Looking Back In Anger

"Looking Back in Anger" (義不容情)(TVB 1988) was one of the most watched TVB series among the Chinese people and, indeed, those pan-Chinese ethnic around the world. It maintains one of the most rented VCD to date. Many factors led to the success of this series. Apart from its tragic but memorable storyline, this series contained many strong casts, such as Felix Wong, Deric Wan, Carina Lau, Kathy Chow and Maggie Siu. The themesong of this series, "Yut Sung Hoh Kao" (一生何求) sung by the late and legendary Danny Chan Bak-Keung is awesome and suits the series well. This contributes to the perfection of the series which other series by TVB can hardly match this one.

Here's a detailed storyline of the whole series: By Charbydis (me)

The Parents:

The series starts off with a flashback back to the poor childhood years of business tycoon, Ding Yau Kin (Felix Wong), who is waiting for a phone call. The young Kin (played by young Gregory Lee) was born into a poor and struggling family. His parents are always fighting over money because even due to their low income, the father, Ding Wing Shing (Felix Wong again) is addicted to gambling and has used up all of the family’s savings, much to his wife, Mui Fun Fong’s (Yammie Nam) displeasure. But his father is a caring and loving father nonetheless, though has a weak personality and lack of self-control.

Fong, an ex-thief, steals a man’s purse for money to spend for the New Year’s, and when suddenly caught or the police, discovers that it belongs to a murdered man and she is framed for his murder. Shing, ashamed for his addiction, cuts of his fingers in front of the shocked Kin. Even though pregnant, she is forced through a humiliating trail with the help of retiring laywer (Cheng Gwun Meen) against the ruthless prosector, Fung Sai Bong (Ngok Wah).

She nearly wins her freedom when suddenly; an eye-witness is put on the stand in the form of Mr. Szeto (Lok Ying Kwun) who accuses her of the murder. It turns out that Mr. Szeto had molested a deaf-mute student of his and has lied about seeing Fong commit murder to get immunity. Fong loses the trial, and is sentenced to death by hanging once her son, Hong is born.

The laywer uses up all his resources to appeal Fong’s case, and finally moves Mr. Szeto into revoking his statement. Fong is rescued from the gallows by the warden just in time as an appeal is lodged. The true murderer confesses to the crime in hospital to the laywer before dying of cancer. As the lawyer is the witness, so he has to refer the case off to a colleague, who is very distracted by his wife’s affair with his brother, and ends up losing the appeal. Fong is sadly dragged off to the gallows again, with the sympathetic warden waiting for another phone call to stop the execution, but it never comes as Fong loses her young life. Before she goes, she makes Kin promise to always protect Hong.

Shing goes mad and tries to kill himself and his sons, and luckily is saved by his childless ex-boss (Wu Fung), who takes in the two children after Shing is admitted to an asylum. His wife, Wun (So Hung Shuen) is ecstatic even though she already has two other adopted children.

Aunt Wun:

The ex-boss dies suddenly from a brain haemorrhage following a stroke, and the family is bankrupted. Gossipers tell Wun that it is all because of Hong, who is a jinx. Wun is shocked, but refuses to just abandon Hong.

Taking her four children, Wun travels to Macau to seek help from her brother-in-law (Kong Ngai), who insults her and tells her to become a prostitute. She leaves angrily and works very hard manual jobs to support all four kids.

Years later, Wun is working as a cleaner in a hospital with Nurse Lan, whose daughter is Chiu Kar Mun (Maggie Siu). The four children are now all grown up.

Kin (Felix) works multiple jobs over the years from a young age to help Wun support the family. Hong (Deric Wan) had just finished high school. Chan Siu Ling (Hor Kar Lai) works as a bank teller, and ??? (Leung See Ho) still lazes through high school.

After the years of hardship, Wun has grown very cold, distant and very moody, leading to communication barriers with the children. Luckily, Kin is there as the glue to stick the family together.

