visited Tavia and squeezed her errr breathing tube? Liquid tube? Some tube as if to kill her and Tony and Samantha arrived and Tony punched Ruco who scared the hell out of Tony when he threatened he would have no trouble killing Tony who betrayed him.

Here I gotta pause a bit.

Notice a pattern here? We have a psycho who is not a psycho. His descend to insanity or evilness is

a. poison a cat, the only murder he committed
b. stood by and watch a despicable woman die whose death wasn’t his fault
c. stabbed Tavia ONCE but hey, she didn’t die
d. threatened everyone multiple times but NEVER ONCE carried out the threats
e. shot Jonathan twice, for once a direct action but Jonathan survived, so no murder there
f. wanted to kill Kevin and then kill himself but before he could do it, bunch of logs fell on him thus ending the poor life of Cheng Lik Hang.

No murder of a human being. Where’s the evilness? If it started with him watching Hor Yee Ku die thus chipping away his humanity away, it should have culminated with the murder of Kong Wui Hoi (who died of a heart attack) and the end of his humanity when he violently murdered Jan. Unfortunately none of these was done so you have essentially a cartoon villain because in real life a man as angry and as insane as Lik would have committed a heinous crime and to some poisoning a cat is one but for me that should have been a start. Or shoot some in the bus but even that a stray bullet hit a boy, not sure if it is his anyway. The descend is not rough and it is not realistic.

Earlier when Kevin was arrested, the first thing his parents did was to confront Ruco and begged him to let his brother go. Ruco was in a way right to be pissed because he said;

“Why would you automatically assumed it was me? Why couldn’t it be actually him? I can tell you why. Because he is your favourite son, he is your family, I have never ever been a part of this family”.

Later, when mommy and daddy and best friend arrived to persuade Ruco to let the passengers of the bus go (they were in a secluded closed up structure so outside didn’t know what was happening inside), mommy said;

“You were right when you said we were choosing sides, playing favouritism. But it wasn’t your brother, it was you! We chose you! We prioritise you!”

Ha! Ha! BS. No way. Parents definitely took Kevin’s side and frankly, yes they were right but do for a second look away from Lik’s wrongdoing, the parents certainly favoured Kevin. Of course the fact Lik is such a bastard really made the justification so much easier.

Anyway exciting part was Kevin opened the gates to the structure and there it was to everyone’s shock, Ruco was dead under a pile of logs. We didn’t know what happened so when Kevin biting his lips said Ruco was turning a new leaf when the logs fell and he died pushing Kevin out of harm’s way. Ruco died a hero’s death, a decent man. But Kevin felt insincere.

At the funeral, surprisingly no Tony anywhere, that ungrateful git, the parents saw Ruco as the Lik they first knew; happy, helpful, kind. We all know he was never really kind, he was human. Kevin alone then showed us what actually happened;

Ruco cried hard when he heard parents calling out to him and he crumbled and Kevin held him crying when Ruco saw his gun, took it, aimed it and cried;

“Why? Why must I always lose to you? I don’t want to lose to you! It’s not fair! NOT FAIR!!! You were born 1 minute earlier and yet you had a good life. I could have your life! Why? WHY? No… I will kill you… yes when I kill you and then kill myself, then… only then we are equal! Yes yes that’s what I will do!!”

I believe Kevin at that time felt his heavy burden and guilt lifted when he saw all he had done was to nothing; Ruco will never ever be happy, he will never stop being angry. Sighing, Kevin stood there and said;

“You can kill me but you don’t need to kill yourself”

Closing his eyes, he awaited his fate when Ruco was ready to shoot when karma tookover and the rest is pancake as they say.

Kevin spoke to Ruco at his grave;

“You once asked me is a person shaped by their nature or by their environment? I believe people always have a choice on the path they take. I do not know how I will turn out if I was the one taken instead of you but I believe at the end of the day, we make our own choices”

Touche. A bit of lecture even in death and I bet Lik is like “F U!!”

Still angry.

But by this one lie Kevin gave Ruco a perfect end. His parents, best friend and the world thought the best of him, having redeemed himself and only Kevin will know the truth and keep it to his grave. In that way he gave Ruco the ending perhaps Ruco didn’t know he wanted but in some ways, for the suffering, for the pain, that in the end he may deserve. In that moment Kevin’s guilt and burden is lifted. He owed Ruco nothing more. And it is this rationalisation that makes that revelation in the end when we know the truth, that Ruco never changed that is the genius but it has got to be implied. Imagine if the series concentrate on that, how beautiful this series would have been.

Anyway Kevin left HK to study criminal psychology, quit as cop because he felt he did all he did to save one person who in the end he could not save. Miracle happened, Tavia didn’t die and she didn’t think of having a makeover. Kevin returned to lecture and heard the scariest sound for me; hiccups but didn’t see Tavia. Felt like a horror film for that moment. Later Tavia was in a cinema alone when Kevin sat next to her and it was his turn to hiccup, she held his pinky finger or whatever and he held his and it was a start of a relationship which loved up shallow Jan wanted and one Kevin felt no longer any restriction to getting since well… it is episode 20 and it has to end that way.

And for me the ending was such a cop out but if you look at my rationalisation, that is the only ending. What stopped him was Ruco and feelings of guilt and since both was lifted, therefore so did the barrier to love Tavia freely.