The brother-in-law has now fallen into hard times, and begs lowly for Wun to take in his daughter, Lee Wah (Kathy Chow). Wun forgives him and takes the nerdish and timid Wah in, who quickly gain everyone’s hearts.

Ding Yau Hong - The Change Within:

Not content with forever living in cheap accommodation, Hong wants to apply for a law degree, much to Wun’s opposition who thinks that he should stick to his class and just find a job like Kin. But Hong wants to prove his self-worth, and Kin supports him all the way, and he gets in to the university. Hong may be ambitious, but he sees Wun’s hardship and sacrifice, as well as her dislike of him, so he wants to prove to her that he will not be a liability and gain her praise. Kin works in the university cafeteria (with Gordon Lam and Cutie Mui).

Once in university, he is immediately singled out as an outsider by his rich classmates (Frankie Lam, Evergreen Mak), and well as the snobbish Sam (Ng Kai Ming), who Hong sucks up to in order to fit in.

Hong finds out that Sam’s dad is actually the ex-prosecutor Fung Sai Bong, who has now turned to business and trade and is very rich. But casting all dislike aside, Hong tries to get close to him to gain job opportunities. Bong takes an instant liking to the diligent Hong, which angers Kin who hates the whole Fung family. Hong won’t let go of this opportunity to work in Bong’s company and quarrels with Kin.

Hong becomes more and more obsessed with money and status once exposed to the upper class, and manipulates Wah, who has a crush on him, to do all his projects while he is out socializing with the upper class. He also has his sights set on pretty and intelligent medical student, Chiu Kar Mun, who already has a doctor boyfriend. But using the doctor’s jealous tendencies, Hong makes him go mad and claims Kar Mun as his own.

He finally fails in his course once Wah realizes that he is a jerk and stops helping him, and he drops out, seeing a brighter future working under Bong.

The Love Triangle:

Kin has always had a crush on Ah Wah, but she has always only seen Hong. Kin is approached by his best friend who works in a TV station, to appear on a TV show whether the lives of three people with the same birthdates are compared. The other two are the mighty wealthy heiress Ngai Chor Gwun (Carina Lau) and an arrogant designer, Mr Yeung (Gilbert Lam).

Gwun and Kin gradually become friends despite their large social differences, and Gwun secretly falls for Kin, who happily accepts Wah when she finally realizes he is worth loving. Kin support Wah through her advertising course. Gwun remains a friend to both, hiding her feelings.

Ngai Chor Gwun:

Gwun is the elder daughter of tycoon, Ngai Kwun (Kwan Hoi San), who is a distant relative and business rival of Fung Sai Bong. Gwun has a step-brother Kit (Canti Lau) who is highly intelligent, responsible, mature and has a flare for business. Being constantly over-shadowed, Gwun avoids trying at all to gain her father’s liking, and becomes increasingly lazy and distant from the family, causing father to have more and more faults to pick with her. She thinks Kwun doesn’t like her at all, but in fact he does, she keeps a close relationship with Kit, who helps her out a lot.

Depressed after Hong and Wah start going out, Gwun considers dating a rich man (Gallen Lo) and even agrees to his proposal, but chickens out at the last minute. Kwun is angered, and Gwun moves out and realizes that her past idol life was too boring, and starts becoming independent with the help of Kin. She finds a job as magazine journalist, and is happy her with boss (Michael Tao) who likes her.

The First Betrayal:

Hong works under Fung Sai Bong’s eldest son, Michael (Lee Shing Cheung). Bong tries to takeover the Ngai business empire, but Kit gains evidence of Michael’s dirty delaing and forces him to call the project off. In anger, Michael turns the steering wheel when Hong is driving, and runs over Kit. They destroy all the evidence in the sea, but Hong has left his lighter in the car. Michael cuts him loose, telling him to solve the problem by himself.

Hong uses Kin’s love for him as well as his promise to his dying mother to always protect Hong, and manipulates him into taking the rap for him, though Hong genuinely feels sorry, and tries to make up for it by giving more money to Wun, who chucks it at his face and kicks him out. Once Kin finds out it was Kit who was killed, he falls out with Gwun who fails to persuade him to let Hong take responsibility for his own actions.

Kin is sentenced to jail for two years, and in jail he meets several good friends (one is Lee Kar Ding (Gregory Lee’s dad) and Hor Gwai Lum) who each have their own stories to tell, and the men develop a close-knitted friendship. Kwun, has also been arrested for corruption charges, meets Kin in jail, and his dislike for Kin gradually lessens and he learns to appreciate him. Though after reconciling with her father, Gwun still refuses to return to the company so her step-mother (Kit’s mum) takes over.

The Second Betrayal:

Ling tries out for TVB acting class, and gets promoted. Wun is very against this, but relents at last when she sees Ling’s sincerity and interest, and also persuaded by Kin’s best friend who loves Ling. She explains her concerns as stemming from the fact that Ling’s biological mother was a famous actress and singer, who became someone’s mistress and abandoned her child to marry off to Thailand. Wun is worried that the pressures in the entertainment field will soon push her into her following her mother’s path.

All is well until Ling’s biological mother, Fong Hung (Chan Lai See) returns to Hong Kong. Ling is disappointed to find her a manipulative and materialistic person, but soon, understand the pressures that her teenage mother had to endure being a single mother, and forgives her. But it turns out that Hung is a heavy gambler, and owns loan sharks a lot of money. Under Hong’s guidance, Ling becomes Michael’s mistress to pay off her mother’s continuing debts (Hung continues to gamble), ending her sweet budding romance with Felix’s best friend. Wun is enraged and disowns her.

Meanwhile, the youngest brother, Mun Zai, finds his biological parents, who have become rich over the years, but his siblings look down on him. To prove himself, he becomes Michael’s personal assistant – a high-paying though humiliating job. Wun disowns him too.

The Third Betrayal:

Kar Mun becomes very weak and dependent on Hong after so many years, and Hong is beginning to tire of her. A new opportunity comes in the form of the lonely but favoured second daughter of the Fung family, Cindy (Kiki Sheung). Hong tries to dump Kar Mun while pursuing Cindy, but the clingy Kar Mun suddenly informs him that she is pregnant and needs to get married.

Hong goes to Malaysia with Kar Mun, who uses her uncle who is a Malaysian general (Chu Tit Wo) to force Hong into marriage. Desperate and after struggling, Hong plans the perfect murder, and pushes Kar Mun off a moving train, framing her for committing suicide due to guilt in conceiving a child in an affair with another man. Hong happily returns to propose to Cindy, and the two overtake Michael’s place in the company, causing Michael to become increasingly abusive towards Ling and Mun Zai.

Ups and Downs:

Kin returns to a relieved Wun and happy Wah, who is finishing off her course. He again, works multiple jobs to make ends meet, and runs back into Gwun, and become friends again. Gwun still likes Kin. Kin meets up with his friends from prison and start up a food stall which has a lot of income. Wah becomes jealous of Gwun closeness with Kin.

Kin and Wah grow apart as her career grows more successful. Afraid that she might change, Wah proposes to Kin, but on the eve of the wedding, Kin discovers a letter by Wah to her friend saying that she only pushes through the marriage to repay Kin for his help and highlights her concerns for their future. Kin wants Wah to be happy so he cancels the wedding. Wah goes off to Malaysia to work.

Ling gets pregnant and is dumped by Michael. She tries to commit suicide but Gwun persuades her to love on. Supported by both mothers, she quits acting and opens a shop. Kin’s best friend who still loves her, proposes to her repeatedly, and even wants to take her son as his own, but out of guilt and shame, she refuses. ??? meets a girlfriend (Carol Yeung) and building up his self-confidence and dignity, quits the jib and helps out Kin.