I just didn’t like this ending. Not because of Tavia, not because of Kevin but of Ruco AND Tavia; For one Tavia had no business of being alive. She should have been dead. By her living Ruco maintained his humanity. Of course it was supposed to have gone when he wanted to kill Kevin but I feel when the climax reached that point, Ruco should have done the unforgivable and it does not stop at stabbing Tavia, who is not the complete innocent party since her indecisiveness in a way pushed Ruco over the edge a little (remember how happy he was when he was dating Tavia?) but should have been manifested with her violent death. Then I can see perfectly why Ruco deserved his death the way he died and why Kevin lying was an extraordinary act of compassion for Ruco who didn’t deserve it.

It could have been much more complex, much more intriguing and much more different. I do not always advocate violence in a TV series show but sometimes to show one extreme the other extreme must be shown. So for me Eye In The Sky was a promise that was never fulfilled and at times I felt cheated. What would have and should have been a great series with such capable actors turned into such an insipid series with a story was was more hiccups than smooth sailing. The writing is 100% at fault and miscasting some actors in roles that really did nothing to test them but made them worse certainly did not help.

By the way telepathy doesn’t mean Kevin can actually be in Ruco’s head and see from his perspective!

FINAL THOUGHTS
If the story fails, at least the acting shines.

Kevin for the better part was at his best and let me clarify that; his best is for a better actor a mediocre effort. Kevin shines in a character that builds around his strength. Serious and thoughtful in real life, pensive at times and mature at other times, Szeto Shun is Kevin’s signature role. It is like Kevin Cheng as Kevin Cheng. Unfortunately as the drama went on along, as heavier things is expected of him, Kevin began to falter. Actions became more laboured and deliberate, lip biting, lip sucking, hand movements. Maybe they were to show how much effort it was for him to be patient but it felt insincere rather than natural. When he was lying for a moment I thought he killed Ruco. It never felt natural and for me first half was great but second act, Kevin showed why maybe he should steer clear of heavy drama that requires heavy duty acting. He is best as a serious mature gentle soul.

Ruco on the other hand definitely handles well the easygoing part as the flirtatious Lik and in his 2nd act, the cunning Lik and his 3rd act, the angry Lik. His problem is his descend in the 3rd act was at best 2 episodes and it felt incomplete. Should have been given more time. And his final scene as he cried for the injustice as he wanted to shoot Kevin, it felt desperate but somehow, not enough, I saw in Lik a petulant child who since couldn’t get what he wanted will not let anyone have it. The fact he wanted to kill Kevin and then himself showed an extremely unstable man-child. For a moment Ruco had that but somehow, still not enough. If given another 10 minutes of confrontation, perhaps. But overall the question on who is the better actor need not even be asked. Ruco is by far a better actor. And he has my vote as having the best wardrobe in this series and in his career on TV.

Tony Hung did well. He’s a capable actor but he is not leading material. He lacks that oomph factor that makes me sit up and just stare at him. At least Kevin has that. But his best moments were supporting Ruco and they shared this amazing chemistry that not even Samantha can replace.

Tavia is a good competent actress who supports her male costars well. She doesn’t and hasn’t the capability to grab the limelight and for that she is wonderful in ensemble cast, like this series even if one actor stood out for me. However her character seems like a caricature amongst the realism that this series tries to portray. Her best moments were the beginning and her photographic memory was used well even if depicted annoyingly. However her role soon diminished to that as purely supporting and somewhere she disappeared and became the obligatory love sick shallow girl. She is too old for that. She is too good for that. Her Jan was annoying so I suppose if this was by another less likable actress, Jan would be more than a hatred sore point for me. I didn’t like how she is depicted and I have explained enough. I didn’t feel for her plight and I dislike how Lik is said to be evil when she helped pushed him. I never like an indecisive character stuck between 2 brothers. I don’t see why they both want to kill one another for her but thankfully she is not the main reason for the antagonism between the brothers even if she is a part of it. The main reason was really Szeto Shun throwing Lik to Vietnam. I think that sealed his hatred for his brother. Sorry but Tavia was the worst factor in here; character wise, Jan is annoying, the hiccups were not cute and the constant touching of her glasses just stopped being cute after 2 episodes. Tavia the actress just isn’t cute. I like her but I don’t think she is cute.

Vivien Yeo got the best role as the despicable Hon Sun, a character I wished Tavia took. Vivien can be Jan so I can hate her at peace. Vivien gave a good performance and has the best moment when her face was cut.

The rest are ok.The series has always been about 3 main characters. For me whether Jan is in this series would not have changed the ending for Lik. I wished maybe for once it isn’t a woman between 2 brothers. There are other women in this series. Take love out of the equation, take the woman out and cut 5 episodes, edit out any reference to the detective agency and frankly this series would have been TVB’s new direction on things that should have been.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case and this is one forgettable series despite Ruco Chan and Kevin Cheng’s top billing.

VERDICT
Watch it on repeat only. Otherwise, give it a miss. No, it isn’t that bad, but because I felt such deep disappointment, like you do of a score that started out as A+ and ended up decent C that you will feel there is no hurry to return to this or begin at all. Not even for either male lead.

RELATED ARTICLES

• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episodes 1 to 3
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 4
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 5
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 6
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 7
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 8
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 9
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 10
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 11
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 12 and 13
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 14
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 15
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 16 and 17
• [TV Commentary] “Eye in the Sky” Episode 18 and 19

This commentary is written by Funn Lim, a Contributing Writer at JayneStars.com and was originally posted at www.point2e.com.