Kin and Gwun get drunk and sleep together, causing both of them to feel awkward afterwards. Carina’s boss tells Kin that Gwun has been in love with him for a long time, and moved, Kin chases after Gwun, who rejects him, feeling that he is only doing it out of obligation after sleeping with her. But eventually, he moves her and they get together.

Kin and his friends move onto opening a restaurant, but his chefs bail out on him, so they have to resort to using Chinese Steam-bowl to save the business which strangely, attracts a lot of customers. Gwun supports him all the way, and Kwun gradually accepts Kin. Kin and his friends become rich.

Downfall of Ding Yau Hong:

Cindy proves to be a good wife as she successfully patches up the relationship between Hong and the rest of his family. Hong is sort of moved by her actions, and his siblings all like her, but still continue to hate her father and brother.

Meanwhile, Wun goes to Malaysia to visit Nurse Lan, who is also Kar Mun’s mother. She finds an alternate suicide note by Kar Mun in her clothes, which outlines Hong’s betrayal and plan in marrying Cindy. Stupidly, she calls and confronts Hong who rushes to Malaysia to get the note off her. In another act of stupidity, she follows him into the woods scolding him and threatening to dob him in at the police station, causing him to strangle her alive.

Kin hears the news and rushes off to Malaysia to investigate. He enlists the help of Wah and eventually finds the note, and a small boy who witnessed the murder and identifies Hong. Wah also finds out why Kin didn’t marry her back then.

Kin goes back to Hong Kong and sues Hong for Wun’s and Kar Mun’s murder. Cindy is horrified and upon close observation, she notices Hong’s true face. Hong uses the law of how the English-illiterate witness cannot confirm his English statement, so the evidence cannot be used in Wun’s murder. However, he was guilty of Kar Mun’s murder, but the lack of evidence is not enough to extradite him back to Malaysia. However, if he ever sets foot in Malaysia, he will be executed.

Kin beats up Hong in front of the court. Cindy requests a divorce from Hong, which is supported by her father, even though she finds herself pregnant. Hong desperately tries to get he back, but she is not Chiu Kar Man, and maintains her strong-will right until the end. Hong loses his position in the Fung’s company, and sets up his own with a friend, which doesn’t go well as he tries to use Kin’s steam-bowl empire to help his own, but ends up being cut off the deal by Kin’s friends.

Cindy is very depressed and resorts to drinking. Hong uses her alcoholism to threaten to challenge her for custody of their son, and gets millions off her. Just when Cindy aims to quit drinking, she dies from a heart-attack (it is congenital condition so her father dote on her a lot). Hong gets all her property as they are not properly divorced yet.

Hong runs into business troubles, and resorts to kidnapping his own child for ransom. But Bong uses permanent ink to mark the money and Hong’s accomplice is caught. Hong escapes and tries to leave Hong Kong illegally, but needs money. He also realizes that he truly cares for his son and he is all that he has left in the world.

He tries to get money off his siblings and gets into a fight with Kin, resulting into Hong falling down the elevator shaft and breaking his arm and leg. He is jailed.

Return of the Jealous Cousin:

Wah eventually returns to Hong Kong to pick up her parents, and meanwhile, tries to get Kin back. She sees Gwun as a third wheel and Kin as hers, but Kin asserts that he only loves Gwun. She leaves with her parents back to Malaysia, but the plane crashes and she is the sole survivor, but is paralysed from waist-down.

Wah uses her disability to cling onto Kin. Kin who feels guilty, tries to satisfy all her demands, leading to Wah having new hopes of being with Kin. Wah becomes increasingly possessive of Kin and hostile towards Gwun who just wants to help. Kin does nothing to reassure her, and Gwun calls the quite on him, chucking wedding invitations in his face.

Kin finally confronts Wah about his feelings and confidently says that he only loves Gwun, and will only marry her. Wah gives him her blessings, and attends the wedding. But at night, she gets depressed and commits suicide.

Revenge of the Evil Brother:

Kin helps out Kwun in the company and once, he even helped out Fung Sai Bong after letting go of his hatred, causing reconciliation between the Ngai and Fung families, Kwun is very happy. Years later, Kwun dies, and leaves everything to Kin and Gwun. The couple has a son and a happy marriage.

While driving in his car, Kin spots Hong begging on the streets. Once, he discovers that Hong has been secretly visiting his own son and pities him. He gives him a lowly job at one of his restaurants, and ignores him for most of the times as Gwun really hates him for killing Kit.

Hong is enraged that Kin wallows with a happy family, in a rich car, in a big mansion and on the cover of all the influential magazines. He plots his revenge. He manages to poison Kin’s family while he is out for dinner at the restaurant where he works, and frames it on a mentally-unstable colleague. It is his plan that if Kin’s whole family dies; all his fortunes would go to the next blood-relative in line, which would be him.

But Kin and Gwun both survive, but their young son didn’t make it. Kin finds electronic bugs in his study and after talking to his lawyer, deduces that it was Hong behind the poisoning. He is deeply conflicted.

The Last Betrayal:

Kin offers Hong an office position, much to the dislike of his partners, and they slowly plot against him, but really, this is all a ploy to trap Hong into thinking that he has Kin’s absolute trust. Gwun is enraged because she doesn’t know what is going on, but finds solace in volunteering for the church. Meanwhile, Hong has more bonding with his son, and plans to challenge Fung Sai Bong for custody. He is happy when the kid calls him “Father”.

Kin and Hong head for a business meeting in Australia, but Kin deliberately traps Hong in an elevator, causing him to miss a direct flight and has to settle for a non-direct flight – stopping over in Malaysia. Kin forces a scared Hong onto the plane, and after landing, Kin confronts Hong and Hong is arrested.

Hong repents in prison and begs Kin to bring his son to see him for the last time before execution. Michael has been diagnosed with terminal gastric cancer, and is suffering greatly. Kin has a talk with a broken Fung Sai Bong about karma, and Bong lets Kin take Hong’s son to see Hong.

Hong cries desperately upon seeing his son, who doesn’t get what is going on. Hong begs Kin to save him, but Kin tells him that it is time he stops protecting him, and let him walk alone. Hong is disappointed but doesn’t seem to have much hatred. He is led to the gallows – just like his mother.

The Mysterious Ending:

Gwun separates form Kin upon finding out that he did not consult her on such a serious matter. She wants a divorce, but Kin doesn’t. She leaves for Ethiopia to do volunteer work, and Kin says he will wait for her at the church where they got married ten years later on their common birthday.

The TV producers approach Kin again to do a ten-year reunion of the old show. Mr. Yeung has been bankrupted since but is a much more sensitive and caring person now, and Kin cries on air, begging Gwun to return.

We get back to the first scene in the beginning where Kin in sitting by the telephone. Gwun calls him shortly after and tells him that she is coming home. But that day, both he and Mr. Yeung have a car crash. Ethiopia also has a serious earthquake and related landslides, killing hundreds. They have lost contact with Gwun. Mr. Yeung dies, but Kin survives. He still clings into the hope that Gwun is alive and will return to him.

Ten years later, there is still no news of Gwun. But Kin still hopes and is ecstatic when the tenth birthday comes and he gets ready to go down to the church. Man and his girlfriend are married, and after so many years of waiting, Kin’s best friend finally gets a nod to his marriage proposal from Ling, with the help of her son who sees him as a father.

Kin happily waits in the church, getting more anxious as the clock ticks closer to midnight and his hope slowly die. He still waits even after midnight, and eventually falls asleep on the benches.

A lady in red appears at the door, she approaches the sleeping Kin, touches him lovingly on the face. Her tears drop onto his face, and she leaves. Kin wakes up and finds a note saying Gwun has died. But he refuses to believe it and calls out for her to come back.

THE END

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Looking Back In Anger